The "Makers" vs. the "Takers."

The campaign for Class President of Turkey Junction Elementary School had just gotten underway.

The candidates, Little Johnnie, Smooth Steve and Sweet Suzie were all running for Class President.  And they were invited to give their speeches in front of an assembly.  Little Johnnie started off...

     -  Little Johnnie stated that if he were elected, he'd petition the Administration to extend recess by 5 minutes.  And also add pizza to the lunch menus.

Johnnie got polite applause.

     -  Smooth Steve told the crowd that he'd ask for a field trip to the Glockenfrazitz Art Gallery if they'd just vote for him.  Nothing else, just that visit.

Steve was rewarded by polite applause.

     -  It was time for Sweet Suzie's speech.  She said that a vote for her meant an ice cream party every Friday afternoon.  With all the regular flavors plus Jamoca Almond Fudge.  With all the syrup flavors.  And double chocolate cupcakes. 

Wowzer, Batman!  Suzie got a standing ovation!   

The vote was held.  Sweet Suzie got all the votes but 2.  And thus became Class President.

New York City's Democrat Primary was just held.  9 candidates vied for the job of Mayor in what they call a "Jungle Primary."  That means the top two advance.  But one of them, a guy named Zohran Momdani, won handily.  Decisively.  Since he's only 37, and has only been a citizen for 7 years, and has never had a job or started a business, and is an outspoken critic of capitalism and Israel and Jews, one might wonder just exactly why he won.  Here's why:

Calling himself a "Democratic Socialist," which is an oxymoron, he's for defunding the police; and for abolishing NYC's prison system; and for preventing State-operated hospitals from suing for medical debt; and for universal healthcare; and for banning all guns; and for decriminalizing sex work; and for safe injection sites; and for pardoning all drug sentences and decriminalizing all drug possession; and ending cash bail; and ending all cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and for increasing taxes on predominately White and Jewish neighborhoods; and paying for all stuff by increasing the tax rate on NYC's 350,000 $Millionaires.

Well now, Mzzz. "Suzie," I mean Mr. Momdani, is seemingly unaware that folks have the right to pick up and move.  From one place to another.  Even from one city to another.  And to take their money with them.  To places where they don't charge exhorbitant taxes.  Like Florida.  And Texas.  And Tennessee.  And South Carolina.  Like has been occurring over the past 4 years.  To the tune of more than 500,000 New Yorkers who have run like a bandit from this idiotic enclave. 

I'm pretty sure if this bozo gets elected you could shoot off a cannon down 5th Avenue and not hit a single $Millionaire.  And thus, they're will be nobody left to pay for these wet dreams.  It's amazing just how dumb some folks can be.  Not only those who run on such a ridiculous platform, but those who choose to vote for them.

Remember the movie, "Escape From New York?"  I didn't know it was a prediction...

Get Off My Lawn!!!

I have officially reached the age where I simply don't care anymore.  Where ignorance and idiocy are met with a scowl.  And usually a dressing down.  Where stupidity and foolishness are banished from my life.  What's left of it.  

Where people who aren't a part of my life, and never will be, are given short shrift.  Only my family and friends deserve my attention.  And so I proclaim my formal indifference to those who don't deserve the ink and words and space they're given on our TV screens.  Here goes...  

I'd like to publicly announce that I don't care a whit whether Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom break up.  Makes me no never mind, as we used to say back in Missouri.

And I could give a crap with whom Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are swapping bodily fluids.  They are serial lawyer hirers.  And real estate agent callers.  And psychiatrist needers.  

And there's frankly no room in my celebrated cerebrum for worrying whether Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey stay together.    

Nor do I care whether Brad Pitt, a 60-ish year old guy, successfully beds Isis de Ramon, a 20-something.  Whoever she is.   

Same with 63 year old Tom Cruise and his 20-something babe, Ana de Armas.  Don't ever say that money doesn't matter.  I doubt she'd give him the time of day if he was a plumber. 

I especially don't care whether the aging tight end Travis Kelce manages to marry Taylor Swift.   I care a lot more about whether he catches the balls Mahomes throws to him.  Which he's been dropping lately.  

And whether and when Jeff Bezos marries his ex-weather girl, helicopter-flying, uber-buxom babe, Lauren Sanchez this weekend.  It's the very least of my cares.  He's a putz, and she's a worldclass golddigger.

And saving the worst for last, I really, really, REALLY don't care about Princess Megan "Sussex" and her boy toy Prince Harry.  He's pehaps the single most puss*y whipped dude on the planet.  I think they're a stain on the fabric of America.  I think they should be banished from our shores.  Run out of town on a rail, etc.

Yettttttt, our infamous Legacy Media, scrambling for eyeballs, continues to shovel this sh*t down our throats every time we turn on the Telly or crank up our laptops.  They suck!  Stop wasting my(our) time by forcing us to peak into their windows!

WE DON'T CARE!  

   

Juneteenth?!? Really?

We used to declare National holidays for presidents and scientists and for the dates major wars ended.

Now?

We just declared a National Holiday to bring attention to the date the last state ended slavery.  Now that's important, but is it important enough to close down Gubmint and send everyone home from work and school?  

We already had 11 National Holidays.  Half a month's worth.  Did we really need another one?  And if we did, shouldn't we use it to fete Franklin?  Or Hamilton?  Or Reagan perhaps?  Not a made-up Holiday designed to placate a small percentage of our population in the hope that they'll forget reparations.  

If we're gonna' reward Blacks, what about Asians?  Or Hispanics?  Or maybe even American Indians (Indigineous Personages)?  Should we celebrate the day the Indians won the right for a monopoly on casinos?  And you realize that the Gubmint's spending the money of our employers who must pony up  another day's wages for no work performed?  

So I'm thinking if we're gonna' make-up reasons for Holidays, I've got a few ideas as to what they should be:

     -  How about "Everybody Go Out and Buy a Firearm Day?"  104 million of our households already own at least one of the 525 million firearms in American hands.  I'd like to see all of those households get serious about self-defense.  Then the crooks would be so scared they'd get blown out of their socks, they'd have to go out and get a job.

     -  Another might be "Cheeseburger Appreciation Day."  Everybody loves cheeseburgers, because it's nature's most perfect food.  Easy to hold, easy to eat, fairly cheap to buy or make.  I can hear Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" playing in the background.  Vegans buy a carrot.

     -  "National Adopt an Animal Day."  Ya' like it?  Little puppies and kitties should not be jailed at pounds somewhere.  They should be licking the faces of proud new owners.  Those pounds should be empty.  And little animals will improve your lives.  PETA butt out.

     -  "National Honor a Homeless Vet Day."  If we're shoveling money out the door to feed and clothe and educate illegal aliens, how about putting the 39,500 homeless Veterans our streets first in line.  Hmmm?

     -  "National Buy American Day."  If we looked to make sure the stuff we're going to buy was made in America, China would still be a third-world country.  And Sam Walton would have died without anybody ever knowing his name.

     -  Let's end with, "National Appreciate a Farmer Day."  They grow our food.  We'd starve without them.  And yet, they're among the most over-regulated and underappreciated folks in America.  I grew up in a farming community.  I appreciate farmers.  You should too...       

        

What the Internet Has Brought Us.

I'm proud to admit I've lived past my "use by" date.

That means I've lived through a bunch of Presidents, several recessions, many strikes, a quantum of wars, and hundreds of doctor visits.  Which qualifies me to sit back, revel in retirement, and think about stuff.  All that stuff we didn't have time to think about when we were busy working.  Nose to the grindstone, and all that.  

And one of the major things I believe has failed to change our lives for the better is the Internet.  That device which was dumped upon us like a ton of bricks back in the early '90's.  And that's about when Google, and YouTube, and Twitter, and all the others arrived as well.  So how has it changed our lives?  I'll provide my observations...

     -  If you surf the 'Net a bit you'll learn that UFO's and Bigfeet are everywhere.  They're streaking across the skies and hiding behind trees and being photographed and videoed by everyone.  Everyone but you.  You're not seeing any.  And you're pissed.  Are those real UFO's/UAP's?  Is that a real Bigfoot?  Or are they manufactured in some pimply-faced kid's basement, using wizardy software.  So, we'll just go ahead and not believe any of them.

     -  The 'Net serves up a bazillion busty babes, all showing off their wares in hopes you'll come visit them in their "private" lairs.  Wearing about 2 square inches of bikini.  Divided among three locations.  With the only thing between you and them being your phone.  Oh yeah, they'll only do this for a handsome fee.  Sex without the need for those awkward goodbyes.  Nice.

     -  You'll be offered elixers that will cure every single ailment you might concievably have.  From warts to shingles to AD/HD to cancer, you'll find something you just have to have.  They used to cost you $19.99, but due to O'Biden's rabid inflation, they'll now set you back $29.99.  They won't work, but you'll be too ashamed of yourself for believing that crap to actually ask for a refund.

      -  You'll also be barraged by those professional ads for diabetic medicines that, oh by the way, cause weight loss.  You know, the fat chick in the blue pantsuit, backed up by a dozen dancers?  With a catchy jingle?  They spent a $Million on that ad so the least you can do is watch it.  

         Did you know they state in their package inserts that they'll cause you to poop your pants, and will only work well if you exercize and eat right?  And cost $2,000 a month?  Ummm, wha...?

     -  The 'Net will display all sorts of what's called "clik bait."  Tasty little teasers designed to get you to click on the little bar to visit another web site.  And the more clicks they get at that website the more they earn.  They sell those "eyeballs" to YouTube and the others.  And they never provide the answer to the riddle they made you visit for.

     -  I dunno' 'bout you, but I get dozens of little stories about puppies or kitties or raccoon kits somebody dumped on the side of the road.  And there's a nice person with a big heart who just has to pick them up and take them to the vet.  For a check up and a bill for $280.00, no doubt.  And then they take the little thing home and give it a bath.  And a nice meal.  And then we get to watch the dog/cat/other grow up.  And in many of them it's the same animal.  Doesn't it make you wonder if they're made by PETA?  To try and extract donations out of you?

     -  It's my opinion that the Internet is only good for three things:  Porn, little puppies and kitties, and the meal you're about to consume.  Everything else should be disbelieved and avoided at all costs.  It used to be you were to believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.  Now?  It's none of either.  And that's a shame.  The 'Net has hardened our sense of wonder and trust completely out of us.  I'm not sure we'd even pay attention to a real attack by Little Green Men.  We're no longer willing to play the game.  At least I'm not.

     How about you?   

A Major Rethink is in Order.

Somebody way back when decided we really needed a bunch of folks to be hired at top dollar, organized into paramilitary organizations, trained only minimally, and then uniformed, weaponsized and turned loose on our highways and byways.  

To extort us, you and me, out of $Big Bucks.

Sort of like, "I know you pay all sorts of taxes to live here, but it's not enough; we want MORE!  MUCH more!"

I'm talking about the nearly One Million sworn LEO's (Law Enforcement Officers) we must pay, patrolling our streets, just looking for a chance to swoop down upon us.  Like hungry lions on the Sarengheti.  Hiding behind a bush and awaiting a passing gazelle.

And then they attack!  Blue lights flashing and sirens blaring, serving to put the fear of God into us!

Is there anyone out there that doesn't get a tight butthole when you see those lights in the rear window?  It seems a bit extreme to me to equip these cops with uniforms and guns and tasers and billy clubs and handcuffs, and big cruisers with those hated blue lights.  Only to then write 10-over tickets to the inattentive among us.  They've got radar in those flashy cruisers, and LIDAR, looking to chase us down and exert their control upon us.  

I'm not accusing all of our LEO's of being bullies, just a few.  The ones who were bullied themselves on the playground of life, most likely.  Whether during recess in the 4th grade, or fired from a job at Amazon, or by an ex-husband/wife/partner, I'm of the opinion far too many of them are looking for some payback.

I've written earlier that I've been unable to learn just how many of our LEO's are LEO's as a first choice.  Somehow that info isn't available.  Maybe because nobody besides me is asking for it.  But they should be.  Maybe far too many of our cops are cops as a third choice.  And perennially pissed off about it.  And when you blend that into the "us vs. them" policing mentality they are taught to believe, it can be a recipe for disaster.

They can wind up taking it out on you and me.  And with an average speeding ticket in Taxifornia coming in at $675.00, a week's pay for many, we should make sure the cops we turn loose on the public are cops as a lifelong dream.  Sworn to use the Constitution as their guide.  And nothing else.

It takes 3 years to be a fully-trained and vested cop in Austria, as an example.  4 years in Holland.  It takes 6 months here in the U. S. of A.  

I'm thinking mid-level policing agencies, staffed by guys in sport coats and only minimally marked cars, using their powers to stop folks to remind them of their responsibilities only.  And only when necessary.  No corporals or sergeants or lieutenants.  Just peaceful reminders.  That don't scare the pee out of us.  Call them Peace Keepers.  Call them Community Outreach Officers.  Call them Traffic Control Agents.  Whatever you wish, I don't care.  Just don't call them cops or police or constables or sheriffs deputies.  No tasers or billy clubs.  Just guys in coats and ties.  Positioned in areas where such reminders are necessary.  Concentrating on moving violations, with no quotas to fill.  

Only after several such "reminders" would we have the uniformed cops come visit and start writing tickets.  I think it would cause us to stop hating and start loving our cops again.  Sound reasonable?  

How about this.  If our towns and cities and states need more tax money, pass some legislation.  Stop silently extorting it from the taxpaying public.  Particularly the public which must drive a lot but can't pay a lot.  There are 256 towns in America which take in more than 100% of their annual budgets from ticket revenue.  There's one town in Ohio which has 2,600 residents and 55 cops.  Another Ohio wide spot in the road has one cop for every five residents!  AAA calls them "speed traps."  Staffed by crooks who are living large on the backs of folks just passing through.  Fomenting hate and discontent among the populace.    

It causes us taxpayers to start looking for the torches and pitchforks.  

Nomsayin'?

The Army's 250th Anniversary.

Saturday was the 250th Anniversary of the United States Army.  

The Army was formed in 1775 with the mission of protecting our citizens.  And it's dedicated fighting men and women have sometimes given their all to accomplish that mission.

I want you to know that the U.S. Army is for all intents and purposes my Alma Mater.  I was drafted in 1966, with a reporting date of October 31st (Halloween!).  To say I didn't want to go would be an understatement.  Other would-be draft dodgers had yet to start heading off to Canada or I'd have perhaps joined them.  I was sort of a bum back then.  A pool hall rat.  With one of the fastest cars in town.  And one of the prettiest girlfriends.    

You could find me playing poker, or pounding back the beers, or drag racing out on Old Highway 36, or most likely at the pool hall playing 9-ball for life-changing money.

I believed in nobody but myself.  I'd been pretty much on my own since about 16.  I started winning large money across a pool table since I was about 14.  I don't know quite how my parents put up with me.  I was incorrigible.  I had a drivers license and a car and a Balabushka pool cue.  And I was on my way to a dirty bikers bar under a river bridge with a name like, "Do Drop In."

I thought everybody wore a money belt and carried a gun.

Now, you should know that I was a full-time student at whichever college would take me during all this time.  I had a 2-S Deferment, but only so long as I was enrolled.  I flunket out most of the time, as you actually have to attend class in order to play the game.  And then I had to shop for another school so as to keep that deferment.  And then I ran out of colleges.  I think it was 5, but it could have been more.  I went home and got a job at the local auto parts store.  That enabled me to get discounts on speed parts, doncha' know...

And then the mailman brought the "invitation."  It was from Lyndon B. Johnson, giving me "Greetings."  And letting me know I should show my face on the 31st, or get a nasty "trick."  

I did.  But only with trepidation.  There were about 300 other guys all lined up in a high school gym, with a group of doctors busily checking us out.  To see if we were physically cabable of being shipped to Southeast Asia to get shot to death.  

As I recall there was only one guy out of the 300 who got a reprieve.  He was a 6' 5" Black guy with feet so flat he could have water skiied on them.  They rolled up at the edges a couple of inches as he put weight on them.  The fact that 299 of us went through should tell you just how starved they were for manpower.  I thought at the time that this guy wasn't going to die in the jungle, but he might get shot to death in Detroit.

I went through Basic Training.  It was pure Hell.  They took away your name and gave you a number.  Whoever you were no longer mattered.  It's who they wanted you to be.  To grind and pare and sand and shape you into a lean, mean fighting machine.  To change one from whoever you were to a brand new battle-ready soldier.  

They did that for me.  When I figured out that I couldn't escape this Hell, and the price for fighting "city hall" was a cell in Leavenworth, I decided to take control of the situation.  To learn how the Army worked, and then use that knowledge to wind up on top.

And I did.  They changed me from a bum to a proud soldier!  I became the "strackest" of troops.  You could cut your finger on the crease in my fatigues.  And so I was selected in Basic for a job in Army Intelligence.  And I spent the next near-4 years helping us to defend against communism.  And when I came home I used the G.I. Bill and those same talents to get through college.  And very soon my new wife and I started a company and saved thousands of lives.

Simply put, the Army played an enormous part in molding me into who I am.  A God-fearing, growed-up, proud American.

And so I watched the Army Parade with my chest out.  The Army as it was back in 1775, and down through two World Wars, and dozens of Police Actions.  The 1st Cavalry, and the Big Red 1 marching in lock step past the reviewing stand.  Self-propelled cannons, and Sherman and Abrams tanks, and the fife and drum corps from our Revolutionary War volunteers.  

And A-10 Attack Wart Hogs making low passes over the crowd.  A crowd that braved the weather, guaranteed to feature a downpour, but showed up anyway.  And helicopters large and small flyiing overhead.  The Golden Knights parachute team made a grand entrance.  More than 6,000 soldiers were involved in this enterprise.  We learned that nearly $2 Billion a year is spent by the Army in recruitment.  There's no doubt in my mind this Parade will result in lines forming at the local Army recruiters.  They can put the $2 Billion away.  In short, the Parade was money well spent.

I also learned that millions of my fellow Americans were protesting something at the same time the Parade was ongoing.  In 1,600 American cities.  Waving professionally printed signs.  Shouting at Prez. Trump to stop ICE.  Or stop immigration enforcement.  They let in 20,000,000 people, and now they want us to stop trying to deport them.  And even though ICE' efforts is to track down convicted felons with Final Orders of Deportation, they want to frustrate those efforts.  They want Trump to just do what O'Biden did; 

Nothing.

Well, Trump isn't going to stop.  He's doing what he was elected to do.  By just over half of all Americans.  The half that watched the Parade, I'm thinking.  In fact, I'd guess he'll ramp up efforts in response to these George Soros bought-and-paid-for protests.  Poorly educated drones, believing whatever they're told, showing up to provide support to whatever cause their leaders think will give them back their power.  

They had it, they lost it.  And they just can't get over it.

Back to the Army.  It's been 70 years since we Americans had to worry whether we'd be killed in our sleep.  An entire generation.  We fought to maintain our freedoms back then, and we won.  I grew up in a post-World War environment.  Among guys who know what it feels like to win.  And then to rebuild.  

But now only about 1,700,000 of us are Veterans.  Only about 3% of us have worn the uniform of the U. S. Military, and so the rest of us have lived an entire generation without needing to step up.  Without being drafted.  Without knowing you needed to grab a rifle and join the corps.  Without carrying their own weight.  Perhaps we need a nice, neat little war.  One that's significant enough to force conscription.  One that involves the fear of loss of life, liberty and property.  One that scares the sh*t of of us.   

Only then will we understand how Veterans feel.  Only then will we understand why we should lionize them.  And only then will we understand why the Parade was a welcome, if however brief, Nationwide exultation.  Thank God for our troops.  

(BTW, if your kid seems rudderless, I'd suggest a stint in the U. S. Army.  It worked well for me, it might work well for you and your kid.)

      

The Price You Must Pay...

Did you ever stop to think about the price you pay for living in a community of others?

You know, the cities and towns and villages across the Fruited Plain?  You move to the city for a job and for convenience and for safety.  And sometimes you get all three.

And sometimes you get none of them.

Just think about the fact you pay taxes to some Nameless, Faceless Government.  Sometimes yuuuuge taxes!  Did you know you have a partner when you take a job?  One who scalps you out of a Big Chunk of your earnings?  Without so much as a wet kiss?

Especially in the Big Blue States.  If you live in New Jersey but work in New York City, you pay taxes in NYC, and then a special 8% tax if you live in New Jersey and commute.  Plus, New Jersey taxes you, too.  New Jersey features the third highest taxes in the Nation.  You are surrounded by those with only one desire: remove you from your money. 

So the total personal income taxes in this case would be 62%!  Nearly two-thirds of your paycheck, ripped from your sweaty hands.  And there's no formal protest?  

And let's not forget Taxifornia.  After you pay your Federal Income Taxes, you get to pay another 13.2% to CA, if your income is high enough.  The Very Highest Income Taxes in America.  Taxifornia believes the weather is why you came here, and the weather will keep you here even if you get raped in the pocketbook.  Are they wrong? 

And then there's Sales Taxes.  You buy something and you get to pay 8%, even up to 11.2% sales taxes in some California cities.   Again, the Very Highest in the Nation.  

Or, you might be surprised to learn that almost half our States have no Sales Taxes at All.  Texas and Tennessee and Nevada and Florida, etc., etc.  No Income Taxes and No Sales Taxes.  So, VOILA!, you get to keep what you earn.  What a concept!

But I digress...

And then there's Property Taxes.  You buy a piece of dirt, and you get to keep on buying it forever.  You must pay the local Gubmint sometimes Big Money, for what?  For the right to continue owning it.  Who came up with that plan?  Oh yeah, your little city installs and maintains a water and sewage line to your piece of dirt.  Ummm, is that hard?  Once it's built, must you pay for it forever, even if maintenance and repair is not needed?  

Yes, you must.

There are some precincts in which property taxes are simply beyong belief.  An $900,000 home in New York or New Jersey carries with it property taxes of $11,000 a year.  And you probably wouldn't want to live in that $900,000 house.  

All this is making my head hurt.  Let's think about something else.  Let's go fishing, okay?  Ummm, but first you must buy a Fishing License.  You must pay the Gubmint for the right to fish.  There's a stream behind your house, and there's fish in it, but you can't fish without the Gubmint's permission.  You must first pay them.  And for hunting as well.  You'll go to jail if you shoot that deer without a license, even if your family's starving and you need to eat.  

Think of that: you can't afford food, but you have to pay the Gubmint money you don't have for a chance to hunt a deer you might not find.  Or a squirrel.  Or a rabbit.  

Now let's talk cars.  You buy a car.  Because it's not "real" property (it's called "chattel,"), you have to pay sales taxes on it (except for the enlightened, Big Red states I mentioned earlier).  A $100,000 car could cost another $11,200 if bought in Glendale, the Once Great State of California.  And even after you buy it you have to register it.  Another $1,000 or so to the State.  And you have to REREGISTER it every year.  Costing another $800 - $900.  Each and every year!  For the privelege of driving on CA's streets.

And gas?  Oh yeah, Taxifornia has the highest gas prices in the Nation.  That's why a gallon of gas in CA costs an average of $5.87, versus $3.02 Nationally.  Taxes on a gallon now cost $0.65 cents here, and it's due to increase ANOTHER $0.65 cents come July 4th.   

Want to camp in a National Forrest?  It will cost you.  Why, you might ask?  To pay the salaries of the Park Rangers and the Game Wardens.  But I don't need the Park Rangers or the Game Wardens!  All I want to do is pull over to the side of the road, pitch my tent and camp!  Doesn't matter.  It's the Golden Rule:  "He who has the gold, rules."  

You need to know that every single thing you do will cost you.  Except farting.  You can fart without being taxed.  Although I'm guessing there's some high-level commission working right now on how to tax you when you fart.  Probably couched in some Global Warning legislation.   

I used to own and manage a business.  I was visited often by representatives of the police, and fire, looking for a handout.  Except they framed it under an annual sticker for my fire extinguishers.  Or tickets to the policeman's ball.  Better buy, they suggested.  "Just to be on the safe side."  I could swear I heard the theme song from "The Godfather" playing in the background.  

And please don't die.  Especially if you're in one of those Money Grabbing States.  Die in New York or Illinois or Maryland and the State will charge your heirs a full 55% of your wealth.  It's called the Death Tax.  And these politicians will laugh in your face if you complain.

I often wondered how an elected representative can retire a multi-millionaire on a $100,000 job.  And then I started adding up all the ways we're fleeced like a bleating sheep.  Makes one want to build a Cabin in the Woods.  One near a stream, stocked with trout.  And deer cavorting shamelessly nearby.  One with a long, long winding driveway.  With lots of signs saying, "Private Property, unless you want to be opened up like a can of tuna, turn around and GTFO!"

It feels sooooo damm good to be able to dream out loud!  Even though some dreams do not come true, if you share your dreams, like I'm doing right now, maybe somebody elses's will...

"Escape From L.A."

It seems John Carpenter's "Escape From L.A." was a foretelling of the extreme devolution of what used to be a Great American City.

Kurt Russell's Snake Plittken character was trying to get off the future island of Los Angeles.  I'm guessing several million people are now, or soon will be trying to emulate Snake's escape as this humble posting is written.

That's because George Soros' backed activists and anarchists and looters and troublemakers have turned L.A. into a riot zone.  Starting last Friday night the rioters started pillaging and plundering downtown Los Angeles.  They were responding, we're being told, to the efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) agents to round up convicted illegal alien felons with signed Final Orders for Deportation in hand.  Bad guys.  Who'd already received their "due process."  Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, burglars all.  Who are avoiding deportation.  By hiding within an illegal sanctuary.  Forcing the Feds to come looking.  

If L.A. participated alongside the Feds in arresting these felons hiding in their midst it would be tough.  The fact that L.A. has declared itself as a "sanctuary" makes in doubly difficult.  Instead of calling ICE when they have an illegal alien felon they refuse to cite, ready for release from their jails, they refuse to do so.  They have decided to simply ignore laws they don't like.  I wonder if we can do that?  Like ignoring L.A.'s traffic laws?  Or its shoplifting laws?  Would they like that?  

Friday witnessed an all-out riot.  The likely paid activists were burning cars, and buildings, and shooting professional-grade fireworks at their police.  Who quickly retreated.  Leaving the rioters to continue to throw rocks and broken pieces of concrete at their cars from freeway overpasses.  They were waving Mexican flags, while burning our American Flags.  And spitting and trampling on them.  Infuriating us Veterans who fought so hard to keep that Flag uppermost.

All that happened Friday night.  Providing a clue as to what the weekend would look like.  But neither Karen Bass, L.A.'s Mayor, nor our BoyGuv Newsom, would call in the California National Guard.  They knew it would be bad, but they chose to avoid taking action.  Sheep among the wolves.  Resulting in Lost Angeles On Fire.

L. A.'s police chief Mcdonald held a press conference Friday night.  And even though the Guvner and the Mayor had said the opposite, he admitted that his cops were overwhelmed and outmatched, and needed help from the outside.  Like the National Guard.

Trump saw this and called in the Guard.  Using a little known law enabling the Feds to insert themselves to protect Federal officers, Trump went over "Hairgod's" head.  Turning him into a cuckhold.  He always looked like a used car salesman, all smarmy and slick, but now he's turned himself into a Nationwide laughing stock.  The Guard is on site.  300 of them so far, another 1,700 on the way.  And Secretary of Defense Hegseth put the Marines from Camp Pendleton on ready alert, preparing 700 of them for deployment.  They should be backing up the Guard by the time this is published.  And here's a news flash.  Trump just doubled the number of Guard troops to 4,000. 

Prepare yourselves for a Major League Pissing Contest.  If the Guvmint's effort to control this by the insertion of Federalized troops, I can foresee Trump declaring Lost Angeles a police zone.  With thousans of our military to make his word good.

Oh yeah, "Hairgod" just declared he intends to sue the Trump Administration.  So it goes like this: Anarchists riot, Newsom does nothing, the Feds take action, and Newsom sues.  Is every Democrat leader a pus*y?

Are there any Americans left in Los Angeles?  Or are they all illegal Hispanic aliens?  Who have taken over America's 2nd Largest City.  And turned it into a war zone.  I'm guessing those citizens who are still in L.A. are lamenting that decision.  I'm guessing they're furiously packing so they can blow that war zone before they pay with their lives.  To try and Escape From L.A. with the little equity remaining in their homes (if everybody's selling, nobody's buying!).  To turn themselves into today's example of Snake Plittken.    

Los Angeles is a toilet.  A scary, dirty, filthy, dangerous toilet.  When I moved here 50 years ago it was a pleasure to go downtown and shop.  And take in a movie.  Or grab a bite on Hollywood Blvd.  Today?  Their own ex-sheriff suggested if you absolutely have to go into L.A., dress down.  Wear sunglasses.  Don't look at anyone.  And don't wear a watch.  Take an Uber or drive your rattiest car.  And then get the Hell out as soon as possible.  If you don't want to be a statistic.

So like an anchor on local L.A. TV station channel 7 stated, it was nice that the riots provided the folks with some fun by watching a few cars burn.  That's the mentality.  But I think it will all stop when a few thousand soldiers and Marines arrive on the scene.  Maybe we should leave them there until L.A. can be turned back into the great city it once was.   

Oh yeah, ex-L. A. Sheriff Alex Valenueva was voted out, even though he's a Democrat, because he wouldn't embrace illegal immigrants.  With both arms and a wet kiss.  I guess we can forgive him for voting Democrat because he's one of the few remaining in L.A. with a smidgen of common sense...  

Ozempic...TEETH?

The GLP-1 class of medications so currently in vogue works by slowing down our metabolism.  The less absorbed into the bloodstream as food makes it way through our alimentary canal, the less fat we accumulate.

That's how Ozempic and Wegovy work (Novo Nordisk).  And also sister drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound (Eli Lilly).  They were made for diabetes control, but their manufacturers discovered they also cause the pounds to fall off.  That sounds great, right?  

Not so great.

Like many other drugs when used "off label," GLP-1-class drugs carry with them a host of unwelcome side effects.  Their tendency to cause gastrointestinal complications is well known.  Stomach pain, severe gas and a loss of bowel control cause many to cease taking them (duh!).  But it goes much farther.  Because they cause an increse in stomach acid, they also cause dry mouth.  Which is proving to cause a loss of tooth enamel.  Alongside gum irritation and bleeding.  Resulting in increased decay and the early loss of jawbone and teeth. 

Shooting up methamphetimine causes tooth loss.  We all know that.  Who would have thought that paying $2,000 a month for a weight loss drug would do the same?

But it gets worse.  When you lose weight rapidly your skin finds it difficult to shrink up.  Leaving us with what doctors are calling "Ozempic lips."  And sagging, resulting in "Ozempic face."  And "Ozempic breasts."  And "Ozempic hands."  And get this, Shaquile-sized "Ozempic feet!"  

It's human nature to look for the easy way out to solve nagging problems.  Like weight loss.  And injecting Ozempic instead of working out and eating less has Hollywood stars and starlets hooked on the drug.  

And pooping in their pants at inconvenient times.  

Perhaps worse, if you read the Ozempic package insert, as well as the insert from the other sister drugs, you'll discover that they recommend "exercize and eating less" as also necessary to maximize the desired results.*  

In other words, you can work out and eat less and lose weight slowly, just like you put the pounds on, or go for the expensive $Two Grand a Month short-cut, and risk all the dangerous complications.

And this just in: Anecdotal heart attacks and blindness and paralysis have also occured using this class of drug.    

I recommend you run, don't walk, away from GLP-1 drugs.  Go to the gym and eat less. Works better, albiet slower, and mucho safer.  Novo Nordisk spent $346,000,000 on TV advertising last year.  You know, the fat chick in the blue pantsuit, backed up by a chorus and the catchy jingle.  Which cost Novo Nordisk more than $One Million Bucks to make.  That tells you just how profitable these drugs really are... 

*   If you'd like my recommendation, try the "Chuckmeister Weight Loss Program."  You show up here at Fortress Chuckmeister on a Monday morning at 8:00.  I lock you in my closet with some water, a few cheese sandwiches and a bucket.  I have wi-fi to keep you entertained.  You get sprung Friday afternoon at 5:00.  It's super cheap and I guarantee you'll lose weight. 

BTW, it also works well for Smoking Cessation...    

The Dangers of a Supermajority.

If you don't live in California, you might not know its a "Supermajority" State.  

Like other Big Blue states, that means it has enough members of its Senate and Assembly to pass any legislation the Democrats desire.  All by themselves.  No Republican votes wanted or needed.  It's owned and controlled by the Democrat Party.  It's Senate is 24 Democrat and 11 Republican.  And it just passed the "Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act," one of the scariest prospective laws you could possibly imagine.  If you have yet to believe that CA Democrats are out of their friggin' minds, this new piece of legislation should remove all doubt.

This new Act, if the Assembly passes it, and they likely will given their Supermajority, would offer any inmate serving a Life Sentence Without Parole, who committed their crime(s) while under the age of 26, an immediate parole.*  

This Legislation, Senate Bill 672, submitted by Democrat Senator Susan Rubio, would offer this unparalleled gift to more than 1,600 serving Life Without.  Including those who committed murders of law enforcement officers and mass shootings at our schools (!).  California juries heard all the evidence and sentenced these killers and rapists and terrorists to Life Without Parole.  That means we're forever safe from them, right?  Except now the Democrats are supplanting those juries' findings with their own, and are dead set on releasing them!

"Fairness," doncha' know...    

BoyGuv ("Hairgod") Newsom has sprung more than 62,000 violent felons from California's prisons over the past 4 years.  He's even turning San Quentin into a camp for parolees!  Basketball and massages and a weight room, doncha' know.  Nice, huh?  Apparently he deems that effort insufficient.  He and his Democrat ilk are now opening the prison doors and releasing their most violent felons.  They've proven once again they've earned their "soft-on-crime" label.  And they've proven they have zero consideration for the victims.   

What are these people smoking?

*   It's time for each and every thinking Californian to arm up and get ready.  The sh*t, as they say, is about to hit the fan.   Go immediately to your friendly gun store and buy a firearm.  And buy all the ammunition you can afford.  And then learn how to use it.  The police haven't proven either willing or able to protect us.  There's not enough of them, and they're constrained by "soft-on-crime" legislation, written by those same Democrats.  It's now up to you.  You have no choice.  It's the Wild West.  Do it.  Do it now, before it's too late...    

Is it Getting WARM Yet?

If you're under 40, likely as not you've lived your entire lives afraid of Global Warming.  Or Climate Change.  Or Climate Chaos.  Or whatever the Democrats' poll-tested name for it is today.

During your life you've been told to fear a New Ice Age.  And the Melting of Glaciers.  And Miami being washed away by rising oceans.  And none of these things have happened.

If the weather is bad, it's CO2's fault.  If the weather's good, just wait; it'll get worse.  Every tornado and cyclone and sandstorm and hurricane is caused by CO2.  Which we're told is our fault.  It's sort of like Chicken Little's pronouncement:    

              "The Sky is Falling!"

You will die in a fiery Hell of our own making.  Or so they tell you.  Well, let's look at the facts for a change, shall we?

     -  78% of our atmosphere is Nitrogen.

     -  11% of our atmosphere is Oxygen.

     -  0.93% of our atmosphere is Argon

     -  0.042% of our atmosphere is Carbon Dioxide.

     -  And mankind, all 8.0 Billion of us, is responsible for...wait for it...11% of that total.

     -  And between India and China and Russia, they're responsible for...wait for it...51% of total CO2 emissions.

     -  And lastly, America is responsible, they tell us, for 20% of all CO2 emissions.  A number that's been going down each and every year since 1972, the year we took the lead out of gasoline.  And 1976, the year we began installing catalytic converters on our cars.

So let's think about it:  We Americans are supposedly responsible for twenty percent of eleven percent of four hundredths of one percent of all CO2 emissions.  

That, my Fellow Patriots, is a number almost too small to calculate.

And because of that we're supposed to change our whole way of life.  We're supposed to stop making Internal Combustion Engines and start buying Plug-In Electric Cars.  Which cost much more, are more expensive to build and to buy, are dangerous to drive, cannot be disposed of in our garbage dumps, require rare Earth minerals to manufacture, which we don't have, and may spontaneously combust, killing all on board.

But California just loves them.  Of course.  It also loves having boys compete in girls sports and then shower with them afterwards, doncha' know.

I might add about here that bovine flatulence and volcano eruptions produce far more CO2 than all humans put together.

And how many $Billions of our hard-earned Tax Dollars have been spent to "fix" that?  Maybe $Trillions?  

And through it all, I'd like to know if anyone's noticed it getting WARMER?  Anyone?  Raise your hands, anyone?  

Climate activists need to go home, sit down in their Barcaloungers, open up a Bud (or a sauvignon blanc) and rethink their entire lives.  They need to go get a job and begin contributing to society, instead of tearing it down.  They need to stop gluing their hands to Old Masters and Interstate Highways and start protesting against Elon Musk for being smart.  Or Tim Walz for being dumb.  Or cows for farting.  Or volcanoes for spewing forth their various gasses (Mount Aetna just erupted for the 12th time this Century).   

You'll do far more good, if that's your goal...