They Should Rename the House of Representatives to the House of Millionaires

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Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I 100% believe that if the Federal Government requires the economy to be shut down that the people responsible for making that decision should NOT be receiving a paycheck during the duration of that shutdown. I know most of the people in Congress are now millionaires but it bugs me to no end that these folks who are supposed to be representing us are still getting paid while 16 million Americans (and counting) have lost their jobs... Brit Hume's full name is Alexander Britton Hume. How come he just doesn't go by Al Hume?... The Hogwarts motto is Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus - "never tickle a sleeping dragon"... "Facing the press is more difficult than bathing a leper." - Mother Teresa. I'm sure President Trump could relate to that quote... I'm a glutton for punishment but I would love to watch a Jeopardy! showdown between CNN's Jim Acosta and Wolf Blitzer. I'd put the combined over/under for correct answers for the entire show at 5. I'd also bet that neither would qualify for Final Jeopardy because they would both be well into negative numbers...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The point James Altucher raises about suicide is something I hadn't considered. The financial stress caused by this crisis should not go overlooked... Conspiracy theory - the coronavirus is fiendish plot by Big Toilet Paper... If I remember correctly in the book The Hot Zone contact with bats also played a major role in the outbreak and spread of Ebola. How about if we make eating bats illegal world wide. If you don't outlaw eating frigging bats then your country does not get to be part of things like the UN, the G7, or any other civilized organization. Your move China... Heh Heh... So in States that have ordered "shelter in place" does that order now make proper usage of the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane on the highway a crime? Charges of public endangerment maybe? More than a couple people in a cramped space like a car or van sounds dangerous (not that there's a whole lot of people on the road anyway)... A reminder to Congress. Get the friggin bill passed already!...

CA and NY

In recent reports both California and New York have lost significant amounts of population. Enough so that each State will be losing seats in Congress.

One common sense explanation that seems missing from most reports of the exoduses is the anti-business and high costs of doing business in those States (especially energy costs). These States are driving businesses away. The people are simply following the jobs. Usually to States that are business friendly - like Texas.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - Congress mandates cable TV pricing disclosures. Good first step towards full transparency of what subscribers are actually paying for.

- Very Cool

- Definitely going to hell for laughing at this

- US Coast Guard says Ryuk ransomware took down maritime facility. HT Stephen Landry

- Concussion lawsuit against Pop Warner Football is dismissed

- Star Wars humor

- How to live a creative life

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh - Boobies!

- I predicted that about 4 Democratic Congressmen would end up switching parties because they represent Districts in which Trump is popular. Looks like we've just had our first to switch.

- The next nuclear reactors will be small, svelte, and safer.

- The new California employment law is starting to crush freelancers - I would say "unexpectedly" but people were warned about this.

- Tough not to root for new BC football coach Jeff Hafley

- Cool - The Spaghetti Western trailer for The Mandalorian

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Can't help but wonder how many Democrat Congressmen in Districts Trump carried in the 2016 election will end up changing parties in the next few months to protect their re-election efforts. All because of how off-putting the impeachment efforts have been to their constituents back home. I'd put the over/under at 4 Congressmen... We have reached an inversion point in our nation's relation to China so much so that it has become an election issue... I'm a male over 50 but if I get denied employment as a surrogate mother - under the new rules some are trying to force on society shouldn't I get to sue for discrimination?... I love the Queen song We Are the Champions as much as the next guy but was a bully kicking sand in someone's face ever really a thing? Really? I mean I remember those Charles Atlas ads as a kid but that stuff may have happened once if at all... In that Johnny Depp Dior Sauvage cologne commercial is Depp burying his jewelry to hide it from debt collectors? Is he crying over what happened to his career? Inquiring minds want to know!...

China and Hong Kong

Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The vote was 417-1.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously and now awaits the signature of President Trump. The overwhelming support for the bill from both the House and Senate make the bill veto proof.

As the British would say, China is not best pleased with these actions. The bill has some teeth and some real penalties to China if the freedoms in Hong Kong are trampled. And to think real attention to the plight of protesters in Hong Kong only really gained high visibility in the US after Chinese officials completely overacted to Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's Tweet of support for Hong Kong.

Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, was the lone dissenting vote in the House although it seems Massie approves of the sentiment of the bill.

Dianne Feinstein's Chinese spy driver could not be reached for comment.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Toronto Raptors fans to give away thousands of pro-Hong Kong t-shirts on opening night. Good for the folks who came up with this. Be interesting to see how the team handles the situation.

- Hollywood's new self-censorship mess with China.

- 25 cool Australian slang terms.

- Citizen scientists find thousands of asteroids in Hubble images. Cool.

- Boston represent!

- China vows to retaliate against US Congress for passing Hong Kong human rights legislation. Trying to bully Hollywood is one thing but trying to bully the US Congress should get your hackles up Left and Right.

- Laird Hamilton's 5 rules for healthy living.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So what disappointed more people - Season 8 of Game of Thrones or Robert Mueller's testifying before Congress?... Interesting - ESPN's market research shows that 74% of fans don't want to hear about politics on ESPN. That includes avid fans (85%), Republicans (84%), and Democrats (69%). The idea of Go Woke - Go Broke seems to have finally sunk in with upper management...  "To be completely cured of newspapers, spend a year reading the previous week's newspapers." - Nassim Taleb... This may be old news to many but I had no idea that Paul Simon is "the world's biggest prick" and song thief. Probably going to throw out my Graceland CD over this... Wailing Monkey Climbing Tree would be a good name for a heavy metal Barbara Streisand cover band... Democrats may seize upon the idea that President Trump may not be prosecuted for obstruction while in office which may be even more incentive for some to vote him out in 2020. But that logic also means that former President Obama can be prosecuted NOW that he's out of office if he was complicit in illegally spying on the Trump 2016 campaign. You can't have it both ways...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I consider myself a person of color. Unfortunately during the summer that color is usually a distressing shade of sunburnt red... Prediction - tight white tennis shorts that were popular in the 80's are going to make a comeback. I'm going to stock up now and start priming the fashion pump before the summer's out!... Uber, Lyft drivers manipulate rates at Reagan National causing fare price surges. I can see both sides of this issue. I can also see just calling a cab... Thinking of changing my name to "Glass of Water" and moving to the NY 14th District to run for Congress. My campaign motto would be a simple "I'm not AOC!" Only way to see if Nancy Pelosi was right about that... Seriously can't believe the number of supposedly smart people who voluntarily uploaded their pictures for that stupid aging app...  I'm also thinking of proclaiming myself a minor celebrity. Who's to argue? So I'd be a minor celebrity person of color running as a Democrat against AOC. That's seat in Congress is as good as mine!... Damn it! It looks like I'm already too late to the party...

Slavery

On this date in 1865 the Congress voted to end slavery. The vote was 119 "yea" and 56 "nay" with 8 Congressmen not voting. It should be noted that every Republican Congressman voted to end slavery (along with 16 Democrats). All of the 56 "nay" votes and all of the not voting (the voting "present" of the day) came from the Democrats.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear the Republicans are the "racist" party.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The time German and Russian WW I soldiers banded together to fight wolves.

- This gets me every time I see it. Every time!

- Congress votes to award Steve Gleason the Congressional Gold Medal

- So now we know what Santa does once his Christmas work is done.

- I hope as you think of things to be thankful this holiday season you remember to be thankful for living in the US and not Venezuela.

- Steven Pressfield on the Artist's Journey

- Plan for the world's next big particle collider in Japan dealt a big blow.

The New National Anthem - Free Bird

If I were in Congress every April 1st I would propose a law changing the National Anthem to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird. I think that would be great. I bet you would get a lot of Congressional support for the law from the South too.

How great would it be if the law went into effect prior to the next Olympic Games? Imagine other countries having to sit through 9 minutes of Southern Rock each time a US Olympian medaled - or would that be metaled? Imagine proud US citizens playing air guitar while the world watched - each citizen putting their own stamp on the guitar anthem. It would be awesome.

Already the words "Free Bird" are a joke/insult to most musicians or bands - how ironic would it be if they all had to actually learn to play the song? Play Free Bird would take on a whole new meaning and level of hostility from bands who would never know if you were messing with them or being patriotic.

Too bad I'm not in Congress.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The history of philosophy (interactive graph)

- Literally "No Fat Chicks" to become law in Greece

- Heh Heh

- Who knew? Moons can also have moons and they are called moonmoons.

- Heh Heh

- Has the standard and cost of living really been stagnant for the past 40-years?

- Congress passes bipartisan Opioids Bill

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- About time Kelo was addressed by Congress. I don't think they went far enough to protect property rights.

- Where do we find such men?

- Heh heh - always makes me chuckle

- Why Gandalf didn't just use the eagles from the start.

- Heh Heh

- Long read but fascinating - how an ex-cop rigged McDonald's Monopoly game and stole millions

- Interesting story from the Israeli PM.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - what's it like to be a dolphin?

- Wow - what a difference!

- The Republican Congress's secret weapon - the CRA. Good! Use it more often!

- I hope scientists make a huge deal out of May 29, 2019

- 51 Percent Attacks. A cryptocurrency weakness. Maybe the reason why no nation would ever use a "coin" as their national currency (too easy for other nations to gang up and devalue that country's economy).

- So sad

- Heh Heh

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

When is Consumer Reports going to do an all tazers issue? I want to buy only the best... You do have to wonder how history could have been different if Hillary's top aide hadn't married a sexual predator. Really think we as a country dodged a bullet... I've said this for a long time but I think all candidates for Congress should first have to take and pass the citizenship test immigrants take as part of the Naturalization process.  And the results of the test should be public. That would both weed out candidates who don't know our history or how our system works (looking at you Maxine Waters) but also provide an easy metric for people on the fence to make a choice (pick the candidate with the higher score)... Speaking of Hillary...  Many Democrats would like for Hillary Clinton to just go away so they can concentrate on the 2018 elections but with people like James Clapper saying the Russians stole the election she sticks around and hampers progress like a drug resistant cough or STD... Firmly believe that history will not be kind to the Obama Administration as the truth keeps coming out... GO CELTICS! No matter what happens this season has been a huge success but I know the team will not be satisfied with just taking Cleveland to 7 games. Win tonight! GO CELTICS!...

Slavery

On this date in 1865 the Congress voted to end slavery. The vote was 119 "yea" and 56 "nay" with 8 Congressmen not voting. It should be noted that every Republican Congressman voted to end slavery (along with 16 Democrats). All of the 56 "nay" votes and all of the not voting (the voting "present" of the day) came from the Democrats.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear the Republicans are the "racist" party.

Slavery

On this date in 1865 the Congress voted to end slavery. The vote was 119 "yea" and 56 "nay" with 8 Congressmen not voting. It should be noted that every Republican Congressman voted to end slavery (along with 16 Democrats). All of the 56 "nay" votes and all of the not voting (the voting "present" of the day) came from the Democrats.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear the Republicans are the "racist" party.