Fuck Me, It's Friday!

Let's get this weekend started with one of my soon-to-be-famous, multi-subject rants, shall we?

Rand Paul seems to be a generally good guy. And although he is a Libertarian-leaning Republican, I wish he had a bit more of his father in him. If Rand would take a bolder stance on the marijuana legalization issue instead of kissing up to his Kentucky Bible-thumpers, I would like him a lot more. In fact if Rand would respond to the Bluegrass State folks with this: And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Genesis 1:29), he would be my hero. It would also be good if he could separate his personal views from his political views on the abortion and same-sex marriage issues. A person with roots in Libertarianism should be able to do that. Otherwise, I seem to like most of what Rand has to say. he's excellent on fiscal issues, foreign policy and military issues, guns and he's OK on taxes. He could use some tweaking there, but I like the foundation.

The people who must step up and take the blame for the failures in Detrocity are the mayor and the city council. And that includes those who recently resigned. The democrat party is to blame for this, both the elected officials and the voters for continuously putting these fools in office. A demoncrat has been mayor of Detroit since 1962. For those of you not so good with math, that's 51 years. The city council is supposedly elected on an at-large, non-partisan basis. But come on now, how many republicans do you think ever made it onto the Detroit City Council? Michigan governor Rick Snyder (R) is not to blame. The unions are not directly to blame, although their voting habits certainly helped elect those who are to blame. State appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has been given a very tough (and thankless) task of trying to salvage something out of this disaster, and he just submitted a plan to alter health insurance plans and save the city $12 million.

The minimum wage has also recently become a debate, with some lawmakers wanting to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. Does anyone else realize what a dumbassed idea this is? Who else sees this would be an epic disaster? More companies are avoiding hiring full time help and instead bringing on workers at part time house due to the impending doom of Obamacare. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would cause layoffs, resulting in more work for a smaller staff working part-time hours. It would also crush small businesses. Can you imagine the family owned restaurant that's been around for 50 years all of a sudden being forced to pay $10.10/hour? It would cripple them. It would also cripple small, regional chains. For example, there is a chain here in Western Pennsylvania called The Exchange. The specialize in used DVD's, CD's, music players, video games and systems. Yes they do stock new items, but they rely heavily on used inventory to keep prices reasonable for their teenage/young adult target consumers. If they had to pay employees $10.10, those great prices would disappear. And finally do you really think the semi-literate teenager at McDonald's who still screws up your order even after you repeated it three times deserves $10.10/hour? Or what about the miserable 40-something woman working the cash register at the grocery store who barely look at you and never smiles? Raising the minimum wage that much would do more harm than good. And of course the AFL/CIO is pushing this hard because if the minimum wage increases, they can demand an increase in their already inflated wages.

Russia granted asylum to NSA whistleblower and American hero, Edward Snowden. I never thought I would see the day when I look to Russia to defend liberty and freedom.

Is it just me or could the billions of dollars in foreign aid the United States is throwing around be put to far better use here in America? Why are we sending money to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Keny... OK I know why the last one is getting foreign aid. It's hush money. But why in the hell are we still sending money to those other countries? How about using it to help schools who wish to hire security but don't have enough in their budget? How about trimming that national debt? Let's give the brave men and women in the military a bonus instead of sending money to countries which hate us and want to kill our soldiers.

It's about time the "mainstream" media finally realizes some bad shit went down at Benghazi. Is that from the No Shit Department at the news channels? If even half of what is starting to come out is true, heads must roll and jail time is a must. No one should be untouchable in this. That includes Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, David Petraeus and Eric Holder. If that means impeachment, so be it. Four good Americans were murdered and it all could have been prevented. That attack legally occurred on American soil. It was a terrorist attack and nothing was done to prevent it or about it.

The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), is finally being exposed for what it is: a monstrosity of a unavoidable failure waiting to happen. So much so, Obama's staunchest allies, the unions, are beginning to demand its repeal. The Teamsters, UFCW and UNITE-HERE all have publicly voiced their opposition to the plan saying it will "destroy the very health and well being" of workers. Welcome to the party, guys. What the fuck took you so long? The IRS, who is was tasked with enforcing Obamacare, has also now given a collective "OH HELL NO!" to the plan. This is what happens when arrogant, self-serving, ineffective and incompetent legislators pass a bill BEFORE THEY FUCKING READ IT!

The RINO's in CONgress are becoming more and more unbearable every day. The biggest of the two, Lindsey Graham and John McCain need to be replaced. Graham will have a grass-roots challenger in the primary. We can only hope South Carolina has had enough of his bullshit and gets him out of Washington DC. Hopefully John McCain will retire in 2016 when he is 80 years old. It's scary we will have to deal with him for that long.

I know I will piss-off baseball purists with this statement, but fuck them. I don't care about PED's in baseball. I've been a baseball fan since I was 5 years old and I love a good, grind-it-out 3-2 game as much as the next fan. But the most fun I have ever had as a fan was watching the McGwire-Sosa battle and I will never forget watching Barry Bonds' #756 go into the bleachers. This isn't football where use of PED's could lead to life threatening injuries. Fans these days want to see the long ball and the stolen base. How about a compromise? Let Major League Baseball pick one PED which is legal so the playing field is level.

If I ever have the opportunity, I will move to one of these five states: Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Nevada or Texas. They have three qualities I like very much: no income tax, Right to Work and they are not alcoholic beverage control states. Tennessee would be my first choice.

OK, let me finish up with a random fact: Adult film actors and actresses are 80% less likely to have an STD than someone not in the industry.


Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog. I very much appreciate it. As always, if you cannot be a poet, be the poem.


"Like" my page: www.facebook.com/JTLovecraft
Follow me on Twitter: @JTLovecraft

Rainy night randomness

Raising taxes on the wealthy will not grow the economy.  It will not lower unemployment. And it sure as hell will not prevent the government from spending like drunken college kids at spring break.  It will only grant some false gratification to the bitter, jealous, whiny crybabies infesting this country.  John Fitzgerald Kennedy's approach to taxes is the only way to approach this: Cut everyone's taxes and the economy will get better. And when the economy is strong, the government collects more tax dollars.

The liberal hypocrisy rears its ugly head again in Michigan.  It seems the loony libs are only pro-choice when it comes to baby killing.  When it comes to joining a union, then you don't deserve a choice.

I hate the song "Little Drummer Boy" and it seems to be following me.  That song has played in the last three stores I have entered.

Italian dressing is a great marinade for both pork and chicken.

A lot of talent was born on my birthday, December 9.  There are two Olympic medalists, an Oscar winner (who is also a Golden Globe and Oliver winner), another Golden Globe winner, an Emmy winner, a Grammy winner and two NFL Hall of Famers with whom I share a birthday.  Additionally, there are also two Oscar nominees, a Grammy nominee and and Emmy nominee in the group.  Hopefully one day, I achieve something worthy of mentioning on that list.

Now, I am a former union member.  (SEIU1199P)  I hated my time in a union.  It pissed me off that just because of some stupid contract the most incompetent and lazy people in my department were not only able to keep their job, but received the same raise as me. ALL raises should be based upon job performance.  People who show up late twice a month with a hangover or can't follow a written recipe should not be allowed to remain employed.  I understand not all union employees are apathetic and lazy.  But what motivation is there to go above and beyond or become better  when you are guaranteed a raise just for showing up and doing the bare minimum?  The bottom line is unions have outlived their usefulness.

Everyone involved in this NHL labor dispute needs kicked in the ass.

Labyrinth is still great each time I watch it.

No NBA team should be called the Pelicans.  That's a name for a Division II school's team.

The best part about this time of year is all the peppermint flavored stuff you can buy.

Goodnight everyone.  And remember, if you cannot be a poet, be the poem.

Sweet Home Indiana...Why I Will Never...EVER, Join A Union Again

I was in a union for three years.  This was from 2001-2004 during my time working at an assisted care facility in Pittsburgh.  My union was the SEIU 1199P.  And it sucked.  Hard.  It had nothing to do with the job.  I liked my co-workers and being in the kitchen.  There were bigger issues which irked me.

The biggest was the same pay raises across the board every six months for all cooks.  That's bullshit, plain and simple.  Why should I receive the same raise as the person who shows up late once a week with a hangover?  Is it fair that the competent cooks get the same raise as the one who can't thicken soup, undercooks chicken and burns meatloaf?  No, it's not.

Let me make this as clear as possible:  IF I AM BETTER AT MY JOB THAN YOU ARE, YOU DAMN WELL BETTER BELIEVE I WILL BE PAID MORE MONEY!  


The second issue was the union did everything they could to make sure the most unreliable and incompetent employees didn't lose their jobs.  Let me tell you all something about the kitchen: one incompetent cook screws the entire staff.  It's a fact of life that some people aren't cut out for certain jobs.  It's another fact of life that firing these people is the best thing to do for everyone, including the one being fired.  It doesn't do any good to allow people to continue believing they have skills which aren't there.

The union also took it's good ol' time responding to grievances.  I filed one against a supervisor over the way I was spoken to and six months later a union representative finally came to the workplace to ask about it.  By then I had forgotten what was said to me.  Maybe not all unions act so slowly but mine did and that also was bullshit.

I think it should be required by law for unions to report to members down to the penny for what their dues are  being used.  Maybe some places are now doing that, but I never knew where my dues were going.  I have a suspicion a large percentage of the dues collected were funding the campaigns of politicians with a (D) next to their name.  And as many of you know, those politicians have as much chance of getting my vote as Ben Roethlisberger does of speaking at a NOW rally.

And no-one should be forced into union membership.  It should be voluntary.  This is America, after all.

I haven't worked a union job since then and I never again will.  Pay raises should be determined by job performance, punctuality, reliability, cooperation and dedication.  Pay raises should not be determined by some stupid contract.  I like the idea of being able to receive a merit raise.  I never heard those words while in a union.  I don't need union thugs to speak for me.  My job performance will do just fine on its own.