Saturday, October 15, 2022

It's Came Like a Thief in the Night - What We Should Be Prepared For


Photo - "As a thief in the night (COVID-19) by Du Lac
On October 7 there were early signs a new U.S. COVID surge could be on its way, according to a recent report published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of National Health.

Americans like me have been letting our guard down since the pandemic was officially declared under control. We quit washing hands frequently, muffling our sneezes and coughs with our elbows, and masking in big crowds and indoors. 

The result? Personally, my wife and I, are both fully vaccinated and boosted, but we caught COVID-19. It came like a thief in the night and before we knew it, we felt like we had the mother of all flu bugs. But then we tested ourselves and found the culprit. 

She's had COVID for seven days and is still struggling. I'm on my third day and desperately trying to rally my strength after losing ten pounds (FYI it's not a recommended way to lose weight). 

The kicker is my 94-year-old dad lives with us and has daily medical needs. He's not in the best of health (but is fully vaccinated and boosted). We also tested him, and he has COVID-19 too. 

Worse yet... the Oregon Department of Health says he's too old to get the new anti-viral treatment. WTF? I guess you get written off at a certain age in our society!

Meeting our daily challenges while sick as dogs that got ahold of some bad meat has been difficult... to say the very least.

We can't have friends or family in the house for fear they'll get infected. I worry about my dad. In my fevered mind it's like being on a death watch. 

Here's What's Happening Around the Country

There's been an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, according to NPR. Experts are scratching their bald heads (most are bald you know) and don't know if we should be worried about a winter surge in the country or not?

Here's a thought; if people get the new bivalent vaccine, it could keep the numbers down... the rest of the story is only 8 million Americans have gotten the new vaccine which leaves 200 million people at risk.

President Biden succumbed to politics when he declared the pandemic was over. It's just not true. Instead, he should have warned people to be vigilant, and go back to safe practices because there was a chance COVID could come back this winter.

I sincerely hope the Biden administration can look past the upcoming midterms and concentrate on things like having a secure supply chain of vaccine and ways to deliver it to the public when we need it the most.

As it stands, have you seen any warnings from the national health departments about the need to get vaccinated ASAP? That's what I thought. Neither have I.

Friday, October 14, 2022

Trump Must Be Indicted for All of His Crimes!



              Republicans just don't care.

About truth.

About justice.

About honor. 

About democracy. 

About accountability.

About women's rights.

About threatening election workers.

They're proving all of that and more during the midterm elections by fielding a cadre of election deniers.

The GOP is so desperate to take back the House and Senate that their backing candidates like Hershel Walker whose been caught lying so often he could give a master's course in it.

But the GOP doesn't care if he paid for an abortion, beat up his wife repeatedly and held a gun to her head. Their swallowing their own bile to win in order to regain power.

Related: Trump Planned and Directed the Whole Damn Thing - Why is Anybody still Defending Him?

There's no choice: Trump Must Be Indicted to Preserve Democracy!

There's no GOP agenda to make America a safe democracy. Their agenda is revenge and seeing to it we have a fascist state led by a former president and TV host.

Americans like me are worried about the consequences. We're a tense nation teetering on near panic at the thought of the GOP regaining power in Congress.

We can't trust the polls. They're useless. These are the midterm blues. There's a good chance we're on the highway to hell, however.

Related: Russia Link to Trump Documents Means it's a matter of "when", Not If" He is Indicted

The only hope - and I mean our ONLY hope - is a record turnout of democratic women and young voters. A blue wave. It could happen. It must happen.

It will happen if you care about our republic and vote! If you're not registered yet, do it now.

As it stands... please vote!

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Halloween is a Bigly Con Job Fronted by Pumpkins

I'm not going to bore you with the history of Halloween.

Who really cares?

For reasons never clear to me pumpkins are the most common image associated with Halloween. Skeletons and witches are secondary symbols but the Great Pumpkin (watch Charlie Brown's quest to find the Great Pumpkin here) is a centerpiece for the holiday.

Halloween is a commercial rip off that began with a schoolteacher giving students candy and letting them dress up in odd clothing so the little rascals would have something to do on Halloween instead of vandalizing neighborhoods. As years went by kids went "Trick or Treating" ... and still vandalized neighborhoods.

When Halloween grew more popular over the years capitalists saw a great opportunity to make lots of money. 

Halloween grew into a major industry offering scary costumes, Jack-O-Lanterns (one of the pumpkins rolls) carved into hideous and hilarious faces, and mountains of candies from Sweet and Sour witches and skeletons to chocolate monsters. The holiday was a dream come true for the candy industry.

Try asking someone what Halloween is all about? I'm sure you'll be amused by the answers.

Check One

A. A way for corporations to make big money.

B. Candy

C. Pumpkins

D. An opportunity to dress up in weird costumes and roam neighborhoods seeking candy and trouble.

E. Parties where children and adults play stupid games in outlandish costumes.

F. I don't know, nor do I want to know. 

Halloween Tales & Traditions

An Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stringy Jack" is believed to have led to the tradition of carving scary faces on pumpkins.

Here's a link for Halloween stories for 1st graders through 8th grade. If you ask adults, they say Halloween is for kids. Don't believe them! They lie.

Adults go out of their way to watch horror movies hoping that they'll scare the shit out of them! Adult-themed Halloween parties get more popular every year. Naughty nurses are a standard theme for women. The guys enjoy dressing up like Dracula sucking up alcohol instead of blood.

As it stands, the whole holiday is a national con job fronted by pumpkins for corporations who keep finding innovative ways to cash in on America's second biggest holiday of the year.

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Why Young Boys Need to Learn How to Cook

Growing up my high school had a Home Economics class. 

Despite the fact boys could enroll in it, no boys in my class ever took the course.

It helps to understand that back in the 50s and 60s being a young male meant being ultra-macho and leaving cooking and housekeeping up to the girls.

Little boys played with weapons of war, trucks and cars. Little girls played with dolls and pretend ovens that turned out bland cookies and mini cakes.

Fast forward.

As my wife Shirley and I's three boys grew up, she made sure "Her" boys knew how to cook. She was determined to make them self-supporting men in all ways, including how to cook meals.

Lucky for them the mid 70's didn't emphasize toxic masculinity, and young men were cooking in communes. I'm not sure if there were Home Economics Classes when they attended school. 

But our boys had a private tutor (Mom) that meant to teach them about the mysteries of cooking. She taught them the basics of cooking and let them use their imagination. They all loved the opportunity and weren't shy to share their skills with friends.

All three of our boys are now first-class cooks and are proud to share their creations in family gatherings. None cook for a living. However, if they wanted to, they could.

I admit that I was no for model for them when it came to cooking. I couldn't boil water without a problem. Sometimes it came down to me (and the boys) to make a meal if Shirley was sick and unable too. Luckily for us all, she was a healthy young thing, and it didn't happen too often.

After I came back from Vietnam, and we were dating, Shirley was stunned to see how I ate. My little apartment contained can food and frozen dinners. That was it. And I still had a bad habit of eating straight from the can. Pork and beans for instance.

Realizing you can't teach an old dog new tricks Shirley took it upon herself to feed me real food. That's probably when she decided that if we had boys, she'd be sure they could cook.

As far as I know there's no longer a stigma for boys/men to cook. As a matter of fact, it's become a matter of pride to be a good cook. Go to a Bar-b-que competition and most of the entrants are men.

As it stands, young boys should be given the same opportunity to learn how to cook as young girls as they grow up. Self-sufficiency is a good thing for everybody. 

Monday, October 10, 2022

Liars Have Nothing to Be Ashamed About in the Trump Era

Liars throughout America were emancipated in 2016 when Trump slunk into the White House with the help of Russia.

Liars are mainstreamed now right alongside truth tellers. The liars network aka Trump and minions proudly tell lies and defy truthtellers who are overwhelmed trying to debunk them daily.

Once (was it really that long ago?) liars were scorned when exposed in public. Now lying is a basic credential for MAGA morons and their vile sidekicks QAnon idiots.

The Republican Party is a House of Lies. It's their own damn fault by allowing a cult to overwhelm real conservatives. Authorism has seeped into the once Republican agenda and turned the party into predators' intent on a destroying our democracy.

Maga morons are competitive heading into the midterms with hypocrisy and lies as standard political speeches spurring on like-minded fascists in their campaigns.

Think about it. Why would Republicans be ashamed for outright lying to gain power when it's working? "The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that's also a hypocrite," Tennessee Williams once said.

Liars' tactics start with making falsehoods appear to be the truth and ends with making truth itself appear like a falsehood. It's a simple and effective approach to lure the sheep into the cult. 

Here's a brilliant quote by Anne Applebaum, "Sometimes the point isn't to make people believe a lie - it's to make people fear the liar."

That's what we're seeing today. Trump's ability to scare the hell out of his devotees to do his bidding is being copied by the MAGA rats running for office and those already in power.

Liars are so respected in MAGA Land that they have a club - it's called Mar-a-Lago. Liars also make top dollar in the far-right media like Fox and Newsmax.

Once people hesitated to call out a person in a professional environment because they felt guilty for being suspicious. 

To some it was a frightening proposition at best. But now we can't afford to let the liars go unchallenged for the sake of the republic.

As it stands, it's impossible to lie every day and still have a conscience.

Sunday, October 9, 2022

When You Wish Upon a Star and Reality Slaps You in the Face

I remember seeing the classic Disney movie Pinocchio when I was kid, and how inspired I was by the song "When you wish upon a star.

I can't tell you how many stars I wished on over the years.

What's relevant is that none of those wishes were granted. I admit to still wishing upon a star now and then despite that fact. Maybe I'm a dreamer. Or a kid who never grew up.

I recall wishing the same wish every night (regardless of the weather) throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, "Please don't let Trump win."

Right up until the end it looked bad for Donnie but then reality slapped me (and most of the country) in the face. The unthinkable happened. Trump won.

I finally had to concede wishing is a waste of time although I still find myself peeking out windows searching the night sky for deliverance.

I've tried wishing wells tossing in my loose change when I came upon one. It didn't take long to realize I wasn't getting my money's worth. Not one wish was granted.

It didn't me long to realize that rabbit's feet keychains were not lucky for me or the rabbit.

Because I strive to be an optimist, I still do wishful thinking where I allow my imagination some playtime. Otherwise, if I didn't the pessimistic side of my nature would assert itself.

To be clear. I'm not encouraging anyone to quit wishing upon stars or anything else. I've found wishing is a positive thing. It temporarily puts us in a good place.

Just don't count on your wishes coming true. That's taking it a step too far.

As it stands, hope and wishes are two different things. One is based upon some empirical evidence, and the other one on a Disney movie.

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...