Not that anyone should care

 I know you are just sittin around thinking about the difference between a  Billion and a Million....

I heard one of these the other day and was kinda surprised.... so here goes.....

If you earned $11,100 Dollars - that's Eleven Thousand One Hundred Dollars - every day (EVERY DAY) since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776 - you would still not have earned a Billion dollars !!  

A Million Minutes is just shy of 2 years , 

A Billion Minutes is nearly 2 thousand years !!

The Average modern container ship can carry 25,000 Tons  

So, a Millions tons would need 40 ships,,, a Billion tons ?? 40 Thousand Ships!!

A mile of freight train is about 200 cars....   A Million Miles of train  is 5,000 cars,,,, 

a Billion Miles of train is 5 Million cars.

OK - you get the Idea.... that a guy like Elon Musk - who is worth ~$150 Billion dollars means he earned about $30 Billion a year since he was born !!   and if you was wondering - there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today...

Let's do some morning songs....

SAY WHAT ?!?!?!?

 You will know you died and went to heaven of you ever hear this  !!

Hello - thank you for calling our Business/Office/Medical facility/Government agency !! Our phone service is available 24 x 7 x 365, so we are always open !   We are experiencing a higher than normal call volume,, so we have added additional staff to answer your call - and will do in the next 60 seconds. All our Reps are fluent in every Language . We have not changed our options since the telephone was invented, and we will never put you on hold.  You will get the name of the Person that answers your call and their direct extension so that you don't even need to listen to this message if you ever need to call back !

The is the end.........

 

  Rump is not just burning bridges to the presidency,, he is napalming them,,, Nuking them into oblivion ! 

That's exactly what Donald Trump is doing in the final weeks of his presidency -- as he savages longtime allies, pardons criminals solely because of their loyalty to him and threatens to rob the country of much-needed Covid-19 relief money just because he can.

"This is rotten to the core," Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said Wednesday night in the wake of Trump's latest round of pardons that included his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his political svengali Roger Stone.

That is, of course, true. But, what Trump is doing in his last days is also utterly predictable. This was always how this story was going to end. Anyone expressing shock and amazement simply hasn't been paying attention.

From the earliest days of his presidency, Trump made clear that he would use the office to which he had been elected to simply further the work of his lifetime: Rewarding himself (and his friends) while punishing his enemies. Trump didn't act differently in office -- as he said he would if and when he was elected -- because he didn't (and doesn't) see the presidency any differently than any other job he's done in his life; it was simply a higher-profile way to make himself more famous and more powerful while continuing to seek vengeance on the ever-growing list of people who have wronged him in some way, shape or form over the years.

He lacked any sense that being president was about more than him, that there was, in theory, the need to look out for the collective good of the country.

It's why Trump would say things like "my generals" or "my military" without any sense of why that might be wrong.

And why he spent his entire term clashing with his attorneys generals --- whether it was Jeff Sessions or Bill Barr -- over their unwillingness to use the Department of Justice as his own personal police force. And why he has used his presidential pardoning power less as a way of righting wrongs and more as a way of wronging rights -- granting clemency to people, like former Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter, who clearly and knowingly violated the law.

And why he is refusing to sign a bill that would not only provide $900 billion in Covid-19 stimulus money but also keep the federal government running because of his personal pique with Republican members of Congress who refuse to support his fever dream that he won the 2020 election.

What's perhaps most remarkable about all of this, well, rottenness, is how none of it is ever enough for Trump. No matter how much he gets, he always wants more. No matter how loyal his sycophants are, it's never loyal enough.

Take Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp ran unapologetically as a Trump acolyte in 2018 -- winning the praises of the President in the process. Kemp took his governing cues from Trump too -- particularly on Covid-19 as he waited (and waited) to issue a stay-at-home order in the spring to placate the President.

Didn't matter. None of it. Because when Kemp refused to aid Trump's extra-legal (at best) efforts to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Peach State, Trump savaged him. Repeatedly. And urged a primary challenge against him in 2022.

"Governor Kemp (@BrianKempGA) is down 18 points in a recent poll," tweeted Trump earlier this month. "Don't believe it, must be more!"

Then there's the case of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose ardent support of the President's agenda led to Trump's single-most lasting accomplishment: The confirmation of three new Supreme Court justices as well as hundreds of federal judges in lower courts around the country.  Trump loved McConnell right up until he didn't. The Kentucky Republican's offense? Acknowledging, after the Electoral College vote earlier this month.

He turns on everyone. No one can ever be loyal enough. No one can do everything he asks of them. Because what he asks, in many cases, is either illegal or a dereliction of duty.

That approach to life -- and politics -- inevitably ends the way this presidency is drawing to a close: Trump bunkered in -- either at the White House or Mar-a-Lago -- with the last remaining dead-enders who will indulge his increasingly wild fantasies about staying in office. And using the remaining powers of the presidency for purely personal satisfaction -- whether in rewarding those last few loyalists who have traded dignity for the proximity to power or punishing his one-time allies who, he believes, have double-crossed him.

It's a sad image: A president backed into a corner by his own selfishness and bitterness, isolated from all but a few -- and not even necessarily trusting them to, ultimately, have his back.

It's also a scary moment: Trump retains considerable powers as president and now has only his personal whims to steer how and whether he uses them.

Anyone who spent five minutes watching how Trump has lived his life -- in and out of the White House -- could, of course, have seen all of this coming. This is how it was always going to end for Trump -- and the country. Which makes it all the more damning that so many Republicans have supported him for so long.

'Bout as bad as it gets...

 Merry Christmas  - 

I'm  certainly struggling with the face that we will see none of our Children or Grandchildren on Christmas ,..   Yea Yea,,, People say that "you should be thankful for what you have" - yup ok good,,, and once I  get past that ,,,,   I am thinkin FUCK THAT ! 

You can tell me that,,,,  Christmas - Perhaps - doesn't come from a Store,.. Christmas , perhaps, means a Little bit more....  Well I would say that I am spiritual - not Religious - So there's that....  I will say this,,,  - My thought was that I was going to need to live another 4 years if the current POTUS - yea that  shithead - was reelected,, cause I dd  not want to die knowing that RUMP was the President...    Now I have shorter term goal - 1) to live another year - so that we can celebrate with me family once again,.,, and 2)  I need say 3 - 5 more years to get Everyone to Disney World !  I just feel that we need to do something so that all the Children and Grand children can see each other in person,,,

the excitement continues to build

 Only -  and I say only because of the 100 + and 75 + calls to the unemployment people,,,  Tuesday took me just 37 calls to get thru....

I talk to person number #1 ,,,,, we go over all of my information - What is your name ?  Social Security, , Address,  DOB, Mothers maiden name & it's spelling   Ok - she puts me on hold. Comes back 3 minutes later, and says that yes ,, my claim is still on hold at the Identification Department and this could take an additional Week to 2 Weeks to resolve. - Keep claiming your Benefits every Sunday so that when the claim is resolved  and you are due money they will release the payments back to December 1st .... but,,  she will transfer me to a LEVEL II technician that can provide additional support.... OK, GREAT - Humm,,,,  here is what happens....he comes  on the Line ... What is your name ?  Social Security, , Address,  DOB, Mothers maiden name & it's spelling...  Ok - I can see that your Claim hold at the Identification Department and this could take an additional Week to 2 to 3 weeks  to resolve. They are running a bit behind with all the Claims..... Do you have any other questions for me today ??  Keep claiming your Benefits every Sunday so that when the claim is resolved  and if you are due money they will release the payments back to December 1st...  

So the LEVEL II guy added a WEEK to the overall wait time at the Identification Department !!!  I guess I should be thankful that I did not need to go to the LEVEL III support !!

When we saw John at the Egg in Albany,,,, someone asked for this song very early in the set and he said  

"Hey - there has never been set in the past Decade or so that this song was not in it "   but it's too early for it...... and then he ended the Set with  "Have a Little Faith in me" about an hour and 1/2 later...

What I am thinking - that no one will ever Know.... maybe

 I am so proud of my children. 

That each has and are still in the process of getting advanced educational degrees in their chosen fields. I kinda barely made it out of High-school,,, managed to get some College credits later in life, but no degree beyond that HS diploma.

That each has chosen a good partner, I hope that their relationships last. 

It's too easy these days to walk away and leave a family with no mom or dad and that sucks,,, that they have been together for even this long says something positive. 

That in these times of World wide pandemic, Political uncertainty,, come on there are reported discussions of a POTUS pulling out all possibilities - including Martial Law to stay in power ,,, that they all have now or are in the Midst of starting families.  By Spring I will have 6 Grandchildren!   Raising Children in any Climate is VERY DIFFICULT  ! But this has to be just insane - Remote Learning, No social programs, hell no nothing for most of 2020, and what I think will be most of 2021...... Moms and Dads that are spose to keep a house hold together, Teach the Kids, Make meals, Hold down a Job ! are you serious !  What Stress , What craziness !!

That all my kids have invested in Homes. They see the Value in owning a piece of property. That is is long term commitment, a Mortgage,, a Home improvement loan. A place that you OWN. 

All have  moved to other areas of the country , One closer , others to farther locations,,, but as hard as that is for me/us - as a parent you have to let them go,,,  they have to live their lives, not your Idea of their life - and if that means relocation - to improve  their families quality of life, then that is what you as  a parent need to support .  That is in contrast to me who  now lives less than a mile from where I grew up. It does give me  a possibility in my mind that I could do the same - and relocate elsewhere to improve my (retired) life.

I'm not sure what kind music fits this subject,,, I have even worried about that before >???? What Video fits the BLOG subject - I think not !!!

Here is Morning Song - by the Avett Brothers

and Johnny Cash and Sunday Morning coming down.

this is from John's TV show..... and the Network agreed to have him sing this - Kris Kristofferson-  song if he did not use the Lyric "Stoned" when he sang it,,, but the story is that Kris was in the audience for the TV show, and Johnny said afterwards he could not change the Lyric and  the meaning of the song , especially knowing that Kris was there !! Cash was so big in those days the Network could really do nothing about it......

 

Today's Rant - NYS unemployment

 ok - Long rant ....

1st - this is not about the people that I have talked to at the Agency - they have all been helpful.

2nd  - IF I needed this to eat  or pay rent or what ever - I'd be screwed !

I will attempt to describe the process....

You MUST have a NYS userID and Password,,, so go do that 1st. 

Then. you go to the NYS unemployment WEB site - no need to call... You fill out the form. The usual information.  along with Employer number from your W2 ,,, etc etc.. and of course this year there is a question about if you lost your Job due to COVID -19.... I did NOT! .. I'm seasonal employee at a STATE Marina,,,so Covid had no affect on that... I answer no. You hit enter and Poof - there is an error. You can't type that employer number as is,,, you need to remove the Dash .... ok,,, redo that and off the form goes successfully . You immediately get an email that you have an urgent message in you NYS Web site inbox..  Sign back in,,, and you are instructed to call a special number  (BTW - this number is only good for this - NOT for claiming or any other information) You quickly get an agent who essentially reviews all the info you entered in the form. and Whoops ! The form is on a hold because I typed in that Employer number wrong the 1st time - yea - even though I corrected it and the form said "successfully submitted"  - NOPE !!  He has to reenter pretty much all the info,,,, and then he says ok,,, you are all set , for this form. and it's entered. 

Wait - another urgent e-mail.... this one says - that one of the answers on my submission makes it possible that I am eligible for COVID relief (remember , I answered NO to the Covid question) I have to complete another form ,,,,, DID  lose my job due to Covid 19 ? Were my hours reduced due to Covid 19 ? Did my business close due to Covid 19 ? Etc ETC,,,, 10 questions,,, all answered NO .... Submit that.

I get another email - I am not eligible for Covid 19 relief !!! NO SHIT !!

5 days go by,, I get letter in the Snail mail... that I am not eligible for payments because I did not earn enough money in the previous 2019 quarters and 2020 quarters,,,, the data at the bottom of the letter shows all $0 ZERO dollars earned for 2019 and 2020 !!!    OK what fresh hell is this ??  Now begins the Calling in phase and know that each time I say -I need to call in to the number - this is the Process. and all except for ONE time - I called back 75 - 100 times ....

CALL BACK PROCEDURE : 

You call,,,   enter 1 to continue in English.

-there is a message about NYS being approved for Covid 19 benefits - approx 90 seconds,,,,

- It tells you they need to collect a little info before they can proceed with the Phone call - 

- You enter your Social Security number ,,,

- Enter your phone PIN ...  Did I tell you - you must have a phone pin.... ??

- Did you receive a letter asking you to call this number ?  1 for yes, 2 for no... If you enter 1 it tells me - that they have no record of a letter asking me to call !!  WTF - why ask !?

- have you received a payment yet ? 1 or 2

- have you claimed your weekly benefits ? 1 or 2 

- Are you calling to check on payments ? , status of Payments, or status of your Claim , 1,2 or 3...

Next - wait for it ! you have been on this call for about 3-4 minutes at this point....  

"We are experiencing an unusually high call volume - all our agents are busy assisting others - Please call back LATER !"  and they DISCONNECT YOU !!! - I shit you not !! Once this happens 20 times,, you get good about entering SSN and pin,, and can get the call duration down to about 90 seconds ....   and mind you Every time you speak to an agent - you have to give Name ,address, phone number, email, Mother maiden name. Social security number all over again!

Ok - I get thru to an agent- they review my claim.... lo and behold , the System did not recognize my EMPLOYER Number !!  The employer number that the last guy entered !! and OH - my employer is NEW YORK STATE !!!! so let me get this straight , the NYS unemployment system , did not recognize the NYS employer number !?!!?!?!?!?!? WTF !!!  Ok - Reentered ,,  and then she tells me that she can see the data repopulated correctly and gives me the Payment dollars that - IF approved - would be payed . OK

2 days later - get a new letter - they need Identification documents ,,,  a NYS Driver License, Social Security Card , Birth Certificate or Passport..  No way any of the other people I talked to could have told me this ?? You can scan them in and send via Email - Great.. I take photos and attach to an email in the NY WEB Site. The MAX size is small so I need to send three separate emails...  

I call a day later  I CALL BACK to check on status - 78 tries,..

The images were too fuzzy , and they can see writing thru the hologram on my Drivers license. Guess they were not that fuzzy if you can read thru the hologram !! but - OK,,, and they need the BACK of the documents also..... The back,,,??  yea - the blank backs !!  OK what ever

I SCAN - via my printer - and give them fronts and backs of the documents, again several emails due to the small image size that you can attach ...... 

2 more days pass - I call back - 100 tries ,, no good,,, 73 tries ,,, and Get thru ....

1st guy says he needs to review the Claim,,, and puts me on hold,,, comes back and says it looks ok,, he needs to send it to the Identification / Fraud team to review (that is who looks at the images) .. Ok, puts me on hold again,,, 5 minutes into the hold -  I hear the number ringing again,,, another guy answers ,,,,, he has no Idea whats going on - i give all info again  he is not in that Customer Service group , but he will send an email to them to review the Claim.

1 Day later I call back - not really trusting the last guy,,,,  50 plus calls.... Again go over the whole thing,,, she puts me on hold to review the claim......  you guessed it - 3 minutes later the phone starts calling another number - I get another Agent !  I am nice,,,, figuring that these folks can tie up this claim up for months / years  if you were to piss them off !!    I ask her NOT to put me on hold,...  She agrees,,, reviews the Claim..... Ok all looks ok,, she is able to see all the images that I  scanned,, the Forms that were entered,,,, BUT , BUT - it's on HOLD  - needing to be sent to the  Identification / Fraud team to review (that is who looks at the images) . She is able to do that !!! Finally !  she also tells me that this can take between 10 days and TWO Weeks to review ! but I need to make sure I claim my Benefits every Sunday so that If/When they approve , I will get payments back to The Last week of November .....  Ok - so this whole process has taken between November 25th and today , December 19th,,, I have about 4-6 hours invested at this point  I will update if/when I get any monies...

The foot note to this is ,,,,,,  that I calculated my earnings from the weeks during last winer... I work even less in the winter, shorter hours - Like 16 - 20 per week.  I compared this with - what I will (I hope) be paid from unemployment. and the difference is approx $10 a week Less - so $10 a week less to NOT WORK , than to WORK !!  Ummm  - I never said I was smart !! 

Really ??

 So I keep reading how wearing a mask is submitting to Government control  - and I am a free American ! I don't Listen to the Government tell me about what I can do and Not do !  REALLY ?!?!?

- Can smokers - smoke indoors  ?

- Does the State have your wear a Seat Belt ? 

- Put Children in a car seat ?

- Do you get your Car inspected ? Do you register it ? Insure it ?

- Is there a Speed limit on the Roads that you drive on ?

- Do you file State and Federal income tax ?

- Do you pay local taxes ?

I could go On , but you get the Idea ! 

Even though I know - I think I know - the outcome of election ....   I am awaiting Jan 20th. 

Can you imagine what the security will be around that inauguration. 

what IF Barack Obama made the same statements about the 2016 election that the Current POTUS is making about this one.....  The Fox news team would be losing their minds!   Prior to this administration - could you have even imagined  a sitting Prez saying or doing these things ?? No - thats the answer...

"The electoral college has spoken," McConnell said in remarks from the Senate floor in the US Capitol, adding, "Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden."

Moscow Mitch Mconnell finally after over a month has broken rank with the White House and congratulated Biden on his win... and - geez - even I cant believe this ,, he -  during a private caucus call not to object to the election results on Jan. 6.  

Look - he should have done this long before now - but as they say  " better late - then Never. 

The Press Secretary - McEnany said - “The president is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election. Yesterday was one step in the constitutional process,”   and referred the questions to the POTUS's Legal team - which at this point is exactly Who  ??? Bert & Earnie ??  

If you remove the fact that the DOPE can't believe he lost,,, he can't fathom how the Judges that he appointed - and the ones previous GOP Prez appointed  did not side with him ! They followed the Law - and not the POTUS. He will never concede defeat - he cares NOTHING for the USA or the Democracy - this narcissist has only one thing in mind - and that is DONALD TRUMP !

My hope is that AFTER the 20th of January - the Media (well You know FOX news will cover him)  Will just stop covering any news about Trump - no telling us hat he did and what he said who F cares !  Just Stop ! Ignore him ... that will piss him off more than anything !

What is happening !?!?!?

If you have any idea what is happening in this country - you are way smarter than I am....

Supposedly - the Corona Virus is surging,,, the Cases are up every day , if you believe it  , there were more than 200,000 new cases Yesterday and 3000 Deaths......  Again - If you believe that this is even a "thing".  What's the National Plan.. - there is not one ...  there are many many many people that think the Mask wearing, and social distancing is a joke, not necessary , and some plot by what they call the "Radial Left" to make the current administration look bad...  JESUS CHRIST ! Is there no end in sight !!

I hear those who are on the front lines being overwhelmed by patients, pushed to their limits by the increase on people who are hospitalized, and in ICU's around the country..... and who DIE every day despite excellent care by Doctors and Nurses.... but still no Plan from the President to do anything about it....  yup the Vaccine was developed faster than any before and for that they get some credit. But they are far to worried about who gets credit for the Vaccine,, who will get credit for ending the Pandemic than they are about addressing the issue. The FDA will be approving one or all of the vaccines vey soon - in the next weeks.. certainly by year end,... then the problem of distribution to the States and within the states as to who and when everyone gets vaccinated,,... and BTW - why would I get vaccinated  when I don't believe there is a Problem,, and I am a non vacc-sir any way.... 

The Potus continues to spread lies and misinformation about the Election results. Lawsuit after law suit , claims of Voter fraud that his legal team cannot prove or even provide and credible evidence of (last count was  1 - 52  against their court cases) . Now we have a State - Texas - suing other states for the way those other states run their elections ?? I'm no lawyer - but how is this even possible ?!?! What happened to STATES RIGHTS ??? And while we think of the Presidential election as a National event - it is in truth  - a State by State event that is then tallied up at the National level, so that EACH state determines how to conduct the Election. NOT the Federal government. And I always thought that cases brought to the Supreme Court AFTER they were heard by lower courts 1st, but - I understand the GOP wants to skip that and get Right to the Supreme court ,, where they think they have an "edge" because the POTUS appointed the last 3 judges....  Am I to believe that the Court will throw out Millions and millions of votes across the country  ???  Will that be the end of our Democracy ??  The end of the Republic Known as the USA ?? I think it would certainly signal the end , when a sitting Prez can get enough Judges to side with him on an election issue that BTW - he was talking about getting the election into the Hands of the Supreme court back in  September., 

I can't think about this shit any more 

Early morning

 While I am not sure where I first heard these songs....

I know that I Still miss someone was written by John Cash and his nephew,,,, and was included on albums

like Folsom prison live, and a Duet with Bob Dylan..  you can find it on the Highwaymen with John, willie, Waylon, and Kris,,, and a duet with Emmylou harris and Elvis Costello...  Plus about 1000 other covers,,,,  Roseann Cash did this version after he Father passed away...

Outlaws Reward is a song written by Hank  Jr. and this version was performed by

Hank, Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart during a tribute to Waylon Jennings..

Ok - one more sad song Merle Haggard's "Holding Things Together" ... 

and watch Dwight Yokum's reaction to the Lyrics,,,

Today was Angie's birthday
I guess it slipped your mind
I tried twice to call you
But no answer either time
But the postman brought a present
I mailed some days ago
I just signed it love from mama
So Angie wouldn't know

Change Gonna come !!!

 Greetings !!!

Hope this finds everyone safe and feeling well,, AKA - No Covid virus. 

Yes - I think we all - well most of us  - are awaiting the Vaccine that will allow us to get back to the

life we knew before the Corona virus - if you thought that life was not too good -  how has it been going lately !?!?  Can't go to Baseball games,,, Can't go to Concerts,  Eating in a restaurant feels like a Felony !

Good god - ok - the Front line workers get that vaccine protection first, with out them we are all doomed ! Who will take care os is if/when we get sick !?!?

I'm kinda dreading the holidays - maybe no family gatherings, we are not really doing gift giving,, at the request of our FAM ...... ok we bought a few things,.... we did the TOLY FOR TOTS thing - which I encourage you all to give in what ever way you can this year - as many many people need that - kids do not fucking understand what is going on  they need,  a gift , a toy  - even iof it bring joy for a moment!

Ok - I gotta go,,,, so here you go...

Adele - BTW - she looked better before she lost weight!!  I

f you don't know - this is a Bob Dylan song

I always liked this song..... Christina Perri

Let's put in a Christmas song... Drop Kick Murphy's 

Some families are messed up while others are fine
If you think yours is crazy, well you should see mine