Happy New Year, well I guess so

 

I know I haven’t been saying much lately. Kind a hard to tell, but am frustrated with it all.

 

I know you probably hear the news so I don’t want to rehash how idiotic things have gotten.

Yet what to be done.

The Republicans are complicit, the Democrats are hapless and the world has entered one larger crapper.

People complain all day long, but none of us including me have a plan anymore.

Here is what needs to be done. Trump needs to be impeached. Vance needs to be impeached. We need a new speaker in the House of Representatives and I wonder about some of our military for going along with this most obvious oil grab and world power split up.

Putin probably now believes he has free reign to do what he wants. So don’t tell me he doesn’t have something to do with Trump running amuck.

Between Netanyahu coercing Trump into attacking Iran and the Gulf states paying Trump to well who knows, but we know attack Iran there is the possibility of that war.

Then us attacking Venezuela constitutes multiple violations of international law all for their oil. Oh sure someone will be the leader of Venezuela, but they will be handing over their oil to our oil companies hand over fist. And why? Oil only pollutes this planet. So greed wins,,, again.

High possibility of China going after Taiwan now because what is Trump going to do. He doesn’t care about what China does. He really doesn’t except for the bluster he can create.

We have a very weak and bribable president and humanity is going to get screwed for it. But hey, you know America first. And oh yeah that affordability thing; a president who knew about the greatest sexual predator in modern history, he might not have participated, but he knew; a media that is partisan, divided and weak; social media lies; AI madness so no one knows what is the truth anymore; a Supreme Court that doesn’t know how to read the Constitution; the money grabs by Trump and his administration; and who knows what else as I rehash the idiocy.

Yeah I am a bit down in the dumps about the whole thing, so let’s pray I am wrong as heck and have a Happy New Year.

Anyway my words for the year are trust and discipline. So, I think I need tons of discipline to keep the trust going. Things can be better, but we need to get moving on some plan to make it happen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2025

 

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday. I hope you find what you are looking for this year and if not, I am wishing you a prosperous new year.

Also let’s continue to pray for world peace. Too many of our leaders don’t care about their people so it is up to us to pray for them and for leaders that put their people first.

Don’t forget why we have the season. I know we always say Christmas has become too commercialized, yet enjoying generosity is still good. Do what you can for others and be grateful for what you have. The true meaning of Christmas is the joy you spread amongst family, friends and the world. There are a million trite phrases. There is only one you to say what needs to be said.

Merry Christmas and a joyous, prosperous and happy New Year.

Michael W Green’s one hundred forty thousand dollar poverty line and a few other items

 

First of all I hope you had a great Thanksgiving filled with well food filling your tummy and wonderful interactions with family and friends. I hope you enjoyed every moment of your time. We certainly did.

Second has anyone seen Tulsi Gabbard lately? I’m sure she is out there somewhere, yet I haven’t seen her in the news for awhile now. And that is probably a good thing, yet it seems weird.

Now on to the headline. On Substack Michael W Green identified as an investor or Wall Street Strategist who helps manage a hedge fund says on Substack that $140,000 or specifically $136,500 should be considered the new poverty line.

And of course everyone including yours truly has an opinion about that statement.

I want to focus though on something that is discussed as the valley of death or where most Americans fall economically. The poverty line probably does need to be adjusted due to the inflation of the last few years, but where it is actually may need a real deep dive that I am not going to do right now.

This valley of death is a rough idea of people above the current poverty income level and that $140,000 figure. And Mr. Green uses the $140,000.00 figure for what is needed for a family of four, the somewhat standard for measuring economic levels. 

Mr. Green postulates that the poverty level should be this figure to represent the amount it takes to meet all basic needs in modern America including housing, childcare, healthcare, food etc… And this is where some people say this isn’t the poverty level because poverty should represent where people are who cannot meet any needs. I agree closer to the latter idea. Poverty should represent what it means to be truly poor, not struggling.

So this brings me back to the valley of death thought. Most Americans earn enough not to qualify for government assistance or the bottom line of the valley of death to where Mr. Green states we need to earn to meet all our needs in modern America or the upper level of the valley of death.

And why is this important? Again too many Americans fall into this valley. They cannot make enough to begin to save, invest or basically get ahead. They spend their lives robbing Peter to pay Paul then the next month robbing Paul to pay Peter and one misstep away from complete financial oblivion. Some people use the phrase living paycheck to paycheck as another example of this economic group.

And if you read this blog regularly you know I have identified some public policy ideas to address help for this group. And I identify them as the working and middle class, technically the backbone of a healthy democracy.

And if you look around you know we need to send our country to a democracy doctor right now. Our education system is in the pits and being subjugated to the wishes of billionaires who really do not want us educated. Our Congress spends more time courting election funds from these same billionaires instead of actually representing the majority of this country and the needs of the people. And it is easy to spout of a litany of other ills facing our nation.

The what gives moment keeps getting ignored by our media because they are beholden to these same politicians for news.

So I don’t think $140,000 is the poverty line, but we need to step up and really do something about the valley of death of economic group.

If you wonder why I am so adamant about saying the duopoly has failed this country this is one of the main reasons. The people are barely making it, while the uber rich are allowed to keep taking from them.  This isn’t Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders saying the billionaires need to be reigned in, this needs even stronger action. And no socialism isn’t the answer. It will create a whole set of new problems. Don’t believe me, look at the history of the twentieth century. Socialism failed.

We need a full scale overhaul of our tax system that tilts cuts towards this group, a renewal to better education for all, improving social security so the working and middle class can live in their retirement. Work place savings plans are great, yet they should not be the main answer since they rely on the economy and current economic trends can go south on occasion such as 2009 or the pandemic. So I bet you can guess how I feel about privatizing social security. The last thing we need to do is give more money to billionaires to manipulate for their benefit.

Anyway campaign finance reform, rescinding the Citizen’s United ruling because billionaires should not be allowed to have undue influence on our government. I have said before, capitalism is great, but the winners shouldn’t be allowed to make the rules for society. So that means lobbying needs to be reigned in. And also it comes to a point where companies become so large they are counter to a growing economy since they pull so much out of it to retain their vast size.

I could go on, yet for now I am glad Mr. Green talked about the poverty level at $140,000.00. That figure may not be the poverty level, yet it does highlight what it takes in this country to break even between meeting basic needs and eventually getting ahead.  A real strong economy would mean the valley of death economically would shrink to such a point only a very small portion of the population would fall into it rather than the vast majority we see now.

Are the Cowboys for real? I do not know yet, but it is exciting to find out.

I really love the players on the Mavericks and see huge potential still, yet I hope they don’t become too frustrated before they figure out how to get over this last hump. I know they are close because they are in way too many games and just losing at the last minute. Pray for them to find the last ladder step to get where they need to be.

Advent is upon us, the preparation and the wait begin. I hope you find joy in your heart as we move towards the first and second coming.

The Supreme Court may be disenfranchising independent voters and candidates in Texas

 

The Supreme Court put a hold on the Order that barred the Texas redistricting map that Republicans created. This is supposedly for the Supreme Court to take this up at a later date. This redistricting plan already is fraught with problems. And most Americans are also becoming fed up with the massive amount of gerrymandering both parties have done for decades now.

The gerrymandering is bad enough for independent or third parties as it is, and actually shouldn’t be allowed on its surface. Yet as you know the duopoly does everything in its power to protect its interests which coincides with the fact their interests aren’t the interests of the people.

Yet how does the Supreme Court’s action affect independents in Texas. Well if you are tired of the duopoly and think we need new candidates or I want to vote for someone different such as an independent or third party you are now up against a deadline to file to run.

1. As per the Texas Department of State’s website if you want to run as an independent you must:
   File a Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate (PDF) between November 8, 2025 and 6:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2025 with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices).  [Secs. 142.002(b)(2), 142.005]  This Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate is mandatory. If you do not file a declaration during the applicable filing period, your subsequent candidate application will be rejected.

You now have to decide blindly if you think you have a chance because if you run, presumably you want to win. Yet, how do you know your chances if you do not know what the district will look like.

There are other requirements also, but that December 8 deadline is fast approaching. Now this basically affects a US House seat, but right now that body of our government desperately needs new people.

This affects candidates and voters because if you do not want to vote for either of the duopoly, you may not have a choice since an independent candidate may not be able to run or run an effective campaign.

And what is worse there is no recourse for independents since they cannot sue the Supreme Court to take action timely.

Sure you can file your intent to run as an independent and later drop out if you do not have a good district, but exactly how a district looks is an important piece of knowledge in making any decision to run for office.

And yes I know some people will say it is a waste of votes to vote against the duopoly. I have two arguments for you. One is right now people may be more open to someone new due to all the dysfunction in Washington right now and two well if you look at all the dysfunction in Washington right now, maybe voting for the duopoly is the wasted vote.

Since I live in Texas I only looked at the Texas rules, yet this may be playing out in other states as well.

Cheers

Here is a thought about the Papacy, recent Popes and a touch on the Church

 

It drives me crazy when liberals say the Church needs to change with the times. How? The Church’s job in straight forward liberal speak is to study and disseminate the teachings of Christ/God and belief in the Trinity just to keep it simple. Sure there is much more, yet for today’s purposes, this is what the Church does day in and day out. What can it change without a change coming from God?

The Church is not a political belief. It cannot change with the times. You cannot have a liberal or a conservative Church. You can review the teachings and adhere strictly to doctrine and that might be considered a conservative approach or vice versa you can take a generous view of the teachings and that might be a liberal view of the teachings, yet the Church is not liberal or conservative.

You cannot argue doctrine like you can argue if capitalism or socialism is better in practice than the other. It is a completely different ballgame.

Yet nowadays we have conservatives especially in the United States making the same mistakes liberals have made for God knows how long. They want the Church to reflect their political beliefs, what they think the Church should do or in essence change with their times.

And compounded by all this is Pope Francis and now Pope Leo XIV have different worldview experiences since they are not European Popes. Pope Francis especially having come from South America is not as dominated by Papal history. And mainly his personal history is set in second or third world country. He sees the world from a different lenses than most Popes.

Sure Pope John Paul II lived in trying circumstances during WWII and it definitely had an impact on his Papacy, yet he was European. Francis and now Leo XIV have completely different  experiences with Francis from Latin America and Leo XIV being in mission in Latin America.

Popes Francis and Leo XIV are just as attuned to the magisterium as all previous Popes, but how they view the world is also impacted by the environment of their lives. Yes, Leo XIV was born in the United States yet that is not his main or dominant life as a Priest. A person can easily see his missionary work has a great impact on him.

The reactionary right Catholics struggle with them, not because of Catholicism but because like the liberals they want the Church to serve their needs not God’s direction.

Pope Francis probably didn’t help himself with this group because he tended to speak off the cuff sometimes, but his work as Pope always was God’s work, not ours. Popes Francis and Leo XIV are not liberals just because the right in the United States and some of Europe say so. They aren’t liberals period. They speak from a different vantage point than the right does and that really is what is driving the right wing conservatives crazy. The Popes have seen first hand the suffering, the poor, the downtrodden Jesus spoke of and said we should help. This isn’t being liberal this is just them making the right wing uncomfortable. As right wing Catholics deep down they know Jesus’ teachings, but they let worldly views dominate their perspective. This is causing the disconnect from Papal teaching they cannot resolve externally and maybe even internally. It is the same word taught for 2,000 plus years.

Times do change, a person can choose one political belief over another, and they can even change their mind, yet when Jesus said whatever you do for the least of us, you do for me, it means the same now as when he walked this Earth. That will never change until God changes it.

Cheers

It is a crazy world out there, so let’s just finish that story.

 

I should be outside. It is a beautiful day. And I even sprained my finger so it is hard to type. And don’t ask me why. Clumsy is part of my personae so please leave it at that.

And if you remember the rules you know I never look back, I just type from where I left off from memory. And since it has been awhile, I will just pick up where I think I left off.

I thought about going back and finding the bits and pieces and copying them onto this document and then going from there, yet I if did that I would end up rereading and that breaks the rule.

And if things go well, I will go outside in a bit. Or otherwise I have to figure out what to eat for lunch and as all us first worlders know, what to eat is such a headache.

So without further procrastination, here we go.

 

Oops, I started writing and realized I had no idea at all where I left off. Usually I write the story consistently enough I have a vague idea, not this time.  So the rule has been broken, but I just read the last few paragraphs so will go from there. The remaining rules I apply I am just going from the last couple of paragraphs.

 

So without any more procrastination, here we go.

 

The mortal stood paralyzed, still trying to decide if he should run. Was his mind playing tricks?

The bird appeared confused. It began to meander over to the mortal. Again speaking and asked: what are you doing here?

The mortal’s flight or fight response system was failing badly. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t think, couldn’t respond to the question, he just couldn’t function. It isn’t every day you climb to the land of the Gods and see a talking bird, yet somewhere deep he knew he had to react and react quickly. The bird was approaching, slowly yes, but approaching.

The bird stopped sensing the mortal’s fear and inability to react.

Did the bird just smile thought the mortal?

The bird stopped asked if he was okay. What thought the man? Did he just ask me if I am okay?

In his head, he screamed no. His voice quivered and he stammered some noise.  The bird squawked mildly.  And then asked are you okay.

The mortal still frozen still, still stammering stared straight at the bird. Still unable to move, unable to speak still, his brain began to work just staring at the bird. The concentration of just staring interrupted his fear enough for his brain to start to function. He slowly started to back away never taking his eyes off the bird.

The bird realizing the mortal was beginning to come around, said do not run away. I am not here to hurt you. I am just shocked to see a mortal up here in the high ground.

The mortal realized the bird lived with the Gods and maybe knew the Gods. His past curiosity and need to find a sword began to filter thoughts into his brain. He thought maybe the bird can help him. He didn’t know if he could trust the bird though.

The bird sensed the doubt and confusion, asked again how are you doing.

The mortal finally said without thinking scared. The bird nodded in acknowledgement and I said I understand. Is this your first time in the high ground.

The mortal didn’t know how to answer. Should he tell the truth? He blurted no.

The bird laughed and asked when.

The mortal just blurted everything out that had happened to him over the last few days, the sword fight, his friend not being interested, what the Priest said and wanted, a sword from one of the Gods.

The bird had been able to walk closer to the mortal as he spoke and was within a few feet when the mortal said sword from the Gods. To the mortal the resulting screeching was absolutely terrifying, he froze again. After the screeching died down, the bird seemed in very good humor, “the Gods” he bellowed. The Gods!?!?!?!?! He screeched again.

Then the mortal realized the screeching was the bird laughing hysterically.

The bird tells the mortal, what makes you think the high ground people are Gods.

The mortal tells the history of his people that from time immortal the Gods from the mountains were the rulers of his people. The bird clarified them as the valley mortals. The mortal wanted to ask what he meant, yet just couldn’t stop talking until after telling the bird of his entire history and world, he just stopped and stared at the bird. The mortal had probably been speaking for what was it a couple of hours. He had just gone on and on.

The bird said I can get you a sword, but it is not of the Gods, it is just of the high ground people. The high ground people had moved away from the valley so long ago no one remembered, but they are related to you. The bird went on to say, to call them Gods is laughable.

The mortal stammered, but what about the Priests. The bird answered what about them. The bird then discussed the history of the high ground people. They were just like the mortal well without the Priests.

The bird thought it was funny that the only difference was the fact the valley people had Gods and the high ground people didn’t. Otherwise their lives were the same.

It did make the bird think. You know you and your people are so much more civilized than the high ground people because of your belief in the Gods. Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone.

So what should I do asks the mortal. The birds suggests he take a sword of one of the high ground people to the priest, but instead of saying it was from a dead God, but it was a gift. The priests should build a new temple on the plains with the sword as a center piece. He told the mortal to tell the Priests they need to bring the people back to the temples and begin worshipping the Gods again.

So the mortal did just that. He helped the Priests re engage the people with a completely fabricated story about the Gods. He told the Priests they need to quit being merchants, quietly of course, and to go back to the temples and preach what it meant to be a good person and how to worship the Gods, yet never telling them of his meeting with the bird.

He held up the sword from the high ground people claiming it was a gift as instructed. Many asked him about his adventure on the mountain. He told them they were not to go up there like he did. People balked why not us if you. He let them know, he was instructed by the Gods to go up there, he just didn’t know he was told to go up there and they gave him the sword to proof he had gone. They wanted him to bring back the temples since they had fallen in disrepair and that is the end of him being with the Gods.

They asked him for more proof of his being the only mortal to go. He pointed up. Everyone looked and he said that is the new guardian of the mountain and he will swoop down on anyone that attempts to climb. On cue the bird squawked loudly and menacingly.

Everyone including the Priests believed and the people of the valley for generations to come worshipped the Gods and did well for each other.

 

Well until one day when it had been years since anyone had seen the bird, the temples were in disrepair and one young mortal got curious.

The End

 

And on a side note, MTG and Donald Trump in a feud. What craziness await us now?

 

And I am finally getting outside here at the last minute to grill dinner.

Cheers

Are the Mavericks a hot mess?.............No but what are they?

 

The Mavericks are frustrating right now for quite a few reasons.  Yet the Mavericks as stand are still a good basketball team not playing as well as they could.

Sure Nico was fired, but that doesn’t affect what is happening on the court unless there was some confusion going on that affected their play. Yet overall unless the players say it, I doubt it.

And what is interesting is Naji said the other day when he had a good game they needed to get out of their own heads. And that I believe is real. And unfortunately they couldn’t get out of their own heads in the fourth quarter against the Bucks.

The symptoms are missed wide open three pointers or weakly contested three pointers. Or when they drive to the basket and miss the layup, sure it was contested, but they are missing too many of those.

They are forcing shots over and over again. They are not in a rhythm mentally, ie they need to get out of their own heads.

The defense has been somewhat good, not great, but good and you can tell because they have lost more than a few games in this early part of the season by just a few points. If they made 1/3 of their three pointers in the fourth quarter against the Bucks, they probably win the game by 5 or 6 points, maybe more. Yet they missed too many.

And these are shots they can make. And don’t tell me they aren’t being set up well since Luka is gone. Yes he made a difference, but way too many of these shots can be made without Luka.

Would it help to have an elite point guard, of course. Yet if you really watch the game, they aren’t completely without some good point guard play. It could be better, but overall that isn’t the deep problem. A good point guard will make a difference in a close game, but making shots helps to prevent games coming down to the last minute.

I still feel good about this team with or without Nico. I just hope no rash decisions are made to try and undo the Luka debacle. They may need to give the players a chance to get out of their heads, win a few games in a row and see what is really needed on the court because yes, some improvement can always help.

For the time being though, the fans need the players to play, just play. Naji understood that and did well one game. He and the rest of the team need to carry that forward.

 

Cheers