Imma Just Ramblin'

Everyone has an opinion, and this one is mine...  it involved several different threads of information and ideas...

First - I would be willing to be that Biden does not withdraw from the Presidential race; in fact, his resources will increase because most of his cohorts detest Donald Trump.

Second - I think Judge Merchan is going to sentence Trump to jail and quite possibly suspend the sentence just to have that jail conviction on his record.

Third - Until the DOJ is revamped, their prosecutors will continue to go after Trump even if he wins the Presidency in November...  just for spite.

Fourth - No matter what the GOP discovers about the Democrats from their Congressional hearings, NOTHING will ever happen to these criminals.  Much Ado About Nothing.

Sixth - Since the Democrats control so much in this country, it is unlikely that all the events surrounding the Biden Administration performance and false attacks against Trump will ever cause them to lose future elections.  This is just a bump in the road.

While my opinions are not very positive, I believe they are in tune with the climate of the day.  The USA is divided - everyone knows that - the issue stems from the fact that Democrats do something about it and Republicans just have meetings.

I don't agree with the Democratic Policies but they do get things done.

The question is:

DO YOU WANT TO DO THINGS RIGHT OR DO YOU WANT TO DO RIGHT THINGS.

The second questions is:  What are right things?

Just a Phone Call

 

Happiness

 

It's Only Money... right?

 

Conservative SCOTUS

 

Friendly Whale

 

Monkeys

 

The Mastermind Behind it ALL

 

Self Explanatory

 

Disaster

 

Nothing Posted

 

Humpty Dumpty Democrats

 Ever since Thursday night's Presidential Debate, the liberal democrats and the mainstream media have been in MELTDOWN MODE...  as well they should be,

While I did not like Trump's performance either, I believe that this election is now about the LESSER OF THE TWO EVILS.

Forget the fact that the general public might vote Biden back into office, it is now EXTREMELY DOUBTFUL that Biden will not be able to continue for another four years and KAMALA HARRIS will become President for a majority of his term.

The democratic party was clear that they did not want her as a Presidential Candidate...  so, it would be incredibly alarming for the nation, if she actually became President.

It would appear, at least in my mind, that the Democratic Party has backed itself into a corner and very soon all their liberal ideas are going to start falling down like Humpty Dumpty.

But what bothers me most about the DEMOCRATS is the EIGHT YEARS plus that they have attacked Trump to first ruin his Presidency then to keep him from becoming President again, only to find their plan spectacularly backfiring in front of them.

Here is a man who was attacked for four years, impeached, accused of Russian collusion, and charged with 91 felonies with the intention of keeping him from becoming President and after all of that, had the presence of mind and patience to let Biden destroy himself during the debate.

The Democrats and Liberals got exactly what they deserved...  Karma is a bitch...

In The NEWS

Iranians vote in snap presidential elections.

As of this writing, hard-liner Saeed Jalili is in the lead, followed by reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. Both candidates are still short of the votes needed to avoid a potential July 5 runoff election. A candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes to win. A total of four candidates are vying for the presidency following former President Ebrahim Raisi's fatal helicopter crash.



Iowa Supreme Court rules in favor of six-week abortion ban.

The court's 4-3 ruling dismissed a challenge to a new Iowa law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and directed a lower court to dissolve a temporary injunction as court proceedings continue. Before the latest law, Iowa had banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The six-week ban will take effect in three weeks. See an overview of state abortion laws here.



Bolivia detains four more military officers tied to failed coup.

The number of people arrested in connection with Wednesday's failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Luis Arce has risen to 21. Those arrested include the Bolivian army's commanding general, Juan José Zúñiga, who allegedly led the coup attempt. Zúñiga claims he was following a scheme hatched by Arce to boost his popularity; Arce has denied the accusations.



Nike shares fall 20% after weaker full-year forecast.

The drop in Nike's shares is the largest daily decline on record and erased roughly $28B in market value. The drop comes after the footwear company announced it expects sales to fall 10% in the current quarter amid softer sales in China. Analysts had forecast a 3.2% drop in quarterly sales. Nike also expects fiscal 2025 sales to drop, a reversal from its previous growth forecast.



Key US inflation measure rises as expected in May.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures costs consumers pay across a wide swath of items, excluding food and energy, rose 2.6% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month. Both figures are in line with analyst estimates, while the annual rate is the lowest reading since March 2021. The index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.



FDA says new study shows milk pasteurization kills bird flu.

The Food and Drug Administration said a widely used treatment that heats milk for at least 15 seconds at 161 degrees Fahrenheit kills the bird flu virus in cow’s milk. The virus, known as the H5N1 avian influenza, was first detected in cows in March, though the FDA has said the risk to the public remains low. See the findings here.

SOURCE:  1440 News

Last Day of JUNE

 

I'm always a little depressed when the end of the year or the end of the month rolls around because that always means I am getting a little bit older than I was before...

June 2024 has been a particularly good month for me.  This June marks a year that we have been in our new downsized home and simply love what we did and what we now have.  This new house is perfect!

This June marks twenty years that we have been debt free.

This June marks the month that my Oncologist found the right treatment to slow down the progression of my cancer.

This June marks the month that my wife and I reached our savings account goals so that we have enough money cover all costs until age 95, including specialized nursing care.

This month marks the date that our three cats have been with us for 14 years. 

I am sure there are other positives that I have overlooked. but I think these are the important ones.

So far during this month, I have prepared several meals of yellow squash, zucchini, and onions that I picked from our backyard garden.  My wife has gotten a dozen or more cucumbers that she puts in her salads.

While I have mowed our yard several times during this month and need to do again tomorrow, it only takes me 30 minutes to mow and 15 minutes to trim as opposed the three hours in the other house.

June is always a good month here in East TN.  The weather is warm to hot, but the humidity is typically low making it ideal to be outside.  This year June has followed the pattern except for the last couple of days where the humidity increased.

June also marks the fact that ONE THIRD of the summer is GONE FOREVER...  This leaves us with two more months before school starts again.

But when I say goodbye to June tomorrow, it will be with a heart full of JOY and appreciation for being still above ground to experience it all.

Somewhat Political

 

Work Revolutionized by ROBOTS

In 2015, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, asserted that we were on the brink of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” one powered by a fusion of technologies, such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

“[This revolution] will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another,” wrote Schwab in an essay published in Foreign Affairs. “In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.”

The recent surge of developments in AI and robotics — and their deployment into the workforce — seems right in line with his predictions, although almost ten years on.

“We see a future where 

general-purpose robots are 

as ubiquitous as cars, 

helping people to do work 

that needs doing.”

GEORDIE ROSE

While robots have been in factories for decades, they’ve traditionally been purpose-built to automate just one task — a robotic arm might be added to the assembly line at an auto factory to weld two parts together over and over again, for example Humanoids are robots that mimic the size, shape, and capabilities of people. That would make them a perfect physical fit for any workspace.         READ MORE...

Janis Joplin

 

Losing Power

 

COMING SOON

 

Protection

 

Global Awareness

 

Liberal Collapse

 

Liberal Wealth

 

Elon Musk: ‘There will be 20 billion humanoid robots’

At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Elon Musk shared his perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots in a wide-ranging interview. He predicts there will be a humanoid robot for every person on earth, plus robots working in the industry, which means there will be a market for 20 billion humanoid robots.

Musk talked also about Optimus, the humanoid robot developed by Tesla, designed to perform a wide range of tasks, from domestic chores to industrial applications. “Optimus is intended to be a fully functional humanoid robot, capable of doing a wide range of tasks. Basically, you can just ask it to walk your dog, take care of your house, babysit the kids, teach the kids, cook dinner, play the piano.”

“It’s a generalized humanoid robot. I think everyone will want one because why not, you know? I think there’ll be at least one for every person and then a whole bunch more in industry making things. My guess is 20 billion humanoid robots out there.”

Personalized robots
Asked if he would make robots look like people, he said “We’re not currently planning on doing that. We want it to be a good-looking robot. I think people will start to regard their personal Optimus robot as a sort of friend. Kind of like in Star Wars, R2-D2 and C-3PO, you sort of like them. You get quite attached to those characters. I think people will personalize their Optimus robots because you can snap on different parts. The outer shell is a snap-on plastic part, so you could have different ones.”       READ MORE...

American Equality

 

Our Founding Fathers were wealthy, religious, intelligent HYPPCRITES who wrote the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, but did not really believe in that which they had created...  at least in TOTAL because there were sections of those documents that their other actions contradicted.

They created a democratic republic of, by, and for the people...  yet they also created an Electoral College to actually elect the President they could not trust a majority of the people to be able to think for themselves and not be brainwashed by some ruthless politician.

Secondly, if they all truly believed that all men were created equal why did they continue to allow slavery to exist?

The leaders of our country were flawed from the very beginning of our existence.  Ever since 1776, America has really had flawed role models and that flaw has grown exponentially.

The fact is, that Americans ARE NOT EQUAL and never will be.  This has nothing to do with race, color, or ethnicity and everything to do with our DNA.

Our DNA creates genders, skills, abilities, intelligence, height, weight, attractiveness, etc.  In order to make everyone equal, scientists would have to alter our DNA in vitro.

I remember when I was in college one of classmates had a photographic memory.  He never went to class, unless there was a test, and at the end of the semester, he would simply set aside time to read the textbook and always made "A's" on his exams.

I never thought that was fair but that is just the way it was.  He and I were not equal and WOULD NEVER BE EQUAL.

This same inequality can be found in all aspects of our lives from sports to music to writing to attractiveness to everything else that you can imagine.

This is simply the way it is.

And, to make attempts to get our federal government to force people and companies to be more EQUAL, is an act of FUTILITY at best.

AND YET, that is exactly what is being done.

Helping Hand

Stupidity

 

Americans Killed in the Afghanistan Withdrawal

 

Diversity

 

The Joker

Illegal Immigrants

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 111th Tour de France begins tomorrow with Stage 1 from Florence, Italy (More) | Team USA gymnastics trials for Paris Olympics began last night; see full results (More) | Jury orders NFL to pay $4.7B in damages in class-action antitrust lawsuit (More)

> Kinky Friedman, musician, satirist, and novelist, dies at 79 (More) | Bill Cobbs, Emmy-winning character actor, dies at 90 (More)

> Southern Cal's Bronny James will join his father LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers after being selected 55th overall in the NBA Draft (More) | NHL Draft begins tonight (7:30 pm ET, ESPN); see full first-round mock draft (More)


Science & Technology
> Google adds 110 languages to Google Translate—nearly doubling the number supported—after training the platform on its PaLM 2 AI language model (More) | Company to test facial recognition and tracking at its Seattle campus; visitors not allowed to opt out (More)

> Woolly mammoth extinction happened suddenly instead of a gradual die-off due to inbreeding, new study suggests; last remaining population lived on Siberia's Wrangel Island, disappearing about 4,000 years ago (More)

> Researchers grow 3D brain models using cells from different people in a single organoid for the first time; approach may lead to methods to test new drugs without needing human patients (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.3%) as investors await today's release of the monthly personal consumption expenditures price index (More)

> OpenAI strikes multiyear licensing deal with Time magazine; deal gives OpenAI access to 101 years of Time content to train its models, allows Time to use OpenAI's technology to develop new products (More) | The Center for Investigative Reporting sues OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement (More)

> Walgreens shares close down 22% after company discloses it will shutter an estimated 650 to 700 underperforming US stores over a multiyear period (More) | Amazon plans to launch discount store with shipping directly from China in bid to counter Temu and Shein (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US Supreme Court rejects Purdue Pharma's $6B OxyContin settlement that shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits (More) | Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho for now (More) | ... and blocks the Environmental Protection Agency's interstate air pollution regulation (More) | ... and limits the Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house tribunals to enforce regulations (More)

> Former Uvalde, Texas, schools police chief criminally charged for response to 2022 school shooting that killed 21 people (More) | Judge sets June 2025 trial date for man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022 (More)

> Oklahoma superintendent orders public schools to teach the Bible for grades 5 through 12; move comes a week after Louisiana became the first state to require the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Americans

 Just for clarification, when I speak of Americans, I am referring to those people who are citizens of the United States of America, not those of Central or South America.

I will always be proud to be an American regardless of what my forefathers might have done several hundreds of years ago.  What is done is done and the best we can hope for is not to repeat the past going into the future.

However, I am not so sure that we are not doing exactly that.

We are more divided TODAY than the history books tell us we were divided during the CIVIL WAR.  That may seem not to be true, but I see it every day when I watch the FOX News, CNN, CBS, or MSNBC or when I read the news that is posted online, especially the social network forum of "X" (formerly twitter).

Now the Supreme Court has ruled that the government can tell these social media companies to take down content...

Not only do we make a point of letting everyone know that we HATE TRUMP but we are also attacking his supporters and his appointees (guilt through association).

On the other side of the coin, conservatives attack Biden, his son, as well as his cabinet members as being just as blatant in their actions as the President (more guilt by association).

I read an article earlier when some talking head says this judge is not up to the job or in over her head (meaning lack of experience) because she made a ruling that he did not agree with.  WHO'S PREJUDICE here???

I grew up in a house where both my parents were obviously biased against blacks inside the privacy of their own home, but in public would bend over backwards to help them.  I tried to live my life different in the sense of not being hypocritical.  But what amazes me now is BLACKS are typically more RACISTS than whites and don't hide their feelings at all.

NOW...  after years of SILENCE, we find that the USA is sitting atop a HOTBED of ANTI-JEWISH sentiments that were heretofore hidden.  The Jewish hate that I am witnesses seems worse than what might have been going on in Germany before the concentration camps were built and filled with Jews.  

Even now, it is still hard for me to believe that this is going on here.

For a variety of reasons over the last FOUR years, the global respect for the USA has substantially declined as evidenced by articles published in their newspapers.  

Americans are typically oblivious to this... 

AMERICA IS IN A BAD PLACE RIGHT NOW AND SHE NEEDS TO FIND A WAY TO EXTRACATE HERSELF BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE...

Somewhat Political

 

The Early Universe at Cosmic Dawn

The Cosmic Gems is one of the most highly magnified objects in space, thanks to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. (Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, L. Bradley (STScI), A. Adamo (Stockholm University) and the Cosmic Spring collaboration)





Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed five extremely dense proto-globular clusters along a hair-thin arc of glittering stars. The discovery could help them understand how the earliest galaxies formed.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered what could be the earliest star clusters in the universe.  JWST spotted the five proto-globular clusters — swarms of millions of stars bound together by gravity — inside the Cosmic Gems arc, a galaxy that formed just 460 million years after the Big Bang.


The Cosmic Gems arc gets its name from its appearance: When seen from our solar system, the star-studded galaxy looks like a hair-thin crescent due to the powerful gravitational influence of a foreground galaxy, which magnifies and distorts the distant galaxy's appearance.     READ MORE...

Supreme Court on Jan. 6th

 

Toast

 

My Bad

 

Hostages

 

Supportive Wife

 

Distress

 

Wake Up

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The Atlanta Hawks take France’s Zaccharie Risacher with the top pick of the 2024 NBA Draft; Round 2 kicks off this afternoon (4 pm ET, ESPN) (More) | Team USA women's soccer 18-player roster announced for Paris Olympics (More)

> Investigation into "Friends" actor Matthew Perry's death reportedly could result in charges against multiple people involved in supplying Perry with ketamine (More)

> UEFA European Championship Round of 16 set; see latest bracket and schedule (More) | ... and Copa América group stage continues; see latest standings (More)


Science & Technology
In partnership with Eli Electric
> Daily multivitamin use shows no association with lower risk of death, including from cancer or heart disease, new research finds; study tracked almost 400,000 participants over 20 years (More)

> World's first usable titanium-sapphire laser on a microchip demonstrated; prototype is 10,000 times smaller and 1,000 times cheaper than commercial versions of the powerful research-grade laser (More)

> Scientists capture early moments of butterfly metamorphosis at the microscopic level, shedding light on how the insect's unique scale architecture forms on its wings (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.04%, Nasdaq +0.5%); Nasdaq set for nearly 19% gain in first half of year, led by Nvidia and AI boom (More) | Amazon tops $2T market cap for first time as shares hit all-time high (More)

> Federal judge to likely reject $30B settlement between payment processors Visa, Mastercard, and merchants who say they have overpaid in credit card processing fees—which are often passed down to consumers (More)

> Japanese yen falls to weakest level against the US dollar since 1986; the yen has so far fallen 12% against the dollar this year, with analysts citing the gap between Japanese and foreign interest rates as a reason for the drop (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US Supreme Court rejects lower court ruling restricting the Biden administration from contacting social media companies to remove misinformation (More) | The court is also planning to allow Idaho doctors to perform abortions in medical emergencies, per opinion accidentally published early (More)

> Bolivian general Juan José Zúñiga arrested after a failed coup attempt at the presidential palace; Zúñiga claims he was acting at the behest of the president (More) | Kenyan President William Ruto backs down on plans for tax hike following violent protests earlier this week and police crackdown (More)

> Centrist George Latimer defeats Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D, NY-16) in most expensive primary race in US history; total spend was $24.8M, almost $15M from pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Variation

 Believe it or not, there is variation in everything that we do and if, you are like me there are lots of things that I do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis.

So...  what am I talking about?

What about the time it takes you to drive to work in the morning.  If you left at the same time each morning, drove the same route, at the same speed, it would take you different times for you to arrive at work.  Don't believe me?  Keep track of your time for a week and see if I am not right.

What you might encounter:

• inclement weather than might slow you down
• a traffic accident that might slow you down
• more traffic than expected that slows you down
• your vehicle might develop a mechanical problem
• you may need to get gas
• you decide to stop for coffee
• a policeman slows traffic down

It is this unexpected variation that will typically alter the amount of time that it normally takes you to drive to work.

What you do to attempt to reduce the time...

• leave the house earlier
• take a different route
• drive faster than normal
• bring coffee with you
• make sure you don't need gas

So, what have you learned?

If you accept the fact that everything has variation, the in order to reduce the variation, you must be willing to CHANGE THE PROCESS.

The variation that is inherent in ALL PROCESSES comes from:

1. materials
2. labor (manpower)
3. methods
4. environment
5. machines

What materials do you use when driving a car?

Gasoline and Oil

Windshield wiper fluid

Brake & transmission fluid

What about labor (manpower)?

That would be you as driver

• do you know how to drive
• did you get plenty of sleep
• do you have good hearing/eyesight
• do you have good coordination/reflexes

What about the methods?

• do you use good driving techniques
• are you mindful of those around you
• do you maintain good posture or slouch
• are you talking on the phone
• speed of the vehicle

What about the environment?

• is it raining or snowing or sleeting
• is it windy, or foggy
• is it very hot or very cold 
• time left the house
• other traffic on the road
• the route you are taking

What about machines?  The vehicle being driven

• is it tuned up correctly
• are the tires properly inflated
• is it a new vehicle
• if used, how old
• is the windshield and mirrors clear
• does it need oil
• does it need radiator water

Each one of these areas has variation and while the variation in some areas is minute, there is other variation that could impact your time more.  Let me explain...  air pressure in one or more tires being incorrect is not going to impact the variation of time to work as much as a traffic accident or being stopped by highway patrol for driving too fast.

Next time, you are doing something simple like cooking breakfast, mowing the lawn, washing the car, going out to dinner, spending time at the gym, or filling up your vehicle with gasoline, each one of these processes is loaded with all sorts of variation that alters the time it takes you to complete the process.

Somewhat Political