I don't know if everybody's going mental or what's going on

 

Lost Sparky last night.  Had to be at least 16 years old.  Probably old kidneys.  Last couple days not really eating but drinking lots of water.  Mainly sleeping and using the litter box. He hung out on the patio last night.  Nice night.  Clear sky rather balmy with a good moon.  Took an old bath rug from the bathroom and sprinkled a good dose of catnip on it to relax him.  Woke up this morning and he hadn't moved from his sleeping position when I went to bed.  After a few minutes knew he was gone.  Sad but kind of expected it the last couple of weeks.  He didn't seem to suffer much.  Grateful for that.  Family as they say.  Always a part of me.

Called my sister early this morning to see if she had a box for me to put him in to bury him in the backyard by an old rose bush.  As luck would have it have today off.  While sitting in the lounge chair with my first cup of coffee waiting for her to get back to me the home health aide had GMA on.  The very FIRST story, the TOP story was Trump's former Chief of Staff John Kelly saying he thinks if Trump gets elected to a second term he'll become a Hitler.  First off we don't have the political system for aspiring dictators.  How in hell is that even supposed to happen?  So much for dialing down the political rhetoric in the wake of the two recent attempts on Trump's life.  Has Pfizer or somebody made a pill for TDS yet?

So now I'm down from six cats to five.  Unless Elon Musk gives me some grant money I'm gonna stick with the five for now.  Don't know about the media.  They wouldn't be trying to influence the election would they?

Is McDonald's now a swing state?

 Media giving this maybe more attention than it deserves.  As we all know Donald Trump worked the fry station at a Philadelphia-area McDonald's over the weekend and held a kind of impromptu news conference through the drive-thru.  He has called into question Kamala Harris work history saying there's no evidence she worked at a McDonald's during summer break while attending Howard University.  Media giving this LOTS of attention calling to task his lies and baseless claims once again.  On a scale of 1 to 10 it hardly registers with me.  It's really not that important.  Everyone knows Trump talks out of his ass.  Maybe what we should be asking is was RFK Jr. okay with his stint at McDonald's???  He took Jr. on board to make America healthy again.  Is Jr. pissed?  I mean Trump could have put the produce away at a Whole Foods or something.  Does Bobby feel used in any way?

I like McDonald's btw.  Kamala Harris and Trump both like McDonald's.  The media taking this way too seriously imo.  Bobby probably confused at this point.

The ghost of Arnold Palmer was appalled by Trump's crude remarks

 It's hard to find decent coverage of the elections these days at least in my curated newsfeeds.  Heavily anti-Trump it's almost as if they're trying to influence the election.  Ya think?  Trump can't serve fries at McDonald's without a negative spin.  No longer objective news that pretense has been long abandoned with the rise of MAGA.  We're engaged in trivialities in these final days.  Kamala Harris has time for Stern but not the Al Smith dinner.  Did she have a souffle in the oven?  Bill Maher is gibbering about this and that.  He's kind of lost me.  The whole election thing is like a bad dream.  What does any of this have to do with the price of Fancy Feast?

To prognosticate or not to prognosticate

 Normally I would not prognosticate a presidential election this close but I will although not with supreme confidence as there will be millions of Americans default voting against Trump.  It will come down to the economy as it usually does.  Harris can point to this or that positive economic indicator but what people are paying for groceries is still too high.  Too many people still remember the Trump pre-pandemic economy when a trip to the supermarket was more normal.  This remains an albatross for Kamala Harris.  People also have been paying too much at the pump although I went to the station the other day and the cost took a remarkable dip.  What a coincidence!  Most voters are not academics and don't intellectualize that presidents don't really control the price of oil.  It was the Biden/Harris Administration during this time.  Correlation in the public mind and that's usually enough.  That the polling is still this close shows the defects in Trump's personality have had a negligible impact.  Disposable income trumps Trump you could say.  I want more disposable income to buy cigars.  To the undecideds Harris might be different than Biden but why take the chance?  If you vote wrong that's a long four years.  Trendy issues like climate change and trans issues those are more issues for the Left imo not bread and butter for most folk.  Abortion could have a significant but overall limited impact since people's views run the gamut.  It's the economy stupid.

Trump wins.  Not by a landslide but he comes out on top when the dust settles.  My somewhat shaky prognostication.

Last Tango In Yonkers

 Yonkers, NY.  Also known as The City of Gracious Living and the Sixth Borough of NYC.  Lots of movies filmed in Yonkers.  I may need to get out more as I haven't heard of most of these:

Who Made Tony Soprano, A Journal for Jordan, Halston, The Irishman (my friend told me about this one), Cruise, Ben Is Back, Breakable You, The Book of Henry, The Drowning, Chuck, Paterson, Meadowland, Freeheld, Get Ready for Ricki, The Adderall Diaries, Still Alice, Presto......I did see Freedomland (2006) though as I remember them filming here.  Starring Samuel L. Jackson they filmed parts in the Mulford Gardens Housing Project which was torn down years ago to make room for nicer townhouse style low-income housing.  Lots of TV shows filmed in the Big YO as well.  Not up on most of them either. 

Don't know if this has anything to do with the City of Yonkers' obsession with mow your front grass and keep your sidewalks clean at all times as the movie scouts may be driving through.  BTW the Yonkers property tax.  You're killing me.

50 Shades Of Diddy

 Not a whole lot to report on the culture front.  Actor Robert De Niro thinks Trump won't relinquish power if elected to a second term.  He needs to reacquaint himself with our system of government first.  84-year old actor Al Pacino now has a 1-year old son.  Don't play too rough and give Dad a hernia.  The T. Swift/Travis Kelce romance.  Pop star Sabrina Carpenter getting competition from upstart Chappell Roan.  I was driving to work this morning, stopped off and sent in my mail-in ballot for Trump/Vance then on the radio they were talking about the sad and tragic death of 31-year old One Direction member Liam Payne who jumped or fell from his room in a Buenos Aires hotel.  TMZ facing backlash over pics they posted of his. The Al Smith Dinner tonight.  Trump came but Kamala Harris didn't.  She sent in a pre-recorded video instead.  Who does this?  NY Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan disappointed.

Got anything? 

Trump is pretty fly for a white guy Part 2

 Apparently there's an issue with not enough black men who are automatically going to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket.  Heresies and blasphemies!  Obama has admonished them and now Kamala Harris has promised $20K in forgivable government loans for 1 million minorities to start businesses.  Harris also wants to legalize pot not an uncommon position but is also looking at it from a business potential angle.  I recently took out two loans through my union but nothing in the fine print about not having to pay them back.  On the pot front my neighbors are big potheads.  I'll be enjoying my fine Navy Flake MacBaren's pipe tobacco on my front porch and the smell of pot is always wafting over from the porch next door.  Modern-day Americana.  Norman Rockwell with a modern flair.  

So too many black folk have a nostalgia for the Trump first-term pre-pandemic economy.  Even the Trump loathing media admits the price of groceries was lower back then.  Black voters thinking out of the box.  A problem for the Dems.

Medical records I'd like to see

 Kamala Harris has released her medical records to goad Trump into releasing his.  Trump's physician said he is in excellent overall health.  Remember this is a man who once underwent a colonoscopy without anesthesia.  Kamala - Trump health nothing to see here.  RFK Jr.'s medical file might be interesting though.  Here is a man who once said worms ate part of his brain.  Sounds like a House episode.  Also and we don't know this for a fact but there is a good chance he has eaten roadkill sometime during his life.  He says you can get some sort of license for this.  Guess he keeps it in his wallet.  Is it laminated?  How often do you renew it and what is the fee?  He's driving home along the parkway somebody hits a deer and he's automatically thinking of the best recipe for venison.  His voice.  I don't know if he's given an official medical reason for this but people are curious.   The Jr. health file might be a treasure trove of medical esoterica.  A real rabbit hole.

Michael Moore is a freak

 Left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has urged Biden being a lame duck president to sign off on some far-left action items with the stroke of a pen.  Point 1 Joe Biden has always been a moderate-liberal Democrat his whole political career.  Point 2 Kamala is putting off progressives for now to appeal to the more centrist middle-class.  Point 3 Biden probably wouldn't know what he's signing anyway.  Moore should instead compete in a doughnut eating contest with Chris Christie.  Meanwhile Obama who fancies himself some sort of elder statesman is advising black men to not stray off the Democratic plantation and to vote for Harris/Walz.  I don't know about you but I've had enough of this election cycle.

If Trump wins on Nov. 5

 It would have been better off if he had won the last time around against Joe Biden.  He would have been nearing the end of his full presidency by now and the era of MAGA would be coming to an end.  We could all be talking about other subjects.  The trend lately has been to give most recent presidents two terms.  Clinton, Bush Jr., Obama.  This is why at the time I thought the American people would reelect Trump.  This gives the president the opportunity to finish the work he started  and gives his foreign policy a certain stability.  World leaders are used to dealing with him.  Instead we got Sleepy Joe.  IF Trump wins now there's talk of riots.  Why I don't know.  If he had won against Biden we wouldn't be going through this.  I make no case that the election was bad just that the American voters should have reelected him the last time for practical reasons.  Not voting for him this time because his personality has reached a critical mass for me.  Other conservative bloggers have said this is not the way to go but to each his own.

This was a tentative blogpost of mine since if Kamala Harris wins on Nov. 5 this thread will have little to no value.  However if I'm reading the polls right she just might come out on the losing end.  IF Trump wins but the election is close he clearly has no mandate and will govern a divided country.

The feral cat that liked people but hated his own kind

 

Many years back.  Would come around come in the house and sit on my father's lap while they were watching Judge Judy.  Loved people but hated other cats.  I don't recall him meeting another cat and liking him or at least tolerating him.  He felt the whole property belonged to him.  Did he pay the mortgage?  We named him Smokey.  He always had some sort of digestive problem and eventually passed away.  We never took him to the vet because of his anti-social attitude towards the other cats but took care of him as best we could.

A quick tip regarding cat rescues.  Another cat was trapped up a neighbor's tree once for a couple of days.  Maybe chased up there by a stray dog.  Called the Yonkers Fire Department and explained the situation to the lady.  She said just open up a can of cat food and leave it at the bottom of the tree and he'll eventually come down.   Nope.  I guess fire departments don't do cat rescues anymore.  At a loss I said to Dad I have an idea.  I got their big comforter from upstairs and we went next door into our neighbor's yard and we stretched out the blanket good and wide and held it right there underneath where the cat was sitting on a branch and we gradually coaxed him to fall into the blanket like a trampoline.  He was slightly bloodied from being scratched by some twigs on his way down but not the worse for wear.  We never officially adopted him but named him Lucky.  Would've been a nice YouTube video but nobody was around to record it.

From the Cat Diaries.

Hurricane season is upon us but debate season is over

 As we all know during a recent campaign stop in Wisconsin Trump called Kamala Harris mentally disabled from birth while talking about the Biden/Harris approach to dealing with illegal immigration.  He didn't say she lost her critical thinking skills but said what he said and took it to another level.  Conservatives have memory-holed this since they're default voting for Trump anyway.  A debate with a mentally disabled person should be a cakewalk for him.  Why wouldn't he go for it?

Trump may well win.  The polls show a clear horse race but if he loses the political autopsy of MAGA won't be hard to figure.

I got 99 problems but 'gators in the floodwaters ain't one of them

 There's always people worse off than you.  Back to back monsters Helene and Milton.  Hurricane Milton wreaked absolute havoc as it made landfall late Wednesday knocking out power to millions of Floridians as expected and spawned at least 150 twisters!  At least four deaths.  Tampa wasn't hit straight on by the Category 3 system though.  The fabric roof of the stadium used by the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was completely ripped off.  Rather than be a Captain Google you can just surf the rest of the details.

I can't wait for the politics of this.  Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Trump.  Gotta put a spin on everything.

Our thoughts, hearts and prayers;)

The only problem is Woodward isn't a trash writer

 I'd sooner trust him than Tom Selleck trying to sell me a reverse mortgage.  Woodward's new book War - According to the book Trump and Putin had at least seven private calls since Trump left office.  Also Trump allegedly sent Putin Covid-19 test machines during the peak of the pandemic when there was a shortage.  Trump calls Woodward "a storyteller who has lost his marbles",

POT - KETTLE - BLACK

Steven Cheung Trump's communications director said Woodward's book is "the work of a truly demented and deranged man" who suffers from TDS.  Did he make up Watergate too?

There's other stuff in the book.  Lindsey Graham calls visiting Mar-a-Lago like visiting N. Korea everybody has to clap when Trump enters the room.  Biden's complicated relationship with Netanyahu and his angry tirades over the Israel/Hamas War yada Yada.

I'm no fan of the media by any stretch but it ain't Maury Povich writing.

The Democrats and their hurricane-making machines

 Latest conspiracy theory being peddled by Marjorie Taylor Greene.  I'm beginning to think she might be a left-wing plant to make conservatives look bad.  The Democrats can't even make health care affordable for most Americans how are they gonna control the weather?

On to Trump.  The New York Times is taking his latest campaign rambles and rants, lies and misinformation very seriously indeed but they're missing something big time here.  Let me illustrate with an anecdote.  Back in the day we lived close to an older couple.  The elderly husband eventually developed Alzheimer's.  The wife asked my sister for a favor if she could just take him out and walk him around the block.  Nice day and a group of black guys hangin' on the corner.  As my sister and her ward got closer he started using the N-word.  Why this even came out in an Alzheimer's state is itself an interesting question.  I mean why not "look at the pink elephant"?  Anyway he was like "look at the (N-words)" etc. etc. They were naturally getting a little upset, just a tad mind you until my sister explained to them he had Alzheimer's.  They completely understood and let it go.  Last time my sister took him out for a walk btw.  Now my point about the Ole Gray Lady and the mainstream media in general.  IMO Trump has some cognitive issues.  Something is off.  Don't think it's weed.  Might be pre-Alzheimer's, dementia or something else.  DO NOT treat Trump's pronouncements and latest utterances as you would a normal person.  You don't fact-check some old guy in a nursing home say who's rambling on about when are the elves gonna bring in his food.  You let it ride but that's the problem with the msm they're missing the bigger picture.

Having said that I don't know what the problem with MTG is.

Why doesn't Oprah fund Planned Parenthood?

 Planned Parenthood is not a self-reliant organization.  They suck heavily from the teat of government.   I mention this because I see on my newsfeed that Vance said Trump would take a chainsaw to PP if elected.  Oh the humanity!  Nobody is saying PP would cease to exist however and it's almost as if the headlines are conflating the two.  St. Jude doesn't suck from the teat of government but relies heavily on private donations.  But PP is a public health group you say.  OK but a mainstay of their business is performing abortions.  Abortion is arguably the taking of a human life etc.  Maybe Taylor Swift can run the whole operation.  Not understanding why it's axiomatic and morally obligatory for taxpayers to fund them in the first place.  Just my view.

Cap'n Crunch causes cancer?

 RFK Jr. is making all kinds of claims about the food we eat.  This seems to have caught fire in conservative media which is usually wary of the potential for a nanny state.  Apparently the federal government is still after him for cutting the head off a dead whale back in the day.  Isn't there some kind of statute of limitations for whale head cutting?  Actress Cheryl Hines is reportedly looking to divorce him over an alleged affair he had.  Maybe it has more to do with the lack of junk food in the house.  Personally I will risk cancer for a chocolate Twinkie.  Meanwhile Melania Trump wrote some book and disagrees with her husband over abortion.  Couldn't this wait until after the election?  Hasn't she ever heard of put it in the 'fridge it'll keep?  Melania your husband is trying to run a campaign.  At least I think he's trying to run a campaign.  Raspberry Zingers are to die for.  Is that to be taken literally?

House ferals - Misty

 Went from squirrel meat to Fancy Feast.  We began putting collars on them.  Always preferred the breakaway kind in case the cat gets snagged on something.  They always lose them.  The engraving on the tag isn't cheap either.  Misty was a favorite of the toms in the neighborhood until my sister finally took her to the vet.  No trapping involved.  Misty would make herself right at home in a nook of the house and simply put the critter in the carrier is our strategy.  Some vets now offer 3 year rabies shots but you have to ask for them.  All vets are big on gums and teeth.  They ALWAYS check out the mouth and usually recommend dental work which can run well over $1,000 in some cases.  Not saying they're wrong but most folk probably can't afford it.  Don't have pet insurance but it's worth considering.  My folks were in a pet food store once.  Another older couple shopping for their cat.  The wife was very finicky about what to get.  The old guy grumbled you don't even care about my dinner like that.  It's a cat thing you wouldn't understand.

Fact-checking the fact-checkers

 I've always felt the so-called fact-checkers come to the conclusions they want to come to.  A lot of people know the fact-checkers are biased.  They always seem to be helping the liberal cause if you notice.  Confirmation bias.  One of my issues is the sheer speed with which they come to some of their conclusions.  Let's say a Bigfoot was spotted in Central Park.  Less than a day goes by and Snopes will authoritatively pronounce it false.  Yes a ridiculous example for levity's sake but as usual don't take their word for anything.   Do your own research.  If your conclusions dovetail with those of the fact-checkers all well and good.  If you feel as Joe Rogan does that they're full of shit that's fine too as you've probably done more homework than them anyway.

When it comes to hard objective news the msm is great.  The horrible human tragedy of Hurricane Helene they can be relied upon for giving you the most basic facts of the situation.  Our hearts and prayers.  Other stuff however the social and the political area I find myself gravitating more towards independent media.  Sure Russell Brand is big on clickbait but you get more on your plate.  Everybody's biased but you're a grown adult you can figure it out.  You don't need everything handheld for you by the fact-checkers and the strained puree of data they give you.

Have a good day.  Don't be lazy.  Do your homework. 

Does your vet need to know Shakespeare?

 Does your gastroenterologist need to know calculus?  How many existentialists does it take to change a light bulb?  You do not need to be a well-rounded individual unless you're Chris Christie.  Many conservatives like Charlie Kirk are now making the case that you do not need a liberal arts college education to get ahead in life.  Worked under a young and talented chef back in the day.  He had a little higher education under his belt but he preferred to dive into the labor market at an early age.  You learn by doing.  Teach kids how to make money.  I vastly recommend trade schools over college unless college is your thing.  I'll never forget the tour our chef friend took us on at the famed Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York.  Young people zeroing in on their passion that's what it's all about.  In France our chef friend said chefs are practically revered.  He also said if you're a chef you'll never be out of a job.  College graduates on the other hand often have trouble landing their dream job right away.  Paying back student loans another current issue although the CIA costs a pretty penny too.

College.  What a racket.

A political ramble through the workplace

 This is going to be counterintuitive.  Democratic bosses and Republican bosses.  The people I'm about to describe were very open about their politics of that there was no doubt.  Now you would expect a Democratic boss to be very pro-the worker but......Many years back I worked under a Democratic head chef very anti-Trump and very pro-Hillary.  We're not talking the restaurant scene here either which can be highly stressful by its very nature but food markets.  This man however despite his politics was universally disliked by the workers under him.  Numerous complaints to HR.  Unfair to the workers.  Made a woman cry once.  FF to now and the current head chef an avowed and hardcore Democrat is similar.  Both taskmasters.  You already have a lot on your plate and here's a few more scoops.  Current chef hard to have a rational discussion with.  Guy at work had cancer since passed away but at the time Chef became impatient because he was out a lot because the doctors were trying to get a handle on it.  On the other hand I've had Republican bosses who were nice and fair-minded.  Few years back when my father passed away the young head chef at the time a pro-Trump Republican said if there's anything we can do and take as much time as you need.  Very family oriented.  Said the same thing to another co-worker whose Dad had passed sometime before mine.  I thought the Trumpublicans were supposed to be horrible people.

All this is highly anecdotal on my part and I'm leaving the broad brush aside.  Studies have been done showing a fairly high percentage of bosses are mentally ill in the first place and this cuts across party lines so there can be many explanations.  What stands out in my own personal life experience though is how counterintuitive political affiliation can be when it comes to bosses in the workplace and what you would expect.  I welcome your anecdotes.

Trump thinks he can swagger his way into the WH

 Last night's VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz was a fairly civil affair.  At the end my impression was I'd rather have Vance as president than Trump.  Vance acknowledged having an erroneous belief and making a mistake or two in the past.  Imagine Trump saying this!  Vance and Walz sometimes agreed with each other.  By the time they got to child tax credits I was fully under the influence of the Christian Brothers.  They covered a lot of ground and it was a long debate.  Everyone including wives shook hands at the end.  I rather enjoyed it gotta say.

I seriously can't vote for the man at this point

 I'll have to sit out the most important presidential election of our lifetime.  Don't they say that about every election though?  If Trump wins it'll be without my help.  Trump's reverse strategy of turning off voters - as I'm sure you've heard at a campaign stop in Wisconsin last Saturday he called Kamala Harris mentally disabled from birth because of the admittedly horrible Biden-Harris immigration and border policy.  Talk like this can only throw sympathy in Harris's corner.  I don't expect any presidential campaign to be totally softball but I don't remember any presidential candidate talking like this.  There is something seriously off about Trump.  While there was still time the GOP should have gone with somebody else.  Might be a good time to blog about other stuff.

Does Trump really want the job at this point?

 Or is he doing a reappraisal?  Two assassination attempts.  Will this remain some kind of aberration or is it probable there will be more attempts on his life?  Saw recent headlines is Trump suffering from PTSD from the first assassination attempt and has he lost that fighting spirit?  If he does regain the WH will things only get worse?  If he does get assassinated while in office he wouldn't be able to complete the work of MAGA.  Ego versus personal safety is he evaluating that calculus as well?  Maybe his selling $100K watches is really his yearning to go back to the regular business world from which he came and which he's good at and known for.  Under normal circumstances I would not be posting this but we are not living in normal times.  Two attempts on a man's life can seriously interfere with his psyche.  He has the delegates he has the nomination and he has a fighting chance in the polls but the msm seems to be boxing off the two assassination attempts and treating the rest of the campaign with their usual anti-Trump bias putting the two attempts on his life as more of a historical footnote.  This election season is not normal and nothing is normal.  It's not like we can just pause the whole thing but have to go through the wretched motions.

I'm just trying to say something a little off the beaten path.  Let me know in the chat.

My ongoing feral cat series - Alfie

 

That's Alfie a male tuxedo.  Look at the long whiskers.  We adopted him from Misty's last litter.  He was definitely past the kitten stage when we took him in.  He once caught three squirrels in three days.  The last one he was eating in the backyard.  His hunting skills passed down from Misty.  Putting him in the cat carrier the first time proved to be a challenge.  I have bigger than normal carriers suitable for a small dog and the carrier also opens up from the top to make it easier.  I also wear thick winter gloves so I don't accidentally get scratched then it's off to the vet's.  Prior to putting a cat into the carrier I close off as many access to escape points as possible as things get more difficult when they go under a bed say.  Everyone else at the vet's have smaller regular carriers of different styles suitable for their Cuddles or Fluffy so I kind of stand out in the waiting room.

FLEAS imo are the #1 affliction or problem for cats although some of my cats never seem to get fleas at all while others are hard hit.  Can even lead to severe forms of dermatitis although other things like stress or ingredients in their diet can lead to severe skin allergies in some cats as well.  Many times at that point the vet will give a cortisone shot combined with an antibiotic shot.  I once spoke with a medical director of a vet clinic since retired and she said fleas can actually develop an immunity to some flea medications.  Ever notice how some flea meds don't help the situation?  I don't know if hers is a minority view but it's food for thought.  Revolution is the strongest flea med on the market but has to be prescribed first.  Pricey stuff.  Horticulturally speaking and far less expensive some plants like marigolds and catnip repel the little bloodsuckers.  I'm not lucky in the green thumb department but marigolds are the easiest plant to grow.

Coming at you from the feral wilds of Yonkers.

The NYC Mayor - Diddy do it?

 NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 5 charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting foreign campaign donations.  The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Damian Williams said Adams took over $100,000 in graft and used his office to try to help Turkey.  Before becoming Mayor of Gotham Adams was the Brooklyn Borough President and is also a retired captain in the NYPD.  He has an extensive police background.  The alleged scheme started in '021 and continued after he became Mayor.  Adams says Biden is getting back at him for his criticism of his handling of the migrant crisis in NYC.  NYS State Governor Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him from office.  Question is if everybody's corrupt who's gonna drain the swamp?

Meanwhile Donald Trump has started his own watch collection with watches going as high as $100K.  Do you have to take out a reverse mortgage to buy one?  Talk to Tom Selleck?  Snoop will probably get one.  YOU walk down the street with one and you will be robbed.  Why now though?  Why not wait 'til after the election?  Has Trump given up on the middle class and given that issue to Harris?  What is the watch supposed to do for you?  Maybe Elon will get one too.  I just wanna know what time it is.

The TV scene.  More channels than ever and some nights there's nothing on.

Kamala Harris' politically alienating campaign

 Yes I realize the automatic rebuttal here that Trump is alienating but she is supposed to be the anti-Trump and a uniter and a healer.  A key part of her campaign of course is abortion but that's a subject that's alienating by its very nature.  It's like if a standup comedian made a night's worth of fat jokes but half his audience was fat.  By emphasizing or over-emphasizing the abortion issue by default you're alienating people who may not even have strong political positions on this but who in their spiritual gut feel abortion is not a great thing.  If push came to shove and they were unemployed they wouldn"t feel comfortable working in an abortion clinic say.  Basically what she's doing is appealing to the default voters in her party's base but who else?  How big is the who else camp that would even be swayed by this?  It's kind of settled into a philosophical issue for many.  Discuss it over a pipe smoking session?  That's enough of a ramble.

Is this post alienating enough?

Everybody is good people

 So the authorities in Springfield Ohio have determined that it was apparently impossible for any illegal homeless Haitian immigrant to have eaten a feral cat or two.  My newsfeed says Dems are pushing back against Trump's racist fear mongering of Haitian immigrants.  This can actually work in reverse.  By giving so much attention to Trump's mindspace they're completely ignoring the fact that they're here illegally in the first place.  Least those are the ones we're talking about.  This is a good time to discuss the difference between rights and privileges.  If you're here illegally you technically have no right to be here.  Now some government policies might try to accommodate you and your family anyway but that's a privilege that you're still allowed to remain and work here but still not a right.  Kamala is trying to tow a tougher line on illegals and the border because it's obviously a winning issue for Ttump but her own party seems to be working against her.  According to a recent PBS Newshour report on the situation some of the illegal Haitians are terrors behind the wheel of a car and the subject has been brought up at Springfield City Council hearings.  The Dems always present a fairy tale version of reality though so I think the issue still sways strongly in Trump's favor.  Whither Ohio?

Normally a candidate for president isn't the object of frequent assassination attempts

 Something tells me it's not the Deep State.  They're not that incompetent and have an unlimited budget.  Something I have noticed though.  In the wake of two assassination attempts against Trump instead of lowering the temperature of the anti-Trump rhetoric as might be expected people on the Left have actually increased it.  We still have the Hitlerian references.  There is still the deranged talk of Trump if he wins becoming a dictator for life and canceling all future elections.  So WHY do people on the Left continue to talk like this?  One conclusion they want somebody to finish the job.

Mass formation psychosis is now treated as a part of normal rational political discourse.  We're living in surreal times.

Neither candidate is talking about the price of Fancy Feast

 

Drove past a vacant lot today.  Used to be a gas station that they razed to the ground only they left part of the sign up.  Gas at 2.55 a gallon.  Had to be sometime before the Biden Administration era.  T. Swift can easily get a truckload of Fancy Feast delivered to her estate.  For the rest of us it's should I go debit or credit?  Cash on the barrelhead is usually out of the question for most folk.  It's jacking up my grocery bill and they're small cans too.  Talking about the cartons of course.  Seems to be a feline fave.  I always pay cash at the gas station btw.  If I'm gonna use the Visa I want it for something tangible like a garden power tool or clothes at Kohl's not for something as ephemeral as a few days worth of driving.  Don't understand the people who are always using credit for gas.  If I'm gonna go in debt I at least have a nice air fryer/toaster oven sitting on my kitchen counter.

As part of my ongoing aging blogger series my next field of inquiry is varicose veins.  That'd be Misty btw one of my former house ferals.

Maybe we need to watch the left-wing rhetoric Part 2

 Second attempt on Trump's life in two months.  On Sunday September the 15th the former president was playing golf at his Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach FL.  A Mr. Ryan Routh age 58 stuck the barrel of his rifle through the fence at the edge of the course.  The weapon was an AK-style assault rifle with a multi-round magazine and a long--range scope.   Trump was only 300-500 yards away.  The Secret Service saw this opened fire and Routh was later arrested in a black Nissan on I-95.  A fierce supporter of Ukraine with a history of business problems and being in court.  Most recently lived in Hawaii but was a long-time voter in NC as a registered Democrat.  A long social media trail and many media interviews.

We didn't lower the temperature the first time around it only went up.  Will we cool the fierce and sometimes deranged anti-Trump rhetoric in the wake of the second assassination attempt?  Probably not.  Left-wingers gotta hunker down and double down.  No pause for reflection.  It will be put on the back shelf the news cycle goes so fast these days.  Is this the new normal?

Curated newsfeeds

 Google News, Samsung News, NewsBreak and a few others.  You know the pre-installed crap apps that come on your devices.  They're anti-Trump day in and day out while Kamala gets a free ride.  No serious research they just regurgitate each other and spew out the same canned news items on a daily basis.  A common everyday theme is a quick debunking of every Trump utterance.  The so-called fact-checkers have become a cottage industry.  Joe Rogan speaking of them on his podcast said fact-checkers are full of shit.  I'm inclined to agree.  Do they go out in the field and do extensive research?  They sure come to their conclusions rather quickly.  Everything is binary to them there are no even partial truths.  All this and more is the reason why more and more people are gravitating to independent media.  Curated newsfeeds they don't just give you the news they cue you in on what to think.

I have no recommendations just do your own research.

Conservatives are in a blue funk mood after the debate

 As I said I rewatched some of the clips from the debate on YouTube and thought Trump did well despite the pets.  It has been officially declareth however that he lost the debate.  Mine must be some weird minority opinion.  Welcome to Stranded the place of weird minority opinions.  You might find a few.

A commenter at a conservative blog opined that God intervened in the assassination attempt for a reason and so not to despair.  If you're a religiously-minded person that is not an invalid view imo.  To date not much has come from the FBI's investigation as to motivation.  Kind of odd.  Usually by now you'd hear from some neighbor that Crooks looked up at the nighttime constellations for political messages at 3 in the morning or something.  That he was able to put a ladder up against the side of the building to scale the roof is really something.   The Home Depot - how doers get more done.

For me one debate sufficeth.  If there's another one my biased newsfeeds will declare by sunrise the next morning that he lost that one too.  Regarding the cats and dogs one of my first reactions was there needs to be some serious research on this instead of the usual superficial snoping.  There's feral cats all over the place.  It's not out of the realm.  On the other hand Trump pronounces things in a Shakespearian manner like there's some pet apocalypse going on.  Maybe fodder for the next Stephen King novel.

Conservatives need to pop a Prozac.

It was a feisty debate. I don't declare a winner.

Both got in their jabs.  Kamala Harris made a lot of funny faces during Donald Trump's remarks.  At one point Trump called her a Marxist and said something about people eating dogs but I was slightly under the influence of Caribbean rum at the time trying to put it all together.  A long debate don't really want to sit through another one.  During the recap the ABC News commentators seemed biased saying Trump came across as angry.  To me he wasn't over the top just regular Trump mode.  No clear winner imo but it was an entertaining night.

If Trump loses he'll have an existential meltdown

 I think it can go either way but I also think that maybe the SOLE reason he's running again is he felt he should have won the last time.  I too had trouble processing this.  Think about it Joe Biden got a historic number of record votes.  More than Ronald Reagan more than Barack Obama.  The charisma of wet cardboard.  Didn't see too many Biden lawn signs either.  Georgia going blue absolutely blew my mind.  Now Hillary lost 2016 and was bitter about it for a long time.  Lots of talk about Russian interference but it all played out and she decided against a rematch.  IMO Trump however looks at things in more poetic and even grandiose terms.  By running again he feels he's trying to right some cosmic injustice.  What's the karmic deal yo?  Might explain his disorganized utterances of late he's not philosophically grounded.  Just my thoughts but I think this goes beyond MAGA.

Kamala Chameleon

 Kamala Harris was once against fracking now she supports it.  She was once in favor of a looser immigration policy now she advocates for tighter border controls.  She now agrees with Trump's idea of no taxes on tips.  You have the right to adjust and tweak your views but this smacks of political opportunism.  Speaking of tweaking Trump is now playing around with the abortion issue instead of just sticking with his state by state approach thus potentially alienating that part of his base.  He wrote on Truth Social a second Trump term would be great for women's reproductive rights.  Maybe Trump nephew Fred is right he's showing early signs of dementia.  The Hulkster can't save him at this point.  His proposal to require insurance companies to pay for IVF treatments is hardly in line with smaller government.  I don't think Trump was ever a true conservative in the first place.

This election can best be summed up as Make America Confused Again.

Worse than Chappaquiddick?

 So apparently the entire Kennedy clan is disgusted by RFK Jr.'s endorsement of Donald Trump.  I don't understand families.  Bobby is a full grown adult he can endorse whoever he wants to endorse.  He's also old enough to watch porn.  What does the family estrangement though mean in actuality?  He's disinvited from Kennedy weddings?  He gets nothing in his Christmas stocking?  No BBQ on Martha's Vineyard?  No entry in the regatta?  No Kennedy relative or relative of a relative will give him a kidney?  He's written out of wills?  He can't be buried or interred in the family plot?  I Piss On Your Grave?

JD Vance recently said Kamala Harris can go to hell.  I don't even know the context of this.  Is Vance on angry pills or something?

Our election cycles are becoming stranger all the time.

What a fracking interview

 The CNN Interview of Kamala Harris/ Tim Walz with Dana Bash asking the questions:

Walz reminded me of a contestant on Jeopardy who just stands there and hardly rings the buzzer.  Moral support for Harris clearly although he did dodge the question about his military service and said something about his wife correcting his grammar and he was proud to be a public school teacher.  Harris basically answered Bash's questions vaguely but got poetic towards the end when she said the true strength of a leader is lifting people up.  We'll just leave everything else for the chat.  I do try to be fair here at Stranded but imo it was a weak interview, inadvertently funny in spots and probably says to most thinking people anyway she shouldn't be the leader of the free world.

What. The. Actual. Frack.

Thuganomics

What do you think about Mark Zuckerberg's revelations that the Biden WH relentlessly pressured Facebook teams on a daily basis to censor certain Covid content that went against the narrative?  Zuckerberg now says he regrets caving into government pressure which btw when the government gets involved in these areas it technically becomes censorship,  Also Zuckerberg now admits FB demoted the New York Post's coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story at the time which could have potentially influenced the election by suppressing information from the voters at least those who don't read the New York Post.  Do they read the NYP in Idaho?  Talk about possible election interference!

DOES KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORT GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP???

For a man who refused anesthesia for a colonoscopy

I don't understand his vacillation over the proposed debate with Kamala Harris slated for Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.  According to the new book I'll Take Your Questions Now by Stephanie Grisham Trump's former WH press secretary then President Trump made a visit in 2019 to Walter Reed Medical Center for a routine colonoscopy but refused being put under so as not to give temporary power to VP Mike Pence.  WOW.  I mean a lot can happen in 20-30 minutes a war could start or something .  FF to now and I still don't know if there will be a debate.  It's on again off again on again off again.  He would still prefer Fox News to host the debate I guess with Sean Hannity as moderator.  He still wants to campaign against Joe Biden, he's stuck in a reverie about it and can't seem to adjust to new circumstances.  He had his nursing home jokes all lined up.  This whole thing makes him look weak and shows his campaign is still dangerously off course.  Meanwhile JD Vance continues to defend his cat lady comments like give it up already.

I wish I didn't have to write this stuff.

Is Chef Boyardee the biggest problem facing our country right now?

 RFK Jr.'s endorsement of Trump has seemed to reinvigorate his campaign at least to a degree and now has everyone talking about our food supply.  Browsing YouTube and same topic.  An alarming increase in chronic diseases, diabetes Type 2, stroke and so on down the list.  BB is like the smart guy on Barney Miller he can break it down for ya.  Why are they blaming our food supply all of a sudden for an increase in our collective medical ills?  I shouldn't say all of a sudden as this has been a topic for years but it's really taken off now with the Bobby Kennedy factor.  Why isn't everyday stress being talked about along with a myriad of other factors?  OK we're a nation of fat-asses.  That's simply a matter of putting too much food into your body the same way an alcoholic puts too much drink into his system.  Is Little Debbie the villain here?  Nobody told you to eat the whole box.  Now with Jr. by his side is Trump gonna have salad bars at all his campaign stops?  I wasn't fat shaming before btw just sayin'.  Best thing you can have in your bathroom is a large mirror for when you step out of the shower.  Stopped me dead in my tracks one day and I said this and no more.  What kind of regs does Bobby have in mind anyway?  I'm not getting a smaller government vibe here.

Ramble over:)

Will Elon Musk and RFK Jr. have roles in a new Trump Administration?

Assuming he wins.

Trump is open to the idea.  Musk has expressed interest in a kind of government efficiency expert and a commission kind of deal.  No idea where RFK Jr. would serve in a Trump Administration (the environment? Big Pharma czar?).  Both have wholeheartedly endorsed Trump Bobby having recently dropped out of the race.  Trump needs to get back on track however.  He's been out of sorts since Biden dropped out and can't seem to readjust to Kamala Harris replacing him.  Elon Musk and Bobby Kennedy in a Trump Administration?  Interesting.

(snide comments to follow)

Doctors

I asked my doctor once how often should you eat red meat.  He said twice a month.  If everyone followed that the beef industry would go out of business.  Then I asked him how much coffee should you drink in a day.  He said one cup.  Look I'm paying for the visit I may as well pick his brain.  Why do they say drink 8 glasses of water a day?  He says nobody knows how that started just drink water.  What causes tinnitus?  It's mostly related to hearing loss as you get older but he did bring up RF hearing once which is an actual noise so he can think out of the box a little.  Insurance didn't cover my Colovantage blood test for colon cancer.  Oh well.  Spanish chef at work said flip the questions back to him.  If he asks you how your bowel movements are ask him how his movements are.  Asked him once what's a good sleep aid.  He said melatonin.  Gotta agree with him there.  Another time he suggested brisk walking is better than regular walking.  Just be glad I'm walking.  Was in the waiting room once and glanced at the table with the reading material and next to Golf Digest was Heart Failure magazine like am I dead and don't know it yet?

Doctors are ego-driven.  They want you to respect their expertise.  Never be afraid to question them.  If you catch them googling leave.

So now they're called Abortion Access Advocates (CBS News) - not to be confused with AAA

 Disregarding practical advice not to appear too ghoulish feticide a big part of Night 1 at the DNC as expected.  I was mainly watching "Crime Stories With Nancy Grace" about the Matthew Perry death case so only caught snippets.  Some Team USA basketball coach was saying something as I was surfing around the channels.  Didn't catch the Biden speech.  Too late for me as I'm still a working man.  My takeaway from Night 1 - Hillary had plastic surgery. 

I'd rather watch an Omega XL commercial or a Steven Seagal movie

DNC kicks off tonight in Chicago.  Biden to deliver keynote address, Obama the orator on second night and Bill Clinton on third.  Kamala Harris big night on the fourth and final night of course.  Out of all the candidates for her VP pick Tim Walz is probably the most socially radical but doesn't look it.  He looks like the friendly uncle who gives you a 5 dollar bill in the alley after your parents yelled at you.  The economy and the working class will be a big theme Biden's attempted but failed vax mandate on companies with over 100 employees already having been memory-holed.  Immigration, crime and safety, health care.  Trump has the edge on some key issues but Dems are better on health care as you'll be paying less for colonoscopy.  I've heard Harris isn't too swift on foreign policy which is half the presidency.  Of course oiling up the abortion machinery will be peppered in whenever possible. 

I'm gonna check the movie listings.

We never went to a shelter to adopt cats

 

They always came to us.  It's fine whichever way you want to do it.  My sister goes to a pet store affiliated with a rescue group or lately the Yonkers Animal Shelter by Stew Leonard's to adopt.  This feral bunch was taught by the mother how to hunt and kill squirrels.  We adopted all but one.  The gray tabby male went his own way.  The mother since spayed as I mentioned in a previous post is probably living someplace else after having lived here awhile.  She's friendly enough to adapt.  Probably preferred peace and quiet rather than live with too many cats as we have a couple others unrelated.  Domestic or feral it's all good.  A Jackson Galaxy moment;)

What's the deal with the over-polling?

 Seriously though we have polls coming out of the ass.  We could have polls of polls.  What did you think of our last poll?  Harris and Trump haven't even had their first debate yet and I would submit these early polls mean nothing.  Every time I turn on my phone there's another Trump/Harris poll.  Harris has better hair than Trump.  Polls in the past have sometimes proven to be wildly inaccurate.  Remember when Hillary was supposed to win the election handily against Trump?  The polls might mean more if they take a break and don't poll for awhile.  Dunno.

I was never polled in my life.  Well maybe once I got a call on my cell and answered a series of questions.  Where are these people on the street stopping people to ask their opinions?  I'm still waiting to be taken seriously.

What do you think of me blog?  Take a survey.

Is society becoming angrier?

 

Is it the election?  The price of food, 5G, something in the air or water, solar storms, too many boosters, Judge Judy?  The cost-of-living. the Middle East, Google, the weather, medical bills, bad digestion?  Trump......

The Rise of the Kens and Karens

I'm seeing it in retail.  From my end food service.  They come in for an item you don't have that day.  Instead of talking about with the department they go to the manager.  Manager gets involved.  Rookie deli clerk makes their sandwich slightly off as per their instructions they go to the manager.  You're short-staffed that day everyone called out that's not my problem.  Angry shoppers.  I'm a quiet shopper.  I don't make issues.  I don't get the workers in trouble.  Mild Z.

The blogosphere.  Everyone just calm down and let's talk about barn owls.

Is the pro-abortion vote enough to swing the election?

Complex but in the final analysis I'm gonna say no.  The msm would probably say yes.  So far I've seen only one commercial from Kamala Harris, a short tv ad talking about workers and the economy and protecting reproductive rights.  The pro-abortion vote - I would have to say that demographic is fairly sexually active and as my brother likes to say it's like they plan on having abortions (ok not the best way of putting it but you get the gist).  However there are other people out there, quite a few who are not into abortion, who don't like abortion and you don't have to be an official card-carrying RTL member to feel this way.  Also a large portion of the population go to bed every night in cold sheets.  They'll even say they've had nothing going on for years maybe had a bad marriage.  Abortion may not be uppermost in their minds.  Just a ramble and I'll cap it here.

Is Kamala Harris over-emphasizing the issue?

Working-class abortions

 Seems to be an amalgam of Kamala Harris' early TV advertising and probably future advertising as well.  Look for the union label and btw you can have an abortion.  We got you we'll hook you up.

I think with her selection of MN Governor Tim Walz she overestimates the leftness of the American people.  Taking a gamble on PA without Gov. Shapiro's help and focusing on the Midwest.  Dunno.  Maybe she wants to help Trump.

Is TikTok no longer a threat?

 Haven't heard much lately.  Where do the candidates stand?

Figured out a way to fix ad-hominem.  During the Trump/Harris debate give each candidate ten minutes of pure ad-hominem against the other.

Trump:  "When did you become black?"

Harris:  "What's that dead animal on top of your head?"

Then onto the Issues.

While you're watching the Olympics

 

Health food stores are a kind of niche market.  They give off a kind of eco-hippy vibe and  I don't think they can always sustain themselves businesswise as several have closed in my County of Westchester, NY alone.  They're great if you're looking for a non-fluoride toothpaste or aluminum-free solutions to your armpit funk but not so great for everyday basic grocery shopping imo.  Their tea tree oil mouthwash did help me with a bad case of gingivitis though but I still want my Little Debbies.

I never understood veganism.  I get vegetarianism but what do vegans have against eggs and milk exactly?  Eat a vegan cake or cookie and it's full of oil.  Never understood how it took off as a concept and reached the status of trendy to the point of vegan restaurants and cookbooks.  Pity the poor kid being thrown a birthday party by vegan parents.

Lastly I wouldn't trust the bathroom tissue in these organic markets.

The age of snark

 I recently took a 3+ year hiatus from blogging and came back.  The reason for the rest period was twofold.  First the toxic nature of our political environment being foremost.  Secondly you couldn't have a rational discussion of covid at the time so I chose to ride that one out.  So eventually I decided to return but nothing has really changed.  

The toxicity of politics has only gotten worse.  There are commenters in the blogosphere who are constantly argumentative, rancorous, have a contrarian spirit and who make no attempts to search for common ground.  They don't understand the point you are making (feigned ignorance?) and distort your words through their own political filter.  I think part of the reason for our current political environment is a kind of overreaction to Trump.  He may win he may lose but the hyperbole and rhetoric continues unabated even in the wake of the recent assassination attempt.  I don't want to be a party to that and find it horrible.

It might be pretentious to call blogging an art form but this is a time for creative decision-making for me anyway.  Maybe Lista had the right idea blog only for yourself.  Everyone has a different philosophy of blogging.  If you don't fit in here find another blog that resonates with you.  There are plenty out there.

That's it for now.  Stay free:)

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Is TDS an example of mass formation psychosis?  Do you believe Trump is an immoral person who tells lies?  So far so good.  People have probably applied this to almost all modern presidents at one time or another.  Do you disagree with the recent SCOTUS decision granting Trump limited immunity and feel he should be prosecuted for varied crimes?  I disagree but you're still within the pale.  Do you believe the former POTUS is an actual threat to democracy if he wins a second term?  Now you're crossing over.  If Trump gets another term in office do you really think he'll install himself dictator for life and cancel all future elections?  Now you need someone to talk to.  Studies show dictators had to have the full weight of the military behind them first and also weren't pushing 80 as a general rule.  Now there was Trump's recent speech to a Christian group saying they'll only have to vote this one time but most of the media clipped out the next few seconds when Trump explained because the problems will be fixed opening up a more prosaic interpretation.  Biden's failed covid vaccine mandate for companies with over 100 employees some might argue that was a threat to democracy or at least a government overreach.  Bush Jr.'s march into Iraq over nonexistent WMDs what was that?  History has the final verdict. We can all come up with examples.  Going back further Nixon had to resign.  Checks and balances.  Very hard for an American leader to become a dictator but somehow Trump is supposed to swoop into a second term with regal powers and act like Caligula.

TDS.  It's why I've turned on comment moderation.

Trump is pretty fly for a white guy

There's a growing list of black celebs and influencers who support Donald Trump.  TV personality Amber Rose.  Don King (I thought he died).  Rappers Kodak Black, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg (do a video together?), Sexxxy Red, Azealia Banks, YG, Waka Flocka Flame.  Also 50 Cent likes his tax policy but sometimes he's wavered.  That's the short list.  Essence magazine lists at least 17 others.

Maybe Trump can give a movie review of "Superfly."

In and of itself the SCOTUS issuing decisions you disagree with isn't grounds for SCOTUS reform

 Don't get me wrong it might annoy the hell out of you.  It might even ruin your day but their job is to interpret the law free from social and political pressure.  Now Biden is calling for reform of the Supreme Court with some type of term limits and a code of ethics.  Didn't know Dems were fans of term limits.  Even in the wake of Roe I don't recall conservatives calling for wholesale SCOTUS reform.  Incidentally the Court in giving Trump limited immunity from prosecution benefits ALL presidents.  It could help Biden if need be or Kamala Harris someday if she were to become president.  This is the type of radicalism a Harris presidency has planned for America.  Safer to stick with the weird party for the time being.

How to lose voters and alienate people

Had to Google this one.  JD Vance Trump's running mate and Senator from Ohio said in some interview way back in 2021 "We are effectively run in this country, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too."  Now most people would probably chalk this up to too much Christian Brothers but Vance has recently reprised this calling Kamala Harris a cat lady.  A kind of hobby of mine I read conspiracy boards and never came across this one the cat ladies being in charge.  I thought it was the Freemasons.  You'd sooner find something about time-traveling mermaids and Zuckerberg really being an Android than a nefarious cabal of childless cat ladies being at the apex.  Jennifer Aniston has joined the fray saying "Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day."  Vance got his knickers in a twist because Aniston dragged his 2-year old daughter into this.  I'm not getting the Trump campaign and usually a running mate can act like a sensible check and balance on the main guy if need be.  Why do I feel like Shaw?  Like I'm doing her work for her?

Fwiw my sister told me the story of Oprah had prostitutes and porn stars on her show once.  The audience was predictably hostile and cold until a couple of them told Oprah they rescued cats and the audience's tone shifted.  It's not just childless cat ladies.  A trucker can adopt a cat or two.  Yeah alienate the cat people voting bloc.

Whassup with JD?

The feral mother that started it all

 

Or why we have so many cats.  She had a litter of four in the yard next door a few years back.  Time went by and we eventually decided to take in three, don't know where the last one went and took them all to the vet.  We finally with the help of my sister also took the mother cat to the vet to get spayed and get her shots and she lived with us for a while until she found greener pastures.  Named her Misty.  Just prior to that she got pregnant again, apparently a favorite of the toms in the neighborhood and we adopted one of her male tuxedos from that bunch and a cat rescue group took the other two.  She taught all her litters how to hunt and kill squirrels and to this day some of our cats will occasionally catch a stray squirrel or two.  Caught the tuxedo eating a fresh squirrel one day in the backyard and had to turn away.  Never went to a shelter to adopt any of our cats down through the years.  They still have a bit of the wild in them.  We prefer it that way.

The Dems never met an abortion they didn't like

 While people are still paying too much for food and gas pro-feticide is sure to be a prominent part of the DNC.  Not much into polls myself but early polling suggests a dead heat between Trump and Harris.  I would say her weak area as former border czar is illegal immigration and Trump is already pushing that issue.  This however can be easily offset by Trump just talking smack and not appealing to anybody beyond his base.  It's anybody's race at this point.

Will Taylor provide the entertainment at the DNC?

A kind of forced retirement

They did the same thing with my Dad but he drove a truck and didn't want to run the country.  Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race and endorses VP Harris.  The Democratic Party has yet to nominate her.  When asked by CBS News if he would debate Harris in September he said he couldn't decide because he's not sure if she will be the nominee but then went on social media and said Fox News should hold such a debate and lambasted the other networks.  This is why they make fun of us.  Social media is like oxygen to him.  Cringeworthy moment.  Even if you don't like the msm at least respond in a civil manner.  Especially with recent events if I were Trump I'd be going with the gravitas and not the cheap insult.  It's times like these that I might go back to blogging about frogs or something;)

The Speech

'Twould have been nice if Donald Trump's acceptance speech on the final night of the RNC had started around 10:00 as some folk like myself have to get up early the next day to get ready for work but Kid Rock had a new song to perform.  The whole night took on a Wrestlemania turn which is not my thing and I could have sworn Hulk Hogan used the term "scumbags" but I was already on my second glass of Skyy.  Trump said early on in his speech that he wants to be president of the whole country and not just half and that "we must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement."  Turned out to be the longest acceptance speech in convention history and I held out as long as I could but finally hit the hay.  Critics are saying his speech was not very unifying but you still have to deliver the meat and potatoes.  Did you expect Trump to start singing Kumbaya? The long speech covered all the topics which we can get into in the comments section.

Thoughts?

Keeping the rodents at bay

 

Union job.

Interesting

 On Day One of the RNC last night Trump made his first public appearance since the attempt on his life.  The most stunning moment of the night for me was Sean O'Brien president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters practically skewering Big Business in the keynote speech.  He ripped Amazon a new one.  First time in the 121-year old history of the RNC a Teamsters boss spoke.  Trump is clearly going for the populist working-class vote and stealing the Democrat's thunder.  Might have been reading the BB commentaries on corporate greed.  A brilliant move in this author's opinion.

Maybe we need to watch the left-wing rhetoric

 Someone tried to assassinate Donald Trump today at a campaign rally in Butler, PA.  An audience member has died and the gunman has been killed.  As Trump was being swarmed by Secret Service agents to escort him off the stage with bloodied face he pumped his fist to the crowd.  Photo Of The Year.  Say what you will that was a gallant move on Trump's part.  Could swing the election.  Make him a martyr and he could win in a landslide are what some people are saying.

Will the Left watch their rhetoric now and tone it down?  Probably not but one can wish.

Can Taylor Swift run?

This is all rather unprecedented.  If Biden does drop out of the race can the Dems just nominate anyone?  What are the parameters?  What are the protocols?  Trump vs. Newsom?  Trump vs. Michelle Obama?  Trump vs. Morning Joe?  How 'bout if there's no election and the country is adrift?  Let's just ride the wave and see what political shores we wind up on like a Gilligan's Island.  Is there a conspiracy somewhere?  What if Biden doesn't drop out?  I just heard he introduced Zelensky as Putin at the NATO summit.  Why do we need SNL anymore?  It doesn't seem quite fair to Trump that they can throw anybody up at this point.  You're prepping for one opponent and now it's maybe a mystery face.  Of course if Biden resigns the POTUS altogether Kamala Harris becomes president but that's the rational response.  Surreal political times.

It's slow on the Uncle Joe front

 

So I thought I'd post a pic.  Piermont, New York in Rockland County just west over the Mario Cuomo Bridge.  Hardly a poetic name for a bridge but son Andrew then Guv of NY named it.  Replaced the old and historic Tappan Zee.  Quaint village like being in a time warp.  Crab festivals and farmers markets.  Old-fashioned stores and a bar called The Turning Point.  Amateur painters come here often in the park by the harbor to paint.  They have a quite long peninsula you can walk out on and you'll always see a few fishermen trying their luck.  Condos here with a couple of dental and doctor offices so a mix of the old and the new.  Haven't been here in awhile but used to go fairly often to clear my head.  A kind of pocket community definitely worth a visit.

The wilds of Yonkers

 

I woke up this morning and was getting ready for work and there was a deer in my backyard.  Pure suburbia with a bodega down the block.  Was munching on the weeds.  Don't know where he came from.  All I need is a coyote.  Reminds me maybe I have to make another trip to Lowe's and look at some garden power tools.

As usual talk about what you like.  This blog is delightfully off-topic.

The Amish have sold out

 

I bought this at an ACME supermarket.  Nice big bar.  I prefer to split it down the middle and put it on a plate.  There's also an Amish-style potato salad.  I haven't tried their pipe tobacco yet.  Is there an Amish app?

The elephant in the living room finally got noticed

I did not watch it the great Trump/Biden debate.  Just got caught up to speed, watched some clips and yes Biden was horrible.  The Dems are in full panic mode and some major Democratic donors are up in arms.  The New York Times is headlining the question can Biden be replaced?  Some are now saying the POTUS is even a national security risk.  Jill Biden encouraged her husband after the debacle as if he were a toddler.  This is destined to become a classic in cringe TV.  Turns out the Right was right.

The one thing I don't like about Google is you have no privacy

The other thing I don't like about Google is you have no privacy.  Say you want to post a video from YouTube on a blog or forum your whole video feed comes up but maybe you don't want people seeing you have a recommended video for natural home remedies for hemorrhoids.   I suppose you could go incognito but I don't trust that.  The other day I went to an Urgent Care center for a UTI.  Couple days later I get a link in my email to give a review but I'd be posting publicly under my real name instead of say something like Cyclops 78.  I chose not to post a review as it would then be a matter of the public record I had a UTI.  Google also won't let me create my own lexicon and make up my own words.  Also on more than one occasion it has ruined a text message to a friend with its spelling authoritarianism and now ai influence.  The list goes on.......

Other than that I think it's great;)

One thing has always annoyed me

When people feed stray cats they usually just open up a can of Friskies or 9 Lives and leave it on the sidewalk.  A hungry cat can cut his tongue.licking out the can then people forget about the can and any leftover food dries up in the sun.  Get a decent bowl they're not expensive.  Too much work?  The community cats deserve better.

The aging blogger

 I have a large backyard and every year it gets overrun with weeds.  Large weeds.  Couple weeks back was whacking with one of them manual whackers and later into the day and into the next my left arm became very sore.  Now I get this intense pain in my left elbow to the point I suffer if I even use a spray bottle with my left hand.  I'm partial ambidextrous no matter.  It's a jungle down there could have been a black widow who knows?  I'm older now and Nurse Nancy would probably have one of my feet in the grave.  Bought some Tylenol arthritis power but will wait until a sufficient time has elapsed after imbibing my last adult beverage for the night.  I have my priorities.

Ever have everything go wrong with you AT THE SAME TIME?  You want to go to the doctor's office and present him with a list of at least five ailments and say here fix them.  We can rebuild him we have the technology.  Funny thing is my friend can eat sushi and down it with chocolate milk no problem. 

My cumbersome labeling system.  Gonna file it under health.

This is what you came for

 I honestly think Taylor Swift only goes out with well-known men for the sheer publicity of it all.  Nothing ever comes of it.  Conspiracy theorists say she hooked up with Travis Kelce because he's pimping for Pfizer.  I don't take it to that level it's simply par for the course for her.  She's 34 now and her biological clock is ticking.  I can't check out groceries at the store without seeing her on most magazine covers.  Dua Lipa or any other artist doesn't get this press.  She's a whole sub-economy now.  What are your Swifty thoughts?

It's getting harder to shop these days

My backyard has come to resemble a vacant lot these days with overgrown weeds so went to the Home Depot.  Lots of stuff under look and key now.  Essential garden power tools behind a cage.  I mean is someone really gonna try to leave the store with a giant pole trimmer?  Then the public restrooms have  some sort of a control box on the door with nine numbers and a secret code.  Black guy yelled to the nearest clerk there's people waiting here and I threw in my 10 cent humor and said there's gonna be diarrhea all over the place.  Target too lots of stuff under lock and key now.  I understand the Gillette 5-bladers and items like that but everything you used to just grab and examine first?  Sometimes you just give up and go home.

Went to a Rivertown library today.  They have a new parking system.  Instead of meters (they have no lot) you have to go up to a pay station and get a slip to put on your dashboard.  Ok I can adjust but it took me about a minute to pay and get my stub and I go back to my car and there's a $50 parking ticket on my windshield.  I had to go to the nearby Village Hall to clear this up and the cop at the desk voided it out.  Progress.

Why is everybody so anal these days?

Would a Judge Judy mask help?

 Personally I've never had an encounter.

Fauci can do a gain-of-function but Trump can't do a hush money

Geeez that was kind of quick.  With a Gotham jury what other kind of outcome did you expect?  Trump convicted on all 34 counts in his sex hush money trial in Manhattan.  I view it as a political prosecution but others I'm sure are ecstatic.  A weird thing to be convicted of during an important election season but that's the point to throw Trump and the Republican party off their game.  Many are predicting no prison time even though he is now technically a felon.  Does he pick up trash along the highway with a pokey stick?  The depressing state of American politics.  Was hoping to avoid blogging about Trump for awhile but it's one of them intrusive subjects you can't avoid.

I got 99 problems but my eyebrows ain't one

 In the heart of the mall where I work is a very popular eyebrow threading kiosk.  Day in and day out people of all ages sitting in the chairs.  I don't get it.  You're pressed for time and money it's not on my to do list.  What are some social fads you don't get?  People with the mini phone things in their ears expecting that all important call walking around like they're contractors.  Why not use your cell?  Are they gonna climb a utility pole?  Smart watches.  The point?  Can you watch a movie on one?  Constantly monitoring your BP with arm or wrist band thingamajigs.  Tattoos are more than a fad of course and in some places you're in the minority if you haven't illustrated your body or at least a part.  "I've fallen down and I can't get up" I can see.  All I need is a meter to let me know I'm running low on the Christian Brothers.

I saw this idea posted on a forum once

 The Government already knows how much we owe in taxes or how much they owe back to us.  They have our numbers on file.  How much we paid in state and federal etc.  They pretty much know everything about us already.  Why not just send out letters or notices stating how much we owe or how much they owe us?  If you disagree then fill out a tax form and do the work yourself and send it in.  Why do we even need this behemoth of a tax preparation industry?  Let the government do the work.  They have the computers and the information and now we have ai.  Crunch the numbers and everybody else can get back their lost quality time.

We're living in surreal times

 The Trump Sex Trial.  I know of nobody who's interested in this trial and that includes even the hardcore Dems at work.  Truthfully nobody wants to think about Trump having sex.  The perceived martyring of Trump can only work in reverse.  Uncle Joe - Russell Brand showed clips of Biden on Howard Stern's satellite show.  It was strange.  Biden was sitting there rather silent looking mildly bewildered and nervously holding onto the mike stand like he was on a ship.  Stern who has made a career out of making fun of everyone and everything respectfully extolled the President and his accomplishments (?) thus far.  Now there is serious talk of a great debate between Trump and Biden.  Isn't this past Biden's bedtime?  I thought he goes to bed after Wheel Of Fortune.  I honestly thought he would put in one term to show what an oldster can do and that's all.  Cultivate a hobby.  Take hornworms off tomato plants or something.  Cartoon universe.

Don't book 'em Danno. It's legal now

One late afternoon sitting on my porch having my fine cigar and a funny aroma came wafting over.  Hi neighbor!  In my travels I'm noticing more cannabis shops opening up.  One changed its sign from Cannabis to Leafology.  A sign might say the Legal Cannabis Store and that's right next to the legal sneaker shop.  Many pot hobbyists are fiercely anti-smoking cigarettes.   Lived in my aunt's apartment for a time and my cousin had a meltdown 'cause I smoked a few.  At the same time he's a heavy pothead who keeps cholesterol graphs for his health.  I'm fine with the Christian Brothers/Tito's scene.  No need to take it to the next level.

Cat rescue groups - a review

This may not be a fair analysis as I have not heavily researched the subject but is based on personal experience. Few years back I had two stray female cats temporarily living in the house and one was obviously quite pregnant so I contacted a cat rescue group. The end result was good she took the cats and they went to a foster home. Yes they have them for cats too. The methodology however. She came by late afternoon with two big cages in the back of her SUV and clearly wanted to follow the protocols of official cat rescue techniques which involves putting a bowl of food in the cages and as they say on detective stakeout shows we wait. Order Chinese? I was like how long is this gonna take I wanna watch Wheel of Fortune give me the cages. Somewhat hesitant she gave in and within ten minutes or less I handed her the cages with the cats inside and thank you and have a good night. FF to now and I have another situation with a tomcat that I've been feeding and has battle wounds on his face from territorial cat fights and so I texted the cat lady again who responded to my first text but hasn't replied to my followup texts. I realize these people are incredibly busy and serve large geographic areas but how hard is it to hit an emoji? Then I'm sitting on the porch with my fine cigar and observed a neighbor trying to get what looked like a female cat off the road and then feeding it and trying to get the cat out of harm's way so clearly our neighborhood has a cat problem as do many other neighborhoods so where are the cat people? Calling Jackson Galaxy!

I honestly thought......

I had honestly thought that the plan all along was that once he assumed the office of POTUS Uncle Joe would eventually step down due to health reasons related to age and then Kamala Harris would assume the presidency. Biden would defeat Trump with the ultimate goal of putting her in office. This would make sense from a progressive standpoint. First woman president and hard-core liberal to boot. Liberal nirvana but no welcome to cartoon universe. Apparently we have to endure Biden vs. Trump again. I've often said here it can be perfectly valid not to vote. Do the right thing and sit one out is an option in my book. Thoughts?

Charity begins at home

Unless I find out I had a rich aunt that lived in Chicago and left me a million dollars I have to be careful with my money. I don't want ConEd to flicker my lights. St. Jude, ASPCA, the Vets, Mercy Ships, Catholic Charities, Fellowship of Christians and Jews etc. etc. There's no way I can give to all of these groups on a regular basis. Of course you also need Car Shield, Life Lock from Norton to protect you from the dark web and American Home Shield in case your washing machine explodes. Got a letter from our parish recently if we can increase our weekly donations. I'm sorry what?

Open thread

Talk about what you want.

I don't know if any of you have ever worked with a former nurse's aide but seems to me, it's my impression that they tend to look for health problems in other people.  Chef at work has a small lump, probably a cyst on the back of his shoulder.  He's not working shirtless of course so I probably would never have noticed until she told me about it.  Dishwasher somewhat overweight and she says she walks funny and told her she has the wrong shoes.  One day she said I have dry hands and bought me a small bottle of Jergen's which is fine but maybe you don't have enough to do we can put more on your plate.  My late aunt God rest her soul was a retired RN and once told an Amish woman her socks were too tight and was cutting off her circulation so there's a trend here.  Now nobody's coming to work with a tumor on the side of their face the size of a basketball like you see in those infomercials for Mercy Ships.  We all have something.  An imperfection, health ailment or problem that's not life hreatening that we live with or manage or even totally ignore.  Some may see a doctor some may not.  Most of us are not Rockefellers with endless funds.  I work alongside a young Spanish guy with a deformed ear.  I'm sure he's aware of it I could care less.  To be filed under mildly annoying.

Or we can discuss Kate Middleton:)

The proposed ban against TikTok seems rather strange

It's weirdly authoritarian.  Govern me harder Daddy.  I'm not getting this one.

Random Thoughts On Last Tango In Paris (1972)

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.  Widely seen as a landmark in the history of sexual explicitness in cinema.  So where was the explicit sex I must have missed it?  Even the uncut version is not overly graphic.  Many people if the movie is mentioned automatically think of butter.  That's a childish mind.  Some of the scenes that come to my mind is the character of Paul played of course by Marlon Brando talking to his dead wife alone in the room as she's being prepared for burial.  To my mind this is some of the best acting in the history of cinema.  Also the classic ending where Jeanne played by Maria Schneider shoots him.   The ending is so open-ended it called for a sequel but there never was one.  She's rehearsing her lines for when the police will interview her later (he was a lunatic, I never knew him, he tried to rape me) but so many people had already seen them together at the dance hall but the movie simply ends with the sultry music coming on.  My takeaway - she was okay with having a kind of strange even perverse relationship with him.  She kept going back to him in the apartment even though she was engaged to another man yet when Paul wanted a normal loving relationship with her she basically kept saying it's over and killed him.  A cinematic and much discussed enigma.  Although not by any stretch an exemplary character he's been through the mill after his wife's gruesome suicide and this is his fate.  A movie with many layers to it it's worth a watch or a few.  The actress appeared nude in many of the scenes while Brando kept his clothes on except for one brief scene early on where they didn't show much.  Much vulgar language throughout.  So that's my take the movie is worth diving into.

The geriatric presidency

If I were Kamala Harris I'd be boning up on foreign policy right now just on the off chance.  It's like when your father dies and he knew about the plumbing but you don't.  Natural causes is like a 50/50 right now.  Rudy Giuliani is pretty much a national joke.  It's like the old shrink tests - Giuliani/Running hair dye.   Even Rush Limbaugh is getting impatient.

The transition seems well underway now.  It is what it is.

There's no legal requirement you have to congratulate the other guy

Trump may give his concession speech a year from now or never.  As long as he leaves the building January 20th.

When are the second stimulus checks coming?