Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
People who check in on this blog on a regular basis know that I am a huge fan of vintage graphics. Some of the finest? From corporations looking to motivate their employees. I adore their big, broad use of color and presentation of iconic ideals, characters and images.
During the 1920s, a number of American companies produced motivational posters and cards to promote industrial efficiency and ethical behavior in the workplace. Motivational sayings were combined with high quality illustrations to provide easily readable images to convey the messages. During this time, Parker-Holladay Company, a British firm, was also producing motivational posters, featuring the fictional character Bill Jones.
And if you have any sense at all... you'll vote blue.
Yes, it's come down to the basics. Seems we're a color-coded society now - red and blue.
The thing is... no issue is truly black and white.
So, if you are thinking about skipping out this year because of this issue or that issue... think again, my friend.
A non-vote is a vote... for the other side.
If we learned anything from that time Hillary Clinton ran for the presidency, it's that every vote counts and numbers truly matter. Had some of you not opted out of that election, we might be living in an entirely different USA today.
I get it. The world is messed up. This country? Messed up. Capitalism? Messed up. Our political system? Messed up.
But if you take a look at the two candidates - there is one that will make less of a mess out of our country than the other. There is one, in fact, who plans on doing this country even greater harm.
For those of you who think you are taking a stand by not voting? You are. For the other side. Again... a non-vote, or to throw away your vote on some third part candidate? That's a vote for the other side.
And just what do I mean when I say... the other side?
Folks, the situation is critical. Personally, I do not want to live under a dictatorship - especially when that dictator promises to be a total dick. Those are four years I do not want to live through again. So many lies. So much information. So much hate.
If you want to turn back the clock to 1952, where only straight white men get what they want? Then by all means, stay home.
But if you have lick of common sense... hold your nose, if you have to... but go to the polls and cast a damn vote.
If you value your freedom. If you want your voice to ever be heard. If there are changes you would like to see be made?
Then vote blue, my dear - it truly is the only way to preserve democracy and make a pathway for change.
Don't sit on the sidelines. Don't claim not to care.
You can't, we can't, the world can't afford not to care.
So do your duty.
Vote!
Hoping it all turns out well.
To be honest?
I can't even begin to contemplate the alternative.
Hump day? Well, I'll give you something to ponder.
Yes, it's time for Wednesday's Question Of The Day.
Each Wednesday, a new question to give you the opportunity to do a bit of self-examination. Think of it as a way of getting to know all about you and a chance to learn a little more about me.
That's right. You know me; spill that tea! For I am the king of over-sharing!
Oh, and please leave your responses in the comments section.
Why, think of this as a little blogging kiki!
Okay! Ready, set...
Here's today's question:
Aside from real estate or a vehicle,
what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased?
So, I am not one of those people who consider animals property.
But the health of two of them?
The most expensive thing I've ever purchased.
In a way, it was purchasing life - for them. They were brought into mine and I felt I owed it to them to be the best owner I could possibly be. So, when the chips were down and it was make or break time... my commitment didn't waver because of the price tag attached.
Did I do the right thing?
Yes.
One is still with me. Mama Rose. Her vet bills, when all was said and done, exceeded $4,000.
She's the tiny mama cat who came walking down a tree branch as we were rescuing her kittens. They were all so skinny. And you could tell by the way she sauntered over to the kennel where two of her kittens were waiting that she was ready to surrender. I believe Mama was a feral kitten who got pregnant way too young. Providing nourishment for her four kittens took a toll on her health.
Shortly after the kittens had been adopted, in December, she became quite ill and required hospitalization. It became very expensive, very quickly, but I felt I couldn't deny her a chance at a good life. Fortunately, it all turned out well and she got to come home with us once her kidney levels returned to normal. She only has one good kidney which is running at 10% - just enough to ensure a good life. Because of the expense involved - and the possibility that there may come a time when we have to do it all again - we felt we couldn't adopt her out. It was a possible financial burden that I didn't entrust to anyone else.
She's a love. And I wouldn't trade her for all the money in the world.
And then there was Beau, my first pup, a little Chihuahua who gave my life purpose when such a focus was needed. I spotted him in front of a Menards - cutest thing I'd ever seen. I told them I was going to go into the store, make a couple of purchases and would be back. However, when I got back, an older woman who'd recently lost her dog, wanted him. I gave her my phone number in case things didn't work out. They didn't. I got the call and went and picked him up. When I climbed into my Bronco, I set him on my lap and told him that he never had to worry about anything, that I would always take care of him.
We began vet care. During the deworming process, something odd began to occur; he would walk backwards. He couldn't control it. He'd have such a look of panic on his face. Then he would have a seizure. It was heartbreaking. The second time it happened, I called my Mom, who was living 45 minutes away, and asked her to help me get him to a vet. The original vet said there was nothing they could do and suggested we go to the U of M. $5,000 later, we still had no idea what was wrong with my little guy. He had one more episode. And then... grew out of it.
I adored him. Took him everywhere I could. He was a love. He had issues with his legs and, at the age of sixteen, eventually twisted his back so badly that we had no choice but to put him down. It broke my heart. But we did have sixteen good years.
And... I would do it all again.
Will, I guess.
Money doesn't mean much to me. I mean, yes, you need to cover the basics, but the rest? I never want. And I have no needs. And, yes, there are those who would say there are probably better ways that money could be spent.
But not in my eyes.
People do it for their children all the time.
And I take pet ownership that seriously.
I understand that not everybody can... but, at the very least, they should want to.
Hump day? Well, I'll give you something to ponder.
Yes, it's time for Wednesday's Question Of The Day.
Each Wednesday, a new question to give you the opportunity to do a bit of self-examination. Think of it as a way of getting to know all about you and a chance to learn a little more about me.
That's right. You know me; spill that tea! For I am the king of over-sharing!
Oh, and please leave your responses in the comments section.
Why, think of this as a little blogging kiki!
Okay! Ready, set...
Here's today's question:
What did you want to be when you were growing up? And why?
A single parent living in a trailer in the middle of the country with my adopted black child named Rufus, a cat and a dog.
I don't know where this dream came from, but I remember very clearly shocking my Aunt Hazel when I told her.
Each summer, when we were small, my parents would farm each child out to a relative so they could have a week of piece and quiet. We got to choose where we wanted to go, for the most part, and I loved my Aunt Hazel. Her kids were all grown. She lived on a small farm with her husband Jim. They used to live in the main house, but that had been given over to a used-a-bit shop which Hazel ran. They now lived in a trailer on another part of the property. It was a nice trailer.
Jim was a dairy farmer and I loved the whole operation. Plus, he had a utility van which I used to get to sit in and pretend I was driving.
One day, Aunt Hazel asked me what I wanted to be when I was grew up. I think I was eight at the time.
And that's what came out of my mouth.
I loved the idea of living in a trailer in the middle of the country. And I wanted a child and I thought adopting a little black boy was the perfect solution. He could grow his hair out into a big afro and I would dress him in little denim OshKosh B'Gosh overalls. We would have a St. Bernard puppy and a kitty. I remember I even drew a picture.
I think I was influenced by The Courtship Of Eddie's Father, the idea of which I found romantic.
And I guess it was pretty obvious that I was a strange child. But Aunt Hazel laughed. And told everyone who came to the shop that week.
Please note, in my plan there existed no notion of having to make a living. I think the concept of money in relationship to living hadn't occurred to me. That was a concept I would not fully grasp until I was 36 years old.
And the idea of adopting a black child? Well, while that strikes me as a bit culturally-insensitive today, at the time, I assure you, I just wanted to be a parent and that my heart was in the right place. I think what I really wanted was a friend.
Remember 'the wall?' No, not Pink Floyd's masterpiece... the one the orange ogre promised everyone he would build.
He had four years to get 'er done. And... what became of that?
Well, you don't have to search very hard on Google to find all the answers. In particular, there are articles by John B. Washington of The Atlantic, and CNN's Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough and Catherine E. Shoichet, which shed more than a little light on the whole debacle.
Here are some 'fun' facts:
HISTORY
In the 1990's, the federal government built the first segments of the border wall along major cities in the U.S. Southwest: El Paso, TX, Nogales, AZ , and San Diego, CA. It utilized recycled steel from helicopter landing mats left over from the Vietnam War and materials from former Japanese internment camps.
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THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
One of the tenants of President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign was that he would make a clean break from the policies of the Trump administration.
On his first day in office, President Biden declared, "It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall."
Halting a project of this size remains a political and logistical quagmire.
--- ---
THE POLITICAL FALLOUT
In October, 2021 both Texas and Missouri sued the Biden administration for halting border-wall construction and not using the funds specifically appropriated by Congress for that purpose. This was is an effort to force the administration to resume building the wall.
Despite the lawsuit, large-scale wall-raising isn’t likely to happen. Trump infamously had to bypass Congress and stretch the definition of a national emergency in order to secure funding.
Myles Traphagen, who monitors the effects of border enforcement on the environment for the Wildlands Network has said, the wall represents the "erosion of the democratic process, compromising the integrity of environmental laws, and a fake emergency."
--- ---
COST AND WASTE
According to the Congressional Research Service, the Trump administration directed $16.4 billion in funding to his pet project. Most of those funds, about $10 billion, came from the Department of Defense. An April, the DOD estimated that an addition $1.4 billion in suspension and termination costs may be incurred.
"We know how much an F-35 fighter costs and how much components cost for the latest Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, but everything regarding the borderlands wall is severely obscured from public review and scrutiny." - Myles Traphagen, Wildlands Network
Tens of thousands of heavy steel slats are slowly rusting in the open air throughout the southwestern borderlands.
These slats, called 'bollards,' are 18 or 33 feet long and filled with concrete and rebar, making recycling them incredibly difficult. To reuse the metal, someone would have to cut out the concrete, then cut up the steel, before turning it into scrap metal - a process which significantly diminishes resale value.
One site in New Mexico has about 31,000 bollards. Another 20,000 are spread across four sites in Arizona; a few thousand more sit in the chaparral hills outside San Diego. They are/were worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars.
One steel manufacturer which supplied material for the border wall estimated that each bollard costs about $9,000, not including modifications (welding, steel panels, rebar and concrete) or installation costs. That means about half a billion dollars’ worth of steel is sitting in the sun in New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
"The government will seek to transfer usable material to other federal agencies before considering material for donation or sale. We have no plans for separating the concrete from the excess bollards for disposition." - Jay Field, a public-affairs officer at the Army Corps of Engineers
Along with the steel, contractors have left light poles, electrical supplies, crushed aggregate, processed riprap rock, sand, culvert materials, and piping - worth about $350 million - sitting unused in the desert. Itemize costs of materials are unavailable, and anti-wall watchdogs put that cost significantly higher.
The border wall now runs much of the length of Arizona, which is where most of the construction took place over the past four years. Given the difficult terrain in Guadalupe Canyon, the wall erected there cost about $41 million a mile to build.
--- ---
THE ENVIRONMENTAL FALLOUT
"It's kind of a bizarre scene because we've got this huge amount of devastation, this massive swath of land that's been blasted open, and nobody knows what's gonna happen next."
- Laiken Jordahl, environmental activist
Within sight of Guadalupe Canyon, in the southeastern corner of Arizona, land made up of rounded buttes and steep canyons - critical habitat for jaguars and other endangered cross-border species - crews were dynamite-blasting into mountain sides in order to build the wall.
"It is enraging. We have watched thousands of pounds of dynamite be detonated in wilderness areas, in corridors for endangered species, in places where there is not frequent migration from people or smugglers. They have cut through an entire mountain range to build a small section of wall that to someone in DC was just another mile on the tally."
- Laiken Jordahl, environmental activist
Entire ecosystems are imperiled by the wall.
"At least 93 endangered and threatened species - think jaguars, ocelots, Mexican gray wolves - are pushed nearer to extinction by border walls, Walls in the wild destroy habitat, alter waterflows, and disrupt wildlife migrations."
- Russ McSpadden, of the Center for Biological Diversity
--- ---
MAINTANENCE COSTS
The existing wall is easily sawed through. It has holes and gaps, and needs near-constant repairs and monitoring.
Some contractors are still being paid to maintain already built segments of wall, or guard leftover material.
In the Tucson, a private company, Southwest Valley Constructors, was awarded a $524 million contract "for design build of the Tucson sector barrier wall replacement project." The completion date for that section, still unfinished, was September 7, 2021. Southwest Valley Constructors received three other federal contracts for border-wall construction, with its multiple contracts adding up to more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.
"We want to see these contracts canceled, and we want to see the remaining billions of dollars left in those contracts used to restore and revegetate this beautiful landscape."
- Laiken Jordahl, environmental activist
A report from GOP staff on the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, written by aides to pro-border-wall Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, claims that the Biden administration is spending as much as $3 million a day paying subcontractors to guard border-wall materials and keep work sites safe. (That number has not been verified by an outside source.)
--- ---
THE HUMAN FALLOUT
The border wall’s opponents claim that the wall itself, not migration, is the crisis. Even half-built, the existing parts of the wall force migrants into ever more remote, ever more perilous crossing zones. Some of these zones are seeing record numbers of migrant deaths.
Prices going up because of the supply chain issue.
And so I believed it to be true.
But wait!
A report out two weeks ago? The industry responsible for all those shipping containers sitting in the harbor or on the docks of various ports for an extended period of time?
Well, guess who reported a record breaking profit of $190 BILLION? That's something like three times more than what they were reporting pre-pandemic.
Yep. You got it.
So the next time they try to tell you that all this inflation is Biden's fault or the fault of the Democratic party, or because taxes are too high... set those asswipes straight.
Good old-fashioned greed is at the root of many of this country's financial woes. And it's the likes of the Koch Brothers (who love to funnel money to elect the stupidest conservative candidates possible) behind this scam, making billions in profit while Americans cry uncle.
Taking advantage of crappy situations - capitalism at it's finest.
Now hand me the Crisco.
I think we've let that man in the picture wait long enough....
And still? With all that's going on?
I am relatively happy. And very grateful for every single day.
This is quite simple: five topics: what do you currently adore / deplore?
Today's focus is what's in the news.
Focus on the last six months. Think: recent events. Things that have made you ponder since late spring.
There's only five topics, so explain your choices, if you wish.
Let's dive in!
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Crime/Justice
Adore:
The Ahmaud Arbery Verdict
A black man gets justice in Georgia.
But he's still dead. So?
Where's the shoorah?
Shit like this should not be happening in this country. Not today.
Stuff like this? It drives me and everybody with an ounce of humanity insane.
What can we do? What can we say? How do we help fix this?
Talking about it is a way to start.
But you just watch; the media and the the collective consciousness of this country is going to bulldoze right over this incident and act like it never happened.
Like Matthew Shepard.
Or James Byrd, Jr.
Or Yankel Rosenbaum.
Hate crimes need to be prosecuted as exactly that. And those that stand in the way of those laws or criticize them?
Run a mile in Ahmaud Arbery's shoes.
Deplore:
The Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict
That Gaetz and Gospar have the hubris to celebrate this young man who took a gun he shouldn't have had to a place he had no business being - shoots three, killing two people and gets away with it with not the slightest reprimand?
Judge Bruce Schroeder needs to be censored, disbarred and impeached. He's a menace to society and unfit for public office. He turned that trial into a mockery.
If Rittenhouse is O.J. Simpson 2.0, then Schroeder is Ito 2.0.
They both should be shunned and condemned for the cowards they both are.
U.S. Politics
Adore:
Biden's Infrastructure Package
He recently came to Minnesota to visit, appearing at a school, Dakota County Technical College. He introduced a young woman, Sarah Riviere-Herzan, who, once she graduates, plans on opening an all female construction vehicle repair firm.
That's a dream I could support, and one Biden's infrastructure package does.
This package? It brings to mind FDR's New Deal. It gets to the heart of what can keep blue collar workers not only working, but earning real money. And the whole country benefits. Who wouldn't like to drive on safer roads and over sound bridges? It's an idea whose time has finally come.
We'll all benefit, for it supports the supply chain and all those white collar workers whose livelihoods depend on goods getting into the hands of consumers. And there will be more consumers because there will be more people working jobs that don't involve the flipping of a frozen hamburger patty.
This is a win-win and Joe's greatest accomplishment, so far. Personally, I think it's underfunded and I hope, once the money is dispersed, it doesn't end up in the pockets of crooked politicians and their thieving friends.
I'd hate to see a repeat of The Great Covid Giveaway!
Deplore:
Gerrymandering.
My sister is a resident of Wisconsin, a state that is so gerrymandered that she is convinced Wisconsin will never be a blue state. Ever.
I'm glad the Justice Department is taking on Texas in this regards.
Thing is... this is happening everywhere. Even in someplace as blue as Minneapolis. It seems if someone doesn't like the fact that they lost an election, they can go about gerrymandering ensuring a different outcome next time around.
This 'win at any price' nonsense? It's a desperate measure by people coming to realize that they are losing power. I am hopeful for the future, only because the old guard is dying out and the younger generations are better educated and more aware. I've never been more in favor of handing this country over to younger people.
Old, privileged, white men. They need to go the way of the dinosaurs.
Extinction for their lot can't come soon enough.
The Environment
Adore:
Electric Cars
Electric cars seem to be catching on. Love that Biden's new infrastructure bill includes funds for recharging stations (though I hear the free public ones are rubbish and take forever to do the job.) Of course, those funds will be cancelled if a member of THE PARTY gets into office in 2024.
Still, with manufacturers such as GMC going all in, we can feel a bit more hopeful. May be too late to do any good as far as global warming is concerned, but I would love to end our dependence on unstable, misogynistic, homophobic, cruel regimes like those found in the Middle East and Texas.
Give 'em the finger and the boot! Go electric!
Deplore:
The Fate of the Splendid Poison Frog
The Spix’s Macaw, the Northern White Rhinoceros, the Baiji, the Pyrenean Ibex, the Western Black Rhinoceros... the list just goes on and on, unabated.
It's heartbreaking. And terribly under-reported.
Every time a species goes extinct, it serves as yet another reason to loathe human kind.
We destroy their habitat. We disturb their lifecycles, their mating rituals. We're selfish and stupid and... never held accountable.
We're terrible stewards, and I wouldn't hold it against nature if one day she retaliates and visits upon us a similar fate.
The Economy
Adore:
Retirement
People are retiring at such a rapid pace. And, despite all the cries for them to return to the workforce in order to save the economy... I think they're doing the right thing. Hand this world over to the younger generations. Let their young, bright, well-educated minds create new solutions without the old guard and their old way of doing things getting in the way.
I'm witnessing this first hand at the company I work for. Not only have we diversified out work force and gone global, but we're also handing the reins over to younger people who have the skills, knowledge, integrity and drive to drive true innovation.
It's exciting.
Especially since I'm also a stockholder.
Yes... retirement!
Here I come, one day... sooner than I ever thought possible.
Deplore:
Gas prices.
I despise that THE PARTY is trying to hold Joe accountable for gas prices. Really? Because facts seem to support the idea that we're getting screwed due to our over-dependence on foreign oil and the fact that OPEC is currently price gouging this country because... they can.
Well, here's what the answer is not: we don't need to open up Alaska and our natural forest reserves to drilling and destruction in order to feed this nation's oil addiction.
Electric cars. Let's start there.
Ending our dependence on oil is the best thing that could happen to this nation and the world.
International
Adore:
The Diplomatic Boycott of the Beijing Olympics
In many ways, China is much bigger threat than Russia. Russia is poorly run and unorganized. Their people? Well, just go to Youtube - they make the U.S. southerners look positively cultured.
But China. Not only are a the human rights nightmare, but what they continue to do to the environment, unchecked, is a disgrace.
And now they're sprinkling the world with shipping ports - which just happen to be near U.S. military bases. It doesn't take a seer to see where this is heading.
For the world at large, China is a problem in need of solving.
Calling attention to its sins? A start.
Deplore:
Russia on the Ukraine Border (Again)
I keep thinking they do this as a cover for something else. As in: what are they really up to? What are they doing behind the scenes. This reminds me of the orange ogre and his 'look over here' ruses.
I must say, in this day and age, it takes pure gall to even contemplate taking over another country - especially when the one you're currently running is such a shit show. To say that Russia is terribly mismanaged and horribly corrupt is a bit of an understatement.
Putin sees himself as James Bond, while the rest of the world see him for the narcissistic, two-bit crime boss he's barely managing to be. The man is a joke. A dangerous one.
That such ineptness will bring about WWIII and probable nuclear annihilation?
Well, this country just spent four years under the heel spurred hoof of a similar ass.
So just imagine all the damage and destruction a lifetime of Putin will bring.
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Well, that's all for today.
Your turn. Adore? Deplore? What's on your current list?
Leave your answers in the comments section. You know I love to hear from you.
And the wonderful thing about opinions? There are no wrong answers. It's all a matter of personal choice as filtered through our own very unique vision. So, share away.
