Message to Lovers (of Liberty)…

Tyranny Anywhere Threatens Freedom Everywhere

Beau of the Fifth Column’s common sense video, above, will amply clarify America’s Do or Die moment; i.e., distinguish everything that’s at stake this 2022 election cycle. If your time is limited, prioritize viewing it over reading my own commentary, below…

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Clearly, early voting is still ongoing all across America. What isn’t so clear is IF our electorate has been actually seeing the Big Picture.

That’s because, typically, we do vote our own pocketbooks and, needless to say, there hasn’t been much to be happy about. As is true with most of my average American compatriots, inflation has been hemorrhaging my own limited assets.

Nonetheless… I will NEITHER be blaming Democrats for a mucked up economic mess created and exacerbated by corporate price gouging, broken supply chain issues and ignoranus (<– not a typo) Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war; NOR will I be punishing said Democrats by voting in MAGA Republicans whose ONE AND ONLY solution to economic woes is heaping on even more economic woes; typically by lavishing utterly undeserved tax breaks upon the wealthiest of the wealthy.

Need I even remind… The upward redistribution of wealth has never improved the lives of commoners (I among them).

Worse yet, there’s a dangerous and disastrous flip side to these MAGA maggots’ greed; namely, their aiding and abetting Donald J. Trump’s ongoing conspiracy; i.e., his plot to usurp power (come January 20, 2025), cling to it till his last day on Earth and, in turn, forever burn down Democracy.

Flipping off / filling in the particulars… This election year, there are nearly 300 candidates, nationwide, who’ve been totally suckered into Donald J. Trump “2020 Election Fraud” Big Lie. IF (more like WHEN) empowered (especially the state level Secretaries of State), they will be hellbent on mucking up all future elections and, as such, they’ll easily devolve America into a Fascist Dictatorship. And in saying “mucking up”, I mean they’ll be disenfranchising voters by shredding their legitimately cast ballots.

The obvious solution is for every true American to deny them that power; to non-violently trump Trump as well as every last one of his Fascistic Freaks / MAGA Minions.

We MUST preserve, protect and defend American FREEDOM by voting in Democrats up and down the entire ballot. I’ll be HAND DELIVERING my own, completed absentee ballot to my local election officials before 8 p.m. tomorrow / Election Day.

I do fully understand that any plan to hire / rehire Democrats is, at best, an imperfect solution because, far too oft, they lack the spine to do the work we send them to DC to do; and even if they do the work, they’re poor at messaging their accomplishments to their constituents.

However, I also recognize that when confronted by our two party ONLY system, that necessitates our always voting for the lesser of two evils.

And, to be clear here, WTF could be more evil than Trump and his yes-men / henchmen insurrectionists?

Stated in a more practical vein… We the People will have a far better chance of on-the-job training Democrats to (eventually) see things more clearly (act more progressively and courageously) THAN attempting to oust autocratic MAGA Republicans; renown for whipping their collective middle finger at our Founding Fathers’ precepts of Democracy; to e.g. just one, their Constitutionally established, orderly. peaceful transition of power.

Beyond that… Every qualified, clear thinking voter must cast their ballot prior to the polls closing tomorrow evening, November 8th. America’s very survival does hang in the balance…

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Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

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Passive Resistance v. Active Arrogance

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Inflation, has been mercilessly skyrocketing our grocery store register receipts and hemorrhaging our bank balances. Assessing this succinctly, alliteratively and non-profanely…

It’s ALL distressing and downright depressing!

However, not all hope is lost. When it comes down to getting prices down (reining in corporate greed), I just might be onto something. Best of all, I cannot, possibly, be the first and only person to roll out a strategy where, via passive resistance, we can capitalize on this time-tested interrelationship…

Low demand leads to supply gluts, which necessitate price drops.

From the Check Out Lane, check out what appears to be working for me.

Let’s suppose that my shopping trip’s goal is to pick up only a couple loaves of bread.

• Upon arrival I’ll pass up the handheld baskets and smaller shopping carts; instead, roll out the biggest cart available.
• Next, with fake shopping list and real pen in hand, while rolling up and down the aisles, I’ll make frequent stops and scrutinize the shelves’ labels to discover my select items’ prices.
• Shake my head glumly / horizontally, while jotting down all of the outrageous amounts.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, I’ll refrain from tossing any of those items into my cart.

OR… just to vary it up, a bit (especially if I’m in the mood to hone my acting skills)…

• I’ll place a few of these items in my cart, start to roll away; only to double back, moments later, to neatly “restock” their shelves.

WITH THE FINAL ACT to my slice of life, performance art nearing, I will wind up buying those two loaves of bread; making sure to select the lowest priced brands.

CONCLUSIONS… you gotta know that…

• Store Management would be inclined to peg me as some sorta Yelp Business Review poster.
• Store Security, monitoring their facility’s hidden cameras, will not only be on the lookout for shoplifters, but also be eagle-eying honest customers’ buying habits (inclusive of mine).
• Cashiers will be paying attention to the nearly empty carts (again, inclusive of mine).
• Patrons’ efforts to raise awareness of our dwindling funds, will be paying for small purchases with ONLY $1 Bills (occasionally subbing in some of the paper currency with the equivalent pocket change).

RESULTS (so far)… this past, late August, my flipping off their $14.99 sale price (for my favorite coffee brand) paid off, decidedly; by mid-September, resulted in a new, $9.99 price tag. Seeing how that’s been this brew’s rock bottom price (backdating to the aughts decade), I actually won this battle! Also wound up buying two canisters.

AS TO BE EXPECTED… there will be some occasions, where I’ll wind up so utterly bummed out by their greedy price gouging that I’ll spend $0.00; i.e., promptly roll my totally empty cart back towards the exit signs and leave; while, for the benefit of the security team, rolling my eyes / gesturing both hands off to my sides and upward.

While it’d certainly be tempting to exit while also whipping my dual, single finger salutes that’d be both inordinately nasty and inconsistent to my passive resistance stance (in other words, I wouldn’t want to sink down to their corporation’s level).

AT THAT JUNCTURE… the new game plan would involve driving off to my new destination; buying my daily bread at a far more reasonably priced, out-of-town grocery store.

GRANTED… it’d also be tempting to open up a Yelp Account and post this blog on that platform, too; to name by name, this price gouging grocery store…

HOWEVER… that potentially risks negatively impacting their corporate bottom line; resulting in layoffs of their entry level cashiers / service clerks; the Pandemic’s very front line heroes who’ve been risking their very lives while slaving away within our dirty, diseased world (Covid-19, Monkey Pox, Polio, et al).

BESIDES… their price gouging ways predate, by multiple decades, the pandemic, supply chain breakdowns, and psychopath Putin’s war. Beyond that, were the corporate small “g” gods to ever shutter this business, that’d leave my hometown sans a supermarket.

ANYWAY… there’s little need for any blogger / reviewer to take down their greedy SOB CEO. Considering his inflated ego and prices, his ouster could easily wind up a DIY event. Yep, both the resultant board of directors’ dismay and consumers’ backlash should suffice.

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Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

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Watching Every Penny…

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As most of us are already painfully aware, a Big Gov has-been / sadistic asshole has been commanding utterly unjustifiable attacks which, in turn, has resulted in his needlessly murdering and maiming Ukrainians, which, in turn, has been driving up the worldwide cost of energy; HELL, the cost of virtually everything.

And, in turn, avaricious, opportunistic, Big Biz bastards have been overcompensating for their ledgers’ hemorrhaging red ink by unjustifiably bleeding dry average consumers; overcharging us far more than is warranted.

And THAT, in turn, has been causing those of us, with the least wherewithal, to keep a far more watchful eye on every last damned penny to our names; resort to whatever cost cutting measures we can implement; e.g. my own M.O….

Yesterday, rather than driving my car’s gas gauge closer towards the “E”, I hoofed it to my two destinations; the post office and grocery store. And, rather than carting it thru all the aisles, I limited my purchases to just the absolute bare necessities; four loaves of bread and a bunch of bananas.

Speaking of watching pennies…

As a numismatist (since I was an elementary school 2nd grader), when the cashier handed over my 61 cents in change, my collector’s eye instantly zeroed in on what appeared to be a “lucky penny”; a 1973 Lincoln cent, which still sported much of its original coppery luster.

Little doubt that enduring sheen, in part, can be attributed to the 95% copper content of pennies minted prior to 1982; (compared to today’s 97.5% zinc coins plated with only a thin copper coating).

Even so, it’s still rather rare for a half century old coin to remain that shiny, ergo, this got me to wondering…

Might America’s faltering economy be forcing folks to break up their collections; causing them to recirculate their keepsakes / lucky pennies?

Speaking of keepsakes…

Seeing how 1973 still represents the very best year in my entire life; a time when just about anything good could happen (and oft did)… well… let’s just say I’d have to be down on my luck; down to my very last cent before I’ll ever spend this penny.

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Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

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When the Cupboard is Bare

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America’s latest buzzword is the I-word: Infrastructure.

Of course, too many leaders, legislators and laypersons, alike, fail to think big; to look beyond the roads, bridges, utility poles, sewers etc; and more to the point, fail to factor America’s current supply chain woes into such discussions.

To take the artsy, charitable, euphemistic road, let’s refer to these minimalists as “traditionalists”; not that they’d think big about even maintaining a minimalist tradition, either.

Anyway we look at this, untold decades have passed sans proper upkeep and upgrades to the mechanisms that move commodities from point A to point B.

And, once we factor in pandemic panic buying… well… I’m sure most of us are all too familiar with the end result phenomenon of store shelves / fixtures that… that…

Uh… let’s just say that if you’re in the market to buy dust bunnies, there’s NO shortage of ’em.

Such was the case, yesterday…

ISO a couple loaves of bread, my original intent had been to do a quick in ’n’ out at my local supermarket. That’s when the mere sight of picked over shelves instantly morphed me into a panic buyer.

I mean, those last 2 jars of my fave peanut butter were mine; ditto that re the last 7 cans of tomato sauce, 1 can of coffee and 5 packages of breakfast biscuits (which, btw, had been out-of-stock for 6 long weeks). Hell, I even upped my bread purchase from 2 to 6 loaves (my intent to freeze the surplus).

At that juncture some comfort food was in order and, as you may have already guessed, I wound up snagging the 1 last box of doughnuts.

Bottom line, instead of spending under $10 I wound up forking out over $80.

It was on the drive home, that I got to thinking; what if, in some instances, the cause of the empty store fixtures is not, exclusively, supply chain related?

Now, here’s where the issues, not unlike the actual undelivered products, can start to pile up.

• Labor shortages due to an evolving workforce; one that’s disgruntled with back breaking, gut busting, low paying, laborious drudgery.
• Unscrupulous CEOs squirreling away surpluses within their warehouses; thereby fabricating the very “shortages” which trigger all too real panic buying.
• In the short term, these head honcho’s will manage to exploit shoppers ISO viable alternatives; coerce us into settling for less popular brands / substandard products.
• In the long run, these conman-managers will get to greedily witness the primo merchandise flying off the shelves when they DO eventually get around to the restocking.
• And, sans any doubt, only doing so AFTER they’ve reprogrammed the check-out barcode scanners to assess values which far exceed each item’s MSRP.

Yep, there’s never any shortage when it comes down to inflation / price gouging.

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Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

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