You work like an animal your whole life then retire with a bad back

 Looking up retirement videos on YouTube.  Contradictory chaos.  Everybody says something different.  I saw many videos that said retire early, retire now even if you can't afford it.  Others said never retire.  Many of these retirement vids are geared more towards the upper-crust white middle-classers even the wealthy with titles such as "Can You Retire On 500K?"  That's rough, that's shaky but I think I can do quite nicely thank you.  The average person maybe contemplating retirement can't relate to such professional advice.  I doubt many of the poor Yonkerites in my neighborhood even have financial advisors or portfolios.  Who are these YouTube content creators talking to?  Sampled a few of these and it all seemed a bit Trumpy to me.  Take a break go back to the Sasquatch video.

Excuse me I have to go put some cream on my hip right now.

Making the most out of the Trump Presidency

 Got a birthday card once from my late aunt God rest her soul.  No money in it just a greeting.  Kind of the same feeling I have about the Trump 2nd Term.  Getting the most out of a given situation.  Life gives you lemons make lemonade.  RFK Jr. as HHS Sec'y at least he got the petroleum out of pasta.  Trying to think what else.  So maybe we need to be philosophical about the Trump Administration.  With the latest inanities, calling inflation great and the UFC event scheduled at the White House maybe just see the Trump Presidency for entertainment purposes, some light froth in between serious Administrations.  You like Curly or Shemp?  Rubio is the only one who looks uncomfortable like he's trying to be a serious statesman amid the bufoonery.  When it's all over there will be a collective WTF was that?

And now a word from our sponsor;)

He's feeling no pain

 

I'm one of those shoppers who don't pay too much attention to prices.  I only buy a few items at a time now a little bit each day.  Just throw the items in the carriage and keep moving.  I'm not like the mamacita you see at the supermarket with five credit cards pulling two full carriages.  By my logic since I'm not buying a lot the grocery bill shouldn't be that high so why is the readout at the register always saying 50 60 70 or sometimes 80 dollars?  Oh wait when did coffee become so expensive?  Looking at the receipt again and Hefty garbage bags in double digits.  The cartons of Fancy Feast way too high but I already knew that so I buy the single cans more often now.  More variety that way.  Be that as it may I still won't buy toilet paper at the Dollar Store.  Your finger might poke through.  The POTUS is on record about not caring about all of this.  Hannity probably doesn't feel much pain at the pump.  Trump is the first president in modern times whose priorities doesn't include the economy apparently.  Depends on who you talk to.

My cat won't let me blog.

Most of what Trump does doesn't benefit the average American

 From vanity projects to personal political vendettas.  The vomit of his own mind.  The presidency for him is nothing more than an extension of his own personality.  The wars.  So far the only country he has benefited is Israel.  Domestically the only thing he seems to care about is immigration.  Judge ruled he has to take his name off the Kennedy Center.  He wasted our time.  Has he made it easier for anyone to afford a home or buy health insurance?  War abroad and ICE coming to a town near you.  Throw in the settling of old political scores and this is about as broad and multifaceted a presidency as you're going to get from Donald J. Trump.  He's so bad he makes you want to stick a Vance sign on your front lawn.  Almost.

What's in your wallet?

 Are you better off under Trump?  This is the basic question.  The price of groceries.  Pain at the pump.  I've had to resort to coin to cash conversions of late.  I own property.  Any buried treasure in my backyard?  Been pondering. Have even thought of getting a cheap metal detector to find out.  Indian head pennies.  Artifacts.  Jimmy Hoffa?  Far as I can see I can't join any class-action lawsuits.  I've never been molested in an Uber or a Lyft.  Never lived or worked close to Camp Lejeune.  I still got a ton of pennies to go through to convert to spending money.  Call it the Christian Brothers/Tobacco Fund.  Will also help with the Fancy Feast.

So ask your Trump cultist friends and co-workers what's in their wallet.  The bottom line:)

Is it a ceasefire or did Hegseth run out of ammunition?

 Hegseth pleads with Congress for a trillion dollars more to continue with the Iran War.  Lawmakers want to know when he plans on wrapping things up.  Before Taylor Swift releases her next album?  No stimulus checks from the Trump Government yet.  No gas rebates, consumer tariff refunds.  Nothing.  Also Trump wants Jimmy Kimmel fired (again) and ABC's license revoked over some Melania joke.  Most folk ain't up that late anyway.  Every president has been made fun of by the late-night comedians.  Goes with the territory.  No president has ever made an issue about it before.  You have a planet to run ya know?Meanwhile YouTube is demonetizing platforms over what it considers inauthentic content.  The stuck poop videos get to stay though.

Trump got in because the Left is weak on certain issues

 This needs to be said.

The Left would like to tax the wealthy into oblivion.  As soon as they start talking about wealth redistribution they give off communist vibes.  The Left acts like illegal immigrants have the same right to be here as you and me.  The open borders crowd.  The Left is perceived as being soft on crime.  Also anti-religion at times and the list goes on.  So now the political pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme of Trump.  The Left helped to elect Donald Trump.  That and the rest of us bought into the consumate bullshit artist. 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I've never understood trickle-down economics

 Say a wealthy doctor owns a mansion in Scarsdale he's so overflowing with money there are coins and money on the sidewalk that passerbys happily pick up.  I've never experienced this myself walking past a wealthy person's residence or place of business and paper bills wafting down from the sky.  The notion did indeed start with Reagan though.

I understand dribble-itis though.

Off the beaten path

 I have some fond memories of growing up and going to what Yonkerites referred to as the Austin Dump.  I don't know whether this was an official dump or just some unofficial location where folk just got rid of stuff.  Every once in a while my Dad would take my Mom and me and my aunt to visit the Dump so called because it was off of Austin Avenue just on the outskirts of town.  There was a cool blind hill on the road over there and you better slow down because you never knew what was on the other side.  A Sasquatch?  So we went on these free shopping sprees at the Austin Dump because that's what poor Yonkerites did back in the day.  Interesting forays.  People threw away some good stuff.  I still have a nice wooden shelf with sliding doors where I keep light bulbs and whatnot.  Shop at your local dump.  A forgotten poor family hack but you saved money.

I never got the issue with dumping.  Is it simply ignorance?  Do people not know you can go to your local recycling center to get rid of unwanted stuff?  They take practically everything.  I've gotten rid of those big old school tvs, a stereo system, patio chairs, folding tables you name it.  I mean if you're going to make the effort to take a beaten up old sofa to the outskirts of some woodlot why not just go to your recycling center instead?  Ain't that hard.

A trip down memory lane.  Pour yourself some Christian Brothers, sit back and just ponder;)

Money can't buy happiness but it does pay the bills

 Wondering when Tangerine Man will get around to the economy a major concern of most normal presidents.  Many Americans struggling to keep up with their bills very little in the way of actual savings.  I'm actually relieved when I go to the mailbox and it's nothing but junk mail.  Sometimes I read it.

Yonkers - some of the highest property taxes around yet the City of Gracious Living is very slow at fixing the pothole problem.  Other communities have dealt with the ravages of this past overly severe winter but drive around Yonkers and there's still the same craters in the road.  Will City Hall spring for a broken axle?  Does Sidewalk Enforcement need more funding?  Where are the taxes going?  Just asking.

Another puzzlement.  Why are there still Trumpers around?  Those bumper stickers should have come off by now.

Immigration crackdowns at home. Foreign wars abroad.

 Seems to be the bulk of the Trump Presidency.

What's in your wallet?

The missing checks

 Never got that 5K DOGE check.  Never got the 2K tariff rebate check either.  That would've been 7K total nice for some home improvement.   On the other hand NYS Governor Kathy Hochul promised New Yorkers an inflation refund check and delivered difference being she wasn't talking out of her ass.  Don't float something if you're not serious.  BB is probably right the money went to fund Hegseth's war games.  Maybe after Trump topples Cuba he can install the son over there.

My friend the Trump junkie.  Driving him home yesterday and trying to bring up different topics.  Movies from the 70s.  Robert Duvall.  Even Bigfoot couldn't stop him from proselytizing for Trump.  He brought up Kristi Noem and why Trump was right in firing her.  Appointed her the shield of feral cats in Latin America or something.  My friend brought up her muti-million dollar advertising campaign and something about a private jet.  Just as an outside observer looking in I offered even though I probably disagreed with most of what she said and did, spinning the ICE abuses for example she was extremely loyal to Trump and seems to me he pushed her off the subway platform.  Ethics?  When did that ever bother Mr. Trump before?

What's wrong with Lindsey Graham?

Ìs Hannity into Irish kickboxing?

 The warmongers over at Fox News.  Sean Hannity armchair warrior.  Probably never even picked up a rifle to shoot a duck.  You know things are serious when even Megyn Kelly is distancing herself from Trump over the Iran War.  She who spun the ICE abuses.  The rift in the Trump base is widening.  Trump is both impulsive and compulsive.  Is there a disorder for that?  Makes important decisions without considering the consequences.  Banned the penny now a woman at work doesn't know what to do with all her pennies.  The Strait of Hormuz now a huge problem for Trump.  The new Ayatollah, Ayatollah Jr. now closing it off.  Affecting the global economy.  Will you get your SHEIN shoes?  Hannity can afford to pay more at the pump.  YOU may have to have sardines for dinner.  Hegseth says it may take some time to take control of the Stait.  Maybe he can put some of his hair gel in the water and set the place on fire.

According to my Analytics I'm even getting blogviews in Vietnam.  I don't know what this means.

Remember when gas prices rose under Biden

 Some people put Biden "I Did That" stickers on the gas pumps.  Now we can put Trump stickers on the pumps.

Another Khamenei chosen as Iran's Supreme Leader.  The son.  That's some regime change.

7th US Serviceman killed.  Trump telling Americans to expect domestic terror.  Noem fired as Secretary of DHS.  I think Trump put her in charge of feral cats or something.  She went above and beyond for her man.  Thrown under the bus.  That's the Trump M.O.  Does the guy have any real friends?

Losing the midterms;)

A visceral take on the Iranian action

 No tears here for Khamenei.  Saw some of our American protesters on TV.  I never understood the soft spot for dictators on the part of the Left.  Never understood the soft spot for radical Islam on the part of the Left.  Having said that Trump didn't campaign on taking out the Ayatollah.  A key part of MAGA was not so much anti-war but no foreign wars or entanglements.   Joint US/Israeli action striking Iran.  Again whatever Bibi wants Bibi gets.  That too goes against another key part of MAGA America First.  So a kind of mixed reaction from me.  Ali Khamenei now officially deceased did have thousands of those Iranian protesters killed.  No grief here for the ex-Iran Supreme Leader.  However since this is all about regime change who will succeed him?  Does Bibi have him all picked out?  Unclear.  Will probably also affect the oil markets.

Chaos in the Middle East.  What else is new?

The irony of the current situation

 Little delay in blogging here.  Plumbing issues which have been finally taken care of.  Making vet appointments for five cats.  Tax preparation time etc.  The disappearance or kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie's Mom.  ICE kidnaps people all the time but somehow it's considered normal law enforcement.  It's a favorite theme of the Right that social protest movements are not organic but somehow engineered or orchestrated by certain higher-ups.  George Soros and Bill Gates I guess.  I thought they were gluten-free, normal folk being outraged by something but The Right has never liked protest movements to begin with.  Somehow violates law and order or being a good citizen.  So Trump calls popular podcaster Joe Rogan a great guy and called him up just a few says ago.  Re the current ICE situation in Minneapolis Trump told Rogan they're bad at PR.  I guess they need to explain better why shooting protesters multiple times makes sense.

So clearly Trump wants to make some type of massive illegal immigration crackdown the main thrust of his second term.  How 'bout something more unifying like simplifying the tax code?  No street theater, maybe a little boring and dry at times but nobody loses their lives unnecessarily and senselessly.   Help people put food on the table and buy a house.  No chaos necessary. 

Have a good day.

Black Panthers in Philly and Demented in Davos

 Never a slow news day under Trump.  How long how long oh Lord before we return to normal governance? Stocks rebounded after Trump said he won't take Greenland by force but he did say Iceland a few times at the WEF.  Despite the country and world being in total turmoil guy at work just likes to talk about the weather.  Nurses on strike in NYC.  Don't get sick here.

An aside about the Better Business Bureau

 Might be of limited interest to readers with all the big things happening but I have kind of formed an opinion now of the Better Business Bureau.  This blog has toggled back and forth between basically All Things Trump and my bad online shopping experience with SHEIN.  The finer details are in previous posts.  Filed a complaint with the BBB and this thing went back and forth for a few weeks.  SHEIN places almost the whole burden on the consumer to in effect basically somehow proving your lost parcels went to the wrong address.  Lost about $500 to them which they won't refund.  The BBB concluded the matter today informing me that they feel SHEIN acted in good faith and addressed my concerns.  There were no real offers from SHEIN or compromises even so the BBB couldn't even get me a half result.

My newer view now of the Better Business Bureau is they are probably fine for informational purposes only but lacking any real enforcement powers they shouldn't be in the mediation business at all.  In my modest view they're an overrated organization.  My sister made the point Trump should go after online retailers like SHEIN and stuff like that and I agreed Trump would be better if he did just a few minor useful things for most people rather than the stupid epic things he's doing now so tangent back into politics if you wish.

Things are not normal in the Trump Era.  The quality of our institutions are not what they used to be.  The Better Business Bureau.  Pretty much a paper tiger.  It's like the bad retailers don't even fear them anymore.  Shop at home.  Go local;)

A New Year's Resolution

 I generally don't make them but going forward no online shopping for me.  Would have to be an absolutely necessary purchase like if I ever feel the need to get a hearing aid but other than that I'm done.  There are two groups of SHEIN customers.  The first group are people who never had a problem with them and the second group are former customers who had to deal with Customer Service.  I'm thinking maybe the UPS Claims Dept. is partially driven by ai although I don't know this.  Might explain some things.  Something hasn't been right since Trump got elected.  Maybe it's the tariffs.  SHEIN is a Chinese company so why should they give their American customers refunds?  Just a theory.

We're a nation of compulsive shoppers.  Probably half the people in Target don't really need anything.  You always see them coming out of the store with plastic storage containers.  Credit card debt in this country is at an all-time high.  What's up with people always passing you on the escalators?  Everyone's in such a hurry.  My mother used to have a saying about such people.  What are they in a hurry to get to their grave?

It's gonna snow?  Go to Home Depot and get another shovel.  You already have five.

What is the GOP plan on health care?

 As near as I can tell it's  better to go bankrupt  because of astronomical medical bills than to have a government-run system because that's Communism.  Trump wants to extend ACA subsidies.  Repubs don't know what to do.  Many people, far too many in this country are living paycheck to paycheck.  They're not anti-doctor but can't afford medical bills right now.  Something would have to be an absolute medical emergency for them to see a doctor.  I'm sure Speaker Mike Johnson doesn't have this anxiety.  There's no advanced country in the world which would want to exchange health care systems with us.

Maybe I'm due for this and maybe I'm due for that but I have a house to run and haven't received any of the checks yet promised from the Trump Government.   Maybe the question can be asked at the next presser.  The POTUS: "Let me pull them out of my ass."