Gotcha!

 Blogging personalities.

Conflict addiction.  Do you go out of your way to blogs and forums you fundamentally disagree with just waiting for the right moment to play Gotcha!?  Like sneaking into a Bigfoot convention only to pop their balloons.  Masters Of All Knowledge.  Engagement is like going up against an AI.  Reddit is full of them.  Bot farms.  It's my burning desire to embarrass you on the web by invalidating your points.  People just want to have a conversation and present their case but nobody likes a Gotcha person.  Just my impression I could be wrong.  You do have the right to challenge points and positions of course but what is the motivation in spending so much time online, trolling sites that don't resonate with you in the first place?  Half of conspiracy forums are filled with commenters who don't even believe in conspiracy theories themselves  The political universe needs correction.  I need to go out and destroy my philosophical and political opposite.  Red Team/Blue Team.  Political avengers.  Say you honestly feel Fauci may have to answer for a few things.  It's simply your position but now you're somehow threatening the public health.  In fact there may be a cluster of sick people in your neighborhood right now because you have negative feelings or criticisms of the man.  Nobody's gonna eat bananas or take vitamins anymore or get an occasional polio or measles shot.

You do you;)

Random thoughts on Dr. Anthony Fauci

 Because of the Rand Paul Senate Hearings.  Fauci - not a fan never was.  Helped kill scores of gay men during the height of the AIDS epidemic by pushing the dangerous drug AZT.  FF to Now.  WHO writes their personal thoughts in the form of a diary on a government computer?  Perjured himself once before Congress by denying his agency funded extremely dangerous and controversial gain-of-function research at that virology lab in Wuhan China.  Once wrote in a paper that the research was important enough to risk a global pandemic over.  Early on in the pandemic the intelligence community was coming around to the conclusion the SARS-COV 2 virus probably  came from a lab leak and then Fauci met with CIA senior officials and quashed this angle.  Some of his diary entries reveal a massive egomaniac narcissist etc. etc.  He is a man of such sterling moral virtue that Uncle Joe decided to preemptively pardon him before leaving office.  During the Senate Hearing he invoked the 5th 111 times!  Virtue should be loquacious in its own defense no?  This is not a Left/Right MAGA issue as some left-wing bloggers are making it out to be.  Get off that trip.  Egad we're living in depressing times!

Just a nighttime ramble.  Should choose your heroes more carefully. 

Medical News

 I peruse medical topics from time to time.  You often click Images naturally.  People who have medical conditions like they have some weird rash on their body then they become a stock medical photo they get paid for that?  "Yes we know it's flesh-eating bacteria but we have to take some quick photos for Google first."

Vitamins and supplements.  Not against but generally they don't seem to do anything for me.  Years ago the doctor said I'm deficient in D so he said get 1000 IU or something.  That was it but now Eric Berg MD on YouTube says if you take Vitamin D you also have to take Magnesium, K2 and Zinc and everything in specific amounts for the D to work properly.   Didn't know all that.  My doctor never said anything about that just pick up some D.  Who knew?  Now you have a mini pharmacy in your drawer.

Memories of my colonoscopy.  Had the propofol.  After the procedure was over best sleep I had btw I says to the medical people assembled in the room no wonder Michael Jackson liked that stuff.  Nobody laughed.  Dour group.

Trump makes TDS possible

 My Trumper friend was bemoaning the wave of Trump Derangement Syndrome or TDS sweeping the country.  I see it differently.  If you felt you were being unfairly caricatured wouldn't you go out of your way to prove people wrong?  Instead Trump does the opposite.  By his words and actions he actually strengthens TDS.  Folk called him a would be dictator so he started acting like one.  He feeds his own stereotype.  Have ICE act like goons.  Put the military on the streets.  Threaten Greenland.  Saber-rattling Cuba.  Kidnap a foreign leader.  Try to suppress pro-Palestinian speech on campus etc. etc.  I'm not being exhaustive here.  The laundry list is a long one.

Actually TDS is the only way to go.

Conservatism does not mean being pro-every war

 Reading some right-wing blogs (ahem) and many on the Right do feel you should never question any war started by a conservative president.  I use that term loosely as I do not equate President Trump with conservatism but he is widely perceived as such so for purposes of discussion.  The Iran War or War with Iran seems to me to be destruction without a purpose.  What is the endgame?  The mullahs are still in charge.  A regime change doesn't seem to be in the offing unless they plan on putting the My Pillow guy in charge.  Color me perplexed.  Gas slowly going back up again btw.

QUAGMIRE;)

Somehow it seems fitting that explosive diarrhea should happen during the Trump Administration

 It's perfectly emblematic.  Trump forges ahead with his Iran Folly, Mamdani wants to arrest Bibi and the rest of us are cutting back on groceries.  Won't be grilling the swordfish anytime soon.  I myself am cutting down to just the Bare Essentials.  Milk, bread, butter, eggs, cheese, coffee, Christian Brothers and pipe tobacco.  Don't tell the doctor about the Little Debbies.

So Trump says there's no way the U.S. will arrest Netanyahu which is interesting because he kidnapped Maduro.  Covid during his first term and cyclospora in his second.  Add the Reflecting Pool and the guy is just bad luck.  He's 80 so he fits right in with the golden years of the Congress but I think he's more senile than most.

I have to go tune my hearing aid.

And now Sean Hannity will explain the weather

 Have off today.  Sitting there in the early morning with my mug of coffee.  My late Dad used to say that's the best time of day.  The aide has the TV on.  Fox Weather.  They love to catastrophize the weather.  It might be sunny where you are but they have to find a hailstorm somewhere.  Up comes a big weather map and one part actually says "Gulf of America."  So here's the thing.  No one person let alone the POTUS gets to rename major geographical areas of the world.  Don't know how this would work exactly but you wanna rename a major river, lake or body of water or other geographical region I'm guessing it would have to go before an international body of scholars first then a consensus then go before some kind of international association of geography for final ratification.  Then you gotta change all the school textbooks,  future maps, Wikipedia etc.  Well the heck with all that Fox Weather is going with Gulf of America.  CULT.  Jim Jones vibes.

They say Trump is finally considering what his legacy will be.  'Twill be mostly a legacy of weirdness.

The Trump Grievance

 Ummm so ok yeah what follows is not my official position.  Devil's Advocate.  Roll with it.  So Trump gives this prime time speech about election integrity which only CBS carried.  Didn't watch it.  Would rather watch a woodworking show or infomercial.  Ok so let's say the 2020 Biden/Trump Election really was fraudulent and stolen but Trump eventually got his 2nd Term anyway although belatedly so philosophically speaking the System righted itself you could say.  WHY keep talking about it?  Move forward.  Help Americans put food on the table or buy a house.  Nobody is into this retro stuff anymore except the true hardcore MAGA-ites.  You got explosive diarrhea you're really not thinking about 2020 now you have to clean the walls and ceiling.  You go outside you got smoke in your eyes.

Don't indulge Tangerine Man's grievances.  Going forward......

Trouble in Paradise

 Hearing different things.  Travis Kelce's Mom doesn't like Taylor Swift.  They ain't wealthy and had to fly coach.  T. Swift thought their dresses looked cheap.  Travis himself wanted to get married on a private island but Taylor insisted on MSG.  They have a white dog.

It appears ICE has taken up their killing ways again with deadly shootings in Houston and Maine.  Must be a prerequisite for the job to like killing folk.  What happened to the days when they just quietly deported people?  Oh that was Obama.

New pipe smoking method gaining ground among the devotees known as the breath method.  Less work I find than the constant drawing.  Tobacco stays lit better.  You don't have to get the pipe cleaners out that much.  Better flavor.  Bowl less hot.  To each their own.

Left work late afternoon today.  Sky a weird color.  Thought it was gonna rain.  Oh Canada we sing your praises and thank you for the poor air quality.  NYS and most of New England under the haze for the next couple of days.  Faint campfire smell.  Crack out the marshmallows?

The GOP Health Crisis

 Republican Senator from SC Lindsey Graham dead at 71 after a sudden and brief illness according to reports.  Is 84-year old Republican Senator from KY Mitch McConnell dying?  More mystery than answers.  The 80-year old POTUS Donald Trump's brain rotting from the inside out unless you're a fan.  Ancient folk still working.  Also Iran has vowed to assassinate Trump.  He couldn't just bomb Iran he had to take out their Supreme Leader.  How many assassination attempts can Trump survive?  After a while the odds turn against you.  This is the real world not a John Wick franchise.

WTF are we doing?

I kind of like the environment

 

We have enough malls ya know?  People passing you on the escalator instead of enjoying the ride.  Gosh I don't even remember where this was exactly.  From an old photo album.  Got salamanders in my backyard.  No obvious water source.  I'm thinking aquifers.  The occasional deer too.  The wilds of Yonkers. 

But as always discuss what you like.  It always comes back to Trump. 

Take a walk on the feral side

 Northern Water Snake - Rye Lake, Harrison NY

Common Snapping Turtle - a back road by the Muscoot Reservoir in Somers NY

Both have rather cranky dispositions.  Don't mess with 'em.  Fishing years ago from a rowboat in Rye Lake and got fairly close to the serpent with a Pentax.  Only film back in the day.  The Snapper I saw crossing the road sometime during the summer.  Must've been the breeding season.  They do that.  Probably not good for your tires.  Some public beaches in the area when a snapping turtle is spotted in the water lifeguard yells "everybody out!"

Part of my amateur herpetological journey.

Dealing with a MAGA-ite

 Friend keeps saying on our drive home aren't you glad Trump is president.  I guess I come across as less than enthused these days.  He says he's disappointed though Trump didn't take out the Iranian regime.  I had to school him on the Strait of Hormuz situation.  He doesn't drive.  I'm the one who has to pump gas into my car.  Republicans facing the midterms.  Trump is a businessman.  Geopolitics is complicated I said.  Also he told me Sean Hannity is training to be a martial artist.  The things I learn.

The Marriage.  I try not to get caught up in the latest pop culture crap.  Friend and I both said there's gonna come a time in the marriage when Travis wants to try something different.  They'll be in bed together and he'll try to slip it in option #2.  Taylor: "What are you doing?"  Stepping outside your comfort zone.  He has to drop subtle hints around the dinner table and make it sound like it's her idea.  Olive oil. The beginning of problems/issues.  TMZ will pick up on it.

Everybody's in such a big hurry these days.  People passing you on the escalators instead of enjoying the ride.  The mall rats seem a little tense.  Thoughts on mortality.  Nobody knows how much time they have.

Ancient folk still working

 A labor trend I've noticed for quite some time now.  Not talking about the recently retired who have decided to come back for 20 hours a week which is allowed but the group I'm talking about if they passed away a week from now it wouldn't shock.  Could be a combination of factors from the usual can't afford to retire to they just love the work experience so much and like being around other people.  Some of them come back as consultants.  Consultants on what old age?

Just drop your 2 cents in the fountain.

They'll get divorced after a few years and she'll write a revenge song about him

 That's how she rolls.  Most other artists - Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean et al. - do their thing but don't court this kind of attention.  Taylor Swift takes things to another level.  Most of us can't afford to get married at Madison Square Garden.  Hell many of us can't even afford to go to a Knicks or Rangers game.  Special event being held at MSG from today through July 4th.  Several blocks closed in midtown Manhattan to accommodate the nuptials although the New York Post reports Swift and Kelce have already married in private.  Getting married some old-fashioned way NOT.  I was never a Swiftie and now feel fully vindicated.  A mountaintop is too good for them?  She thrives on cheap publicity.  It's like oxygen to her.

What saith Trump?

Trump/Hegseth still killing fishermen in the Caribbean

 Happy 250th Birthday America!  Trump and Hegseth still committing war crimes at sea.  Kind of on the back burner now what with the festivities and FIFA and all.  So yeah this ain't the movies you can't just go out and kill people you suspect of trafficking drugs.  Extra-judicial and illegal under international law.  

Those DOGE and tariff checks you were supposed to get?  Gone to the military/industrial complex.  The moral depravity of the Trump Administration is breathtaking.

Having said that enjoy your 4th.

Federal judges won't let Trump be Trump

 Lost count of the number of times I read on my phone a federal judge has just ruled that Trump can't do this or that.  The King has been stripped of a lot of his power.  His is a hollow scepter.  At this point he probably couldn't name a new plant or animal or planet after himself.  At Mt. St. Michael Academy in the Bronx we learned in history class we're supposed to have three co-equal branches of the government.  Don't know what that means anymore.  Judges seem to have the final say in everything these days.  Proof of citizenship to vote doesn't seem to me to be all that radical.  At least give him a crumb or two.

Dustup recently between Shaw and GeeeZ about Obama.  Entertaining read.  MEOW!!!  My friend still talks a lot about Obama.  When was the last time he was president?  On the positive side as far as presidencies go his was scandal free.  No talk about semen on a dress or cigars.  One mild criticism of mine is that Obama all too often comes across as pedantic.  All pedants are Smarter Than Thou.  Bruh we hear you no need to lecture.  The other thing is the solemn burial at sea of one Osama bin Laden.  What the actual f#&k was that?!? but I never hated Obama.  He always looked like if he wasn't president he'd have been an underwear model smiling back at you from a package of Hanes.  I drive the middle road between worship and hatred these days.  Too much on my plate.

Property tax season rolling around in the big YO.  Gotta cut back on my high living.  Few more years I'll be able to file for an exemption due to my age.  The word exemption is misleading here as it's simply a reduction.  You'll still be paying until your casket is lowered into the ground.

Have a good day;)

The controversy over the Reflecting Pool

 The algae is growing.  Maybe someday they'll allow bass fishing.  Trump is charging vandalism.  Arrests have been made.  Dunno.  Has the Lincoln Memorial ever had graffiti on it?  Kind of thin imo.  So this is what people are talking about which kind of summarizes what the Trump 2nd Term has become.  BORING.  Nothing of substance.  Nothing to get excited about unless you're Lindsey Graham who is creaming in his knickers at the thought of obliterating Iran.  WTH happened to this guy?

Woke up with a sense of urgency this morning.   Sidewalk grass is getting tall better do some mowing early before the rains come.  Trimmed the hedges for good measure.  When did the City of Yonkers become so anal about things?  I got enough on my plate.  The other day I put my garbage out for pickup forgetting it was Juneteenth.  Hope I don't get a warning in the mail.

Puffing on my pipe before.  Sitting on the front porch thinking is it time to call the gutter cleaning guys and mulling over my slower moving blog.  Time for some sort of post I said.

You had your two terms now ride off into the sunset

 This should be the fitting response when Trump finally leaves office.  The only reason he parted ways with buddy Bibi and signed a ceasefire deal with Iran is the price of gas and what that would mean for Republicans in the midterms.  No other reason.  He should never have started that war to begin with.  Trump starts the mess and then pivots all statesmanlike to make peace kind of digging out of his own hole.  The whole Trump term somehow reminds me of a Brady Bunch episode when they don't know how to do the laundry, a touch of a male Lucy then the MAGA-ites celebrate the art of it all.

Are we piling on Trump?  For sure but he who can dish it out should also be able to take it.

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.