I Do My Best Brainstorming In The Early Morning

I Do My Best Brainstorming In The Early Morning

(I need to ease my mind, surely it’s 5 o’clock somewhere)  

May 23, 2022

By Dannie McIntire

Having just celebrated my 72^nd birthday, it seems the largest adjustment I’ve had to make since retiring at age 66 has been “sleeping in”. I was used to getting up early, in my later working years being at work by 5 AM. Now, six years into retirement, I’ve yet to fully make the “sleep in” adjustment.

 If I’m still in bed at 5:30 AM, that is sleeping into me, by then I’m usually up, coffee fixed, and I’m at my computer. I love reading articles on the internet, anything and everything, at age 72, I’m still squirreling away useful information, and most likely in my family and friend’s opinion, much useless information as well. 

Sitting in our living room, binge watching old episodes of “Criminal Minds” on Netflix with my wife, I may astound her with my knowledge, “did you know that Shively Kentucky has weasels”, then minutes later turn around and ask her “why did I get up, what was I going to do”. Hey, I may occasionally forget what I was going to do, but thanks to reading, I do know about weasels.

I tend to do some of my best thinking early in the morning, coffee poured, sitting at my desk, scouring the internet reading the most pressing problems facing our nation. 

The current shortage of baby formula to me does not seem all that perplexing and could be easily solved. 

Recently in a congressional hearing, a democrat, Aimee Arrambide, the executive director of an abortion rights nonprofit in Texas, told a republican lawmaker that she believes that men can become pregnant and have abortions. 

Well, if men can become pregnant, couldn’t they certainly help out with breastfeeding and thus help alleviate the baby formula shortage problem? Now before you roll your eyes, remember that is the sound like “woke” thinking! 

Yes, the above solution is absurd, well it is if using rational thinking, however, what to me is more absurd is what has happened to the manufacturing prowess of the United States? 

Think about the above in this retrospect, during World War II, the War Powers Act Of 1941 spurred the American civilian manufacturing prowess of the United States to produce an equivalent in today’s dollars over $690 billion worth of supplies to be shipped to our allies overseas.  

This past Wednesday, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure that US baby formula producers can acquire the material they need and launched a new US government airlift of formula from abroad, more specifically baby formula from France.   

Kind of fair I guess, We liberated France in World War II, today they are returning the favor by shipping the United States baby formula. 

What is wrong with this picture? We helped saved the world in World War I and II, and today we can’t manufacture enough formula for our own babies.

What else has raised my blood pressure this morning?

On Friday, May 20^th, the Biden Administration announced via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that $500 million will be made available in Federal grants to replace heavily-polluting buses, more specifically targeting diesel engine school busses.

Per a recent EPA press release “These investments will also help spur the development and deployment of American-made clean technology, creating more good paying jobs right here at home. This is a win for our economy, our environment, and most of all, our nation’s children, all of whom deserve to breathe clean, safe air.”

Now I’m totally in agreement our children deserve to breathe clean, safe air on their way to and from school. Who would possibly disagree with that thinking? 

So, let’s put them on environmentally clean busses, while we develop American made clean technology, and create more good paying jobs at home while we continue to bus children to our under-performing schools. 

In a 2018 report, the National Center For Education Statistics, the educational rankings for 15-year-olds in the United States when compared to other countries were; 

12^th – In Reading

36^th – In Mathematics

18 – In Science

6^th – In Financial Literacy

For me, the 6^th ranking in Financial Literacy isn’t surprising. Financial Illiteracy is basically the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management. You only have to look at the amount of debt being incurred by our younger generations to understand our education system is failing to adequately prepare our students for adulthood.

Just a thought, lets improve our educational system before worrying about how best to get our kids to school. 

Aspirins took, on another subject. 

The push to go green with all electric vehicles, while I believe it is one of the viable alternatives to fossil fuels, there are inherent problems not being addressed. 

The United States does not have a national electrical energy grid. There are three separate energy networks in the country’s power grid system, the eastern, western, and Texas has their own. They operate independently of each other and exchange very little energy.

Our current grid system is vulnerable to both inside and outside threats.  Much of the equipment that allows it to operate and transmit electricity is old and outdated and getting older by the day.

Already, some areas of our country during the peak seasons of usage are prone to rolling blackouts used by the grid operator to help balance the supply and demand. 

Oh, I have a nice environmentally friendly all-electric vehicle but no electricity to charge it.

In today’s world political climate, is our grid systems adequately protected from cyber warfare? Oh geez, one of our adversaries took down our eastern power grid, not a big issue; it should be back up and running in 4 to 5 days if we’re lucky. 

As a nation, we first need to build and ensure our country has an adequate and well-protected electrical power grid system and associated infrastructure before we go all in on electric vehicles.

I need to ease my mind, surely it’s 5 o’clock somewhere!       

FOOTNOTE: Posted by the City-County Observer without bias or opinion.