Author: The Chief

The 400 Million Qatari Mistake

I guess I’m anti-Trump now right?  You know the right-wing folks who worship the ground he walks on. The same folks who endorsed Lyin’ Ted the first go round. Now, Trump can do no wrong in their minds.  I’m not anti-Trump, I just want to point out some things about this new Air Force 1 jet “donation.” 

First, the existing Air Force One has to be over 30 years old or close to it.  The president and other dignitaries fly on this jet. Frankly it may no longer be safe and is likely at/close to the end of its useful life.  Simply put, I do not want anyone of importance on that jet any longer.  We need a new one.

Why don’t we have a new one?

Well, Boeing got the contract. It was very likely “no bid” due to Boeing being the “American manufacturer” of airplanes.  Boeing, as per usual, cannot complete a project on time and on budget, so it’s delayed delivery of the new Air Force One for a very long time.  (I think it was supposed to be delivered during Trump’s last term.) Who knows? With that company’s track record, it may not be ready until 2050.  Even if it is ready, will it be safe?  Again, look at the track record recently.

Why am I calling it a mistake taking a “free” Air Force One?

Optics.  William will tell you I am a big optics guy.  Don’t tell me it’s free or you got a great deal or the best deal lay out the actual cost.  There is something else going on here in my opinion and I do not see how I can be wrong.  I hope I am …

Why?

I simply do not trust anything out of that part of the world.  Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Yemen, Oman … doesn’t matter to me.  They have so many petrol dollars they can play all over the world as far as influence and investments go.  A rumor circulating the interwebs was Qatar was paying now AG Pam Bondi $119,000 a month as a lobbyist years ago.  A month! Some of these countries even blockaded Qatar for a while due to their alleged ties to terror organizations.  While the blockade has ended, I do believe most of these Arab nations have been funding proxy attacks on the US forces and Israel.  Sure, Iran is behind them as well, but I think these countries want instability in the area. 

Why instability?

The US has a very large air force base in Qatar.  Al Udeid airbase is where we stage most of our Middle East operations.  If we were to attack Iran or another terror group in the Middle East, it would be launched from there.  Qatar is an oil rich nation that really doesn’t have a military, they rely on us to defend them.  As a result, we get to use this airbase.  We also use it to attack many groups funded by these nations such as the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah to name a few that are active in Yemen, Gaza (or Palestine I guess) and Lebanon.  I fully believe these nations fund the terrorists, so we stick around to provide defense here.

A $400 million plane for a defense agreement?  Really?

No, not in the slightest.  There is a lot more to this than meets the eye.  I think it is interesting that now President Trump wants the sanctions removed on Syria. Granted NATO ally Turkey led a coalition to overthrow the government of Syria, but that was very recent, only a couple months ago.  Now we are going to lift all sanctions?  Turkey is a Muslim nation like the others I named above, in my opinion they look out for themselves far before they look out for others.  Case in point; Turkey has supplied Ukraine with drones for use in the war but has also not abided by sanctions against Russia.  They are very much like these gulf countries in that they play on both sides.

Let’s be honest here, how much do we know about Syria’s new government?  We know nothing, it’s to soon.  Like any government that is overthrown, we always assume it’s for the better.  That is rarely the case.

I also think this has implications for Israel.  This could be bad or good depending on your thought process/ideology.  It is very odd timing that the last “American hostage” was released by Hamas later that day after this “deal” went down.  I say odd timing because I think Qatar spoke for all Arab countries with that jet …. I think Bibi Netanyahu is about to fire his last missile/attack into Gaza.  Those countries are getting tired of him and Israel, but specifically his warmongering policy.  I think there will be a resolution here soon.

Yes, I think the plane was a bribe …. maybe not in the traditional sense but they bought a lot of influence.

In closing, ask yourself this fellow republicans/conservatives, if Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton accepting this plane, what you would say what?  Don’t answer. You and I already know the answer. You would be outraged.  I am willing to let this play out, but I think Qatar just bought one hell of a lot of influence with President Trump.  And if there is one thing the Trumps love, its money/expensive things.

The Chief

Why did the US Birth Rate Decline? Blame Gen X

Recently you may have seen reports about the birth rate in the United States plummeting big time. But in case you have been living under a rock or just watching cable ‘til your eyes bleed, it’s getting bad. The unquestionable truth is Millennials and Gen Z are not getting married and those who do tie the knot are not having kids. It’s so bad Trump has floated the idea of a $5000 payment if you have a kid(s). Allow me to explain the position below, if you think everything is fine then enjoy your favorite sports league, political commentary show, drama series, or soap opera as it is likely going to start soon and you better not miss it! Remember you pay $300 or so a month for it… get your money’s worth.

Bloggers note: The numbers and figures I’m using here are a low-ball numbers, obviously different professions/vehicles/cost of living area’s will vary. It’s a point not a thesis.

Insurmountable debt: Let’s face it, that college mom and dad forced you to attend didn’t come cheap. You have damn near 6 figures in student loans. You just found out the Department of Education is not forgiving them, so you have to work. Oh, and it’s not a job that pays 100K; its closer to 50K if you are lucky. Then add in a car payment, with the rapid rise in costs due to (cough the plandemic, cough, cough) the payment is damn near $500 a month. Add in about $100 for insurance and that pay check is damn near spoken for. If you have credit card debt, and a great many do… some to the tune of 5 figures, that’s just gravy on top of this mashed potato mountain of debt. The wedding is not going to be free, neither is the kiddo by the way. Now imagine doubling that, ‘cause you know marriage.

Expensive housing costs: I’m not even talking about owning a home, just rent for an apartment/house. You are likely conservatively talking about $2200 a month here. That’s for a studio/1 bedroom type thing by the way. Oh, and that rent will go up by the maximum allowed a year, in my state its about 10% So yeah it gets expensive quickly. Again, this is just the cost for yourself and maybe your wife if she’s ok living like a broke college kid. Oh, and when you do have the child, you need another bedroom right? Check out how much that costs.

Day care costs: Let’s face it, the work from home blarney (cough plandemic, cough, cough) is finally ending. That means you cannot have the baby getting free daycare at home anymore. Get ready to face reality as daycare very conservatively costs $250 a week, likely closer to $350. Add those costs up and suddenly your rent looks cheap. Oh, what’s that you’ve got a second kid on the way!….grab the lube and your ankles this won’t hurt a bit. Don’t believe me, it’s not cheap.

Lack of maternity/paternity care: I’m not talking about getting 6-9 months off here, and not with full pay either. I am saying most businesses offer no or a laughable amount of time off for new mothers/fathers. A friend of mine gave birth and was told “report back to work within 3 days of returning home.” Yeah, she works as a dental assistant. Nice. Her boss even went a step further saying, “back in my day, the wife was a stay at home mom.” More on that horrific statement later. Again no one is saying both parents get half a year paid vacation… but maybe a little empathy here? Cite my household expenses earlier if you need more proof. The kiddo(s) are going to need regular checkups (quite a few) and will likely be getting sick a lot as daycare/preschool is essentially a virus petri dish, so you will need flexibility to take days off. It won’t happen as the system is set up now.

A second income is needed just to survive: The days of only 1 person needing to work are long gone, they are over. Again, cite my expenses above, and try doing that on a one income household. Oh, the kiddo is growing so you will have to constantly be buying new clothes, toys, car seats etc. Hopefully one or both of you have parents in the immediate area to help with the kiddos because you are going to need it. Oh, and by the way, the baby boomers have cut things back over the years, you are going to struggle just to get by.

Baby boomers ruined it: They compare the younger generations to themselves, they put themselves through school… news flash (not the cable TV kind) it was a hell of a lot cheaper for tuition and cost of living was much less. Benefit packages at work included ones actually decent, not garbage, bare bones health plans and crummy time off arrangements. They can afford a mortgage just fine because they locked in a cheap 3% mortgage rate, when they had no kids mind you, because they bought/refinanced 7 years ago. 50K a year used to be a good paying job, now its barely enough to tread water in this economy/world.

Trump’s $5,000 payment to people who have a kid is moronic: Let’s be honest here. The type of people attracted to this kind of thing will be folks at the lower socioeconomic end of the spectrum. I’m not just talking about minorities here and don’t we have enough single parent households as it is? A child born into a low socio-economic situation is very much likely to end up in jail or have a life on the streets. The parents are not going to consider this money to help the child they will do it to spend on themselves. Keep in mind $5000 is also not incentive to get the upper middle and upper class to have kids. Technically those are the ones we need to have kids, not the folks at the bottom of the spectrum.

Planned “Parenthood”: Aborting the number of babies we have been didn’t help at all. It actually hurt; it encouraged rampant sex without marriage. No planning at all, just fun, promiscuous lifestyles. Now we are living the end result of allowing numerous babies to be aborted on demand.

Reality is, this has been brewing for a while, increased costs for the younger generations, plus stripped out career opportunities added with bare bones benefits has caused this. Young people now are graduating with damn near $100k student loans, add in the $500 car payment, $2500 rent, groceries, insurance, incidentals and viola a perfect storm. Now imagine tying the knot with someone who owes roughly the same. Now you owe combined student loans that damn near match the amount I borrowed for my house, I got an asset, you got a sheet of paper! Have fun paying all that off while having a kid(s)? No surprise we are where we are. Baby boomers… you created this mess, hopefully one day we get out of it.

The Chief

Trump is/was Wrong on his Tariff Approach

Just for those who are doubting my political allegiance I do support President Trump’s attempt but he is doing it all wrong.  Sadly, this isn’t totally on him, it’s his generation and they are out of step with today’s Americans. 

His “all or nothing” day of liberation approach backfired tremendously.  It’s been said to me, “it’s not hard to herd a couple cats, but herding 10 is challenging, herding 300 is impossible”.  Trump went after literally every country in his bizarre press conference.  The best approach would have been to get our closest allies on board first, then work out from there.  South Korea, Japan, and Mexico would have been my starting point.  South Korea needs our military backing, ditto for Japan (tourism as well), Mexico is a little different but if they don’t want to negotiate add a 3% transaction fee to every US Citizen sending money via wire to Mexico and believe me, they would come to the table quickly. 

I left Canada off that list as relations with them are low, he stupidly keeps saying he is going to annex Canada and is calling them the 51st state.  Saying Wayne Gretsky should be their next governor is equally stupid.  Canada, as a result, has been reaching out to other countries and offering to help make up the difference if the US stops trading with them. 

I would have gone after Vietnam, Philippines, Malayasia, and other southeast Asian countries next.  These countries have a low skilled workforce (for the most part), are typically poor, and like China, rely on slave labor to manufacture goods on the cheap.  I wouldn’t threaten a tariff, I would say we want to invest American dollars in modernization of your production, warehouses, supply chain etc. with the goal being China seeing this and reacting.  China does not want to lose its monopoly on most manufacturing of things, and their close proximity to China, and USA support causes a threat.  Instead, Trump got into a d**k measuring contest and now China is lobbying those countries not to listen to us.  Again, it’s the way he did it, not why he is doing it.

The European Union should have been the second easiest sell, it backfired as well.  Some of this is due to his picking fights with NATO as most countries in the EU double as NATO countries.  The EU has also turned to Canada and China to help fill the void.  In this case I do heavily blame Trump, the EU is very similar to the US in that it has a very aging population not interested in working in factories, this should have been an easy deal to close. 

In closing Trump may think he is the greatest deal maker of all time, his problem is his bullying persona rubs people the wrong way.  He showed his hand in his first term and now other countries are prepared for it.  The bully does his best work picking on the smallest and most vulnerable and moving on from there, it creates fear and apprehension.  When you try to pick on everyone at once, if someone(s) stands up to you, most of the rest will follow suit and then you are stuck.  His tit for tat with Canada looks really foolish now, and while warranted, his comments regarding NATO and the Ukraine/Russia war are doing him no favors.  He has been reduced to begging Xi Jinping to call him to get a deal done just to save face. 

He got played because he never realized he didn’t have a card hand to bluff with.  Other countries know America is a deeply divided nation we tend to go back and forth between which party controls the White House/Congress nothing is forever here.  In the current climate of Executive Orders, if the other party takes the White House, the predecessor’s orders are erased before lunch is served on Inauguration Day!  Most politicians only desire to be re-elected, not pass legislation, company executives only care about cutting expenses and stock prices, and no one in America wants to work in a factory!  Also, our employment/wage laws are arcane compared to other countries.  Look at CA alone, $20-hour minimum wage in fast food, mandatory overtime after 8 hours in a day, double time after 12, anything over 40 hours a week is overtime, mandatory breaks and lunchtime.  Compared to slave wages and labor in other countries, the input price won’t get lower here.  Also check out our environmental laws compared to most countries we are trying to barter with?  It’s a lose/lose proposition. 

I hope this works, but even if he negotiates a better deal, I just don’t think we will see the benefits.

Sadly, NAFTA and environmental/labor laws killed any chance of the jobs coming back.

Can We Fix the Homeless/Mental Health Crisis? Yes

We, as a society, can all admit one thing, we have a massive growing crisis in homelessness, specifically folks with major mental health issues.  When I reference mental health issues here, I’m not talking about the folks who begged a doctor to be put on a pill, I’m talking specifically about the ones you see in bigger cities.  More specifically the ones on the streets with no family/friends/support system in place. 

A couple disclaimers here for the brainwashed on both the left and right. 

I think we can all agree that the sanitariums were filled with horror and abuse while still recognizing the need for proper mental healthcare.  Closing these hospitals to send folks to the streets was not humane or compassionate.  I will add Reagan was likely not at his best when it came to this, but after seeing the photos, I do not blame him for shutting them down. (See also O’Connor v. Donaldson 1975—Editor)

In addition, when I suggest bringing back these sanitariums, they are not for the child with autism, or the guy with a Trump bumper sticker. I’m talking about the person who is an obvious threat to themselves or others.

To understand this problem fully, you must grasp what actually causes it.  Mental health and drug/alcohol addiction are two of the biggest causes, understandable they are not mutually exclusive.  The next two are exiting both the foster care system and prisons.  Again, those are not mutually exclusive. 

The mental health part is some people need real help, and their parents/family are tired of trying.  They turn 18 and leave the house.  The person does not seek treatment or keep with treatment leading to life on the streets.  Drugs and alcohol, specifically dependance on both, are another leading cause.  There is a reason marijuana was called a gateway drug by law enforcement, it leads to cocaine, meth, or other harder drug use.  How many times have you been witness to a homeless person coked out of their mind on hard drugs/booze stumbling back and forth between the sidewalk and oncoming traffic or “acting the fool” as the kids say?  They vandalize, defecate, urinate, destroy, and take over public areas and become a nuisance.  Sadly, none of the above are enforceable/jailable offenses because we have decriminalized so much in this country.  Prison is not the answer anyway, treatment is, but in states like California, unless it’s ordered by a judge, you can simply sign yourself out and away you go.  Exiting prison and the foster care system again likely leads someone to unsavory things such as drugs and alcohol abuse.  At 18, you are no longer a foster kid, and the government money quits coming in.  For the incarcerated, they likely do not have family that want them around so to the streets you go.  In both cases finding a roof over your head or employment will be hard.  Again, you take up unsavory things and get hooked.  Alcohol and drugs make you dependent, you lose the ability to function without them, then you seek out higher doses or newer, stronger euphoria’s. 

Do not get me wrong, city leadership is also a massive contributor to the mental health/homeless crisis.  San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento to name a few in California, have embraced these types and allowed them to destroy the once proud cities they were.  Try going to Golden Gate Park or Civic Center in San Francisco, you will find the world’s largest open air drug market stuffed with addicts hunched over on the sidewalk.  Try coming to Sacramento and walking down K or L Streets just beyond the new basketball arena, and several blocks from the State Capital.  You are taking your life into your hands at all hours of the day or night.  It’s scary and not safe.  Last week I was there, a mentally ill homeless person had a switchblade in his hands, crisscrossing between traffic threatening folks.  Yup.

So how do we fix this you ask?

I think every hospital should be required to have a mental health and wellness floor.  The Methodist (Dignity Health) hospital in south Sacramento does.  I understand fully this would be funded by taxpayer dollars, in no way do I want to see government grow in size but realize this is the private sector with a small bit of government oversight.  The hospital already has people capable of caring for these folks and they want to see the treatment through then discharge the person AT THE APPROPRIETE TIME!  Take two and call me in the morning, or we held you for the 48 hours needed to satisfy the judge, hasn’t worked and doesn’t work.  Time to try something else.  I understand some people likely will never walk out, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

No more Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in this issue.  This is nothing more than a grift for the local elected, their families, or relatives.  Setting up tiny home communities seems like a good idea, but it is only giving the crackheads more blow.  Ditto for “needle exchanges” and the like.  These people just profited on the backs of those in the most need.

Put aside your political, religious and pre-existing beliefs about this issue.  Trust me republican readers, there are folks with these issues in rural areas, they just get swept up and sent to the bigger cities since they “have the infrastructure to help them.”  Trust me democrats you know the big cities are buying Grey Hound bus tickets to “pass them along” to other cities as well.  Both sides get over yourselves.  One can also be a compassionate Christian/religious while also agreeing some people are far too gone to be allowed to live in civilized society.   What did you do for your aging parents/grandparents?  When they could not drive anymore you became their ride, when unable to take care of themselves, they transitioned from their home to a senior living system.  It’s not cruel, it’s a matter of life. At some point someone else may need to carry the proverbial cross.  Just because this didn’t work 50 years ago doesn’t mean it cannot work now.  Let’s try something slightly different, rather than a sanitarium, make it a floor in an actual hospital!  That means oversight from hospital administrators and actual doctors, not a medieval dungeon type of place in a secluded, blighted part of town.  Let’s try something out… maybe my idea is not adequate but at least it’s a plan.

The status quo is failing, and getting worse, some areas are becoming flat out not visitable in this country.

The Chief

PS: One last time for the folks on the far left/right who possess an IQ slightly above room temperature, this does not apply to the homeless person living in their car, the family of 4 living in a tiny home, the person with autism, or the guy with a MAGA hat on.  It’s for the folks way too far gone for conventional treatment.

Why the Trump Tariffs will Backfire

You will have to put the Kool-Aid down for a few minutes for this blog.  For the most part I agree with everything President Trump has done, foreign policy issues notwithstanding.  While I agree tariffs are necessary to even the playing field globally, I think Trump is going about it wrong.

A little history here first.  Every president has punted on the idea of tariffs on foreign nation’s goods except maybe Eisenhower, I as a student of history, think he was going to attempt to try it.  Point being it’s a very hard thing to accomplish.  Politically if it doesn’t work, you will be a one term President (no bother to Trump here) and your party will lose massive seats in the next election.

Here are the issues facing Trump in this uphill climb on tariffs.

His own party:

Let’s face it, the GOP is good at one thing, claiming a principled stance then reversing course a year later.  Check out each government shutdown they created… what did they ever extract?  Yeah, my point exactly.  These coconuts are more concerned with getting re-elected, not the health of the nation.  Their pocketbook, not yours is the goal here.,

NAFTA/CAFTA and other free trade agreements:

These agreements made it, so the manufacturing phase was sent outside the US solely to save money on cheap foreign labor.  The premise here was to keep the input costs down and as a result the trinkets we love to buy are dirt-cheap.  If labor costs rise in say China, close the factory and move to Bangladesh, Vietnam etc. etc.  These trade agreements, unlike most legislative moves today, came through Congress so they likely will need to be reformed/circumvented/repealed.

Cheap foreign labor:

See above, but the point stands, the American worker will cost substantially more, then throw in mandatory benefits (these manufacturing centers will have far more than the minimum to avoid benefits/union forming) suddenly the foreign workers seem better.  The cost of your favorite t-shirt to wear won’t be $20, trust me.

CEO/C-Suite/90-day calendar folks:

These folks do not care about the price of the goods you pay for, they could care less about your livelihood or employment status, they are bean counters.  The reason the above 2 reasons exist is due to these people. They care only about earnings per share/costs and stock price.  That’s all that matters. They get a bonus (except 90 day guys) due to performance.  They moved the jobs out of the US to save labor/benefit costs, then they moved them again due to the ability to save $.01 a share.  It’s the bottom-line only to these losers.  Bringing the jobs back, or the effects of a tariff scare these folks.  Again, a falling stock price leads to “how can we fix this?”

American Consumers:

Let’s face it, we love buying cheap crap.  We do not care where it is made. Let’s again be honest here, we only care when we hear about product recalls and lead contamination etc.  We love buying cheap stuff!  It’s a hard sell to say you are going to pay more but it’s better in the long run. Older generations grew up with Blue Light Specials (RIP K-Mart), dollar stores, and everyday low prices.  It’s a tough sell.

Foreign Customers:

They are a tough sell; it’s a foreign brand to them when we try to sell our products overseas.  They know the names: GM, Ford, Kellogg’s etc. So, we try to buy foreign brands and hide the fact it’s an American company, but I digress.  Most foreign countries are fiercely loyal to their domestic products, and they do not trust foreign ones.  When people argue when they go to Japan its nothing but Toyota, or BMW/Volkswagen in Germany it’s a national pride thing as opposed to a cheapest price thing.  They tariff us to not let us undercut them as well.  Canada and parts of the European Union right now are labeling/removing American goods and putting “buy _______ support local” signs on their goods.

Product Quality:

As stated above we outsource everything to the point quality doesn’t matter.  The Craftsman brand comes to mind, rather than stand for a quality product, its cheaply made crap that will break on you during the first job use.  This is what happens when the idea that costs must always come down.  Foreign and even domestic companies know our products are inferior to theirs.

Globalists:

These folks were the loudest during the Bush years, now they are changing their tune.  The issue for people like me is that it’s hard to take someone like Rick Santelli of CNBC seriously when he is outright flip-flopping on this issue.  Suddenly he cares about the Chinese/foreign cheap labor?  Santelli and his ilk remind me of the older generation, they sent the jobs overseas and were thrilled with cheap costs but now want to do a re-mix because it’s cool.  They saw the jobs leave and now are concerned about the future? Yeah, sure!  It will be hard to sell this to the folks.  Santelli’s final word in an article I read was “Americans will be fine with higher prices on goods” that’s a tough sell to folks when Trump said he would lower the cost of eggs.

Trump is going to have a very hard time closing this deal.  While I am rooting for him, I think he went about it all wrong.  I would have microtargeted a couple countries and gone from there, take a few victories, and move onward and upward. His problem is that he is going to try for the jugular.  While a few countries have potentially given in, most are announcing reciprocal tariffs on our goods.  In other parts of the world China is likely moving in, willing to dump their products and fill the consumption gap.  This could cause a long-term headache, as we do not want China being a massive superpower.

Additionally, American’s do not have much resolve anything.  Turn the clock back a couple generations and buy American was a thing. In the modern day, “Made in USA” means the stickers were put on it here, but not much production is done stateside. Production here is even more outsourced.  Right now, during high inflation/low wage growth/raising prices times, American’s do not have the stomach for higher prices.  At what point do we as a people say, “put it back to how it was!”

Lastly and my biggest point, when your 401k becomes a 104k in the span of about a week, you tend to not like the guy/party in the White House.  It’s one thing to have high prices, it’s another to see your retirement account go away.  Again, I hope this works. It’s nice to have a president who doesn’t do politically correct things, but this is going to be a tough sell.  How long do we watch chaos unfold in the market before we cave?

Major credit to Trump for trying though!

The Chief

Editor’s Notes:

  • It doesn’t help that the financial markets, run mostly buy Democrats, don’t understand what Trump is trying to do.
  • In addition, none in the workforce are old enough to remember when tariffs were used to protect American jobs.
  • NAFTA was the death null of domestic manufacturing and the triumph of globalism.
  • Lastly, when you abort 1/3 of all children in your nation for over 50 years, outsourcing is your only viable option to maintain your lifestyle.

Mental Health Crisis Part 3

In this installment I will lay out a solution to our mental health crisis in the country. I again want to inform folks this part of my series is satirical in nature for one reason; none of these options are likely to ever become law.  In addition, some will likely think I am being overly mean in my commentary. My point of this series is not to attack those with actual mental illness, it’s the cheating scum who doctor shop so they too can ride the crazy train.

No weapons allowed: This applies to the entire household. Junior gets a diagnosis, it doesn’t matter who owns the guns, they must be turned over to authorities.  Any knife that isn’t a serrated blade as well. Too many crazies in the world right now. We have had enough shootings/killings.  Can’t take any more chances.  Nope you cannot keep it in a safe or at a relative’s house. If you’re on a pill or someone in your household is… it’s gone.  This will be made easier when the Sith Lord gets his way and the government maintains a national database for firearm ownership.

Mandatory mental health checkups: once every other week, by a trained, licensed professional.  Again, we cannot take chances here. We never know who the next person will be to open fire on a school/business/church etc.

TV viewing capped at one hour a day. Again, this is obvious. With the average person watching north of 8 hours a day, we cannot have you being brainwashed.  There is reality, and fantasy land, TV is mostly fantasy land.  The news makes people depressed and distressed. Depressed people are the ones who typically go on these rampages.

No more internet privacy: A copy of your browser history will be sent daily to your psychiatric caseworker for review.  Anything flagged will have you remanded to the psycho ward.  The dark web and other rabbit holes create a massive problem in this world. Remember, you are on a pill. You are not normal.  Internet time is also capped at 1 hour daily.  Again, like tv, too much brainwashing going on.

NO alcohol or drugs: legal or illegal. You will be wearing a monitor.  You are on a pill. We need to ensure that nothing interferes with the chemical balance of the body’s systems which the pill is trying to maintain.

Mandatory driving tests twice a year: Behind the wheel.  Unlike being innocent until proven guilty, here you need to prove you can drive safely twice a year.  Heck, have you seen the size/speed of some of these cars lately?  Yikes.

No voting: Again, if you are less of a citizen or crazy… no vote for you.

Mandatory inpatient care: Military style, one weekend a month, two weeks a year.  You are under evaluation, not simply going to a doctor and trying to get out of it.

Obviously the above will never be allowed to happen.  Truthfully, I do not even believe these would ever be voted in. The premise of this series is not to demean the folks who actually do have disabilities as they are actively seeking help.  I am going after the losers in the game of life you see from time-to-time that use the mental health card as a sympathy card.  My opinion is if you want the “benefits” of this condition, you must deal with the reality of our situation.  In the last few mass shootings in the US, it’s been done by a person with mental illness. In many cases, the FBI has been “right on the tail” of the shooter to no avail.  It was too late.  We can no longer take a chance.  This conservative has heard/seen enough of these. If you want to play the card, you must deal with the consequences.  No more shootings.

If these were to pass, watch the number of people with “mental health issues” plummet quickly.  The number of folks popping a “pill” will drop drastically.  Again, be healthy, be well. Put the tv remote down, stop scanning the internet, none of the news is good.  Touch some grass. No, not that kind! Go outside. Be barefoot. Enjoy the world that God made for us and quit being so self-focused and quit sheltering in place to avoid life.

The Chief

Mental Health Blarney Part 2  (Older People)

One disturbing trend occurring lately is the number of older people getting diagnosed with mental health issues.  I work with someone who squealed like a piglet to his urgent care… yes, urgent care doctor, and got put on a pill.  At first, he couldn’t be prouder of himself. He got what he wanted… unfortunately for him, he has no idea that if you mention mental health issues to your doctor he/she/they (for you CA republicans out there) is required to put you on something.  It’s a “cover your butt” for the physician in case you go postal.  I found out later that he told the doctor he picked out the knife to kill himself with. 

Welp, that’s one way to get on a pill. I think they should have held him for several days for a psych evaluation, but oh well.  He then found out he had to see a psychiatrist a handful of times, and obviously this angered him as his healthcare plan didn’t fully cover this.  My suspicions for this center around his likely sighting what he “saw on tv or read somewhere online” as his reasoning to be diagnosed.  If it sounds fishy to you, it likely sounded fishy to his provider, thus he was going to pay for part of it.  I overheard a couple phone calls regarding upcoming appointments and him trying to weasel his way out of them.  Again, he probably read about it or saw it on a fictional tv show but hey, it worked so why not try it right?

Like anything else that generation has become famous for, they want their cake, want to eat it too, then when the bill comes, claim there wasn’t enough frosting, and they shouldn’t have to pay.  It’s pathetic, but here we are.

I do not really get it. When I was young, you didn’t want to be labeled as being mentally unstable, but now it is like a badge of honor or some weird sympathy card.  It’s the latter. They want to play that card when things do not go their way.  It’s wild watching him play the card whenever there is trauma in his life, or he feels like avoiding something, but when things are well, he never mentions it.  The number of people in general claiming to have mental health issues is staggering. As I mentioned in part 1, its literally the go to… like a get out of trouble-free card. 

My favorite part in the saga was when he magically declared himself totally fine and healed and was going to go to this urgent care doctor and get off the pill.  I keep labeling the doctor because, in my humble opinion, the urgent care doctor seems to be a “take this and call your primary care physician if this continues” doctor, not someone who should be prescribing things.  Especially not prescribing/diagnosing mental health issues.  So, I feel this whole thing was an act to begin with.  He went there armed with plenty of internet articles and knowledge gained from various tv series episodes.  His plan likely would have worked, except for the detail about how he had planned on killing himself.  They don’t speak about this in fantasy TV land… no doctor will let you stop taking the pills when you admit that.  Risk is too high in this litigious society we live in.  Imagine the look on his face upon hearing that.  I have a feeling he went doctor shopping after that looking for a yes, but unlike on the latest tv episode, he found no one willing to play ball.

In closing this part, I will say this, how the mighty have fallen!  The same generation that called mine; crockpot kids, dumb, stupid, addicted to their phones, social media whores etc. is now going to be known for trying to get on mental health pills.  It’s bad.  I didn’t think they would go out like this but here we are. The generation that was all about self-individualism, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make something out of nothing, is now trying to get free government pills.  What the heck happened?

The Chief

You Don’t have Mental Health Issues Part 1/3

Disclaimer: This blog is targeting people who “doctor shop” to get diagnosed with a mental health issue, not the good people who actually have a mental health issue.  If you have a real issue, I hope you are able to find affordable help or services for your condition.  I wish only the best for you… to the folks who shopped around for a diagnosis, you are the worst type of people.

I remember as a child growing up, there would be maybe one student/child at school with a learning (mental health) disability.  Again, one whole child at the entire school!  I was always enrolled in private school, which tends to attract more special needs kids because class sizes are smaller, and they usually have a program specifically for them to tailor to their needs. 

As I grew older (High School & College years), suddenly more and more students were taking a pill.  It was typically Adderall which is prescribed to people who have a hard time focusing.  While this could be true, I always thought it was tied to being declared a “mental health issue.”  See, in High School and College, if you had any type of learning disability/mental health issue, you got added benefits other students didn’t enjoy.  Typically, the rules didn’t apply to you anymore. If you were late for class, acted out, etc., you were excused because you were considered a special needs student.  You also got unlimited time on tests/quizzes and got extended deadlines on reports.  It birthed the idea of an IEP (individual learning plan) and lowered an already low bar for education even lower.  Now having a special need is not seen as a liability, it’s seen as having benefits.  The number of “special needs” kids at my high school went from a couple to classrooms full when it came to final exam time.  At first, I thought it was just my generation trying to work the system… boy was I REALLY WRONG!

In my years since graduating, the special needs fraud has gotten far worse.  If you are accused of a crime, it’s now a priority to be declared special needs. Not only does it guarantee leniency, but it also likely results in dropped or dismissed charges.  If you want a medical marijuana card?  Just go doctor shopping, hell my sister got a doctor 3 counties over to issue her a diagnosis for a medical marijuana prescription for her monthly visitor.  NO one in this county or the surrounding ones would issue it, but head to Modesto, swipe your insurance information, and viola here you are.  Smoke and toke like Cheech and Chong, you’re good to go.

Lastly, in the last 10 years, I have no idea what happened.  The people old enough to be my parents started getting in on this.  They see it as the new “race card” that needs to be played when they are cornered.  Suddenly people in their 60s are claiming mental health or “brain fog.”  They shop for a doctor and get put on a pill.

In the next installment I’ll speak about the older generation and “mental health.”

Part 1/ 3.

Hair on Fire Conspiracy Theories Debunked

I have to give Trump a lot of credit, he somehow, someway, he brought all the conspiracy theorists on the right out of hiding.  When you scream “fake news” “false” or “wrong” these are the people you tend to attract. 

Full disclosure: I do agree with the theories he is putting out there; however, I do not feel they are at the level  of fraud that his supporter’s project.

Social Security Fraud: Yes, I firmly believe it is occurring, but not the type that the conspiracy theorists think.  If you think (like they do) a 350-year-old is drawing a check each month, you are crazy.  That is easily caught, and BOTH parties will demand a full review from top to bottom.  The fraud is also not being done in the 80–100-year-old group… again this is too obvious.  To perpetuate large scale fraud, you need a large group spanning several ages.  It cannot be too obvious, or you will get caught.  Get caught and the operation will unravel quickly, the long arm of the IRS and DOJ would love the chance to catch you.  Also, what is never discussed is someone (s) on the inside is/are very obviously involved as well, likely even a couple managers/supervisor types.  Again, this type of large-scale fraud needs to be done with precision, making up/taking over the payments going to 100 something year olds is a good way to get caught.  Oh, by the way, the government really doesn’t like it when you steal their money.  Additionally, no judge or jury will like you stealing from someone’s dead relative.  Use your brain, it might be there, but it is likely not happening at the levels you think it is.

Medicare Fraud:  Musk and his crew should get carte blanche on this, there is a TON.  As laid out earlier, between fraudulent billing schemes and LLC’s, PO Boxes, etc. there is plenty to be found here.  I actually think this should be where they focus.  Pam Bondi (a Troll favorite now btw) is likely all in to go after these characters as well.  This could be a gold mine as the characters committing this fraud tend to be the real bad guys.

Voter Fraud:  The biggest hair on fire conspiracy theory going right now is this.  Had a gentlemen come into my work and claim “California voted for Trump. This person claimed that it was voter fraud that gave California to Harris.”  Yes, read that sentence again.  Yikes!  Then a person who works here claimed “Gavin got recalled, but the voter fraud saved him.”  These two are far too old to know better. They reside in the over 65 group, who in my opinion should be put out to pasture.  I agree we have voter fraud here, but not millions, not even hundreds of thousands, it’s likely low 4 figures by my estimation.  Think about it, in California we may be the largest state by population, but it is so concentrated. Sure, you could drop ballots in; Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, maybe San Francisco and Alameda, but outside of that where?  Same thing in other states, it’s happening but again at what numbers?  Not nearly what they think. 

If you want to go after voter fraud, do not go state by state, it needs to be county by county.  Example: if Sacramento County has 1.2 million people but has 1.5 million registered to vote, that is a problem.  Then drill deeper, after you get access to voter rolls on a “view only” basis, look for an obvious anomaly.  For example, an apartment with 8 registered voters with different last names all with high voter propensity… this would indicate a problem.  Ditto with the house with the same issue.  The key here is to find a crack in the fraud and use a pry bar to open the crack to expose the fraud.  No judge will let you have carte blanche over the voter rolls, this is the only way to try to expose fraud unless we get a Secretary of State that cares about the issue.  It’s been put to me in some counties nationwide there are more registered voters than actual people.  Go to town here, there is your opening.  Once you find a little, it will lead to more.

Most importantly, understand that screaming voter fraud will do nothing. Just look at what happened to Rudy Guiliani, John Eastman, and “The kraken.”  They are done.   National laughing stocks.  You look foolish claiming CA is ground zero for fraud. The democrats always win big here.  If you think Gavin won the recall due to fraud, there may be no hope for you.  If you think a 340-year-old is getting a social security check and so are many others who are 140 years old or older, then you might want to check into a clinic.  It’s happening, but declaring it’s happening on the levels you claim is silly and makes you look like a whacko.

The Chief

Trump Winning is the Left’s Fault

You may have seen the far and center left in shambles lately.  They have no leader. It’s a rudderless, captain-less ship.  He is driving them absolutely bonkers. He attacks from every angle so well it would make Sun Tzu (Art of War author) jealous.  They have no way to defend. The second they go on; MSDNC, CNN, or any other network, he and Musk have moved on more than once.  Schumer just caved on the government shutdown that he wanted.  9 other democrat senators followed.  AOC and others are losing their minds. Trump is living rent free in their heads.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy he was elected. Anyone but Biden or Harris, but if you’re a realist, Trump likely loses to a mentally stable Joe Biden.  Calm usually beats chaos, and Trump is literally a walking daily drama series that evolves minute by minute.

Here are the real reasons Trump won.

  1.  The continued arrests and perp walks.  Sure, the far left and the folks who think Palestine exists and the folks who don’t know which bathroom to used loved this.  You know who didn’t find it funny?  Non-white folks.  They already have an inherit distrust of the police…. and to some extent our government, this didn’t help.  They likely saw the goings on and said, “if they can do that to a rich white man imagine what they will do to us.”  Folks who normally cannot afford a good lawyer.  Check out how Donald did with black voters.
  2. Baseless threats about deporting all non-white folks.  Again, baseless fear mongering.  I do not want illegal immigrants who are picking produce, doing lawn care, etc. being rounded up and sent packing, I want the criminals rounded up.  News flash, most minorities want this too.  Trump isn’t a Nazi… neither is Musk. Sure, they do/say/associate with odd characters but look up what the real Nazi’s believed.
  3. The love/defense of transgender people.  This one baffles me even to this day.  Transgender people make up a fraction of 1% of the world’s population, let alone the USA’s, yet the media and democrats bend over for them.  Tampons in the boy’s room?  “Leah” Thomas competing against women swimmers and winning by a landslide?  Pronouns in an email signature?  Reasonable people do not think highly of transgendered people… minorities even less.  The only groups who support transgendered folks are old white men and women.  Think about it… the group that is likely to vote GOP.
  4. Allowing blatant antisemitism.  Between the college “protests” I use air quotes since we here believe the protestors were mostly paid actors. And the media/Ilhan Omar peddling their BS about Israel, they painted themselves into a corner.  Trust me, Israel is not blameless but allowing college Campi to be turned into ground zero for these whackos did no favors to their cause.
  5. The economy and inflation.  When you cannot afford food and staples, yet the democrats say, “suck it up,” the other party looks more palpable.  Trust me, Trump is no saint, and his lack of transparency with his “plans” is somewhat disturbing. He comes off as someone who will get the job done.  Kamala just cackled and gave word salad answers that would stump even someone with no intelligence.
  6. Attacking white men.  This was a likely reason she lost the popular vote.  It was said in this space, and repeated, I thought Trump would not win the popular vote… I am happy to be wrong.  I think this had more of an effect than people want to believe.  Suicide among young white men and women is the highest it has ever been.  Trump went on Joe Rogan, a very popular podcast with young people, and connected with them.  They feel left behind and hopeless.  Saying you shouldn’t hire white men makes people feel left behind.  Young white men, and likely their not white friends, supported Trump.  Check it out. Gen Z may have saved the country!
  7. Throwing a coup on Joe.  First, they wouldn’t let anyone run against him in the primary (check it out, there wasn’t one) then when it became clear he had to go, they went into the smoke-filled room and chose Kamala.  Believe me, these are the things you see in a third world country with a dictator (an actual one) not in the USA.

In conclusion you may not agree with each point above, but it’s obvious. If they stuck to traditional talking points, spoke about the economy, and wars in Gaza/Ukraine, and made it about them…. Trump likely does not get nominated.  Instead they rigged the GOP Primary and got their guy… only to lose in the end.