Story Time

In the last post, I talked about having to get treated for Rabies, and how horrible it was. I mentioned that at some point I would tell the tale of how that came to happen. Yeah, I didn't get bit by something that had rabies, well not the typical animal that has rabies. It's a long story, but I'm just going to make it very short, as short as possible.

Rebuttal To the NYT OP-ED Repeal the Second

I am a gun owner, and I am liberal. I am not going to drop a ton of facts about this or that, but I am going to discuss my views here about Mr. Stephens' (no relation) OP-ED in the NYT from October of this year.

Net Neutrality

So, Net Neutrality is dead, so saith the FCC and Republicans. Somewhere in a cigar smoke filled room, the people who own internet service providers are clapping each other on the back, while drinking the finest of liquors. The internet is now the Wild Wild West, and we inhabitants of it have been disarmed, have no Marshall at our back to protect us. Now I have heard several things in regards to this that have left me scratching my head.

Bad Science, Bad Information, and its constant spread.

From time to time I feel the urge to rant about specific things I have seen on Facebook, and sometimes it is warranted, other times it is just an opinion I have that runs contrary to the norm. You know, I am a gun owner, no I am not trying to compensate for something that's lacking. I just enjoy shooting, I enjoy the aesthetics of some rifles and handguns, I love the history of some of them, the weight they carry is something more than a physical heaviness. This is one of those times that I feel its warranted, and its directed at some members of the Green Party, Dr. Stein, and antivaxxers in general.

Trickle Down: Or Some rich guy gives you a golden shower, whilst telling you it is raining.

Back in the early 1980's we were all introduced to a “new” economic policy called Trickle Down Economics. It has since been referred to as Reaganomics, Trickle Down, Voodoo Economics, and in some very limited circles... “Oh great, the wealthy people are getting another round of tax cuts.” But like so many things, many people don't really understand the full scope of it. Just as Clinton and Obama grew one aspect of the economy, they fail to realize that policies that create jobs is only a portion of the economy.

What Happened? The Review

Alright, so finally after a while, my reserved copy of Hillary Clinton's book came in, and I started reading it. This doesn't happen often, and might be a result of blood pressure medication, but I am trying to sort out my thoughts about what I have read thus far, and I am not having much luck with it. Maybe the outrage about every little thing that happened in the primaries is too fresh, maybe the anxiety of how big of a mess we are actually in is clouding how I feel. Maybe its just that I can't get over the commentary of the Clinton supports, that continues to this very day, hasn't come to a head, and its not truly ready to be excised from my mind. One thing I know for certain, the wounds that were inflicted in the primaries, and the aftermath of this freak show aren't healing, and that will take time. Time we simply do not have.

State of Affairs October 2017

Okay home from the hospital, well I've been home since Sunday. The better parts of stress and anxiety finally got the better half of me. My blood pressure was extraordinarily high, and I am lucky enough to have escaped without permanent damage, well I think so anyway. So, after Los Vegas, hurricanes of epic proportions, and what appears to be a country flying apart at the seems, nothing is getting done, we are more worried about NFL players taking a knee (oh the humanity), we are worried about people calling the president a moron, one who should be impeached, and my god, where to start?

Tax Reform and You, Circa 2017.

The grand experiment of trickle down economics continues unabated, so what does this mean for you, more of the same....

Poor Behavior

So, as the NFL Player Protest Backlash continues, Dale Earnhardt Jr speaks contrary to Richard Childress and Richard Petty, and fans in various places are posting videos of them burning their team's (driver's) swag, while whining on Facebook about how they are “no longer fans”.  Yeah, I guess I get it, you don't want politics infringing on your sports, forget that 70% of people ignore politics (until the elections and things aren't going right).

The NFL, Politics and You

So, I am sitting here, after watching my vaunted Steelers choke in the overtime period of their game against the Bears, of which I have several thoughts. First, and most important in my mind is to say a hearty “Well played, and congratulations on the win.” to the Bears players (as if they would ever read this), and too their fans, “Your team showed up to play, and got the job done.” I like to get that out of the way, because good sportsmanship comes with being a gracious winner, and while I personally don't like seeing my teams loose, it comes with being a big enough person to congratulate the winners, even if we don't like it. Now, I am about to do something I really don't like doing, the game is over, we fought the good fight and we lost, but the season is still young, and I observed something that has really bothered me.

Its the End of the World. Again

So, I missed the notice about the end of the world again. So, tomorrow is Destruction Day. Seriously people, you need to give me a months notice about the end of the world, so I can enact a solid business plan because once all the good goyim are gone, there's going to be a whole lotta work opened up. So, in my mind lets list the top ways to go... In terms of how I want it to play out, or how funny it would be.

Contracted

So, movie review time. I had been doing this on Facebook, and I might well post a version of this there, because I am a member of an awesome horror movie group, its not as active as it once was, but when the place is active it is second to none. So, for your consideration, a movie called “Contracted”.

Where are they?

I constantly here that “Progressives” only come out of the woodwork during the presidential elections. That isn't true, we just don't get the air time that mainstream politicians get. We spend our non-presidential years slugging away in the local and state races, swaying the minds of the voters to see our causes, and to support those same causes. Then every presidential election cycle we become more vocal at the national level, because we understand that the president or nominee of the party is the voice of the party, they lead the party.

You know..

There was a time when I would actually partially agree that some ideas should be given time, to be shown the light of day. At the time I felt, in some instances that healthy discussion about concepts were a great idea. Now, now I am not such a fan of giving some ideals time to see the light of day.

What Happened?

So, Hillary Clinton is releasing her new book, and I have all the intentions of writing a long winded commentary of it chapter by chapter over the course of the next month, while giving my personal views of it, and as already known about my current view (which will be restated here), and how it changes after attempting to see her point of view of this debacle. But in the meantime, since I have yet to read it, you get suck listening to me talk about a press release made today, and some other things.

This is becoming normal

To be the bearer of bad news, ladies and gentlemen, we have some major issues going on, more so than nazis dancing in the streets, and running people down with cars. And while many are all about punching nazis in the face, and impeaching Trump, we have lost focus. We cannot seem to see the forest for the trees, and it will be our undoing, if it hasn't already undone us already.

Update

Update: Not watching the news, been very reflective since I last came here and wrote. I am still seeing heated debates between progressives about “Whose a real Progressive, and who isn't.” Of which I am not a real progressive anymore apparently. I am seeing people screaming the world's on fire, and yes, yes it is. I see the more “moderate” wing of the Democratic Party pointing fingers at progressives, blaming people who didn't vote for Clinton for Trump, I see Congress still cannot get anything passed, even with a GOP controlled House and Senate. I see constant Tweets from our so-called president, that are insane (seriously, someone needs to take his internet access away), and I hear the rumors.

Horror Movies, no, Movies in General

I'm going to talk about something near and dear to my heart, and its not politics. I love horror movies, I love reading the likes of Poe and King, truly these two gentlemen are masters of horror. I cannot speak about Poe, but I can about King, as I have heard some of his commentaries on his own work. Everyone has something that bugs them, something that gets under their skin, when reading the work of Stephen King, its the stuff that goes bump in the night, and makes his skin crawl.

More of the UBI thing

So, today on my random outing and about on Facebook, I see another UBI post, this time describing how it is inflationary and it is the status quo. Lots of activity on it before I got to say much of anything, but among some of the tidbits were that a UBI is advocated by right wing groups and neoliberals.

UBI The Good, The Bad, and How I See It.

Recently on my sparse viewing of FaceBook, I saw a man who is an advocate of Modern Monetary Theory, lamenting people's love of the UBI, or Universal Basic Income; aka: Guaranteed Basic Income, Mincome, Living Stipend, etc. etc. etc. In his mind, robotics is something that we should not be concerned about for the next ten or twenty years or so. Ironically enough, his constantly advocating for a Federal Job Guarantee, is missing the mark of what he wants to see happen.

8 Rules of What?

So, I get on Facebook this very morning and I see this post. Now, under normal circumstances I would edit out the name, for the protection of one who likely means well and is grossly misinformed, or simply does not know better. This is not a normal circumstance, this was posted in a pro-Stein group, and this gentleman is running for a seat in the US Senate in the Great State of Massachusetts. Now, I have no real love for Massachusetts, or Jill Stein but this notion of the “Useful Idiot” is worse than the whole “Welfare Queen” myth.

Right or Privilege

For the OP's protection, as well as the group he is in, I have edited this screen shot of some of the most insane things I have ever read. Well, not for his protection, I just edited it so that he doesn't get “harassed” by “mentally ill liberals” and grammar nazis. For those of you who don't want to read this butchering of the English language, he feels that healthcare, food and shelter are not rights. In it he laments that the person he was debating kept repeating that those three things are rights, without presenting a legitimate argument, only that said person believes, thinks, and is convinced that these things should be rights. He also concludes that liberalism is a mental illness, but you don't have a right to get that checked out, its a privilege.

Impeach Trump, Careful What You Wish For

I have recently been seeing a lot of people pushing to impeach President Trump. No, I don't like the man, I find him to be obnoxious, hateful, woefully ignorant, and at best incompetent. Should he be impeached, well, that depends on what the Special Prosecutor finds during the course of his investigation. Will he be impeached, I seriously doubt it, we are stuck with him for at least four years or until the GOP gets sick of listening to him.

The Case for a UBI

Over the last decade or so, I have supported some type of Universal Basic Income. In the early days before I was introduced to Modern Monetary Theory, I would think about ways to fund such a program, how the tax code could be worked, how the increase in spending, and all the other factors that played into funding this type of program would work.

Assault, Cruel Teachers, and Measles on a Plane

In the run up to the election of Donald Trump, I kept hearing people say, “Never loose your sense of outrage.” I never lost it, but I had to bury it down, it was to the point that I was just angry. Ever little thing I heard would just add to that anger, and that is not healthy. I made a conscious choice to step away, let myself have a break, to cool off before I said something I couldn't take back. I don't regret that choice then, I don't regret it now, but those old feelings are coming back again.

Update

Its been far, far too long since I wrote anything here, political, religious, or anything really. So, here is an update, and some rantings from behind my personal bully pulpit. How am I, not doing so well right now. Looking for stable work that doesn't involving transcribing audio. The pay stinks, and I am very concerned about how our spoken language is degrading. Otherwise, I am looking for a place to move to, as our landlord has run into major financial problems, and yeah, he lost his backside. I'm doing great, but really bummed out about Chris Cornell. I wasn't a fan of much of his work, but he was a voice of a generation, he give a voice to those who felt utterly hopeless, and his influence will be felt for years to come. It is true, “No one sings like you anymore.”

Fake News in the News again

Eh, great. Feet on the couch is a big no no? Alright look people. Trump is going to give us years worth of legitimate fodder to gripe about, to rag on him about, to roast him over. My God, the man is an instant hit on Twitter. Seriously, he can't get out of his own way.

Trump Speech Thoughts II

Okay, I think I am still alive, three cheers for Aleve, caffeine and power naps. Slight problem, I can't sleep, too wired. I wonder if I could crank this up to a million, if this is how people who have ADHD feel 90% of the time. So, lets get back to the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Trump addition.

Trump Speech Thoughts

It was just over an hour in length, slightly more than eight pages typed. President Trump, excuse me, I feel the urge to gag... The president of Merica, gave a speech to a joint session of Congress last night, and I didn't watch it. I had no urge to watch it, well the truth is, as someone who doesn't have cable, I refused to spend my precious data plan on going utterly insane. Ah, but the internet, and data plans, I was able to get a transcription of the speech. I did not watch or read any of the counter speeches, but from what I heard, the former Governor of Kentucky gave a rather uninspiring reprisal of the affair, and Sanders gave one as well, which was more inspiring by the accounts I heard, but again, I did not watch or read the responses. If you are in my boat, or even if you aren't here is my take on it, of course, I won't promise its going to be perfect because, anytime I read something involving Trump, I hear it in my head a very specific way, a loud mouth cow bloviating about how the neighbors cows are eating all the prime grass in his field.

And the new Head is...

Its time to meet the new boss, same as the old boss, more or less. So, Saturday the DNC elected a new chairperson. Tom Perez, is his name, and his former gig was Labor Secretary from President Obama. It shows a few things, so lets get started shall we?

It has to stop

Been quiet these days. I have had a lot to say, but you know how it is, out here beating the bush, trying to make it in a world that has gone to shyte. But I do want to talk about some things, and honestly, I am at the point where I am losing the ability to even care.

Okay, once more for the class...

Okay, I need to get back to doing my thing, away from the internet, as I find myself becoming more and more frustrated by the day. Why you ask, because I see people nodding in silent affirmation of news articles regarding the previous election, and how certain persons are holding the Democratic Party hostage.