MISC. PANDEMIC NOTES OF THE WEEK
(an update for my descendants)
No coins?
So I go to the store, yon descendants, to buy groceries. First, Royal Farms to buy a few things. I stand in line to pay and they have those auto machine check out things, which I hate. So there was one REAL person to check out and she said "I can check you out if you have exact change". I actually had cash to use to pay and figured this was what she wanted. So she rings it up and says "That will be $12.97". I gave her thirteen dollars, a ten dollar bill and three ones.
"Do you have ninety seven cents?" she asks. I indicated that I gave her a ten and three ones, she can keep the three cents change from a dollar.
She gives me a hard time, yon descendants, and tells me I MUST have exact change. I wonder why that wasn't ok but she did take my thirteen bucks and insisted I take the three cents change.
But it doesn't stop there, yon descendants. I go to grocery store and she tells me if I am using cash I must pay with exact change. THIS time I had some coins in my pocket and cash money with plenty of tens, fives and ones. "That will be $85.30", she tells me. I smile. Got me four twenties, a five and fish around the bottom of my pocketbook and find...a quarter.
I was short a nickel.
I tell her I don't have a nickel and she tells me she can't leave her register short-changed. I showed her a dollar bill and told her she could have that in place of the thirty cents and keep the change. She tells me she can't do that.
Finally the lady behind me , God bless, hands me a nickel.
Now, yon descendants, I have lots of cash bills and a special container for coins.
The scuttlebutt is that there is a coin shortage because the U.S. Treasury was shut down due to the virus and nobody could make more coins.
You can't make this up, yon descendants.
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MAJOR POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE WEEK
(another update)
John Kasich, wonderful guy
John Kasich announces that he's going to vote for Joe Biden in the upcoming elections in November of 2020. So, yon descendants, should Biden have been president by the time y'all read this, know that the Republican former Governor of Ohio not only said he'd vote for the guy, Kasich is going to speak at the Democratic national convention.
Why doesn't the guy become a Democrat and move on with this life?
Fox's Chris Wallace Interview with President Trump.
It was the talk of this past week, yon descendants, when it was announced that President Trump would interview with Chris Wallace for an entire hour.
Man what a wild interview it was, yon descendants. Wallace disputed Trump's contention that schools were turning out students who hate America. As an aside, let us hope yon descendants reading this do not hate America as student in the day of this writing do.
Wallace asks just where is proof that schools teach the students to hate America and I slapped my head in despair. There is not a school course called "Hating America". But Wallace wanted the name of one or some sort of silly proof. The proof is in how the young folks today talk about America as if we were the bad guys.There were plenty more silly questions Wallace asked Trump. "Biden doesn't want to defund the police," Wallace asserted.
Well yes he did, yon descendants. Biden waned to do everything Bernie Sanders would do and the far left of the Democratic party.
But Wallace wanted actual proof.
Those of us with brains knew where Biden was coming from.
Wallace just wanted to show how cool he was by being a pain interviewer.
President Trump re-starts daily pandemic task force
As of this writing, yon descendants, there have been, allegedly, "spikes" in cases of Covid-19 in some southern states. As such, President Trump has re-commenced his former daily briefings with the pandemic task force.
He did a great job. He told how America is doing more tests than any country on the planet. He delineated how there would be a slow down in opening various outlets in the virus-spiked areas.
One thing I noted as I watched the President speak is how great he looked.
No, Donald Trump is not particularly handsome but he's not ugly either. And while once upon a time I mocked his crazy hair style I noted that it is done so well and....well it's his look. He had on a great tie, dark blue with red diagonal stripes. This combined with a dark blue suit adorned on the collar, as always, with an American flag pin finished off his look.
Trump mentioned that masks were good things, that kids need to go back to school, that experts such as Birx the scarf-lady were working on vaccines and so on.
It was a great briefing and President Trump came off as....well very presidential yon descendants.
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MAJOR CULTURE EVENTS OF THE WEEK
(one more update)
Riots and Murders Across the Fruity Plains
It's been a rough few weeks here in America yon descendants. They are rioting in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. People are getting killed everywhere in the great city of Chicago.
How long is rioting going to continue and what purpose does it serve? Why are even children getting shot and killed in many major cities.
Yon descendants, here's hoping when you read this that you are not under the command of the rioters and looters and totally unable to defend yourselves.
As of this writing this is where the country seems to be heading.
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PERSONAL NOTES FROM ME RE THE PANDEMIC
(that my descendants may know how I handled it)
Mass in the Priest's Home
Got a call from my former priest and pastor of my church. He informed me that weekly mass will be held in his house and then gave address and time.
Understand he is my former priest because sometime during the pandemic my church got not one, but two new parish pastors. We knew before the lock down that our priest would be ending his term at the church but were not able to bid him farewell.
Seems he was conducting mass for those of us over age 65 and who are suggested not to show up at the very limited attendance church masses.
I got lost three times and was a bit of a pain but I made it to the "mass" in time and for the first time in over four months got to take holy communion.
There were five attendees plus the priest with mass held in the priest's kitchen.
I prayed heartily for all of this to end.
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OVER THE INTERNET
(social media explains so much)
REVIEWS TV SHOWS
(since I watch so much TV, not for my descendants)
New Kid on the Block of Talk Radio Hosts
Television, radio and podcast political pundits are hardly new to the political talk scene. Don Bongino was a secret service agent and has other jobs to his credit, including running for congress three times.. He is seen frequently on Fox News and look for him to shoot up to Rush Limbaugh fame soon enough.
I listen to Bongino during his daily podcast and I love the guy. There is only one criticism I may have of his political talk podcast, more on this later.
I enjoy the podcast format because one can watch it any time of day. Or course one can listen to Mark Levin or Rush Limbaugh at other times of day but with Bongino there's no limit as to when and so far, no charge.
His co-producer, known as Joe, does a great job of being a background voice when Bongino launches into his political narratives.
One of the best things about Bongino's podcasts is that he does not take calls from the public. Not that this is a bad thing but this is not a good way to run a podcast as opposed to a radio talk show. More importantly, as I tell yon descendants who might one day know or remember Don Bongino as a great politician of his era, I don't particularly like to listen to callers on political talk shows. They're okay but by me this is a plus for Bongino.
I got two mentions, not criticisms to avoid confusion, about Bongino's political narratives. First, he often says, or shouts, that we need to do something about the far left and terrorist organizations such as ANTIFA that are taking over the country.When I hear him tell us to "do something" I myself want to call him and ask him just what the hell does he want us to do? I want to pose a solution for him. Maybe HE needs to be a leader and tell us what to do. We are mighty in numbers out here across the fruity plains where we carry this country on our backs, but we lack a leader. I note that all these mighty political pundits avoid any suggestion of an action and we are looking for a leader.
Why can't Don Bongino be our leader?
Also Bongino advises folks who live near the big cities so warped and dangerous as caused by the Democrats to get the hell out, move to the suburbs where life is peaceful and void of looters and rioters. At time I want to shout to the Ipad screen that it's just not that easy to just up and move. I mean it's not like moving across the street or anything.
But in due course he will cover it and maybe he will step up and be the leader us common folk so desperately need. Once upon a time Rush Limbaugh used to assert that he will let us know when the time comes to make a move and that he will let us know what to do.
Only Rush has stage 4 lung cancer and has a difficult time making it on the air due to tough treatments he must take to beat the cancer.
Maybe Bongino needs to step up to that podium.
Meanwhile, I have only one criticism, such as it is, of Bongino's political podcast....
IT'S TOO SHORT!
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EDITORIAL
(My opinion for my descendants)
Payroll taxes
Having done payroll for a large majority of my working life, I thought I'd offer my expertise about this concept that President Trump so wants, the notion of temporarily removing "payroll taxes".
Be patient as it's been a while since I did payroll and some of the percentages may have changed. The main concept of paying 6.2% of our gross pay to the social security fund and 1.45% to the medicare fund is still the same. Yon reader should be aware that the employer MATCHES these amounts so thus 12.4% is the total contributed of your gross pay to social security with 2.9% going into the medicare fund.
As important, the reduction in payroll taxes benefits the employer as well as the employee. Not that there's anything wrong with this. Such a reduction in cost is bound to encourage companies to hire more employees.
The payroll reduction tax also only benefits those who have an actual job and, again, there's nothing wrong with this. The Democrats don't like it as so many in their voter base are not gainfully employed and do not benefit from the reduction in payroll tax.
It's an issue debatable by the politicos but I'm going to throw in my one drawback.
IT WILL BE HELL TO RE-START THOSE PAYROLL TAX DEDUCTIONS FROM PAYCHECKS ONCE IT'S DECIDED TO DO SO.
Folks, the crowd will go nuts. 7.65% of your money is quite a bit and at first, when the deduction stops it will be darn nice. But come the time to start taking it out again, well whatever political party initiates the deductions again will be blamed for the reduction in take home pay, even if it's the same political party that at first stopped it.
As a payroll processor I cover my ears and eyes as I think of the first time this money is deducted once again. The employees will go crazy, run over the payroll office with tales of not enough rent money and the baby needs milk.
And don't think that such payroll deductions should never be re-started. The social security and medicare deductions are meant to finance future retirements and medical costs. There is no way the U.S. could get by without this enormous sum of money.
Finally, one more question, retirement social security payments are based on an average of the highest five years' salary. Will the salary for the time NOT deducted for social security count within that five year average still count if they should fall within the five year high curve?
I am just not sure this is a good idea although the concept of working people benefiting the most is a noble base point.
I ask the politicos to re-think this option, including President Trump.
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TIME FOR A SMILE
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