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Pepe is a very pleasant young homeless man that I occasionally see in my neighborhood, usually very near the doughnut shop that I visit probably too often . . . says my belt! He would have graduated high school in 2012, but he never actually graduated. When I asked him why he doesn’t get his G.E.D, he said, “No need, as the U.S. is not going to be here for long.” I have no idea what he meant by this, but to my way of thinking this kind of thought process is not normal. I do not think that he is on drugs, and can only think that his bizarre ideas about the future represent some sort of paranoia.

Now keep in mind that even though Pepe never graduated from high school, he appears to be pretty smart. Every time I approach him, he is always either reading paperbacks or reading something on an iPhone. When asked, he tells me what his present book is about, and that he gets his books from the library. These days it is winter, and even though it is San Diego, when I go out at around six in the morning, the temperature is often in the mid-forties, and very occasionally in the high thirties. Without question being homeless is no fun in a place like Chicago where it gets really really cold, but it cannot be pleasant sleeping outside when it’s 45 degrees. I feel bad for Pepe, but when I mentioned that maybe he could get into the program down at Father Joe’s, he wasn’t interested. I again mentioned that he could get his G.E.D. down there, and in the future the G.E.D. might real come in handy. His response, “Why would I need to do that if we are not going to be around that long?”

For years I have avoided commenting on the steadily increasing problem of the homeless in California, and more significantly, to me, in San Diego where I live. I have not commented as I do not have the answer to this problem. 

However, a few months ago, I received a mailer from Scott Sherman, a termed out councilman who was now running for mayor His potential solutions seemed pretty reasonable.

He started out by saying, “In the seven years I’ve been on the City Council we’ve increased homeless spending from $18 million to $102 million for this present year – it’s not working. Compassion without consequences is enabling, and we have people suffering from mental illness or drug addition living on the street. They need our help.” He goes on from there with specific points.

He certainly seems right concerning the obvious failure of our present predominately Democrat City Council’s idea of throwing more and more money at the problem without getting any results in return.

As best I can tell, Pepe is not breaking any laws by sleeping at night in the sheltered area outside the front of the library. However, I feel bad for him, and hoped that Mayor Sherman could do something in the future to change the steadily increasing trend of homelessness in San Diego.

Unfortunately there will be no Mayor Sherman, as he lost, and consequently I see further increases in spending for the homeless in years to come!

What does it take to be a good leader? First off, I think that you have to stick up for those that are under your wing, so to speak. Also it is tantamount that a good leader have the best interests of those depending on him foremost in his mind. Should we call Capt. Brett Crozier, the ex-commander of the air-craft carrier, Theodore Roosevelt, a good leader? Certainly he did break protocol by distributing a memo about the outbreak of the coronavirus on his ship. But why did he do that? To my way of thinking, he did it because he was looking out for those on his ship . . . not his own interest, but the well being of those under his command. He knew that he was going to get his ass chewed, and perhaps lose him command, but he went off the high dive anyway. Hooray for him!

What else does it take to be a good leader? To me, a good leader needs to listen to those who have expertise in areas where he doesn’t. Let’s say that a leader does not have experience in the military, then a good leader will listen to those who have that experience. He may not always agree with what a military-man says, but he will listen. The ultimate decisions will be his. As Harry Truman’s said, “The buck stops here!”

But finally a good leader must be decisive. He cannot pity-pat around. Review the facts. Consider the options, and then act DECISIVELY, as those who are depending on your decision want a good leader to be decisive. Will a good leader always be right? Hell no!

(For those of you who often read what I write, you know what’s coming!)

With this coronavirus pandemic, President Trump is looking out for the health of all Americans, with the emphasis on ALL. He is constantly seeking the advice of those who are the medical experts, and thus far, he is following their advice. Lastly he is. decisive. President Trump May be accused of a lot of things, but indecisiveness is not one of those things.

Luckily, in this time of dramatic turmoil, America is presently blessed with a very good leader – Donald Trump

I know, I know that right off the bat a lot of you are thinking that “brains and Bernie supporters” in the same paragraph is an oxymoron. However, everyone has a brain. It’s just that some of us do not use it. But let’s just go with it, and assume that Bernie supporters can think logically, if they put their minds to it. At this point there may not be another primary, in fact unless things change substantially there may not even be a Milwaukee convention. What are these Bernie fans thinking now that Sleepy Joe now practically has the nomination sewn up? Let’s assume that Biden does get the nomination, and he selects a female, even a female of color to be his V.P. He has stated that if elected he will only serve one term, so if he serves out his four years, who will then be the Democratic nominee in 2024? Logically speaking it will be his V.P., and from the point of view of the Bernie supporters, this will not be someone who has a philosophy similar to Bernie. So far, so good. So does it not make sense that their only hope in 2024 is to have a Bernie-like candidate running for president, and not Biden’s V.P.? The only way to accomplish this is to try to insure that Biden does not win . . . ergo, they will not vote for Joe. It is unlikely, but possible, that they could vote for Trump, but most likely they will probably not vote at all. The good news is that without the votes of the Bernie-ites, (unless something drastic happens) the Dems cannot win in 2020.
If anyone knows any Bernie supporters, pass along this line of reasoning, and hope that they buy it!

I am in the midst of a dilemma. I just read something about the benefits of exercise, and I am in a quandary, “How much of what I read should be passed on to liberals?” At this point I think it is reasonable to assume that just about everyone knows that exercise is good for everybody’s health. Perhaps merely for review I should list some of the known physical benefits of exercise:

 -Helps control weight

-Lessens the risk of heart disease

-Helps manage blood sugar and insulin levels

-Helps to stop smoking 

-Strengthens bone and muscle

-Helps to prevent falls
All of these physical benefits are good for everybody, but let’s think about this in a theoretical, and mostly in a tongue-in-cheek way. If we encourage liberals to exercise, are we not, in essence prolonging their ability to vote for liberal candidates? Before you gasp and think that I am an insensitive s.o.b., let’s hear the rest of the story. What I read this morning concerned the benefit of exercise in preventing cognitive decline. Moreover, exercising can not only prevent cognitive decline, but also “change brain structure, and improve its functioning.” Think about this for a second (mainly in a theoretical, and mostly tongue-in-cheek way): One of the main differences between a liberal and a conservative is that for the most part, a liberal’s views and opinions are mostly based on emotion. Take Medicare For All as an example – “everyone should have health care and so the benevolent kind thing to do is to give it to everyone for free.” In the other corner we have the conservatives whose views and opinions are mostly based on logic. “While Medicare For All is theoretically possible, in a practical sense, the cost would be so exorbitant that it would be impossible.”

These differing viewpoints and ways of thinking are miles apart, and thus the quandary. From a conservative point of view, perhaps a theoretical solution: Should we be encouraging liberals to exercise in order to “change brain structure and improve brain functioning!” Should we be offering liberals discounts at the myriad of health clubs: For example at 24Hour Fitness: – $50 per month . . . for conservatives; $25 per month . . . for liberals!!

Think about it, but don’t get too emotional as it is only a theoretical solution!

Imagine this scenario:
A restaurant is robbed and when the police come,  they do the usual, including the dusting for fingerprints. “The good news is there are some fresh prints,” says the investigating officer. “However, the bad news is that the prints are from the same person who robbed your place last week!”

The perplexed restaurant owner was stunned. “How can that be? I thought that burglary was an offense that required bail.”

“While that is true, now because of this coronavirus thing, some of the judges are setting bail so low that these slugs practically meet themselves coming in when they are leaving – a revolving door. Sorry, I feel for you, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

If I am hearing you, the reader, saying, “This is too far-fetched to be believed,” I would refer you to a recent article on Breitbart. This article describes the situation in Houston where burglaries are up twenty percent since the issuance of the stay home orders. Apparently habitual burglars see these closed businesses as situations that are just too good to pass up . . . i.e. to rob!

But Houston is not alone. The same sort of thing is happening in other cities. New York City has seen a 21.8 % increase in burglaries in the last 28 days. Auto thefts are up by over 64% over the same period of time in NYC. In Minneapolis, burglaries are double what they had been before February 5th! “In economic hard times burglaries, robberies, and domestic violence go up,” said Professor Jillian Peterson, a Criminology Professor at Hamline University.

Meanwhile bail for domestic assault and robbery have been lowered to a pittance of what they usually have been! . . . see the scenario at the top!

Actually, I have to stop now as I forgot to lock my garage!

We are now living in the midst of a pandemic like we, who were not alive in 1918, have  never seen before. This present pandemic has the potential to be similar to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Back then there was no influenza vaccine, and so basically everyone was at risk. This present flu pandemic similar in that there is no vaccine and it is unlikely that there will be an effective vaccine in the months to come. It is pretty clear that this Covid-19 virus originated in Wuhan, China and spread from there. Interestingly from Wikipedia: “experts have proposed that the Spanish flu originated somewhere in northern China in 1917 and swiftly moved to western  Europe with the 140,000 Chinese laborers, the French and British governments recruited to perform manual labor to free up troops for wartime duty.” Truth or fiction ? At this point who cares! Back in 1918, the effect on America was devastating, and a similar potential exists today. What are we in America doing about this Wuhan flu?
What are our present choices? What are our basic options? 

1. Pray. A lot of us are doing this, and perhaps it has helped a lot, but at this point how are we to know ?
2. Shelter in place. This is basically what we have been doing now for close to a month, and I am having difficulty seeing progress with this approach. At the present time there is no defined end to this self-imposed isolation. The economic effects are going to be catastrophic for many, and especially for those that past surveys have shown do not have enough cash in reserve to withstand a $400 sudden insult. (Supposedly this is upwards to 30% of all Americans.) Many of those millions that are losing their jobs because of this lockdown, will crash and burn, and “you ain’t seen nothing yet!” When the present shelter in place has ended, what’s going to happen then? Will those who have had this flu and recovered, be able to restart the economy? Hopefully! But who are they? Impossible to tell as many as 80% of those infected with this Wuhan virus are having minimal or even no symptoms. In another month will those seniors who have already been semi-quarantined for months, be able to resume a normal life? Are we putting all of our eggs in the “warm weather will save us” basket? . . . or in the “ a miraculous new flu vaccine will save us” basket?
3. There is another route that I have not heard anybody suggesting. Are you ready for this contrarian-like suggestion? “Encourage having purposeful Covid19 ‘let’s get infected’ get togethers.” (These would be similar to the Mardi Gras party they had in that Washington State nursing home, but with young volunteers.) Crazy? I think not, as the only real way to induce some sort of herd immunity, is to get more of the healthy young herd infected. Young people have only a very minimal risk of dying from this Wuhan virus. If a young person, or even an older person for that matter, wants to get back to work . . . perhaps the route would be as follows: get infected with the virus (which is apparently very infectious and easily spreadable), isolate him/herself for two weeks and thus develop immunity, then go back to work, even be able to go to the beach or even walk in your own park.  Even in the seventy year old age group, the mortality from this virus is about 7-8%, which means that if a 74 year old with no other underlying medical condition gets the virus, he/she has about a 92+% chance of recovering . . . from my perspective, those are pretty good odds.

And perhaps in the very near future, those, who purposely and knowingly infect themselves, and do poorly, can be treated with a chloroquine etc regimen. Will some people die as a result of this wild hair-brained idea? Possibly, yes, but if this helps to save our economy, is it worth it? Choices!!! What would you decide?

Purposely, I am not going to mention the name of the Scofflaw, as I do not want this essay to potentially be used in court against  him . . . or possibly against her.( So I do not have to write “him or her” every time I mention him/her, from now on I am just going to refer to him/her as “him.”  Whew, I’m glad we’ve got that settled!)

So anyway, “he” has been trying to walk every day for exercise especially during this semi-quarantine situation. Someone may have already previously mentioned spotting him stepping over the “do not cross, crime scene” yellow police tape in order to walk around his neighborhood empty park. Let me emphasize that this is only a rumor! Anyway, the place he usually walks was “protected” by yellow “do not cross, crime scene” tape. (“Protected from whom?”, he wondered.)  Because the rumor was that he may have been “captured” on film on the last yellow tape “jumping” escapade, he decided to go to another place to walk . . . kinda like walking incommunicado, so to speak. He then drove over to the local lake (reservoir) that he had walked around before. As he drove up, he noted a large number of cars parked on the street adjacent to the “do not cross, crime scene” yellow police tape across the entrance. Fortunately for the Scofflaw, someone had apparently already cut one of these tapes, so the Scofflaw did not actually have to break the law. (What law? Walking alone on public property!) As the Scofflaw was walking slowly around the lake, he saw about fifty other scofflaws – black, white, brown, yellow, babies, children, and adults, both young and old – actually one women appeared to be older than the Scofflaw! No one came within the six feet unacceptable distance, except for one biker who went whizzing past, and the policewoman who rolled down her window to tell the Scofflaw that the lake was closed. Interestingly off all those at the lake, only the policewoman came realistically closer than six feet – actually she came within two to three feet of the Scofflaw’s face . . . she without a mask. The Scofflaw did finish his entire 58 minute walk without any other contact . . . in fact without any other near contact.
The Scofflaw has lived to “jump” the yellow “keep out, this is a crime scene” tape again – perhaps to walk another day!

As Is the case for a lot of things has “social distancing” gone too far? Dieting to lose weight is a good thing if one is overweight, but can be a bad thing if taken too far. Likewise, exercise is a good thing, but it also can be taken to extremes , and this extreme is not a good thing.( For example, exercising alone running X-plus miles every day is a self-defeating thing if taken to extremes.)There is little doubt that social distancing helped slow the spread of this corona virus pandemic. Keeping a distance of six feet between yourself and strangers will afford you some protection, as droplets with the virus apparently do not travel more than six feet in the air. To me, crowded places like New York City, where it is very difficult if not impossible, to always be at least six feet from all other people, is likely to have an increased incidence of droplet viral contagion. Likewise, as was the case in that Washington State nursing home, a Mardi Gras party on Ash Wednesday, no less, that brought many older susceptible people into very close proximity was the antithesis of social distancing.

Now here I am purposely avoiding the quandary of the benefit of the social distancing extremes on virus spread versus the economic disaster that this extreme social distancing is causing. I do have my thoughts on this but this is not the place nor is now the time. 

Rather is this concept of forced social distancing encroaching on some of our fundamental liberties, especially when common sense is not taken into consideration?

Close by there is a lake, actually a city reservoir, with a walking path around it. Lately the few times I had walked around on this path everybody was being quite careful about keeping at least six feet between themselves and others. Common sense social distancing! Parents were also being cognizant of how close their children were getting to strangers, as they did not want their kids to catch anything. Again common sense! So after closing all the entry gates to traffic, the next thing was to stretch yellow “keep out, crime scene “ tape across sidewalk entrances. One day this week there was actually two police cars prohibiting entrance to this public land. This almost sounds to me like something I would expect in a totalitarian place. (“KEEP OUT!” . . . This is for your own good. We know best!)

Okay, so the next day instead of trying to cross the yellow police tape at this lake, I decided to do my walking at my local park where four laps is about a mile. I have walked there many times in the recent past, and there is usually two or three additional walkers – all keeping well outside the six feet social distancing parameter. So of course when I approach my local neighborhood park . . . approaching as a tax paying citizen, my local piece of public property, lo-and-behold yellow “keep out, crime scene” tape is stretched across the sidewalk entrances! (“KEEP OUT!” . . . This is for your own good. We know best!) 

Now it seems to me that if there is a minuscule chance that I will catch something while walking out in the open air with no one in 100 feet of me, I should be able to take that miniscule chance. I am a big boy!

BTW: I stepped over the yellow tape, and had a nice leisurely isolated walk!

In 2009, Ram Emmanuel said,” Never let a good crisis go to waste.” In other words if there is a crisis, take full advantage so that you can squeeze in as much of your pork as you can! My reaction . . . They are scum!”

Well, as everybody is aware our country is now in a another crisis – the Wuhan flu crisis, and lo-and -behold, the Dems  . . .the blood-sucking Dems, are at it again! South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn referred to this crisis as  “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.” My reaction, “He is scum!”

WhileSenate  Republicans were busy trying to figure out a way to help the struggling economy, and thus help the American workers, the Dems were busy trying to push their own agenda.
Writing for USA Today, James Robbins writes that Nancy Pelosi wants the following Liberal policies to be included in the bill:

She wants “racial and gender pay equity provisions, diversity on corporate boards, increased use of minority-owned banks by federal offices, and a grab-bag of other diversity-themed requirements. It increases the collective bargaining power for unions and cancels all the debt owed by the US Postal Service to the US Treasury. For the global warming crowd, there are increased fuel emission standards and required carbon offsets for airlines, plus tax credits for alternative energy programs. For the kids, there is a provision for student loan payment deferment, and for the education bureaucrats who overcharge them a $9.5 billion giveaway to colleges and universities. It gives $100 million to juvenile justice programs, and suspends various aspects of enforcement of immigration laws.So far this proved that . . . She is scum!
But she was not done! 
Again from U.S.A Today:“Perhaps the most troubling sections of the bill are under the rubric ‘American Coronavirus/COVID–19 Election Safety and Security’ or ‘ACCESS’ Act. This section would impose requirements on states for early voting, voting by mail, required mailing of absentee ballots to everyone, ballot harvesting (i.e., having third parties deliver absentee ballots), online voter registration, same-day registration, and other practices which undermine confidence in the integrity of the ballot.” Even U.S.A. Today said, “In these days of increasing threats to election security, we should be moving rapidly back to in-person paper ballots, but this bill would be a radical step in the wrong direction.”
As I may have mentioned before . . .She is SCUM!
3/24/20

Those of us in California, Illinois, and New York are on lockdown. Is it just coincidence  that at this time, that those states which are the most affected by this Wuhan virus are blue states? Now before you go off thinking that I am some sort of anti-blue-ite, my answer is “not likely a coincidence at this point as places with a higher population, or more accurately a denser population are higher risk areas . . . Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, etc. However, we do not know what the actual incidence is in these places. In certain places we know how many cases there are, and how many have died, but we can only estimate what the actual incidence is. How many have this virus, but have little if any symptoms? We don’t know. Statisticians can give an estimate, but how good is the estimate? We don’t know.

I think that a random estimate should be done, perhaps a couple of times per week, to more accurately access the progress, or lack thereof, of this deliberate strangulation of our economy. For instance, I would suggest a random sampling of the people in, let’s say, in Los Angeles County. If 100, or perhaps 1000 random people were tested, we would then have an estimate of the actual incidence of infection in Los Angeles County, and then we would then be able to compare this incidence to the incidence last week or next week to see if any progress has been made. If the incidence is not decreasing or even increasing, then perhaps the logic of these lockdowns should re-considered. Likewise if the incidence were decreasing, then perhaps the pain from these lockdowns is worth it. 
In the future, at some point, a decision will have to be made to lighten up or not lighten up on lockdowns. When that time comes, how will we know if a relaxation is a good idea? To me the answer is obvious . . . test 1000 random people and see if the decreasing incidence is maintaining or not.
There is no segue here . . . just a few more random thoughts:

-In the Midwest, there are lines outside the doors of stores that are selling guns!

-When this is over, there will be a lot of thinner dogs (having been walked multiple times a day), and a lot of heavier people (having been trapped inside, snacking incessantly)!

-Companies will learn that a lot of people can work very efficiently from home. Some may ask, “Why have large office buildings with all of the overhead that goes along with these large offices?

-A lot of parents will discover that home-schooling is very efficient, and the kids actually like it, and some learn more.

-College students and their parents will ask, “Why are we paying these outlandish tuition costs when a significant number of classes can be done on-line, and then be repeated again and again for years with no additional input from the professors?”

-Does anyone else find it ironic that those who are going to suffer the least health-wise from this virus (the young) are going to suffer the most economically from this remedy (shutdown), and vice-versa, those who will potentially suffer the most from this virus (the oldest among us) will suffer the least economically (I haven’t heard any rumors about the stopping of Social Security checks).

-Is it also somewhat ironic that this so called, “vindictive” President appears to giving the most help to those states whose Democrats have called him such!