When I lived in Indiana, we lived in a mobile home. We must have spent about six years give or take in that flat and boring state. We lived in Columbia City (outside of Fort Wayne), Kokomo, Marion, and Milton. It was terribly flat, and boring.
For fun we would go for rides in the countryside.
Many times we would have picnics in the various country cemeteries. And My wife would get dressed up in a nice tight-fitting dress, and we would enjoy a simple lunch under a nice tree in a big empty park-like cemetery.
The picnics were the highlight of our years in Indiana.
We did this for years.
On one of our trips we drove about four hours away and in this rural country town we saw this beautiful home for sale.
It was a 1930’s “Florida Home”. In other words, 100% Art Deco masterpiece.
And it was.
Beautiful.
And cheap! It was located in the middle of nowhere. And so the price reflected this. It was so very cheap by the standards of the late 1980’s.
Only two problems.
Firstly; It was a four hour drive away from my work, and…
and…
Secondly, I really doubted that I could get a loan for the house. I believed that my credit was shit. So I wouldn’t even try.
But, Man! We both loved that house, and when the realtor told us that a fellow was thinking about taking the house and breaking it down into five small apartments, we were horrified! Just horrified.
I, and my wife, felt a real connection to that house.
Apparently the owners of the house was an old couple and the woman had just passed on in an old folks home in her 90’s. And the children were tying to sell the house. And that house was a labor of love for that couple.
Leaving that house, I had a difficult time pulling myself away from it.
I really felt a connection to it, and for the entire week I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
About four days later I had a very vivid dream.
The woman (who had just died) was telling me not to worry. That I would be able to buy the house and the bank would pay for everything. Not to worry she said. Not to worry.
And when I woke up… yeah. It was clear. All I needed to do was to place a bid on the home and it was mine.
So I told my wife that.
And we were considering buying that house…
…but then…
*sigh*
… I got laid off one month later.
And, of course that meant a move out of state… and no chance of buying the house at all.
…
Spirit of the house?
The actual previous owner of the home visiting me in the spirit form?
And what was the tie with my getting laid off, did not the spirits know or realize that my physical life was so mercurial?
*sigh*
That house was beautiful, though.
A jewel in the middle of the corn belt.
*sigh*
Today…
What’s the most morally disgusting thing you’ve ever seen someone do?
Few days ago, I went to a crockery shop with my mom to buy some necessary items.
Till my mom was looking for items, I was standing on the other counter and looking over other things.
At my counter on which I was standing, a couple was buying their household chores.
In between talks of them, she exclaimed on her polite husband. Actually, they were looking for buckets and mugs for their bathroom.
Conversation was like that : –
He : This is best. Take this one (Showing items to his wife).
She : No, no ( scruffily). ( Tum duplicate chize laate ho, Ab Yeh Mera ghar hai, tumhari Maa Ka nahi, To duplicate chize nhai rakhenge)
Translation :
This is a duplicate one. Now, this is my home, not yours mother’s home. I won’t keep a single duplicate thing over there.
** After few minutes**
He( In polite manner) : See! these cups, how graceful they are!
She( Very arrogantly) : Yuck! What a substandard people you are! What a sleazy choice you have!
(Bahut jhel Liya, tumhara or tumhari Maa Ka low standard, please ab toh meresath reh kar thoda standard Ka dhayan rakho)
( Enough now! I have beared a lot of low – standard of yours and yours mother, please now think about my standard).
Her husband immediately changed the topic, so that people wouldn’t mock them. Quietly, he stood up from there and went to the billing counter and started talking to the shopkeeper, so that no one would feel awkward.
This was totally disgusting, the way she was shouting on her husband and uttering pernicious words about his family in public.
Never name call or dishonor your spouse and his family in public. This is really loathsome thing one can ever do.
Red coins
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
It wasn’t my boss, but the head of HR in front of an entire room of staff.
I started a new job and part of my duties was to help manage some of the employees time. This was part of the 4DX (4 Disciplines of Execution) initiative the entire company was pushing. I did my work, helped others where I could, and spent the rest of my time learning. Part of that learning was watching the rest of my “team” interact with each other and how my manager was not actually managing. So I kept notes, stepped in to help keep things from escalating into fist fights, and in general kept folks on task. That went well until said manager came strolling back in like a seagull and shit all over everything then walked right back out the door. (For some reason they felt that 7 IT people could fit in a locked room with no windows that was only 300sf or so.)
Finally the entire team had had enough of this so I took it up the food chain to the CTO with all of the information I had collected. She called a meeting and got HR involved. HR sent out a form for everyone to fill out and return to them. I filled mine out, attached all of the documents I had created, and replied all. The only person not aware of all of the Information I had collected was the problem manager.
Fast forward to Friday and we are all in a room when the CTO, my manager, some HR staff, and the head of HR walks in. He sits down and then proceeds to chew my ass for 15 minutes straight. Apparently HE did not want everyone to know what was going on and the “form” was meant just for HR to read. I informed him that the manager and apparently him had not been aware of what EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM had known about. This set him off on another tirade that I mostly ignored as I texted my wife I would be heading home early today. The head of HR makes a snippy comment that I better be texting someone damn important. I stood up, pulled out my keys, and removed all of my building keys from my key ring. I then slid them over to my manager and the CTO and informed them that this was immediate notice of my resignation. The CTO was crying (really odd reaction) and the HR guy was still talking to the back of my head as I left.
All but two people on the team quit within 3 months. I walked into another job the following Friday. My only regret was that I had to leave my team to deal with the mess we all worked so hard to clean up.
“Deficits Don’t Matter!” – Modern Monetary Theory Economist Stephanie Kelton
Jesus! Wholly delusional!
Our slave owners think they can pay us in toilet paper
Ukraine Discussing Moving Country’s Capital from Kiev to Lviv; “Almost All Hope is Lost, now”
Discussions are underway in Ukraine to move the nation’s Capital from Kiev to Lviv because Ukraine is losing its war with Russia. Meanwhile in Kharkov, residents are fleeing en-masse as the Russian Army approaches.
Russia continues it’s northern storm front southward toward Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and from the east toward the heavily fortified city of Chasiv Yar, once thought to be impenetrable.
In the past two days alone, an additional 30,000+ Russian troops have taken over a dozen towns, villages.
Despite massive financial and military support from the collective West, Ukraine is simply unable to defend itself any longer. Even the American media outlet “The Hill” writes: “further efforts to defeat Russia militarily are hopeless; Russian forces have a significant advantage, and the position of Ukrainian forces is rapidly deteriorating. Ukraine will never win the war and recapture the lost territories”
The Russian Army, which was 35 miles away last Friday, is now just 19-miles from Kharkiv. The city was once home to 1.5 million people. Tens-of-thousands have already fled, and tens-of-thousands more are presently fleeing the city.
Meanwhile, in Kiev, over 19,000 businesses have evacuated the city, with many heading to Lviv in Ukraine’s far west, near Poland.
For this reason Ukrainian President Zelensky is now discussing moving the Ukraine Capital from Kiev to Lviv. His Army Commanders have been telling him there is no longer any hope at all of Ukraine defeating Russia, or of even reclaiming lands that seceded to Russia. “Almost all hope is gone” for Ukraine.
USA – China
What is the most brilliant example of taking advantage of a loophole you have ever witnessed?
Not sure it’s brilliant but it is a tactic that did work. Early in my 20’s, fresh out of college and working, I had never been taught about tax returns (it was just an abstract concept to me) and didn’t realize I needed to file every year. So for 3 years it never crossed my mind. Then one year someone asked me about how I filed and soon realized I was in deep poo poo with the IRS. Immediately sent them a $50 check, went to an accountant and got all the returns and paperwork done and submitted.
Soon the phone calls from them started and they were not nice. Threatening to take my home I had purchased, my truck, bank accounts, etc. Scared the poo out of me. But I asked if they had received my $50 check and yes they had. I told them that by accepting it they had defacto accepted a repayment agreement. They eventually and reluctantly agreed that was so. I kept sending in the monthly checks to keep my end up (it did not end all the calls, but the threats were gone, mostly.) Ended up costing me $12K but on my terms and got to keep all my stuff and not have my pay and bank account garnered. No, didn’t pay the total in $50 installments, just kept that up while sending occasional supplemental checks. And yes I did get a tax attorney to help eventually. Am much wiser now (at least in tax matters). My dad taught me about most things financial but this one detail slipped through the cracks.
Vintage covers
William Bohannon’s Creole Cream Cheese
Creole cream cheese is a form of farmer cheese that is traditional in the New Orleans area.
Yield: 12 ounces
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon skim milk
- 1 tablet rennet
- 1/2 cup whole buttermilk
- 1 1/4 cups nonfat dry milk
- Pinch of cream of tartar
Instructions
- In a large microwave dish heat the milk to 170 degrees F (75 degrees C) and hold for 20 minutes, using the “Hold” function and the microwave probe attachment. Immediately stir in the other ingredients to blend. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.
- Drain and discard liquid from the cheese clabber.
- Line a colander with 2 layers of cheese cloth and turn cheese into colander. Place colander over bowl for more draining. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 36 hours.
- Place finished cheese into bowl, and use as desired.
Notes
This cream cheese has become increasingly difficult to find. It is made from skim milk, buttermilk and rennet, has a mild, slightly tart, slightly sweet taste, and is often mixed with cream, sugar and fruit and served as a dessert. It is often used to make Creole cream cheese ice cream. In homes it was traditionally eaten for breakfast and served with cream, fruit, or sugar; it can also be served on toast with butter, salt and pepper.
Keeps 2 weeks covered in the fridge.
The cheese only took 3 hours to make.
After the Rennet tablet (crushed well) was sprinkled in the slightly cooled milk mixture, it clabbered right away (about 1 1/2 hours). I drained it in the colander then put it in the cheese cloth and wrung it dry carefully. The cheese needed several wringings with rest in between for sufficient drainage. The finished cheese resembles Feta crumble cheese but the flavor is like mild mascarpone. I put it in the food processor on high speed until it was very smooth and creamy like mascarpone. I freshened the taste with a few drops of lemon juice (store bought mascarpone contains citric acid).
The cheese was not quite a smooth as the commercially whipped kind but the flavor was very good. This recipe is the closest thing to mascarpone that one can make at home with ease. A little tinkering with the proportions should yield a very good clone.
Watch Biden Economic Advisor’s HILARIOUS Fail Over Basic Money Question
China’s EV sector has become a global leader without access to the U.S. market. The effects of tariffs on Chinese-made EVs is therefore what and on whom?
Tariffs on Chinese EVs – by the U..S. or the E.U.?
As for the E.U., Ursula is threatening tariffs on Chinese EVs but facing resistance from European OEMs especially those from Germany because this will impact their EVs manufactured in China and exported to Europe. And more seriously, if China were to retaliate with counter measures and restrictions on them, these would compromise their competitiveness at a time when they’re partnering with Chinese EV makers to remain viable. The Chinese market is existential for them and no doubt this was a main topic during Xi’s visit to France when he met with Macron and Ursula.
As for the U.S., Biden is just scared shit about Chinese EVs entering the U.S. marketplace and vowed to slap a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs and those containing Chinese EV parts. How he’s going to do this if they’re produced under joint-venture agreement with Mexican entities, especially if the Chinese were to use their E.U.-owned companies to do this (e.g., Volvo, Polestar, LEVC, Lotus, Daimler, Smart) is another story. There are strict treaty laws between the U.S. and Mexico that just can’t be put aside. Ultimately, Chinese EV cars will enter the U.S. market – through Mexico.
In the meantime, the global market is big enough for Chinese EVs to go around.
As a doctor or nurse, what are some of the most powerful last words a patient has said?
It was years ago, I was a junior resident. I didn’t know the patient all that well, but got called up to get her paperwork ready for discharge. (She was an otherwise healthy 96 or so, had a palliative colon resection for cancer, something, something).
I went to her room to do a last wound check and DC a JP drain and she kept talking about how she was “going home to Bill*”
Her son pointed out that she’s usually mentally very sharp, but Bill was her husband who had died years ago. He reassured her, “No, mom, dad is gone. We’re just going back to the house.”
She insisted. “No, I’m going to him. He came to see me this morning and said he’s taking me home.”
Whatever, I guess? Son said she was otherwise at baseline – it was the first and only weird thing she said – vitals and labs looked good, so we progressed along the DC pathway.
Not even a few minutes later the Code Blue got called to her room. She was Don’t Code, so we didn’t do anything, but it was like, “WTAF, I guess Bill really was coming for her.” Her son was surprisingly OK with how this played out.
This one chilled me for awhile.
What Boomers Don’t Understand About Younger Guys Failing At Dating And Why It Will Get MUCH WORSE
Have you ever had a pet who could tell that somebody is not a good person?
Back when I was a teen (many many years ago), the adults bought a puppy for my brother’s birthday. He was a beagle/welsh corgie mix, black and white all over, short fur. Think Snoopy in the comics, just opposite colors! My brother was delighted and named him – guess what? – Snoopy!
He was a smart dog and kept us all hopping. We lived in a corner lot house in Spokane WA. I don’t remember how old the dog was when this happened, more than 2, I’m sure.
One winter morning he came to me and wanted out badly, so I put him out the back. It had snowed pretty heavily. I was shutting the door when I heard him snarl, so I ran barefoot out into the snow in my nightgown. There was a man in our yard! Then I saw it was the meter reader. But Snoopy hated him. He had him pinned against the house, not letting him move at all. I called him but he ignored me, so I went to him and laid myself on top of his back – and still he stepped forward, ready to bite and savage the man. I said, “Get out! I can’t hold him,” and the guy scrambled over the fence and ran. I reported this behavior to the adults. The male made a phone call to the electric company and told them what happened and what he suspected. Turns out on his routes, all the dogs were getting sick or dying. They checked his locker and he had raw steaks in it that he had put poison in, so he was killing the dogs. Our dog knew it!
Another instance, in the summer. We were going to a new church, a nondenominational one, and they invited the pastor over for supper. He was a single man, in his late 60’s. Our dog took an instant dislike to him, snarling and trying to attack him. It took my brother and I to pull him inside the house and lock him in a bedroom as we were eating outside. A few months later the man went ballistic in services, called the adults “yellow-bellied commies” and threw us out of the church because we wouldn’t follow a specific cultish ‘diet plan’ he thought was a cure-all for any ailment. This guy claimed he could cure you of anything by analyzing your urine. Turns out the dog was correct, he was a bad man. He died a bit later of a massive stroke. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Our dog Snoopy lived for many years and was always a great protector. We were all devastated when he died.
Shorpy
What was the most expensive surprise you received in a bill from a doctor or hospital? Did you pay it?
My husband was on a fishing trip in Alaska with several family members. They had chartered a boat with a captain and crew and were about 2 hours offshore when my husband’s heart suddenly stopped, and he collapsed. He came to after some agonizing moments. The captain immediately started for shore. My husband’s heart stopped again 2 or 3 more times during the 2 hours before reaching land. An ambulance met them at the dock and my husband was transported to the local hospital in Homer. The doctors at the hospital determined he needed more acute care and that he should be transported to Anchorage. An ambulance transported him to the local airport where a waiting private medical jet flew him to Anchorage. His heart stopped again at the hospital in Homer, on the way to the airport and while on the jet. Each time his heart restarted just as suddenly as it had stopped after several moments. Once he reached Anchorage he had a pacemaker implanted and is doing well today.
As you can imagine, the bills were astronomical. Luckily our insurance covered everything except for one thing. You would think they might not cover the $25,000 for the private medical jet but no they covered that without even blinking. What they wouldn’t cover was the $350 for the second ambulance ride. I called the insurance company to find out why, thinking it must be an error. The insurance representative told me they could only cover one ambulance transport a day. Wait, what?? I simply asked “how was my husband supposed to get to the airport? Take a taxi? You do realize that his heart stopped while in that ambulance, right?” I was told I would be placed on a brief hold. The insurance representative came back and told me she checked with her supervisor and that they would now be covering the second ambulance ride.
Women Are Leaving The Workforce. But Nobody Cares.
Has a teacher ever accused your child of doing something that you know he could not have done?
Principal not teacher but it’s a good story.
I was sent home early one day for something they thought I might have been involved with. My mother was irritated and called the school. Turns out the principal wanted to meet with her as well. This was really uncommon since it was a big high school and usual student discipline was delegated to the few vice principals.
My mother walked into the meeting and immediately started talking about the reason I’d been sent home. The principal waved it off. He had wanted to talk to her about something else.
“Never mind that. I wanted to talk to you because we believe your son is a devil-worshipper.” Welcome to the rural Midwest in the 90s.
My mother, not being an idiot but also just being a mix of amused and dumb-founded. “And what makes you believe that?” she asked.
“We’ve heard reports from other students that him and his friends have been sacrificing animals and kidnapping infants.”
“… And what makes you think these accusations are credible?”
He gives his ‘supporting evidence,’ which consisted of me and my friends having long hair and playing Dungeons and Dragons. He apparently misconstrued my mother’s ‘wtf, mate?’ look for, “please, tell me more.”
Believing he’s successfully making his case, he puffs out his chest as he concludes his argument. “Our philosophy here at South is, ‘if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck.’”
My mother told him not to waste time I’m supposed to be in class learning with nonsense for which he has no demonstrable evidence.
As far as I know, nothing more ever came from this. I did my best to keep a low profile till I graduated then moved tf away from my hometown.
Edit: To be clear, my friends and I were not sacrificing animals nor kidnapping infants. I’m not sure exactly how we were supposedly doing that and never making it in the news, but it was the 90s so who knows?
Ukraine SitRep: An Army And Country At Their End
Stephen Byren writes, correctly, that the purpose of the Russian offensive towards Kharkiv is to disintegrate the Ukrainian army:
To my mind, Russia’s objective is to force Ukraine’s army to chase after invading Russian units. The idea is to cause heavy casualties on the Ukrainian side and, if all goes according to plan, either to split Ukraine’s army into two, or disintegrate it altogether.In such a manner the idea is not just to take territory but to destroy Ukraine’s ability to resist. There are many indicators that Russia is having success in the ongoing operation.
General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, (which includes foreign fighters and Nazis units,) agrees to that. He paints an bleak picture (archived):
Like most Ukrainian officials and military experts, General Budanov said he believes the Russian attacks in the northeast are intended to stretch Ukraine’s already thin reserves of soldiers and divert them from fighting elsewhere.That is exactly what is happening now, he acknowledged. He said the Ukrainian army was trying to redirect troops from other front line areas to shore up its defenses in the northeast, but that it had been difficult to find the personnel.
“All of our forces are either here or in Chasiv Yar,” he said, referring to a Ukrainian stronghold about 120 miles farther south that Russian troops have assaulted in recent weeks. “I’ve used everything we have. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else in the reserves.”
The Ukrainian military has pulled out parts of various brigades that are engaged in the east and is moving them north towards the Kharkiv region. This will be a hodgepodge of partly filled battalions without a unified command and with nothing left to stuff any holes elsewhere.
Budanov correctly fears that Russian can and will repeat this game in other places:
General Budanov said he expected the attacks in the Kharkiv region to last another three or four days, after which Russian forces are expected to make a hard push in the direction of Sumy, a city about 90 miles to the northwest of Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials have previously said that Russia had massed troops across the border from Sumy.Pavlo Velycho, a Ukrainian officer operating near the Russian border in the Sumy region, said that Russian shelling of the outskirts of Sumy had recently increased.
The Russian forces can easily progress because the money allocated for fortifications in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions was paid to fictitious companies without any trenches ever being build (machine translation):
Multi-million contracts for the construction of fortifications, for which they spent a total of 7 billion hryvnias there, were transferred by the Kharkiv OVA to front companies of avatars.
…
It so happened that the department of the Kharkiv OVA for defense purchases chose newly registered no-name firms and FOPs. Moreover, the owners of these firms do not resemble successful businessmen and businesswomen-they have dozens of court cases, from whiskey theft to domestic violence against their husband and mother, some of them are deprived of parental rights and have had enforcement proceedings for loans in banks.Another interesting detail-it seems that these beneficiaries do not even know that they are millionaires. After all, they continue to work in shifts” in the fields ” and factories.
The U.S. obviously fears that the Ukrainian army will not be able to hold its lines. Today Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived on an unannounced visit in Kiev to shore up moral, or probably to arrange for a change in Ukraine’s leadership:
Blinken, who arrived in Kyiv by train early on Tuesday morning, hopes to “send a strong signal of reassurance to the Ukrainians who are obviously in a very difficult moment,” said a U.S. official who briefed reporters traveling with Blinken on condition of anonymity.”The Secretary’s mission here is really to talk about how our supplemental assistance is going to be executed in a fashion to help shore up their defenses (and) enable them to increasingly take back the initiative on the battlefield,” the official said.
…
Blinken will reassure Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of enduring U.S. support and deliver a speech focused on Ukraine’s future, the official said.
Blinken and Biden need the Ukrainian army to hold until the November election is over. It is unlikely that they can achieve that aim. Some pause on the battlefield would now be convenient but that requires to get rid of Zelenski.
U.S. media are emphasizing the $60 billion package passed by Congress for Ukraine. They neglect to explain that only $14.5 billion of that is actually going to Ukraine, half of it to keep the state solvent and the other half in form of weapons Ukraine might buy once they are build. The other money is designated to refill the U.S. military stockpile.
The real military help for Ukraine during the next months, in form of artillery and anti-air ammunition, will be minuscule.
There is nothing in there that can defend against the FAB glide bombs the Russian military is using in ever growing numbers to break up Ukrainian positions. The last three days have each seen Ukrainian losses at about 1,500 per day – double the usual count – with most of them occurring on the eastern front, not in the Kharkiv direction.
Currently the replacement rate through Ukrainian mobilization is said to be only 25% of the losses that are actually occurring.
Everyone knows that the war is coming to an end. That there will be a victor, Russia, and a lot of losers. The U.S. as well as the EU are now trying to find a face saving way to acknowledge that without admitting it.
The easiest way will be to blame Ukraine, and especially its President Zelenski, for having not listened to western advice during some of the hotter phases of the war (Bakhmut etc). “We gave them a chance and they blew it,” will soon become the major tenor of official statements.
But in reality there never was a chance for Ukraine to defeat or even to weaken Russia. All numbers, capacities and people, pointed against that. Despite that fact it was pushed to its death by western delusion.
One hopes that its people, and others, will have learned from it.
Posted by b on May 14, 2024 at 10:54 UTC | Permalink
American Reacts to explaining europe to americans
What is the most offensive thing someone has ever asked you?
It was 2004 in Ohio not long after Alex and I married, I was working at the diner when Alex had to drop our daughter off since his brother had been in a car accident and I was almost done my shift. Alex had adopted her when she was 4, and that was a couple of years prior. We kissed like normal and she said bye pops like usual when he left. A customer saw and overheard so him and his wife starting with the homophobic commentary which I ignored with kindness. That is until she asked how I could marry a pedophile who would turn around and hurt my kid. If I hadn’t of been holding Pearl in one arm with dishes on my other, I probably would have decked the hateful bitch!
My papa was close friends with the owners so I wasn’t afraid of being fired, so I told her husband to remove his “cunt of a wife from my presence.” I’ve never said that word before or since (to my recollection) but she deserved it.
What did your child’s teacher say that made your jaw drop?
My youngest daughter, now fully grown, was in I believe grade 1 or 2 at the time this happened. She came home from school one day and told me that a boy had been picking on her. I asked for more information. I do not subscribe to that “he pulled your hair so he just likes you” crap, but I didn’t want to react until I knew what was actually going on.
She described a classic bully. He would slap her, kick her, push her… He often did it when the teacher wasn’t aware, and she reacted in the classic “I’m being bullied” fashion of trying to be smaller and less noticeable to him.
My advice was in stages. Stage one was simple, I told her not to shrink. Grow. That little jackass wants to slap you, you explode at him verbally and make certain that the teacher notices and understands that you are reacting. She did stage one the first few days, and she was upset because the teacher kept doing nothing about it.
Stage two was equally simple. I taught her how to throw a proper punch, a punch that would allow her to get her power behind it with proper form to avoid breaking the bones in her hand.
The school called. They explained that my daughter had “caused a problem” that was really serious, and we needed to come in and talk with them.
“Your daughter attacked one of the other students,” quoth the teacher.
“Nope, I’m pretty sure she didn’t,” rebutted I, rebutfully. “{kid’s name}, can you tell us what happened?”
She had been drinking at the water fountain, and the kid came along and pushed her hard, face first into the porcelain. If memory serves, she had a bloody nose as a result. So she remembered what I taught her, she turned around and threw a nasty punch, and the kid ran off to tell the teacher.
“Striking children is NOT acceptable!” puffed the puffy teacher.
“Yes, you are absolutely right. That kid has been striking my daughter for at least a few days, and I told her to bring it to your attention. You didn’t do anything to protect her and safeguard your students from a bully, so she had to address the situation herself. I won’t have my child be a bully, but I won’t have them victimized, so I taught her how and when to strike back. And I’m not sorry.”
Many guffaws. Many splutters. Finally, the teacher said the thing. “Mr. Martin, you have to understand that this boy is from another country, and he hasn’t learned yet what is and is not acceptable.”
Before anyone gets all xenophobic, let me stop you right there. This wasn’t a “OMG FOREIGN KID MONSTER” post. This was a “For f**k’s sake, teacher!” post.
So I explained that the kid wasn’t going to learn by not being held to account. It was the teacher’s job to maintain the safety of all of the students, and when she didn’t react to his behavior, she green lit him to keep going. So while I get that the boy was from a place with very different social rules, those social rules wouldn’t work here, so if the school wasn’t going to address it, my kid would continue to stand up for herself.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe that anyone at this point (like 15 years ago) would be justifying bullying in an elementary school by saying that it was a cultural difference. Maybe they were working with this boy behind the scenes and I had no idea, though I strongly doubt that, but either way, my kid wasn’t going to be a victim.
And yeah, guess who never had a problem with the boy again?
Be the Rufus
MM is hungry
Retired Police Dog
Baby Kay’s Cajun Kitchen Bread Pudding
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup coconut flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3/4 of 16-ounce loaf stale French bread, cut into crouton-size cubes
Instructions
- Mix together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Add eggs; whip together.
- Add vanilla extract.
- Stir in coconut flakes, raisins and chopped pecans.
- Melt butter over low heat. Add milk, heating just enough to scald. Add to sugar-egg-coconut mixture.
- Place in a 12 x 8 inch baking dish with the French bread cubes.
- Put into a cold oven; bake at 350 degrees F for one hour.
What do you think of the user on TikTok who claimed that some people in Singapore, who are ethnically Chinese, were offended at being called ‘compatriots’ with mainland Chinese people?
TikTok’s CEO is Singaporean Chinese. Our idiotic government feigns ignorance of basic geography and made it seem that Singapore and China are the same. They did so for political reasons. If a Singaporean Chinese can be associated with “Communist Red China,” then Americans will be more likely to agree to banning TikTok. Our government wants TikTok banned because they can’t control it. They want to censor our internet and apps like the Chinese Great Fire Wall they complain about. Apparently it’s okay if a democracy does it but bad if a communist country does it.
This whole thing must be frustrating for Singaporean Chinese. They make up about 76% of the population and they consider themselves as Singaporean. Most of their families (with the exception of Chinese who recently immigrated from China) have been in Singapore for several generations. Many have never been to China. The ones who have, usually go in search of their ancestry.
Like all overseas Chinese, they’ve assimilated to some degree in the countries they immigrated to hundreds of years ago. They are ethnically Chinese but nationally Singaporean. And Singapore is not China. Singapore is it’s own country. They separated from Malaysia—not China. Singapore has never been part of China. Many overseas Chinese, including Singaporeans, are proud of their roots and culture, and they’re happy to see a strong China as it increases their status around the world as respect for China grows. But these people are true blue Singaporean in their hearts and on paper. I can see why they’re frustrated.
USA vs. China
Many people said New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the world (very expensive and very low wages) but the country is advertised as a beautiful place. Which one is the truth about New Zealand? Is New Zealand simply a backdoor to Australia?
I have lived in Australia all my life and have come over to NZ for work just a day or so ago. I am currently staying in an area which seems to be middle to lower class, well compared to Australia. I went out to one of the local pubs last night and was amazed at their pride and family values. There was a young Māori, 19 years old I believe, who had just received a baseball scholarship in Texas and is leaving NZ in two weeks. There was maybe 50 people there having a party for him. The young kids, I’m guessing maybe 10 years old, all got up on a stage and did a Haka in front of the crowd and then after that a young girl, maybe 13, got up on stage and sang and danced a traditional dance for him.
This country is very proud of their heritage and have very strong family values and it shows. Unfortunately Australia is now a country where family can be taken or left. We really don’t have the culture that there is in NZ.
The people in the area i am staying are a bit rough around the edges but they are still proud Māoris and will protect their family including their extended family with their life.
I’m just about to head into Auckland city to check the place out but I’m guessing the pride Kiwis and Māoris have will be the same.
edit: I am not saying New Zealand isn’t a beautiful country, I am not saying it is a third world country, I am just giving observations I have made in the short time I have been there. Yea there are quite affluent suburbs around Auckland, but as in Australia, there are some at the other end of the scale. And yes, I am o it here to work and I am currently staying in an area which is far less affluent, although we have just been relocated to another area which has a heavy population of Indian and Asian immigrants.
it is difficult, in the areas I have been, to find a corner store or takeaway etc that isn’t run but either Indian or Asian business owners. And I guess there are places in Australia where the same is true.
I am not being racist, I am not running New Zealand down, I am not being derogatory towards New Zealand or the people of New Zealand whether they are indigenous or not. These are just my limited observations.
Red Lobster Abruptly Closes 48 Restaurants; Mulls Bankruptcy
Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster has closed nearly 50 locations around the United States, according to a liquidation company.
CEO and Founder of TAGeX Brands, Neal Sherman announced in a post on LinkedIn that his company would be hosting “the largest restaurant liquidation” through an online auction. The website for TAGeX Brands showed that 48 Red Lobster locations throughout the U.S. had been closed.
Red Lobster locations in places such as Jacksonville, Florida, Watertown, New York, and Bloomingdale and Danville, Illinois, were among the restaurants that were closed. The seafood chain has more than 700 locations throughout the U.S., according to its website.
“The Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment from select Red Lobster locations MUST GO ASAP!” Sherman wrote in his post. “We’re handling this closure differently than we have in the past with each auction having a SINGLE winner for the listed items from the location they bid on — WINNER TAKES ALL.”
This announcement comes after the seafood restaurant chain has reportedly been considering filing for bankruptcy after their all-you-can-eat shrimp promotion led to the company losing $11 million in 2023.
“For those who have been in the US recently, $20 was very cheap,” Red Lobster CFO Ludovic Garnier said in a statement in November. “And the rationale for this promotion was to say we knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants.”
In 2020, ThaiUnion, a Thailand-based company that produces seafood products, bought a stake in Red Lobster. ThaiUnion revealed in January 2024 that it would be exiting from its investment in Red Lobster and would be taking a roughly $530 million loss as a result of its investment in the company.
The Hal Turner Radio Show reached out to Red Lobster for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.