Brainstormy
Brainstormy's JournalGeorgia shutting down
In the last hour metro and county public school systems have announced closures and the entire University System of Georgia is closing all campuses. How goes it in your states?
A payroll tax cut?
Help me with this. The pResident is considering a payroll tax cut to (somehow) address the Coronovirus outbreak. But aren't payroll taxes used to fund Social Security and Medicare? And won't depleting these funds give the Republicans more ammunition to overhaul these programs which they're dying to cut anyway. Privatizing Social Security, for example. And wouldn't lifting the cap on SS, so the richer pay more and the fund is preserved, bring in more money that could be targeted for specific CoVid19 relief? Maybe I'm just stupid.
Online shopping and mental health
My son, who is a psychologist, has told me that he's seeing what appears to be a rise in Agorophobic patients. He believes that, as he put it, "staying in breeds staying in." He thinks that once people become accustomed to not venturing out they become more resistant to not venturing out and that the ease of online shopping, food delivering, etc., is contributing. My husband, who shops and delivers groceries for Instacart, seconds this (and also sees lots of apparent "hoarders" and folks who seem to live in a chaos of accumulated "stuff."
Sadly, I'm seeing it in my own life. There's certainly no reason to go to the grocery anymore since the husband does all our shopping, but I'm also starting to need much more imperative reasons to get myself out there. Wonder if others are observing this.
Germs and Jesus
I was mildly amused at all the folks wearing masks in St Peter's square this morning. Obviously these Christians aren't sold on Jesus's contention that only what comes out of your mouth can defile you, not anything that goes in. He thought hand-washing unnecessary, too. I'm betting that these verses won't be taught much in Sunday school. At least until the Coronavirus outbreak passes. 
Trump will never participate in the debates
I've said all along that Trump would weasel out of any televised debate among presidential candidates. Here's the first indication from The Hill that the weaseling has begun.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/474390-trump-considering-skipping-general-election-debates-in-2020?fbclid=IwAR0cEa6zdWy9Fi1ppNhTRub0ZcGrJQSW-JNK_ZxN5jMUMZrgtW0e42Uy7ZM
Is anything being accomplished by impeachment process?
all procedural votes have been exactly along party lines. A party line vote will happen for impeachment but it will end in the Senate. Few if any pro-Trump voters will change their minds. A principle will have been upheld, but nothing really will have changed in the current political environment. Please convince me that somehow this matters.
Biden's "record player" remark in the debates
s being roundly mocked. The last laugh, however, may belong to the former VP. Vinyl sales are outstripping CDs.
https://loudwire.com/vinyl-records-outsell-cds/
The joke on us?
Heard on the news this morning a reference to the birtherism joke that Obama made at Trump's expense at White House Correspondent's dinner in 2011. (Remember Trump's face?) Given how petty and thin-skinned Trump is, I wonder how many of the horrors visited on us since 2016 were spawned by that joke.
Trump Begins Long Golf Weekend, Bringing Taxpayers' Tab To $108 Million
Source: Huff Po
President Donald Trump began a three-day golf weekend Friday, making his 16th visit to his New Jersey golf club since entering office and pushing his total travel and security costs for his hobby to $108.1 million.
The president’s Marine One helicopter touched down at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster around 12:45 p.m. Trump is not scheduled to return to the White House until Sunday, giving him three more golf days at his resort 45 miles west of New York City.
Heading into Friday, Trump had spent 60 days at his course in Northern Virginia, 59 days at Bedminster and 57 days at his resort in West Palm Beach. He has also visited his courses in Los Angeles; Doral, Florida; Jupiter, Florida; Scotland and Ireland ― all on the taxpayer dime.
Trump’s use of Air Force One, even the smaller version he used Friday, and Marine Corps helicopters both in Washington and New Jersey drive up costs to taxpayers, and the long weekend will add at least $1.1 million to his grand total, according to a HuffPost analysis.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-golf-new-jersey_n_5d1fa60ee4b04c481413d77f
The glory of war
On my last trip to D.C., I was struck by how much this city is a monument to war. Everywhere you go there is a statue, plague, wall, memorial, or museum to the victorious dead. There's even a museum to the permanently disabled and of course, our national cemetery. What might a visiting alien think of what we've valued in our history?And Trump getting his tanks makes me especially sad. There's just something wrong with the way we celebrate our freedom.
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Member since: Tue Jun 1, 2010, 11:14 AMNumber of posts: 2,380
