Author: wwducat

About: Writer, Technology guy, Photographer, Possibly EX-Software QA Engineer, Worker Bee. Interests: SCUBA, Working out, Friends, New Views, New Vistas, Photography
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I think the “He’s like Hitler” Trope has lost its value.

There was a time when invoking Hitler was the worst insult you could hurl at someone. This was particularly true in politics.

It was a shocking statement and conjured up some of the darkest images in recent history. There was a time when if someone called you Hitler, you were doing something very bad.

Trump was called Hitler, Ron DeSantis is being called Hitler by Nikki Fried (who is campaigning to take DeSantis’s position.)

Lately it seems as if that shocking insult is being leveled at anyone over simple political disagreement.

“Hitler” as an insult is rapidly becoming as commonplace as “racist”. Both are losing their shock value and their impact.

Now if someone calls you a racist in a discussion, it just means “You Win!” The person calling you a racist is declaring that they cannot win the discussion on merit, facts, or logic. This is the verbal equivalent of “The nipple crippler, or titty twister” in a fight. It’s a shameful and pointless move born out of desperation. It’s wholly ineffective and serves no purpose other than to show others what kind of poor loser you are.

Comparing someone to Hitler is rapidly becoming the same lame move.

One could similarly compare the Biden Administration to Nero fiddling while Rome burned. The story of Nero fiddling is not historically accurate but has entered into the collection of descriptive tropes we use as shorthand to describe things.

Nero isn’t nearly as insulting as Hitler these days, but in the sunset of The Roman Empire I’d bet calling someone “A Nero” was cause for a duel.

For me, when someone screams racist or Hitler I’m done. Nothing that person says after is of any importance. They came to a debate or a discussion unarmed and then got butt hurt when the weakness of their position was unmasked.

Nikki Fried has lost her election bid right from the start. She didn’t consider her audience.

Think about the age of most of the residents of Florida. A fair number of them would have been told stories of the horror of Hitler by their parents or grandparents. The images of the camps may still be in their memories. The fact that Hitler was so bad, we allied ourselves with Stalin to defeat him would also not be lost on those people.

A simple comparison of DeSantis today versus their memory of Hitler’s atrocities puts lie to Nikki Fried’s comparison.

Fried speaks for Miami. A lot of Florida doesn’t consider Miami part of Florida. Miami is where all the New Yorkers hang out, it’s a place where the prices are too high, the crime is too prevalent, the politics are too blue, and liberal progressive elites are thankfully mostly contained.

When I was a boy every hurricane season the “Normal” Florida secretly hoped a hurricane would scour Miami off into the Atlantic.

I’m wondering if DeSantis will address Fried directly. She’s handed DeSantis a great line. Fried calls him Hitler, he responds, “No, the trains still aren’t running on time.”

The majority of older Floridians would chuckle at the reference then watch in amusement as Fried tried to figure out what that meant or how it was relevant. A bunch of older Floridians would correct DeSantis by pointing out he’d gotten his dictators confused. Benito Mussolini, not Hitler, is the despot who insisted the trains run on time.

Unfortunately, the media would blast it as, “DeSantis admits he’s Hitler”

It’s a pity that sarcasm is lost on most people today.

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SCOTUS Ruling

It’s interesting to me that the SCOTUS ruled against the OSHA Vaccine Mandate but upheld the CMS version.

From what I’ve read thus far, members of the court had concerns about the vague language used in the OSHA version. In the CMS version, it appears they upheld it based on who was providing the money. CMS appears mostly Medicare related and therefore is using public funds.

There’s a lot more to read and I’m waiting for text of the actual ruling.

I suspect that the vague language issue leaves open the possibility for the Biden Administration to tighten up the language and the try to re-implement the OSHA rule.

I also find myself wondering if the SCOTUS ruling opens an entirely different can of worms.

What about those employees who did not want to get the vaccination but who felt the had no choice. Do they now have legal standing to sue their employers? Can they invoke the Nuremberg Code and demand compensation? Will they be able to sue the Biden Administration?

They, by definition were being coerced/threatened into accepting a medical procedure against their will. That’s a pretty clear violation of Nuremberg.

There will be some slimy lawyer that says they don’t have a case because they could submit to weekly testing, wear a mask, maintain social distance, etc. That is more or less true although some companies were saying everyone had to be vaccinated because it was too much work to keep track of testing schedules and results.

It should be interesting to see how that plays out.

I’m waiting to see the rulings before rushing to judgement. However many of the initial news pieces don’t mention any constitutional infringement that the court was concerned about. That concerns me.

If the SCOTUS found nothing constitutionally wrong with the OSHA mandate, then we can be sure that a revised mandate will rear its ugly head once more. I worry that without a constitutional “Stake” to the heart this OSHA mandate will rise from the grave and introduce more chaos into the job market. Companies don’t want to hire if they’re unable to predict which way the wind is blowing.

Year One of Biden has been a study in unintended consequences.

It’s funny. I just realized I’ve seen this before.

I’ve worked for companies that while owned by the founder were profitable and produced good reliable products. Typically, the founder has a clear vision of what products are needed and sticks to that vision. A lot of the founders I’ve known were essentially good folks, but they tended to be plain spoken, to the point of being “mean”. They weren’t mean, they simply had little time or concern for hurt feelings.

I’ve observed what happens to a company when they go public and suddenly you’ve got a board of directors, a bunch of executives given their positions by the board regardless of qualifications, and a bunch of legal red tape designed to protect the investors.

What seems to happen is the company loses focus. You start having “design by committee,” instead of a clear vision of the products. There’s usually a substantial loss of quality and often the executives will take one successful product and modify it iteratively, bolting on a new button or changing the color. They’ll call it “new” and improved. But it’s the same machine or software just with different lipstick.

It’s not uncommon for the founder to quietly bail and then there’s a lot of churn in the executive wing. For employees that’ve been through this process once, they also start looking for the exits.

I’ve been in companies where the new management is so unfamiliar with product or the company that they start hemorrhaging money on things that don’t add value to the actual work being done on the product. (Custom woven carpets for premium office space in an Irvine high-rise come to mind.)

As the company goes further into the red more committees get formed to investigate why the company is showing a loss. The management starts flogging the employees and demanding longer hours, restricting vacations, and of course cheapening the medical plan for the employees. But the executive wing is still getting raises, going on vacations, and getting bonuses. They also have awesome medical coverage.

There’s a point where the brain drain from employees bailing to greener pastures reaches a tipping point. That’s when a high level “Cleaner” executive comes in. This person’s job is to ready the company for immediate sale. The company itself will be shut down and all the patents and intellectual property will be sold to competitors.

Think of it as organ harvesting in the corporate world. It happens all the time! If I was a betting man, Now that Jack Dorsey is out of Twitter, and Jeff Bezos is out of Amazon… We might see either or both cannibalized over the next 10 years. I’d bet that Twitter will go first.

The Biden Administration reminds me a lot of the corporate process. There’s a lack of focus. The administration is trying to address too many pet issues and not considering the consequences. Many of the issues are low level, but because they’re being treated with equal weight to every other issue, nothing is being done well.

Unfortunately, we’re all going to have to suffer through it. It is my sincere hope that America will learn the bitter lesson this time around and choose better candidates for the 2024 Presidential election.

I’m not holding my breath but I have a smidgen of hope nonetheless.

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Well that’s better!

All systems reporting 95%.

Fever has abated, coughing diminished to small little bouts every couple of hours instead of every couple of minutes. Appetite returning (Got a real hankering for steak!) Intestinal discomfort (don’t ask!) has resolved. Sinuses are clearing. Both knees are showing good. There’s still a little twinge in the left knee signaling caution but it seems that those repairs are mostly complete.

All that’s left is this weird patchy sensitivity on some parts of my skin. The feeling is like a cross between an itch / burning sensation where clothing touches.

If this were Summer I’d be running around naked, or hanging outside in shorts absorbing sunlight, alas it’s too cold for that right now. Nonetheless, the sensation is diminishing as the hours go by.

My head is clearing too. For the past couple of days my thinking has been muddy and I’ve been easily annoyed. Oddly, even technology has been annoying. That’s unusual for me. If I’m ill, technology is my goto. I suppose it allows me to get out of my body and focus on something else.

Whatever this bug was, it muddied my thought processes enough that I couldn’t effectively communicate with tech.

Whether this was a cold or the dreaded and always fatal Omicron, (sarcasm intended!) My immune response has adapted and destroyed the invader. Much like human immune systems have been doing automatically for millions of years.

No matter how you slice it, our bodies are marvels.

I wasn’t gifted with beauty, or height, but apparently I was gifted with durability. 60+ years later and this body keeps on kicking with relatively low maintenance. I’ll take the durability, beauty is so fleeting…

Given my German ancestry I guess I’ve got the VW body. Side note: The older I get, the more finicky my body is getting about fuel and other stuff so now I’m probably less VW, and more BWM or Mercedes.

The other half is still trying to cough up a lung and is, I think, simultaneously relieved that I’m back on-line and jealous that I bounce back pretty fast. They are not so fortunate.

Now in typical fashion, I’m ravenous. Time to go raid the fridge and replenish all the raw materials that I burned fighting this, (whatever it was) off.

My constant nursemaid (the dog) needs some loving attention too. He’s been sleeping close to me and gently checking on me every hour or two in typical dog fashion.

I’d get both my ears sniffed and a lick on the nose. Then he’d lay down again. Every once in a while I’d wake to find a favored toy laid on my chest. I don’t think he was trying to get me to play, I think he was trying to make me feel better the only way he knew how.

The other half says that the dog has been splitting his time between us. I only knew that every time I woke up the dog was there watching me.

An alternative explanation could be that I’ve been on the couch. He might simply have been wondering why I was in his spot. I choose to believe he cared about the pack being sick.

I’m going to get something to eat, then we’re going out in the back yard to play. I’m also going to take the opportunity to do poo patrol. The dog seems to like supervising that activity.

There is an unproven but highly documented, anecdotal, theory in medicine stating attitude and belief sometimes can have as much positive effect as all the drugs in the world. I’d add the dog kisses and nuzzles are just as beneficial.

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Biden gets more recognition

#BareShelvesBiden is trending on Twitter.

I didn’t say the recognition was necessarily positive…

The fact that it’s not being censored by twitter is amazing in itself.

Give it time… The Twitter fact checkers will find some reason to shut down the hashtag as misinformation.

What’s happening is people all over the country are taking photos of empty shelves in grocery stores and posting them with #BareShelvesBiden. The fact that it’s trending on the Twitter platform is demonstrative of how wide spread shortages are becoming.

As I said I’m sure the Twitter fact checkers will find some reason to censor it. When they do, it’s possible that a large portions of people will have undeniable proof that Twitter is not the bastion of truth and honesty they believe it is. The real question will be; Are they going to believe their own eyes?

Biden is supposed to give a fiery speech about voter rights in GA today. He’s staunchly opposed to the new GA laws that are designed to prevent potential voter fraud.

He’s opposed to such heinous things as:

Not sending mail in ballots out automatically to all registered voters. A mail in ballot must be requested.
Absentee ballots have a narrower window to be requested, however for voters over 65 once an absentee ballot is requested additional absentee ballots will automatically be sent for the duration of the election cycle.
A voter will have to present ID to vote. If a voter doesn’t have a driver’s license, there are alternate methods of providing ID, A voter ID card, for example and other methods beyond that.
Limitations on the number of voter drop boxes.

Apparently this is all racist voter suppression. I’m still unclear how it’s racist or voter suppression because these seem like fairly benign rules. Then again I’m an uneducated hayseed with no concept of how the “real” world works.

Apparently Biden thinks that him giving a speech in GA is going to help congress push their voter protection act.

Biden and his handlers haven’t yet learned that his speeches usually have the opposite intended effect. There will always be people that hang on Biden’s every word. But I think the majority of folks that bother to tune into his speeches are more interested in the tragic comedy of his gaffes.

I don’t think the price we’ve paid as a nation to free ourselves from “Mean Tweets” was worth it. On the other hand I’m glad Biden is The President.

I can think of no one who better exemplifies the failure of both political parties. In the rarified atmosphere of Washington DC politics If Joe Biden was the best they could do, we have much larger problems.

Sure, the Democratic Party shoved this dementia riddled old fossil down our throats, but the Republican Party has sat idly by and taken no action to remove him for incompetence. Both parties are content to continue their masturbatory hearings while the country “burns” so to speak. Both parties are like greedy parasites hungrily gorging, oblivious to the fact that their host is dying.

It’s entirely likely that in the midterms we’re going to see a Democrat rout. Generally speaking, people are seriously upset with the way things are going. I suspect that the Republicans may also see an unexpected turnover in their congressional ranks as well. People are just as pissed off about their inaction.

I wonder if we’ll see wailing and gnashing of teeth and endless recount demands after the midterm election. It will be interesting if recount demands and accusations of fraud come from both sides.

One of my Grandfathers said, “I hate all politicians. They’re liars, thieves, and corrupt to their core. I think the way to keep them in check, because we unfortunately need them, is to find the most corrupt two or three every year and hang them on the steps of the capital building. That would maybe serve as a reminder to the rest of ’em. On the other hand, it could just make ’em a lot more clever in their thievery.”

Grandpa was born in 1902. He was a plain spoken man. He was polite, but didn’t suffer fools or criminals. He was a lifelong Democrat and union member. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you asked, and were in need, but he’d beat you to death if you just tried to take something without asking.

He was a finished carpenter, as he and his neighbors aged and retired you could always find Grandpa anywhere in the neighborhood by following the sound of hammering. For as long as he was able, he repaired steps, doors, and windows, built ramps to peoples homes if needed, mended fences, or whatever. He did this without charge and was quite content if someone made him dinner or a nice pie as compensation. Some of his neighbors would do the maintenance on Grandpa’s car in exchange for his carpentry skills. He loved building things.

He was also incredibly hard on squirrels when we were hunting.

That’s an inside family joke. Several of us were hunting deer with Grandpa. It had been a bad day, and we were heading back to camp empty handed and depressed. As we rounded a curve on the trail, there was a very large squirrel in a tree. Grandpa just couldn’t go back empty handed. So he raised he rifle and fired. Grandpa forgot that his gun was loaded for deer not squirrel.

The poor creature exploded. Grandpa stood there for a second then said, “Damn! The meat is spoiled,” he shouldered his rifle and continued walking back to camp. For several years after that he’d go to the hunting camp with us but he wouldn’t join us in the hunt. He’d stay at the camp keep the fire stoked and the coffee hot. He’d be prepared to help us dress the meat if our hunt was successful and offer solace if our hunt wasn’t.

It seems that Grandpa concluded he was dangerous, since he’d forgotten something basic like what ammo was in his gun. He’d go to shooting ranges with us, and enjoyed target shooting but obliterating that squirrel signaled to him that his hunting days were past.

Grandpa accepted the limitations of advancing years with grace and humility.

So in the family, references to being hard on squirrels has much deeper and loving meaning. All of us who were with Grandpa that day smile and remember Grandpa fondly. The story has been passed to the next generation. Those who didn’t know Grandpa remember him through the story. He’s forever woven into the beautiful colorful fabric of our little tribe.

Joe Biden, and a lot of the other fossils in Congress need someone to tell them, “You’re really hard on squirrels,” though I suspect that they’re far too arrogant to accept the lesson.

That’s really a pity.

In my family, being told that, means you’re loved. It’s someone telling you, “we’ve got your back, we’ll take care of you right to the end, because you’re valuable to us. So rest easy Elder, ask us for whatever you need you’ll not go wanting, hungry, or alone.”

Maybe if more families thought that way, things would be better all around.

There’s security in that. It’s a feeling that I’m fortunate to have.

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One of those strange coincidences

Last Thursday the other half went to the drug store and dutifully got their COVID booster shot.

The day started out normally. The other half was feeling fine and went to work as normal. After work the other half dropped by the drug store and got the booster. Within four hours of having the booster, the other half was trying to cough up a lung. This was far worse than when they’d gotten the first vaccination.

I was worried because their coughing was so intense and rattling. I tried my best to be supportive asking if there was anything I could get for them and offering to make dinner. You know, the usual stuff you do when someone you care about is feeling under the weather.

Then the next day, I was coughing and running a low grade fever. This was a, “what the heck moment for me,” I hadn’t been around anyone that was ill except the other half who’d left the house perfectly fine Thursday morning.

I haven’t left the house for about 4 weeks, For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been nursing a bum knee and between the snow and ice, haven’t wanted to take the chance that I’d slip and make the knee worse. It’s been all I could do to navigate the level areas inside the house with a cane. This pretty much means that whatever I caught, I got it from the other half.

As we headed into the weekend both of us sounded like a tuberculosis ward.

Saturday neither of us did much of anything but sleep. My fever was running about 102F and seemed to remain fairly constant.

Sunday was much of the same although my fever was dropping off to just a degree or two above normal.

Both of us did a lot of sleeping on Sunday too. The whole weekend got away from us.

That’s not that big a deal, we both needed some down time.

The timing is just strange. I haven’t been sick since April of 2020 mainly because I haven’t been interacting with anyone. I’m unemployed and there’s simply not much reason for me to leave the house.

I think this is just an odd coincidence that the other half got the booster and then was actually sick and that I got sick too.

In the back of your mind though, when is events are apparently so closely related, you have to wonder if there’s not something else going on.

Honestly, if this was Omicron I’m fine with it.

Today I woke up feeling pretty good. I’m still a little feverish but it’s minor. Oddly, the knee that had been so swollen it hurt to bend is miraculously 90% better. Right now I’m feeling just like I do on the tail end of any standard cold.

Another day & I’m going to be back to my normal self. I’m likely going to nap a bit today between doing chores. Laundry for example works great with short naps.

The other half is doing much better today as well. Although anything respiratory takes a long time to clear for them. Which is why they decided to get the vaccination in the first place.

Being somewhat conspiracy “Curious” I can see a situation where if I was a full on conspiracy believer I’d conflate the onset of illness after a booster as proof that the vaccines are bad.

If you believed in an evil cabal of pharmaceutical companies, world governments, and the whole depopulate the planet thing… Something coincidental like this could feed right into your paranoia.

I choose to believe that it was just odd timing and bad luck.

If it wasn’t just odd timing and bad luck… Then the evil cabal took their shot at me and missed. I’m on the mend, and have survived. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to kill off this old buzzard!

Hope you all have a great week.