trump

Too Much

I keep trying to decide what to write about, but there’s just too much going on right now to settle on a topic.

Do I write an angry post about Trump? His attack on the first amendment and freedom of press? His threats to pull FEMA out of Puerto Rico? The fact that he is, in fact, a moron? I feel like I could post every day about him and his poor decisions.

Do I write about Harvey Weinstein and the years of people covering up his crimes? Do I write about the fact that too many powerful men(and plenty of men with little power) think this is OK behavior? Do I write about how we elected one of these men president? Do I talk about how sad it is that some men can’t seem to not grope or otherwise assault women and that this is a sign that we need to do a much better job in raising our sons?

Do I write happy news that the Nats once again imploded in the playoffs and will be sitting at home the rest of the postseason? Have I mentioned how much I despise that team?

Or do I go with the option of boring you about my personal stuff? If I do this, do I try to find some funny or do I go with the deep, introspective type of post?

Maybe I can just write a post with a bunch of questions about what I should write about. No, that would be stupid.

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Tater’s Weekly Wrap Up 8/24/17

Eclipse2017 – This was the week of the eclipse.  I had the option of going to the area of totality with a free place to stay. I didn’t do it. That was a mistake. There was no reason besides laziness and that is a poor excuse to not do something like that.  I was fortunate that I had decided a couple of months ago to take the day off in case I decided to drive to Kentucky and to just enjoy the eclipse away from work. Working at a place that had eclipse glasses for the public threatened to ruin the experience for all of us. I see posts on Facebook where people say they wish people would prepare for the second coming of Christ the way they prepared for the eclipse. If they did that a good portion of them would be at their local library demanding to know if he was there. Regardless, it was nice to sit on my porch and watch the eclipse. The weather worked out and we had plenty of clear skies.

America’s Got Talent – My daughter and I still like to watch the show. We enjoy the audition phase much more than the live shows, but we still watch and vote for the acts we like. It is very frustrating to watch these days for a couple of reasons. I hate that once we get to the live shows and the public starts to vote the majority of the acts going through are singers. There are so many singing shows around. It would be nice to see people with different talents going through. We enjoy the magicians and a good stand up comic and get bored when the entire shows is people singing. The other frustration is that the judges can’t really give a contestant constructive criticism, especially if they are a kid. Last night Mel B tried with a kid singer and the crowd starts booing her and the other judges and the host jump in to stop her and keep talking about how she’s only 9 years old. If she’s too young to hear constructive criticism she’s too young to be on a talent show with such a big prize. I miss the days when they had a mean judge.

Louise Linton – The Treasury Secretary’s wife posted a photo of herself getting off a US government-owned plane. She was dressed in really expensive clothes and tagged the designers in the post. Some random woman commented “glad we could pay for your little vacation #deplorable” which led to Linton going off on a rant about how much more she has contributed to the country via taxes and service.  It seems everyone is against Linton on this one, but I have a different take: 1. It likely cost no more for her to be on the plane than it would have if it was just her husband. I have no issue with her traveling with him. I travel with my wife when she goes to conferences. If she were flying on a government plane and I was offered a seat, I would not say no. 2. She’s rich. She will wear nice clothes. Everyone posts stuff online that makes them look good. 3. She’s right in her response in saying that maybe responding with positive message would be better, but I disagree that the positive would get more traction. People who post negative comments in situations like this get more publicity and I’m sure that’s what the commenter wanted. 4. I agree that the wife of a government official should think before responding to the public. It’s probably a good thing that she set her account to private now.

ESPN – ESPN has made the decision to move announcer Robert Lee from the UVA game to another game because his name is too similar to Robert E Lee. I don’t know what they think is going to happen. Do they really think people are too stupid to know that he has no connection to the statue? Especially since he isn’t white? Would anyone even notice? Half the time I don’t even know the names of the people announcing the games. When they put them on screen when they show them during breaks I will likely forget them when play starts(unless they are famous). This was a non-issue that ESPN decided to make an issue and all they’ve done is make themselves look stupid.

Weekly Trump Check – Still a horrible human being? Check. Still a bad president? Check. Still lying? Check. Still attacking the media? Check. Still an embarrassment to the country? Check.

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The Newer Colossus

Given recent events, I’ve decided the poem at the Statue of Liberty needed an update

 

 

Like the yuge orange guy of Apprentice fame,
With tiny hands grabbing  from bleep  to bleep;
Here at our (giant wall coming soon) shall stand
A vetting process, whose clipboard
Is the imprisoned red tape , and his name
The Donald. From his tiny-hand
Glows you’re not  welcome; his crazy eyes command
The (giant wall coming soon) that twin cities frame.

“Keep, off our land , you rapey Mexicans ” cries he
With pursed lips. “Give me your English speaking, your rich,
Your entrepreneurs  yearning to make more money,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Keep these, the homeless, the brown people away from me,
I’ll build my wall with a  golden door!”

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Yet Another Political Post

There are a lot of troubling news items coming out of DC recently. So many that a lot get lost in the shuffle.Someone created a website to help people keep track of the happenings.

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/

I know some will be offended by the profanity in the title, but it isn’t any more obscene than some of the news listed. So, with all of this going on I decided to write about the three recent things I have found most troubling lately.

  1. Trump is more concerned with the fact that there were leaks than the fact that the leaks revealed his National Security Adviser had lied about his phone call with Russia. Flynn lied to the FBI. Flynn lied to the Vice President. Trump knew this and only fired him when it was made public. He’s not angry that Flynn had inappropriate talks with Russia. He’s not angry that he lied to the FBI(a crime) and the Vice President. He’s angry that the press reported it. That’s like a cheating husband saying his adultery is not the problem and that the real problem is that the wife looked at his phone and found out he was cheating.
  2. Trump adviser Stephen Miller made the rounds on the TV talk shows and his performance was praised by Trump. During these appearances he said the following “the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.” This was in response to the judiciary ruling the travel ban illegal. Apparently the Trump administration believes his power should be absolute and the system of checks and balances in place should not be recognized. This sounds like a dictatorship, not the United States. The president(regardless of party) should be questioned by Congress, the judiciary, the public and the press. Being elected president does not give you absolute power to do whatever you want without question.
  3.  Representative Lamar Smith,  the Chairman for the House Committee on Science said in a speech on the House floor that it is “Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” This, along with Trump’s constant use of the term “fake news”, is an attempt to get the public to disregard any negative news regarding the administration. If the public ignores the news and only listens to the glowing reports from the president himself then he can do whatever he wants with no repercussions. The cowardly GOP congress will do nothing to stop him so if they can get us to disregard the press and the judiciary they have absolute power. This is scary.

Do your part. Stay informed. Support the press. Subscribe to newspapers. Question what you hear from any source and get multiple opinions. Speak up. We the people are what makes America great.

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Tater’s Sick Day Ramblings on the Debate, Sick Days and Blogging

Today is one of those rare days when I actually feel bad enough to stay home from work. This only happens once or twice a year. It’s hard for me to call in sick. There’s always a part of me that thinks I should just suck it up and go to work. I feel guilty about someone working extra desk shifts because I’m not there. I think about the stuff I was supposed to do and feel guilty about not doing it. I know it’s better for me and my coworkers for me to stay home, but I still feel like a slacker. Of course, being at home isn’t easier. I feel like I should do something productive instead of resting like I should. It will be hard for me to rest instead of cleaning bathrooms or doing laundry. I don’t know why I feel lazy when I  know I need the rest. I blame the Obama administration. Thanks, Obama.

I watched the debate last night. Maybe that’s what made me sick. I feel like there was a clear winner, but it seems the thought on that depends on who you supported going in. Trump people say Trump won(he didn’t). Clinton people say Clinton won(she did). I don’t think the debate changed anyone’s mind. I’m not sure the undecided voters will be swayed by the debate. If you are undecided at this point there is probably one candidate for which you refuse to vote. If you are an undecided Republican I assume you can’t stomach voting for Clinton, but can’t decide if you can bring yourself to vote for Trump. You will either not vote, vote Johnson or vote Trump. If you are an undecided Democrat I assume you can’t stomach voting for Trump, but can’t decide if you can bring yourself to vote for Clinton. You will either not vote, vote Stein, write in Bernie or vote Clinton. I’m note sure the debate changed any of that.

I’ve been considering the possibility of paying to upgrade my blog. I would like to make it look better and have the option of making money off of it if I can grow my readership. I told my wife this and her response was “You have a blog?”I just looked and confirmed O started this blog in 2008. I did just start writing more regularly recently, but 8 years and you never noticed? Anyway, I made the mistake of reading articles about the pros and cons of a wordpress.com premium account and just confused myself. I really just want to write my blog, make it look professional and have the possibility of monetizing it. I think the wordpress.com one is good for that, but articles point you toward wordpress.org, but that seems much more involved than what I want. Maybe I should just ramble free for a while longer.

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Tater’s Takes on Odds and Ends

Flying While Arab –A student was recently removed from a Southwest flight after another passenger heard him speaking Arabic. Just another instance of judging others because they aren’t like us. Best case scenario is that this random other passenger speaks Arabic and actually heard him say something threatening. Most likely scenario is that an Islamaphobe heard Arabic and got scared. I would rather fly with the student than with someone who panics because they heard another language. Grow up people.

Cry Baby Trump:  Anyone who knows anything about politics or had paid any attention to the  presidential race this year has known for months that a candidate needs a specific number of delegates or there could be a brokered convention. Anyone who knows politics knows this could lead to the delegates choosing anyone as the nominee even if they never actually ran for the nomination. Now that it appears that Trump may not get the delegate he needs he is crying that the system isn’t fair and that they are stealing the nomination from him. This is the way the system works. Maybe it isn’t the best system, but it is the way it is and if you paid attention you knew this going in. Crying about it now is immature and ridiculous. Grow up.

Do do, don’t don’t:  I see a lot of posts from religious people who are full of don’ts. Don’t drink, don’t use profanity, don’t let your kids read books with s-e-x in them, don’t this, don’t that. I can recall going to library conference sessions where they talk about signage and they warn against posting a lot of “don’t” lists because you want people to feel welcome. They aren’t saying get rid of the rules, they are just saying maybe don’t sound so negative and don’t lead with the don’ts. I would say this could also be said for the church Focus on the do’s and not the don’ts. When asked about commandments(which, btw, don’t mention any of the above) he didn’t go to a list of don’ts. He went to a short list of do’s. Do love God with all your heart. Do love people. Short and simple and if you do these it will generally lead to not doing the don’ts from the commandments given in the Old Testament. We tend to focus on the don’ts and not so much on the do’s. I think we would all be better off focusing on the do’s. Love sounds like a good way to go.

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Tater’s Take on Some News of the Week

  1. Starbucks is Less Rewarding If You Are Cheap: People are furious that Starbucks is changing the rewards program. This is a program they don’t have to offer, giving you rewards you don’t deserve and you are angry? If you buy what I buy, it actually works out about the same as before. If you buy food, you might come out ahead. It only goes bad for you if you are only buying a regular cup of coffee. If you are only buying a regular cup of coffee, you are already losing because you are paying too much for over-roasted coffee. Go to 7-11. They have a drink reward system that would work for you.
  2. Librarian of Congress: President Obama has nominated Dr Carla Hayden of Enoch Pratt to be the next Librarian of Congress. It’s great that he has selected an actual librarian for the job. I’ve never met Dr. Hayden, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about her. I think she is a great choice. Unfortunately, when I see Dr. Hayden I only think of her appearances on the mess of a Saturday morning news show on WBAL where she does book recommendations. She’s not horrible, but I’ve often thought that there are probably other area librarians who would be much better than her. Also, she rarely recommends a book I would want to read. Maybe I can take her slot when she moves on.
  3. The Election: Jeb! is out.Jeb! and Cooper Manning need to start a support group for brothers of more successful people. Oompa Loompa American Donald Trump is still winning meaning America is closer to losing. Clinton says she has never lied, proving she can’t help lying even when talking about lying. Evil Eddie Munster seems to be fading behind Robot Rubio, so there is a positive to report.
  4. Justice Waffling: McConnell and the Republicans were fine with Reagan nominating Kennedy late in his term, but now think it’s a bad thing. Biden used to think nominating someone in an election year was bad but now it’s fine. Is anyone surprised that politicians waffle on the issues? Why do we keep electing people like McConnell? We reap what we sow. Also, mmm waffles.
  5. The Uber Killer:  A man went on a killing spree in Michigan recently. All of the news reports lead with the fact that he was an Uber driver, like that had anything to do with the killings. Would you lead with his job if he was a librarian or a banker? I think the news is in the pocket of Big Taxi.

I thought doing the writing challenge would make me write more. This is my first post in six days. I need to jot things down as I watch the news. It might make these posts a little better and I might write more. I’m a bad blogger.

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