You hear it all the time. In fact, I recently said it in a post here about baseball umpires.
"How the actual fuck can that cocksucker call that a fucking strike???"
Yikes. Why so hard on cocksuckers, Ferrerman? That's not nice!
It isn't. Anyone who has ever received a blowjob probably realizes that it was a very nice thing for that person to do. It is widely acknowledged that bad head is better than no head at all. Recipients are grateful. And they should be. When someone cares enough to take your penis in their mouth, you should be thrilled at that and with them for doing so. It's one of the nicest things someone can do for you and, subsequently, one of the nicest things you can do for someone. So, why do we denigrate cocksuckers so much?
Well, the easy answer is that it's something you wouldn't do so you (literally) look down on anyone who does. OK. But, why do we voice this so often and with such contempt? It's a guy thing to say but women say it too. It's a common part of the vernacular today in public, in film and damn near on television. I've heard women say it as well for years, about each other, about men and about situations. One of the funniest women I've ever know would say "Suck my dick!" to other people even though she most definitely did not have a dick to suck. I LOL'ed the first time I heard Karen say that. By her own admission, she was a talented cocksucker herself. Yet, she seemed to be denigrating her own actions every time she said this. To her, it was something she enjoyed doing but she also seemed to be declaring to to be a "bad" thing that "bad people" do. Maybe. It might have been her owning it in a way like black people calling themselves "niggers".
It isn't always meant as a literal pejorative either. You can say it without it literally meaning you think that person sucks dicks- just as if to say you don't like them or what they may be doing at the time. That's like with me and the umpires, other drivers or many internet posters.
However, when you do say it disparagingly you are actually belittling the act itself whether you give, receive or both. Kinda odd, don't you think? Especially when said around women, by men. Like saying, "Honey, that guy is a cocksucker! Oh- it's OK that you are too but, not that guy..." So, the act is generally considered a gay thing- something that straight guys don't do- but have done to them- by women. It's a bad thing when done by guys to guys but a truly awesome thing when women do it! Just so you know, honey!
I've never been gay or anti-gay but, yeah, I have disparaged gays for what they do. I don't really care though. Just because doing something doesn't appeal to me doesn't mean others shouldn't do it. I'm not the judge here. Over time, with luck, we evolve instead of devolve about things in life. Condemning people for the type of very popular sex they participate in is pretty disingenuous when you participate too, just by receiving.
I was thinking about this last week when International Bisexuality Day came and went without much fanfare other than a "trend" on Facebook and Yahoo. If you missed it, now you know what it's like to be late for Happy Hour and miss out on 2 for 1 at the bar. In my youth I thought nothing of women being bisexual as I figured it came natural to them. Women are soft and sweet and desirable and why wouldn't they desire each other? That's a pretty common male take. The common take though for men who might play both sides of the street is that they are really gay. Like my old tale of Jimmy W. dealing on Richard, whom we worked with: "Richard, you can work all your life and maybe no one calls you "a painter". But, you go out there in the parking lot and suck one dick and everybody is going to call you a 'cocksucker'!" It was pretty good, break-time humor. Even Richard laughed. All things being equal, men and women can be bisexual. Why not? It can be argued that they do unto others as they would like to be done themselves. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
We need to stop and think about what we say, who we say it too, and how we mean it so that we don't unintentionally hurt others. It's more than just being politically correct. Show some motherfucking courtesy!
Oh damn... We'll leave that one alone for now...
Thursday, September 29, 2016
In Support Of Our Boys In Blue
How would you like cameras watching your every move on the job, leading to second-guessing by experts, civilians, and people on the scene observing? How would you like cameras all over your job, recording your every move- good or bad- for scrutiny? I bet you'd hate it, or at least balk at that.
Well, if you did balk, an umpire would be there to call it. That may be the one call they always get right too because they are the only ones who (seemingly) know what a balk is anyway. I guess they do it well. Who knows?
However, they sure as fuck seem to be in the dark as to balls and strikes. The best thing you can say about their rather fluid strike zones is that they are generally unfair to both teams. Yep. Wrong but, fair. Does it get any better than that? I hope so.
Is it fair to the umpires to judge their work with cameras and computer systems like Pitchtrax? I think so. I am a Cubs fan and watch a lot of other Major League Baseball games, as well. I love baseball. The coverage on any given game is very good and you get a great view of every pitch. After years of playing (as a kid) and watching MLB, I'm a pretty good judge of the strike zone. That doesn't mean I could go behind the plate and be as good as the average MLB umpire. Nor does it mean I'd be worse. It's a tough job. Just to get to the bigs, they work of thousands of hours calling tens of thousands of balls and strikes. The way the major's works, they are only calling balls and strikes behind the plate every fourth game as they rotate around the bases. It's not something each guy does every day. It's hard to become an expert at that rate.
Pitchtrax might not be perfect but, it's better than any MLB umpire. And it might be perfect. It sets a standard strike zone and it stays there. There's a lot to be said for that. Essentially, the strike zone is between the letters (on the players uniform) and his knees, and over home plate. It is a pitch that a batter should be able to hit. A good pitch. The problem, and my beef, is that to a lot of the boys in blue, a pitch a foot off the ground is all too often called a strike. It's not what anyone would reasonably call "hittable" yet of late, many umps call it a strike. There are a lot of questionable calls east and west as well- pitches that aren't exactly over the plate, but the low-strike seems to be in vogue.
By and large, MLB umpires are the best referees in sports. It's a tough job but on the bases at least, replay often proves them right. They tend to get safe and out right and if they don't, replay review now corrects that during the game. Prior to that you had to write it off to human error and accept that mistakes are made. Nobody is perfect.
But, too many of them really suck behind the plate. And it's killing the game.
It's time for MLB to fully enter the 21st century and let computers call balls and strikes. The umpires have a union and I don't want to see anyone lose their job ('cept maybe that fucking asshole, Joe West) so, retain a guy in the capacity of home plate umpire but, do NOT let him call the pitches. Obviously a human being needs to be there to document runs and call safe or out in plays at the plate. You can't change that.
The players deserve consistency and so do the fans. The players make their living playing this wonderful game and how well they ply their trade should not be subjected to the whims of an arbitrators subjective interpretation of balls and strikes. A player or manager can be thrown out of the game and fined just for arguing balls and strikes. If they didn't have that in place- as awful as umpires can be- we'd still be in spring training now with players arguing bad calls. Take humans out of the equation. Take the arguing out of it too by relying on the consistency of modern technology. It will speed up the game and certainly take some of the angst and vulgar language out of it, at least in my house. Wouldn't we all be better off without a Ferrerman screaming: "How the actual fuck can that cocksucker call that a fucking strike??!!" It would sure clean up the game in so many respects.
Well, if you did balk, an umpire would be there to call it. That may be the one call they always get right too because they are the only ones who (seemingly) know what a balk is anyway. I guess they do it well. Who knows?
However, they sure as fuck seem to be in the dark as to balls and strikes. The best thing you can say about their rather fluid strike zones is that they are generally unfair to both teams. Yep. Wrong but, fair. Does it get any better than that? I hope so.
Is it fair to the umpires to judge their work with cameras and computer systems like Pitchtrax? I think so. I am a Cubs fan and watch a lot of other Major League Baseball games, as well. I love baseball. The coverage on any given game is very good and you get a great view of every pitch. After years of playing (as a kid) and watching MLB, I'm a pretty good judge of the strike zone. That doesn't mean I could go behind the plate and be as good as the average MLB umpire. Nor does it mean I'd be worse. It's a tough job. Just to get to the bigs, they work of thousands of hours calling tens of thousands of balls and strikes. The way the major's works, they are only calling balls and strikes behind the plate every fourth game as they rotate around the bases. It's not something each guy does every day. It's hard to become an expert at that rate.
Pitchtrax might not be perfect but, it's better than any MLB umpire. And it might be perfect. It sets a standard strike zone and it stays there. There's a lot to be said for that. Essentially, the strike zone is between the letters (on the players uniform) and his knees, and over home plate. It is a pitch that a batter should be able to hit. A good pitch. The problem, and my beef, is that to a lot of the boys in blue, a pitch a foot off the ground is all too often called a strike. It's not what anyone would reasonably call "hittable" yet of late, many umps call it a strike. There are a lot of questionable calls east and west as well- pitches that aren't exactly over the plate, but the low-strike seems to be in vogue.
By and large, MLB umpires are the best referees in sports. It's a tough job but on the bases at least, replay often proves them right. They tend to get safe and out right and if they don't, replay review now corrects that during the game. Prior to that you had to write it off to human error and accept that mistakes are made. Nobody is perfect.
But, too many of them really suck behind the plate. And it's killing the game.
It's time for MLB to fully enter the 21st century and let computers call balls and strikes. The umpires have a union and I don't want to see anyone lose their job ('cept maybe that fucking asshole, Joe West) so, retain a guy in the capacity of home plate umpire but, do NOT let him call the pitches. Obviously a human being needs to be there to document runs and call safe or out in plays at the plate. You can't change that.
The players deserve consistency and so do the fans. The players make their living playing this wonderful game and how well they ply their trade should not be subjected to the whims of an arbitrators subjective interpretation of balls and strikes. A player or manager can be thrown out of the game and fined just for arguing balls and strikes. If they didn't have that in place- as awful as umpires can be- we'd still be in spring training now with players arguing bad calls. Take humans out of the equation. Take the arguing out of it too by relying on the consistency of modern technology. It will speed up the game and certainly take some of the angst and vulgar language out of it, at least in my house. Wouldn't we all be better off without a Ferrerman screaming: "How the actual fuck can that cocksucker call that a fucking strike??!!" It would sure clean up the game in so many respects.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Post Debate Analysis
I thoroughly enjoyed the debate. Of course, my candidate won so, I would enjoy that. Hillary did fine. We knew she would. Trump was a belligerent, bully. We all saw that coming.
But, it all means so little. At this point are there any real undecided voters? Should we even care about people so fucking dumb as to be on the fence wondering which way to fall? I think undecideds are just people who want to get on TV and think they sound smart when they say they haven't made up their minds yet and won't until they get more facts or something.
I hate to use a Topix poster's personal name but, it's Crystal Clear that Trump is a racist, alleged-billionaire, conman who does not care a lick about average American people because he only cares about himself. Conversely, Hillary Clinton is an extremely qualified woman who can and should be president. She can do the job. Trump can't.
If anyone can't see Trump for the asshole he is, they're beyond hope. However, if anyone thinks that might be okay for a president to be an asshole because (I'm guessing here) "he can get things done", then those people are beyond being just assholes. They are idiots. There is just no sense backing up any of the alleged pluses of Trump.
This goes beyond the usual partisan politics and you know that is true when famous conservatives like George Will completely and willfully denounce Trump. How stupid can anyone be to not see the magnitude of that? No living president endorses him and that includes two guys named George Bush. Spin it any way you want about Jeb but it speaks volumes that two men who had the job know that Trump cannot do it and, most important, should not do it. They could have easily and honestly endorsed any of the other candidates that Jeb lost with- even Cruz- for party unity and no one would be surprised. And Carter, Clinton and Obama I believe would come to the same conclusion if their party were running a Trump too.
I understand republicans not liking Hillary. It's stupid but, politics is stupid. It's sports for people who can't play sports- or worse- think they can. You pick a team in politics and you hate the rival team. It's as deep as the Bears/Packers rivalry. It's that simple. If there is anything worse than political coverage on cable, it's sports commentary anywhere in the media. It's hard to tell The NFL Today from any CNN panel. Same spin. Same nonsense. They sorta stop just short though on The NFL Today of saying: "The (losing team) really won according to the polling..." because, though they do poll a lot, the bottom line in sports still is wins and losses. Ultimately that's the bottom line in politics too but, it takes soooo fucking long to get there. It's painful to watch.
It's also painful to see that so many people are so fucking stupid as to believe Trump has their interests in his heart. Love your team but don't tell me the Bears will beat the Packers this season. Yes, it could happen but you are mistaking hope and dreams for practicality if you believe that. Leave the fantasy to football and masturbation where it belongs.
If you think that an (alleged) billionaire jagoff should be president, fuck you. If you don't think that is a flaw of any sort that should preclude him from the presidency, fuck you. If you think Hillary Clinton would be worse than Trump "because of the emails or BENGHAZI! or pantsuits, fuck you. And, if you're just supporting your team because that's what a good fan does, bless your heart, you stupid fucking idiot.
It's going to be close. Fucking asshole Trump could win. We all have to face that possibility. Worse, we will all have to deal with the carnage if he does prevail. The idiots do not realize that. Because of them though, we all may deserve the horror. At least in sports we survive the winners and upsets.
But, it all means so little. At this point are there any real undecided voters? Should we even care about people so fucking dumb as to be on the fence wondering which way to fall? I think undecideds are just people who want to get on TV and think they sound smart when they say they haven't made up their minds yet and won't until they get more facts or something.
I hate to use a Topix poster's personal name but, it's Crystal Clear that Trump is a racist, alleged-billionaire, conman who does not care a lick about average American people because he only cares about himself. Conversely, Hillary Clinton is an extremely qualified woman who can and should be president. She can do the job. Trump can't.
If anyone can't see Trump for the asshole he is, they're beyond hope. However, if anyone thinks that might be okay for a president to be an asshole because (I'm guessing here) "he can get things done", then those people are beyond being just assholes. They are idiots. There is just no sense backing up any of the alleged pluses of Trump.
This goes beyond the usual partisan politics and you know that is true when famous conservatives like George Will completely and willfully denounce Trump. How stupid can anyone be to not see the magnitude of that? No living president endorses him and that includes two guys named George Bush. Spin it any way you want about Jeb but it speaks volumes that two men who had the job know that Trump cannot do it and, most important, should not do it. They could have easily and honestly endorsed any of the other candidates that Jeb lost with- even Cruz- for party unity and no one would be surprised. And Carter, Clinton and Obama I believe would come to the same conclusion if their party were running a Trump too.
I understand republicans not liking Hillary. It's stupid but, politics is stupid. It's sports for people who can't play sports- or worse- think they can. You pick a team in politics and you hate the rival team. It's as deep as the Bears/Packers rivalry. It's that simple. If there is anything worse than political coverage on cable, it's sports commentary anywhere in the media. It's hard to tell The NFL Today from any CNN panel. Same spin. Same nonsense. They sorta stop just short though on The NFL Today of saying: "The (losing team) really won according to the polling..." because, though they do poll a lot, the bottom line in sports still is wins and losses. Ultimately that's the bottom line in politics too but, it takes soooo fucking long to get there. It's painful to watch.
It's also painful to see that so many people are so fucking stupid as to believe Trump has their interests in his heart. Love your team but don't tell me the Bears will beat the Packers this season. Yes, it could happen but you are mistaking hope and dreams for practicality if you believe that. Leave the fantasy to football and masturbation where it belongs.
If you think that an (alleged) billionaire jagoff should be president, fuck you. If you don't think that is a flaw of any sort that should preclude him from the presidency, fuck you. If you think Hillary Clinton would be worse than Trump "because of the emails or BENGHAZI! or pantsuits, fuck you. And, if you're just supporting your team because that's what a good fan does, bless your heart, you stupid fucking idiot.
It's going to be close. Fucking asshole Trump could win. We all have to face that possibility. Worse, we will all have to deal with the carnage if he does prevail. The idiots do not realize that. Because of them though, we all may deserve the horror. At least in sports we survive the winners and upsets.
Long Suffering Fools
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Hammers Seeking Nails Need Not Apply
It's hard to keep at these killings by police straight. Which was the one where the black guy had a book but the cops say he had a gun? What was the one where the helicopter cops- who sounded like a morning-zoo radio team- could tell from way up in the air that the black guy was "a bad dude"? Was that Tulsa? Or Charlotte? The cops found a gun somewhere! And, what about the one from 2011 where now they have video of the cop planting a weapon on the black guy he killed? Sunday- somewhere- the cops pepper-sprayed a 15 year old black girl who had been hit by a car on her bicycle because she refused to wait for paramedics. They did that for her own good, I guess? The ungrateful little justice obstructor...
It's hard to keep them straight but there is one common denominator. Black victims.
It is also hard not to think it's a racial denominator, even when black cops are the perpetrators. Does seem to be a pattern, especially when there are dozens of these cases every year.
There undoubtedly are racist cops in America but, I contend again that what we have first and foremost is a bad cop problem. It's easier to become a cop than to become a cosmetologist. Easier by several hundred hours of training. I'm not sure why so much training is involved in cosmetology. They have no powers of arrest and they rarely (if ever) kill anyone. Why though, does a cop (on average) receive only 622 hours of training with no required apprenticeship, while a hairdresser trains for 1570 hours and then (on average) performs 1080 more hours of mandated apprenticeship? Hair is important but, not 4 times more important that serving and protecting. This varies from state to state and that means it's easier for cops in some states than described above.
Since I last worked with guys who were set on becoming cops, they've upped the ante for the job quite a bit. I had a coworker that I tended bar with, kinda proudly admit that he failed the psych exam to become a cop. I could have told him he'd fail long before he took it. The kid was the son of a suburban cop and a bit judgmental as a result. He'd often figure stuff out about people "...because my dad's a cop..." There you go. It's genetic! Another fella lamented that he was always competing with guys who had military time (not just Military Police service) that he didn't have. It used to work that way- and I think it still helps- but, I've heard there is less emphasis on that these days. Maybe. There might be more given the militarization of many Police Departments these days? Anyway, in the 90's many PD's started looking favorably at college being a prerequisite, preferably a bachelors in Criminal Justice. But, those are preferences. They vary by departments and by state.
Anybody who knows a family member of a cop on Facebook knows that those family members all want their loved one to come home each night. True that but, cops don't even make the Top 10 of dangerous occupations. Time magazine has them at #15 in 2014. Loggers are #1 and cops come in right after "general maintenance and repair workers". They all want to come home at night too.
Cop killings are actually down of late, during the Obama regime. It's rhetoric about a "WAR ON COPS!" that has risen during this time. Several hundred Americans are killed by cops each year. It's very popular for white people to note that cops kill more whites and Hispanics than African-Americans but that's usually to highlight that "white people don't riot when one of us is killed..." We tend to save our rioting for more productive reasons such as winning or losing a championship in one's city. Ain't that 'murica? Whites are a far larger percentage of the population than blacks, by the way. We've got the numbers! For now...
Simply, we need better training for all cops. A better screening process too, to weed out potential trouble makers. The people getting killed aren't always the desperadoes in our society and I doubt the cops doing the killing are our best and brightest. The woman officer in Tulsa "feared for (her) life" despite being with three other cops immediately by her side, two in the air and more nearby. She panicked and a man died. That is preventable with training. It's avoidable. Life will never be fool-proof. Neither will death. We can try to do better though. All we have to do is try, and to try to give it the attention that we think our hair deserves.
It's hard to keep them straight but there is one common denominator. Black victims.
It is also hard not to think it's a racial denominator, even when black cops are the perpetrators. Does seem to be a pattern, especially when there are dozens of these cases every year.
There undoubtedly are racist cops in America but, I contend again that what we have first and foremost is a bad cop problem. It's easier to become a cop than to become a cosmetologist. Easier by several hundred hours of training. I'm not sure why so much training is involved in cosmetology. They have no powers of arrest and they rarely (if ever) kill anyone. Why though, does a cop (on average) receive only 622 hours of training with no required apprenticeship, while a hairdresser trains for 1570 hours and then (on average) performs 1080 more hours of mandated apprenticeship? Hair is important but, not 4 times more important that serving and protecting. This varies from state to state and that means it's easier for cops in some states than described above.
Since I last worked with guys who were set on becoming cops, they've upped the ante for the job quite a bit. I had a coworker that I tended bar with, kinda proudly admit that he failed the psych exam to become a cop. I could have told him he'd fail long before he took it. The kid was the son of a suburban cop and a bit judgmental as a result. He'd often figure stuff out about people "...because my dad's a cop..." There you go. It's genetic! Another fella lamented that he was always competing with guys who had military time (not just Military Police service) that he didn't have. It used to work that way- and I think it still helps- but, I've heard there is less emphasis on that these days. Maybe. There might be more given the militarization of many Police Departments these days? Anyway, in the 90's many PD's started looking favorably at college being a prerequisite, preferably a bachelors in Criminal Justice. But, those are preferences. They vary by departments and by state.
Anybody who knows a family member of a cop on Facebook knows that those family members all want their loved one to come home each night. True that but, cops don't even make the Top 10 of dangerous occupations. Time magazine has them at #15 in 2014. Loggers are #1 and cops come in right after "general maintenance and repair workers". They all want to come home at night too.
Cop killings are actually down of late, during the Obama regime. It's rhetoric about a "WAR ON COPS!" that has risen during this time. Several hundred Americans are killed by cops each year. It's very popular for white people to note that cops kill more whites and Hispanics than African-Americans but that's usually to highlight that "white people don't riot when one of us is killed..." We tend to save our rioting for more productive reasons such as winning or losing a championship in one's city. Ain't that 'murica? Whites are a far larger percentage of the population than blacks, by the way. We've got the numbers! For now...
Simply, we need better training for all cops. A better screening process too, to weed out potential trouble makers. The people getting killed aren't always the desperadoes in our society and I doubt the cops doing the killing are our best and brightest. The woman officer in Tulsa "feared for (her) life" despite being with three other cops immediately by her side, two in the air and more nearby. She panicked and a man died. That is preventable with training. It's avoidable. Life will never be fool-proof. Neither will death. We can try to do better though. All we have to do is try, and to try to give it the attention that we think our hair deserves.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sawhorses
I seriously doubt Trump's sincerity in this campaign. He is deplorable and always has been but, I've never seen a candidate so obvious in his obviousness. He literally phones it in. The guy's entire career has been as a shameless huckster, a self-promoter. If you know any salesman, the key to their real or imagined success is to tell people what they want to hear and have no conscience about lying to them. It's what you do. It's no different than Earl, whom I wrote about a few years back, the guy who would stop women on the street to tell them how lovely they looked, in the hopes of hooking up with them. Earl stated that, "If it works once in a thousand tries, it will have worked!" So, basically, try anything. The shame is in not trying.
Trump's presidential run is just another money-making scam to him. He's more of a brand-builder than an actual builder and that is kind of interesting because evidently he has built buildings. Well, I guess he has. I don't really know. I bet he couldn't put together a set of sawhorses but, tool skills are not really a prerequisite in the construction business. You'd be surprised. There is no "right" way to build sawhorses, by the way. Same basic design but, whatever works for you. They just have to hold something up.
What works for Trump is to say absolutely anything that comes to mind, as at this point, nothing he says is "wrong" to say. He doesn't have to mean it. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't have to be moral or even close to the truth. He just has to say it. The conviction of his voice is all that is needed for the media and his minions. Thing is, that conviction voiced is the same whether he's telling you Trump Steaks are the greatest thing since sliced bread or that you need a wall that- by the way- Mexico is going to pay for. You just have to believe him on both. People do. Whose fault is that?
Trump recycles reichtarded views that I've been reading on the internet since I first logged on eight years ago. Most recently, he regurgitated the notion that Hillary Clinton intends to take away your guns. She doesn't, of course, and no president can. Repealing the 2A would take congress and a majority of the states and that is simply just not ever going to happen. Taking guns away from everyone may be on some liberal's wish list, somewhere on the internet, but it is not on the agenda of any democrat politician. Trump probably knows this but, millions of Deplorable-Americans do not and, frankly, they love hearing this. They learn by rote and they've been hearing this for decades in the gun stores from salesmen who advise them to stock up now because, you know, a democrat president wants to take away their rights....
So, Trump throws that out there because he knows they want to hear that. Same with the recent exhortation that Hillary has armed body guards and maybe she should try going about in public without armed guards....and see what happens...
Trump's is the only candidate actually calling to take away people's guns! Isn't that interesting?
It's nothing new under the internet sun though. The D-A's have been been saying that for decades, long before they achieved Deplorable-American status. The same has been said about Rahm Emmanuel as mayor of Chicago and they still say that even though Chicago has concealed carry. Disarm your guards and live as we do- without bodyguards! But, also without guns- unlike regular citizens who live in the fifty states that have CC. If you're scoring at home, that's all of them.
TRUMP has armed bodyguards. He's had Secret Service protection for several months now, even before he became the GOP candidate. Someone was thinking ahead and reasoned that he was more worth killing than the other candidates. But, Trump doesn't disarm his bodyguards to set an example or a precedent. That's not the way he works. All he has to do is call for her to do it. Neither his minions or the media seems to notice his hypocrisy.
It is dangerous to publicly call for his rival to disarm her guards and it certainly does seem that he's calling (again) for someone to execute her but, I don't think that was his intent. I hope I'm right about that. I think he saw the reichtarded notion of unarmed Secret Service guards on the 'net, liked it, and decided to make it his own. That's what he does. I don't think he's ever had an original thought in his life. This asshole started out on third base and wants you to believe he hit a home run. It's your fault if you believe that. Rich daddy gave him money to begin his adult life. Whether it was $1 million or $200 million, it was more than most of us get. His entire being in life has not been to justify that gift, but rather, to convince people that he made his own way in life. Trump the son of a bus driver would be Trump the car salesman. Maybe Trump the name on the Vietnam Memorial. Nothing he has done in life qualifies him to be President Trump. Everything he says now proves that.
Trump's presidential run is just another money-making scam to him. He's more of a brand-builder than an actual builder and that is kind of interesting because evidently he has built buildings. Well, I guess he has. I don't really know. I bet he couldn't put together a set of sawhorses but, tool skills are not really a prerequisite in the construction business. You'd be surprised. There is no "right" way to build sawhorses, by the way. Same basic design but, whatever works for you. They just have to hold something up.
What works for Trump is to say absolutely anything that comes to mind, as at this point, nothing he says is "wrong" to say. He doesn't have to mean it. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't have to be moral or even close to the truth. He just has to say it. The conviction of his voice is all that is needed for the media and his minions. Thing is, that conviction voiced is the same whether he's telling you Trump Steaks are the greatest thing since sliced bread or that you need a wall that- by the way- Mexico is going to pay for. You just have to believe him on both. People do. Whose fault is that?
Trump recycles reichtarded views that I've been reading on the internet since I first logged on eight years ago. Most recently, he regurgitated the notion that Hillary Clinton intends to take away your guns. She doesn't, of course, and no president can. Repealing the 2A would take congress and a majority of the states and that is simply just not ever going to happen. Taking guns away from everyone may be on some liberal's wish list, somewhere on the internet, but it is not on the agenda of any democrat politician. Trump probably knows this but, millions of Deplorable-Americans do not and, frankly, they love hearing this. They learn by rote and they've been hearing this for decades in the gun stores from salesmen who advise them to stock up now because, you know, a democrat president wants to take away their rights....
So, Trump throws that out there because he knows they want to hear that. Same with the recent exhortation that Hillary has armed body guards and maybe she should try going about in public without armed guards....and see what happens...
Trump's is the only candidate actually calling to take away people's guns! Isn't that interesting?
It's nothing new under the internet sun though. The D-A's have been been saying that for decades, long before they achieved Deplorable-American status. The same has been said about Rahm Emmanuel as mayor of Chicago and they still say that even though Chicago has concealed carry. Disarm your guards and live as we do- without bodyguards! But, also without guns- unlike regular citizens who live in the fifty states that have CC. If you're scoring at home, that's all of them.
TRUMP has armed bodyguards. He's had Secret Service protection for several months now, even before he became the GOP candidate. Someone was thinking ahead and reasoned that he was more worth killing than the other candidates. But, Trump doesn't disarm his bodyguards to set an example or a precedent. That's not the way he works. All he has to do is call for her to do it. Neither his minions or the media seems to notice his hypocrisy.
It is dangerous to publicly call for his rival to disarm her guards and it certainly does seem that he's calling (again) for someone to execute her but, I don't think that was his intent. I hope I'm right about that. I think he saw the reichtarded notion of unarmed Secret Service guards on the 'net, liked it, and decided to make it his own. That's what he does. I don't think he's ever had an original thought in his life. This asshole started out on third base and wants you to believe he hit a home run. It's your fault if you believe that. Rich daddy gave him money to begin his adult life. Whether it was $1 million or $200 million, it was more than most of us get. His entire being in life has not been to justify that gift, but rather, to convince people that he made his own way in life. Trump the son of a bus driver would be Trump the car salesman. Maybe Trump the name on the Vietnam Memorial. Nothing he has done in life qualifies him to be President Trump. Everything he says now proves that.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Masturdebaters
Dedicated non-readers of this space know that Ferrerman brings the politics and social commentary pretty good. It's not hard really. It's just in how you do it. The opponents, regardless of where they walk or drive in life, all have the same sorry positions to defend. An educated, almost-lawyer in North Carolina has the same reichtarded views as a drunken, sorta-electrician in Oregon. They may begin from different coasts and educations but they wind up in the same cesspool of nonsense, politically or socially. It all comes down to right and wrong, no matter how well or poorly you say it.
I heard Neil De Grasse Tyson discussing this recently. He compared the bulk of most lawyers to members of the debate team in high school. I never participated in debates but the familiarity is that you are given a topic and a stance and then tasked with defending it. It doesn't matter whether you believe in your position or not. You win by defending *your* position better (in the eyes of the judges) than your opponent. Well, isn't that our judicial system in a nutshell?
This is why there is a debate about climate science and global warming. Despite 97% of scientists all over the world, using overwhelming scientific evidence, concluding that carbon emissions are destroying the planet, we wind up with debate over something that is pretty obvious, just because it's natural for someone to have an opposing viewpoint, even for unnatural reasons.
I'm all for dissent but, dissent for dissent's sake is a waste of everyone's time.
Possibly worse though, is on cable news where, to appear non-partisan, CNN or MSNBC will detail the fraud and criminality that clearly is Donald Trump and then try to balance that with the ridiculous scandal of Hillary Clinton's emails while regurgitating that "some people consider her untrustworthy..." Oh. Well, that clears that up! They're the same!
Not everything is debatable. But, everything is debated. You could debate the weather and some people- soaked in the rain- would tell you they are dry. That's the internet in general and Topix in particular.
I rarely get good debate on Topix. Actually, I'm not sure if I ever have. Also not sure it's even possible. What I get in response to my brilliance essentially ranges from "your a deadbeat!"(sic) to a Google image of what is presumed to be "the boarding house" that I surely live in. I basically just get attacked. Maybe the best defense is a poor offense? Sure seems that way.
Ad hominem attacks are as common as weeds on the internet. Harder to control though. Though I'm not trying to *win*, I can't help but win when nearly every assertion I make in a post is countered by "your a deadbeat" (sic).
Back in January of this year, Danny Christensen of Eugene, Oregon (as seen elsewhere in this blog) called the house and left three messages. I assume the asshole was drunk. The gist of it was that I should "leave (his) brother alone" and that he would be coming to Chicago to "talk" to me. Danny played "Dr. Dirty" on Topix-Offbeat but, to my knowledge at the time, wasn't posting. I have no idea what prompted him to call and threaten me.
Well, in the imaginary world of Topix, no one actually "goes away". These mentally ill people are characters. The characters may come and go but the actual fingers on the keyboards remain.
(It's amazing but, you read all the time from people with avatars/profiles extolling others to 'man-up" and have "the guts to show your face" by registering... a totally fake profile.... And you thought Trump's 5 year quest to get to the bottom of President Obama's birth certificate was farcical? How does an avatar with a phony name by way of a throwaway email provide identity?)
So, why was Danny suddenly re-involved in Topix and making impotent, drunken threats against me in defense of a brother of his that he would not name? I have no fucking idea. How do you begin to justify someone's mental illness? Why should you?
Just as a lie doesn't become truth because a majority believes it, a lie doesn't become truth because you defend it by attacking someone over it by way of slander or innuendo or, outright vulgarity. That works in the imaginary world of Topix but actually, not very well there either. I rather doubt that anyone reading from the sidelines as Ferrerman posts against Trump's bullshit plan to build a wall or the mass deportation of Muslims and Mexicans, sees *Sam* counter with "Hows the blog going, deadbeat?" (sic) as a valid counterpoint. Like; "How will Ferrerman survive that?!"
I've left a few thousand of those comments unanswered. Probably 95% of them were posted by *Sam* who usually is played by the aforementioned, Danny. Others fill in. It's pretty easy to be *Sam*. You just need a proxy and an empty head and soul.
Somewhat more worthy of battle is, Sublime1. Michael fancies himself a lawyer because evidently he did attend law school and graduated, yet never dropped the hammer on taking and passing the bar exam to actually be a lawyer. He does something with patents for a Swedish car company. Michael is quite Ayn Randian in his views of the world. The son of a millionaire who paid for his schooling, he considers himself to be one of those John Galt/Donald Trump types who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps despite having a daddy that gave them those boots, straps and all. It's not his fault that daddy is rich. He would have turned out well even if born poor. That's just the way it is...
Sub's tiresome but, he can be fun just because he's one of those that just has no clue how transparent his bullshit is. He's a "family values" type of guy who, despite being married, delights in posting masturbation fantasies of him and the wife's swinging lifestyle. They may be swingers but, I rather doubt it. He posts about random women frequently falling in lust with his short, bald, middle-aged self. It's some pretty obvious self-aggrandizing nonsense from a very needy person. I think he just likes to fantasize a lot.
Sub's pretty racist but, where he gets kinda interesting is when he uses his education to defend his racism. Of course, people who do that don't believe that they are the least bit racist. They're just enlightened, I guess. I love fucking with people like that! He will resort to "deadbeat" taunts but he generally takes such a wordy, circuitous route to get there that usually involves his muscles, the law, his obvious desirability to women and something to do with how many people worship not only his motorcycle but him for having it. It makes for some curious reading. However, when someone gives you an intellectual essay on how horrible black people are, you have to give them props when they try to do it with $20 words used in complete sentences. Sub does that. It's still racist though. Even when he lauds "the Asians" for their perceived family, education and work ethic, it's to denigrate the blacks for his perception that they are lacking in those qualities and (I guess...) maybe that's why they get shot by the cops so much- even though percentage-wise he purports that cops actually shoot more whites than blacks. Therefore, why is there a Black Lives Matter movement and a Black Entertainment Television network?!? Throw in some hero worship of him from life-affirming strangers and you have a typical Sublime post. Thousands of them....
Now, having said that, this post has become Sublime-like in length! Oops! I hope that doesn't detract from the message! If it does, go fuck yourself, deadbeat! Does that suffice?
I heard Neil De Grasse Tyson discussing this recently. He compared the bulk of most lawyers to members of the debate team in high school. I never participated in debates but the familiarity is that you are given a topic and a stance and then tasked with defending it. It doesn't matter whether you believe in your position or not. You win by defending *your* position better (in the eyes of the judges) than your opponent. Well, isn't that our judicial system in a nutshell?
This is why there is a debate about climate science and global warming. Despite 97% of scientists all over the world, using overwhelming scientific evidence, concluding that carbon emissions are destroying the planet, we wind up with debate over something that is pretty obvious, just because it's natural for someone to have an opposing viewpoint, even for unnatural reasons.
I'm all for dissent but, dissent for dissent's sake is a waste of everyone's time.
Possibly worse though, is on cable news where, to appear non-partisan, CNN or MSNBC will detail the fraud and criminality that clearly is Donald Trump and then try to balance that with the ridiculous scandal of Hillary Clinton's emails while regurgitating that "some people consider her untrustworthy..." Oh. Well, that clears that up! They're the same!
Not everything is debatable. But, everything is debated. You could debate the weather and some people- soaked in the rain- would tell you they are dry. That's the internet in general and Topix in particular.
I rarely get good debate on Topix. Actually, I'm not sure if I ever have. Also not sure it's even possible. What I get in response to my brilliance essentially ranges from "your a deadbeat!"(sic) to a Google image of what is presumed to be "the boarding house" that I surely live in. I basically just get attacked. Maybe the best defense is a poor offense? Sure seems that way.
Ad hominem attacks are as common as weeds on the internet. Harder to control though. Though I'm not trying to *win*, I can't help but win when nearly every assertion I make in a post is countered by "your a deadbeat" (sic).
Back in January of this year, Danny Christensen of Eugene, Oregon (as seen elsewhere in this blog) called the house and left three messages. I assume the asshole was drunk. The gist of it was that I should "leave (his) brother alone" and that he would be coming to Chicago to "talk" to me. Danny played "Dr. Dirty" on Topix-Offbeat but, to my knowledge at the time, wasn't posting. I have no idea what prompted him to call and threaten me.
Well, in the imaginary world of Topix, no one actually "goes away". These mentally ill people are characters. The characters may come and go but the actual fingers on the keyboards remain.
(It's amazing but, you read all the time from people with avatars/profiles extolling others to 'man-up" and have "the guts to show your face" by registering... a totally fake profile.... And you thought Trump's 5 year quest to get to the bottom of President Obama's birth certificate was farcical? How does an avatar with a phony name by way of a throwaway email provide identity?)
So, why was Danny suddenly re-involved in Topix and making impotent, drunken threats against me in defense of a brother of his that he would not name? I have no fucking idea. How do you begin to justify someone's mental illness? Why should you?
Just as a lie doesn't become truth because a majority believes it, a lie doesn't become truth because you defend it by attacking someone over it by way of slander or innuendo or, outright vulgarity. That works in the imaginary world of Topix but actually, not very well there either. I rather doubt that anyone reading from the sidelines as Ferrerman posts against Trump's bullshit plan to build a wall or the mass deportation of Muslims and Mexicans, sees *Sam* counter with "Hows the blog going, deadbeat?" (sic) as a valid counterpoint. Like; "How will Ferrerman survive that?!"
I've left a few thousand of those comments unanswered. Probably 95% of them were posted by *Sam* who usually is played by the aforementioned, Danny. Others fill in. It's pretty easy to be *Sam*. You just need a proxy and an empty head and soul.
Somewhat more worthy of battle is, Sublime1. Michael fancies himself a lawyer because evidently he did attend law school and graduated, yet never dropped the hammer on taking and passing the bar exam to actually be a lawyer. He does something with patents for a Swedish car company. Michael is quite Ayn Randian in his views of the world. The son of a millionaire who paid for his schooling, he considers himself to be one of those John Galt/Donald Trump types who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps despite having a daddy that gave them those boots, straps and all. It's not his fault that daddy is rich. He would have turned out well even if born poor. That's just the way it is...
Sub's tiresome but, he can be fun just because he's one of those that just has no clue how transparent his bullshit is. He's a "family values" type of guy who, despite being married, delights in posting masturbation fantasies of him and the wife's swinging lifestyle. They may be swingers but, I rather doubt it. He posts about random women frequently falling in lust with his short, bald, middle-aged self. It's some pretty obvious self-aggrandizing nonsense from a very needy person. I think he just likes to fantasize a lot.
Sub's pretty racist but, where he gets kinda interesting is when he uses his education to defend his racism. Of course, people who do that don't believe that they are the least bit racist. They're just enlightened, I guess. I love fucking with people like that! He will resort to "deadbeat" taunts but he generally takes such a wordy, circuitous route to get there that usually involves his muscles, the law, his obvious desirability to women and something to do with how many people worship not only his motorcycle but him for having it. It makes for some curious reading. However, when someone gives you an intellectual essay on how horrible black people are, you have to give them props when they try to do it with $20 words used in complete sentences. Sub does that. It's still racist though. Even when he lauds "the Asians" for their perceived family, education and work ethic, it's to denigrate the blacks for his perception that they are lacking in those qualities and (I guess...) maybe that's why they get shot by the cops so much- even though percentage-wise he purports that cops actually shoot more whites than blacks. Therefore, why is there a Black Lives Matter movement and a Black Entertainment Television network?!? Throw in some hero worship of him from life-affirming strangers and you have a typical Sublime post. Thousands of them....
Now, having said that, this post has become Sublime-like in length! Oops! I hope that doesn't detract from the message! If it does, go fuck yourself, deadbeat! Does that suffice?
Friday, September 16, 2016
Long National Nightmare Closed As Washington Hotel Opens
Well, it's official: Obama was born in the United States!
After years of telling us Barack Obama was not born in the US, Trump now says he was!
I wonder what else has Trump lied to us about? Is he telling the truth now? How can we tell with a waffling flip-flopper like Trump? You like to think that a politician can stick to his guns but, Trump evidently can't. I'm really beginning to doubt he's going to build that wall. Why should I believe him about that after this take-back?
I was just starting to like the fucking asshole too. Now this.
And not one of those military veterans bothered to thank him for his service in Vietnam! Ungrateful bastards!
After years of telling us Barack Obama was not born in the US, Trump now says he was!
I wonder what else has Trump lied to us about? Is he telling the truth now? How can we tell with a waffling flip-flopper like Trump? You like to think that a politician can stick to his guns but, Trump evidently can't. I'm really beginning to doubt he's going to build that wall. Why should I believe him about that after this take-back?
I was just starting to like the fucking asshole too. Now this.
And not one of those military veterans bothered to thank him for his service in Vietnam! Ungrateful bastards!
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Trumpenstein
Maybe we shouldn't fear a Trump presidency so much.
If you remember back to the primaries, the GOP had nobody capable of winning the nomination in their party but Trump. They had like 17 other options but Trump was the only hope. You couldn't hope to win running a Ted Cruz or a John Kasich against Hillary Clinton or even Bernie Sanders. Neither of them would be thisclose with Hillary as Trump is, at any point in the election. In a year when they were looking to punt, a trick play was their only way to get back in the game and, maybe even win. It could work and, unless it's all media hype to keep it close for their own ratings and bottom-line, it definitely might.
But, what happens if Trump does take the oath in January? It might not be the chaos in the streets one would reasonably expect given the bullshit promises this asshole has made. The presidency is a pretty big deal but, it's not the government that the republicans would have liked you to believe it is, these past 8 years or any time a democrat is in The White House. Government goes on as government does no matter who is in *power*. I figured out long ago that they just don't give the keys to the kingdom to anyone every 4 to 8 years and just hope for the best. That's checks and balances, folks. It's lip service that it's the most powerful job in the world. The powers that be restrain regardless of party affiliation.
Remember though that Frankenstein was the name of the guy who created the monster, not the monster itself.
The GOP created Trump in that they let Trump create himself. He's always been the ridiculous prick you are seeing right now but, without the GOP, he's Gary Johnsonstein. His "self-funded" campaign does not happen if he ran as an independent.
A president Trump would find out real quick that he can't build that wall and he can't deport 11 million people because all that shit is just stupid and there is no money in it or for it. Trump probably knows this already. He doesn't care. It's just shit you say to get elected. The American people pretty much expect that from politicians. I've seen plenty of his fans admit that he can't nor won't build the wall but, they appreciate that he said it in the first place. Same with deporting Muslims and Mexicans. They know he won't really do that either. It's the thought that counts...
A Trump presidency might answer how seriously he takes himself. That could be scary. It's looking like we might have our own Saddam Hussein here. He's got the solid gold toilet to poop in and he's got the ego. He probably fancies himself more in the mold of Vladimir Putin but, he's Saddam. Long before they were elected, the Bush administration planned an invasion of Iraq because they knew that Saddam was an an egotistical prick that they could easily goad into a long, lucrative war. They just needed to get in power and get a reason.
Trump is the same sort of egotistical prick that can be goaded in the same manner. The good news is that we have a government in place that won't allow our leader to be buffaloed like that. Don't worry- we won't be forced into a war because this asshole will be intimidated by Putin or China. They'll likely intimidate him but, not the US government. It's bigger that that dickhead no matter whether he knows it or not.
If Trump wins, he won't make the four years. He's looking at this as a business deal. His mentor Putin is reportedly worth as much as $200 billion and he got that way by seizing and retaining power through any means necessary or unnecessary. But, that's Russia. The banks, the corporations- the real powers that be- won't let that happen here. This scumbag Trump means nothing to them beyond what he can do for them. If he steps out of line, they'll bury him. That's in the literal sense even though they'll first bury him in the political sense. If you are incredulous that Trump is popular despite being a criminal enterprise now, wait until he crosses the real powerbrokers. The media and Donnie Ray in Kentucky may wink at Trump's crimes now but, the Big Boys will smack the wig off his head if he tries to go up against them. And if you don't think that that is a wig and that it is his real hair, it won't be if they say it isn't. He will kneel before them.
For better or worse, this country is bigger than one man, no matter who that one man is- or *thinks* he is. If he wins it will be close. No mandate from the disenfranchised Donnie Ray's of flyover country. The Deplorable-Americans can speak and even be heard but, they're never going to run things. Douchebag Trump stops listening to them the moment he wins. He doesn't care about them any more than he cares about you or I. The same guy that has fucked contractors out of thousands as a matter of business will do the same to citizens, just on a larger scale. Why not? Tell me why he wouldn't. That's the way the fuckhead rolls. But, if he doesn't roll the way they want him to, they will rock his world in a hard way.
So, WHEW!- we might be OK after all. We'll see...
If you remember back to the primaries, the GOP had nobody capable of winning the nomination in their party but Trump. They had like 17 other options but Trump was the only hope. You couldn't hope to win running a Ted Cruz or a John Kasich against Hillary Clinton or even Bernie Sanders. Neither of them would be thisclose with Hillary as Trump is, at any point in the election. In a year when they were looking to punt, a trick play was their only way to get back in the game and, maybe even win. It could work and, unless it's all media hype to keep it close for their own ratings and bottom-line, it definitely might.
But, what happens if Trump does take the oath in January? It might not be the chaos in the streets one would reasonably expect given the bullshit promises this asshole has made. The presidency is a pretty big deal but, it's not the government that the republicans would have liked you to believe it is, these past 8 years or any time a democrat is in The White House. Government goes on as government does no matter who is in *power*. I figured out long ago that they just don't give the keys to the kingdom to anyone every 4 to 8 years and just hope for the best. That's checks and balances, folks. It's lip service that it's the most powerful job in the world. The powers that be restrain regardless of party affiliation.
Remember though that Frankenstein was the name of the guy who created the monster, not the monster itself.
The GOP created Trump in that they let Trump create himself. He's always been the ridiculous prick you are seeing right now but, without the GOP, he's Gary Johnsonstein. His "self-funded" campaign does not happen if he ran as an independent.
A president Trump would find out real quick that he can't build that wall and he can't deport 11 million people because all that shit is just stupid and there is no money in it or for it. Trump probably knows this already. He doesn't care. It's just shit you say to get elected. The American people pretty much expect that from politicians. I've seen plenty of his fans admit that he can't nor won't build the wall but, they appreciate that he said it in the first place. Same with deporting Muslims and Mexicans. They know he won't really do that either. It's the thought that counts...
A Trump presidency might answer how seriously he takes himself. That could be scary. It's looking like we might have our own Saddam Hussein here. He's got the solid gold toilet to poop in and he's got the ego. He probably fancies himself more in the mold of Vladimir Putin but, he's Saddam. Long before they were elected, the Bush administration planned an invasion of Iraq because they knew that Saddam was an an egotistical prick that they could easily goad into a long, lucrative war. They just needed to get in power and get a reason.
Trump is the same sort of egotistical prick that can be goaded in the same manner. The good news is that we have a government in place that won't allow our leader to be buffaloed like that. Don't worry- we won't be forced into a war because this asshole will be intimidated by Putin or China. They'll likely intimidate him but, not the US government. It's bigger that that dickhead no matter whether he knows it or not.
If Trump wins, he won't make the four years. He's looking at this as a business deal. His mentor Putin is reportedly worth as much as $200 billion and he got that way by seizing and retaining power through any means necessary or unnecessary. But, that's Russia. The banks, the corporations- the real powers that be- won't let that happen here. This scumbag Trump means nothing to them beyond what he can do for them. If he steps out of line, they'll bury him. That's in the literal sense even though they'll first bury him in the political sense. If you are incredulous that Trump is popular despite being a criminal enterprise now, wait until he crosses the real powerbrokers. The media and Donnie Ray in Kentucky may wink at Trump's crimes now but, the Big Boys will smack the wig off his head if he tries to go up against them. And if you don't think that that is a wig and that it is his real hair, it won't be if they say it isn't. He will kneel before them.
For better or worse, this country is bigger than one man, no matter who that one man is- or *thinks* he is. If he wins it will be close. No mandate from the disenfranchised Donnie Ray's of flyover country. The Deplorable-Americans can speak and even be heard but, they're never going to run things. Douchebag Trump stops listening to them the moment he wins. He doesn't care about them any more than he cares about you or I. The same guy that has fucked contractors out of thousands as a matter of business will do the same to citizens, just on a larger scale. Why not? Tell me why he wouldn't. That's the way the fuckhead rolls. But, if he doesn't roll the way they want him to, they will rock his world in a hard way.
So, WHEW!- we might be OK after all. We'll see...
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Deplorable-Americans
The same people who just yesterday called for Hillary Clinton to be jailed and hung, are now calling for her to be jailed and hung, this time for her assessment that they are deplorable.
What a country, eh?
Deplorable-Americans, the latest group of Americans to be hyphenated, are upset that Secretary Clinton referred to about half of Trump supporters as racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic and Islamophobic and lumped them into "a basket of deplorables".
Well, I guess now they are standing up to be counted.
With our First Amendment protections, you cannot yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. The First does not protect dangerous speech. However, you can yell "ASSHOLE!" in a crowded theater. You may annoy theater-goers by doing this but, if anyone stands up and says: "Yeah? What do you want?" that's kinda on them for self-identifying as an asshole.
A whole lot of Trump supporters are Deplorable-Americans as they most definitely are racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic assholes. No one knows the exact number so she may well have underestimated by saying half. It could be all but, you gotta assume that some may be good people. It could be 99.9%. It could be just 47%. It's hard to say. Perhaps the next census will tell as Deplorable-Americans are a relatively new demographic, discovered just last night by this Ferrerman. They've always been there and they've always been deplorable but, they've not been recognized as official, Hyphenated-Americans by anyone but me and, admittedly, I'm just one Ferrer-American. I don't carry a lot of weight in the media.
Perhaps Donald Trump will further address this persecuted segment of America. Maybe he'll declare that, on his first day in office, he will declare Deplorable-Americans to have Platinum Status as Americans, offering them this for a one-time fee (renewable annually with another one-time fee of @ $5,000) this special status? Who knows? The fucking idiots will fall for it though as, not only are they deplorable but, they're kinda dumb too.
What a country, eh?
Deplorable-Americans, the latest group of Americans to be hyphenated, are upset that Secretary Clinton referred to about half of Trump supporters as racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic and Islamophobic and lumped them into "a basket of deplorables".
Well, I guess now they are standing up to be counted.
With our First Amendment protections, you cannot yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. The First does not protect dangerous speech. However, you can yell "ASSHOLE!" in a crowded theater. You may annoy theater-goers by doing this but, if anyone stands up and says: "Yeah? What do you want?" that's kinda on them for self-identifying as an asshole.
A whole lot of Trump supporters are Deplorable-Americans as they most definitely are racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic assholes. No one knows the exact number so she may well have underestimated by saying half. It could be all but, you gotta assume that some may be good people. It could be 99.9%. It could be just 47%. It's hard to say. Perhaps the next census will tell as Deplorable-Americans are a relatively new demographic, discovered just last night by this Ferrerman. They've always been there and they've always been deplorable but, they've not been recognized as official, Hyphenated-Americans by anyone but me and, admittedly, I'm just one Ferrer-American. I don't carry a lot of weight in the media.
Perhaps Donald Trump will further address this persecuted segment of America. Maybe he'll declare that, on his first day in office, he will declare Deplorable-Americans to have Platinum Status as Americans, offering them this for a one-time fee (renewable annually with another one-time fee of @ $5,000) this special status? Who knows? The fucking idiots will fall for it though as, not only are they deplorable but, they're kinda dumb too.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Think About It
We're going to be just fine with Hillary Clinton as president. She is absolutely the only qualified candidate- even more qualified than my man, Bernie Sanders. No republican who took the stage for the primaries was as qualified as she is. That's how and why they wound up with Trump. He is the designated loser. Any of the others would have lost to her. Look back at the eighteen or so former contestants and see if you can pick one that "shoulda been..." I bet you can't.
I've been contending for years that the GOP does not want the presidency. They are not leaders. They fancy themselves better on offense though because they are very offensive people by nature. Trump is too and that's another reason why he was a rather genius pick to be the fall guy for the party. He isn't really one of them so they won't lose in November, he will.
Today's GOP is a party of anarchist rebels who hate government. It's all they talk about so it would follow that it's disingenuous and kinda foolish to put anti-government people in government. That was tried with the Tea Party folk and nothing good came of that.
Barack Obama did (and is still doing) a tremendous job as president despite nothing but obstruction from congress. Hillary Clinton will face the same obstruction but may at least have a democratic majority in the senate to undo much of the republican house chicanery. If you think they hate him more than her, you haven't been paying attention. They have been hoping for and fearing an HRC presidency since Bill left office. They are going to get it.
Republicans are at their best when they are complaining. The self-proclaimed "Party Of Personal Responsibility" points fingers at absolutely everyone but themselves. It's comical to read comments on the internet about various races, genders and liberals in general about how they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and not rely on government. And they could do that if only they wise up...and put more republicans in government...
Mind you, the GOP loves having their own senators and congressmen in Washington. They just don't want one of their guys in The White House. That would seem kinda weak and foolish but it's actually just cowardly and smart.
They can't lead. They know it but, they don't want you to know it. GW Bush proved that. The ensuing weak campaigns of McCain, Romney and now Trump further illustrate that. 330 million people in this country and they can't come up with a solid presidential candidate? They have not legitimately won the presidency since GHW Bush back in the 20th century. You can look that up.
Why win? You get your guy in the WH and you're looking at 4 years of playing defense of a guy that is likely indefensible. This GOP is best at attacking. They need a black man or a white woman in the WH to do that. No one in the democratic party wants Hillary Clinton in the WH more that the GOP does. Fox news is a close second. They make billions attacking democrats. They do not want to be Kevin Bacon at the end of Animal House repeating: "REMAIN CALM! ALL IS WELL!" while getting run over by the masses. Let's face it- Fox is the GOP. Fox is a business and so is the GOP. They make their money attacking and selling the notion that they can lead. They don't want to disprove that.
They do though at the state level. There are currently 31 republican governors. When Trump (or anyone) talks about how not-great America is, shouldn't a republican majority of governors be complicit in that?
They've been wisely spending their loot on securing these governorship's to advance their cause because that is the slowest but surest way to affect change in America. Kansas and Louisiana can fail under republicans but you can always blame the black democrat president. Or the woman. But, that's wearing old and more people are looking at the failures of their state's leaders and thinking that maybe it isn't the black guy after all.
Where Kansas went wrong was in foolishly implementing republican rhetoric into actual policy. Oops! It's theory- not practice, dummies!
In what business would your model be to take in less money and give your services away for free to your best (wealthiest) customers?! No business that I know of and certainly no (successful) government. But, that is essentially what Kansas did and what the republicans tout as their plan for the US government. It's ridiculous to even pretend that it works.
It works on stupid people though and, in a nation of 330 million, the numbers alone allow for millions of stupid people.
That brings us back to Trump. Can you imagine that anyone who is not already a millionaire themselves would think for a moment that an (alleged) billionaire actually cares about them? Or, that he would be their savior? Actual billionaires like Mark Cuban and Michael Bloomberg laugh at Trump. They know he's not a billionaire because they've never seen him at the meetings. I believe Cuban said that the only way Trump is a billionaire is if Cuban gave him $975 million to wash his balls. I'd do it for half that!
So, Trump has millions and that's great but, not if your claim to fame is having billions. No doubt that his refusal to release his taxes is less about what might be there and more about what isn't there. He has nearly ten billion reasons for why he doesn't want to make his taxes public.
Hillary Clinton. She is the best prepared candidate for the presidency in decades. She has the resume' and the talent to do the job. Oh, but she's "untrustworthy". Who told you that? The media and the GOP who have dogged her for 25 years? Has she ever been indicted for these crimes you have been told she committed? Of course not. Talk is cheap but it pays well in a country that is obsessed with Kardashians. I honestly don't know why the republicans didn't run Kim. She might be smarter than anyone thought and turned them down. If you're looking for a fresh face in politics and someone who could have beginners luck and had a reality show, Kim would fit that bill as good as Trump does.
But, the presidency actually is a position for career politicians. Hillary is a career politician. She knows exactly what to do and how to do it. If you don't think that is important, you simply do not think.
I've been contending for years that the GOP does not want the presidency. They are not leaders. They fancy themselves better on offense though because they are very offensive people by nature. Trump is too and that's another reason why he was a rather genius pick to be the fall guy for the party. He isn't really one of them so they won't lose in November, he will.
Today's GOP is a party of anarchist rebels who hate government. It's all they talk about so it would follow that it's disingenuous and kinda foolish to put anti-government people in government. That was tried with the Tea Party folk and nothing good came of that.
Barack Obama did (and is still doing) a tremendous job as president despite nothing but obstruction from congress. Hillary Clinton will face the same obstruction but may at least have a democratic majority in the senate to undo much of the republican house chicanery. If you think they hate him more than her, you haven't been paying attention. They have been hoping for and fearing an HRC presidency since Bill left office. They are going to get it.
Republicans are at their best when they are complaining. The self-proclaimed "Party Of Personal Responsibility" points fingers at absolutely everyone but themselves. It's comical to read comments on the internet about various races, genders and liberals in general about how they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and not rely on government. And they could do that if only they wise up...and put more republicans in government...
Mind you, the GOP loves having their own senators and congressmen in Washington. They just don't want one of their guys in The White House. That would seem kinda weak and foolish but it's actually just cowardly and smart.
They can't lead. They know it but, they don't want you to know it. GW Bush proved that. The ensuing weak campaigns of McCain, Romney and now Trump further illustrate that. 330 million people in this country and they can't come up with a solid presidential candidate? They have not legitimately won the presidency since GHW Bush back in the 20th century. You can look that up.
Why win? You get your guy in the WH and you're looking at 4 years of playing defense of a guy that is likely indefensible. This GOP is best at attacking. They need a black man or a white woman in the WH to do that. No one in the democratic party wants Hillary Clinton in the WH more that the GOP does. Fox news is a close second. They make billions attacking democrats. They do not want to be Kevin Bacon at the end of Animal House repeating: "REMAIN CALM! ALL IS WELL!" while getting run over by the masses. Let's face it- Fox is the GOP. Fox is a business and so is the GOP. They make their money attacking and selling the notion that they can lead. They don't want to disprove that.
They do though at the state level. There are currently 31 republican governors. When Trump (or anyone) talks about how not-great America is, shouldn't a republican majority of governors be complicit in that?
They've been wisely spending their loot on securing these governorship's to advance their cause because that is the slowest but surest way to affect change in America. Kansas and Louisiana can fail under republicans but you can always blame the black democrat president. Or the woman. But, that's wearing old and more people are looking at the failures of their state's leaders and thinking that maybe it isn't the black guy after all.
Where Kansas went wrong was in foolishly implementing republican rhetoric into actual policy. Oops! It's theory- not practice, dummies!
In what business would your model be to take in less money and give your services away for free to your best (wealthiest) customers?! No business that I know of and certainly no (successful) government. But, that is essentially what Kansas did and what the republicans tout as their plan for the US government. It's ridiculous to even pretend that it works.
It works on stupid people though and, in a nation of 330 million, the numbers alone allow for millions of stupid people.
That brings us back to Trump. Can you imagine that anyone who is not already a millionaire themselves would think for a moment that an (alleged) billionaire actually cares about them? Or, that he would be their savior? Actual billionaires like Mark Cuban and Michael Bloomberg laugh at Trump. They know he's not a billionaire because they've never seen him at the meetings. I believe Cuban said that the only way Trump is a billionaire is if Cuban gave him $975 million to wash his balls. I'd do it for half that!
So, Trump has millions and that's great but, not if your claim to fame is having billions. No doubt that his refusal to release his taxes is less about what might be there and more about what isn't there. He has nearly ten billion reasons for why he doesn't want to make his taxes public.
Hillary Clinton. She is the best prepared candidate for the presidency in decades. She has the resume' and the talent to do the job. Oh, but she's "untrustworthy". Who told you that? The media and the GOP who have dogged her for 25 years? Has she ever been indicted for these crimes you have been told she committed? Of course not. Talk is cheap but it pays well in a country that is obsessed with Kardashians. I honestly don't know why the republicans didn't run Kim. She might be smarter than anyone thought and turned them down. If you're looking for a fresh face in politics and someone who could have beginners luck and had a reality show, Kim would fit that bill as good as Trump does.
But, the presidency actually is a position for career politicians. Hillary is a career politician. She knows exactly what to do and how to do it. If you don't think that is important, you simply do not think.
Friday, September 9, 2016
A Fluff Piece
First, let's dispel the myth of "fluffers" or "fluff girls" as they pertain to porn films. The myth is that they have girls on set to keep guys erect while they stage scenes and move cameras around and get the sound and lighting right. They actually do that, you know- the changing of the camera angles and typical movie-making magic. It may be "Two Women And A Pizza Delivery Guy" but actual movie professionals work on the mainstream porn films and take them very seriously. There's no need for a gal on the set to fellate a male actor to keep him erect for the next scene. He's got a hand for that.
So, what Matt Lauer did the other night at the Commander In Chief Forum on NBC wasn't him fluffing Trump. It was more of a full-on blow job given to Trump. Matt Lauer swallows!
Well, most of the media does. He's not alone. Most all swallow Trump.
Throughout this never-ending election cycle the media has been accused of coddling Trump, even making him the candidate he is today, for their own profit. Months ago the Chairman of CBS pretty much said that Trump was a moneymaker for CBS. True, he couldn't have done it without them. Ask Gary Johnson or Jill Stein about that. The axiom in the news business has long been "If it bleeds, it leads!" And Trump hemorrhages news. He's a train wreck wrapped in hurricane. You can only report on the phenomena that Bernie Sanders was so much when he's doing nothing but repeatedly making sense about how the 1% is strangling the country. It's true but it's boring! They naturally want to cover the guy that openly fantasizes about building a YUGE wall and making our neighbor pay for it, to keep that neighbor's people out because they're mostly murderers and rapists...though some, he assumes, are good people. News-wise you have to go with the freak rather than the voice of reason and boring sensibility. There's a reason Fox is number one in cable news.
The reason is that stupid people really rock our world. The ones that swallow Trump and other actual republicans keep the network dicks hard. And that equates to money. It's that stupidly simple.
Why did Lauer get on his knees for Trump? Ratings. I doubt Matt's capable of sparring with Trump (though he did go after Hillary) but, should he? Would it do any good?
A competent moderator or interviewer could destroy Trump. He's clearly an idiot and politically no match for even a first year political science major. He has no idea how government, the military or the Constitution works. You could destroy him at every turn of a phrase as he's as politically astute as a fourth grader. That happens to be the level he converses at, by the way. It works so well because his fan base is at the same level of understanding. It works for him because he works for them- politically. These are the people who believe Barack Obama can still take their guns away and that if he doesn't, Hillary will. They claim that Obama is a ruthless dictator (though a weak one at that) and thus, a real, strong dictator is needed to protect the country. Essentially they are ignoring the built in checks and balances of democracy and the three branches of government for the wont of a guy who praises Vladimir Putin for his strength. They'd be pleased with Putin-style government here...because it would undo all the damage that communist Muslim Obama wreaked upon the country...
We are an irony-deficient nation at times. Well, some of us are.
It's like trying to fucking nail Jello to the wall asking Trump to answer questions in a concise and coherent manner. You would like to see them at least try but, I think that the reality is it's pushing a round rock up a hill. Journalists of all degrees of talent could call him on his bullshit all day long but, that would take all day long. Frankly, if they did, they'd look like bullies in the minds of his unwashed masses. That would strengthen him in those blind eyes as well. He'd be under attack...
There's no shortage of good journalists and pundits out there who would eviscerate Trump if given the chance. They won't be given the chance though. Media doesn't work that way. Just when you think it should, you take a look at Fox and you quickly realize how it can be abused. We're left with Monday morning quarterbacking instead and that has to suffice.
Trump himself isn't the problem. It's the idiots who blindly follow him and swallow what he gives them. The guy with the sign on the street corner, who screams out Bible verses and inanity annoys us but, we move on past him. He's a harmless fool- until he gets a following. Without believers, he's just ranting. Follow the money in politics and you'll discover this and that and the ways and means of the movers and shakers. But the followers themselves? Watch the parking meters. The followers aren't.
So, what Matt Lauer did the other night at the Commander In Chief Forum on NBC wasn't him fluffing Trump. It was more of a full-on blow job given to Trump. Matt Lauer swallows!
Well, most of the media does. He's not alone. Most all swallow Trump.
Throughout this never-ending election cycle the media has been accused of coddling Trump, even making him the candidate he is today, for their own profit. Months ago the Chairman of CBS pretty much said that Trump was a moneymaker for CBS. True, he couldn't have done it without them. Ask Gary Johnson or Jill Stein about that. The axiom in the news business has long been "If it bleeds, it leads!" And Trump hemorrhages news. He's a train wreck wrapped in hurricane. You can only report on the phenomena that Bernie Sanders was so much when he's doing nothing but repeatedly making sense about how the 1% is strangling the country. It's true but it's boring! They naturally want to cover the guy that openly fantasizes about building a YUGE wall and making our neighbor pay for it, to keep that neighbor's people out because they're mostly murderers and rapists...though some, he assumes, are good people. News-wise you have to go with the freak rather than the voice of reason and boring sensibility. There's a reason Fox is number one in cable news.
The reason is that stupid people really rock our world. The ones that swallow Trump and other actual republicans keep the network dicks hard. And that equates to money. It's that stupidly simple.
Why did Lauer get on his knees for Trump? Ratings. I doubt Matt's capable of sparring with Trump (though he did go after Hillary) but, should he? Would it do any good?
A competent moderator or interviewer could destroy Trump. He's clearly an idiot and politically no match for even a first year political science major. He has no idea how government, the military or the Constitution works. You could destroy him at every turn of a phrase as he's as politically astute as a fourth grader. That happens to be the level he converses at, by the way. It works so well because his fan base is at the same level of understanding. It works for him because he works for them- politically. These are the people who believe Barack Obama can still take their guns away and that if he doesn't, Hillary will. They claim that Obama is a ruthless dictator (though a weak one at that) and thus, a real, strong dictator is needed to protect the country. Essentially they are ignoring the built in checks and balances of democracy and the three branches of government for the wont of a guy who praises Vladimir Putin for his strength. They'd be pleased with Putin-style government here...because it would undo all the damage that communist Muslim Obama wreaked upon the country...
We are an irony-deficient nation at times. Well, some of us are.
It's like trying to fucking nail Jello to the wall asking Trump to answer questions in a concise and coherent manner. You would like to see them at least try but, I think that the reality is it's pushing a round rock up a hill. Journalists of all degrees of talent could call him on his bullshit all day long but, that would take all day long. Frankly, if they did, they'd look like bullies in the minds of his unwashed masses. That would strengthen him in those blind eyes as well. He'd be under attack...
There's no shortage of good journalists and pundits out there who would eviscerate Trump if given the chance. They won't be given the chance though. Media doesn't work that way. Just when you think it should, you take a look at Fox and you quickly realize how it can be abused. We're left with Monday morning quarterbacking instead and that has to suffice.
Trump himself isn't the problem. It's the idiots who blindly follow him and swallow what he gives them. The guy with the sign on the street corner, who screams out Bible verses and inanity annoys us but, we move on past him. He's a harmless fool- until he gets a following. Without believers, he's just ranting. Follow the money in politics and you'll discover this and that and the ways and means of the movers and shakers. But the followers themselves? Watch the parking meters. The followers aren't.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Micrometer Economics
There's a meme going around that shows a micrometer and states: "If you can't read this you don't deserve $15 an hour."
Sheesh- what a bassackwards way of someone fucking themselves out of more money! But, that's the system the last forty years. It's an economic variation of the southern strategy where you convince the lowest white man that he's better than the best colored man, you can pick his pockets clean.
I have a friend who probably uses a micrometer in his job at a gun manufacturer in New York. He doesn't make $15 an hour. He doesn't seem to want to. Well, he doesn't seem to understand that if $15 were the minimum, he would get $15 an hour. And likely more. He seems oblivious to that. A rising tide raises all boats, not just yachts.
The media portrays The Fight For $15 as almost strictly a fast-food McDonalds thing. Who doesn't have a McDonalds story of getting the wrong order, cold food, surly service? McDonalds sucks! True, fast-food employees have been on the front lines of this fight but they are not THE people who would benefit from this. Millions of fast-food workers would but many millions more- people NOT making $15 an hour- would. Think Walmart. Your grocery store. Warehouse workers. The dozen or so people who work other manufacturing jobs in the US. Tens of millions of Americans would benefit.
How can any working man or woman be against themselves making more money? It boggles the mind.
What I hear is that "they don't deserve it" and, "that's too close to MY money." That's from the rank and file who, if they stopped to think about it, would realize that they would benefit almost immediately and certainly in the long run. If $15 is the minimum and you are a skilled worker, doesn't it follow that you would get more?
Well, here's the argument against it. "If you ask for more, we'll fire you. We don't want to fire you but, our profit margin is so slim due to democratic presidents, their abusive taxes, the Chinese, yada-fucking-yada, that we cannot pay you more. We just can't! You're just lucky to have a job! Don't screw it up..."
And millions of idiots buy that. They don't pay cash for it though. They put it on their credit card, at high interest, and make the minimum payment on the interest. It's a debt they willfully take on and business is laughing all the way to the bank.
It's always been this way. Your average ignorant, white southerner didn't understand that, in the 1800's, he wasn't working because there was no reason for a plantation owner to pay him for work when he had slaves on staff who did the work essentially for free. After the initial cash layout to purchase a human being, you pretty much just had to feed and clothe them. Slaves of the time didn't simply pick cotton ("the job that Americans didn't want to do" of its day), they were also carpenters, masons and other trades. They did the jobs that Americans wanted to do and they did it without compensation. Now, who is that a good deal for?
Today's republicans- 180 degrees removed from the one's that freed the slaves- not only are against the $15 minimum wage, they are against any minimum wage. They tragically tell people that the minimum (somehow) holds workers back and that without the minimum, workers would (somehow) be free to earn more. It's like they are saying (somehow) that they want to pay you more but, their hands are tied because of that free market-hating minimum wage.
Well, that makes a lot of sense if you don't think about it! And my friend and millions of other Americans are not thinking about it. They are reacting to management rather than thinking for themselves. Management's job is to keep payroll low and profits high. You can have high profits with a high payroll but it's so much easier to cut payroll. It's the lazy way to perceived success.
Working construction, there were times when we'd get laid-off and the company would keep a skeleton crew of idiot family members and hard-working but low-paid Mexicans. I couldn't become an idiot family member or a Mexican but, I recall thinking once that if I took less money, maybe I'd have more employment? They never said that in so many words but, that's exactly what they wanted me to *think*. That isn't thinking at all. It's the modern slavery of letting politicians do all of your thinking for you as they enforce the desires of the filthiest of the filthy rich.
Another argument is that it would most severely effect small business. Small business is something that corporate politicians only pay lip service to around election time. They, and their corporate masters, do not care about your small business unless they can force you out and keep you from getting your market share. If Walmart cared about small business, they wouldn't have virtually wiped out every mom and pop operation in small towns all across America.
But, they ask, how's a guy who opens up a small retail shop supposed to survive when he's forced to pay an employee $15 an hour? Well, if you can't afford payroll, maybe you shouldn't be in business? Give up your dream of the Scotch Tape store and go to work for someone else at the lucrative, current minimum wage. See if you think it's too much then. Payroll is an integral part of the business experience and if you can't figure on your employees making a living wage, you shouldn't figure on them making your boat payments. If it's any consolation to you, Walmart is the largest employer in the US and they "can't afford" to pay their employees a living wage either despite billions in profits. If you fail at your business, you're already almost in good company! You just aren't making the billions is all.
Here's the thing about poor people. They don't have offshore tax shelters to store their money so, they spend it all. It all goes back into the economy in the form of rent, food, clothing and all the etceteras in life. Doesn't it make economic sense to pay working men and women more so that they may spend more and perhaps enjoy the American dream that much more?
How the fuck does that not add up? Who didn't do the math concerning taxes when they came up with the idea to pay workers less? Who would fund a President Trump's war with everybody else in the world with people's fair market value set at around $2 an hour? If you can't tax the rich (because that punishes success...) and the poor don't even make enough to survive, who does pay?
It's insanity. Capitalism only works when partnered with democratic socialism. We had that with FDR (and especially after WWII) until about the time Reagan became president. That's pretty much the era that people want back. They are just not willing to pay- or be paid- for it. They just want the illusion of greatness.
Sheesh- what a bassackwards way of someone fucking themselves out of more money! But, that's the system the last forty years. It's an economic variation of the southern strategy where you convince the lowest white man that he's better than the best colored man, you can pick his pockets clean.
I have a friend who probably uses a micrometer in his job at a gun manufacturer in New York. He doesn't make $15 an hour. He doesn't seem to want to. Well, he doesn't seem to understand that if $15 were the minimum, he would get $15 an hour. And likely more. He seems oblivious to that. A rising tide raises all boats, not just yachts.
The media portrays The Fight For $15 as almost strictly a fast-food McDonalds thing. Who doesn't have a McDonalds story of getting the wrong order, cold food, surly service? McDonalds sucks! True, fast-food employees have been on the front lines of this fight but they are not THE people who would benefit from this. Millions of fast-food workers would but many millions more- people NOT making $15 an hour- would. Think Walmart. Your grocery store. Warehouse workers. The dozen or so people who work other manufacturing jobs in the US. Tens of millions of Americans would benefit.
How can any working man or woman be against themselves making more money? It boggles the mind.
What I hear is that "they don't deserve it" and, "that's too close to MY money." That's from the rank and file who, if they stopped to think about it, would realize that they would benefit almost immediately and certainly in the long run. If $15 is the minimum and you are a skilled worker, doesn't it follow that you would get more?
Well, here's the argument against it. "If you ask for more, we'll fire you. We don't want to fire you but, our profit margin is so slim due to democratic presidents, their abusive taxes, the Chinese, yada-fucking-yada, that we cannot pay you more. We just can't! You're just lucky to have a job! Don't screw it up..."
And millions of idiots buy that. They don't pay cash for it though. They put it on their credit card, at high interest, and make the minimum payment on the interest. It's a debt they willfully take on and business is laughing all the way to the bank.
It's always been this way. Your average ignorant, white southerner didn't understand that, in the 1800's, he wasn't working because there was no reason for a plantation owner to pay him for work when he had slaves on staff who did the work essentially for free. After the initial cash layout to purchase a human being, you pretty much just had to feed and clothe them. Slaves of the time didn't simply pick cotton ("the job that Americans didn't want to do" of its day), they were also carpenters, masons and other trades. They did the jobs that Americans wanted to do and they did it without compensation. Now, who is that a good deal for?
Today's republicans- 180 degrees removed from the one's that freed the slaves- not only are against the $15 minimum wage, they are against any minimum wage. They tragically tell people that the minimum (somehow) holds workers back and that without the minimum, workers would (somehow) be free to earn more. It's like they are saying (somehow) that they want to pay you more but, their hands are tied because of that free market-hating minimum wage.
Well, that makes a lot of sense if you don't think about it! And my friend and millions of other Americans are not thinking about it. They are reacting to management rather than thinking for themselves. Management's job is to keep payroll low and profits high. You can have high profits with a high payroll but it's so much easier to cut payroll. It's the lazy way to perceived success.
Working construction, there were times when we'd get laid-off and the company would keep a skeleton crew of idiot family members and hard-working but low-paid Mexicans. I couldn't become an idiot family member or a Mexican but, I recall thinking once that if I took less money, maybe I'd have more employment? They never said that in so many words but, that's exactly what they wanted me to *think*. That isn't thinking at all. It's the modern slavery of letting politicians do all of your thinking for you as they enforce the desires of the filthiest of the filthy rich.
Another argument is that it would most severely effect small business. Small business is something that corporate politicians only pay lip service to around election time. They, and their corporate masters, do not care about your small business unless they can force you out and keep you from getting your market share. If Walmart cared about small business, they wouldn't have virtually wiped out every mom and pop operation in small towns all across America.
But, they ask, how's a guy who opens up a small retail shop supposed to survive when he's forced to pay an employee $15 an hour? Well, if you can't afford payroll, maybe you shouldn't be in business? Give up your dream of the Scotch Tape store and go to work for someone else at the lucrative, current minimum wage. See if you think it's too much then. Payroll is an integral part of the business experience and if you can't figure on your employees making a living wage, you shouldn't figure on them making your boat payments. If it's any consolation to you, Walmart is the largest employer in the US and they "can't afford" to pay their employees a living wage either despite billions in profits. If you fail at your business, you're already almost in good company! You just aren't making the billions is all.
Here's the thing about poor people. They don't have offshore tax shelters to store their money so, they spend it all. It all goes back into the economy in the form of rent, food, clothing and all the etceteras in life. Doesn't it make economic sense to pay working men and women more so that they may spend more and perhaps enjoy the American dream that much more?
How the fuck does that not add up? Who didn't do the math concerning taxes when they came up with the idea to pay workers less? Who would fund a President Trump's war with everybody else in the world with people's fair market value set at around $2 an hour? If you can't tax the rich (because that punishes success...) and the poor don't even make enough to survive, who does pay?
It's insanity. Capitalism only works when partnered with democratic socialism. We had that with FDR (and especially after WWII) until about the time Reagan became president. That's pretty much the era that people want back. They are just not willing to pay- or be paid- for it. They just want the illusion of greatness.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
America- Go Trump Yourself!
Hours after visiting the Mexican president in Mexico and not talking about the wall, Donald Trump showed up in Arizona reiterating that he will build the wall and that Mexico will pay for it.
Well, he didn't come back with a check so, if worse comes to worse and Trump is elected president, that might mean that the wall gets built with American taxpayer money and then Mexico gets sent a bill, likely 30 days net which is typical in construction. What happens if Mexico Trumps Trump?
Trump has a history of Trumping contractors and small businesses. After the work is performed, he has his lawyers tell the contractors that they are not satisfied with the work and they offer to pay cents on the dollar for the job. If they don't accept those terms, they can take Trump and his lawyers on retainer to court and try their luck there. He has done this dozens of times to dozens of American contractors. Maybe hundreds of times to hundreds of American contractors. I'm pretty sure he's known for this in the rest of the world, as well.
I wish even one journalist would ask Trump how he would handle getting Trumped.
Mind you, Mexico has no legal obligation to pay for the wall. Mind you again that they never said they would pay for that wall or any wall. They never even hinted that they'd go halfsies. In fact, Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, told Trump he will not pay for the wall.
You can build an addition to your house and you can say that the guy down the street is going to pay for it but, you can't make him pay for it. I don't care how many times you say it or how matter-a-fact authoritatively you say it, you can't make someone else pay for something they have no part of doing. As squirrelly as our courts can be, that's just not going to happen. You can be the best attorney in the world and write the best sex stories on Topix and you cannot pull that off. This is a country where a grown man can rape a woman, get his swimming times posted in the newspaper account of his crime, and only serve three months of a six month sentence. That will happen every fucking day in American criminal courts but, if you want to rape someone in a business deal, you better be more prepared than having good swim times. We are a nation of laws, my friends.
Trump can't build that wall. Even if worse comes to worser and he becomes president (of the US- he's only polling at 4% in Mexico) even a republican congress won't let him build that wall. It's just not going to ever happen no matter how many times he says "Believe me".
Of course, Trump's minions could be contracted to build that wall. Privatize everything, ya know. Wouldn't it be delicious irony watching the people from Texas to Appalachia who voted him in get Trumped by their president? They'd never see it coming! Believe me.
Well, he didn't come back with a check so, if worse comes to worse and Trump is elected president, that might mean that the wall gets built with American taxpayer money and then Mexico gets sent a bill, likely 30 days net which is typical in construction. What happens if Mexico Trumps Trump?
Trump has a history of Trumping contractors and small businesses. After the work is performed, he has his lawyers tell the contractors that they are not satisfied with the work and they offer to pay cents on the dollar for the job. If they don't accept those terms, they can take Trump and his lawyers on retainer to court and try their luck there. He has done this dozens of times to dozens of American contractors. Maybe hundreds of times to hundreds of American contractors. I'm pretty sure he's known for this in the rest of the world, as well.
I wish even one journalist would ask Trump how he would handle getting Trumped.
Mind you, Mexico has no legal obligation to pay for the wall. Mind you again that they never said they would pay for that wall or any wall. They never even hinted that they'd go halfsies. In fact, Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, told Trump he will not pay for the wall.
You can build an addition to your house and you can say that the guy down the street is going to pay for it but, you can't make him pay for it. I don't care how many times you say it or how matter-a-fact authoritatively you say it, you can't make someone else pay for something they have no part of doing. As squirrelly as our courts can be, that's just not going to happen. You can be the best attorney in the world and write the best sex stories on Topix and you cannot pull that off. This is a country where a grown man can rape a woman, get his swimming times posted in the newspaper account of his crime, and only serve three months of a six month sentence. That will happen every fucking day in American criminal courts but, if you want to rape someone in a business deal, you better be more prepared than having good swim times. We are a nation of laws, my friends.
Trump can't build that wall. Even if worse comes to worser and he becomes president (of the US- he's only polling at 4% in Mexico) even a republican congress won't let him build that wall. It's just not going to ever happen no matter how many times he says "Believe me".
Of course, Trump's minions could be contracted to build that wall. Privatize everything, ya know. Wouldn't it be delicious irony watching the people from Texas to Appalachia who voted him in get Trumped by their president? They'd never see it coming! Believe me.
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