Well….it’s gotten to almost noon and I don’t feel too much better either physically or mentally so there won’t be any politics today I don’t think. Have not done much yet…did go out for coffee and read the papers but there are no topics that have grabbed me…there was one about ethanol and the new rules that are going to allow 15% ethanol in gasoline but then it goes on to say that any car older than 2002 won’t be able to use it without damage….so, anyone who is poor like me can’t drive anymore? Or, are they going to put normal gas in one pump and then jack the price up because it’s “special” gas? I can see why people are concerned about government interference in their lives….and I haven’t even touched on the effect that the diversion of all that corn has had on food prices or the subsidy that the ethanol producers get to make the stuff. Okay, repubs, why aren’t you bitching about this…oh, that’s right it helps business and it’s okay if government helps business; but it’s wrong to help citizens. See…I can’t even work up the minimum of outrage that would power my writing so I’m going to quit here….
All posts by James DeVol
April 19th
Well…I over-cocktailed last night and I feel really crappy this morning physically…but the reason for the stupidity was that the Wings were going three up on Phoenix….but I’ll save that for the Wings update for later….I had a nice day with a surprise lunch with T and then a nap in the aft to get ready for staying up late for the game…I think I must have sent or gotten 50 texts during the game so that was fun….other than the game…it was another boring day…don’t know if I’m going out for coffee this morning….stayed up until almost one and that is way too late for an old guy….I need water and the couch so I’m going to end here…more later…
What’s wrong with the rich?
Well….as I sit here and think about the news over the past few weeks a question comes to mind: “What’s wrong with the rich?” When did they become so greedy and self-centered that they lost any pretense of caring about anyone but themselves? This post was kind of spurred on by the recent report that the super rich in this country have an average tax rate that is below 17%. Let’s put that in perspective using my own situation as an example….I took 15 k out of my IRA last year just to pay my rent and keep food on the table and my tax rate was over 25%…yep, someone that is barely making ends meet is paying more percentage in taxes than billionaires, and this is on money that I earned and saved over my working career. But, you won’t hear me bitch about paying taxes; they are necessary to maintain our social contract and make this a better society for everyone…not just the rich. I find it so funny that these people will spend millions and millions of dollars buying repubs to write them favorable laws but will balk at paying for the infrastructure and military that allow them to make those outrageous sums of money. Why are they so un-American? But, it’s not just the rich that are at fault here…it’s our fault for voting for people that are nothing more than shills for business and that lie like they breathe….who don’t believe that there should be a shared responsibility for the welfare of our country…should we be surprised? Nope, most of the legislators we now have are millionaires that are there for one thing and one thing only…to line their pockets and tell us that a greater America is no longer possible; that the poor and middle class are leeches that will be better off if the safety nets that have kept millions of seniors and unemployed out of poverty are gone. Is that the vision that you or I share? I sure hope not…geez…
April 18th
Well…that was a really terrible surprise when I got up this morning to find a blanket of snow on everything…I know, it’s Michigan and we can expect at least one snowfall in April but it’s one thing to know it intellectually and another to actually have to start the car to warm it up and melt the snow. This just puts a damper on the day and starts it out all wrong….it was an okay weekend, didn’t do much but watch the Wings and races….I didn’t get anything political out over the weekend but I have an excuse….nothing really grabbed me and got the brain working in overdrive like I need it to….I’ll try harder today…not much to do today…as I said before, I am gong back to jeans for the next few days, I really hate being cold and that even trumps my ego….but I won’t wear socks…how’s that for a compromise? More later….
One last thing I need to add….I did watch “Winter’s Bone” yesterday and it was a pretty good movie…one of the “small movies” the I like a lot that replaces explosions and bombast with character studies….I did feel that it unfolded a little too slowly and some of the characters’ motivations were unclear even until the end…but still a good movie that shone a light on a part of the country that not many of us get to see….
April 17th
Well…I know I’m late but as you know, this is getting to be my pattern for Sundays, I usually do need coffee before I can think at all and with last night being a cocktail night, I really needed it this morning. I have gotten my coffee and read the Press so now I’m ready to get going for at least a few minutes and try to write something lucid. It was an okay day yesterday but I didn’t do much but watch the Wings and the races…it was way too windy to get the bike out but I’m hoping to go for a short one later this morning if it warms up…I did go back to jeans today…it was just too cold this morning for shorts so I’ll have to reset the clock on that…I did have a talk on the phone with M about his parents house and I feel better about it…lots of friends and family coming together to help and that reminds me that even in these fractured times, people can surprise us with their generosity and caring. Not much to do today…of course the race from Talladega and I am going to get the bathroom cleaned and a couple more posts out…okay, you’ve heard that promise many times on Sunday and I haven’t been very good at keeping it…you’ll just have to come back to see…..
Red Wings update 2-0
Well…this one should not have been as close as it was…the Wings won 4-3 but when they were up 4-1, they just about quit playing and went into cruise mode…just like they’ve done all year but today they were fortunate that they upped their level of play just enough to win at the end. I think the refs were trying to help Phoenix get back into in with the bogus calls for two penalties on us that gave them two scores. We almost lost Frantzen again and he ended up with 23 stitches in his face from getting slammed into the boards…I don’t understand why Kronwall didn’t make Doan pay for it later in the game but I guess it’s okay…don’t want to lose any more players after losing Hank. Pavel put on a show for us again today with a shot that no one else but he could make…and the rebound was hammered home by Helm….good to see him get another playoff goal. Now we move on to Phoenix for Monday’s game and it is going to be a chore since they don’t start until 10:30….looks like nap time Monday aft…Go Wings!
April 16th
Well…got a bit of bad news this morning when I got a text from M saying his parents house burned down last night….I had that happen to me when I was 12 and I can still smell the smoke and remember the sound of the flames when I ran upstairs to wake my brother up…..I feel so bad for them since it was the home that M grew up in. Kind of makes the rest of this post pointless in comparison….so I’m going to end this here and reflect for a while…..
Okay…back to work….it was kind of a nice day yesterday with not much to to…how many times have you heard that? I do have HBO for free for the weekend so that helped to pass the time…and it was a cocktail night which helps even more….I did get the brakes fixed and the pedal feel really hard again but I still need to take it out on the e-way and bed them in….today is going to be okay with the Wings on at one and then races later in the day….will probably just veg today and take it easy but maybe clean the bathroom…not sure yet…and maybe a Wings update after the game…..more later….
No Politics right now…
Well….it has been an interesting day today that has taken me quite far out of the normal routine…so I don’t think there will be any political comments, at least right now since the papers are only a distant memory and I don’t know if I want to go back and re-read them right now…so, I’ll just give an update of the morning and the wonderful weirdness that has happened. As you know, if you look down at the mornings first one, I was planning on working on the brakes on the wreck…and I did go out and get the parts, but broke my lug wrench jumping on it to get the tires off….so I had to go back and get a socket to fit them and use my breaker bar to get them off. After that, the brakes actually came apart pretty easily and things were going well until I installed the wrong pad in the back of the driver’s side and then the other side wouldn’t go together…took quite a while to figure out I had made a mistake and had to take both sides back apart and install the pads in the right places….this still only took a total of about 45 minutes so I guess I shouldn’t bitch too much….but I get to since this site belongs to me….and it was a good idea to to get this done today since the thinnest pad had less than 1/8 inch left on it…way too thin for the brakes to be effective. This should be the last time I do brakes since the car is just rusting away and I think I may wake up some morning, go outside, and the car will be gone…leaving just a small rust pile where it would have been….
April 15th
Well….Tuesday was Thursday yesterday and it was pool day…I did win but Tom did a lot to help me so I’m not that happy about it….okay, a win is a win so I’ll take it. The brakes on the wreck need to be replaced and I’m going to see if I can get it apart here in the lot….they’re not grinding yet so If I need to take it out to Tom’s to do it Monday I can….it will give me something to do today and with the grocery shopping this morning, it is going to be a busy day….other than that, not much to do today….I am going to take it easy once I get everything done with a Neflix movie coming today and cocktails tonight….I did have some dreams last night…yay…but they were kind of disturbing with T in them….well…not disturbing just strange with 28th street and Indiana Jones in it…told you it was weird….I will have topics for later and a brake update once I get into it..hope it doesn’t rain….
Red Wings playoff update…1-0
Well…I don’t know if my lucidity has come back to me…probably not, but I’m going to write this one anyway. It was another bad start for the Wings last night, going down 1-0 in the first and looking like they were not awake yet. Not unusual for them if you’ve seen any of this season but still frustrating as heck. They did come awake in the second and took the lead and then poured it on in the third but let in a goal to make it a final score of 4-2. I was ready to have Jimmy Howard replaced after the first goal since it was a soft one, not unlike quite a few he let in during the regular season. But, he stood up in the 2nd and 3rd and looked okay….and we even got goals from Hudler and Frantzen who have been in slumps for more than a month. So, what do I think of the Wings chances? I filled in the survey on the Wings site the other day that the Wings will win it in 5…and I think that’s as good a guess as any….it will probably go 6 but I’m hoping for four….
One last thing, the game was supposed to be on Versus and that was the reason I went out and spent some money…but when it started, it was on FSD with Ken and Mickey…strange….okay, it looks like they’re all on FSD except for sat on NBC…coolness…