government | Piss and Moan

On fire

Posted on January 26, 2022 by backuphill

Anyone else feel like the world is on fire? Like, if you were to stand still for a moment and take a look around “everything” seems to be burning up, falling down, getting destroyed?

Look at the news – crap.

Look at health – crap.

Look at finances – crap.

Look at law and order – crap.

Look at the assault on freedom loving people – crap.

Look at the disregard for the Constitution – crap.

Look at safety – crap.

Look at spending and deficits – crap.

Look at the disintegration of infrastructure – crap.

Look at education – crap.

Look at younger generations – crap.

Look at entertainment (music, movies, tv, etc) – crap.

Look at leadership – crap.

Look at political leadership – totally crap.

Look at exploitation people, the environment, goverment – crap.

Look at the “social justice” being pushed – crap.

Look at the loss of moral ideology, leadership, fortitude, living – crap.

Look at….you name it and it’s probably crap too.

Everything has gone to crap, is on “fire” and any semblance of returning to “normal” is pure fiction. If you believe that anything will “go back to the way it was” you are lying to yourself and to everyone around you. It ain’t. It won’t. The hope of such return is gone.

“The good ol’ days” isn’t really a thing because everything has a different perception of what was “good” so we can’t really hope for something that people can’t agree on.

Anyway, anyone else feel this way? It’s been a bit overwhelming as of late and it really makes one consider moving to some place that has no contact with the outside world.

Season’s greetings

Posted on December 22, 2021 by backuphill

Season’s greetings to all you out there who are vaccinated. The White House would like you to know that you are safe and can go about your business as usual, regardless of breakthrough infections everywhere.

If you’re unvaccinated, no season’s greetings to you. We wish death and destruction, to you, your families, and the hospital system you are surely going to overwhelm for the umpteenth time.

The White House and the President need to work on their messaging.

Might have as well said, “Happy Apocalypse!” or “Merry Death and Destruction!”

That sure makes up for all the missing “mean tweets” we haven’t had in a while. Let’s just make it an official statement direct from the big house.

Seriously.

“We’re the party of inclusion – except for you, you, and your family too.”

Mixed up your messaging much?

Oh, wait, there never was an ACTUAL belief in inclusion unless you follow along, tow the line and not resist. There is room for you in this party…do as we say and you won’t get hurt. Don’t do as we say and we’ll cancel the hell outta ya (even if you’re one of us).

*eye roll*

Happy holidays…and keep your head down.

Theoretical question

Posted on December 21, 2021 by backuphill

Or questionable theory. Or question and theory. Or I’m insane. Or how many “conspiracies theories” have already come true since March or 2020?

Anyway, can DNA be collected from snot?

How do you collect the DNA of every (or nearly every) living human on the planet?

How do you collect the DNA of people who would normally not willingly give up their DNA?

Theoretical answer?

Virus. Fear. Control. Media. Propaganda. Social “pressure.” More government.

I have no idea what I am talking about, really. I am just sitting here on a slow work day pondering the unponderable. Have you pondered this too?

Weird.

Lost humanity

Posted on December 8, 2021 by backuphill

Another trip in the ambulance and another ER visit. This time in a much larger city close by. There was a noticeable difference in care – both in quality and in humanity.

There are and have been a lot of things said about this whole health thing going on – you know, the one that starts with C and ends with D. It has caused a lot of fear and that fear has turned our society into a bunch of people with lost humanity. We have lost what it means to be human and to treat people in a humane way.

We see it all the time with the lockdowns. We see it all the time in the mandates. We see it all the time in masks and shots and the continual testing and the fight for basic medical rights/privacy as they are stripped away. We see it in the denials of service. We see it in the confrontations over restrictions. We see it in pointless rules that actually make things worse rather than helping the people they are supposed to.

Yesterday, I wasn’t allowed into the ER. Barred, with a whole bunch of other people, to sit and wait to see what happens – with little to no communication from the hospital staff. The patient actually had to text me, when able, so I could have updates.

I watched a mother of a severely autistic child argue with hospital staff about accompanying her child. It was obvious of his condition and lack of ability to communicate.

I watched as one of their own hospital nurses (white crocs, scrubs, name tag) struggle to breath while sitting in a wheel chair outside the ER doors. She was alone. She was probably late 20s maybe early 30s. When I mentioned to the lady behind the counter she was struggling, she shrugged and said she was being taken care of.

Obviously, I am frustrated with the treatment of my own loved one. The ER basically did nothing, other than monitor. My loved one said she had never experienced a more unfriendly healthcare experience. The ER doc said that since it didn’t appear to be life-threatening and their job isn’t to diagnose, they were going to release her. Basically, “We can’t help you and we don’t know what’s wrong with you, so get out.”

President Franklin D Roosevelt in his first Inaugural Address said that the “…only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” I has become increasingly clear that Americans have forgotten those words. We have totally and unwisely let fear control us over the last two years and, unfortunately, will probably continue to let fear control us.

Fear has caused us to lose our humanity. It’s a sad state to comment on, but the reality is that we have forgotten what it means to be human and to treat others with empathy and kindness.

This can’t be the way we move forward. We are doomed if that is the case.

The danger of precedent

Posted on December 2, 2021 by backuphill

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

You’re gonna hear about the Supreme Court a lot in the coming days and weeks. They’re hearing a case that could change the course of human events in the U.S. for a long time to come (or not). It really depends on how the court decides the case it heard yesterday, the one about abortion and limiting it.

One of the ways the court makes it’s decisions is based on precedent. Precedent is used to help guide the court in making decisions related to issues of the past. A court obviously can’t really know if a decision they are making in the current day will be used as precedent, but they certainly know in the present when they are using the precedent set by earlier courts.

One of the things about SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) is that it relies heavily on precedents set by previous courts. This is kind of a nod to the fact that those justices have made a correct ruling based on interpretation of the Constitution, intent of the Founders, etc., etc. Therefore, most decisions coming from the court often don’t step on previous decisions and most often don’t overturn precedent.

But, there have been times where that has taken place and it was no small matter.

The best example of a court reversing it’s own precedent (and really the best one to apply now to abortion) is the 1896 case of Plessy vs. Ferguson. The precedent that was set by the court as a result of that case became known as the “separate but equal” doctrine. Essentially it established that, for all intents and purposes, segregation was legal as long as accommodations were equal for both races. Of course, we know the application of that doctrine didn’t really get applied that way and was the basis for all sorts of discriminatory and racist laws. Over and over there challenges to those racist laws and over and over the court upheld decisions in favor of racism simply because the justification was the precedent of Plessy. That precedent would eventually be overturned by a different and later court, which set a new precedent. The 1954 case of Brown vs. The Board of Education turned Plessy on it’s head by deciding in the case that separate was not equal but inherently unequal. Thus, sanctioned and legal racism was stamped out by a future court righting the wrongs of a previous court. There was a new understanding and interpretation and it was decided that the precedent was wrong, so they fixed it and made it right. It took 58 years to make that morally wrong decision, morally right.

Today, some 43 years after the Roe vs. Wade court decision SCOTUS has a chance to right another wrong. A chance to reverse a precedent that has cost millions and millions of human lives – those of unborn children. A chance to stand on what is morally right, saving the lives of babies, instead of standing on what is morally wrong, killing babies. It doesn’t seem like this should be that tough of a decision. But, apparently it is.

Going against public opinion isn’t an easy thing and I am sure it wasn’t that easy in the Brown decision, but it was the right thing to do. Lots of things have changed in 43 years since Roe was decided. Healthcare, medical knowledge, and technology has gotten a lot better in those years, so denying that life starts at conception is backwards as saying the Sun revolves around the Earth.

The arguments from the liberal side of the bench were a little strange yesterday. Sonia Sotomayor is standing on precedent and arguing for maintaining the status quo simple so the court can take on the appearance of legitimacy? Isn’t it less legitimate if it doesn’t correct precedent and right a wrong? To me that seems like a weird argument to make when talking about morally wrong judgements. Can you imagine if the court argued in 1954’s Brown decision that they needed to keep the Plessy precedent to “survive” and remain legitimate?

Anyone else find that strange?

Anyone else care about this topic? What do you think?

Ultimately, precedent can be a positive way to look at pending cases and it can be used as a guide to current issues, but if precedent can’t ever be corrected (despite public opinion) it’s a dangerous thing to stand on.

Policies, policies

Posted on November 16, 2021 by backuphill

I have found myself stuck between two policies at work. The policies have forced me to take a “sick vacation.”

So, this last weekend I was sick again. The second time in two months. Normally I have a pretty good immune system, but apparently the cold/flu season is going to be coming back this year. So, of course, with the cold comes all the congestion, runny nose, cough, a general miserableness. No fever though, thankfully. I was a couple nights of discomfort over the weekend but not too bad.

Yesterday, I was telecommuting (my normal days are Monday, Thursday, and Friday) and mentioned that I hadn’t felt good most of the weekend but was recovering fine. I was considering flipping my telecommute days so that I could stay home a couple more days in a row just to let the symptoms subside a bit more when I was told that I would need to have a negative Covid test before I could go back to work at the office. WTH? I talked with my manager (she isn’t happy about the policy either because it creates a lot of stress for the whole team) and with the telecommute policy limited to 60% of the month and a holiday coming up, switching days just wouldn’t work. Since that is the case, I am forced to take two sick days while I seek out a test and wait for results.

Seek out. Yes, I have to seek out a test. Weird, isn’t it?

Remember “back in the old days” of this whole thing you could go some place, drive thru and be done in 15-20 minutes? Not so much now.

In a world that is entirely consumed with fear about covid and makes irrational policies about what you can and can’t do, you would think that finding a place and opportunity to get a test done would be ample. Not so much! In my community and surrounding area (within about a 20 minute drive) there are roughly 10 places to get a test. More than half of those places require an appointment. At least three of those places are “urgent care” facilities and require long waits (don’t get me started) and a full charge visit to a doctor. Most of those places don’t even do a test for you unless you are “symptomatic.” For all intents and purposes, anyone looking to get a test done would likely have to take time off work to get one done.

Good grief.

All this fear but no one seems to want to make it easy to find out if you have it or not.

All this just to go back to an office I really don’t want to go back to in the first place because I can do my job anywhere with internet.

Friggin’ world is backwards.

Proof positive

Posted on November 10, 2021 by backuphill

Proof positive that Biden’s (and Dem’s) policies don’t work. It’s only taken 10 months for him/them to cripple the economy and all those people who supposedly got a raise in pay are now back to seeing no benefit as that boost is eaten up with higher and higher costs.

What more do you need? What evidence does it take to see that the Dems are actually working against the common man to consolidate power and demand reliance on their benevolence? Proof is in the numbers today. All who voted for the career politician have been duped.

The inflation numbers are being (largely) driven by energy costs. Gas/oil prices are up. Natural gas prices are up. I know this will be hard for some to fathom, but do you think cancelling the Keystone Pipeline isn’t a factor in this? You can bet your ass it is. Yet, the Biden administration didn’t see the impact ahead of what that would do financially to every American’s pocketbook?

We aren’t talking about just a certain industry. This is a cost that affects everyone’s buying power – from food, to goods, to major purchases. If American’s aren’t spending money on things, then that costs business profit. Lost business profit means lost jobs. Lost jobs means even less money to spend. You see how that works right? There’s an endless cycle here. That’s how it works.

Oh, but wait! Less money to spend because of higher costs and lost wages…the expectation is that Americans will turn to the government to make up the difference via handouts and social programs. Those get paid for with higher taxes on those who can afford them. Instead of making/helping Americans become more self-sufficient, it is creating more dependent Americans.

UGH! This is so obvious! How are people not seeing this??

Stop electing people into the government who say the government should solve many or all of our problems.

OK. I guess I am done ranting for now. This probably all doesn’t make sense.

Actually, it probably does make sense to people who can see what is going on…but I can almost guarantee that there are a whole lot of blind people that will deny or ignore what is going on. Pathetic.

Plain and simple.

You reap what you sow.

Hey, kid

Posted on November 8, 2021 by backuphill

Your momma warned you back in the day. Don’t take candy from strangers, especially the guy that rolls up in a creepy looking van and entices a kid to get in by offering them a piece of candy. You remember that ol’, “Hey, kid, want a piece of candy?” thing, right?

Well, it seems the Democrats in New York essentially have become “that guy in the van.” This is beyond creepy.

Now that the shot is approved for kids 5-11, NY has taken to bribing children to get the shot. Right now, at least according to the article, it can happen at school with parent permission. I can only imagine that when not enough get vaccinated that way the Dems will find a way to remove the parental permission and just let kids decide for themselves. I mean, parental rights have been removed for other healthcare things so why stop for a shot?

Man, this just makes you feel dirty when you think about how the government is going after our kids.

Sure, there is some need for shots and there have been great advances but do you think this is going a little overboard? Actually bribing kids and making it attractive to get a shot when they can’t (in most cases) or won’t even brush their teeth, take a shower, brush their hair, or even wear deodorant?

Oh, but let’s just add one more thing for kids to bully, tease, and harass other students about. I can hear it now…”I got my shot. Did you get yours?”…”So and so doesn’t have the shot! Ewww, you’re do dirty!”…”I bought such and such with my shot money. What did you get?”…

The peer pressure will be immense and you know, without a doubt, that kids will be forging their parents’ names to get the $100.

Sorry, but this is almost criminal when you start thinking of the implications.

Really, really disturbing the Dems have done this route. But maybe I really shouldn’t be surprised, they are already bullying and threatening adults who don’t get the shot, so this is the next logical step.

The slippery slope is no longer a slope.

Remember, remember…

Posted on November 5, 2021 by backuphill

http://pictures.4ever.eu/art/movies/v-for-vendetta-186177

“Remember, remember, the 5th of November…”

Is it weird to celebrate a graphic novel and iconic movie today?

I mean, after all, at one time the dystopian tale of government created viruses, large numbers of deaths, protests, government crackdowns, citizen demands for safety over freedom, increased government surveillance, and finally forced obedience/compliance to a national party/religion seemed like a tale that would never happen in real life. Right? Clearly no one would ever fall into that story or scenario. Right? Has “V for Vendetta” become prophetic?

Well, here we are. I am left thinking that the students I used to show this film to and the way we analyzed it would keep them from doing exactly what I see some of them doing, and actually advocating for the very thing they thought was over-the-top when they watched the film.

How short their memories are…

Maybe we haven’t gotten that far in the U.S., yet. But it may be coming sooner than we think or would like. Maybe they have gotten there in Australia, or New Zealand. It’s weird to watch it on a screen and then watch it from what feels like a world away. Yet, it also feels like we are watching it inch closer and closer in the U.S. Almost as though it is an out-of-body experience. You can watch the events from afar and you can see what is going to happen before it happens, but you can’t do anything about it or you are unable to influence the outcome.

It’s weird, right?

Anyone else see the eerie similarities or is it just me?

OK, good to know I am not alone in this…

https://quotesgram.com/img/v-for-vendetta-movie-quotes/475808/

Where’s your line? The government is coming for you and your job. Blind compliance out of fear? Where’s your line? Safety over freedom? What are you begging for? Does the government have to grant it to you? Where’s your line?

Gonna stand up and be counted, or sit down and be quiet?

Poll dancing

Posted on November 2, 2021 by backuphill

Prognostication. I hate it. I especially hate it when it comes to elections.

I seriously dislike the whole idea that the media thinks we need to know how voting is going before voting is done. Even worse, telling us how voting is going before it has even started.

How did election polling become such a big business?

The number of polls about politics has become a plague. Each of them trying to get a pulse on what will happen before it happens, all so they can get the scoop and make the news first. (yes, you read that right – MAKE the news.)

I honestly believe that polls actually discourage people from voting and I actually believe that they actually affect the outcome of an election. Polling is corrupting the processes of an election. In essence, they create undue influence on an election. Interference. I think this is especially probable when it comes to a liberal media who has a vested interest in getting liberal candidates elected.

So, today, go vote. Don’t answer any questions about who or what you voted for. Don’t give the pollsters any info. Period.

Oh, and while you’re at it, stop electing career politicians and idiots.

Thank you.