All posts by James DeVol

Misc

I just don’t know…

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Well…I have been railing on against the idiocy of the right all week and it has taken a lot out of me…and has taken me dangerously close to the feeling that events in the US have gotten out of hand…that we are sliding back to the bad old days where we citizens don’t mean much when compared to the clout that business and the moneyed interests have. But, I’m not going to turn this one into another screed against this rising tide…we all need to take a break sometimes and this is going to be mine…and talk about some other things that may be uplifting or might not….maybe getting away from the charged rhetoric will help me cleanse my head today, I’ve had the feeling that this might be necessary for a while now; that my heart was just not in it and I was lacking in lucidity…just going through the motions. So, today, I’m just going to ramble a bit and just talk…hoping that something will make me feel better about the world and myself. Who knows?

Hmmm…it is kind of heartening to see the people in some of the Arab countries get to the point where they have said enough, enough of the cronyism and theft by the elites that leave the people with no voice and no institutions that can help them express their desire for freedom…but I do have the fear that the well organized religious zealots will co-opt the popular uprisings and make it worse for them in the short term. We can hope that that won’t happen but unfortunately history is not on the side of the people…I just hope the US comes down on the side of freedom no matter what pain it causes us….

Oh, Sarah Palin…..nope, not going to write anything here….just a reminder that the ban on Sarah takes effect in three days…

Sports….I don’t really think that sports matters in the overall scheme of things…but I do want to say I am so happy that Nick Lidstrom was chosen for one of the captains in the NHL all star game this weekend…a better sports figure has never been seen here in Michigan….well…maybe Al Kaline or Alan Trammel…I feel good that we had these men to watch over the years….and it is so nice to see the unassuming kids we have coming up through the system for the Red Wings….probably one of the reasons I like hockey so much…very few self absorbed idiots…I forgot to talk about the new racing season that is starting tomorrow with the 24 Hours of Daytona…always the kick off of the year and I am looking forward to it..I think…not so much the Nascar season…I am tired of Jimmie Johnson and the lack of innovation that the series shows….way too many rules that make the racing bland and repetitive and it is only getting worse…guys, this is the reason people have stopped coming to the tracks and watching, not the points system…and, while we’re at it…lets get rid of the “Chase” and go back to talking about everyone that is on the track not just the top 12…

Okay…that’s enough isn’t it? I’ll try to get another one out later but I’m not sure if it will be a good idea or not…I’m sitting here listening to Pandora and just want to get out the last book from the bag o books I got from T and escape for a while….

My Life

January 28th

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Well…another day of fighting off the boredom but I was at least a little successful because I had some work to do around here. It was nice to talk to G last night…it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a long conversation and that helped get through the evening. I don’t mean to sound depressed of boring but my life has been kind of boring lately…trying to conserve cash keeps me in a lot and no response to the resumes I’ve put out is starting to effect me more than it has in the past….I still have that little flicker of hope inside though, and I will try to keep it burning as long as I can….did talk to my daughter yesterday and she is becoming a real homeowner…replacing a toilet tank that was cracked yesterday…I think it is pretty cool that there is really nothing she won’t tackle. Not much to do today…going to get a few groceries and then out to read the papers….I don’t think the Pando trip is going to happen since I have not heard from anyone but that may be okay…can save some money and complete the recovery from the flu….I will have topics for later…I may need to get to the lies that the right is propagating about the “failed welfare sates” in Europe….geez…these guys lie about everything…

Misc

The gun thing again…

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Well…with the tragedy in Arizona, I would have thought that we would step back and think about our gun laws; keeping the right to own them, but with some common-sense restrictions that would minimize the danger to the general public. But, what do we see here in Michigan? We have the repubs pushing now to remove all restrictions on where you can carry guns along with making it easier to get a concealed carry permit. Right now here, you can’t carry a gun into a school, bar, or government building…but these guys want these slight restrictions to go away…I for one don’t want to be in a bar with anyone carrying a weapon and when my children were small, I would not have wanted anyone carrying a firearm around them. As you know, I am a firm supporter of the second amendment, but as our society has changed, I feel that gun laws should do the same…why should the rest of us be uncomfortable when a small minority want to show off how tough they are by carrying weapons? Okay, that’s not quite fair….I would trust most of the people that I know that own guns to be responsible in public, but what about mistakes? What about the statistics that say that most people who are harmed by guns in home robberies are hurt by their own guns? I can’t grasp how this group can be so adamant about their 2nd amendment rights, and then think it’s just fine for the government to take away our 4th amendment ones.

I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that common sense says that the more people you expose to dangerous things, the more injuries there will be. Geez…

My Life

January 27th

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Well…It was kind of a boring day yesterday but the flu is finally receding….I think..slept okay last night but no dreams so that’s a little disappointing…no tiny bunnies or flaming clothes or celebrities….but I got a full 8 hours which is weird in itself….It may have been the antihistamines I took to keep my head clear overnight and be able to breathe so I’ll try it again tonight to see if that was it….I’m not even sore at all and it is nice to not have my neck hurt and be able to move it….little things still make me happy…not much to do today…have been trying to get some work done around here but haven’t had much luck..today should be the day to get moving, though, and I am looking forward to it. I am not looking forward to the snow storm we are supposed to get fri night….I haven’t really shifted into survival mode yet but this storm should do it….if you’ve lived in Michigan or anywhere else where there is lake effect snow, you know what I’m talking about…if not, consider yourself lucky…at least I don’t live in Buffalo…more later…

Politics

Manny, Manny, Manny….

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Well….I just don’t get it…don’t these morons on the right think we have memory? Let’s get right to it again…over the past few years, the repubs have repeated, and repeated, and repeated that they think the federal government is too large and intrusive…led by ole Manny Lopez here who has said many times that he thinks it would be better if the state was just left to go it’s own way and to hell with the federal government…and any time that Governor Granholm went to Washington to try to get help for the state, it was a an extension of the welfare state mentality. But, today, in the Detroit News, Manny goes on that it is a wonderful thing that our current governor went to Washington to ask for money for the state going so far as to say that the previous Democratic governor never did that; a statement that is breathtakingly disingenuous. He then goes on to applaud the current governor for going 5 times to business leaders to get their advice, stating that is something that governor Granholm never did. Gee, I wonder why Manny? Could it be because governor Snyder is one of them….and puts their welfare above that of the workers of the state and just rolls over to whatever they want since they bought the election for him? C’mon Manny…at least try to be a journalist….oh, that’s right, you’re not….my mistake…geez…

Misc

January 26th

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Well…probably the worst night’s sleep in a while….have been up and down since about 1:30 and it’s not a good start to the day…so…my energy level is quite low and I guess I’ll have to take it easy for another day..no flu chronicles today but I think I still have some of it…weird, weird dreams last night that had Helen Mirren and John Malkovich in them…they centered on Walmart selling tiny, real bunnies in happy meal containers that they had on racks throughout the store…and no one thought that was a bad thing…I told you that it was weird inside my head…I did win at pool yesterday and that was fun…made a few shots at the right time….not much to do today…have a few errands and some work to do here but I think I’m going to take it easy….I will have a comment on the SOTU and the repub response that has been predictable to say the least…

My Life

January 25th

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Well…a semi crappy night of sleep and I don’t think I’m completely over the flu yet…yeah, I know I said I thought I was yesterday but it was just another one of those teasers that come when you are starting to feel better…and then relapse…kind of disheartening since I needed to feel better today…have lots to do and need some energy to do it with….but, I can throttle back if need be….things may be looking up on the job front…had ten resumes go out yesterday and I am of mixed feelings about that…I know I have to go back to work but it’s intoxicating not working….I am becoming bored as heck, though, so it might be a good thing to find work. Other than Ada…which I’m still not sure about, I do have to run a bunch of errands and get some work done around here…I’ll try to get a topic out later but it is Tuesday, after all…….more later…

My Life

The flu chronicles…the last one…I hope

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Well….got up this morning with an inkling that it might be a good day since I had a couple of cocktails sun night and felt quite a bit better when I got up….still tried to be smart and took it easy other than going out for coffee…just vegged and read on the couch all day…finished a whole book today, it just felt right to have the music on Pandora and watch as the shadows sundialed across my living room….okay, I’m sounding kind of poetic now and you know that’s not me…I had this blast of energy about 5 or so and I have stopped coughing for the most part…even felt good enough to go out and walk a few miles but we’ll see later if that was a good idea….felt good while I was out so that is a good sign….so, this flu was not so bad…it is quickly fading from memory as I feel better and the prospects of a better tomorrow are making me smile a little…

Misc

Aren’t you tired of being held hostage?

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Well…I have been thinking about this one ever since a new governor was elected here in Michigan and one of his first acts was to propose changing the business tax structure to give corporations a huge tax cut carried on the backs of the workers who will be forced to take pay and benefit cuts to pay for them….these cuts for business would worsen our deficit here by 100% and be another huge transfer of wealth from you and I to the rich…again. The reason for these changes, along with the repub bowing to business interests, are the threats by corporations to move out of the state if they don’t get what they paid for when they gave the money to elect repubs to take control of all of Michigan’s government. The same thing is happening in Illinois, when the legislature there voted to raise taxes (from 4.8 to 6 percent) to deal with one of the most severe budget crises that any state faces and businesses have started those same old tired threats….never mind that most corporations have many ways to avoid taxes that you and I don’t…these ungrateful thieves have started to pout and want to take their ball and go home. I say, good riddance….these guys want all of the rights of citizens (that they were granted in the Citizens United decision) but they want nothing to do with the responsibilities. When was the last time you were given free land to build a house or had your taxes eliminated to keep you living where you do? I’ve had enough of the competition to make our workers into third world laborers who can never make enough money to live a middle class life while corporations and their political lapdogs rake in all of the benefits of those labors.

We need to start a new movement where there is a price to pay for selfish corporate behavior…let’s find out who these creeps are and just stop buying from them…it’s been too long that corporations have been able to do whatever they want and hold the rest of us hostage to their whims….it will never stop unless we do….geez….

My Life

January 24th

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Well…another day of feeling crappy yesterday and it is getting really old…not much better this morning so it looks like another day of laying low…neither team that I wanted to win did yesterday….and if the Packers play like they did yesterday, it should be a blowout for the Steelers…but, I don’t really have any interest in it…weird dreams again last night and I can’t figure out why I still have the college dreams about losing my schedule and not being able to find my classes…have that one almost as often as I have the phone/computer dreams where I can’t make the damn things work….yep, it’s scary in my head at times…it would be nice to have a different one sometimes….not much to do today….I do need to get back to getting some exercise so I may get a walk in later….but, maybe not….I’m still sitting here with a fever and I want to get this crap over with….there should be topics for later today….and I need to get a last sister Sarah one out before the ban on her starts next week…