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.

Since this is of some interest to people

 It is not a consuming issue for me though I am aware of it.  Talking about Bari Weiss the new editor-in-chief over at CBS News.  Not popular among many journalists at the moment.   Said to be right-leaning in favor of Trump.  Did shelve a story at the last minute that 60 Minutes was going to run about CECOT the notorious El Salvodoran prison where many of the illegals were sent.  Aired about a month later after being picked up by a Canadian streaming app.  So that was pretty much on the back burner for me until it took a harder edge the other day with the firing of longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley.  Now it peaked my interest.  Pelley had a kind of meltdown at a staff meeting ripping Weiss and his new executive producer a couple of new ones and was subsequently fired by Weiss for cause.  Lest this turn into an essay I'll save other thoughts about Mr. Pelley in the Comments section.

A quick google.  Weiss is liberal on social issues but more conservative even outspoken on other issues like woke and cancel culture and DEI.  Voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.  Describes herself as "politically homeless."  Even if you subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Trump somehow put her in charge at CBS News that's only one network.  This hardly amounts to State-run programming.  Big snookers.

It's a story.  Worth doing a blogpost on.

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.

I was thinking of adding a ballroom to my house

 Not for entertainment but for security reasons.  Let's relive the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Gin it up.  You have to leave the country first to apply for a green card.  Tucker Carlson is a domestic terrorist.  Oh btw just saw a vid on YouTube.  The reason why you don't see Bigfoot in the open woods as much is because he spends most of his time underground in cave systems and tunnels coast to coast.

We are living in what I call the Post-Reason Age.

Financial thoughts while pipe smoking

 In between the Cavendish and Burley I tend to cogitate on money matters a lot during my pipe sessions.  Get a lot of solicitations in the mail.  Pre-approved personal loans, home equity, credit cards.  The big come-on with the loans is paying off high-interest credit card debt.  However if your minimum payment isn't that high to begin with I don't see how this holds you back.  How many loan sharks are okay with paying them back 80 or 100 bucks every month over the course of twenty years?  OK so you take out the loan or loans and wipe out your Visa and Mastercard obligations so now you owe monthly payments on the loan which is probably bigger than your minimum credit card payments were.  Now you get another loan solicitation in the mail to pay back your other loans.  The never-ending cycle of debt.  Also Tom Selleck wants to talk to you about something. 

Maybe go off the grid and live in a cave for five years?

Odd woman out

 I don't think she ever really fit in.  She always opposed invading Venezuela and going to war with Iran.  Talking about Tulsi Gabbard who just stepped down from her post as the Director of National Intelligence.   The cover story is that she resigned to be with her husband in his battle with bone cancer.  There are reports the CIA raided her office and took back some JFK and MK-ULTRA files about to be declassified and released to the public  There are other reports the WH forced her to step down.  Maybe a little of everything. 

I think Tulsi Gabbard was initially happy to join the Trump Cabinet because she supported the version of Trump that he campaigned on.  Must be a relief for her.

Cat people and dog people

 

Early on growing up we had mostly dogs.  An occasional cat but mostly canines.  My folks picked up a stray mutt on a street corner once.  Had Mickey for a while.  Had a couple of German Shepherds.  Beautiful animal, good for protection but don't seem to live that long.  Sometimes they have problems with the hind legs.  Then for whatever reason we shifted totally to felines.  They're low maintenance compared to dogs.  For the most part you don't have to housebreak them unless they have some type of emotional issues going on.  You don't have to walk them three times a day even in Arctic conditions.  They sleep much of the time and as a bonus help control the rodent population.  They're also cleaner than dogs.  We had a dog once and every now and then we'd put him in the car and drove to a wooded area.  If there was a dead animal around he liked to roll around in that. A cat would never do that.  Am I biased?  Maybe.  Dog may be man's best friend but but a cat ain't that much work.

It's a cat thing.

The elusive nature of Trump's greatness

 It always escapes me.  Driving my Trumper friend home the other day and he always brings up politics.  He said Trump loves America then he starts talking about Obama.  When was the last time Obama was president?  Welcome to the retro grievance department.  Of those remaining and dwindling few who are digging in their heels still defending Trump my question is 

WHY???

Gloss over Trump's dementia

 Focus on the Left.  Seems to be the strategy of Trump's dwindling stalwarts.  Big Blue Wave coming this Fall.

If Bigfoot fought a hippo who would win?

 YouTube running out of ideas.  I once got in my feed how would a corpse look after ten years.  I never searched this subject.  I have no interest in this subject.  I'm guessing pretty bad.  Maybe it'll turn up again like a bad penny.  John Wick vs. Jason.  I almost clicked on this one.  YouTube is the McDonaldizing of information.  Guy trying to replicate quicksand in the lab.  My journey through toenail fungus.  The podcasters all like to talk about what the other podcasters are saying instead of just you do you.  Young Turks is good.  Jimmy Dore is funny.  Jim Gaffigan just bounced back into my feed.    Cats are too fast for rattlesnakes.  Honey badgers don't give a rat's ass.  They'll chase a Sasquatch.  The algorithm must know I'm old.  Starting getting how to properly use a cane in my feed.  Watched a couple.  Kind of counterintuitive.  You use the cane on the opposite side of the bad leg.  I now keep a cane in my car.

YouTube.  Every night at least one hour for me.  Metal detectors......

The only aliens Trump likes

 My friend kept talking about some UFO dump today.  Another distraction?

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.

Forge ahead or cut your losses?

 We all make bad decisions in life at which time the most basic simple course of action is to cut your losses, regroup and recover, learn and go forward.  One can easily apply this to the Iran War but I'm thinking of the Republicans here.  The choice is simple and stark.  Impeach Trump now or lose the midterms.

So that's my anti-Trump post for today.  Shame we always have to spend so much time talking about the man.

Don't stand so close to me

 What we know about the shooter.  A not uncommon phrase now during the Era of Trump.  31-year old teacher from Torrance, CA taken into custody for charging a security checkpoint and firing shots at the WH Correspondents' Dinner last night.  Secret Service man injured not seriously.  Suspect - Cole Tomas Allen.  He is also a Caltech grad, has a degree in computer science and is also an indie video game developer.  Authorities now perusing his writings which Trump calls a manifesto.  It was said he was targeting Trump Administration officials.  The POTUS now says we have to work to resolve our differences.  Ya think?

As The Trump World Turns;)

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.

The Few. The Proud. The 20%

 Parts of Trump's evangelical base are now openly calling Trump an antichrist.  He didn't attend any kind of Easter religious service and he uses ai regularly now to poke fun at faith.  Polling consistently shows deep negative job approval ratings and most folk are not on board with the Iran War.  If you still support Trump what's up?  On a personal level he has absolutely no likeable qualities as far as I can see.  Even Megyn Kelly has finally jumped ship.  If you're still in that polling minority that approves of Trump you need to explain his greatness because I'm missing it.

Cult:)

A fan of AI not

 AI is taking over.  Whatever happened to straight up information?  Google the most mundane topic say "how to change a light bulb" and you get about two seconds of the ai "thinking" then you get the AI Overview.  There are many concerns about ai but one of mine is you can get a rogue ai spreading misinfo along the web.  Not even a malicious ai but maybe just a faulty ai.  I've heard it explained that the ai will scour the internet and sometimes pick up false information and rumors and present it as fact.  You'll occasionally see the disclaimer that the information presented by ai can contain mistakes and may not even be 100% accurate so why would you use it in a school report?  When I was a yoot we used to use the encyclopedia as a reference.

Which brings us back to Trump.  He has already posted ai-generated images of himself as pope and as Jesus.  Perhaps a more accurate ai rendition might be that of a mad Emperor and his few remaining loyalists feeding him grapes.  You know who you are. 

Artistic dementia

 Trump takes time off from ruling the world to play around with AI.  Trump as Jesus.  Him and Pope Leo don't get along.  Kindergarten stuff.  Trump says the ai-generated image of him as Jesus was really just him as a doctor for the Red Cross.  Aesthetic interpretations.  If Salvador Dali were alive today he'd probably do a Trump and a Bibi and include an unmistakable phallic symbol. The Persistence of Egoism.  I'm only guessing here but if someone posted an ai-generated image of Trump and Bibi in an act of homoeroticism he would not be amused.

Will this stuff be taught in art class someday?

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;)

How to salvage the Trump presidency

 I have nothing.  25th Amendment. 

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.

The Aging Blogger - Sleep

 Bought one of them Contour foam pillows the other day for side sleepers.  You put it between your legs and it helps align the hips and spine.  Been having some hip pain lately.  Sciatica?  Piriformis?  Arthritis?  None of the Above just one foot in the grave?  The package says causes cancer in California.   So I decided if I ever travel there I won't use it in Gavin Newsom's State.

We never had to go to shelters

 

The cats be coming to us.  Cats be coming from Brooklyn.  Maybe it's because we offer a better menu.  We don't just throw an open can of Friskies on the sidewalk which is probably against Yonkers Code Enforcement anyway.  I'm not a famous cat influencer like Jackson Galaxy but I do my part.

Immigration crackdowns at home. Foreign wars abroad.

 Seems to be the bulk of the Trump Presidency.

What's in your wallet?

People walking around in their pajamas

 I don't think they give a rat's ass.  I don't think they care who's president or what's going on.  Probably don't vote.  Doritos behind the couch cushions.  Another blogger thinks there should be a dress code.

Shoot the breeze today or piss into the wind whichever you prefer.

Trump to send ICE agents to US airports

 What could go wrong?  Chaos at US airports as hundreds of TSA agents quit during the partial government shutdown.  Will Homan do body cavity searches?

I wish I could Rip Van Winkle the Trump term

 Make it stop.

I wish I could hibernate during the whole damn thing.  Wake me up when it's safe.  It's not normal governance.   It's like a Wizard of Oz thing but you can't wake up.

First we stole Venezuela's oil. Now we're after Cuban cigars?

 They say Cuba is next on Trump's hit list after Iran.  Is there a missile crisis?  The way I was brought up only the Congress has the power to declare war it's such a serious undertaking.  Call me quaint.  War is Hegseth's version of Viagra.  Cuba - the only question is what's in it for Israel?

Good suction for 5 minutes

 Three's Company misunderstood conversations.  This is the Z-man Consumer  Reports.  Recently got the Horsepower Duck which promised to be a handy little hand-vac.  Manual says 16-20 minutes run time which would be fine for my purposes but it always dies out after five minutes.  Just now I used it to vacuum up all the cat hairs and dust on my stair treads.  Got halfway through and had to recharge the thing just to finish the job.  Couple summers ago bought that As Seen On TV Arctic Air device which is like a mini portable AC just add water.  Gave off good cooling action for a while but the coils and interior became all rusty in no time and I wound up throwing it all out.  Excuse me while I go Flex Seal my pipes.

Readers of this blog know what a bad winter I endured.  Frozen pipes and a broken smart water meter which ain't cheap courtesy of the City of Yonkers.  Had to call the pros in.  Last two weeks my shower was giving me a problem.  An old diverter valve the flap broke off.  Whenever I took a shower it was like someone peeing on me so yesterday got a new one at my local hardware store and tried to install it myself.  Got a touch more complicated than the YouTube how to video so easy a 10-year old could do it in five minutes so I called a professional plumber.  Again.  The plumbing community loves me.  I'm helping put their kids through college.

Does anyone know of any As Seen On TV products that are actually decent?  A cat crapper?  Anything?

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;)

The Conqueror and the Invader is powerless against Daylight Savings Time

 Trump says he's open to the idea of ending Daylight Savings Time but it's really up to the Congress to play around with it.  Just don't try to limit his war powers in any way.  There's more of a momentum now of ending DST, more of a bona-fide movement made up of public health officials and simply annoyed citizens but as usual Congress is useless and does nothing. Meanwhile Lindsey Graham just wants to kill people.  BTW where is my tariff rebate check?

Onward to Cuba!

Keeping the Epstein Files off the front page

 The War with Iran.  I think they make it up as they go along.  Apparently we bombed a girl's elementary school over there and the first American casualties are coming in.  Gone are the days I guess of the CIA trying to give a foreign dictator an exploding cigar and sparing everyone else.  The send our men and women into harm's way presidency.

The unexpurgated unredacted Epstein Files must be pretty bad.  Trump doing a Bibi.  Expect more wars.  Cuba?

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?

Blizzard of '26

 

Life in Yonkers.

The State of Dis-Union

 Not gonna watch it.

Let's talk about the weather...and taxes

 I'm not a news junkie.  Old folk watch the news all day.  I don't follow the weather all that closely.  There's always a family member or co-worker who does and they're like the bearer of bad news.  "Snow incoming.  We're going to get hit Sunday into Monday."  You get to hate that person.  The plumbers did a really good and professional job under our porch.  New smart water meter installed.  New pipe insulation, electrical socket and electric tape.  No more frozen pipes to worry about.  BTW whatever happened to the global warming?

Did my own taxes again and sent them in.  I think my math is close but I don't have a perfect knowledge.  I always make a good faith attempt but next year an accountant.  When you stop to think about it the only reason most of us have to file in the first place is because our employers don't take out the right amount.  When somebody fails to file by Aptil 15 we commonly say he or she didn't pay their taxes.  Not true they've been paying taxes all along just failed to file.  Wouldn't it be a great thing if Trump and the Congress somehow came up with a way of doing away with the requirement to file?  I'm sure there's approaches they could take.  Put it on the table.  Does anyone talk about thus?

I'm a little perturbed lately.  Taxes, frozen pipes and rescheduling vet appointments because of the weather. Can't wait for Spring and cutting that first blade of grass.  Should I get a hammock?

The Trump Remnant

 Wondering why my neighbor still has a big Trump sticker on his van.  It's a mind-boggler..  Trump's approval consistently cratering in poll after poll but some folk still find cause to celebrate.  Help me out.

The Epstein Files are like a horror movie

 US Rep. Lauren Boebert is talking about some of the unredacted Epstein Files.  Were the world's criminal elite into eating human flesh in addition to the sex trafficking of underage girls?  Alleged code phrases like beef jerky keep popping up in emails.  A restaurant called "The Cannibal."  Getting off on torture?  There is the old adage truth is stranger than fiction but we really don't know what to believe at this point.  Our whole political landscape has become increasingly surreal.  I remember a time when politics was boring.  Your eyes would glaze over watching the PBS Newshour.  Now it's like a Gothic novel.

ICE. Epstein.  Which is more depressing? 

I don't care if the next halftime show is in French

 I'm more into baseball.

Checking out YouTube just now.  Bad Bunny controversy all over the place.  Except for NippleGate do most people even remember halftime shows?  Even years later I never stream them and I listen to lots of music.  This is where modern conservatism has lost its way.  The issues the Right now focuses on doesn't help me put food on the table.  Always some side issue now not the bread-and-butter.

I'm thinking next year maybe Homan can do a standup. 

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.

Govern me harder Daddy

 The New Right.  The Old Right used to be against too much federal power.  The New Right welcomes it as long as it's in service to the needs and interests of the Right e.g. mass deportations.  BTW Megyn Kelly looks like someone stuck a lemon up her ass frothing and fulminating all the time.  Could be a dry spell dunno.  She definitely has a thing for the ICE goons.  What I don't get though is how the New Right considers ICE to be professional law enforcement.   Not even getting into the pros and cons of mass deportations but these are your standards?

We didn't vote for keeping it psycho.  We didn't vote for a soap opera.  We didn't vote for social chaos.  I just want a slow news day:)

Open season on American citizens

 At least in the blue states.  The Feds kill another American citizen.

At first they got rid of the worst of the worst or so they said.  Then they went after the farm and hotel workers, the bricklayers and the chefs.  Now they're just targeting American protesters of their operations to send a message.  The Trump Administration is like organized crime.  If the DOJ is corrupt who will investigate who will prosecute?  Will Bondi, Noem, Homan, Trump et al. all wind up in the Hague someday?

The Black Panther is not extinct

Some have even been spotted as far away as Minnesota   The Trump Era suddenly giving off 60s/70s vibes.

Homan's Boys now happily violating the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution with their midnight battering rams.  Vance to visit Minneapolis soon.  Maybe he can observe how agents are now holding people down and tear- gassing them directly in their eyeballs.  Post about how patriotic they are on X.  What would Norman Rockwell think?

Queue Kate Smith and "God Bless America."

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.

The day Donald J. Trump is impeached and removed from office

 I'm gonna go out and get me a bottle of Hennessy.

An open crapper today:)

Cult thinking

 My friend is very political.  He's also a heavy Trumper.  Driving him home yesterday and apropos of nothing he goes "Democratic socialist scumbags."  He'd be right at home over at that other place.  Then he asked me what I thought about Greenland (I just love talkin' politics after a hard day at work).  Basically I said there's nothing wrong with having an offer on the table.  You can always join us no pressure, the offer is always open but where I draw the line is I'm against military threats against Greenland and attacking and invading them.  So then my Trump friend talked about (he really should be posting over at that other blog), he started talking about China and Russia doing stuff up there and Putin maybe put something in the bottom of the Arctic Ocean (my friend an expert on everything).  Went over my head.  Then my friend said two or three times that Trump must have some access to some kind of secret intelligence, some critical info the rest of us don't have.  This is the way the true Trump cultists defend him.  Trump is like God.  His ways may be inscrutable but trust him and his wisdom.  Trump moves in mysterious ways or maybe he's just a dick.

Anonymous has revealed that Republicans are ready willing and able to impeach Trump and remove him from office if he continues to threaten Greenland.  Attacking Greenland a NATO ally would violate treaties and defense agreements.  Germany and France already sending troops up there to defend her.  You can't make this shit up.

There really should be a 1-800 help hotline for the Trump cultists.  Leave now before it's too late.

I wouldn't even say this under the influence of the Christian Brothers

 Deep thinker, philosopher and right-wing podcaster Megyn Kelly has formed a theory which began as a brain fart but which she is now putting on the table as a serious contribution to the national debate over the ongoing events in Minneapolis MN.  She now says that the ICE protesters aren't having enough SEX and talks about all the fat unattractive women with multiple piercings in the anti-ICE crowds. Thoughts - Megyn Kelly has staked out an early position on that tragic ICE shooting of Renee Good, staked it out from the get-go and is sticking with it but I am also beginning to form my own theory here.  Megyn Kelly is secretly attracted to ICE agents some kind of thug fetish going on.  It rings her bell.  The masked anonymous ICE agent, the super manly and patriotic Defender of the Homeland.  The 50 Shades of Megyn Kelly.

I thought I was gonna have nothing to talk about today.  You go girl!  Throwing your sisters under the bus.  (Is that Megyn moaning?)

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;)

What's the deal with breaking people's car windows?

 Normally if you saw this you'd call the cops.  Oh they are the cops.  Will Homan's Heroes be liable for damages?  That ain't cheap.  Some kind of rage issues going on.  Might we call them oh I don't know domestic terrorists?

A Thugacracy (def.: ...example - Donald Trump's America in 2026)

Homan's Heroes strike again.  Other countries must be looking at this and going this is the United States?  I thought they were a civilized democracy. 

Foreign protesters good American protesters bad

 Pondering the dichotomy here.  The Iranian regime's crackdown on anti-government protesters at last count 2,500 dead.  Trump weighing his military options and knowing Trump he will probably do something and truthfully I would not shed a tear for the mullahs.  Over here state-sanctioned violence against anti-ICE protesters.  Not getting the dissonance.  A growing number of DOJ federal prosecutors are resigning over the direction of the probe into the killing of Renee Nicole Good.  Fringe righties though still defending it even as Rogan and some other podcasters who used to support Trump are condemning it.  Maybe Megyn Kelly will dance with Trump some day to some nice Nazi waltz music in the new WH ballroom.  Apparently if I understand correctly the new training period for new ICE recruits is no longer 5-6 months but 47 days in honor of Trump being the 47th president.   Iranian regime bad Trump regime good.

You can't make this shit up:)

Saying the quiet part out loud. Trump is just plain Nutz

 He wants to invade Greenland still.  His military generals are resisting him.  The Maduro regime in Venezuela is still largely intact.  Hardly a regime change.  Not sure what was accomplished there.  Trump sending hundreds of more federal agents to MN.  What a way to quell and de-escalate the situation.  DHS Sec'y Kristi Noem doubling down on the murder of Renee Good.  Viral videos of ICE agents bothering people at gas stations and McDonald's.   Trump's maniacal obsession with illegal immigration although an important issue not the most important issue facing the country right now imo.  Trump definitely has OCD in addition to his other myriad mental disorders.  You can't get rid of every illegal immigrant.  At any rate whatever approach you favor it should be done calmly and professionally.  For the record I don't favor mass deportations but Obama deported about 3 million without all the social chaos the Trump Administration is causing.  Nobody died horrific deaths as I recall.

Big blue wave come the mid-terms.

Trump can't keep up with Obama's deportation numbers

 Despite everything that's been going on and I don't recall anything as horrific as this happening during the Obama years.  Obama the deportation king at around 3 million.  Biden did his fair share too only they didn't talk about it much.  This is why Trump consigliere Stephen Miller has them hitting burrito stands and Home Depot they're not reaching goal.  So I was thinking about the physics of the situation.  ICE cop stands purposely in front of Renee Good's SUV and she has to take off from a totally dead stop what's the maximum amount of speed she could have reached anyway?  I didn't really understand that new (ai?) bodycam video Trump put out.  Supposed to be a bombshell.  Megyn Kelly all over it.  Kind of a nothing burger in terms of justifying the agents.  Maybe Hannity can deconstruct it for us.

Wisdom for today.  It's better to let an ICE agent drag you out of your car and beat you up than try to take off.