This is Real Life
Amidst all the chaos and chicanery, real life continues unabated. This morning my daughter and I awoke to a crackling sound. It sounded a lot like a kid playing with those poppers that make firecracker sounds. That image was dashed when I saw the fire suburban pull into the cul-de-sac and park on the common ground. They were followed immediately by two fire trucks. The entire cul-de-sac was engulfed with onlookers from the neighborhood.
Apparently, one of our neighbors (obviously we want to maintain a tiny bit of anonymity on their behalf) had some trouble with one of their cars. It somehow had some electrical issues and started to spark. The sparks caught and somehow reached the walls of the garage. One thing led to another and the garage was engulfed in flames. Luckily, it was one of those detached garages. That fact probably spared their lives and the lives of their animals. So, luckily the whole spectacle only created property damage. The car was destroyed and the garage is completely gone.
What’s the point? The point is that while all of the malarkey happening in Austin, Washington, and anywhere else government does it’s dirty business real life is occurring. People are going through things. Any one of us could have something like this morning happen. Any one of us could have a spark occur in a household appliance and see everything engulfed in flames. Any one of us could get a sudden cancer diagnosis or experience some kind of health emergency not related to cancer. Any one of us could be the victim of a violent crime. It’s all just too sobering.
Granted, no one in Washington, Austin, or any other statehouse can possibly prevent every disaster. No one expects them to. They couldn’t have prevented that fire anymore than we could a matter of feet from it. What they can do is make sure that emergency services are there to help as quickly as possible. They can pass laws and provide funding and oversight to mitigate all of the other things that I’ve mentioned in passing. We can find ways to curb the amount of gun violence. We could pass reforms to the health insurance industry and health care field to make sure that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t result in bankruptcy. We could safeguard women, people of color, and those in the LGTBQ+ community. We could safeguard our democracy.
So, what are our public servants in the U.S. House of Representatives doing? They are debating whether to impeach Joe Biden. What exactly would they impeach him for? We aren’t exactly sure. They aren’t exactly sure. You see, they don’t understand little pesky things like the rule of law. They don’t get it. They think when you charge an ex-president with multiple felonies that you need to respond in kind. Except they really can’t fathom who the you is. The you isn’t Democrats. The you isn’t Joe Biden. The you isn’t even the Attorney General. The you is a special prosecutor and a whole group of ordinary citizens that heard a ton of evidence and voted to charge the ex-president.
What’s the alternative on the other side? They have no evidence of wrongdoing. None. They keep floating sources that don’t materialize with damning evidence that never checks out. You can’t impeach a public official because you don’t like them. You can’t impeach a public official because you disagree with them. You certainly can make a public spectacle of yourself. You can snipe and shout down your former friends because they have gotten between you and the cameras. You can do all of these things, but the funny thing about seeking out that camera is that the world is watching. The world does notice. While you might have a few wingnuts and psychiatric patients applaud your efforts, the rest of country sees you aren’t doing their business. They never were. The house is on fire and some are fighting over who gets to be in front of the camera.
But, but…Aren’t fire departments socialist?
1The more desperate the GOP gets, the crazier their complaints and accusations will become. Throw in a few dog whistle words and like bees, they’ll all fall in line to do what their Queen says.
2Boebert is living proof that in America any girl can grow up in the boondocks, fail to graduate high school, get elected to the House of Representatives, and introduce legislation to impeach the President.
3I have to shake my head when I think about House Reps. having juvenile, teeny-bopper cat fights and calling each other profanities. Not mention their incessant hooting over Hunter Biden’s laptop, Coors beer, drag queens, sex, impeaching the flavor of the day. Not one of these Reps. has written a bill since they were elected, that actually benefits the lives of the voters that elected them. If these people worked in private industry, they would all been given the boot, in the first thirty days. Too bad they only way they leave is when they are voted out. Sadly, the US tax payers have to pay these asshats and for their free health insurance.
4Agree with Papa which is why when repugnanticans control Congress, nothing happens to help actual people. WTF are their voters waiting for? The only reason the likes of boobert and mtg are there is to collect their paychecks and fundraise.
5“The point is that while all of the malarkey happening…”
I really need to get my name trademarked! 😉
6This just in: Biden is responsible for the implosion of the Titan submersible.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dan-crenshaw-titan-submersible-leadership-failure_n_6494f4a5e4b0aec6b7ffbee6
According to Texas’s Dan Crenshaw.
7I’m a little addlebrained in the summer when I’m out of school. Please help me here. Are we saying that there should be more oversight over big business and also saying there should be regulations in place that would guarantee the safety of people participating in such activities? If only there were a party in Congress dedicated to making sure these things are happening. Thank God the Republicans are there to protect us from the ravages of big business and their bottom line first mantra…wait….checks notes….oh that would be the Democrats. Wait, what was Crenshaw saying again? You see, its the addlebrain rearing its ugly head.
8Texass’ Crenshaw is a f’ing idiot. Especially to blame the Coast Guard and Navy, or beyond belief, Biden.
The Titan ROV was destroyed less than two hours after beginning its’ descent to the Titanic.
Likely some fault that we’ll never resolve. Although I strongly think that carbon fiber was a wrong material choice for much of the Titan’s hulls.
Even I strongly suspected that it was over by then. And partly because I’m a bit familiar with the Navy’s very secret underwater static passive sonar systems [SOSUS/IUSS], which undoubtedly would have detected the implosion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar#Ocean_surveillance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOSUS
Keeping everything a little uncertain was just the normal SOP until all the verifications were checked out.
Baffling is why the Titan didn’t have better comms equipment and a couple of transponders [like aircraft and other vessels]. Even allowing for the depths involved, thermoclines, haloclines, etc., such equipment is available. But the Titan in retrospect was a budget system with minimal equipage.
[I own and use 4-5 different sonar systems, including two sidescan sonars, plus several radar systems, certified geek who worked in the fields]
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