More Grim Milestones this week... a quarter-million dead.

In case you haven't been paying attention we are hitting some unfortunate milestones with regards to the Coronavirus this week.

We didn't need a man like Herbert Hoover again!

Today - 11/13/220 we have +183,527 the most ever in a single day

Tomorrow we will hit 250,000 deaths (we are at 249,975 at this moment)

Texas - (where I live) leads the nation in new deaths at 216. Tomorrow it will hit 20,000 death and is already second to only New York. 

New Cases and Deaths per Worldmeters 11/13/2020

Side Note - Texas, which is full of virus deniers and anti-mask idiots is now the number one hotspot in the country. Stores have mask mandates but do not and have not enforced them in months and we are paying for it now... and they still deny masks work.

If you are a Coronavirus denier it is time for you to fucking get over it. If you are an anti-masker it is time for you to get over it. On 10/24 we had a little over 83,000 new cases and it was the most ever. 20 days later we have 183,527 in one day.

Your sad pathetic science denial is getting people killed. Your blind devotion to a man who has never studied biology or immunology or pandemic science is getting people killed. You are listening to an idiot!

I am talking about Trump. I am talking about willful ignorance and full-on cognitive disconnect.

Coronavirus is now the 3rd leading cause of death in this country. 

President Trump has failed you as a leader with his science denial and vain super spreader events. He has failed you as a leader by withholding the truth. He has failed you with his insane suggestions about hydroxychloroquine and injecting disinfectant. He has failed you by openly questioning and berating scientists who have spent years studying viruses and pandemic responses. He has failed you by putting money and profit before the lives of the citizens of the united states. 

Trump patting himself on the back for Pfizers vaccine which they say he had nothing to do with

Never once mentioning safety measures and never once offering guidance.

Never once mentioning that tomorrow a quarter-million Americans will have died

This failed one term lame-duck president is still putting himself before the American people. He should be sounding the alarm but he is too busy trying to subvert the will of the people. He has not attended a Coronavirus briefing in months!

I do want every legal vote counted, but it is obvious Donald J Trump has lost. It is obvious based on his response to this pandemic he should lose. 

Instead of legal challenges regarding the election, this asshole should be begging for the forgiveness of the American people. 

He should have resigned in disgrace months ago. He is unfit to lead by any stretch of the imagination. He is simply the worst President in the history of this country. 

He Should Be Ashamed...

and so should anyone who still supports him

The startling truth about Obamacare from personal experience.

I'm a liberal but I'm here to set the record straight, Obamacare is absolutely horrible. If you don't believe me, just keep reading!

Since being laid off last March due to the slowdown in the oil field and the pandemic I have been on the Affordable Care act. I got my coverage through healthcare.gov during special enrollment because of losing my employment.

My premium is a whopping - $1233.19 per month!!!

I mean after my tax credit of $1311 it's free... but still. 14,798 thousand a year, damn! that's a lot, even if I'm not paying for it.

My employer-based medical care only came to $6132 a year... so that truly is a shit load more expensive! 

Of course, that doesn't count the $14K additional that was my employer's portion that comes to $20,132 a year. Wait.... hmmm, okay so the ACA is actually a fuckload cheaper... but you know it is shitty, shitty coverage right!

I won't get to keep my doctor... oh wait, my doctor is on the plan. Well, she moved when the economy crashed, so I'll go ahead and blame Obama for that! It is an HMO though, so I do have to get my doctor's referral to see specialists and you know those Co-pays will eat my lunch! 

Except, I got a silver plan through the marketplace with BCBS. With two $5 Primary Care Physician visits before any larger co-pays kick in. And it's a 30% co-pay after that until my deductible is met. The estimate my out of pocket costs for the entire year at $1039 dollars. That is outrageous uh'm actually kind of incredible. Hmmm... but the prescription coverage must really suck!

I got 7 prescriptions today - I bet I got hosed! I bet I'm broke after this! I've never needed this many prescriptions in my life. I blame 2020...

1. Losartan HCTZ for my Blood pressure cost $302.89 before insurance - $0 after
2. Omnaprozale for Acid Reflux cost $194.89 before insurance - $0 after
3. Amocx-Clav for an Ear Infection $78.99 before insurance - $0 after
4. Escitalopram for for depression $159.99 before insurnce - $0 after
5. Fluticasone for Allergies 76.99 before insurance - $0 after
6. D-Amphetamine (Generic Adderall) for ADHD $194.99 before insurance - $10 after
7. Ofloxacin - also for ear infection $158.99 before insurance = $10 after

So, let's see... I paid $20 for prescriptions totaling $1,167.73!!! That is fucking horrible amazing. Hmmm, this isn't proving what I hoped to prove. 

My wife is getting surgery on a cyst next week, if we hadn't already met our deductible I bet we'd get hosed!

Okay, but this wouldn't work for everyone... if we covered everyone it would be bad for the country right. That's what they keep telling us, so it must be true. So they estimate that medicare for all would run around $3.2-$3.4 trillion a year. Well, damn... we can't afford that! I mean even if it helps my family that is a horrible amount to add to the countries healthcare costs. Shit. See I was right! Obamacare, and by extension Medicare for all would be a disaster even if it covered everyone.

So I'll go on record as saying it is a really, really, ba.... wait, you know what, let me check something out. Be right back!

<Pretend your listening to elevator music here>

Hmmm, it seems that in 2018 medical health spending was $3.6 trillion and expected to grow 5.4% each year until it hits 6.2 trillion in 2028.

• Medicare spending grew 6.4% to $750.2 billion in 2018 or 21 percent of total NHE.
• Medicaid spending grew 3.0% to $597.4 billion in 2018 or 16 percent of total NHE.
• Private health insurance spending grew 5.8% to $1,243.0 billion in 2018 or 34 percent of total NHE.
• Out of pocket spending grew 2.8% to $375.6 billion in 2018 or 10 percent of total NHE.
• Hospital expenditures grew 4.5% to $1,191.8 billion in 2018, slower than the 4.7% growth in 2017.
• Physician and clinical services expenditures grew 4.1% to $725.6 billion in 2018, a slower growth than the 4.7% in 2017.
• Prescription drug spending increased by 2.5% to $335.0 billion in 2018, faster than the 1.4% growth in 2017.
• The largest shares of total health spending were sponsored by the federal government (28.3 percent) and the households (28.4 percent). The private business share of health spending accounted for 19.9 percent of total health care spending, state and local governments accounted for 16.5 percent, and other private revenues accounted for 6.9 percent.

Gosh... hmm... I gotta rethink this whole thing!

I got it... I know why the ACA sucks... I am paying $50.44 a month for Dental. Fucking dental! That's where they get you!

In All Seriousness when I hear people say the ACA was too expensive I have to wonder the following things.

• Did they actually try to get it from healthcare.gov?
• Healthcare.gov is the only legitimate place to apply in most states.
• There are many scammers vaguely claiming to be ACA plans that are not actually ACA plans.
• Did they understand how the tax credit works? You don't pay it back unless you misrepresent your income.
• Trump's attacks on Obamacare are completely unfounded. He has promised to give us a new plan in "two weeks" literally for months, and nothing has been presented! 

For the record, this is my actual experience with the ACA. I am not paid to represent the ACA. I am just someone using it who is really tired of how it is portrayed, especially by people who are not on it and are only going by what they have heard and have never visited healthcare.gov even once to see what the truth is! I used my prescription benefit for the first time today, and that inspired this blog.

Trump is genius? - Not even a little!

I woke up to this bullshit on my Facebook page today:

Remember that check the Government gave us a few months back, the one you didn’t want? The taxes you’ll owe in Jan, Feb, Mar and Apr will be a lot less than that. Good thing you didn’t want it and put it in Savings. Using free money from the government to pay taxes. Trump is genius!!

Every time someone says Trump is a genius I wonder what their standard is. He is not a genius, stable or otherwise.

Uh'm unfortunately my wife and I were laid off because of the pandemic... you know, the one with 15 cases and soon to be none, and that was supposed to go away with the heat in April, that he now apparently knew was a lot deadlier then he told people? So I damn sure had to spend my stimulus check on groceries and bills for my family to survive.

Trump downplays the severity of the virus!

You think Trump is a genius? His tax cut added 1.5 trillion to the debt before the virus ever hit (you know, the tax cuts that were supposed to pay for themself in revenue?), now another 3 trillion so far due to the virus. 22 million people out of work and an economy that only looks good because it was built on deficit spending and stock buybacks.

As far as the stimulus covering your taxes, if your taxes are withheld correctly for your paycheck you don't owe much (if anything) at the end of the year anyway. That's the way it's designed.

If you owe, you didn't pay enough during the year. So basically, you got a stimulus check, if you were poor and desperate like my family at the moment you had to spend it. If not, you get to rub it our faces now. Either way, it was extra money that had to come from the government (even if you pay it back it was extra.. because otherwise, you'd have to come up with it now.) 

It also was NOT Trump's stimulus. He signed a bill for the first stimulus that was veto-proof on arrival from the senate. 

Side note: If you are one of those spreading MEME's saying no Democrats voted for a 2nd stimulus, here is a fact check for you.

Sooner or later someone is going to have to get that money back somehow, and you will blame them instead of blaming the guy who created the debt. That's how it works. Biden's plan still doesn't raise taxes on anyone making less than $400k a year, Trump's plan is apparently to keep digging a hole. Nothing more, nothing new, no admitting it hasn't worked.

There is no genius here! Not even close. Trump has been an unmitigated disaster!

Get Anti-Trump Blue Wave gear here!

GET OUT AND VOTE BLUE

Register to vote here!

Mask effectiveness proven with a Flamethrower!!!!

Do masks work?

You be the judge....

It's really this simple!!!


Visit here and help Dump Trump!

LIBERAL BY DESIGN ON ETSY!

Find the Good - Support Both Back the Blue and Black Lives Matter

We can do both... We can support good cops by Backing the Blue!

We can support Black Lives by saying black lives matter!

It's not one or the other!

Good cops want to protect and serve everyone!

Systemic problems do exist in many of America's police forces.
No one of any color should have to worry that a traffic stop will turn deadly!
We support good cops, heroes who try to keep us safe every day. We support peaceful protests, not looters or rioters. We can all do both!

FindTheGoodStore.com

FindTheGoodStore.com

DO BOTH!!!!

It's not dodgeball, you don't have to pick a side!

Liberal By Design - Dump Trump Store

I have been making a lot of political and cause-based T-shirts lately I thought I'd share my Etsy store on this page.

It's called Liberal By Design, and of course with the election coming it is focused on soon to be the single term, President Trump. Check it out and let me know what you think below. 

A few of the Trump Shirts are below but check out the entire store for more...
And of course, they all come in multiple colors - the blue is just an aesthetic 

American Horror Story - Donald Trump

It's Like Watergate - But With Morons

Donald Trump - Nope Shirt

I also have mugs, tumblers and other products added all the time. If you are looking for great Liberal Progressive Democrat gifts and merchandise please check me out.

If you happen to be a conservative though it would really really bother me if you went and bought a few items and then burned them in protest. That would definitely show me!!!!

I went to one of many Robert E. Lee High Schools - Here is why I think we need to change the name.

I graduated in 1985 from Robert E. Lee High School in Midland Tx. I didn't know anything about Robert E. Lee when I attended the school other than the romanticized version found in Texas textbooks. It never occurred at the time to learn about Lee and it never occurred to me that the idea of naming a school after a confederate general might be hurtful to my fellow students. While this blog is about my school there isn't a doubt in my mind that most of this blog is going to be applicable to many of the schools in this country named after confederate generals. 

Before I get into the history of why the school is named after a confederate general I want to get one of the most popular (and weakest) arguments for keeping the name out of the way. It's a quote by George Santayana (often falsely attributed to Winston Churchill or others)...

Do you know who Benedict Arnold was? Of course you do... because you were taught who that was. Changing the name of a school or removing a statue will NOT make people forget the past. Glorifying the past is not the same as remembering it. Teach the past. Put it in museums and classrooms and make sure people learn real history. Naming schools after someone is an honor. Naming a school after someone who fought against his country is whitewashing. Would you feel comfortable with a school named after Benedict Arnold? Like it or not, it is exactly the same with regard to members of the confederacy.

People claim again and again that Lee fought for the south because he was a patriot, that might be 100% true, but it doesn't change the fact that by fighting for the south he was ipso facto fighting for the right of people to own other people. He took up arms against his country and Lincoln wanted him tried for treason but was talked out of it for the good of the country. After taking office in 1865 (after the assassination of Lincoln) Andrew Johnson pardoned most of the confederates who took part in the war, but not Robert E. Lee. Lee requested the pardon and swore the amnesty oath but Lee was not pardoned and his citizenship was never restored in his lifetime (it was eventually restored in 1975 by President Ford, 14 years after the school in Midland Texas opened in 1961. 

Robert E. Lee was not pardoned and his citizenship was never restored in his lifetime...

Do you know how the various schools ended up getting named after confederates in the first place? Because that is an actual story about forgetting and changing history. 

The war ended in 1865. After it was over Lee himself asked that there be no statues or commemorations of him (which means that this whole argument is ignoring HIS wishes). It was that way until 29 years later in 1894 a group called the United Daughters of the Confederacy came around spent all kinds of money to whitewash history. They were the first to claim the war was about states rights, but if you go and read the various Declarations of Secession of the southern states they all talk about two things, and two things only... the right to own slaves and the failure of the northern states to return runaway slaves. Those are the causes as listed in the actual texts that were used to succeed.

The Daughters spent money all over the country passing off a revisionist history of what happened in the war and glorified the south as if it was some noble cause. So when you look at where these statues and many of the schools come from it is not in any way remembering the actual history that was, it is honoring a lie... and as I said General Lee himself asked that it not be done.

“As regards the erection of such a monument as is contemplated,” Lee wrote of an 1866 proposal, “my conviction is, that however grateful it would be to the feelings of the South, the attempt in the present condition of the country, would have the effect of retarding, instead of accelerating its accomplishment; of continuing, if not adding to, the difficulties under which the Southern people labor.”

His own relatives still say he wouldn't want them and that they should be removed! Whether you admire Lee or not his wishes have been dishonored with every school name and every statue.

But what about our own school? It wasn't founded or funded by the Daughters like the Lee High in Tyler was... no, it was founded in 1961 as an all-white school after the supreme court had already said ruled that such schools were illegal in 1954. It wasn't until the civil rights movement that all-white schools started once again being named after confederates (I honestly don't think it was a coincidence).

It remained all-white until 1969. The only black people at Lee in 1968 were the cleaning staff. (if you doubt this the yearbooks are available online at classmates.com - I had been given the wrong dates once and as I want to know REAL HISTORY I went and checked the yearbooks to verify them myself). 

Lee High literally had to be forced to integrate. It was named Robert E. Lee High, not as some honor to General Lee (who I have pointed out at least twice DIDN'T WANT it) but as a direct dog whistle. It's a fake history and whether I or anyone else finds it hurtful or offensive shouldn't matter... it is hurtful and offensive to those whose family were once slaves and know they go to a school that daily glorifies a man who fought and killed his countrymen in order to keep it going. If it was really about history, we would all already know this information. It's never been about history. It's been about cleaning history. It's been about whitewashing. I loved my school. I'm proud of my accomplishments and the friends I made there, changing the name would not change those feelings,  not even a little.   

Feel free to leave your thoughts, I have tried to be respectful, I hope you will do the same.

If change is such a bad thing why'd they ever get rid of smoker's corner?

Here is the link to the actual texts of the documents of secession. 

My Wife Was Fired For Following Our Stay At Home Order!

That this can happen is crazy.... I live in Texas, crazy is normal here.

MY WIFE WAS FIRED
On April 6^th of this year my wife was fired from her job for obeying our Governor’s stay home order in regards to the coronavirus, also known as CovId-19. My wife is was an administrative assistant for a small oil field company. A company whose personal department is run by one person who has completely refused to take the Pandemic Seriously.

WE WERE FOLLOWING THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS
My wife and son are immunocompromised and we have several people over the age of 60 in our lives. She also had foreknowledge that her boss was not following shelter in place orders on her time off (the person in question actually lives down the block from us and we could see the activity at her house). Feeling she could not risk the exposure she told her boss that she was going to obey the stay in place order. She let her employer know she would be willing to do what work she could at home and would come in after-hours with her own personal protective equipment and take care of her duties then. This was not good enough for the employer and she was terminated.


THE DALLAS HAIR STYLIST GETS $500
So anti-lockdown extremists were able to raise over $500,000 for this lady who openly defied the law and put people in danger in a matter of days? The entire fine was $7k. Texas Senator Ted Cruz went and got his hair cut as a show of solidarity? Shelly Luther openly defied Governor Abbott's order and in this crazy place called Texas he is now on her side?

WAS THE ORDER LEGAL?
I have seen conservative after conservative claim that the Governor's orders were illegal because they didn't go through the legislature.  One friend going so far as to post a message on Facebook that is supposedly from a constitutional lawyer (although no names or credentials are ever listed - I thought these guys hate anonymous sources) Everyone is a constitutional expert on Facebook, however, a quick search of Texas law shows the legislature has specifically granted the governor those powers. Emergency orders carry the full weight of the law. 

WHAT GETS ME IS THE SUPPORT
As I said above a Go FundMe set up for Shelly Luther has raised over $500,000 dollars... for a $7000 dollar fine. It's an incredible amount of support for someone who broke the law and put people in danger. People like my wife, who was fired for following the law don't get that kind of support. Or, if they do, I haven't seen it. We set up a GoFund once to get about 20 stray feral cats fixed... I couldn't find any support at all.

I JUST WANT OUT OF TEXAS

It's crazy here. The support for a president who claimed there were 15 cases and soon there will be none back in March is literally insane. He verifiably botched the handling of this pandemic and in Texas they still love him. Someday we will find a way to get out of Texas. We were going to try to sell our house but it dropped $75k in value after the oil field crash and by the time we fixed it up enough to sell we wouldn't have enough left to move. I have to find a way out of this state though, I don't belong in a place where someone is handed $500k for breaking the law. 

I JUST DON"T GET IT
I really truly don't.

Impeachment Trial Summary... fixed it for you.

I don't write in this blog nearly enough, especially with everything that is happening in our country today. I'm an oilfield truck driver and really just don't have enough time. It might also be because no one actually reads my blog.

But my Republican friends and family are circulating a post on social media called Impeachment Trial Summary. It's full of errors, so I thought I'd fix it! My corrections are in red.

Before I begin I just want to remind you regardless of the Senate Outcome - Trump will always have IMPEACHED on his presidential record!

Impeachment trial summary:

Dems: We have an airtight case against the President

Reps: Ok, go ahead

Dems: Trump and his staff came up with a plot to withhold funding to Ukraine contingent on the announcement of investigations into Joe Biden's son. AN ABUSE OF POWER, then he obstructed our investigation!

(We know this because Guilliani sent a letter to Ukraine also asking for the investigations in which he made it clear this was for private citizen Trump not president Trump)

Reps: Oh gee that sounds bad.

Dems: It gets worse, he also withheld a meeting with the new President of Ukraine unless he complied.

Reps: WOW. That poor man, when will they get the money?

Dems: Oh, they already got the money. A few weeks before the deadline
(because TRUMP found out about the whistleblower)

Reps: Wait, he got the money? Are they going to withdraw the investigations?

Dems: He never announced the investigations, but Trump asked them to investigate in their meeting.
(We have Les Parnas’ note now pushing the investigations, or at least for them to claim they had started investigations, at Rudy’s behest)

Reps: Wait, THEY HAD THE MEETING?

Dems: Well yeah, they had a meeting

Reps: So let me make sure I have this right, Trump gave them the money before the deadline (Because he was found out about the whistleblower), they didn't announce any investigations and they got the meeting.

Dems: Yes

Reps: And you investigated this?

Dems: Of course we did, we had to, the president clearly has bad motives.

Reps: and you found proof of this?

Dems: Absolutely, one guy overheard someone else on the phone talking to Trump about the whole scheme. (We also have Guilliani’s admissions on not just CNN but on Fox News)

Reps: Like on speaker phone?

Dems: Not exactly, more like across the table in a crowded restaurant, not on speakerphone.

Reps: I see, I suppose he destroyed all the evidence, thus the obstruction.

Dems: Well no, first he declassified the meeting transcripts, BUT then he said he had executive privilege or some nonsense. (Not actual Transcripts, the way Trump “remembers” them)

Reps: What did the court say?

Dems: What court?

Reps: Didn't you take him to court to get the records?

Dems: There was no time, we can't have a president extorting foreign countries. LOL MAN, are you crazy?

Reps: Just a second, let me catch my breath.

Dems: Shocking isn't it.

Reps: To recap, Trump gave Ukraine a meeting, the funding, no investigations were launched, declassified the meeting, and offered to go to let the courts decide on executive privilege, and you impeached based on an overheard phone call and the fact that you were in a hurry?

Dems: Well... when you say it like that it makes us sound silly. But you'll see when we call new witnesses during the Senate phase.

Reps: YOU HAVEN'T EVEN INTERVIEWED ALL THE WITNESSES YET? (Because all of Trumps allies who claim he is innocent refused to show up and defend him)

Dems: Well, no but we did interview a few low level staffers. (Wait, the Ambassador to the European Union is a low level staffer? The Ukraine Envoy Kurt Volger was a low level staffer?)

Reps: *looks around*

Dems: *grins confidently*

Reps: You're *** crazy. (Puts head in sand, refuses to hear or look at evidence and literally hides from facts)