The Threat from with-in

 The former POTUS is the biggest threat to our democracy since the Civil war. Period.

And let me tell you why - I think it's two things...

A) Dump has told you that the Media is the "Enemy of the People"

B) You get your information - from 2 sources - Dump and FOX. So they control the Narritive that you hear. Don't think so - Just listen to Dumps supporters. It's FOX news propaganda.

So that anyone not parroting the line from the former is not to be believed.  They make believe that thing that were said and done to support the Urine soaked Cheeto man,  Did not happen. 

And the more I listen to this shit - the more I cannot believe it. That there are those that will stop eating M&M's because the MARS & Co =. Decided to change the  shoes on the Cartoon Characters in the commercials,  ...  YUP - they think that's a big deal.  Wonder if they are gonna Boycott all the MARS stuff ??  These Items, and a large line of Pet Foods ,.....

• 3 Musketeers
• Ben's Original
• Bounty
• Celebrations
• Cirku
• CocoaVia
• Combos
• Dolmio
• Dove
• Ebly
• Ethel M
• FLAVIA
• Fling
• Flyte
• Forever Yours
• Galaxy
• Galaxy Bubbles
• Galaxy Minstrels
• goodnessKNOWS
• Kudos
A Twix bar
• M-Azing
• M&M's
• Maltesers
• Marathon
• Mars
• Masterfoods
• Milky Way
• Munch
• Promite
• Revels
• Seeds of Change
• Snickers
• Topic
• Tracker
• Treets
• Chocolates Turín (Mexico)
• Twix

And then the Carhartt clothing line decided to require a vaccine to work in their business. Then that crowd started burning their Carhartt clothes,... yea - that happened.   And I am betting they ain't boycotting FOX over their vaccine mandate !!  and There are many companies- that have issued similar mandates ... FORD has required their workers be vaxx'd  (not the hourly workers) the Salaried - I am suspecting that the Hourly are under a Binding contract ,,,,  but not the Salaried... and I bet NO one is burinng their F150 over it !  

The level of Stupidity in this country is astounding...  Like the saying goes - YOU can;t fix Stupid,, but the Hats sure make it easy to recognize. 

 

Where am I ?

 Ok - so Neil Young told Spotify that if they continued to air Joe Rogan's Podcast - that he wanted them to remove all his music from their Service...  That is because Rogan is NonVaxx'er ,,, a Non Masker,,, a Non human if you ask me,, but we will hold that thought for now...  Joni Mitchell, and Nils Lofgren have followed suit. - Oh and understand that I do not understand how all that works with Rights to the Music, and what they get paid to have their music on that Service,... and what Spotify pays Rogan for his Podcast...  However;  While I don;t have clear answer on this ,, these are my thoughts...

- Neil or Joni , or Nils are not Immunologists. scientists, doctors or any of that, they have their opinion like anybody else,, the ONLY reason that they and many others  like them carry any weight is due to their musical talent. Period.  And yup - many celebrities have and have had opinions on this topic, and in the past on a variety of Social issues. 

- And EVEN though I think Rogan is nut job , on the fringe of Full Goose Bozo. That he spreads mis information on the Topic of Covid, of vaccines. That does not mean he should necessarily be Muted... IF you are on that side of the discussion I think it dangerous.  That Rogan and his like are not to be believed. They  lie,  They Deny...  But if you have an opposite view then you might think about all that Freedom of Speech thing... 

- Now that said -  here is the meat of the 1st Amendment :

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

This applies to the Government (Congress) , NOT to Private businesses. SO if Spotify wanted to kick Rogan and others like him off their service,  I Think that is their Right. Like Face book and Twitter have to many of the Election Conspiracy theorists, and Covid Deniers.  They are a private enterprise. They get to set the Rules on their business - the 1st amendment does not apply to them - it only applies to the Government restricting rights. 

I think all should have their say , and IF you chose not to listen , or believe that is up to us - you and me. You can point out to your children, and peers that what is said is Not True or Makes no sense. that is up to YOU . Not Neil Young.   

- AND ,,, and,,, I guarantee (although I do not know specifics) that these musicians music is played on other platforms that mimic to one degree or another what Joe Rogan spouts. 

A Side note : Young is a survivor of Polio . He contracted the Disease when he was a child, and a Vaccine.....  the Polio Vaccine  - greatly helped his recovery. 

=========================================================================

The former POTUS continues his threats to our country. In a Speech over the weekend he floated the Idea that under his administration - the January 6th people would be dealt with "fairly" - I am guessing the Idea is that they are not being dealt with fairly right now... and how like every other one of his talking points, you will hear no specifics from him on how he would impact their treatment in the courts except that he talked about pardons for them. Pardons ....    

• Officer Brian D. Sicknick of the Capitol Police, who was attacked by the mob, died on Jan. 7.

• Officer Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department killed himself after the attack.

• Officer Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police also died by suicide four days afterward.

and  150 officers from the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department and local agencies were injured.

Pardons ???  Now talk to me about "Backing the Blue"

===================================================

HR4673

 DO NOT Tell me that the GOP supports our Service Men & Women & Veterans ever again !

HR4673 : 

Even though this bill passed the Vote in the House of Representatives - You tell me 

why 163 Republicans voted against it ??

I will tell you why....This Bills only author was a Democrat.  

 

HR4673 -  AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT OF ELIGIBLE VETERANS IN PATIENT ENROLLMENT SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

 Go look at this bill.. It's  pretty simple. No pork add on's. 

The Bill ensures that when a person leaves the armed forces they are required to be enrolled for all the Vet benefits they are entitled to..  It's that simple.

Here,, here is the link ...  read it!

https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr4673/BILLS-117hr4673eh.xml

Ok - So why him ??

 Why was David Ortiz voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame  on the 1st Ballot. ?? When the likes of Bonds, Clemens , Sosa, Schilling, have not been voted in for the last decade,,  and for many they will now have to see if the Veterans (Today's) Committee will eventually vote them in - and just FYI they can remain eligible for that in perpetuity .......

SO - Why Ortiz .. ? 1st I think you need to ask - Is he a Hall of Famer ??  Definitely .  Is he a First Ballot Hall of Famer ?? again - I think the answer is yes.  Home run totals, RBI totals -  forget a minute that he was a DH not a position player,  so his job was to drive in Runs ,, to HIT.. and he did that with the best of 'em --as they say.....     

Now - if you are a strictly numbers person - and the STAT  W.A.R. has come into play in the recent past,, that is Wins against Replacement. he does not do so well there,,, there are like 200 guys with Better WAR numbers than Ortiz. 

What about the "Roid" issue -  Ortiz tested positive in what was spose to be a Secret Test back in 2003. , but someone got their hands on the list and was able to match names with the Test numbers , and Ortiz, Sheffield among others tested positive. You might have inferred that from the numbers that he had going form the Twins in 2002 to the Red Sox from 2003 on,,,,, he was a mid 200 hitter with 10 -20 home runs per season,  but then with the Sox he became a near 300 hitter with 40 - 50 home runs per season,,,, hummmm  so he actually got better as he got older - that data is similar to other ROID guys like Bonds and Clemens. And Do not tell me that he never failed  a PED test after that - these guys (and their Doctors) are always ahead of the Testing methods,...  Hells Bells - some guys got caught cause they forgot that it was day game instead of a night game, and they took the PED too close to "testing" time... and the Anti-PED did not a a chance to work before they had to "pee in the cup". So this leads to Why did you vote for Ortiz & NOT the Bonds, Clemens, Sosa , Schillling, A-Rod's on the Ballot for me that's not explainable . 

Perhaps the X factor here is Ortiz personality.  he is a very Like-able  guy.  His work on some of the Baseball Pre and post games with Arod, Frank Thomas, has been great. He is a good guy to interview, Liked by the Press, the TV and Radio reporters.  This opposed to Bonds who the press hated and he hated them.  Clemens  was better at that - but guys still disliked him... and disliked A-Rod - the jealously toward  good lookin  rich guys.  and Schilling - forget it - he made some absolutely insane statements AFTER his playing  days about the LGB ext community, Muslims, Nazi;s,, talked openly about his political views as to why he was not more popular casue he was a political spokesman,, and then as his HOF voting percentages continued to increase,,, perhaps leading to him getting to the Required 75% - he goes and calls the People that did not vote for him Jerks and then asks to be removed from the Ballot (not his decision toy do that its the HOF - and they did not).

SO - Ortiz is a HOF'er ,,, a First Rounder - Congrats to him ! he deserves it. 

As far as the others - I think as the Veterans Committee changes in the next years,, and  more players that were of that ROID era are on the Committee - they will vote them in - probably all at once. I do think that as we go thru time - it will seem more and more ridiculous s that they were not voted in by the BBWA...  somewhere in their 10 years of Eligibility.   

  

Tuesday morning

 you ever have a day where what you thought was gonna happen - is not going to happen ,,,

Not because you don;t want it to happen ,, but it just can't .... Not today ,,,,

Really  never happened to you  ???   Happened to me,,,

HA !!!!!

Cowboy Junkies

Niners !!!!

 If you do not like football - I would suggest moving on... 

Dallas .vs Forty Niners...  

While not a conspiracy theorist .. I will say that the Officials gave Dallas EVERy chance and then some to Win this game...   there were a couple of odd sequences that were in and around the same play , and I am not talking about the last play.

4th Quarter, = Niners had like a 3rd and 4 or 5 - I think  - they threw a pass toward the sideline,,, and the receiver seemed to have gained the Line for the 1st down,,, They measured and sure enough - 1st down - essentially game over. As the Cowboys had no more timeouts to stop the clock, and the Niners with 4 more downs.... BUT - hold on... they  do a challenge on the play to see about the spot of the ball... then 2 things happen.

1) the ref says he is going to re-spot the ball based on the replay. But remember - he already knows where it needs to be spotted to give S.F. a 1st down (and really end the game) and where it will be spotted to be 4th down .  Low and behold .....  he spots it back just far enough to NOT give S.F. a 1st down.... they are short by two inches,...

2) they put 8 seconds back on the play clock.  Where did that come from  ?!?!?

Now - the Niners line up to go for it on 4th down,, and they make it except there is a Motion penalty on them , that moves the ball back 5 yards,,, and they end up punting to the Cowboys.   Ok - then the Cowboys move the ball down field - remember they need a touchdown and Extra point to win,,, a kicked field gaol will do them no good,,,,  they get to the Niners about 40 or so yards line, by running pass plays to the sidelines, so they can step out of bounds - they have no time outs ... Then - inexplicably - with 14 seconds left - Dak Prescott - the Cowboys quarterback runs the ball down the middle of the field for about 20 yards,,,, both teams run down to get the next play off BEFORE the 14 seconds expire,.. but Dak- instead of handing the ball to an official / the linesman - he hands the ball to the Center - Rule is that the ball MUST be Spotted by an official - AKA - NOT A PLAYER ! So the ref on a dead run from the spot of the last play actually has to push his way thru the Offense to get to the ball , and by then time expires .... GAME OVER...  Pretty exciting stuff.... unless you are a Cowboy fan.....

Special note - someone needs to talk to Tony Romo  (he was the tv announcer- and remember he is a former Dallas QB himself)  Tony - you can't be a cheerleader for your former team during these sequences...  all he did was talk about what the Cowboys were doing,, and what they should do,, and how great a comeback this was going to be !!!   Troy Aikman - also a former Dallas QB does a much better job at staying neutral when he is announcing the Cowboys games.... Romo - I am sure / I hope was given a talking to........

Maybe you did not know

 Michael Lang - passed away on January 8th , he was 77.

WHO, you ask ??  Michael  was the Main promoter of the concert known as the "Woodstock music and Arts Festival"   billed as "an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music" way back in 1969.  Now  - "Woodstock" as it has come to be known,  was part of the name of Michael's the Promotion company - as he lived in Woodstock. Lang was only planning to  to open a Recording studio in the small hamlet that he lived in.  He promoted the Festival to towns in Saugerties - but once that town got wind of what he expected - 50, 000 people , the town board issued a statute where you needed a permit to have a gathering like that for more than 5,000 people,,,  Walkill was next in line, after they gave all the signals that they would be in approval with Lang's plan, they rejected it in the end. He ended up in Bethel NY . He found a kid really - that had a permit for an outdoor music / theatrical gathering. He found a farmer - Max Yasgur -  that was willing to have the event on his land, in part because he thought he was mistreated by his neighbors because he was Jewish, and he could sorta stick it to them by agreeing to this. Reports say he got $75K for a lease on the land for the Festival.. 

So, all the Promotional documentation had the Woodstock name, the tickets, posters, etc... Bethel is about 48 miles as the Crow flies,,, and approx. 66 miles on the road.  Map is below. 

Up until a few years ago - before Bethel Woods Center for the arts, and the Museum  was built - you would have difficulty finding where the Concert was actually held.  And there are still folks - visitors and Hudson valley residents that ask where in Woodstock was the event held, and where in Woodstock is that Marker ???  HA - no where near Woodstock - so a town that had little to nothing to do with the Festival is famous today - weird right ?? !!!

BTW - Bethel Woods is about as great a place to see a Concert !! Similar to SPAC but more open on the sides- the Acoustics are wonderful, plus they have terrific food and Drink options. The also have a smaller inside space for those smaller concerts that is really nice. 

Parking, is not great - and you will be in a huge traffic jam on Hurd road when the show ends !!!

The Museum is a great place to visit  (not on a show day) - good spot for Winter drive... 

Tickets were $24 for the three days - that is equivalent to $182 today - attached

The $75K - Yasgur received is worth about $568 Dollars today.

 

Let's listen .....

Here you go ,, maybe give them a listen ,,, at least for 30 seconds or so....

and skip the ads as soon as possible - of course !

 
From Simone's upcoming album - this is Puppet..

One of the best artists out there right now is Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats !!

With many great songs, SOB, I need never get old, Look it here,  Face down in the moment, Survivor, Hey Mama.. 

and this one... Love Don't !

AMOS LEE - and Worry no more

A new one from the Bangles,,,

Lucky YOU

 It's your lucky day - two posts !!!

I miss the January 6th anniversary - the Insurrection at the Capital  - the Closest we have come to a COUP - EVER !!   

Here is what was said on that da and the days/hours immediately following: And I'll save you the time to look up the Quotes .... I can't post up all the video/audio of the people who said these things...  

But know this - that if that Urine soaked Cheeto looking asshole of a human being is allowed to block the investigation into the Activities of others and himself , then we have no country - and yes,, all - or all of these people have since softened their views on about Jan 6 - Why?? Because they are afraid that the CHEETO man will ruin their political careers... thats why - they have to integrity , they have no honesty. they should have no place in our government.  

Even up until last week  these spineless hemorrhoids that are senators, continued to deny, deflect , defer.

Right up to LYIN Ted Cruz - that called January 6th a "Terrorist attack" on the capital - then back peddled the next fuckin day when he confronted with his words by a FOX Entertainer - and Cruz actually recanted the comment ... What  kinda man is this ??  Cruz - had his wife insulted directly by Dump,   Had his father accused of being a part of the killing  of JFK - By Dump ! but yet - that weasel defends him .... Please ... WTF is wrong with him...  He called Dump "“Donald, you’re a sniveling coward" , he said  -“I’m gonna tell you what I really think of Donald Trump: This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth, and in a pattern that I think is straight out of a psychology textbook, his response is to accuse everybody else of lying.”  he added “He combines [dishonesty] with being a narcissist, a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen.

Now help me understand why he supports him now..

anyway let's move on......

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/one-year-since-january-6-capitol-riot-republicans-try-to-shift-blame-but-heres-what-they-said-at-the-time/2929779/

"The mob attempting to overturn the election results had been provoked by former President Donald Trump. "

"The destruction and chaos undemocratic. Senators and representatives demanded accountability."

"Today was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol… We condemn the violence that took place here in the strongest possible terms… To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins."

"Those storming the Capitol need to stop NOW. The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence—from Left or Right— is ALWAYS wrong. And those engaged in violence are hurting the cause they say they support."

"Today, the people's House was attacked, which is an attack on the Republic itself. There is no excuse for it. A women died. And people need to go to jail. And the President should never have spun up certain Americans to believe something that simply cannot be."

There is nothing patriotic about what is occurring on Capitol Hill. This is 3rd world style anti-American anarchy.

Chaos, anarchy. The violence today was wrong and un-American.

When it comes to accountability, the President needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution, that the rally yesterday was unseemly, it got out of hand... I said on the floor of the Senate, I cast my vote accordingly, that Joe Biden is the legitimate president-elect of the United States.

The Capitol building is the center and sacred symbol of democracy. Today’s violent actions undermine the principles and values that our nation was founded on. Individuals who broke into the US Capitol or assaulted our law enforcement should face the full consequences of the law.

On Wednesday the Capitol of the most powerful nation the world has ever known was stormed by an angry mob. Americans surely never thought they’d see such a scene: members of Congress barricaded inside the House chamber, Capitol Police trampled, and four Americans dead. A woman was shot near the elevator I use every day to enter the House floor. It was a display not of patriotism but of frenzy and anarchy.

Let me be clear: Last week’s violent attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, un-American and criminal…And make no mistake: Those who are responsible for Wednesday’s chaos will be brought to justice…The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.

January 6th was a disgrace... American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like... Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President... 

They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth — because he was angry he’d lost an election.

I call 'em the way i See 'em

 Ok - so I believe this , that as we go thru time ,, and 30 - 40 % of the population is unvaccinated, we will continue to live thru the nightmare that is COVID-19. The same goes for the unmasked, and the lack of - forget social distance - let's just say lack of what is to me common sense measure. 

Let's say this - the Vaccinated are wet Logs and sticks lying the Forrest and the unvaccinated are dry Sticks and logs...   Can the Wet Logs and sticks still start a fire ,,, sure ....  Can they still be destroyed by fire... Sure...   But the it's the DRY - unaxx'd that pose the highest risk to themselves and to the Wet - Vaxx'd-  wood.  It the Dry logs that will allow the Fire to start and to spread ......  Ok - goofy analogy but it's  all I could come up with at 6AM !! 

Ok - this analogy I "borrowed" - “It used to be that smoking was considered an individual decision, but people saw it differently when the science confirmed that secondhand smoke also kills people. We changed our behavior to protect everyone. Vaccination protects everyone, too — it protects the vaccinated person who is less likely to get sick, and it protects the whole community when more people are vaccinated because COVID will have less chance to spread.”  This from Berkley Medical. 

The folks that are saying that " we should just go about our lives and let "natural immunity" take its course are -  in My opinion -  disregarding those that will become extreemly ill or Die for m the virus -  to you is 1% or .1 % or .000001%. So someone else that number is  Mother , father,  son, daughter , grandparent, friend, that was vulnerable to the Virus ... more vulnerable than you. But - Fuck 'em!!  - hey "If they are to die , then let them die " and "decrease the surplus population" ....   Attached is a post by a very good friend of mine's wife on the maybe unseen impact of the Virus spread.  Her post reads a follows :

I'm tired of remaining quiet. To those who insist that it is your right to determine what goes into your body it is time to yield your self-centered, self-serving point of view and get vaccinated against Covid. Your resistance has held our nation hostage, and subjected us all to ongoing public health and safety concerns. You demand that it is your right to refuse a vaccine and you refuse to use a mask in public spaces, then you turn around and expect immediate access to our health care system: exhausting doctors and nurses, tying up hospital beds, and running up a huge health care tab. You actively spread the virus in our communities without thinking about the ramifications for others, all along exposing others to potential health complications. Wake up! If you want to "make America great again" do so by working with, not against others.

My husband was due to have surgery tomorrow. The surgery while not urgent, is necessary and time sensitive. All the preparations, both physical and mental, were in place. While vaccinated and boosted, we limited our holiday celebrations in order to ensure he would be Covid free and ready to go. Then, this afternoon we received a call canceling his procedure due to bed and staffing shortages and we are toId that, while he is a priority, it is likely to be several weeks before his surgery can be rescheduled. Guess where I lay the blame.

I also think that doctors and nurses are going to and - surely have - had to make gut wrenching decisions as to who get s treatment and who does not - who has the best chance for survival and who has low chance ,, and then go about saving the one(s) that have to best chance... Got Kids, Parents, Grandparents ??? Go ahead and make that choice ... even if just in your mind - who in that group of relatives has the highest rate of survival ??? If you are treating one and another comes for help - do you stop treatment on the 1st ,, because the 2nd has a better chance of survival ???

Now - the good news here is that MOST people will not die of the virus , but SOME will... and just cause it has not been someone you know - (side note - I personally know 2 of my friends moms that have died from Covid) Should not give the FREEDOM - the RIGHT - to endanger others..

NOW - Here is some of the Data over the past weeks .... and yes - if you are a FOX (no way this this is a news channel) viewer - you don't see this.... But maybe a guy who sells pillows for a living is better source than a nationwide data base...

Summary Unvaccinated 12-34 year-olds are • 2 times more likely to get COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 12-34 year-olds. • 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 12-34 year olds.

Unvaccinated 35-64 year-olds are • 3 times more likely to get COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 35-64 year-olds. • 14 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 35-64 year olds.

Unvaccinated 65+ year-olds are • 6 times more likely to get COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 65+ year-olds. • 13 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 65+ year olds. • 15 times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated 65+ year-olds

I really do - sincerely hope that you and your family are NOT Infected / Affected to the point of Great illness or hospitalization from this virus....

I Can't

 I see no path forward. 

This country is so divided Politically, Philosophically, Medically, .....

Now not all things apply to all people - that would be too wide brush to paint with... BUT

I continue to read that Biden has nothing to slow or stop this pandemic. And I see this from Entertainment agencies (FOX) and read this from Right wing conservatives that Refused to believe the Pandemic is Real - but Blame China for it, They do not believe  data on Hospitalizations, Deaths or Infections from Covid but 100% buy into the numbers of people that have died from the  Vaccine. They give Dump all the credit in the world for developing a vaccine so quickly but refuse to take it because (wait for it) It was developed TOO Quickly.  Won't wear a simple mask , Social distance,  because they have freedom !!  No vaccine,  but it's the POTUS's fault that he can't stop the Pandemic. The Governor or Texas  has discounted the disease all along, refused Mask wearing mandates, poo-poo'd the Vaccine,,, and now that his state is overrun with the Virus , that his hospitals are overflowing with patients in he ER's that are mostly unvaccinated. He has asked that the federal government HELP ! Here is part of his statement. 

"Detecting COVID-19 and preventing COVID-related hospitalizations are critical to our fight against this virus," said Abbott in a prepared statement. "Testing sites, additional medical staff, and continued shipments of therapeutics from the federal government will help us continue to save lives and mitigate the spread of COVID-19."

And while I believe that Biden should  and absolutely will help them. I also think he should call Abbot and tell him FUCK YOU! And just so you know - one of the things that the Biden Admin has done is work to ensure that testing supplies, and therapeutics are equally distributed among states based on Population of course. Because they found that 7 states - SEVEN STATES - were hoarding 70% of these supplies,  and YOU Guessed it. Two of the States on that List ARE TEXAS and FLORIDA... 

Politicians have figured out that playing to their bases fears and blaming the Left is far more important that telling the truth or Walking the Talk. Assholes like MTG or Lauren Boebert , Ron Desantis, and Greg Abbot - I think they know exactly what they are doing.... and if they do not know what they are saying is a LIE - that is even worse.