Friday, January 29, 2021

On a Lighter Note ... LOL


Okay, after my last post - an all-time-frustration rant at modern/Trump Republicans in my state (Kentucky) - and after seeing nothing but gloom and doom in the news otherwise, today, people behaving badly, I decided to visit Sunny Skyz news to see people (and pets) behaving in ways that make you smile :)

This baby is the cutest baby ever - well, next to my daughter as a baby, of course -  but then my daughter was very much the same, a very happy baby, whatever time of day or night it was, when she decided sleep was not on the agenda  :)



In fact, true story, once upon a time, my daughter was such a happy baby that when I took her over to a friend's house, a family member said, "I don't know how to say this without it sounding like it's not a compliment, because it is - and she's clearly very bright - but babies THAT happy are often mentally retarded lol" 


LOL!  Rest assured, my college graduate daughter is certainly not :)

Thus, one could argue that very bright babies are also happy - they just can't wait for the next world-of-wonder day to begin for them to discover.

However, I think regardless of intellectual level - with innate temperament playing a part - happy babies also just know they are loved :)


Next up, a very protective cat-cat :)



I love how the little boy looks back to see if whomever is filming is going to stop him from trying to climb the balcony, then  the cat, and then what the filmer is waiting for, happens -  Supercat comes to the rescue and stops him! LOL!

Then he tries to move further away from the cat, but Supercat is watching him and climbs along the bannister to bat at his little hands again (with claws withdrawn, of course).  In fact, he holds his paw in the air with his back arched for a bit, like, "Don't you do it!" lol. 

Don't tell ME cats aren't protective!

Amazing, really - some cats can be just as protective of their humans as dogs - no, really. 

Exhibit B ...



Cat saves mom from the evil water in the bathtub LOL!


Speaking of dogs being protective, I'll have to get a video next year of our sheltie, barking and pulling at our pants, when we're up on the ladder decorating the tree lol.

"It's not safe," our herding dog is trying to tell us, aw lol.

However, she also does this when we ride our indoor cycle - I guess it's anything we climb on?

Oh, but there's the vacuum cleaner, too, which she hates.  She's determined it's evil.  However, she waits until it's off to bark at it - she's all big and bad when it's off, of course lol.

Oh, yeah, she's a big and bad one, all right ;)




Actually, she is, when it comes to cats - which is why we could never get one :(

I'm an equal opportunity pet lovers, I love dogs and cats the same.  And birds.  And bunnies.  Well, all animals, really :)

Now, this next one is a universal parenting rule every parent knows ... 


 


When carrying a baby around, you may never, EVER sit down! 

That's right - your soul responsibility is you must walk around endlessly, until the end of time, so that they can see everything!  ;)

And lastly, if only our politicians could behave this way towards each other - Tom Brady (quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and family, playing on the field with Drew Brees (quarterback for the New Orleans Saints) and family, after the playoff game on Sunday, ending with a hug :)









Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Mitch McConnell, You &@#!ing Coward - Have You No Honor or Integrity Whatsoever?


Be forewarned, I'm about to get my rant on, up in here - because I'm extraordinarily pissed off with the U.S. senators from my state, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, after their Senate vote against impeachment today.

Well, I expected this from Rand Paul, after he had said a vote to impeach would "destroy the party," but not Mitch McConnell, who just last week said publicly that he thought Trump "provoked" the riot and that it was an "impeachable offense!"   

But now, he votes against the impeachment?

I shouldn't be surprised, both are already shady, but after Mitch McConnell was so visibly rattled himself, after the riot, I had hoped for better. 

In fact, I don't think I've ever been so angry at politics or politicians - but then I've never seen such a gross, blatant miscarriage of justice right before our eyes, like this. 

Like we're all stupid.  Like we didn't hear and see what we know we saw.  Like we all suffer from short-term memory loss or are all going to pretend like the riot didn't happen and maybe it will go away, like some effed up dysfunctional family?

Nope, not me, sorry - I was never very good at playing dysfunctional family anyway, but I gave up any residuals for Lent about 15 years ago lol. 


 I'm sorry, Mitch McConnell - but you cannot both publicly claim that Trump provoked the riot and his doing so was an impeachable offense AND vote against an impeachment trial - admittedly, out of fear your "party will be destroyed" if you do. 

Look -  all you and Rand Paul would have to say is, "We made a mistake in enabling Trump, we didn't think things would go this far" and we'd respect that, because we've all made mistakes and believed in the wrong person before. 

But no, you don't have the moral code, ethics, integrity, and/or the cajones to do that.

Instead, you're going to walk back your previous comments and turn a blind eye to justice out of fear of loss of power for your party?!? 

Well, if that happens, that would be consequence for what your party enabled - but I wouldn't rule out putting the nails in your own party's own  coffin by turning a blind eye to justice, either.


Regardless, with a vote of 55-45 vote, the impeachment will move forward, but with that vote, it is unlikely that Trump will be convicted. 

I swear to goodness, even if we had smoking-gun video evidence, today's Republicans in power would pretend like they didn't see it - simply because the Republicans are afraid a conviction will "destroy" their party and don't want their party "besmirched" by Trump's behavior. 

Well, then they shouldn't have enabled him into power in the first place - it's not like they didn't know, we liberals were red flagging the entire way lol. 

But like I said, everyone has made the mistake of backing the wrong horse before.   But to pretend like your party doesn't carry responsibility is just cray cray. 


So listen, Republicans in power - Trump and the riot IS your responsibility - and I have faith that he will eventually be held accountable for his crimes and that you WILL be held accountable for enabling him and the riot.  


Your short-sightedness may work for you at present, but you'll be the shame of history in the long run, for turning a blind eye to justice and what's best for the country, out of fear of loss of power. 

But I doubt you care about that, because you're all about money and power now.


What a bunch of completely amoral, unethical. cowardly wusses, modern Republicans have become, I swear - you have zero honor and integrity.   

In fact, if Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt could see you, I'd bet they'd jump up out of their graves and snatch you all bald-headed - and I'd sell tickets!!! LOL



TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRUMP AND YOUR ENABLING OF HIM, AND WHAT YOUR DOING SO HAS DONE TO YOUR PARTY AND OUR COUNTRY!!!!


Folks, I'm sorry for such crude language today, but I am angry like never before, with our political leaders - because even with evidence right in their faces, today's Republicans continue to display lack of ethics, integrity, and simply doing the right thing for this country, out of their own fear of loss of power - it sickens both my stomach and my soul.

________________________


PS -  On second thought, why am I apologizing for being mad and crass, though it's a normal human emotion - for both men AND women - when justice isn't served?  

In fact, I hope I never stop being horrified and feeling physically sick to my soul when justice isn't served and being vocal about it - because that would mean I've become as soul-less and sociopathic as the people I'm talking about lol.  

In fact, the people that should be apologizing are the liars, cons, thieves and cowards and/or their enablers, and those turning a blind eye to justice!

__________________________


PPS - Okay, so I wrote Mitch McConnell a portion of the above - but I may regret the subject line was "You are a spineless coward" later lol.

I'm usually a lot more diplomatic, professional, and appropriate in my emails, but enough is enough - and  that's how sick to death I am of this bullshit! 

What are they gonna do, arrest me because I called him a coward?  lol

Call me a crazy bitch and dismiss what I have to say?

Sha ... AND? 

They don't care what I have to say, or anyone has to say, with kid gloves or not, unless you're a corporate lobbyist or a billionaire campaign contributor, despite the fact that their actual paychecks are paid with our tax dollars and they actually work for us. 


But there comes a time with power abuse and injustice, with pure evil having crept too far into things we hold sacred -  when we now have literally had thieves in the temple - that the gloves can and should come off and you just need to call it like it is. 


Someone once said to me, about 10 years ago, if someone calls you a crazy bitch, embrace it, be like, "Yeah, so why you wanna eff with me then?" LOL

I've never actually done that, mind you - if someone ever said that, I'd feel immediately ashamed of whatever I said or did - but you know what? 

Not anymore.  Anyone who's ever said that about me is crazier than I ever thought of being on my worst day lol.  

Let them talk - because I'm not crazy - this situation is crazy. 

And I'd say it again - to his face - don't think I wouldn't.  

Because it's true and it's the most shameful thing I've ever seen him, or any politician in this country, ever do. 

 So maybe I won't regret it later, after all, lol. 

Rant over! lol











  


Sunday, January 24, 2021

Poirier VS. McGregor: KO in the 2nd Round!






*Spits out breakfast tea* 

Hahahahahaha!

OMG, that was AWWWWEsome!


First, may I say, we didn't pay to watch this UFC fight, just the highlights - but I laughed my arse off when McGregor got KO'd in the second round. 


BTW, it's not a nationality or ethnicity thing, it's an attitude thing - the selfless VS. the selfish. 


It's also not a religious thing - in fact, both men are Catholic. 

However, it does show you how two people of the same professed religion can interpret it very differently. 

Because Conor McGregor lives for himself and his own advancement and glory  -  Dustin Poirier lives for Christ, his family, and the service of others - a true steward of his faith. 

McGregor's vainglory and self-service attitude is legendary. 




For starters, McGregor has a big mouth that goes way beyond the bounds of normal trash talk before a fight.  He gets way too personal and elevates himself to nearly god-like status.  It would be almost laughable if he wasn't deadly serious about what he says. 

Also, he's been arrested numerous times, over the past few years, after losing his temper and smashing up other people's stuff without remorse, as well as faces sexual assault allegations.

Dustin Poirier dropped out of school in the 9th grade, getting in street fights - but now is married, has a baby daughter, and a charity called "Good Fight Foundation" which gives much of the proceeds of his fights and auctioned-off fight items to food for the poor children of Lafayette, Louisiana, where he's from (he's Cajun or French Acadian), as well as to clean drinking water for Uganda. 




Also, McGregor openly supported Trump - *shocker*


We don't know what Dustin Poirier's politics are.

However, what we do know, is though Poirier had a rough childhood, clearly, he's become a very charitable human being, taking Christ's compassion seriously, even naming his charity after I Timothy 6:12:

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.


Thus, can I just say that for whatever reason, watching that moment felt like Poirier rendered a KO to Trumpism (selfishness, greed, and self-glorification in Christ's name) lol? 


POW! 

Hehehe. 

Keep up the good fight, Dustin - benediction (blessing in Cajun French) on ya :)


___________________


PS - I've said many times that suffering can sanctify - if you allow it to.   Some get bogged down in their bitterness; others never forget it and use it to help them learn even greater empathy for others. 

Poirier is an example of someone who has turned their suffering into selflessness :)

On the other hand, in other news, I was shocked that Kelly Stafford, the wife of Detroit Lions' quarterback, Matthew Stafford, tweeted out that Michigan was a "dictatorship" during COVID for closing small businesses temporarily again (like what, the hair salon)?




It shocked me because this is a woman who had a brain tumor removed, that turned out to be benign. 

Thus, you'd think she would know, better than anyone, how precious life is - and how much her privilege enabled her to afford that treatment so many couldn't :(

Okay, I understand your concern for small business, and hopefully, help is on the way - but aren't people's actual lives more important than money? 

I also understand not being able to go and do what you like is frustrating - but then I remember a time where I couldn't even afford peanut butter, forget about being able to afford health or dental insurance - and it wasn't during COVID.


There are many people. in this country, who have live this way chronically, Kelly, not just during COVID - because they can never afford to go and do what you do - and now, their health and actual lives are threatened by COVID on top of it. 

Now, you could be a spokesperson for making healthcare affordable for all and a more equitable healthcare system - but instead, you're bitching about not being able to go to your favorite small businesses (like what, the hair salon?)

Girl, you were given a gift - and instead of using it to make you a more empathetic person and realize what's really important, here, during COVID, you're just throwing that gift in the garbage :/


I understand that Matthew Stafford has expressed a desire to be traded when his contract is up, this year. 

Yeah, good luck with that.




Thursday, January 21, 2021

Biden's "I Will Fire You On the Spot"



Everyone's talking about Biden's speech to his staff yesterday:  

"I'm not joking when I say this: If you're ever working with me and I hear you treat another with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot.  On the spot. No if, ands, or buts."

Hallelujah, amen.  


Sorry, free-speech extremists - of course you have the right to be rude, unpleasant, and even bully others and tell lies/spread dysinformation- but we do not have to tolerate your doing so.

Thus, I applaud his speech, wholeheartedly - because though we like to blame Trumpism, the truth is, we all built this city - when we initially lauded Trumpism-type behaviors on competitive-style reality TV shows - on both sides of politics - with social media fanning those flames. 


In last decade or so, Reality TV-ism has become commonplace in the workplace.  It's become cool to act like the workplace is a reality show; bully the new person, take credit for their work, backstab, smear campaign - being an unethical a-hole began to be viewed as "ambitious" - especially in the lower-ranking staff, as if there was anywhere to go from there anyway lol.  (I don't know if people don't have enough to do or what lol.)  

I noticed competitive-style reality TV was changing our culture way back in the mid-to-late 2000s, and not in a good way - but people pooh-poohed me, saying it was harmless fun, nobody was glorifying it, trynna act like I was crazy for saying it.

Then we elected a president who exemplified every bit of those behaviors and then act like we don't know how that happened? lol.  

Oh, I don't think so. 

So ... still think our glorifying competive-style reality TV didn't negatively influence our culture and that I'm crazy for saying so? ;)


Thankfully, I began working at home again in 2011, long before COVID -  but I can tell you first hand, it's actually worse, if you use a group work forum to communicate on or group email threads.  

People can't see each other so they say things to each other they'd never say in person, just like on social media, and management did nothing, sometimes joining in on group bullying.

The group-bullying of the person du-jour was out of control, I'd never seen anything like it -  and if you stand up for someone being bullied, then you become the target.  

And I've just never been a fan of tearing somebody else down, just to make myself feel better or superior, since I was,  I don't know ... maybe 13? lol


However, I will say, that after several attempts at diplomacy, and allowing several missteps and giving the benefit of the doubt - if someone continues being an ass towards myself or someone else, or plays unnecessary social games, I can and will chew them up and spit them out like nobody's business - very succinctly, articulately, and accurately - until the bully (ies) run crying to their mama.


I said that in my very first profile on Blogger, in fact, in 2005 - and a few people just had to test me ;)


This is how I've made a few enemies  -  in the workplace, online, and even a few family members -  who then like to then run and try to play the innocent false victim, but know they aren't,  in that somewhere inside, they know that they either were being cruel or bullying or playing unnecessary games with someone else or myself, or enabled someone that was being cruel or bullying and playing unnecessary social games, sucking everybody into the drama.  

I'm very lucky that now, I have honest-to-God, the world's best boss - she even gave me a Christmas bonus and is very complimentary and appreciative, as I am with her.   I've literally not had a Christmas bonus in 30 years - never in my current field,  until now -  so I about did cartwheels when she sent it, especially after this sh*t show of a year lol!

We've discussed how unprofessional and reality-TV crazy so many other home-based contracting tech-related organizations are.   

And it's not like she never tells me if I make a mistake, she's just kind about it, giving the benefit of the doubt, because we all make little stress mistakes; she even acknowledges her own mistakes.  We laugh about the stupid ones, but still take them seriously learn from them regardless, and move on. 

Thus, I wholeheartedly support Biden in this - it's part of the restoration of the soul of America - treat others as you would like to be treated and with dignity - Amen!






Wednesday, January 20, 2021

So Far, So Good ..


I will exhale shortly lol.  I've already teared up twice; one for Kamala and Doug making their formal entrance, in her fabulous purple coat, with her husband, just behind Eugene Goodman (the Capitol cop who misled one faction of the rioters away from the Senate chamber), who also brought tears to my eyes.  Still waiting for formal entrance of the Bidens.   Kamala will be sworn in first, by Justice Sotomayor.

I am just so proud of all present - think of their bravery today, just in being present :)



PS - It's done.  Both sworn in, America's Dad and Momala! 

Whew, I'm exhaling ... at least for the moment lol

Do it, we're counting on you -  to help us restore the soul of America, civility, empathy, and basic human decency. 

Make us proud to be Americans again!?!


__________________


PPS 

Wow!  22-year-old poet,  Amanda Gorman, blew me away, what a powerful light she is, right?!?





I also thoroughly enjoyed Reverend Silvester Beaman's (AME) benediction - echoing MLK in his manner of speaking :)










Trump Has Left the White House, and "A Weight Has Lifted" ...

 ... courtesy of New Yorker Magazine's cover, "A Weight Has Lifted," by Barry Blitt :)





I hoping that this is the last post I will ever write with Trump's name in it, and he shall henceforth and hitherto be known as "The Thing" or "He who shall not be named" lol. 

It's reported he'll go to Mar-A-Lago.  


That's fine, Trump.  Please take all the thugs, criminals, frauds,  cons (college-entrance and otherwise), and espionage traitors, that you just pardoned, with ya - we won't miss them either.  

Perhaps you can continue to run your cons on each other and leave the rest of us in peace?  

Because in the end, though it was close, most Americans were too smart to fall for your fraud :)

In the meantime, we'll sanitize, fumigate, and exorcise the White House, both for COVID and any negativity you left behind. 

Go forth and sin no more!?!


Also, kudos to the Bidens, the Harris-Emhoffs, the Pences, the Obamas, the Clintons, and the Bushes, the McConnells, and everyone else in attendance for the inauguration today, for your bravery, despite the threats! 


____________________


PS - Had my premolar extraction yesterday (of a previously root canaled-tooth, upon which the crown and tooth broke), but we decided to wait on the implant, to have orthodontics first (Invisalign), to straighten the remaining crowded teeth before the implant, since implants are immobile and permanent and orthodontics doesn't move them. 

I had no sedation at all, just local, and was in and out in 15 minutes, with very minimal discomfort afterwards - just a little ibuprofen last night before bed was all.  

Of course, I'm pretty good with pain (well, it depends on the type, I guess - I'd rather have this than a paper cut lol), but really, what they can do with dentistry and oral surgery, these days, is remarkable. 

Now, just to watch for a dry socket, but it's unusual on upper teeth.




Sunday, January 17, 2021

Three Reasons Why You Should Never Bet Against Aaron Rodgers (Updated 11/7/2021 - Please, DO Bet Against Him lol)


(Update, 11/7//2021) - in light of Aaron's falsely entitled, cuckoo rant about vaccinations and "the woke mob," I've changed my mind and this post is now void and moot, and I'm totally betting against Aaron Rodgers and filing a fantasy divorce from him as one of my fantasy co-husbands ;)







Now, it's no secret that I'm not a huge football fan.  I know there are a lot of female football fans, and I like to watch sports in general (basketball, hockey, soccer), but with football, I don't know - they start, they stop, they measure stuff, I get bored lol.  I think I have sports ADHD lol.  If it doesn't move fast and keep moving, I start crowd watching and people watching, even when I'm there.  

I'm like, "That guy has an unusually shaped head" or "That guy is completely loaded and will fall on his arse and pass out soon lol" or something. 

I do like baseball, though, despite it being slow moving - and that is not only because the rules are easier, but it's so slow that you can take a nap for nearly the entire game, wake up by the ninth inning, not have missed much, and still, the score is the same lol. 

(Some might argue hockey scoring is the same way, but unlike baseball, you probably won't take a nap during the game, and if you did somehow manage to fall asleep with all that noise, though the score might be the same when you woke up, you missed a whole lot of action in the meantime lol.)


But then again, I guess most men are socialized to feel the same about women and our relationship talk as women are socialized to feel about football - that we start, stop, and measure stuff too much lol :)


Not because of any "natural gender proclivity," mind you - because we've all been socialized that way.  

Someone long ago deemed it was socially acceptable that only women talk about relationships and men don't - that it made men "less of a man" to talk about that stuff -  and that women shouldn't like and follow sports.  

Both antiquated gender ideas are BS.   Men should be able to talk about relationships if they dang well want to, without being called less of a man, and women should like sports if they dang well want to, without being called less of a woman - and who made these rules anyway? 


Regardless, clearly, I'm more of a behavioral-interested person, whether naturally or I'm socialized to be - and thus, though I'm not a football fan, I totally heart Aaron Rodgers.  

In fact, I think I've mentioned him before as one of my celebrity crushes in this post - which includes my husband's celebrity crushes, and also includes my other celebrity crushes - Stephen Colbert, Sting, Alexander Draymon, and Anthony Bourdain, RIP.  


Now - in case you're wondering what the common thread among all of the above guys is, I think it's along the lines of high-intelligence, flexible thinkers; unconventional nonconforming people of integrity, with dry sense of humor - men who never female-bash or speak negatively about the women in their lives or scapegoat/blame them for all their troubles ;)


Oh, and add to that list, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.  

We ladies love Dwayne Johnson as much as men, but for different reasons lol - which is why he's the highest paid actor in the world, right now.  

For me, it's not so much his muscles - big muscles actually scare me lol - it's that smile.  (It's never been a secret that I'm a sucker for cute smiles and/or great voices.)  

He's got one of those smiles that makes us ladies weak in the knees, plus we love his his quirky, unconventional, not-afraid-to-be-silly personality - and he, too, loves the ladies, never bashes them, and is especially good with children - his own and other people's, which always melts our hearts.

Now, I have these celebrity crushes, but not  in a creepy way - lol.

As a matter of fact, I forget all about them lol - and I had to ask my husband this morning to remind me who they were! lol

I've never written to them or anything like that (well, except once Stephen Colbert, last year, commending him on his perfect, balanced handling of the controversy surrounding Kobe Bryant versus other late-night talk shows).  I don't even follow their careers or their social media, and I certainly haven't built a shrine to them or anything lol.

I just I admire them as people of good character who earned and deserve their success, unlike so many others - since most celebrities get on my damn nerves, as well as there are many who don't appear to have either truly earned or deserve their success, IMO, and who haven't the slightest idea (or have forgotten) what struggle truly is :/


Anyway, back to my point, and I do have one - why is Aaron Rodgers one of my celebrity crushes, if I don't like football?!?


It's a character thing - besides being highly intelligent and dry-humored funny, he's a class act as far as good character/integrity - and this despite people always betting against him, his whole life, and he's always proven them wrong and overcome numerous obstacles :)  

Did you know besides a 1310 SAT score and an A- average in high school, and his obvious athletic ability, he was not part of the college draft - in fact, he was rejected or completely ignored by all the major football schools for scholarships, so he played for a junior college his first two years, because it's the only way he could afford college, as they paid for his tuition to play.  

True story.  

At 5'10" and fairly skinny, at the time, nobody was interested; and in fact, he had nearly given up on football himself and was planning to become a lawyer, when USC-Berkeley saw him play that they recruited him, asking him to apply, since his grades and his SAT score were excellent (he'd never applied based on just his academics alone) - and boom, he was in - he had never applied based on his academics alone.  

Flash forward, to 2008, three years second string to Brett Favre, he's now the starting starting quarterback for Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers - taking them onto the Superbowl :) 





So let's mark all of that Exhibit A of  "Never bet against Aaron Rodgers" lol






Flash forward again, his family will not stop trying to control his life and trying to outshine him and/or ride on his coattails or steal his thunder - particularly, his brother Jordan - who was constantly like, "Me too!  I play football too and am actually better than Aaron (erm - no, you weren't) and ended up on several reality TV shows, most notably, the bachelorette, everybody look at me instead, with my cute hair and overly whitened teeth!!!"





All the while, Aaron just keeps playing football, trying to keep the press out of his private life,  and giving interviews in his quiet, low-confident-but-not-cocky, low-key style.

And he's handsome, but less worried about how he looks than Jordan, and more worried about how he plays football - which is sexier to women.  


News flash to clueless men when it comes to understanding most (but not all) women - though we want men to take care of their hygiene, health, and physical appearance/appropriateness in public, yes - not too much -  no woman wants to be with a guy who's more worried about looking pretty than we women do lol ;)


In 2014, Aaron began dating A-list actress (at the time), Olivia Munn -  catapulting both he and Olivia into double super stardom (and it's accompanying speculation), trying to keep it private and on the downlow, to no avail - and his family's antics went into overdrive.  






(Love that last photo lol) 

Then he went on Celebrity Jeopardy in 2015, winning $50,000 for charity, beating out former astronaut/U.S. Senator,  Mark Kelly, and Shark Tank/entrepreneur, Kevin O'Reilly - proving he's no "dumb jock." (FYI, he's also slated to be one of the guest hosts on Jeopardy in 2021, until a replacement is found for Alex Trebek).




At this point, he began to stumble a little bit, seemed to lose focus, performance wise, which the media immediately blamed/scapegoated Olivia for, of course.

His overly vocal family - whom again, both Aaron and Olivia have stated he was already partially estranged from for 8 years before he even met Olivia - helped the press scapegoating, by saying, "Yeah, it's Olivia!  Yeah, let's go with that, let's blame her, for both the increasing estrangement and his lack of focus"  

Meanwhile, clearly, his brother Jordan's big mouth and fame-craving were on overdrive -  bashing both and speculating things about Aaron which he knew nothing about, because they're admittedly estranged - is trying to outshine Aaron on Reality TV (or ride on Aaron's fame coattails) - now appearing on The Bachelorette in 2016.


At this point, somewhere around 2016, during Jordan's stint on The Bachelorette, though Aaron had already been partially estranged from his family for 8 years, he made the decision to now estrange himself from his family completely  - a decision, which of course, only brought further blame on Olivia - and we know this because Jordan publicly confirmed Aaron's now total family cutoff while he was on The Bachelorette:/


Apparently, however, this decision was supposedly a desperate attempt at trying to save his strained relationship with Olivia, and also to give his very vocal (on things they knew nothing about) family less to speculate about publicly, simply to garner themselves attention ;)

Unfortunately, it at least appears like too little, too late - because just six months later, after a three-year relationship, Aaron and Olivia broke up, admittedly still loving each other :(

Aaron stated publicly - which was highly unusual for him - that he still loved Olivia (and she him), it was an amicable split, and went on to say that though the press attention was detrimental to them both, everyone blaming her for his performance and focus issues was literally destroying her and her career, and he also hinted at family issues playing a role. 


To his credit, Aaron never blamed either Olivia OR his family's antics, nor made excuses for his performance -  he blamed no one but himself and lack of focus.


However, I think we can all safely say this was a true dysfunctional-family/group dynamic creating that mess - so let's chalk this up to "When family dysfunction goes into the spotlight" striking again, shall we?  


See my two prior posts from late December regarding dysfunctional families when at least one member was/is/or ever has been in the spotlight, i.e., the royal family lol.  


Speaking of those posts in late December - remember when I said, after experiencing this myself twice before, something akin to:  


"Never date or marry the Golden Child in heightened or extremely dysfunctional families.  Whether a narcissist or not, aware of the family dynamic or not, no one will ever be good enough for the Golden Child, and you'll get scapegoated/blamed for everything. Even if Golden Boy becomes aware of the dynamic, he or she will do little about it, for fear of losing Golden Child status ;)"  


Ding ding ding!  IMO - admittedly from a bird's eye view and not personally knowing any of them - we may have yet another possible contestant on Dysfunctional Families Thrust Into the Spotlight! lol


Perhaps a separate Exhibit A; another example of that family dynamic in action again, that I was talking about, my friends ;)

And news flash - no one will ever be good enough for the Golden Boy, Aaron Rodgers -  according to either Aaron's family or his fans - if even one pass is intercepted or he loses focus for a single game, it will always be her fault ;)

And NO, btw - though I do think Aaron Rodgers is/was the Golden Boy in his family and with fans, I do NOT think Aaron Rodgers is a narcissist, just the Golden Child of his family - one does not necessarily beget the other.  

Of course, I don't know for sure, but he does have a lot of causes he supports and contributes to, and has been pretty private and positive about exes, etc.  


Though in heightened dysfunctional families, the oldest and/or most celebrated is often the most likely to become the golden child/narcissist, this is NOT always the case. 

In fact, whatever your birth order, though the golden child in heightened/extreme dysfunctional families is more likely to become the narcissist, it does not automatically mean they will become a narcissist.

Case in point - again - Ross on Friends is a pretty good example - though a fictional, hilarious depiction of this dynamic, it's a very real dysfunctional family dynamic ... 




Ross can do no wrong by his parents, who are always blaming younger sister, Monica, for his troubles, or his girlfriends/wives - but Ross himself knows this is praise for a false facade of himself and therefore BS, and thus is actually plagued with insecurity. 

And Ross is empathetic towards others - but at the same time, not always aware if the damage being the "Golden Boy" in his family is doing to the other members of the family or girlfriends/wives - you have to put it right in from of him to get him to see it.

This is where Ross is not innocent in the dynamic - because even when you DO put directly in front of him the inequity and scapegoating, Ross is now aware, and yet afraid to fully confront his dysfunctional family about it, lest he lose that Golden Boy status - and I fear the same is true for Aaron Rogers? 

Hey, nobody's perfect - and it's clear that Aaron Rogers isn't anywhere similar to Ross otherwise - because he clearly isn't plagued with insecurity of being praised for a false facade of himself that he consciously knows does not exist - Aaron clearly believes in himself, even when no one else does.

However, I suspect that Aaron IS like Ross in that though he, too, has empathy, he also isn't so aware of how devastating it can be not to be the golden child and how others in his life are mistreated/scapegoated  - particularly any girlfriends - and when directly confronted with it, doesn't do much about it (perhaps out of fear of losing golden boy status?) - until it is too late :(


Again, nobody's perfect - but doesn't this situation seem to have played out exactly as I said those roles do, in dysfunctional families in the spotlight - hasn't it?  


Regardless, in the end, Aaron DID finally realize the gravity of toll it was taking on Olivia and her career - so this is a man who let the woman he loved go, because of what all of the blame and scapegoating and negative attention was doing to her -  he let her go because he loved her - too much to let his fame and family dynamics destroy her and her career.


And at the same time, he realized much of the problem had to do with his family and the way they'd treated her and how much they tried to control his life - and thus completely actually divorced his own family as a result, letting them play their games all by themselves, so they'd recognize they'd still have problems amongst themselves or just find new scapegoats they'd run out of eventually lol.  


And what happens when he estranges himself in total from his family in 2016?

Bingo - he starts playing better again.


Exhibit B of why we "Never bet against Aaron Rogers" lol :)


(Unfortunately, Olivia Munn's career has never seemed to have yet recovered from all the scapegoating blame and drama.)


Flash forward to 2020.  Aaron is now 37 years old.  There have been injuries, there's been COVID, and though sports press DO report facts (unlike other "news outlets), they are also famous for commentators sitting there forecasting and speculating about things they have no clue about.

Now, ESPN - the primary instigator of reporting facts mixed with speculation - and upon the staff which now includes Aaron's brother, Jordan, mind you - starts talking about his contract being up, his Aaron being too old/washed up, possibly the Packers replacing Aaron due to poor play the prior year (I would say poor team play, the prior year), yada yada yada.


Then lo and behold, despite all of this speculation and he said/she said garbage - Aaron comes out fighting - and the Green Bay Packers beat the LA Rams last night, putting them at number 1 in the NFC, now in the playoffs. 


And Aaron Rodgers gives an interview and is basically like, "See?  All this speculation, all this talk about who's washed up, what will happen, who will do what, as if it's all fact when it's not, it's all bullshit." 


And there you go again, ladies and gentlemen - the Exhibit C reason why you should "Never bet against Aaron Rodgers" lol :)


As for his love life, he and Danica Patrick started dating in 2017, but supposedly split up in July 2019 - again, much scapegoating controversy about her.  





Danica was a safer bet for him, as she was accustomed to having lots of negative attention already, in a male-dominated sports field, whereas Olivia's acting career could be destroyed in a heartbeat by it.

And Hell, there's no worse backwards-ass, good ole boy misogyny than in NASCAR lol.

So you would think if anyone could handle scapegoating, it'd be Danica, right? 




Erm, maybe not - because now, the press attention is now doubled - which means her negative press attention/blame doubles, too.

And I have to wonder if he truly learned his lesson about how much awareness he he should have about how allowing/not saying anything until too late that that much negative attention in dysfunctional-family/group scapegoating blame affects the women in his "golden boy" life - that it devastates not only her, but his efforts at having relationships. 

Then again, here's something curious I noticed - and I admit, this is just pure speculation - I don't know these people.  

And yet something curious I just noticed ...


Are he and Danica truly broken up?


Because look at the timing of this breakup - right before the season started. 

I just Googled this morning, and I found conflicting reports, both that they are and they aren't.  

They admittedly broke up in July, but some say they're back together.  Others say he's dating her friend, The Descendants actress, Shailene Woodley.

Hmm.

Now, here's the thing - maybe that's all true. 

Maybe Danica is "devastated" by the "betrayal" of her friend with Aaron, etc. - but this all is so tabloid gossip language and he said/she said, which already leaves things suspect lol.

So why can't I help wondering about the odd timing of this break-up, and about Shailene and Danica being friends first - and if this isn't what it appears at all?

I'm not sure why, but here's what popped into my head - what the smartest thing to do would be, if you were dating Aaron Rodgers, at this point lol.


While the season's on, let everyone think you're broke up or on a break and not go anywhere in public with him.  Then, ask each one of your close single friends to go out and be seen with Aaron publicly, here and there, to throw the press off.

That way, his family, the press, and fans can't speculate and blame, me or any one particular woman, if he struggles in a game or loses ;)

Wouldn't that be the smartest thing to do, if you were dating Aaron Rodgers, and you trusted both him and a few close good girlfriends? lol

I totally would do that :)


Maybe that's not what's going on here at all, as it seems he and Danica did at least legitimately break up in July - and still, I can't help but wonder - and what I DO know is that both Aaron and Danica are extremely smart people.


Regardless, Aaron's in the playoffs now - and if he loses, you can't blame his current girlfriend anymore - sorry!

Regardless, I would never bet against Aaron Rodgers ;)



____________________


PS - It may be a few days before I post again, or update my "12 Days When Trump Left" song post, as I'm having a tooth extraction/dental implant put in on Tuesday.  

I have three teeth crowded together, from where I had two extractions as a child preparing for braces I never received - and the crown one of those teeth, for which I had a root canal in 2013, broke off, along with the tooth, a few weeks ago  - ironically, while watching "The Crown" lol - but I'll be back :)  







Friday, January 8, 2021

A New Holiday Song: "The 12 Days of Trump Left"

(Updated) 


So with only 12 days of Trump' left - having just heard more good news -  I'm pretty sure I heard the angels sing this song ...  ;)

(Ahem.)


"On the first day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ... Trump's banned from Twitter perm-anent-lyyyyy!" 

 

"On the second day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me - Parler's app removed, and Trump's banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy!"   

 

"On the third  day, when  Trump left, the angels gave to me ... possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."

 

"On the fourth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me - corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."  

 

On the fifth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me - FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT!  Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."   
 
"On the sixth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ... definite impeachment, five Republicans for impeachment, corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."  

 

On the seventh day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ...  Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT!  Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."    

 

On the eighth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ... NRA imploding, Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT!  Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."  

 

On the ninth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ... Trump dropping from headlines,  NRA imploding, Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT!  Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."   

 

On the tenth day, when Trump left, the angels gave to me ... pro-Trump Capitol cops suspended, Trump dropping from headlines, NRA imploding, Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT! Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."  

 

"On the 11th Day, McConnell blames Trump for riot,   the angels gave to me ... pro-Trump Capitol cops suspended, Trump dropping from headlines, NRA imploding, Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT! Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."  
"On the twelfth day, when Trump left, my angels gave to me ... Trump leaves the White House!  pro-Trump Capitol cops suspended, Trump dropping from headlines, NRA imploding, Biden's new stimulus, FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR IMPEACHMENNNNNT! Corporate donations halted, possible impeachment, Parler's app removed, and Trump banned from Twitter permanent-lyyyy."

Everybody sing!

 




PS - Aw, all the poor bullies, frauds, propagandists, and terrorists (and their enablers) are upset about the new social media changes - worried that they, too, won't be able to run their cons on privately-owned social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook anymore, without consequence - don't you feel sorry for them? (sniff, sniff) ;)

Notice how the rest of us - on both political sides - who aren't spreading socially irresponsible, false propaganda that condones/propagates/incites things like hostile military or armed government/country insurrections - aren't upset or worried or feel like our freedom of speech is being restricted? 


That's because the only people we've ever felt like tried to silence us were the online bullies, frauds, propagandists, and terrorists! LOL


Well, bullies/propagandists/frauds/terrorists of a feather, flock together - here's to hoping they all go to Gab or Parler and run their cons on just each other, leaving the rest of us in peace - at least we'll know where they're all at, now, and where to avoid - good riddance!



____________________________________

* Footnote, 1/12/2021 The five GOP US Reps definitely voting for impeachment by late Tuesday evening (1/12/2021) are:  Liz Cheney, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, Jaime Herrera Buetler, and Fred Upton.    
In the senate, based on commentary today, it is likely Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell will vote for impeachment.  
 Additionally, it was reported today that Deutsch Bank won't even do business with Trump anymore.  Can I just say when the bank of international criminals, money-launderers. and Jeffrey Epstein won't even work with you anymore, you're pretty much up sh*t creek without a paddle? lol)


 

* Footnote, 1/17/2021 - Can I just say how nice it is, at the moment, to read the headlines and them NOT being about Trump, like it was during Christmas?  In fact, I wish Trumpers would think about that for a second - what it was like during those four days of Christmas not to have the drama - almost feeling normal, for a few days.  

However, having said that, I did say to our friend, B, working on a project for the DOD,  when we out to breakfast that Saturday before the riot (which I wrote a post on here, but did not share this private aspect of the conversation), that Trump had been too quiet/less dramatic on social media, which I suspected meant something was coming - and that the only time people with his personality type get quiet is -  not because they should or others thing they should - but when they know whatever they're scheming is huge and could lead to exposure/trouble.  I told him I feared something big and horrible was coming on Wednesday.  

True story that B would attest to himself, a private comment I made to him that day, that I did NOT share in that post about that day.

Four days later, what happened?  The Capitol riot.  

Of course, Trump being banned on social media partly helps, but my instincts are blasting at me again that Trump is helping to coordinate something big and horrible again, or it at least will be attempted.  

Or maybe I'm just giving too much credit to the first time I got that feeling, the weekend before the Capitol riot?  lol.