I was talking with another resident last night about the cars we had when I was young.
My "car I wish I had today" was my '67 Camaro. White, black Z28 stripes, rear spoiler. Hurst shifter. 327 V8 with a .480 lift 330 duration cam, a 780 dual pumper Holley, and Hooker headers and mufflers. 355 gears, which is tall, but a good road car.
He had a '67 GTO, 400 V8 with three deuces and 411 gears with a posi rear.
What did we have for lunch today?
I dunno.
Typical. From all of my years in the computer biz, one thing that I learned is never to trust big corporations.
I need closed captioning on my TV to watch anything. The sound quality of television has declined over the years and everyone on TV now mumbles. No one enunciates anymore. So I turn on CC.
I have Max. HBO changed it's name, along with everyone else. Facebook is Meta, Twitter is X, and Prince is only a symbol. j
I've been having issues turning on CC. The other day I turned it on and got a different CC than the show I was watching. I was watching an action movie and got the CC for a nature show about rhinos. It was funny for five minutes.
Tonight, nothing. CC would not turn on. So I contacted Max via chat. Jagadeeswari signed on. Jagadeeswari had me update Max, update my Roku TV, and had me create a new profile. A half hour's worth.
Then he wanted me to unplug my TV and plug it back in. I declined. I explained that would involve me crawling under my desk. I told him that was busy work and I would just not renew Max and buy Netflix.
Then Jagadeeswari checked for known issues. Ah yes, it is a problem and their system engineers are working to resolve it.
Shouldn't you have checked that first, I asked?
So I cancelled Max. I wasn't thrilled with it anyway. I always had a hard time finding things to watch, and what's featured is bad.
Max should change it's name again to Min.
I'm watching the news about the "crisis" at our southern border and Greg Abbott putting up razor wire along it. Razor wire.
I have a question for you right wingers- what exactly are you afraid of?
Don't tell me drugs, because these refugees are trying to get to border crossings.
Don't tell me welfare because they are ineligible. For five years, not one red cent.
Disease? Maybe. So vaccinate them when they arrive, and test them. I'll go along with that.
That they'll take your job? If you have a job that a migrant who speaks Spanish can take from you, I feel sad for you. You're pathetic.
So what, exactly? To my way of thinking, unless you come up with a damn good reason why refugees coming to America (you know, the one with the Statue of Liberty) to better themselves and their families should not be welcomed here with open arms, my only conclusion is that you're a racist.
So go ahead, please. Tell me.
Have you folks read the news about Florida's state board of education? They "passed new legislation under Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars instruction in schools that suggests anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color."
Erasing America's racist past and not acknowledging our racist present does not make it go away. Racism is the bedrock the United States was built on because of our white European ancestors. Taking it out of history books does not make it vanish.
The two most egregious examples, of course, are slavery and the genocide of Native Americans. I believe the old adage that if we don't learn from our history we are doomed to repeat it.
Ron DeSantis is precisely what is wrong with today's Republican Party. That his approval rating is 38% is horrifying.
BTW, Trump's and Biden's approval ratings are 42%. Remember that when Fox tells you how awful Biden's is.
For my few remaining Republican friends - you have to do better than a fraud like Trump and a fascist like DeSantis. I usually don't agree with Chris Christie, but at least he's sane. Take a close look at him before casting your primary ballot. Please.
Hunter Biden. What is he accused of, exactly? More importantly, what is he guilty of?
First, let's forget about the gun charge. Hunter was a legal gun owner. In his memoir, he admitted to illegal drug use during the time he owned a gun. That is forbidden by law, hence the charge. If no one read his book, a charge would not have been filed. If everyone in America could be identified similarly and their guns taken away, America wouldn't have a gun problem.
Next issue.
Hunter Biden received $1.5 million from his foreign jobs in 2017 and 2018 and not paying the $100k taxes he owed on that income. To be clear, Hunter paid taxes in both years. He did not pay enough taxes. Trump's DOJ persecuted Hunter to find something, anything, that they could use against Joe Biden. Hunter pled guilty to underpaying his taxes. That is a misdemeanor and Hunter was fined.
Was Hunter given preferential treatment?
First, he was investigated by the FBI and IRS while Trump was president. The Department of Justice is part of the executive branch of government. Under Trump's administration. Preferential treatment would be if Hunter was not investigated at all. Hunter was singled out by Trump's DOJ and both persecuted and prosecuted. The judge presiding over Hunter's case in 2023 was a Trump appointee.
When I sold stocks many years ago, there was a discrepancy over what I thought I owed and what the IRS thought I owed, centered around the cost basis of my Exxon-Mobil stock. I was told to file an amended return, which I did. The IRS came back a couple of years later and started garnishing my social security check because they said I still didn't pay enough and owed more taxes and penalties and interest.
I did not go to jail. Am I any different from Hunter Biden? Should Hunter go to prison? Should I have gone to prison? Or should we both similarly take our lumps and pay what the IRS says?
You do NOT go to jail for failure to pay taxes in America. You ONLY go to jail for tax evasion or tax fraud. In the United States there are only two thousand people incarcerated for tax crimes. Fraud and evasion. Not under reporting.
The IRS knows that our tax code can be bewildering. It's difficult enough for those of us who work standard jobs in the US and decide to itemize. Add to that foreign investment dividends and income and it's stupefying even for tax professionals.
Hunter Biden is a talented and accomplished attorney. He earns an estimated $20 million annually and his net worth is around $230 million. If I can make an error in my little piddling Exxon-Mobil stock sale, imagine the complexity in Hunter's portfolio.
Did Hunter use the Biden name? Of course he did. Wouldn't you? Did Trump use the White House to enhance the Trump brand? That's capitalism, folks.
I do not believe Hunter was given preferential treatment at all. If anything, I believe he was singled out by the Trump administration because of who he is, and that his last name is Biden.
Now the fascists have their arm bands in a twist because, after many many years of chasing Hunter, they have come up with basically nothing.
If affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional and all applicants be judged solely on merit, then make the applications anonymous. Remove the names and addresses from the application and replace it with a number. Omit any reference to legacy. Delete references. Blackout the names of schools attended.
Make a college application truly merit based and I'm good with it.
So far as the case of a web site being considered free speech and protected by the first amendment, we all know that's totally bogus (besides the fact that the incident never happened). If a website is freedom of expression, anything built by man is the same. Ford could decide to not sell pickup trucks to Republicans because F-150s are a work of art.
This Supreme Court is legislating from the bench. The justices also believe they are above the law themselves by taking expensive vacations paid for by the wealthy whose cases come before them. Every public servant understands that is a conflict of interest and forbidden. Notice who is guilty of such practices. The fascist ones.
I'm sure you've noticed, and perhaps taken aback, by my use of the word fascist.
Fascism - a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
It fits both Trump and DeSantis perfectly, doesn't it? Trump admires communist leaders such as Putin, Kim Jung Un, and Xi Jinpin. DeSantis is taking the Hitler approach of banning books and declaring that liberalism must be eliminated. They're fascists, plain and simple.
The only sane Republican running for 2024 is Chris Christie. While I disagree with his politics, I like the fact that he's not a fascist. His campaign isn't centered around hate and division. I hope Republicans take a closer look at him as a candidate.
Someday soon, we should consider an alternative parliament form of government. The US's government is bicameral, meaning it has a lower and upper house. It is divided by definition. A unicameral parliament would be similar to our House of Representatives. Instead of electing a president, the Parliament elects a prime minister.
Fun stuff to think about, as we witness the wheels falling off our government designed almost 250 years ago by wealthy white men.
