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Post by Chuckie on Mar 17, 2020 6:42:28 GMT -5
Decided to start it's own thread, NOT trying to "build it up" though by ANY means!!! I just figured this'll prolly dominate the site for some time, and this MIGHT make it easier for folks perusing recipes in the FAR future than random posting in various recipes!! Below I was commenting on nana saying she couldn't believe the Knights of Columbus was gonna be open this St. Patrick's Day: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, St Pat's is THEE biggest day for our Knights of Columbus, and prolly accounts for HALF of their yearly budget!! Barb--married to the club manager--was there that day cleaning the cabbage. Governor Kelly late yesterday afternoon issued an executive order banning gatherings of 50 or more, and I texted her to let her know. Barb said KofC is gonna post someone at both doors, taking a head count. When they hit fifty, they're gonna close, and only let one in as one leaves. Don't think THAT'S gonna work too good for them.... Mass is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. @ the Old Cathedral. No word as to whether THAT was cancelled or not after the Governor's order. If NOT, I suspect it will be the L-A-S-T one, until it's all over. When they start messing with your Faith--especially for the Irish who were banned by the Brits from practicing their religion for YEARS--it hits V-E-R-Y hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess we still have the TV version every Sunday, but NOT the same by any means... I WAS of the opinion it was a bunch of HYPE, but now...
ONCE in my life, I hope and PRAY that I WAS correct...
Now the only "good" thing to come out of it--- dwayner showed up for St. Pat's!!!! I guess he told my nephew & S.I.L. he was gonna last October while he was here--- SHOCKED ME---as he's staying w/my brother/said SIL!!! Now I have someone to BLAME for the cancellation of the 37th Annual Parade--dwayner appears, Parade cancelled!! LOL Chuckie
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Post by nana on Mar 17, 2020 18:42:22 GMT -5
I think we've kind of been lulled into complacency by all the pandemics that weren't, so to speak. Swine flu, bird flu, SARS, MERS, even ebola. They all seemed to be either easily contained, or so far away on the other side of the world, or not that easily transmitted. It was easy for ordinary people to think this was just another one like that. But doctors and experts knew better. That Chinese doctor who first figured out this was a whole new animal was sounding a warning and at first they tried to shut him up because it wasn't good for business. Then the rest of the world thought they could do ordinary measures and contain it, but what makes it so diabolical is it is so easily transmitted, with some people not even knowing they have it. When you have the flu, you know it. You are sick as a dog and you "self quarantine" because you basically can't physically do anything else. But not everyone even gets symptoms from this one, or if they do they could be so mild, like for children, but they are still highly contagious. So they were traveling all over the world and passing this around before anyone realized. And the people who do get sick from it are pretty sick, even though they say mild to moderate symptoms. A two week recovery period is no small thing. And then you have the percentage of people who die from this, higher than that of the flu, which is a killer every year of thousands.
What they are trying to do with all these extreme measures is flatten the curve, as they say. Try to slow down transmission so the health system isn't overwhelmed. But statistics are hard to comprehend sometimes until they are put in more personal terms. This all became horribly serious for me early on when we were hearing that it might have a death rate of 3% and I foolishly said well, that doesn't seem so high, and my friend (much better at math) pointed out that in our little school of about 500 students 3% dead is 15 kids. It still gives me the chills just to write that. Extrapolate it out over millions of people and I for one am willing to do just about anything to prevent that.
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Post by Chuckie on Mar 17, 2020 19:41:20 GMT -5
I think we've kind of been lulled into complacency by all the pandemics that weren't, so to speak. Swine flu, bird flu, SARS, MERS, even ebola. They all seemed to be either easily contained, or so far away on the other side of the world, or not that easily transmitted. It was easy for ordinary people to think this was just another one like that. But doctors and experts knew better. That Chinese doctor who first figured out this was a whole new animal was sounding a warning and at first they tried to shut him up because it wasn't good for business. Then the rest of the world thought they could do ordinary measures and contain it, but what makes it so diabolical is it is so easily transmitted, with some people not even knowing they have it. When you have the flu, you know it. You are sick as a dog and you "self quarantine" because you basically can't physically do anything else. But not everyone even gets symptoms from this one, or if they do they could be so mild, like for children, but they are still highly contagious. So they were traveling all over the world and passing this around before anyone realized. And the people who do get sick from it are pretty sick, even though they say mild to moderate symptoms. A two week recovery period is no small thing. And then you have the percentage of people who die from this, higher than that of the flu, which is a killer every year of thousands. What they are trying to do with all these extreme measures is flatten the curve, as they say. Try to slow down transmission so the health system isn't overwhelmed. But statistics are hard to comprehend sometimes until they are put in more personal terms. This all became horribly serious for me early on when we were hearing that it might have a death rate of 3% and I foolishly said well, that doesn't seem so high, and my friend (much better at math) pointed out that in our little school of about 500 students 3% dead is 15 kids. It still gives me the chills just to write that. Extrapolate it out over millions of people and I for one am willing to do just about anything to prevent that. We had our St. Patrick's Day Mass @ 9:00 this morn, <100 peeps in a B-I-G church!! Father allowed us a "small" reception in the Church basement for the would've-been-Grand-Marshals, and <30 people were there. As we were cleaning up, Father had gone back to the rectory, and the Bishop had emailed NO Masses until further notice. And perhaps the BITTEREST pill to swallow/insult to injury came @ 6:00, A-L-L the Pubs in town closed until further notice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by nana on Mar 18, 2020 17:11:18 GMT -5
It'll all be worth it if we flatten the curve. Luckily, the brewery up by us, although closed for in house sales, is still going to be able to sell growlers and cans. Place an order over the phone and they'll put it outside for pickup. Whew!!😜 Here is a link my superintendent gave us to kind of explain why "social distancing" is no joking matter. Even if you don't read the article, run the simulation: www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/
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Post by Chuckie on Mar 21, 2020 11:14:32 GMT -5
It'll all be worth it if we flatten the curve. Luckily, the brewery up by us, although closed for in house sales, is still going to be able to sell growlers and cans. Place an order over the phone and they'll put it outside for pickup. Whew!!😜 Here is a link my superintendent gave us to kind of explain why "social distancing" is no joking matter. Even if you don't read the article, run the simulation: www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/They might've taken away our Saint Patrick's Day Parade, but we STILL had our CB&C dinner on March 17th!!
Finishing up the leftovers today for brunch, with EQUALLY delish Reubens done on the Chambers (substitute) griddle:
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Mar 22, 2020 7:52:35 GMT -5
That looks like good eats!
I find that I am rising to the challenge of trying to utilize all ingredients to the utmost so I don't have to go out shopping. How about you guys? The other day I made a meatloaf and instead of using breadcrumbs I used up a half bag of stale tortilla chips that might otherwise have gotten thrown to the chickens. I buzzed them in the blender and used up the rest of a jar of salsa and some taco type seasoning in the mix too. It was so good it's going to become a regular in the rotation!
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Post by Chuckie on Mar 27, 2020 17:56:19 GMT -5
That looks like good eats! I find that I am rising to the challenge of trying to utilize all ingredients to the utmost so I don't have to go out shopping. How about you guys? The other day I made a meatloaf and instead of using breadcrumbs I used up a half bag of stale tortilla chips that might otherwise have gotten thrown to the chickens. I buzzed them in the blender and used up the rest of a jar of salsa and some taco type seasoning in the mix too. It was so good it's going to become a regular in the rotation! I am starting to lose my mind, just after O-N-E week!!!! I S-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O miss being a "professional tavern dweller"!!!
Guess I should just count me blessings that we're BOTH still HEALTHY!!! But... www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbQX9ndDLl4Chuckie
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Post by mach12 on Mar 27, 2020 19:42:27 GMT -5
We sure have been hit hard here in WA State but it seems to be easing a bit - for the moment anyway. Part of the reason the numbers look so bad here though is that they really jumped on developing a quick test method and now are testing thousands daily so all those unknowns that were sick or carriers are now being documented. That's certainly not to say that it's not getting worse but keeping people home and closing stuff down really appears to be working. The government and media messed up though when they kept spreading the word that kids and younger adults weren't affected as severely, which translated to party time for quite a bunch of them. Now we have sick kids and younger adults, with the deaths creeping up in the young adult group.
Since we had been taking care of my mother-in-law for something close to two years we were pretty much locked down before we almost have more freedom with her in a memory care facility. Most of what we are doing is right here at home but the stores have early morning senior hours and we did that yesterday morning. I'd almost forgotten there was such a thing as 6 a.m. and almost needed to dig out the book for setting the alarm on the clock radio. Made a good excuse to take a nap after lunch though.
And on the Chambers front, I bought a couple of D series burners to tinker with and see how they perform compared to the regular C series. I was fighting with getting decent airflow through them so got out my inspection camera and did a burneroscopy (because burners don't have a colon) and them suckers need some roto-rooter work. At least 1/3 of the holes in the burners were plugged with baked in gruel or something and it took me a couple of days to just get the holes opened up but it looks like whatever had boiled over and ran down into the burners is partially blocking the passageways. I'm going to first try boiling them out and then using the steamer wand on the household steamer that I use to clean the tracks of the windows and stuff like that. Once I get them squared away I plan to do the hot water boil test that Consumer Reports does to measure the heat rise and time to boil with the C and the D burners. If you've never compared the C and D burners the D's have kind of a spreader plate on top of each of the four burner towers and the holes are staggered and arranged different, mainly so that the holes mainly are on the outer part in kind of a "C" configuration. This is a great time for tinkering with that kind of stuff.
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Post by nana on Mar 27, 2020 19:50:57 GMT -5
It's two weeks for us. I for one am very pleased that 14 days have passed since we seriously began that social distancing thing and so far no sign of disease at our house. Not so much for me but for my daughter who is immune compromised. We have a big problem with folks from the city coming up to their summer homes thinking they can escape the virus. Well news for you folks, there is no hospital in Washington county and our closest hospital is already overwhelmed and not managing things as it is. Stay home! Self Quarantine! Please!
And don't think fewer confirmed cases means it's slowing down: despite our fearless leader's promises we do NOT have enough tests. Only health care workers and first responders and people who need to be hospitalized are getting tested here. There are many more sick than the publicized numbers show. Hospitals are rationing masks and taking chances. My cousin's husband died in Italy. It's personal now. This is no joking matter!
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Post by mach12 on Apr 2, 2020 10:26:30 GMT -5
It just became personal for us, too. My cousin and his adult daughter flew up from Texas a week or so ago because my aunt (his mom) had been diagnosed with an aggressive but treatable cancer. She started treatment and the results were what the doctor called "worrisome" so they tested her for covid-19 and she came back positive. Further tests showed that it had severely spread through her lungs. My cousin got the call late yesterday to come to the hospital to see his mother and be there for my uncle, who had been staying in their RV in a site the hospital provides. No one, not even my uncle, has been allowed to enter the hospital. Their only exception is for end of life situations, so I expect to get the call that one never wants to get sometime this morning. I'm really glad that you all are taking this seriously and please continue to encourage your friends and family to do the same. We were hit relatively early but, because we're a Pacific Rim state with major trade and travel with China, expected it. They started planning and preparing before it hit using what little information we could get and as we learned more we adjusted. Our numbers were headed for the roof until they implemented social distancing and the handwashing and other protections. Now our numbers are flattening and the projections aren't near as severe so it's proof that it helps. I hope and pray that you all and your loved ones stay safe!
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Post by vaporvac on Apr 2, 2020 14:38:41 GMT -5
mach12, I couldn't be sorrier. I'll be praying for her.
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Post by nana on Apr 2, 2020 17:16:58 GMT -5
Mach12, I am so sorry as well. I am afraid this virus will carry off so many people before it is through that no one will remain personally unscathed. We are still waiting in NY for the flattening of the curve. so far it's still that awful line just rising and rising...Stay safe and healthy everyone!
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Post by Chuckie on Apr 2, 2020 21:03:44 GMT -5
mach12, I couldn't be sorrier. I'll be praying for her. Ditto, mach12... I'm just waiting for the call to come that someone in OUR extended families or circle of friends has it. No bigger than Leavenworth is (<36K), we've already had TWENTY-EIGHT confirmed cases, with 102 "likely" ones...
S-C-A-R-Y, based on the population numbers. Maybe it has to do with the international officers @ Fort Leavenworth, dunno. The new ones don't normally even come IN till June, and the others have been here for the most part since LAST June. Thoughts and prayers your way Steve, and for ALL my Chambers buds. Guess we're ALL on THIS particular cruise ship "together"...
Chuckie
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Post by nana on Apr 3, 2020 8:16:00 GMT -5
I never had the least interest in going on a cruise even before all this, and I certainly never will now. But the metaphor is apt. We are all in this boat together and whether it sinks or floats is up to all of us, now and for whatever comes after.
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Post by pooka on Apr 3, 2020 13:26:34 GMT -5
One world, one fate.
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Post by vaporvac on Apr 3, 2020 13:45:59 GMT -5
Nana, I love your metaphor and agree with all you said including going on a cruise. I also wanted to comment on your earlier post regarding becoming extra "frugal". I often feel I've been training for this quarantine my whole life from growing,freezing and drying food to reading and using depression and War era recipes that incorporated "coupons" and substitutions for scarce items. We aren't there yet for food, fortunately, but asa kid learning to cook, I used to pretend I "had to" use these measures. It also taught me how to use different ingredients. I know so many of us here have the same love of these resources so it will be interesting to share if anyone wants. This week I made the fall-back of Maine Baked Beans with Brown Bread using soybeans to up the protein. I really like this swap and add spinach which blends into the background. I hope we all stay safe. At least we have our stoves to keep the home fires burning. Beautiful, Pooka.
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Post by nana on Apr 4, 2020 18:35:29 GMT -5
One unfortunate side effect of quarantining is now that I'm all caught up on my laundry, my clothes don't all fit in my drawers! What a shameful first world problem to have! In other news, I am going to sew some masks for us to wear when we do have to go out, and guess how they need to be sterilized from one use to another? Wash with soap and water and dry at 160 degrees or higher. Sounds like a job for the Thermowell!
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Post by mach12 on Apr 4, 2020 19:34:54 GMT -5
One unfortunate side effect of quarantining is now that I'm all caught up on my laundry, my clothes don't all fit in my drawers! What a shameful first world problem to have! In other news, I am going to sew some masks for us to wear when we do have to go out, and guess how they need to be sterilized from one use to another? Wash with soap and water and dry at 160 degrees or higher. Sounds like a job for the Thermowell! The other unfortunate side effects people are talking about is getting their drawers into their clothes. I'm thinking whatever that company with the diet program Marie Osmond is always advertising about might be a really good investment right about now.
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Post by nana on Apr 5, 2020 19:43:13 GMT -5
All this time to cook does have a downside, eh?😉
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Post by Chuckie on Apr 6, 2020 5:43:38 GMT -5
All this time to cook does have a downside, eh?😉 ...expands one's BACKSIDE!!... CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by mach12 on Apr 8, 2020 10:12:39 GMT -5
Just an FYI for anyone interested in seeing the data. The data from the website at the following link shows the projections being used to plan for equipment and material demands and so on. It assumes social distancing mandates continue to be followed. It's currently set for WA State but you can change state/country at the dropdown near the top. covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/washington
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 10, 2020 16:09:19 GMT -5
Just wanted to post a bit of irony.
Worked a funeral yesterday for an 82 y.o., burial was at an old Catholic cemetery a county over. Guy had terminal cancer, BUT I was 'told' t'was the COVID that done him in. After the service, his older sister used her cane to point out two large monuments, further down in the older section of the cemetery. "Those were our grandparents, done in by the Spanish influenza of '18".
A bit eerie for me...
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Dec 10, 2020 18:02:27 GMT -5
My sympathies to that family. When I hear people dismiss the seriousness of this virus by saying oh, it’s only old people or people with health problems who die, I feel like slapping them. I bet that family would have liked to have their loved one around longer, even if only for a matter of days...
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 10, 2020 20:15:36 GMT -5
My sympathies to that family. When I hear people dismiss the seriousness of this virus by saying oh, it’s only old people or people with health problems who die, I feel like slapping them. I bet that family would have liked to have their loved one around longer, even if only for a matter of days... And I TOTALLY agree w/you nana. Let me ALSO add we ARE mask wearers, hand sanitizers, etc. BUT around HERE, they are twisting about EVERY 'death' into COVID. I dunno if the NUMBERS mean some more $$ for the County, or WHAT? The family was ADAMANT that he did NOT have COVID, but such were the rumours. And let me further say I don't have anything to do w/the biz, other than driving, so did NOT see the death certificate or anything...
When COVID FIRST started, there was a gal about my age that died of a heart arrhythmia--certified by the coroner--and they put cause of death as "COVID". Her elderly mother was L-I-V-I-D, said she did N-O-T have COVID, nor any of the COVID SYMPTOMS. They THEN claimed "well, we found TRACES of the virus in her BLOOD, so she MIGHT have had it earlier, and that contributed to her death". Again, we're BOTH TOTAL believers in masks, etc, BUT...
Things that make you say "hmmmmMMMMMMM"....
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by pooka on Dec 11, 2020 2:17:25 GMT -5
There may be a silver lining in all this once we get a handle on it. If enough people die, it will be a boon for higher wages because of the shortage of labor. That's what happened in England after the black plague subsided. The landed gentry could no longer hold their serfs on their estates at starvation wages. The landed class got into bidding wars offering ever higher wages in order to keep enough laborers to work the land.
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Post by nana on Dec 11, 2020 14:50:59 GMT -5
I’ve heard the stories too, that they are inflating the numbers, but even if that were true, there is no way they could do it to the tune of 300,000 deaths and counting. And for what reason? There is no entity that I know of that hands out money according to how many people die of covid! In fact the Senate is holding up money for states and local governments mainly because the Republicans insist on giving immunity from liability to the big companies that are raking in $$$ this whole time. Essential workers who were forced to work in unsafe conditions would have no recourse to sue. So in an ironic twist, the Republicans are actually defunding the police themselves, in a way. The first and biggest casualty of this whole pandemic seems to have been common sense and a common sense of purpose. All we can do is look out for ourselves as best we can!
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Post by nana on Dec 11, 2020 14:52:49 GMT -5
There may be a silver lining in all this once we get a handle on it. If enough people die, it will be a boon for higher wages because of the shortage of labor. That's what happened in England after the black plague subsided. The landed gentry could no longer hold their serfs on their estates at starvation wages. The landed class got into bidding wars offering ever higher wages in order to keep enough laborers to work the land. “Tis an ill wind that blows no good!” But what a sad way to get a living wage!
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Post by pooka on Dec 11, 2020 16:11:09 GMT -5
Congress has suppressed the minimum wage for so long so that all financial gains have been funneled to the rich. If it had kept up with inflation, it would be well over $20 an hour now. I could live like a king at that wage. I've read that American workers are the most productive work force in the world, yet in essence, we've been getting a pay cut as far as spending power for nearly my entire life. The minimum wage reached its (inflation-adjusted) historic high in 1968. For all practical purposes, congress has allowed businesses to pick our collective pockets for over fifty years. It's a travesty. As I've said, this pandemic has magnified all the injustices that have plagued us for decades. Companies like Walmart have put more Americans out of work that they could ever employ. Every purchase from them is literally taking food out of the mouth of Americans. It's been a boon for low wage workers in China, & other third world counties. I'm at a loss to explain why we keep voting in politicians that literally steal my livelihood. I've had zero healthcare for the last thirty years. Luckily, I'm relatively healthy, except I have no teeth left. I stopped filing a tax return after the Affordable Care Act went into effect. The penalty for not having insurance would take any refund I would have coming, because I can't afford insurance. I'm too poor to afford insurance, but too rich to get enough assistance to afford insurance. If I get sick, I either die, or get over it without the help of healthcare. “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”—from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol P.S.
I've read that if projections hold true, we will have the equivalent to a 9/11 in deaths every day for the next three months.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 11, 2020 21:45:24 GMT -5
Congress has suppressed the minimum wage for so long so that all financial gains have been funneled to the rich. If it had kept up with inflation, it would be well over $20 an hour now. I could live like a king at that wage. I've read that American workers are the most productive work force in the world, yet in essence, we've been getting a pay cut as far as spending power for nearly my entire life. The minimum wage reached its (inflation-adjusted) historic high in 1968. For all practical purposes, congress has allowed businesses to pick our collective pockets for over fifty years. It's a travesty. As I've said, this pandemic has magnified all the injustices that have plagued us for decades. Companies like Walmart have put more Americans out of work that they could ever employ. Every purchase from them is literally taking food out of the mouth of Americans. It's been a boon for low wage workers in China, & other third world counties. I'm at a loss to explain why we keep voting in politicians that literally steal my livelihood. I've had zero healthcare for the last thirty years. Luckily, I'm relatively healthy, except I have no teeth left. I stopped filing a tax return after the Affordable Care Act went into effect. The penalty for not having insurance would take any refund I would have coming, because I can't afford insurance. I'm too poor to afford insurance, but too rich to get enough assistance to afford insurance. If I get sick, I either die, or get over it without the help of healthcare. “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”—from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol P.S. I've read that if projections hold true, we will have the equivalent to a 9/11 in deaths every day for the next three months.
People started giving money to the Postmen I was told in the "olden days" because before NIXON (how IRONIC!!) a married postman w/2 kids was eligible for welfare on the wages they were paid!!! Although Nixon was a Republican--who's party is often cited as being "non-union"/working class--he brought the Federal Civil Service wages up to par w/the outside world. Or so I've been told over the years--Monkey's Da was a Personnel Director for the VA, and he told me this as well... CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Dec 12, 2020 15:41:20 GMT -5
I never thought I’d see the day when I would say if only we still had Nixon to kick around, but there you go. It happened! Republicans used to be the party of minding the checkbook, and Democrats used to be the party of big plans and dreams, and like an old married couple that bickers and complains, they would argue and fight and eventually compromise and get the chores done. Nowadays it’s like they don’t even live on the same planet. Most people agree, when you really talk to them, that our current political situation is ridiculous, but yet we keep electing the same people who got us all into this mess. Convincing people to vote against their own best interests works, I guess, but only for so long. How long can they keep all the plates spinning before the whole thing comes crashing down?
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