"Till Death Us Do Part" - by Rusty of St. Paul

"Till Death Us Do Part" *
by Rusty of St. Paul
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I have a trick back that goes out periodically. In recent times I blame being overweight, but it would seize up years ago when I was much slimmer, so who knows?
I jacked it the other day, and it got progressively worse as the day progressed. I went to work, as if I call in, a colleague enjoying a day off has to get called in, and I just can’t do that to people. It was a painful shift. Walking back to my car, a block away, was a chore. I wished someone could have wheel-chaired me (which has happened before). I thought: Maybe if I just lie down on the ground for a few minutes….
My wife is used to seeing me ‘walk crooked’ on occasion. I entered the house, she saw me and said: “You’re walking crooked!”
“I jacked my back. I was putting on my pants this morning. (Instant smirk of her face.) I got one leg in the pants leg, but then my other foot got caught on the waist band. (One hand to her mouth, trying to cover the smirk, but it was now her eyes and laugh wrinkles.) When my foot got caught, I started pogoing on one leg. (Now two hands over her mouth, but her shoulders were heaving.) My back twisted, and I heard and felt a clank, then a clunk, and I said out loud: ’Oh, this isn’t going to be good.’ (Snorting, and spittle now spraying through her fingers of two hands.) I fail to see what is so funny!”
"Just the way you’re telling it!”
I guess as we’ve been married for so many  years, and so many trick-back incidents later, she has run out of 'I'm-sorrys'.
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 * Source: Bulletin Board - St. Paul Pioneer Press, April 7, 2016

Fear is Everywhere - by Hénock Gugsa

Fear is Everywhere 

- by Hénock Gugsa -

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Fear is everywhere ... out in public, in the privacy of our homes, or online in social media!  We all need to be careful what we say lest it be misconstrued and it gets us into a mess of unintended heartache and misery.

I don't personally buy into the "Freedom of Speech" propaganda anymore because I don't trust anything or anybody willy-nilly.  I am, however, glad about the "freedom not to listen" ... and I am thankful and I appreciate the power to mute, to change the channel, to unfollow, to unfriend, and of-course to turn off and shut out the unpleasant things or people out there. 
 
An aside [tongue-in-cheek] ===> I have never felt so powerful and fearless in my life before!  

We're Americans! - by Hénock Gugsa

We're Americans! 

- by Hénock Gugsa -

In the wake of the New York primary this past Tuesday, a Facebook friend and fellow Bernie-supporter said in disgust,  "We're Americans for Chrissake! ...."  

Spot on, friend !

This put me in mind of a Johnny Depp movie.  In it, he had a line where he says to a waiter, "You're a Mexicain, aren't ya? ... Not a Mexicaint!"  
Same principle can be applied here ... We're Americain ... not Americaint!!

What happened in New York is not really that surprising when you really think about it.  

That place is the lion's den, home of die-hard establishment democrats, of Wall Street, of the giant, recalcitrant financial institutions, and the power base of corporatist-billionaires.  

To be sure, Hillary cashed in all her chips there because she needed to get a fresh new momentum. 

Whether everything was done clean and above board is a discussion for another day.  We can, however, positively be assured that the fight is not over and there will be surprises up ahead. 

This is, after-all, a revolution!  
 

Misapplication of a Word - by TPO

Misapplication of a Word 

- by TPO -

~~~~~~~~~ // ~~~~~~~~~

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Peter Hart, a veteran Democratic pollster who has studied public impressions of Trump, said voters’ views of him are “exceptionally rancid.” [Source: The Washington Post]
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From dictionary.com  ===>
rancid
/'ræns?d/
adjective
1. (of butter, bacon, etc) having an unpleasant stale taste or smell as the result of decomposition
2. (of a taste or smell) rank or sour; stale
Derived Forms
rancidity (ræn's?d?t?), rancidness, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin rancidus rank, from rancere to stink
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Contemporary Examples from the The Daily Beast ...
I will be happy if events prove me too pessimistic, but the political atmosphere in Washington is rancid.
   " This Isn’t Obama’s Malaise, It’s GOP Intransigence Robert Shrum May 2, 2013 "
You know the cartoon segment that used to be in colour in rancid old newspapers?
    "The Rancid Ballad of Johnny Rotten: His Memoir Seethes With Anger—And Charm Legs McNeil November 19, 2014"
No, this rancid bill of goods is also being by peddled by Fox News personalities.
    "The Right’s Dangerous Rhetoric: Obama as an ‘Enemy Combatant’ Dean Obeidallah February 9, 2014"
The workers had to use oxygen tanks to combat the rancid smell of death in temperatures that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
    "Italy: Migrants Dying en Masse Barbie Latza Nadeau July 6, 2014"
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Word Value for rancid :
Scrabble = 9
Words With Friends = 11
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Sanders on the Media - by TPO

 Sanders on the Media *

- by TPO -

<< For the media, 90 percent of the coverage is process, is soap opera, is polls, is raising money … Yesterday a woman comes up to me with tears in her eyes: “Bernie, I am working 60 hours a week. I’m not making any money and I don’t have time to spend with my daughter. Listen to the kids who leave school 50 or 60,000 dollars in debt. Talk to the people who have no health insurance and what that means to their life.”
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I’m running for president of the United States because we have a disappearing middle class, we’ve got 47 million people living in poverty. The amount of time that media pays to those issues is minimal. I think that is my critique, Chris. The media has got to look at the pain in America today and then look at how the candidates are responding to that pain. Campaigns and elections are not a game. They’re not a game. They are about trying to change America .... >>

============================== 
* Bernie Sanders' evaluation of the media [as given to  Chris Hayes of MSNBC]  

Immigrants in America - by Hénock Gugsa

Immigrants in America 

- by Hénock Gugsa - 

** In response to: "Immigrants Don't Drain Welfare. They Fund It. - By Laura Reston
September 3, 2015 - New Republic **

I suspect a lot of those immigrants that you speak of don't ever get any of that contribution back .  Many go back, or die without making any claims.   And if they ever become naturalized, they have to individually pay a non-refundable fee of close to $680.00 to the U.S. Government.  So, if 780,000 get naturalized in a year, that's a gross profit of $530.4 Million for the U.S. Treasury.  Administrative costs should  be 5% of that at the most. 

According to newamericanscampaign.org ==> "Who is naturalizing? Mexico is the top country of origin for our newly naturalized citizens. In 2013, India replaced the Philippines as the number two country of origin, but those three countries have been in the top three for the past three years.
 

More women than men became new citizens, and that is no different than the previous two years. In 2013, 55 percent of new Americans were women. Nearly two-thirds of new Americans were married."