Summertime vs the Pandemic

"Am I ready for those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer? Oh yes I am. All of us should be. the days of this pandemic have been wearing on us. To come right from winter and then into the pandemic has really sucked. Time for fun now. Time for summer."

Today, we are just hours away from people experiencing the first holiday of the summer session. For many, Memorial Day IS the start of summer. Even though school has been over for the kiddos for a while now, and one out of five are still in search for what happened to their job, Memorial Day is the start of the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Everything is going to be great, except for, well you know - the pandemic.

Actually, the pandemic can be the wet blanket which will spread over our summer fun. Or, we can ignore it and take our chances. Or, we can try to experience as much as a "normal" summer as possible, while still being careful. Our family is going to try for the third option. We wait too long in Minnesota, put up with too many dark, cold and lifeless days, to just write a summer off.

We got an email yesterday from Delta Airlines. Telling us about summer travel, for those who feel it is time once again to venture onto an airplane. Since the pandemic began, few industries have taken a bigger "hit" than the airline industry. Travel has been way down - like 5% of what it should be. So Delta is offering this - no aisle seats (oh, do I wish that had come years ago!), only 60% capacity, and everyone needs to wear a face mask. Now the trick will be so see how many are ready to sit in a no fun airplane for three hours, which might look more like a hospital ward than the ads of old.

Our family is contemplating a trip out west this summer. But then comes the next hurdle. The next bridge of trust. We would need to stay in motels, since our family long ago outgrew camping. There always has been suspicions on how "clean" your motel room really is (never use the black light test - you might vomit!), but today, we also need to be concerned about something which is still invisible. And can kill. So when we check into a motel or hotel, we need to cross that bridge of trust. When they say the rooms have been sanitized to prevent COVID - 19, we will need to believe them.

Anyway - I digress. This summer will be wonderful for many of us. For those brave enough, it could be a summer similar to many in our pasts. Memorable and fun. For those who believe the panic merchants on the boob tube every day, or our state government, it might be better to stay huddled in your basement. However, remember this. Even with a lot of things shut down, there are many things to do right here in the five state region. Fun things - summer things. Many so close, they can easily turn into day trips.

Am I ready for those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer? Oh, yes I am. All of us should be. The days of this pandemic have been wearing on us. To come right from winter and then into the pandemic has really sucked. Time for fun now. Time for summer. Time to get ready for Memorial Day weekend.  

Jobs lost forever...

"There will be good news to come out of this pandemic. The news will not all be grim. But to make our recovery work, we must all reach deep within ourselves and find that hidden 'change agent'." 

I will say one thing for this "flinch" we have done due to the pandemic. We have accelerated the long predicted employment change, foretold by the futurists. If you are at home right now, in a laid off, fired or furloughed status, and if your job was not highly technical or "essential", buckle up. Your time at home might end up being longer than what you anticipated.

First off, no offense to the employee, but your boss might be looking at this event as a very good reason to automate. Why? Besides being the wave of the future, an automated asset will not need to have his or her temperature taken every morning when they come into work. And automated asset can work longer than 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week. An automated asset does not need benefits, breaks, vacations and so forth. And, bottom line - an automated asset is cheaper for the employer to use.

So where does that leave the individual, whose job suddenly evaporated? Now is the time to remember that 85% of all jobs which will exist in 2030, do not exist in 2020. Jobs which should have gone bye-bye years ago, might just go bye-bye this summer. And then what? Where does that leave a person who needs to work? Needs to pay bills, rent, eat? With all the other balls that are being juggled by the government right now, this is another one. And it is a big one.

Even with our new found push for "made in America" and "get the hell out of China", the jobs coming back on-shore will not be the panacea. In fact, to compete with the sweat labor pricing we were getting out of items made in China, we will need to build a better mousetrap here at home. By the way - this change to a more automated workforce is not uniquely American. Has not been for a while. All developed or developing countries are either doing it or considering it. Why? Better quality, with a more dependable and cost effective work force. Sorry unions - find another gig. This is the wave of the future.

This change will not only affect the lightly skilled, or blue collar jobs. Teachers - get ready for your big change. What you saw this spring with "distance learning" is only the tip of the iceberg. Not just for high school, but post high school as well. The mantra will be to better educate our youth, at a much smaller cost. To get them ready for the 85% of the jobs which do not yet exist, we need to adapt our education system to accommodate that need. Big challenge? Oh, yes.

Don't get me wrong - this change was going to happen this decade. Most futurists I have read up on, have predicted it. It is necessary. But having this pandemic in the first part of the first year of the decade, has now put this job change on the fast track. The wizards of smart who live in and run this country, know that time is not on their side. Why not? Nobody wants to go back to a Jimmy Carter type unemployment rate.

There will be good news to come out of this pandemic. The news will not all be grim. But to make our recovery work, we must all reach deep within ourselves and find that hidden "change agent". If we don't, the coming changes will be torturous. And we will not return to the greatness we had just a few months ago. 

The virtual class of 2020

"Now for the Class of 2020. We, the generations that preceded you, feel bad for you. However, you will be the first to graduate and venture out into this new landscape. That makes you trailblazers of sorts."

Heads up boys and girls! You are about to graduate (sort of). Sorry about the prom which never happened, and the senior skip day which never ended - but it is time to go. Go out into this topsy turvy world, and try to either get into a closed down college, of find a job in a land where 1 out of 5 folks have just been laid off. But don't worry about your graduation ceremony - we will give you a yard sign which honors you, and then maybe you can Zoom with 150 of your closest friends.

Do I think the class of 2020 got a raw deal? Do I think a bear poops in the woods? Of course they got a raw deal. Just like the 20% of the work force who got laid off, fired or "furloughed" got a raw deal. Actually, the country got a raw deal - thanks to the Wuhan or CCP virus. But we are done crying over spilled milk. We are trying to move on - adapt. And kids, you kids from the Class of 2020 - you need to do the same. Some are saying this is the new normal, others are saying it is not. Whatever it is, we need to go on. One step at a time.

Dr. Tom Frieden, the former head of the CDC, was on the news yesterday. His take on this virus was about as crystal clear as many of us have. When asked if things will get better this summer, he said, "It might." When asked if the dreaded second wave was coming next fall and winter, he said, "It might". He did say this however. As little as we know about this virus, we do know it is ten times deadlier than the flu, and ten times easier to catch. When asked about Project Warp Speed, and if it would be our panacea, his opinion was, "This is a good thing to do". Will it work? His answer was, "We hope so. But we have to choice but to try it."

Every time I hear stuff like what Frieden said, I want to go over to Wuhan, and kick some of those Chicom virologists in their junk. And I mean kick them hard! Remember, all this pain, all this suffering, all this death, all this inconvenience, all these missed opportunities - are the fault of the Chicoms. Not a bat, not nature, not happenstance - it was the negligence of the Chicoms. 

Now for the Class of 2020. We, the generations that preceded you, feel bad for you. However, you will be the first to graduate and venture out into this new landscape. That makes you trailblazers of sorts. This is the world the Chicoms have broken, and it will be up to your generation to help fix it. I know, I know - this is not fair. You got screwed. Just remember who it was who did the screwing. Never forget that. 

As for the rest of us, the ones older than the Class of 2020 - we will work with you, side by side. We will work to fix the broken, and to live our lives as best we can, while still be stalked by this virus which could either be real bad, or just sort of bad. We do know it is bad enough to put 315,000 people in their graves (worldwide) just this year. And about 1/3 of those deaths are Americans. This is why we all have to fix what is broken. 

"Light-headed" in Illinois

"Walz, Evers, Whitmer, Pritzker, Lightfoot - DEMOCRATS all. And all are clueless tyrants. If we want to get a handle on running these states well again, and fighting the good fight against COVID - 19, we need to clean house."

I was going to finish up how our neighbors are doing in these COVID days with addressing Michigan, but I just could not resist taking a trip to Illinois. No offense to Iowa and North Dakota - I have not forgotten you. But how you are doing as compared to Minnesota and Michigan is, well, really not that newsworthy. In other words, those two states are doing as well as can be expected. But Illinois, with DEMOCRAT Governor Pritzker and Lori "Lightheaded" Lightfoot, the DEMOCRAT Mayor of Chicago, are a pair to draw to.

First off, I am not going to mention that Illinois is going bankrupt. Nor that Cook County is the corruption county of America. Nor that Chicago has turned into nothing more than a drug infested shooting gallery, with a sky high death toll. Covered all these topics before, many, many times. But I would like to see how the DEMOCRAT Governor and the DEMOCRAT Mayor of Chicago are handling this COVID - 19 crisis.

Illinois with just under 13M residents, has over 90,000 confirmed cases of COVID with over 4,100 deaths. How does that compare to Minnesota, who by the way, is doing lousy so far? Minnesota, with 45% of the population of Illinois, has 15,000 confirmed cases and 700 deaths. 

But now we come to Lori "Lightheaded" Lightfoot. How is Chicago doing? Chicago has about a third of the reported COVID cases in Illinois with just over 2,500 deaths. That is worse than the Twin Cities of Minnesota (by a long shot), but better than the 20,000 deaths in NYC (by a long shot).

That being said, and with all these stats, why am I focused on the DEMOCRAT Mayor of Chicago? Because she is clueless. Reckless and clueless. Last weekend, was a typical week for violence in Chicago. 64 shot and wounded, with 10 killed. So what was "Lightheaded" the most concerned about? Social distancing in Chicago, while Illinois suffers through Pritzker's endless shutdown.

So, how is that shutdown working Governor? Chicago is paying way too much attention to it, while the carnage continues. The "Lightheaded" Mayor of Chicago has proven time and time again, she has NO control over the crime in the largest city in Illinois. The state is still going belly up, and Cook County is the biggest reason for it. So, the recipe for Illinois has been simply this - spend money like crazy with revenue drying up, let Chicago continue to rip itself apart with drug and gun violence, and watch the COVID death toll be one of the largest in the Midwest.

Walz, Evers, Whitmer, Pritzker, Lightfoot - DEMOCRATS all. And all are clueless tyrants. If we want to get a handle on running these states well again, and fighting the good fight against COVID - 19, we need to clean house. Get rid of the tyrants running these fine states. Elect normal adults who understand liberty and freedom.

A famous quote attributed to Ben Franklin is, "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety". Man oh man - have we seen this quote come true this year! The blue tyrants running some of our midwestern states have stripped their citizens of much of their liberty, and yet the virus keeps winning the day. What then am I saying? Once again - elections have consequences. Remember that in November.     

Michigan's Queen of Mean

"The American people elect leaders to lead them - not control them. And Gretchen Whitmer - you are the worst of the worst. Shame on your pettiness. You really are the Queen of Mean"

When I was a youngish lad, my Dad had a favorite expression. He would use it when he say someone who looked real nasty. He would say, "Son - that is one mean looking sucker!" Most often, it was my experience when someone looked mean and nasty, they usually were. Once in a while it was not the case - but most times, it was.

Whenever I see or hear Gretchen Whitmer (DEMOCRAT) Governor of Michigan on the news, I either think of what my Dad would say, or I would think of the Wicked Witch of the West. This woman is beyond the pale (or in the case of the Wicked Witch - the pail!). What she did to that poor older gentleman, that 77 year old barber who was just trying to survive, was out and out tyranny. But tyranny seems to be Gretchen's middle name these days. 

Karl Manke needed to keep cutting hair to get some revenue to survive. That is all. Plus, his loyal customers for decades, needed hair trims. So Karl ignored the fiat order of this Queen of Mean, and kept cutting hair. He was warned to stop, but he kept on cutting. Then this tyrannical dictator did the unthinkable - she revoked his licence. The license to cut hair he had for just about forever.

Karl said (paraphrase), "Fine. Keep your license. I am going to keep cutting my customer's hair." Then the almighty state of Michigan, under the direction of the Governor threatened to fine him $1,000, and one year in jail PER HAIRCUT! The Queen of Mean wonders why citizens come to the state capitol to protest armed to the teeth. Gretchen! Read your history books! American History! Patriots and citizens DO NOT tolerate tyranny. We have fought wars to eliminate tyranny. We certainly are not going to put up with it from you!

Like Minnesota, whatever Michigan is doing is the wrong thing. Michigan is way, way out of control in fighting this virus. The state is locked down tighter than a drum, and yet they have 50,000 confirmed cases, and over 4,800 deaths. For a state less than twice the population of Wisconsin, Michigan has about 10 times as many COVID deaths. What the what? That makes no sense what-so-ever. 

Some have taken me out to the woodshed for pointing out that red states (for the most part) have much better COVID numbers than blue states. Maybe I won't do that anymore. Instead, I will point out that states run by tyrants (for the most part) have much worst COVID numbers than states run by freedom loving Governors. How so? South Dakota with a freedom loving woman running that state, has 1% of the COVID deaths than Michigan, run by a tyrannical woman. Go figure. 

What I have tried to point out the past few days, is turning your state into a gulag does not help in reducing down the number of COVID cases or deaths. All it does is make a tough situation even tougher. The American people elect leaders to lead them - not control them. And Gretchen Whitmer - you are the worst of the worst. Shame on your pettiness. You really are the Queen of Mean.  

The Wisconsin Party!

"Yesterday, the party of the year was held in Wisconsin. Tomorrow, it might be held in Minnesota and Michigan. We can only hope."  

Poor old Tony Evers. Thrown to the curb by the people in Wisconsin. The people who elected him. Well actually, it was the Wisconsin Supreme Court who threw Tony to the curb. The court looked at this tyrant and said, "You were elected to work for the people, not visa versa. The fiat powers you tried to infuse in your Stay at Home orders, have got to go." And just like that - Tony went from "King of the hill", to just a spectator. He was a spectator, witnessing the biggest party Wisconsin has thrown since the Packers won their last Super Bowl.

First a few facts about Wisconsin which are germane to this article. Wisconsin's population is 5,800,000 - about 100,000 more than Minnesota. The population of Milwaukee - 600,000. Population of Minneapolis and St. Paul together - 730,000. The two states are very similar in so many things. Both states have tons of lightly populated "out state" territory when you get outside the metros. They are so similar in so many things - that is, except for how COVID - 19 has sickened the two states.

Whereas Minnesota has about 13,500 confirmed cases with 663 deaths from COVID - 19, Wisconsin only has 11,300 confirmed cases with 434 deaths. Minneapolis and St. Paul combined have about 500 of Minnesota's deaths, whereas Milwaukee only has about 250. So, just like in the vast differences between the Dakotas and Minnesota with COVID statistics, why then, the differences between these two states (Minnesota and Wisconsin), which look like twins?

Well, whatever. It has already been firmly alleged that whatever Taxing Timmy has done to fight COVID in Minnesota, it is not the right thing. We have been locked up tighter than a drum since this virus thing started, and still we have higher than average numbers.

In Wisconsin, Tony Evers also thought he was doing the right thing. Only the right thing was not the right thing in the minds of many of his citizens. Wisconsin is not the powder keg Michigan is, but still, the citizens and patriots of Wisconsin had enough. How much so? The ink on the paper from the Wisconsin high court was still drying on the paper when the bars in Wisconsin started to open.

Now what do we have in Wisconsin? In the eyes of the patriots and citizens, we are seeing nothing less than freedom. People choosing to be treated like adults, and not children. Are they risking getting the virus by going to the bar and social distancing 6 inches instead of six feet? Maybe. But it is their choice. That is what freedom is all about.

Tony Evers may be wailing about "chaos and wild, wild west" behavior, but that is only because Tony does not "get it". Take a look around Governor Evers - this is what freedom looks like. And if you had taken American History while in college instead of environmental studies, you would know that our history is replete with explosions of freedom and liberty when tyranny is present.

Are you paying attention to what is going on in Wisconsin Taxing Timmy? How about you Gretchen Whitmer, aka the Queen of Mean? Liberty loving people in Minnesota and Michigan are no different than liberty loving people in Wisconsin. Yesterday, the party of the year was held in Wisconsin. Tomorrow, the next parties might be held in Minnesota and Michigan. We can only hope.  

The Minnesota Miracle - Part 2

"I don't know if our state government has learned much from this first wave of the Wuhan Flu. But the people have. They have learned that our liberties are fragile things, and if we are not careful, they can be taken away in a heartbeat."

I bet some who saw the title of this post might be thinking I was going back into yesteryear. Back in time to talk about the Case Keenum pass to Stephan Diggs in the Saints playoff game. Nope. Not that miracle. What I will address this morning is even more of a miracle. Our blessed emperor, Taxing Timmy Walz, is going to let us out in the yard a bit more. Give us a few more privileges. Even allow some retail shops to open up again (with conditions). I was so happy, I was going out to a bar to celebrate. But - Timmy has them closed for the rest of the month.

Many of the gloom and doom medical gurus think opening up might be a big mistake. Also Dr. Bill Gates, who has transformed from Microsoft CEO, to a globalist, and now to a virologist. Gates thinks the world should stay shut down for months. With all of us hiding in our basements (if we have one). But here is where my confusion comes in.

Dr. (a real doctor) Mike Osterholm of the U of M, said we will continue to be attacked by this virus until 70% or so of us are infected. At that point in time, we will collectively develop "herd immunity", and this virus will start to fade into the history books.

If most of us are going to be infected (and please, don't pin your hopes on a silver bullet vaccine), then let's get it over with. Why play duck and cover with something we can't hide from forever? That is, unless you want to only exist, and not live. Stay hidden in your house for months and months (or longer). Don't get me wrong - if I had my druthers, I would not get this crap. Especially at my age (70). But I do not want to spend my golden years hiding from some invisible enemy. Too much life left to live.

As far as I am concerned, Taxing Timmy has already done enough damage to this state. Of the over 600 souls we have lost, over 80% of them have been in LTC facilities. A whole slew of innocent seniors - gone. All because the state did not have the where-with-all on how to protect our LTC facilities against diseases. In fact, it is so bad in Minnesota, we lead the nation (according to Fox News) in the percentage of fatalities in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Taxing Timmy has also done a real job on many of our small businesses. Quite a few have already thrown in the towel. The cracking sound you hear outside, is the sound of fingernails breaking. Those fingernail belong to owners who are hanging on by their fingernails. When the last fingernail breaks, the business goes belly up - forever.

So what exactly is the Minnesota Miracle? Simply that Walz is allowing us to open up just a smidge. Big whoop. Actually, the fact more businesses have not gone under so far is another miracle. However, many are so deeply wounded, when they do open up, they will be on life support. 

I don't know if our state government has learned much from this first wave of the Wuhan Flu. But the people have. They have learned that our liberties are fragile things, and if we are not careful, they can be taken away in a heartbeat.

Oh, the citizens have also been reminded that elections have consequences. Reminded in a big way.