Well…this is starting to get annoying…still feel crappy today and there is no reason for it other than I must have a bug of some sort…I’m already exhausted and all I’ve done is get up….so, today is going to be another lay low day and all I’m going to do is get groceries and then take it easy…it was a spider alert night last night and it was kind of creepy to have one of them land on my face when I was sleeping…which woke me up and then I had a heck of a time getting back to sleep…so, there were no dreams to speak of…I do have a sore throat this morning so I am really hoping that this is a bug…and not something serious that will mean a trip to the doctor…can’t afford that…oh, well…I’m about done for now but will be back later for more…
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Walmat’s brand of capitalism…
Well…just a short one to talk about the recent revelations that Walmart and it’s managers in Mexico spent 24 million dollars in bribes to allow them to build more stores there…in direct violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices act that prohibits payments of any sort to foreign governments or their agents to gain an economic advantage. But, that’s not even the worst part….while this was going on, Walmart was part of a lobbying group that was working on diluting the law so they wouldn’t be liable for their actions in Mexico. Do you need any other reason to stop shopping at Walmart? Other than the predatory practices that kill local businesses wherever they locate their stores and the fact that they regularly abuse their employees by making them work off clock and not paying overtime pay…and have been found to have insidious policies that discriminate against women and minorities? I have been really trying to work up outrage about this stuff today but I think I’m moving into overload since this kind of crap seems to be what capitalism here in the US has degenerated into…a winner take all battle where there is no sharing of the pie anymore…and that is going to ruin this country…geez…
Just some musings on Apple…
Well…there was an interesting and spirited argument that I caught on the Guardian’s site yesterday that I wanted to comment on about the possibility that Apple could or should bring it’s manufacturing back to the US since, even paying American wages, they would still be more profitable than most other US companies. I was a little amazed that most of the people that were commenting basically said “to hell with American workers”; that they brought on their joblessness on themselves and drove manufacturing to Asia because they were so greedy…and that Apple can’t really afford to pay more than the slave wages they pay in China….one of the first things that came to mind reading these comments was “when did American workers, our neighbors and friends, become such a hated group?” Then, the second thing that came to mind was “they can’t afford to pay their workers more but they can give one guy, the ceo, 376 million dollars a year?” Until we can grow some empathy in the 1% and cut back on their entitlement mentality that they “earn” every penny of their compensation, the economy here is going to just drift and the middle class will continue to die….geez…
April 25th
Well…it was a long day yesterday with going out to play pool with Tom in the aft then meeting up with G for a couple in the evening…and then I stayed up late to watch the Chelsea/Barcelona match but got up at the normal time so I am worn out today…and not feeling this right now so I am going to stop here now and go back to the ice water and the couch for a few minutes….back later for more…
Okay….back for a few minutes after taking a little nap to try to recharge some from yesterday and I do feel better…might have to make some coffee for the entire process to complete itself and that would be okay…I think today will be a recovery day since whatever has been taking all my energy is still working somewhat and I just don’t feel normal….so, I guess I’ll work out and get a bike ride in this morning and then just lay low for the rest of the day….I will be back for more since I am really behind and the end of the month is coming up fast…
Here comes the Romney flip, flops, and spins…
Well…not sure if this is going to be short or not since I always do these off the top of my head…and no, it doesn’t hurt…not really….the thing I wanted to talk about his morning is the immediate spin that ole Mitt put on his immigration stands since he became the presumptive nominee for the repubs….during the primary campaign, ole Mitt was adamant that there would be no pathway to citizenship for any illegal immigrants in this country, going so far as to call all of them criminals and proposing they all be rounded up and sent back to Mexico…or wherever they come from….but now, he trots out Marco Rubio and says that he will consider a form of the dream act if he becomes president that would allow illegals to stay here if they meet some requirements for citizenship that he has not defined yet…can’t anyone else see this as just and egregious case of pandering to a group that he needs to get elected? I know…big surprise that a politician is pandering to any group…but, this is just the latest in ole Mitt’s compulsion to say anything to anybody to get votes…what the heck does he really believe? Good luck with this change Mitt…you may gain a little with Hispanics, but your base is going to run for the hills…and you deserve it…geez….
April 24th
Well…it was a non descript day yesterday with not a lot to say about it…stayed in since G had to study for her exams this week and that was not a bad thing…I still feel a little crappy today and I know it’s a bug of some sort…..it may be bad allergies since I am itching like crazy all over like my skin is dry…I may try taking an allergy pill today to see if it will go away….I did get a bike ride in yesterday and that was a good thing but who knows about today…it is supposed to be windy and I really hate that…but I’m going to try…not much to do today…it is a pool day but that is about it…..I am going to go out for the papers again today since it is nice to start the day that way….I will try to come back for another…more later…
More Wisconsin shenanigans…or so I thought…
Well…I was all prepared to work up a bunch of outrage today after reading an article about the recall election in Wisconsin and how the repubs there are running ‘fake” Dems in the primary to try to confuse voters and dilute the vote….and this is something to be outraged about….but the rest of what is going on; the urging of repubs to vote for the weakest candidate in the open primary to give Walker the best chance to retain the governor’s chair is just normal politics that goes on every day…and for me to be outraged about something that I have participated in here in Michigan, would be the height of hypocrisy…something that you know I really hate. So, I’ll save the outrage for things that are egregious and nefarious….don’t you just love that word?
Mitt Romney is still an idiot…or still a liar…you choose….
Well…got back into reading the papers today before I go out on the bike and I think that may be a good combo since the quiet time on the bike gives me time to digest what I’ve read and partially write some of these…and there was an interesting article in the WAPO this morning about the Romney campaign taking Obama to task for what they say is the collapse of small business creation on his watch citing a report that came out in the past few days…the only catch is that the authors of the report came back to rebut the claims of the geniuses on ole Mitt’s staff saying that they used the numbers wrong and interpreted it wrong…but, that didn’t stop ole Mitt’s guys from trying to tell the authors that they were wrong…this coming from the same team of idiots that gave us the financial meltdown, deregulation, and almost drove us into a depression. In case you didn’t know, almost the entire GW Bush economic team has moved en masse over to run ole Mitt’s campaign…so, if you loved the meltdown, the continued concentration of wealth, and the gutting of the middle class, you’ll love these guys…because what they propose for Romney is just more of the same of that crap. So, that leaves us with the title…what ole Mitt does not seem to understand is how most small businesses are created…with personal credit, home equity, and borrowing from banks, family, and friends….all avenues that have disappeared with the meltdown…but, ole Mitt just doesn’t get that…he thinks that everyone can just go to their account in the Cayman’s and get the money to start a business…and when the supposed “CEO” of America doesn’t understand that, it calls into question whether he understands anything about the economy…or, he’s just being the cynical liar that he has been throughout the campaign…neither of which qualifies him to be president.
April 23rd
Well…it was a lost day yesterday since I was feeling so crappy…not sure what the heck it was but I think I still have it today…I’m still coughing and warm so there must be a reason…could be allergies but I haven’t been out of here in a couple of days so I’m not sure about that…I did sleep okay last night but again, no dreams to speak of…I have been really lazy about doing this and I think I’m about 5 behind for the month so I will be getting to it today and trying to get caught up…so, that means I have to go out and get the papers or I won’t have enough to talk about….didn’t even ride the bike yesterday with the winds almost 20…it just makes it so unpleasant that it isn’t fun…might have another day like that today but we’ll see…not much to do today….what happens will hinge on whether I feel better today or not….right now, it looks like I might feel better but I won’t know for a while…more later…
April 22nd
Well…it was a day yesterday but I made some cash so that was a plus….and I feel okay today after taking care of myself and getting a long ride in but where the heck are the 70 degree temps that we had last month? It is getting to be a pain to go out still in a sweatshirt and having my hands be cold….it is Sunday and I really have nothing to do today but clean the bathroom and watch Man U..but the F1 race is on, too, and that makes it a little difficult….I did sleep okay but no dreams to speak of…and that makes it boring…but, I’m used to it…okay…going back to the race…I’ll be back later for more…