Taking Note of a Few Things: The Taking Appreciation Edition

For some strange reason, on my Facebook video page, I have received countless clips of dicks interacting with police. I know there are systemic problems with how some law enforcement have targeted and mistreated blacks which all too often end up in a controversial police shooting.

I fully understand why the black community has a problem with how an all too large white police force treats them. I have always been a proponent of examining each incident on a case by case basis. In some cases, I believe police have been justified in their use of force while in others I have been shocked by it.

However, the worst treatment of police officers is by entitled white piles of crap who have nothing better to do than to take a video camera and film their interaction with law enforcement over anything they can find to push their buttons. If it is not some wannabe Geraldo Rivera then it is some drunk pile of trash, often female, whose belligerent behavior should follow them the rest of their sorry lives.

Cops are not allowed to have bad days. They are supposed to be able to leave whatever shit they have to deal with at home and not bring it to work. Selectively edited videos showing what is meant to be unprofessional behavior are more often than not proven to be incomplete films from white trash looking to make a name and buck for themselves at the expense of someone who takes their life and puts it on the line every shift they work.

As one POS said to a police officer, You work for me and have to treat me with respect. I don’t work for you and can treat you any way I damn well please.”

Watching a few of these interactions made me recall a few times when kids at Red Bluff High School took offense to how rude a student was to me and decided to teach that kid a lesson in respect. It’s one thing to be drunk and go too far, but when sober guys have nothing else to do than to push a police officer’s buttons, they need a lesson that makes them rethink their hobby.

I have a love/hate relationship with my local WinCo. It’s nice to go there and find just about everything I want to consume food wise. They have large aisles, a good section for dog food and supplies and their produce is good. While I don’t like bagging my food, I have yet to find an employee there who is not nice. There are some stores that just stress kindness when they hire people and others that just look to fill a spot.

This is the first year I have been more interested in the women’s NCAA basketball tournament than the men’s. In fact, it has been a long time since I have followed either with any interest. The women have come a long way and there is now a depth to college programs that did not exist a few years ago. The level of play by women is more reminiscent of the men’s game before it was swallowed up by slam dunks and three-point shots. I am one of those who think if you want to see the men’s game improve, raising the basket will result in greater team play than individual athleticism we see in today’s game.

The women’s college basketball game has really advanced in talent. It used to be a given that Tennessee would win the title. Then came a two-way rivalry between Tennessee and UCONN. Today, any of the final eight teams would have had a legitimate shot in the title game. Basketball has a real shot at supplanting soccer as our nation’s preeminent female team sport.

Laverne and Shirley have been very patient with me. I often feel guilty that I am not providing them with enough individual attention because when it is not raining here, I am concentrating on outdoor projects. Then, after days of rain, I become depressed and anxious for spring weather and have little patience for their nonsense.

Those two have an amazing work ethic. Whenever I think I have put in place a barrier that will prevent them from tearing something apart, they take it upon themselves to prove me wrong. What I now realize is their ultimate desire has to do with sleep. They want nothing more than to crawl into my bed and sleep with me, something I have not allowed. However, they know if they jump up on my bed in the morning, the night is over, and it is time for them to be fed. Prior to this happening, I hear Shirley crawl out from under the bed to play quietly with Laverne. Then their tails begin to rhythmically thump the wall as their play escalates. Next comes Laverne pawing at the top of my bed and as I turn my attention to her, Shirley jumps up and begins nudging me. When I turn to Shirley, Laverne hops up and it is officially game over.

Today, I brought beef knuckles home at WinCo. Let’s just say they had no problem staying outdoors while they gnawed away at life’s newest treasure. I have a feeling they will be sneaking them into the bedroom tonight.

In the sports world, Christmas used to belong to the NBA. Each year they meticulously create a schedule with multiple marquee NBA games. It no longer matters. Even though Christmas falls on a Wednesday, there will be an NFL double header. Once the league moves to an 18-game schedule, we can expect football games almost every night of the week.

I am not sure what I would do with $26 million dollars, but that is how much President Biden’s campaign raised in one evening during a political fundraiser. I expect to see poll numbers gradually shift as Biden is able to hammer Trump in key swing states while Trump relies on “campaign donations” to pay his legal bills.

The hypocrisy of a man charged with over 90 crimes pedaling Bibles while showing images of our president bound and in the back of a truck does nothing to move the needle of his followers. This, as much as anything, is what makes me worry about our nation’s future.

The battery to one of my hearing aids has finally died. No amount of charging will bring it to life and replacing the battery costs several hundred dollars. I am giving a $79.00 over the counter hearing aid a try before I decide whether to invest in something higher end. Hearing aids are nice when I watch a film, but I don’t mind the peace and quiet without them the rest of the time.

It seems pretty apparent that no baseball fan wants to consider Shohei Ohtani having any involvement in his interpreter’s gambling debts. He is such a huge attraction to a game that could easily fall into the sporting abyss without him. Now it is up to journalists to decide if it is worth possibly destroying baseball to go after him and to hold MLB accountable. It is just what the sport needs; another black eye.

I have no idea what he goes by anymore, Diddy or whoever he is (Sean John Combs), has his share of problems on his hands. My guess is it is just another example of how money and fame will catch up and bring out the worst in you if you are not prepared for either. That said, I am sure there is a very long list of well-known artists who do not want to see what a full federal investigation uncovers.

More, more, more. It’s the motto of the American downfall. Trump, Diddy, or pretty much any other greedy bastard who thinks life will not bite them in the ass.

It takes more than a name to upset the apple cart. Robert Kennedy, Jr. may have the name recognition of the Kennedy clan, but does he offer anything of substance to make us think he will be successful working with both major parties if elected? It’s not like a name did Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton any good. How is a guy who believes we are all being killed by our cell phones and touts one conspiracy theory after another going to work with congress? The fact that Aaron Rogers was on his short list of VP candidates ought to be enough to warn voters Kennedy might be more than one or two gallons shy of a full tank.

From what I have read, RFK Jr. might be the only member of the Kennedy family to vote for him as president. I am also sure if this is the case, it is some sort of conspiracy.

My theory on cancel culture is tied to today’s youth not having any hardships to face. There is no great depression or second World War. There isn’t a red menace or Vietnam. Desert Storm is ancient history, as is 9/11. They were not expected to work grunt jobs as teens. They are overly coddled and incapable of dealing with anything they perceive as mean. That meanness shows in the form of entertainment, especially comedians, because they find nothing entertaining about older artists. Why not cancel them because you know how to unleash a storm of hate and unwillingness to accept that art, great art, comes in many forms and not just the canned PC art shoved down their throats.

Far too many Americans fail to comprehend their own hypocrisy. When the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, it claimed the lives of undocumented workers performing maintenance work. Their deaths were actually celebrated by the anti-immigrant crowd even though the bridge was built using immigrant labor. Worse, it will be rebuilt using immigrant labor because too many Americans think they are too good to get their hands dirty while at the same time thinking bridges will be magically built by U.S. citizens.

One of the reasons we rely on labor from outside our country is because we raise our kids thinking they need to go to college to get a good job. Meanwhile, the trades have hundreds of thousands of well-paying job openings that go unfilled because parents and our schools brainwash children to think only in terms of college degrees.

It should also be noted that the same people who bitch and moan about immigrant labor tend to support a clown who is openly anti-union. American industry relies on cheap labor not so it can flourish nearly as much as to allow its mega rich leaders to maximize their profits while offering a pittance in salary to the men and women who do the real work.

When the land of opportunity is sold to us as meaning a chance to make good money while being built on the backs of cheap labor, it only provides an opportunity for those who come from conditions far worse than what is found in our nation. People from other countries will risk their lives to make money here to send back home in much the same way as settlers risked traversing mountain ranges in covered wagons.

This is just some of the history the MAGA crowd does not want taught in our schools. In fact, both political parties are guilty of deemphasizing the importance of knowing our history, good and bad, because they prefer shaping your thinking with campaign speeches and sound bites.

Just as the Roman Catholic Church opposed seeing the printing press mass produce books for the consumption by the general public, our major political parties would prefer today’s kids know more about advanced mathematical equations than the principles our nation was built on. Ignorant masses are blissful to the elite who run the show.

The Israeli government has failed history. A nation formed in the aftermath of horrific atrocities committed against them by the Nazis and Soviets during WWII is now led by a mad man who sees nothing wrong with committing atrocities against innocent civilians and aid workers. It’s understandable to want to punish and eliminate the terrorists who attacked your civilians, but to want to see the average citizen of Gaza starve, live on the streets, and go without medical help is just as bad as an enemy that rounded up your ancestors and sent them to death camps.

The average human being is a good person who believes in treating people with kindness and respect. Unfortunately, too often, they end up under the leadership of heartless SOBs. They might be known as Hitler or Stalin, but even in democracies, we see leaders like Netanyahu or Trump fail to grasp their nation’s history or respect the offices to which they were elected.