In Their Own Words: Why Liberalism is a Mental Disease

 Politics are funny, but they're also serious. The political and media arena generate the people that make important decisions or peddle influence, and as such, most of us pay attention to what they say and do. Words come before actions, so it is in this light I list notable quotes and their authors. I am not editing or changing any of their words; anything within quotation marks is 100% what they said and can be easily verified on the internet.

(Vice President) Kamala Harris: "Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine."  (Really? No shit, you don't say?)

(NY Gov) Kathy Hochul: "I don't know why locking up criminals is so important to you." (Yeah, shame on us. How dare we think that way?)

(Race Baiter) Jesse Jackson: (From an interview in Life magazine, 1969) Just before leaving the kitchen he would spit into the food of white patrons he hated and then smilingly serve it to them. He did this, he said, “because it gave me psychological gratification.” (Thanks for proving you're a racist, Rev. What do you think Jesus would say about that?)

(Media Mogul) Oprah Winfrey: "They just have to die."  (Any plans to put older white people in Concentration Camps you'd like to mention, lady?)

(Mess-NBC Race Baiter) Joy Reid: "I was hacked."  (A blatant lie trying to deny multiple homophobic slurs she made on her blog.)

(Also-ran) Hillary Clinton: "We just can't trust the American people to make those types of choices ... Government has to make those choices for people." (And that, Hillary is exactly why Americans didn't trust you in 2016!)

Bill Clinton: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." (WTF, over?)

The Rev. Al Sharpton: "We don't owe America anything. America owes us." (Oh, shut up and pay your taxes, Al.)

(TV Show The View Panel Member) Sunny Hostin: "What’s also surprising to me is the abortion issue. I read a poll just yesterday that White Republican suburban women are now going to vote Republican. It’s almost like roaches voting for Raid, right?"  (Seriously? White women are roaches? Like what Hitler called the Jews in Germany?  I did Nazi that coming.)

(TV Show The View Co-host) Joy Behar: Isn’t it a little racist to call it Black Friday? (Only if it's a crime to describe you as bringing Joy to anybody.)

(TV Show The View Co-host) Whoopi Goldberg:  "The Holocaust isn't about race." (Yeah, try selling that line of bullshit in Tel Aviv.)

(US Rep) Maxine Waters:  “God is on our side." (Dag nab it. That God guy is so easily swayed.)

(Mass Rep) Dylan Fernandes: "We are a community that comes together to support immigrants." (After kicking them out of Martha's Vineyard in less than a day.)

(US Rep) Nancy Pelosi: "Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs." (Well, there goes the neighborhood.)

(Also-ran) Al Gore:  "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." (Yes, tut-tut, of course you did. And myself, I invented the electricity it runs on.)

Barack Obama: "I’ve now been in 57 states. I think one left to go." (Oh crap. Can anybody lend me a new map?)

(Singer) Sheryl Crow: "I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares [sic] of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don’t want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required." (Remind us again what it is you eat, Sheryl. Do you, perchance, eat fruit?)

(US Rep) Hank Johnson: "My fear is that the whole island (of Guam) will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize." (If I were you, Hank, I'd sue whatever schools you attended. If I were on the jury, I'd side with your lawsuit.)

Joe Biden: "All men and women are created by the... you know the... you know, the thing."  (Consider yourself lucky Kamala is next in line, Joe. That's probably what's saving you from invoking the 25th amendment.)

Seriously. These are all noted liberal Democrats that have (or had) a hand in shaping our government into what it is today. With all the Trump hatred still out there, with the very serious effort of the Democrats in power to try to remove even a chance of his name being on a ballot ... With all of what is going on currently ...

How the fuck can any sane person align with this party or cast a vote for any of these people?

When You Burn Your Bridges

Hello, Brittany Griner. It seems you've put yourself into quite a jam. As I pen these words, you're sitting in jail. In Russia. And have been since February. It seems you brought something into the country you shouldn't have when going to play basketball there. It seems they were not impressed ... it seems bringing hash into Russia concealed in vape pens wasn't such a good idea after all. Are you guilty? I don't know, but since you pleaded guilty in Russia, at least there you are officially guilty. If and when you get out, you can conjure up whatever words you wish about it then. But in the meantime, those Ruskies have you and there's not much you can do about that.

So, how are they treating you? Is the food ok? They didn't beat you, did they? When I read about foreign jails, I'm learning they are quite different than the US. Your rights .... um, how do I say this? Oh yeah. You don't have any rights there. Oh, they have a judicial system with courts, lawyers and such, but we both know ... You're kind of screwed. What happens to you is not up to you anymore, it's up to them. It doesn't help that they're in a war and the US has done everything, including arming it's opponent to hurt Russia. Putin is no fool, he sees what's going on. At this point, you're a pawn in a global game of chess, and every chess player knows when to sacrifice a pawn.

I see you're asking for help from your native country. That's us, the good 'ol USA. Isn't life ironic? Why, it was just a short two years ago you made some pretty controversial statements about the country that birthed you, raised you, and gave you opportunity galore. The opportunity was golden, but you chose to make a political statement about the US that didn't set very well with most of us ...

“I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season,” Griner said. "I think we should take that much of a stand.”

“I’m going to protest regardless,” she said. “I’m not going to be out there for the national anthem."

Those words didn't set well with many Americans. Oh, you're entitled to your opinion .... and we're entitled to ours. When you verbally defecated on our National Anthem, you kind of pissed off a lot or people, maybe even half the country .... or maybe even more than that. Oh, the woke crowd, the professional race baiters and others afflicted with hate for America might have applauded your stand then, but ... most of us didn't. We understand you may not be happy, we understand you may have grievances meaningful to you ... But the bottom line is, when the chips are down, America demands patriotism from everybody if you are to be respected as an American. It doesn't mean you can't air your feelings, it only means the flag is supposed to bind us together, not divide us. You chose division, not unity.

And now you need your country. Oh, how the tables have turned. You saw other athletes snub our flag, you saw other athletes choose to piss on America and you chose to join them. Well, Brittany, you chose poorly.

Seriously. You made your bed, now lie in it - even in a Russian jail. No American looks forward to one of us ending up in a foreign jail, but you kind of burned your Get Out of Jail card when you chose notoriety over patriotism. Your detractors far outnumber your supporters at the moment.

Someday, you will come back to America. It might be sooner, it might be later. A swap deal might bring you home... or it might not. Putin isn't very happy with $hitshowJoe right now, so I wouldn't hold my breath. You have yet to be sentenced and we'll all see what Russia has in mind for you when that day comes. In the meantime, Brittany ... I'd like you to rethink how you view your home country. I'd like you to think about the words and tune of our anthem.

Here's some free advice for you, which you probably won't pay attention to.

America is very forgiving, but there are conditions put on forgiveness. One of them is contrition and a sincere apology. If and when you breath freedom again, you would be well advised to come to the podium with clean hands, a recognition that America, with all its faults is still the greatest country on the face of the planet and a promise to do better.

Standing at attention with your hand over your heart while the National Anthem is being played would be the icing on the cake. Love it or hate it, this is our country. Our, as in .... yours, mine and every American.

Your choice. Either continue to be a rebel with a lost cause or be a patriotic citizen. We'll be watching, and we hope you make a better decision than you did in February.

You Did it to Yourselves

 Yeah, you did.

When Roe v Wade became law by judicial order in 1973, the argument was settled - for the moment. Oddly, law is similar to science in one manner: It is never settled, it is only settled for a slice of time. In the case of Roe, it took a little more than 49 years to revisit and discard it in favor of Dodds v Jackson Woman's Health Organization. Let's just abbreviate it to Dobbs for discussion.

Prior to Roe, regulation of abortion had been in the hands of each state, and many states banned it although there were a handful that allowed it. Where I live, New York State was one that allowed it. But then again, NY is a deep blue state with the seat of power located mostly in the three counties surrounding New York City. Upstate is much more conservative and dances to whatever tune NYC makes us dance to. We're told that's fair, but we know better. The last elected Governor of NYS won 15 out of 62 counties, and if there were an electoral college for Governors, he wouldn't have made it. This, btw, is a strong argument to make all 50 executive branch seats subject to an electoral college. It would take away the stronghold the cities have in most states and give suburban and rural areas a fairer voice.

When Roe became law, it took the argument away from state legislatures. It was legal, but that didn't make it moral. To think otherwise, you have to think death is a better alternative to life and if you truly feel this way, I feel sorry for you. 63+ million American abortions since Roe make it the largest class genocide in history, far outnumbering Hitler, Mao and Stalin.

When the coming decision was leaked by one of the law clerks, the lines were drawn. Somebody paid by tax dollars took an oath to secrecy and violated it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to narrow it down to ... oh, the offices of three Justices. Someday, somebody will undoubtedly stand up and claim they did it, probably in old age or sickness so as to preclude jail time. In the meanwhile, the list of suspects is short. And it will probably change the internal workings of the court to lessen the chances of it ever happening again.

As I said in the title, you did it to yourself. What do I mean?

Recent polls indicate Americans are not comfortable with full-term abortion, and even the clear majority are not comfortable with it after the first trimester (about 12 weeks). Take a look at the pie charts below:

The numbers tell quite a story. 60% favor making it legal in the first trimester, but that number falls off to 28% in the second trimester, and even though the chart doesn't show the third trimester, the numbers fall significantly as full-term approaches. It's clear most Americans are very, very uncomfortable with full term abortion, even though Andrew Cuomo shoved it through in NY. Karma evened up the score though and it's a fair guess we'll never see Uncle Andy in the White House, the coveted prize he so desired.

So when Roe was expanded in some individual states, it was fine with the pro-abortion crowd. More is better, right?

No. You got what you deserved and the irony is, you did it to yourselves.

The US under Roe was in a unique club, even most European nations restricted abortion. This makes it especially ironic to hear them criticize the overturning of Roe, seeing as their own laws about the subject are far more restrictive than ours. See below:

It needs to be mentioned the US shares similar laws with China and North Korea. We're one of the few that allow full term abortion; see below:

Yeah. When you expanded abortion to the second and third trimester, you did it to yourselves. Now regulation of abortion is back where it belongs - in the hands of states, where the 10th Amendment (and Ruth Bader Giinsberg!) said it belongs:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I'm ashamed of New York. I've opined in earlier blogs about this, but my roots are so deep and our extended families are here; that's the reason my wife and I haven't fled to a more sanely-governed state.

Yet.

What Dave Ramsey is Right About and Vice Versa

 Dave Ramsey has become famous for giving financial advice to those who seek him out and ask for it. And he has become wealthy doing so, which I applaud. Making money legitimately in America is always admirable, not to mention, often copied. Others have followed Ramsey's path to wealth by merely telling others how to get there. It seems knowledge is power in the financial world.

I agree mostly with Ramsey's advice, but I differ on a few things he pushes: Number one, get rid of all your credit cards and only use a debit card; and number two, pay off your smallest debts first and then move on to the larger debts no matter what the interest rates are. These fly in the face of logic, but Ramsey excuses that by saying the emotional high you get off paying off your first debt is what keeps you motivated to keep going. He may be right with certain groups of people, but he is also wrong with another group that rises above emotion. No matter how it is presented to him, he'll tell you about studies that back him up. Well, one size has never fit all and it never will; there are simply too many variables to conclude one system will work for everybody. Even Henry Ford changed his mind with his famous statement You can have any color you like as long as it's black.

Let's talk about credit cards first and why, if you are going to use plastic to buy anything you should choose a credit card over a debit card. First and foremost, a credit card has a layer of buyer security built into it a debit card doesn't. If you buy a product and it has problems, say, it is broken, misrepresented or even never shows up at your door, you can call your credit card company and get your money back. Debit cards lack this ability - the moment you use it, the money is subtracted from your account and there is no way to recover it without lawyers and considerable expense.

Next, most credit cards have rewards programs. The rewards programs vary, some are airline miles and if you fly often, these are equivalent to cash in the bank. Some cards give a percent or two back in cash; some cards build a fund to use if you buy a new car and so on. Are the reward programs worth it? Ab-so-lute-ly. The last 4 GM vehicles I bought have all had substantial money applied to them after dealing for the best price. The last statement I read was nice enough to tell me I had redeemed over $12,000 in GM rewards to date. I was going to buy the vehicles regardless and it was nice to know my bank accounts are $12k better off than GM's bank accounts would have been had I not used my credit card for everyday purchases that I would have made anyway. Dave, Dave, Dave ... you can't have your daughter Rachel putting out Youtube videos on how to save 26 cents on a can of soup at Aldi and then tell us to walk by an easy $25 or so every month in cash-back rewards. If we're going to build wealth, every avenue is fair game and getting cash back on stuff you have to buy regularly simply makes sense. Obvious sense.

Of course, using credit cards for rewards only works if you pay the card off in full every month like clockwork. This requires discipline and if you have it, then the credit card can't be beat - and to top it off, it's convenient. Gas pumps, grocery checkouts and such are far quicker with cards than they are with cash.

When these statements of logic are put to Dave Ramsey, he counters by saying studies show people that use credit cards tend to buy more than they planned. I say ... so what? Denying yourself some of the small pleasures and superfluities of life when you have all the means necessary to pay for them is stupid. Self-denial is great when you're tight on your budget, but Dave - It's a YOLO planet, and if I want the expensive deli meat or a bag of Oreos, I don't care if it was an impulse buy. A few bucks spent in the grand scheme of things matters not.

Oh yeah, try renting a car or getting a hotel room without a credit card. Seriously, the credit card is the standard item needed to do so, Dave... Not to mention, I think it's awfully nice of a bank in Delaware to loan me money interest-free for 40 days. I know they'd prefer it if I only made minimum payments, but somehow I manage to pay them off in full every month and I do enjoy the cash-back rewards.

And lastly, although Dave Ramsey says your credit score doesn't matter ... it does. And you don't build a good credit score with a debit card; you build it with a credit card. Dave goes as far as to say you don't need a credit score, but for the vast majority of Americans ...he's wrong. You -do- need it. His claims that "manual underwriting" is somehow better than the report the bank pulled when you applied for a mortgage are pretty hinky.

Next, let's talk about paying off debts in the order he prefers: Smallest to largest, no matter what the interest rate is on them. If you are paying off your credit card every month, you already have the discipline to look at your other debts and figure out which ones have high interest - and should be paid off sooner, not later. Allegedly, it was Einstein that said the most powerful force in the universe was compound interest .... and that should be your rule and guide for which debts to get rid of first. Dave claims to be good at math, but on this subject, he shelves the logic of math for the endorphins of emotion, and it's a bad trade.

Finally, Dave thinks that the stock market is the place to beat inflation. Well, he's right and he's wrong, depending on how old you are when the big monkeys shake the little monkeys out of the branches on a schedule nobody can predict. If your timing is bad, you're screwed - figure on being a Wal-Mart greeter in your retirement years because you were born under an unlucky stock-market era.. And his claims that the market returns an average of 12% are awfully rosy numbers; in fact, since it's inception the market has returned an average of 7.75% ... which is good, again, if your timing is good. But if you're at the end of your earning years and the stock market tanks, count on un-retiring because somebody's advice was wrong.

Now let me close with some obvious truths: If you are not disciplined with money, if you regularly spend more than you make, follow Ramsey's advice: Cut up your credit cards, work 2 or 3 jobs, pay off your credit card debt and you will slowly but surely climb out of the hole. Sadly, this advice applies to the majority of people with credit cards. For those buried in credit card debt, I sincerely hope you get out of it and  ... I also recognize that if the banks didn't make money on credit cards that they would cease to exist. That said, the claims that those that pay off their credit cards do so on the backs of those that don't misses one big point, and that is human nature: There will always be a group of people that won't or can't pay off their debts timely, and this is the basis of the banking system in America.

But if you are disciplined with money, ignore most of Ramsey's advice with a smile on your face. If you don't need Dave Ramsey's advice, stick to the plan that has obviously worked for you for a long time - and that is maximizing your purchasing power every way you can, with credit card rewards ... and even that unplanned purchase that somehow didn't drive you into the poorhouse.

Want to be wealthy? Here's Don's advice: Spend less than you make and build savings with the difference. It adds up faster than you realize.

German Humor is no Laughing Matter

 I disagree. The Germans do have a sense of humor, and the jokes told during the worst times of German repression (the Nazi and East German years) are witness to that. Jokes were told about Hitler and the Stasi when they were in power.... they just weren't told within earshot of untrusted people. The jokes were referred to as whispering jokes (Flüsterwitze) and some of them are pretty funny. 

Here are 2 Nazi-era jokes that quietly made the rounds:

Adolf Hitler was scheduled to visit an insane asylum and the workers drilled the patients in how to salute and say Heil Hitler correctly. After repeated training, they seemed to get the idea. Hitler makes his visit and the patients are lined up, and sure enough they give the Hitler salute while shouting Heil Hitler. But the Fuhrer notices only the patients are saluting, not the doctors or nurses. He pulls some of the doctors aside and asks why they are not saluting.

Mein Fuhrer, they explain. We are professionals. We don't belong with the madmen.

... And another:

A lady has a parrot and it overhears her saying Down With Hitler! (Nieder mit Hitler!) Worse, it learns the phrase and one day, while at the window, clearly says Nieder mit Hitler. A neighbor overhears the parrot and reports her to the Gestapo, who come and interrogate the Frau. She denies it and luckily, the parrot is quiet during the interrogation. Still, they don't believe her and tell her to appear with the parrot in court the next day.

As she is walking to court the next day, she walks by her church minister who asks why she looks so glum, and she tells him the story. He tells her to switch the parrot with his and then there will be no chance the parrot will give her away. She follows him home and they switch the parrot, and she continues to the courthouse where the court is waiting for her.

Again, they accuse her of teaching her parrot the words and try to coax the parrot to repeat them.

First, the prosecutor shouts at the parrot Nieder mit Hitler, but the parrot says nothing.

Then, the Judge shouts at the parrot Nieder mit Hitler, but again the parrot is quiet.

Soon, the whole courtroom is shouting Nieder mit Hitler at the parrot ... and then the parrot says

The lord hears our prayers.

The East German jokes were also whispered and there were people that actually spent years in jail for telling them. The Stasi had ears almost everywhere and telling jokes that made fun of the state was not tolerated. One of the hallmarks that West Germany used to learn how the East German population felt was to collect and categorize their jokes. You can find many of them with a google search, but here are a few of the better ones:

Two East German border guards are conversing one day. One asks the other how he views things. The guard replies "I think ... " and is interrupted by the first guard. "That is enough, I now have to arrest you..."

Here are some about the Trabant 601, the car most East Germans had. Any car was hard to get In East Germany; the wait was long and the Trabant was comparatively expensive compared to wages.

How did the Trabant 601 get its name? 600 people ordered it and 1 actually got it.

A man driving a Trabant suddenly breaks his windshield wiper. Pulling into a service station, he hails a mechanic. “Wipers for a Trabi?” he asks. The mechanic thinks about it for a few seconds and replies: “Yes, sounds like a fair trade.”

How do you measure the acceleration of a Trabi? ...With a diary.

Why don't criminals take hostages in East Germany? ... What kind of criminal would wait 14 years for a getaway car?

General Secretary Erich Honecker and Stasi head Erich Mielke are discussing their hobbies. Honecker says  “I collect jokes about me.”  Mielke replies: “Well, we have almost the same hobby. I collect those who tell jokes about you.”

Why do Stasi officers make such good taxi drivers? You get in the car and they already know your name and where you live.

Two inmates in the Bautzen political prison are talking about their sentences. "How long are you in for?" "Five years." "And what did you do?" "Nothing." "Can't be. For nothing you get ten years!"

An East German Judge walks into the cafeteria of the district court bent over with laughter. Other judges and lawyers ask him why he is so amused. "Oh, comrades, I've just heard the latest political joke!" "Tell it to us!" "Unfortunately, I can't do that. I've just sentenced a barber to two years of prison for telling it!"

And last, if not least ...

What is the definition of the Five Year Joke in East Germany?  ...Three years in prison for telling it and two years for all who listened and laughed.

When You Shoot the Messenger

 Recently, Canadian-born rocker Neil Young made a point of removing his music from Spotify, a large media platform. His stated reason is that Spotify is allowing itself to be used as a platform for "spreading misinformation about Covid." He specifically cites the Joe Rogan podcast as the source. Joe Rogan isn't a liberal like Young and it's a fair guess Neil didn't care for any of what Rogen had to say, but he needed a specific reason so he chose Covid. Ironically, some of Young's past music moans about GMO food and the businesses engaged in it.

Neil Young isn't ... young anymore. He's a washed-up old man living off his past glory. He faded into the backdrop of music a long time ago, sold off some of his music for a reported $150 mil or so and for the most part people forgot about him. Once in a while his music is played on classic rock radio stations and that's about it. Publicizing his stand, he told Spotify they could have Rogen or Young, but not both. Spotify, to their credit didn't bow to this form of blackmail and said goodbye to Neil in very nice words. They even welcomed him back should he change his mind.

A few other has-been nobodies of past music joined him (Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and a few other pebbles of the music industry) in protest. I'd guess it's a publicity stunt to put their names iin the public eye again, but who knows? Anyway, the funny thing is that with absolutely no credentials whatsoever, they pontificate about what is misinformation about covid. The 2 doctors who appeared on the Rogen podcast have the education, degrees and experience to at least give them some credibility about the subject. One of them is a specialist in mRNA vaccines.

So why should anybody believe a washed-up old dope-smoking musician's opinion about covid over credentialed medical doctors? Now it's not science, it's the politics of science and what you choose to believe, much like the debate over climate change with experts on both sides telling each other why they are wrong.

Do we advance science when one side tries to shut the other side up? No, we need debate, We need to hear both sides, we need to know the pros and cons. If anything, there is a plethora of information bombarding us about why everybody should get vaccinated and they've even set up a website promoting vaccines. Is there a website warning us about adverse reactions? I highly doubt it.

I'm not pro-vaccine and I'm not anti-vaccine. I'm pro-choice; every adult in this country should be able to make their own decision about what medical treatments they want and which ones they don't want. There should be no mandates, period. After the horrors of Nazi  medical experimentation, the post-WW2 Nuremburg compact specifically addresses this by saying nobody should be forced to submit to medical procedures or medicine they don't agree to. How is it any medical regimen can be mandated after this?

I still enjoy a small smattering of Neil Young music. Most of his music sounds rather nasal and droning to me and I avoid it like the plague. What is most curious to me is the concept and implementation of streaming music nowadays. I come from the old school of buying music on media (records, tapes, CDs etc) if you want it, not paying to stream for something that goes in one ear and out the other. And with the technology of today. you can change the format of your music easily (mp3s, etc) and put it on ipods or similar. I'm not against streaming music, I just don't understand it.

The meme I enjoy the most making the rounds of social media right now is the picture of Neil with the words "When you're so woke, you cancel yourself ..."

Anyway, I guess I can toss out my Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren CDs now, since they're sycophants of Neil in this publicity charade. 

Oh yeah. I don't have any Joni Mitchell or Nils Lofgren CDs. Too bad.

The Mask Nazi

I hesitated about writing about this. I didn't want to come off as favoring one side or the other in the debate about the efficacy of masks in preventing covid. There is plenty to read about this topic and it is easily found online. FWIW, I think the Governor of Colorado has the right idea about covid, vaccines and masks. His stated view is that the emergency is over and he won't extend or implement any mask mandates or force anybody to get a shot because ... because personal responsibility is personal, and if, after all this time, you get sick from covid without being vaccinated, it's your own darn fault. (He was silent about the large number of vaccinated people that get sick, which is par for the course.)

But I'm not in Colorado. I'm in New York, a blue-state that thinks nothing of suspending your freedoms, rights and liberties. I wish Ron DeSantis was my Governor, not some starchy lady that is drunk on power and hell-bent on somehow getting elected in November after becoming Governor by default following Andrew Cuomo's implosion. Keeping covid alive and well is part and parcel of the Democrat strategy to keep ballot-harvesting healthy via mail-in ballots. I suspect she'll do about as well at the ballot box as her predecessor did (7 out of 62 counties in 2018) but it will be enough to again elect whatever Democrat is on the ballot because the downstate urban region that includes New York City will be enough to prevail again. Frankly, I wish Governors were elected using an electoral college system to restore balance (and allow 55 out of 62 counties to have some sort of say in who will sit in the executive mansion for the next 4 years).

Anyway, the story that prompted all these words... and I'll skip mentioning the fast-food establishment where this occurred so as to not cause them harm.

We had ordered, chose a table and were sitting there waiting for our order to be completed. We had already filled our drinks from the self-serve dispenser and were making idle chatter when the show began. A lady that I will call Frau Goebbels appeared suddenly and started shouting at one of the employees. Apparently, she was upset about an employees mask. Oh, he was wearing one, to be sure. It just wasn't up to her standards of mask-wearing.

You need to pull your mask up. We couldn't hear his response clearly, but the next words out her mouth were No, you need to pull  it up to the top of your nose. I can still see some of your nose. I don't want to catch covid from you.

My wife and I were stunned. We had the best seat in the house to this show, and by now we were watching more attentively. At about this time, our name was called to come pick up the food we ordered, so I walked up and picked it up. I got a peek at who she was yelling at, grabbed the food bag and walked back to the table.

I want to see the manager. And magically, somebody appeared, talked to her and it was over. Frau Goebbels disappeared out the door. Shortly after, the employee walked out, took his apron off and muttered Thanks for ruining my day as he left. We're guessing it was either the end of his shift or the manager told him to go... but we're not sure.

If this cost this young man his job, I'll be disappointed. Mask, no mask, or an incompletely-worn mask are not the end of the world. And being loud, rude and obnoxious in front of other customers wasn't warranted. It was more about power and control than anything else. In modern lingo, she was a Karen, but I prefer the moniker Frau Goebbels better. She would have made a good Nazi. Too bad she was 90 years late.

There are ways to express your opinions about this, and the way this lady chose was a poor choice. We didn't learn anything about covid that night, but we did learn something about how many assholes walk among us. This lady clearly was one, and I fervently hope we never see her again. I suspect she is a professional complainer about many things in life.

After we were finished, as we walked towards the door, we thanked the workers for how good the food was and ... oh yeah, thanks for the bonus show. We enjoyed it. ... They laughed along with us as we went out the door.