Road Rage

One of the biggest problems Lefties in America have is there are too many Idealists.  Don't get me wrong, I at times am a heavy-duty idealist, but some people on the left are consumed by it, refusing to acknowledge any practical issues that legitimately jeopardize their dreams.

The current idealist cause du jour is a real ambitious one.  They want to take Interstate 94 from Marion St. in St. Paul, through the Midway, to basically Interstate 35W in Minneapolis (nearly 8 miles), and boulevard it.  What this would require is the removal of the Interstate completely between those two points, filling in the large gap, and in its place building a road with two lanes in each direction, traffic lights at the majority of intersections, dedicated mass transit lanes, expanded sidewalks and bike trails, and a replaced neighborhood feel.  

I do admit my internal idealist likes a lot of the aspects of this approach, but there is a "slight" problem that the people proposing this plan are almost belligerently ignoring; what do you do with the 160,000+ vehicles which use Interstate 94 in between the two downtowns on a daily basis? 

That is a pretty big freaking problem (amongst other issues) the people pushing this idea just ignore or blithely insist isn't really a problem.  

It is.  It's a really big one.

But let me start with the things I do like about this idea.  First, it would go a long way to correct the racial injustices that the building of the Interstate system thrived on.  Where the building of the Interstate system in rural America was not really an issue, when it came to building the roads into the established towns and cities, the question of 'where do they go' was answered time and time again with "through the poorer Black communities."  In the case of 94 in the Midway, the Rondo Neighborhood, with its successful, thriving Black community, was wiped away.  Making 94 a boulevard in this area would reconnect that neighborhood.

It would cut the CO2 emissions in that area. Climate change is real, and less CO2 is a good thing. At least on that boulevard, there would be fewer vehicles, meaning less pollution.

And it would undoubtedly bring back a neighborly feel to the community.  A walkable neighborhood would exist where it currently doesn't, with better mass transit options, and with that a more welcoming environment, and higher property values.

As good as some of those things sound, there's still a very large problem that needs to be addressed. What do you do with the 160,000+ vehicles that use that stretch of highway on any given day?

The response to that question from the pro-boulevard folks is somewhat comical.  "It won't be that bad!"  "They'll just take other roads." "There really aren't that many cars." "They'll manage!" "People will stop driving(???!)," (and my personal favorite) "Just build the boulevard and we'll figure that out later!" 

NO!  You can't just figure that out later.  This is a major metro area, with an economic and social model currently built on the Interstate systems we currently have in place.  To just shut down one of the biggest stretches of road in the upper Midwest and act like there won't be cataclysmic consequences is insanely selfish and naive. 

At one point, I was a traffic reporter.  I would sit for hours and watch traffic cameras.  It was amazing how a lane closure due to construction or an accident would lead to massive backups on many of the roads in the area.  I remember one accident that shut down all but one lane in each direction on I-494 in the west metro and every north-south road in the area, including secondary side streets, had miles of backups.  Sure that was temporary, but to imply that permanently shutting down a major Interstate with no accommodating plan in place for the traffic which currently uses said Interstate wouldn't cause a catastrophic meltdown is ludicrous.

Pro-Boulevard people know this is an issue, basically trying to make the problem go away by insisting "traffic will magically disappear!" They've told me directly there'd be no lingering effect to taking away the main road 160,000+ people use every day!  To expose the reality of shutting down a major stretch of Interstate, there are a few different examples we can point to.  When the I-35W bridge collapsed, traffic was a nightmare.  I saw it firsthand.  Not only was I-94 in both directions into Minneapolis backed up FAR WORSE than normal, but many of the side streets with a bridge that crossed into the downtown were PACKED with cars.  Sure it was worst at the beginning of the crisis, but those levels never really eased up until the new bridge was open.  Read the report for yourself. https://www.lrrb.org/pdf/201021.pdf

Then there were the pro-boulevard folks who insisted when the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia collapsed there was ZERO impact on traffic.  They just made that up!  The reports from numerous news outlets in Philly showed the traffic was horrible, adding 20 to 30 minutes to the commute each way (that's a lot of CO2). And multiple reports showed the side streets were also packed during the bridge repair. https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-i95-collapse-traffic-commute/ and https://abc7ny.com/i-95-bridge-collapse-live-stream-philadelphia-repair/13417623/

And both cases were temporary, not a permanent long-term plan.  But pro-boulevard people point to a project in Detroit where they are boulevard-ing out an interstate, insisting "See, it can be done!"  The project they are referring to is the boulevard-ing of Interstate I-375.  There are A LOT of differences between that and what the pro-boulevard people are suggesting for I-94.  I-375 is a spur, less than a mile, right into the downtown, with two lanes in either direction.  When reopened, it'll be six boulevard lanes, at a cost of AT LEAST a quarter of a billion. The stretch they want to do in the Twin Cities midway is nearly 8 miles, the main highway connector between the two biggest downtowns in the state, 9 and 10 total lanes in some spots, 8 lanes for most of it, and their new I-94 boulevard will have only four lanes for car traffic.  These are nowhere even close to being the same project.  They're not comparable.

When the new I-35W bridge reopened, they shut down the extra lane they set up on the I-94 bridge over the Mississippi.  In the above-linked story, they also analyzed what that did to traffic.  Losing one lane on one bridge increased traffic by 2 to 6 minutes for many St. Paul commuters alone, and that wasn't shutting the whole thing down!  It was one lane, going from 5 lanes to 4 lanes for half a mile.  But I've had pro-boulevard people look at that warning sign and insist "So people have to drive for 2 to 6 minutes longer.  I think that's no big deal." I do not know what to say to people who should realize these numbers are a problem that points to a much larger issue but instead insist the total impact of removing 8 miles of major Interstate would be 5 to 10 minutes of extra traffic. 

You're not being serious, or honest.

You might be asking, "Didn't they come up with a solution already, the Rondo Land Bridge?"  Kind of.  It looks like that is the option they are going with, reconnecting the old Rondo neighborhood by putting a four-block land bridge over I-94 and filling it with 200 new housing units and a more neighborhood feeling for the area.  It's a great idea, which starts to address the racially insensitive construction of the Interstate system.  No, it doesn't limit Interstate traffic, nor (to my knowledge) add any new mass transit options for people traveling between the two downtowns, but it's a good start to covering up the blight of the industrial roadway. 

But I guess that wasn't good enough for some people, and they now want to take it to the extreme, upending the normal life of many others for their cause.

I'm going to take some time and give you an idea of what the metro would look like if you shut down I-94 in the Midway without doing anything else first (the solution many people on the pro-boulevard side seem to want to go with), and then let's figure out what the investment would have to be to try to make something like this happen so the city didn't implode.

IF YOU JUST GOT RID OF I-94 WITHOUT ANY MAJOR UPGRADES TO THE SURROUNDING INFRASTRUCTURE:

The new "community friendly" boulevard would be constant bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Just the local commuters in St. Paul and the East metro who either work in the Midway or in Minneapolis will back that road up starting at 5 AM until likely 9 PM in both directions.  It will.  Marshall, Selby, Summit, and Grand on the south side of I-94 and  University and Minnehaha on the north side will also be bumper to bumper with limited speed.  And EVERY city street in the Midway will see some levels of increased traffic.  Neighborhoods that currently do not have a lot of vehicle traffic will have drivers frantically speeding through them at all times trying to find a quicker way between the downtowns.  Your community-friendly hopes will not come to fruition as the roads will become more akin to Central Ave. through Blane, or US 10 in the northwest metro.  It's hard to be pedestrian friendly when every road is blocked with cars full of angry commuters.

But versus Central and US 10, the speeds on these St. Paul streets will be A LOT slower.  The traffic lights will create a dam system that prevents the overwhelmed roads from being able to disperse the traffic quickly and efficiently.  My guess is a 45-minute commute (versus the current 15-minute one) from the State Capitol to US Bank Stadium, AT BEST.

Let's look at the traffic which will avoid the boulevard.  Just the through traffic which comes into the city either on the way to North Dakota and the West Coast or heading into Wisconsin will immediately cause our inadequate outer Interstate loop I-694/I-494 to be overwhelmed.  It will be bumper-to-bumper traffic on the entire ring, with the exception being the western side of the metro. And I'm not just talking rush hour.  We will graduate to Chicago/LA levels of all-day traffic. Secondary east-west highways which are few and far between will also be overwhelmed.  Highway 36 will become the option to go into downtown Minneapolis by highway from the East side (via hitting I-35W).  It will be overwhelmed.  Crosstown/62 on the south side will also be overwhelmed.  The additional traffic on I-494 and the Crosstown will make getting to the airport a traffic nightmare for anyone on the east side.

Mass transportation, even with a completed boulevard, will be great for a few people, but inadequate for most others.  Sure, if you live within two to three blocks of the boulevard, you'll have easy access to the mass transit options it'll offer, but what if you are 20 blocks away?  Are you going to hike that, even in winter?  Will you be relegated to multiple bus/light rail transfers to get where you need to go?  How about the people in the east-side suburbs?  Even if they did have a mass transit option near them (unlikely), it'd be at least three transfers and an extra hour to an hour and a half each way going to the west side.  Pro-boulevard people have insisted to me that this is a sacrifice the public will gladly accept.  That's delusional.

Then there is the immediate impact on the businesses that use I-94 between the downtowns to ship their products.  Pro-Boulevard people have insisted to me FOUR TIMES there are no businesses that ship on the I-94 corridor in the Midway.  That's just belligerent dishonesty.  They argue "Well I've never seen one." That's because you are intentionally not looking.  Businesses that ship will not stick around if every truck trip costs them an extra 5 gallons of gas each way.  Eventually, these businesses will move, creating another problem for the 'new utopia.'  The jobs will go away, but pro-boulevard folks seem to think people will gladly leave their 100K a year job in Minneapolis, or 65K a year job with benefits off of Hwy. 280, and instead choose to open up businesses like a 1910 neighborhood fruit stand, or a homemade hemp bag shop.  I've had five people tell me that will happen!  Their refusing to empathize with pro-Interstate people on business and personal economic issues doesn't help make their argument. 

And what about the Wild and MN United, who NEED people from the west side to come to their games.  The Ordway, Science Museum, History Museum, Children's Museum, and most restaurants and stores in St. Paul have a business model based on people coming from all around the metro to support them.  You are putting a lot of institutions into a difficult position; stay in a much harder to get to St. Paul, or move to Minneapolis where the population is much larger and it's easier to get to your front door?  My guess is most will eventually relocate to the west side.

As I said, this would be a mess for one reason.  Pro-boulevard people don't want to factor in the complete picture of their idealistic dream.  Maybe they have and they've realized what a nightmare it would be, but they choose to ignore the problem.  

COSTS:

Let's talk costs and investments that would be needed to make this even feasible.

Before one shovelful of dirt hits I-94, I-694 and I-494 on the East side will need billions of dollars in investment to expand to AT LEAST four lanes.  I-694 will need them over to Highway 100 in Brooklyn Center, and I-494 will need to be expanded to at least Crosstown 62 (the old 110). These upgrades will not be an option!  Highway 36 in the northeast will HAVE TO become an eight-lane highway, with no traffic lights, another 2 to 3 billion dollars in investment.  Crosstown 62 will also have to become a six to eight-lane, light-free highway (including a new Mentoda Bridge).  Total cost to make all of these upgrades: (pure guess) 25-30 billion.  THIS IS SPENDING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE YOU'VE EVEN STARTED TO WORK ON 94.

Let's get to that. Where are you getting the mountain of dirt you will need to fill in that ditch?  That's going to be a major environmental sacrifice on its own.  The cost of removing everything, filling it all in with dirt, and re-laying the sewers, drains, and everything underground for an 8-mile stretch will be probably 5 to 10 billion.  THEN you have to build the new road.  Probably another 2 billion will be needed for that alone.

You'd need an immediate massive influx of spending into mass transit throughout the entire east side of the metro.  Every town from Marine on St. Croix to Hastings, from 280 to the Wisconsin border (and probably Hudson, WI too) would need mass transit which is abundant and easy to access. At least another 5 to 10 billion there.

And by the way, even with all of these upgrades I'm still convinced traffic will be worse throughout St. Paul, on all streets.  That will deter Minneapolis folks from coming over.  I'm sure pro-boulevard people will say "who needs them!" You're a fool if you don't see the need to get people eating, shopping and visiting St. Paul.  Your best hope is to immediately do a mass expansion of mass transit from throughout Minneapolis and the entire west side into St. Paul, and not just one road's worth.  People will not come to St. Paul for an outing if it takes them 45 minutes to get there by car, or three transfers on mass transit. This is a mandatory investment to keep St. Paul alive.  Another 3 to 5 billion.

I've seen the suggestion from pro-boulevard people we could do all of this for one billion dollars.  HA!  That's an insanely myopic number.  If you want to do this and not have utter chaos, 45 to 60 billion is a much more realistic bet (and I keep thinking that is still woefully low). 

If you try to do this and do not have a full plan in place, it will blow up in your face!  By the next election cycle, when the people are furious at the nightmare the roads have become, all of your allies will be voted out of power and instead, you'll have hard-liners vowing to return things to the way they were.  Then you're done.  Your once glorious plan relegated to a cautionary tale whenever anyone suggests a similar idea.

If you want to see what might happen, suggest one weekday when traffic on I-94 can be limited to two lanes at certain points in both directions.  Then study what that does to the traffic for the east side overall.  Even with fair warning, I have a hard time not seeing St. Paul turning into a commuting nightmare. And remember, you'd still need to add intersection lights to those 2 lane roads.

May I suggest a different route?  Build the Rondo land bridge.  I think it will be successful, and that will lead to more stretches of I-94 getting their land bridges, reconnecting the old neighborhoods.  Encourage the responsible expansion of mass transit, making sure all areas are getting reliable daily service.  Encourage green car rebates and investments.  With luck, by 2050, we'll have far more green vehicles than fossil fuel ones.  

By slowly growing this out, you might actually get pretty close to your vision, but it will take time, 25 to 60 years. I understand that timeline is far longer than you want it to be, but I think by the time we get most of I-94 covered by land bridges, the impact of the highway will be far less. 

I want to reiterate, I agree with a lot of what they are trying to do, but I'm not willing to suspend reality or ignore legitimate problems which will arise just so I can bask in the sunlight of my own short-sighted vision.  NOR SHOULD YOU!  There is nothing wrong with being an idealist, but do not allow that to blind you to realities that need to be addressed, especially the realities which counterpoint your argument, cost far more than is realistic to budget, or might take longer to come to fruition than you like.

We should all try to make Minneapolis/St. Paul better, but the difference between reality and dreams is reality is attainable far more consistently than dreams are.  If you want to make your dreams happen, hook them to practical reality. 

The Friday Link for 8/11/23

Super busy this Friday night but I'll make it a doozy! 

MST3K to the rescue and the mighty Camera Vs Guiron! I think this is the best of the Gamera movie breakdowns they did! Enjoy! 

Have a great weekend and make sure you are up to date on vaccines! 

The Friday Link (on a Saturday) for 8/5/23

Hi all.  Why am I late with the Friday Link? Well, it's been a bit chaotic.  

I was supposed to go up north this weekend and spend some time with family at our cabin.  My brother and his friends had arrived from the East Coast earlier in the week and so it was going to be 4 days of fishing, swimming, saunas, and good times. 

Until late Thursday we got the call that one of the guests had come down with COVID.  It sounds like it's a pretty bad case too.  Our main focus is everyone's well-being, so I am staying in the cities this weekend.  I have offered to head up a few times to go get them whatever they need, but they've said it's probably best we stay back. My concern is for them, and through the hectic nature of yesterday, I completely forgot about this lesser element of my life. 

Because my mind is out floating in space right now, quite appropriately I'm headed to space this week.

If you have not seen the documentary on Netflix about the James Webb Space Telescope, it is remarkable. The engineering required to get such a delicate piece of equipment into orbit is unbelievable.  It makes you laugh even harder when you think of the movie Armageddon, where the good ol' country folk of 'Merica go to those pencil necks in NASA and show 'em how it's done! 

For your viewing pleasure this week, we start with the images James Webb has collected in its first year, videos posted from The Secrets of the Universe YouTube Channel. Just stunning! 

Next up is James Webb's look at our most flamboyant planet Saturn.

And finally, The Secrets of The Universe has your August monthly astronomical observations you can make! 

I hope you have a great, SAFE weekend. 

Each week I remind people to be safe and get vaccinated.  Why?  COVID is CLEARLY not over.  It is still killing people every day.  I don't want you sick, dead, or in a lifetime of debt.  Get vaccinated and be safe. 

Please take care of yourself. 

The Friday Link for 7/28/23

Do I have guilty pleasures?  Dang right I do, and while many of them are ONLY for me and my maker to know (I can't quit you Hallmark Channel!), there's one I'm willing to share with you, Gray Still Plays.

I'm not so much a fan of watching people play video games. Sure I'll watch for a few minutes, but usually I get bored and move on.  Nothing against it, as I'll remind everyone that watching people play video games is no different than watching a sporting event on television.  You are watching others with a skill you don't have do something well.  I'm just not that big on video game culture.  When I had three kids, that pretty much caboshed most of my extracurricular activities.

Then one day magic happened when I had a video strangely pop up in my suggested window on YouTube.  Gray Still Plays is a guy (Gray I presume) who I think is in Florida who plays various video games and contributes what is an absolutely hilarious commentary on them. I watch these for the jokes first, and hilarious video game moments second.  

He has some friends who will change the video games to allow him to test out vehicles, roads, characters, water slides, realities; anything to challenge Gray.  The video game I prefer to watch Grey get destroyed on is GTA, Grand Theft Auto. 

I'll give you four videos today.  Watch them, follow the rules of each specific test, and watch Gray struggle.  Eventually, he figures out the challenges and frankly, he earns my respect.

I know he has millions of followers and almost 4 billion views, but better late than never.  Some rougher language and mild video game violence.  You've been warned! 

First up, vehicles versus the most dangerous roads!

Next up, which car can survive the biggest loops?

What would happen is every time he hit something the car would become a bigger car?  Let the chaos ensue!

And finally, time to test the suspension of your vehicle! 

Have a great weekend.  Stay safe and make sure your vaccinations are up to date! 

The Friday Link for 7/21/21

I need to revisit something I've had to repeat over and over again for the last 20 years.  If you are a proud Minnesotan and if you love the United States, you need to STOP FLYING AND DISPLAYING THE DAMN CONFEDERATE FLAG!!!

I know, all caps.  Sorry.  I'm more than a little miffed about this.  Apparently, there's some dumb idiot in Sauk Rapids who owns a bar that displays the Confederate Flag. The Confederate States were traitors, who attacked the United States, who attacked the United States with the primary intent to continue the heinous act of slavery, and an enemy who killed hundreds of thousands of US soldiers and citizens. You might as well display the flag from al-Qaeda.

(Side note: I used to say the Nazi flag but it became clear many of the people I was trying to shame for their displaying of the traitorous southern imagery might not be too upset to fly the Nazi flag.)

In regards to why flying the Confederate flag is a DEEP betrayal for any Minnesotan, all you have to do is know the history of the 1st Minnesota, the unit which on July 2nd, 1863 saved the Union at a tremendous cost.

It was insanity as 262 Minnesotans took on around 3000 Confederates, AND WON! Winning in this case was holding back the far superior force until reinforcements arrived, but they did it.  The cost was the greatest single-day loss of life for any military unit in US history to still be standing at the end of the day.  Eight-two percent died or were injured in 5 minutes.  But they held the field.

It's interesting to hear the modern narrative that the 20th Maine was the unit to save the day, and they were outstanding on the far flank of the Union lines, but the 1st Minnesotans were historically known as THE unit from Gettysburg.  They were considered by presidents and military leaders for over 100 years to be the men who saved the United States. 

Now take down the damn Confederate flag and show some respect. 

Two from the National Battlefield Trust as they both go into detail about the 1st Minnesotan.  

The second video is good because it gives you an overview of where the first video was shot. You can see the fence line and the treeline by the little swale.  It gives you a better idea of how much carnage happened in such small spaces, a chaos that would be revisited by the US military with D-Day in WWII. 

Finally tonight is a video that actually does the diagram of the 1st Minnesota charge.

Stay healthy, have a great weekend and God Bless the 1st Minnesota. 

The Friday Link for 7/14/23

This week we start off with a clip from Jordan Klepper's podcast, Jordan Klepper Fingers the Conspiracy.  

It's amazing how many QAnon/Trump fans think JFK Jr. is alive, supporting Trump, and is going to return to take the stage with Trump in 2024.  I don't even know where to begin to tell these people they're certifiably bonkers.

But if you're like me, the question comes to mind, where the heck did this even come from?  Klepper through talking with Will Sommer and Joseph Uscinski breaks down the origins, why it resonates with the conspiracy crowd, and the disconnect associated with this lunacy. 

Also tonight a trio of Wizard of Oz/Antique Roadshow videos. Wizard of Oz is very hot in regards to collectors and these three items all had shockingly high appraisals.  The book is sensational, the props are fun (and look at the updated price!!!) and then there is the Bert Lahr script.

Lahr was the Cowardly Lion in the movie and this was his working script.  The insurance price is astounding, but for a lot of people who get a massive inheritance of an item (non-cash), the insurance can become a burden.  The owner decided to sell it at auction, and that's where we discover the difference between auction value and insurance value.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay safe! 

And remember to stay vaccinated!

The Friday Link for 7/7/23

This week a travel video, and two funny political shorts.

The travel video first. I love the idea of going to weird and unusual travel destinations.  I'm not too counter-culture.  National Parks are spectacular and big glitzy cities are a lot of fun, but sometimes you can find gold by venturing onto less-beaten paths.

The less-beaten path would be a good way to describe Nuuk, Greenland.  It looks shockingly cute. This relatively small port has the fact that it's the main port for all of Greenland in its favor, and with that comes economic growth and some levels of stability. Plus the surrounding countryside looks stunning. 

Jonathan Wheeler from Travel Obscurer visited and made me want to find the way there. 

Next up tonight is Kat Abu.  The Media Matters member is a bit of an internet celebrity as her videos describing what Fox News is up to garner a lot of views. She says she watches Fox so we don't have to.  Kat, I salute your service. 

In this video, she dismantles Rob Schneider, the former SNL comedian (???) who has become irrelevant. Out of bitterness and anger, and a lack of any legitimate media outlet hiring his worthless ass (unless he is sucking on Sandler's teat), he decided to go scorched earth on Hollywood.  Fox News wanting to encourage a certain narrative welcomed this shrieking harpy into the fold.

Fox allowed Schneider to do a comedy (???) special on Fox Nation, and it was what you'd expect. A bitter angry conservative screaming ignorance while the conservative lemming crowd grunted their approval.  Kat watched it, and well...

Warning some rough language.  I KNOW! Especially from the same people who constantly scream "Whatever happened to decency in America!"

Even Better, Kat outdid herself when she made a video doing her own version of the Fox Nation washed-up 90s celebrity 'comedy' special.  This is damn near perfect. You'll have to click on the link for this one:

https://youtube.com/shorts/71pCBrlFYvY?feature=share

Have a great weekend everyone.  Make sure to stay up to date on vaccinations.

For God's Sake! Take the Beef N'Cheddar

Most of us remember the guy from our youthful days who would eat anything for a dollar.  Something rancid or smelly you'd immediately start to throw out?  Someone would stop you and mention, "Maybe 'that guy' would take a bite?"  I remember when a guy in my military unit accidentally left tuna out overnight and paid 'that guy' to take a bite.  He did and proceeded to get very sick.  The unit adopted a new "don't eat things you should know not to eat" policy.  The guy who ate the spoiled tuna actually framed the dollar bill and hung it up in his room, a source of pride for the guy too stupid to get out of his own way.

Why did I start with that story?  You'll understand perfectly in a few paragraphs.

Republicans are in a real conundrum right now.  It's looking like they will be stuck with Trump as their candidate for President again in 2024, and they already know the higher office nullifying resume which his supporters applaud is box office poison when it comes to November of next year.

That's why Republican have to convince you of two lies.  The first is that Donald Trump is not THAT bad, while at the same time convincing you that Joe Biden is (at best) no better than Trump.  This is their ONLY path to victory. 

This is a game plan they used with shocking success in 2016.  Hillary Clinton was a FAR superior candidate, but through constant negative ads, baseless repeated investigations into non-existent scandals, and a social media campaign that convinced a shocking amount of Democrats that Clinton would be no better than Trump (causing many to either sit out the election or place a protest vote for a guy who had endorsed Clinton), Trump beat Clinton.  

Let's put 2016 into food terms. Hillary Clinton might not have been your first meal choice but she really was a relatively tasty family restaurant meal.  Donald Trump was an actual crap sandwich; two pieces of bread with a ton of crap in between.  Republicans convinced enough people to order the crap sandwich instead of the tasty family restaurant meal in 2016, and in doing so Trump won.  

I remember staring at the ceiling that night wondering what the hell my country had just done.  Almost immediately many of the Democrats who had bought the crap sandwich with a smile on their faces stopped chewing and realized "Oh my god! I've eaten a crap sandwich!" Trump voters spent the next three years savoring every bite of the crap sandwich, chewing it with a smile on their faces, as they convinced themselves they were actually eating filet mignon.

Sorry for the visual, but I'm not wrong!

By the time we got to 2020, and Trump, with help from the Republicans in Congress, sat three far right-extremist Republican judges on the Supreme Court, enough people woke up and decided to pass on the crap sandwich.  A shocking amount of Republicans eagerly ordered seconds.  Common sense won the day, but then Republicans (like the guy I mentioned from my military unit who'd eat anything for a dollar, people too stupid to realize they are eating something which will undoubtedly make them sick and could likely kill them) were furious when the electorate in 2020 pointed out they were eating crap.  The crowd that attacked the Capitol on January 6th, trying to overthrow Democracy itself, was a crowd of 'that guy' (and a few idiot gals) who'd eat anything for a dollar, demanding their second potion of crap sandwich.

We're now heading into 2024 with Joe Biden on the top of the Democratic ticket.  I've not always agreed with Joe Biden, but you can't deny all he has gotten done in his first term.  His first two years in office were the most productive first two years since FDR and if not for SCOTUS and Republicans, he would've made this country even better.

Trump is a political disaster, undeniably a crap sandwich in human form.  It's now known he was pressuring two states to find fake votes to overturn their legitimate elections, he and his cronies had coordinated the fake elector scheme, with the intent to overthrow the election in 2020, and there's the whole classified documents scandal, where he's proudly admitted his guilt as he still tries to proclaim he's innocent.  We still do not know where many of our country's most secure documents ended up, or if Trump actually sold them to enemies of the country.

The only chance Republicans have in 2024 is to once again insist Biden is the worst President ever while putting on a hard sell for their 'new and improved' crap sandwich ("Doesn't it look tasty!!!").

The news media is already on board with this scheme, AGAIN.  After SCOTUS, on a laughable decision that struck down Biden's attempt to forgive student loan debt, a decision which half of was "we don't wanna," and the other half was ignoring the actual language of the statute they were invoking, the news media immediately pounced on Biden asking "Why isn't he doing something to address Student Loan Debt?"

WTF! How is it even possible to write that headline?  He WAS trying to address it.  A fraudulent SCOTUS stopped it.  This was not on Biden but on Roberts and the other shady 5.

I've also seen an immediate rise this week in internet trolls screaming "I'm a lifelong Democrat, and I sure hate Trump, but I'd never vote for Biden again!"  It's the SAME EXACT strategy that worked in 2016, convincing just enough Democrats to drop the ball.  Democrats, I know it's hard looking back at 2016 and seeing how badly you got played, but it's time to 1) publicly admit Hillary would've been a FAR better President than Trump, and 2) promise to never sit out an election again BECAUSE ELECTIONS HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!  Block the Trump trolls trying to disguise themselves as Democrats and move on.

So you're not the biggest fan of Joe Biden?  Fine.  I think he's the equivalent of a tasty meal from Gordy's in Cloquet, a pasty from Pep's in Virginia, MN, or a tasty pho from Quangs on Eat Street. If you really dislike him, he still is (at worst!!!) an Arby's Beef N'Cheddar.  A Beef N'Cheddar is not the meal you want, but it will get the job done, with a little gas.  Hey, I have occasionally had one, and they're not the worst thing I've ever eaten.

(Side note:  this is not an invite for fanatical anti-fast food lefties or vegans to start screaming about how really horrible Arby's Beef N'Cheddar is.  It's an analogy, not an affront to your lifestyle choices.  Please calm down.)

Most Republicans are getting ready to excitedly order a 3rd serving of crap sandwich; A THIRD!!!  They're already drooling over the thought of eating it right in front of the Democrats, smiling as they swallow it down.  And instead of framing the dollar bill and hanging it on the wall, they'll spend their limited income on Trump flags and merchandise just to show the world they LOVE crap sandwiches and how belligerently insanely stupid they are.

2024 comes down to this decision.  Biden is (at worst!!!) a Beef N'Cheddar.  Trump is an actual crap sandwich that will make you sick and might kill you.  What are you ordering?

This isn't a hard choice for anyone to make, unless you're the idiot who thinks one dollar to eat anything is a good investment.

The Friday Link for 6/30/23

Howdy all and I hope everyone has a nice Independence Day weekend.

Followers of mine will know I'm a cook. I like cooking.  When I got married my wife said she didn't cook a lot and was one of those people content with cold-cut sandwiches on a regular basis. I being the youngest of 7, being raised by an exceptional cook in my mom (and my dad was pretty good too), and growing up for part of my youth in an underappreciated Italian/Portuguese/Seafood food mecca of Rhode Island, I gladly stepped in.

Am I pretty good? I think I do okay, with far more hits than misses (but I do have my misses). You know what I'm not foolish enough to do?  Go up online and post cooking videos and act like I've discovered cooking itself.

There are a shocking amount of people who do post cooking videos, many of them missing far more than hitting. This is not about being judgmental about easy quick hearty American food cooking.  I love some of the channels dedicated to that style of cooking (SuperMommy and the Backwoods Gourmet are two of my favorites).  This is about people doing something like boiling water and warming up tomato sauce and reacting like they're Julia Child incarnate. 

Sometimes, when you see the list of ingredients you realize they are trying too hard to be the lowest common denominator cooking, and it usually is a mess.

Sometimes, it's clear they are intentionally trying to be jackasses, pulling a gag, and trying to get people to cook something atrocious that ends up being a culinary disaster.  The spaghetti on the counter video that was circulating a few years ago is a prime example of that.

Thank goodness for Chef Reactions.  I am late to this one, but I am not much on TikTok and that's where he's been huge. (2.4 million followers).

The chef (whose identity remains a bit of a mystery.  I didn't look too hard so if he doesn't want to be known, I'm cool with that) watches cooking videos and rates them.  Sometimes they are rated as good, most of the time they are rated as horrible, but he still will admit he would at least try a bite of many of them.  Most of all, he is freaking hilarious as he tears these monstrosities down. Seriously, at times I was laughing so hard that I had to stop the video for a few minutes.

Let's start with a video of him watching a REALLY bad cook.

Note, he swears, A LOT! If you are against that sort of thing, see you next week.

Here's him taking on some guy called "Dr. Food." The best part is Chef Reactions continually calling out the Doctor for saying he's making French cuisine when he's not even close!

The next one, sweet lord! I need a t-shirt that says, "Why is the egg in there?"

To prove he is not all negative, here is a video of him praising a chef video.  Once again, he does swear a lot!  

Finally a bit of a different video from Chef Reactions.  Occasionally he will go somewhere and review the food.  He did so at the numerous Disney Parks. He also gives some pretty good advice on visiting these parks and how to navigate them.  10 out of 10! 

He has A LOT of videos on TikTok.  Go enjoy him there. 

Have a Happy Independence Day and Happy Birthday America.

Make sure you stay up to date on your vaccinations!

Police State

Last Friday, The U.S. Department of Justice released its report of its investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.  This investigation was started in the aftermath of four police officers murdering George Floyd at 38th and Chicago in south Minneapolis. 

We all knew the report was going to be brutal.  It ended up being far worse. I highly encourage you to read the full report (https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1587661/download).

What I'm going to post here are a few dozen of the choicer excerpts. This is disgusting behavior, made by a police force that never thought they would be held accountable.  This was a police force that HATED the people of Minneapolis, HATED the news media, and punished the minorities of the city with ruthless cruelty.

Since it became clear what was coming down, the police who were the problem, mainly the former head of the police union Bob Kroll and his intentionally built force of hate, have fled, like rats jumping off a ship. They ran away because their days of abusing the city were over.  Their sick twisted jollies can no longer be fulfilled by violently assaulting the masses at will.  They ran before they could be held accountable, but I would love to drag every one of those cowards back to the city by their short hairs and put them on trial.

This was a disgrace; not only by the police department, but by their enablers too.  There was the whipped Hennepin County Attorney who refused to hold these out-of-control officers accountable.  There were the repeated ineffectual mayors who were (AT BEST) unable to reign in the worst gang in the city; at worst they were condoning the behavior.

And there was one other group that needs to be held accountable, the Republican Party of Minnesota, which is really responsible for this behavior going unchecked.  Through legislation, they made it virtually impossible for anyone to hold the police accountable for anything, and in return, the Minneapolis police would lend themselves to Republican political campaigns with endorsements, photo ops, and a now haunting narrative; "vote for the Republicans and they'll allow us to keep 'THOSE PEOPLE' under control."  The Minnesota Republicans are a major reason this debacle occurred.

Funny.  Those cowards are also the most quiet about the abuse they allowed to be unleashed on the citizens of the city.

Read through the highlights of the report.  Warning - there is a lot of adult language.  I guarantee even the most pro-cop individual will eventually have to pick their jaw up from the table when they realize the extent of the tyrannical police state that existed in Minneapolis.

I have hope the DOJ and the new Chief will clean this mess up.

And for the officers who did all of these things, may you all burn in hell.