Well…can a rich guy get any further out of touch with anyone who actually has to work for a living that ole Jeb!? I am so fricking tired of rich people who have never had to work a day in their lives trying to tell us how to better ourselves and get ahead…the other day ole Jeb! came out and said that American workers need to work longer hours and through their productivity gain more income for their families…exactly how do you do that Jeb!? All of the productivity gains of the past 20 years has gone to the top 1% while wages have been stagnant…how would the worker get a share of those gains, a union perhaps? Nope, that is not how to do it…you’re just supposed to work more hours (never mind that US workers already work more hours than in any industrialized country) and then hope all that productivity trickles down into better wages, or full time jobs…but that’s not what the 1% want…they want temp and part time workers they don’t have to pay benefits to…what’s your policy plan to make that happen Jeb!? I have had enough of blaming workers for their plight when the blame belongs to people like ole Jeb! and his cronies who have rigged the system and weakened unions to the point that the workers have no power anymore…just go back to your boardrooms and shut the hell up…geez..
All posts by James DeVol
July 9th
Well…running really late today with the grocery run and having to wait for the deli to open so I could buy some bad food that fits with the ‘week of Me” that started this morning…slept okay last night and had some dreams that I should have gotten down here before I forgot them…darn…they were good ones, too……feel okay this morning and the coffee is working quite well…I fixed my other coffee cup this morning with some new super glue that is supposed to be water resistant but I’m not sure about that…and handling hot liquid with a glued on handle is not the most confidence inspiring thing….so far, so good, though, and I am going to have another cup here in a minute….it was kind of weird not rushing through the store this morning with my normal drive but it was kind of relaxing, too….I did talk to Roger and found out his dog died yesterday…I could tell that hurt some and I feel bad about that…but, he had a good attitude so that is something…not much to do today….going to make chili for lunch and then just do whatever I want the rest of the day…I did get the fridge and kitchen cleaned yesterday so I might vacuum today…but I might not…just going to let the day flow…more later…
The week of “Me”
Well….have been looking for some political stuff to do today with not much luck so I thought I’d just do this one about the “week of Me” that starts tomorrow. Now, as you know, I have been looking for work for a long time now and it is spirit crushing to continue to do so day in and day out with no responses….and to try to control what I eat to not gain weight along with limiting my cocktail nights just to give my liver a rest periodically….but, this year, I came up with a new concept, kind of based on what K does for her birthday but shorter…”the week of Me” where I eat whatever I want, drink as much as I want, and not look for work…basically only doing what I want to do while keeping the guilt tamped down for not doing what I should. I think it’s necessary once in a while to just stop being so controlling and counting every calorie…or drink, or amount of exercise….so, I declare the next week “the week of Me”, starting tomorrow I will do whatever I want culminating in my birthday next Wednesday…by that time I think I’ll probably be pretty worn out and will need a rest….
July 8th
Well….it was an okay day yesterday and I was good for the second day in a row so I feel okay today….slept crappy after staying up late to see the US men’s team win it’s first game in the Gold Cup…even with hitting the sack at 11:30, I didn’t really get to sleep until after 1 and then it was up and down all night…oh, well….I did get the bathroom de-spidered and cleaned yesterday along with tearing the couch apart and washing the cushion covers…today is going to be clean the fridge and kitchen day, then dust the whole place tomorrow….have to get ready for the “week of me” leading up to my birthday next week where I will do nothing but what I want for an entire week…and that means eating and drinking whatever I want, too, without any guilt….I do want to try to get the new speed record in, too, but I am waiting for the new Walkman to come so I can use the music to help…not much to do today…fridge and kitchen but that is about it…more later….
Berniementum….
Well…it has been an interesting time since Bernie Sanders announced he was running for president and the momentum he has gotten is truly remarkable….the press has even named it “Bernimentum” when they describe it. While this is just another shallow attempt by the press to be funny, the momentum is real, as evidenced by the 10,000 people who showed up to see him in Madison the other day and the thousands who turned out in Iowa…and the three times his visit to Portland, Maine has be moved to larger venues. One of the reasons that I see this happening is that he has ideas to pull the country back from the oligarchy that is running it now and to make the middle class and how they are getting screwed the centerpiece of his campaign. The cool thing is that he truly believes this stuff…and has been consistent throughout his political career on these issues….that is the thing about us on the left, we want talk about issues and their solutions while the right just parrots crap from the Heritage Institute and the Koch brothers….this is a good thing for our side…people are tiring of the tax cuts for the rich nonsense that is the only solution that the right can come up with it…and that doesn’t work…could be a fun year….
July 7th
Well…it was an okay day yesterday and I got a few things done so that was cool….slept okay and feel okay this morning but there was a lot of tossing and turning so there were not a lot of uninterrupted hours in there….it is kind of cool to sit here right now with it being dark and raining and I love the smell of the rain in the morning…as I said yesterday, I found my sunglasses….and I put a new burner in the grill and used it already….only 14 bucks and that is cheaper than replacing the grill…..I’m not as sore this morning and that is a good thing and I think I’ll try to do the day with no ibuprofen….I do need to get some cleaning done since it looks like no bike ride until later..but, I do need to get the workout in here in a few minutes first…just not too motivated right now…just want to “sit and stare at the rain”….if you know that lyric, you ARE a Joe Walsh fan…not much to do today…back to the normal routine of saying I’m going to clean and then not do it…more later…
The Germans are hypocrites….
Well…I know that economics are not a topic that most people will voluntarily read but there is an interesting thing going on in
Europe with the Greek debt “crisis”….and it is the hypocrisy that the Germans are showing in regard to Greece’s debt… as we all know now, austerity does not grow economies and usually hurts them worse when they are in a recession, but that is exactly what the Germans want for Greece…more austerity so they can pay back their debt…but to see the hypocrisy of this action, you only need to look at what happened to Germany in the 50′s, when they were swimming in debt. At that time, economists actually used facts to set policy….not ideology as is being done now. Back then, economists looked at the debt situation that faced Germany and realized that they would destroy their economy if they would have to pay back their massive debt they incurred rebuilding the country…so what did the world do? They basically wiped out the debt that Germany owed and allowed them to become the economic power they are today….so what would be wrong with doing the same thing for Greece? Many, many countries have had their debt forgiven across the years and not one time did it cause a meltdown in the world economy…in fact there was usually some benefits in the removal of the constant crisis and restoration of confidence in the future. That’s what should be done with Greece right now…wipe out their debt and give them a chance to get back to normalcy….geez…
Too weird…
Well…when I was picking berries yesterday, I lost my sunglasses somewhere in the patch….after looking for them for a half hour or so, I just gave up and finished my ride. So, today….I go out and take the bike ride and decide I’ll give it one more shot to try to find them….so, I pull up to the patch and there they are, just sitting in the grass where I must have passed them four or five times…I’m still shaking my head at that one…it was cool to find them but I know I looked where I found them yesterday…weird…
July 6th
Well…it was an okay day yesterday and I did get a few things done…but not enough…I have a bunch of huge spiders in the bathroom and they are going to go today…slept okay last night and feel okay today…I think the coffee is starting to work and I will need that on the bike ride today…I am getting used to not having music on the bike and it is not that bad anymore…I did get a bunch more berries yesterday and I am still splurging on calories with the ice cream since it just tastes good….I am sore today, again, but it is better than yesterday so that is progress…I did get out to see the twins yesterday and that was fun and the mex place has such cheap beer that I should go there all the time…I mean 2 bucks for a 20 oz draft? Even I can afford that…..not much to do today…I may try to repair the grill today since new burners are on sale for 14 bucks at Meijers and the one I looked at this morning looks like it will fit…need to take it apart after the bike ride to make sure….more later…
July 5th
Well….it was an okay day yesterday and I made a little cash so that was cool…woke up sore this morning from the golfing and I hurt in some really strange places that I don’t remember hurting the last time….slept okay last night but feel a little crappy today…have been coughing, too, so I’m not sure what is going on…but, it doesn’t feel like a bug so I guess I’ll just wait and see….I did treat myself to some ice cream with black raspberries that I picked on the ride the other day…kind of a tradition around my birthday and it just tastes so good…I think it’s the first time I’ve had it in over 10 years but I think I can afford the calories for this one time thing….not much to do today…watching the F1 race right now then I’ll get out on the bike…can’t wait for the women’s world cup match tonight….go USA!