And a big one. Funny that we just didn’t see this large mass of fun as it floated first over Alaska.

All these questions can be easily answered, but DOD has demurred. The White House has been coy in their response to why, why, why. And so here is a possibility…NORAD did not see it. NORAD does not want it known that they didn’t see it. Even though they now say that they were tracking it all along, it seems more likely that civilian sightings finally brought it to their attention.

It is certainly true that the Pentagon has a UFO program that has been actively searching the skies for unwanted guests outside the bounds of earth. SETI has, as far as we know, not detected any alien activity nor has it detected any radio signals anywhere in the universe…but undaunted, the search continues. Like an episode of the X Files, the truth is out there. Somewhere.

Earthly threats are likely to be military intrusions, which the US is eminently aware of and capable of deterrence. A big balloon does not seem to fit the description. In fact, the Pentagon admitted to changing the search parameters in order to detect a very high flying, non-threatening floaty.

Now there is a flurry of activity. Hey, if it worked once, why not try it again. Apparently the objects are much smaller, unknown, and now reduced to space dust. Be prepared for the gas light. There are many things military we will never be told and awareness will only come after the fact.

Reduced to animal instinct, it could be an attempt to induce fear while other more nefarious acts are being perpetrated. Or maybe it’s one big episode of PeeWee’s Funhouse. Stay tuned.

Seriously, if you like your workplace rife with harassment, toxicity, and retaliatory tactics, you are welcome to apply at any Vegas casino. But if you are a bit more evolved and filled with righteous indignation, you are also welcome in a most sinister way. The sharks will eat you alive.

In a town that is constantly evolving by changing the scenery, there is no will or inclination to change a firmly entrenched culture of mistreating and bullying the workforce. Much of it stems from the old mob mentality of ruling by fear and intimidation. But also a chance at making it big causes the vulnerable among us to accept the ill treatment. Women and ethnic minorities are among the most targeted for abusive treatment and the psychology similar to Stockholm syndrome overrides any thought of seeking redress through property Human Resources. In Nevada, the casinos are a powerful lobbying force that ensures their continued success in any form of litigation, especially labor issues.

In just the past decade unions have gained a foothold in the town to represent casino workers, in other words, the people who handle the joint’s money. It is a positive step, but as with most things casino, the house holds the edge. The unions are little more than paper tigers, although there is the occasional reinstatement of a worker wrongfully terminated but only if the violations are not of a monetary nature. Evolution is a pedantic, nonlinear process and even Darwin would be puzzled by the impenetrable resistance found here, where nothing is natural or close to nature.

Corporate dominance, once entrenched, gave the air of legitimacy to gambling in general, and to Vegas specifically. Dynamic growth ensued and has only recently begun to slow based on controllable as well as uncontrollable factors. Factors corporate leaders can control are the approach to handling risk. Gambling is risky and prone to great swings in profitability which some corporations find unsettling. The most successful casinos are independently owned by folks who like the thrill of the of the game and accept the inherent risk. Corporations inclined to try and mitigate risk are doomed to lackluster performance in the casino. They are lured by the guaranteed income garnered from conventions, restaurants, and room rates. One bad beat loss to a well financed gambler can spell catastrophe to the bottom line and possibly careers. Uncontrolled factors are environmental, specifically a global pandemic and the ever worsening problem of water shortages.

Of course these things will happen when your only source of income is tourism. Protestations to the contrary, Vegas has never been interested in fostering other industries. Our inability to sustain a school system successful at teaching our children at any rate better than the bottom five is further proof that we lack vision. Diversity is for losers.

Those of us employed in the casino industry would like to see a transition from the dark ages into the light. But old habits do die hard and the likelihood of an epiphany seems remote. The town will return to the desert from which it spawned before we realize that not only has time forgot us, but so has everybody else.

For all the news traction this is inspiring, it really matters not in the political scheme. Sinema is the self proclaimed fly in the ointment and seems to relish in all the gooey mess. Well someone has to be the fire starter, why not her. She has formed an alliance with Manchin, in appearance only, because make no mistake, all this posturing is meant to benefit her and her alone.

This is the state of the state in this country. What have you done for me lately. Sinema should be stripped of all committee positions as a reward for her loyalty. But forget about that. Independent indeed. It sounds so maverick like. Nobody tells me what to do. But if you caucus with the Democrats, you’re a Democrat. SNL’s Tina Fey famously parodied Sarah Palin, declaring, “I’m going rogue right now.”And we now wonder what Sinema is seeing from her house. But not a rogue. More of a mercenary.

Apparently many of her constituents appreciate her mischievous vixen persona. But it’s a mystery why Arizona’s overwhelmingly senior population would vote against their own self interests. After all, Sinema backed tax cuts for the rich, putting in peril the social safety net on which many seniors depend.

And yes, it all sounds eerily trendy. Not like the latest fashion, but more like the latest copycat mass shooting. From whence does all this deviance emanate. Attacks now on the power grid. Where might we suppose this idea came from (Putin). The concerted and relentless effort to tear it all down reminds one of the angry lover jilted. Except there is very little love of country anymore, just the snarling insistence of a superior race entitled to all wealth, all power.

It used to be considered bad manners to speak well of Hitler. Now it’s just provocative? Pretty soon folks will flock to Vegas to find religion.

Party on.

Geez. Had to increase my stress tabs dosage. NBC has boldly called the Arizona gubernatorial race for the Democrat. Another despicable candidate loses.

Now the predictions will come fast and furious. Will he or won’t he. The news corps is already camped outside the Florida scene of the grime. Waiting breathlessly for the big announcement.

Trump will announce his candidacy for President. He will announce it to make money from his gullible base of die hard fans. He will need the funds to bolster his legal representation. Coy but never shy, he will drop hints of how successful his campaign will be. In spite of his wife encouraging him to run (oh please).

But Trump will experience a premature evacuation. Exit stage right. The master of reality television will need a compelling excuse to drop out. And whatever he comes up with, it will be a doozy. But drop out he will, because he knows the tactics he hoped would push the red wave, fizzled miserably. And he also knows that he is the reason. Alas poor Donald…we knew him too well.

As we explore the evidence surrounding the attack on Paul Pelosi, the debate has arisen as to the attacker’s mental health. One commentator noted that being radicalized, as this individual apparently is, can not be classified as mental illness. If this is the prevailing medical view, well that’s just nuts.

There is a reluctance to call the elephant in the room a mental case. One might make the argument that Jeffrey Dahmer was of sound mind when he kidnapped, killed and ate his victims because he was capable of planning and knew the difference between right and wrong. Some of this may be rooted in the criminal justice system, where a insanity defense automatically makes it difficult to obtain a conviction.

I am not suggesting that the attacker of Pelosi is crazy, but I am suggesting that what he did and wanted to do is just batshit nuts. If we can agree on that much, then we can see a way toward a clearer understanding.

It is similar to predicting who is at risk for addiction. If one or both parents have a history of addiction, their offspring are 50% more likely to become addicts themselves. Statistics. A radicalized individual can very well be said to be addicted. The drug of choice interferes with everyday life and becomes out of the addict’s ability to control. Because the idea of listening or watching something cannot be considered illegal or damaging activities gives these individuals greater license to pursue such input regardless of how deep the rabbit hole.

Freedom of speech is limited. Yelling fire in a crowded theater has always been the benchmark for determining what is protected speech. Why? Because such speech, if untrue, causes harm to others especially if the person knows the speech is untrue. Now let’s explore media speech. There is a constant yelling of “fire” that breeds in some vulnerable individuals a flight or fight response. It is purely an emotional response which negates the capacity for critical, rational thinking.

But yelling “fire” is also coupled with directions to the exit, a way to save yourself. All of this is perpetrated without any real evidence of a fire, but merely the possibility of danger by fire. The directions seem so sincere that it draws these individuals to get further information for the escape plan. Then once the plan is realized in the minds of these individuals, anyone who attempts to impede their escape must be eliminated. There is no time to try to convince them of their error.

What seems logical is to regulate such hate speech. This is not easy, nor should it be. But if a media personality is encouraging the fears of their listeners to the point of endangering both themselves and those around them who appear to be the source of the danger, that should be monitored and sanctioned. And who would be in charge of such oversight. The FCC seems like a good start. Not politicians, not church leaders, not cultists.

In the meantime, we as members of a free and open society, must be aware of and vigilant about the information we allow into our heads. We must be cautious and savvy consumers of so-called news. It has always been true that our sources of news have bias. It is incumbent upon us to be aware and conscious, not oblivious and sedated.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas, prepare to be amazed, hopeful, ecstatic, and completely satiated. It’s the least we can do.

If you are a return visitor, things may have changed a lot or maybe not so much depending on the time between. One thing absolutely certain…Vegas is no longer a bargain. Pack a lot of cash or credit if you intend to eat, shop, stay in a room, or gamble. Not cheap. Not anymore

But can you still get lucky. Well sure, but the casinos are increasingly stingy with their odds. Be careful to play smart and selectively. And never play any game you do not understand whether it’s slots or tables. And if you think yourself pretty smart, be prepared to have less opportunities.

Above all else, keep track of your stuff. All the security staff on the planet cannot save you from being careless or just stupid. If you venture out onto to Las Vegas Boulevard, The Strip, be alert to scammers and ne’er do wells. The street is full of both. The bright lights are not so bright anymore. LED doesn’t hold a candle, if you will, to neon.

It can all be a fun time, but it really depends on you and your expectations. And if you hate to lose, Vegas isn’t for you. Vegas hates a loser.

That’s it. Welcome to Vegas. And by all means, have yourselves a blast.

Well it was only fitting that all this DOJ procrastination would result in another bit of “slip-slidin’ away”. Even if he doesn’t pay them, he has enough legal advice to keep punching away, looking for the elusive loophole. And like any sports enthusiast knows, if you let the other team hang around they will likely end up handing it to you.

It’s worse than we thought and we thought it was pretty bad. A special master, approved, signed, sealed and delivered by the cleverly placed jurist. And there are many such placements throughout the country’s judiciary, causing one to imagine all sorts of trickery, buffoonery and flat out law bending, breaking activities.

And while we don’t yet know who will be appointed special master and what the special master’s duties will be, we do know that this is a stall. The kind of maneuver attorneys play to buy time while they search for a winning strategy. But let’s be real here. They have already won in many ways. He has sullied the election process. He has claimed martyrdom and achieved it. He has potentially jeopardized our national security by disclosing top secret information. And he has proven that he can indeed shoot somebody in the middle of Time Square and not lose a single vote.

Like a cancerous cyst on the collective ovary that has been appropriated by the government as if it exists independent of the owner, this thing will continue to grow until all viable, healthy tissue is destroyed. And yet, we dally as if time has no meaning. It is sickening and terminal and drives us to desperation.

The longer we let them hang around, the greater the chance we will get it handed to us. In Vegas, there is no substitution for winning. And if you’re a loser, the city can be cruel.

I admit to spending way too much time thinking about politics but preserving democracy seems kind of important…so what the hell.

They have been waiting, patiently, for the messiah, and they believe he has come. He has come bearing fire and vengeance. He has come promising to make it all go away. He has come promising to make white right and great again.

So as we ponder this worldview, it begins to become clear as the sediment settles that a great portion of this country’s population have retired all pretense of critical thinking and surrendered their souls and wallets to the messiah. Jim and Tammy Faye never had it this good…and they had it good.

It seems logical in a way that predominantly white fundamentalist Christians would fall prey to such preaching. They are, after all, conditioned to believe and listen intently. They take comfort in being around others with like minds as they gather in their places of worship. And increasingly, the voices they listen to are steering them ever more urgently toward the messiah.

The point here, if not already obvious, is that white Anglo Saxon is the predominant force for good in this country. They were the explorers and conquerors who braved the ocean blue to escape the oppressive English government. And so instead of being oppressed over there, they went about ensuring a repressive government here. It was a gradual evolution, but steady and clear minded nonetheless. It was never meant to be overt but rather an agreed upon reality spoken in the privacy of homes and sometimes from the pulpit.

And now that the messiah has arrived, they are emboldened and filled with righteous purpose. Christian soldiers is no longer a church hymn. What is the worse that can happen? Look no further than Afghanistan as an example of religious zealotry gone mainstream. I am told there are two places agnostics find religion: prison and the death bed. Tough love.

Like flat earthers, they refuse to acknowledge evolution, cause you know, there are still apes. Free from this cognitive restriction, they feel that evolution can somehow be negated or reversed. What they sincerely desire is the eradication of all lower species, or as might be assumed, anyone not white. They fear the white majority is disappearing.

And they are right. And they are wrong. But that will not deter them from burning down the house.

Sharks in the water! Blood in the water causes the feeding frenzy. The news cycle is so predictable that you have to wonder if MSNBC and CNN are working to get Trump re-elected president. The latest frenzy, of course , is the FBI search at Mar-A-Lago for documents removed, illegally, from the White House when Trump departed. Speculation is running rampant among news celebrities as to the timing of the court ordered search.

The latest Trump concocted story claims the FBI planted incriminating evidence. Sure. And Trump is a scratch golfer.

Here’s a conspiracy theory of a different sort.

Trump is infamous for his use of pseudonyms to leak or promote a story to the press that leads in a direction either favorable to him or to gaslight the media. Whether the amateurish performances are believable is the purview of skeptics, but supposedly he has been exposed in the past and, of course, immediately denied the tricks. Well that sounds familiar.

So the idea that someone close to Trump or someone who works at the palace, squealed on him may be sleight of hand.

Even the fly on the wall had to call bullshit.

Why would he squeal on himself, you might ask. Perhaps to get the heat off of him. Perhaps to claim the narrative. Perhaps to ensure free and unfettered press coverage while claiming his status as number one martyr. When we consider that nothing is beneath him, that no scheme is too far fetched, it makes it easier to suspend rational thought. You know, the way he pulls the wool over the eyes of his believers.

Perhaps Garland will give us some clues. It’s a great story, one the media can’t resist.

A nationwide teacher shortage. Who could have predicted it. Suddenly education “experts” are coming out from behind the chalkboard to enlighten us. Saw it coming. Bound to happen.

Sure. But not what it seems.

Vegas is a microcosm of the nation. Here, there is a class system that is clearly defined and clearly undeniable. Money talks. And sometimes here, money screams. And honestly, money always wins. Check your local casino if you doubt it. This class system translates well to our public schools. Funding for the schools is mostly generated through bonds and each election cycle, there is a bond proposal to fund education which is unceremoniously voted down. Folks here don’t like taxes. Go figure. So historically the schools here are underfunded and underperforming. In an economic environment that depends on math skills, we are woefully lacking, performing somewhere near the bottom of the lake when stacked up against other states. Dummy up and deal isn’t just a mantra. And now, the casinos are more legit than the local government. Skimming is an art form.

There have always been private schools here. They were mostly religious affiliates and a couple with seemingly military associations. You pay, you get better learning. Well nothing wrong with that. “My kid gets nothing but the best.” As the atmosphere in public schools has shifted from learning to read and write and add to learning to find the nearest escape route, parents are increasingly enamored with the exclusivity of private schools. My guess is that the salary offered teachers in private schools is a bit more generous than public schools and parents have the expectation that the vetting process will be thorough and extreme. Public schools cannot compete.

So what.

Nothing in this country trickles down…not the economy, not education, not opportunity. You either gots it or you don’t. It is a miracle worthy of national media attention when a kid raised in abject poverty gets the chance at a college education. Cheating has become the national pastime, not necessarily to win, but to keep the other guy out of the game. Winning is an expectation. Institutionalized cheating keeps everybody out.

The world has always marveled at how democracy endures in the United States. And now that we seem to be spiraling toward its dissolution, the world looks on and snickers. And confident in their smug belief that democracy is a joke, they look for ways to exploit us. The threads that have held us together, the collective consciousness whereby we agree to be governed by laws and democracy, look more like the hairs on an aging head that fall out until there’s nothing left. That’s what the red caps are for! The guy is a marketing genius.

The founders understood the importance of free, universal education. The goal was to keep the Union strong by teaching the next generations why we embrace democracy and how we must strive to protect it. It’s the way to socialize a population not bound by genetics or by religion. That was the basis for the grand experiment. To now decry that as indoctrination dishonors that which makes us great as a nation.