Monthly Archives: July 2026

About me

Funny story.

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When my son was little, a running joke between us was me telling him when he got rambunctious, to go find a really big stick so I could beat him. Any time I would tell him to go find a stick, he would grin, run outside and find a twig, run in and announce loudly. “Okay, Mom, now you can beat me.”

The neighbors would give us funny looks, but we did it all the time with silly grins on our faces. One day we were at the mall and he was just antsy because he wanted to go get our Friday pizzas and then go home. I was looking for something — I can’t remember what it was. It’s been over 40 years since this happened.

He kept whining at me, so I told him if he didn’t behave, I’d send him to find a big stick. What I hadn’t paid attention to was the workers outside the store trimming trees. So my son disappeared from the store and a little bit later, he came in, dragging a branch three time times his height. In the loudest voice he had, he yelled, “hey mom! Is this a big enough branch to beat me with?”

Every head in the store turned toward this little boy standing in the doorway with the chunk of tree, grinning his head off. Then they all turned to me as I walked toward him. I pointed out that we were both laughing and no one needed to call CPS. He dragged the branch back outside, still laughing.

Every so often, if he tells me he messed up somehow, I still tell to go find a really big stick so I can beat him.

My own damned opinion., Stuff

There’s been a lot of talk about amendments of the Constitution.

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Why we have birthright citizenship. Civics again

There’s a lot of talk lately about birthright citizenship AKA the 14th Amendment —the rights of citizens.

Section 1 defines citizenship as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof , are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It states further that the United State as well as individual states may not make laws or enforce laws that are counter to the privileges and immunities of citizens including the right to due process and equal protection under the law.

Section 2 describes how Representatives are allocated by the number of male inhabitants of each state, the minimum age to vote for such representatives, originally age 25, now age 18; and what counts as a disqualification for voting – insurrection, giving aid and comfort to enemies. The right of women to vote is a later Amendment.

Section 3 details that those engaging in insurrection are barred from Government office including the Office of the President, Vice President, the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as judicial officers, if they were under oath as government agents when they participated in the insurrection. It goes on to state that Congress may void the insurrection action by a two thirds vote.

Section 4 Public Debt The expenses incurred by The Civil War are authorized to be paid except for expenses incurred by the states that participated in the Insurrection.

Section 5 Congress has the power to enforce the provisions of this amendment by proper legislation.

Normally Americans become citizens by birth or naturalization. A child born in a foreign country to American citizens is an American by birth. A child born to foreign nationals can be considered a citizen by birth if the parents are seeking asylum or are long term workers abiding by the laws of the United States or are awaiting naturalization. Children born of officials working or representing foreign countries in the US are not considered to be “birthright citizens.”

Birthright citizenship was a way to give the former slaves, who might have been in the country for several generations, legal status and protections as citizens. It didn’t really give the former slaves all the rights and privileges of free persons, but was a way to break the South’s economy during and after the Civil War.

The net result was backlash against the now freed people. Even though the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments granted the former slaves freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote, the South worked tirelessly to limit the new rights of the freed slaves. Intimidation, poll taxes, murders, and bombings were used to prevent the former slaves and their descendants from voting or even improving their lives.

We are experiencing a backlash against birthright citizenship. The current administration is representing birthright citizenship as a scam by non-white persons to overwhelm our population using their old catchphrases “mongrelization,” “diluting their blood”, “undesirables.” and “criminals.”

We have people imprisoned without due process, shipped to foreign prisons, starved, beaten, raped. Small children carried off, protesters killed. It’s like having Idi Amin in charge. Except the current incumbent make Uncle Idi look sane

My own damned opinion.

My opinion on AI data centers and other stuff

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How are people supposed to live if their jobs are being taken over by artificial intelligence and robots? I agree that some jobs are done better by automation – mining, deep sea exploration, cleaning polluted water ways and land, parts assembly, exploring other planets that do not have breathable atmosphere, and mind-numbing tasks like verifying a hundred pins are in a packet.

But humans shouldn’t be replaced, especially in a country has no real social welfare programs in place to enable the unemployed or disabled, or even children, to have a meaningful life. There are so many forms to complete, so many proofs of employable status or unemployable status, and gatekeepers and nosy parkers who involve themselves in other people’s business and create problems.

This country likes to claim it’s the greatest, but lacks a supportive infrastructure for its citizens. No universal healthcare, no guaranteed minimum income to ensure that everyone has a place to live and food to eat. Our food, water and air are poisoned by the upper 10 percent in the name of profit, who buy companies to transfer their debt to so they can declare bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers with higher tax bills and empty store fronts and businesses.

The few data centers that have bern built are already causing problems. The builders promise jobs and improvements for the communities they build near, but instead they pollute the water table, cause aquifers to fail, and consume electricity that increases the power bills of the nearby residents.

The centers will actually provide few jobs other than the initial construction of the centers and supervisory personnel, and the artificial intelligences will not add much to the value of the towns they are in. A few custodial humans will move in, but they will start to change the character of the towns. They will want more modern houses, wider streets, and demand higher priced goods and services. They won’t shop in the local businesses because they don’t provide the amenities of larger cities.

While other countries have invested in the health and welfare of their citizens, this country is devolving into a third world nation. The oligarchy siphons funds out of communities and hoards the wealth of the nation. None of the oligarchs could spend all of their wealth even if they all lived to be hundreds of years old.

The wealth of one man could modernize the entirety of the continent of Africa with funds left over. The fact that one percent of the human population controls most of the resources, most of the money, and the health and livelihoods of billions of people is the true crime against humanity.

I would love to be wealthy. Better than that, I would love to just be debt free. Unlike many people, I consider myself to be well off because I can afford to keep my credit use reasonable. I have a house — yes, there’s a mortgage — but I can afford the payment. I use credit cautiously, generally paying the cards off within a month or so.

One of the credit card companies notified me that they are reducing my credit limit because I don’t use the card enough. Fine by me. I’m cancelling that card anyway. My credit score will take a hit, but no big deal. It won’t be that much of a hit.

I spent years clawing my way up from practically no credit score to one that has three digits. I have everything that I need because my needs are reasonable except for craft supplies. We all have our faults.

Before you get all mad at my rant, remember this is just my opinion based on moderate research, reading, and life experience. You have your opinion based on your information gathering. We can have differing opinions. That’s what the First Amendment is about, right?