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Well There’s my problem!

I was reading… Scanning headlines as I often do and a headline caught my attention.

The Headline was something like Russia sanctions nuclear weapons in Belarus. I thought “Great!” A few less nuclear weapons in the world is probably a good thing.

Then I read the article a little further, and found that Russia was allowing weapons to be deployed in Belarus. 

Hmmm. 

But we impose sanctions on Iran to keep them from doing shit that nobody likes.

To the dictionary Boy Blunder!!!

Oh hell no!

This word has no fucking meaning at all does it?

As a Noun it could be a penalty or permission, as a verb it’s the same.

Why does this word even exist?

No wonder there are pallets of cash and uranium being moved around to our enemies. 

They wrote the agreements using a word that is as two faced as Janus. (Look it up…)

I don’t want to hear this word being bandied about by journalist, politicians, or anyone else ever again! I’m putting this word in my official “Weasel Word collection”. This collection is my personal list of words not to use, and words that when others use them are red flags that the person is lying to my face.

I was looking for references to Russia threatening to Nuke Berlin, DC, and a couple of other cities if the west really threw in to ensure Ukraine won the war.

This seemed to me to be something of interest. While I’d caught the headline, I didn’t have time or inclination to read something that would very probably depress me. 

Then happily, I remembered that I am a child of the 1960’s. I grew up living under the imminent threat of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. 

Nukes! Smooks! Bring it on bitches!!!! I remember how to duck and cover!

Although I must admit I might be inclined to send Putin a box of chocolates if he nuked DC.

That would solve a number of problems at once. Crime… Homelessness… Shitty Government…

Ahh there’s the piece…

Russia Will Drop ‘Entire Arsenal’ on London, Washington if it Doesn’t Win Ukraine War

It’s a Breitbart piece. It looks like Medvedev was saber rattling for the folks at home. I wondered why none of the talking heads were breathlessly telling us this was a result of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin. 

Apparently they didn’t believe the threat was credible. 

The media and others say Tucker Carlson is now a traitor… Yawn. He’s the puppet of Putin… Sigh. He’s a useful idiot to Putin… Whatever.

There was a time when a real journalist would interview Jesus and then Satan just to present both sides of the story. Carlson in my opinion did what any decent journalist would have done. He seized an opportunity to go directly to the source.

We’ve heard all kinds of stuff from Zelensky, personally I wanted to hear from Putin in his own words.

Putin may possibly be a bit crazy, but he’s not senile and infirm like our president. 

The Russian guards in dress uniforms looked a bit odd. It was like they didn’t want to risk eye contact with Putin but still needed to watch over him. They looked uncomfortable performing their task. I wonder if that’s a traditional holdover from the days of the Tsar. There’s something in my memory about not meeting the eye of the emperor or king because mere commoners weren’t equal to the emperor.

I’ll have to look it up, refresh my memory.

Anyway that’s enough randomness for this morning. Time to get breakfast, then walk the K9. Spring is around the corner and Im planning on talking to the realtor mid March.

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How can people not see the problem here?

Arthur F. Engoron.I’m very, very, confused about this whole Trump affair in New York.

The Judge found Trump Guilty of a crime for which there were no victims, in fact the supposed Victims testified in court they’d be pleased as punch for the Trump organization to victimize them some more.

The “Fraudulent” business dealings in question provided  the City and State of New York substantial tax revenue and Wall Street investors via their proxies (The Banks) profited.

I’m not seeing the criminality here.

Having worked in mortgage banking for a while during my career, I know that no bank takes at face value what the person or company applying for the loan claims the property is worth. Banks always review and independently verify the property value.

I’m not seeing where the fraud is,

If I have a penny that’s got some unique property and you want that penny. If you offer me $100 for that penny, then the penny has a current value of $100. If someone else offers $200 for the penny, The current value of the penny is $200. If you really want the penny and you go to a bank for a loan, The Bank and you may come to an agreement wherein the bank agrees to the value of the Penny and is willing to loan you $200.

Now you can pay me up to  $300 for the penny. I agree to sell you the penny for $300. I pay the income tax on the $300. You pay the Sales Tax on the $300. Nothing has changed about the penny but its value is now $300. You pay the Bank interest on the $200 they loaned you and the bank pays income tax on that interest. 

In addition, the bank pays its employees, You pay a guard to protect your Penny. The bank employees and your guard buy gas, and groceries, and lattes at Starbucks. Through it all the state and city derive tax revenue all from the sale of one unique  Penny.

Leticia James.This in a very simplistic fashion is what Donald Trump is “Guilty” of in New York.

I don’t see the crime Trump committed.

What I do see is an egregious miscarriage of Justice. I see breath taking corruption. I feel Shame, that our vaunted justice system has been degraded and dragged through the mud.

Lady justice lies naked, beaten, and bloodied. She’s been brutally raped by New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York Judge Arthur Engoron.

(As an aside, I can’t think of too many things more horrible than being raped by Arthur Engoron. Damn! That visual is gonna give me nightmares.)

The miscarriage of justice doesn’t end there. The way Engoron wrote his order forces Trump to post into a New York Court system account 387 million dollars before Trump can appeal to a higher court. Further, Trump cannot leverage or sell  his real estate holdings in New York to obtain the cash bond to file the appeal, and  locks Trump out of using banks in New York to obtain a loan.

Honestly, this looks like the State of New York confiscating property to prevent the defendant from filing an appeal. In other words The City and State of New York is effectively denying a defendant their right to appeal. Leticia James is talking about taking Trumps Buildings. If she were to do this, then the State and City of New York will be committing outright THEFT! Not that the Democrats in New York give a shit. They won’t give a shit until their Condos and apartments are seized.

But it’s worse, it’s more disgusting.  The law requires that interest be charged on the unpaid bond daily until the bond is secured. So Trump must cough up something like 400 million dollars now, and that number keeps going up.

Kathy Hochul.This is an obscenity that is stomach turning. I don’t give a shit about Trump. I give a shit about the justice system being so corrupt that the accused never has a chance.

What is playing out before our eyes is the very Nazi, Communist, system that our grandfathers and fathers fought to stop in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War.

The heart break is that so many people are in a joyful tizzy that Trump is on the hook and completely missing that this shit could happen to them.

It gets even more disgusting when you realize that if Engoron’s ruling stands. Trump and his companies can’t do business in New York for 3 years. Meaning that they can’t liquidate their properties to exit New York and they must remain to be Financially Raped by the State of New York. Liquidation of assets is doing business. So they can’t move, they can’t conduct business, and they still have to pay the tax burden on the properties they can’t get rid of.

This is similar to some of the stuff I believe we fought a revolution against the King of England about.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York went on television to assure other corporations and businesses that they had nothing to worry about. Trump was a special case.  Every businessman or corporation should be asking the question, “When do I become a special case?”

If any of these businesses have a lick of sense they’d better be looking for the door out of New York. I guarantee there will not be enough “Snake Pliskins” to help them escape from New York later.

The Truckers, while I’m glad to see them refusing to deliver to NYC, are unfortunately missing the point. Many of these Truckers are independent small business owners. They too get loans for trucks, and trailers. They also are likely to “Exaggerate” the worth of their business, property, or vehicles to secure a loan to advance their business. 

What New York has done is a direct threat to them all. Especially any of these truckers operating out of a state that thinks like New York. What happens if one of these guys makes a politician or a judge angry? 

Kathy Hochul’s reassurances notwithstanding to the people of New York… This new legal tool, and that’s exactly what it is, being successfully used on Trump, means it will be used again and again to drive anyone who questions authority into debtor’s prison. (Remember those? England under King George had a lot of them and emptied them onto boats to settle the colonies.)

Do you know anyone who could afford to pay even $500,000 to post a bond without being able to leverage their property or work with a bank in the state in which they reside? You realize that banks have rules imposed by the US Government that make opening an account in another state very difficult, much less depositing cash or getting a loan. 

These independent truckers shouldn’t be carrying water for Donald Trump.

They should be screaming bloody murder about the way the justice system has been perverted in New York and their platform should be to make sure nothing like this happens in any other state.

It’s not too far a step from having to buy an appeal, to just buying an appellate judge to rule in your favor.

I know, there are a lot of you reading this and saying “That Can’t Happen! WWDucat you’re out of your mind!”

Okay, over the past 4 years how much that “Couldn’t Happen” or “Couldn’t be True” has happened or been proven?

I never in my whole life imagined that I’d see a criminal case where the Defendant was found guilty with no Victims. I never believed that the Justice system could be weaponized with legislators of a state reconfiguring the statute of limitations to be able to try one man. I Never thought it was possible for a man to be tried for a sexual assault in a public place that didn’t happen, be found innocent, then be tried again and found guilty because he said he didn’t know the person and he believed she was clearly ill. 

Oh, and just to be clear, the woman in question has a history of false accusations of sexual assault. She couldn’t remember the exact date, she says she didn’t cry out in a public place with people not 20 feet away, she claimed she was too shocked to do anything but take it.

Uh huh, RIGHT! I’ve actually been the guy who opened the door to a female friend 1/2 hour after she’d been raped. I can’t in any way imagine any unimpaired woman just accepting being raped. That’s doubly true if the woman is in a freaking Macy’s. My friend was raped in her own apartment and the place looked like a bomb went off. She apparently fought like a demon and lost only because he beat her unconscious. So based on my knowledge of my friend, nah… Trump probably wasn’t ever in the same building with E Jean Carrol until the first bullshit trial.

Before I leave this particular aspect of Trumps NYC legal issues, I want to point something else out. Every single woman should be pissed as hell at E Jean Carrol and New York City, because now any woman claiming to have been raped by a well to do or wealthy man will be treated with suspicion and derision. “Oh don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to pull an E Jean Carrol on me because she’s mad at me for some reason or another. You know how women are…”

Trump spoke the truth and got fined 87 million dollars because the nut job had her feelings hurt.

So all of these “Can’t Happen” things have happened in the past 2 years who’s to say the “Can’t Happen” stuff won’t keep happening?

Trump might be the lightening rod. 

Trump is not the issue. The issue is the clear, persistent, and unchecked corruption evident in every single branch and level of our government.

If the people and I mean all the people of this country do not unite against this corruption regardless of their political party or personal hatred of Trump, the United States of America is done.

We The People must not be cowed into submission due to fear of our corrupt government.

Update:

Praise Jesus!

Not 10 minutes after I wrote this piece and scheduled it for publication, I flipped on the TV and there was an interview with a truck driver from Louisiana who gets it.

Thank God for us Southern Men!

He said and I’m paraphrasing,  Lets forget Trump, don’t matter if you call him President, Criminal, or what ever. If these people can do it to Trump, they can do it to any one of us.

DAMN! I’m not fucking alone! My People, crazy as some of us may be, aren’t stupid sheep! I’ve always been proud of my Southern Roots, but today my heart is bursting with Southern Pride.

The truckers are apparently going to boycott delivery of goods to NYC. 

That’s likely to be interesting. What happens when the criminals, the illegals, and the dumbass liberals all go hungry in a city where the police force has been decimated?

Good Golly, I’m gonna have to make sure I’ve got Popcorn and Beer. This is likely to be really fucking entertaining!

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You know, I don’t think DirecTV gets it.

I saw an ad for DirecTV today. The ad is selling the ability to stream DirecTV content via the internet.

You can see what I’m talking about at directv.com

Their big selling point is that you don’t have to have a dish on your roof. Uh… big deal! Their little dish is the least of the problems with them.

First and foremost in my mind is that I’d still be locked into one of their bullshit programming packages that forces me to pay for channels that I will never be interested in or watch. BET? Uh Nope! Zero Interest! I think I flipped through once a decade ago and needed subtitles to understand the language being used.

All I could think of, was the scene from Airplane where Barbara Billingsly says, “Excuse me stewardess, I speak Jive.”

I looked at their cheapest package which ends up being around 85.00 a month because you have to rent their box and the channel lineup was for shit! Oh they include SyFy, but SyFy doesn’t show Science Fiction anymore. It’s all reality shows and honestly stupid shit.

I can stream local channels without DirecTV. Heck I can and have been streaming local TV channels from places that I think I’d like to live. It’s great to listen to their news and see what’s happening. The human interest stories tell me about the communities. The crime reporting (or lack thereof) give me information about the safety of the area. There’s also a fair amount of information to be gleaned from the political reporting on their local level and how they report on national news.

So why do I need DirecTV? Oh, right I need to rent their box, plug it into my internet, and then buy a nearly $200 package per month to “Experience” all they have to offer. But wait… I already pay $80 a month for internet… So NOW you’re talking $280. For that, I get all their channels, a fair number of which I am not ever going to tune into.

I don’t speak Spanish, so I’ll never use the Spanish channels. I don’t speak Ebonic, so I’ll never watch the BET offerings. I’m not a Catholic and honestly have never enjoyed televangelists. If I’m gonna go to church, I’m going to get up, get dressed, and actually go to a church. So all the church channels are off the plate.

If you start talking about the “Premium” channels… HBO, Showtime, Max, Disney, and all those channels aren’t gong to do much for me because generally speaking they all play the same thing at different times of the day. I can also order those channels through the internet directly, and once again I don’t have to have DirecTV’s box. I’d have to do the math, but I think I can have them on a subscription basis for less as well.

CNN is included on all the packages and MTV is apparently still around. CNN I will not watch, and MTV? Haven’t even thought about that channel for at least 20 years.

I might be interested if I could pick and choose my channel lineup. Let me construct my own package of channels in blocks of 10. Charge a fair price and have a Premium Block where the HBO, Showtime, etc live.

Make it easy for the consumer to change the selections, make it web based, or better yet ON the DEVICE the user has to rent, so no-one has to listen to crappy English from a call center 1/2 way around the world who will inevitably screw things up worse each time the consumer calls about their service.

10 Channels cost X.
20 Channels cost Y
30 Channels costs Z
Premium block of 5 or 10 costs some higher price 

Make the cost per block predictable and easy to select.

Then DirecTV streaming service might have a chance in hell of surviving.

I could see myself easily with the 4 or 5 local channels, the local PBS stations, WGN, and TCM and that would about fill out my first block of 10. 

The point is, suddenly the viewers via their selection of channels implement a merit based system. Neilson would know which channels and what shows work instantly.  Hollywood could then create entertainment that actually entertained instead of throwing crap against the wall to see what sticks.

It will never happen.

What’s sad is DirecTV just trying to reboot the same tired old paradigm of the cable days and thinking that’s innovation.

I have to ask why they’re doing this now? I can only imagine that their current satellites are running out of fuel and will soon be unable to maintain orbit, or their relative positions in orbit, both critically necessary to maintain coverage.

The cost to launch new satellites is prohibitive and If memory serves, they’ve lost a few on launch recently. Some of the oldest units have probably become non functional or DirecTV has been forced to de-orbit them prior to failure, to burn up in the atmosphere or crash into the ocean so they don’t crash down on populated areas.

Eventually, the constellation of DirecTV satellites will become too thin to provide coverage. I think this is a “Hail Mary” move. DirecTV is trying to do a sort of “Bait & Switch” on consumers. They’ll get everyone who is already using their services to switch to their “Faster more reliable” service.

“New!!! Improved! Now with zero downtime due to weather conditions or blockage of the dish.”

Because so few people understand how so much of our technology actually works they’ll keep writing the check instead of thinking it through and looking for alternatives.

There’s very few channels that can’t be streamed. Most newer smart TV’s have the applications built in. Or An Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, FireStick,  or PlayStation can be loaded with the appropriate applications to access the streams.

Why do I need DirecTV again?

Don’t fall for it, Don’t subsidize shitty programming that you’ll never watch because of a crappy bundling scheme on the part of Cable or Satellite providers.

Show them you’ve got a brain!

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One of those nights…

I was winding down for sleep, then boom! I’m wide awake again.

I finally saw “Bros” today. It’s a cute movie, a somewhat predictable romantic comedy. But I like Luke Macfarlane as an actor. I’ve liked him since KillJoys and it was nice to see him playing something other than one of the Jaqobis boys.

He’s done a shit load of movies but Bros is the first one I’ve seen.

I looked up the website of the SCUBA trip organizer I traveled with in 2008. They’re still at it, and they’re heading to Bonaire in October. That’s a tempting get away. It’s unlikely I’ll go because there may simply be too much to deal with this coming year. That being said Bonaire is someplace that I enjoyed. I suppose my going, or not is going to depend a lot on finances and living situation. I could really use some tropical time, and some SCUBA time.

It’s been literally years since I got wet. I should plan on a refresher course and I need a new dive computer. Yes the Apple Watch Ultra has the ability to act as a dive computer, but honestly the way the sensors and algorithms get changed via software, I won’t bet my life on my Apple Watch.

My Apple Watch has too often behaved in arbitrary ways after software updates. I’m leaning more toward an air integrated single purpose dive computer. Let’s have the life support equipment focus on being life support equipment.

Perhaps I’ve been sitting in front of screens too much lately. Perhaps I’m spinning a little toward the manic and that’s why I can’t sleep. I’m trying 2 fingers of Jack, jotting down some story notes, and trying like hell to find the insomniac net on the Ham radio. Sometimes the late night “nets” are interesting, I might have the wrong night or… it’s not late enough yet.

I’ve been having some interesting thoughts about life, moving, starting over, and what happens next. Maybe these thoughts are just dealing with such monumental questions and worries that my poor addled brain is spinning up, instead of spinning down.

Jesse has gone out to the couch which is odd because usually he’s sleeping on the bed whether I’m there or not. On these late nights, I have to work my way into the bed and find space around him. Once he’s out, he’s dead and grumpy weight to move.

It’s raining now, we might see a little bit of snow but at this altitude it’s probably going to be more rain than anything. I’m hoping for rain that is strong enough to make that thrumming sound on the roof that I like. I’m not sure I’d hear it though because there’re still large patches of snow piled on the roof.

Right now It’s Phutureprimative Mind’s Eye playing while I sip my bourbon, and try to clear my head. I think Mind’s Eye may be one of Phutureprimative’s best albums. Check it out if you can.

I see that the weekly backup of my computer is running. That’s estimated to complete in an hour or so. Right now there’s not enough change on a daily basis to justify backing up to the server hourly. The server spend most of its time in sleep mode. That’s probably just as well since the drives spin down and stay spun down sometimes days at a time.

I think part of that is that on my computer there’s 2 TB of disk, so I’m never going to be fighting for space. Typically if I’m transferring to the server, it’s a huge block of files all at once for archival purposes instead of tons of transfers during the day. 

Jerry was always transferring stuff to the server. 

I’m beginning to envision a future. It’s funny, that wasn’t ever a problem when I was young. I had absolute faith that I could regenerate, rising like a Phoenix from the ashes and that I’d be okay. I could recreate myself with ease.

After the house burned, I realized that it was a lot harder to rise. As time went on, I found that I just didn’t have the energy. I was able to create an apartment life in San Diego. But that was an extension of my home here. If shit went sideways, I knew I always had a place to retreat. Selling and moving is a much different proposition. There’s no anchor, no retreat. I’ll be floating raw, naked, with no tethers and whatever I do, must work flawlessly.

Or mostly flawlessly. I can recover from imperfection… I’ve done it before, to do so requires only the application of money. Since money is finite and also in short supply I’d like to avoid as much imperfection as possible and thereby unnecessary expense.

I’m still spinning. I’ve been refraining from firing up the PlayStation for a few rounds of Call of Duty. That would probably amp me up more.

Not that I mind shooting bad guys, I could see myself joining an online game and really getting amped up because the avatars I’d be shooting are representations of real humans. When they respawn, they tend to have a bit of a grudge. I’m a shitty player… even I get lucky from time to time. Most of the time I’m taking a dirt nap waiting to respawn.

I miss having the friends from my Military Contractor Job to play with. We trash talked each other and played brutally. I used to be able to take my boss down in the game without fear… Well, until he respawned and came hunting me. We laughed a lot, swore at each other and had a ton of fun.

I noticed when I activated my PS5 there were all kinds of rules and regulations against trash talking each other. It’s a pity that so many people are that thin skinned or that so many people abused the shit out of communications.

All our trash talk at each other was nothing more than male bonding. I guess that’s something a lot of gay people and especially female to male transgenders simply wouldn’t understand.

There was nothing more gratifying than shooting my boss in the game and having him say “FUCK!!! I’m coming for you when I respawn!” 

I’d reply, “Yeah, but you have to find my ass first boss!”

The next morning at work we’d all be laughing and talking about the awesome shots we’d taken, or why it was we were dancing in one spot against a wall.

We all used to teabag each other in Halo. Imagine… teabagging your boss and him not being pissed about it the next morning.

Well, here we are at 2 AM. The weekly backup is complete.

Now what?

2nd glass of Jack hasn’t really hit. 

Games? Bust a Nut? Or just go climb between the sheets and hope the warm bed takes me to dreamland.

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Too Conservative for California…

Adam Schiff continuing to hammer away on Steve Garvey with that tag line started me thinking.

In the latest ad, it looks like Schiff has updated the attack on Garvey to include the other two democrats running against Schiff.

I thought it was an odd tactic. Schiff is portraying a unified wall of Democrats against the lone conservative Republican. I wondered if this might not backfire in a couple of ways.

1) Americans in general love an underdog.  We also used to love baseball. Especially in Garvey’s time. 

2) Schiff’s ad with the tagline “Too Conservative for California” and Democrats lined up against Garvery making his choice to vote for Trump sound like a crime. Who cares if Garvey voted for Trump? What does that matter? That Schiff’s ad uses Garvey’s voting history as it does, embodies perfectly why I personally have felt like I need to get out of California for years.

I too am “Too Conservative for California” 

I’ve felt more and more unwelcome in California. A place I spent all of my adult life in. A place where I worked hard, and with my partner carved out a bit of the American dream. I naively believed that California would always feel welcoming and like a place of opportunity.

California has become very Judgmental, on a personal level. 

I remember when it was okay to discuss politics and not have the discussion devolve into an argument and hurt feelings. I remember a time when Democrat and Republican / Liberal and Conservative could actually have a discussion where both sides listened to the nuance of the points being discussed.

Now, expressing a non-sanctioned or unapproved opinion can get you thrown out of a bar or restaurant or worse. Walk into a public place and declare you’re Pro-Life and anti “transing” a child under 18. See what happens, you might want to make sure your health and life insurance are paid up…

Democrats agree.Seeing the image of Porter, Lee, and Schiff, with a tag line, something like Democrats Agree, Garvey is not right for California, really crystallized the issue.

California actively HATES anyone with a different opinion. California HATES the individual, the business person, the farmer, and even the entrepreneur. 

California demonstrates that hatred with the ubiquitous high taxation, fees, regulations, and business tax prepayment requirements. Then the State of California continues to demonstrate its contempt for its citizens with a deficit budget, lawlessness, and spending in ways that do not help the citizens of California or the United States, for that matter.

Adam Schiff, in producing this ad might have told the truth for the first time in his career, albeit inadvertently.

Adam Schiff and the Democrat party of California are inviting any and all  Conservatives to leave.

There’s no winning against these Democrats. I think all conservatives and Republicans should simply stop trying.

It’s time to let California go. 

Eventually even the farmers will be driven out. Rest assured, California will enact regulations that prevent ranching, and farming at scale. California will try to implement the “Green” policies that European Farmers have been protesting for at least the last year. 

The Central Valley Famers don’t have the numbers to stand up against the Dazzling Urbanites of the Coastal cities. The farmers can’t win a vote for better government in California. They don’t have the voting numbers to break away from the dank denizens of the Coastal homeless and open air sewage encampments.

California has also mastered the art and weaponization of regulation.

Regulations are not laws, they’re not subject to the same scrutiny as a law. Regulations, nonetheless can have the power of law. The issue is that regulations are concocted by unelected bureaucrats hidden in office warrens and cubicle farms. They have no accountability and never directly see or feel the effects of their regulation. These bureaucrats don’t ever concern themselves with the question of a regulation working as intended, so long as the fee from that regulation keeps being collected. 

As a result of regulation, I’ve allowed my yard to look like the surface of the moon. At one time, my yard was in bloom from spring through fall. I had all the colors of California. It was work that I enjoyed. Walking into the yard always made me smile. Jerry would keep an eye on me and call me in for a drink of water and rest about every hour or so, because I’d get lost in what I was doing and forget things like drinking or eating. My weekends were pleasurable and happy.

That was all before the county decided to “protect” us with inspections backed up with fines that if left unpaid, would result in liens on our property and county contractors showing up to clear our property of offensive plants. These contractors have the ability to charge double or triple their normal rate, they bill the county who passes the charge along to the property owner with interest accruing monthly. 

I got tired of the county sending “Inspectors” who knew nothing about native plants indigenous to the area, coming up onto my property and fining me for planting and maintaining, flowering, drought resistant, landscaping.

Oh and these “Inspectors” were on par with every fucking ‘Karen’ I’ve ever encountered in an HOA! After a while, I simply got tired of fighting with them.

Each year, it was the same shit, I was sending photos and plant identification of the California Natives and writing dissertation after dissertation explaining that these plants were not fire hazards, they were in fact far enough away from the structure, they were drought resistant and therefore ecologically responsible.

But we all know how “Karens” are… They can never be wrong! Their opinions and beliefs are absolutely and always correct. I’d no sooner win one battle, then the Karen’s would change the rules to “prove” they were right and I was wrong.

There came a year when I looked at Jerry and asked if just let the yard die, would he be okay with it. He said, “Yep”. He was just as tired of the bullshit as I was.

I simply didn’t turn on the irrigation system that year. Any plant that dared to sprout, I cut down with the weed whacker. The Karens from the county fined us to clean up some pine needles that weren’t on our property.

My response was a letter back to them, stating that I’d already plowed under all the California natives on my property thereby devaluing the property tax assessment and informing them that if they chose to make me responsible for other properties, I would use my chainsaw to cut down every single tree on my property and surrounding properties to make them stop harassing us.

I don’t think my letter had nearly the impact of the letter one of Jerry’s attorney friends sent.

All we ever wanted was to live in a pretty place have a nice yard, small garden, look up at the stars at night, and be left the fuck alone. But regulation and regulators, needed to be made and employed didn’t they?

I chose to be 70 miles away from LA and Orange County to AVOID HOA fuckwads. I was successful with the damn HOAs but Jerry and I couldn’t avoid the damn California bureaucrats. Nor could we avoid fighting with the county for almost 20 years over their flood control people destroying the road in front of the house, and destroying the environment in and around the wash.

Now that I’m contemplating selling the place, I’ll buy some cheap plants that won’t survive the summer, pretty the place up, collect the proceeds from the sale and head for California’s border. I don’t think I’ll be looking back either.

California may well be the state closest to a full communism regime in the United States. The state is not quite there but if you ask yourself dangerous questions like;

“What do I really get for my investment of taxes, and fees?”

“Is my family any safer?”

“Are the roads better?”

“Can I walk or drive the streets of major cities in the state without fear of being victimized?”

“How long does it take for police to get to my home? “

“How long does it take for paramedics to get to my home? “

“How long does it take for me to see a doctor at an Urgent care or Emergency Room?”

“Why does it take the time it does? What state policies impact any of these issues?”

If you ask those questions and do not immediately leap to “The solution is more government” Then you’re probably not welcome in California.

Hate to tell you this, but you’ve been contaminated by conservative thoughts… It’s only a matter of time before you start asking other questions. 

“Do these elected officials represent me or my community’s best interests?”

“Why do I find my fellow Californians and / or Democrats so annoying lately?”

“Why don’t I like being at rallies for leftist causes anymore?”

Contrary to popular leftist / Democratic dogma. Asking these questions does not automatically mean you’ll be seeking to join the nearest Neo Nazi party. Trust me you’ll not be doing Nazi Salutes or be drinking the MAGA Koolaid from Trumps dick.

It means that you’re actually doing a cost / benefit analysis and realizing that it’s coming up short. The % of your income given to government does not equal the value returned by the government.  Oh you’ll realize it’s not just the state of California, it’s the federal government too. 

You’ll simply understand that by leaving California where conservatives are not wanted, you’ll be able to dial down the % of your income taken from you from which you derive no benefit. You’ll essentially be able to focus on fighting ONLY the taxation and wasteful spending of the Federal Government.

I suppose I should thank Googly eyes Schiff for clarifying the position of the DNC in California. 

They’re saying “GET OUT! We don’t want your kind here…” 

Message received!