Race for the cure

"The race is on. Our finest scientific minds are working on this right now. Beat cancer, kill cancer, before it kills again. It is a race which must be won." 

This summer was quite eventful for me. Besides having both my eyes operated on for cataracts (I call it my mid-life vision tune up), I also has a brush with skin cancer. Totally unexpected. In any event, I had a chunk taken out of my side which contained some cancerous cells on my skin. This is why yearly check-ups are so vital. To catch things like that early.

In any event, as my skin doctor was cutting away on me, he and I were chatting about where he went to medical school (he and I both went to the U of M). He said he still is active with the School of Medicine there, and is amazed at how much good cancer research goes on at the "U". For those who have visited the University of Minnesota's School of Medicine know one thing for certain - it is HUGE.

A few weeks after my procedure, I started thinking about how much cancer research must go on in our country. In the world. Whomever, or whatever institution finds the "silver bullet" for cancer, it will be the shot heard round the world. It will be the end of one the biggest scourges mankind has ever suffered. It will be the most wonderful day. 

That led me to thinking. Besides the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where else is a lot of cancer research being done? So I went on the National Cancer Institute website. Quite impressive. Every day, there are hundreds of different research projects going on at 71 designated cancer centers. And going through the list of names, these are all top flight organizations. Plus - that is this is just in our country. We know that similar research is also going on in many other countries as well. Why? Cancer affects everyone.

Right now, there are literally hundreds to new medicines in all stages of approval. Many are for the treatment cancer. Thanks to the Right to Try Act, which President Trump signed into law in May of 2018, patients no longer have to wait until new drugs get to the final stages of FDA approval. They can choose to try a promising drug which is not yet fully approved. Most cancer docs will tell you the same thing - the name of the game when being treated for cancer is to continue to stick around. Every year the treatments better and better with fewer side effects. 

This is the race for the cure folks. I dare say everyone reading this has had some cancer, or knows of someone who has had cancer, or has it now. This past year, my wife and I lost three close friends to disease - two of which were cancer.

The race is on. Our finest scientific minds are working on this right now. Beat cancer, kill cancer, before it kills again. It is a race which must be won. 

"Deepfaked" with CGI

"Should we be on the lookout for Deepfake today? Absolutely. Although not pervasive as yet, it is out there. Rough and crude, it is out there. And it is only going to get better. Ready to fool even the most cautious of us. Get ready. It is coming." 

Hey Star Wars fans! Did you know the next chapter in the Star Wars series. The Rise of Skywalker, will be released before year's end? Did you know the Princess Leia character has a role in this movie? Oh by the way, did you know the person who plays Leia died a few years ago? No biggie. Through the magic of using some old footage, camera angles, and a wee bit of CGI, Leia will live again! 

Those who are movie buffs (like I am), and are special effects geeks (like I am), have noticed a huge sea change as of late. Our CGI expertise is off the charts good these days. Trying to tell the real from the not real is getting to be very, very hard. One of the major actors has recently said, he can see a day in the near future where an actor in a movie will be 100% CGI, and nobody will know it. 

That is all fun and cute when we can strut our stuff in movies and TV. But there is a darker side to all this technology. It is called Deepfake. If you are unfamiliar with this term, I dare say you will be in the near future. It will have the ability to change everything for everyone. Just so you don't think I am a bit of a drama queen, let me explain.

Imagine for a minute, you go on social media, and someone has posted a video of the President addressing the nation. I mean, it looks like him, acts like him, and sounds like him. In that video, he tells the nation a shocking secret. He is in reality, a Russian agent. All that has been alleged about him is true. He is a traitor and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And because of his high crimes, he will be resigning from the Presidency tomorrow morning. Only one problem however - it is all fake. As real as it looked and sounded, it is all computer.

Deepfake is only in its infancy right now. I shudder to think how sophisticated it will be in five years. Will we be able to determine if anything is real, or a fake? How will we get our news? Know what, or whom to believe? This is a part of our brave new world. The brave new world I believe few saw coming. How will we regulate Deepfake? How will be police it? These are vexing questions for us, as a society, to address. And we had better do it sooner rather than later. 

Back to movies as I close. Is it possible to get too real? To see the sickening parts of death when someone is blown up, burned alive, or shredded with gunfire? Do we really need to see that? I don't think so. On the plus side however, the new CGI will show us places we have never seen before. Places which can be now be filmed. Like outer space, or visiting other planets. No expensive sets are needed, like the old days. All you need is just some very good computer work. Stay tuned for the 2020's - it is about to get a whole lot better. 

Should we be on the lookout for Deepfake today? Absolutely. Although not pervasive as yet, it is out there. Rough and crude, it is out there. And it is only going to get better. Ready to fool even the most cautious of us. Get ready. It is coming. 

Screwing in ye old light bulb...

"Now that Labor Day is over, the worst of the worst are expected to return to Washington to sit on their collective arses and DO NOTHING. All this while we are paying them six figure salaries." 

Here is a question most of us have heard throughout the ages. Why is it, government, be it federal, state or local - is so screwed up, they can't even screw in a light bulb? It started off as a standard joke, but my, oh my, has history and the facts ever proven this to be true. In a company, where there is that darn old bottom line to worry about, "driftwood" (non-performing employees) and dysfunctional systems are NOT TOLERATED. In government, it has become the norm. Don't believe it? Just look at the DHS in Minnesota.

We elect people to represent us. Does not matter if that is federal, state or local. Some how, some where along the road, many of these folks (once elected) assume 1) we now work for them and 2) poor performance is okay. In fact, many become very defensive or indignant when asked for the truth. Like, why do we need to know? Just because we are paying the freight, that is why! 

Like I said - all levels of government. In the news this morning, it was reported that the Chicago school system is going to mandate the teaching of LBGQT history and lifestyle. Huh? What the hell for? What ever happened to teaching true history and civics? Teaching real math instead of Common Core mumbo jumbo? These school boards WORK FOR US! What if we don't want that crap taught to our kids? Pull our kids out of government schools? Fine. Then stop taxing us for them.

If real history was still taught in schools, they would understand how much Thomas Jefferson understood the dangers of an out of control government. "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends {life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness} it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and institute a new government..." I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would think about our out of control governments today? He might say, "time to clean house!"

Some think this "dumbing down" of our kids has been a long term strategy of the Left. Makes it easier for indoctrination. Why? The opposite of indoctrination is critical thinking. Get rid of the critical thinking, and you end up with mind numbed robots. And mind numbed robots love to be controlled by a controlling government. Sound familiar? Like Big Brother in 1984? Group-think anyone? 

Now that Labor Day is over, the worst of the worst are expected to return to Washington to sit on their collective arses and DO NOTHING. All this while we are paying them six figure salaries. In 2020, we need to elect people who will serve the public by doing the will of the people. The crowd we have now, panders only to the will of the far, far fringe Lefties. No one else. 

In closing, remember Jefferson's most memorable (attributable) quote about government. "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Take that, you gun grabbers! 

Freedom vs. Socialism?

"In the United States right now, we have our own crop of 'useful idiots'. They could bring down this great country by not firing a shot. They will do it by voting for, and electing, socialists. Then my friends, it will be game over."    

There sure has been quite a bit of buzz on the cable news channels as of late. The 2020 election. How it will define our country for years, maybe decades to come. Amazingly, almost unbelievably, this country is going to decide if it will continue being a republic, loaded with personal freedoms, or surrender to the specter of socialism. Because of our dumbed down, common cored, social engineered education system, many of our young people are almost giddy at the thought of turning this great country into a mess. 

My feeling is that world wide, many freedom loving people who are currently living in repressive countries, are looking at America and scratching their collective heads. America, the cradle of modern day freedoms and liberty, is going to vote to give that up? Why? What the what? You see, unlike in our country, where history is now taught in high school and colleges as a fable, people in totalitarian countries are seeing oppression up close and personal. There is no "Common Core" needed to tort the facts for the oppressed - these people are living them.

This morning our beloved Governor, the carpetbagger from Nebraska, penned an article in the op/ed. "Come on! Let's make Minnesota the education state!" He went on the decry the stubborn achievement gap, and the disparity in educational opportunities by zip code. (...yawn...) Sorry - dozed off. That same article could have been written twenty years ago. THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM GOVERNOR! Never has been. Our education system is BROKEN! We are not teaching anymore! We are indoctrinating! If we were teaching real history and civics, we would not have idiots like AOC running around the country, acting like a "Pied Piper" to our young folks! They would know better!

So here we are, at the precipice of history. I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but we really are. There are already organizations working the campuses to get these young skulls full of mush signed up to vote. And guess what? Most will probably vote for the socialist way of life. Why? Professor Dip S**t told them it would be "cool" to get free stuff and not have to work for it. Socialism is a much "fairer" way to live. Equal everything for everyone. Yippee!

If the socialists win, the next thing to fall will be our Constitution. It will be out of sync with the "New World Order". So it will be scrapped and re-written. Even though our current Constitution makes it very hard to do so, the socialists will find a way to get the necessary majorities to get it done. It will their highest priority. Remember - one of the Left's heroes, RBG, has been overseas telling foreigners our Constitution sucks, and they should never try to imitate nor emulate it. Bravo, to a Supreme Court Justice! Time to retire, Ruth!

If you love President Trump, hate President Trump, or are just neutral on him, yet love our freedoms and our Constitution, it is IMPERATIVE you vote for Donald Trump in 2020. If we lose the White House in 2020 to Warren, Sanders, Harris, Beto, Pete, or even "Sleepy Joe", we are screwed beyond hope. Even Amy would be a disaster. 

It has been alleged that Vlad Lenin coined the term "useful idiots" for the minions on the Left who could be easily manipulated. They were very important in the spread of communism.

In the United States right now, we have our own crop of  "useful idiots". They could bring down this great country by not firing a shot. They will do it by voting for, and electing, socialists. Then my friends, it will be game over.    

Time to pay the piper...

"We needed a former controller from a Fortune 500 company. One who knows how to FIRE PEOPLE, and find the truth."

Ladies and gentlemen of the heavily taxed state of Minnesota - this is going to be a most interesting fall. How do I know? Jodi Harpstead, meet Senator Michelle Benson. I have known Michelle for quite a while now, and I will tell you this - she is an analytical. She is an answer person. Clear, concise answers. And Michelle knows how to do her homework. She has a entire collection of questions for SOMEBODY at DHS to give clear, concise answers to. Hey Jodi! Tag! You're it!

This will be a little different Jodi, than importing scads of Muslims into Minnesota via your former VOLAG. That was a piece of cake compared to what lies in front of you. Your are about to step knee deep into Minnesota's version of the swamp. It is a mess. It is corrupt. It is way out of control. And Senator Benson is going to ask you what happened to $300M which is unaccounted for during the past three years.

What I am going to watch with great interest is how Ms. Harpstead handles the Somali daycare graft and fraud issue within the DHS. I mean, these are some of the people she helped plant here - and now they are screwing the taxpayer royal. BUT - because of their "protected" class, the local lap dog media has been very hush, hush on this issue. So are the socialists and the democrats. Not the taxpayers. We want our money back, and the evil doers punished!!

Speaking of people being punished, what ever happened to the woman who made big bucks while doing nothing? That be Ms. Ham. The auditor who let this larceny go on right under her nose. In a normal universe, she would be out looking for another job right now, with a terrible reference from her last one. However, in the alternate universe of Taxing Timmy, we just keep paying her taxpayer dollars. We love to reward bad behavior in Timmy's universe. Who cares? The taxpayers care, damit! 

Of all the things the Democrats have screwed up in this state (and the amount of that is legion), what has happened with DHS takes the cake. If we had every misspent penny back from the past few years of DHS funding, I dare say not only would our seniors get a well deserved Social Security tax break, but our surplus would also look quite impressive. 

One more thing. I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ALL THAT MONEY WHICH WAS ILLEGALLY SENT TO SOMALIA. Fact or fiction, truth or rumor. Let's clear the air on that issue. If it is true, I not only want people fired, I want the guilty parties doing hard time. Put that on your "to-do" list, Jodi.

Do I think Jodi Harpstead was a good hire? Absolutely not. I detest what her VOLAG has done to this state. We needed a former controller from a Fortune 500 company. One who knows how to FIRE PEOPLE, and find the truth. What is Jodi? Probably another round heeled, and weak kneed liberal. Go along, come along. Prove me wrong Jodi. Here is your chance. Make the most of it.  

Bad night for a good people

"In any event, let's hope Dorian is the one and only storm we will suffer this year. Having a bad snowstorm in January is one thing - losing your house to a Cat 5 super storm is quite another."

Is it possible to personify a storm? Might be, as I have heard many terms as of late to describe Hurricane Dorian. I think the most common name I have heard is "monster". My fascination with hurricanes started in 1969 while stationed in Pensacola. That is when I went though a "brush" with another Cat 5 "monster" called Camille. It was then I found it is one thing to watch a terrible storm on TV, and quite another to be looking down the barrel of the gun (so to speak). Camille terrified this nineteen year old kid from Minnesota - bit time. 

Overnight, this beast called Dorian slowed to almost a full stop. Why? Zero steering currents. No steering currents to turn it northward, no steering currents to keep it going westward. With winds in the storm ranging from 165 to sometimes 180 mph, it parked itself over those wonderful Bahama Islands. Parked, and just started grinding those beautiful beaches to bits. Even though the people in the Bahamas have learned to use some of the most stringent building codes in their structures, this non-stop barrage of killer winds might have been too much to handle.

One weather guesser tried to explain it this way. Now that the forward progress of Dorian is down to 1 mph, it would be like having an EF 3 tornado come into your neighborhood - and not leave. Just keep grinding down everything in its sights. And what if this thing does not make its forecasted right hand turn fast enough? What if it does a "brush" on Florida's east coast with winds that strong? That will be bad - very bad. Many remember the almost total devastation that Hurricane Andrew left in Florida in 1992. That was also a Cat 5 storm, with winds of 175 mph. Only that storm did not linger. 

On the news this morning, one of the commentators said it was with great trepidation, that he was waiting for the first daylight pictures of the Bahamas to show up. He knew it was going to be bad. As I had mentioned on social media, we were just in the Bahamas two years ago. Did some history tours. Met the people. These are some of the finest, nicest, most solid folks I have met anywhere. The thought of them, trying to survive, hunkered down under this stationary super storm, is unsettling at best.

The news about the progress of this storm will linger on until Friday. That is an incredible length of time for a storm like this to live. The weather folks say it will lose some of its teeth be week's end - like maybe be down to a Cat 2 or 1. But until week's end, Dorian will continue to chew up pristine barrier islands and beautiful beaches in Florida and the southeastern coast.

Two years ago, we had Hurricane Maria which levied a body blow on Puerto Rico. Even today, there are parts of that poverty infested island which have not recovered. Hurricane Irma also hit that year. Most costly storm ever to hit Florida. What many do not know about Irma, was it could have been so much worse. It was a strong Cat 5 when it made its turn to the north to hit Florida. However, in doing so, it "brushed" Cuba. That took enough starch out of Irma to get it down to a strong Cat 4 - still bad. 

Each storm is unique and different that any before it. That is one of the reasons forecasting is so tricky. In any event, let's hope Dorian is the one and only storm we will suffer this year. Having a bad snowstorm in January is one thing - losing your house to a Cat 5 super storm is quite another.    

Do you hear the people sing?

"People in Hong Kong - the freedom loving people in this world stand with you. Your stand for freedom is not going un-noticed. You are on the right side of history. Please stay strong. May God be with you."

Okay. I will admit it. I am a sucker for a good musical. Especially one which has its roots in history. I have seen Les Miserables many times in my life. And I am not done with it yet. It is a show about the misery in France prior to the French Revolution. It is the story of a people who WOULD NOT BE DENIED their freedom. The pinnacle of the movie (to me) was when the citizens banded together to sign their anthem, "Do you hear the people sing?" It puts a lump in my throat every time I hear it. 

Here is something which puts even a bigger lump in my throat. Hong Kong and the contagion of democracy which is burning like wildfire in that world famous city. Not only are the protesters carrying American flags and signing our National Anthem, they are also signing that freedom song from Les Miserables - "Do you hear the people sing?"
In the middle of the tear gas, the water cannons, the strife - demonstrators break out in that heartfelt song about freedom and liberty.

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart
Echos the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes

Will you join our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade

Is there is a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight

That will give you the right to be free...

China is going to lose this one. They have no clue what they are up against. The yearning for freedom is a fire which burns hot in the hearts of liberty minded citizens. And most citizens realize once freedom is surrendered, it is very hard to get back. In Hong Kong, like is was in France before the revolution, like is was in America before our revolution, freedom was for all the marbles. Or to quote New Hampshire's motto - "Live free or die".

At what price China, will this all be worth it? People in Hong Kong have peered across the great bridge into Mainland China, and seen the torture, the torment, that many who live there have endured. The people know about the "re-education" prisons. They have heard the stories about involuntary organ harvesting of prisoners. They know about the repression of religious thought and practices. They know about the heavy handed glove, and jack boot of Big Brother. So China, here is the question. Will killing or subjugating a large portion of the population be worth it for you? Will it give you joy? Are you willing to pay the price?

The world is watching President Xi. You are about to once again show your true colors. You are nothing but a brutal, heartless dictator. You are as bad as Mao. Prove me wrong, sir. If you crush this explosion of freedom in Hong Kong, America will extract a steep price from you. This is something which is non-partisan. Americans, regardless of party, HATE jack booted thugs. 

People in Hong Kong - the freedom loving people in this world stand with you. Your stand for freedom is not going un-noticed. You are on the right side of history. Please stay strong. May God be with you.