Almost Pulled The Plug

On Saturday, I was whacked out after my girlfriend gave me a thorough talking-to about how I need to think more broadly about employment opportunities (which she's right about) and to keep the blog going as a hobby. I then decided that on Sunday morning I would pull the plug on the blog and take it down for good, and instead go for an insurance license so that I could take ownership of my family's insurance brokerage. The thought in my head at the time was it was time to face the music, and instead of pursuing a crapshoot pipe-dream, and accept the fact that I needed to sell insurance policies for the rest of my life. Here are some open secrets about why I would fail in doing that:

1. I'm terrible at standardized tests and would probably do poor on the tests to first get the license and then the CE (Continuing Education) tests for its annual renewal
2. I'm too honest and can't bullshit people for the life of me
3. I don't have a seller's mentality
4. I get frustrated way too easily, especially when filling out forms
5. I don't have the patience to deal with the insurance companies when they try to weasel out of doing their job
6. I find insurance to be exceedingly depressing

Luckily, both she and my mom were able to talk me out of it as it's still up and functioning, but I need to find a way to get some means of an income. 

1968 Is The Wrong Comparison For 2020

I have no patience for those voices who claim that 1968 is the year for us to compare 2020 to in terms of dynamic similarities, as it's the wrong analogy. The right election years to compare 2020 to are 1980 and 1992. 1980 and 1992 were years of immense change in how certain regions had aligned themselves politically. Some states, like California. were Republican-leaning swing states prior to 1992; while others, such as Texas, had been Democratic-leaning swing states prior to 1980. 2020 is shaping up to be a year along those same dynamics again.