3 years later...

 Yay, I quit smoking.  I moved around a bit.  I saw Covid19 and survived.  I even got vaccinated for it, and outside of some really weird dreams, no adverse side effects.  It's been three years...  Wait, 3 years?  Somehow that doesn't feel right after the decade of 2020, yet I can check the time stamps and year, its been a little over three years since I last spewed whatever was on my mind.

Its been a long while...

Everyone, stop, take a deep breath, and put on your adult pants, because we have some serious problems, and I don't have any answers. Be the change you want to be is a joke, and let me tell you why, that is before I start talking about some problems we have. It is a joke, because a third of the country is completely and utterly apathetic to what is going wrong, the other two thirds care, at least I hope they care, about what is happening, but are so caught up on being right that they won't listen to each other. Rather than speak, listen, hear and maybe learn, we set our sole focus on destruction, and if the opposing side cannot be destroyed, make it look worse than your own. Hey, I can admit that I have moments where I am also caught up on being right. As for what follows, make up your own mind.

Here we go again... again...

I am crawling out from under my rock, and having to discuss an emotionally charged incident. So here we are again, another entry about gun control, and once again my stance is unchanged. But we need to have this conversation, and some things will be said that some will not like.

Is being too PC a bad thing?

Lets talk Politically Correct, being PC is apparently a new bane of existence for some people. I never realized just how much being PC annoyed some people, but what is politically correct exactly?It is the process of intentionally attempting to use language, or actions that can be considered offensive to members of particular groups.

A Cynical View of Rights...

once commented on rights/privileges that we Americans have or otherwise do not have. It is hard to believe in this day and age we still have people who feel that some rights are merely services and if you can't play, you don't get to play. Seriously.... So here is a list of things that aren't rights, but if you think about it, they probably should be.

The looming Government Shutdown...

So, I am currently waiting on the news to come back from its commercial breaks, and waiting to hear if the government shutdown has been avoided until next month, but the last I had seen the House had voted on a stop gap solution... In other words another shutdown showdown is in the works for next month, maybe. As of this moment, as far as I know, tonight, this night, the government will close up shop.

Attack of the Russian Bots?

So, as I have been doing many things, first and foremost of the New Year, New Me things, I get a random message from a guy on Facebook that I have known for several years, even if we aren't always in contact with each other. Honestly, part of the New Year, New Me thing(s) I am trying... Quit smoking, lower stress and aggravation levels, speak my mind more openly even if those things on my mind are potentially offensive or otherwise call people out, get into a shape that isn't round(ish), and avoid the news and Facebook in general.

A day in the life...

I haven't been writing very much. You know how it goes sometimes, busy doing this or that. Here in the last few days, I have been clearing out a storage unit I acquired, didn't make a ton of money on it, but I did decently enough and still have some stuff in it that can be sold. But along the way, I apparently offended someone, and they have taken to putting screws in my tires.

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”.