Congress has 11% approval ratings but 96% incumbent reelection rate

Congress has 11% approval ratings but 96% incumbent reelection rate, meme says | PolitiFact 

November 2014. 
what's different today?
answer: nothing. today the congress' approval rate is still miserably low while congress' incumbent reelection rate is incredibly high.
why?
answer: because americans keep voting for republicans and democrats.

who do you trust?
- someone who you know who has similar values to yours?
- or someone who trashes other people? an instigating bully who divides (instead of a leader who seeks to unify)? a foul-mouthed womanizer? a person who doesn't keep their promises? a charlatan? a liar? 
- or someone who thinks that they're above our laws, conducting government business on private, unsecured email, failing to protect classified government documents? who has no more regard for an innocent child than to support killing that child moments before the child would have been born?
- or do you trust political parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs? 

way back in 1972 the godfather described how a virtueless government operates: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

the fix to our dysfunctional government is simple--stop voting for lousy candidates who don't have values similar to yours, and who don't represent our country. 

If you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party--the hand that holds the puppet/money strings. 

LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

In the next election--national, state or local--vote for someone who shares your values who is not a democrat or a republican. 

even with their billion dollar donors, the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die if no one votes for their lousy candidates.

Nothing will be better for our country.

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

vocabulary

sex 1 noun (chiefly with reference to people) sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse. 

sex | Definition of sex in English by Oxford Dictionaries 

assault VERB 1 Make a physical attack on. 

assault | Definition of assault in English by Oxford Dictionaries 

abuse VERB  1 Use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse.

abuse | Definition of abuse in English by Oxford Dictionaries 

sexual assault is not sexual abuse. 

sexual abuse is not gender bias. 

get it right, people! especially you, the media--you should know better! 

dictionary NOUN 1 A book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language (typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning, or gives the equivalent words in a different language, often also providing information about pronunciation, origin, and usage.

thanks to Americans like Arizona trooper Mark Gilberg, America has been, is and always will be great

After 37 years, trooper makes emotional final radio call - YouTube

image by Jnn13

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Flag_Backlit.jpg

the solution is obvious: repeal the second amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
second amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• question: in the 21st century does the U.S. need individual citizens who privately own assault rifles for "a well regulated militia"?
• answer: obviously, no
•  question: in the 21st century does the U.S. need state militias for security of its citizens?
• answer: ? debate? (even if state militias were deemed to be a good thing, individual members of state militias wouldn't need to furnish their own weapons any more than members of the military or local police need to provide weapons and ammunition for their jobs.)
• question: in the 21st century U.S., can local, state or federal government protect its citizens from deranged individuals who commit mass murder?
• answer: obviously, no

then the solution is obvious: repeal the 2nd amendment. 

image by LeftPolemicist

File:Repeal the 2nd Amendment logo.svg - Wikimedia Commons

citizens would not have an automatic, constitutional right to privately own an assault rifle. Private ownership would be strictly regulated and taxed, e.g., permit application, rigorous background check, criminal record, committing a crime with an illegal weapon (felony), unlawful possession of a firearm without a valid permit (felony), providing false information on permit application (felony), yearly re-application and tax, etc.

John Paul Stevens, ex-SCOTUS justice, shocks with call to repeal 2nd Amendment - Washington Times

"...shocks..."??? what's so shocking about repealing the 2nd amendment? as Justice Stevens says, "the second amendment is a relic of the 18th century".

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."
Article V, U.S. Constitution

• question: has anyone in Congress pursued repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: has any state legislature proposed repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: why?
• answer: no guts?
• question: why don't politicians have guts?
• answer: party politics ("don't bite the hand that feeds you")
• question: what is the "will of the people"?
• answer: according to polls, most Americans want stricter gun control laws
• question: had enough?
• answer:

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

confessions of a hopeless romantic

I admit it. Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved superman--comic books, TV, movies... among my favorites is the movie starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. it's magic...

Superman - Maureen McGovern - Can you read my mind - YouTube 

Rest in peace, Margot Kidder.

the sad state of home construction in the US

many who bought new houses in the past 50 years know what this chart shows:

File_Construction-non-farm-labor_1964-2003.jpg

that the quality of construction of new houses over the past 50 years is poor when compared to the quality of homes built 50 years ago. basic systems, e.g. structure, roof, floors, windows, weather protection, HVAC, appliances, etc., are less reliable in many new houses today than those built 50 years ago.

why? the reasons are probably many--

• builder incompetence and greed 
• decline in skilled labor 
• government's failure to protect consumers 
• consumer reticence 
• a costly legal system that protects builders more than it protects consumers

whatever the reasons, the chart is clear--while productivity and quality of non-agricultural products have more than doubled over the past 50 years with advances in technology, productivity and quality in construction have declined, despite advances in technology. many who bought new houses in the past 50 years are left with fixing builder messes at their own expense--the ones that can be fixed--while the productivity and quality of new homes continues to decline.

what's the solution? I honestly can't tell you. It looks to me like the trends that are so obvious in the chart will continue--bad news for new home buyers--that's you and me. 

too much rain, too much roof, not enough gutter

facts: 

1. the gutter is flat, or very near flat. 

2. flow in the gutter is open channel. 

3. Manning's formula for open channel flow is: . 

4. if the slope (S) is 0, then the velocity (V) is 0 and the flow in the gutter (Q=V*A) is 0. 

5. if the slope is 0.0014, then the square root of the slope is 0.037. the velocity and flow in the gutter are very small--near zero. 

6. if the gutter is full, and the slope is 0, or near 0, then all or most of the water coming off the roof overflows the gutter.

  

7. there are two outlet pipes from downspouts--mine and my neighbor's.
8. the pipe on the right is buried. look closely--only a small part of the top can be seen.

9. question: where will the water go? answer: nowhere--this is a fact. 

close-up of the buried pipe

10. if the open end of the pipe from the downspout is buried, with nowhere for the water to go, then water backs up in the plastic pipe from the downspout.

11. when the plastic pipe from the downspout is full, then water backs up in the downspout.

12. when the downspout and the gutter are full, then water coming off the roof flows over the gutter and washes out the ground beneath it.

close-up of the washout

13. this is a new house, purchased less than one half year ago.

14. the house has a one year warranty.

15. the builder says that the gutter is not level. fact: the gutter is level or very near level. (in other words, "don't believe your lying eyes.")

16. the builder says that the plastic pipe is not buried. fact: the plastic pipe is buried. (in other words, "don't believe your lying eyes".) 
17. fact: the buried pipe looks the same today as the day that we bought the house.

18. the builder says "it's not our problem."
19. fact: the builder created the problem by installing the gutter level, or near level.
20. fact: the builder may have created the problem by installing a gutter that is too small for the roof area and rainfall intensity.
21. fact: burying the outlet end of the plastic pipe created the problem.
22. fact: we did not bury the outlet end of the plastic pipe. it was buried the day that we bought the house.
23. fact: the builder created the problem.

builder: Alan Toothman Construction Inc., Woodstock, VA

also,

• grading and drainage look like they were done by Rube Goldberg
• most of the crawl space is flooded 
• floors creak
• HVAC is poor
• inside trim is sloppy

virginia
shenandoah county
strasburg
stony pointe
strasburg
toothman

how low can it go?

answer: it's already gone lower than I ever imagined.

Lawmaker anger builds after White House aide mocks 'dying' McCain 
Trump’s Tweets ‘Created a Stir’ At Barbara Bush’s Funeral: Report | Alternet 
Stormy Daniels - Wikipedia 

we're drowning in the swamp of moral turpitude.

time for a fresh start--it's time to dump the republican and democratic parties. 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

contrasting college graduation ceremonies 50 years ago with today

my grandson graduates from college this week. his grandmother and I will drive more than 200 miles to be there. we'll spend most of the day sitting in the hot sun before and during the ceremony.

exactly 50 years ago I graduated from college. Neither I nor any of my classmates danced on stage.

Graduation Uproar as Black University of Florida Students Say They Were Yanked Offstage During Diploma Ceremony 

I don't condone "rough treatment" of any person unless they threaten the safety of others. at the same time, what is a college to do with students who disrupt a graduation ceremony with their boorish, immature behavior? 

if something like what happened at the university of florida happens at my grandson's graduation, then I won't be a happy camper. 

maybe colleges should mail diplomas to their graduates and dump graduation ceremonies altogether since they've become the showplace for boorish stunts by rude, selfish, and immature graduates. 

image by Micheal Kellen

by the time that my other grandson graduates from college (he's in kindergarten now) college commencements will likely be a thing of the past. why travel 200 miles to sit in the hot sun and watch immature pranksters do their boorish stunts? anyone inclined to see such a thing can watch it live stream from the comfort of their home. besides, graduation ceremonies today are more about the colleges "strutting their stuff" than they are for graduates or their families. they're for faculty and administrative staff to pat themselves on the back and to pitch the need for more money from alumni. More money means more students (supposedly), higher tuition, and higher salaries for faculty and administrative staffs. graduates get it and their families get it too. so, why continue a tradition that has morphed into a shameless infomercial for money-hungry colleges? from the same people who just finished laying out tens of thousands of dollars, and more, to the college?

feel free to boo.

countdown to the trump presidency

10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7 ... 6 ... 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

so long, trump.

time for a fresh start... 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

absurd: person who does lewd acts for movie cameras sues liar for defamation of character

does anyone else see the absurdity and the irony here?

President Trump lied more than 3,000 times in 466 days - CNNPolitics

had enough? 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us.