MONDAY: Have to love how the "fiscally responsible" repubs say the infrastruture bill is too expensive and are bemoaning the fact that taxing the rich and corporations to fund it will hurt the economy. Even checking a few sources will tell you the 2017 cut which was about a 40% decrease to corporations also depleted the treasury in 2018 by 40% (funny how that works). Few employees got a wage boost and little new business investment was created. Instead money was funneled to investors and enriched the wealthy's bottom line three -fold (Brookings report).
TUESDAY: When you're nine and the sole grandchild, you get multiple birthday celebrations. One for school-handing out treats; one with Grandma and one with Nana. His Sunday birthday was appropriately honored with cake and gifts from Mom and Dad, Grandma and Uncle John (the latter 2 primed to spoil). Then Tuesday he was greeted when the garage door went up with a new bike from Nana/Grandpa to use at the lake (also prime spoilers). He saw the balloon tied to the handle bars and assumed the best. Then he and Grandpa practiced putting, with his perfectly sized clubs, hitting the Grandfather clock when exuberance overruled precision. Then receiving his first baseball glove he and Grandpa eagerly went out in the backyard to enjoy some "catch". He actually loves going after grounders and he's got a pretty good throwing arm. Deja vu all over again as it reminded me of the OH and his Mom out there playing catch...
WEDNESDAY: My older sister and I went dress shopping today which led to a discussion of gravity, proper foundations and the passage of time. None are particularly kind, but who else will give you an honest opinion than your nearest and dearest. We had fun.
Meanwhile the Repubs keep self-destructing by 1) not disassociating with the orange man; 2) perpetuating the big lie; 3) crashing and crushing any member who does not do 1 & 2; and 4) not supporting any policy or program that actually benifits "we the people". How silly to think they would change game plans rather changing the game rules. But that is the hallmark of cowards and would-be dictators. We used to be good at deposing crazy dictators; in fact the US was known for it. Funny we don't recognize it at home.
My first podcast was posted to the platforms late last night so be kind if you stumble across Safety Spectrum from the Michigan Safety Conference. Two are awaiting editing and many lines have been cast out of the boat to record more. Hoping to get the distracted driving professor and drug testing czar recorded in betweeen Augmented Reality, Wearable Technology and Preventing Catastrophic Incidents (I know very eclectic right?)
THURSDAY: More fun on the phone. This time with insurance (BlueCross) where I explained the medical provider is charging three times the normal co-pay and refuses to negotiate or adequately explain the discrepency. A game of you already said that, you already said that, you already said that, etc. Hard to believe but it was me who had to tell the "customer service" dude (what a joke) he needed to calm down and start over as he began shouting. I have witnesses. If the goal posts have been changed just tell me. Impossible apparently. Pulled out all the insurance info they send every year, and yes the co-pay has not changed and there is no explanation of why we're being charged three times more.
I remember reading about this "scam" with McLaren. The doctor's office is in a McLaren medical professional building not the hospital yet they are trying to charge a "facility" fee like you were in the hospital and receiving "services". The OH has been going to this Doctor for years at this office and never been charged more than the co-pay for the twice-yearly reissue of prescriptions - no services performed except general wellness check. The kicker is, to dispute you are put on hold for 10 minutes-no lie, then you can only leave a message for billing who, surprise, never call you back. BC insurance tries and gets same run-around so they are not going to do anything apparently, and the scam goes on. So I left a message for the Doctor's nurse about changing Doctors and we shall see what happens next. The office asked me if I wanted to give permission for the nurse to leave a message. Hell no. I will carry this phone into the bathroom if need be. Trying to get a call-back is what this whole mess is about.
One funny side note. I thought I would try State of Michigan retiree office to see if they have any insight. When I was in Personnel it did not matter whose problem it was, when people get frustrated they call the benefits folks. Hopefully, they have heard of this "scam" before. I was hung up on FIVE times after going through the long menu and agreeing to a callback, receiving said call-back and every time they would hang up - FIVE FREAKIN' TIMES!!! Apparently their method for dealing with those pesky retirees. I shudder to think what folks with limited hearing and understanding go through.
FRIDAY: A little shopping today but no dressing rooms available. What do people do? They have to take it home and bring it back if it doesn't fit. Wow. Just pondering, would there not be more risk from folks taking items home, leaving them lying around and bringing them back-no doubt sneezing or doing other obscene activities around the clothes in frustration? Not to mention all the paperwork and effort for returns. I think a little ventilation and wiping of surfaces would probably suffice at the store.
This employee shortage is hitting everything. I saw a gentlemen carefully folding ladies' shirts and putting them back on the counter I asked him if he worked there. Oh no, he chuckled. I'm just trying to put things back the way they were. Hmmm. Shopping for Mother's Day (a brave man who buys clothes for the lady/ies in his life) or a pervert who likes to fondle ladies' clothing. If it was the underwear I guess I would be a little more suspicious. He was an excellent folder though.
Gaetz and Taylor-Greene launched their "America First" circus act. If you want to understand the Repub party right now, "America First" is spearheaded by an alleged sex trafficker and a person who believes Jewish lasers start wildfires in California. And in other news, black is white and in Arizona an audit crew called Cyber Ninjas (with no experience in audits) is looking for bamboo fibers in ballots to prove 1000s of illegal ballots were dumped from China. If you put this in an action movie everyone would be laughing. Not laughing.
UPDATE: ongoing Comedy-cast adventures over the install of the new cable. Saw my bill and they charged an extra $100 for a home visit! Holy shitoly. Back into electronic Hades, and with surprisingly little fanfare my customer service dude immediately got me a credit for the $100. Which begs the question. Is this another scam hoping a person would not notice or be elderly enough not to understand and pursue a retraction. Should label this Fraud Week.
SATURDAY: Yard beautification continues with one lonely hard-working man mulching our entire front and back yards. The OH mentioned he takes a lot of breaks. I have done this job myself and totally understand how strenuous it is between shoveling from the pile to the wheelbarrow, pushing wheelbarrow to the area, shoveling out the mulch and raking to spread. I said right and when we did it, you didn't allow any breaks; good thing he isn't working for you.
Even I can see a "nanny state" overreach with the Administration wanting to ban menthol cigarettes. Yes, cigarettes cause all sorts of health issues; the menthol is even more addictive; it is mostly enjoyed by people of color and new smokers; however. We all know how well banning things work. Think the failed alohol prohibition years and the "war on drugs". It just makes it more desirable and leads to criminal activity of trying to obtain contraband while stretching and wasting enforcement personnel. We can't just legislate our way out of everything people choose to do and up to now has been legal. Spend the time and money on other methods to discourage unhealthy habits similar to those gut-wrenching commercials of ex-smokers with half a face, etc....
SUNDAY: Nice Mother's Day overall, though two ladies are missing that are always in my thoughts. Two of my favorites joined us for dinner. Nice certificate for a wine shop (she knows her Mother) and a snarky card (again, she knows her Mother). There was a discussion with Joe about what meal we were having in the middle of the afternoon. He said is this lunch and Grandpa said no, it's dinner which was confusing to Joe as he insisted the appetizers were a snack. When we asked what the difference was, he said snacks are smaller than lunch. He then proceeded to tell other Grandma about the appetizers Grandpa had put out. He said "I call it a snack, but they called it lunch". Another one of those "must have three meals a day folks" regardless.
Reading the obituaries (just to keep track of folks as I get older), I noticed a nice one for someone I only knew through other people. One of my former bosses thought he was a real jerk for how he treated his first wife (her friend) who suffered cancer and subsequently passed. According to my boss there was no compassion while the lady was sick claiming poor him and how incovenient it all was and he married again quickly. However in reading his obituary, he was a knight in resplendent reflection (outlived the 2nd wife too). So which is the true man? My advice is write your own obituary. You never know who will and what story will survive...
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