Economy

Damage Being Done…

by MyBaconPress

So…the next time you’re wondering why your favorite MAGA doesn’t seem to care that nearly 12 million people are expected to lose their health care as a direct result of Donny’s Devastating Bill, bear in mind – they don’t know it. According to Ground News, MAGA media isn’t telling them about it at all. They’re just…not mentioning it. If it DOES get mentioned, claims always insist the GOP is just cutting fraud, waste, and abuse.

THAT, to me, is the reason thinking Americans should stay in contact with MAGA. And we shouldn’t be smug. If American media can simply black out such important information on their side of the dial, what important information is being blacked out on OUR side of the dial? It’s a fair question.

I HAVE seen polls showing that approval for the devastating bill is around 20% on the right. MAGA always makes up a solid 30% and sometimes reaches as high as 34%. If approval is as low as 20%, even MAGA (those who know) disapprove of this thing.

So, how bad IS this bill? Lisa Murkowski voted for it, just as I predicted. BUT, she first extracted what is essentially an exemption for her state for most of the most egregious elements. She voted that pain for others, but not her own. Nice morals, there, lady. Oh, AND the GOP has built in a delayed trigger for many of the more heinous aspects of the thing. Most of the worst of it gets pushed off until AFTER the mid-terms.

The GOP knows – they KNOW – this anti-American abomination is going to hurt so many people they wouldn’t stand a chance at the ballot box if the provisions kick in before the mid-terms so they pushed it. That leaves the Dems trying to pin future results to the GOP with estimates and projections. The GOP has only to claim the Dems are Chicken Little and assure their base the sky isn’t falling. Then the “election” takes place. THEN, the sky falls.

MAGA media is surely ramping up a “Biden did this” campaign to quell the anger generated in the red states as people – MAGA included – begin to lose health care insurance and food stamp aid and other forms of support so many are forced to rely upon here in the Richest Nation on Earth™. (It turns out, we only have that title because we have the richest rich people. Take THEM out of the equation and the American standard of living is nowhere near the highest on the planet. In fact, we hover near the bottom of developed nations.)

I’ve also seen a quote from Marjorie Taylor Greene saying this is “not a House bill, it’s not a Senate bill, it’s the American people’s bill.” Uh-huh. This is the GOP’s bill. The Democrats don’t want it. The majority of the American people don’t want it. Many MAGA don’t want it. It seems like none of the GOP members want it. They’ll VOTE for it, but they don’t want to. The GOP is going to pass this thing and then spend the next year and a half trying to convince voters it wasn’t them.

Especially since it appears nobody knows what’s actually in this thing. I keep hearing reports from various GOP members – AFTER they provide their yes vote – that they didn’t know this or that provision was even in there. “Oh, if I had known THAT was in there I would have…” Yeah, voted for it. Just like you were told to. It’s cute, you acting like you have a spine but we all see you doing exactly as you’re told and ONLY as you’re told. I swear to God, I’ve never seen a more compliant group of toadies in my life.

I DO like the fact that this abomination passed the Senate 51-50. (JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.) In California, 5150 is code talk for a crazy person and this bill certainly IS insanity. Now it is back in the House where they’re trying like hell to pass the thing, even though many Republicans in Congress don’t seem to want to. They had a procedural vote, usually normal stuff. It should have been a quick vote and move on – but it wasn’t. The GOP had to find some way to bribe or threaten those members so they would vote the “right way.”

Which is the point, of course. These are not true holdouts. They’re negotiating. They want a little extra for themselves. In the end, the GOP – and I mean, the GOP alone – will pass this thing. there will be no help from the Democrats. This is a classic one-party vote of a one-party government. Remember when cons called that a bad thing?

The conservatives I talk to all say the same thing: they’re just cutting fraud, waste, and abuse and the final law won’t hurt anybody. Literally everyone else says otherwise. I tend to disregard the input of those who stand to benefit directly from their own actions. I tend to listen to people who are more objective and the more objective crowd has nothing but concerns about the damage being done…

Another Day In Bizarro America…

by MyBaconPress

It’s a real-life ‘he said, Xi said.’ Felon 47 claimed on April 22, during an interview with Time magazine that Chinese leader Xi had called him to discuss The Felon’s trade war. As usual, he offers NO details or evidence. He just claimed it happened. I guess we’re supposed to just take his word for it. More, it looks like the Chinese are supposed to just take his word for it, too. It’s simply inexplicable, in his tiny mind, that they don’t.

Asked about the comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said: “As far as I know, there has been no phone call between the two heads of state recently. China and the United States are not conducting consultations or negotiations on tariff issues.”

Meanwhile, I’m seeing news stories about idled truckers and empty shipping ports. That means store shelves are going to start emptying and prices will be on the rise. The bumbling buffoon has managed to artificially re-create the economic shut-down he brought about with his feckless handling of Covid-19.

This self-inflicted, totally avoidable economic upheaval was not caused by Joe Biden. It wasn’t caused by Barack Obama. It wasn’t Bill Clinton. It wasn’t Hillary Clinton. It sure as shootin’ wasn’t Bernie or AOC. It wasn’t Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Hakeem Jeffries, Elizabeth Warren, George Soros, or any of the other lefty boogie-men the right likes to blame for their own shortcomings. This was all, 100%, absolutely no one but the failing and flailing Donald J. Trump…

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You just wait. They’ll be saying she was in BOTH Tren de Aragua AND MS-13. They’ll claim she has the gang tats to prove it. She has a rap sheet as long as… some very long thing. She’s been a menace to society for years and years and years. She’s a legal nightmare and simply had to go. Of course, the fact that she’s only two years old is going to have to be downplayed.

Focus on the story, ‘She’s bad.’ Ignore her age. She’s two. Oh, I’ve got it. “We’ve ALL heard of the terrible two’s. THIS girl takes it to the extreme!” Say some scary words, as though they might apply to her. “Murder.” “Rape.” “Poopy-pants.” Oh, did I mention this two-year-old “terrorist” is a US citizen? That seems like it might have been relevant.

Well, she’s been deported now, so, I guess the Bizarro United States is safe. For now. One can never tell when that little sneak will toddle back across the border. Stay vigilant! Hey, at least she wasn’t sent to a maximum security prison!

In fact, Team Evil deported the child’s mother, who opted to take the child with her. Bear in mind, the child’s mother didn’t do anything wrong, either. She was arrested during what used to be a routine check-in meeting. It was just an opportunity to inflict a little cruelty on a brown person and these guys are NOT going to pass that up.

Even MAGA seems to be noticing how things aren’t going the way Donny promised. His approval ratings are plunging. He has poor ratings on the economy and on immigration, as he should. He sucks at both of those things. But, according to an article in ‘The Guardian,’ “a survey released on Saturday found that only 24% of Americans believe [the anti-American Trumpster] has focused on the right priorities as president.”

24%? That number cuts into MAGA. The Drumpfster maintains about 30% support on most issues and that 30% represents MAGA. (The rest of us understand what’s really happening in this once-great nation.) MAGA is normally steadfast. True believers. It’s a solid 30% and it often seems impossible to shake. 24% means some 6% of MAGA has noticed he’s hurting them, too.

Perhaps they’ve noticed he’s spending more time on retribution and golf than on the cost-of-living and he seems to be making America a laughingstock around the world. That’s hardly “great.” What’s more, if 6% are willing to confess their concerns for a poll, there are likely even more who have noticed, are not happy, but still trying to keep the faith.

So, what happens if MAGA were to find out that all he’s really done is harm tens of thousands of lives but the government, to date, has spent MORE, not less, than any other President in history? They might, they should, begin to question his actions. If it gets bad enough – and it will – they might even start saying so out loud.

24% is the kind of number I’ve been waiting for. Sooner or later, MAGA HAD to notice. His attacks on, well, everything, really, haven’t been limited to the “lib-tards” or the pretended “Deep State.” He’s doing real-life, actual harm to anyone and everyone not lucky enough to have been born into huge piles of money. That is, most of us. Even MAGA. But, hey, we’re safe from scary toddlers…

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Universal health care? I think it’s a better plan. Here’s one reason. I know a person who is 100% disabled. This particular individual receives health care through California’s Medi-cal program and has for quite some time. Now, she’s about to turn 65. As a result, she is being “shifted” over to Medicare.

Medicare comes with costs. Medi-cal does not. So, when she is shifted to Medicare, Medi-cal stays in the picture, to pick up the costs Medicare won’t. The shift serves, mostly, to add a layer of bureaucracy to the process. It got me thinking. How stupid is that? Wait, here’s another.

I recently had a bit of a health dust-up. A little cancer on my ear. I’m a Kaiser member, but I also have access to the VA. Even though I pay Kaiser premiums and have insurance, thanks to the glories of Capitalism, having Kaiser deal with the problem would have cost me thousands in co-pays and share-of-costs. That represents thousands I don’t have. So I used the VA.

Medicare. Medi-cal. Private insurance. VA. Four different systems. Actually, because “Private insurance” has so many different permutations, parameters, requirements, options, and obligations, it’s a LOT more than four. Each different track has to be managed. It’s just stupid. Oh, AND expensive.

Americans who have been conditioned to oppose universal health care always complain about how their taxes would, likely, go up to pay for it. So, instead, they’ll pay thousands MORE out of their own pocket – just to preserve that ‘freedumb.’ It’s an incredibly inefficient, absolutely stupid position – but absolute stupidity seems to be the standing order here in Bizarro America, these days, so I don’t foresee any corrections any time soon…

Evolution Of A Grift…

by MyBaconPress

Is Frankenstein beginning to fear the Creature? As of Tuesday morning, a group backed by Libertarians Leonard Leo and Charles Koch is suing The Felon over his tariffs. According to the book ‘Dark Money’ by Jane Mayer, much of the mess we suffer in Bizarro America, today, is the brainchild of Charles Koch.

Koch and a handful of his like-minded greed-heads spent decades distorting information, distorting intellects, and distorting morals. To me, it seems… inevitable that after embracing fraudulent information, dumbing down a third of our society, and promoting the very worst impulses of humanity, we would have ended up with something like the Drumpfster.

Apparently, it never crossed their minds that putting a creature like that into power might somehow come back to bite them in the backside. Now their investments are up, no down, no up, wait, down, no, up again, holy crap, WAY down, down, and down even further. They’re a little…concerned.

For perspective, they’re just irritated. But they’re rich. This whole mess THEY created won’t wipe them out like it will the work-a-day class. Still, it’s nice to see that they don’t like it, either. I’m not sure how it feels to note that if we’re to be saved from this insanity, it will be by the very people who created the mess in the first place…

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I wonder if MAGA remembers. He didn’t say, “eventually, things are going to be great” on the campaign trail. He said he would fix the problems on day one and it would be “easy.” I’m not putting words into his mouth, HE said it – over and over again.

Once in office, though, he hasn’t fixed anything. Pretty much EVERYTHING is worse. NOW he’s saying it’s going to be a rough ride and we’ll just have to hang on for dear life. What happened to “easy?” If I’m being as generous as I possibly can, perhaps he underestimated the depth of the problems. If I’m being honest, I’d say he was lying through his teeth from the start…

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Every once in a while, one sees an article talking about what corporations are actually doing with all that beautiful lucre they keep through the tax cuts for the rich. These days, what they do, invariably, is stock buybacks. They’re not reinvesting to keep prices down, nor are they raising worker wages. They buy back their own stock, reducing the amount of stock available. That, in turn, raises the price of the stock. Oh, AND they have the insider advantage of knowing WHEN the buybacks are going to happen.

In short, it’s insider trading on stock manipulation. It used to be illegal. That changed in 1982. The change was part of Ronald Reagan’s initiation of his assault on reality – “Supply Side Economics.” Ever since, corporate focus, when it comes to money, has been stock buybacks. Companies like the buybacks because the bosses get richer even if business slows. You don’t have to innovate or invest at all! No, just buy your own stock back and bump the price that way.

It’s not the executives who get hurt. In the end, it’s the investors and workers who suffer the losses. The practice should be stopped. After the revolution, let’s reinstate the rules that prevented companies from buybacks without careful SEC scrutiny. It turns out, SOME of those regulations we “deregulated” served an important purpose. Who knew?

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I know he lies about it, by the day, by the hour, by the minute, but Felon 47’s tariffs are a $6 trillion dollar tax on Americans. On Wednesday morning, I read an op-ed in ‘The Hill’ called ‘Trump just handed Democrats the golden ticket. Tariffs have unified the American electorate.’ It was written by a person named Jos Joseph. The piece suggested that the Democrats should HAMMER the message, every day, every hour, and every minute, that the tariffs are a $6 trillion dollar tax on Americans. Clearly, I agree.

Sure, MAGA will ignore the message at first. Fox Not-News will spring into action, ignoring the story by showing cute puppies, instead. Only later will they acknowledge the story by pretending it’s just insanity on the part of the insane left. But do you know what? People will still go shopping. I continue to believe, actions speak louder than words.

MAGA will listen, dutifully, when they’re told the tariffs punish the foreigners. They will. But then, they’ll get up and go grocery shopping. (Sorry, I don’t mean to use such outdated and arcane language as “groceries.”) Sooner or later, even MAGA will realize that the tariffs are a $6 trillion dollar sales tax, added by the Drumpfster so he and his very wealthy buddies can have a big, beautiful tax cut they don’t need.

There’s nothing right, honest, or honorable about causing some people to suffer on a daily basis so some other people can have more than they’ll ever need or use. I hope the Dems can make a message of it. These days, they mostly just make a mess of things.

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“Only the weak will fail!” Someone recently posted that to social media. Who was that? Oh, yeah, that was the First Felon, shortly before he blinked, and called for a 90-day “pause” on his tariffs seven days after declaring his “Liberation Day.” This whole piece was dominated by the damage Felon 47’s tariffs were doing. I’ve mentioned the normal supporters who are turning on him – even going so far as to sue him.

Elon Musk has been working him, too. Hard, if reports are to be believed. The rolling crematoriums have been suffering from the association with the Muskrat. The LAST thing in the world he needed was tariffs making it even harder to move his crappy products. Always remember, Musk bought the 2024 “election” for 47. Musk OWNS 47. At first, Donny tried to stick to his guns. I’d guess the last private conversation saw Musk threatening to let the world know EXACTLY how Felon 47 “won.”

So the Drumpfster backed down Wednesday morning. Sure, he said he had accomplished his goal. He ALWAYS says the exact opposite of the truth. He pretended ALL of the other countries – apparently, including the penguins – were “kissing his ass.” (His words, and…yechh!) The market recovered something like 3,000 points. SO… another crisis of his own idiotic making has been averted. For now. There’s no telling what moronic move he’ll make next.

I mean, he’s either a complete fool with no idea of what he’s doing – a position which can be easily defended – OR he’s the biggest market manipulator (read: “thief”) in the history of the country, engaging in insider trading over and over and over again – another easily defended position. Is he a moron or a thief? At this point, there really ARE only two options, although, I suppose he COULD be both…

Abusing “Medicine…”

by MyBaconPress

I found it quite heartening that so many people fell out for Saturday’s rallies, both around the country and around the world. There aren’t enough, yet. Full disclosure, I didn’t make it out to the local rally. I had a previous obligation I couldn’t escape. I presume there are others who found themselves in the same boat.

Let’s keep having them. The people, like me, who couldn’t make THIS one, will come out for the next one. Numbers matter. The number of dollars you’ve lost from your 401k matter. The number of people who come out to protest the insanity matter. We may not ALL make EVERY gathering but we need to keep having them and showing up. We need to whip up some support.

Meanwhile, I saw at least one report of a counter-rally in support of Felon 47. It was a pretty paltry affair. They were enthusiastic, though, all twelve of them. Compare that to the hundreds and thousands who came out in protest, I’m not sure team “pro poverty” is going to gain much traction…

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Hey, a second family in Texas has “protected” their child to death, this one an eight year old girl. I’m sure they’re very happy. After all, she didn’t have autism when she died of this totally preventable illness, Measles. Of course, she would NOT have contracted autism from the vaccine, anyway, since there is NO relationship between vaccines and autism. But, apparently, that part wasn’t important to the parents.

I might, actually, support forced sterilization for parents like that. I hope they don’t have any other children. If they do, the kids should be removed from the home and placed with some people who care about the health of the child. Oh, and this is important, with people who are NOT stupid.

I’ll tell you this: We’ve all known for a long time, stupidity hurts. I hope it’s not much longer until we realize stupidity can also kill…

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“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” That’s what Felon 47 said in response to a question about the crashing stock market?!? He DID throw in a possibly-supposed-to-be-comforting bit, but it didn’t help much. He said, “What’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you.” See? That’s not very comforting. Then he added, “But I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually, it’ll be a country like no other.”

The DOW dropped another 1,000 points on futures overnight. That means MORE record setting declines for Trump coming today. We ALL agree, we’re being forced to “take medicine.” We just DON’T agree there was ever any need. The economy had issues, but it was strong under Biden. Always remember and never forget, the economy was SO strong under Biden, Felon 47 constantly took credit for it. It was only a STORY that the economy was weak under Biden, just like it’s only a story that the “country has gotten a lot stronger.”

I mean, how? Exactly? Higher unemployment? Recession? Worldwide condemnation and exclusion? Crashing consumer confidence? Higher prices across the board? The weakening, crashing dollar? The intentional destruction of the social safety net? A confused, terrorized nation? Self-isolation, leaving China to step into the void and enjoy all of that goodwill the US once enjoyed? Yet another crippling tax cut for the wealthy?

I’m sure that throughout this whole debacle, the Drumpfster has his finger on the pulse of the nation, checking, moment by moment, to ensure the safety and health of the patient so he can quickly and decisively respond in whatever… What? What the hell do you mean, ‘He played golf?’ What, like, the whole time? Jeez, talk about fiddling while Rome burns… He isn’t even paying attention? Right, that’s right. HE has plenty of money. HE gets a soft landing, no matter what. Hell, it’s no WONDER HE’S not worried.

ELON is, though. Worried about the tariffs, I mean. Well, the tariffs on Europe, anyway. His crashing and burning company that builds crash-and-burn cars is suffering a LOT because of his malfeasance. The LAST thing he needs is to make it MORE difficult to sell cars in Europe.

So, Elon publicly ripped Peter Navarro, one of the morons behind this whole mess. No, Muck didn’t rip the Drumpfster, the person who actually DID this. He ripped Navarro. Navarro supports tariffs. This is from ‘The Daily Beast:’ ‘“Tariffs are the most common sense route to balancing our trade deficit and thereby stimulating economic growth, and strengthening the U.S. dollar,” Navarro told ‘Semafor’ during an interview from jail last year, where he served a four-month sentence over refusing to cooperate with a Jan 6. investigation.’ During a jailhouse interview. Felon 47 really has surrounded himself with the not-best and not-brightest, hasn’t he?

Navarro dismissed Musk’s comments as self-serving which, surely, they are. The rift has gone public. Cracks in the facade. It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for, the moment when their self-interests clash with each other’s self-interests.

I have to say, this DOES feel, very much, like 47 is reinforcing my already held suspicion that he IS the actual Antichrist. It just… feels like he’s punishing the whole world – the US in particular – for trying to punish him for his crimes. I suspect that, privately, MAGA is starting to realize they aren’t receiving any special protections or considerations, either.

Yeah, they DID help him escape justice. For their reward, he’s burning the whole effing thing down with everyone inside, MAGA included…

Complete Ruin…

by MyBaconPress

Okay, here’s a thing you can do that you may find comforting. Felon 47 likes to make up people. He uses a phrase, “a lot of people are saying…” We never know WHO, because he’s just making it up to make MAGA feel like they’re with a group. So do yourself a favor. Insert the word “imaginary” between “a lot of” and “people”. “A lot of (imaginary) people are saying…” See? It’s much more accurate – and it feels better…

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Felon 47 is out there telling people he thinks he can run for a third term. Last Sunday, The Drumpfster was asked on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ if there were plans for him to stay on in a third term as president. “Well, there are plans,” he said. “There are – not plans. There are methods – there are methods which you could do it, as you know.” Actually, no. I DON’T know. The Constitution of the United States of America is pretty specific, “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”

As usual, he accidentally told the truth. “There are plans – not plans.” Do you know what? I’m guessing plans. Really, if you didn’t expect him to refuse to leave office at the end of this term, YOU are the fool. Right now he thinks he can talk everyone into it, but when he can’t, he’ll just invoke his “plans.”

“A lot of people want me to do it,” Donny pretended. Yeah, you and your demons. (A lot of imaginary people want me to do it!” See? Better!) A lot MORE people – real people – DON’T want you to do it – or even try. The vast majority of Americans just want you to go away…

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“Only the weak will fail.” That was a post from The Drumpfster trying to buck up work-a-day MAGA as they watch their financial futures melt away. I mean, of course they’re faithful. Obviously, they’re loyal. But as they add up the extra years they get to work, now, while he “resets” the government, they’re likely – quietly, of course – getting a tad nervous. So he offers up some moronic platitude and they loyally bend over, “Thank you, sir! May I have another?”

Here’s the thing. First Felon 47 has plenty of money. MAGA knows this is true – he got it from them. Now, his addle-minded tariffs are taking a toll on MAGA’S retirement funds. They’re nervous, but they’ll let him. If he wants it, he can have it, as far as they’re concerned. They’ll eat dirt or something. It’s true, he’s hurting everyone, not just work-a-day MAGA. But at a certain point, it becomes a different kind of “hurt.”

For instance, according to ‘Business Insider,’ just since the day he “liberated” Americans from all of that pesky money, (Thursday) Elon Musk has lost $11 billion dollars. That’s a lot. But he’s STILL worth $322 billion dollars so I suspect he’s going to be okay. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, has lost $15.9 billion but he’s still worth $201 billion. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, has lost $17.9 billion, but he’s still worth $189 billion. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Warren Buffet, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, “only” lost $2.57 billion but he’s still got $165 billion to fall back on should times get hard. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate. He lost $6.22 Billion but still has $163 billion to work with. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, “only” lost $291 million. Not bad. I guess he’ll be fine with only $162 billion left over. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, lost $8.1 billion but he’ll manage with the $160 billion he has left. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Larry Page, co-founder of Google, lost $4.79 billion. He’ll tighten his belt, though, and rely on the remaining $138 billion he has lying around. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, lost $2.85 billion. Now he only has $131 billion. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.
Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, lost $4.46 billion from his $130 billion net worth. Felon 47’s recession isn’t going to affect him.

Collectively, that’s a lot of money they’ve lost. Collectively, they STILL have a lot MORE money. They, likely, won’t even MISS the billions they’ve lost, accidentally making the case for taxing the rich to make them pay their fair share. I mean, when you don’t even miss it when it goes, why not? Anyway, I guess I can understand how the billionaires are managing to weather the financial storm Felon 47 has conjured.

How about you? How much have YOU lost? How much do you have in your other pocket, to fall back on, just in case? Maybe it’s true. Maybe you just have to “ride out the crash” until he reaches his glorious (mythical?) “other side.” That’s how the billionaires are handling it. Absorbing the loss.

But, I’ll tell you this: if you don’t happen to have billions of dollars to fall back on, or even hundreds of millions (you deadbeat), your ride to the other side might well involve complete ruin…

An Age’s Most Uncertain Hour…

by MyBaconPress

“…And I dreamed I was dying…
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
and looking back down at me, smiled reassuringly.
And I dreamed I was flying…

And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty sailing away to sea.
And I dreamed I was flying…

Well we come on a ship they call ‘The Mayflower.’
We come on a ship that sailed the moon.
We come in an age’s most uncertain hour,
And sing an American tune.
Oh, but it’s alright. It’s alright, it’s alright.
You can’t be forever blessed.
Still tomorrow’s gonna be another working day
and I’m trying to get some rest.
That’s all I’m trying, to get some rest.”
(- Paul Simon, American Tune, 1973)

That’s an earworm I’ve been living with since shortly after January. I have no idea as to what might have set it in motion…

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First Felon 47 fired General Tim Haugh, Director of the US National Security Agency (NSA). Oh, he also headed US Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon’s cybersecurity operations. Do you know why he was fired? Laura Loomer, a social media personality suggested it because he was good at his job and loyal to national security, MORE loyal to national security than to Donny. In this mess, loyalty is everything, qualifications don’t matter, as evidenced by his TV team and social media advisors. 47 also fired Haugh’s civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble. She was qualified, too. Had to go.

Now we’ll have someone in the role who is loyal to the Drumpfster and no one else. Good at the job? Who cares? He’s loyal to 47. I’m sure it will be someone of the same caliber as the crack team of “Jeniouses” that invited a reporter into their classified chat and didn’t even know it. Quality work there, guys…

Did you see the part about Haugh being in charge of Cyber Security? Most intelligent people believe our next war will be fought via computer. You’d think you’d want someone in the job who can at least turn the thing on. Not Donny, no way. Loyalty, nothing else…

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Our National Embarrassment has issued executive orders blocking security clearances and canceling federal contracts with law firms who have worked with his perceived enemies. These are big, powerful law firms. They’re just chock full of smart lawyers ready to fight. You just KNOW these guys are going to… wait… what?

Bent the knee, eh? Willkie, Farr, & Gallagher, where Kamala Harris’ husband is a partner, has agreed to provide $100 million dollars in free legal services. They’re the third “major” law firm to buckle, after Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps. Well, that’s not entirely right. Donny hasn’t issued an Executive Order against Willkie, yet. They just stepped up and volunteered to bend the knee. (My, that DOES sound like most Democrats, these days, doesn’t it?)

It’s likely I don’t understand the ins and outs of this thing but I’ll tell you this: if I was a client of any one of those firms, I’d start looking for different representation immediately. I mean, if they won’t even fight for themselves, how much are they going to fight for me? I’m just sayin’…

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I AM pleased to note that Elon couldn’t buy the election in Wisconsin. He spent a LOT. He lost anyway. The election was for a State Supreme Court Judge. We don’t normally DO parties for a State Supreme Court Judge, but we all knew, for this one, based on who was backing whom. It was a big deal. Muck even went so far as to say the election was a fight to determine “the future of America and Western Civilization.”

Wisconsin is about to consider redistricting maps for the state. Wisconsin has been gerrymandered in favor of the GOP for quite some time, now, and those being cheated against are getting sick of it. Had the Republican-favored candidate won, women in Wisconsin would lose their right to choose and the gerrymandering would have continued into the foreseeable future. Since the Dem won, women will likely retain their rights (until the Feds step in) and the redistricting map will move forward.

It eliminates two “safe” GOP seats in the House of Representatives. They’re “safe” because they’re gerrymandered. It’s peculiar, the more success Americans have eliminating gerrymandering, the less power the GOP has in Congress. Why, it’s almost as if, given a fair chance, Americans REJECT the GOP agenda. Their margin is getting smaller and smaller. It really was a big deal…

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Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it. Biden left an economic mess. THAT’S why bad things like this are happening now, and not when Biden was actually in office. In fact, if I remember correctly, the economy was SO strong, Felon 47 was actively taking credit for it – even though Biden was in charge.

“THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET BECAUSE MY POLLS AGAINST BIDEN ARE SO GOOD THAT INVESTORS ARE PROJECTING THAT I WILL WIN, AND THAT WILL DRIVE THE MARKET UP.” He posted that on his Untruth Social on January 29, 2024.

“…our Stock Market is rising only because Polls are strongly indicating that we will WIN the Presidential Election of 2024” Also, Untruth Social, March 12, 2024.

“There are many people that are saying that the only reason the Stock Market is high is because I am leading in all of the Polls,” Yet again, his fingers roaring on Untruth Social, May 15, 2024.

Of course, he also posted some blame. In early August, 2024, the stock market dropped a little. That happens. It was a blip. But Felon 47 was there, “STOCK MARKETS CRASHING. I TOLD YOU SO!!! …ALL CAUSED BY INEPT U.S. LEADERSHIP!” August 4, 2024.

Now Donny’s in charge and Donny has made some very 19th century moves. Have you checked your 401k, yet? Are you looking at the Stock Market or closing your eyes, plugging your ears, and shouting “La, la, la?” Donny imposed his insane tariffs on Thursday, April 3 – infamously imposing tariffs on penguins – those damned unfair birds! The market reacted exactly as one would have expected and certainly predicted. It plunged by almost 1,700 points. (That’s $2.4 TRILLION dollars he wiped out – in ONE DAY!)

It was set to open even worse, 1,500 more points in overnight futures sell-offs. But that was just the opener. By the end of the second day, the market had shed 2,100 more points. $6.4 TRILLION dollars in value, wiped off the boards – in TWO DAYS! For those of you keeping score at home, that’s a total of $11.1 Trillion dollars wiped off the boards since 47 was inaugurated.

What was it the Drumpfster wrote? Oh, yeah, “STOCK MARKETS CRASHING. …ALL CAUSED BY INEPT U.S. LEADERSHIP!” I guess if I’m being fair, I have to give him credit for that one. Inept US leadership IS crashing the market. The only part he missed was which President was the most inept. (The world agrees, though: it’s Trump – by a wide margin…)

Believe it or not, MAGA isn’t worried. MAGA has been conditioned to believe these are short-term pains. Yes, they’ve been told, it’s going to hurt at first, but then things are going to bloom in a way you’ve never imagined. THAT, at least is a kind of truth. MAGA isn’t capable of imagining anything other than glory for their “Dear Misleader” so they really would NEVER imagine the market doing what every decent economist in the world knows it’s going to do.

Having conditioned them to accept the crash as “a plan,” he has only to keep moving the goal posts by telling them the blooms are coming soon. The pain? Oh, they’ll feel that, daily, but they expect blooms in the near future. Any time, now. Just around the corner. No, not quite yet, but it’s coming. Hang in there. Be strong. He said it, so MAGA STILL expects their flowers to bloom.

You know, the way your flowers “bloom” after you pour ‘Round Up’ on them. Sure, they wilt at first but then they… I mean, they… well, they’re supposed to… Hey, what’s up with these flowers?

Let’s start blaming Joe Biden now, and avoid the rush…

The Midas Touch…

by MyBaconPress

All I see is unrestrained greed. Rampant and unrelenting greed. Republicans in Congress are working, literally day and night, to pass a massive tax cut to the richest people in the world. Another tax cut. They don’t need it. It won’t help anything. In fact, it will make things worse. But it’s all they can think about, throwing another penny on the pile. In order to pay for it, they see no option but to gut the social safety net.

As a direct result of the privileged class’s previous greedy moves, many Americans rely on the social safety net to survive. So here’s the question. If the richest people cut the social safety net and many Americans rely on the social safety net to survive, what happens to those who rely upon it once it’s gone? What does it say about a person who genuinely doesn’t give two figs about starving someone to death, so long as they gain another penny?

The ancient Greeks had an allegory for this about a king named Midas. You’ve heard of him, I’m sure. He’s the model for the term, ‘The Midas Touch.’ What most people know of that story is that everything he touched turned to gold. Many people think that would be a pretty great deal. These days, The Midas Touch is often used as a kind of a compliment for people who make piles and piles of money. We say it about the obscenely rich. “That guy has the Midas Touch.”

But it wasn’t a compliment in ancient Greece. It was a warning. You see, King Midas was a man born to great wealth and comfort, yet consumed by greed. It didn’t matter how much he had, he wanted more. One day, Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, and his friend, a satyr named Silenus, were traveling through Midas’ kingdom. They got separated and Silenus decided to take a nap in Midas’ rose garden. Midas found Silenus there, recognized him, and invited him in and treated him well before taking him back to Dionysus.

As a reward for his kindness, the god told Midas he would grant him any wish. Midas knew what he wanted. He wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. The god suggested Midas think a little more about the wish, but that was the wish he wanted, so Dionysus granted it. It sounds great, right? Midas woke up the next morning and touched his bedside table and the table instantly turned into solid gold! Midas was exhilarated and started touching everything he could see. Everything he touched turned to gold. What a lucky man.

Or was he? The part of the tale we’ve just seen is pretty much all people remember about Midas and they don’t think any more about it. But they should. Midas had a lovely morning, running around touching things, turning them to gold. His greed was in overdrive. His avarice ran rampant. But after a couple of hours of turning things to gold, Midas began to feel a bit peckish.

He went to his dining table where he saw a rose. He picked it up to enjoy it’s fragrance – but it turned to gold. No scent. “I’ll have to enjoy the scent of flowers without touching them,” he thought. Then he reached for a grape. It, too, turned to gold. Uh-oh! He tried a slice of bread with the same result. Gold. Even the water he attempted to drink turned to gold. Suddenly, the “gift” which had been bestowed upon him began to frighten him. How could he eat if his food turned into gold? One cannot survive eating gold. As he began to understand his problem, his beloved daughter came into the room and when Midas hugged her, she became a golden statue.

Midas now understood that his endless greed was a curse, not a blessing. He begged Dionysus to remove the curse. Dionysus told him to wash his hands in a particular river and, when he did, everything Midas had touched returned to it’s original state. Midas hugged his daughter again and realized his avarice had nearly destroyed him. He became a very generous and grateful person and led his kingdom into a new age of prosperity for all.

Midas had the opportunity to learn from his mistake and make life better for everyone. Like any good story of redemption, that’s what he did. But today, people have lost sight of the parts of the allegory that teach the lesson. We stop at “everything he touches turns to gold” and leave it at that, as though that’s enough, and it’s a good thing. The people who hoard the wealth like to spread the idea that they amassed that wealth because they’re blessed. God wants them to have it. Outside of entertainment, one rarely sees any great fortune that was acquired or maintained by means God would approve.

Oh, yeah. God. Jesus meant what he said when he said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” That’s pretty clear admonishment that the accumulation of wealth hurts one’s chances of getting into Heaven. So greedy people made up a story. “The Needle,” they claimed, ” is a small gate at the back of a walled city a laden camel could not pass through.” That’s not true. No such “small gates” exist. Jesus meant an actual camel and he meant an actual needle’s eye. He was saying, flatly, rich people don’t go to Heaven.

The United States of America is said to be the wealthiest country on Earth. But like all things wealth-related, that’s something of a lie. The US has the richest rich people and that pulls up the average. The rest of us? WE struggle with a lower quality of life than most of the developed world. And now? The richest people want even more – and they don’t CARE how it affects the world around them.

Had Midas not learned a lesson and changed his ways, his kingdom would have been doomed by greed. Today’s One Percent do not seem inclined to learn any lessons or change their ways. It’s as if they turned their own children into gold – then just kept touching more and more and more anyway. The children, THEIR children, are not relevant. Only the gold matters.

When an entire society becomes enthralled by the madness of greed, we don’t prosper. We suffer. When the only “acceptable” pursuit in a society is the pursuit of more money, we pay a price. An incalculable price. Neil Young wrote it into a song years ago, “They ‘give’ you this, but you pay for that.”

In the story of Midas’ Touch, one man stood to become inconceivably wealthy while the rest of his world suffered his greed. In the US, today, an incredibly small number of people, comparatively, will enjoy the wealth. Everyone else will suffer. Today, the United States is consumed by the Midas touch, but the Midas touch is the madness of greed. Greed for greed’s sake. Greed to the exclusion of all else. Greed to the point of destruction.

It’s greed so deeply entrenched, leaving people starving in the streets just so the wealthy can have a little bit more isn’t just acceptable. It’s the point. Apparently, it helps to pretend the victims of the avarice are at fault. “You’re poor because you’re lazy.” “You’re poor because you don’t manage your money well.” “You’re poor because God wants you to be poor.”

None of that is correct. The victims of the money grab are poor because they’re the victims of the money grab. And now, the masses are to be victimized again and even more, to satisfy the greed of an obscenely rich few. The United States of America certainly has the Midas Touch these days. One can only hope we realize the error of our ways before it’s too late. But I don’t see any evidence of that. All I see is greed. Unbridled, uncontrolled, unconstrained greed. The US has allowed itself to become mired in the madness of greed and it’s rapidly becoming greed to the point of destruction…

Pain For Thee, Not For Me…

by MyBaconPress

President Musk started it. He said that in order to get the national debt under control, people are going to have to go through some “hardship.” He KNOWS aggressive cuts to government spending are going to cause pain and suffering. He acknowledges the fact. His attitude? “Tough cookies.” It’s easy for him, of course. As the sometimes richest thief in the world, HE won’t feel a thing. Not even a twitch.

Sub-President Trump – the man being told what to do by Musk and The Heritage Foundation – has now endorsed that same idea. The work-a-day Joes are just going to have to feel some pain to get things back to right. Of course, sub-president 47 has a couple of coins to rub together, too. He won’t feel anything, either. No, all this ‘hardship’ is meant for the working class.

The LLC – that’s the “Lazy Leisure Class” – started buying tax shifts 40+ years ago. I call them tax shifts, not cuts, because whenever they pass a so-called “cut,” some of the lost revenue gets shifted to the working class. The rest is managed by cuts in service. For 40+ years, the working class have been taking on more and more of the leisure class’s tax burdens and losing services in the process.

Two adages I live by: 1) When your outgo is greater than your income, your upkeep will be your downfall. 2) Government decisions should be focused on which option best serves the largest number of people.

We’ve just gone over the first one. Tax cuts for the wealthy have long-since reduced the nation’s revenues to the point where we can’t meet our obligations. (That’s been the goal, by the way.) They’ve trimmed around the edges as much as they could. Now it’s down to the meat and potatoes so “people will have to suffer.” But what about the second one?

Which option best serves the largest number of people? It’s simply not true that there is only ONE choice – only ONE option to deal with this mess the wealthy have created. There are two. Yes, when revenues fall short, one CAN cut costs. But it’s often true that one can ALSO increase revenues, and in THIS case, it’s absolutely true.

If we follow the path of the LLC, 340 MILLION people (minus a handful of the super rich) suffer. And I DO mean, “suffer.” On the other hand, we could raise revenue by increasing taxes on the highest incomes. Under THAT idea, NO ONE would “suffer.” Such an increase would only hit people who wouldn’t even miss whatever got paid out.

It’s important to remember, for the leisure class, this whole conversation is purely philosophical. It’s about the idea that they don’t WANT to pay their fair share. It’s not a burden. They wouldn’t even miss it. They just don’t want to. (Or, they think their awesome, regal selves shouldn’t HAVE to.) But for the working class, this is increasingly becoming existential.

I think option 2 – raise taxes on the highest incomes – best serves the largest number of people. Honestly? I think we should go back to a 94% rate on everything over $2.5 million dollars. That was the rate in 1944 and 45. (Technically, it was 94% on everything over $200,000. The $2.5 million is that amount adjusted to today’s dollars.) The justification? War is expensive – and it is. Since the US has become a State of perpetual war, we should just set that rate and leave it there.

SO… based on this reality – and it IS reality – it becomes obvious that NOBODY has to “suffer” or bear “hardships” or feel any “pain.” But I would bet the working class is going to feel pain. We’re a country of morons, governed by rich, greedy morons. EXPECT the wrong decision. EXPECT to suffer – so they don’t have to…

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I’m not sure why this has to be said, but if you plan to bring a letter of reference to a job interview, perhaps don’t include references from people who have, themselves, been subject to scandal and/or discipline.

In an effort to lend credibility to the RFK, Jr nomination, a letter was presented to Congress, ostensibly from doctors, who think his moronic delusions about vaccinations and other things are just peachy, thank you very much. Except, they aren’t all doctors and many of those who are, um, actually WERE and those who STILL are have all faced disciplinary actions.

There may be a nicer way to say this, but it’s easy for morons to impress morons. “Doctors” who ignore valid science (I mean science supported by the scientific method, not someone’s “feels”) might well believe RFK, Jr is “on to something.” Most of us just think he’s ON something – and it isn’t something good. I suspect that worm ate more of his brain than he realizes, missing part of his brain and all.

Vaccinations save lives. Vaccinations do NOT cause autism. People who insist otherwise are expressing their luxury – the luxury of never having had to visit someone in an iron lung. Or even the luxury of not knowing what an effing iron lung is in the first place. You’ve been spared that knowledge by vaccinations. And now you want to despise the vaccinations that have done so much good for so many people? We heard it from Forrest Gump; stupid is as stupid does…

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Um… you DO realize, don’t you, that the trade agreement 47 is citing as SO unfair to the US is the actual trade agreement 47 negotiated with Mexico and Canada during his first maladministration, right? Now he’s inflicting tariffs on our neighbors and allies – and, yes, China, too. I HAVE noticed the Chinese tariff is somewhat lower. Is that because China makes all that cheap crap he sells to his believers?

He says he’s doing it because of the trade deficit and fentanyl. According to experts (read: people who actually know what they’re talking about) most of the fentanyl brought into America is brought BY Americans. Not Mexicans. Not Canadians, eh? Americans. So, THAT excuse is clearly bunk.

If he wants American companies to come home, he should repeal all those glorious tax benefits rich people bought themselves TO move their manufacturing overseas in the first place. He doesn’t need tariffs.

I’ll tell you this: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a common thread in ALL of our national financial “problems.” The already grotesquely rich want more – and cannot be satisfied…

Facts Are Facts, Even When Fiction Wins…

by MyBaconPress

When The Felon campaigned, he promised all the good things to all the right people. It was easy. He found out what his people wanted to hear, then he said it. They believed him. Lower gas prices? Done. Lower food prices? Day one. End Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine? Even before he took office. Deport every non-white person he could find? Count on it. Pardon every J6 rioter, even if they attacked cops? DAY ONE! Tariffs to balance the trade deficit? That’s the plan. Promises, promises.

He said lower energy prices would lower food prices because of energy used in producing and shipping food. Experts in the field say the energy costs are too small of a component to make a big difference. Oh, AND the energy producers have made clear they have no intention of increasing their drilling efforts.

The US, you see, is already producing record amounts of oil and natural gas. The producers don’t WANT to lower the cost any more. Sure, it would help consumers – but it would hurt shareholders. Who do YOU think our corporate overlords are more worried about?

He has already failed at ending Putin’s war ‘even before taking office.’ He’s looking at failure in producing more natural gas and oil. He won’t be bringing prices at the supermarket down. (“It’s hard,” he whined.) He’s backpedaling on which J6 rioters will get day one pardons. If he follows through on his promised tariffs, the most likely result will be inflation – and everything will cost MORE! Not surprisingly, that’s the SAME result we will see if he actually starts deporting every brown person he can find. Everything will cost MORE.

It’s starting to look like there’s not ONE THING he promised that he intends to do. Worse, if he DID do them, there’s not ONE THING he might do that will improve our day-to-day lives. He told a rabid mob what they wanted to hear and they supported him. It’s looking like ‘rabid mob’ may not be the best format for decision-making…

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In retrospect, though, I’m not sure WHY I’ve been so upset over possible economic programs of The Felon and the damage those programs will do. His environmental plans promise to derail every human endeavor over the next four years. With people suffering fires, record-strength hurricanes, tornado clusters, extra cold winters and extra hot summers, flooding and/or drought (fueling crop failures), there’s going to be MUCH unrest, struggle, and desperation…

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It’s weird, watching Steve Bannon call Elon Musk a racist – as an insult, I mean. (Pot? Kettle. Kettle? Pot.) It’s even weirder hearing Newt Gingrich talking about the importance of open legal borders in direct defiance of MAGA right now. Arguably, Gingrich is more responsible than any other politician for launching the far right movement that eventually became MAGA. He’s a deeply evil individual with folksy charm.

He created a monster that DOES NOT DO nuance. Now, he’s trying a nuanced argument to justify some immigration. I suspect that’s going to be a tough sell. Gingrich seems to think The Felon won’t follow through on his promise to use the military to get to every undocumented person they can find and deport them. Oh, but not JUST them.

Trump is quoted as saying, “I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.” Send them all… back? Where, to East LA? That’s not much of a deportation. Trump’s words sound like he’ll deport any undocumented person AND their American family members. “Deporting” Americans sounds like nonsense but, then, many things that fall from his lips sound like nonsense.

Meanwhile, Gingrich says, “I’d be very surprised if you see any significant effort to change the game for people who are here legally. I just think there’s a very small faction of the party that’s rabid about this.” He has also said, “We are a nation of law [sic], despite some of the things that have been said. And I think that if you have legal standing in the American system, it’s very difficult to deport you. On the other hand, if you have no legal standing, it’s pretty easy to deport you, right? And I’m for doing the easy first. That’s why we should give [Dreamers] legal status, as a practical matter.”

Do you think Gingrich can get The Felon to deport people in a nuanced and thoughtful way? ‘Nuanced’ and ‘thoughtful’ are not words I normally associate with Trump and his acolytes…

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Let’s say you have a house. It’s been in your family for 250 years and, let’s face it, it could use some attention. Is the right answer to identify the problems and correct them as they come up, or would it be better just to set fire to the whole freaking thing and burn it to the ground?

MAGA has chosen, “Burn it! Burn it all!” I can’t agree that was the best answer…

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I want to make something clear. Jack Smith has resigned as Special Counsel. He didn’t resign because he lost his case. He resigned because the target of his prosecution created a legal loophole that allowed him to slither away unscathed. (There are advantages to being the Anti-Christ.) Donald J. Trump did NOT “beat” the charges. He did NOT “win.” He cheated – and got away with it. I believe that, had he stood trial, he would have been convicted. He’s still a criminal. He just got away with it…

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I’ve heard yet another smear in the politicization of the SoCal fires: fire trucks from Oregon have been held up because they couldn’t pass a smog check. Yeah, that’s the story. As with all things MAGA, it’s false. It’s just a smear.

Fire trucks from Oregon WERE stopped in Sacramento and examined. It was a safety and equipment evaluation, not a smog check. No smog checks were performed. The idea was to make certain that the trucks were up to the terrain they were heading into – for the safety of the firefighters involved. ALL trucks from Oregon are now on scene in LA.

But I’m guessing that the fact that the story is pure and unadulterated bunk won’t stop MAGA from repeating it over and over. (“They’re EATING THE DOGS!”) When have facts ever been an issue for a MAGA?

Just The Worst…

by MyBaconPress

I have to start by saying my heart goes out to Southern California. We, here in Northern California, have been through what they’re going through, now, and I know, without question, there are no words. I remember the panic of people in the moment. It’s all just a confusion of “Where do we go?” and “What, now?” I remember the stories people told, after, of how they made it out. I remember the stories about the people who didn’t.

I remember the wreckage. I remember the smell of the burned buildings lingering in the air for a long time. I know how they’re going to react to even the faintest smell of wildfire smoke in the future. And I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t lose anything. I STILL react. They will, too. The buildings can be, will be, rebuilt. The precious mementos are gone forever. But Nor-Cal DID come back and SoCal will, too.

Stay strong, SoCal…

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When a Special Counsel finishes their job, they’re supposed to issue a report explaining, in detail, why they did what they did. That is, why they prosecuted (or declined to) and the details behind those choices. Jack Smith has written his report and turned it over to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Apparently, it’s in TWO volumes. The first is about the election interference charges 34 negated by getting back to the White House. The second is about the Classified documents he stole, I suspect to give to Putin. The question now is, should AG Garland release the report for public consumption.

I haven’t seen it, of course, but MY guess (and yours, I’d bet) is that the report just says something to the effect of, “We were GOING to prosecute because we have evidence enough to fill three trucks, but then The Felon “won” the “election” and is expected to abuse his authority to protect himself so we had no choice but to stand down.”

Puppet-elect Thirty-Four Felonies doesn’t want people to know what’s in the report about him, presumably because it says, “Oh, yeah, he’s as guilty as can be and here’s the evidence!” So, he judge-shopped. It didn’t take long. He knows he has Aileen “Loose” Cannon in the bag and, oh, hey! Lookee, here. He took his case to his corrupt, loyalist judge and she put a temporary injunction on releasing the report. She protected him again – and just in time.

It will buy him time, which is the loophole he used to slither out from under the charges in the first place. Once again, with the help of a corrupt judiciary, he’ll get away with it. This is what the “law” is going to look like going forward in this once-great nation. Sometimes, I think this whole thing is going to get very ugly…

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I read an article in the ‘Motley Fool’ about Social Security. It pretended Social Security is low on funds because of an imbalance in the difference between paying in and taking out. It didn’t mention politicians “borrowing” from the fund for other purposes, then not paying the money back as promised. Nor did it mention the cap rich people enjoy that protects some of their income.

It pointed out that, in an effort to confront the shortfall, Congress started taxing SS benefits. Again, nobody ever mentions eliminating the cap rich people enjoy as a solution. (YOU pay in to Social Security on 100% of your earned income. Rich people pay a tiny fraction of that percentage from their income. It is generally understood that lifting that cap funds Social Security nicely.)

I noticed Congress started taxing SS in 1983. Guess who was President, which party, in 1983. Go on, guess. Did you guess Reagan and the Republicans? That’s the right answer. In fairness, the taxes were adjusted to get more in 1993. Clinton was President. I know, he ran as a Dem, but I’ve long held that Bill Clinton was one of the most effective Republican presidents in decades. He got away with it by hiding in plain sight, as a liberal. But he signed and supported NAFTA. He “reformed” welfare. He killed the free press. He increased taxation on Social Security. There’s more. He was a con, like it or not.

The point, here, is that Social Security can be fixed easily by simply removing the cap rich people pay from their checks. If they pay into SS on 100% of THEIR paychecks, like everyone else does, we don’t really have a problem. No, of course the politicians are just going to tell you there’s no more money and nothing can be done so you lose, but they’ll just be serving their rich paymasters…

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Musk bought Twitter claiming he wanted free speech, then turned it into an insulting conservative misinformation machine that regularly censors speech. Zuckerberg, apparently, likes what he sees in Musk’s example and has decided to follow suit and eliminate the guardrails on Facebook, as well. First he eliminated news feeds almost entirely, then, when they come back, he has opened the door to conservative misinformation to flow freely?

I don’t call for boycotts, per se, because they’re dumb and don’t work dependably. (Besides, who would listen to ME?) But we CAN avoid doing business with companies we don’t like or trust whenever it’s possible, if we choose. My advice? Pay attention to who still advertises on X and avoid them if you can. As Facebook declines, it would be a good idea to do the same with whoever keeps advertising there.

The ONE thing we can count on about a fascist nation is that money rules the day. Always. Most of the Small Folk KNOW they’re Small Folk and don’t think of themselves as able to have an impact. But we can. Collectively. By all means, flee X for Bluesky, but pay attention to who keeps advertising on X (and now Facebook) and direct your dollars accordingly. If nothing else, we can keep them from gaining some of the money they’ll eventually use against us…

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MAGA doesn’t seem to have noticed, yet, but The Felon is already setting the stage for the expected economic collapse that will accompany Trump policies. As we all know, they see Biden as old. VERY old. (He is, too. No argument, here.) They see him as senile. (I’m still sitting quietly.) They see him as incompetent. (He has actually done a very good job…)

They ALSO see him as a mastermind genius capable of some very detailed, intricate, and complex planning. It really depends on what they need at any given moment. According to The Felon, the senile, mastermind, incompetent, genius has set an “economic time-bomb” meant to blow up at a precise moment. Specifically, the moment the inauguration ends.

We all know how trump works. He’s been bitching about the horrid state of the economy for four years. The minute he’s inaugurated, he’s going to start claiming Biden’s successful economy for himself. It will go from “Horrid!” to “Hurray!” in moments. If he was smart (yes, I SHOULD stop there) he would simply not touch anything and let the economy hum.

But, he’s not smart – and he doesn’t plan to do that, leave well enough alone. According to him, he plans to reduce government revenues while instituting a shiny new program that STARTS with an $80 billion dollar stake. That’s going to do some damage. He knows it. But he doesn’t want to be seen as doing the damage he plans to do. He NEEDS that blame to fall elsewhere and, of course, he chose Biden. Curiously, the damage won’t happen until Trump takes office and starts doing his thing.

By definition, that is NOT a time-bomb. A time-bomb goes off at a specific time. If one sets a bomb to blow up at, say, 2 pm on December 31st, that bomb blows up on December 31st at 2 pm – because it’s on a timer. It’s a “timed-bomb,” see? A bomb that waits for a specific trigger, like, say, moronic policies triggering an economic meltdown? That’s not a time-bomb because nobody knows WHEN it blow – or even if it will.

It requires a specific act, like tax cuts for the rich, side-by-side with a shiny new, $80 billion dollar deportation program. BOOM! There’s a reason Mr. 34 Felonies suddenly hates the debt ceiling – and it isn’t that he plans to lower the debt. (I’ve noticed the price of eggs has gone UP since the “election,” not down, despite his promises…)

It’s a standard con trick. They ALWAYS blame their own economic wreckage on the previous Democratic administration, and they ALWAYS take credit for the economic successes actually achieved by the previous Democratic administration. Once, they even blamed and INCOMING Democratic administration for their own failures. Yeah, the party of personal responsibility…