Speaking Softly Into a Vaccum in Book Six: Trying to Hold On 2019

Today is going to, almost certainly, be a day where I just talk into the void. Enjoy the rambling, possibly incoherent, perhaps creative, and completely random words I am typing into this computer.

(1) I saw this today, and I can’t help but agree. The way we count the Official Unemployment Number is bullshit anyway. And what makes it more bullshit is that the people discussing how it is bullshit shift based on politics. When Obama was President even Donald Trump would discuss how the Unemployment Numbers don’t take into account a large number of people who are either underemployed or have been out of work for a certain period of time or who have just stopped looking for work all together. BUT now that Trump and the GOP are in office; those people keep saying, “Great unemployment numbers” and the other side is saying “Unemployment Numbers are bullshit.” SO… allow me to openly state that regardless of who is President… Unemployment Numbers, as we currently measure them, are bullshit. Think of it this way: if every person in your town was paid $5.00 to sweep a 3x3 square of concrete… they’d all have jobs. Those people couldn’t afford food, housing, medicine, or anything at all… and those jobs may not actually provide the community at large any value… but they’d have jobs. So your town could crow about a 0% Unemployment Rate and pretend that means that your town has the greatest economy in the country!! In the United States we tend to view economic factors through (a) Unemployment Rate; (b) Stock Market Strength; (c) Interest Rate of the Fed. But what does any of that actually mean to the people “on the ground” living their lives? Oh no… Wal Mart’s stock dropped by 13 cents due to growing fears over Produce Shipping Tariffs. Wal Mart responds by over correcting, charging 6 cents extra ON EVERY PRODUCE ITEM while cutting the scheduling budget at every store; and then tells their shareholders, “Don’t worry. We’ll still make record profits this year and we won’t have to pay any taxes. This won’t be a problem.” But Ms. Mary Employee is now working less and spending more… so Anne Walton can make another few million dollars. THAT is the economy of this country right now.

(2) I saw a great well-meaning friend in advocacy do a big hearted piece on how Jail and Prison Create Criminals; Community Service Creates Community Members. And… from a certain point of view… the piece itself isn’t wrong. But, like far too many pieces I’ve read over the years, it comes from a place of extreme tunnel vision. That isn’t a criticism of the writer. Not intentionally, anyway. We don’t know what we don’t know and it is incredibly difficult to consider perspectives you’ve never encountered! That is the very reason I come here. Little Known Fact: Before I started doing community writing and engaging in discussions with people of different backgrounds and different perspectives; I was a very different person.

So… what are the issues? There are two big ones right off the bat.

(A) Community Service simply isn’t appropriate in every situation. Frankly, I’d say in many situations. The kid with drugs? Yeah, maybe he’d benefit from working in a rehab clinic seeing exactly how bad addiction can get. The guy drinking and driving? Yeah, maybe he’d benefit from working Highway Cleanup and other things. But I honestly don’t think the guy selling the drugs is going to benefit. He sees addiction, that’s actually how he makes money. He doesn’t care. What kind of community service is going to “make him a Community Member”? Or the guy that fights everyone all the time. Yeah, they may have a mental issue or an emotional condition. There are therapies and counseling for that stuff in Jail/Prison. But do you think the guy would be better served in jail and going to counseling or cleaning up trash and going to counseling? There are good, strong arguments for both, honestly. In jail… he is in a controlled environment where he doesn’t have to worry about food or rent and where he is less free to hurt himself or others. Out of jail… he is more free, therefore feels less restricted, and so may be better served by his therapy. The problem is… Community Service just isn’t appropriate for every individual or every criminal infraction.

(B) Unfortunately, the largest thing… the big GIANT HURDLE NO ONE WILL GET OVER when it comes to any kind of “service based” resolution as opposed to “corrections based” resolution is money. Let’s say I could waive a magic wand and instantly every criminal and every crime would be IDEAL for Community Service and Counseling. Even if 100% of people, 100% of studies, and 100% of past cases proved that Community Service and Counseling was always the best way to go… you’d still see less than 10% receive either of those services. The money isn’t there and no politician is going to campaign to put the money there! Because raising taxes pisses people off and creates political backlash that means the politician may lose their job. So the politician isn’t going to risk it. So then it becomes an issue of how to manage the money that the government already has.
Schools? Or services for Convicted Criminals?
Roads? Or services for Convicted Criminals?
Health Care? Or services for Convicted Criminals?
Trying to attract new businesses? Or services for Convicted Criminals?
THEN add the Prison Industrial Complex and FOR PROFIT Prisons into the system? And you’ve completely killed the possibility of Services for Convicted Criminals. And that isn’t even considering “The Rural Problem.” Remember… any time Services are had… that costs money. Transportation, Security, all of it. So… take a county like mine. Sheriff’s Department, Local PD, and Correction’s Staff… we have a total of maybe 30 to 40 people.... that is to police the county AND to watch convicted criminals in our county jail. Our jail holds up to 200 people. Even if we bulldozed the jail and dissolved all Law Enforcement Branches to put everybody into “Providing Services to Inmates”… there would be 5 inmates to every ONE service provider. Which… could become a safety risk pretty damned fast.

So… while in a perfect world, it would be brilliant if we offered more Community Service than Jail Time… we just can’t. i honestly exist in a climate where, even if I wanted to put someone on Community Service… we don’t have the funds or the staff to offer it.

(3) I hopefully won’t speak about this past this point but… our President sickens me more and more everyday. He continues to say that he isn’t responsible for the violence coming from his supporters; but after a rally goer shouted (paraphrase) “Shoot the immigrants”, Trump chuckled and said a statement like that can only be said in the panhandle. He didn’t do or say anything to possibly make it look like shooting immigrants was discouraged. Now… why am I bringing this up? Because after EVERY Muslim Terror Attack, there are people that say, “Blame all Muslims because the moderates don’t even condemn these actions.” Okay… that’s a bit silly. Blame millions of people for the actions of a few hundred? Doesn’t seem right. But in this instance? It’s a little more on the nose. When Trump goes around dehumanizing entire swaths of people and folks at his rallies respond with “Let’s Do Violence” and his response is “That’s funny. I like that.” YEAH, HE’S AT LEAST PARTIALLY AT FUCKING FAULT! An ADULT or anyone who actually values human life wouldn’t act like this tool. Even if my entire political platform was based on ending illegal immigration and I was trying to be an intelligent Trump; my response would be, “These people who come across our border with no regard for the law must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently.” (from the crowd) Shoot ‘em! (my response) “We cannot meet lawlessness with lawlessness. We will certainly defend our borders, protect our citizens, and grow our economy. But we will show the lawless that their selfishness and illegal behavior does not cheapen our Country. We will respond appropriately to Make America Great Again!” But then… that’s why I would never get elected in this environment. Individuals that can speak well and don’t simply chuckle like a buffoon preaching hatred and violence are… well… apparently, we’d rather our country’s leadership be handled like Entertainment instead of like A Professional Job of Some Importance.

(4) In the lighter news:
Pop Quiz: You are a known habitual offender of driving laws; your license is taken away from you. You purchase an Electric Scooter with a top speed of 20 MPH as your transportation and drive it on the street to get around town.

Are you breaking the law? You don’t have a license, you are driving in the street, and driving in the street is creating a safety hazard. I’m still researching this but according to the federal law max speed of 20 mph or lower and no larger “engine” than 750 W does not require a license or registration.

Both Defendant and Police bring up the same hypothetical to illustrate their concerns:
Defendant states, “So what are you gonna do? Charge a little kid in a power wheels car with no license or registration?”
Officer states, “So what are we gonna do? Let a little kid in a power wheels car drive around on the roads?”

This. This is how law being written by people who’ve never practiced law can become problematic. Legislature was approached about “Motorized Bikes and Electric Scooters” and decided, “Well, those aren’t vehicles so they shouldn’t be held to the same legal standards as a regular vehicle. Let’s write a law about that.” And yet… “don’t require license or registration” doesn’t address the “Going 20 MPH on a 35 MPH road concern.”

Laws, man. This is the issue. It is like how, and this is true, you don’t need a license or registration to drive an electric wheelchair but you can be cited for Operating While Intoxicated if you are drunk while using your electric wheelchair.

(5) It is funny. I haven’t watched Game of Thrones. I haven’t. Not because I was objecting to it; but because I didn’t have access to it. I also haven’t read the books because the series’ production rate is so slow as to be maddening. The first book became available for sale in 1996. There are still two entire books that have not been written. The first book took 5 years to write. Then two years between Book 1 and 2. Then 2 years between Book 2 and 3. Then 5 years between Book 3 and 4. Then 6 years between Book 4 and 5. The last book was released in 2011. It has been 8 years already since the last book was published. Maybe when the last two books are released, I’ll sit down and read through the whole series. But it has been 23 years and there are still 2 books missing.

That being said… there is a series I’ve been following that is reaching its end in the not-too-distant future… that is epic and deals with politics and fantasy and bloodlines. And despite greedily waiting every month for the Online Chapter Summary (as I can’t buy chapter-to-chapter and typically wait to buy Collection of Volumes), these last few months as the Online Summary becomes available… I rip through it in seconds… and must wait another month… I definitely think I feel what Game of Thrones fans are feeling. This sense that… something big, if fictional, is ending. An epic story spanning many characters and taking unexpected twists… will soon end. And wherever it ends… there will be further questions. A further desire to stay in that world… explore more of the world, the characters, the universe. So GOT Fans… though I do not share your specific pain… I am with you in spirit. As are all who read Shingeki no Kyojin.

(6) The following is simply good advice:

(7) Genuinely love when a judge does this

The remaining photo shares are from Chive. Enjoy from various articles including Shower Thoughts, Bikini Busting, Friday Eve, Purchase Product Prod, Movie Deets, Marriage Misaligns, and Randomness

I may be weird, and according to Chive I certainly am; but I don’t really go crazy for “da butt” like other people. I do share this shot though because I genuinely like her face. That may be a great example of me as a person. “I don’t enjoy this picture for the purpose of the picture but because of something else within the picture.” lol

“In the incredibles 2, the painting in Helen’s hotel room is an illustration of her separation from the family.”

Reviewing the above… yeah… still not sure I can say that I have a specific TYPE I’m more or less drawn to… but always willing to hear opinions on if people think I’m missing something obvious.