The never ending story....

"This contagion of rail apathy does not only apply to LRT. The Northstar is also a ghost train."

Yawn... I was hesitant to write about this today, but I guess I need to. It is about the train most of us love to hate. The train which typifies the total entropy and mismanagement of Minnesota state government. In the real world, where things operate under a P+L statement, this train would have been dropped like a hot potato, many, many years ago. But in La La Land, (Minnesota government), where the crazies think that money grows on trees, wasting good money after bad is the name of the game.

During the past few days, the cat really came out of the bag. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows when this thing will be completed, or how much it will cost. It is already double what the "experts" thought it would cost, and millions more is needed. And the exact estimate to complete? Your guess is as good as mine.

But there are other things to consider. The entire LRT system is now showing its true colors. Like, nobody wants to ride them anymore. Why not? They are magnets for crime, to start with. The LRT stations have been used for druggies to shoot up in, for the homeless to use as a bathrooms, and feral youth to act like idiots. It is so bad, that one of the uptown LRT stations just got partially shut down. Why? For reasons I just pointed out. The Met Council does not have enough cops to keep the children under control. So, they shut it down.

This contagion of rail apathy does not only apply to LRT. The Northstar is also a ghost train. Many times the Northstar is seen going by an intersection, headed downtown. And it is empty. The very expensive transit hubs, built to accommodate the hoards of people expected to take the Northstar - now also sit empty.

This experiment to build Euro style of trains, crisscrossing the Twin Cities has been a failure. A very, very expensive failure. So, will we stop building these things? Na. In state government, we love spending other people's money. We love it, no matter how bad of an "investment" it is.   

 

"Write them a nasty letter!!!"

"Do I think the Russians really want to mess with us, while they are getting their butts kicked by Ukraine? Who cares? Senator Rounds summed up what many of us normals are feeling right now. 'I'm pissed off!', the Senator said. Ditto, ditto and ditto again." 

Back in the days of Barack Obama (who could ever forget those days?), when something bad happened which would usually would result in some kind of United States response, Obama would write the offending country a stern letter. And then after the letter? Nothing. Nada. Crickets. This is all part of the Barack Obama "leading from behind" strategy. How would guys like Putin respond? Shaking in his boots.

Well okay Barack. We will see your nasty letter, and raise you one. Under Joe Biden, Air Force General James Hecker summed up our outrage at the loss of our MQ-9 Reaper Drone, which was downed by a Russian SU-27. Ready for this one? Hecker told the Russians, the loss of our drone by Russia was "reckless, environmentally unsound, and unprofessional." No - wait. This is a joke, right? We did not really chide the Russians for soiling the ocean with jet fuel? Did we really tell them this was environmentally unsound? The Russians, who every day, foul the air over our planet by bombing Ukraine and burning their buildings? I bet the Russians were thinking Hecker was trying to out-comedian Zelenskyy. That Hecker response was almost funny.

Fortunately, we were in international waters. Wait - would that not then be an act of war? Yes. But we were able to bring down our drone in international waters so our Navy ships could retrieve it, right? Not exactly. Why not? Because Biden, not wanting to offend the Russians, pulled all our ships out of the Black Sea a long time ago. There our drone sits, in international waters, just waiting for a Russian ship to retrieve it. SHM... 

Senator Rounds, who is not a "lead from behind" fan, had a better solution. The Russians took down our drone. We put up three drones to replace it. We also tell the Russians that our drones operate in international waters, and if this happens again, there will be serious consequences. 

Do I think the Russians really want to mess with us, while they are getting their butts kicked by Ukraine? Who cares? Senator Rounds summed up what many of us normals are feeling right now. "I'm pissed off!", the Senator said. Ditto, ditto and ditto again. 

We are close to war folks. A small spark like what happened yesterday in the Black Sea is just one example of the match which could start the fire. Pray for peace, but prepare for war. Make that 3% increase in our proposed defense bill five times higher. We will need it. And take all those diversity and inclusion dollars out of the budget. We DON'T need any more of that crap!

Self loathing in Minnesota

"As you can see, the normals do not fit into this crazy mixed up state. At one time we did. But not now. And it is not just the people in St. Paul - it is the people who elected them."

I guess I hate myself. I am rotten to the core. How do I know? I am a racist. A sexist. A xenophobe. A homophobe. You name it, it is me. I need to do something - anything, to feel better about myself. You see, I live in Minnesota. Conquered land. Land which was made great by white men, who owned copious numbers of enslaved people, also committed genocide on the indigenous people who owned this land. Therefore, we have stolen honor, just for living here. Shame on all of us!

This is the kind of crapola which is peddled in St. Paul, each and every day the legislators are in session. We bad, therefore, we will pay. In fact, not only will we pay, we will turn a blind eye to immigrants who are stealing us blind. How so? Try on "Feeding our Future". Of the 60 who have been charged so far, all but a couple are immigrants. Together they have fleeced us for $250M. How could they do that right under our eyes? Because we are easy. Fish. Dupes. And in the eyes of the leftists, we probably deserved it anyhow, as we are xenophobic.

How bad did "Feeding our Future" get? One defendant (immigrant) billed the government for $3.5M to feed over 2,500 children meals in Pelican Rapids, MN. Nice try. Seems the total population of Pelican Rapids is only 2,500. Upon investigation, there was no food, and no children - only graft. How was this able to go on as long as it did without being outed? I don't know. Ask a Democrat.

One of the Republican legislators was on the radio today. His words were the same as many of us feel. The Democrats are trying to drive the normals out of this state. By introducing legislation, and then having Walz sign, things which are so crazy, so outlandish, it will cause many normals to throw in the towel. Move to a more normal state. 

Most normals don't buy what the crazies are selling. We are not bad people, no matter how many aspersions the crazies throw at us. We are not secularists. We love and honor our God. We believe in the sanctity of life. We believe a man is a man, and a woman is a woman (DUH!). We believe when the government taxes too much and there is a surplus, that is the people's money - not government money. 

As you can see, the normals do not fit into this crazy mixed up state. At one time we did. But not now. And it is not just the people in St. Paul - it is the people who elected them. With all the crap going on in St. Paul, there are no protests from the public. Just apathy. Why? We deserve it. We hate ourselves. We have self loathing in Minnesota.  

Is our Navy becoming a "Canoe Club"?

"Is our Navy becoming a 'Canoe Club'? Not hardly, but there is still work to do. To keep the sea lanes free and open, we need to be the world's 'cop on the water'. Time is not our friend. We need to get going. How fast? Very fast."   

Not coming close to meeting recruitment goals. Over half our young people not being fit enough for the armed forces. A GFY 24 budget with the armed forces only getting a 3% increase, when the inflation is double that much.

Today, the Atlantic has published an article asking if America has now ceded control of the oceans. In other words, are we headed towards expansionist, dictator countries, claiming large swaths of international waters, as their own. Should that ever happen, it would be a bleak future for many.

When Ronald Reagan was first running for President, he was alarmed at the state of our Navy. He made a pledge that if elected, he would re-build our Navy to a 600 ship fleet. And when Reagan was elected, it was "all hands on deck" for our government contractors. Our Navy was re-built under Reagan, and stood proud for decades. But that was then, and this in now. Joe Biden could not give two poops and a holler about the state of today's Navy. And we have never been in so much peril from the world's bad guys.

About 150 years ago, a Navy Captain named Alfred Thayer Mahan penned an article in the Atlantic called The United States Looking Outward. Mahan argued that without a strong Navy, soon our oceans could become constricted to trade and commerce. A strong Navy was vital to a strong America. He was right. He was right back then, and he would be right today.

For Joe Biden to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to what is happening in the South China Sea, what could be happening in the Atlantic from the spillover from the Ukraine conflict, and the turmoil which is going on just off the Korean Peninsula, having a strong Navy is just as important today as it was during World War II.

Today we need more ships in number, and each of those ships must be build to fit a purpose. Today's threats at sea are not the same as they were during World War II. Not the same they were during Viet Nam. Not the same they were during the Gulf Wars. Today's stand off, hypersonic environment, calls for new thinking with new defenses. To sink one of our carriers, with 5,000 sailors on board, would be a dream come true for the bad guys. 

It is time we ran the "wokesters" out of the DOD. We need clear thinkers and big budgets to fight off today's threats. More than numbers of ships, we need ships with so many capabilities, so much firepower, it will give any foe of ours - pause. Ronald Reagan's dream was having a military so strong, so fearful, he would never have to fire a shot. "Peace through strength" worked very well, thank you. Now we have the Obama/Biden "lead from behind" strategy. How is that working? Ask someone from Taiwan. They are living in dreadful fear.

We recently saw an example of Russia's hypersonic missiles as they reigned down on cities in Ukraine. The air defenses of Ukraine were over matched by the hypersonics. My greatest fear, is if push came to shove, our carrier battle groups could also find themselves overmatched by a wave of hypersonics. How bad could it be? Game, set, match and over. To lose a carrier, would be devastating for our Navy as well as our country. 

Someone needs to wake sleepy Joe up and remind him the real enemies of this country are not the Republicans (or MAGA anything), the real enemies are all around us. They delight in our fascination with climate change and woke. Why? As we fiddle, the bad guys are going to town with their defense funding. I mean, don't look now, but China has built a Navy on par with ours. Soon it will be bigger (and maybe better) than ours.

Is our Navy becoming a "Canoe Club"? Not hardly, but there is still work to do. To keep the sea lanes free and open, we need to be the world's "cop on the water". Time is not our friend. We need to get going. How fast? Very fast.   

Do I play well with neighbors?

"Donald Trump may not have been Putin's puppet, but Trump did have Putin's ear. And maybe his fear. Whatever it was, it kept Putin and Russia in check while Trump was President. Now look at Putin. Putin hates Biden, and hates the United States."

Here is the most important question that Joseph Biden should be asking himself these days. We already know he has an anachronistic viewpoint of how our economy should be run. And because of that viewpoint, our economy is being ruined, not run. But as hard as it is, let's forget that for just a bit. When Joe was running against Donald Trump, he advertised himself as a cosmopolitan type of leader. A man for all seasons. A man who could get along with everybody. I guess he was wrong. He needs to look in the mirror and get some perspective.  

Donald Trump may not have been Putin's puppet, but Trump did have Putin's ear. And maybe his fear. Whatever it was, it kept Putin and Russia in check while Trump was President. Now look at Putin. Putin hates Biden, and hates the United States. We are on the threshold of World War III, and every month things just seem to get worse. Classic fail.

North Korea? Donald Trump was inches away from making some great headway with "Rocket Man". But that was then, and this is now. Kim has zero time for Biden, and is holding drills on how to invade South Korea. He is itching for a reason to unleash his "toys" in the western Pacific. The entire Korean Peninsula is a tinderbox right now, and getting more so by the day.

China? Worst relations that I can remember. Biden and Xi are barely talking, and we are getting closer and closer to absolute evidence Covid came out of Wuhan. But Xi does not care that we know that. He does not care we might try to stop him from taking Taiwan. Why not? He knows Biden is a wussy. Slow to act, slower yet to react. So long as China thinks our POTUS is weak and indecisive, the entire South China Sea will be in danger. And Taiwan is in mortal danger.

How is NATO doing with Biden as President? Most countries are still under the 2% of GDP dues. Of all the countries which can afford it, Germany is about 1/2 percent short. Donald Trump really blasted NATO right in front of them. He said if NATO does not contribute what they owe, what good is NATO? But that was then, and this is now. Biden does not care how much NATO contributes. Why? The United States continues to be the lion's share of support. Is there shame being put on the laggard countries of NATO? Not much.

Bottom line? The world saw Joe Biden in action during our retreat from Afghanistan. Friends and foes alike, had a front row seat. To the world, Biden is a dawdling old man, who runs and hides to his basement in Delaware. To normal Americans, he has been a one man wrecking ball to everything which once did work in this country. My grade for Joe Biden after 2 years as POTUS? What is lower than an "F"?

   

Joe's fuzzy math

"There. Now try on a budget with some guts, rather than the same old, same old. Budgets like the one Biden is proposing, is as worn out as Biden's 50 year old shoes. Time for some new thinking. Time for some new representation. Time to move forward, and not be stuck in the tar." 

Here is the conclusion I have come up with. Joe Biden, does a lot better when he is explaining his budget math to morons. Why do I dare say such a thing? The "Big Guy" who may have taken millions of kickback dollars from overseas sources without paying a dime in taxes, somehow thinks that higher income Americans and corporations, "don't pay their fair share". Huh?

Here is the truth as I see it. Most higher income Americans (unless they are drug runners or "Big Guys"), use the current tax laws to pay their taxes. They have hired skilled accountants, who know how to reduced down their clients taxes, to the lowest LEGAL amount. The same is true to corporations. They pay their lowest LEGAL amount. You know, the tax laws that Congress came up with. You know, the Congress that Biden spent over 30 years of his life in.

But hold on Bird! Okay, so the anticipated revenue sources are a bit sketchy, how about the spending? The stuff most normals are interested in? Like, our defense budget, so we can keep pace with the drain of Ukraine, as well as prepping for China's invasion of Taiwan? I mean, Joe did put a 3% increase for military in his budget. What is wrong with that? Nothing, expect our inflation rate is now over 6%. That means a 3% increase, is really a 3% cut. DUH!

In our old neighborhood, one of my neighbors had a name for neighborhood kids who did stupid things. He called them "supidos". Joe Biden, this budget shows that anyone who helped you put this thing together is indeed a "stupido". But guess what Joe? Most of us normals out here, are not "supidos". In fact, we are pretty smart. We can read between the lines. We can count the stiches on a fast ball. And we can sure the heck see a pile of goo when it is presented as an annual federal budget.

Now go back and try again. Only this time, try this on as a recipe. 1) No tax increases on anybody. If anything, tax cuts. Including tax cuts on corporations. 2) An increase in defense spending of 5%, in real dollars after inflation. 3) Zero percent increase in any social spending. Use leftover Covid dollars, if needed. 4) Sunset the current Medicare and Social Security system five years from now. In those five years, replace them with sustainable programs which are not "Ponzi schemes". 

There. Now try on a budget with some guts, rather than the same old, same old. Budgets like the one Biden is proposing, is as worn out as Biden's 50 year old shoes. Time for some new thinking. Time for some new representation. Time to move forward, and not be stuck in the tar. 

The "state" of Mexico

"If someone asked me to sum up Mexico in one word, that word would be 'mess'. They are a lousy neighbor. They are a petri dish for drug traffic. And don't get me started on human trafficking. We can clean up Mexico, and they don't even need to thank us for doing it."   

Just what kind of state is Mexico right now? Or what "state" is it in? Is it a narco-state? A failed state? Or is it in a state of confusion? Or is it just a mess. A lawless empire. The wild, wild west. Whatever ails Mexico, is now seeping over the border, as well as putting our citizens in danger when they visit Mexico.

Yesterday, someone from the State Department said we should consider the entire country of Mexico as being "Code Red". There is no place in Mexico which is safe. Not border towns, not the sea ports, no place. When we were cruising back from Hawaii in December, the last stop was a Mexican port. We stayed on the ship.

Of the 110,000 drug deaths in the United States last year, it is estimated that 70,000 were from Fentanyl. Fentanyl coming from China and then into Mexico, and then smuggled over the border. And what are we doing about it? Nothing. Our President, who is the worst President in the history of Presidents, has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to this mega problem. Meanwhile, a man I was doing some volunteer work with yesterday, told me he recently lost his oldest daughter to Fentanyl poisoning. Yes, Fentanyl has found its way from Mexico, all the way up to the sleepy little town I live in.

Now comes the hard part. Lindsey Graham and others, want to light up the cartels using the full force and might of our military. We have involved our military before, when the narco-thugs were using Columbia as their base of operations. It worked. When my wife and I visited Columbia a few years ago, many of the locals were telling us how wonderful Columbia is to live in now, that the drugs were gone. Where did the drugs all go? Try Mexico.

What would I do, if I were President? First, lock down the border, tighter than a drum. The fact that Mexico is a huge trading partner is too dang bad. Then I would send the drones over the border, loaded with Hellfire missiles. If Mexico cannot deal with their drug problem, we will do it for them. We don't need to send it troops - our drones do the job just fine, thank you.

If someone asked me to sum up Mexico in one word, that word would be "mess". They are a lousy neighbor. They are a petri dish for drug traffic. And don't get me started on human trafficking. We can clean up Mexico, and they don't even need to thank us for doing it.