Random Thoughts From Redneck-Nation

This is what poverty looked like in the fifties and sixties (and before). It wasn't "statistical" poverty like now where if your income is two standard deviations below the mean you're deemed by government to be poverty stricken (and entitled to all sort of goodies). No it was a real "I can't feed my young-uns and Rhonda-Jean is getting pissed" kinda poverty. Most of the really pervasive white poverty was in Appalachia, extreme rural areas down South and parts of New Jersey near Philadelphia. Black poverty was in the same areas but included the Northern cities.

Now, a reasonable person could understand the anti-poverty initiatives of the sixties considering, but how do we explain it now? Poverty these days is more likely represented by someone with basic cable and a weight problem, or guys like this California surfer dude who freely admits he gets foodstamps etc. and has no plans to get a job. And let's not forget the two Jihadists in Kentucky who hadn't been here a New York minute but were busily working away transporting weapons...eh while being supported on the welfare rolls by the American taxpayer. Call me a stupid, half-drunk cracker bastard, but I have to say, this is bullshit.

Hey whatta ya think about the Pope sounding off like Hugo Chavez (re)incarnate? Well I think it's a smart move actually. The Church of Rome has been badly damaged the last few years and he needs the press on his side, at least for a while. Heck even MSNBC is saying good things about him. I sincerely hope it's just rope-a-dope because we don't need no stinking commie Pope, nope nope nope.

Old Speaker Newt was on one of the Sunday shows and when discussing the Ryan/Murray budget deal said that if he were a back bencher he'd raise hell and if he were the Speaker he'd ram it through. Must keep the focus on Obamacare he said. Ok fine. It ain't like we're not in deep do do to our eyeballs already. One more year of this insanity probably won't make any difference so what the hell, have at it. But sooner or later we're going to have to stand our ground. We can only take so many Dunkirks assuming it's not too late already.

A lot of folks are counting their chickens when it comes to these supposed vulnerable Senate races. We've got a dozen or so Democrats in "red" states (who decided conservative was red and leftist was blue(?)...these people can redefine anything!) who were swept into office in '08 and voted for Obamacare.  Well maybe so, but in my state Kay Hagen has already had 2 million spent on her behalf partly to position her opponent as unacceptable. And friends that will be the strategy. Harry Reid was VERY unpopular in Nevada but he threw so much crap against the wall that some of it was bound to stick, and he won. This will be an election of disqualification. In other words "I may suck, but my opponent is crazy/dishonest/criminal/whatever". The Dems ain't giving up the Senate easily and this is a tried and true strategy. Get ready for blood!

That's all I got. As Charlie Tuna used to say, that cans it, stay tuna.