Well…if you have been reading this stuff for a while, you have seen that I have taken the conservative writer Nolan Finley from the Detroit News to task for his parroting of the repubs talking points in his daily columns. But today, I was amused when he related his efforts to purchase enough incandescent light bulbs to last the rest of his life before they stop making them next year; when government regulations take effect that will essentially ban the sale of the bulbs that all of us grew up with, replacing them with the more energy efficient compact fluorescents. His contention was that this is just another incidence of government intrusion into the free market and an example of the “nanny state” that is trying to regulate all of our daily lives in the guise of trying to make the country more energy efficient. When I wear my Libertarian hat, I have to agree with him….nope, no lightning strike yet, I, too, believe that we have survived a long time in this country making decisions like this for ourselves and are perfectly capable of continuing to do so, I get the frustration that the right has with government when they do things like this; like any bill or regulation that impinges on the decision making that should be an individuals choice….helmet laws and seat belt laws are two great examples of what I see as government overreach….and I would still wear my seat belt even if it wasn’t against the law….because I know they are effective in protecting me from others mistakes. I agree with Nolan that this type of thing is just a waste of rescouces that we can’t afford…and all of the new bulbs are made in China…not in the midwest of America….let’s not help them kill more jobs…
All posts by James DeVol
December 9th
Well…a nice day yesterday…lunch with T was fun as always but didn’t do much else….this quick change from fall to full blown winter has me a little behind the curve in adjusting…we usually have at least some transition time…but with the forecast of sub zero temps for Sunday and Monday it’s getting nasty fast. I just hope this doesn’t keep up all winter…I will promise to just bitch a little if it does. Not much to do today…the dish folks were supposed to come yesterday but I didn’t see them….this is getting to be pain keeping this place cleaned up while I wait for them…but, that is really the only thing I have to complain about so I think I’ll survive. I really do want the holiday season to be over….my favorite day of the year used to be December 26th; after all the shopping and visiting was over and you could actually go out for groceries without standing in line for a hour. Yep…I am a scrooge…..more later…there will be topics…
Thank you, Bernie Sanders…
Well…there are stirrings of revolt in the middle and on the left about the bastardized compromise that Obama has fashioned on the tax cuts…he gave away the store to the thugs and extortionists without getting one thing that will help get the budget back under control without doing it on the backs of the middle class. The most sickening thing that I have heard out of the repubs is that we “all” have to sacrifice to make this happen…I have to ask, “what have the rich sacrificed?” Not a damn thing..but they right wants us to take cuts in UI, social security, and every other program that helps the little guy while making sure that their buddies won’t have to sacrifice a thing..in fact they can just keep saying more, more, more…and steal what little is left of the American dream.
That brings me to Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont who has promised to filibuster any bill that gives the store away to the rich…at least someone understands that this is not a county of, by, and for the rich and connected. Thanks Bernie, keep up the good fight…geez…
December 8th
Well…running a little late this morning and there’s no reason other than I had too much fun yesterday…won at pool and at Keno…106 bucks which paid our tab and is going to buy lunch for T and I later…so there was a little sunshine that broke through the drabness…I think I pulled something jumping up and down when I saw that….yeah, I’m a little weird…but you know that. Not much to do today…the dish is still screwed up and they have to come with another receiver today but I don’t know if I’ll be here for that…who knows? More later….
I’m back for a few minutes….maybe for a moment of silence? 30 years ago today, John Lennon was killed….
We’ve been betrayed…
Well..I cannot overstate my disappointment with Obama right now…and his misguided march toward bipartisanship at any cost..especially when his compromise with the repubs is going to give them more ammunition to attack the progressives in the next election. Doesn’t he understand that when you give in to blackmailers, all they do is come back with larger and larger demands? What about us? The people that voted for him…when do we get anything that he promised to us? I guess the only hope now is that the congressional and senate democrats grow a spine and destroy this bill….but, I’m afraid it’s finally over….the rich have bought this country lock, stock, and barrel and the rest of us are left to our own devices as we slide down the ladder….
December 7th
Well…had a little fun last night..it was nice to get out for a while and see C and D…and I was a good boy so I don’t feel that bad today…just kind of sluggish but I know that will go away by noon. I did get the dish fixed yesterday but I think my new Roku is starting to give me problems..it made all kind of weird noises when I was listening to Pandora but I don’t know if that is the internet or the box…I’ll find out later today…not much to do today…out to Ada, of course, where I’m going to win at pool this week…maybe…I may even get some groceries since I made some cash yesterday…I will have a topic for later on the failure of Obama to uphold his principles with his deal with the repubs….
Musings on life…
Well…okay, I’ve vented a lot today so far….and you may even get more later…and so I thought I’d dial it back a bit while I wait for lunch to cook. I have a question to ask…have you ever been taken care of? I mean when life has beaten you down or you’ve been really sick or when the time came that you just needed to fold up for a while? I ask that because I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t the caregiver, I can’t remember anyone asking how I was doing and really meaning it. I don’t mean this to whine about my lot in life but to try to figure out what has made things as they are…I feel like Michael Clarke Duncan in the Green Mile…the man who could take on the illnesses of others and then release them into the air, but I can’t.
Just a musing…I may add more later…
When do we get a victory?
Well..this thought just popped into my head as I was cleaning my stovetop..yeah, I know, weird, but that’s me…and you know that if you’ve been here before. I think it was spurred by the collapse of the Dems in regard to the blackmail by the repubs on the tax cuts but also on the compromises that the dems have made on all of their legislative agenda, on healthcare, on taxes, on financial regulation, and on DADT. All of these bastardized compromises make me want to shout “when do we get a victory?” When do the majority of Americans get the healthcare they deserve without giving the insurance companies billions more in profit? When do gays and lesbians get their full status as Americans? When do we get the victory that would keep corporate money from buying elections?
Democrats and independents, the game has changed; you are still bringing a knife to a gunfight and unless you change your tactics, you will continue to lose and the country will continue to go down the path of the rich getting richer and the rest of us will just toil in our uncertain jobs until we are told we are no longer necessary. I’ll shout this question to the Dems: “When do we get a victory?”…geez…
A “Target Rich” environment…
Well…It might have been a good idea to keep the posts to a minimum over the weekend…events of today have made me laugh like a hyena…and so this one is going to be a two or three parter, or it’s going to have more than one subject..is it cheating to do that? Nope…these topics are related, in my mind anyway and I hope the absurdity of them makes you laugh, too..or cry…I was on the fence with my reaction.
The first part is the “revelation” that the newly-elected tea partiers have started to suckle at the teat of the K street lobbyists even before they are sworn in, never mind the pledge they made to change the “culture” of Washington…but it’s just a continuation of the tried and true conservative strategy of saying one thing to get elected and then laughing at the people that voted for them by voting against their constituent’s interests. What did you people that voted for these hypocrites expect? That they would be principled? that they gave a damn about you? No, these types are all about privilege and power as an end to itself…and duping the “little people” is all part of the game.
Next, is a subject that I have been shouting about for months now….and that is the blatant theft that the repubs are engaging in for the richest 2% of Americans…but I hesitate to call them Americans….they are not. They are just a greedy cadre that have learned the lessons of banana republics everywhere…those in power steal all they can with utter disregard for the people and the health of their society…and I am calling out the repubs here as I always will since they have elevated this theft to an art form…and their cynicism is breathtaking in holding up UI benefits for the middle class so they can bust the budget and give the proceeds to the rich. They are doing this when federal employees have just had their pay frozen for two years…and do you hear these middle-class people bitching about it…no, the consensus, at least from the comments I’ve read, is that they want to do their part to help in these tough economic times. The strange coincidence is that they are forgoing around 3% of pay increases in the next two years and if the Bush tax cuts are let to expire for the rich, they would pay about 3% more in taxes. Now, we can see who the real Americans are..those who think of more than enriching themselves, who think that everyone should do their part to help, and who don’t have an entire political party focused on stealing for them. Geez….
December 6th
Well…another weekend at home but I didn’t spend any cash so that positive kind of offsets the boredom that came with it….the dish is still screwed up so I have to call to have the receiver changed out today….it is good to have the internet hooked to the tv so I can bypass it….and there is never really anything I want to see anyway…I did have a mini marathon of bad old sci-fi movies yesterday after watching the Lions lose and that did relieve the boredom some. Started in on the bag of books from T and hope to get through them before the end of the month…they kind of act like drano for my head and clear out some of the cobwebs…but are cobwebs all that is left up there? It may be a danger….but one I’ll face….
Not much to do today…looking for work, of course, but I think it’s the day I have to start running since I’ve already gained some weight from having the bike parked…ugh…I am not looking forward to the pain in the legs that comes with it….oh, well….I’ll be back later with topics and a more in depth life comment but I slept in this morning…yeah, how weird is that? I think I’ll have one on the blackmailers that call themselves repubs….more later…