If you have noticed that it’s been a little quiet around here…thanks for noticing. If you haven’t noticed, that’s fine too.
Baseball analogy time: Life around here has been in total turmoil as life seems to throw only curveballs, all the time, and I can’t hit them. It would be nice to have a fastball or a changeup, but instead it has just been a steady diet of curveballs.
Trying to keep up with the changes over the last year has been draining to say the least. The last month, month and a half, has been a blur.
I don’t mean to sound selfish, but I don’t wany any of it. I don’t mean to sound heartless or uncaring, but I am losing my ability to care.
I am tired of the constant family trials, difficulties, challenges.
Once again, life has gotten extremely uncomfortable. If you have been around here long, you are probably familiar with some of the things/people I have referred to in the past. Once again, the past issues are now current issues again.
High gas prices and getting higher. OPEC+ announced earlier this month that they are going to cut production. It’s hard to know exactly who to blame. Some say it is the result of inflation. Some say it is the result of government policy. Some say it is the result of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some say it is just the oil companies jacking prices for profit. It obviously isn’t as simple as one of these things and trying to make it solely about one of them is foolish.
However, here in the the US, it has a lot to do with the fact that our government (the Biden administration) has chosen to take a route with energy policy that does’t keep access to oil easy or convenient. As such, the supply is always short in the US when we could actually be nearly oil independent. The administration refuses to allow more refineries, more drilling, and no new pipelines.
The Democrats believe higher energy prices will force Americans to finally get behind “clean” energy of wind and solar, the faster the better in their view. But they also see the peril in allowing prices to get too high, especially when it comes time to vote. Biden has been trying to keep prices low (very unsuccessfully) over the last couple months because of the looming mid-term elections. With an upcoming election and prices rising rapidly, the Biden administration is trying to put pressure on Saudi Arabia because the cost of fuel (well, the cost of everything really) will be weighing on the minds of Americans when they fill in their ballot. When Americans feel pain at the pump and in their wallet they tend to vote away from policies that made it them feel it.
As an example, I have three receipts less than a month apart. In that time span, the gas price as my local Costco (nearly always the cheapest price) has gone up $1.10/gal. That’s a lot of pain at the pump in less than a month. The worst part is that fuel prices are typically going down this time of year (after Labor Day) since the “driving season” is over and consumption/demand is lower.
My last three fill-ups.
Obviously, this is weighing on my mind. I make a pretty good income, but I am feeling the pinch. I can imagine how others who were already on tight budgets are feeling now. It’s a struggle and really hard choices are having to be made. I am sure the last thing they are thinking about is clean energy and long term policy. They (we) all want some relief.
Manipulating voters before an election is nothing new. Both parties do it. It’s irritating as hell that most people don’t see right through it. But, put a little money in the pockets of voters shortly before an election and they tend to forget the pain they felt for a short time while they vote. We’ve seen this fairly often too – and in a not so transparent move, California (the largest state, dominated by Democrats) is giving money back to voters just in time for elections. It apparently goes by many different names – “Middle Class Tax Refund”, “Inflation Relief Check”, “Gas Tax Refund” – but the goal is all the same, make sure voters try to forget their pain at the pump and other places for a short time. Also, just in time (not a coincident or a surprise), the president releases more oil from the strategic stock pile. Didn’t see that one coming…*sarcasm*
Anyone else tired of the garbage going on in DC, or their own state? Anyone else tired of the rich and elite manipulating the government for themselves?
The OPEC+ decision to cut oil production will make prices spike in the short term. How that ends up translating to prices at the pump remains to be seen, obviuosly. However, can we be confident that the OPEC+ members will actually abide by the agreement? Not really. Traditionally, they decide on a production cut and then one or more members decide that the price spike is too good to lower production so they keep producing at the current level to maximise profits during the price increase. Members always accuse other members of violating their agreement and everyone ends up producing just as much or more than previous levels to make up for lost ground in the market.
Ultimately, their announcement is market manipulation and likely won’t really happen. But, it also might be American election manipulation too. To say that oil producing countries are “pleased” with American Democrats and their progressive push towards climate alarmism would be more than a mis-statement. Another political party would be friendlier, in their opinion. This may be their actual goal, but time will tell.
Turns our Democrats actually want fences, just not to protect the nation’s borders.
It seems rather ironic, don’t you think?
A president who literally ran with a campaign promise of cancelling the border fence started by the previous president and virtually opening the borders to all who dare to violate national sovereignty, well, he actually WANTS a fence…around his house and property. Mind you, this is also private property being protected with public funds for all of perpitude, though he will not be in public service beyond his time in office.
Turns out, protecting himself and his family and his wealth and his image (gained legally and…perhaps illegally? *cough – Hunter*) is important enough to have a fence around it. But, having a fence around the country and protecting those that live here legally (and illegally) from weapons, drugs, criminals, etc., etc., well, that is going too far.
Anyone else find the irony farcical?
Another example of leadership and the “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.
The Washington governor is the most ridiculous ever. This isn’t an over the top, exaggeration type statement. It’s a fact. Case in point: He still has his “emergency powers” and will not let them go. The state legislature doesn’t even have a way to check his power (not surprisingly, the Dems in the state actually refused to change the state constitution to give them, the legislature, a check on the governor).
As the dreaded c-word has basically run it’s course, the governor – Jay Inslee – continues to make rules and dictate what will happen in the state even though an emergency no longer exists. Nevermind the fact that the “emergency” was over at least a year ago, but now the CDC has basically said that nearly everyone in the US has “immunity” to it. 95% of Americans have had sh0ts or actually had it. As such, they have dropped nearly all precautions instituted/recommended. They even said they basically blew it when it comes to how they responded. The governor, however, has refused to say when he will give up the powers and certainly makes it clear there are no plans to do it any time soon.
Here’s the thing though, the governor (and by extension, Dems in general) don’t want to let go of this “emergency” because it has given them extraordinary, unchecked power to control nearly everything in the daily lives of the population. It has made it easier for them to cancel opposition or put up roadblocks to keep people from questioning their authority.
Folks, this had drug out way too long. There may have been a need at one point, for a short period of time, but this has turned into the most egregarious power grabs in history. Whomever thought allowing a governor to have unchecked powers missed the mark entirely.
Mark my words, there will be more “emergencies” in the near future.
Do you use cruise control in your vehicle when you are on a long drive? Do you like to set it and forget it…until some jackwagon decides that pacing you in your blind spot is a good idea and then you have to cancel your cruise by stepping on your brake?
You know it is inevitable, right? Is that Murphy’s Law or is that bad karma or is it just a coincidence?
I took a road trip this last weekend (12 hours total driving time) and I noticed that just about every time I set the cruise control (about 7-8 mph over the speed limit, mind you) that within about 10 minutes I would have to step on the brake and cancel it.
I was driving across the state, on the east side, where there are long stretches of nothing. It’s just highway – long, flat, some rolly hills, but mostly uninteresting. You would think it would be a great place to just set the cruise control and just drive.
Nope.
Seemingly without fail, about the time I would need to pass someone on the left there would be a car pacing me, in my blind spot, and not allowing me to change lanes.
It’s almost as if they were doing it on purpose. Miles and miles and miles of unobstructed driving until that moment.
And instead of recognizing what is about to happen in front of or next to them and speeding up just a little so as to not have to slow down themselves, they just keep their own pace and make me break mine. Jackwagon.
Do people realize you can step on the gas while cruise control is on and speed up and it DOES NOT cancel your cruis control or change your speed? No need to reset it. No need to click Resume. The vehicle just returns to the speed you set it for. Kinda like magic.
But instead, it would appear people like to annoy the hell outta me (and probably others too).
“Tradition” has been (or will be) broken. Actually, I am not sure how much of a tradition it is but I do know it is an annual occurrence that has taken place for at least as long as I have been with this organization. I am sure it started way before I became employed here.
The annual company/department picnic is today. Only it isn’t going to be a picnic today…
The picnic hasn’t really happened, of course, over the last several years because, ya know, covid. People freak out if you’re in too close proximity even when outdoors so it didn’t happen. But this year, the powers that be decided it was alright to have it again. As such, we will be headed to the park later this afternoon.
But, here’s the thing. It isn’t really going to be a picnic.
In the past, the managers have provided all the spread for a picnic lunch. Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips, drinks, etc. were all included with this time away from the office and official duties. People brought chairs and hung out in a relaxing atmostphere and got to know each other in a different setting.
This year, the managers have cheaped out. This year it isn’t a lunch so much as a snack time. Chips and cookies are the highlight of the menu this year. So, for most people, they will have to have a lunch of some kind before heading to the picnic.
Not sure why there has been a change from what was done in the past, but this is rather anticlimatic. Are we supposed to look forward to this? Doesn’t really seem like a celebration of another support year completed before moving into another school year support cycle. It almost seems more like an obligatory afterthought.
I guess I should just temper the complaint with the fact that I won’t have to be working during that time. But I would be much happier if they would feed me a regular lunch like in the past…
I awoke this morning to an email that made me pause for a moment. I knew the moment was coming. I have for a while, of course, but actually seeing it there in print made me pause and contemplate the past. A stage in my life is truly over and going back isn’t an option (at least not an easy one).
This morning I had the official notification via email from OSPI (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) that my teaching certificate is now officially expired.
Again, I knew this day would be coming for seven years (well, nearly 7…in a little over a month it will be 7 years since I left the classroom). It has been in the back of my mind and occasionally I would get reminded when I would glance at my National Board Certification. The expiration date was right there on the bottom – June 30, 2022. My state teaching certificate was tied to that because the National Board Certification linked the two and extended the state expiration date.
I am no longer a teacher.
It’s hard to say that. There was a lot of time, money, and effort tied to that part of my identity. Of course, I haven’t been a classroom teacher for nearly seven years, but to actually have that part of my life come to an official end (there was always that “open door” to go back) is a little surreal. I loved my subject and I really liked teaching students about it. I didn’t like all the time and politics related to the job.
I am happy with where I am now, don’t get me wrong. However, officially letting go of that part of me is surprisingly more emotional than I thought it would be.
I will always be a teacher, just not a classroom teacher. I guess I have to remember that. I still teach people in education about the software they use. I still teach teachers about the software they use to track student progress. It’s just a different kind of teaching.
The news out of Japan this morning is quite shocking. The former Japanese Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo, being assassinated IN Japan is kind of a big deal because gun violence in Japan is virtually unheard of. They have some of the strictest gun laws anywhere in the world. The fact that this act was done IN Japan to a former highly elected official with seemingly good security protection just goes to show you that gun laws can be as restrictive as a plastic bag over the head is, but they don’t stop evil doers from doing evil.
This can’t be more clear when you start talking about guns in America. The US has a a guaranteed right written right into it’s founding document. The First Amendment of the Constitution enshrines this right from protection against the government being able to take the right away. People have long tried to limit or chisel away at that right and the courts have supported them to some degree. But the fact remains that American’s can’t and shouldn’t lose that right. It should be protected for all of time.
Thus, the news from Japan just reinforces that guns aren’t the problem when it comes to death and destruction. Yes, guns are widely available in the US for anyone who qualifies to purchase a gun, no matter the type. Should there be better background checks? Maybe. Should there be mental health flags in the background check? Maybe. Those issues are debatable. But what still remains during this discussion isn’t if we need to ban guns, it’s that no matter the laws and bans on the book, evil doers will find a way to get a gun. Actually, it doesn’t even matter if it’s a gun. They will find a way to do their evil even without guns because that is what evil does. It doesn’t care about laws and bans and limits and background checks and anything else you can put in the way of people doing evil.
What we can’t let happen is good people having their rights taken away because a few (we’re really talking about a small percentage here) bad apples decide to do evil. Keeping something from someone because others do bad things is stupid. That’s kind of like saying no one can drive a car because there are people who drive poorly and get in accidents and hurt or kill other people. Driving a car isn’t even a guaranteed right, it’s a privalege in America, yet no one would consider doing away with motor vehicles.
I hope you get the point here.
Evil doers will do evil. There is no stopping it.
Well, there is, but a godless nation won’t or can’t stomach the actual solution to the problem – bring God back into the daily lives of everyone.
OK, Chicken Little…or littles….there is a lot of yelling, crying, hand-wringing, and plain old threats of violence over the Supreme Court of the United States’ reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision. A decision that has been on debate about the correctness, legality, and morality since it was handed down nearly 50 years ago.
In my humble opinion, this is the right reversal. I say it that way because of two things: it overturns a precendent set in the past that was wrong from the start and it removes the ability to legally kill human babies.
I wrote all the way back in December of last year, when this case was being heard by SCOTUS, that the danger of precendent was something that the court could not and should not stand on, simply for standing on precendent. I also wrote about it way back in 2019, about precedent being danderous. I was trying to show that previous courts had made decisions that were wrong and that needed to be overturned because they were morally wrong and righted wrongs that never should have existed. When this decision was leaked to the press (in and of itself, unprecedented) early, the sky began falling then. This just confirms that there are some who clearly are going to die on this hill and that a large portion of the United States is morally bankrupt.
So, again, overturning the first decision to legalize abortion at the federal level was the correct thing to do. It’s the right reversal. There is no inherent right or implicet right in the Constitution for an individual to take a life, let alone to kill babies. It can’t be Constiutionally protected because there are no means to justify it.
It’s the right reversal because there is no moral justification for taking the life of a baby. You can’t tell me that an inch and a half (or three, or whatever amount) of skin and tissue makes the different between whether or not a baby, a child, a human is alive or not. Once it has a detectable heartbeat, no matter the time or space, it is alive. Some might even argue earlier, but a heartbeat for sure is discernable and can’t be debated. It just can’t. No argument can be created or defended that would change this fact and to do so would simply be smoke and mirrors to displace the real issue.
Once again, there will be a lot of complaining, groaning, screaming, and lying (yes, lying) about the wrong that has been done with this right reversal. For many in the country, there can no better or singular issue to demonstrates their depravity than this. Any opinoin that directly supports killing children, at any age, tells you alot about the person holding the opinion.
Piss and Moan 