Category Archives: Personal/Opinion

SWAT Team Rescues Group of Terrified Mar-a-Lago Residents

This afternoon the Palm Beach police department’s SWAT unit stormed President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort in response to reports that a large group of people were being held hostage there.  Upon arrival, the police were informed there were about three dozen residents barricaded in one of the hotel’s dinning rooms.  When there was no response to law enforcement inquiries from anyone in that room, the door was breached with a battering ram.  Fortunately everyone inside was found to be unharmed.

According to the police, the situation developed after a resident spotted someone who resembled an “hispanic-looking person” exiting President Trump’s suite.  Word quickly spread that there were MS 13 gang members marauding through the building and soon an hysterical mob of panic stricken residents formed and for self protection they locked themselves in the dining hall.

Curious as to why everyone in the room was  clutching a kitchen utensil of some sort,  the police were informed that, rather than submit to the impending  torture and dismemberment at the hands of Guatemalan gang members, the group had planned a mass suicide.  “I think we got here just in the nick of time,” concluded SWAT team leader, captain Reggie Ringwald.

The person who initiated the panic was quickly apprehended.  Her name is Margarita Sanchez-Fuentes, President’ Trump’s housekeeper and an illegal immigrant.  She will be held for deportation, along with three other undocumented Trump employees discovered on the premises.  Many of the distraught residents seemed confused and voiced concern that the president of all people would hire illegals.  But all were exceedingly thankful no one in the Trump family had been savagely slaughtered.

  Former Trump Housekeeper and Undocumented Immigrant Margarita Sanchez-Fuentes (pictured) Could Serve a Six Month Jail Sentence for “Terroristic Threats  Against the  Emotionally Fragile”  Before Her Deportation

 

Trump’s Resort Hired Undocumented Workers

 

President Trump Has No Use for Intelligence

 

 

The Witch Hunt that Wasn’t

Son of a bitch this pisses me off!  BuzzFeed just had to screw the pooch with a vaguely verified story about Trump and now we will be subjected to a barrage of “fake news” tweets and Fox News chest thumping, all of it because reporters employed by a normally credible news organization got all churned up by the vainglorious temptations of first reporting.  The huge majority of the news produced by our prominent mainstream media is accurate, but one report out of 100 that proves to be dubious is all it takes for the Trump camp to claim validation to their “all mainstream news is fake news” position.

Once you extract yourself from this pile of horse shit , the odor won’t linger so long when you realize Trump and Giuliani have basically acknowledged the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation and will find it difficult to call it a “witch hunt” any longer.  Robert Mueller’s decision to reprimand Buzzfeed is obviously viewed by Trump as a very favorable outcome for him.  In light of the complimentary comments made by both Trump and Giuliani about Mueller’s decision to break with precedent and make a public statement, we should with some certainty be assured that the president will finally come to grips with what the Mueller investigation is all about- an impartial imperative to seek out the truth.

Accuracy Before Hubris- Please!

 

Trump Set to Schedule Statue of Liberty for Demolition

Continuing his unremitting rage against French President Emmanuel Macron and anything French, President Trump today announced his plans to blow up the Statue of Liberty and replace it with something better.  After unleashing a barrage of anti-French  twitter tirades, banning French toast and French fries from government commissaries and placing a 50% tariff on French wine, White House staffers are hopeful leveling the iconic French gift to America will finally appease the president’s wrath.

The president revealed his plan during a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and members of the National Parks Service, which he oversees.   Zinke indicated he is in complete agreement with the president.  “I met with the president this morning and I understand how he feels.  Dynamiting Lady Liberty would be the perfect response to those insulting remarks Macron made about President Trump during his World War I Commemoration speech.   We get rid of a decaying eyesore plus I can then lease out New York Harbor to some of my Manhattan friends for oil exploration.  It’s a win-win,” Zinke stated.

Zinke went on to explain that the president has never really cared for Lady Liberty, and has been contemplating his idea  ever since India unveiled its 600 ft statue of Indian independence leader Sardar Patel.  Zinke mentioned it is the president’s feeling that since  the statue that universally symbolizes American patriotism does not even clear the knee caps of the one in India, he would see to it his “America First” policy was implemented appropriately and erect something more manly.  

 

 Mock up of proposed Statue of Greatness that will replace the Statue of Liberty. The 800 ft sculpture will rotate 360 degrees atop Trump Tower, and will be able to be seen from five surrounding U.S. states

 

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate of people other than your own comes first.”  Charles de Gaulle quoted in Washington Post

 

 

 

 

 

ATTENTION: Big Fire Sale at Trump White House- Don’t Miss Out!

Ok.  A “bit miffed” is hardly how I feel about this shit Government for Sale.  What is going on here?  Is it possible that the man governing the county is this brazen?  The guy who’s speeches at every one of his political rallies past and present contains anti-China rhetoric that inflames the attending masses into jingoistic hysteria.  The guy that professes we must take away jobs in China and bring them back home.  The guy that threatens to punish countries that do any business with Iran or North Korea. That guy?  And on top of it with this maneuver Trump chooses to discard the warnings of U.S intelligence sources that the phones mentioned could be used to conduct espionage.   I guess its’ OK to ignore inconvenient U.S. law and national security and change political/trade policy course  as long as the pay-off is more money into the president’s pocket.  Somehow Trump has managed to avoid addressing the hypocrisy of  using foreign labor to manufacture his branded products.  But this!  WTF!

Then there is this Pay for Play  Unbelievable.  A little less than a year ago when a Qatar  billionaire and former prime minister of the country declined to invest in the Kurshner’s financial albatross, all of a sudden the Trump administration threw support behind the embargo that Saudi Arabia and three other regional countries instituted against Qatar.  Now that the the Kushner’s have essentially persuaded a Qatar backed investment company to bail them out, all is well and President Trump has instructed the middle eastern states that are blockading Qatar to end the sanctions.

This is absolutely in-your-face corruption, and you could easily call the Kushner case extortion.  Both of these exploitive developments just recently occurred, within days of each other.  But there is no kind of lingering discussion about any of it, because, once again, the news cycle involving the Trump administration is diverted by yet more scandal and attempted obstruction. Every time one door of the Mueller investigation appears to be closing, another one opens up.  The list of characters involved in campaign intrigue grows longer every week.  How Giuliani can make a demand that Mueller wind up his investigation is absurd.  The loose ends that keep cropping up are evolving into a Gordian Knott.  From my perspective unraveling this mess could go on for years.

Unless the investigator is really, really good.  Which brings me to my personal conspiracy theory.  Mueller is that good and Trump knows it.  It’s the only explanation I can think of that would propel Trump to contradict entrenched policies of his that stoke his base of support.  And the Kushner thing should not be ignored.  Father and son have been scouring the world to find someone to save them from bankruptcy, and Qatar has thrown them a life-line.  The end is near, but so what?  Trump connections have salvaged his son-in-law’s business, and the president might as well personally cash in at every opportunity before the roof caves in.  What’s going to happen?  Kushner’s have a signed agreement with a Qatar investment firm, and basically whatever schemes Trump can come up with to pile up personal wealth will be untouchable.  He might as well keep milking the cash cow  while he still can.

The good news here if you are disgusted with the Trump presidency is it really appears Mueller has something on Trump he will not be able to deny.  Whether it is collusion, corruption, obstruction, conspiracy, treason, or egregious financial misconduct, Trump’s Gordian Knot of malfeasance  is so complicated that at its untying there is bound to be something personally embarrassing.  One thing for sure.  Whatever the outcome of the Muller investigation, Trump and his family will be laughing all the way to the bank.

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Recent Polling Tilting in President’s Favor

Last week’s polling results seem to indicate President Trump’s favorability ratings are on the upswing.   Though his Vehemently Enthusiastic numbers slipped 2 percentage points into the Mildly Disappointed range, it would appear that modest decline is offset by the dramatic 12 point shift from the Despondently Suicidal upward to the slightly less unfavorable Mind-numbingly Apathetic.  It is unclear if these polling deviations were due to recent intensive investigative probing or if there is some kind of psychological adaptation occurring.  Those polled were asked to give a response to several questions related to the president’s governing policy, administration, and past and present conduct.  Topics covered included:

Nepotism and related corruption, repetitive failure of administrative officials to complete federal disclosure forms,  Stormy Daniels, cover-up, hush money, rampant cabinet corruption and abuse of power, bloated personal and family travel expenses, Russian involvement in democratic processes, campaign involvement with Russians, obstruction of justice,  personal involvement with Russians,  the Mueller investigation in general, hypocrisy of Asian production of Trump products,  administrative staff turn-over, administrative staff incompetence, ignoring proper personnel vetting processes, Access Hollywood tape, hiring former lobbyists, the Steele dossier,  Karen McDougal, juvenile name-calling and bullying, Steve Bannon, personal “fixer” Michael Cohen, political/personal conflicts of interest, violations of the emoluments clause, refusal to release  tax records, tax evasion, Carl Icahn, condoning insider trading,  admiration of diabolical despots, professional hiring/firing practices, grasp of basic domestic policy, grasp of basic foreign policy, mocking the physically handicapped,  inconsistent Middle East military strategy,  multiple sexual assault allegations, reading competency level, incomprehensible ability to convince white evangelical Christians to abandon Christian principles, understanding of scientific data and inquiry, acceptance of responsibly, Paul Manafort, money laundering, distorting reality, paranoiac criticism of media and law enforcement, obsessive/compulsive television viewing, creepy physical attraction to daughter Ivanka, incoherent rants and tweets, inability to tell the truth, threats against political opponents, threats against common citizens, demonizing minorities, condoning activity of known hate groups, demolishing public safety safeguards, expansion of religious exemptions to anti-discrimination protections, James Comey, undoing expansion of overtime pay,  endangering worker safety, stifling consumer protection agencies and thwarting financial industry safeguards, hypocritical hiring of undocumented workers, concealing White House visitor log, withholding DC Trump hotel documents, Michael Flynn, narcissistic and self-congradulatory rhetoric, multiple bankruptcies, stiffing creditors and contractors, tenant intimidationhousing discrimination, mafia ties, Trump University fraud, inordinate number of golfing excursions, self-dealings of Trump Foundation, estate tax repeal and other tax breaks for the wealthy, misleading the public about who benefits from tax plan, lying about how tax plan affects personal finances, duping the general public by insisting Mexico will pay for a border wall, caving to hedge funds and private equity firms, massive cuts to student aid, allowing big companies to pollute our air and water and otherwise inflict irreparable damage to the natural world.

When people were asked how they were able to extract themselves from the group considering suicide, poll participant Troy Smuckers suggested folks do what he did and enlist the help of a local mental health facility.   “It’s all pretty overwhelming and I came real close,” he said.  “Fortunately I got in touch with Steve at the Trump Help Line downtown and he said what has been helping a lot of people is simply taking a 20 pound sledge hammer and knocking out a wall of their house.  Guess what?  Steve was right!  Now that huge hole in the side of my house is a lot bigger problem then all this fucking bullshit Trump is shit-staining the country with.  Ya. I feel pretty damn good!”

 

Mr. Smuckers attributes his more positive outlook on life to the purchase of a 20 lb sledge.

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Facebook Shenanigans

As you are now well aware one of the best places around to get fake news is right here on Facebook.  Well guess what?  Apparently my fake news is too fakey or not fakey enough, or something.  My secret sources are telling me they never saw my last two posts.  Something fishy is going on here.  I am reposting both- Trump Organization To Test Lucrative Pornography Market and White House Tragedy    If you enjoy great fake news click on these links. You don’t want to miss out.  I know Facebook is in the process of taking measures to restrict bad fake news, but my fake news is the most honest fake news you can get.   I intend to get to the bottom of this and if I smell discrimination believe you me there will be hell to pay.  You deserve the best  fake news and as always I am committed to delivering it.

                                     

Purveyor of shitty fake news                      Count on me for accurate fake news

Chronological Newspaper Snippets of White House Tragedy

PRESIDENT TRUMP FOUND DEAD- FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED (Wednesday AM edition)

This morning the nation received the shocking news that the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, died sometime last night.  President Trump’s lifeless body was discovered by the White House butler, Farnsworth Stuffington, at 6:42 am.  Mr. Stuffington mentioned in his official statement  that he became alarmed when the president failed to open his bedroom door to receive his customary breakfast of sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy and diet Coke.   “He was just lying there stone cold on his back, with that half-eaten cheeseburger clutched in his hand,” Mr. Stuffington said.

 

WH butler Farnsworth Stuffington

The FBI and local DC police were immediately summoned.  Something of particular interest to law enforcement seems to be that half-eaten cheeseburger.  It was taken into custody and held for toxicology testing. ” I’m not accusing the cheeseburger of anything nefarious,” stated FBI agent Boyd Badgeman.  “But the president just passed his physical with flying colors.  Something’s just not right here.”

White House communications staff reported that lab test results should be available in a few days.   Funeral arrangements are pending until a full investigation and possible autopsy are performed.  President Trump’s wife Melania, who has refused to share living quarters with the president until he agrees to undergo a complicated medical fumigation procedure, has been living in an undisclosed location and could not immediately be reached for comment.

A cheeseburger similor to one at left might have been involved in sudden death of president

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POLICE SWITCHBOARDS SWAMPED WITH SELF-ACCUSATORIAL PHONE CALLS (Wednesday PM edition)

Within minutes of media reports of President Trump’s death, dozens of local McDonalds employees called various law enforcement offices to admit criminal involvement.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said DC Police Chief Thomas Tueguns.  “McDonalds managers, grill cooks, cash register clerks, one after another, from thirteen different McDonalds locations here, and two in Pennsylvania.  The FBI got a call from a McDonalds employee in Michigan.  They all say they slipped something into the president’s cheeseburger. Emergency switchboards were tied up with these crazy calls all day long,” Chief Tueguns added in exasperation.     ************************************************************************

MULTIPLE SUSPECTS INTERROGATED FOR PRESIDENTIAL THREATS (Thursday PM edition)

Less than 36 hours after President Trump passed away, law enforcement has interviewed  nearly all of those who criminally implicated themselves in his death.  So far 42 McDonalds employees have been detained and held for questioning for threats against the president.  The following are a few  excerpts of recorded remarks of some of these people who work in the DC area:

Dale Swift (grill cook- Washington Harbor location):  I hate the stupid son of a bitch.  I mean, you can take just so much.  I did it and I’m glad I did it!  Lock me up for life.  It’s worth it.

Kra’Vontre Williams (french fry monitor/cashier- Massachusetts Ave location):  You think I’m not smart enough to slip some poison in his burger?  Why you think you be waitin’  twenty minutes for your fries?  I don’t just, like, disappear you know.  I’m back helpin’, pullin’ shit from the freezer.  Hell I could poison anyone I wanted to.  Stupid cracker was gonna get us all nuked. Says he’s all safe and shit at McDonalds.  Guess I showed him.

Timothy Buttersweat (night manager- Wisconsin Ave SW location):  I’m night manager now, but it won’t be long before they promote me to daytime, once they find out about this.  It wasn’t me personally, but let me tell you I have a very dedicated team.  I don’t know which one of them did it, but I am extremely proud of whoever it was.  At least twice a week I would meet with everyone that was closing down with me and we would go over the plan.  See, like everywhere we have our share of vermin running around, so there’s rat poison all over the place.  You just quick-step to the back and grab one of those poison trays and sprinkle a good bit on his burger.  That pompous turd drove by here in his limo at least once a week. He couldn’t resist our cheeseburgers and thought he was safe here.  It was just a matter of time.

Michael “Spike” Sullenrascal (grill cook- East 104th St location):  What a stupid fucker!  He thought we couldn’t poison him?  HA!  Shows ya what a moron he was. I got so sick a’ that bastard flying’ off to his snooty golf courses.  Putter-in-chief, that’s what he was.  Gonna bring back all those jobs from China.  Hell, his businesses probably got jobs.  Instead a’ slinging’ burgers I guess I wouldn’t mind a job at one a’ his places. Only thing is, in order to get to work in the morning, you have ta take a long boat ride— to CHINA!  Fuckin’ scumbag.   You bet I poisoned him. I was ready for him.  Kept my little bottle of strychnine handy right in my pocket.  Here.  Bottle’s right here. I dumped all the poison on his burger so it’s empty now.  What more proof do you want?  I know Jerry is trying to take the credit, but you don’t see no strychnine on him do ya?  I did it, you know it, and I’m the one that deserve all the credit.

Jerry Weaseling (french-fry monitor- East 104th St location)- Oh boy did I do it!  Piece of cake too.  We all got a good laugh out of president Chito spoutin’ off how he’s all afraid of cheeseburgers unless they’re made right here. What a dip-shit!  Now I know you guys been talkin’ to Spike, but he’s full of crap.  All talk, believe me.  That aint strychnine he’s carrying around.  Hell it’s probably just powdered sugar.  Check it out if you don’t believe me.  I’m the one has the concentrated jimmy jones juice. No way I’d be walking around with that shit though.  I stashed it in a special place and just waited for ol’ Trumpty Dumpty to show up.  Man, you’d have to be crazy to take  the risk totin’ that nasty stuff in your pocket.  But Spike really aint crazy.  He’s shifty but he aint crazy.  You can’t believe him. I mean it. He’s all talk.  I’m the one.  I did it and It’s me that deserves the credit.

La’Dee’da Rubright (drive-through attendant- East 39 St location):  Everyone said I gotta do it.  Even my gran momma.  If Trump ever comes in your place girl, you just GOT-TO-DO-IT!  That’s what everyone kept sayin’ cause we all know he’s crazier than a sprayed cockroach.  Sure enough, he pulled right up in his big fancy limousine and ordered a couple cheeseburgers.  I had my special salt shaker all ready.  Keep it hidden behind a stack of paper bags.  Arsenic what’s in it.  Heck you can get it right on Amazon.  My boyfriend said it would never work.  He said the president would figure it out, or like he has some food taster hangin’ around or somethin’.  But I guess that shit worked out pretty damn slick didn’t it?  Planted his fat ass right in the ground.

Jose Ramirez-Gonzalez-Ramirez (grill cook- 14 St SW location):  Si, si.  I deed it.  He send the ICE out and they grab my mother.  Trump- he is bad hombre.   He muy loco if he think a burger I make for heem is safe to eat.  Mexican cooks, they say- una hamburguesa de Trump es uno hamburguesa de muerte.  We are, like, brothers, compenaros.  And we are many.

Adding to the bazaar circumstances that have developed is the fact that law enforcement is not even considering an investigation of any McDonalds business since the cheeseburger was prepared in the White House kitchen.  “The only plausible suspects would be White House staff,” Police Chief Tueguns stated. However, any threat to the President of the United States is subject to Secret Service investigation, so anyone involved in the mass admission will be interviewed and possibly prosecuted.

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VERDICT IS IN- CHEEZEBURGER NOT GUILTY! (Friday PM edition)

Toxicology tests have confirmed the cheeseburger implicated in President Trump’s death was a perfectly fine, upstanding cheeseburger as far as cheeseburgers go, and not tainted in any way.  Chief toxicologist Barry Noseworthy stated,  “Other than the fact that the cheeseburger in question was a typical saturated fat catastrophe and a bit overdone, there was nothing about it that was questionable.  As tragic and untimely as the president’s passing was, I am sure he found the portion of the cheeseburger that he managed to consume before he expired to be very satisfying.”

As the nation mourns,  esteemed televangelist Reverend Jerry Pharisaic summed up the president’s end of life most eloquently when he said, “Like all of us, this great man had his struggles with life.  He loved cheeseburgers, yet he feared them.  But through constant prayer the Lord gave him the strength to deal with this conflict and showed him the way.  Initially the president followed that path to McDonalds. But with God’s help and the president’s own valorous courage, he was able to finally face his demon. We should all take comfort in the fact that the cheeseburger meant him no harm, and that President Trump had to have really enjoyed that final cheeseburger.”

In a related matter, the district’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Seymour Graves,  has issued the official pathology report.  Listed as the president’s cause of death is a massive heart attack precipitated by a perilously high cholesterol diet and sedentary life style.

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Ministers, Secretaries and Wishful Thinking

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but  British Prime Minister Theresa May has created a new governmental position that is called  the “Minister of Loneliness.”  No lie.  And according to recent polling there, the appointment is not without warrant.  I guess there are a lot of lonely people in Britain.  Older people, disabled people, citizens who are unable to deal with Brexit, people still trying to get over losing the Second Boer War- they’re all  reported to be especially vulnerable and having a very difficult time with their upper lips and I suppose whatever else they like to keep stiff over there.  You certainly have to hope the new appointee can get to the bottom of it all.

Newly Appointed Minister of Loneliness

I do wonder about the official title though.  Shouldn’t it be the Minister of Happiness?   If you work for the government, your title should be what you are supposed to be doing, what you should be good at to help citizens out, not the opposite.  I mean they call their justice department the Ministry of Justice.  It’s not the opposite.  It’s not the Ministry of Injustice.   The Ministry of Defense does defense stuff, not offense stuff. Great Britain is a democracy for Pete’s sake. That minister is not out there blowing shit up just for the heck of it.  You certainly don’t want your Lord of the Treasury tossing money out of a window of the Parliament building or purchasing non existent bridges.  And so you don’t want people in this new department knocking on doors to make sure people stay lonely.  You should be doing your best to make people happy.  Minister of Happiness.  That’s really what the job is all about.  I think  Prime Minister May should pull her head out of her ass.

Criticism asside, I do like where Theresa May is trying to go with this though.  We could probably stand a Secretary of Happiness over here. So many  people I know are just plain glum these days.  It’s a trend that’s difficult to ignore.  What I think would be even better in the way of a new governmental position in the U.S. though is a Secretary of Truth.  Think about it.  The reason people are so despondent is we’re sick and tired of all the bull shit.  It just wears you out.  Makes you unhappy.  And pissed off.  A Secretary of Truth could solve a lot of problems.  It would take care of loneliness, anger, confusion, so many things. I am sure the entire country would be grateful.

LEFT: perfect candidate for Secretary of Truth

While we’re at it, how about a Director of Congressional Syncophants and a Supervisor of Obstructionists to investigations of Foreign Attacks.   If those guys do their jobs right we could collect all the ass kissers and the treasonous, and treat them to a nice meal- on one of those big boats you see that’s been mothballed and is really more of a floating restaurant.  Then as this governmental gathering is distracted by an evening of dining and drinking, we can tow this restaurant-ship far out to sea.  And then send a navy destroyer out there to blow it up.  And any aircraft carrier in the vicinity could send out a squadron of F-18’s to strafe and bomb whatever is left.  Might as well get a nuclear submarine involved and have it torpedo anything resembling a large remnant of the vessel as it sinks.  Just to make sure. That would be just the ticket to get the county headed in the right direction.  It would make me happy too.

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Seriously, what keeps getting lost in all the tweeting and furtive activity is the fact that our country has been attacked!  Furthermore, after an entire year in office our president has shown no interest in performing his primary, sacred duty to protect the people and our democracy from this type of foreign intrusion. And for reasons I do not understand, instead of responsibly enacting  their constitutional duty to check executive dereliction and abuse of power, several members of congress have shown nothing but contempt for citizenry by obstructing practically any type of investigation into this destructive foreign activity.  We need to put a stop to all this nonsense.  Call your members of congress and complain, and most importantly, store up your anger and utilize it in November.

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Women’s March

I attended my first Women’s March the other day.  I am happy to report these gals seem to know what they’re doing.  Something I just thought of.  If you’re interested in that sort of thing I would have to think that’s just the place to meet women.  But frankly I wasn’t so much interested in the ladies as I was in their clever signs.

I met up with some regular friends of mine who like me probably didn’t have much going on that day.  I have some irregular friends too, but they’re not inclined  push through something that smacks of commitment.  If you happen to know anything about our particular group that gathered for the march, I think you would conclude we are fairly close knit, in that we tend to think a lot alike on many issues.  Women’s rights is certainly one we all feel is important to support. And so there we were,  I think the idea being there is strength in numbers.  By that I don’t mean our numbers were that impactful in the way of improving the overall numbers of the march.  The strength of having numbers within our little group was that if one of us should happen to stumble there might be enough of our numbers to rescue the unfortunate before being trampled to death.

I would guess our march was typical of any other organized march.  First, all of the marchers converged to a gathering point to listen  to some inspirational rhetoric supplied by a few speakers.  A middle-aged woman of Puerto Rican decent was the first to address us.  I thought she hit the mark with pertinent points- equal pay, get out the vote, love thy neighbor, the usual stuff I think you hear at a women’s march. Her speech seemed a little on the long side, but there was no shortage of applause throughout it’s entirety and overall I thought she graded out pretty well- at least the half of her speech that was in English.  Unfortunaelty there was a second half, which as far as I could tell was a complete reproduction of the first half, only in Spanish.

Applause for the second half was, to put it mildly, a little sparse. I felt sorry for the speaker after a point.  I wanted to applaud.  I am sure my friends also wanted to applaud.  But about all we could accomplish were confused looks at one another, which if they could somehow be interpreted in Spanish said, “What in the hell is going on here.” I have to admit the march started to take a bit of a turn for me.  But a lot of that had to do with my feet.  They were really not cooperating.  I know that was my bad.  The shoes I had selected to wear during the march were not constructed to march over any kind of surface not covered in carpet with extra thick padding.  And then there was the annoying drone hovering directly above us. I was reasonably sure what I saw was an attached camera, but what if it was a canister of toxic nerve gas?  It would be so Trumpian to take the easy way and eliminate  8000 opposition votes instantaneously rather than instituting time honored but tedious traditions of gerrymandering and redistricting.

As  I said I was there for the signs, and honorable mention went to the sign that stated “I’ve seen better cabinets at Ikea.”  I guess you would  have to say that sign scored first place as well, in that it was the only sign any of the speakers mentioned, period.  You could see the look of disappointment on the faces of a number of sign carriers when it became apparent their signs were not about to be recognized.  To be honest with you the Ikea entry didn’t impress me.  The statement was clever enough, but you should have seen the drawing that accompanied it.  I believe what its creator was attempting to convey was the picture of a kitchen cabinet, but all it was was a frantic scribbling in brown magic marker with no involvement of discernible straight lines anywhere and two yellow circles that I guess were supposed to be knobs of some kind.  What it presented in my mind was a reasonable rendering of the face of Sasquatch.

For me, the winner of my imaginary sign contest was the one that stated “I can do anything you can do and do it bleeding.”  Not only did that thing make a bold gender-based statement that captured the essence of the march, but the solid red background was almost intimidating.  Frankly it scared the hell out of me.

I have to tell you a sense of relief overwhelmed me  when we finally got the word it was time to actually start marching, and I am pretty sure my peers in my group of marching friends had the same sentiment.   If I remember right, nearly every one of us were propped up with joints of an artificial nature, or have orthopedic surgery scheduled on the near horizon. If there is one thing I took away from the march, it’s there is no sitting in marching.

Off we went, ever careful not to step on each others heals and doing our best to appear not to be hobbled in any way.  As we marched along I become fixated on a sign carried by a marcher ahead of me.  There were lots of signs, and this particular one would disappear from time to time behind another.  The words on this sign that held my attention were, “Fuck as feminists.”  It was totally confusing to me.  Equally mysterious was the drawing underneath, which I think most would say amounted to a giant green apostrophe.  I just couldn’t help wondering what that sign was all about.  To me it would have made some sense if the word “for” was subbed in for the word “as”.  I mean then you might possibly be promoting some kind of cause.  I’m sure there are people out there who could get behind that sort of thing.  “As” just didn’t cut it for me.  It threw the whole thing off.

We made a left turn onto a street of paving brick, and if you know anything about that type of surface you know you have to pay attention to where you are walking.  There are dips and elevations that can be treacherous.  Between that and avoiding other people’s feet I decided it was time to bail.  We came up on the cross street my car was parked on and with my first open opportunity I weaved through the crowd and worked my way to safety.

With the sweet comfort of my vehicle in view I finally started to relax.  Overall I was impressed with the turnout, felt the march achieved its intent, and happy I participated.  I have to admit I wasn’t so happy with the parking ticket mocking me from underneath the windshield wiper of my car.  It was a reminder from the traffic department that two hours is not enough time to commit to a Women’s March.  I will remember that next time, and be sure to tell whoever I designate as my proxy to keep that in mind as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Christmas Story

I took my Christmas tree out to the curb a few days ago.  The Boy Scouts picked it up- a service project of theirs I suppose.  When I called the fellow in charge of the operation a few days ago to let him know I had a tree I would be glad to get rid of, he’s the one that told me to just leave it curb-side.  But I thought I should offer up a donation, so I told the guy to have one of his boys  knock and I would make a contribution.  I mean that’s only fair and the right thing to do.  I was a boy scout and know some shit about their organization.  Sure some of what goes on is a lot of fun, but sometimes scoring one of those damn merit badges was punishingly difficult.  I remember one time I shoveled snow off people’s sidewalks all morning in ten degree weather, and you think any of those cheap bastards gave me so much as a cup of hot chocolate?  Hell no.

The day before the scouts dropped by I set a five dollar bill out to remind myself they were coming.  When my wife got all nosey and asked what the money was for, she called me a tight ass- said I should fork over a Hamilton.  I guess she thinks money grows on trees.

I’m here to tell you it’s quite the opposite.  That tree cost me a fortune.  Here’s the thing.    I won’t allow any kind of artificial Christmas tree in my house.  It’s got to be the real thing, one  like my dad always insisted on- a Douglas fir.  None of those fancy Balsams or Fraziers.  And forget Scotch pines.  They’re just overwhelming.  Douglas firs.  They always smell the best- like a mountain forest.

I usually get my Douglas fir down at my favorite hardware store.  I have a rule.  I will not pay more than $40.00 for my tree.  OK over the years I have to admit that rule has sort of been measured on a slide-ruler.  Back in the 90’s the price cap was $25.00.  It’s the 21st century.  You have to adapt.  Anyway, for some reason I let my wife talk me into supporting the nursery store across the street from my favorite hardware store. The owner of that place is a swell guy and he is always donating plants and ferns and shit to local school causes.  Well I’m normally all for that and actually I did find an acceptable tree there that was only five dollars more than the Douglas firs selling at the hardware store. The price was $39.  So I bought it. I stuck it in our tree stand, and after my wife applied all her decorating skills it looked pretty damn good.    Me with my tree in happier days  

About three days later we started to notice a peculiar odor that seemed to be coming from the tree and believe me there was nothing about it that hinted of a mountain forest.  After some google inquiries we were able to identify it.  Cat pee.  Google it yourself if you don’t believe me.  According to my web search when a conifer is close to completely expiring, emitting that smell can be a common occurrence.  I beg to differ.  I have a lifetime of experience with Douglas firs and this was a totally uncommon occurrence.  The smell got worse as the days went by, and was so offensive I decided if my wife wanted to disassemble the thing and decorate a replacement, I would go get one.  She was even more dismayed than I was because holiday guests were on their way and she felt it would be inhospitable to welcome them into a home that smelled like a giant litter-box.  So off I went, four days before Christmas, in search of a six to seven foot Douglas fir.  I had to drive 15 miles to find one, and was happy I did, but not particularly overjoyed when I had to pay $55 for the damn thing.

But we had our tree, my wife did her thing with the decorations, and all was well- until Christmas day.  The new tree started to smell just like the previous one.  Your twisted mind might think there is something humorous about that, but you can come and kiss my ass.  Something is wrong out there so I think you better start paying attention.  It’s about climate change, or even maybe the End Times thing is starting up.  I really don’t know what that’s all about but I can tell you this shit isn’t normal so you just better wake up.

When our holiday company woke up the next day, they became very aware of the tree odor too, and were relieved they had a plane to catch.  Though it is traditional to leave our tree up and decorated till New Years Eve, it was out the door within an hour of their departure.

A boy scout knocked as instructed, and I went to greet him with my five dollar bill in hand.  That’s when I started having flashbacks of my boy scout experiences with older tight-wads and so I dug into my wallet for a ten, or another five, but only had a one and a twenty.  So the scouts got a $6 donation.  If you think the nice thing to do was part with the twenty bucks, you have your head up your ass.  Talk to me later.  If the scouts show up in ten degree weather and there is a foot of snow in my driveway, I might work something out with them.  I’ll even throw in a cup of hot chocolate.