Reading Between the Lines

The shutdown of some Federal money laundering will lead to some nasty reactions. Mostly rioting, destruction of property, and outright stealing by those that feel taxpayers should pay for their survival. In my opinion, it was planned, Schumer (and his minions) are instrumental in the destruction, and should, at the least, be prosecuted for sedition. There is no good outcome from their actions, and organizing a violent event to change the government is sedition.  

A Drop in the Bucket

 The Department of State eliminated nearly 100 million in unnecessary travel expenses.  That's not much in what the nation spends, but to a lowly person that worked all their life, it's mind boggling. When I consider the low-life, lazy, wasteful, puke-shits that wasted this money, it only reinforces my belief most government workers are unneeded, and the most important things are ignored.

**spit**

A Needed Invention

Spammers, and telemarketers, need to wear a collar, and those abused by them allowed to push a button on their phone that gives them a jolt of electricity similar to that supplied by a cattle prod. I would buy the ap, and use it daily. 

Massive Irony

No kings protests abounded nationwide. It's ironic that they are protesting, but have little comprehension of the fact a monarch would quell the uprising with extreme violence, round up the leaders, and hang their heads from pikes in the pubic square. After all, they tried more than once to murder the man they're calling a king, and a king never allows his enemies to raise the sword against him more than once.

The Hunt Is On

The likes of Antifa are finding their backs aren't covered by the government. To make things worse, they are finding they're now hunted, there is no escape, and their traitorous acts to usurp the laws of the United States are not be congratulated by the liberal media. Next, they'll find their financial support disappearing faster than their protected status. Financing terrorism carries penalties as tough as practicing terrorism. 

Perspectives

 An entire small factory explodes, and after a few hours on the news, it's mostly forgotten. Meanwhile, there is tremendous hoopla about the hostages being freed. Out of all they took, only twenty came out alive. Palestinians are now fighting among each other, which is how it always starts. They fight with each other, one group becomes the big dog group, they terrorize their citizens, the terror group amasses money, the money is used to attack Israel, Israel steps in, the current group of terrorists are mostly eliminated, and it all starts over. Will there ever be peace? Sure, but one side has to be decimated to the point there is little left.

Inflation is being taken under control...or not. Out of my multiple decades of watching this show, it will never be under control, unless some drastic measures are taken to reel in the ass-clowns that are elected to perform their particular form of grifting. Their grift is a small percentage of the thievery, but they manage to convince those that help them steal elections their share will be worth the effort to enrich those slipping the money under the table.

Some cities are refusing to accomplish one of the most basic of reasons people accumulate in one place. The crime they allow, and promote, guarantees someone will find their short trip to the corner store will not be a pleasant experience. To add insult to injury, illegals are sucking up public funds, and attacking the officers trying to round them up for deportation. The city officials are not only condoning the actions, they're promoting the violence. Trump wants to have the military return the peace. I wouldn't. I'd just cut off access to the city, declare it a disaster zone, make anyone wanting to travel to the city go through a checkpoint, and wait for the reaction. It would take less than three days for the cities to straighten up.

The United States government is shut down...kinda...not really. It's the dog and pony show that happens when the grifters try to perpetuate their current grift. Some type of arrangement will eventually be made, the expendables will be announced, the deficit spending will continue not being addressed, and the machine will continue its laborious clanking purpose to finance those with few scruples, with plenty of waste. The increasingly ignorant will still not have a clue, but will fight for their place at the public trough.

Insurance costs are rising. The exact reasons are never really clear, but there's money to be made on those that have enough to try and pay the costs. Those on a fixed income don't really have a chance. The elderly are most affected, since their income is eaten by inflation at a rate that constantly places them further behind. 

There's more, and I'm just preaching to the choir, but I feel better by complaining. It doesn't do much, but as they say: "It ain't rape if you don't scream." 

It's Different for Them

I've been laid off a few times in my life. Some were temporary, but most were permanent. It was part of the process: do your job, finish a project, and the job is over. Go find another. 

I've been watching some news reports about the government shutdown. There are some reports that state some of the layoffs may be permanent, and some may not be paid for not being at work. Otherwise, just like the private sector, which funds all government jobs, government employees may not get paid if they're not at work, or their job is over. That, and those that created this huge mess (just like in the private sector) are getting paid right along. 

I really don't know what to think, but some things suck. 

Cheaper Than a Funeral

This report about bodies being found in the bayous around Houston state there is no serial killer involved. I can understand the reasoning. Houston is large, the bayous/drainage canals, are many, and the cost of a funeral is way beyond what people want to spend on someone that may only be an acquaintance, or as broke as they are. It's a sign of the times. The bodies will be treated with respect, and cremated after an autopsy. That, and without any sign of criminal violence, an investigation will be short. 

The Streets May Become Safer

After risky loans to illegals, a company is going bankrupt. From personal experience, removing the vehicles of illegals is a good thing, and this is a step in the right direction. Besides the drain on the economy from bad loans, no insurance, never handling traffic violations, and ignoring common decency have also been a result. Getting them off the roads will increase driving safety. It amazes me the company was allowed to function at all.

Another Bothersome Task

It's been two seasons, so as usual, the riding mower needs new blade spindles. In a perfect world, they'd last for a decade, but the world isn't perfect, and with sealed bearings, they will fail after the hard use they receive every season. Each season requires two blade replacements due to the tough Bahia, what we call Pine Ridge Sand, and two acres each cutting. 

I ordered the replacements, which are a little different. The bearings will have grease fittings, which means keeping the spindles greased will theoretically prolong the life of the bearing. We'll see, but even if they only last two seasons, I'll be be ahead. OEM parts are four times as expensive, last only two years, and they probably buy them from the same manufacturer I do. 

So, they arrived. The old spindles, which were exact matches of the OEM spindles, were done. Out of three, only one spun freely, but trying to save it was a fruitless effort, since the bolts were self-tapping and broke off when the spindle was removed. 

The new spindles were threaded, and bolting them on was easy. I put a few shots of grease in the zert just to insure there was grease. After cutting an acre of grass, I'm satisfied. Time will tell how long they last, but considering the cost of buying OEM parts, I could change them every season and still come out ahead.

When The Slush Calls Markers

I've been watching the current effort to fund the government. Some are showing they're showing signs they're throwing logic to the wind, which looks like they're understanding their slush fund managers are calling in some markers. Of course, with some, it looks like political suicide, but that usually doesn't have as drastic of an ending that their benefactors can provide.

As Things Wear Out

I've been involved with some infrastructure repairs. They were enlightening, since the things never seen have a huge impact on the health of a community. 

Storm sewers are one thing. Water needs to be drained, and the amount of water can increase to uncontrollable amounts with the construction of a subdivision or shopping center. Water can't soak into the ground, the velocity increases, and even a small blockage by elevation changes can turn an area that never flooded into a raging torrent. When the fact most storm drains are never cleaned, debris restricts the flow, and increases in water come into play, the result can cause destruction, a decrease in property values, and and increase in insurance rates. Trying to prevent this is a huge problem with engineers, and in rural areas, there may only be minimal amounts of drainage studies that prevent understanding of long term effects that influence future development. 

Sanitary sewers are another problem. Law requires a separation between them and water lines, with the sewer below the water line. This presents a problem with water line leaks finding cracks, or open joints in sewer pipes, which leads to an increase in the amount of sewage to be treated, the loss of money required to treat the water, and in worst cases, sinkholes developing after failures from the soil being washed away. 

Water lines aren't supposed to leak, but they do. Aging systems have pipe that was wonderful as designed, but certain ground conditions cause problems. This pipe, which is called AC pipe (a mixture of asbestos and cement) is hard, but brittle. To compound the brittleness problem, the joints are narrow, which can lead to the male end of the pipe slipping past the gasket in the female end. Ground movement can either crack the pipe, or separate the joint. This may lead to long term leak that can be hard to find, or a catastrophic failure leading to a massive water loss, the introduction of pollutants into the pipes, and a boil water notice for consumers. 

Every larger city I worked in had infrastructure that was very old. Water lines could be everything from cast iron pipe, to AC pipe. Sewer pipes could be everything from brick, to concrete, to ductile iron. All are prone to failure, and with sewage, the acid formed from the gas attacks concrete. The result of that may be a shape of a pipe, with the top almost gone, except for a thin layer of concrete, or packed earth. Water lines break when subjected to ground movement due to drought. 

From what I've seen, there is either no, or a poorly run, master plan including funding for the upkeep. It's just a finger crossing hope somehow money will be found, or granted. This never has worked, and the deterioration continues.