@TheRickyDavils
I’ll say it again and again, especially after the horrific events today and this entire week, MAGA is hate speech. MAGA hats are modern day swastikas, white hoods and white robes. It incites violence, it creates lies, it breeds terrorism. Period.
It’s just a house. Or is it?
Facing divorce in 2006 I had a tough decision to make. Should I let the house that I just recently bought go or find a way to hang on? It didn’t make any sense for one person to live in 3400 square feet. But I’m stubborn and I just bought the thing and I really liked it, so I found a way to stay in it. Was it the best financial decision I ever made? Nope. Hindsight clearly says I should have severely downsized and bought back in after the market recovered. But you can’t time the market and kick yourself for that.
Was it one of the best life decisions I’ve ever made? You bet.
I cannot count the number of social functions we’ve held at this place. Memories don’t have a price-tag. I got remarried in this house. We’ve hosted Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, birthdays, family reunions, grandkids overnighters, college football / Duck games (some more memorable than others), several concerts with various band configurations I’ve been in, and quite a few friends gatherings just because. It’s been truly amazing. With Donna’s vision, we’ve been able to transform this place into the type of place that is perfect for gatherings. I don’t regret one second or one penny. Memories.
In my old neighborhood, you kind of sort of knew who your neighbors were but you didn’t socialize with them much. In this neighborhood we did – in spades. Social functions are happening all the time and lifelong friendships have been made. You can’t put a price tag on that either.
There’s been some tough times too. I had a stroke in the kitchen in 2013 where I laid on the floor wondering if the spinning would ever stop. I injured my back doing minor chores and spent the better part of 2 months crawling around it. Donna and I both saw job changes shortly after we were married in 2010. We got through the Great Recession in this house – together.
While it’s been a fantastic 25 years in Tualatin, 16 of them on Meier Drive, Donna and I feel like it’s time to downsize a little bit and get a place together that we can call our own. The original reason for moving to Tualatin had to do with School District. I haven’t had kids in the school district in over 12 years. I used to be Vice President of Little League baseball and I felt like I knew everyone in town. Now I head into town and hardly recognize anyone. The drive to and from work for Donna is a 5 times a week burden. Honestly, the hardest part about leaving will be seeing a little bit less of our amazing neighbors who we’ve become close friends with these past few years. But we’re determined to make it only a little bit less!
So we’re both selling our houses and have our sights set on a new place up near Lewis and Clark College where we plan to make more memories with old friends and new. A lot more memories! That’s what it’s all about.
We’re crossing our fingers everything holds together so we land in the new place. In the mean time, I have a house for sale that if you’re interested, give me a jingle and let’s make a deal!
Here’s the listing: https://www.redfin.com/OR/Tualatin/10555-SW-Meier-Dr-97062/home/26700654
In a somewhat surprising fashion, the Sheriff of Broward County plus the Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, got political in their speeches to the media.
We spend too much time talking about the rights of gun owners. What about the rights of kids to go to school in a safe environment? Who is looking out for those rights?
I think this is a winning argument, and in my role as Republican antagonist I will continue to pound this message until they as sick of hearing it as I was Behnghazi.
I didn’t watch the State of the Union address tonight. Like millions of others, I turned the channel to HGTV to impact the Nielson ratings. (I also don’t invite Amway salespeople over).
What I found humorous afterwards however, is the statement by Kevin McCarthy who described the performance as “exceeding expectations.”
The big question is though, what exacty were those expectations? As several prominent Republicans put it on twitter this morning, “The bar is so low, if he goes out there, reads from the transcript and doesn’t burn a cross for 90 minutes, people will describe it as “Presidential.”
For the past few months or so, Marco Rubio has been tweeting a bible verse per day. The theme has been predominantly verses to calm our fears about the political climate we’re in. A recent example:
The evil understand nothing of justice, but those who seek the LORD understand everything. Proverbs 28:5
Yesterday’s contribution:
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Mark 5:36
Here’s the rub. THE ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM depends heavily on Mark 5:36.
They would like nothing more than for all of us to bury our heads in the sand while they pick our pockets and rig the system for their special interests. Just give us the keys and we’ll take care of it. Don’t you worry your little heads about it none.
Soledad O’Brien frequently trolls Rubio and puts up a counter verse to illustrate the technique of cherrypicking verses to suit your agenda:
Mark 7:6 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
I don’t follow Marco Rubio. I only see his posts when someone I follow responds to a tweet of his. But if I were to troll him, here would be my contribution:
1 Timothy 6:5 Their minds are corrupt and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of Godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
I would like to submit these images for the benefit of my Fox viewing friends who may have missed the news. Without comment.
Immediately following the 2016 election, CNN’s Van Jones traveled to rural Ohio to meet with and interview a family that switched from Obama voters in 2012, to Trump in 2016. His goal was sincere. “I really want to know what the hell happened.”
On the trip out there, the camera crew captured images of rusted out factories that not long ago provided living wage jobs to thriving communities.
The crux of the interview was that this particular family believed Donald Trump’s promise to return jobs to those factories, coupled with not being big fans of Hillary, they decided to switch. Not uncommon in rural America, a total pocketbook decision.
Trump is less vocal about the Carrier deal these days as layoffs outnumber jobs promised.
The irony here is that Trump’s base consists of generally white, blue collar workers whose livelihood depends on living wage jobs. A recent article by the Brookings Institute asserts that while indeed the economy is adding jobs, the vast majority of them are going to college educated individuals.
The number of Americans with high school degrees or less who are employed, in this 9th year of economic expansion, has fallen by 2,995,000.
I find it odd that virtually everyone is voting against their own economic interests. The college educated demographic voted overwhelmingly for Hillary.
In any case, I’m sorry to inform the Trump voters out there, those factories are just as rusty as ever. The real threat to job loss isn’t immigrants or bad trade deals. It’s automation.
The yoke’s on you.
President Bone Spur seems to be fairly indifferent to optics. Witness his unending golf trips at his private clubs.
I can only imagine Mitch McConnell this morning, munching on his poached egg and toast, wondering if Trump is going to provide commercials for every democratic candidate tonight by prancing around Mar-a-Lago to a $100,000 a plate affair celebrating a year in office.
Regarding DACA: I cancel it, you fix it.
I’m not fond of working weekends either, Mitch. It kinda sucks. But you have to play the hand you’re dealt.
Yesterday a Chinese credit rating agency downgraded the U.S. credit rating over “political deficiencies”.
It’s worth noting that this occurred prior to any government shutdown. A shutdown will of course further reduce the U.S. credit rating and likely have an immediate impact on interest rates.
I believe this is a case where the minority party actually has a better poker hand than the majority. 80% of Americans want the DACA issue settled. The question then becomes “who looks worse if the Dems take a stand on Dreamers and government shuts down?”
I think Republicans will take the hit.
The question is then, do Democrats have the cajones to risk public opinion on a shutdown? I’m not convinced they do. However, it would be a historic stand and the right thing to do. 3 days to find out. My money is on kick the can down the road on a short term resolution.
It’s hard to decide some days in which form to participate in the #resistance. For the most part, with Facebook and Twitter we’re preaching to the choir without having any real impact.
After some consideration, I feel like getting involved with voter registration efforts is probably the best use of time. My help isn’t needed in Portland though. I’ve seriously considered a trip to Wisconsin to support Randy Bryce because Paul Ryan must be defeated. But I have equal disdain for Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz, Chuck Grassley and Tom Cotton so it’s a tough call.
Focusing on house races is more important than Senate races. It’s unlikely the math is there for a takeover of the upper chamber.
Recently I came across an innovative idea from a guy I follow on Twitter, Claude Taylor. He’s buying up billboard space to “oppose all the Trump boot lickers.”
It’s an official PAC and they are starting the roll out any day now. The first one will be in Florida off if I-75, It’s also worth noting, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri won the Golden Globe for best picture.
I like the idea so much I sent the PAC some money. The combination of voter registration and public shaming sounds like the ticket.
View from my PDX Window 