tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74456319915980598562024-02-06T19:27:29.785-08:00Wildeman's WordsDavid Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.comBlogger316125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-21151627187080865752021-01-09T14:36:00.003-08:002021-01-09T14:36:26.045-08:00The Capital Riot (Understanding why and how things happened)<p> I've been seeing a lot of crazy posts about the big DC riot where a horde of Trump cultists decided to storm the capital building. A lot of theories and statements are flying back and forth. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityh4EYcP3VDWCDNvLQ1snbohY13YxIHjVIvftC8aMnfTN6tmaxAYQKnpOAFIjzBbtL3mMfUONkp7qS-gg19HEkuXGTOoA-yomRtAK3gGGt3npud9zyTtamHnjxWg-jwYO2sJ0k1dlewI/s400/_116379599_gettyimages-1230458076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityh4EYcP3VDWCDNvLQ1snbohY13YxIHjVIvftC8aMnfTN6tmaxAYQKnpOAFIjzBbtL3mMfUONkp7qS-gg19HEkuXGTOoA-yomRtAK3gGGt3npud9zyTtamHnjxWg-jwYO2sJ0k1dlewI/s320/_116379599_gettyimages-1230458076.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getty Images</td></tr></tbody></table><br />First of all, let's lay one of them to rest right from the start. This was not Antifa people in disguise. Don't even try that with me. It's bullshit. There are now enough people positively identified to throw that crap right out the window. And crying "fake news" won't help anything either or make Trumpsters regain face (like they had any in the first place). So let's just toss all that in the trash where it belongs and get onto the real deal.</p><p>Comparisons are being made to BLM protests/riots. </p><p>People are also criticizing the authorities for not arresting everyone, not holding everyone, or letting them out or in or whatever. </p><p>First let's take a look at how BLM is being compared to and used. I says 'used' because some people think deflecting to things that happened in the protests and riots of BLM actually justify the attack on the capital. But it doesn't. It just doesn't. Nothing in any of these events justify violence and destruction. Let's set that straight right now. You can point out similarities all day long and you still won't have a valid point. You also cannot just ignore all the things that make those events different. </p><p>First of all there are several points ignored about the BLM events. Let me list a few for you..</p><p>- Google "bricks on protest routes" and see all the reports of mystery pallets of bricks pre-delivered to protests routes in more than one state to instigate violence (what else could they have been for). </p><p>- The claim that people weren't being arrested in the BLM events is completely false. Not only that, several arrests turned out to be Trump supporters causing damage to blame on BLM. </p><p>-The majority of protestors were peaceful and even then were met with near military force. That is the one major difference worth taking into consideration; not to justify the BLM events, but recognize the racial difference for what it is beyond this.</p><p>-In none of the BLM events were government buildings stormed and internally ransacked. I will also point out that it wasn't BLM who decided to strap on rifles and take up state capital building to "protest covid shut downs" (because for some reason that requires guns). </p><p>-BLM protestors did not storm city parks to beat up every non-black person they could find like the Proud Boys did on more than one occasion. </p><p>-Finally, BLM protests by size and numbers make Trumpsters look like a corner street gang in a small town. BLM protests numbered participants in the hundred thousands in 2000 American cities and 60 other countries. That means that law enforcement could no more hope to "stop" the protests in any of those cities than they could hold back the mob at the capital. </p><p>And dead last but arguably more important, BLM had more reason to protest. Real reasons to protest. Trumpsters keep claiming they've lost their rights but have no evidence to compare. Either they refuse to acknowledge they are in the same boat as the rest of us (covid) or can't handle that they lost the election no matter how many investigations fail to find any wrong doing. Meanwhile there is 400 years of historical evidence that black people have been the most trod up on people in our country over any other. The only people who had it worse were the Jews from the Holocaust and that didn't last 400 years with new ways to destroy them at every turn and didn't happen in America. I may not have all of Jewish history on the button here, so give me a break. I'm not diminishing their pain. It's an example.</p><p>Now let's take a realistic look at the DC riot. First, yes, what they planned to do they have been forecasting for weeks. We all know this. I think, for some reason, they weren't taken seriously. Yeah, that's still a screw up because we know they are willing to strap on rifles and take up state capital space, so why not DC? We know factions of Trump supporters are willing to beat up black and gay people in city parks. We know they are capable of being violent. That being said, the decision to not beef up response was not made by the ground security forces already on duty. Please realize that is well above their pay grade. Those poor saps, for whatever excuse you'd like to enter were left to face down what turned out to be 3000 plus people forcing their way in a human tidal wave into a single building. But there is more to it than that.</p><p>What did they really know about this gathering? They knew there would be a gathering and likely didn't think anyone would actually take it further than that, because no one has before. Think about that for a second. If all they did was gather and wave their flags (as was likely assumed) nothing would have happened. Yes, I said they took up state capitals, but even then with their display of guns, they didn't do anything like this time. This was very different from all the other Trumpist gatherings, violence recognized. So this gathering started out like all the others, and then shifted gears. </p><p>That left the base security force so outnumbered that there was literally nothing else they could do. Yeah, they shot someone and beat up a few others, but they had no chance of stopping this event. Zero. This mob abandoned all sanity and reason except for one purpose, destruction. They could no more hope to keep everyone there to arrest them on the same point. One officer might have two pairs of cuffs on him and while some were arrested on the spot, the safest thing to do was exactly what they did. Let them leave. As it turned out, so many posted to their social media, waved at security cameras, posed for additional pictures, that arrests are slowly snowballing. And to once again compare that to BLM, don't even try. Over 300 arrests were made at the height of the BLM protests and they were all over the country, this is just one location. So lets stay realistic in our comparisons.</p><p>So far, almost 70 arrests have been made and nearly as many people have lost their jobs over the DC event. So I would say that the wheels of justice are definitely moving and would even go so far as to say that if you took the arrests in BLM to their separate locations, you would see comparable numbers per incident. So would the result have been different if it were BLM?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1WlrkkgEXmzt1L6eD65IdPIW-rZSeIU1uoBKQVWcNxSqwg1PFmo3QWVUaHyrXgrmPZwcMy3oxJrzd2aTXOO7wkmbIatNtVK_TtMIqhzMt5A2tnTBv4gr-viS9Z0O3aPzc9MPTvPUISs/s840/crowd-of-protesters-blmprotest-060220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1WlrkkgEXmzt1L6eD65IdPIW-rZSeIU1uoBKQVWcNxSqwg1PFmo3QWVUaHyrXgrmPZwcMy3oxJrzd2aTXOO7wkmbIatNtVK_TtMIqhzMt5A2tnTBv4gr-viS9Z0O3aPzc9MPTvPUISs/s320/crowd-of-protesters-blmprotest-060220.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Well, BLM did protest at the capital building. But they they DID NOT try to overtake the building and were not all shot dead. Was there more security? Maybe, but I submit that, had they wanted to do what the MAGA crowd did, they could have with just as destructive results. <p></p><p>So, in closing I make a suggestion. Let's stop comparing in order to villainize and deflect and work on stopping ALL the violence? How about that? </p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-23486864041628265092020-12-06T15:43:00.004-08:002020-12-06T15:43:58.529-08:00Response to a new Facebook letter claiming Republicans are justified and victims.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3G6HXQbDekhRxK5wrGqiEjfTmB1RVVjZX9zYJfY6rALh6U7gGJ2PK4IC4bhmPZGWgDinhiZ1wlIb3zWwr7PGq1gvmm5F2zm8vq2NiSngI8DixuUqY7LKQ3IW0Us6RQCikoueldZ2MyY/s960/real+trump+sups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="939" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3G6HXQbDekhRxK5wrGqiEjfTmB1RVVjZX9zYJfY6rALh6U7gGJ2PK4IC4bhmPZGWgDinhiZ1wlIb3zWwr7PGq1gvmm5F2zm8vq2NiSngI8DixuUqY7LKQ3IW0Us6RQCikoueldZ2MyY/s320/real+trump+sups.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There is a new list of ‘we are victims’ woes being circulated
as Republicans vs Democrats and it’s time to debunk it. Too easy. Mind you the “victim
mentality” is a tactic of retaliation and nothing else. For everything in this list,
I offer a counterpoint as the Republican tries to sound like they are all saints
who do no wrong. I would further mention that any side doing this is why we are
still divided. I will put my responses in parenthesis.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"I tolerated 44 (Obama) for 8 years and kept quiet.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Uh that’s wrong. I distinctly remember lots of horrible
attacks against their family not only for being black but because Michelle
dared to let people see her ARMS. Look that up. And those kind of jabs went on
all 8 years with “thanks Obama” to everyone Republicans didn’t like. Positively
hate fueled.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here is my issue with the whole, “let us all be a United
States again” that we heard from Joe Biden.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the last 4+ years, the Democrats have gone scorched
earth. You have salted the fields and now you want to grow crops.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(It takes two to make a battlefield, people. Stop pretending
you did no damage yourself. It isn’t true)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem is 72+ million of us have memories longer than a
hamster.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(You forgot the word “selective” because this entire lists
proves you only remember what supports your ideals, your own behavior gets a free
pass.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the 4 years of attacks and impeachments<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember 4 years of increase in hate crimes made in
Trumps name (spray painted even), alternative facts, morbid denial of facts, “fuck
your feelings” tshirts, “you can grab me by the pussy” tshirts, violations of
the first amendment passed of as attacks on fake news with no evidence, and incoherent
babbling on twitter, I could go on and fill ten pages here)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember “not our president” and the “Resistance…”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember you being equally horrible winners as you
accused us of being losers, see my prior point)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember Maxie Walters telling followers to harass us in
restaurants.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember, “beat that guy up, I’ll pay your court fees”)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the Presidents spokesperson being kicked out a
restaurant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember that person publicly calling an entire professional
occupation stupid idiots on national television as part of the demonizing of
the media violating the first amendment)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember hundreds of Trump supporters physically
attacked.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember similar scales of black and gay people physically
attacked)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember Trump supporters getting Doxed, and fired from
jobs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Trump supporters have done the exact same thing in their “get
all the liberals” campaigns)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember riots, and looting<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Those were not targeted at Trump. They were over racism. We
remember legal protests sabotaged by Trump supporters who were arrested in the
process and people armed with rifles taking up our capital buildings.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember “a comedian” holding up the President’s severed
head<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember not being happy with that any more than you. I
sure wasn’t)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember a play in Central park paid with public funding,
showing the killing of President Trump<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(We remember effigies of Obama burned in the streets)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember Nancy Pelosi tearing up the State of the Union
Address.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
(<b>That was particularly childish and many of us agreed with that.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the total in the tank move on the mainstream
media</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><b>
(Uh, that was not Democrats. Democrats didn’t coin the term “fake news” that
was all you and all Trump all the way)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the non-stop and live fact checking on our
President and his supporters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Live fact checking has always existed.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember non-stop in your face lies and open cover-ups
from the media.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Cover ups of what? The only party with anything to cover up
was the party in power. And that’s where the term “alternative facts” came from,
remember?)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the President and his staff being spied on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Obama was spied on too. Name a president that wasn’t)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember every so-called comedy show turn into nothing
but Trump hate fest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Every president has been targeted by satire. Every single
one. You are not special in this regard.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember 95% negative coverage in the news.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Good luck proving that. That’s a wild number and no where
near accurate or factual.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember the state governors asking and getting
everything they ask for and then blaming Trump for their problems.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Such as? Once again, this needs factual support because you
may have one or two but not nearly what you think. And if you think states
haven’t been at issue with presidents before, you are mistaken. The Bush administrations
was sued several times)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember a Trump top aid verbally assaulted in two DC
restaurants.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(You literally have no room to talk about verbal assault when
there are fuck your feelings tshirts that came out instantly after the election
of 2016)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember people banging on the Supreme Court doors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Because no one has ever done that before… wrong)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember that we were called every name in the book for
supporting President Trump.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Remember those tshirts I mentioned? THOSE are the things you
are called names for. Also for supporting people who commit crimes in his name
that aren’t hard to find at all. Meanwhile I’ve been called baby killer,
libtard, snowflake, fucktard and the list goes on only because I don’t support
Trump and I didn’t have to make a statement about it either. Just make the
mistake of saying I don’t support his ideals. That’s all it took. So tell me
again who is being truly nasty there)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We remember that Hollywood said they would leave after Trump
was elected but they stayed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(A select number of celebrities is not all of Hollywood.
When you can’t make a realistic statement, it’s no wonder you don’t get a
realistic reaction)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This list is endless, but you get the idea.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(Yes and it shows you are just as guilty as you accuse
anyone else when real comparisons get made. So stop making it out like
Republicans never do anything terrible and they are all perfectly innocent, but
it’s a blatant lie.)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My friends will be my friends, but a party that has been on
the attack for 4 long years does not get a free pass with me!"<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(And to that I say the same for the party that acted nasty
for 8 years of Obama with burning effigies and slander only to act even worse
as soon as you “won” and proceeded to be horrible “winners” for the last four
years on top of it.)</b><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaXI9AWLhLhe6VnhLRGS6Yyy7Pw5Xpxxsge5qpIp97nswgfCPB4WxOiS6S32h4qgKT3kFL70TuT1nsSsejFBqVL8F1dFbCYBl3d-hZ9o4h6pjtAV8N6TUkiUNPb37pjLlS8NllOBa5UU/s526/trumpsters.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaXI9AWLhLhe6VnhLRGS6Yyy7Pw5Xpxxsge5qpIp97nswgfCPB4WxOiS6S32h4qgKT3kFL70TuT1nsSsejFBqVL8F1dFbCYBl3d-hZ9o4h6pjtAV8N6TUkiUNPb37pjLlS8NllOBa5UU/s320/trumpsters.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that’s the whole post asking people to copy and paste and
spread it around. Feel free to show them this response to make their heads
explode. <o:p></o:p></p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-44455973627734779722020-11-16T07:52:00.000-08:002020-11-16T07:52:16.630-08:00Why some people wear their mask in the car<p> I recently posted on my facebook page about some painted rock art some cruel ass did that you can see here. I'm not giving that person any credit either but their post had over 2000 likes. That's 2000 people that agree wearing your mask in your car makes you retarded. It's a sad turn that a chunk of our society has taken. These are the same people who have run off to Parler to create an echo chamber so they only hear what they agree with. But for the rest of you who still have any compassion or really want to understand, I'm about to share some reasons we wear our masks in the car. Many of these echo responses to my facebook post. So shoutout to those who shared their reasons. Here is the image I'm talking about.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7JAo_UtfFUxzi2WTOkf2XBFjxfFjPK3w2hFWv40PFW-oHylRAMehNbpcoLAdH_nYftty1dPPkNyWf2U1IZP5G02PPgGLEdymkLe51lzsxwkT9T8-fXAd-nzQEFrnWUlGJGPu8xXICTA/s1440/cat+asshole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7JAo_UtfFUxzi2WTOkf2XBFjxfFjPK3w2hFWv40PFW-oHylRAMehNbpcoLAdH_nYftty1dPPkNyWf2U1IZP5G02PPgGLEdymkLe51lzsxwkT9T8-fXAd-nzQEFrnWUlGJGPu8xXICTA/s320/cat+asshole.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Calling people retarded for taking any level of precautions when you fucking won't is so classy. In case you hadn't figured, this post is not going to be forgiving of people who follow this lack of logic and level of cruelty. Because if you are mocking people for this, you may as well be mocking the kid in the wheelchair. You suck. So about those reasons you can't fathom (or actually want to know).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1: Less hassle: If I have more than one place to go and I'm trying to move quickly, I will leave the mask on. It's just less hassle and I move quickly and efficiently to get done and get home. But according to this person, efficiency is retarded.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2: Sanitary reasons: As one friend put it to me, she doesn't take her mask off until she gets home and can wash her hands before touching her face. She has medical issues she can't take risks with (like a lot of us) and can't just "stay home durrrrr" because we have to live our lives too and can't count on someone else to do it for us. Safety measures are smart, not retarded. You want to know what's retarded? Playing Russian roulette with a disease that picks its victims with a blindfold and dartboard because we still don't know enough about how it kills some people.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3: On the job: Some people drive Lyft and Uber and they have to wear a mask as well as have fares wear one. In case you can't comprehend that, it's a matter of having complete strangers in your vehicle with you for any amount of time and well less than six feet away from you in an enclosed space. And for reason number one, they may as well leave it on between fares until they can get somewhere to disinfect the car and themselves. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But kneejerk motherfuckers who point and laugh don't use enough of their gray matter to figure any of this out without a damn list. You don't know shit about that person or their life to point and laugh or call them retarded. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzQUmpvCpy17UkrFUTFIaMEMn0YeAYzo34XGJslBnEHVbITgcaEiKY0WpxvAIIDVanjsEKfRH4JPM_wja6pf_h7z2Enj8Y8AQmmG3Zv7aTNl5-N1TmUnXdZ8D1lzMUQ7xtGGOda_vaDM/s650/trump-laffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzQUmpvCpy17UkrFUTFIaMEMn0YeAYzo34XGJslBnEHVbITgcaEiKY0WpxvAIIDVanjsEKfRH4JPM_wja6pf_h7z2Enj8Y8AQmmG3Zv7aTNl5-N1TmUnXdZ8D1lzMUQ7xtGGOda_vaDM/s320/trump-laffs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These are people who have taken to showing off their shitty side since 2016 and they haven't gotten any nicer since. But I tell you what, I would so much rather know what kind of asshole I'm avoiding than not at this point in time. So go ahead and show off your shit side and think you're really clever for it. You aren't. You are showing a decided lack of empathy and intelligence and you should fix that. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It distresses me to further say that I have relatives who apparently think this way. How disappointing that is. How disappointing it is that we can't be kind and respect people anymore. </div><br /><p><br /></p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-84066273104294609292020-11-10T11:39:00.004-08:002020-11-10T11:39:47.335-08:00My minor review of Presidents I have known<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbYQPtfYGUHLC2oviUiAa8hyphenhyphenmAkE0YVPb7BDl3_VSF1LV3kIcU6Vsqf_oChzRl910_Kdemzkbtj-Akdf89Pog77R6LgkoYt11zFRhhO67CCsR3qEvCwH2tgwRRTBk1-2vNG9jtxcKScw/s800/Four_Presidents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbYQPtfYGUHLC2oviUiAa8hyphenhyphenmAkE0YVPb7BDl3_VSF1LV3kIcU6Vsqf_oChzRl910_Kdemzkbtj-Akdf89Pog77R6LgkoYt11zFRhhO67CCsR3qEvCwH2tgwRRTBk1-2vNG9jtxcKScw/w400-h226/Four_Presidents.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now that the election is basically decided, I want to talk
about my personal experience and view on Presidents. I’m only going back to
1988 when I became of legal voting age. I don’t know enough about the Presidents
before that but can tell you that just about every POTUS has done something I
didn’t like. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ronald Reagan was in office before I started voting. All I ever
heard about was Reaganomics and how he had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s.
People made fun of him, but I never really understood it. A little secret for
you, I wasn’t an active voter at first. 1988 was an election year and it was George
Bush Sr vs Michael Dukakis. I definitely remember the “dookie” jokes. But I
didn’t understand it, and no one ever explained it to me. I had to learn about
them on my own. I do remember the unbridled hatred against gay people of any
kind. I remember gay hate crimes in the news. There were definitely bad things
that were applied to politics just like today. Oh, but what did Reagan do that
I didn’t like? Well, he closed mental hospitals across the country but didn’t
make up anywhere for the patients to go. No programs for them of any kind other
than go to jail. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Republicans ran EVERYTHING back then and there were only 9
blue states at the time based on the votes for George. The one thing I remember
about him is the words “Read my lips, no new taxes”. Words he later ate with an
abundance of salt. Words that echoed when he ran against Bill Clinton. George
Sr was a strong President abroad in working with other countries and ending
some conflicts before they began. But Americans paid for every bit of it and
then some. I remember jobs being hard to find and colleges being predatory.
Some still are. Bigotry against about every kind of person other than white and
straight and without mental illness were everywhere. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bill Clinton has a documented record of fulfilling the most
campaign promises for a President of the age than any other. Economic reports
showed job growth across the board and taxes eased up on the poor a bit. Then
came the whole Monica Lewinsky ordeal. I remember everyone acting like this is
the first time there has ever been a sex scandal in the White House. Not true
of course with accounts against Jefferson, Cleveland, Nixon, Reagan, both
Georges and Trump (Trump being the only one with multiple allegations). I did
vote for Bill and I was quite disappointed when he did that. Still, I have come
to learn that the honor of the White House was tainted long ago. That doesn’t
mean I excuse it or even accept it. I hated that he did that and still do. But overall,
on the rest, he was a very successful President. And he still left the office after
two terms with the highest in office approval rating of any President in history.
Try to figure that out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">George Jr really left me torn. He did some good things early
on with No Child Left Behind (scrapped by Trump) and Medicare part D made to support
AIDS treatments (I have heard mixed reviews on that though). He responded to
911 with flair and sought justice, but ultimately that was where things spun
the wrong way. He is criticized for going after WMDs that were never found, while
usurping Saddam had to be done, it was the wrong way to do it. He got in bed
with the oil companies, had a hand in the housing collapse and a major
recession worse the one at the end of his father’s term. And at the end of it
all, before he left the house, he laughed and admitted his lies with a follow
up of “so what?”. His administration was also responsible for the “forced” back
to work programs (like the one I had to go to) that were found unconstitutional
and drug tests for food stamps found equally so. The poor were hurt bad and the
middle class all but disappeared.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Barrack Obama was something of a showboat in allowing his
name to be used in movies and such. His downfalls were early on with bailouts
to corporations that used the money to go on lavish vacations and fining people
for not affording health insurance. I remember the health insurance website
that was riddled with issues when it first hit the internet, and no one could
use it but faced penalties anyway. There were people who saw their health care
costs skyrocket while others were fully covered. And it made little sense. It
has need renovation for some time. Not total annihilation but reform and adjustments.
Still, Obama had a lot of work to do and he was trying to mend a shattered economy
after the recession and housing collapse. It was a mess that would take longer
than he had to be President to fix. And as he left the office, much of his
programs were coming to fruition... until Trump dismantled them all just for
having his name on it. While I didn’t agree with those early problems, things
were coming around from what I saw towards the end. And the Obama blaming would
be a chief weapon for the next four years after him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now we come to Trump. This is where I end this segment.
Because my point is that no matter who the President is, if I don’t like
something they do, I will say so and I have that right just like you do. What I
have to say about the further actions of Trump good or evil are too much for
here. I will say this, something all the other President’s do that Trump does
not… they all hang out together; engage in humanitarian projects together, and
still advise each other. Trump would not hear from any of them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe I’ll write what I really think about Trump, maybe I
won’t. Because while freedom of speech might protect me from him… it won’t
protect me from “you”.<o:p></o:p></p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-6745471221634590222020-10-15T09:18:00.001-07:002020-10-15T09:18:28.085-07:00The Discussion of Civil War Today<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb93FGXUeemhgBQ4yMhyU23pwBmOULJT3pigfZGiJtYaD91AwyNAWSb_RNGmpqaMSXhKun0zSic59-xMa0dyFKjdqTRSCjmW0V3iG0lm7_9piK9JrcpOSnGgk_RF9MEi81ttTsw4jqod8/s720/Proud-Boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb93FGXUeemhgBQ4yMhyU23pwBmOULJT3pigfZGiJtYaD91AwyNAWSb_RNGmpqaMSXhKun0zSic59-xMa0dyFKjdqTRSCjmW0V3iG0lm7_9piK9JrcpOSnGgk_RF9MEi81ttTsw4jqod8/s320/Proud-Boys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />With a third of all Americans believing we are headed for Civil war and constant threats being used in political positions, you have to stop and think about it. It is a potential reality. But what will it look like? Are you in danger in your town? I believe I have a point of view for you. <p></p><p>Firs I would like to direct you to an article that shares thoughts I agree with and I find it very fair toward both political parties to boot. Read it <a href="https://www.columbiadailyherald.com/story/opinion/columns/2020/09/02/rowland-civil-war-real-possibility/5690696002/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </p><p>Got it? Good.</p><p>If you google Proud Boys Civil War, you will find reports across multiple media sources quoting a "member" of the extremists to say that there will be civil war if Trump is not re-elected. I do believe there will be violence, but a civil war? Hard to say how that will pan out. What will it look like?</p><p>For one, it won't be a two sided fight. It will be multi-sided with several groups all of the mentality of "if you start shooting, I'll start shooting". This will develop pockets of significant violence in many major cities and some medium ones, but it won't be anything remotely organized over a large area. One thing is for certain, it will be absolute chaos. A lot of innocent lives will be lost because none of these groups will have a solid grasp of who their enemy is. Lines will blur and any place there is a protest or any form of political gathering will be a prime target. This thought doesn't even include the presence of any law enforcement or military.</p><p>Law enforcement will be bent over a barrel in the hot zones and Governor's will likely have to activate their state's National Guard. But who of any of those organizations will also be compromised? Martial law is a good possibility in various areas as well. If you think you're little pocket militia is fit to face our fully trained military in combat, you have another thing coming. And remember that our military personnel all took and oath to protect from all threats foreign and <b>domestic</b>.</p><p>Any group that presents enough of a military scale threat can be erased with things like jets, tanks and drones. I doubt it will come to that for these groups, but you can be there will be military response. But what is "enough of a military scale threat"? To be honest, I don't know. That just tells me it's a bad gamble.</p><p>I think at the end of the day, for any of us, it will be most important to protect our own homes and families. I will share with you some things I'm watching for around me and online. On these, I could be wrong about anyone. I will not engage with any of these people, this is for mental note only. It is not a battle plan for people to go start shooting. So if you take anything I say here as a means to start building targets for your guns, you are part of the problem.</p><p>The biggest thing to watch for is any scale of excessive behavior or belief. There are two houses on my block with over abundance of signs and flags. One house has 2 flag and 5 signs while the other recently increased to 7 signs in a tiny front yard. Number two has signs that are inflammatory and a car with about 40 conspiracy bumper stickers all over the back end. One of the residents of house two, recently got a flag he takes to busy streets to wave at passers by. I will be watching both houses around election time and up to for their reactions. I have overheard conversations from both that are equally inflammatory like "we'll see what happens if they come for my guns". I don't talk to them either. We had a street get together for all neighbors hosted by another neighbor of mine and those two didn't show for the ice cream and root beer floats like the rest.</p><p>Anyone who dismisses current losses of life as any form of insignificant for any excuse (IE the people Kyle R. shot, people dead from covid, or people who have died that were part of any social or political party) is someone to keep an eye on under the circumstances. This includes any belief that all of "name that party" should be killed. The more a person says they are ready to kill so and so, the more you should either keep and eye open or keep your distance. </p><p>Now, since the excess of threats are coming from extreme right wing pro white conservative groups, you have to know who is currently endangered. This is two fold. First and foremost, anyone who isn't white is endangered. Second, anyone who is LGBTQ is endangered. This has been proven and prompted public warnings in Portland and surrounding areas. There is no reason to think that won't spread if not already. Proud Boys were filmed ransacking a city part beating gay pride demonstrators or black lives demonstrators with clubs and bats. Some were arrested. I have also seen quite a few posts on the lines of "kill all liberals". So be sure to keep yourself safe. What can you do?</p><p>If you don't want anything to do with any fighting and you want to be safe, there are things you can do. You don't have to be paranoid, but a safety plan is a good idea.</p><p>Talk to your family about what you all need to do if fighting erupts on your street. This is especially important for your children. Discuss where they need to go if something dangerous is happening right outside or coming closer. Some ideas would be to go under beds or to a spot in the basement or bathroom. The idea is to get out of potential lines of fire because a bullet can go through at least one wall or window. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. The best place for your child is either flat on the floor, or below ground level with as many walls between them and any violence as possible. Call for help via 911. Turn off all interior lights. Adults should also stay low if there is shooting. </p><p>Pay attention to local news alerts and avoid areas that are reported as having dangerous activity. This is especially true if your city has already suffered violence. You may have to go out of your way to safely get your household needs. Without going into high crime areas, know locations that are away from the high traffic danger zones. Be ready to go to those places and only if you are in absolute need. </p><p>Now I'm not telling you not to defend your property, but apply this wisely. Do not go outside your home to brandish a weapon at a crowd of people who are also armed. This is a good way to get shot. Stay inside where you have applicable cover in the case of a firefight (that I would hope no one has to worry about). In reality, neighborhoods that are in the midst of or connected to high traffic city areas where violence breaks out are in the most danger. The further out you are to the edge of your city (as theory goes) the safer your neighborhood should be unless it's a high crime area already. A politician's home may create a target neighborhood as we already know.</p><p>Remember, this will not be a large mass organized national civil war like the first one. It will be large clusters of violence by varied groups. If you don't want to be part of that fighting, stay away. If you can't stay away, learn how to protect your home and take precautions.</p><p>So now.. what will you do if we have a "civil war"? What do you think it will take to be declared a "civil war"? Good luck to you.</p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-27907140288673307132020-10-07T09:05:00.001-07:002020-10-07T09:05:07.093-07:00Why I am against politics and will never vote Republican (trigger warning)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I shouldn’t say never because it is narrowly possible that a
Republican may come along proving to be a real leader and not just a
businessman or politician and someone who actually gives a damn about the
people enough to fight for real change in our country. I don’t see it happening
in my lifetime but it is what it is. I also say everything here with full knowledge
that plenty of you out there won’t care what I think. That’s just fine. Feel
free to walk on by, because if you attack me, invariably prove me right. But if
you want to know how you lost my vote, I’m going to spell it out here.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve lived through some of what I recognize as Republican
cruelty and indifference by growing up in Nebraska, arguably one of the most
anal retentive excessive Republican states in the country. Lincoln is my
hometown. It’s a college town and also an immigration hub. Being that, it’s a
mess of racial intolerance in its base society. If you are colored, gay or just
a woman, you get shit on. If you are loaded, you’ll do just fine. If you are
white and find a steady job, you’ll be mostly fine. But Lincoln and Nebraska overall
don’t forgive you for not being what they prefer. Oh, and if you are mentally
ill or disabled, you’re screwed. You’re a pariah. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I suffered some pretty terrible misfortunes in Lincoln and
they started from my very childhood. The school system labelled me retarded and
I was forced to endure a lengthy hospital stay when I was 13. There was some
justice when I returned because the doctor in charge of my care collected all
my teachers together and some of the administration and called them the worst
excuses for educators he had ever seen. I was found in testing to be advanced,
but they allowed such severe bullying over my differences that there was no way
in hell I could ever be successful in their shitty school environment. A couple
of the teachers changed their ways toward me, but the rest hated me because
they got called out. Then we moved to Utah, where it started all over again
because not only was I still different, but I wasn’t Mormon. That’s a whole
different story. I came to understand that the whole system was run under a
very Republican belief system swim or drown.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t know why my life kept bringing me back to hellhole
Nebraska, but I finally got a career there. But MS started to mess with me and I
was also diagnosed as bipolar/aspergers and that started to mess with that career.
I tried to get help but it was decided by a few certain people that I no longer
was worthy of that career. Those four people went out of their way to
investigate the deepest corners of my past, scrutinize every single solitary
action I took to do anything beyond wiping my ass and forced me into a position
where my Union rep said I needed to quit because I was dealing with sharks that
smelled blood. I tried to get legal recomp against them and even got a “right
to sue” letter from the Equal Opportunity Commission that was summarily ignored
by a judge and my case was thrown out. Their actions also moved into my public
life where I was harassed by police and neighbors. I was diagnosed with loss of
identity and psychological break down. It took me years to recover and I became
permanently disabled with MS though official diagnosis would come years later.
What’s the point of this? There was a time in the middle of it that I was
forced to accept welfare and the Republican system enacted a work program that
took away all benefits if you didn’t “go to work” where they told you. My wife
and I both were forced to work in a warehouse. I worked right next to a 74 year
old woman on permanent oxygen. Yeah, they didn’t care what her doctor had to
say, she needed to WORK. This program was not only cruel but was found unconstitutional
and shut down. Let me point out again, that this program didn’t care what your
medical conditions were, you would move heavy boxes of bottled water all day
because “work dammit!”. That was a Republican program, and they have always
been Republican programs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have finally left Nebraska and have family there that I
love, but I will never live there again. So I have a whole lifetime of
experiences with Republican run ideals that burned my life at every turn. I
suffered. But my story doesn’t end there. Now we see another aspect that made
me not only anti-Republican ideals, but anti-politics as well. Politics are destroying
our country with civil unrest but there are some comparisons that I have noted
that further push me away from ever going Republican. Here are some more ways
they lost me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Michelle Obama was called a man, they lost me. Who
stoops to shit like that? You get one guess.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Michelle Obama was ridiculed for showing her arms, but
Melania Trumps nudes were found “tasteful” they lost me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When they found ways to excuse “grab em by the pussy”, “I’d
do my daughter”, and “I walked right through that room of undressed teen girls
at that pageant because I can do that”, but now Biden is a creepy old man… they
lost me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When they ridiculed a man for taking a knee in protest but men
armed with semi automatic rifles taking over capital buildings was okay, they lost
me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When peaceful protestors were blamed for and condemned for
property damage but a 17 year old who crosses state lines, has a weapon illegally
due to age, and puts himself in a position to KILL two people is cheered as
some kind of folk hero, they lost me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the Proud Boys and other far right extremists got cheered
for running in the streets beating up black people and gay people with sticks
and bats, they lost me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They also lost me when they ended head start for my son with
special needs and when the same school system put him in a corner and left him
there for the same needs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every time I see someone blaming all Dems or Libs for things
I know Republicans are at least doing “too”, they lose me again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Don’t get me wrong. I hate our entire political system. When
I saw Nancy Pelosi tear up a speech behind Trump, I found it childish and stupid.
When I heard Biden tell a crowd to “clap you dumb bastards” I shook my head. I
know it isn’t just Republicans, but I see the level of hypocrisy and which way
it is really going. I see the unprecedented levels of Republican hatred and
delight in just being fucking cruel to everyone they can find. I see violence
by Republicans cheered while any infraction of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>any kind by anyone else is condemned. I see a leader with a cult of
followers that I don’t even consider Republican because they are now something
far beyond that. I see a leader who is shunned by the rest of the world and who
could commit any level of atrocity and be cheered for it by his base. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are a Republican reading this and you don’t embrace
the ideals or behaviors I am condemning here, you are okay with me. At least
you see humans and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>humans. If you embrace
these ideals in any way, you can fuck right off. I don’t care if you never buy
my books or like my artwork or anything else. That is what this situation has
pushed me too and I’m not even going into the Pandemic on top of it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So do you hate me now? Fine.<o:p></o:p></p>David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-44844132344428979822020-07-23T03:58:00.001-07:002020-07-23T03:58:47.781-07:00I destroy this Facebook copy pasta (Trigger and Language Warning)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is garbage. This is irrational, exaggerated, hate
promoting, and illegitimate garbage. I wasn’t going to write against it, but I
just can’t help myself because I’m so sick of misinformation like this shaping
minds and hurting people. A friend of mine called this gish galloping and he is
absolutely right. I posted on Facebook that I could debunk every single point
and how it is either totally false or just doesn’t work. And I’m going to and
you know what? I’m going to be awful fucking blunt about it. You have been warned. I will put my
responses in parenthesis so you can tell what I have to say to each section.
Now let’s get started with the first paragraph:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I'm not starting a fight, but it is something to think
about. This may open up a ton of outraged comments by some. Many who will argue
how "wrong" this post is. My suggestion, save your time and effort!
You're not changing the reality of what we are living by trying to somehow
justify this insanity. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist because we are becoming
the Twilight Zone. We have become a nation that has lost its collective mind!</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Where to start with this. So many issues. I guess my biggest
take is on the suggestion that if you don’t agree wit this you are automatically
trying to justify on the terms of the writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A kind of “Aha! You can’t rebut this now!” which is bullshit. The one
point I do agree with is saving time and effort because anyone who really thinks
this way is beyond reproach and doesn’t want to be told they are wrong at any
level. Hell, they can’t accept that they are wrong at any level. So why am I writing
at all? General audience and someone has to stand up to this line of thinking
and try to correct it. And hell, some people will even get a laugh at both
writer’s expense and that’s just fine too.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>If a dude pretends to be a woman, you are required to
pretend with him.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Says who? Not one trans person that I know or gay person or
any LGBTQ+ has ever asked me to pretend one fucking thing about them. To make
it clear, you don’t have to do one damned thing. You can walk away from anyone
you want and leave them the fuck alone. If you can’t accept someone for who and
what they are (especially when they do no harm to anyone else) then you will do
yourself and them a huge favor by walking right the fuck on by. I can claim I identify
as a wombat and I personally do not give two shits if you pretend I’m a wombat
or not! “Oh but what about the people and their picket signs and
demonstrations?” you ask. My answer… so fucking what? Did something in your
life stop working because someone held up a fucking sign? No? Then get over it.
Their issues are officially none of your fucking business. Go somewhere else or
change the damn channel.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many
Americans are in America</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Not only is this an exaggeration, but it’s patently false
because the census is meant to count everyone living in American whether they
are an “American citizen” or not. And that is where the debate comes in. Oh no,
a debate! That’s un-American! Right? What the real problem is here is that
whoever wrote this cannot stand the idea that every single immigrant in the
country doesn’t get a massive flood light shined up their ass by way of the census.
Oh, does that sound like another exaggeration? How does it feel? Let me put
this another way… if all you want is our government’s nose up every immigrants
ass to see what they had for lunch (IE are they legal or not), you are going about
it the wrong way. YOU do not have an inherent right to demand who is legal and who
isn’t. Collective society? Sure. The law? Sure. Just you and handful of racist
assholes? No. )<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals
voting in our elections are good.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(False. Literally no one thinks this. Fucking NO ONE. This
is 100% contrived bullshit and just immigrant hatred spewed by people who have
no fucking idea who is voting and who is not. And don’t even throw Fox news at
me or any underground media because you’ll call any I post “fake news” like you’re
any kind of judge. You have no evidence to support this blistering ridiculous
claim.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>It was cool for Joe Biden to "blackmail" the
President of Ukraine, but it’s an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires
about it</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
( You have problems with Biden’s past? Well guess what, if
you defended “grab em by the pussy” you have no fucking room to talk. You have
no ground what so ever to stand on. You have burned yourself right out of the
discussion. For every bullshit thing Trump has done that you cheer for (while condemning
Obama for doing even less) you haven’t got a gawdamn thing to say. NOTHING. Not
one fucking thing.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Twenty is too young to drink a beer, but eighteen is old
enough to vote.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Two things that have absolutely nothing to do with each
other; age to drink and age to vote. I find it funny how some people think an 18
year old criminal should be tried as an adult and 18 years olds should pay their
way as an adult, but have not one single legal fucking right as an adult. Well,
what do you want here? Younger drunk drivers or older voters? Admit it, what
you really want is to control who other people vote for.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery
reparations to people who have never been slaves.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Another thing no one is asking for. But it’s hard to explain
to people who just don’t fucking care. And since your face is probably
contorting in rage over the mere suggestion that you’re wrong, you actually
prove me right. This is what you choose to believe and refuse to listen to the people
talking and then you wonder why their behavior gets worse. The riot is the
behavior of the unheard according to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. And
you know what some families should get reparations for? If anyone in their family
was hung from a fucking tree until dead by a white mob that was allowed to
bypass all laws and courts. Stop pretending that slavery was the only problem
and learn something or go the fuck away)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Inflammatory rhetoric is outrageous, but harassing people
in restaurants is virtuous</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Once again… according to who? What youtube videos are you watching?
You want to talk about harassing people in restaurants? How about screaming at
employees over mask policies? How about that? How about shouting at someone
trying to eat in peace to go back where they came from? Do you really believe
this is a one sided issue? Well you seem to think the rest are and only you are
somehow affected.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>People who have never been to college should pay the debts
of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Yet another thing no one is asking for. But then it will be
hard to get any headway on the issue since you’re okay with cutting student
meals, closing down the federal branch of the Department of Education who would
be the ones to enforce anything you wanted done. On the flip side, no one who
is going to be working manual labor with their degree should have to be in debt
for the rest of their fucking lives over it. Not only that, but what about
colleges that do more predatory recruiting for their own bottom line than following
on their own promises? What people want here is reform and they are willing to
pay a bump in taxes for it, not just pay off everyone’s way. If you don’t
agree, what have you done to suggest a better way? Anything? No? Then shut up.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but
you’d better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Here we have another comparison that doesn’t work and is
literally something no one as said at all. No one has said, “hey, you got
tuberculosis, well shit boy, get on in here!” Nope. But I forget, your idea of
vetting immigrants is stripping them of their children and doing cavity searches
and blood tests, never mind what you would do if any country wanted to do that to
YOU. Uh oh, did I just post another exaggeration that you don’t like? Well no
shit. And comparing to your dogs vaccines is fucking stupid. Have you ever seen
anyone die from rabies? No? I wonder why? Maybe it’s because we developed a
fucking vaccine decades ago to stop people dying from rabies. But fuck, you think
covid is a fairy tale, so you probably don’t think rabies ever existed either.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate
must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate gang-bangers who
jump the southern fence are welcome</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(This has become a trend in this list of things no one wants
or asked for or claimed. Not one fucking person has ever said, “boy, I hope we get
more illiterate gang bangers in our country this year”. How about this reversal:
We need to worry about Mexican gangsters coming into our country, but the
thousands of white and black gangs committing the same fucking crimes are A
gawdamn OK with us! That’s how you fucking sound.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• $<i>5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5
trillion for “free” health care is not.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(See, here goes the trend again. Because you think building
a fucking wall will stop illegal immigration in its tracks. It won’t. The majority
of illegal immigration to the tune of around 95% come in via vehicles, not
fence climbing. They come in with visas and stay after the visa expires. So yes,
your useless eyesore of a fucking wall that can’t even be built legally or
physically across the entire border is a complete waste of money. At least
healthcare assistance at any level could save lives. And let’s get realistic,
thanks to insurance companies being rooted in our political system with every other
corporation, “free” will never happen. So just stop.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if
you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Bullshit once again. Most people who cheat to get into
college just get thrown out (most) and more immigrant hatred because immigrants
are destroying our way of life. Bullshit. Name one thing you can’t do anymore
because of an immigrant and then tell me how they physically stopped you from
doing it. You just hate the sight of them and the best part is that you don’t
even know who is legal and who isn’t. So long as you can’t support that, you
have nothing to say.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>People who say there is no such thing as gender are
demanding a female President.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Who gives a shit? Does this affect your power to vote? Will
you go hide under your bed because someone wants something you don’t? Stop
letting irrelevant bullshit control your life. There are people out there who
want to fuck bats in the asshole. Are you all bent out of shape over them? Better
question is why do YOU have a problem with a female President no matter who
wants to vote for her?)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but
it seems like a great plan to us.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Another exaggeration over something that simply can’t
happen. That is, if you are a consistent voter. But then there is another question
that I’ve posed before. If you have all the answers, what have you done to show
them and suggest a better way? Nothing. You just want to rage over it and you
think “voting for President” is enough action for you. Wrong.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Some people are held responsible for things that happened
before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they
are doing right now</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(No shit. They’re called POLITICIANS and CORPORATIONS. But
you’re talking about racism again and I already explained that point.
Meanwhile, we the people pay for the politics.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>Criminals are catch-and-released to hurt more people, but
stopping them is bad because it's a violation of THEIR rights</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(By what actual facts? Who? Where? How many? No one thinks
failing to stop criminals is bad. Another fucking stupid assumption. I don’t even
know where this is being aimed but it fails horribly. Too many ways to kill
this because it’s a stupid comment.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <i>And pointing out all this hypocrisy somehow makes us
"racists"</i>?!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Not quite. And most of this is not hypocrisy because the compared
points have nothing to do with each other in any way. They are just smashed together
in incoherent rambling like each one is some kind of major revelation. It makes
you ignorant because you fail at critical thinking enough to make those
ridiculous comparisons as if they do anything for you. They don’t. I could get
into the real hypocrisy here but I’ve already made a couple of points to that
effect. Pop quiz, can you find them?)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Nothing makes sense anymore, no values, no morals, no
civility and people are dying of a Chinese virus in the media, but 99.8% will
survive if infected.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(They aren’t dying in the media, you assholes, they are
dying in hospitals. And dying isn’t even the only issue to be concerned with. Why
are you listening to media that you don’t want anyone else to listen to? We get
it, you don’t think Covid is an issue and you don’t see dead bodies lining your
personal street, so you can’t be bothered. But try going to your local hospital
and telling them about it. Oh wait, you can’t be bothered. That would mean fact
checking yourself.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>We are living in an upside down world for sure</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Here’s some fucking irony, it’s because of you)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Not my words but very accurate and disturbing</i>!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
(If you posted this because you blindly believe it all, then they are
absolutely your words. You may as well fucking own them.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Feel free to copy and paste. I did</i>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Yeah, fuck this shit for the shit it is.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you make it this far? Good for you! Now remember this, if you shared this copy pasta because you agreed with it, it was your opinion. If you believe you're entitled to your opinion but you don't think I'm entitled to mine, then the problem doth not lie with me.</div>
<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-3821845115905891292020-07-10T09:09:00.000-07:002020-07-10T09:09:39.847-07:00We should Abolish PoliticsToday I am going to ruffle feathers and make heads explode. Today I will be called a heretic and today many of you are going to hate my bloody guts. But this is an opinion I did not form overnight. It is not casually that I post it. I have been thinking about this for years. This year, of all years, tells me that my opinion has merit more than ever.<br />
<br />
So just what am I talking about? No more politicians? No. There will still be politicians, however it is high time we held them to a standard befitting the station. The ethical compass of politics has been fractured for a very long time, yet ever since "grab em by the pussy" was okay I would say it's dead, dead, dead.<br />
<br />
It's time to tear down and rebuild how we elect our leaders at any level, especially the Presidency. It's time becoming a leader means you are actually just that, a leader. So how?<br />
<br />
Well, get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor because my number one step in this is to eliminate political parties. That's right. No more Democrats and no more Republicans. No more political titles used only to turn every life subject into a battlefield. Think about it, how every single thing in our country is decided comes right down to the political party backing it. It could be an idea that would save millions of lives, but if it's from a Democrat, Republicans will call that guy a libtard and vote against for that reason alone (at the start- more excuses will come up later). And the exact same playbook is used the other way. Healthcare, education, and the economy all suffer because they become a congressional game of field hockey.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying they won't keep fighting over it, but it's only the start of what I see correcting our political problems. When you can no longer claim a political party, the merits of what you are as a leader change. No longer can you just blame all Republicans for that problem in Flint, Michigan, but you can go straight to the names and they only have themselves to blame.<br />
<br />
In the next point, we take away the money game used to run for office. No more publicity stunts and grandstanding. Make getting into office start out like any other job...<br />
<br />
APPLY FOR IT, get accepted based on your merits and qualifications and then get voted on. Hell, this would probably be about the best part of it all. But who decides who is qualified? Well, that will require actual qualifications to be drafted (and they actually have before) but real ones, like leadership, commerce education, law education, etc. You have to have SOMETHING that educationally qualifies you as President. I mean, let's look at the current top 3 requirements:<br />
<br />
1: Natural born citizen<br />
2: At least 35 years of age<br />
3: Have lived in the US for at least 14 years.<br />
<br />
Then you have to raise obscene amounts of money, money, money that would serve so much better in a hundred other places. Campaigns for President raise hundreds of millions of dollars and at the end of the campaign, they are allowed to put any unused funds into "general campaign expenses" with no idea where any of it really goes. I know this shows you have the support of the people, but this is far into the information age where getting that support could be streamlined and technology could be applied. There is no reason for this having such a cost application.<br />
<br />
I don't have all the answers and I'm sure I'll get hate mail. Chill, it's an opinion. You have them too. But politics are turning human issues into weapons and it's a morbid abuse of power at all levels. Take away the names that make the weapons, make them really apply for the job, and then hold the accountable right down to ethics. That's another thing, it's ridiculous how both sides scream out about the ethics of the other, while simultaneously committing the same sins and claiming it's okay because its 'insert political party here'. For example, Republicans are all about how unethical Biden is and how he's a sexual letch but forget that just 4 years ago they didn't mind "grab em by the pussy" and even made tshirts. It's either okay or it isn't and make it no longer a political stance. Wrong, right, simple.<br />
<br />
Don't believe there's T-shirts? Google it.<br />
<br />
Finally, just one more thing. Throw out corporations. No more corporate sponsorships or hands in the cookie jar. Corporations need to be completely removed from politics because they have no interest in the people, only their bottom line. By the people for the people... it hasn't been that in generations and corporations are why.<br />
<br />
So there you have it. Hate me all you want. Flip out over your political identity if you want to. I'm sure I'll be called un-American too. But you know what? It's an idea and I have my rights to have ideas just like you do. Oh well.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-58446984245385579242019-07-30T09:20:00.000-07:002019-07-30T09:20:05.495-07:00Why changing the official date of Halloween is senseless and selfish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI_9pZqHUwberR7qABmelSZfiU5ruSgKYjWqvWgn-NcLZkhc2NTaTkjJy3-LthQMXRsFiASSKwV1ty3RWXDc8nEyiPD3b3lClLFxvuNicLoo0F8WJSHYDRFvGBslCXGY_9JNbP2TQsp0/s1600/autumn-218804_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI_9pZqHUwberR7qABmelSZfiU5ruSgKYjWqvWgn-NcLZkhc2NTaTkjJy3-LthQMXRsFiASSKwV1ty3RWXDc8nEyiPD3b3lClLFxvuNicLoo0F8WJSHYDRFvGBslCXGY_9JNbP2TQsp0/s320/autumn-218804_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There is a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-join-the-saturday-halloween-movement" target="_blank">petition</a> at Change.org with 100,000 signatures to change the date of Halloween to the last Saturday of October instead of it's current traditional date. I've done some digging and looking and more looking and the more I do that, the more I come to this conclusion. It's senseless and caters to a minority of people who want the holiday to be convenient just for them. Now I have several reasons for my position on this and I am going point out not only why this should fail, but must. First let's take a look at the arguments in favor.<br /><br />"It will be safer": The petition claims that having the holiday only on Saturday will make the holiday safer but that's certainly not true nor supported by any form of statistics. The very first claim on their list is that there are 3800 injuries related to Halloween each year. Well, since Halloween does land on a Saturday every seven years (yep, every seven years as it cycles through the weekdays) there is no evidence that the day of the week makes any difference in those injuries. But then there's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/29/most-dangerous-day-of-week" target="_blank">THIS</a>. That's right, a study that says Saturday is actually the second most dangerous day of the week overall. So good luck. But it get's worse.<br /><br />"People don't follow safety rules": The next four points they make on their list is about how people don't follow safety guidelines like carrying flashlights, having reflective material or being in a group or with parents. I don't know about you, but it seems to me there is no magic in any day of the week that will make people suddenly conform to safety guidelines they've been ignoring for years anyway. The day of the week has nothing to do with this.<br /><br />"It will make millenials happier": I'm sorry but what? Go look at the link highlighted above. It literally suggests that we should change the date to make one generation of people happy about it. But how many millenials were even asked? Were there any studies to this? <br /><br />Some comments suggest that people have to work so it's inconvenient to them and they prefer Saturday so they have a day off. Well that's pretty selfish. Currently 29% of Americans work the weekends. Just google it. That's nearly a third of the country and a helluva lot more than 100,000 people. Now that's just one reason this needs to fail, it doesn't take that near third of the nation into consideration or give them any voice in the matter.<br />
<br />
The number one reason this needs to fail is that it's a slap in the face to freedom of religion. See <a href="https://bigthink.com/experts-corner/halloween-as-a-religious-holiday-you-better-believe-it-soldier" target="_blank">THIS</a>. That's right, it's a religious holiday to well over another 100,000 people. Wicca for example is accepted as a religion in the United States and given rights in freedom of religion. Currently that accounts for 1.5 million people. So you want to spit in the face of 1.5 million people? Okay. Good luck with that.<br /><br />And then what's next? What are we really changing? What holiday do we cater next? If 100,000 athiests sign a petition to eliminate Christmas, will that be okay? Or maybe we put it on only the last Saturday of each month to make corporations happier? I bet it would. What about the 4th of July? How about Thanksgiving? That's always on a Thursday. Doesn't that make it inconvenient for someone?<br /><br />Now here's the counter suggestion. If you want something different in <b>your</b> community, talk to <b>your</b> community. Arrange your own safe Halloween event. Plenty of places already do their Halloween on a specific date without stomping on people's religion or traditional practices. Stop trying to shove what you want down everyone else's throats.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-90884887888373523432019-06-11T17:40:00.000-07:002019-06-11T17:40:48.658-07:00Anti-vaxxer owes me a hundred bucks (or why you should watch our mouth on the internet)Feeling full of yourself? Have some delusions on how right you are? Here's an idea, offer up a 100 dollars for someone to prove you wrong. That's what Ailan Hong of Long Beach, California decided to do on the page of politician Dr. Pan regarding vaccines. Let's line this up.<br />
<br />
First of all, what he was on about. In a method of attacking Dr. Pan he accused Pan of lying about reports of Dr. Robert Sears being disciplined by the California Medical board. That would be <a href="https://www.casewatch.net/board/med/sears/accusation_2016.shtml" target="_blank">THIS</a> case (click on link). He posts a letter from Dr. Sears claiming that there is no discipline against him like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEUkY-hUEWx7dUnsRC-DaYctweLdcFQynVxYiwLpoNeclCJn1C5Er1XHroQiDK23ekHS1amX8GlNhFk7Nsu5DXDCQrA9dCr7oS8ecvaSund1hOzS7V3q68c91yJRa_3jHgP3miGz8_gk/s1600/Ailan+Hong+F.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1346" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEUkY-hUEWx7dUnsRC-DaYctweLdcFQynVxYiwLpoNeclCJn1C5Er1XHroQiDK23ekHS1amX8GlNhFk7Nsu5DXDCQrA9dCr7oS8ecvaSund1hOzS7V3q68c91yJRa_3jHgP3miGz8_gk/s320/Ailan+Hong+F.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Then he posts to me that if I can prove there is disciplinary action he'll give me 100 bucks like so:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqTciimGdZulji3RMMIFhMNCaVCXnsf9gWmLewBOMVG8smwKQAz6aKXYFW4PLE9MBCTN7qIl2rJUvpZsRO017Ho7I2dFeRFhHeeJ8ihB7wqNSzAGFpd4mQ34g5QwJQIbrpKdbAlbFdJA/s1600/Ailan+Hong+A.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqTciimGdZulji3RMMIFhMNCaVCXnsf9gWmLewBOMVG8smwKQAz6aKXYFW4PLE9MBCTN7qIl2rJUvpZsRO017Ho7I2dFeRFhHeeJ8ihB7wqNSzAGFpd4mQ34g5QwJQIbrpKdbAlbFdJA/s320/Ailan+Hong+A.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, I certainly pulled that off via the link above and another .gov link leading to <a href="http://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/document.aspx?path=%5cDIDOCS%5c20180627%5cDMRAAAGL14%5c&did=AAAGL180627201150927.DID" target="_blank">THIS</a>. There is even a witness to my success who I block out for her own security.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdOLrorbLJw7HDl7RznkyivIIbxKiG4bcJqcObcUcwFjBo_bcvYny5P9Qw18cr98eKRTx9D1vBCUQ5QI4X2-s_VrZfIwO5Tjxi_K_JPJrlrH8t1B7RvFwsIgvnTezK3Qgw5XbBgjTE4A/s1600/Ailan+Hong+D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1337" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdOLrorbLJw7HDl7RznkyivIIbxKiG4bcJqcObcUcwFjBo_bcvYny5P9Qw18cr98eKRTx9D1vBCUQ5QI4X2-s_VrZfIwO5Tjxi_K_JPJrlrH8t1B7RvFwsIgvnTezK3Qgw5XbBgjTE4A/s320/Ailan+Hong+D.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I know, you'll point out I said I didn't need his money, but that doesn't mean he doesn't owe it. Currently he's dancing around the subject and cherry picking flimsy rebuttals as anti-vaxxers are known to do. I know I'm very unlikely to get paid here, but I'm not letting it go simply because Ailan deserves to be held to task. And I'm not the only person who thinks so via another witness as follows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSiw0fPRbtCTNYCRo83m4oWdqbxLL-r1LQnCIkbN4tihl_dLHB7xoAEu1mtdTBQdKxL_zXeB84zYcQDW6dfEPwQh_TneXhH2mz2BM9WcAWv5_-4vPq-23bvqDE9CaRv9SkOOvyBaIVvs/s1600/Ailan+fool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1222" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSiw0fPRbtCTNYCRo83m4oWdqbxLL-r1LQnCIkbN4tihl_dLHB7xoAEu1mtdTBQdKxL_zXeB84zYcQDW6dfEPwQh_TneXhH2mz2BM9WcAWv5_-4vPq-23bvqDE9CaRv9SkOOvyBaIVvs/s320/Ailan+fool.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Point out what... you mean like this?:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBBwONHsdgkQJ2tJ1OYledTpxANub2QJaaUTt4MnRfbNGgvh9UxT3bnCA8pBDav4NPdtwa9BS-YT4pqok50zfd2Z5u3QkOh0Ua3YW7i3EG52GIuQMZY7jRvEAjr_3QDrROK6cKtZuIn4/s1600/casewatch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBBwONHsdgkQJ2tJ1OYledTpxANub2QJaaUTt4MnRfbNGgvh9UxT3bnCA8pBDav4NPdtwa9BS-YT4pqok50zfd2Z5u3QkOh0Ua3YW7i3EG52GIuQMZY7jRvEAjr_3QDrROK6cKtZuIn4/s320/casewatch.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, Ailan Hong owes me 100 dollars because I proved exactly what he asked me to prove, that Dr. Sears was accused of the exact wrong doing claimed in the exact manner requested. An Anti-vaxxer owes me 100 dollars and he's not upstanding enough to his own word to pay it. Typical anti-vaxxer.<br />
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<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-985129834870602892019-05-29T10:02:00.000-07:002019-05-29T10:02:45.262-07:00Anti Vaxxer who runs a massage business, fat shames and diagnoses me online because she's calling shotsIt's no secret that I'm not nice to anti-vaxxers. Especially one who is on the page of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RichardPanMD/" target="_blank">Dr. Richard Pan</a> (politician doing what he can for vaccines) calling people EVIL in all caps. Hit the link and check out the page and comments. There is a constant war for representation of information about vaccines. Anti-vaxxers push the mark. One even went after a woman's children in her profile pic but that's a different story. So let's get started with my assessment of how this woman represents her business. First:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XwJMO5patwAYlv0hlp9WMGtfF4OV-M4HQv5CfqdDUXDteAIdWPjWcZ4HU1q_6jT-mamDtNUoJoBxF1ZskjfWSlDcfacrr4Vdx6McgMeQvqNgaOfD8kdWgtyNkVPd-K1hazj9U4CjNhY/s1600/AV+Toni.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1189" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XwJMO5patwAYlv0hlp9WMGtfF4OV-M4HQv5CfqdDUXDteAIdWPjWcZ4HU1q_6jT-mamDtNUoJoBxF1ZskjfWSlDcfacrr4Vdx6McgMeQvqNgaOfD8kdWgtyNkVPd-K1hazj9U4CjNhY/s320/AV+Toni.png" width="303" /></a></div>
Click for closer view. Toni owns Tranquil Touch Therapeutic Massage and Esthetics. It's listed on her personal page an there is a Facebook page for it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tranquilmassagefacials/?eid=ARAOrzTHf0Fr9DjcTZW38lfFlS4kjiqZbD9Jvv5nI6j5lvD0FYLGEJGyp1wrIq-pD7I_B7wC-Y3dFILJ&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=1376171158&fref=tag" target="_blank">HERE</a>. The gif you see is of a man gagging. If you go into Facebook gifs and type in the word 'gagging' it was the first that came up. Now to explain the discussion it went like this. She posted some anti vaccine information that was blatantly untrue and inaccurate. I posted that it was no more accurate than calling her a pro disease psychopath. The image is her response.<br /><br />Now fat shaming is wrong. Fat shaming by a business that claims to help people is unacceptable. I contacted her via her business page and offered to write a review. I wanted a public apology both to teach her a lesson for her online behavior in fat shaming and diagnosing online without credentials AND spreading anti vaccine misinformation. But she is the only one who brought up her vaccine position as a defense for her actions. My problem here is soley that she pulled fat shaming. Anti vaccine crap is just where it came from.<br />
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Her apology:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWwJHRZuY-jG014HaST6GpaYbTqrWm650gBWEU7lWQi7TVX2MgknRJ3gyf2BgenOSylK38qq4snlynPCYPN3i5GD7VbaddbWl6kT_9naRUcBf2vH0a-Cdd0ctg2-Nhyphenhyphene3QuPGbvVvUaY/s1600/AV+toni+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBq6bjCxR82N_TpR0CCINAph8OkkGPheCplLEvRyRFVWsn6ruq3EG3TLveYKmy67Q7puXzd1mD3sVS11EsLUNATnzZShzqurliheBsd_fr7pS5IGdKUTofvjlIgN9vSMKPaMjZ8w2kj3k/s1600/AV+toni+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="1140" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBq6bjCxR82N_TpR0CCINAph8OkkGPheCplLEvRyRFVWsn6ruq3EG3TLveYKmy67Q7puXzd1mD3sVS11EsLUNATnzZShzqurliheBsd_fr7pS5IGdKUTofvjlIgN9vSMKPaMjZ8w2kj3k/s320/AV+toni+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Frankly, not only is it a non apology but downright confusing. At first I thought she was trying to defend diagnosing me via a time she couldn't walk or use her arms. Then I figured out she was defending her vaccine position again. Bypassing her behavior altogether. Then she proceeded to tell me my medical history in which she is 100% incorrect. She still doesn't get that she has no place putting her nose in my medical history. What is she using, a crystal ball? It's broken.</div>
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I have to wonder at people who come to her for help with their problems and are also over weight. Does she consider them a disease too? She is not a medical doctor, nor does she have an MD in anything at all. But if you are going to run a business that claims to care for the health of others, especially the way her page presents, you better treat people with the decency you expect. That goes moreso than for the average people you talk to on the internet. She presents with a built in responsibility that she failed. And I always call that out. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYgybFz_VSWfLLr-fGnoXritvVceGHodEXosELa97vZl9r9aCv0LjjL-aizgxaOgY2PWHoGsep1-INl6_Y6fILItIojcnHpxZVx8n54_k2C-TDXC56D_xt2c64M-guQd7oLiL-WmkSiw/s1600/AV+toni+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1364" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYgybFz_VSWfLLr-fGnoXritvVceGHodEXosELa97vZl9r9aCv0LjjL-aizgxaOgY2PWHoGsep1-INl6_Y6fILItIojcnHpxZVx8n54_k2C-TDXC56D_xt2c64M-guQd7oLiL-WmkSiw/s320/AV+toni+3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Like her doing the snipe and block on my page. She quotes me, supporting my above explanation and the blocks me. Very professional.</div>
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So I have to say that if I were near her business (and my sister works in a massage parlor business and was licensed in the state of Colorado) I would not go to her. I would not like the idea that she fat shames people she doesn't like. That doesn't deserve my money and I feel bad for anyone with the slightest weight problem who sees her. OH, and my sisters kids all have their shots.</div>
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As for vaccines. It's a serious problem with national outbreaks heading for 1000 cases fast. That's the threshold by statistics where you can expect someone to die. You can also expect permanent damage to some such as hearing and vision loss or encephalitis. Natural measles can erase the immune systems defenses. And for anyone who says vaccines caused the outbreaks (and they do) I point out that since 2006, 3 billion MMR vaccines have been administered in the US. If it went like anti-vaxxers believe, there would be more than 1000 cases per year, closer to multi millions of cases, but as you know, that's not true.<br /><br />So if you are in Doylestown, PA and considering seeing a massage therapist, I wouldn't advise going there. </div>
David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-34735890027368992502019-03-17T09:08:00.003-07:002019-03-17T09:08:57.219-07:00A Letter to my Daughter's Stalker<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Melissa Ely, (I'm not hiding her name because of her very public posts and brash public attempts).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This purpose of this message is to give you critical
information that you have refused to accept so far. That information includes
the summary denial of any involvement by any person of the family of Wilde or
Moxham in the disappearance of your dog, Maggie. You continue to claim that no
one has denied involvement yet hung up the phone on every attempt to deliver
said requested information. Now you have it. Involvement of Dyani Wilde or any
other person in the disappearance of Maggie is fully denied. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A copy of this response to your claims will be retained for
my records to present to court as well as posted publicly online. You have
already set the precedent for this by continuing to post libelous slurs against
my daughter, Dyani on your page for public consumption. As I am an online
journalist I can more than follow suit and return the favor with screen shots
of all your comments and photo evidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maggie the dog was never rehomed. The post you keep circulating
had a date on it that is now suspiciously concealed. It is from a time when
your son Sam was part of an agreed effort to find Maggie a new home because he
could not care for her. In fact, he simple would not care for her, leaving her
to the rest of his roommates. He changed his mind on said endeavor and it was
cancelled. So I repeat, Maggie was never rehomed. I have been informed that he
has also been abusive to Maggie, once breaking a broomstick over her back. This
is where I could quote you saying that you “hold your children to a higher
standard” but we’ll get to that soon enough. I will inform you however, that
the post you now conceal the date on will not last as evidence in a court of
law without proof of said date and proof that the dog was rehomed specifically
on said date. If you can pull off a magic trick like that, I’m sure the judge
will be more than impressed. Unfortunately, as I understand, the date of Maggie’s
disappearance is far from the date of the post and I repeat, as soon as Sam
said he didn’t want to rehome her, the plan was cancelled. She was never
rehomed. Maggie got loose and ran off as dogs often do. You would likely have
better luck putting in a lost dog report with Animal Control and the Humane
Society as well as making regular visits to the Humane Society. While you are
wasting time stalking people who did nothing, time could be ticking away for
your dog at the “pound” where she is only going to be held for a limited time
before they decide what to do with her. The choice is yours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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You claim that the “authorities have been notified”. That is
a true claim, but not the way you present it. I had a decent discussion with
the police myself. They informed me that they find no fault in Dyani in any
way. If they did, action would have been taken a long time ago. I know the
officer had to threaten you with a trip to jail if he was called back out to
that address regarding you in any way before the end of his shift at 4 am. But your
misrepresentation doesn’t end there. You claim to have called Animal Control
and wield that claim like we should all be quaking in our boots over it. No. I
worked for Lincoln Animal Control as an officer for over 6 years. I know for a
solid fact there is no city ordinance that they have to follow (without
evidence) that will result in them taking any action except to register that
you made a complaint and that your dog is missing. That’s it, that’s all. No
tickets will be issued. No arrests will be made. So like any other authorities
you are harassing, they will not be your personal revenge weapon. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You deny that you are stalking my daughter, however you miss
the facts that have been gathered and notated. Let’s recap some shall we:<br />
<br />
-multiple documented phone calls to law enforcement with frivolous and unproven
complaints or to use law enforcement as a weapon (illegal and stalking behavior)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-phone calls to relatives no matter where they live with demands
and expectations = stalking behavior that you even admit to in multiple posts
on your page. You even claim boldly for all to see that you are going to call
ever number Dyani has called since months back. That is stalking. That is all
stalking. No matter how you want to color it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-your call to CPS with intent to do damage because you aren’t
getting your way. It’s pretty interesting that you did that when it threatens
to get your son cited for sanitation at the same time. Have you seen his room?
I have. I have photos too. Photos of piled garbage, molding food, and cat feces
(but I understand you hold your children to a higher standard). Naturally, your
son is doing nothing to clean up his part of the mess, right? Your call of CPS
can be subpoenaed along with all your other calls to prove the activity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-being seen driving around the block where Dyani lives over
and over again until 2am? We may not be able to prove this, but it will be
claimed anyway. Hey, you can make crazier claims than that and expect them to
be taken seriously. But yes, that is stalking. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-repeated public slurs and calling for “making her famous”
on your page as public shaming is stalking. All screen captured. All of those
slurs will be presented to a court of law should you wish to go to one. Then
you can explain to the judge your supposed evidence that Dyani or anyone else
in her house are capable of or “enjoy” killing animals as you stated. Be
prepared to prove and show evidence for every single crazed claim you have made
against or about my daughter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-having your son call the landlord in an effort to get Dyani
evicted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AZ580g05lG36nVE65HFv7ZMgiBdkK6-He9Pesno6t02p04LVOPh2WAtLcf-QIk6Xu324TP3XHl1c2zM0x2nwcIGQNqun88xlWCbypWVJYVEkRiiDEu9bp4xzEcXuhBhpVwzCSEMlujc/s1600/Ely+S+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AZ580g05lG36nVE65HFv7ZMgiBdkK6-He9Pesno6t02p04LVOPh2WAtLcf-QIk6Xu324TP3XHl1c2zM0x2nwcIGQNqun88xlWCbypWVJYVEkRiiDEu9bp4xzEcXuhBhpVwzCSEMlujc/s320/Ely+S+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her son's room according to the roommates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I understand you plan to sue my daughter. When you do, we
will counter sue you under grounds of all of your posts, calls, and actions. We
will present all photos and your posts to the judge for consideration. OR, you
could go the right way about looking for Maggie as I suggest above. If she is
at the shelter and you don’t look for her, well, the clock is ticking.<br />
<br />
I do understand you think you’re pretty cute for getting Dyani’s call history
so you can harass random people, like my other daughter, Lexi, or Dyani’s
mother. You and yours laughed at me because you don’t think I can do anything.
Well, maybe if I were to act just like you and do what you do, only better. It
would be unfortunate for someone with investigative skills like mine to do
that, wouldn’t it? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess I could contact Mr. Martinez and ask him to control
you as your boyfriend, right? Or maybe I could call Kathleen H. Mark H. Sam Sr,
Audra M., or Barbara E. and ask them to control you before I became “your worst
nightmare”? But then I wouldn’t stoop to your level so I won’t contact any of
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t have a call log, but I could write letters to all
the addresses you’ve ever lived at and ask them about you, just like random
phone calls. You know, like 2909 N 52 st, 3158 N Cotner, or 1030 N 48<sup>th</sup>?
Or maybe the addresses in Crete or Alvo? Nah. I won’t do that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could use others as a weapon like you by contacting the
school dean with all your postings and your son’s postings. I wonder if that
would affect his pursuits in psychology? But no. I wouldn’t do that either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So now comes the part where I tell you to cease and desist
all actions against my daughter. She didn’t do anything to your dog and there
is absolutely no significant evidence that she did. For that matter, you may
want to talk to your son about what is really happening, because everyone else
knows what he’s been up to, but you. Dyani’s life is non of your damn business.
So you back off, and I will back off. Otherwise, go ahead and try to file in
court so we can counter sue you. That serves us just fine. And I will continue
to investigate you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a special note, I will not post this to public until you
have had a chance to read it and respond. If you do not respond and agree to
back off and go look for your dog the right way, I will post publicly and play
the same game you do. Your choice. (and here is the proof that she read all of this)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPBg3-KsFsuHzIcRvgWWPx7Gi82a-SL_TVYb8JHNEvIIy2yUNBpJA90iGW1flqt1Xyc9eSu4v1DWrXaadym69BojN0YpJhhKpSUlDjFRed1ApUDDtvVH4GEOgXpj36g0rnxHnCutj-K4/s1600/Ely+M11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="1458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPBg3-KsFsuHzIcRvgWWPx7Gi82a-SL_TVYb8JHNEvIIy2yUNBpJA90iGW1flqt1Xyc9eSu4v1DWrXaadym69BojN0YpJhhKpSUlDjFRed1ApUDDtvVH4GEOgXpj36g0rnxHnCutj-K4/s320/Ely+M11.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post from her page<br /><br /></td></tr>
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So, reader, what do you think? Does how you raise your kids affect how they might wind up with a stalker one day? Can you reason with crazy? Is she crazy or just unreasonable? I can tell you I don't care if she scares. She has even admitted to being a window peeper. OH and should I make an online folder of all these posts of hers? Do you want to read them? (Maybe after they are shown in court).<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-88716722397395647892019-01-03T21:37:00.000-08:002019-01-05T15:52:05.001-08:00"You should park where you belong" says local business owner to disabled man.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I partook of time with friends at a business in Key West Plaza, West Monroe. I'm not naming that business because this event had nothing to do with where I took my business, rather where I parked. But Key West Tan gets mentioned because this occurred via the owner of that business. I don't know what this man's name was, but I'm sure others through out the business area do. Here is what happened.<br />
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The man came to find me, asking about the car I parked as seen in the image. I thought something had happened to it so I found the man asking about me, and brought his attention to myself. He confided that he wished for me to move my vehicle from the space in front of his store for the sake of his patrons.<br />
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This is where I point out that the rain poured in buckets outside. Furthermore there were and are no signs or any form of assigned parking (save for disabled) in the entire plaza shopping center. On the side of the business (Key West Tan) are four parking spaces directly attached to his business. There is no way in any portion of the parking lot that you can avoid being rained on, by parking there. I am disabled, walk with a cane (most of the time) due to complications with my disability, Multiple Sclerosis. However, my parking placard is expired. So all I could do was move the car out to the middle of the parking lot to get the most rain exposure possible. These are all important factors to this story.<br />
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Initially, though quite disturbed at the idea that this man was willing to go business to business to hunt me down for where I parked, I did move the car. But then I noticed that there was no sign indicating he could ask that of me and I changed my mind. I had quite a few things I would need help getting to my car as it were, never mind travelling a wet slick parking lot with a four pod cane. I had every bit as much right to park right where I did and he had no legal recourse to ask me to move. So I put the car right back in the same space and went back about my business trying to enjoy the day with friends.<br />
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Mr. Tan Owner came back to make a point and I didn't let him.<br />
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"Before you say a word," I said. "tow me." Yeah, it wasn't a nice thing to say, but his treatment of me was about to get worse, so I don't feel so bad about it.<br />
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The man went out to his truck, got his phone, and as far as I could tell... called the police. Since there was a possibility of police, I got out my phone, took my cane because the stress was weakening my legs by this point, and went out to take the photo you see above.<br />
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"He's parked right in front of my business..." I heard him say on the phone. No police ever came. I didn't think they actually would.<br />
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After a few minutes he came back over to talk to the owner of the business I was at. I interceded. Why? Because no one in that whole complex had any legal power to tell me to move that car anywhere. It was me he needed to talk to.<br />
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"So just because you don't want to park where you belong..." the man said to me, gesturing to the disability accessible spaces.<br />
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"My placard is expired, Sir, I can't do that." I explained to him.<br />
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"That's semantics."<br />
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"No, it's the law." I will not make myself the worlds biggest hypocrite by parking illegally where I tell others not to park illegally. I even pointed that out to him, but there was no reaching him. I had to walk away.<br />
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"You know, it's just a matter of common courtesy." He said to me. I couldn't help but think I was the guy who needed a cane in the equation and it just didn't add up. Common courtesy for who?<br />
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So to sum up, he went out of his way to track me down, expected me to move for his patrons when he had no legal recourse to do so, and summed up with how I need to be where I belong, even if I break the law doing it... because it's just common courtesy.<br />
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Am I really out of bounds for wanting a public apology? I don't think so. Who is he going to do this too next? Would he still have hunted me down if I was a little old lady? And just to be clear, telling a disabled person they 'belong' in any space is highly discriminatory.<br />
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UPDATE: The owner has reached out to me via a third party (I will not mention names out of kindness because of this) to apologize to me. I will accept his apology, however I expect him to meet me in person to follow this up. He has stated that in afterthought he was far out of bounds and the landlord has made it clear that no parking spaces may be claimed exclusive for any of the businesses in the plaza. I applaud his quick response, less than 10 hours from posting of this article.<br />
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UPDATE 2: Through the third party mentioned above and a couple of other sources, it was made clear to me that our business owner (I know know him as Mr. Steven Kelley) intended to meet me at the shop I frequent to offer me requested apology. It's all I expect. Apologize to me and shake my hand. After that I would have altered this article so that it gave no names to include business. I was there for a whole 6 hours. HE NEVER SHOWED UP. Clearly this isn't going to happen. So now this article can stay exactly as is. And sadly, that may not entirely be the end of it. There are people who care about me who are not happy with what happened. Word is spreading.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-56992924858495582582018-06-29T09:12:00.000-07:002018-06-29T09:12:55.003-07:00Brindy the runaway min-pit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPlPoRNmCr1bDcjxEzoB3gLJe6Lg7-NS1PUGNfIOv03yvmYF3XXhve-lcM7LJ0T1EHq6FMaM9kdy08lzd8b0zAn0k642D8x0xwLKc0zPzkSCRB2zStCkNniFaFWd0hHeLVjgpAzHNT2A/s1600/brindy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPlPoRNmCr1bDcjxEzoB3gLJe6Lg7-NS1PUGNfIOv03yvmYF3XXhve-lcM7LJ0T1EHq6FMaM9kdy08lzd8b0zAn0k642D8x0xwLKc0zPzkSCRB2zStCkNniFaFWd0hHeLVjgpAzHNT2A/s320/brindy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Brindy the mini pitbull. Brindy the dingbat. Brindy the dumb runaway dog. We adopted Brindy about 6 years ago. She's the result of someone breeding designer dogs via pit bulls crossed with Boston terriers. I personally call the breed 'dingbat' and you have to see both her ears erect to see why. Brindy came with costs. Heavy costs. 700 dollars to put her through heart worm treatment with a 50/50 chance of survival. The treatment gave her premature graying in the face but she lived.<br />
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Brindy has a problem. She's a runaway dog. She is in love with the idea of running as hard as she can as far as she can. She doesn't pause to sniff anything until she's at least six blocks away. She's learned that someone will be trying to catch her and she's learned all the tricks to that.<br />
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Offering a car ride used to be the cinch. She would jump right in for a car ride. But she learned that meant going straight home. So to hell with that idea. Her newest trick, since she learned we will follow her with the car, is to go to the railroad tracks and avoid us that way. The only thing she hasn't learned is to avoid strangers. She will go right up to other people except that they are afraid of her and won't help us catch her.<br />
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This is why her address and my phone number are on her tags. But recently, she managed to force off her address tag from her collar and it was on the table when she decided to run again. Most of the time, she dashes out the front door and she's very good at picking her time. So we kennel her if we having pizza delivered or company over. Today, she got out through the backyard fence.<br />
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"But wait, don't you play with your dog or do anything with her?"<br />
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Why yes we do. This dog gets to go out and play ball an average of 8 times a day. If you don't take her out when she wants, she will stare lasers through your head until you do. She's a very spoiled and extremely demanding while completely disobedient dog. She's ridiculous with it and never satisfied. My son was throwing ball for her as I pulled up in the driveway from dropping my wife off at work. That's when she decided ball just wasn't enough for her.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5A-bsBXiw0GhA7C2_30a4WfpnmuPqk2ECMx8XCPPDCScYQXJ0u-nR_4eDkBGpRW9iSJnpzjDimNQjMreFqddjtOctvUXXmAmZ6p48NLbWAClDxSUjJatH10OfdruatyHSAUEtswOwqQ/s1600/IMG_5634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5A-bsBXiw0GhA7C2_30a4WfpnmuPqk2ECMx8XCPPDCScYQXJ0u-nR_4eDkBGpRW9iSJnpzjDimNQjMreFqddjtOctvUXXmAmZ6p48NLbWAClDxSUjJatH10OfdruatyHSAUEtswOwqQ/s320/IMG_5634.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Now for the other problem. As you can see by the pictures we have a large gate for part of our fenced in back yard. It's badly warped and I've had to force it to the ground with long metal stakes. I've had to tie it off with wire and strap boards to and bricks to block the end off.<br />
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It doesn't work. She can push aside everything I put at the corner and wiggle out and I can't stop her. My son stared dumbfounded as teens sometimes do, instead of running to stop her. I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, and she was gone. It sure looks like she can't be trusted to play her favorite game anymore. By the way, we rent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvI2Dq3DoIaBvPb51lT6pbcsJeMq_5utdqKLRgxJBMEHaNzrdQ78hdaQSG11OiQuKnbD4vpx8zI-jmgBmx72arBykIlOBMb0EwYwKikNw4_JgJ-W-zUHc33ICC2l5KrCL76l7rU2-4qGA/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvI2Dq3DoIaBvPb51lT6pbcsJeMq_5utdqKLRgxJBMEHaNzrdQ78hdaQSG11OiQuKnbD4vpx8zI-jmgBmx72arBykIlOBMb0EwYwKikNw4_JgJ-W-zUHc33ICC2l5KrCL76l7rU2-4qGA/s320/IMG_5635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Yep, we rent and there is zero chance that this gate will ever be corrected. No one has cared for at least 20 years or so as that tree grew into the side of the house and warped it. I'm just glad that's the shed built into the house that is being destroyed by the two trees growing into it. You can even see the fence post that's been swallowed by the base of the tree. The electric company hates us because they can't bring their trucks into the yard to fix transformers when they blow twice a year. Too bad so sad.<br />
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So that's the situation. You might say, 'gee, she's so smart to learn all that'. No. She's stupid. <br />
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Stupid to run away and risk her life possible loss of the family that's put hundreds to thousands of dollars into her health and living. Stupid to run off from her favorite ball to do all that. Today we had to chase her to the point of her own physical exhaustion in high southern heat. To me, that's stupid. Not smart.<br />
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One day we will be moving on from here. If we still have a dog at that time (if she doesn't get herself killed before then) we will seek a home with a really good fence. Until then, we do our best to contain her, but her ball playing days may be at an end for a while if she really prefers to play escape instead.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-3171782231391789972018-06-24T09:32:00.000-07:002018-06-24T09:32:17.771-07:00So you like the idea of a SPACE FORCE eh?But the budget! That's the outcry of any political party when they don't like a proposed program or bailout or whatever. Both sides play that game and I could take up time citing evidence on the matter but that would be a whole new blog post. One thing is for sure, when it comes to something they want to do, the budget can just go screw itself. Nothing screams of this more than Space Force and I'm going to show you why.<br />
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Never mind Trump's wall that has little to no effect on immigration as a whole and just makes us look bad, Space Force is going to outdo any costs a nation-long wall could produce. And let me remind you that the administration is having trouble finding money to finish it. Just look it up. But the wall is only an example toward costs so lets not get stuck on it for this discussion.<br />
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Trump said he wants a <b>military force in space</b>. Not satellites, not a laser defense system (which is all Reagan's Star Wars would have been and it couldn't be finished either), no, he wants a military force. That means soldiers and military equipment in space. Let me start by explaining to you that, to be a military sized force, it will need at least as many people as in our Coast Guard (the smallest of our forces) and that's currently about 40,000 people.<br />
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"But they just need to be available to go to space." No. Then they aren't what Trump wants. He wants a presence <b><i>in space</i></b>. Not on the ground. He said so himself. Even if that's what he settles for, it won't change the astronomical costs of the issue. Pun intended. Here is the video of his statement if you are still confused.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CAM9gvH7gFE" width="560"></iframe><br />
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So what's the deal with the cost? Well, since we are talking about military, let's do some comparison.<br />
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It costs an average of 50,000 dollars to train on US soldier for the average training time of 16 weeks. That includes basic training and advanced individual training. Many AITs go longer than 8 weeks however so the cost can up to as much as 100,000. But for basic infantry, it's about 50k.<br />
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You can't send basic infantry into space. Here's why.<br />
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They all have to be pilots and have at least a thousand hours flight time. That costs about 9 million dollars. Multiply by 40k and you have 360 billion dollars. That's just for learning to fly. You see, you're agreeing with a military force of <b>astronauts</b> and that's a whole lot of money that just isn't there.<br />
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From what I can tell, and exact numbers aren't easy to find, full training of an astronaut that requires 2 years costs around 50 million dollars per person. That's factoring in 9 million to flight train and the costs of launching them into space in the first place. What it costs to send up a space shuttle? About 500 million dollars. That's just for one flight crew and all their equipment and living supplies mostly by weight and fuel. That's maybe as many as 12 people. And no matter how you rearrange it, it's going to be about that cost per 12 people. Because you can't just send a person into space without the things they need to survive.<br />
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So, 500 million per 12 people and you want to send up a force of 40k. 40k divided by 12 is: (my calculator comes up with a row of 3s so you round down and get:) 3300 shuttles going into space (and that's actually not quite enough) with a price tag of over 16 billion, 500 million dollars. That's just to actually PUT them in space.<br />
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But wait, that's only if all they are trained to be is astronauts. That' won't work. They have to be a full arrangement of military specialists as well. You have to take construction engineers and rocket scientists, train them to be astronauts and send them up. You have to have all the skills of any ground military additional astronaut trained to go into space and just float there for their service requirement. Then you have to arm them.<br />
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Do you know why they don't take guns into space? Uh oh. Can't do that so we'll be setting up orbital missile stations instead. And if we pull it off, that means everyone else will pull it off too. That brings me to my next point.<br />
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Satellites and space debris. There are 1100 active satellites in space and 2600 defunct ones right now. <b>That's a total of 3700 chunks of various metal floating up there right now.</b> Each has to have a very specific flight path or they risk running into each other. Now, we depend on those satellites for an awful lot of stuff, like phones, television, information technology of all kinds and in some places internet. Quite a few of those support active military forces on the ground. Can you imagine the levels of interference putting a military force of 40k up there would cause. Because, like I just pointed out, we won't be the only ones. China, Russia, and the UK would be right behind us and both China and Russia would want to show us up by putting double as many people up there.<br />
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Let me just mention that 40k people is about the population of any small city. So, we are basically looking at just tossing four or five small cities into orbit. Think about it. They all have to move along with the planet and have to be adjusted constantly to no one slams into each other or any other debris because we also have billions of tons of wasted debris floating around our planet as well. Did you know that? It's absolutely true.<br />
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So, I don't know how many orbiting missile stations that puts in our atmosphere, but sooner or later, the more you put up there, the higher the chance that something screws up and comes back down. You better hope it's not a missile station with God knows how much ordinance on it, and that it never makes it to the surface. Oh, you don't think they would make it? <b>Now why would we put missiles in orbit that can't reach their targets on the ground? THINK ABOUT IT.</b><br />
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"Oh they would have failsafes for that and detonate them." Uh huh, go ahead and bet your life on that. I won't. Nothing is infallible. Sooner or later there will be fights in orbit and that means death in orbit and more debris in orbit and more falling to the ground than we or our atmosphere can handle.<br />
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Mark my words, we will destroy our atmosphere and risk millions to billions of lives. If the money factors aren't enough, the livelihood of the world should be.<br />
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REFERENCES:<br />
<b><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-cargo-price-by-weight-2016-6" target="_blank">What NASA pays to ship people into space</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/10/05/what-does-it-take-to-become-an-astronaut/2924145/" target="_blank">So you want to be an astronaut</a><br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces" target="_blank">United States Armed Forces Wikipedia</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.popsci.com/now-you-can-see-all-space-junk-floating-around-earth-real-time" target="_blank">Space junk circling the Earth in real time</a><br />
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<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-76125544905877750702018-05-22T09:58:00.000-07:002018-05-22T09:58:47.915-07:00The minimum wage argument, a new view<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8vH5Z9Palh6DSfTMFIPdk7S7lsVnFT76uL03xrLibnfpdXwB1KSrtnBrLgZJHvcMQocFX66L4B1FWWoJvdlysM57GXlDEEXTc84NuYlTePBtc-Fyy-7oSP-DZ4pMKMyJEbiCydqDD-E/s1600/444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8vH5Z9Palh6DSfTMFIPdk7S7lsVnFT76uL03xrLibnfpdXwB1KSrtnBrLgZJHvcMQocFX66L4B1FWWoJvdlysM57GXlDEEXTc84NuYlTePBtc-Fyy-7oSP-DZ4pMKMyJEbiCydqDD-E/s640/444.jpg" width="310" /></a>Recently I posted this gem to my Facebook page and incited some interesting discussion. First of all I agree with all the points Angelica made. But people are still stuck on some points that make it hard to see the bigger picture.<br />
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<b>But it's fast food</b>: That's the hang up. People who have good jobs and don't have the problems that these people have look down on fast food as the red headed stepchild of the labor industry. "Flipping a burger" isn't even worth minimum wage to some people I've talked to. 15 an hour is positively asinine to others. But do we understand fast food as an industry and just how it affects job economy?<br />
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I'm not saying that fast food deserves 15 dollars an hour, but they, along with a lot of other industries are definitely underpaid. And the food industry seems to get the worst treatment forcing issues of the following:<br />
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This information comes from Berkley University and you can read it <a href="http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/fast-food-poverty-wages-the-public-cost-of-low-wage-jobs-in-the-fast-food-industry/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. The information is dated yet holds true today (only 3 years later):<br />
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1: 52% of families of fast food employees are on public assistance as part of the 25% of all employees with families on public assistance. So literally double the number of fast food workers have families on public assistance compared to any other job in the country.<br /><br />2: The cost of that assistance is about 7 billion dollars a year.<br /><br />3: Medicaid and children's health insurance account for more than half of those costs.<br /><br />4: Due to low earnings, food industry families receive an annual average of 1.04 billion in food assistance dollars and 1.9 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit.<br />
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5: People working these jobs are more likely to live in or near poverty by federal findings. 43% live at double the federal poverty level or less. At levels like that, you may as well be homeless.<br />
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6: Working at full time hours on these jobs has been found to make literally no difference in these factors.<br />
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<b>"Just get a new job!"</b> This is the knee jerk reaction of people who just don't want to be bothered with the real plight of economics in our country. Let me show you two fun points on why that's a stupid move.<br />
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1: You just suggested that 3.65 million people just "go get a new job" like it's the easiest thing in the world to do. Sorry, but that's faulted logic when you consider that our national unemployment rate is 3.9%. Depending on the varied demographics that comment also ignores. There are literally not enough of those "good paying" jobs to go around. That is a problem. 3.65 million is the number of fast food employees currently. That doesn't even scratch the number of waiters, cooks, dish staff, and others who don't even get minimum wage because we believe random tipping is enough to live on.<br /><br />2: Who exactly will you be paying to make your burger if they all even could take that advice?<br />
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<b>"Just go to college and get a better job"</b> This comment is even worse. Aside from places like 90% of the country where those jobs don't exist (we aren't just made of big cities you know) there's the issue of taking care of your family while going to school.<br />
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Our society loves to bash on the jobless but even people who get whatever job they can (like the same scoffing people tell them to do) it makes no difference as they are judged and trod on. People in food service are routinely abused by customers who think that being a food worker is so low they can treat that person like a slave. They get no benefits and the majority don't get anywhere near even standard part time hours.<br />
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<b>"It's only supposed to be a beginner's job anyway."</b> Wrong. Times have changed. Fast food is a multi-billion dollar industry able to compete with any other industry on the block. As I type this, McDonald's is worth <b>159 BILLION </b>dollars. It's world wide in 120 countries with 36,899 locations serving 68 million customers every single day. In 2015 the fast food industry generated revenue of 200 billion dollars in just the US compared to the 6 billion dollars of 1970. Stop living in the past.<br />
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So maybe they don't need 15 dollars an hour. But the problem is more than just 'fast food' and comparing burger flipping to other jobs that are also underpaid. If people made the wages they should, they wouldn't be in the assistance programs and we wouldn't be kicking people out of nursing homes or cutting school programs. There is no logical reason with the capabilities of today's world for anyone who is willing to at least <b>WORK</b> to not be able to <b>LIVE</b>. And this is only part of the actual problem that contributes to these factors. The other side of the coin involves utility companies that raise their rates multiple times a year, gas gouging, ridiculous medical costs, bank charges, and more. Not only do we allow people who are willing to work to wallow in poverty, we allow corporations to suck their blood like vampires.<br />
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So when a fast food worker is asking for more pay, they are not comparing themselves to anyone else. They just want to be able to live off their work like everyone else. Not correcting this is literally allowing a cancer in our economy and that my friends is what is asinine.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-42579793764463128352018-03-27T15:24:00.000-07:002018-03-27T15:24:10.946-07:00Gun Control and Never Again; My open letter to set this straight (trigger warning)<br />
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My dear wife believes that social media is making me too
much of a negative person. She may be right. But I have to tell you, I have
seen some of the ugliest and foulest things this year than I have seen in many
years beforehand. And I’ve seen death up close and personal. It takes a lot to
make me think things are more heinous than death. But in my point of view, that’s
exactly what this is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Children. They’re children. At the end of the day, compared
to the rest of us who are supposed to be adults, they are children. Not only
that, this is about children and their freedom of speech (1<sup>st</sup> Amendment)
versus the right to bear arms (2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment) and how far people are
willing to go to silence them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have never seen any portion of the Constitution that
people are so willing to kill or die for than the right to bear arms. Nothing
else matters. Nothing else exists. You would think it’s holier than Jesus Christ
himself and the slightest breath that only appears to be a threat to it must be
silenced forever. The threat need not be confirmed by any form of actual logic.
Imagined is more than enough to set some of you off. You can tell me it isn’t
true but you’ll never prove it so long as thousands of internet comments say things
like:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Go kill yourself” <o:p></o:p></div>
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“You’ll pry my gun from my cold dead fingers”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Come and get my guns, I hope you’re bullet proof”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“When you come for MY guns, you’re dead”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the real whoppers:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“These kids need to go kill themselves”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Someone needs to teach them what real guns mean”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They need to shut up because we are about to not give a
shit anymore”<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s how we react to the concerns of these teens who
recently survived ground zero of a massacre. Isn’t it easy to be armchair
quarterbacks spouting venom at people who just finished burying a friend. A
friend I would add who probably bled all over them. A friend they saw die. Yes,
because the 2<sup>nd</sup> amendment is the holiest of holy things and it doesn’t
matter if you saw a child’s head chopped off and had it tossed in your lap, you
have no right to talk about it. Yes, it’s so easy to tell them to shup up about
your rights because that’s all that really matters here. Because you didn’t
have to be there. You didn’t have to wipe the brains off the wall. How nice for
you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I swear I have never seen any class of people so morbidly
desperate to silence any other. Desperate to the point of photoshopping or
searching for dirt to discredit. To name calling and threats. It’s these acts
of hate that make me want to puke up my heart. I find them that sickening. And that’s
for all you smug people out there who have doing exactly these things and
making disgusting claims that don’t change a single thing about the fact that
children are dead. And all because of one simple thing you don’t understand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You clearly don’t have the first damn clue about what it
actually takes to change an amendment. Allow me to quote the “Constitutional
Amendment Process” from the National Archives as follows in paragraph 2:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed
either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of
Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by
two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the
Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress
proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President
does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint
resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. The
original document is forwarded directly to NARA's Office of the Federal
Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history
notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also
assembles an information package for the States which includes formal
"red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint
resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification
under 1 U.S.C. 106b.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This means you cannot just waltz in to some government
building and rewrite the Constitution. Hell, even the President can’t do that.
This requires a massive process and vote and guess what; there is no vote
active for changing the Second Amendment. None. Zero. Zilch. Let me put that another
way:<o:p></o:p></div>
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THERE’S NOTHING THERE!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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No. The only changes that are possible are state by state
restrictions that don’t infringe on the second amendment in any way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s another tidbit you seem to lose in translation. The right
to bear arms says only that you have that right. It does not say what those “arms”
have to be. That’s why you aren’t allowed to have a 50 calibur machine gun.
That’s why you aren’t allowed to have fully automatic weapons. That’s why the
AR15 can be brought under scrutiny and banned if the majority of American’s
want it that way. Not having the exact kind of gun you personally want, does
not mean your rights have been trod upon. You can still buy a gun, but when
people take to altering and abusing one form of gun over all others, it’s going
to get scrutinized. The same thing happened back in 1988 when Maryland banned a
22 calibur lovingly called the Saturday Night Special because it had become a
number one murder weapon and was deemed too easy to conceal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The AR15 is the number one abused weapon utilized
in mass shootings. That seems important. Losing it will not mean the loss of
all your guns, no matter what you think. For that matter, it’s already nearly
banned in Florida via a new law just passed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally, one more thing you don’t seem to understand and
that’s the definition of the word AMENDMENT. It’s an amendment meaning that it
was added or changed after the fact. By it’s very definition it can be legally
changed again. If not, there would not be a process to do so. That process
would not exist. But it does exist and you are actively pushing people to do
everything in their power to pursue it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While most gun zealots have stomped away from this in seething
fury by now, there is still more to say. If you are still here, maybe there’s
hope. But I’m not done. Now that I’ve explained the truth of an amendment, I’m
going to call out some more of the sick behavior that I’ve seen adults utilize
on these kids. I’m talking about the most ridiculous tropes I’ve ever seen. <o:p></o:p></div>
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First of all, if I see one more person compare gun control
to abortion I’m going to summon a demon of hell to burn down a gun store. The
two have zero to do with each other no matter what bizarre line of imaginary logic
you concoct. Someone said Planned Parenthood donated funds to the Never Again
movement. That doesn’t make the connection either. Speaking of money. I’m going
to point out this doesn’t change the fact that children are dead. If you are a “right
to life” person, I would think you could grasp that reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No, these people are not paid to march. It doesn’t matter
where the money is coming from when the opponents are people like the above. Why
doesn’t it matter? Because people are dead and we are sick and tired of them
getting dead where they should be safe. So it’s just fine that George Clooney,
Oprah Winfrey, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steve Spielberg all matched donations of
500,000 dollars to march for change. <o:p></o:p></div>
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No, these are not crisis actors. This has to be one of the
sickest displays of heartlessness yet. Demanding proof of the dead like you and
your armchair have that authority in the slightest way. Because these kids and
their families should send you personal photos and obits and government or personal
records to prove their dead children ever existed just so you feel satisfied
that they have the right to grieve or utilize their own Constitutional rights.
That isn’t just wrong, it’s horribly immoral. It’s sick and sickening. It’s a
plague on morality and human decency. Some of these conspiracy theorists have
gone so far as to track down families who claimed dead in mass shootings to harass
and accuse them. How full of yourself do you have to be in order to do this?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Actual comment from someone on Facebook: “ <span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s very easy to manipulate kids, because they
don’t have all of the true stats and facts about gun deaths, gun ownership and
crime. </span>“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I pointed out
above, apparently watching your best friends brains get spattered on the wall
just isn’t enough of a qualification for you to care about any of it. Apparently
you need to satisfy people like this with some sort of special test before you
speak out against the atrocity you barely survived. <o:p></o:p></div>
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These are the things that are forcing me to pick a camp some
of you won’t like. Because no matter how many times I say I’m not after the 2<sup>nd</sup>
amendment and there are no current actions against the 2<sup>nd</sup> amendment,
you gun zealots absolutely can not stay in that reality. Yes. You are forcing
my hand to stand against you because I value protecting the lives out our
children over a bang bang paper weight and the ability to wield it with abandon.
What have we done to ourselves that we value any such thing over the lives of
our children. What have we become?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-61181888103398276042018-02-25T10:25:00.000-08:002018-02-25T10:25:57.429-08:00Everything wrong with "more guns in schools".<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOO5cu9EzQtwboRMhuuZ0bcumQ7jt69infueQtRHNywpJgoH-n7FXhQO82mY61Q6cV_H6ZGShZ8dT1yeoAYP-zRqKIqEYTsn9L0q_KuQGHaGLPtJLhzt2glQrvJgCAUjXU829_u3vRrw/s1600/cowboy+pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="630" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOO5cu9EzQtwboRMhuuZ0bcumQ7jt69infueQtRHNywpJgoH-n7FXhQO82mY61Q6cV_H6ZGShZ8dT1yeoAYP-zRqKIqEYTsn9L0q_KuQGHaGLPtJLhzt2glQrvJgCAUjXU829_u3vRrw/s320/cowboy+pose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Every time there's a school shooting that hits the front pages of the media, this national social media explosion happens. Gun supporters go nuts and yell, "throw more guns at it" and frankly, that just isn't the answer. Before you jump on my post and start berating me about how guns save lives and I'm just so wrong because I don't think exactly like you, there are couple things you better consider:<br />
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1: I am not against your right to own a gun. I don't want to take your guns away. So just don't go there with me.<br />
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2: Read everything before you comment anywhere (whether it be my facebook page or right here). If you are going to react or heaven help me, get triggered, you could do that much. But if it looks like all you read was the title and you just want to dismiss every point I make, then don't bother. Knee jerk reactions help even less than the idea that guns solve all problems. They don't.<br />
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I've read a lot of ideas about protecting schools too and most people make these suggestions without taking a few important issues into consideration. Things like actual demographics, locations of schools, what kind of neighborhoods the schools are in, and frankly if the school is a troubled one or not. You can't just throw guns in all schools and expect to change things. I am in particularly going to address the idea that we should now arm all teachers. Now the response I keep getting sidesteps my points.<br />
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"I'm perfectly okay with a teacher being armed if they want to be."<br />
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I'm not talking about "if they want to be". So don't go there. And before you say this isn't an idea that's out there, you should look at this <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/letter-furious-teacher/" target="_blank">LINK</a>. This teacher seems to think someone expects her to carry a gun. Now why would she think that? And she isn't alone.. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UTLAnow/videos/vb.162395807115222/1956126557742129/?type=2&theater" target="_blank">LINK</a>.<br />
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President Trump said, and I quote: "An armed teacher woulda shot the hell outta the Parkland shooter."<br />
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Really? How does anyone know this? What scale of evidence is there that some random teacher would have shot the hell out of anyone? There are no supportive facts here. It's a knee jerk reaction and a fantasy. It's the land of IF. IF, IF, IF. It's also the land of ASSUMPTION. Let's just assume any random armed teacher would have stopped the shooter cold. But that isn't what happened. The statement also ignores practically every single detail of how the shooting happened.<br />
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<b>Guns do not make people magically pop up in the right place at the right time. </b>Please reread that until it sinks in. If they did there would be no more crime in out country at all. And this is literally the assumption people make when they say, "just put more guns in there". Guns are not magic talismans so stop acting like they are.<br />
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<b>If you aren't willing to foot the bill for what teachers actually need in their classrooms, how can you justify arming them all? </b> I have literally seen people argue that they are okay with paying taxes to support guns in schools but not for smaller class sizes or actual educational material. We have schools in poor neighborhoods in need of repairs and services but the response of the taxpayer has been.... "Nuh uh! Not my taxes! I won't pay for that!" But then they turn around and go, "Oh wait? Guns? Yeah I'll pay for guns!" School lunches for kids? Let em starve if they can't pay their own way! But let's put guns in schools, that's a great fix.<br />
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<b>Do you understand what arming teachers costs?</b> No? Are you willing to give that teacher a pay raise along with the training needed to carry a gun? No? Are you willing to pay the difference in insurance costs to the schools? There is another class of thought that teacher's should be armed but at their own expense. Well, they are sure used to that since they are expected to do their jobs and buy educational materials at their own expense. To which I call bullshit. If you are going to sit there and say that teachers should be armed, you better damn well be willing to pay for it. Same goes for claiming we should have armed guards in schools, or concertina fences. You want to pay into your taxes for it? No? Then shut up.<br />
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<b>It's literally not the teachers job to play security guard!</b> No teacher signs up for their job thinking they get to become paramilitary. That is not their job. I even posted a link above from a teacher who explains the same thing. Teachers are not security guards, or police, or soldiers. They are teachers. In our country we barely pay police enough to carry a gun and God knows we take a massive crap on our veterans when they come home, so lets move on to teachers. If you absolutely must have armed people in any of our schools, you better make sure they are qualified and paid appropriately. Give the job to the proper profession. Would you have an auto mechanic do heart surgery? That's what you're asking teachers to do when you expect them to carry a gun. Amazingly, people still argue with me on this.<br />
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<b>Armed security has it's own risks that are ignored.</b> I've mentioned the insurance rates (yes they exist and you pay for them in your taxes). Hiring the right profession would still cost less than arming teachers in 98,817 schools (that's how may US public schools there are). Thing is, accidents happen. As soon as one does, that security guard will be villainized and the whole debate gets turned on its ear. Having a gun and even the proper training does not make a person a super human or infallible. Gun supporters keep acting like it does. Even having armed security does not guarantee there won't be a shooting. Before you jump on me and yell "YOUR WRONG, IT ABSOLUTELY DOES BECAUSE SHOOTERS WON'T GO TO A POLICE DEPARTMENT!" I would point out that a certain Las Vegas hotel had <b>armed security</b> and that shooting still happened and with a historical death record. Why?<br />
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<b>These shooters don't care what they are up against</b>. If you take the time to compare all the mass shooters we've had in the news you may notice something. Just about every single one of them has zero regard for what they are up against. All of them know that they are going to face law enforcement at some point. 99% of them planned to die ahead of time. Pres. Trump and others call them cowards but that's not what they should take into consideration. The important factor is that they are suicidal and want to take as many people with them as they can. Not one mass shooter has ever cared if there were guns on the premises they went to shoot up. Again I cite Las Vegas, but it sure wouldn't be hard to cite more. Many schools have police who visit regularly and you can't plan for when they will be there. These shooters do not care. The sooner we can understand that, the sooner we can move on to how to stop them effectively. I'll repeat, <b>shooters don't care if people have guns where they plan to shoot.</b><br />
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<b>Troubled schools don't need teachers with guns.</b> We have a lot of troubled schools in our country and taxpayers who fight tooth and nail to do absolutely nothing to make them any better. All it will take is one kid getting his hand on a gun that's already there for another shooting to take place. "Well if it's secured, blah blah blah." Stop making assumptions! It's a school, not a bank vault. And a troubled school cannot secure a bunch of guns. It can't even secure it's students, control gang issues, get proper educational material, stem bullying or other violence, and you think they can secure guns?<br />
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There is even more to point out but I can tell you that this covers a lot of it. I know people will still shout about how wrong I am, but that's on them. If we can't figure out that it will take more than just throwing guns at the problem, we are doomed to keep having the same problems. It's as simple as that.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-78860522907926040292017-06-19T12:57:00.000-07:002017-06-19T13:05:32.565-07:00"People in wheelchairs don't go to the gym," says man about blocking accessible parking.Yes. That is what the man who claimed to be the owner of North American Land Development said to me in defense of his friend who blocked accessible parking with his big SUV. Allow me to divulge the whole story.<br />
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I stopped through the parking lot for Planet Fitness and Books a Million as I sometimes do, in order to check for parking violations to report on the Parking Mobility App. While the image you are about to look at is dated, I've added some pertinent information with random art skills.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmwGahsmn9qfTtSb6hj6Y7WYhl-DYEEtT161VdYksnXWgJSWiprrVlfGoQ0ALuRU75KunSEnofwLVc8zHskWHLBhlPlCiko9fhWk9keQQWcB_bJlKpyR4353BwqemZb6KzfrhraSk1Xc/s1600/Access+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1011" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmwGahsmn9qfTtSb6hj6Y7WYhl-DYEEtT161VdYksnXWgJSWiprrVlfGoQ0ALuRU75KunSEnofwLVc8zHskWHLBhlPlCiko9fhWk9keQQWcB_bJlKpyR4353BwqemZb6KzfrhraSk1Xc/s640/Access+map.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click on image for larger view. Credit to Google Earth.</div>
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You can clearly see where I've marked the direction of the construction and Planet Fitness. You can see where the construction company taped off parking for their work. You can see where I parked and where he parked. Important fact here... row we parked in was NOT taped off. Remember this.</div>
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Below for purpose of identification I will call them Owner, Friend (as in of the owner) and Me (for the dialogue). I guess you could call this a "things people say" when they block accessible parking because these guys hit on just about every single wrong thing there is.</div>
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I saw the SUV first parked across the blue lines where I indicated. But if you really need an closer view:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VKU9saKsyfJtAquul8GmvEgysrsT0h8CUn1UhktaeNHt6xTfTUKer4X62rWT6B6bO3WFINfKPu3YaA0tCWnXqJFY2L5S-mtWpCdrmjDTdBa3FkcHvgyxX75AujY2GlcZt-5wON7oGxQ/s1600/bad+parking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VKU9saKsyfJtAquul8GmvEgysrsT0h8CUn1UhktaeNHt6xTfTUKer4X62rWT6B6bO3WFINfKPu3YaA0tCWnXqJFY2L5S-mtWpCdrmjDTdBa3FkcHvgyxX75AujY2GlcZt-5wON7oGxQ/s320/bad+parking.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Wouldn't you just love to see someone try to get out of a wheelchair van there? Good thing it was just lil ol me parked on the left. Note again the lack of yellow construction tape except dangling from the pole. People were parked clear down that aisle. It was NOT cordoned off.</div>
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So I got out my phone and opened the Parking Mobility App. It had me take down this photo and one of his license plate. I notated the location and went on to the next car in the next aisle over. Yes, there were two violations right across from each other. Not uncommon at all. While I was taking down that information someone called out to me. It was an elder man with white hair and another elder man in a cowboy hat. Cowboy hat was the owner. I know this because he said it was his company through the hodge podge of dialect and excuses. It went pretty much like this.</div>
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Friend: You took pictures of my car.</div>
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I looked back at him: Sir?</div>
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Friend: You took pictures of my car.</div>
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Me: I'm documenting use of accessible parking, sir.</div>
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Friend: I'm not in handicapped parking.</div>
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Me: You are parked on the blue lines for wheelchair access. That is illegal and you can get a ticket if they come by.</div>
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Friend: I'm 87 years old.</div>
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Me: There is no provision to the law by age, Sir.</div>
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Owner and Friend together: This is a construction site.</div>
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Me: It doesn't matter what you have over there, you parked over here.</div>
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Friend says to the Owner: You know what you should do, <b>tape all this off and then none of em can park there!</b></div>
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I'll let you reread that last comment before I continue. </div>
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The Friend left and I went to my car. When I got in it. The owner laughed and shook a finger at me. Then he pointed to the wheel chair symbol on the sign I had parked in front of. I casually lifted my index finger to direct him to the placard hanging from my rear view mirror. Then I got out of the car as he walked toward the driver's side.</div>
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Me: Sir?</div>
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Owner: You don't look that disabled.</div>
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Me: Are you a doctor?</div>
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Owner: No.</div>
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Me: My doctor disagrees with you. </div>
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Owner: Fine. But he didn't stop you from parking.</div>
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Me: Sir, it's the law. Our opinions do not come into play. And if someone with a wheelchair van came here, they wouldn't be able to get out of their van or into it.</div>
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Owner: <b>People in wheelchairs don't go to the gym.</b></div>
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I'll let you reread that last comment for the same effect as before.</div>
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This is what people need to learn. Their personal opinion does not overwrite the law. Age has nothing to do with being able to park in accessible parking. As another note, had I parked on the blue lines, I would have been in violation as well. It's illegal... <b>period.</b> </div>
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The law is the law and it's time that the disabled community got some respect out of it.</div>
<br />David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-33695538288844793582017-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:002017-04-18T09:09:44.148-07:00My experiences with Parking MobilitySince I started in February (it is now April) I have sent in 74 reports on accessible parking violations. For those who don't know what that means, it means people parking in the disabled parking spaces. We prefer to call it accessible parking because access is what it's all about. 74 violations in a small city like Monroe, Louisiana in the span of 2 months feels like a lot to me. And I got them in an even shorter span of time, if you think about it. I only went out maybe once a week, sometimes twice. My route that I established for myself takes only about 90 minutes. I looked at my progress on the website (yep, you can totally check your progress) and counted the days. I went out exactly 17 days.<br />
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So, in reality, that's 74 violations in 17 days. Think about it.<br />
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What I want to talk about today is what to do if someone catches you taking down information. People react defensively and you will want to keep your cool and not wind up in a confrontation.<br />
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Confrontations not only don't do much to convince violators but can become dangerous and actually hurt the program. That last thing any partnering community wants, is anyone taking the law into their own hands or putting themselves into unnecessary danger.<br />
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In all of those encounters that I have had, only a very few have caught me. Maybe 5 or 6. That's just a matter of timing. One thing is for sure, nothing is worth and argument, so walk away. I mean it, just turn and walk away. Even if that means you don't finish sending in the report. It's not worth it.<br />
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So what kind of experiences have I had? When first getting started, I had an elder man and his young daughter (I'm assuming she was his daughter), catch me in the parking lot a few feet away from the back of their small car. He yelled and said he had every right to be there (he must have seen me on the news). So I asked where his placard was. He admitted he didn't have one and called me some choice names. I suggested that 3 dollars and a doctors note would fix that for him. He called me some more nasty names and told his daughter to back over me. I walked away.<br />
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Honestly, I shouldn't have bothered. I should have just said, "Sorry taking a call." and walked away. He wouldn't have had any idea if I was or not. Seriously, play it off as doing something else.<br />
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When you are taking down info, you should probably take down the plate number first and then take the photos, just so you have some of the difficult stuff out of the way first. Then, once you have the photos you can totally step away to a good distance to finish the rest.<br />
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On another stop I had a woman who had nothing to do with the situation come up and start questioning me. She acted really odd and circled me like a shark continuously asking me "what's wrong? Is something wrong?" over and over again. She was just weird. But I thought, hey, maybe someone who would be interested in volunteering, so I explained it to her. Big mistake. She stalled me long enough for an angry driver to come out and teamed up with that woman to berate me loudly in the parking lot. The lesson, trust your gut. Don't let anyone stall you in the middle of what your doing. If someone seems weird, get away from them or play them off like you would anyone else. I still get a shiver when I think of how bizarre that woman was.<br />
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Everything from an educational standpoint. I have had one or two people who were more interested in the educational side. These were people who already had a placard, but it was hidden under dashboard debris or left on the seat of the car. They took interest when I said that putting their placard where it can be clearly seen actually helps our cause. They even moved them to a more visible place right in front of me. But I did not go out of my way to engage them. And I also pointed out that having them as volunteers would be very helpful. Don't know if they took up on it, but it was worth a try since we were in dialogue already.<br />
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Basically, don't go out of your way to engage anyone while you are taking down a report on the app. If I want to try and recruit, I ask "would you be interested in volunteering"? But I don't do that out in parking lots unless a conversation allows for it naturally. I use social media.<br />
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Another good thing, if you can get enough people in your area involved, is that Parking Mobility will do a training course with you and "certify" you. See my last post on what you need to do in order to get partnered with your community through Parking Mobility.<br />
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Look; basically think of yourself as James Bond without the action heroics. All you are doing is gathering data quickly, quietly and safely to support the cause of cleaning up accessible violations in your area. Everyone deserves access to groceries, shops, and health care. People who violate that parking are taking way from someone who not only needs that space, but took the responsibility to go through the steps to park legally. I've seen some interesting tricks people will use to sidestep those same responsibilities.<br />
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ID on the dashboard: No placard and no plate means a violation. Your ID won't cut it.<br />
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Leaving someone to guard the car: That just makes you stand out. And we don't have to get close in most cases thanks to the good ol zoom feature on our smart phones.<br />
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Parking on the crosslines: Sorry that someone else got there first, but even with a placard, you can't park there. The crosslines are for wheel chair accessibility and safety in leaving and approaching the parking spaces.<br />
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Take two (or all of them): With just one vehicle. I know you don't want your new car scratched, but come on. Before I started using the app, I came across and elder man who parked his car across, not one, not two, but three accessible parking spaces. That's insane and would have been worthy of reporting. He didn't have a placard either.<br />
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So, the idea, to reiterate, is to safely gather the data and send it in. Don't get into confrontations and if approached, play it off. You can claim technical difficulties on your phone or something, but just walk away. Use distance where ever you can when using the app. You can zoom in with your phone from as far as another aisle away. It will look like you are taking a general parking lot photo. Then you can claim you are just taking down general data on parking spaces or something.<br />
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And one more tip: If the media wants to talk to you, refer them to the source. Media attention is fine, but it's best if your community is already partnered or you have them talk to Parking Mobility directly.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-92190140476751559462017-04-11T08:30:00.000-07:002017-04-11T08:30:26.671-07:00Using the Parking Mobility App <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Sb6qJtSZ7m1jnbq1i21PcREclrf3fu70iSLFF98fB5R_mqWxkMvR3aKIGtNbf7LpcumMUayCJM2DNB7X9kVtXTvZDoTM54wT5n15AKlxAzLV5gt6dBn0xAPMK2qE2uAJQhF67AJLo9o/s1600/disa+parking.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Sb6qJtSZ7m1jnbq1i21PcREclrf3fu70iSLFF98fB5R_mqWxkMvR3aKIGtNbf7LpcumMUayCJM2DNB7X9kVtXTvZDoTM54wT5n15AKlxAzLV5gt6dBn0xAPMK2qE2uAJQhF67AJLo9o/s320/disa+parking.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The Parking Mobility app is used to send in reports of accessible parking violations. For those who have been following a long, this is my second write up on the app. Learn more about it by going to the blog post directly before this one in the calendar. That being said...<br />
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Once you download the app which is free, you have to verify your email address and then you can start sending in reports. But do you know all of what a violation looks like? There's more to it than just where you park. Let's start with what is NOT a violation.<br />
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-A disability placard, in clear view from the rear view mirror. On the dashboard is acceptable so long as it is in clear view. More on that coming.<br />
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-A license place with a disability wheel chair emblem on it.<br />
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-A license place that begins with DV or has "Disabled Veteran" on it.<br />
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You may come across a plate that say PH (Purple Heart). By state laws, this does not work. There must be a placard or wheel chair emblem present.<br />
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Now what does a violation look like?<br />
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The obvious is a car without any of the legal markings parked in a clearly marked accessible parking space. But there are other problems.<br />
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-Blocking: When any car parks on the slanted yellow or blue lines, they are blocking safe access to the accessible parking space. Let's look at an image:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdS18HQkiwDbTQQa5NFQZoiuysMfpfKspakkoc_uGYNQTNVt9i45bEG2W25ozNg3hbFXPnwCeHKNojEX-OBXcaCHEwEziW7B3J_79TaJtsWSQWwvAOIBevw71zSUSHRj5ukRPyyXfBsk/s1600/blocking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdS18HQkiwDbTQQa5NFQZoiuysMfpfKspakkoc_uGYNQTNVt9i45bEG2W25ozNg3hbFXPnwCeHKNojEX-OBXcaCHEwEziW7B3J_79TaJtsWSQWwvAOIBevw71zSUSHRj5ukRPyyXfBsk/s320/blocking.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
Click on image for better view. This is a violation of "blocking" and there is a drop down menu in the app so you can report it accurately. If you look closely, there is another car parked ahead of the SUV that is in an accessible space. I can tell you that car was legal. To the right out of picture is a row of accessible spaces.<br />
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So the SUV isn't blocking anyone from parking per se, but the lines on this side of the spaces are still meant for disabled persons to move around safely, without having to squeeze between cars to get to the store. ANY car parked on these lines is a violation. Even if they have placard or plates.<br />
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One thing that is great about the app is that, if something you send in isn't a violation, they will inform you of it. So if in doubt, send the report.<br />
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Parking on slanted lines between accessible spaces or next to one is also a violation. Even if they have a placard or plates. They are blocking someone's wheelchair access.<br />
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You will come across what I call "just shoddy parking". Where someone parks halfway in an accessible space and halfway over the slanted lines next to it. If they have their placard and plates, this is usually excused. But if in doubt, send the report. List it as blocking.<br />
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-Placard not visible: Sometimes you will come across a vehicle that has the placard resting on the dash, but is covered with old mail or some junk. Or maybe it's been shoved so far down the windshield, it's nearly all obscured. Us the drop down menu in the app and select 'Placard not displayed properly'. Do all the other prompts as normal.<br />
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-Fake, Expired or Defaced Placards: This is another report in the drop down menu. If you think it might be a fake placard or something might be off about it. This is the report you use. They will let you know if you are mistaken. I've seen placards pieced together in laminate with odd bits next to them that didn't make sense. You may have to get closer to the car for this report than with others.<br />
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-ID on the dash: Another trick you might see is an ID card left on the dashboard instead of the placard. This is a violation. Nothing replaces the placard except the proper plates.<br />
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How to use the app:<br />
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When you bring up the app, you will have a map showing your location and a menu you can tap on. When you tap on "Report Violation" you will see a selection of points you need to fill in.<br />
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Violation Type: This is the drop down menu for the violations I listed above.<br />
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Below this, you will see 2 or 3 dark windows you can tap on that are labelled for photos of the violation. It is suggested to use your zoom feature where you can so you don't look like you are too close to someone's vehicle. I like to stand back a good ten feet or so if possible and use the zoom to capture the information. I've even stood in another entire lane of parking to catch windshield shots before because people were sitting in the car. They had no idea I took the picture.<br />
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Scrolling down, you will next find a tap map for the location of the space they are parked in. You can move the indicator to the best of ability to show where they are parked on the map. If there isn't a indicator of a parking space there, you can add one easily.<br />
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Next, is the License plate. You don't have to put in the State, just the number/letter combo.<br />
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Finally, there is a comment section. I used this to put in what store I'm in front of or other business as a helpful indicator.<br />
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You can do these things in any order you are comfortable with. Most people get the photos and then move away to finish the report. All in all, the whole things takes seconds to complete and you carry on with your day.<br />
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A rule of thumb: It is asked that you avoid confrontations. If someone asks you what you are doing. You could say anything, and then just walk away. Some people say they are taking down accessible parking information for mapquest or something like that. Nothing wrong with being clever, just get the info and move on. Confrontations are not only dangerous, but usually don't help the situation. People will say all sorts of things, but don't like being told how it really is.<br />
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In my next write up I'll share some of the confrontations I wound up in and how to handle them quickly and safely. I have my past law enforcement experience to fall back on, and I'll share that with you.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-13229188668076624772017-04-04T09:22:00.001-07:002017-04-04T09:22:19.871-07:00How do you feel about accessible parking?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-4ORdSUlSayxAcgJQt4oPAixlG3q1qLAyu7z2_aWc7svXzL8jh93BXh5zUmAAiBRWi01k7WO_Ju4nzGzREheR1ybqFQh-vVhFp_70ruYl8AKf3C9UzLrzkhCHdOvvAAbH362EwpZNM8/s1600/disa+parking.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-4ORdSUlSayxAcgJQt4oPAixlG3q1qLAyu7z2_aWc7svXzL8jh93BXh5zUmAAiBRWi01k7WO_Ju4nzGzREheR1ybqFQh-vVhFp_70ruYl8AKf3C9UzLrzkhCHdOvvAAbH362EwpZNM8/s320/disa+parking.png" width="320" /></a></div>
When you see someone park in the handicapped zone that doesn't belong there, does it get under your skin? I tell you what, when you sometimes need that spot yourself, you really notice the violations more.<br />
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But what do you do about it? Do you wait around and confront the person? That can get dangerous. Do you call the police? Very timely and the person is usually gone by the time the police arrive.<br />
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But there is something you can do. You can join the movement with <a href="https://www.parkingmobility.com/" target="_blank">Parking Mobility </a>and get something started. But it will take some perseverance.<br />
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Parking Mobility utilizes an app for your smart phone that allows you to report a violation of accessible parking from pretty much anywhere in the world. They are partnered with about 15 communities in this process as well. What does that mean?<br />
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It means that, in those communities, when a report is sent in, a ticket is eventually sent out. Parking Mobility works directly with the law enforcement agencies in those communities. Volunteers send in reports that are routed to the proper law enforcement division. In turn, a citation goes out in the mail to the lucky parking violator.<br />
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I spoke with Mack Marsh, the creator of the app and man behind the scenes with Parking Mobility. He explained to me that there are two things that need to happen in order to get the partnering process started in any community.<br />
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1: Evidence that there is a problem. That means collecting data and sending in reports. Even if you may not get your community partnered this year or next, this is the most important thing you can do. Using the app to send in reports is crucial. It takes a lot of data to get community leader's attention. That brings us to...<br />
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2: There needs to be enough people in the community who care about it and want to do something about it. That means a one man crusade is unlikely to get your area partnered. That's why I'm actively seeking more people to get involved in my area of Monroe and West Monroe, Louisiana. You will need to seek out volunteers too.<br />
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Once those two conditions are met, Parking Mobility will seek out the proper connections in your community leaders and get the ball rolling for working together to control the problem of those violations. If you are going to work with Parking Mobility, please do not try contacting your community leaders without them. It can actually hurt the process. PM are professionals and know what they are doing. 15 partnered communities is a pretty good list of results so far.<br />
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So do note that I put the link up in the body of this blog article. Get the app and get started. In my next write up, I will tell you more about how to use the app and what I personally do on my "patrols". Till then, you can also find training videos on the app's use via youtube and the website.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-60118410379662010182017-02-14T07:55:00.001-08:002017-02-14T07:55:42.685-08:00Reflecting on the Presidents of my Lifetime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was born in 1970 during Richard Nixon's run as President of the United States. Naturally, since I was a mere child, who he was mattered for zilch to me. I had no reason to care. But lots of people did care since the man resigned over the whole Watergate thing. But I wouldn't learn about that for 10 years yet, give or take a couple. You know,because of a thing called History class.<br />
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I had no reason to care about Gerald Ford either. I was in kindergarten and my circle of focus was very small. As it is for any kid really. What matters to you at that age anyway? Food, clothes, school, a few friends, and that's about it.<br />
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But if you look at Ford's presidential report card (so to speak) you see something interesting. I'm going to take a quote from the page, but you can read all about it <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/ford-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Ford's presidency, then, was marked by three elements. First, Ford faced extraordinary challenges, especially involving the nation's economic woes, which he struggled to solve. Second, Ford had difficulty navigating a demanding political environment in which Democrats (from across the ideological spectrum) and conservative Republicans found fault with his leadership and his foreign and domestic policies. The combination of these first two elements helped bring about Ford's defeat in 1976. Just as surely, though, a third dimension of Ford's presidency deserves recognition: Americans, by and large, believed that Gerald Ford was an innately decent and good man and that he would (and did) bring honor to the White House. Although this sentiment proved too little to bring Ford to victory in 1976, it is an assessment that most Americans and scholars still find valid in the years after his presidency.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Take note that Congress was controlled by Democrats and that created severe adversity for him as President. Take special note of that, please. It bears historical significance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">I was 6 years old in 1976 and here was Jimmy Carter (actually took office in 1977). I remember seeing him on television, but that's about all I remember of him. Of course I was in maybe 1st grade by this point. So once again, who this man was mattered not at all to me. But to look back from today, Jimmy Carter inherited a very similar state that Obama did. How? Well <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/carter-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">HERE</a> and here: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Carter took office just thirty months after a President had left the entire federal government in a shambles. He faced epic challenges—the energy crisis, Soviet aggression, Iran, and above all, a deep mistrust of leadership by his citizens. He was hard working and conscientious. But he often seemed like a player out of position, a man more suited to be secretary of energy than president. Carter became President by narrowly defeating an uninspiring, unelected chief executive heir to the worst presidential scandal in history. The nomination was his largely because in the decade before 1976, Democratic leadership in the nation had been decimated by scandal, Vietnam, and an assassination.</i></span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 25px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Minion Pro, Hoefler Text, Baskerville old face, Garamond, Times New Roman, serif;">Because of this and his struggles he was viewed as a "weak and inefficient" President. But today, I hear people say "Now that was a real President." It's funny to me how most of those people aren't any older than I am. Many of them are younger. That means they had no idea what the world situation was like and it sucked. I know that Carter tries to advise Presidents of today based on his experiences, but they usually ignore him. That's what you get for being a moral man in an immoral world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 25px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Minion Pro, Hoefler Text, Baskerville old face, Garamond, Times New Roman, serif;">In 1980 I was 10 years old and Ronald Reagan took over. Now here was a man everyone thought would get things done because "he's not a politician". Sound familiar? He wasn't a politician either, until he ran for President. I don't care who you are, if you run for President, you are a politician. Congrats! Yeah, he was an actor. Well, guess what actors do for a living? Being a politician is a snap next to that. One point still stands that he didn't really matter to me. He mattered to my parents. He mattered to adults. But I really saw no differences in life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 25px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Minion Pro, Hoefler Text, Baskerville old face, Garamond, Times New Roman, serif;">But you know what? That man actually did get things done. Thanks to the meetings between him and then Russian leader, Gorbachev, the cold war essentially ended. Read about that <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/reagan-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 25px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Minion Pro, Hoefler Text, Baskerville old face, Garamond, Times New Roman, serif;">Quoting: </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Reagan's economic legacy is mixed. On the one hand, tax reduction and a tightening of interest rates by the Federal Reserve led to a record period of peacetime economic growth. On the other, this growth was accompanied by record growth in the national debt, the federal budget deficit, and the trade deficit. Defenders of Reagan's economic record point out that a big chunk of the deficit was caused by increased military spending, which declined after the Soviet collapse and created the context for balanced budgets during the Clinton years. Even so, the supply-side tax cuts did not produce the increase in revenues that Reagan had predicted. The economist Robert Samuelson has suggested that Reagan's main achievement in the economic arena was his consistent support of the Federal Reserve, which under Reagan's appointee Alan Greenspan, followed monetary policies that kept inflation low. Reagan also succeeded in a principal goal of reducing the marginal income tax rate, which was 70 percent when he took office and 28 percent when he left.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Before anyone jumps on me, yes I know that there were a lot of people fighting for rights of all kinds during these administrations. Take notice that those subjects are NOT what this post is about. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Reagan held his post for 8 years and did well enough that when George Bush (prior Vice President) it seemed like the way to go for voters. I was 19 and joining the Army at the time. Again, I give you a link to read up about his Presidency and it's legacy <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/bush-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">But this quote seems to say it all for how that went, never mind his famous "read my lips" business:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvN-EqK9Z8tEeAs8xAtabkUUynqTT94x1KM4CN1FfAirQEES4_QlWbCuaXIR3LUzuzVLOP8d0ZZnNqWlLzAVYU8lj0aFeHNnZhfdg0oYnRnfoo59x41c4bBf3VenGClKSD7cbZEjLdrbI/s1600/readmylips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvN-EqK9Z8tEeAs8xAtabkUUynqTT94x1KM4CN1FfAirQEES4_QlWbCuaXIR3LUzuzVLOP8d0ZZnNqWlLzAVYU8lj0aFeHNnZhfdg0oYnRnfoo59x41c4bBf3VenGClKSD7cbZEjLdrbI/s1600/readmylips.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Generally the Bush presidency is viewed as successful in foreign affairs but a disappointment in domestic affairs. In the minds of voters, his achievements in foreign policy were not enough to overshadow the economic recession, and in 1992, the American public voted for change.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">For me, I remember a lot of complaining about ol George, even from fellow soldiers and drill sergeants. But I wasn't involved in politics. I wasn't even voting yet. I didn't even register to vote until the Clinton era (if memory serves). No one taught me that I should vote. I knew next to nothing about it. But I did see strife in the common person. That was enough for me. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Ask yourself this question: How do you earn a second term as President? By doing something right by the people. You have to admit that if a President really did screw up that badly, the common person would not vote for him again. History seems to support this. It's why Reagan held his post for 8 years and why Clinton held his for 8 years. Clinton wasn't your typical democrat as you can read <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/clinton-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">And to quote a section: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Clinton managed to remake the image and operations of the Democratic Party in ways that effectively undermined the so-called Reagan Revolution. His "New Democrat" Party co-opted the Reagan appeal to law and order, individualism, and welfare reform, and made the party more attractive to white middle-class Americans.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Clinton was the first President that actually mattered to me. He was reported to have held up more campaign promises than any President since JFK. And I still didn't know much about what being President really meant. I was young yet, in my early twenties. What do you care about in your early twenties after all? It seems interesting to me, as I look back, that we have a repeating history of someone who makes a mess of domestic affairs (who only gets one 4 year run) followed by someone who has to play clean up and earns two runs. Trend? Who knows. The Clintons may have been a family of great scandal, but they did do some things right. It was that scandal that changed things back to the Republicans when Al Gore ran for President. That paved the way for a whole new set of disasters.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Let's face it, if Clinton could have kept it in his pants, he and his wife would probably never have been scrutinized so closely, destroying their reputation completely. And we would have a very different political environment today. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">I have to admit, in his first four years, George W whupped some ass. No, he did. Of course <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/gwbush-impact-and-legacy" target="_blank">LINK</a>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">He was responsible for the No Child Left Behind program that set way for astounding changes in our educational system. He responded to 911 without hesitation (do NOT start throwing conspiracy theories at me). But this quote probably says it best:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;"><i>As President, Bush became a lightning rod for controversy. His controversial election and policies, especially the war in Iraq, deeply divided the American people.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">He's still heralded a hero to the upper class because he made things rosy for them. But everyone else was really feeling the pain by the time of his second term (that he earned by his war mongering). How? Well they refused to call it a "depression", but that's about what it was that went hand in hand with the housing collapse that our country still hasn't fully recovered from. You know, the one that put millions of families out of their homes with no legal recourse? It was Bush Jr. who set my views of the Republican party. His forcing of welfare recipients to "work" whether they were physically able or not paved a way to distrust from the entire disabled community. It was found unconstitutional and discontinued (thankfully for a lot of people). These events practically destroyed the middle class and were the beginnings of the divisions we see people blame Obama for today. It was after seeing people in wheelchairs with oxygen tanks forced into slave labor that I decided I would never vote for a Republican. NEVER. Mind you I don't like either side of the system, but I've been hurt by the Republican party personally so... let's get on with it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">That's what really taught me how politics can affect people. So when Obama came along and I learned about him. I voted for him. But then I would see new disappointments. Unfortunately the Miller Center didn't have a page for him for me to link. Of all the elections of any level that I had witnessed, I never saw political mudslinging like I saw directed at Obama. Even now, people are still screaming that he wasn't and isn't an American citizen. It's been proven that he is and was, but it continues. That behavior and my past experiences only served to concrete my vote for him both times. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">But he did step on some toes to put it lightly. The Affordable Care Act was not received well by insurance companies, so they turned around and screwed a lot of people to save their own budgets. That, of course, received no corrective action. Like Jimmy Carter (remember the historical significance I mentioned above?) he came into office with a Republican controlled Congress that shut down the government twice with their temper tantrums over Obama. Was there also racism or religious hate against him? Absolutely. People on the net still blast him for being "Muslim" when we are supposed to support Freedom of Religion. He did piss people off though, especially the upper class with the whole "redistribution of wealth" idea. Socialism is a very scary word, especially to the extreme Republican. Oh, but please note the educational pic I'm adding. Very interesting and accurate. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Yeah, he pissed people off, but he was also the most opposed President in office in our recent history. Opposed more than Jimmy Carter was. Every single thing he did was automatically blown out of proportion and rebelled against. But you didn't see him tweeting about it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">That's how it all came to be for me. I don't like our current political system. I think the whole Dems versus Reps is exactly what's tearing the country in half, like it did for the Civil War. As I look back at past Presidents and their elections, it seems to me that at least there was a candidate worth looking at. I didn't want Hillary any more than Trump. Neither side can be reasoned with without degenerating into slurs and fighting. I'm sure someone will attack me for what I've written here and I'll be called a Libtard (I am not a Liberal) or Obama lover (also not). But I know that those attacks seem to come exclusively from Republicans, and to that I will say, while I don't agree with the Democrat side either, I have never been attacked by them, bullied by them, put down by them, etc. Yes, I see what they've done in riots and I don't agree with that either, but my point stands. If you want me to listen to you and you call me names, it won't happen.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Minion Pro", "Hoefler Text", "Baskerville old face", Garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 25px;">Sorry this is so long, but it seemed to need it. Peace out.</span><br />
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David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-53776253407921424412017-01-25T19:04:00.000-08:002017-01-25T19:04:35.246-08:00Trump's executive order on immigration and...why it's bullshit.<br />
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Give him a chance! That's what his supporters keep screaming as they cheer every unconstitutional trick he pulls. People are very afraid and his supporters think that fear is pretty tasty and hilarious. Now he's keeping his word about that stupid wall and guess what, Mexico is not going to pay for it. I have yet to see anyone give one legal reason that will hold water for Mexico to pay for a wall around our country. Never mind the fact that it won't stop people getting in with legal visas. For the inanely stupid out there, that is how people get into our country by majority. They do it with a legal visa and just don't leave when it expires. Oh, but Trump has a plan for that. He's got an executive order that will make all the Muslim haters in our country weep with joy. And it's extremely offensive and bigoted. It's racial profiling at possibly the worst in history. Oh, but give him a chance.<br />
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Let's take a look at a break down of what he's doing with this so far. You can see the entire order online pretty easily.<br />
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1: Both travel and immigration to our country from the following shall be banned (with an open left to add more countries later) : Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran.<br />
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Because we never ever want to have peaceful talks with these countries ever again. You have family here? Don't worry, they'll be sent to you shortly, whether legally here or not. I guess, at least we aren't doing the whole internment camp again. Or will we?<br />
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2: It is advised that students from the listed countries not leave the US, for they shall not be permitted to return.<br />
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Because we only want to give education to foreign students we particularly like. Discrimination? Nah, it's not discrimination. They can call "alternative facts" like waving Mentos around in a murder commercial.<br />
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3: People from those countries with visas who have not traveled to the US, will not be allowed in. Their visas are void.<br />
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Yep, because good or bad.. fuck you and your country too.<br />
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4: The ban will extend to spouses of US Citizens of those countries with pending applications to the US.<br />
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Wait, what? Seriously? Okay, let's destroy some families while we're at it because this would be way too boring otherwise. Oh but wait, that gets better as we go.<br />
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5: The EO will call for what is known as a "values test" with questions such as:<br />
-Do you follow Sharia Law?<br />
-Do you believe in beheadings?<br />
-What do you think of gays?<br />
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Uh, because people trying to get into our country for any reason will just magically fess right the fuck up on that shit. You know, our country has pulled this crap before. We did it to the Japanese right before we carted them off to internment camps. We did to fully legal citizens only because they were Japanese and not for any other reason. So we haven't learned our lesson (or at least the Republicans haven't) and we're just going to do it again. This time to Muslims. Oh wait, we did to the Indians too when we took all their land away. And all the rest of the Muslims in those countries and students from them can just fuck off. They don't even get a questionnaire.<br />
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How can anyone who claims to support democracy actually support this? How? How is this a good example of what he's going to do? Hell, it's not even all he's pulling so far. I'll probably write about that too because now I need a place to vent and this is it.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7445631991598059856.post-69560603852978512372016-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:002016-10-03T10:58:30.836-07:006 things that are worrying me.Frankly, the fact that they are all going on right now, should worry you too. Some of these overlap each other and you'll know them when you read them. Even so, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. They are beyond my personal concerns as they are set to affect so many people.<br />
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1:The War on Police: Never mind the joke that these issues always seem to come down to someone refusing to bake a freaking cake. Why is that anyway? What is it about ordering a cake that people think is the way to protest serving someone they don't like? I realize that all businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for your public image. No, now it's come to refusing service to police officers in restaurants and other places. Are churches going to refuse to marry cops now too? I mean, come on. Are there bad cops out there? Sure there are. But that doesn't excuse total discrimination on them any more than any other walk of life. This whole "refuse to serve people" crap is way out of hand. Hope your business never gets robbed and you actually need them for anything. Bet you change your tune when you're hurting. Figures. Still, this worries me. Our police may need more training options (and the weeding out of bad apples), but they are already underpaid and low on morale.<br />
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2:Racism/Bigotry: Hand in hand with our police problems is no joking matter. It's way past being a hot button topic. It's an oversensitive hair trigger on a 20 megaton bomb. And it's way more than just a black and white matter. Our nation's bigotry has bloomed into a noxious cloud that engulfs us from coast to coast. It's so hot and people are so outraged, that even agreeing with some people will still get you shot down by them if your words aren't identical to theirs. Think about that for a second. If you agree with someone about racism (as in you are against it) but you simply use different words, you can still become the target of their wrath. It's more than a little dangerous to say anything about it. Then there's the Muslim issue attached to the refugee issue. People actually want to mark Muslims somehow and basically repeat history just like the Japanese internment camps and black segregation. What is it going to take to get it through people's heads? I fear the riots are only a sign of what is to come. It may start out as something akin to Black Lives Matter (not to point fingers at them), but it's going to spread to far more than that. Look over the year, gays, bathrooms, cop shootings, riots, Muslims, refugees, and I'm just waiting for the next incident. So are you.<br />
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3:Send in the Crazy: So, across our country, in several states, people are dressing up as clowns in order to spread hysteria and fear. People have been threatened, kids lured, and authorities alerted. One person has been shot so far. I doubt that will be the end of it. What the hell is going on out there? What kind of new criminal madness is this? As trends go, it's one of the worst I've ever seen. And what made it happen so wide spread? Clowns? Really? There must be a dark web location out there where this new trend of clowning was born. People in multiple states don't just all decide to do the same deranged activity all at the same time for no reason. That alone is reason to take caution and pay attention. This is happening for a reason and we need to find out what that is.<br />
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4:The Media: See issues 1 and 2 up there? Guess who isn't helping calm them down any? Yeah. Our media. If there were one thing we were supposed to be able to count on for what we need to know, it would be the media. But that isn't the case anymore and hasn't been for some time. Media embellishment incites riots. Yes, it does. Let's be honest, the media, on a few of this year's shootings, made it look like the persons shot were unarmed and law abiding. While innocent people have been shot (see recent news), those persons were later found to be less than innocent. The reporting that they were innocent caused the rioting to some degree. Even now, there are people who say that ALL of the shooting victims were innocent when that isn't true and the media isn't helping to correct it much at all. For that matter, they only help fuel the fire. And that doesn't include all the secondary and fake media outlets bamboozling everyone across the internet because NO ONE fact checks anything they read anymore. We need to hold the media every bit as accountable as any cop. Fat chance of that happening and I'll get to why soon.<br />
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5:The Election: I've said before how this is the worst election I've ever seen in my life and it still holds true. Gary Johnson's ship is sinking fast and it's leaving us with the horror of our day and age between Hillary and Donald. What's going to happen when either one of these people get elected is hard to say, but I don't think it will be pretty. Considering that we've had political riots as well as racial ones this year, I'm not holding my breath. And all of you should save your breath on telling me who to vote for too. There's another write up on that to come. I will not vote for Trump. Period. That's for another time. Today is the fact that, in either case, I fear there will be violence. Worst ever.<br />
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6:American Values: Where are they? All I see out there is a me first attitude coupled with apathy for the fellow man. Everyone is taking the greatest personal offense at everything they simply don't agree with instead of just living life. For example; someone didn't stand up for the anthem. Did your life end that day? Did anyone else's? Did you lose your home over it? Did you starve? Did you lose your job? Stop and think about why anyone is letting that man's personal actions burrow their way so far up their asses. People act like he's the greatest serial killer of our time and all he did was kneel. And that's just one example, so don't jump all over me unless you want to prove me right. And if all this isn't the case, then it's wide eyed gullibility for anything anyone using the word "media" wants to shove down the ol throat hole. Need an example of that? I saw an article circulating (meaning that people are actually sharing it) that claims the State of California has made child prostitution legal. Let me tell you something about that:<br />
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NO THEY FUCKING HAVEN'T<br />
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Still don't think we have a problem or two? Stop sharing sideline news sources that nothing but click bait. Stop believing everything you read at the drop of a hat just because someone claims to be media. Stop the bigotry. We all deserve to live here. Support each others rights. Stop getting offended at stupid things (remember red coffee cups?). Learn to accept that others don't think just like you do.<br />
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Please people, I'm begging you. If we don't fix this, we will regret it and soon.David Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01573923524853877779noreply@blogger.com0