Out of Phase

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I've been watching a lot of NOVA lately. (I have a bunch recorded on my DVR.) And while watching one on the formation of Earth's atmosphere, I had an odd thought. 

What if the universe is teeming with life, but those lifeforms (on other planets) exist out of phase with our own reality? 

I'll (probably) resume my ranting next week. So many things to rant about. It's good to not only rant, though. 

Tracked

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I was on a plane for half the day yesterday. (I'm writing this post before I leave.) If I got behind on visiting while I was away, I'll catch up in the next day or two.

So, because I'm writing this more than a week ahead, current events are off the table... 

What if everyone was required to wear a device that the government could use to track you? (Alas, I wish this was far-fetched...)

School Choice

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Yes, I know, an actual "what if?" post. A question occurred to me (for no reason whatsoever), and I thought I might as well post it: 

What if every child was required to attend a public school? (Specifically, private schools would no longer be allowed.) 

Something Missing

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I spent the weekend at my uncle's. I'm out of ideas, so I asked him to give us a question...

What if a void suddenly appeared where one wasn't before? 

Nature of the Universe

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I don't even know what to target this week. It's disconcerting watching the fascist takeover. I had hoped that someone would be pushing back on this, but apparently it's all grandstanding and hand wringing. Deep sigh. I will miss living in a free country. 

In and amidst all of this, I stumbled upon a blog post that purported to know "the truth" of the universe. And that was that rather than a benevolent entity or energy controlling it all, the truth was that the universe was controlled by a deep evil. 

(There's a lot more to it than that. And I don't have the energy to find the original blog post to link to right now. If you want to read it, email me at mllelizka [at] gmail [dot] com, and I'll find that link and send it to you.) 

That got me thinking...

What if the universe was created by a deep evil that permeates everything? What if it is our job to overcome that evil and bring goodness and love to it?

Safe Banks?

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

That was fast. 

Okay, so the U.S. has become a fascist state. Raiding the Treasury records. Retaliatory firings in the DOJ. Setting up Guantanamo Bay concentration camp for immigrants. Tariffs against allies. And dismantling banking safeguards. 

I missed a bunch. Last week was a lot for me personally, so I couldn't keep up with everything. (See yesterday's post.) 

If I had more mental bandwidth, this would be a different post, but today I'm just going to ask a "what if?" that seems like more a matter of time than anything else.

What if they dismantle the FDIC? Would you trust your money in the bank? 

Seriously, would you? I'm wondering if I should start stashing cash in my mattress. No, seriously. 

The Aggressor

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if he does try to acquire Greenland and/or the Panama Canal? How would he do it? Are we turning into that national aggressor sending its military out to acquire territory? Aren't we over this ridiculousness yet?

No Help for You

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

You might have heard that Los Angeles is on fire. According to the weather report (I'm writing this on Sunday), more Santa Ana winds and red flag conditions are expected this week. Which means things are likely to get worse (even though things are getting slightly better as of Sunday) before they get better. 

And so...

In our current political climate, I had a thought...

What if the federal government refused to provide disaster aid to areas they declared "the enemy", even though they are part of the country?

This isn't very far-fetched. Last time a certain president was in charge, he wanted to deny California aid for fires. He only relented when it was pointed out that that particular county was pro him. 

(I'm too lazy right now to go looking for links for this. It happened. I'm going to be very cranky if anyone has memory-holed this and claims it didn't happen.) 

For the moment, I'm far enough away from the fires to not be in danger. I hedge this as with continuing dry conditions and winds returning, it is possible that new fires could pop up at any time. And I don't want to tempt fate. It ain't over until the winds are gone and our humidity rises.

Illegal Actions Should Have Consequences

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I've been pondering the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. *waves hands* No reason, really. But it got me thinking...

What if those in power in government (say, like in the Supreme Court or the Oval Office) actually suffered consequences when they did something illegal?

Throwing Money at the Problem

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

The other day I saw a post on social media that made me stop and think about vast wealth. Because, seriously, people who have billions of dollars wouldn't miss one of those billions. And it would solve so many problems...

What if billionaires donated money to make the world a better place? What sort of problems could that much money solve?

Droning On

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Apparently, the eastern part of the country has been invaded by drones. At least, that's the story I've heard. Mysterious drones...

My science fiction brain can go wild here. Aliens? Time travelers? Someone creating a portal (or looking for one)? But those are rather obvious "what if?" questions. 

What if the government entities actually know what's the behind the drone sightings, but they will not admit it publicly because it's embarrassing to them? 

Losing the Mail

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

This past weekend stories surfaced with the idea of privatizing the post office. Which got me thinking. Why would anyone think this is a good idea? What is with this idea of running things, like a service that is written into the Constitution, like a "business"? Why is running things like a business a good idea? 

(When has maximizing profits ever helped the consumer? Think about how hard it is to get any sort of customer service for any corporation. They do this on purpose.)

But none of these are in the vein of "what if?" So...

What if you could no longer get things delivered to your home? (If you could, it would be very, very expensive.)

The High Cost of U.S. Healthcare

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

So, um...

Excerpt from this article.

Last week there was a big story in the news that you may have heard about. United Healthcare's CEO was shot and killed. And, considering the country in which I live, my question is about an outcome of this whole thing... 

What if healthcare companies hire security to protect their executives? What if they pass that expense on to their customers?

New Weather Expense

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Yes, a "what if?". But still a rant. 

What if you had to pay to get a weather forecast?

Sadly, this may happen. It's in Project 2025 to disband NOAA, and that includes the National Weather Service. They want to privatize it, which means that people would have to pay to access their findings. What happens to our weather apps then?

Comic pages from StopProject2025Comic.org.

Down with the Electoral College

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Ah, election day. The day I am reminded how little my vote in California matters on the national level. (Which sucks, frankly. We're the most populous state. We have a huge economy that financially benefits the country as a whole. But in national elections, we're figuratively sneered at.) 

Did you know there's already a plan in place to get around the Electoral College? It's called the National Popular Vote, and unsurprisingly, California is on board. Is your state?

What if we got enough states on board to do away with the Electoral College?

Financial Interest in the Outcome

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

This month I have fallen into a "what if?" mini theme: the U.S. election. And today is no different. 

Are you sick of the political ads yet? In California, we are inundated with ads for and against the various propositions on the ballot. They get old quick.

While one of these ads was on in the background, I had a weird thought. I wondered how much money the ones who funded the ad would lose if the vote went the other way. (I can't remember which proposition it was for and whether they were for or against it.) Because, seriously. Why else spend so much money to get these ads to play all the freaking time?

And that leads me to this week's "what if?"...

What if they were required to disclose in political ads how much money the funder of said ad would gain if the vote goes their way? (Or, conversely, what if they were required to disclose how much money they would lose if the vote went against them?)

Compulsory Vote

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I have heard that there are countries where everyone is required to vote. Considering how low voter turnout can be in the U.S., I wondered a few things. (Although, my brain made a weird turn, and I thought about how that would affect voter suppression.) Anyway...

What if voting was required of every U.S. citizen over the age of 18? 

I Voted, So Please Shut Up

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

I live in California. They now send all registered voters mail-in ballots. I got mine about a week and a half ago. (And I returned it all filled in a week ago.)

We have the option of doing the mail-in ballot or going to our polling place on election day. There's also early in-person voting. Options. 

And I'd like one more option...

What if those who have already submitted their ballots could opt out of all the political ads? What if there was a way to just "I voted" out of the TV commercials? What if the various campaigns could find out who returned a ballot so they wouldn't waste their time mailing out the various flyers?

Number Base Twelve

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

This is my 4000th post. At least, that's what Blogger's little counter thingy says at the top of my screen. Which got me thinking about milestones...

What if our number system was based on 12? (Or 6? Or 7?)

(Because I was curious, my 3000th post was in 2020 and my 2000th post was in 2017.)

In Need of Transportation

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

A certain hurricane is on my mind with this week's question.

What if your neighborhood was required to evacuate due to an incoming hurricane (or similar event), but you had no way to get out of town? (So, your car is broken and/or you don't have the funds to pay for a bus or train to get out of town.)