Michael Wolff's FIRE AND FURY: INSIDE THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE (2018) is a hilarious, head-spinning trip for the first 100+ pages. It's a big laugh on practically every page. Unbelievable weirdness inside the Trump campaign and White House that will confirm all your worst fears. Hunter S. Thompson would have loved this part of the book.
After that, it settles down into being merely grim and endless. But I would happily have read more....
FIRE AND FURY follows one man's political journey through the looking glass and into the White House, which turns out to be a place weirder and more stressful than he ever expected. But enough about Steve Bannon.
For politics junkies or Trump-haters, there are some surprises in this book:
* The Trump team never expected to win. They weren't prepared to win. They had no plan if they won. They thought losing would be good enough. Trump's brand -- and daughter Ivanka's -- would gain further recognition, and all the "experts" on their team would get media political-expert jobs.
* At one point on Air Force One, Trump has his inner circle swear not to reveal to anyone why Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with the Russians in Trump Tower -- to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton. Is this obstruction of justice right here? Or merely a conspiracy to cover-up? No wonder the Trump Administration didn't want this book released.
* Former FBI Director James Comey wasn't fired for investigating Trump's ties to Russia. He was fired for looking into the extended Trump family's financial dealings -- including those of Jared Kushner and HIS family. The excuses for Comey's firing were all made-up afterward.
* Trump screamed about leakers in his administration, claiming Comey and others leaked tons of information to the media. This book shows that EVERYONE in the White House leaked -- including Trump. Usually to get back at each other.
* After his bankruptcies, Trump couldn't get any more credit from American banks, so he turned to the Russians for loans for his real-estate dealings. And the Russians had some money-laundering issues they needed some help with. And buying real estate is one of the ways you can launder money....
* The infamous "dossier" on Trump is important because it indicates the Russians might have been trying to blackmail Trump over his sexual ... um ... preferences.
* Despite his proclamations of loyalty to the cause, Trump strategist Steve Bannon wasn't so much loyal to the president -- Trump was just the "package" Bannon "sold" to get into the White House. Though Bannon was later fired, the book closes with him proclaiming that the weirdness in national politics has just begun.
The Trump White House has repeatedly called this book a trashy fantasy filled with inaccuracies -- and I'll bet every time they do, they sell more copies of the book. The reporting seems pretty solid to me -- especially in the early chapters, before the outrage and comedy starts to grind into seriousness.
Wolff claims he perched on a couch in the West Wing for months and took lots of notes. He interviewed on tape more than 200 people, including Trump. He certainly wasn't obligated to write only "nice" things about what he saw and heard. His only obligation was to report what he was witness to, no matter how outrageous it was.
It's too bad that after the first half, the book descends into depicting in-fighting over who is to blame for what disaster and what staffer's head will roll next. Usually it's Trump's fault, because no one can control him. But reading about this gets old.
Basically, the book reads like what might happen if your average dysfunctional family moved into the White House and tried to run the country -- without any previous experience whatsoever. Disasters happen, then multiply, and there is constant in-fighting over who caused it, how to fix it, can it be fixed, who should get stuck with the blame, etc.
Perhaps most annoying is the clear picture that Trump's people had no goals and no plan once he won the election -- and no idea how to implement their ideas once somebody finally decided what they were. One staffer has to go to the Internet to learn how to draft legislation and get it rolling in Congress. That's why there were so many executive orders in the administration's early days. Incompetence is standard in the West Wing.
Vice President Mike Pence and First Lady Melania Trump barely appear in the book. They're probably grateful. Melania starts crying on Election Night when she realizes her private life is over. And it's noted that the First Couple had clearly been arguing before Trump's Inauguration Day speech. Pence's office is mentioned as the one place in the White House where people are nice and things actually seem to get done.
If Wolff had been able to keep up the intense, outrageous, Hunter Thompson-like comedy of the first 100 pages, I would have been happy to read even more of this. But later on the book becomes too much like the grim fiasco we're seeing play out every single day.
You can get the Kindle version of this book from Amazon for half the price of the hardcover. But this is not a commercial.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Politics -- who needs it?
Hey, I'd prefer NOT to be political. But things have gotten too weird.
After years of reporting on local and state politics for small-town newspapers -- which was fun at times -- I pretty much gave up politics when I retired. I didn't even bother voting from 1998 to 2016, because I figured Washington state (being liberal) had my interests covered. Of course, Washington sometimes goes way TOO liberal. In Wyoming, I voted to keep up my end as The Loyal Opposition so the state didn't go too far to the Right.
I wasn't thrilled with Obama. I thought his health-care plan was too damn expensive and the penalties if you didn't join up were ridiculous. I was to the point where I didn't believe a word he said.
But now things are even weirder.
Why is it so hard to come up with an affordable health-care plan that works for everybody, covers everybody, doesn't include outrageous premiums and big penalties -- and doesn't lead to a bunch of men sitting around trying to decide which women's health concerns SHOULDN'T be included in a package of health-care essentials?
Given enough time, the problem could be solved. If everybody involved could stop being so GREEDY and maybe try to do something GOOD for the country. Why is that so hard?
Why are we so judgmental about people we've never met, don't know, can't imagine what their lives are like? When did Americans become so hateful? Any country that would consider separating parents and kids at a border crossing would be OK with putting seniors out on a chunk of ice to fend for themselves, or hauling off anyone we don't like to a prison camp.
I thought we were better than this.
OK, so tighten entries and visas, fine. We're already in charge of that. But have you ever seen a wall people couldn't climb over or find their way around? Did it help the Chinese that much when the Mongols came to visit? People still got out of East Germany.... People are still getting out of North Korea....
Muslim ban? Hmmm. Interesting that Saudi Arabia isn't on that list, when a dozen of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. But it makes a good list for focusing anger -- identify the group, criticize the group, segregate the group, make the group disappear.
And where are YOU from?
Tighten vetting for visas? OK. But I've seen how tough and expensive it can be to get into this country legally, and how long you have to wait. How could we make it tougher for people seeking asylum or just relief and freedom? Do we have to waterboard them to prove their allegiance to the U.S.?
And I am stunned by how many people think that pompous blowhard in the White House is working for THEIR interests. What do you have in common with that vain, self-centered millionaire, "the deal-maker"? Get it into your heads, folks -- he's only working for HIS OWN interests. Unless you're a white guy with lots of money, or a woman he can grab, the Prez has NO USE for you. You're just getting in his way. I'm sure he thanks you for your support. But if you stop supporting him, watch out for the backlash.
I don't see how the Prez supports any Republican agenda. Except maybe for more jobs (?), lower taxes (? we'll see), and keep the strangers out. Oh yes, and let's ID and segregate anyone we don't like, anyone we think is Different. Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims. Women too? LGBTQ?
I'm looking forward to his tax-reform plan, which I'm sure will include big cuts for his corporate cronies. Then who's gonna pay for that $54-billion increase to the military? We are.
Haven't seen much in the way of more jobs. That Carrier AC and heating plant he crowed about is laying people off. And if you think the economy's recovering -- it's a damn slow recovery. It was under Obama, too. Keep saying it will happen and maybe it will...?
I want to hear more about his infrastructure rebuilding plan, too -- it's long overdue. Obama wanted to do the same thing, but of course Congress shot him in the face on that one. You can only do so much by presidential order, without the help of Congress. And right now Congress can't agree that the sun's going to come up tomorrow.
That's about it for now -- except for all you folks who think the new Prez is just great and he's doing exactly what you wanted. Or at least he WOULD be if the Evil Liberal Media would stop giving him such a hard time.
If you think the media is the enemy of the people, who are you gonna turn to when you want to know what's really going on? The Prez? Oh yeah. You're SURE to get the real story there.
To those who support this self-centered money-grubbing moron and his Nazi advisers, you'll still be saying he's your man and it's all for the best when they haul you off in trucks to that relocation camp that's probably in all of our futures. You're all a bunch of Let's Pretenders from straight out of the 1950's, and I wish you'd all shut up and THINK. For at least a minute or two. That's more than you've thought up to now.
Hate mail can be left in the comments section below.
After years of reporting on local and state politics for small-town newspapers -- which was fun at times -- I pretty much gave up politics when I retired. I didn't even bother voting from 1998 to 2016, because I figured Washington state (being liberal) had my interests covered. Of course, Washington sometimes goes way TOO liberal. In Wyoming, I voted to keep up my end as The Loyal Opposition so the state didn't go too far to the Right.
I wasn't thrilled with Obama. I thought his health-care plan was too damn expensive and the penalties if you didn't join up were ridiculous. I was to the point where I didn't believe a word he said.
But now things are even weirder.
Why is it so hard to come up with an affordable health-care plan that works for everybody, covers everybody, doesn't include outrageous premiums and big penalties -- and doesn't lead to a bunch of men sitting around trying to decide which women's health concerns SHOULDN'T be included in a package of health-care essentials?
Given enough time, the problem could be solved. If everybody involved could stop being so GREEDY and maybe try to do something GOOD for the country. Why is that so hard?
Why are we so judgmental about people we've never met, don't know, can't imagine what their lives are like? When did Americans become so hateful? Any country that would consider separating parents and kids at a border crossing would be OK with putting seniors out on a chunk of ice to fend for themselves, or hauling off anyone we don't like to a prison camp.
I thought we were better than this.
OK, so tighten entries and visas, fine. We're already in charge of that. But have you ever seen a wall people couldn't climb over or find their way around? Did it help the Chinese that much when the Mongols came to visit? People still got out of East Germany.... People are still getting out of North Korea....
Muslim ban? Hmmm. Interesting that Saudi Arabia isn't on that list, when a dozen of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. But it makes a good list for focusing anger -- identify the group, criticize the group, segregate the group, make the group disappear.
And where are YOU from?
Tighten vetting for visas? OK. But I've seen how tough and expensive it can be to get into this country legally, and how long you have to wait. How could we make it tougher for people seeking asylum or just relief and freedom? Do we have to waterboard them to prove their allegiance to the U.S.?
And I am stunned by how many people think that pompous blowhard in the White House is working for THEIR interests. What do you have in common with that vain, self-centered millionaire, "the deal-maker"? Get it into your heads, folks -- he's only working for HIS OWN interests. Unless you're a white guy with lots of money, or a woman he can grab, the Prez has NO USE for you. You're just getting in his way. I'm sure he thanks you for your support. But if you stop supporting him, watch out for the backlash.
I don't see how the Prez supports any Republican agenda. Except maybe for more jobs (?), lower taxes (? we'll see), and keep the strangers out. Oh yes, and let's ID and segregate anyone we don't like, anyone we think is Different. Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims. Women too? LGBTQ?
I'm looking forward to his tax-reform plan, which I'm sure will include big cuts for his corporate cronies. Then who's gonna pay for that $54-billion increase to the military? We are.
Haven't seen much in the way of more jobs. That Carrier AC and heating plant he crowed about is laying people off. And if you think the economy's recovering -- it's a damn slow recovery. It was under Obama, too. Keep saying it will happen and maybe it will...?
I want to hear more about his infrastructure rebuilding plan, too -- it's long overdue. Obama wanted to do the same thing, but of course Congress shot him in the face on that one. You can only do so much by presidential order, without the help of Congress. And right now Congress can't agree that the sun's going to come up tomorrow.
That's about it for now -- except for all you folks who think the new Prez is just great and he's doing exactly what you wanted. Or at least he WOULD be if the Evil Liberal Media would stop giving him such a hard time.
If you think the media is the enemy of the people, who are you gonna turn to when you want to know what's really going on? The Prez? Oh yeah. You're SURE to get the real story there.
To those who support this self-centered money-grubbing moron and his Nazi advisers, you'll still be saying he's your man and it's all for the best when they haul you off in trucks to that relocation camp that's probably in all of our futures. You're all a bunch of Let's Pretenders from straight out of the 1950's, and I wish you'd all shut up and THINK. For at least a minute or two. That's more than you've thought up to now.
Hate mail can be left in the comments section below.
Friday, February 17, 2017
This shit has got to stop
The Associated Press reported this morning that the Trump Administration is looking at calling up 100,000 Army National Guardsmen to help round up illegal immigrants. The government is mainly looking at mobilizing Guardsmen in the states along the border with Mexico, but is considering activating units as far north as Oregon.
Why is this the biggest crisis our country has to face right now? Why are illegal immigrants such a huge threat that the President would even consider mobilizing the National Guard?
I don't know.
What about the economy? I thought Trump was going to put thousands of people to work shoring up roads and bridges and updating the country's infrastructure? What happened with that?
Suddenly illegal immigrants are such a big worry that Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams are rounding up and deporting hundreds, if not thousands. And now this suggestion that the rounding-up could become a military operation.
Why?
Maybe it's easier to tell people what they can and can't do than it is to put people to work.
First Trump called out the Muslims. Now it's Hispanics. Why are these groups such a threat?
You realize calling out the National Guard to help fight this "problem" is the next step down the road toward living under a military dictatorship...?
If you can mobilize the National Guard to round up illegal immigrants, you can mobilize them for ANY reason. Not just for a national disaster or some other crisis.
Next they'll be rounding up anybody who doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. Or anybody who's opinion is different from that guy in the White House.
Sure, I'm overreacting. Maybe. But look at history.
First the regime calls out an enemy of the Homeland. Then the regime edges that enemy out of the mainstream. Then the regime rounds up that enemy. Then the regime makes that enemy disappear.
The suggestion that rounding up illegal immigrants needs to be "militarized" in order to handle the problem -- when the Border Patrol is already the largest law-enforcement agency in the country -- would indicate the Trump Administration is looking for a crisis so that the next step toward Martial Law can be taken.
The last thing this country needs in the current climate is a turn toward the military to help handle what is clearly a civilian issue -- one that's going to be argued over in the courts for a long time.
But maybe that guy in the White House -- who's so fond of quick, decisive action -- doesn't want to wait.
Things are getting uglier. If you're not a White person who was born here, or if your opinion differs from that of the ruling regime, it might be time to check your passport, start packing your bags, and consider emigrating to Canada. If troops start carrying out this illegal immigrant roundup, things are going to get a whole lot uglier. Fast.
(UPDATE: The AP is now reporting that this proposal was a Department of Homeland Security document, and that calling up the National Guard was -- according to the Administration -- "never considered." However, the proposal was reportedly discussed by Administration officials as recently as last Friday....)
Why is this the biggest crisis our country has to face right now? Why are illegal immigrants such a huge threat that the President would even consider mobilizing the National Guard?
I don't know.
What about the economy? I thought Trump was going to put thousands of people to work shoring up roads and bridges and updating the country's infrastructure? What happened with that?
Suddenly illegal immigrants are such a big worry that Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams are rounding up and deporting hundreds, if not thousands. And now this suggestion that the rounding-up could become a military operation.
Why?
Maybe it's easier to tell people what they can and can't do than it is to put people to work.
First Trump called out the Muslims. Now it's Hispanics. Why are these groups such a threat?
You realize calling out the National Guard to help fight this "problem" is the next step down the road toward living under a military dictatorship...?
If you can mobilize the National Guard to round up illegal immigrants, you can mobilize them for ANY reason. Not just for a national disaster or some other crisis.
Next they'll be rounding up anybody who doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. Or anybody who's opinion is different from that guy in the White House.
Sure, I'm overreacting. Maybe. But look at history.
First the regime calls out an enemy of the Homeland. Then the regime edges that enemy out of the mainstream. Then the regime rounds up that enemy. Then the regime makes that enemy disappear.
The suggestion that rounding up illegal immigrants needs to be "militarized" in order to handle the problem -- when the Border Patrol is already the largest law-enforcement agency in the country -- would indicate the Trump Administration is looking for a crisis so that the next step toward Martial Law can be taken.
The last thing this country needs in the current climate is a turn toward the military to help handle what is clearly a civilian issue -- one that's going to be argued over in the courts for a long time.
But maybe that guy in the White House -- who's so fond of quick, decisive action -- doesn't want to wait.
Things are getting uglier. If you're not a White person who was born here, or if your opinion differs from that of the ruling regime, it might be time to check your passport, start packing your bags, and consider emigrating to Canada. If troops start carrying out this illegal immigrant roundup, things are going to get a whole lot uglier. Fast.
(UPDATE: The AP is now reporting that this proposal was a Department of Homeland Security document, and that calling up the National Guard was -- according to the Administration -- "never considered." However, the proposal was reportedly discussed by Administration officials as recently as last Friday....)
Friday, January 27, 2017
Trump's biggest fans
I might be better able to handle Donald Trump, more willing to give him time to mess up on his own, if it weren't for some of his followers.
I used to rent a room from one, and I've met several more through my job. I went to a concert with one last fall -- before I realized he was a Trump-backer. Before that I thought he was just a rock and roll fan like me.
Some of these men -- and they're all aging middle- or lower-class white men -- are even more disconnected from Reality than Trump is. And they think he's going to be their savior.
All these men think there's something really wrong with America -- something that's been wrong for years. They look around and see minorities getting breaks they were never offered, getting help they never asked for, getting opportunities these men squandered when they were younger -- and they think that's wrong. They think Trump will help get them all the things they never had or were too lazy to go after. Trump will balance things out, give America back to real Americans.
Trump will make America great again. And put aging white men back in charge.
One of these guys came into work last night, threatening to run over protesters in Seattle if they get in his way when he's over there today. I told him nobody'd get in his way, he didn't need to worry. The only protests were a week ago, after the inauguration.
He said "There are protests every day in Seattle. People are setting fires and damaging businesses -- and the liberal Media LibTards won't cover it."
I called bullshit on this, asked him where he heard this. He said his brother lives in Seattle and sees this rioting happening EVERY DAY.
Now, Seattle-area media's pretty solid -- and I've never met a reporter who WOULDN'T cover a riot if there was one going on close by. So I don't know what to think, except that this guy's deranged. And so's his brother. Of course I could be wrong. And then I started wondering about how much I don't know and never hear....
This guy said he'd already talked to the Seattle Police about his intentions toward LibTard protesters. Well, at least the police know he's coming....
Back before the election, I had another guy come into the store late at night -- in his 60's, heavy, tired, grumpy, probably a little achey. While I was ringing up his purchase, he started announcing: "You know, Donald Trump's gonna make this country great again! He's gonna take us back to when things worked RIGHT! You know, like when kids could pray in schools!"
And I wanted to ask: What year was that? Because I started school in 1965, and we sure weren't praying then. And do you know any schoolkid who'd make a prayer any more complex than "Oh God, please let me pass this test"? Or maybe "God, please don't let me get bullied again today."
I wanted to engage with this guy, but I let it go -- because I could tell by his ANNOUNCING that he was just looking for someone to argue with.
My old roommate and I used to argue for HOURS about the world's problems, and about which political party could best help the country tackle them -- or whether either party made any difference, whether it was too late for ANYONE to rescue the country from its many difficulties.
If my old roommate could have been bothered to vote, he would have voted for Trump -- because Trump was in favor of all the things my roommate went on about: Put women back in their place (at home, in the kitchen), no more breaks for minorities and immigrants, too many people on food stamps, too many slackers getting free food and money when they've done nothing to earn it, women getting money and food stamps just for having kids, none of these slackers ever work, they should all be drug tested, etc. etc. etc.
You have no IDEA how wearying it got hearing this stuff day after day....
The guy who took me to the Tedeschi-Trucks Band concert last September (it was a present, because I notified him they were going to be back in Seattle) seemed like a rock fan just like me -- 10 years older than me, former drummer, played in bands when he was younger, partied heavily, slept around a lot, almost went to Woodstock. A big blues fan. He even still listened to Savoy Brown!
The concert was great -- but on the way home I got a 45-minute lecture about what's wrong with America and how Donald Trump's going to fix it. I didn't see this coming.
This guy was CONVINCED the Black Lives Matter people were going to kick down his door and take his guns away. SOON. And he wasn't going to let that happen -- in fact, he had a loaded pistol right there IN THE TRUCK, just in case someone messed with him.
He was POSITIVE that Trump was going to take us back to the glory days of Ronald Reagan, "back when you could feel proud to be an American." He knew Trump had the answers to all of our problems -- starting with establishing law and order above all, putting the slackers to work, and cutting off the border so those Mexicans stop taking real Americans' jobs.
I tried to be polite -- he'd taken me to the concert, and it would be an awfully long walk home. I didn't want to engage this guy, or offend him. But he kept hammering on that only the Republicans had the answers, and all the answers involved a sharp turn to the Right.
I suggested maybe if large groups of people could sit down and set aside their differences and TALK OVER our problems, maybe we could reach a consensus that would work for everyone....
"We don't have TIME for that!" he shouted. "Don't you know that blacks and Hispanics are already rioting in all the big cities...?"
Oh. I wanted to ask what happened to him -- what changed him. How he'd gone from the partying drummer who wanted to go to Woodstock, to this scared little old man who thought Black Lives Matter was going to break down his front door at any second. But I also didn't want to walk home.
We ended up shaking hands when he dropped me off, and I've only seen him a couple times since. He's had some health problems. The last time I saw him was just after the inauguration. "Trump's picks for Cabinet posts," he told me, "absolute cream of the crop. Best of the best. We are gonna get some work done."
Hey, I think a lot of things are wrong with this country. But I don't think we're going to fix it by putting guys like these in charge. Because they'll only fix it for themselves.
I used to rent a room from one, and I've met several more through my job. I went to a concert with one last fall -- before I realized he was a Trump-backer. Before that I thought he was just a rock and roll fan like me.
Some of these men -- and they're all aging middle- or lower-class white men -- are even more disconnected from Reality than Trump is. And they think he's going to be their savior.
All these men think there's something really wrong with America -- something that's been wrong for years. They look around and see minorities getting breaks they were never offered, getting help they never asked for, getting opportunities these men squandered when they were younger -- and they think that's wrong. They think Trump will help get them all the things they never had or were too lazy to go after. Trump will balance things out, give America back to real Americans.
Trump will make America great again. And put aging white men back in charge.
One of these guys came into work last night, threatening to run over protesters in Seattle if they get in his way when he's over there today. I told him nobody'd get in his way, he didn't need to worry. The only protests were a week ago, after the inauguration.
He said "There are protests every day in Seattle. People are setting fires and damaging businesses -- and the liberal Media LibTards won't cover it."
I called bullshit on this, asked him where he heard this. He said his brother lives in Seattle and sees this rioting happening EVERY DAY.
Now, Seattle-area media's pretty solid -- and I've never met a reporter who WOULDN'T cover a riot if there was one going on close by. So I don't know what to think, except that this guy's deranged. And so's his brother. Of course I could be wrong. And then I started wondering about how much I don't know and never hear....
This guy said he'd already talked to the Seattle Police about his intentions toward LibTard protesters. Well, at least the police know he's coming....
Back before the election, I had another guy come into the store late at night -- in his 60's, heavy, tired, grumpy, probably a little achey. While I was ringing up his purchase, he started announcing: "You know, Donald Trump's gonna make this country great again! He's gonna take us back to when things worked RIGHT! You know, like when kids could pray in schools!"
And I wanted to ask: What year was that? Because I started school in 1965, and we sure weren't praying then. And do you know any schoolkid who'd make a prayer any more complex than "Oh God, please let me pass this test"? Or maybe "God, please don't let me get bullied again today."
I wanted to engage with this guy, but I let it go -- because I could tell by his ANNOUNCING that he was just looking for someone to argue with.
My old roommate and I used to argue for HOURS about the world's problems, and about which political party could best help the country tackle them -- or whether either party made any difference, whether it was too late for ANYONE to rescue the country from its many difficulties.
If my old roommate could have been bothered to vote, he would have voted for Trump -- because Trump was in favor of all the things my roommate went on about: Put women back in their place (at home, in the kitchen), no more breaks for minorities and immigrants, too many people on food stamps, too many slackers getting free food and money when they've done nothing to earn it, women getting money and food stamps just for having kids, none of these slackers ever work, they should all be drug tested, etc. etc. etc.
You have no IDEA how wearying it got hearing this stuff day after day....
The guy who took me to the Tedeschi-Trucks Band concert last September (it was a present, because I notified him they were going to be back in Seattle) seemed like a rock fan just like me -- 10 years older than me, former drummer, played in bands when he was younger, partied heavily, slept around a lot, almost went to Woodstock. A big blues fan. He even still listened to Savoy Brown!
The concert was great -- but on the way home I got a 45-minute lecture about what's wrong with America and how Donald Trump's going to fix it. I didn't see this coming.
This guy was CONVINCED the Black Lives Matter people were going to kick down his door and take his guns away. SOON. And he wasn't going to let that happen -- in fact, he had a loaded pistol right there IN THE TRUCK, just in case someone messed with him.
He was POSITIVE that Trump was going to take us back to the glory days of Ronald Reagan, "back when you could feel proud to be an American." He knew Trump had the answers to all of our problems -- starting with establishing law and order above all, putting the slackers to work, and cutting off the border so those Mexicans stop taking real Americans' jobs.
I tried to be polite -- he'd taken me to the concert, and it would be an awfully long walk home. I didn't want to engage this guy, or offend him. But he kept hammering on that only the Republicans had the answers, and all the answers involved a sharp turn to the Right.
I suggested maybe if large groups of people could sit down and set aside their differences and TALK OVER our problems, maybe we could reach a consensus that would work for everyone....
"We don't have TIME for that!" he shouted. "Don't you know that blacks and Hispanics are already rioting in all the big cities...?"
Oh. I wanted to ask what happened to him -- what changed him. How he'd gone from the partying drummer who wanted to go to Woodstock, to this scared little old man who thought Black Lives Matter was going to break down his front door at any second. But I also didn't want to walk home.
We ended up shaking hands when he dropped me off, and I've only seen him a couple times since. He's had some health problems. The last time I saw him was just after the inauguration. "Trump's picks for Cabinet posts," he told me, "absolute cream of the crop. Best of the best. We are gonna get some work done."
Hey, I think a lot of things are wrong with this country. But I don't think we're going to fix it by putting guys like these in charge. Because they'll only fix it for themselves.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
More new music with no coffee!
OK, so I see that the wall Trump wants to build between us and Mexico could cost U.S. taxpayers $15 billion! You KNOW Mexico isn't going to pay for it. So if this proceeds, we'll have something ELSE in common with the Russians. Remember the Berlin Wall? There's ANOTHER country that spent billions on Protecting The Homeland and building weapons, and comparatively nothing on its people and upgrading its infrastructure.
But who cares about all that political stuff, right? On with the music!
* Gordon Giltrap: Quest, from PERILOUS JOURNEY. Pleasant, lite, bouncy guitar-based progressive-rock instrumentals. Even more than Giltrap's guitars, the star here seems to be Rod Edwards' keyboards. John G. Perry, formerly of Caravan, on bass. All-star Simon Phillips on drums. Pretty and lively. Not real distinctive. Gets mellower and more ... lyrical(?) at the end. Only Giltrap album I've heard much of is THE PEACOCK'S PARTY, which is pretty great -- but I found JOURNEY and VISIONARY dirt-cheap at Half-Price Books in Tacoma, so what the hey....
* Gordon Giltrap: The Deserter, from JOURNEY. This focuses more on Giltrap's guitar, and has a stronger tune. It's also orchestrated. Nice.
* Gordon Giltrap: "Pastoral" and "Marbio Gorge" from JOURNEY. Well, these start off pastoral. Then the instruments kick in, and "Marbio Gorge" almost rocks. Classy soundtrack music. or, as they say in England, "One for the late-night wine-and-cheese-and-good-friends crowd." Nice, though. Different. No wonder he never made it in America.
* Colosseum: Walking in the Park, from THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE SALUTE YOU. Late-'60s/early-'70s jazz-rock keyboards-and-horns jam-band from England. Swinging big-band sound not too far from WATERLOO LILY-era Caravan. production's a bit primitive. They've got the energy, though. Series of brief solos from the two keyboardists, sax, and guitar. Dick Heckstall-Smith's sax stands out most. Least attractive is whoever's doing the singing.
* Colosseum: Valentyne Suite, from THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO.... Ok, we'll see how far I can get into this 15-minute three-part thing. Opening has nice mystical keyboards and lots of energy. This ain't no laid-back New Age stuff. More good sax from Dick Heckstall-Smith. Riffy, with lots of activity -- drums, vibes, that sax, guitar and those double keyboards, all busy doing something. Jon Hiseman's a good drummer, too. They sound way better when no one's singing. Kinda dated organ sound, but I don't care. The organ really takes off in the second part, then the heavy riffing starts. I'm reminded a bit of Caravan's "For Richard." Then Keith Emerson comes in and shows off! Shocking! These guys rock! ... Then a sorta chorale section for contrast, then more riffing. If there's gotta be jazz-rock, it should all sound like this. Then there's a mellower closing section that sounds vaguely like "A Whiter Shade of Pale".... Then a noisy ending with LOTS of sax. Not bad, could grow on me. Probably will, thanks to the heavy riffing.
-- Maggie Roche of The Roches died over the weekend. She was 65. I bought the first Roches album back in '79 -- was convinced as soon as I heard Bob Fripp's guitar in the middle of the gorgeous "Hammond Song," which Maggie wrote. Fripp's guitar was what sold me, but it's the luminous vocal harmonies that mean the most to me now. Maggie also wrote a couple other highlights on that album -- "Quitting Time" and "The Married Men." Linda Ronstadt and Pheobe Snow teamed up to sing "Married Men" on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE around the same time. Only other Roches album I heard much of was NURDS, which was pretty loopy. No suprise they never got really famous. But "Hammond Song" is amazing -- you should try to track it down.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Get Your Rocks Off, from GET YOUR ROCKS OFF. Bob Dylan wrote this heavy riffer with the crude lyrics? Shocking. Sure it helped him win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nice guitar from Mick Rogers.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Buddah, from ROCKS. Dreamy verses, heavy choruses, then it gets spacey in the midsection and manfred shows off a little. What did I expect? Nice keyboard sounds. Gains momentum in the middle as it goes. OK, but somehow I expected more.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Pretty Good, from ROCKS. This is a John Prine song. Nice guitar work, and a catchy chorus. Manfred messes around just a little in the middle, but overall pretty straight-forward for these guys. And the chorus'll grow on ya.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Messin', from ROCKS. They sure were heavier when Mick Rogers was around. This has an ecology theme, sort of a mantra for choruses. Ten minutes of this? Time for lunch! ... The midsection starts spacey, then leads into a long Mick Rogers guitar freakout, which is worth hearing. Doubt if anybody got the ecology message -- they were probly too busy gettin' off on the heavy sounds, man.
* Argent: Lothlorien, from RING OF HANDS. Though not as great as their mantra-like "Dance in the Smoke," this has lots of excellent show-offy keyboard, and the vocals are nice. Melodic, too. I still think these guys are underrated.
* Argent: Cast Your Spell Uranus, from RING OF HANDS. Uh, er, um, hang on. I might've spoken too soon. This is just silly. Both the song and the lyrics are worthy of Klaatu. More nice keybs from Rod Argent, though.
* Argent: Celebration. More nice keyboards from Rod Argent, and a catchy chorus.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: Love Station, from their only album. Gimmicky sci-fi disco, with Ben E. King on vocals as intergalactic DJ Romeo Jones. Some nice playing, but the album package and concept is more entertaining than the music.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: A Planet Called Monday. OK, a low-rent Alan Parsons Project. Not terrible, but pretty light.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: Approach. Synergy's Larry Fast on keyboards and mellotron, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Cosmic enough, I guess. A real oddity. Recommended to 55-year-old STAR WARS fans.
* John Tropea: The Funk You See is the Funk You Do!, from SHORT TRIP TO SPACE. More sci-fi disco, tho way funkier. Tropea's a jazz guitarist, played on Deodato's hit "2001," among many other sessions. Starts out sounding a little like Earth, Wind and Fire, then gets lighter. Nice guitar solo. Too bad about the singing. "Can't Hide Love," which follows, was an EWF track first, and sounds just like them, I recognized it right off ... so what's the point?
* John Tropea: Short Trip to Space. This is more like it. Spacey, but bouncy, so it moves and doesn't get boring. Nice keyboards by Don Grolnick, good trumpet solo from Mike Brecker, and Tropea ain't slouchin' around either. OK background music. Yes, I admit I bought this album because of the outer-space cover....
But who cares about all that political stuff, right? On with the music!
* Gordon Giltrap: Quest, from PERILOUS JOURNEY. Pleasant, lite, bouncy guitar-based progressive-rock instrumentals. Even more than Giltrap's guitars, the star here seems to be Rod Edwards' keyboards. John G. Perry, formerly of Caravan, on bass. All-star Simon Phillips on drums. Pretty and lively. Not real distinctive. Gets mellower and more ... lyrical(?) at the end. Only Giltrap album I've heard much of is THE PEACOCK'S PARTY, which is pretty great -- but I found JOURNEY and VISIONARY dirt-cheap at Half-Price Books in Tacoma, so what the hey....
* Gordon Giltrap: The Deserter, from JOURNEY. This focuses more on Giltrap's guitar, and has a stronger tune. It's also orchestrated. Nice.
* Gordon Giltrap: "Pastoral" and "Marbio Gorge" from JOURNEY. Well, these start off pastoral. Then the instruments kick in, and "Marbio Gorge" almost rocks. Classy soundtrack music. or, as they say in England, "One for the late-night wine-and-cheese-and-good-friends crowd." Nice, though. Different. No wonder he never made it in America.
* Colosseum: Walking in the Park, from THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE SALUTE YOU. Late-'60s/early-'70s jazz-rock keyboards-and-horns jam-band from England. Swinging big-band sound not too far from WATERLOO LILY-era Caravan. production's a bit primitive. They've got the energy, though. Series of brief solos from the two keyboardists, sax, and guitar. Dick Heckstall-Smith's sax stands out most. Least attractive is whoever's doing the singing.
* Colosseum: Valentyne Suite, from THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO.... Ok, we'll see how far I can get into this 15-minute three-part thing. Opening has nice mystical keyboards and lots of energy. This ain't no laid-back New Age stuff. More good sax from Dick Heckstall-Smith. Riffy, with lots of activity -- drums, vibes, that sax, guitar and those double keyboards, all busy doing something. Jon Hiseman's a good drummer, too. They sound way better when no one's singing. Kinda dated organ sound, but I don't care. The organ really takes off in the second part, then the heavy riffing starts. I'm reminded a bit of Caravan's "For Richard." Then Keith Emerson comes in and shows off! Shocking! These guys rock! ... Then a sorta chorale section for contrast, then more riffing. If there's gotta be jazz-rock, it should all sound like this. Then there's a mellower closing section that sounds vaguely like "A Whiter Shade of Pale".... Then a noisy ending with LOTS of sax. Not bad, could grow on me. Probably will, thanks to the heavy riffing.
-- Maggie Roche of The Roches died over the weekend. She was 65. I bought the first Roches album back in '79 -- was convinced as soon as I heard Bob Fripp's guitar in the middle of the gorgeous "Hammond Song," which Maggie wrote. Fripp's guitar was what sold me, but it's the luminous vocal harmonies that mean the most to me now. Maggie also wrote a couple other highlights on that album -- "Quitting Time" and "The Married Men." Linda Ronstadt and Pheobe Snow teamed up to sing "Married Men" on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE around the same time. Only other Roches album I heard much of was NURDS, which was pretty loopy. No suprise they never got really famous. But "Hammond Song" is amazing -- you should try to track it down.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Get Your Rocks Off, from GET YOUR ROCKS OFF. Bob Dylan wrote this heavy riffer with the crude lyrics? Shocking. Sure it helped him win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nice guitar from Mick Rogers.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Buddah, from ROCKS. Dreamy verses, heavy choruses, then it gets spacey in the midsection and manfred shows off a little. What did I expect? Nice keyboard sounds. Gains momentum in the middle as it goes. OK, but somehow I expected more.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Pretty Good, from ROCKS. This is a John Prine song. Nice guitar work, and a catchy chorus. Manfred messes around just a little in the middle, but overall pretty straight-forward for these guys. And the chorus'll grow on ya.
* Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Messin', from ROCKS. They sure were heavier when Mick Rogers was around. This has an ecology theme, sort of a mantra for choruses. Ten minutes of this? Time for lunch! ... The midsection starts spacey, then leads into a long Mick Rogers guitar freakout, which is worth hearing. Doubt if anybody got the ecology message -- they were probly too busy gettin' off on the heavy sounds, man.
* Argent: Lothlorien, from RING OF HANDS. Though not as great as their mantra-like "Dance in the Smoke," this has lots of excellent show-offy keyboard, and the vocals are nice. Melodic, too. I still think these guys are underrated.
* Argent: Cast Your Spell Uranus, from RING OF HANDS. Uh, er, um, hang on. I might've spoken too soon. This is just silly. Both the song and the lyrics are worthy of Klaatu. More nice keybs from Rod Argent, though.
* Argent: Celebration. More nice keyboards from Rod Argent, and a catchy chorus.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: Love Station, from their only album. Gimmicky sci-fi disco, with Ben E. King on vocals as intergalactic DJ Romeo Jones. Some nice playing, but the album package and concept is more entertaining than the music.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: A Planet Called Monday. OK, a low-rent Alan Parsons Project. Not terrible, but pretty light.
* Intergalactic Touring Band: Approach. Synergy's Larry Fast on keyboards and mellotron, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Cosmic enough, I guess. A real oddity. Recommended to 55-year-old STAR WARS fans.
* John Tropea: The Funk You See is the Funk You Do!, from SHORT TRIP TO SPACE. More sci-fi disco, tho way funkier. Tropea's a jazz guitarist, played on Deodato's hit "2001," among many other sessions. Starts out sounding a little like Earth, Wind and Fire, then gets lighter. Nice guitar solo. Too bad about the singing. "Can't Hide Love," which follows, was an EWF track first, and sounds just like them, I recognized it right off ... so what's the point?
* John Tropea: Short Trip to Space. This is more like it. Spacey, but bouncy, so it moves and doesn't get boring. Nice keyboards by Don Grolnick, good trumpet solo from Mike Brecker, and Tropea ain't slouchin' around either. OK background music. Yes, I admit I bought this album because of the outer-space cover....
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Truth ... or bullshit?
It can't be easy these days to be a White House reporter. It's hard enough to do the job when you work in a small town. But at the top level the pressure must be so much more intense -- either you get The Story or you could lose your job.
It must be even harder when the people you're trying to get your story from are clearly nuts.
It's one thing when the new President refuses to let a reporter ask a question and calls the reporter's news agency "fake news." It's another when the President's press secretary admonishes the media for pointing out that the crowd at the new President's inauguration was noticeably smaller than the attendance at the previous President's inauguration.
Now the new administration is trying to place a gag order on federal agencies. Staffers for the Environmental Protection Agency have been told not to express their opinions on social media -- possibly because the EPA's facing a shake-out under the new administration. Today, researchers for the Department of Agriculture were told to stop issuing news releases about any studies they're working on. A senior official with the Secret Service may face some sort of punishment for allegedly saying on Facebook that she wouldn't be willing to take a bullet for Donald Trump.
Awww, did my OPINION hurt the President's feelings?
Couldn't have. I'm not convinced that he HAS any feelings.
Here's the thing that bugs me most about our new President:
He lies. Almost every day.
He overstates. He makes claims that he knows aren't true. Constantly.
And he seems to expect that we're so dumb, or so involved with our own lives, or have such limited attention spans, that we either won't REMEMBER the facts he's distorting or we won't be bothered enough to go track them down.
Like when he said he won the election by the biggest margin in history. Just for an example.
Like when he compared the CIA releasing information -- on a dossier of compromising behavior the Russians apparently compiled about him -- to something the Nazis might have done. And then a few days later he denied that he'd said it. Apparently there's never been a rift between Trump and the intelligence agencies. That was something the media cooked up.
That media. Man, those guys are a pain in the ass.
So here's what we'll do. Anytime we don't like a question the media asks, we'll call them out as fake news. We won't take their questions. We'll have them thrown out of the press conference.
The other reporters will get the message quick. Either they play nice ... or they lose access to the White House. They won't be able to do their jobs. THAT'll shut them up. Either they'll publish the news we want ... or they'll have no news at all.
THAT'll keep 'em in line.
Cut off the media, dumb down the public, and keep that rock rolling downhill. And pretty soon we'll be getting all our "news" from the Ministry of Information.
In Newspeak.
To keep us all from thinking Unthinkable Thoughts.
That would be Double-Plus-Ungood.
I didn't vote for Trump. I voted for Hillary. I wasn't thrilled about it. But that's water under the bridge. So's the election. Hillary lost in the wrong states. Apparently.
But we've got bigger fish to fry now.
I was -- maybe until tonight -- still leaning 60/40 toward giving Trump a chance, seeing what he was going to do, seeing if he could maybe grow into the job, giving him time to mess up on his own.
I didn't watch the inauguration, but I read Trump's speech later, and heard parts of it on the radio while I was working. I read the media's analysis of the speech the same day, and was kind of shocked. Actually, I thought some of the media kind of went apeshit crazy.
Chris Matthews of MSNBC compared the speech to something Hitler might have said. George F. Will -- who's been covering politics for places like TIME Magazine for more than 40 years -- called it the worst inauguration speech in American history.
The speech was pretty short. And Trump used some fairly dark imagery in it. But he used that imagery to illustrate where he thinks America is RIGHT NOW -- NOT where he wants to take it.
I thought.
I didn't think his speech was that bad. But it wasn't an obvious attempt to unite the American people, or even to encourage us to pull together for the good of the country.
He could have done better. He could have made an appeal to the people who voted against him. He could maybe have shown he's not as bad as some people think, that people have no reason to worry. But he didn't even try.
He blew another chance at the Women's March on Washington a couple days ago. He could have embraced that huge, concerned audience. He could have said "I see you, I hear you -- and I'm with you."
But he was mending fences with the CIA at the time.
Now I read that Trump may order that border wall -- you know, the one Mexico's going to pay for -- to start construction on Wednesday. And you know who's going to pay for it -- we are.
That wall will be built for NO REASON. It will be built as a symbol. To keep illegal immigrants out so they won't take our jobs? How many of you Out There have lost your job to someone from somewhere else? Most jobs being done by immigrants are jobs Americans are either educationally unqualified for ... or jobs Americans refuse to do for less than $15 an hour. ...And by the way, where are YOU from?
Faced again with an administration that clearly feels the media is The Enemy, just like Nixon did, I hope the media will get tough, stand up for each other, hold Trump's feet to the fire, hold him accountable for everything he says. So far they've done OK. We need them to keep doing it.
It shouldn't be hard to hold him accountable. He'll say something stupid again tomorrow. Or there will be some fresh new outrage that he'll try to twist and spin to suit his own purposes.
As for me, I'd still like to see him grow into the job. Don't we all hope for the best for our country? I'm still willing to give him a chance.
But if -- no, WHEN -- he REALLY messes up, then I'll be jumping on him, just like the reporter I used to be.
It must be even harder when the people you're trying to get your story from are clearly nuts.
It's one thing when the new President refuses to let a reporter ask a question and calls the reporter's news agency "fake news." It's another when the President's press secretary admonishes the media for pointing out that the crowd at the new President's inauguration was noticeably smaller than the attendance at the previous President's inauguration.
Now the new administration is trying to place a gag order on federal agencies. Staffers for the Environmental Protection Agency have been told not to express their opinions on social media -- possibly because the EPA's facing a shake-out under the new administration. Today, researchers for the Department of Agriculture were told to stop issuing news releases about any studies they're working on. A senior official with the Secret Service may face some sort of punishment for allegedly saying on Facebook that she wouldn't be willing to take a bullet for Donald Trump.
Awww, did my OPINION hurt the President's feelings?
Couldn't have. I'm not convinced that he HAS any feelings.
Here's the thing that bugs me most about our new President:
He lies. Almost every day.
He overstates. He makes claims that he knows aren't true. Constantly.
And he seems to expect that we're so dumb, or so involved with our own lives, or have such limited attention spans, that we either won't REMEMBER the facts he's distorting or we won't be bothered enough to go track them down.
Like when he said he won the election by the biggest margin in history. Just for an example.
Like when he compared the CIA releasing information -- on a dossier of compromising behavior the Russians apparently compiled about him -- to something the Nazis might have done. And then a few days later he denied that he'd said it. Apparently there's never been a rift between Trump and the intelligence agencies. That was something the media cooked up.
That media. Man, those guys are a pain in the ass.
So here's what we'll do. Anytime we don't like a question the media asks, we'll call them out as fake news. We won't take their questions. We'll have them thrown out of the press conference.
The other reporters will get the message quick. Either they play nice ... or they lose access to the White House. They won't be able to do their jobs. THAT'll shut them up. Either they'll publish the news we want ... or they'll have no news at all.
THAT'll keep 'em in line.
Cut off the media, dumb down the public, and keep that rock rolling downhill. And pretty soon we'll be getting all our "news" from the Ministry of Information.
In Newspeak.
To keep us all from thinking Unthinkable Thoughts.
That would be Double-Plus-Ungood.
I didn't vote for Trump. I voted for Hillary. I wasn't thrilled about it. But that's water under the bridge. So's the election. Hillary lost in the wrong states. Apparently.
But we've got bigger fish to fry now.
I was -- maybe until tonight -- still leaning 60/40 toward giving Trump a chance, seeing what he was going to do, seeing if he could maybe grow into the job, giving him time to mess up on his own.
I didn't watch the inauguration, but I read Trump's speech later, and heard parts of it on the radio while I was working. I read the media's analysis of the speech the same day, and was kind of shocked. Actually, I thought some of the media kind of went apeshit crazy.
Chris Matthews of MSNBC compared the speech to something Hitler might have said. George F. Will -- who's been covering politics for places like TIME Magazine for more than 40 years -- called it the worst inauguration speech in American history.
The speech was pretty short. And Trump used some fairly dark imagery in it. But he used that imagery to illustrate where he thinks America is RIGHT NOW -- NOT where he wants to take it.
I thought.
I didn't think his speech was that bad. But it wasn't an obvious attempt to unite the American people, or even to encourage us to pull together for the good of the country.
He could have done better. He could have made an appeal to the people who voted against him. He could maybe have shown he's not as bad as some people think, that people have no reason to worry. But he didn't even try.
He blew another chance at the Women's March on Washington a couple days ago. He could have embraced that huge, concerned audience. He could have said "I see you, I hear you -- and I'm with you."
But he was mending fences with the CIA at the time.
Now I read that Trump may order that border wall -- you know, the one Mexico's going to pay for -- to start construction on Wednesday. And you know who's going to pay for it -- we are.
That wall will be built for NO REASON. It will be built as a symbol. To keep illegal immigrants out so they won't take our jobs? How many of you Out There have lost your job to someone from somewhere else? Most jobs being done by immigrants are jobs Americans are either educationally unqualified for ... or jobs Americans refuse to do for less than $15 an hour. ...And by the way, where are YOU from?
Faced again with an administration that clearly feels the media is The Enemy, just like Nixon did, I hope the media will get tough, stand up for each other, hold Trump's feet to the fire, hold him accountable for everything he says. So far they've done OK. We need them to keep doing it.
It shouldn't be hard to hold him accountable. He'll say something stupid again tomorrow. Or there will be some fresh new outrage that he'll try to twist and spin to suit his own purposes.
As for me, I'd still like to see him grow into the job. Don't we all hope for the best for our country? I'm still willing to give him a chance.
But if -- no, WHEN -- he REALLY messes up, then I'll be jumping on him, just like the reporter I used to be.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Dum and dummer (?)
Isn't this the dumbest presidential election campaign ever? Aren't you sick to death of it already? Isn't it even more boring than the Summer Olympics? And there's still three months to go!
Why do we always have to vote NO?!
Donald Trump will say ANYTHING to stir up trouble or get a response, or just to get 30 seconds on TV. That was fine during the primaries, when I think he was just trying to liven things up and get people talking. But now he's out of control and half the Republican Party wants to dump him.
You can't believe a word Hillary Clinton says, either. You can't trust her. She's a little distant. She's not the warmest woman of all time. No wonder Bill went looking elsewhere.
Neither of these candidates has any real solid plans for the future -- beyond getting themselves a paying job for the next four (or eight) years. They make claims, but they have no detailed plans on how to create jobs, cut taxes, help the homeless, keep the country safe, etc. They have absolutely NO plans on how to get Congress to work with whoever's in the Oval Office to help get the U.S. out of the complex mess it's in.
Both say things that are exactly what their core audience wants to hear. And they get cheers for that. From voters whose minds are already made up. But for the rest of us who are undecided, it just gets worse. Bernie, come back. Even though I wasn't sure about you. At least you'd be another choice. And who else is on the ballot?
LATEST FIASCOS: A couple days ago, Trump claimed Barack Obama was "the founder of ISIS," and he wasn't joking. At least one talk-show host thought Trump was speaking metaphorically -- that through Obama's actions in the Middle East, the Prez indirectly supported the climate that's allowed ISIS to spread.
Trump didn't want to be taken metaphorically. He wasn't joking. But NOW that his comments have taken some heat, he claims he was being "sarcastic." This on top of his recent comments that gun-owners could "take care of" Hillary Clinton's campaign....
Meanwhile, Hillary released her tax returns and dared Trump to do so. Her latest tax return shows Bill and Hillary are among the top one-tenth of one percent of American wage-earners, and that they gave more than $1 million to charity.
However, there are now claims that Hillary's health has been failing over the past couple years, and she and her campaign won't address those concerns.
Maybe we should have presidential candidates release their tax records AND their medical records, so we can make sure they're healthy enough to hold public office.... But not TOO healthy, of course....
BIASES: I don't think Hillary Clinton is the warmest, friendliest, nicest person in the world. She's a little grumpy. Her coldness puts me off. And I think she's just as impulsive as Trump. She says Trump's too negative -- but she's not very positive. I don't doubt that she wants what's best for the U.S., but I don't BELIEVE what she says.
Neither of these folks has any reason to claim the other "isn't qualified" or is "too temperamental" to be president. Neither are qualified -- or at least neither act "presidential." Both are temperamental.
Donald Trump sounds more and more like Barry Goldwater in 1964: We're gonna make America great again. We're gonna build a wall around America. We're gonna bomb everybody we don't like. We're gonna cut taxes. We're gonna create jobs. Anybody who wants our military protection is gonna have to pay for it up-front. We're gonna immediately throw out of the country anybody we don't like. Welcome back to 1955, Donald.
With these kinds of choices, who's left? And is this the best we can do?
Did you know more than 1,800 people have filed to run for president? Some of them are just jokes, like Han Solo, "Super Reagan" (Communist Party), "Some Lice" (Republican), or the non-partisan Coffee And Donuts.
I miss Carly Fiorina. I liked her anger. She seemed to really care -- which is more than I can say for Hillary and Donald. There was some passion there.
From the long list of other candidates, how about Jill Stein of the Green Party? At least she wants to rebuild the nation's infrastructure and make sure everybody has a job. Those are good places to start.
I don't know the solution to all this. Maybe I'm as dumb as the candidates. But I know that I'm tired of voting NO.
Ah well, football season's just around the corner....
Why do we always have to vote NO?!
Donald Trump will say ANYTHING to stir up trouble or get a response, or just to get 30 seconds on TV. That was fine during the primaries, when I think he was just trying to liven things up and get people talking. But now he's out of control and half the Republican Party wants to dump him.
You can't believe a word Hillary Clinton says, either. You can't trust her. She's a little distant. She's not the warmest woman of all time. No wonder Bill went looking elsewhere.
Neither of these candidates has any real solid plans for the future -- beyond getting themselves a paying job for the next four (or eight) years. They make claims, but they have no detailed plans on how to create jobs, cut taxes, help the homeless, keep the country safe, etc. They have absolutely NO plans on how to get Congress to work with whoever's in the Oval Office to help get the U.S. out of the complex mess it's in.
Both say things that are exactly what their core audience wants to hear. And they get cheers for that. From voters whose minds are already made up. But for the rest of us who are undecided, it just gets worse. Bernie, come back. Even though I wasn't sure about you. At least you'd be another choice. And who else is on the ballot?
LATEST FIASCOS: A couple days ago, Trump claimed Barack Obama was "the founder of ISIS," and he wasn't joking. At least one talk-show host thought Trump was speaking metaphorically -- that through Obama's actions in the Middle East, the Prez indirectly supported the climate that's allowed ISIS to spread.
Trump didn't want to be taken metaphorically. He wasn't joking. But NOW that his comments have taken some heat, he claims he was being "sarcastic." This on top of his recent comments that gun-owners could "take care of" Hillary Clinton's campaign....
Meanwhile, Hillary released her tax returns and dared Trump to do so. Her latest tax return shows Bill and Hillary are among the top one-tenth of one percent of American wage-earners, and that they gave more than $1 million to charity.
However, there are now claims that Hillary's health has been failing over the past couple years, and she and her campaign won't address those concerns.
Maybe we should have presidential candidates release their tax records AND their medical records, so we can make sure they're healthy enough to hold public office.... But not TOO healthy, of course....
BIASES: I don't think Hillary Clinton is the warmest, friendliest, nicest person in the world. She's a little grumpy. Her coldness puts me off. And I think she's just as impulsive as Trump. She says Trump's too negative -- but she's not very positive. I don't doubt that she wants what's best for the U.S., but I don't BELIEVE what she says.
Neither of these folks has any reason to claim the other "isn't qualified" or is "too temperamental" to be president. Neither are qualified -- or at least neither act "presidential." Both are temperamental.
Donald Trump sounds more and more like Barry Goldwater in 1964: We're gonna make America great again. We're gonna build a wall around America. We're gonna bomb everybody we don't like. We're gonna cut taxes. We're gonna create jobs. Anybody who wants our military protection is gonna have to pay for it up-front. We're gonna immediately throw out of the country anybody we don't like. Welcome back to 1955, Donald.
With these kinds of choices, who's left? And is this the best we can do?
Did you know more than 1,800 people have filed to run for president? Some of them are just jokes, like Han Solo, "Super Reagan" (Communist Party), "Some Lice" (Republican), or the non-partisan Coffee And Donuts.
I miss Carly Fiorina. I liked her anger. She seemed to really care -- which is more than I can say for Hillary and Donald. There was some passion there.
From the long list of other candidates, how about Jill Stein of the Green Party? At least she wants to rebuild the nation's infrastructure and make sure everybody has a job. Those are good places to start.
I don't know the solution to all this. Maybe I'm as dumb as the candidates. But I know that I'm tired of voting NO.
Ah well, football season's just around the corner....
Saturday, July 30, 2016
The Gas Nazi returns!
Back at work for two weeks and am due for another vacation already. Some nights have been a breeze, a couple have sucked. Thursday night was the worst in months. And I don't think it was just me having a Bad Night.
It's summer, and it's been krayzee-busy. Unhappy families hanging out barking at each other, parents buying beer but angrily refusing to buy cheap snacks for their kids, guys on bicycles circling around the parking lot aimlessly at midnight with no headlights, meth freaks wandering around like zombies. Some of them LOOK like zombies.
One obnoxious Regular who played scratch-tickets down to his last dime last winter came in all sad to tell me that his girlfriend had slept with his brother AND his best friend. "But NOT at the same time," he felt compelled to add. Meanwhile, his anorexic 18-year-old girlfriend stood right outside the store's front door, looking more lost than he did.
What did this guy want from me? He's not my friend, he's not even a friendly acquaintance. He'd already blown any chance of getting a supportive or compassionate response from me when he treated me like an idiot months ago. I didn't need to be told this stuff. And now I'm supposed to feel sorry for him?
My favorite drunk came in at two minutes to midnight to cash-in $35 worth of scratch-tickets, and I about came unglued. Because we've talked repeatedly about this before, about how I'm trying to close, scratch tickets are locked up, she's causing me more work and overtime I won't get paid for, etc. Made no difference.
"Why won't you take my tickets? You've still got three minutes," etc. So I cashed her out. But next time I'll send her somewhere else. The state shuts off scratch-ticket cash-outs at midnight. We'll see how she feels about that.
This is on top of all the usual work, all the stuff I get no help with, all the stocking and cleaning nobody else does that I can't keep up with, etc. And it wasn't THAT busy a night. We barely made $1,000. There've been many much-busier nights. But something about it really set me off. And I was lost by the time I got home. What if it's ME?
Despite this, despite the demands, despite the constant WANT-WANT-WANT and the crabiness when we didn't HAVE, I wasn't mean to anybody all night, I didn't yell at anyone, I didn't say any mean things. I held it together. Even with the drunk at midnight, though she wondered aloud why I was having such a hard time. That was because I wanted to wring her neck. By then I was Done.
My girlfriend says if I ever want to feel settled about my job, all I can do is change my mind and learn to live with it, because the situation's never gonna change. You'd think after 12 years on the job I'd KNOW that, but....
In light of this, I have come up with a list of goals to help me succeed and be happier at my job. Because of all the bitching I've done here about work, I know you'll appreciate me sharing them:
1. Don't WORRY.
2. Get through my shift and get home safely.
3. Don't upset customers.
4. Be nice to people.
5. Get all my side-work done.
6. No more negative talking to myself or customers.
7. Don't give my co-workers a hard time.
8. Stop judging people.
9. Be positive.
10. Enjoy myself, have fun, play!
11. Save money, win the Lottery, RETIRE!
My girlfriend says these are all do-able goals. Maybe not realistic, but do-able. I'll keep you posted....
When's my break?
MOVING: It's in the works. I'm already forwarding my mail here, to the girlfriend's house, where it's quiet and secure and Not Weird and I have some peace and time to think. Still haven't told the old Roommate yet, but he seems to know it's coming -- since I haven't slept under his roof in 2 months. Nor has he given me an update on the idiots who stole $800 from him. So far, all my stuff is secure, no weirdness with my bank account or any more attempts to mess with my credit. I may have dodged one. And I hope those jokers get sent up the creek. Meanwhile, all of my CD's and most of my clothes are here, books are being brought over a box or two at a time, and the girlfriend and I have found domestic bliss like I never thought I'd feel again. At least one part of my life is wonderful.
INVASION: It's the Russians! Over the last few weeks, this blog has set new records for viewership, with 75 percent of those visits coming from Russia. What are they looking for? There's nothing here. I'm not getting 400 views from Russia each day just because they're such big Nektar fans, I know that. And they're "reading" stuff I posted five years ago. Are these the same hackers who got into Hillary Clinton's e-mails and hacked the Democratic National Committee? Good Luck, guys. But there's nothing useful to you here....
THE ELECTION FROM HELL: I don't believe a word Hillary Clinton says. And some of Donald Trump's statements at the Republican Convention sounded like Hitler. Or at least Barry Goldwater back in 1964. Neither of these idiots really seem to believe they can rescue this country -- they just say what their audience wants to hear. They have NO SOLID PLANS for the future. If Bernie Sanders came out today as a third-party candidate millions would vote for him. The system is so fucked-up I doubt it matters WHO is President. Don't know what to do, but I've got my tickets to New Zealand reserved. Is this the best this country can do? Once again I suggest we JUST VOTE NO.
It's summer, and it's been krayzee-busy. Unhappy families hanging out barking at each other, parents buying beer but angrily refusing to buy cheap snacks for their kids, guys on bicycles circling around the parking lot aimlessly at midnight with no headlights, meth freaks wandering around like zombies. Some of them LOOK like zombies.
One obnoxious Regular who played scratch-tickets down to his last dime last winter came in all sad to tell me that his girlfriend had slept with his brother AND his best friend. "But NOT at the same time," he felt compelled to add. Meanwhile, his anorexic 18-year-old girlfriend stood right outside the store's front door, looking more lost than he did.
What did this guy want from me? He's not my friend, he's not even a friendly acquaintance. He'd already blown any chance of getting a supportive or compassionate response from me when he treated me like an idiot months ago. I didn't need to be told this stuff. And now I'm supposed to feel sorry for him?
My favorite drunk came in at two minutes to midnight to cash-in $35 worth of scratch-tickets, and I about came unglued. Because we've talked repeatedly about this before, about how I'm trying to close, scratch tickets are locked up, she's causing me more work and overtime I won't get paid for, etc. Made no difference.
"Why won't you take my tickets? You've still got three minutes," etc. So I cashed her out. But next time I'll send her somewhere else. The state shuts off scratch-ticket cash-outs at midnight. We'll see how she feels about that.
This is on top of all the usual work, all the stuff I get no help with, all the stocking and cleaning nobody else does that I can't keep up with, etc. And it wasn't THAT busy a night. We barely made $1,000. There've been many much-busier nights. But something about it really set me off. And I was lost by the time I got home. What if it's ME?
Despite this, despite the demands, despite the constant WANT-WANT-WANT and the crabiness when we didn't HAVE, I wasn't mean to anybody all night, I didn't yell at anyone, I didn't say any mean things. I held it together. Even with the drunk at midnight, though she wondered aloud why I was having such a hard time. That was because I wanted to wring her neck. By then I was Done.
My girlfriend says if I ever want to feel settled about my job, all I can do is change my mind and learn to live with it, because the situation's never gonna change. You'd think after 12 years on the job I'd KNOW that, but....
In light of this, I have come up with a list of goals to help me succeed and be happier at my job. Because of all the bitching I've done here about work, I know you'll appreciate me sharing them:
1. Don't WORRY.
2. Get through my shift and get home safely.
3. Don't upset customers.
4. Be nice to people.
5. Get all my side-work done.
6. No more negative talking to myself or customers.
7. Don't give my co-workers a hard time.
8. Stop judging people.
9. Be positive.
10. Enjoy myself, have fun, play!
11. Save money, win the Lottery, RETIRE!
My girlfriend says these are all do-able goals. Maybe not realistic, but do-able. I'll keep you posted....
When's my break?
MOVING: It's in the works. I'm already forwarding my mail here, to the girlfriend's house, where it's quiet and secure and Not Weird and I have some peace and time to think. Still haven't told the old Roommate yet, but he seems to know it's coming -- since I haven't slept under his roof in 2 months. Nor has he given me an update on the idiots who stole $800 from him. So far, all my stuff is secure, no weirdness with my bank account or any more attempts to mess with my credit. I may have dodged one. And I hope those jokers get sent up the creek. Meanwhile, all of my CD's and most of my clothes are here, books are being brought over a box or two at a time, and the girlfriend and I have found domestic bliss like I never thought I'd feel again. At least one part of my life is wonderful.
INVASION: It's the Russians! Over the last few weeks, this blog has set new records for viewership, with 75 percent of those visits coming from Russia. What are they looking for? There's nothing here. I'm not getting 400 views from Russia each day just because they're such big Nektar fans, I know that. And they're "reading" stuff I posted five years ago. Are these the same hackers who got into Hillary Clinton's e-mails and hacked the Democratic National Committee? Good Luck, guys. But there's nothing useful to you here....
THE ELECTION FROM HELL: I don't believe a word Hillary Clinton says. And some of Donald Trump's statements at the Republican Convention sounded like Hitler. Or at least Barry Goldwater back in 1964. Neither of these idiots really seem to believe they can rescue this country -- they just say what their audience wants to hear. They have NO SOLID PLANS for the future. If Bernie Sanders came out today as a third-party candidate millions would vote for him. The system is so fucked-up I doubt it matters WHO is President. Don't know what to do, but I've got my tickets to New Zealand reserved. Is this the best this country can do? Once again I suggest we JUST VOTE NO.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
#752: Are we wasting the Internet?
So, how did this amazing technological marvel the Internet become an overloaded storehouse of "Check out this too-cute pic of my kid/my grandkid/my dog/my cat/my hairdresser"? When did it turn from this fabulous, formless outpouring of the power of the Freedom Of Speech into just another chance to Sell You Something 24/7?
My God, some people even use it to post music and book reviews....
When did it all get so stupid and pointless? When did it get all filled up with YouTube videos of people doing Really Stupid Stuff, meaningless celebrity tweets, and of course porn? (Oh, THAT's been there from the beginning....)
Why aren't we using it to complain about all the things that bug us? I mean really BITCH about how rotten so much of life seems to be today?
Maybe because we know no one would ever comment or respond? Because the Net's supposed to be an escape from all that boring, meaningless, bad shit? Because the last thing we want in the privacy of our own homes is someone getting in our face about how bad everything is?
The Net's been used to complain and protest elsewhere. During the Arab Spring, apparently the demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square used Twitter to stay up-to-date on what was happening during all-night protests -- maybe so they wouldn't be shot or hauled away by the Egyptian Army.
I'm sure there must be other examples. My understanding is that Twitter's relied on more now as a source for breaking news than for anything else.
Maybe if we weren't mostly so fat and comfortable here in America, we could find something more useful to do with the Internet. Like take out our frustrations with the way things are -- get them out there, talk 'em over, kick 'em around. Sure beats picking up a gun and shooting people until someone finally LISTENS, right?
Maybe something good could happen. There are a LOT of things that strike me as wrong, these days. Not that I have much to complain about -- I've got a job, and I'm typing on a laptop some people could never afford, so why should I complain?
But look around.
*NO JOBS -- How many million Americans are STILL out of work? Why? When Obama introduces a Jobs Bill in Congress, and even HIS OWN PARTY tells him "Mr. President, this ain't gonna fly," well WTF? The Feds did work programs during the Great Depression and World War II that put millions of people back to work building roads and bridges and dams -- why not repair all the infrastructure nationwide that's falling apart? Why is this so hard to get going? Is it just because the president can only do so much without the support of Congress?
*TAXES -- Good Lord. Be grateful you're not in Washington state, where the gas tax is at least 52 cents a gallon, the alcohol tax is something like 28 percent (I don't drink), and the tax on each pack of cigarettes is THREE BUCKS. And they're talking about raising it another dollar. (I don't smoke, either.) And all the money's supposed to go to roads and schools. There's no evidence the tax money's going there at all.
*HEALTH CARE -- Despite the "Affordable Care Act," health care in this country is still only for those who can afford it. Don't kid yourself. And the health-care-insurance providers are probably still thanking Obama for sending them millions of new customers.
*OBAMA -- Speaking of which, does anyone believe a word he says anymore?
*SURVEILLANCE -- Of course some of your taxes are being used so your government can keep track of everything you say on your cellphone or do on the Internet 24/7. Not to mention those surveillance cameras and drones everywhere. Which means this blog will probably be shut down tomorrow. Nice talkin' to 'ya. If George Orwell (1984, look it up) could have seen 2014, he would have shit his pants.
*THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE -- It's already happened. Two-thirds of the people who walk into my store every day are zombies, folks you can't get a word out of, who stare straight ahead and hardly ever say anything. Give 'em their gas and their smokes and their beer, and they're on their way. Wonder what they're so scared of? And what are they like at home?
*MOVIES -- Have you noticed practically every "big" movie that comes out these days is some over-the-top science-fiction/fantasy/war movie or action flick that has absolutely no connection to the real world? It's as if moviemakers don't WANT you to think about reality, ever. It's just too horrible. Movies always were about escaping reality for a couple hours, but.... Most movies set in the real world these days die a quick death. And you'll be able to get 'em all on Blu-Ray and DVD in a couple months anyway, so....
*MUSIC -- Jesus Christ I'm BORED. I've heard a couple interesting new bands since the turn of the year, thanks to SOUND OPINIONS, but most music on the radio these days bores me shitless. How did it ever GET this bad? Or am I just too freakin' old?
*RUDENESS -- Why is everyone in such a goddamned HURRY? And what the hell are they so ANGRY about?
*IDIOTS SHOOTING PEOPLE -- Why don't they just shoot THEMSELVES FIRST and save everybody some grief?
*GLOBAL WARMING -- Is it or isn't it? Step outside....
*MONEY -- Supposedly Seattle's on the cutting-edge of the push for a $15 per hour minimum wage. Yeah, Seattle's expensive, but there are lots of other places you could live. I don't think Economics is based on the idea that all you have to do to get the wage you want is keep demanding it until Management caves in.
I'm looking forward to my pay raise to $15 an hour -- that means an increase of about $1,200 per month for me, before taxes. I could use it. But I ain't holding my breath for it.
And you? What's pissing you off lately? Would love to hear some informed responses to this....
My God, some people even use it to post music and book reviews....
When did it all get so stupid and pointless? When did it get all filled up with YouTube videos of people doing Really Stupid Stuff, meaningless celebrity tweets, and of course porn? (Oh, THAT's been there from the beginning....)
Why aren't we using it to complain about all the things that bug us? I mean really BITCH about how rotten so much of life seems to be today?
Maybe because we know no one would ever comment or respond? Because the Net's supposed to be an escape from all that boring, meaningless, bad shit? Because the last thing we want in the privacy of our own homes is someone getting in our face about how bad everything is?
The Net's been used to complain and protest elsewhere. During the Arab Spring, apparently the demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square used Twitter to stay up-to-date on what was happening during all-night protests -- maybe so they wouldn't be shot or hauled away by the Egyptian Army.
I'm sure there must be other examples. My understanding is that Twitter's relied on more now as a source for breaking news than for anything else.
Maybe if we weren't mostly so fat and comfortable here in America, we could find something more useful to do with the Internet. Like take out our frustrations with the way things are -- get them out there, talk 'em over, kick 'em around. Sure beats picking up a gun and shooting people until someone finally LISTENS, right?
Maybe something good could happen. There are a LOT of things that strike me as wrong, these days. Not that I have much to complain about -- I've got a job, and I'm typing on a laptop some people could never afford, so why should I complain?
But look around.
*NO JOBS -- How many million Americans are STILL out of work? Why? When Obama introduces a Jobs Bill in Congress, and even HIS OWN PARTY tells him "Mr. President, this ain't gonna fly," well WTF? The Feds did work programs during the Great Depression and World War II that put millions of people back to work building roads and bridges and dams -- why not repair all the infrastructure nationwide that's falling apart? Why is this so hard to get going? Is it just because the president can only do so much without the support of Congress?
*TAXES -- Good Lord. Be grateful you're not in Washington state, where the gas tax is at least 52 cents a gallon, the alcohol tax is something like 28 percent (I don't drink), and the tax on each pack of cigarettes is THREE BUCKS. And they're talking about raising it another dollar. (I don't smoke, either.) And all the money's supposed to go to roads and schools. There's no evidence the tax money's going there at all.
*HEALTH CARE -- Despite the "Affordable Care Act," health care in this country is still only for those who can afford it. Don't kid yourself. And the health-care-insurance providers are probably still thanking Obama for sending them millions of new customers.
*OBAMA -- Speaking of which, does anyone believe a word he says anymore?
*SURVEILLANCE -- Of course some of your taxes are being used so your government can keep track of everything you say on your cellphone or do on the Internet 24/7. Not to mention those surveillance cameras and drones everywhere. Which means this blog will probably be shut down tomorrow. Nice talkin' to 'ya. If George Orwell (1984, look it up) could have seen 2014, he would have shit his pants.
*THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE -- It's already happened. Two-thirds of the people who walk into my store every day are zombies, folks you can't get a word out of, who stare straight ahead and hardly ever say anything. Give 'em their gas and their smokes and their beer, and they're on their way. Wonder what they're so scared of? And what are they like at home?
*MOVIES -- Have you noticed practically every "big" movie that comes out these days is some over-the-top science-fiction/fantasy/war movie or action flick that has absolutely no connection to the real world? It's as if moviemakers don't WANT you to think about reality, ever. It's just too horrible. Movies always were about escaping reality for a couple hours, but.... Most movies set in the real world these days die a quick death. And you'll be able to get 'em all on Blu-Ray and DVD in a couple months anyway, so....
*MUSIC -- Jesus Christ I'm BORED. I've heard a couple interesting new bands since the turn of the year, thanks to SOUND OPINIONS, but most music on the radio these days bores me shitless. How did it ever GET this bad? Or am I just too freakin' old?
*RUDENESS -- Why is everyone in such a goddamned HURRY? And what the hell are they so ANGRY about?
*IDIOTS SHOOTING PEOPLE -- Why don't they just shoot THEMSELVES FIRST and save everybody some grief?
*GLOBAL WARMING -- Is it or isn't it? Step outside....
*MONEY -- Supposedly Seattle's on the cutting-edge of the push for a $15 per hour minimum wage. Yeah, Seattle's expensive, but there are lots of other places you could live. I don't think Economics is based on the idea that all you have to do to get the wage you want is keep demanding it until Management caves in.
I'm looking forward to my pay raise to $15 an hour -- that means an increase of about $1,200 per month for me, before taxes. I could use it. But I ain't holding my breath for it.
And you? What's pissing you off lately? Would love to hear some informed responses to this....
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
#725: WTF?
Just went on Washington state's health-care-finder website and learned that with my current income I can be medically covered with a massive deductible for "only" $161 A MONTH. And that's AFTER my $300 income-tax credit. Hails of hysterical laughter: Hahahahaha....
WTF? I don't have the money. They can bloody well fine me. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I couldn't afford $161 a month for medical care. God, do they think we're all MADE of money?
What the hell is wrong with this country? How does this plan benefit anybody? I'm broke, but there are millions of people WAY worse off than me -- how are they gonna manage? Or is my problem that I'm just not broke ENOUGH?!
Where's that free health care I thought some of us were supposed to qualify for? Do I have to be living in my car and eating dirt before I can "afford" to see a doctor? Did I miss something?
Good thing I'm currently in pretty good health. I'm overdue for a SERIOUS trip to the dentist, but otherwise I don't feel TOO bad. So if I start having health problems, my plans remain the same -- to throw myself upon the mercy of the Veterans' Administration, who assured me a few years ago that even though I only served 10 years in the military, chances are I DO qualify for VA benefits.
I'm holding on to that right now, because clearly Obamacare is a farce. This is not what he wanted. This is not what ANY of us wanted.
I remember writing about this stuff a few years back, when I went to see a doctor for a 50-year physical/check-up ... and it ended up costing me something like $270. But at least I got to talk to someone.
This is not about being able to keep my current doctor, because I don't have one. This is about being able to afford to see ANY doctor. EVER.
And meanwhile, Obamacare in its current perverted form is sending MILLIONS of new customers to the insurance companies -- open season, lambs to the slaughter -- under penalty of fines or losing their future income-tax refunds.
Well, the federal government can kiss my big fat disease-free behind. If I pay $161 a month for health care, how am I supposed to pay for anything else? Oh, I know -- just give up my car, give up my room, live under a bridge, stop eating?
I'm just getting by as it is, and I know there are millions more who are way worse off.
What a friggin joke. And meanwhile the insurance companies pile up the money. I see LOTS of people on the road these days who can't even afford to renew the license-plates and registration on their cars. How the hell are they gonna afford THIS?
We all went into the wrong business. We should've gone into insurance. Or banking. Or government.
Anybody out there wanna DEBATE this?
WTF? I don't have the money. They can bloody well fine me. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I couldn't afford $161 a month for medical care. God, do they think we're all MADE of money?
What the hell is wrong with this country? How does this plan benefit anybody? I'm broke, but there are millions of people WAY worse off than me -- how are they gonna manage? Or is my problem that I'm just not broke ENOUGH?!
Where's that free health care I thought some of us were supposed to qualify for? Do I have to be living in my car and eating dirt before I can "afford" to see a doctor? Did I miss something?
Good thing I'm currently in pretty good health. I'm overdue for a SERIOUS trip to the dentist, but otherwise I don't feel TOO bad. So if I start having health problems, my plans remain the same -- to throw myself upon the mercy of the Veterans' Administration, who assured me a few years ago that even though I only served 10 years in the military, chances are I DO qualify for VA benefits.
I'm holding on to that right now, because clearly Obamacare is a farce. This is not what he wanted. This is not what ANY of us wanted.
I remember writing about this stuff a few years back, when I went to see a doctor for a 50-year physical/check-up ... and it ended up costing me something like $270. But at least I got to talk to someone.
This is not about being able to keep my current doctor, because I don't have one. This is about being able to afford to see ANY doctor. EVER.
And meanwhile, Obamacare in its current perverted form is sending MILLIONS of new customers to the insurance companies -- open season, lambs to the slaughter -- under penalty of fines or losing their future income-tax refunds.
Well, the federal government can kiss my big fat disease-free behind. If I pay $161 a month for health care, how am I supposed to pay for anything else? Oh, I know -- just give up my car, give up my room, live under a bridge, stop eating?
I'm just getting by as it is, and I know there are millions more who are way worse off.
What a friggin joke. And meanwhile the insurance companies pile up the money. I see LOTS of people on the road these days who can't even afford to renew the license-plates and registration on their cars. How the hell are they gonna afford THIS?
We all went into the wrong business. We should've gone into insurance. Or banking. Or government.
Anybody out there wanna DEBATE this?
Saturday, February 23, 2013
#636: Look Through Any Window
Privacy issues have taken up a lot of Seattle-area TV-newstime & newspaper space recently, some pretty intresting stories:
The Seattle Police Department has backed away from a plan to deploy unmanned police drones around the city, following lotsa public outcry & Mayor Mike McGinn's subsequent order 2 drop the plan.
But the city has also installed a number of surveillance cameras around Elliott Bay, allegedly to keep the Port Of Seattle safe from terrorists. The cameras are scheduled to be switched-on within the next 6 weeks. & tho the cameras R intended 2 B pointed at the bay, it seems they can also be used 2 conduct surveillance on ordinary people going thru their daily routines along the waterfront.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed some concern about the federally-funded drones & cameras -- asking why the SPD would consider putting up drones without getting public input about the plan 1st, & about why the city would potentially B conducting surveillance on people who R doing nothing wrong....
Paranoia?
It's true that the port/ferry/cruise-ship-docking area adjacent 2 downtown Seattle is basically wide open. & it's true that a terrorist was caught & convicted of trying 2 smuggle explosives thru the nearby Port Angeles US port-of-entry a few years back.
But is there a perceived threat to the Port Of Seattle?
Or is this just a chance 2 put the latest technology 2 use 2 surveil the public 4 no really good reason?
Maybe I've been listening-2 2 much late-nite talk radio recently, but concerns about privacy issues & the government R popping up more&more often lately.
& sometimes it gets pretty close 2 home.
When I'm at home, looking 4 wi-fi signals I can catch a ride on so I can post silly stuff here, 1 of the wi-fi systems I'm NOT allowed on2 (because it's secured) is registered 2 "Surveillance Van 004." Not sure where that van is, but with the World's Smallest Laptop's abilities, I havta assume that van is parked somewhere within a coupla blocks of my house.
Not sure why anybody would B doing surveilling in the outskirts of a town as small as Port Orchard -- unless they're watching out 4 drug deals ... & there's no evidence of that.
But apparently somebody's out there....
Paranoia?
Would you like having a drone hovering over your backyard while you're busy doin' nothin', breaking no laws, just being yourself?
How about a camera?
...Be Seeing You!
The Seattle Police Department has backed away from a plan to deploy unmanned police drones around the city, following lotsa public outcry & Mayor Mike McGinn's subsequent order 2 drop the plan.
But the city has also installed a number of surveillance cameras around Elliott Bay, allegedly to keep the Port Of Seattle safe from terrorists. The cameras are scheduled to be switched-on within the next 6 weeks. & tho the cameras R intended 2 B pointed at the bay, it seems they can also be used 2 conduct surveillance on ordinary people going thru their daily routines along the waterfront.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed some concern about the federally-funded drones & cameras -- asking why the SPD would consider putting up drones without getting public input about the plan 1st, & about why the city would potentially B conducting surveillance on people who R doing nothing wrong....
Paranoia?
It's true that the port/ferry/cruise-ship-docking area adjacent 2 downtown Seattle is basically wide open. & it's true that a terrorist was caught & convicted of trying 2 smuggle explosives thru the nearby Port Angeles US port-of-entry a few years back.
But is there a perceived threat to the Port Of Seattle?
Or is this just a chance 2 put the latest technology 2 use 2 surveil the public 4 no really good reason?
Maybe I've been listening-2 2 much late-nite talk radio recently, but concerns about privacy issues & the government R popping up more&more often lately.
& sometimes it gets pretty close 2 home.
When I'm at home, looking 4 wi-fi signals I can catch a ride on so I can post silly stuff here, 1 of the wi-fi systems I'm NOT allowed on2 (because it's secured) is registered 2 "Surveillance Van 004." Not sure where that van is, but with the World's Smallest Laptop's abilities, I havta assume that van is parked somewhere within a coupla blocks of my house.
Not sure why anybody would B doing surveilling in the outskirts of a town as small as Port Orchard -- unless they're watching out 4 drug deals ... & there's no evidence of that.
But apparently somebody's out there....
Paranoia?
Would you like having a drone hovering over your backyard while you're busy doin' nothin', breaking no laws, just being yourself?
How about a camera?
...Be Seeing You!
Monday, November 5, 2012
#602: On becoming a news junkie
Before I became a reporter, I pretty-much hated the news. Never read it, watched it or listened to it. Had no real use for "current events." Closest I got to reading a newspaper was skimming thru some long non-fiction piece in ROLLING STONE.
But somewhere along the way I got hooked on the work of journalists like Hunter S. Thompson, John McPhee, Tim Cahill. & when I got to Journalism School, I hoped that -- if I had 1/2 the writing talent I THOT I had -- maybe I could figure-out some lighter, more personal, funnier approach to writing 4 newspapers.
"Personality features" were always my favorite assignments at J-school. Something where you could loosen the rules a little bit, let some of your subject's personality in -- have some FUN with the writing. Wasn't until YEARS later that I realized you could do the same thing with sportswriting -- practically ALL the time....
On my good days, when I could write some real-life comedy (33 Thanksgiving turkeys delivered to a local resident due to a computer glitch -- she donated them to the Senior Center; old couple gives up growing a lawn & replaces it with multi-colored carpets -- causing car wrecks in front of their house), I thot I DID contribute something new & unique 2 the newspapers I worked 4. It was a joy 2 share a laugh with readers on the front page. & every fun story was like a gift from God -- most of them practically wrote themselves. They were almost effortless.
I couldn't see why EVERY reporter didn't do them.
They were also a great break from the usual grind of car wrecks, murders, trials, council meetings, DWI arrests, drug busts & political stupidity that is the avg reporter's daily diet. Journalism is a great career 4 a young person with lotsa energy & no social life. If you're a little older, with a Significant Other & a family, the job will eat you up. Because it never stops.
I don't look at newspapers much anymore, because most of them just make me want to know MORE. Or I wonder why the reporter doesn't journey much past the just-the-facts approach. Why so few reporters seem 2 do the daily job with much STYLE. They may be accurate, but they aren't that much fun 2 read.
I DO read local newspaper COLUMNISTS. The FUNNY 1's. & I wish there were MORE....
I have a little more fun with TV news, tho it can B frustrating 2. I gave up on most TV political coverage months ago -- the way the national media were more intrested in Herman Cain's Women Problems or Rick Perry's Senior Moments than they were in Xplaining Romney's plan to save the country. Besides, I'm pretty-much sick of the prez election & grateful that by this time Tues nite our long national nightmare will be over. Or perhaps it will be just beginning....
In addition 2 being great waking-up TV, I'd agree that nothing unites us like the national news-media in times of crisis -- Hurricane Sandy (Proof that there's No God: The Atlantic City Boardwalk is destroyed, but Snooki's house is OK), Katrina, 9/11, the Challenger explosion, etc. I just wish they worked up 2 their potential more often.
On the night before Election Day, you may know where Obama & Romney stand on some of the issues, but do you know what their plans 4 the future are? Do they have any clear, substantial, detailed plans for saving this country?
I don't think turning the clock back 2 1980 is a vision 4 the future. But clearly there R millions of people who wouldn't mind going back there. Or who didn't learn anything the 1st time around.
My news addiction has even gotten in the way at work. I haven't been playing much music lately. (Still recovering from the batch of strange CDs Crabby sent me awhile back -- Cromagnon's CAVE ROCK may have scarred me 4 life....) I'll get back 2 it, of course -- but mainly over the past week or so I've been listening 2 Seattle's news-radio station, KOMO. Tho they have a definite format they repeat each hour, the great thing about the news is that it CHANGES -- unlike the playlists at all the local rock stations.
Have listened 2 a little music that's grabbed me, tho -- Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," Beatles' "A Day in the Life," Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me," Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks," Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" & "I Want You," Cat Power's "He War" & "Speak for Me," part of a track off the new Neil Young album, "Walk Like a Giant" (which sounds a little like the return of "Like a Hurricane") -- & some great trax by classic late-'60s psychedelic band Love: "Alone Again Or," "Maybe the People Should Be the Times," "You Set the Scene," "Your Mind and We Belong Together."
These last replayed while reading Andrew Hultkrans's book-length look at Love's 1967 cult-classic album FOREVER CHANGES -- not sure I buy all Hultkrans' claims 4 what influenced Love-leader Arthur Lee 2 write the songs 4 FOREVER CHANGES, but the album turned out a mostly-gorgeous period piece anyway, a great forgotten companion 2 SGT. PEPPER and PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (and DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED). Should have a review of the book posted soon....
But somewhere along the way I got hooked on the work of journalists like Hunter S. Thompson, John McPhee, Tim Cahill. & when I got to Journalism School, I hoped that -- if I had 1/2 the writing talent I THOT I had -- maybe I could figure-out some lighter, more personal, funnier approach to writing 4 newspapers.
"Personality features" were always my favorite assignments at J-school. Something where you could loosen the rules a little bit, let some of your subject's personality in -- have some FUN with the writing. Wasn't until YEARS later that I realized you could do the same thing with sportswriting -- practically ALL the time....
On my good days, when I could write some real-life comedy (33 Thanksgiving turkeys delivered to a local resident due to a computer glitch -- she donated them to the Senior Center; old couple gives up growing a lawn & replaces it with multi-colored carpets -- causing car wrecks in front of their house), I thot I DID contribute something new & unique 2 the newspapers I worked 4. It was a joy 2 share a laugh with readers on the front page. & every fun story was like a gift from God -- most of them practically wrote themselves. They were almost effortless.
I couldn't see why EVERY reporter didn't do them.
They were also a great break from the usual grind of car wrecks, murders, trials, council meetings, DWI arrests, drug busts & political stupidity that is the avg reporter's daily diet. Journalism is a great career 4 a young person with lotsa energy & no social life. If you're a little older, with a Significant Other & a family, the job will eat you up. Because it never stops.
I don't look at newspapers much anymore, because most of them just make me want to know MORE. Or I wonder why the reporter doesn't journey much past the just-the-facts approach. Why so few reporters seem 2 do the daily job with much STYLE. They may be accurate, but they aren't that much fun 2 read.
I DO read local newspaper COLUMNISTS. The FUNNY 1's. & I wish there were MORE....
I have a little more fun with TV news, tho it can B frustrating 2. I gave up on most TV political coverage months ago -- the way the national media were more intrested in Herman Cain's Women Problems or Rick Perry's Senior Moments than they were in Xplaining Romney's plan to save the country. Besides, I'm pretty-much sick of the prez election & grateful that by this time Tues nite our long national nightmare will be over. Or perhaps it will be just beginning....
In addition 2 being great waking-up TV, I'd agree that nothing unites us like the national news-media in times of crisis -- Hurricane Sandy (Proof that there's No God: The Atlantic City Boardwalk is destroyed, but Snooki's house is OK), Katrina, 9/11, the Challenger explosion, etc. I just wish they worked up 2 their potential more often.
On the night before Election Day, you may know where Obama & Romney stand on some of the issues, but do you know what their plans 4 the future are? Do they have any clear, substantial, detailed plans for saving this country?
I don't think turning the clock back 2 1980 is a vision 4 the future. But clearly there R millions of people who wouldn't mind going back there. Or who didn't learn anything the 1st time around.
My news addiction has even gotten in the way at work. I haven't been playing much music lately. (Still recovering from the batch of strange CDs Crabby sent me awhile back -- Cromagnon's CAVE ROCK may have scarred me 4 life....) I'll get back 2 it, of course -- but mainly over the past week or so I've been listening 2 Seattle's news-radio station, KOMO. Tho they have a definite format they repeat each hour, the great thing about the news is that it CHANGES -- unlike the playlists at all the local rock stations.
Have listened 2 a little music that's grabbed me, tho -- Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," Beatles' "A Day in the Life," Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me," Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks," Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" & "I Want You," Cat Power's "He War" & "Speak for Me," part of a track off the new Neil Young album, "Walk Like a Giant" (which sounds a little like the return of "Like a Hurricane") -- & some great trax by classic late-'60s psychedelic band Love: "Alone Again Or," "Maybe the People Should Be the Times," "You Set the Scene," "Your Mind and We Belong Together."
These last replayed while reading Andrew Hultkrans's book-length look at Love's 1967 cult-classic album FOREVER CHANGES -- not sure I buy all Hultkrans' claims 4 what influenced Love-leader Arthur Lee 2 write the songs 4 FOREVER CHANGES, but the album turned out a mostly-gorgeous period piece anyway, a great forgotten companion 2 SGT. PEPPER and PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (and DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED). Should have a review of the book posted soon....
Friday, March 16, 2012
#536: Things haven't changed much....
Checked-in over the last coupla days with an old friend, a book I hadn't re-read since 1983. & it showed me that no matter how high-tech we R now, TV news hasn't changed much.
I 1st read Michael Arlen's LIVING ROOM WAR (1969/1982) in journalism school, when I was researching how the media covers the military 4 a "term paper" I hadta write. Arlen's book shows clearly that TV news never got much of a handle on the Vietnam war, & we still don't really know What The Hell Happened. Maybe somehow we didn't WANT 2 know, cos we keep making the same kinds of mistakes in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Michael Herr's Vietnam-era psychedelic/autobiographical masterpiece DISPATCHES was my other research book -- I'll probly B re-reading it next.)
Arlen points out that TV news is VERY good on details. Where they mess up is the overview -- showing what all the little pieces added-2gether MEAN. TV news is still messing up in that area.
When I 1st read the book, mosta the political stuff went right over my head. This time around, I noticed Arlen's amusing look at "media consultants" (who have bn advising politicians about TV at least since the Kennedy/Nixon debates in 1960), which brot him 2 the conclusion that with the help of these high-tech advisers, "even someone like a movie actor could be elected president."
Hahahahaha. Pretty funny, right? & this is B4 Arlen even MENTIONS then-Calif Gov Ronald Reagan....
I know what you're thinking. This book sounds awfully dated. & it is, a bit. But just substitute current names 4 those Arlen uses, & the critiques still work.
Bsides, as Arlen points out, as the use of TV consultants grew, presidential candidates worried more & more about creating an "image" that voters could latch onto, something like a "real person" they could relate 2.
& as a result, Issues were talked about less & less.
& of course this is still happening.
When was the last time your favorite news outlet talked about Issues surrounding the current presidential campaign?
When was the last time you heard CNN talk about how the Republican presidential candidates plan 2 put 14 million unemployed Americans back 2 work?
It's bn MONTHS.
CNN & other daily news organizations R more locked-in2 who won the latest primary, & which candidate said something stupid this week.
Have you seen or heard NE news broadcast discuss the economy or jobs in-depth in terms of the presidential race lately? Have you heard them outline Mitt Romney's jobs plan? Or Rick Santorum's? Or Newt Gingrich's?
No. & do you know why? Because -- at least 4 the purposes of TV news -- they don't HAVE any plans. Look 'em up. I did. It's just rhetoric. The only thing all 3 agree on is tax cuts 4 the rich, under the assumption that the Xtra $$$ will create new jobs. Tho there's nothing in the current economic climate 2 guarantee that'll happen.
& if the rich corporation-owners Dcide 2 keep their Xtra tax $$$, then what?
Obama's no better. Even when he comes up with a jobs proposal, his own party in Congress stonewalls him.
As long as Congress remains a joke, it doesn't matter WHO's president. Nothing's going 2 change much. Americans should stop Xpecting their president 2 somehow "save" them or rescue them -- that sorta feeling was what got Obama elected in the 1st place. & tho I thot he had some good ideas, none of them have come thru in the way he'd hoped. The only thing left is his rather good speech-making abilities....
I would LOVE 2 C CNN or some other network sit down with the candidates & talk IN DETAIL about their plans 4 the future -- apart from winning whatever the next primary-state is. Talk about fixing the economy, putting people back 2 work, fixing Social Security & Medicare, keeping gas & food prices down, making it so people don't havta squeeze every dollar til it screams.
But TV news doesn't do that -- it's 2 busy focusing on Herman Cain's women problems, or Rick Perry's senior moment, or Mitt Romney's inability 2 connect with 1/2 of his own party.
& we all lose. TV news should take the chance 2 B BORING in order 2 do the public good. If the upcoming presidential election really is that important -- & 14 million unemployed people should make it the most important election we've had in awhile -- our media owes it 2 us 2 get us as well-informed as possible. Not just 2 discuss 4 days who's most likely 2 win Ohio....
...Oh, Arlen's book? It's the best, most detailed, most passionate, sometimes most angry book of TV criticism since Harlan Ellison's THE GLASS TEAT. There's even some laffs in it.
There's even a Romney in this book....
I 1st read Michael Arlen's LIVING ROOM WAR (1969/1982) in journalism school, when I was researching how the media covers the military 4 a "term paper" I hadta write. Arlen's book shows clearly that TV news never got much of a handle on the Vietnam war, & we still don't really know What The Hell Happened. Maybe somehow we didn't WANT 2 know, cos we keep making the same kinds of mistakes in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Michael Herr's Vietnam-era psychedelic/autobiographical masterpiece DISPATCHES was my other research book -- I'll probly B re-reading it next.)
Arlen points out that TV news is VERY good on details. Where they mess up is the overview -- showing what all the little pieces added-2gether MEAN. TV news is still messing up in that area.
When I 1st read the book, mosta the political stuff went right over my head. This time around, I noticed Arlen's amusing look at "media consultants" (who have bn advising politicians about TV at least since the Kennedy/Nixon debates in 1960), which brot him 2 the conclusion that with the help of these high-tech advisers, "even someone like a movie actor could be elected president."
Hahahahaha. Pretty funny, right? & this is B4 Arlen even MENTIONS then-Calif Gov Ronald Reagan....
I know what you're thinking. This book sounds awfully dated. & it is, a bit. But just substitute current names 4 those Arlen uses, & the critiques still work.
Bsides, as Arlen points out, as the use of TV consultants grew, presidential candidates worried more & more about creating an "image" that voters could latch onto, something like a "real person" they could relate 2.
& as a result, Issues were talked about less & less.
& of course this is still happening.
When was the last time your favorite news outlet talked about Issues surrounding the current presidential campaign?
When was the last time you heard CNN talk about how the Republican presidential candidates plan 2 put 14 million unemployed Americans back 2 work?
It's bn MONTHS.
CNN & other daily news organizations R more locked-in2 who won the latest primary, & which candidate said something stupid this week.
Have you seen or heard NE news broadcast discuss the economy or jobs in-depth in terms of the presidential race lately? Have you heard them outline Mitt Romney's jobs plan? Or Rick Santorum's? Or Newt Gingrich's?
No. & do you know why? Because -- at least 4 the purposes of TV news -- they don't HAVE any plans. Look 'em up. I did. It's just rhetoric. The only thing all 3 agree on is tax cuts 4 the rich, under the assumption that the Xtra $$$ will create new jobs. Tho there's nothing in the current economic climate 2 guarantee that'll happen.
& if the rich corporation-owners Dcide 2 keep their Xtra tax $$$, then what?
Obama's no better. Even when he comes up with a jobs proposal, his own party in Congress stonewalls him.
As long as Congress remains a joke, it doesn't matter WHO's president. Nothing's going 2 change much. Americans should stop Xpecting their president 2 somehow "save" them or rescue them -- that sorta feeling was what got Obama elected in the 1st place. & tho I thot he had some good ideas, none of them have come thru in the way he'd hoped. The only thing left is his rather good speech-making abilities....
I would LOVE 2 C CNN or some other network sit down with the candidates & talk IN DETAIL about their plans 4 the future -- apart from winning whatever the next primary-state is. Talk about fixing the economy, putting people back 2 work, fixing Social Security & Medicare, keeping gas & food prices down, making it so people don't havta squeeze every dollar til it screams.
But TV news doesn't do that -- it's 2 busy focusing on Herman Cain's women problems, or Rick Perry's senior moment, or Mitt Romney's inability 2 connect with 1/2 of his own party.
& we all lose. TV news should take the chance 2 B BORING in order 2 do the public good. If the upcoming presidential election really is that important -- & 14 million unemployed people should make it the most important election we've had in awhile -- our media owes it 2 us 2 get us as well-informed as possible. Not just 2 discuss 4 days who's most likely 2 win Ohio....
...Oh, Arlen's book? It's the best, most detailed, most passionate, sometimes most angry book of TV criticism since Harlan Ellison's THE GLASS TEAT. There's even some laffs in it.
There's even a Romney in this book....
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Where are the laffs?
These R grim times.
As any look at a newspaper or any random 5 mins of CNN will tell ya.
Now more than ever, we need laffs.
& I don't mean in silly movies or in TV situation comedies or in comedy clubs or on "Reality TV."
I mean in the very media that bring us down every day:
TV news & newspapers.
About the only time TV news & newspapers R the slightest bit funny these days is when they're covering the latest screw-up on the Republican presidential campaign trail. (Did you see Herman Cain's latest act on Tuesday? Oh my Ghod! Couldn't stop laffing!)
Things R getting so freaking serious that we NEED SOMETHING 4 a break. When the GOP fields the Usual Gang Of Idiots as potential presidential nominees, when there R STILL 10 million people out of work, when Congress is useless & the President is helpless & the US teeters on the brink of becoming another 3rd World country....
We need SOMETHING to help us lighten up. About the only time that happens these days is if the media MAKES A MISTAKE (Ghod forbid!). Or if some soundman or camera guy accidentally farts during a press conference.
(Of course you'll never hear THAT on the 6 o'clock news....)
4 Ghod's sake, at least give us another Republican debate 2 laff at....
(If Herman Cain would just ADMIT that he's got a thing 4 white women, we could all have a big laff & then get on with our lives....)
Things didn't useta B this serious. & the media useta have a lot more fun with covering the news. These days the only reporters I see REGULARLY making fun of what happens out there in The Real World each week are Jeanne Moos at CNN & Craig Wilson, who writes a weekly lite-humor column called "The Final Word" 4 USA TODAY. (Is Dave Barry still writing his syndicated humor columns 4 newspapers? I haven't seen them in quite awhile.... Maybe he gave them up 2 write books?)
& there is NOBODY in my immediate local area writing topical humor 4 any of the newspapers -- that I've noticed. Almost all the reporting & commentary is viewed straight-on. There's an editorial columnist 4 the TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE named Peter Callaghan who occasionally does screamingly funny Q&A columns about hot statewide political issues. But he otta write them every week. His newspaper could use a little more life.
It didn't useta B like this. Back in my newspaper days it seemed like every paper had somebody who could write comedy. When I was working on Air Force base newspapers in the '80s & '90s I went outta my way 2 try 2 find some lite & funny stuff 2 counteract all the dead-serious & sleep-inducing stuff we hadta print.
I remember writing columns about "Air Force Medals You Don't Want To Win" (like the infamous "Air Force Condemnation Medal"), an Air Force "Glossary" (in which a bureaucratic phrase like "alcohol-related incident" was decoded into its real meaning: "A drunken brawl"), & "Air Force Bases You'll Never Want to Serve At" -- an atlas of fictional bases located in desolate West Texas, desolate Southeastern Oregon, & desolate Western Wyoming ... 2 go along with the real bases we already had in Greenland, Iceland, Korea, the Aleutian Islands, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana & other Ghod-forsaken places....
I also wrote an off-the-wall sports feature on an AF doctor named Joe Kenny who competed in stair-climbing races during his off-duty time -- a hobby that got his name in2 the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS. Not Xactly yer standard AF-newspaper-type sports coverage....
When I left the AF & started working 4 civilian papers, I discovered real-life comedy was all around, all I had 2 do was notice it. & it practically wrote itself.
I wrote silly lite-comedy features about a married couple who used multi-colored carpets 2 replace their front lawn after their grass died -- & about how many traffic jams & car wrecks in front of their house this led to; about how a computer glitch led 2 3-dozen turkeys being delivered 2 a local Senior Citizens' Center just in time 4 Thanksgiving; how a small-town council had 2 subpoena a pot-bellied pig 2 a council meeting 4 a discussion about the town's livestock ordinance; how some packets of Holly-brand sugar got a 5-second close-up during an episode of THE X-FILES (there was a Holly Sugar factory in the Wyoming town where I lived); how a local highschool senior wanted 2 impress President Bill Clinton during a National Honor Society visit 2 the White House -- so the boy performed a gorilla impression....
...& lots more. Some of this stuff got picked-up by the Associated Press & sent 2 newspapers all over the country. & it was an absolute BREEZE 2 write, like a gift from Ghod. It was a great break -- & a great RELIEF -- from my usual straight-news reporting about council meetings & car wrecks. Most of these silly stories I could crank out in 30 mins or less, & it was like every word flashed in2 my head perfectly from beginning 2 end.
It was my favorite part of being a reporter & the 1 thing I miss most about the newspaper business.
& I knew that after writing a story like that -- after sharing a laff with readers on the front page -- I knew I'd done my job & a whole lot more. I'd earned my paycheck ... & hadda great time doing it.
You can't fake comedy. It's either good or it isn't. & you know when it's good. Not just because you're laffing. You get that sorta glow....
I really miss that.
& even tho these R grim times, we could use a lot more real-life comedy. Fun stories. I know they're out there, even at the worst of times. Because people still have a sense of humor -- & still use it 2 get thru their days -- no matter how bad things get.
I don't know if newspaper & TV reporters' hands R tied or if everybody's just 2 tense these days 2 try 2 crack a joke....
But it's the 1 thing I hardly ever see anymore on TV news or in newspapers. & it's the 1 thing I would most LIKE 2 see.
We could all use some laffs. LOTS of them....
As any look at a newspaper or any random 5 mins of CNN will tell ya.
Now more than ever, we need laffs.
& I don't mean in silly movies or in TV situation comedies or in comedy clubs or on "Reality TV."
I mean in the very media that bring us down every day:
TV news & newspapers.
About the only time TV news & newspapers R the slightest bit funny these days is when they're covering the latest screw-up on the Republican presidential campaign trail. (Did you see Herman Cain's latest act on Tuesday? Oh my Ghod! Couldn't stop laffing!)
Things R getting so freaking serious that we NEED SOMETHING 4 a break. When the GOP fields the Usual Gang Of Idiots as potential presidential nominees, when there R STILL 10 million people out of work, when Congress is useless & the President is helpless & the US teeters on the brink of becoming another 3rd World country....
We need SOMETHING to help us lighten up. About the only time that happens these days is if the media MAKES A MISTAKE (Ghod forbid!). Or if some soundman or camera guy accidentally farts during a press conference.
(Of course you'll never hear THAT on the 6 o'clock news....)
4 Ghod's sake, at least give us another Republican debate 2 laff at....
(If Herman Cain would just ADMIT that he's got a thing 4 white women, we could all have a big laff & then get on with our lives....)
Things didn't useta B this serious. & the media useta have a lot more fun with covering the news. These days the only reporters I see REGULARLY making fun of what happens out there in The Real World each week are Jeanne Moos at CNN & Craig Wilson, who writes a weekly lite-humor column called "The Final Word" 4 USA TODAY. (Is Dave Barry still writing his syndicated humor columns 4 newspapers? I haven't seen them in quite awhile.... Maybe he gave them up 2 write books?)
& there is NOBODY in my immediate local area writing topical humor 4 any of the newspapers -- that I've noticed. Almost all the reporting & commentary is viewed straight-on. There's an editorial columnist 4 the TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE named Peter Callaghan who occasionally does screamingly funny Q&A columns about hot statewide political issues. But he otta write them every week. His newspaper could use a little more life.
It didn't useta B like this. Back in my newspaper days it seemed like every paper had somebody who could write comedy. When I was working on Air Force base newspapers in the '80s & '90s I went outta my way 2 try 2 find some lite & funny stuff 2 counteract all the dead-serious & sleep-inducing stuff we hadta print.
I remember writing columns about "Air Force Medals You Don't Want To Win" (like the infamous "Air Force Condemnation Medal"), an Air Force "Glossary" (in which a bureaucratic phrase like "alcohol-related incident" was decoded into its real meaning: "A drunken brawl"), & "Air Force Bases You'll Never Want to Serve At" -- an atlas of fictional bases located in desolate West Texas, desolate Southeastern Oregon, & desolate Western Wyoming ... 2 go along with the real bases we already had in Greenland, Iceland, Korea, the Aleutian Islands, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana & other Ghod-forsaken places....
I also wrote an off-the-wall sports feature on an AF doctor named Joe Kenny who competed in stair-climbing races during his off-duty time -- a hobby that got his name in2 the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS. Not Xactly yer standard AF-newspaper-type sports coverage....
When I left the AF & started working 4 civilian papers, I discovered real-life comedy was all around, all I had 2 do was notice it. & it practically wrote itself.
I wrote silly lite-comedy features about a married couple who used multi-colored carpets 2 replace their front lawn after their grass died -- & about how many traffic jams & car wrecks in front of their house this led to; about how a computer glitch led 2 3-dozen turkeys being delivered 2 a local Senior Citizens' Center just in time 4 Thanksgiving; how a small-town council had 2 subpoena a pot-bellied pig 2 a council meeting 4 a discussion about the town's livestock ordinance; how some packets of Holly-brand sugar got a 5-second close-up during an episode of THE X-FILES (there was a Holly Sugar factory in the Wyoming town where I lived); how a local highschool senior wanted 2 impress President Bill Clinton during a National Honor Society visit 2 the White House -- so the boy performed a gorilla impression....
...& lots more. Some of this stuff got picked-up by the Associated Press & sent 2 newspapers all over the country. & it was an absolute BREEZE 2 write, like a gift from Ghod. It was a great break -- & a great RELIEF -- from my usual straight-news reporting about council meetings & car wrecks. Most of these silly stories I could crank out in 30 mins or less, & it was like every word flashed in2 my head perfectly from beginning 2 end.
It was my favorite part of being a reporter & the 1 thing I miss most about the newspaper business.
& I knew that after writing a story like that -- after sharing a laff with readers on the front page -- I knew I'd done my job & a whole lot more. I'd earned my paycheck ... & hadda great time doing it.
You can't fake comedy. It's either good or it isn't. & you know when it's good. Not just because you're laffing. You get that sorta glow....
I really miss that.
& even tho these R grim times, we could use a lot more real-life comedy. Fun stories. I know they're out there, even at the worst of times. Because people still have a sense of humor -- & still use it 2 get thru their days -- no matter how bad things get.
I don't know if newspaper & TV reporters' hands R tied or if everybody's just 2 tense these days 2 try 2 crack a joke....
But it's the 1 thing I hardly ever see anymore on TV news or in newspapers. & it's the 1 thing I would most LIKE 2 see.
We could all use some laffs. LOTS of them....
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Update 20(?)
Holy crap, This Just In: Bookstores are closing all over the place -- Borders has filed for bankruptcy & is planning to close some 200 stores in the next few weeks, including 1 15 miles down the road from me in Gig Harbor, a store that was just built a coupla years ago.... Course I've only been in that store 1nce, so it's not like I'm gonna miss it a whole lot. But still....
I've written here B4 that I used 2 spend enuf $$$ on books & music 2 run a small 3rd-world country. Tho not so much lately. I have 1 pretty good used book store about 2 miles down the road that I visit 1nce or 2wice a month & have been supporting 4 the last 5 years or so -- I've found some very good, suprisingly rare stuff there, & I often drop by just 4 an impulse buy.
But I haven't traveled 2 Tacoma -- where all the really good used book & record stores are -- in over 2 years. Lack of $$$, lack of reliable transportation, not wanting 2 B stuck 30 miles from home if the car breaks down, etc. There's a really great Half-Price Books store there, & 6th Ave. is lined with pretty good used record stores.
But I haven't been able 2 get there. So a lot of my buying has been done thru & a lotta the stuff I review here has been obtained from Amazon.com. They're fast, they're cheap, & I know they'll get stuff 2 me. & only 1nce have I ever had trouble getting stuff I've ordered. & if you don't mind getting stuff 2nd-hand (which I hardly ever mind), their prices often can't B beat.
They don't have everything -- VULTURES OF THE VOID, Philip Harbottle's history of bottom-end pulp science-fiction writing in Britain, isn't available (2 bad, with a title like that you KNOW it can't B bad); & the price they asked 4 Algis Budrys' OUTPOSTS was WAY 2 much -- so if you've got copies of either of those, drop me a line. But this isn't intended as a commercial 4 Amazon....
Do I feel guilty about this? No, not really. I'm on a limited budget, I'm always looking 2 get stuff cheap. & I would love 2 go browse 4 a day in Tacoma if I could afford it & could get there & back reliably.
But it suprises me that Borders would close a brand new store in Gig Harbor, a sorta snooty suburb of Tacoma where there otta B LOTS of people with lotsa discretionary income. At least there seemed like a lotta well-off folks around when I worked there -- lotsa people driving Hummers & BMW's & Escalades & Audis & etc.
Course I know when the economy's down the tubes discretionary spending goes down 2 -- & I know Nobody Reads Anymore, specially not those people driving Hummers & Beamers & Escalades. They're 2 busy working 2 pay off their bills....
But if this trend continues I'm gonna miss that comfortable feeling I useta get walking in2 a Barnes & Noble or Borders or B. Dalton or Waldenbooks -- or any good used bookstore -- that feeling that there were lotsa treasures waiting there, if I could just find them.
Guess I'd better make that trip 2 Tacoma & see how many of those 6th Ave. used-record stores are still open....
I've written here B4 that I used 2 spend enuf $$$ on books & music 2 run a small 3rd-world country. Tho not so much lately. I have 1 pretty good used book store about 2 miles down the road that I visit 1nce or 2wice a month & have been supporting 4 the last 5 years or so -- I've found some very good, suprisingly rare stuff there, & I often drop by just 4 an impulse buy.
But I haven't traveled 2 Tacoma -- where all the really good used book & record stores are -- in over 2 years. Lack of $$$, lack of reliable transportation, not wanting 2 B stuck 30 miles from home if the car breaks down, etc. There's a really great Half-Price Books store there, & 6th Ave. is lined with pretty good used record stores.
But I haven't been able 2 get there. So a lot of my buying has been done thru & a lotta the stuff I review here has been obtained from Amazon.com. They're fast, they're cheap, & I know they'll get stuff 2 me. & only 1nce have I ever had trouble getting stuff I've ordered. & if you don't mind getting stuff 2nd-hand (which I hardly ever mind), their prices often can't B beat.
They don't have everything -- VULTURES OF THE VOID, Philip Harbottle's history of bottom-end pulp science-fiction writing in Britain, isn't available (2 bad, with a title like that you KNOW it can't B bad); & the price they asked 4 Algis Budrys' OUTPOSTS was WAY 2 much -- so if you've got copies of either of those, drop me a line. But this isn't intended as a commercial 4 Amazon....
Do I feel guilty about this? No, not really. I'm on a limited budget, I'm always looking 2 get stuff cheap. & I would love 2 go browse 4 a day in Tacoma if I could afford it & could get there & back reliably.
But it suprises me that Borders would close a brand new store in Gig Harbor, a sorta snooty suburb of Tacoma where there otta B LOTS of people with lotsa discretionary income. At least there seemed like a lotta well-off folks around when I worked there -- lotsa people driving Hummers & BMW's & Escalades & Audis & etc.
Course I know when the economy's down the tubes discretionary spending goes down 2 -- & I know Nobody Reads Anymore, specially not those people driving Hummers & Beamers & Escalades. They're 2 busy working 2 pay off their bills....
But if this trend continues I'm gonna miss that comfortable feeling I useta get walking in2 a Barnes & Noble or Borders or B. Dalton or Waldenbooks -- or any good used bookstore -- that feeling that there were lotsa treasures waiting there, if I could just find them.
Guess I'd better make that trip 2 Tacoma & see how many of those 6th Ave. used-record stores are still open....
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Justa coupla things....
THE REAL COST OF HEALTH CARE is stunning, w/ health-care re4m or not. & I'm 1a those 30 million people who doesn't have/can't afford health insurance.
I went 2 C a doctor this past wk, 4 the 1st time since I got outta the Air Force in 1992. I wanted 2 get a physical/check-up, I'm 50, I've got some minor little concerns, & the last time I got looked-at I was 32 & knew everything was working pretty well.
These days I'm wondering why I'm ALWAYS tired, why I can't sleep ENUF, if the massive amounts of coffee I drink (& the TRULY massive amounts of sugar I take w/ it) might B coming back 2 get me. I'm wondering why it takes me 4EVER 2 wake up & so long 2 wind-down 2 sleep at nite, why it Cms like I NEVER wake-up on cloudy days -- or all winter. I'm wondering why my legs so often feel numb or achey or cramped (EZ, I'm on my feet 8+ hrs/day). Is this just what Growing Older feels like? I mean, I dunno. So....
Cost me $100 up-front 2 C the doc, which I was actually OK w/. Other places wanted 2wice as much. He Cmd a Good Guy, sharp, knew his stuff. & we talked 4 about 45 mins, which I thot was pretty amazing. I think we talked over almost everything that was on my mind, + the nurse who checked me in told me I had the blood-pressure #'s of a 35-yr-old, so overall I felt a lot better, comforted.
The doc knew I had no medical insurance at all, so he immediately dropped the idea of lining me up 4 a colonoscopy, which he said he'd normally recommend 4 some1 my age. (Ugh. & do they use a wide-angle lens w/ that camera? Never mind, I'm sure I don't wanna know.)
NEwho, he printed-out a list of about a dozen routine tests he wanted 2 run on me, 2 C if I might B pre-diabetic or possibly anemic. Some day when I could face the traffic on nothing but black coffee, he invited me 2 come back & the lab'd take some blood & a urine sample & he'd get back 2 me a coupla days later & let me know if they found NEthing significant.
I'd bn advised when I learned how much it was 2 C the doc that if I called the medical conglomerate's billing office I could get 40% off NE future tests, so naturally I called them & asked if there was NE way 2 know up-front how much these tests might cost me.
Estimate: Just short of $900.
If I could pay them within 30 days they'd drop the cost by 40%, down to about $525.
& again, this was just 4 a buncha routine tests, just 2 C if I'm actually healthy & just kidding myself about NE weirdness, just 2 put my hypochondriacal self at-ease.
I started laffing uncontrollably, Bcos THERE'S NO WAY. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I wouldn't B able 2 afford this stuff.
MayB if I dropped my rent, food budget, junk-food budget, gas budget & used-music-&-book budget 4 the next 3 mo's & lived under a bridge I might B able 2 swing it. My income-tax return already went 2 other stuff (new cheap washer, new cheap lawnmower....). MayB the doc lined me up 4 this 2 C if I was SERIOUS?
The operator at the med office Cmd 2 get the msg from my howling laffter & offered 2 send me a financial-aid package. I've looked at it. It looks like yr basic loan application, basing yr possibilities on yr gross income B4 yr bills, & offering no odds on approval. I hava lotta overhead & past bills that there's not even room 2 mention on this 4m. I am not hopeful.
So 4 awhile I was thinkin mayB I'd just bite the bullet & plow on until something REALLY backs up or I'm really in pain. After all, I'm still functioning. More or less. MayB not like I did at 35, or even at 45. But I'm still here. & I've already cut back on the sugar by 1/2. But not the coffee....
Then my girlfriend reminded me that as a military separatee I could probly get looked-at thru the Veterans' Administration.
I don't know why I didn't think of that -- mayB cos I Got Out so long ago & I've tried so hard 2 put most of it Bhind me.
& Bcos I'm senile, of course....
I called the local VA Hospital about 35 miles down the rd from me. They said they Rn't sure if I qualify 4 their svcs & they won't know 4 sure til they look at my separation paperwork, but most likely I DO qualify 4 at-least SOME svcs, & based on my current income, NE work they do on me would likely B on a sliding scale.... Which means if I qualify, NE work I have done will at least partly B paid-4 by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
Hahahaha. Now that's what I call REFORM.
Not sure if I'm gonna go ahead w/ this, tho whatever the VA can offer has GOTTA B cheaper than $900, or even $525. But if I've gotta go 2 Tacoma 2 fill-out paperwork, I'm gonna make a Day of it, hit the good used-bookstore, dump off some music I can't hear, make it worth the trip & the gas $$$.
I'll keep U posted. But my point was: Cheezus, health care is crazy Xpensive. Thank Ghod I don't have NEthing life-threatening. Just a few dozen minor complaints....
GUNNING FOR THE RECORD: I'm not mucha a sports fan NEmore, but I C the New Jersey Nets hava shot at turning-in the worst NBA season-record EVER, eclipsing the old futility record set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia '76ers (who went 8-72 or something that yr).
All the Nets have gotta do is lose 10 of their last 12 games. Should B EZ, right?
If I were sitting on the Nets' bench, I'd B gunning 4 the record. If U're gonna B really bad, B RECORD-BREAKING BAD. Don't waste the season. Nobody remembers who was 2nd-worst ever. If yr gonna B terrible, go 4 the record books. That's a record I could get Bhind & cheer 4. Seriously.
Remember a few yrs back when the Detroit Tigers were within reach of the 1962 New York Mets' record 4 worst MLB season ever (42-120)? If I'd bn in the Tigers' dugout I'da bn urging my teammates 2 throw the games. Again: If yr gonna B really bad, don't waste it. B the Worst Ever. At least get SOMETHING outta a terrible season -- yr name in the record books! Salvage something from the humiliation. Other than a paycheck.
But the Tigers couldn't bite the bullet. They Nded-up merely the 2nd-worst ever. Not much applause 4 that.
I C the "Nots" have already won 1 of their final dozen games & may Nd up dodging the record, & I think that's 2 bad. I think it shows a real lack of courage. A criminal lack of willingness 2 join basketball's Hall of Shame. They could B the Bob Ueckers, the New York Mets of basketball. (Didn't the San Diego Clippers hava run at that title awhile back?)
Who wouldn't B ... honored ... 2 wear a title like that?
...My outlook here may stem from the fact that I was always a klutz at sports while growing up, & back in my newspaper daze I always had more fun covering the losers than the winners -- & THEY Cmd 2 B having more fun, 2.
Summa my fave stories ever were the 1's about the intramural baseball team of Brits who lost every single 1 of their 18 games & hoped 2 at least have the rules of "American baseball" down by the next season; or the AF volleyball team who lost nearly every game, Nded up in the cellar, & had players go on-leave rather than face another loss....
But I got warped in this area WAY back. Someday I'll tell U the story of how in junior-high I helped my team lose a basketball relay by missing at least 37 consecutive shots at the 2nd hoop (after getting the 1st 1 on the 1st try), still standing there making shots in an MT gym as the relay Nded & everybody headed 2 the showers w/o me....
I think it was probly at that Xact moment that I Bcame a reporter, put here 2 watch other people do fun things & then write about them. U do NOT want 2 hear this story....
I went 2 C a doctor this past wk, 4 the 1st time since I got outta the Air Force in 1992. I wanted 2 get a physical/check-up, I'm 50, I've got some minor little concerns, & the last time I got looked-at I was 32 & knew everything was working pretty well.
These days I'm wondering why I'm ALWAYS tired, why I can't sleep ENUF, if the massive amounts of coffee I drink (& the TRULY massive amounts of sugar I take w/ it) might B coming back 2 get me. I'm wondering why it takes me 4EVER 2 wake up & so long 2 wind-down 2 sleep at nite, why it Cms like I NEVER wake-up on cloudy days -- or all winter. I'm wondering why my legs so often feel numb or achey or cramped (EZ, I'm on my feet 8+ hrs/day). Is this just what Growing Older feels like? I mean, I dunno. So....
Cost me $100 up-front 2 C the doc, which I was actually OK w/. Other places wanted 2wice as much. He Cmd a Good Guy, sharp, knew his stuff. & we talked 4 about 45 mins, which I thot was pretty amazing. I think we talked over almost everything that was on my mind, + the nurse who checked me in told me I had the blood-pressure #'s of a 35-yr-old, so overall I felt a lot better, comforted.
The doc knew I had no medical insurance at all, so he immediately dropped the idea of lining me up 4 a colonoscopy, which he said he'd normally recommend 4 some1 my age. (Ugh. & do they use a wide-angle lens w/ that camera? Never mind, I'm sure I don't wanna know.)
NEwho, he printed-out a list of about a dozen routine tests he wanted 2 run on me, 2 C if I might B pre-diabetic or possibly anemic. Some day when I could face the traffic on nothing but black coffee, he invited me 2 come back & the lab'd take some blood & a urine sample & he'd get back 2 me a coupla days later & let me know if they found NEthing significant.
I'd bn advised when I learned how much it was 2 C the doc that if I called the medical conglomerate's billing office I could get 40% off NE future tests, so naturally I called them & asked if there was NE way 2 know up-front how much these tests might cost me.
Estimate: Just short of $900.
If I could pay them within 30 days they'd drop the cost by 40%, down to about $525.
& again, this was just 4 a buncha routine tests, just 2 C if I'm actually healthy & just kidding myself about NE weirdness, just 2 put my hypochondriacal self at-ease.
I started laffing uncontrollably, Bcos THERE'S NO WAY. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I wouldn't B able 2 afford this stuff.
MayB if I dropped my rent, food budget, junk-food budget, gas budget & used-music-&-book budget 4 the next 3 mo's & lived under a bridge I might B able 2 swing it. My income-tax return already went 2 other stuff (new cheap washer, new cheap lawnmower....). MayB the doc lined me up 4 this 2 C if I was SERIOUS?
The operator at the med office Cmd 2 get the msg from my howling laffter & offered 2 send me a financial-aid package. I've looked at it. It looks like yr basic loan application, basing yr possibilities on yr gross income B4 yr bills, & offering no odds on approval. I hava lotta overhead & past bills that there's not even room 2 mention on this 4m. I am not hopeful.
So 4 awhile I was thinkin mayB I'd just bite the bullet & plow on until something REALLY backs up or I'm really in pain. After all, I'm still functioning. More or less. MayB not like I did at 35, or even at 45. But I'm still here. & I've already cut back on the sugar by 1/2. But not the coffee....
Then my girlfriend reminded me that as a military separatee I could probly get looked-at thru the Veterans' Administration.
I don't know why I didn't think of that -- mayB cos I Got Out so long ago & I've tried so hard 2 put most of it Bhind me.
& Bcos I'm senile, of course....
I called the local VA Hospital about 35 miles down the rd from me. They said they Rn't sure if I qualify 4 their svcs & they won't know 4 sure til they look at my separation paperwork, but most likely I DO qualify 4 at-least SOME svcs, & based on my current income, NE work they do on me would likely B on a sliding scale.... Which means if I qualify, NE work I have done will at least partly B paid-4 by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
Hahahaha. Now that's what I call REFORM.
Not sure if I'm gonna go ahead w/ this, tho whatever the VA can offer has GOTTA B cheaper than $900, or even $525. But if I've gotta go 2 Tacoma 2 fill-out paperwork, I'm gonna make a Day of it, hit the good used-bookstore, dump off some music I can't hear, make it worth the trip & the gas $$$.
I'll keep U posted. But my point was: Cheezus, health care is crazy Xpensive. Thank Ghod I don't have NEthing life-threatening. Just a few dozen minor complaints....
GUNNING FOR THE RECORD: I'm not mucha a sports fan NEmore, but I C the New Jersey Nets hava shot at turning-in the worst NBA season-record EVER, eclipsing the old futility record set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia '76ers (who went 8-72 or something that yr).
All the Nets have gotta do is lose 10 of their last 12 games. Should B EZ, right?
If I were sitting on the Nets' bench, I'd B gunning 4 the record. If U're gonna B really bad, B RECORD-BREAKING BAD. Don't waste the season. Nobody remembers who was 2nd-worst ever. If yr gonna B terrible, go 4 the record books. That's a record I could get Bhind & cheer 4. Seriously.
Remember a few yrs back when the Detroit Tigers were within reach of the 1962 New York Mets' record 4 worst MLB season ever (42-120)? If I'd bn in the Tigers' dugout I'da bn urging my teammates 2 throw the games. Again: If yr gonna B really bad, don't waste it. B the Worst Ever. At least get SOMETHING outta a terrible season -- yr name in the record books! Salvage something from the humiliation. Other than a paycheck.
But the Tigers couldn't bite the bullet. They Nded-up merely the 2nd-worst ever. Not much applause 4 that.
I C the "Nots" have already won 1 of their final dozen games & may Nd up dodging the record, & I think that's 2 bad. I think it shows a real lack of courage. A criminal lack of willingness 2 join basketball's Hall of Shame. They could B the Bob Ueckers, the New York Mets of basketball. (Didn't the San Diego Clippers hava run at that title awhile back?)
Who wouldn't B ... honored ... 2 wear a title like that?
...My outlook here may stem from the fact that I was always a klutz at sports while growing up, & back in my newspaper daze I always had more fun covering the losers than the winners -- & THEY Cmd 2 B having more fun, 2.
Summa my fave stories ever were the 1's about the intramural baseball team of Brits who lost every single 1 of their 18 games & hoped 2 at least have the rules of "American baseball" down by the next season; or the AF volleyball team who lost nearly every game, Nded up in the cellar, & had players go on-leave rather than face another loss....
But I got warped in this area WAY back. Someday I'll tell U the story of how in junior-high I helped my team lose a basketball relay by missing at least 37 consecutive shots at the 2nd hoop (after getting the 1st 1 on the 1st try), still standing there making shots in an MT gym as the relay Nded & everybody headed 2 the showers w/o me....
I think it was probly at that Xact moment that I Bcame a reporter, put here 2 watch other people do fun things & then write about them. U do NOT want 2 hear this story....
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Let me tell you how it will be....
Ghod save us all, I've bn doing some calculating recently about Washington state's intention 2 add another $1 in built-in tax on each package of cigarettes sold. (Which I raved about Xtensively a couple wks back under the title "Taxman.")
The built-in tax currently hovers around $3/pack, which means a pack of 20 Marlboro "Reds" sold at my store costs $7.27 after the 8.9% sales tax (which totals 58 cents per pack).
I'm going 2 keep using that $3/pack figure cos it's EZer 4 me 2 multiply-out w/ my 3rd-grade mathematics education. Bsides, the #'s R gonna get huge enuf pretty fast....
I don't smoke, & smokers can continue w/ these outrageous prices if they want, that's their choice. I'm way more concerned about where the tax $$$ goes. & it piles up pretty quick.
Last wk I kept track of the # of packs of smokes I sold during an avg Thursday nite shift -- 25. My store's afternoon guy Steve sez he can sell 30 packs of smokes per shift EZ. Let's say 30's about avg 4 each shift, since that'll balance-out slow shifts (Sun morn) & busy nites (Fri & Sat). It's also EZer 4 me 2 multiply w/....
If I were 2 sell 30 packs of smokes per shift & $3 of each pack sold is built-in tax that goes directly 2 the state, that's $90 per shift, not even counting the sales-tax, some of which I'm told gets used 4 local svcs. (The sales-tax avgs about $15 per shift or $45 per day, just on 30 packs of smokes, not counting NEthing else.)
If my store sells an avg of 30 packs of smokes per shift, 3 shifts per day, that's $270 per day in cigarette-tax going 2 the state, not counting the sales tax. That's $1,890 per wk. That's $7,560 per month. That's $90,720 per year. & that's just from my store.
Let's say the state does hike cigarette taxes another $1 per pack. If I sell 30 packs inna shift that'll B $120 per shift going 2 the state. Or $360 per day. Or $2,520 per week. Or $10,080 per month. $120,960 per year.
My math may not B perfect, but w/ #'s this big I don't think it matters much. & all this revenue is just from 1 little store in 1 little town. & as I'm sure U know, there R convenience stores EVERYWHERE. I've got no idea how many little stores there R in the state of Washington. & that's not even taking in2 account all the big grocery stores & what must B the truly HUGE #'s they R & would B contributing 2 the state's general fund.
The way I C it, a yr of cigarette sales at my little store pays 4 1 state employee's salary & benefits. Since the cigarette-tax revenue goes 2 the general fund, it can B used 4 NEthing the state wants 2 spend it on -- roads, schools, major highway projects, salaries....
Some of this revenue MAY get used locally 2 support county-level programs, police, fire protection, etc. But my understanding is that mosta that stuff is funded at the local level thru property taxes & some of the state sales tax. Most school operations costs R funded locally thru property taxes or levies.
...I just think it's a lot of $$$. & I don't think the state does sucha great job Xplaining where it all goes.
The state is reportedly $2.8-billion short of funding 4 the projected state-gov't budget 4 the next 2 yrs. Gov. Christine Gregoire (who 1 of my customers called "Christine Gargoyle" last wk) was apparently on TV a few days back, saying: "We don't want to do this (raise taxes). But we have no choice." She even called a special session of the state Legislature 2 work-out ways HOW they're gonna fund the budget, new taxes or not.
Along w/ the Xtra $1 tax on smokes, the Legislature is looking at new built-in taxes on bottled water (3 cents per ounce, an additional 60 cents 4 a 20-oz bottle), sodas, energy drinks ... & candy. Water & candy currently Rn't taxed at all, there's no sales tax charged on them.
Why every school kid in the state isn't protesting outside the state capitol in Olympia, I don't know. At least some of the grown-ups have jobs, which may B what the lawmakers R counting on....
I don't know about NEbody else, but I just assume that the new taxes R going 2 B approved. That's usually what Nds up happening here....
I know U folks out there may not care about all this if yr not in Washington, but compare R cigarette prices 2 where U live. If yr a smoker U might especially wanna compare prices & C how much more U'd havta spend if U lived here.
& I think the question's still open about how much the state can legitimately tax 1 item. Coupla folks have suggested 2 me that the heavy tax on smokes is an effort 2 turn Washington in2 a "smoke-free" state. That doesn't really concern me. But I'd like a better picture of where all the tax $$$'s going.
The state's Lotto folks at least publish a yearly report of where all their revenue went -- & a lot of it goes 2 schools & road projects & paying-off 2 sports stadiums in Seattle ... but a lot of the Lotto $$$ also goes directly 2 the state's general fund, which means it can B used NEwhere.
Still, I think the resta the state gov't should havta publicly account 4 where people's taxes go. It's just 2 huge an amount of $$$. Some state Mployees' salaries have bn 2 high 4 yrs. & I still don't hear the Gov or NE1 else offering 2 take a 10% pay cut 2 help get the state thru these tough budget times....
1 last Xample: At my store, 2 packs of Marb Reds cost $14.53 after sales tax. Back home in Idaho, where there is no built-in tax on smokes, my Dad tells me that 2 packs of Marb Reds cost $7.31 after sales tax.
Smokers' eyes bug out when I tell them this, & we all agree that nobody zings ya w/ the taxes like Washington.
Somebody who wanted 2 make a quick profit could haul a truckload of smokes from Idaho in2
Washington & sell em at the state's current outrageous prices. But I'm sure there must B laws against that.... Or else Washington would tax U 4 the smokes U bring in....
...& if all the smokers were 2 quit Bcos of the out-of-control prices, & cheated the state outta all that tax revenue that lawmakers had bn counting on ... I have absolutely no doubt that this state would find something else 2 tax in order 2 make-up 4 it....
The built-in tax currently hovers around $3/pack, which means a pack of 20 Marlboro "Reds" sold at my store costs $7.27 after the 8.9% sales tax (which totals 58 cents per pack).
I'm going 2 keep using that $3/pack figure cos it's EZer 4 me 2 multiply-out w/ my 3rd-grade mathematics education. Bsides, the #'s R gonna get huge enuf pretty fast....
I don't smoke, & smokers can continue w/ these outrageous prices if they want, that's their choice. I'm way more concerned about where the tax $$$ goes. & it piles up pretty quick.
Last wk I kept track of the # of packs of smokes I sold during an avg Thursday nite shift -- 25. My store's afternoon guy Steve sez he can sell 30 packs of smokes per shift EZ. Let's say 30's about avg 4 each shift, since that'll balance-out slow shifts (Sun morn) & busy nites (Fri & Sat). It's also EZer 4 me 2 multiply w/....
If I were 2 sell 30 packs of smokes per shift & $3 of each pack sold is built-in tax that goes directly 2 the state, that's $90 per shift, not even counting the sales-tax, some of which I'm told gets used 4 local svcs. (The sales-tax avgs about $15 per shift or $45 per day, just on 30 packs of smokes, not counting NEthing else.)
If my store sells an avg of 30 packs of smokes per shift, 3 shifts per day, that's $270 per day in cigarette-tax going 2 the state, not counting the sales tax. That's $1,890 per wk. That's $7,560 per month. That's $90,720 per year. & that's just from my store.
Let's say the state does hike cigarette taxes another $1 per pack. If I sell 30 packs inna shift that'll B $120 per shift going 2 the state. Or $360 per day. Or $2,520 per week. Or $10,080 per month. $120,960 per year.
My math may not B perfect, but w/ #'s this big I don't think it matters much. & all this revenue is just from 1 little store in 1 little town. & as I'm sure U know, there R convenience stores EVERYWHERE. I've got no idea how many little stores there R in the state of Washington. & that's not even taking in2 account all the big grocery stores & what must B the truly HUGE #'s they R & would B contributing 2 the state's general fund.
The way I C it, a yr of cigarette sales at my little store pays 4 1 state employee's salary & benefits. Since the cigarette-tax revenue goes 2 the general fund, it can B used 4 NEthing the state wants 2 spend it on -- roads, schools, major highway projects, salaries....
Some of this revenue MAY get used locally 2 support county-level programs, police, fire protection, etc. But my understanding is that mosta that stuff is funded at the local level thru property taxes & some of the state sales tax. Most school operations costs R funded locally thru property taxes or levies.
...I just think it's a lot of $$$. & I don't think the state does sucha great job Xplaining where it all goes.
The state is reportedly $2.8-billion short of funding 4 the projected state-gov't budget 4 the next 2 yrs. Gov. Christine Gregoire (who 1 of my customers called "Christine Gargoyle" last wk) was apparently on TV a few days back, saying: "We don't want to do this (raise taxes). But we have no choice." She even called a special session of the state Legislature 2 work-out ways HOW they're gonna fund the budget, new taxes or not.
Along w/ the Xtra $1 tax on smokes, the Legislature is looking at new built-in taxes on bottled water (3 cents per ounce, an additional 60 cents 4 a 20-oz bottle), sodas, energy drinks ... & candy. Water & candy currently Rn't taxed at all, there's no sales tax charged on them.
Why every school kid in the state isn't protesting outside the state capitol in Olympia, I don't know. At least some of the grown-ups have jobs, which may B what the lawmakers R counting on....
I don't know about NEbody else, but I just assume that the new taxes R going 2 B approved. That's usually what Nds up happening here....
I know U folks out there may not care about all this if yr not in Washington, but compare R cigarette prices 2 where U live. If yr a smoker U might especially wanna compare prices & C how much more U'd havta spend if U lived here.
& I think the question's still open about how much the state can legitimately tax 1 item. Coupla folks have suggested 2 me that the heavy tax on smokes is an effort 2 turn Washington in2 a "smoke-free" state. That doesn't really concern me. But I'd like a better picture of where all the tax $$$'s going.
The state's Lotto folks at least publish a yearly report of where all their revenue went -- & a lot of it goes 2 schools & road projects & paying-off 2 sports stadiums in Seattle ... but a lot of the Lotto $$$ also goes directly 2 the state's general fund, which means it can B used NEwhere.
Still, I think the resta the state gov't should havta publicly account 4 where people's taxes go. It's just 2 huge an amount of $$$. Some state Mployees' salaries have bn 2 high 4 yrs. & I still don't hear the Gov or NE1 else offering 2 take a 10% pay cut 2 help get the state thru these tough budget times....
1 last Xample: At my store, 2 packs of Marb Reds cost $14.53 after sales tax. Back home in Idaho, where there is no built-in tax on smokes, my Dad tells me that 2 packs of Marb Reds cost $7.31 after sales tax.
Smokers' eyes bug out when I tell them this, & we all agree that nobody zings ya w/ the taxes like Washington.
Somebody who wanted 2 make a quick profit could haul a truckload of smokes from Idaho in2
Washington & sell em at the state's current outrageous prices. But I'm sure there must B laws against that.... Or else Washington would tax U 4 the smokes U bring in....
...& if all the smokers were 2 quit Bcos of the out-of-control prices, & cheated the state outta all that tax revenue that lawmakers had bn counting on ... I have absolutely no doubt that this state would find something else 2 tax in order 2 make-up 4 it....
Friday, February 19, 2010
Taxman
Sorry 2 havta get political on y'all, but this has bn buggin me 4 months....
THIS IS AN EDITORIAL. The opinions Xpressed below do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mployees of TAD's Back-Up Plan ... but they probly do. This editorial is about Washington state sales taxes & etc. We'll save an editorial on federal income taxes 4 a later time -- like when I actually have solid, scary #'s 2 work w/....
Washington's state budget 4 the new year has a $2.8-billion shortfall, & 2 recoup the $$$ Gov. Christine Gregoire has suggested new (or increased) taxes on cigarettes, gasoline, sodas, bottled water, candy, energy drinks, & bigger taxes on industrial polluters.
Washington already has some of the nation's highest taxes on cigarettes & gasoline, & possibly alcohol. In beautiful Wash., at my little store, a pack of Marlboro cigarettes will cost U $7.27 after the 8.9% state sales tax -- a case of double taxation. The state's built-in tax onna packa smokes is currently $3, & the Gov is suggesting raising it by another $1. A carton (10 20-cigarette packs) of Marbs will cost U over $60 after sales tax. In neighboring Idaho, where they don't have that built-in tax on smokes (or at least they didn't last time I was back home), a packa Marbs will cost U $3 less, almost 2 the penny. The cheapest pack of smokes in my store is $6.18 after tax. Compare that w/ where U live....
Last time I checked, Wash's built-in gasoline tax was 42 cents per gallon. It's probly higher by now. Which means a gallon of regular gas at my store will currently cost U around $2.83. Unless it's gone up 2day....
Why should I care? I'm still getting paid, right? & I don't smoke or drink, tho the gas tax gets EVERY1.
I care Bcos it all trickles down. I warn smokers when another price hike on cigarettes is coming -- I'm already warning them that smokes R probly gonna go up another $1 per pack. They usually don't pay a whole lotta attn til it happens, & THEN the bitching REALLY starts.
But they're bitching at the wrong guy. They needta go yell at those bozos down at the state capitol in Olympia.
If Gov. Gregoire thinks a 3-cent built-in tax onna bottle of soda or a penny-an-oz. tax on bottled water isn't gonna hurt NE1, she otta know better. She was the state's Attn Gen B4 she was elected Gov, so she knows how this stuff works: The tax goes up, the manufacturer raises his prices 2 recoup, the stores raise their prices 2 keep their profit, & U pay higher prices as a result.
& what's all that new tax $$$ go 4?
Wash started the Lottery & scratch-ticket sales 2 generate more $$$ 2 repair & build new roads & schools. I don't C that many major rd-improvement projects -- tho there was 1 on the rd right in front of my store last summer that did nothing but add a center-turn lane & a new surface over about 2 miles, did nothing 2 ease the massive traffic backup -- & it cost $3 million! & now the police R patrolling it heavily EVERY day & nite, writing speeding tickets 2 generate more revenue....
The only new school in Wash that I KNOW of that's bn built in the last decade was a brand-new highschool in Raymond, built 2 replace a non-earthquake-proof 75-yr-old 3-story structure from the early-1930s. It was cheaper 2 rebuild from scratch than 2 prop-up the old 1. & the new school was built in the Xact same spot, on a floodplain, right next 2 a river, 4 a student-body that had bn steadily Dclining 4 yrs, & probly still is.
The school cost $10 million. The state paid 4 about 1/2 of it, the school district passed a bond issue 2 pay 4 the rest. I was 1 of the guys who wrote local-newspaper articles Xplaining why the new school was needed, tho I didn't really Blieve it. But try 2 come out against a new school & a big Xpensive bldg project in a town that's dying & needs new jobs -- w/o Bing Cn as anti-school, anti-jobs, anti-community. U won't B living there 4 long. & if U R, nobody will speak 2 U NEmore.
& of course the new school looks XACTLY like a prison, as so many new schools Cm 2 these days. What in the heck R we saying 2 R kids?
1 of my roommates who both smokes & drinks & has there4 earned the right 2 complain about state gov't idiots, wonders how much U can legally tax 1 item. If the built-in tax on smokes is already $3/pack, how much higher can it legally go?
I think this is a legit question. Near as I can tell, Wash already has the 2nd-highest cigarette prices in the US, behind only New York state. As I've said 2 smokers so many times over the past few yrs, nobody zings U like Washington....
I'm more intrested in where the state's tax $$$ goes, & why they need so much, & always more more MORE.
At 1 point the Gov was projecting that the state's tax deficit might go as high as $10 billion+. With the economy in the toilet, tax revenues have bn slow 2 come in, people Rn't buying as much stuff so less tax $$$ is generated, & so on. When the deficit amount was reduced 2 $2 billion, there was apparently no Xplanation about where the other $8 billion went. The state also had a $2 billion "rainy day fund" a few yrs back. It's bn raining 4 months -- no idea where that $2 billion went.
More than NEthing, I wanna know where the LAST $10 billion we gave the state went. How R they spending R $$$? All on rd's & schools? Every time there's a really big road project, residents get taxed more 2 pay 4 it -- the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which we coulda had 4 free but we were 2 stupid), the proposed tunnel along Seattle's downtown waterfront 2 replace the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct, the proposed new State Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington -- state residents will pay all new fees or tolls or taxes 2 build each of them.
Unlike some critics, I've bn 2 Olympia a few times, & I think there's a lotta unnecessary costs that could B cut there. I've bn inside the state Department of Ecology bldg, which has the most beautiful cafeteria I've Cn since I got outta the Air Force. It's a beautiful setting, really, a great place 2 eat lunch.
Why do they have it? They're a 2 MINUTE drive down the street from NE restaurant U'd ever care 2 have lunch at.
The Gov's staff has 2 many mgrs pulling down 2 much $$$ -- salaries at the highest level of state gov't have bn WAY 2 HIGH 4 YRS. They should all take a 10-percent pay cut 2 get us thru these tough times. The Gov should lead the way by Xample.
Don't hold yr breath 4 it.
As an alternative, I suggest the state close the Dept's of Ecology, Natural Resources & Fish and Wildlife. Closing those 3 dept's & firing the Mployees should save at LEAST $2.8-billion EASILY. & 1/2 of them have state pensions or retirements they can fall back on. In this state, the Dept's of Ecology & Natural Resources Xist only 2 tell people what they CAN'T do on their own property, & Fish and Wildlife has "managed" the wildlife in the state so horrendously badly (while also telling people what they can't do on their own property) that everybody goes 2 Idaho or Oregon 2 hunt or fish.
& buy cigarettes. Or other big-ticket items. Oregon has no state sales tax.
Why do I care about all this? I don't much, really. I'm not a home-owner, so I don't havta worry about rising property taxes while the value of my property goes DOWN. I don't smoke or drink, & I'm onna pretty limited income, tho the gas & soda tax gets me a little.
Washington state is so brutally, ruthlessly efficient about collecting child-support $$$, U'd think they could put summa that same ruthless efficiency in2 finding ways 2 save $$$ inside the state gov't.
(1 area that could use more efficiency is the food-stamp program. I don't doubt people need them, & every1 Cms 2 have a food stamp card under the current economy. But why is it almost EVERYBODY I C w/ a food stamp card also hasa wallet full of $50's & $100's, & is driving either a brand-new car or at least 1 WAY newer & better than mine? I wanna ASK some 1, but it's gotta B just the right person so they don't think I'm trying 2 imply NEthing ... Hey, I'm available 4 free $$$, I'm just not sure I wanna know how they got it....)
If I can get THIS upset about something that doesn't really hit me 2 hard, it must B so dead-obvious by now that 1000's should B protesting around the capitol bldg in Olympia. Why Rn't they? MayB cos life is hard enuf & Xpensive enuf out here that 1 more tax is just 1 more thing 2 shrug off.
There R already calls from some state politicos that now is REALLY The Wrong Time 2 talk about raising taxes again when the economy is still in the toilet & noises about "Recovery" sound like a cruel, MT joke. But don't Xpect those no-tax comments 2 amount 2 much....
The longer I live here the more I think Wash only hasa coupla good things going 4 it.
1 is that this is the only place in the country where I can do my current job & keep up w/ my bills. If I were 2 go back home 2 Idaho, I'd take a pay cut of over 1/2.
The other good thing is that it's the 2nd BEAUTIFUL day in a row & Spring MAY B here (tho it Cms 6 wks 2 early -- just the weather lining us up 4 a blizzard in March?), & I Cm revitalized by an NRG I haven't felt in mo's.
Hope U R the same, & sorry 4 the heavy serious real-life issues of 2day's post. We'll C if this really IS a free country or if the Powers That B try 2 shut me up....
THIS IS AN EDITORIAL. The opinions Xpressed below do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mployees of TAD's Back-Up Plan ... but they probly do. This editorial is about Washington state sales taxes & etc. We'll save an editorial on federal income taxes 4 a later time -- like when I actually have solid, scary #'s 2 work w/....
Washington's state budget 4 the new year has a $2.8-billion shortfall, & 2 recoup the $$$ Gov. Christine Gregoire has suggested new (or increased) taxes on cigarettes, gasoline, sodas, bottled water, candy, energy drinks, & bigger taxes on industrial polluters.
Washington already has some of the nation's highest taxes on cigarettes & gasoline, & possibly alcohol. In beautiful Wash., at my little store, a pack of Marlboro cigarettes will cost U $7.27 after the 8.9% state sales tax -- a case of double taxation. The state's built-in tax onna packa smokes is currently $3, & the Gov is suggesting raising it by another $1. A carton (10 20-cigarette packs) of Marbs will cost U over $60 after sales tax. In neighboring Idaho, where they don't have that built-in tax on smokes (or at least they didn't last time I was back home), a packa Marbs will cost U $3 less, almost 2 the penny. The cheapest pack of smokes in my store is $6.18 after tax. Compare that w/ where U live....
Last time I checked, Wash's built-in gasoline tax was 42 cents per gallon. It's probly higher by now. Which means a gallon of regular gas at my store will currently cost U around $2.83. Unless it's gone up 2day....
Why should I care? I'm still getting paid, right? & I don't smoke or drink, tho the gas tax gets EVERY1.
I care Bcos it all trickles down. I warn smokers when another price hike on cigarettes is coming -- I'm already warning them that smokes R probly gonna go up another $1 per pack. They usually don't pay a whole lotta attn til it happens, & THEN the bitching REALLY starts.
But they're bitching at the wrong guy. They needta go yell at those bozos down at the state capitol in Olympia.
If Gov. Gregoire thinks a 3-cent built-in tax onna bottle of soda or a penny-an-oz. tax on bottled water isn't gonna hurt NE1, she otta know better. She was the state's Attn Gen B4 she was elected Gov, so she knows how this stuff works: The tax goes up, the manufacturer raises his prices 2 recoup, the stores raise their prices 2 keep their profit, & U pay higher prices as a result.
& what's all that new tax $$$ go 4?
Wash started the Lottery & scratch-ticket sales 2 generate more $$$ 2 repair & build new roads & schools. I don't C that many major rd-improvement projects -- tho there was 1 on the rd right in front of my store last summer that did nothing but add a center-turn lane & a new surface over about 2 miles, did nothing 2 ease the massive traffic backup -- & it cost $3 million! & now the police R patrolling it heavily EVERY day & nite, writing speeding tickets 2 generate more revenue....
The only new school in Wash that I KNOW of that's bn built in the last decade was a brand-new highschool in Raymond, built 2 replace a non-earthquake-proof 75-yr-old 3-story structure from the early-1930s. It was cheaper 2 rebuild from scratch than 2 prop-up the old 1. & the new school was built in the Xact same spot, on a floodplain, right next 2 a river, 4 a student-body that had bn steadily Dclining 4 yrs, & probly still is.
The school cost $10 million. The state paid 4 about 1/2 of it, the school district passed a bond issue 2 pay 4 the rest. I was 1 of the guys who wrote local-newspaper articles Xplaining why the new school was needed, tho I didn't really Blieve it. But try 2 come out against a new school & a big Xpensive bldg project in a town that's dying & needs new jobs -- w/o Bing Cn as anti-school, anti-jobs, anti-community. U won't B living there 4 long. & if U R, nobody will speak 2 U NEmore.
& of course the new school looks XACTLY like a prison, as so many new schools Cm 2 these days. What in the heck R we saying 2 R kids?
1 of my roommates who both smokes & drinks & has there4 earned the right 2 complain about state gov't idiots, wonders how much U can legally tax 1 item. If the built-in tax on smokes is already $3/pack, how much higher can it legally go?
I think this is a legit question. Near as I can tell, Wash already has the 2nd-highest cigarette prices in the US, behind only New York state. As I've said 2 smokers so many times over the past few yrs, nobody zings U like Washington....
I'm more intrested in where the state's tax $$$ goes, & why they need so much, & always more more MORE.
At 1 point the Gov was projecting that the state's tax deficit might go as high as $10 billion+. With the economy in the toilet, tax revenues have bn slow 2 come in, people Rn't buying as much stuff so less tax $$$ is generated, & so on. When the deficit amount was reduced 2 $2 billion, there was apparently no Xplanation about where the other $8 billion went. The state also had a $2 billion "rainy day fund" a few yrs back. It's bn raining 4 months -- no idea where that $2 billion went.
More than NEthing, I wanna know where the LAST $10 billion we gave the state went. How R they spending R $$$? All on rd's & schools? Every time there's a really big road project, residents get taxed more 2 pay 4 it -- the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which we coulda had 4 free but we were 2 stupid), the proposed tunnel along Seattle's downtown waterfront 2 replace the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct, the proposed new State Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington -- state residents will pay all new fees or tolls or taxes 2 build each of them.
Unlike some critics, I've bn 2 Olympia a few times, & I think there's a lotta unnecessary costs that could B cut there. I've bn inside the state Department of Ecology bldg, which has the most beautiful cafeteria I've Cn since I got outta the Air Force. It's a beautiful setting, really, a great place 2 eat lunch.
Why do they have it? They're a 2 MINUTE drive down the street from NE restaurant U'd ever care 2 have lunch at.
The Gov's staff has 2 many mgrs pulling down 2 much $$$ -- salaries at the highest level of state gov't have bn WAY 2 HIGH 4 YRS. They should all take a 10-percent pay cut 2 get us thru these tough times. The Gov should lead the way by Xample.
Don't hold yr breath 4 it.
As an alternative, I suggest the state close the Dept's of Ecology, Natural Resources & Fish and Wildlife. Closing those 3 dept's & firing the Mployees should save at LEAST $2.8-billion EASILY. & 1/2 of them have state pensions or retirements they can fall back on. In this state, the Dept's of Ecology & Natural Resources Xist only 2 tell people what they CAN'T do on their own property, & Fish and Wildlife has "managed" the wildlife in the state so horrendously badly (while also telling people what they can't do on their own property) that everybody goes 2 Idaho or Oregon 2 hunt or fish.
& buy cigarettes. Or other big-ticket items. Oregon has no state sales tax.
Why do I care about all this? I don't much, really. I'm not a home-owner, so I don't havta worry about rising property taxes while the value of my property goes DOWN. I don't smoke or drink, & I'm onna pretty limited income, tho the gas & soda tax gets me a little.
Washington state is so brutally, ruthlessly efficient about collecting child-support $$$, U'd think they could put summa that same ruthless efficiency in2 finding ways 2 save $$$ inside the state gov't.
(1 area that could use more efficiency is the food-stamp program. I don't doubt people need them, & every1 Cms 2 have a food stamp card under the current economy. But why is it almost EVERYBODY I C w/ a food stamp card also hasa wallet full of $50's & $100's, & is driving either a brand-new car or at least 1 WAY newer & better than mine? I wanna ASK some 1, but it's gotta B just the right person so they don't think I'm trying 2 imply NEthing ... Hey, I'm available 4 free $$$, I'm just not sure I wanna know how they got it....)
If I can get THIS upset about something that doesn't really hit me 2 hard, it must B so dead-obvious by now that 1000's should B protesting around the capitol bldg in Olympia. Why Rn't they? MayB cos life is hard enuf & Xpensive enuf out here that 1 more tax is just 1 more thing 2 shrug off.
There R already calls from some state politicos that now is REALLY The Wrong Time 2 talk about raising taxes again when the economy is still in the toilet & noises about "Recovery" sound like a cruel, MT joke. But don't Xpect those no-tax comments 2 amount 2 much....
The longer I live here the more I think Wash only hasa coupla good things going 4 it.
1 is that this is the only place in the country where I can do my current job & keep up w/ my bills. If I were 2 go back home 2 Idaho, I'd take a pay cut of over 1/2.
The other good thing is that it's the 2nd BEAUTIFUL day in a row & Spring MAY B here (tho it Cms 6 wks 2 early -- just the weather lining us up 4 a blizzard in March?), & I Cm revitalized by an NRG I haven't felt in mo's.
Hope U R the same, & sorry 4 the heavy serious real-life issues of 2day's post. We'll C if this really IS a free country or if the Powers That B try 2 shut me up....
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