Tag: Smelling the roses

#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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.