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

Yes, this is much worse than you thought

 

First I have to say the flip side of the coin is worse, but to begin we now have proof without a doubt that the ACA was an unmitigated disaster. If this was supposed to be a way for people to afford healthcare or insurance for healthcare then why does it take these tax subsidies to make it close to affordable. Yes folks riddle me this question, because it doesn’t make sense to me.

Originally this was to be affordable hence the name, but what happened between now and then that we are in the middle of a shutdown debacle so people can afford their premiums because they are so high they need tax subsidies to be affordable. I don’t know, I probably missed something or I hope I missed something, but this is ridiculous.

Yet for how bad this is or became the Republicans are just sitting on their incompetent asses and have no clue what to do. So they are stuck having to do something with these subsidies or God only does what is going to happen next year. Realistically they have to approve some version of them or people will be in a world of hurt. So both parties let this problem become larger year over year because neither can govern.

Both parties cannot pass a budget, cannot talk to each other, cannot think, cannot come up with anything resembling a decent proposal, elected a Speaker who is so morbidly incompetent or so morbidly up the President’s ass nothing can get done.

This duopoly needs to pass this stupid CR with some relief on the ACA premiums, then get to work and I mean real work, not talk and come up with a better plan. And I don’t care which party, but something concrete that works. And do this while finally passing an actual budget not two years of continuing resolutions.

I know the Democrats keep saying we need universal healthcare, well tell me how because we have $38 trillion in debt to pay, social security and Medicare struggling and need a solution and again no one can pass the budget. We cannot figure out problems so yes you think we can have universal healthcare, then come up with the plan. Right now I see no path towards that without busting the budget even more.

So off the top of my head, and I mean the top of my head as I watch the Mavericks lay a colossal egg on the basketball court this evening.

And there are a multitude of problems with this plan, but for now it is a start and neither party has anything else to offer especially the Republicans. And yes I am a believer in the free market, but these are drastic times.

First we need to find a way to encourage people to have primary health care providers. And if your primary healthcare provider is one of the doc in a box varieties then so be it, but one central location to start managing your healthcare. Maybe require all PCPs to only charge the exact same price for initial visits say $25.00 and this visit needs no insurance validation. This is the price you pay to go to the same doctor regularly. And so this $25 visit includes an initial diagnosis and any necessary prescriptions. Basically everyone pays $25 to see the doctor of their choice as long as they become their primary provider for things like infections, colds, flu, covid tests, initial exams where there may be a follow up needed such as testing, yet not including an annual physical, to determine what might be wrong or to refer to a specialist.

The primary care doctor is responsible for an annual physical and they can charge up to $50 plus tests. This is where insurance can come in ie through your employer or your own private insurance and that insurance company can pay for the visit if they create that type of policy.

Insurance then covers, based on plan, all testing ordered by primary care doctor for many conditions from diabetes to autoimmune diseases for example. I am sure the experts can flesh out what conditions could be included. And with all that I speak about beyond the PCP general visit there can be a reasonable co-pay by the patient.

And now here is where I need help, but insurance companies would be limited in their premiums and their plans. Each company would follow a certain series of guidelines and they would have some control of pricing, but costs would need to be negotiated by the insurance company. So Company A can offer a full complete coverage for x amount, a high deductible plan for y amount, and a long term care plan for z amount and that is what they can do. And these plans have to meet certain guidelines of care and yes there are price controls, yep the free market is limited so to speak with these types of plans.

It is up to the insurance company to find ways for hospitals, specialists etc to reign in their costs.

Secondary items like plastic surgery that is not medically needed can be excluded from coverage if the insurance company so desires. And other types of elective procedures can be excluded. Again here is where experts need to get involved to flesh out what is elective and what is needed. I think people certainly would understand skin grafts for burn victims should be covered.

Insurance companies can set some pricing let’s say for the employer plans based on number of employees, yet still cannot exceed the government guidelines for all employer plans based on any number of people.

Insurance companies to be competitive will need to find ways to enhance services for the limited dollars to attract customers. And there is a good chance some won’t be making excessive billions year over year like they do now.

And yes the government can create guidelines for what is full care or care with high deductibles and the long term care plans are for people who are generally healthy now, but are starting to become older. These plans allow older people to transition this plan into a Medicare enhancement plan when they reach 65 or let the participants start paying a small extra premium when younger and I mean small to cover illnesses such as dementia care for when they are older. It is going to be on the individual to decide if they want to start paying extra premiums in advance of things that might happen. And if a patient becomes incapacitated then the premiums are stagnant for the rest of the patient’s life.

So basically insurance companies offer three general types of plans with some tweaking as needed for the market, everyone and I am not sure how to push this, but everyone designates someone as their PCP, and this can be changed over time as needed, but there is a designation.

Doctors can charge patients basic amounts for all general care, I haven’t mentioned this yet, but a whole list of drugs would be a generic pricing for everyone, that list again determined by experts, and specialized drugs covered by one of the three insurance plans.

So you are taking the cost of going to the doctor and basic prescriptions out of insurance coverage completely and placing restrictions on these costs. The PCP would still gather insurance information, but they can start to streamline staff hopefully since they would only need to contact insurance company when they are referring or running tests that aren’t the physical exam tests such as x rays in house or sending to a company that does radiology.

Secondary labs would also have scheduled pricing for the various tests so all insurance companies are paying the same.

Specialists would have a bit more flexibility in pricing for their work, yet it would come with some caveats such as regular routine work within the specialty would have prescribed costs for example, the cost of let’s say walking boots or casts at an orthopedic clinic or group.

And with cost controls patients should have choices on where to go. That way if one doctor does a better job and people hear about it then they could go to that doctor barring availability of course. This way good doctors and responsive doctors can do well.

I haven’t talked about emergency room visits. Now this is covered by the three types of plans, however if you go to the emergency room for a routine visit then the insurance company can limit how much they pay. If there is a limited amount of doctors in an area then for example rural hospitals can create clinics that can be designated as PCPs, but the hospital can limit clinic hours to the same hours as individual PCPs and going to the emergency room in the same hospital as the clinic after hours because you got a cold would still be more costly.

And there could be certain costs for some border line problems again experts are needed here yet for example does a broken leg that is just broken ie no bone protruding constitute an emergency. I do not know, but this can be worked out in the legislation. Or could a secondary charge be added since more tests may be needed, but those costs become split between the patient and the insurance carrier.

This isn’t much different from the current situation except for the general visits to a PCP. By taking the insurance completely out of simple visits and allowing PCPs to know their patients hopefully better care can be administered which helps in the long term health of the patient which should slow down more extensive care later on.

Is this the answer, I do not know, is it a start, maybe, but I can tell you just sitting here late on a Friday night this puts more decisions in the hands of doctors, controls the cost of insurance premiums which should force these companies and patients to find realistic care instead of abusing the system and we are already at least one step in the right direction.

And is much further along than anything the Democrats or Republicans are talking about or planning while they are yelling at each other in the media.

Fund the subsidies, open the government and get to work, or hopefully if this morass is still going on in two months people will realize we just need to change. The government itself is still great, it is the people we keep putting into office that is failing us. Let’s not wait until November 2026 to realize what we know now. Or otherwise we will wait until 2028 and each time we wait it only gets harder to fix.

And if you don’t like my plan, fine, put a better one on paper because if you complain about it without offering alternatives etc.. then you are part of the current problem, and nowhere near the solution.

What happened to the conservative movement?

 

Oops I accidentally overheard someone say this question, yet it is worth discussing from my point of view. And for the people who are concerned about this, my answer isn’t going to be liked by them.

And to answer this question, I am going to have to back up some. 

When I was young I considered myself a liberal. My first vote for President was Jimmy Carter. We had just finished up the Nixon disaster and being young with all my friends we thought that was the correct vote. But but but by the late 70’s I found myself at odds with much of what the Democrats were doing and saying. I didn’t consider myself a conservative yet, but there was conflict. It hadn’t manifested very strong yet so in 1980 I voted for Carter again.

Soon after 1980 my life changed some and I had a new best friend. He was a demonstrative Reagan conservative. He loved Reagan and I heard about him night and day. This did not change me. Like I mentioned my life had changed and I realized some aspects of conservatism appealed to me, yet others that the Republican Party hung much of their hat on, didn’t.

So my friend and I argued late into many nights what was really conservatism and I made the conscious decision I was an independent conservative and would not vote for either of the two parties. I felt even at that time they were losing touch with the realities on the ground about what this country needed. It wasn’t as obvious to many, yet as the Reagan years went on, I started seeing it more and more. In the 1982 midterms I voted for a few libertarian candidates. If there wasn’t a libertarian on the ballot I didn’t vote for that office. I was mocked to say the least because I had decided to be just as demonstrative about being an independent as my friend was being a Reaganite. We had an extended group of friends, some liberal some conservative, and they all mocked me.

1984 came around and after two years of hearing how my vote was wasted in 1982, I went real rogue and said y’all are wasting your vote and found the most crazy conservative candidate and voted for him. I told all my friends and since we all lived in the same precinct we voted together. And everyone in that line knew who I was voting for. I didn’t care, I was proud to “stick it to the man”.

And 1984 is just about the end of the conservative movement. After this year the one thing that benefits the Republicans and the worst instinct of conservatives began to dominate their thinking. And it is the same thing. Conservatives are conformists by nature. It helps them develop a culture, helps them to rally around their causes, but it also destroys creativity, creates groupthink even for policies that are not good, causes others to look over their shoulders to make sure they still belong.

To me the first sign of Republicans weakening as conservatives was when Grover Norquist had all Republicans in office sign his no new tax pledge and created a lock step environment that began the weakening of the party. They all did for some made up fear that they were not Republican enough if they didn’t. The long slow march to less than mediocrity began.

If you are a real conservative you would know how to manage the government in conservative fashion and would not need to proof it to anyone. This conformity was counter productive and today we see the results of that in the complete acquiesce to Trump. Grover being the little mini dictator of policy wannabe to be relevant hurt the party tremendously in my eyes.  I saw this and vowed never to support the Republican party. I might have made the switch if he hadn’t shown to me such a weakness dominating the party environment.

Two other reasons I do not support the Republicans. First is that Republicans tie supporting big business as a conservative principle. Yes, supporting free markets is a conservative principle, but there is a difference between supporting markets and trade versus giving breaks and developing policy that enhances big business. The Republicans can say they are the party of big business if they want, but they cannot say this is conservatism. True conservatives would support the free market which means it is up to the business to survive not give tax breaks and other benefits to prop them up or prop up their profits especially when they couch this in false facts and lies. Now I do believe in economic hard times the government can help in certain ways, as with helping the average Joe so to speak just as much. The government’s job is to protect the people, all the people, including during economic calamities. 

The second reason is why I thought I was a liberal when I was young and that is I am against pollution in all its forms. And as mentioned it is the government’s responsibility to protect the people so when a business is poisoning us, it is the government’s job to protect us and this is done through the EPA. I do not know if this is best way to do it, but something needs to be done on a regular basis when companies show disregard for our health to make more money. I never understood poisoning your workers or customers was a great business model. Anyway this goes against the Republican (not conservative) grain so I decided in the 80’s not to be a Republican.

And so the conservative movement reached it’s zenith with Reagan and began it’s descent with Reagan. Ever since then it has been hijacked by too much conformity, big business through lobbying (democrats suffer from this also) and absolutely no new ideas. Conservatives became good at pointing fingers and then first with Gingrich and then Fox News, the hate machine developed and started the slow march to Trumpism. Sure the Democrats aren’t better and if you don’t believe me you need to read the book Hate, Inc. by Matt Taibbi. He really takes the deep dive as to why the media became obsessed with picking sides, how far this has devolved, and why both sides are equally to blame. It is a great read for modern history.

So that is a quick hit as to what happened to the conservative movement. Not at all the full exploration that is needed, yet I hope it gives you an idea why I continue to say I am an independent conservative even though my public policy ideas lean slightly center right populism which is hard to explain what that means. Internally I am very conservative, yet I also know for our government to succeed it needs to look at the needs of the whole and as per our Constitution without taking away the rights and needs of the minority (and that could be any minority, but they meant politically when they framed it). That is one tall task which we currently are failing at religiously.

So the Republicans aren’t conservative, they are I do not know what right now, but it ain’t good and the Democrats are clueless on how to help the very people they keep saying they are helping.

So quit wasting your vote and start recruiting people you respect to run as an independent, liberal or conservative, because if you want to conserve our Constitution we need to get to work.

Cheers

Next time a Republican tells you they have a healthcare plan….

 

Laugh,

Just laugh out loud, roll over laughing because it is one big joke. They don’t have a clue, not just Trump, but most of the Republicans. And if they pull a Trump and say they are working on it, etc… laugh louder and then cry because no one has a healthcare plan.

Obamacare or the ACA was never healthcare reform. It was a convoluted mess disguised as healthcare reform to allow insurance companies to make more money and a few people to get a bit of health insurance. A thousand pages of nothing burger except more insurance.

And honestly healthcare reform is a monster. If you are a regular reader you know I offer ideas for public policy since I say the Democrats and Republicans fail us. I feel I need to offer other ideas. Mainly I do this under the guise of a fictional third party, yet if any independent candidates want to use my ideas, please do so.

And I have thought about healthcare and I struggle.

I know some democrats propose universal healthcare, but I do not see it. And yes I know there are some countries where they have some type of universal healthcare. Yet for this country to make the transition it would take quite a bit of work. You can’t just throw a switch.

Social Security and Medicare are running out of money as it is, we have a horrendous tax code that punishes people that work for a living, the rich don’t pay taxes so creating a universal healthcare plan from scratch against these obstacles would be disastrous. So many changes need to be implemented to even start.

And if anyone thinks our current two parties can do it? I say laugh again. They cannot even pass a basic budget for the year, much less determine public policy priorities. The Republicans are letting Trump run amuck and the Democrats are clueless to stop him, mainly because they were so clueless for years they let him in in the first place.

I always say business people shouldn’t be in charge of government because they are two different animals, but if you were running a business you would fire half or more Republicans in office for failure to get anything done. And yes I know I am finger pointing when I say this, but it is true.

We need new parties. I have presented ideas for public policy that isn’t radically different from how our government operates now. Just some center to center right ideas to support the working and middle class better, nothing revolutionary. Yet common sense is absent from Washington D. C. so it is absent from the national discussion on what our country needs.

It is time for change, let’s just make it a positive one. The fundamental ideas of our Constitution and government are good. The practice of it by Democrats and Republicans is dismal.

I wonder if you ever say the truth long and loud enough will people start to believe it. I am trying.

 

And oh yeah, I do need to finish that story

When your children start asking difficult questions and still no continuation of the story.

 

Yes, I am going to finish the story and I know it will take at least 2 or 3 posts to finish it based on where it stands now. And I am not thinking ahead just guessing based on where I left off. The story will still remain honest to write in the moment theory.

 

Anyway for all you people who are looking for parental advice you have come to the wrong place. I am talking about the difficult questions.

My youngest (full adult) asked me what was my favorite record. The fact she knew record lets you know she knows how old I am.

She wanted favorite all time and I couldn’t even begin to say. So I said how about top ten, nope she says, favorite.

I still do not have an answer, but stumbling through my top ten or so here we go. Greatest hits albums and compilation albums are off limits. She didn’t nix live albums when I mentioned that, but still not sure if those count. And finally I added the caveat only one album per artist. I felt that to be fair because yes I could name multiple albums from various artists. I will let you know if it was close.

 

This is in no particular order and I do mean that.

Beatles Abbey Road, but Revolver was hard to put aside.

Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, but Exile on Main Street is up there

Yessongs by yes

Four way street by Crosby Stills Nash and Young, not because it is a great live album, it isn’t but has all the right songs

(and the caveat goes no greatest hits so the two above may be taken away anyway)

Goodbye the Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, yet Madman against the Water is driving me crazy

Come On Come on by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Joshua Tree by U2

Reba McEntira’s Rumor has it

Any album with Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony mainly because of the 4^th movement (strange but true, I cannot immediately recognize it when it is played)

Dwight Yokam’s This time

Aqualung by Jethro Tull

Who’s next by the Who

Led Zepplin 4, yet Physical Graffiti is pounding in my head

okay this is 13 but I am still struggling with which albums and if we lose the live albums then I am back to almost ten

 

Well this is it for the moment, yet I keep thinking.

Greatest Hits honorable mention

Cream, America, Merle Haggard, compilation of Frank Sinatra, compilation of Willie Nelson, Jefferson Airplane, Gershwin, compilation of Beethoven and Mozart, Beatles 62-66 and 67-70 same for the Rolling Stones same timeframes, U2 also has a double set of greatest hits, Joe Ely has a greatest hit album that is great, multiple different Rod Stewart collections

And I know there is no Pink Floyd because I can only put them in a top twenty or twenty five and it will probably be Welcome to Machine or Animals which would also include Emerson Lake and Palmer’s Welcome back my Friends and King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King, David Bowie’s Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust or his first album, Jeff Beck’s Truth, Rod Stewart’s Never a Dull Moment and ugh

And I am sure more will come to mind when I quit thinking about it.

And if you have comments or other favorites don’t hesitate to leave them below, you may refresh this fading brain. And one other caveat, some of these albums were because of the time in my life they were released so I do not consider any of these technically the greatest albums because usually technically great albums are boring

Classical pieces can be hard to categorize, where do you put Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite? Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker?

And one song I have to mention because it is the type of song that just deserves to be mentioned in an honorable mention list somewhere is:

He Drinks Tequila by Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw and if you live in the American Southwest and don’t bust a gut listening then to quote a recent Judge, you can go pound sand.

Cheers

Another example of how the duopoly fails us, and sorry no continuation of the story today

I have been writing quite a bit lately, however none of the fun projects I want to work on. So I am not in the mood to expend creative power. Or is it just because I am lazy? You know the seven deadly sins such as sloth, throw in some pride and a sprinkling of greed and that is what the last couple weeks have been like. And does it matter if the greed is incremental and not exponential. You may have seen an X post where I addressed greed or sideways confessed it.  So if you see me in the confession line, please just say hi.

Anyway, let’s deal with the actual post.

So Trump wants to give Argentina a ton of money to keep his bud’s election prospects and then on top of it throws in we should buy some Argentina beef. And yes the U.S. cattle world found a way to complain about the policy yet still say the support Trump. How these people look at themselves in the mirror is beyond me.

How would this look different if there were no parties? Let’s use this beef conundrum for our example.

First most of the cattle world would still be conservative, still support the beef industry and still would elect maybe even the same individual to represent them in the House.

The difference is if the Representative was not beholden or forced to be loyal to a party machinery there might be some small differences in how the Representative votes.

Yes they would still support the agricultural industry, but maybe supporting more smaller and/or local businesses when it comes to writing tax breaks into bills. They might spend more time finding better immigration policy that strengthens our border, yet allows workers they need into the country.

They would not be required to blindly support the party leader just because they were the party leader or support other party priorities that might not benefit their constituents.

They would work on legislation that benefits their constituents, plus similar industries yet be able to compromise with other legislators to create more comprehensive budget plans and pass the full budget for example.

Their support of a president that promotes what Trump is doing in Argentina would not exist. They may still support the President, yet they would speak out more forcefully, call the President out and create legislation or work with the Executive branch to stop this decision.

The President not having the blind loyalty of the party would need to be more conscious of the various needs of the country and work with the legislators to do better for the country.

And when the majority of the country supports something then legislation would be written and passed.

For example since the majority of this country is working and middle class, that would mean most districts are primarily working and middle class and each legislator would be more reactive to those needs than party reliance on billionaire and lobbyist campaign donations. (on a side not since most see the need for campaign finance reform, we would have better campaign finance laws). Basically if each Representative relied on working in and within the community to get elected there would be less reliance on large donations and legislation would reflect the needs of the majority of the country. We would still have other problems like poverty, healthcare, the economy to address, yet it would be easier for conservatives and liberals to compromise or better yet write better legislation originally to help the poor or what else is needed because the people generally support these needs. The details would require the back and forth of compromise and planning, yet the wants and needs of the people are always front and forward.

So not having political machinery isn’t going to change much on the visible surface because we would still have conservatives and liberals and lunatics, but better on the results.

And for anyone that hasn’t paid attention the two party system is not part of the Constitution and even some of our forefathers warned us of the dangers. It seems awkward that someone that died over 200 years ago could say “I told you so”.

 

Go Mavericks, going to be an interesting year, strong interior defense and offense and yet perimeter question marks that if answered could mean a great year. If not then potentially an up and down year. And for those of you who don’t care, don’t watch. The NBA is underway.

Oligarch socialism? Socialist oligarchism? Not sure what to call it, but we sure as heck are facing it. And part three of the latest story.

 

And no I didn’t coin either moniker. Yet we seem to be facing a mashup of the two terms thanks to our infamous “tech bros” and some people trying to cram crypto down the Trump’s administration throats.

Historically we view socialism as the government running the means of production to bring fairness to all and hopefully lead to communism where we all share in each other’s labor and there is no need for government. I will pause now so you can stop laughing and catch your breath. Utopian societies abound throughout history, yet none come to fruition much less last.

Socialism from Merriam Webster dictionary: any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

So wait, isn’t oligarchy something completely different and the answer is almost yes.

Oligarchy from Wikipedia: is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Leaders of such regimes are often referred to as oligarchs, and generally are characterized by having titles of nobility or high amounts of wealth.^[4][5]   (Merriam Webster’s website let me down on this one)  It did offer examples, synonyms but no actual definition, strange?)

Look closely, some entity controlling the means of production to achieve a stated goal. For socialism it is defined as for the larger good, but in practice it created totalitarian states. Oligarchy by general definition is the concentration of wealth into a small group of individuals that in turn use that wealth to run the government.

So now all the wealth in the world is concentrating in a few tech leaders hands, and by creating all this technology they are slowly if not rapidly lately consolidating all means of production in their hands either directly or indirectly.

Just think about it a second, almost all what you do at work comes from a few technology companies, almost all you do outside of work is influenced or is obtained through a few technology companies. And what isn’t soon will be if you look at the current trajectory of growth. Add in the emergence of crypto as a way to hide money right in front of us and do you really think we have a chance of an independent life anymore.

All these technology companies have all our information, it gets stolen regularly by people using crypto to buy and sell it and we are left wondering what the heck is happening. And our government(s) who we rely on to protect us, are contributing or subjugated to their growth and consolidation of power.

So whatever we want to call it may not matter anymore, unless we find a way to in a last ditch effort to pull back on what they can do with our information, their influence on our government, and figure out a way to create a new market environment that reduces the influence of these select few. And oh yeah our government leaders are getting rich off of these exploits. All in all though our entire planet is moving towards control of all our lives by this select few. They may not hold any titles so to speak, but you can guarantee they are pulling the strings on what goes on.

I still think there is time to reign this in, but we need to move fast, find leaders to challenge their relentless attack on our personal lives and put the people first, not the few.

The so called facists are just a vehicle for these tech bros to consolidate power why we moan and groan about people like Trump, Putin, Orban, and more, well Xi Jinping may be in more control of China than the tech bros can overcome, but still he will be immersed in their group since he can control China so well.

Don’t believe me or think I am paranoid or a conspiracy theorist, sure think that way, but honestly you need to step back and see the whole picture. This is much further along than we want it to be.

Anyway some frightening thoughts for all you individualists and libertarians so you better get going and for the rest of us, time to catch up to the fire right in front of us.

 

And now for part three of the story:

 

So the first mortal went to bed that night a bit angry. The priests were the ones who were supposed to know the Gods, the ones that helped the people worship the Gods, the ones that facilitated life to please the Gods. And now the priest he spoke to didn’t care and worse wanted him to have the strength of a God just to prove the Gods were dead.

And he got no sleep thinking how much he didn’t want to go back. He was frightened the first time, but something had bothered him long enough to inspire the first attempt to climb the mountain to the Gods. He kept wondering what had happened. And he found out. And no one cared. His friend, the priest both seemed put off by his attempts to find out.

He wondered is this everyone. And he thought it must be if I am the only one that cares. Why would people not want to know what happened. Everything we have comes from the Gods, or at least that is what the priests told us for so long. Family after family shared this with their children, this is the way it had always been.

Finally near dawn he fell asleep tired from his thoughts so he did not get up very early. He debated if he should wait another day to go to the mountain. He had his knapsack, but there wasn’t much. Maybe he should try and get more food before going. Or was he just avoiding the whole thing?

He decided he wanted to know, but needed more food. Now there were only two days before he had to work. He thought long and hard, made no decision so had to wait until the next day to go. He did acquire a bit more food from some meager funds he had stashed. He used half his savings if you could call them that.

The next day came and went. He did not go.

He went to work for three days and now he had a whole week off. He thought about it again.

Finally on the second day off work and what seemed an eternity from when he saw the final battle he arose early and trekked off to the holy grounds that led to the mountain of the Gods. He bought rations on the way out of his village that lay on the outskirts of the city since he had eaten some of what was in the knapsack while at work.

He arrived on the plains of the Holy grounds still early enough to cross with plenty of daylight. He arrived near the base of the mountain and looked up. Did he want to climb today? Or again was he afraid? He looked around. There was one of the temples somewhat near by. He went to it. Should he pray? Should he make an offering just in case?

He decided to keep his food, said a quick prayer and headed towards the mountain. Like last time he started up the mountain at dusk and climbed a bit more. He found the small cave he slept in and laid out his sleeping blanket like before. This time feeling a bit more confidant his sleep would not be disturbed by the Gods finding him and throwing him down the mountain to die, he slept well. He was definitely very tired. It had been a long few days.

The next morning apprehension filled him again, but he gathered himself and headed up. He followed the path previously and this time it dawned on him. He was following a path. Who used this path? He examined it more thoroughly as he walked. It wasn’t overrun, but it wasn’t fresh either. How long did it take for foliage and time reclaim the land and the path disappear? He didn’t know, but thinking about it and continually observing the path’s wear helped him to past the time. Before long he reached the crest to the top. He hesitated. 

What had happened before? What gave him the courage to go over the crest and see what he saw. He stood there listening. Was he hearing something. Strange it sounded like horses running on the plains. He froze. Was the battle still going on and not all the Gods have died?

He slowly peered over the crest, just sticking his head up high enough to see with his eyes. He relaxed. It was horses running. There was a few running back and forth near the crest. He breathed.

They were larger than the ones he knew from down below so he figured they must belong to the Gods. He wondered were they left to their own devices. Or were they being taken care of? But by who?

He climbed over the crest and sat on the edge staying low and next to some bushes to stay concealed until he got a better handle on things.

More than a few moments passed. He finally stood up. The horses were still running around, but they had slowly distanced themselves from the crest. He headed in their direction. And this time since the Gods were not battling he had time to look around. Last time as soon as he crossed the crest he witnessed the fight, then the lovemaking then the simultaneous murder o the last two Gods. He knew from the temples it was the King and Queen of the Gods and heard the words they spoke to each other as they fought. Once the lovemaking started there were no more words, just moans of pleasure, then the yell from each as they shook from their pleasure and then the stabbing with the swords.

Now all of a sudden it dawned on him the bodies were missing. Where did they go? If there were no other Gods shouldn’t they be lying there on the plain rotting like a mortal body would. Well maybe not since they were Gods. Maybe their bodies magically disappeared or something and would not rot like a mortals.

He stood still. Finally with the horses getting further and further away he headed to where the two Gods last lay. He stood there. The distant rumbling of the horses and a slight breeze whispering in his ear was all he heard. He continued to listen. Nothing changed. It was still day which made him look around. The daylight was the same as in his village and on the plains of the Holy Grounds. In fact most everything was similar.

There was the rocky crest with scraggly bushes he sat by. There was this large field or plain he was now standing in with grass growing throughout. And like the plain below grew to his mid calf. He never understood why it never grew taller, but it didn’t and now the grass here on the mountain was somewhat similar, not the same but similar in color and texture.

And far off was another mountain or mountains coming out of this plain. He stared hard to determine if it was more mountains or just part of the same line of mountains he was standing on.

And then, his memory kicked in. He needed the sword. And now with the bodies of the Gods gone, were their swords gone. He looked around the plain near him. Nothing. Now the ground felt softer and the grass was flattened in the area where he remembered the Gods to have fallen, yet there were no signs of the struggle, no torn clothes, no swords, nothing that would suggest that recently a great struggle had occurred. He tried to remember how large the Gods actually stood. Maybe twice his height, maybe a little less. He couldn’t put his finger on it since he watched in shock.

Now in the full daylight and nothing to see for quite a distance he wondered did he actually witness their deaths?  And he thought, what if they aren’t dead. That would explain why they weren’t here. He got scared and ran back to the crest to sit amongst the bushes hoping to be hidden.

He stared from his perch for quite a bit. Finally hunger took over so he ate a bit, all the while watching.

It was the scream that came first, or was it a screech. He froze watching intently as best he could without even moving his head, hoping not to be noticed. Then he saw the bird. It was huge, as big as the Gods circling over where they had lay. It flew down and landed and like an animal not a bird starting sniffing the ground. It stopped and looked around. It spotted him. He could tell because the bird looked at him intently, yet not moving towards him either.

Finally the bird raised its head and screeched again. He stood still hoping that maybe he was wrong and the bird was not seeing him. That screech was horrifying and he did not want to find out what this was all about. He did not know how fast the bird could fly. He was at the bottom of the crest and it would probably take him a moment to get back over. His fear kept him still.

The bird still looking at him, tilted its head and screeched again, but this time less menacing. The bird started walking towards the mortal. Did he have time to get over? And what happens next? Would the bird follow him and attack him on the way down the mountain. There wasn’t much to hide in. The mountain was mostly rocky terrain with vegetation clinging to the rocks. That was the path, the rocks with little vegetation covering it. He knew he would be exposed.

He knew the trees on one side of the plain, but was too far at this point he figured to make a run for it. The bird kept walking.

Finally the bird stopped tilted its head again and this time spoke. Mortal it asked why are you here?

To be continued

Not sure where to head on this Sunday and more story blogging (part 2)

 

Some of you might be aware on occasion I release a podcast, just random madness similar to this blog. Every now and then I think I should spruce it up and add music. If I ever decide to pry open that little bitty wallet of mine and find a dollar to two I would pay the copyright fee or whatever you have to do to add some. My idea would be to play Ten Years After’s “I’d love to change the world”.

And I would use some of the music and let the refrain appear: “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

Or just might use it as the lead in, who knows, yet I have always like that song. Another song came to mine this morning was Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “What’s so funny about peace love and understanding”. And after pulling up the lyrics were they more prescient then that we first thought or are the lyrics just timeless. Y’all can debate that amongst yourselves.

Yet I also thought it would be fun to post a link to the song on “X” and see how much it triggers MAGA. Then I became a better person and realized you cannot lump MAGA as one group of the crap that gets posted on “X”.  This is me practicing what I preach against. We cannot point fingers because that just fuels the fire of us versus them that is destroying our country right now.

MAGA isn’t the hate filled and/or lie spewing world of Catturd, Laura Loomer, Guenther Eagleman, Janice what’s her name and certain members of Trump’s administration. They are just the loud voices that fuel problems and discord. Most of MAGA are everyday Americans who for a variety of reasons supported Trump in 2016 and then doubled down on him as time went on. They are working class Americans felt left out first by the Democrats then Washington itself, they are people who watched too much Fox and became baptized by its demonization of Democrats, some mid Americans and Republicans who were fed up with Democrats demonizing them by pretentious elitism, in 2024 who were burnt by the inflation of 2020-2024 and didn’t hear a viable plan from the Democrats to solve a problem Donald Trump so easily (and falsely) attributed to them. There are more of course, yet the point is MAGA is not primarily some easily grouped together lump of people that are the hate filled monsters you see on social media.

Of course the same goes the other way also, most Democrats aren’t pompous clueless elitists, just people seeing problems facing them and looking for an alternative to the hate filled world of social media. They just prefer leftists ideas.  I am not a big fan of left wing economics, yet it is easy to see why people are swayed by them when you see the wealth gap, the diminishing education, the concerns over social security and the cost of healthcare. Democrats don’t have the answers, but they definitely have the verbiage.

All that aside I decided not to post on X that wonderful song by Elvis Costello and the Attractions at the moment, yet I still might hoping not to trigger MAGA, but to encourage people to rethink their world.

 

I am about to get to my story, but first as some of you know I am Catholic so writing about “Gods” on a Sunday feels a bit sacrilegious, yet hey God knows the truth. So to balance my brain, here is today’s first reading which also goes along with wanting to hear the song What’s so funny about peace love and understanding. Things just work sometimes:

From the Prophet Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4 “How long oh Lord? I cry for help/ but you do not listen!/ I cry out to you, Violence!/ but you do not intervene./ Why do you let me see ruin;/ why must I look at misery?/ Destruction and violence are before me;/ there is strife, and clamorous discord./ Write down the vision/  clearly upon the tablets,/ so that one can read it readily./ For the vision still has its time,/ presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint;/ if it delays, wait for it,/ it will surely come it will not be late./ The rash one has no integrity;/ but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

And yes the song popped in my head first, then the better half showed me today’s readings. Strange but true.

 

And now to part 2 of the story. As mentioned I just post and go so now this second part is well just what comes next.

The first mortal was confused. He followed his friend home to his house. He watched as his friend placed the stone onto the growing fence. His friend had been working on this for seven cycles of the sun. Now he was proud that it was half way done. Sometimes he would bring two or three smaller stones, but mostly they were the larger ones, heavy to carry. He was very particular though on which stones he choose. Sometimes taking a whole day to find the right one. It was his fence though and it was his home so he wanted it to be just right. When he started he had invoked to Gods help him. Yet even then the Gods were not part of many people’s lives.

Once the stone was placed they ate and shared wine. His friend toasted to the Gods then laughed saying I guess I don’t need to do that anymore.

The next morning the first mortal went to the Priests. They were no longer at the temples on the dividing ground. They all had moved into the city and built temples there. Now though not much went on. The priests still celebrated on the holy days, but mostly they sold wares in the marketplace to survive. No one gave to the temples. Well a few did, the most devout of the worshippers still attended the temples, but it was a small minority of the population. The priests were left with earning money like everyone else to eat.

He went up to the largest temple and asked the guard to speak to the priest. The guard looked at him quizzically. No one really wanted to talk to the priests anymore. He had been a guard for as long as he could remember. A long time ago, he would receive tribute to make an appointment to see the priests, now he went with the priests to help them sell in the marketplace.

The guard asked the mortal what he wanted. He said it was of dire importance and the priests needed to know immediately. The guard brushed him off. He tried persuasion, yelling, guilt all to no avail. The guard couldn’t care less.

He went to the next temple and encountered the same scenario. A guard who didn’t want to give him an inch. The third temple was just the same.

He was tired and frustrated. How could no one care about the Gods anymore? They were the creators, the power over all, the dispensers of justice, blessings, riches, and punished the wicked.

Then a strange thought hit him. If the Gods are dead, who is doing all that now? He looked around. He decided he really needed to speak to a priest. He had many questions about the Gods. It was late so he went home to sleep. It was now two full days since the Gods had died and nothing really changed.

The next morning he headed to the marketplace hoping to run into a priest. And he did. He did not recognize the priest at first, mainly because he was dressed in clothes like himself, not the usual robes. It was only because the priest was arguing with someone about the price of something that the customer yelled I don’t care if you are a priest, I will only give you so much. The priest eventually acquiesced and took what he could get. The mortal approached the priest.

I beg to have a word with you he said. The priest looked at him incredulously. It was bad enough to have to sell in the marketplace, but to be hounded by someone who was not going to buy anything was worse. The priest looked at him waiting for him to go on.

He told the priest what had happened. Well he left out many of the details, but said all the Gods are dead. The priest laughed. That cannot be true. I am still a priest of the Gods so they are alive.

I beg to differ said the mortal. The priest said, well if you think you are so special to go to the land of the Gods, which I doubt you did, then bring proof of their demise. The man remembering the fear he felt when he first went thought about letting it go. If the priests didn’t care, why should he? And was he sure. He was lucky not to get caught the first time. And even though he felt sure the Gods were all dead, it was frightening to think about going again. Not only that it was a long climb up the mountain to get there.

The priest was angry this mortal just stood there thinking. He barked at him. Either go bring proof or leave me be. I have things to do, meaning he needed to sell more so he could eat. The priest then asked for donation to the temple. The mortal looked at him. He had no money. He barely had food at home. His work was sporadic like most people’s. Everyone in the city struggled except for a very few.

The mortal knew he had the time to go since he wasn’t going to work for three more days. He asked the priest what proof do you need? This made the priest pause. What proof would be needed? It actually occurred to him that if the Gods were dead this changed everything including his position in society. Sure no one had money, but he still could command certain favors and attention in the temple, on the holy days, at weddings, funerals, his place in society would be put in great jeopardy. He realized he needed to know if the Gods were dead or was this person mad.

He asked for one of the swords of the Gods. The priest figured that if a mortal could get a sword then the Gods were truly dead. The mortal blinked. He saw the two Gods kill each other with their swords. The Gods were huge so were their swords. He wasn’t sure he could bring them down the mountain.

He asked is there anything else. The priest thought for a moment. No, it must be the swords. Now the priest wasn’t thinking about the size, but did say do not bring them into the city. Just bring them down to the bottom of the mountain and not on the holy grounds. The priest had immediately realized he wouldn’t want anyone else including the other priests to know just yet.

The man went home and ate a small dinner. He packed the rest of the food he had into his old torn knapsack to journey with tomorrow and slept.

To be continued

It’s been a long time since I rocked and rolled, well sort of…

 

Never hurts to have a little Led for the head every now and then, but this isn’t about rock and roll.

For years I would occasionally write a story within my posts. This wasn’t very often, but I created a few short stories that basically went nowhere except they had a start and finish and were fun. Basically I would take any wild idea that hit my head write a few paragraphs on what I felt at the moment and then in the next blog post would add to it, not necessarily with a plan. I would reread what I wrote previously and just pick up where I left off creating the story as I went. So over four or more posts some semblance of a story existed. There were even a couple I liked and if I ever want to spend some time I could go back and edit them and see what I have. Actually somewhere in lost computers over time I think there is one story I tried to polish up so to speak.

Recently I thought about asking readers to give me ideas to start another one. I say this because years ago at work someone that knew I try to write gave me an idea for a story. Just a one sentence thought. I actually finished that and have made attempts to edit and publish it. As of right now, no luck, but that story is much further along in my short stories than what I wrote in this blog. Now there are other short stories where I also made effort and am trying to get published also, but looking back at them they need work. Right now, though in my hazy and lazy days I am working on four books simultaneously with two working drafts on my computer where I actually spend time putting words on a computer screen. One of these days I may get ambitious and really finish them up. Yet I thought it was always fun just to write away with absolutely no path in advance, just sit and type and see where the words take you. Again, I thought about asking readers for ideas, but while thinking about doing this again I was reading another book when an idea sort of popped in my head. The idea shocked me because it is not something I would usually entertain. And since it is not something I would usually entertain, I am going to story blog it.

Again, the rules are no set ending, no real rhyme or reason for what is about to happen and over the next few blog posts on whatever topic I write I intend to add to the story until it finds its own conclusion. I will reread the previous post then just add to it based on where my thoughts for the day lead me. So without further ado, here we go:

 

The two Gods stood face to face. Years ago they were loved as the leaders of the Gods. They were married, celebrated by both the Gods and mortals alike. This was the before times. Now the war of the Gods had boiled down to the two of them. They didn’t remember why the war started, just that they were what was left of a grand epoch where rule over the mortals was blissful, quiet, serene and entertaining. The mortals were created to serve the Gods, but also so their petty lives would be theatre. Over time and these two Gods definitely couldn’t remember why jealousy, the pettiness they enjoyed watching permeating through them, boredom maybe took over their world.  And over time these emotions grew into hate between the Gods and they destroyed each other in a brutal war that destroyed their world. Now since the mortals were given their own world it remained. The Gods so consumed by their war had forgotten about the mortals and over time left them to their own devices so the worship of the Gods had become ancient stories. Except for one mortal, who being curious had climbed up into the world of the Gods to find out what happened.

And with this backdrop the two remaining Gods faced each other with overwhelming levels of both hate and love bubbling up inside them.  They had once loved each other unconditionally, now for reasons they no longer knew they hated each other with the same level of intensity of their love. Yet for a brief moment the love came back and they made love so passionately the ground shook, the mountains felt the shudder of them together, the waves of the oceans overwhelmed the shore and at the height of their passion they stabbed each other and both feel apart dead.

The mortal wasn’t sure, but looked around and so no other Gods. Still on unsure footing, legs shaking noticeably, the smell of death in the air headed back to the world of the mortals.

As he walked along the plain that had been holy ground, the ground that separated the two worlds of mortals and Gods, where the temples were once bustling with humans bringing sacrifices to the Gods of food and wine, where the people worshipped and praised the Gods, now lay half in ruins, still standing at this point, but the finer trappings looted, the walls cracked, the doors gone, the statues either broken or toppled over he ran into a friend of his from his village.

The mortal was rummaging through the ruins looking for stones for a wall around his house he was building.  The first mortal ran up to him and exclaimed the Gods are dead, the Gods are dead. The second mortal looked at him curiously. Sir, what concern is it of yours about the Gods. The Gods have not bothered us forever.

The first mortal was ecstatic, no it is more important, they are dead, completely dead, I saw the King and Queen of the Gods kill each other. He didn’t say what they were doing when they killed each other.

The second mortal now carrying a stone he hoped would work, told his friend. Come home with me, let us drink some wine and relax. Do not worry yourself over the Gods, and whatever you do, do not alert them to the presence of us mortals anymore. It has been peaceful, no one needs to bring sacrifices, the priests are all gone. We live in peace.

The first mortal seemed disheartened. He had witnessed something well was it terrible, wonderful, unimportant or the most important news ever, yet his friend was disinterested. How can something as important as the Gods being dead not matter anymore?

To be continued

Government shutdown: are they really trying and here is a quick proposal

 Yep once again the government is shutdown and quite frankly it may be for awhile. As always I hope I am wrong, but how many of you believe they are actually working on this or are they just stuck in the mud.

Yes I hear people on the news saying they are still in DC, yet mainly it is just finger pointing to the nth degree.

They tried for a continuing resolution CR at one point and hopefully they are still working on that even if just kicking the can down the road. So let’s do something a bit different to give us a framework for a real budget.

So if we get stuck with a CR until a full budget can be worked out why not reduce current spending levels by 3 percent for all aspects of the government, yet all agencies must meet all statutory obligations. The executive branch would have to spend the money, correctly of course, already allocated by Congress. The executive branch could not make unilateral changes that affect what has already been determined. And to offer a compromise in the CR, the tax credits for the ACA be guaranteed for all of next year except they are reduced by two percent as a way along with the 3 percent reduction for the budget to show some fiscal restraint on spending.

Also some executive orders may need to be backed out or legislation enacted to prevent executive orders from overriding a real budget. Which would mean certain members in Congress would need to acquire some intestinal fortitude to do what is required of them. Sad that they have so relinquished their responsibilities that doing their job is not foreseeable.

This opens the government again, puts some restraint on spending since this is only a CR and hopefully if the members of Congress find that intestinal fortitude they might be able to work out the full budget.

Just a quick proposal to reopen the government and hopefully show certain members of Congress they can do their job with a bit of effort. It would be nice of course if they can actually accomplish all this in the current environment. I doubt it. The hate machine is more important than the people of this country right now. 

Does Democracy die today? And the pretentious clueless “left” is still clueless.

 

So where do we go from here?

Is this meeting with all the military brass just show and show? Or something that gives Pete Hegseth’s ego an arousal and now he has to share it with his boss?

Or is it worse as some fear? A complete capitulation of our military to the most inconsistent tyrant on the planet. Well he is consistent about greed and hate, but what exactly is he looking for in trying to take over this country? Millions of conspiracies out there, yet is any of it true. I fear some of his minions aren’t minions and they have definite plans.

Something will happen today, but what? Hopefully this just turns out to be a very large nothing burger, but that is nowhere guaranteed.

And oh, by the way the government may shut down tonight. Another nothing burger or more in the disaster Trump is leading this country? Or more opportunity to further destroy our country our constitution, our values and us? Again, the most inconsistent tyrant running.

 

Have you noticed the plethora of podcasts coming from a variety of left wing podcasters espousing all sorts of Trump is bad verbiage? There are quite a few now, all begging for subscribers wanting to get to so many hundreds of thousands or even a million and to hit that like button. And all saying more or less the same thing; Trump is bad, Trump does bad stuff, we need to get rid of Trump. Yet do they even have a clue what happens next?

Tons of perceived scandal after perceived scandal, quoting the mainstream news, screaming they have the receipts filling our streaming channels and wherever else we get our podcasts with massive hyperbole that Trump has to go. Well he does, yet do they even know what they want afterwards. Are they still thinking America will buy whatever drivel the national democratic party will cook up or really rehash?

Our government is about to shut down for the umpteenth time in the last fifteen years because the duopoly is failing us. And the Democrats keep thinking they have an answer for our future. No they don’t. They have a word salad of pandering comments and a paragraph of public policy. Don’t believe me or better do not want to believe me, just go back and look at their campaign promises for the last four elections. They say the same thing, we are here to protect you from the boogeyman Republicans, we need to have universal healthcare (affordable, how?), we need to raise the minimum wage (cause we are fighting the wealth gap?) we need to fix social security (saying for years, but no concrete idea on how and I have put more ideas in a couple of previous posts then they have in forty years) and a couple of other items. And for some reason they think this will win votes.

The failure to enact any of these promises has been bleeding votes away from them since Obama. Unfortunately because we are stuck with the duopoly it sent those votes gift wrapped to Trump. Even when they do well, they cannot get out of their own with way how they present themselves. The people they needed to win the 2024 election had no idea that post covid inflationary was transitory so when they started bringing it down they failed to communicate exactly how things were working. They spent so much time telling us how bad is Trump that they didn’t communicate well how the economy works. And so Trump in his one talent (bragging) convinced millions he knew what to do. And because the duopoly has failed us for so long it didn’t take much for Trump to do this because Americans have been wanting for someone to tell us the answers for a long time. Everything they heard from Democrats and Republicans has never come to fruition except tax breaks and for some god awful reason, too many of the middle class think tax breaks for business are good for them without an iota of proof except the economy hadn’t collapsed yet.

So if the midterms occur, will the Democrats finally learn they need to move forward, get creative and present new leadership? Or will we even have midterms? Or will we be stuck with the same self serving aggrandizement in 2026 and instead of Trump destroying this country, democracy dies the death of a thousand cuts and it looks like we have had about 500 so far.

Or will by some wild chance or the grace of God, people realize we need new leadership, new ideas and elect either a revamped current party or new parties emerge that actually think about and enact public policy for the vast majority of this country and the United States continues to thrive.

And for those few remaining country club Republicans who don’t support Trump and who think we must put business first, sorry to say, but nope. A thriving working and middle class will do better for business than tax breaks and wealth hoarding. It is time to conserve our values and our people, not our mindsets.

It is just about 8:30 central time. What will the next 24 hours bring us? Let’s hope tyranny isn’t smiling by then.

No cheers today

 

And I haven't watched or heard the news yet today so this could be moot or too late. lol