Nutter's Washington

Border Crossings: How many are not apprehended and a need to have a migrant counter.

In the first part of March, I read approximately 6,000 adults and minors children were apprehended by Federal agents along the U.S.-Mexico border the day before. That seemed like lot of people to me (about the size of the small town in Arizona where I grew up and each day) and I noted President Biden said at a rare press conference the increases were nothing more than seasonal shifts. 

Such a comment is either blatant ignorance or intentional deception.

In fact more than 172,000 people attempted to come across the  “Line” from Mexico illegally in March, marking the highest monthly total in 15 years and five times greater than the amount seen last March.

The more important figure is how many were not apprehended or detained? Or released, or never deported?

I do not remember seeing that kind of information and if it existed that I would believe it. However, it is two escape for every one detained? Is it 3, 4 or 5 to one?

Maybe it is merely one to one?

It seems there needs to be a way to track the numbers---a counter of sorts. Like the counter, which displays the national debt—increasing every second. Such a clock could be displayed next to time and temperature on the television. If a person could not sleep, they could display the “new migrant” counter and watch it whirl around to help them doze off. .

However, in all candor, the new Administration is not serious about preventing illegal immigration. Benign neglect would be more acceptable but their policies actions and attitude have now created an even bigger mess at the border, in the surrounding border states. This is not going to end well or end at all for that matter.

How did this happen? Five things to make one wonder

How did this happen? Five things to make one wonder

As “modern” life has evolved, there are many things that make a person wonder how they happened and why we put up with them.

Coffee- Why would anyone pay almost 3 dollars for an inferior cup of coffee. Bitter taste, paper cup and plastic waste, wait in line to be served. Ingredients include water and about 2 cents of ground coffee. I can also put bottled water in this category. How about turning on your tap and filling a bottle?

Cable television—It used to be the public airways television was free. Crappy programing, but some news, sports. Maybe some reruns paid by the intolerable commercials. Now cable television is about 60-100 dollars a month. Plenty of channels but only about 6 are even remotely watchable. Most of the 300 plus channels are infomercials, poorly produced, badly acted shows, fake reality, unimaginative, redundant, boring and useless. How many times can a person watch the coin show or the knife show and have to pay for it? And all of the shows that only require an 80 IQ to understand. Sitcoms are just not funny and contrived. I mean does anyone have a life and can spend that much time in front of the electronic box? Whoa, Whoa and you do not have to wonder how this translates into a political morass.

Now this is the kicker because there are still commercials. So a person pays and still has to endure the same array of phone company wireless, car and insurance messages drone on, over and over 18 minutes of show and 12 minutes of commercials I calculate that have to be paid for.

Gift bags- It used to be a child had a birthday and the invited guests brought presents. Did not have to be lavish but just something. The current trend is the birthday child and the mothers are expected to give “goody” or gift bags to the guests. Is not that backwards? Stuffing and paying for a bag of not always cheap crud seems to be backwards. How did this happen?

Paperless everything- I get notices every day to go paperless. Have my bills, accounting, important documents all sent to me where it may be hacked and lost forever. Paperless does not save paper, it forces a person to print them if they want to be sure something exists as a record. Sometimes a customer will be charged extra for not “going paperless”. I understand the so-lauded efficiency but send me the bill so I can write a check and support the USPS by mailing it back. I do not mind paying for that privilege.

Mobile Phone- A telephone used to be a way to communicate with another person. Now they are a way not to communicate at all. Loaded with Apps (what a stupid name) the mobile phone has become the center of life for so many.

Ever get in an elevator and have everyone looking at his or her palm? Been run into on the street while some idiot is looking at the phone? I mean what in the hades are they talking about. I can never be so important.

You can just stay in the bathroom now and have everything you need at the swipe your hands. Supplies, watch any show, send a message, listen to music, order takeout—all on a screen about the size of a very expensive piece to toast. This device steals your location, sends you commercials, spies and sells your thoughts, action and preferences. All without asking. It gives your phone number away so you can be bombarded with junk calls. Give me the rotary phone.

I can see that anyone reading this could call me a Neanderthal but there are limits to technology and living and enjoying one’s life without all the wonder.

No one is paying me to do this. Too bad! But not so bad!

Well, this is what it has become.  Business and work are hard and difficult to get. Zoom, disconnect,  The garden is on the wane. Calls not returned, mails ignored, delays, no one in the office at all.  Check is in the mail. I did not get your report. Blah blah blah So, today because of all of the above and because it is my birthday month, I decided it was time to make and bake rye bread. I did not get paid for it, did not sell it, it did not further the financial welfare of the household but glad I did. It was tasty and so fun to do. 

 

 

United Healthcare has done wrong for what? Fatter profits?

United Healthcare and its pharmacy manager OptumRX are price gauging, have done me wrong and do not seem to care.

I have had a chronic medical condition for the last 35 years. I require daily medication and if I do not take it, I would not be around long. So this is important stuff to me.

United Healthcare, the huge insurer, has been my health insurer for the past few years. They charge about $2200 for a 90-day supply of this essential medicine. A medicine that is taken by millions was discovered decades ago. Yes, $2200 for a 90-day supply. The price has been increasing almost exponentially over the past 20 years.

For the past few years, I have been receiving what United says is a discount of $1400 per order. I thought was just part of my health plan, not some special. discount. I mean why have insurance if I get charged so much. I went to re-order  last week and pay my $800. However, I found after multiple calls (usually being cut off the each time I call) with various representatives that the so-called discount is no longer available. They decided to change the program, the so-called discount that I just received in March and prior years was no longer available. I am not sure I ever got the right answer as at first they tried to blame the plan I am on and then more rigmarole. I received no notice and the upshot was tough darts. That is the way the mop flops. We can do whatever we want.

I am not alone in dealing with high drug prices. But, I am vexed, angry, perplexed about everything involved here. This is not right. Of course, I would beg, borrow and steal to get the medicine (not really) as I have no choice but the fact in these times, it seems that “Big Medical” and that includes everyone involved here is doing what they can to fatten up their bottom line.

I AM AFRAID: The Lessons of the past few months and the Future

These days I am afraid, anxious. Not  for me but for the country, its future and life to come.

Given the state of affairs, from this point forward I see very few good options and outcomes. However, let us looks at the lessons of the past few months and what we now know.

The whole Covid-19 infestation is so bizarre and has led to a surreal state of affairs. No one knows what to do. There is no leadership or cohesive medical or otherwise information that one can really believe. Everyone has a theory, study and a protocol.  The virus is bad, but does not signal the extinction of our species. I am not diminishing its deadly effect (as I am in a very high risk category) but the reaction to it has spawned dire consequences and events.

• The remedial measures to slow down the spread such as masks, social distancing, and business closings and lock downs are half measures and will not work. The virus is everywhere and is insidious. One can only try to reduce the risk not totally eliminate it, until this plays out.

• A good many of our fellow citizens are uncaring and callous about the welfare of others.

• The national economy is in a complete but disguised breakdown that will take a long, long time to recover. Many people will suffer and lose everything. There is not enough money or programs to keep this from happening, only delay it. 

• The massive federal spending to try to shore up the economic foundation will haunt the future to come. It is not over yet. The stimulus and relief packages are nothing more than a small Band-Aid on a major wound. A good portion of the federal support was misdirected and went to a variety of favored constituencies or to people who did not need it. Really need to target help rather than just throw printed, borrowed money at it.  What a waste. 

• Government programs and edicts have lead to an overwhelming government intrusion into our lives---where government now makes most of the decisions. When you can go to work, masks, travel restrictions, social events, school attendance, food production, what businesses receive aid just to name a few. My goodness, New York City is now having “checkpoints” to enter the city. This is the same group that made the decision to put infected people into nursing homes resulting in the death of thousands. Perhaps the country would have been better off if the City was walled off at the beginning like in the movie Escape from New York.  

• While there may be good intentions, this is government run amok and a power grab. These programs and control over all of us will not go away or abate.

• Public schools are a prime example of incompetence. No one knows what to do and it seems that thousands of school districts across the county will be making their own decisions. Maybe that is good, probably not.

• For the vast majority of students, “virtual” learning is a joke. Most of the students, I suspect, are watching reruns of Leave it to Beaver rather than dividing fractions. Let’s face it; if you lined up the hundred stupidest people in the country, the first 10 in line would be school board members and administrators. Most have long lost sight  the goal of education is to teach and give life tools to students, not push some social agenda or decide which restrooms can be used.

• The country can live without professional sports.  

Finally, what makes me afraid is the upcoming elections.

The choices are horrific. President Trump is so outrageous at times, wrapped in a bubble of ego without any appreciation or even knowledge of the cultural, legal and social makeup that has made this country and keeps it together. At times, he is so uninformed, one must cringe. His combative nature is now longer welcome, is destructive and just plain nasty. It is exhausting. Government by dubious Executive Order is no way to go forward.

Mr. Biden, who has never really worked a day in his life, looks like he does not know where he is on the planet. Actually, he really has never been right on almost any subject. His strategy is to hide in his basement and recite the mantra that he is not Trump. Duh, we know that. No comfort there. 

The now main-stream Democrats-the so-called and self named Progressives- (now there is a misnomer) are so scary, hateful and disrespectful as they seek to silence and tar critics, eliminate culture and history, blame the police for the failure of big city politics. Progressives declare everyone who disagrees racist, mock people who actually have a religious faith and devote themselves to the expansion of government, rewarding their groups that depend on the largess of government. Identity politics is at the core. Having these people in charge is a chilling thought and a clear and present danger to America.

The Democrat national leadership does not care about the country. I know this is cynical but they act like they want things to get worse if it helps their electoral cause. The real goal is to obtain unfettered power to do as they like and know what is best for the rest of us. If in doubt, just look at the recent action by Speaker Pelosi who puts winning above providing extended aid to the unemployed among other things.  

So I am afraid, do not like what I see ahead. I have a great deal of faith in this country and our fellow citizens. However, the choices leave scant room for optimism.

End of the line, the Nadir and the Pit--Defrosting the Freezer. Nothing else to do.

Like many people, particularly those in the high-risk category like me due to the risk of the “virus”, I have been trying with varying degrees of success to work from home and otherwise carry on a life. Even being as diligent as possible, I have had plenty of time for “ projects “ around the house over the past how many months it has been.

Painting, work in the garden, stacking firewood, baking, cleaning and throwing out massive amounts of useless stuff, trimming trees, bushes, planting, weeding, drying herbs, writing family wills and financial planning.

Yesterday, I reached the nadir, the pit, and the lowest of the low. What seems to be the end of the line.

I refuse to spend endless time watching the tube or endless, idiotic video streaming. I read books but with the local library not being able to supply the books on my list, even this is difficult. I suffer from the disease of always having to do something productive. Yesterday—bored and idle and looking for the next task---I DEFROSTED the freezer.

The freezer is a chest one, wedged in between a wall and a clothes dryer. It has been crammed with food for months and replenished ever so often. It had developed an ice layer making it difficult to get a firm seal on the top and reduced capacity. So, everything came out, and the scraping began. This was actually hard work and by the end I had worked up a bit of a sweat and the driveway where I had to deposit the ice and snow was suitable for a quick ski run. There were a few items at the bottom that looked like they were from the last ice age and not recognizable. Out they went for museum analysis. Could be wooly mammoth steaks.

In any event, this is now my life. What next?

Parks are Closed--Just Park in the Road.

I live in Fairfax County, Virginia outside of Washington on a winding two lane road but very near a major local county and a national park, both with miles upon miles of trails. The parks are closed with chain link fences, hundreds of orange cones, blocking entrances and hundreds of no parking signs. Well, guess what?  There were hundreds of cars parked up and own the street nears the parks on the side of the road, in the adjacent neighborhoods. I mean parked in the road while countless parking spots and lots in view. People wondering around, desperate to get out, take a walk with friends and family.  There were more cars around than would be found in the parking lot of a Redskins game. Very dangerous.

Parks closed, but people in them. What can be done, shoot them all, arrest them?  So the idiotic policies of the county are creating more of a danger, traffic and commotion in the neighborhoods. I can appreciate the intent to keep people from congregating but this kind of policy defies reality and common sense. 

Weekly Baking: Peanut Butter Cookies

During this horrible time, rather than drinking a quart of whiskey every week, I have engaged in baking a treat every week. It has been chocolate cookies, wheat bread, rye bread, banana bread and today it was peanut butter cookies. What a joy, what a diversion, what fun and so tasty.

I welcome any other suggestions.

Stay safe.

 

 

Closing Schools are not the Worst Consequence

In the past few weeks, I have heard a number of people state the worse part of the current virus turmoil is the effect on school children. They are being denied socialization with friends, graduation ceremonies, proms, sporting events, dating, riding skateboards and scooters. They are bored and missing vital class instruction. Maybe these forlorned children are forced to read books and interact with parents and siblings, playing all day video games and binge watching television with copious snacks available. What life changing dread!

What? The worse? Goodness. Life is tough. It is full of unexpected events, disappointments, rejections, hurdles, and obstacles. Better get used to it and face it, no matter what your age.

Let’s think about a few worse things than staying at home as an adolescent.

Dying

Having a loved one die

Being carted away in an ambulance

Going on a ventilator

Losing your job

Having your business ruined

Firing co-workers

Financial ruin resulting in losing your home or being evicted

Being a health worker or public safety personnel in harms’ way.

Of course, it is unfortunate the schools are closed and events cancelled. Some rights of passage and memories will never happen. I am not trying to minimize the inconvenience or strain this puts on families but just to put it in perspective. Many closed schools have tried various ways to carrying on and good for them. However, things are not the same, everyone and I mean everyone if effected.

Stay healthy and look forward when things return to normal, whatever that will be.

Life has become a movie.

These days life seems to resemble two different movies. The first is Groundhog Day in which every day is the same, nothing progresses and no matter what is done during the day, there is no effect on the next day.

For me, I get up, make the coffee, eat breakfast and read the news. (I still get the newspaper). I spray the counter tops. Then I go outside. I work in the yard, exercise for an hour, survey and clean up the garden for spring planting to come. Lunch, some more reading, house cleaning and a few projects here and there. An evening is a glass of wine, dinner, maybe watch a movie, and then bedtime reading and turn out the lights. Every day. I do not leave the property; have no contact with the outside world other than calling family to check in or reading message on my screen.

Yesterday, I was not sure what day of the week it was. I am not bored, not idle, not feeling sorry for myself, try to be productive but it is basically the same. It is similar to being on a treadmill but not going anywhere.

The second movie is “On the Beach”. After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia who had been spared radiation due to prevailing winds must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.

The movie depicts the gradually erosion and break down of society, the courage of some and the hopeless for all. The end of the film shows an empty Melbourne street with a banner from the Salvation Army blowing in the wind. It is a haunting scene.

The reason this resonated with me is that a couple of days ago I drove into the District of Columbia from my home across the river to pick up mail at the Post Office box. A safe venture usually, as I double park, run in, and get the mail without seeing a person. It has become a bi-weekly mission.

Well, the famous Pennsylvania Ave going up to the majestic Capitol was deserted, no cars, trucks, buses, scooters, or bikes. No vehicles parked on the curbs. It was 10 o’clock in the morning. The only human presence was an old disabled man propelling his wheelchair down the middle of the street. Nothing to fear. The only thing missing was the banner from the movie saying, “ There is still time, Brother.”

Is there?