Change for the sake of change isn’t necessarily a good thing.
My mother-in-law, who is 76, and her boyfriend are Trump supporters. When we talk about it, and I ask her why on earth she would even consider voting for him, she always says because this country has a lot of problems and change is needed, and that Hillary would be four more years like the last eight. In her opinion, nothing would change.
I’ve been unemployed for three years, and something needs to change soon – but that doesn’t mean I should kill myself, become a prostitute, or start ripping people off to elicit change. Change often needs to be thoughtful. This isn’t like taking a different route home from the grocery store.
I’ve got so much to say about change and the last eight years and other things, but for today . . . in the spirit of One-Liner Wednesday, I will keep it brief. Thanks Linda – lately I haven’t written much for various reasons, but I always think about this prompt you provide 🙂
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that our president gave an amazingly energizing, genuine, insightful, hopeful, and positive speech tonight. Unfortunately, those who needed to hear it the most probably weren’t listening.
OH – and Trump’s treasonous comment made at the news conference in Doral, Fla. More to come on that – I’d love to find a video that actually showed the faces in the audience as he made those comments. A picture of his kids slapping their foreheads at that moment that crap tumbled out of his mouth would be priceless! 🙂
Hello my Blog Buds! I hope you have all been doing well, here so close to the end of May. The end of May already – I am amazed how quickly this year has flown by. I had so many goals for this year, and so far, I am no where near meeting any of them! I’m working on that, though some days are better than others.
I have been busy, back hot and heavy on the job hunt. I am always looking, but sometimes take a break from the all out full-time job of searching. I have a couple of really good leads, with people who know me well pulling for me – so I am quite hopeful. But, I was in this position in March, and nothing came of it, as another friend who is 10 years younger received the offer. (The interview had gone well, I had much more experience in the role than she did, and agreed to the lower salary they mentioned right up front. The person leaving that position, due to a promotion, even recommended me for the job.) I AM NOT GIVING UP, even if I’m not counted!!!
Today I made pineapple marmalade for the first time. It tastes great, but hope it gels properly, as marmalade usually takes a little time to set up. Fixing to make some more apple butter, and some blueberry jam, in the next week or so. Then I will have enough to rent a space again – this time at one of the farmers markets, as we have many around my area. [YEAH, I know . . . Fixing to, you know I’m from the south, though I smiled at how incorrect it was when I typed it. 😉 ]
Oh Lordy, the upcoming election . . . I am truly absolutely shocked and amazed and confused and frightened and apprehensive, and I could go on and on and on. Let’s be honest, NONE of the candidates from the beginning were the best choices – BUT no one else stepped up. And the issues and possible solutions are endless. Also, I can genuinely understand where some of these people are coming from, the depth of their discontent and disparity. I even get their differences of opinion. I also realize the sense of greed and lust and power and control others approach these matters with. What a dichotomy . . .
The government and others in power and control of our lives have let us down often. It seems much of their time and effort is spent furthering their own agendas, not the American peoples’. In doing so, “the powers that be” have eroded this country’s greatness and ability to be the best by eroding the basic security and self-esteem of so many that have worked so hard for it. We don’t all want to be rich, but we would like to make enough to survive and have a little extra, and to know that in our elderly years we won’t be homeless, or dependent on others. You know be reasonably comfortable.
I do know the world is different than it was when I was growing up – often to survive or succeed you talked tough and made few compromises. Once you kicked ass a few times and proved you could hold your own, you had it made and no one messed with you anymore. BUT, the world is smaller now, and larger all at the same time. Mindsets and tactics have changed, and everything is faster. Information about almost anything you want to know is available and on overload. Balances are delicate – you can’t bulldog your way through the china shop. We have to change the way we approach some things for this country to prosper and out-maneuver, or we’ll die – our democracy as we know it.
At this point, I’m just waiting to see what happens when the game of “52 Pick-Up” is over, and the last card falls to the floor. I will vote, and we’ll see what shakes out . . .
[That’s not to say I won’t write any other political thoughts, because I might!]
I doubt my backyard owls will return this year. The city has been doing sewage upgrades in my neighborhood, and they have been quite busy back in my little alcove, where one of the mains is located, even storing one of their small bobcat diggers back there for the last several weeks. All that noise and activity I’m sure will eliminate my little area as a suitable home. I’m pretty sad about that, as I enjoyed the little glimpses of them I was blessed to have.
After spending most of the day online looking for jobs, I have to take a break from the computer screen, so I have not been able to keep up with all of you lately; I am slowly, but surely, trying to visit you all! I miss you and what you share ❤ I’ll be coming around to visit soon. 🙂
The Democratic Debate was lively tonight. I think Bernie did a good job overall. I think Hillary is getting a bit nervous, with Bernie snapping at her heals.
The commentators stated after the debate that “Hillary cleaned Bernie’s clock,” on the gun control question. I mentioned to my husband that I agree with Bernie’s decision to vote against holding gun makers and dealers responsible, as long as they did the appropriate background checks. What no one has mentioned is WHO does these background checks? Using that thought process, shouldn’t they be held liable as well, if a background check came back approved on someone who later committed a crime?
I believe in Texas background checks are performed by the Texas Department of Public Safety, though I am not sure on that. For all I know, that work is contracted out to some third party, in my state, as well as others. The point is, it’s really no different than if a drunk driver kills someone and has a floorboard full of empty Budweiser bottles – it’s doubtful that Budweiser would be sued, or be held responsible. If someone stabs someone with a Buck knife, no one would try to sue the knife company.
You can still walk into any gun show in Texas and sell your weapons with no background check, or exchange of any paperwork, with anyone who is willing to pay the price you are asking. Anyone who happens to have paid the ticket price to get into the gun show and has cash in their pocket. And how many crimes are committed with stolen guns? (No, I have not had a chance to actually research the numbers on this.)
Anyway – it seems like the audience was giving Bernie some good feedback, from what I could tell.
Changing topics, about a month ago I had a job interview, in my industry, for a job I have a great reputation for doing sucessfully. The position was being vacated by an old friend and colleague, who gave me an excellent recommendation. The interview went really well. I found out, via FaceBook, that I did not get the position, but another friend and colleague was offered the job instead. She is about ten years my junior. Though I wasn’t super jazzed about going back to a place I feel sucked my soul out, and it was also for over a third less than I what I used to make doing the same job – I won’t lie, the snub hurt. I need the money, I need the benefits, I need something to do with my time – I am getting so unfocused, and feel that I am adrift. BUT, I will keep looking!
Last, but certainly not least, it’s tax time in the U.S. It’s no secret that my husband and I have been surviving on our 401K money for over the last two years. So, let me be a little more frank – after our standard deductions, our taxable income this year was $29, 252. My taxes, and penalties for keeping my bills paid – surviving on about a third of what we are used to making – was close to $10,000. Oh yes, I did the math, our tax rate was 32.8%.
I could be wrong, but I doubt any millionaire, or billionaire, paid 32.8% of their income in taxes – but I bet a shit ton of them paid as much as, or more than, I paid to their accountants to ensure they did not pay that high of a percentage in taxes due to all the loopholes the rich have at their disposal. To me, that is a crime . . .
On a side note – my dad’s 76th birthday is coming up, and he is a staunch Republican. I bought him a Feel the Bern coffee mug, so he could start his days thinking about his “bleeding heart Liberal” (in his opinion) daughter. And I can’t wait to wear my Bernie Sanders T-shirt 🙂
[NOTE: I really like Bob Dylan’s and especially Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s versions of these songs, but this version by Immaterial had that right touch of melancholy it seemed to deserve today.]
So today, one of the happiest things that happened to me was I got some cigarette coupons in the mail . . . what does that tell you . . .
My shit’s fucked up!! {Laughing just a little at that one . . .}
I’m still watching the political debates, town halls and caucuses. Heard Donald Trump’s Nevada caucus victory speech last night. Between his, “We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated,” and all his, “Winning, winning, winning . . .” I wanted to bang my head against the wall and vomit. Really . . . every time he talks about winning, I see Charlie Sheen and his bat-shit crazy public unraveling. And the American people are falling for it, even the highly educated – tripping over themselves to jump on his bandwagon.
And this fight over the newly vacated Supreme Court Justice seat not hours after Judge Scalia passed away is ridiculous. The Republicans keep dragging their heels deep, and the deeper they drag, the higher Trump goes in the polls.
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are still running a close race, for now. I keep trying to get me a Bernie t-shirt to wear and freak out all my family (and many of my friends!), but they haven’t had the ones I want in my size the last few times I checked his site.
I just saw the late night poll results from the Iowa caucuses, and I had to share! The Donald did not come out on top, as he expected. Bernie and Hillary are running neck in neck, so close that even at 99% of the precincts reporting, it’s still too close to call.
So the numbers for the Republicans went like this:
Cruz took 28% with 51,649 votes,
Trump took 24% with 45,416 votes,
and
Rubio came in at 23%, with 43,132 votes.
Of course, these numbers don’t really mean anything, and it’s still anyone’s race. And I have to say, Iowa doesn’t exactly represent the rest of the nation. I can’t wait to see what happens in New Hampshire!
I heard somebody on TV say, “The eyes of the world are watching us tonight.” I believe that is probably true.
I find more things on Facebook these days. I realize you have to take about half of that with a grain of salt. But this, this seems right on the mark. Thanks AJ+.
Now, I know why I never knew when any of the Democratic debates were being held –
Just something I was thinking about . . .
[A proud participant of Just Jot It January, hosted by Linda G. Hill.]
So I watched the debates this last week, both of them. Did you?
I missed one of the Democratic debates, and chose not to watch the December Republican debate, but what I have seen is that the overall tone of the Democratic debates have been far more civilized and respectful than the Republican debates. All that testosterone on one stage maybe, I don’t know, but the Republicans seem to talk less about the topics at hand – the problems in this country and HOW they would alleviate them – and more about themselves and each other.
Hillary Clinton was on Jimmy Fallon last week. He mentioned something about her watching the Republican debates, and taking a shot every time they said her name – she laughed and said she wouldn’t “make it past the first half hour.” I noticed they did say her name A LOT. Shit, I would’ve been drunk if I’d a been playing that game – really.
It was a good interview.
After watching the debates, I could say so much, but let me just mention a few random thoughts . . .
The Republican debate is almost always a debacle at worst, a circus at best – and this one was no exception. Donald Trump was all over Ted Cruz and they argued back and forth many times. The moderators completely lost control of the event. Marco Rubio referred to it as Court TV – I suspect it was worse.
Several times Trump mentioned that we must repeal and replace Obamacare. Replace it with what? He never said, and I don’t think they ever asked. Couldn’t believe one of the questions was is Hillary Clinton an enabler of sexual misconduct. WTF kind of question is that in this context and setting?
About half way in, there was talk between them about how they shouldn’t be tearing each other apart – great, I agree, but I don’t want to be part of that discussion. Them treating each other respectfully should’ve been a given – so not sure why we would waste precious time discussing that, either. OH wait, maybe because they don’t really have any answers, or answers that most of us would like, agree with, or understand in the context of our problems.
John Kasich mentioned the 50+ year old unemployment problem, but I’m not sure retraining us is necessarily the answer, though that could be helpful in some instances. Our jobs didn’t go away and we didn’t become incapable of doing them with the same vigor. The insurance companies don’t want to cover us.
Christie cracked me up when he said he is kicking President Obama out of the White House this fall. We all know this is Obama’s last term, he has to leave no matter which party wins. And contrary to Christie’s belief, Obama hasn’t “brainwashed” me against guns, nor do I feel he is trying to take them from me. No one will . . .
Rubio vehemently said criminals do not get guns from gun shows. I disagree, and I know how easy it would be for them to do it. I’ve seen exactly how it works. I can show him, too. He also called the EPA the Employee Prevention Agency. Of course, I bet he has never lived too near a toxic waste site, or an EPA Superfund site, though they are way more common than you think. I’m sure he hasn’t had his whole neighborhood bulldozed and perimeter fenced with security guards. I have, and all that entails. This is why we need health and safety regulation, because we are still finding and cleaning up the irresponsibility of the past.
I’m not sure any of them actually get it or understand it . . . the real issues, I mean.
NONE of them think Bernie Sanders is a viable candidate! Kasich even laughed about it, saying no one will vote for Bernie – he’s not an issue. That may sneak up and bite them in the ass.
The Democratic debate was lively. Sanders mentioned the heroin epidemic and how the pharmaceutical companies are also to blame. Well of course they are – after decades of addicting people to their Vicodin and Oxycontin and when the laws abruptly changed to make these drugs mostly unavailable to all the addicts they have grown to spike their profits. Shame on you . . . and I saw the heroin epidemic coming, but that’s a story for another day.
Sanders said we need to stand up to corrupt insurance and pharmaceutical companies – that it’s time to end Congress being owned by big money, and get back to Congress meeting the needs of the people. Clinton didn’t touch that too much.
It was enlightening to know that Clinton makes a large sum of money from Goldman Sachs for speaking events. O’Malley didn’t get much talk time – Hillary is definitely noticing Bernie now . . .
Obviously, these were some of the little things that caught my attention, and sometimes little things are telling. I figured you have already heard all about the major points. Oh yeah – Saturday Night Live had fun with the Republican debate this last Saturday as well. I tried to find a link, but none are posted yet. That’s the one thing I LOVE about election season – Saturday Night Live’s (and other comedians’) parodies!
Oh, and what about those New York values . . . {shaking my head, laughing!}
I’ve been paying little attention to the news in the last few months, but you just can’t escape the shit.
I missed half of the second Democratic Debate, since I had no idea it was on, a major network station at that. Not sure how that happened other than maybe they did a poor job of promoting it, especially on a Saturday night right before Christmas.
I recorded the third Republican Debate, but just deleted it without watching it. Wasn’t up for being entertained. Seems like I heard a few governments have said they will ban Trump from coming to their countries, and that Cruz may have been born in Canada. But, I have done no real research on those tidbits.
Western Illinois University has a history of predicting the winner of the presidential elections. Guess who they predicted the winner will be – Bernie Sanders . . .
Yep – feeling the Bern!! Time will tell . . .
Heard about the Syrian refuges they arrested in Texas and California for being terrorists. Pretty much exactly what so many feared.
I read in our local paper that gas prices are causing many layoffs in the oil and gas industry, but they followed that statement saying that with raw materials so cheap, the refineries are doing well, by buying in bulk now while prices are low, making their profit margins larger. So in the end, the oil and gas (refineries) company stock holders and CEOs probably aren’t taking that big of a hit. Just the middle class who lost their jobs – most likely a bunch of people in my age group.
Had a lot of company in December, at different times all spread out. It was good to see family we haven’t seen in some time.
Caught up with a few of my blog buds today. Enjoyed that immensely!
Anyway, thought it would be nice to contribute to Just Jot it January, over at Linda G. Hill’s blog. Hope it isn’t my only contribution 😉
Just some things I’ve been thinking about it . . .
In honor of one of my all time favorite philosophers . . . among other things. I loved John Lennon, and October 9 is his birthday. He would’ve been 75 years of age, had his life not been snuffed out prematurely.
Though I have way too many songs of his that I LOVE, here are two of my favorites. I can only imagine what he’d sing about now . . .
Just something I was thinking about . . . 