Category: BullShit

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Well, that wasn’t unexpected.

Bernie Sanders via Fox NewsBernie Sanders has dropped out of the Presidential race.

All I can say is, Duh!

After his relatively poor showings in key states it was something that should have happened weeks ago.

Surprising that it took him so long to decide. 

I’ve never understood how someone like him who is rich, could condemn wealth. I’d trade places with him. Give him a taste of what being on the other side of the walled garden is like. I guarantee that after a week he’d be wanting to trade back. Of course by that time I’d have done a little redistribution of my own.

Honestly, I’m amazed that he did as well as he did.

Come on, you’ve got to admit in your heart of hearts that it’s going to be a tough sell. A rich guy telling a country of not rich people that being rich is bad?

My thought was always, “If being rich is so heinous Bernie, then give your money to those less fortunate in your home state.”  I know that wouldn’t happen in a million years.

Just so you know, I’m not above taking a 500K handout from him. I’d pay off my house, bills, and car, then I’d see if I could get a job at a fast food place until I could legitimately retire.

If you think about the fact the 500K would do it for me personally, you might start to understand my frustration with rich politicians.

With that relatively small amount, I could wipe my debt, and be in a situation where minimum wage would pay my utility bills, provide insurance, fund a retirement account, and allow me to have some monthly savings. Perhaps It would even allow me to take a vacation once every 5 years instead of once every 12 years.

Look at the amount of money folks like Bernie and other politicians waste & you’ll start to get why I’m opposed to bloated Government and high taxes.

If we could reduce the tax burden by the cost of countless pointless hearings and Pelosi follies, overall the average taxpayer would be better off.

Unfortunately that’s not the way it works. The Government will always find a way to keep what they’re taking and find new ways to take more.

Under Bernie, I wholeheartedly believe that it would have been business as usual and those of us in the middle class would have been worse off.

So it’s with a certain sense of relief that Bernie is out of the race.

Joe biden 2012 7 13Sadly, that leaves Biden. 

Biden was at one time a statesman that I respected.

But those days are past. He’s well past his prime and honestly I’m concerned over what appears to be his degraded mental state.

The last thing we need in a president is someone that’s not all there. With Trump we got lucky, he may not be all there, but he’s contentious enough that he’s not going to be manipulated without a fight.

Dourif lotrWith Biden I’m not so sure.

In his case, I start asking, “Who would be the power behind Biden?”

Would it be his VP? Or would it be some other shadowy character whispering into Joe’s ear?

If it was his VP then we could still come out ahead, so long as that VP was someone that had a brain and was minimally  interested in serving the people.

But we all know it doesn’t work that way. A corrupt VP could do much more damage to the country than a bad president. I know if I were nefarious, a VP slot with an “out of it” President would be perfect…

You do pretty much whatever you want, work it out so that you have two terms, arrange your power, take as much cash as you can, and let the outgoing President take the blame…

You bail to Malta with untold millions and live out your days quietly, opulently, and laugh every time your investments double.

I never said it would be right, moral, or ethical. 

It’s because I think of shit like this, that I’m mistrusting of government. The potential for abuse is just too damn high and no-one is above temptation.

Hell, I’m a straight shooting, ethically bound, guy. I can tell you without hesitation, If I were a VP with Biden as President, I’d have a tough time not taking advantage of the situation I described.

I don’t believe that the majority of politicians are equal to me in ethics, or morality.  

That being said, I think Biden in his current state, isn’t the man for the job. I think he’s not there enough to realize he’s being manipulated. Which leads me to believe if he’s elected we’ll have 8 years of super bad stuff happening in this nation.

Just my 2 cents.

This election year I again find myself in a position where I either vote for the Devil I know, or don’t vote at all.

Another thing I have to thank the Democratic party for… Really? You couldn’t come up with better candidates?

OH and for the record… I’m registering Independent. Because both parties have so utterly and completely failed our nation.

Later that day…

Well, that was easy. I just changed my voter registration to “Independent” online. Gee it’s nice when governmental online stuff actually works.

Now, if only the same could be said for CoveredCalifornia’s website or the Employment Development website. Both sites are terrible, buggy, and clearly untested across multiple web-browsers and operating systems.

Later Still… 

I realized that the American Independent Party doesn’t really align with my world view. In fact they seem to be a little to the right of the more radical parts of the Republican party. Clearly I’d confused The American Independent with someone else. 

So I began more research. I know that it’s not ever going to be a perfect fit between a party and me so it’s a matter of who fits best.

So the American Independent party is out.

The Democratic party is a complete no-go

The Republicans have drifted away from the principals they had back in my Dad’s time (When I first registered to vote)

The Green party is the Democratic party on steroids and a no go.

Obviously the Communist party is right out.

The Libertarian Party… Hey, their platform / mission statement resonates. Minimal Government, Freedom of the individual, personal responsibility, individualism.

Hmmmm.

Wow! There are a lot of political parties in the US. This is going to take some time to analyze.

But analyze I will. I want to be a member of a party that actually represents my beliefs and I want to be joined by other like minded people because in numbers there is strength.

I’m tired of tone deaf political parties that are only interested in their agendas and actively ignore the will or rights of the people they’re supposed to be representing.

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Really Pelosi???

90.jpegYou’re going to go with “As the president fiddles people are dying.“

Really Madam?

Was it not you, that delayed the stimulus bill with your own bullshit pork?

Was it not you and your party, creating distractions with bullshit impeachment proceedings at exactly the time that the virus first appeared in Wuhan? You & your party created distraction for the President and the American people, when the focus of the President and his staff should have been more global, instead of concerned with defending himself?

Was it not your supporters, that criticized Trump’s restriction of flights from China, as racist and xenophobic?

You say or imply that the President downplayed the severity of the virus. Yep, he probably did. Given that Toilet paper and bottled water disappeared from California store shelves in 24 hours. That may have been a wise move. Given that gun sales skyrocketed in the days after the President started talking about emergency procedures, perhaps downplaying the severity publicly, wasn’t a bad idea. 

The last thing you want is full blown panic of the populace even as you’re working to move emergency materials to places they’ll be needed, while trying to educate the medical personnel about the virus and what is known.

Anyone with a lick of sense knows… Once the virus hit our major airports & population centers, it was over!

A full hazmat quarantine of every person returning to the country in December, might have stopped the spread here. However, that would require complete control of our borders, which you oppose. 

The President wandering the halls of the Whitehouse wringing his hands weeping, or making impotent decrees will not stop the virus. The only option at this point is to mitigate the effects. 

Yes, we as a country should have been better prepared. That would require a little thing called cooperation between the Democrats and Republicans, something you personally have done nothing to engender.

If anything you’ve personally fomented one of the worst schisms in our political process in at least a century.

By the way, that preparation would have been something that should have started during the Obama administration or before. Yes! Remember the previous administration, the one you were such an integral part of?

Where was your concern then?

Regarding mitigation of the effects…

Accept the harsh reality of people dying. There’s little that can be done to stop it now. People will die. Bitching about what was, or what should have been, is pointless.

Our only path forward is listening to and supporting the Scientists and Doctors while they try to map a path forward. They’re as much behind the 8 ball as the rest of us. This virus is new and they are working very hard to figure it out as they go along.

At this point, we’d be better off turning our entire response over to the Doctors & Scientists and then without question, doing what they suggest.

Just to be clear, I think the President should put the professionals front and center in the briefings. He should be introducing the Doctors and Scientists and stepping to the side to let them do the talking. The president is not a Scientist and has a tendency to get the science wrong. 

Science should not be political. Science should be nothing but truth.

When MIT can produce a ventilator that costs $100. When American companies can retool and start producing necessary supplies… That should say something to even someone who hates the President as completely as you do. Our nation isn’t politics, it’s people.

The message you should be getting is that we’re a very resilient and creative nation.

If you want to show leadership, you should be encouraging our inherent creativity & resilience and making every effort to grease the wheels removing regulatory obstacles so that goods get where they’re needed as quickly as possible.

But you’re not a leader. You’re a partisan politician whose been in office far too long. 

I look forward to you losing re-election. 

I genuinely hope you survive this pandemic and live a long life.

I want you to experience the pain of seeing all your cherished “work” dismantled.

Retire to your walled, guarded, mansion. Maintain your isolation from the people you were supposed to represent. Enjoy frothing at the mouth as you watch the daily news seeing our nation adapt, succeed, and survive.

You see, unlike you, I have faith in the exceptionalism of my Nation. I still have faith that my Nation and our People are amazing in our ability to innovate, create, and rise to any challenge.

Your efforts to thwart the American People not withstanding.

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Gotta Love California! (NOT)

1894964978-gun-control-cartoon.jpgOkay, so I’m unemployed. I have been since Aug. I’ve also been beating the bushes to find something new.

Covered California – Health Insurance tells me my insurance will be 1400 dollars a month. I was only getting 1800 a month in unemployment. 

Leaving $400.00 to pay mortgage, car, utilities, food, and gas.

So obviously that wasn’t going to work.

I applied for MediCal. That was denied because 1800.00 a month in unemployment was making too much money to qualify.

Let me be clear, I have nothing wrong with me, aside from slightly high blood pressure. Literally no issues. 

Covered California sent me a notice today reminding me that I’d be fined 700.00 in 2021 for not having insurance.

Let me see… $16,800 per year that I don’t have, versus $700 that I also don’t have.

Any moron would like to have health insurance. But only a moron would move into a tent at the side of the road to be able to pay for it. Foregoing transportation (to interview for a new job), food to be strong enough to work the new job, or utilities to power the technology necessary to look for a new job.)

Yeah, California! The STUPID is strong here.

I gotta get out of this place!

Update 3/27/2020

Unbeknownst to me, the other half brought this insanity to the attention of our State Assemblyman.

Within 2 hours, I was speaking with a representative from Covered California.

Turns out that the records were a little messed up, which no-one had told me previously.

Once those screwups were corrected, and because I am no longer receiving unemployment suddenly my cost for insurance is less than $100.

Really?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to pay what I can and is reasonable given the level of care I actually need. I’m also happy to be on track to have health insurance.

I found myself asking this question though… Why did it take a call from an State Assemblyman’s office to get this resolved?

Any hoo now if I get sick, I’ll be able to go to the hospital.

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Rainy Day

IMG 1240Woke up to rain on the roof this morning. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

There’s nothing I need to do outside. I suppose I could park the car outside for a free wash.

Nope, too much effort to get dressed.

I will get out of bed eventually, but right now it’s nice just sitting here listening. 

Something about rain is soothing. As long as I don’t have to drive in it with all the other people on the road, many of whom don’t have the skill to be driving, or the sense God gave a goose.

I’ve often wondered if putting a 21 day wait time on the purchase of a car would impart to people that cars are at least as dangerous to use as a gun.

In what universe does it make sense to fly up behind and sit on someones bumper who’s already doing 80? It make less sense to do that when you can see that the traffic ahead is coming to a stop. All it takes is a little common sense to realize that the person whose bumper you’re rinding is likely to hit their brakes.

That’s the situation I found myself in on Sunday afternoon on the I-15. The moron behind me was totally shocked when I hit my brakes to stop. The idiot locked their wheels and darted into the emergency lane to avoid hitting me (there was at least that mercy). I’d been slowing and tapping my brakes to accommodate the traffic in front of me. The woman riding my bumper was heedless, and I suspect distracted by her damn phone.

I figured that my car would be in the shop again, but no worries I’m going to be out of town and with luck my car would be repaired by the time I got back.

Thank goodness it was a clear sunny day and the roads were dry, otherwise the silly person would’ve spun and taken me and a bunch of other people out with her foolishness.

Maybe today in the rain she’ll cause the destruction she so narrowly missed causing Sunday.

Today I won’t worry about it. I’m going to be home, snug and warm listening to the rain on my roof. I could look at the live traffic maps and enjoy the mayhem vicariously.

Nope! For the next foreseeable hour or two, I’m turning off the tech and going back to sleep. 

If you’re out in the rain, drive carefully and try to take a moment to enjoy the sound of rain on a roof.

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On The President

First thing:

Every other western country has very specific rules about immigration. For example, I’m too old to immigrate to Australia. Yes, they’re agist about it. In their defense they wouldn’t let me immigrate because I can’t work long enough in their system to pay enough taxes to fund my pension and healthcare post retirement. They are logically limiting the number of people in their country that could be dependent on their form of welfare.

I can’t immigrate to Canada because my skills aren’t in high enough demand versus their own population and therefore it’s likely that I’d be a burden on their society.

Germany would require that I learn the language, German history, and be employable. Unless I was a refugee.

England, has rules very much like the Canadians. I couldn’t immigrate unless I brought skills that were in short supply.

So why then is America “The evil bastard” in the room?

Isn’t it more reasonable for America to institute similar rules to be more in line with other Western countries?

Even Mexico has immigration guidelines.

So why the hypocrisy?

More curious, is why aren’t our media outlets pointing this out? Oh yeah, hatred of Trump.

I was in Palm Springs yesterday.

While waiting at a counter to purchase something, A gentleman volunteered that he’d just moved to Palm Springs from Los Angeles. He said that the traffic in LA had driven him out of the city, but that his out of state friends couldn’t grasp how bad the traffic actually was. The clerk said, “Yes, that’s why I moved out here,” 

The clerk acknowledged me, “Is that all for you?”

I said, “Yes thank you.” Then offhandedly mentioned if you want to give out of town friends a real taste of LA Traffic invite them to LA when the President visits. The clerk laughed, the other man got a sour face and said, “I wouldn’t go anywhere near the President.”

I realized he was thinking only about Trump, so I explained that I meant any President. And that I personally had been stuck in traffic for seven hours due to President Obama’s visit.

The clerk immediately said, “Wasn’t that a cluster fuck?” I agreed and told him eventually I’d weathered the nightmare traffic in a bar.

The newcomer to Palm Springs simply said, “Oh”

It was at that moment that I realized Trump has been living “Rent Free” in a lot of people’s heads. Apparently a significant percentage of these folks somehow think that Trump controls everything.

This dude is only a President. He’s not in direct control of much of anything. He’s bound by rules, regulations, Congress, and the Judicial branch of our government.

Don’t take this to mean that I think Trump is a good president. He’s a bombastic, hyperbolic, rhetoric spouting messenger.

Yes, he can champion initiatives. He can veto bills, He does have some control over the direction the country is heading, (although apparently no control over his tweets,) but if you think of him as generally a messenger, a face of the government, then you might start to see that the real power in Washington is in Congress.

The next logical question to ask is, “What have those assholes done for us lately?” Aside from each party battling the other to complete impotence in virtually every state and the hallowed halls of congress. Really, what have they accomplished?

Following that train of thought, since both the House or the Senate are distracted, It’s only logical that a President might be able to grab more of the reins of power and pursue his or her personal agendas. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Which points right back at the problem. Congress! Were they actually doing their jobs instead of fighting like children, President Trump would just be a “meh” President.

Presidents come and go, some are leaders, others are ventriloquist’s dolls. Others still are rogue operators. History determines what a President was.

President Trump may have correctly identified the problem when he described Washington as a swamp. Hey, give credit where credit is due… However he clearly overestimated his ability to change it.