Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News”

By Dannie McIntire

Well, my luck finally ran out this past week; having taken a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine shot, then later the two recommended additional boosters, I felt pretty good about my odds of escaping the Covid-19 virus.

Nope, this past week it coursed thru part of “the family” surprisingly fast and highly “efficient in its ability to infect”.

 All family members infected had the recommended dosages of the covid-19 vaccine, so clearly the vaccine is not 100 percent effective; however, I feel being “vaccinated” helped mitigate the severity of the symptoms most of “our family” experienced. 

The best takeaway from this experience, the “free Covid-19 test” we received from the government did identify the Covid virus so I guess something from our government actually worked. 

Now, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, on to the news;

Let’s talk about congressional hypocrisy; 

During the recent Covid pandemic, Rep. IIhan, (D-Minnesota) introduced a bill, The Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act, to enact a nationwide moratorium on rent and mortgage payments.

The legislation would have created a government relief fund, funded by your taxpayer dollars, to cover losses by landlords and mortgage holders. It would have also funded the buyouts of private rental properties by non-profits and public housing cooperatives in order to increase the availability of affordable housing.

Now Rep. Ilhan, if you don’t know, is a proponent of socialist agendas, “for the good of the common people”.

But now wait a minute, a recent news article detailed that during the pandemic, Rep. Ilhan apparently forgot her belief in socialism and continued to collect rent payments on property she owns in Detroit.

Well, I guess if you might have trouble collecting your rent payments during a pandemic, why not just introduce a congressional bill that would have had the taxpayer contribute those rent payments into your coffer?

What else in the news has caught my attention?

Now if you’ve been asking yourself why the sudden interest by some of our congressional leaders in poking China over the island of Taiwan, let me explain. 

In 2021, Taiwan accounted for approximately 73 percent of worldwide semiconductor manufacturing. A Single Company in Taiwan makes 92% of the World’s Most Sophisticated Chips.

In an attempt to make our country more self-reliant in regard to the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, our congress recently passed the CHIPS Act, a $280 billion bill recently signed by President Biden to help stimulate the growth of the semiconductor industry in the United States. 

Now that’s a lot of funding and tax credits for a vital industry we should have never allowed the manufacturing of to decline in our own country to begin with. Our congressional leaders decided it was time for our country to catch up. 

Nothing wrong with their thinking, except for the scent of what I will call, “hey let’s line our own pockets in this deal”.

Speaker Of The House, Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA), the husband purchased approximately $5 million worth of stock in a computer chip company just prior to the senate voting on the bill to subsidize chip manufacturing in this country. 

When asked about the purchase, Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, said, “The Speaker does not own any stocks.  As you can see from the required disclosures, with which the Speaker fully cooperates, these transactions are marked ‘SP’ for Spouse. The Speaker has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”

Yeah right, do I have “stupid” stamped on my forehead?

Once the purchase gained traction in the news, her husband, Paul Pelosi, apparently decided it wasn’t a “good look” and sold his newly acquired shares.

Just saying, if that had been an average citizen the SEC would have an “insider trading” case already filed. 

Another cup of coffee, on to more news;

Well, an 80-year-old Washington State woman has been banned by her local YMCA because she objected to a transgender male having access to the women’s locker room.

Now why on earth, would an 80-year-old “grandmother” object to a biological male being in the women’s locker room while she and other women were in a state of undress?

I have no problem with biological males or females who are transgender and want to identify differently than their biological sex, but this issue has lost any resemblance of common sense. 

You’re born biologically one sex or the other, Identify however you want to identify, but if you have a “outie” you utilize the men’s locker room, if you have an “innie” you utilize the women’s locker room. 

Now it’s just my opinion, and I know if not’s “proper woke thinking”, but if you born with a “outie” I don’t want you in a locker room with my grandmother, mother, wife, daughter, or granddaughter. 

Call my thinking regressive if you wish, but again in the words of “Joe Biden”, “come on man”.

The last news for the day; is that let’s talk about rising prices. 

Recently, my wife after returning from grocery shopping announced that with the current price of coffee I was going to have to cut back. I replied, “I’m 72 years old, if I want a cup of coffee I’ll continue to fix a pot.” Since she was in another part of the house I had the courage to start a fresh pot, Ha! 

The Biden administration’s efforts to control the rate of inflation so far seem to have had little effect on surging prices. 

From a Fox news Article; “The national median single-family existing-home price rose 14.2% annually to $413,500, surpassing $400,000 for the first time, according to the National Association of Realtors.”

Let the above statistic sink in. The median price of a single-family home in this country is now $413,500. 

I purchased my first house back in the early 70s, a one-bathroom bungalow, and I sweated wondering how we could afford the purchase price of $17,950.

Today you’d be hard-pressed to buy a reliable used car for what I paid for my first house.

Both General Motors and Ford just announced they are raising their prices on new EV vehicles by roughly $6,000 up to $8,500 on various models. Now is that just a coincidence that the ‘Inflation Reduction Act” just signed by President Biden includes a $7,500 tax credit on new EV purchases? Yeah right, tell me that wasn’t planned!

Being retired and debt free, I guess I’ve been fairly insulated against the overall recent surge in prices. I admit that a few within my circle of family and friends have told me that my wallet “squeaks” whenever I open it. 

Now there is a difference between being “frugal” and just “plain tight”. I saw no reason to buy new boxer shorts when my current ones were only ten years old. Recently, pulling on a threadbare pair, I was disheartened when the seam ripped out. 

Alright, maybe it was time to open my wallet. At our first stop, Kohl’s, my wife headed in one direction while I went to the men’s section for boxer shorts. 

I vaguely remember looking at the prices, feeling lightheaded, and then hearing their PA system, “code blue in the boxer short aisle another customer has fainted”.  Even with the “famous look how much you saved Kohl’s discount” I wasn’t paying that much for boxer shorts.

On to Meijer’s in hopes their prices were lower. “Good Greif”, when did a five-pack of boxer shorts become more expensive than two 18-bottle cases of Coors Banquet beer?

You have to have your priorities straight in life; I came home with the beer; I can squeeze another two or three years out of my remaining boxer shorts.   

FOOTNOTE:  Posted by the City-County Observer without bias or editing,