Author Archives: RastrikerWP

Washington Commanders

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33199548/washington-selects-commanders-new-team-name-two-season-search?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab

So the Washington Redskins finally have a new name after being called the Washington Football Team for the last two years.

At first I’ll admit that I was against all these name changes and taking down statues when it all started. I believed, though controversial, these things were a part of our history, and somehow we were erasing that by doing all these changes.

I now agree that the name changes to remove Native American imagery, and removing the honoring of Confederate soldiers is the right thing to do. We are finally saying to ourselves that we are done disrespecting a particular group of people. I don’t think that any name of a team, or a school, that had reference to Native American’s was done to honor them at the time it was done.

I think now that if we want to actually honor a tribe we know how to do it without being disrespectful at the same time.

And for those who haven’t figured it out yet, the Confederacy lost the Civil War. Monuments honoring the Confederacy leaders should have been taken down a LONG time ago. It would be like East Germany still having monuments of the Third Reich leaders.

Yes, we still want to retain the history of the Confederacy, and teach about it in schools as part of the development of the United States, but we shouldn’t be honoring it. We can acknowledge that the leaders, such as Robert E. Lee, were great men, but we shouldn’t be putting them up in a place of honor.

I know it’s a touchy subject, but we cannot honor those that we defeated, and we shouldn’t be mocking those who’s land we basically stole. We are getting better, but there is still a long way to go.

10yo is on the Strip

https://www.insider.com/10-year-old-cirque-du-soleil-performer-2022-2

This is just a cute little story about a boy that enjoys performing on the Las Vegas Strip.

I was in a few shows when I was in my middle and high school drama clubs. I was never the lead character, but I still had fun going out on stage.

I remember my first show ever when I was 14. I was nervous as all Hell and I thought I was going to throw up a few times before it started.

We had done like a dozen full rehersals with no problems. But as I walked out on stage after hearing my cue I knew something was amiss. The two others that were on stage were in the wrong positions. Then I realized that the cue I had heard wasn’t the first cue, it was actually the second.

The others on stage had somehow managed to skip a part where I was supposed to come on, say something, and the leave. Then at the second cue come back and say somethign more. So I had to very quickly figure out how to get the first part I was supposed to do that they skipped as well as the second part. Luckly it was an easy transition. But still! Fuck Me for a first time ever performance!

I still enjoyed it though. So in between everything else that I was doing, I somehow managed to be in three more shows before graduation.

Fortunatly somewhere in there I had also done a few sex performances with an audiance as well. LOL. Being naked in front of a large group of people who are just watching you is a sure fire way to help get over stage fright! LOL.

Book Removed From School

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/us/tennessee-school-board-removes-maus/index.html

I’m just going to start this post with a big F.U.!!

People these days, and sadly adults that are older than I am, are, for the lack of a better word, pansies!! Where did these people grow up? It must have been in one Hell of a closed minded community.

People these days are just so easily offended by everything that even that is offensive. You can’t tell off color jokes, you can’t whistle at a cute girl (or in my case a boy) walking down the street, and Heaven forbid that a school has books in their library that have objectionable scenes or words in them.

This is a book about the German Nazi Holocost that they are talking about in this article. It’s hard to think of anyone thinking that that period in time was anything but objectionable. How is someone supposed to discribe what happened without going into horrific, graphic, detail? You cant! It’s just not possible.

How the German’s at the time treated, spoke of, and called those that it was committing to the Death Camps was anything but objectionable. To change how we discribe what went on in those places isn’t just down playing wording, it’s changing history and how we percive it. This was a horrible time in mankind, and I think we need to keep up with the horror of it’s discription to make sure it never happens again.

I remember my history classes in middle and senior high when we got to discussing World War II. We were reading books, and watching videos, that went into gory graphic detail. The books and videos showed the people, of all ages from little kids to old adults, that were starving from the lack of food, freezing from the lack of clothing. What is anyone supposed to do but be horrified.

I remember one video that showed camp guards leading people into a building that I could only assume was one of the gas chambers. To think that all those people were going to be dead in a few minutes was mind boggleing. How could any human do that to one another? The things that humans are capible of doing to each other is staggering though.

The school board was also objecting to there being one little drawing of a naked woman in a bathtub. Come on? Really? As 8th graders these kids would be 13 to 14 for the most part. In the 2020’s now, these kids should have had their Sexual Education started long before now. I’m sure each and every one of them has seen a naked woman on the internet by now, and not in an educational way.

When do we start teaching kids that nudity is a part of life and not something to be ashamed of? When can we start teaching kids to look at photos, paintings, drawings, and sculpture of naked men, women, and children, in a way that isn’t sexual? Was I one of the only lucky kids that was taught this because I was one of the kids that was being photographed in non-sexual ways? Was I one of the only ones taught to appreciate the nude form by learning to appreciate my own first?

It sickens me to think that most of society thinks that any “photograph” of nude men, women, and children is anything but porn, but yet will gladly call paintings from the Renisance and statues from antiquity depicting the same thing, as art. Why can’t people understand that photography IS art as well?

I just want to throw a brick at the board member who thinks that by teaching about the horrors of the Holocost is somehow promoting hanging and killiing people. I don’t know anyone who would actually promote the Holocost. You can’t teach it without discussing the fact that people WERE hanged, people WERE gassed, people WERE dumped into mass graves like they were trash. Do you think I’m promoting it? Fuck You if you do!!

Of course teaching this subject is not healthy. If at first you don’t get sick to your stomach and want to throw up there’s something wrong with you. If you don’t go to bed at night and have nightmares, well then, I just don’t know.

But is it WISE to teach the Holocost? By all means, YES! This was the most horrific event to happen in human history. The Death Camps were not about trying to win a war, or expanding an empire. It was simply about the want of the total distruction of a certain class of people that another didn’t want to live with. And rather than gathering them all up and exileing them to some far off distant land, they chose to kill them instead. We need every school kid to learn what happened from now to eternity to make sure nothing like that happens ever again. The only way to make sure that happens is to teach the truth and not dumb it down because some people think what happened was objectionable. Of course it was objectionable, you bunch of fucks!

How are we supposed to teach about 9/11 without being obectionable? A group of people who don’t like American’s flew two jumbo jets into the Twin Towers. There’s 600 people instantly killed right there. There is video on YouTube, and pictures in the news, showing people JUMPING from high up in the towers trying to get away who only faced certain death. How is watching that not objectionable?

We then watched the towers collapse in on themselves killing in total over 3,000 people. How is that not objectionable?

We need to teach history as it happened. If we don’t it’s not history, it’s just a made up story. We cannot let school boards like this dumb down history just because a few people don’t like the wording or the imagery.

Yes, when my teachers first started the World War II lessons I didn’t want to watch the videos or look at the pictures. And I think that was a good thing. It toughened me up to learn what humans were capible of doing to each other, and it made me want to do my part to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

If you’ve got kids, I’d suggest going and finding out how the school is teaching your kids the history of the world. Are they telling it straight, or dumbing it down. Do you want your kid to know what really happened, or do you want them to know a rose colored version of history? History has always been a dark place, and the way things are going, things that are happening today are going to be a dark part in a future history. Don’t let the objections win!

Cop Delivers Door Dash

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/01/27/door-dash-delivery-police-arrest-driver-hln-vpx.hln

First off, I’d be freaked out if I went to my door and there was a cop standing there. “Who died?” would be my first thought. Then I’d be a little puzzled as to why he had my Door Dash food in his hand. Lastly, I’d be laughing my ass off when he told me the reason.

I’ve seen some crazy videos on YouTube of cops arresting delivery drivers. Most of the time the food customers end up calling where they ordered from to find out why their delivery is so late and end up having to reorder. Or cops arresting taxi or Uber drivers and then leaving those customers just hanging on the street corners.

This was a pretty decent cop though. Hats of to his extra effort of service. With how bad the reputation of cops is these days, they almost have to go out of their way to make a positive experience. It’s a bad thing that it’s come to that.

Personally, since there is no way on this planet I would want to do their job, I go out of my way to support them. Don’t defund the police! Give them more money for training and equipment. Give them more officers to help patrol the districts that need it. I think the better supported the police are the less likely we’ll continue to see reports of police shootings.

So, hat’s off Officer! 5-Star Kudo’s to you!!

Teacher Shoves Student to the Floor

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/us/georgia-teacher-charged-hitting-student/index.html

You know, it sickens me when I read about, or watch a video of, some adult assulting a kid like this. Let alone that this guy was a teacher of this student.

The news story doesnt say what the argument between the teacher and the student was about. Whatever it was about though, there is never a time when it is OK for a teacher to get mad enough to shove the kid to the point that he ends up on the ground. Yea, I would have immediately fired him too!

There are plenty of things that the teacher could have done to try to deescalate the arguement. He could have sat down at his desk, or better yet, he could have left the room for a few minutes while he and the student cooled down. When outside the room he could have then asked another teacher to escort the student out of his room.

I was once a student. I was also the son of parents. I know first hand that one of the things that kids do is get testy with adults. We are learning how to stand up for ourselves and testing our boundries. But even if we cross the line, it is the adults responsibility not to cross the line back. They are the ones that are supposed to have the experience to read the situation and know how to take the proper action.

Especially teachers!! These are the people that work with kids every day. Getting tested on boundries is probably a nearly everyday thing. Who knows what happened here. Maybe the teacher got tested just one to many times. Maybe he had dealings with this kid before that were not reported on. Maybe the kid called his wife a drunken whore. We don’t know. What ever the reason though, a teacher touchiing a student with physical force is something that is never justified.

Unfortunatly, because of this one shove of a kid, the teacher has probably distroyed his teaching career. The article says that the district fired him. And probably good luck for him to try to get another teaching job anytime soon after this. I sure hope he has other skills that he can use to find a different job.

As a teacher, I’m sure that he enjoys working with kids, and probably has a spotless record of incidents before this. He’s probably had students in the past that say he was one of their favorites. It’s too bad that in the moment he didn’t think of anything else better to do than shove the student to the ground. I’m sure he immediately regretted the action as soon as it happened.

So let this be a lesson. If you are about to throw your hands up at someone, kid or adult, take that split second if you can to think of better options. Don’t risk everything you’ve built in life on one moments stupid action. Better to make it seem like the kid won the arguement rather than having your life go up in a nuclear bomb.

BTC Down to $41,800

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/cryptocurrency-prices-continue-to-fall-because-buying-demand-is-absent-ceo

For most of you reading this, I get that you could probably care less what the value of Bitcoin is.  And normally, if I was in your shoes, Id probably say the same thing.  But I think that people really need to start paying attention to Bitcoin and other cryptos that are out there.

Let me be clear that I am NOT an economist.  I am also NOT an investment advisor.  So, DO NOT take what I say as advice.  I am merely stating my opinions.  If you want to invest, go find an advisor. 

It didnt take to long after I made the offer on the house for my brother to tell my mom and dad, and then for them to spill the beans with the rest of the family that we are close with.  And the backlash has started. 

Ive already seen and read comments that I must be some sort of drug dealer, or that I must be doing something illegal in order to buy a house at my age, in cash.  Ive also seen a few from one Aunt in particular that I knew it would come from that if I have that much wealth, why was I hiding it, and that I should help my family out so they dont have to deal with the “struggles”.

I have only two words for that particular aunt, and they are not very nice: Fuck You!  I do have plans to take care of my family.  My immediate family that is.  My parents are OK with my idea to set up an account for them, in conjunction with their existing retirement accounts, that pays out interest only so they can live happyly in their retirement years. They are also OK with that plan for my brother, Shawn, as well after he graduates from high school.

I dont want to get into a position where I help one part of the family, but another part feels slighted by it. I cant help everyone, and Im not about to try. Id rather seem a little selfish and only help when someeone is worthy of it, rather than help when it was mostly their fault they got into the position their in now.

My dad, like myself, cant wrap his head around the idea of the size of the account. To be honest, neither can I. I can comprehend that BTC had a value in 2021 of $50,000 per unit at one time and is now down to roughly $41,800, a difference of $8,200. When you think of it that way, it isnt hard to comprehend a loss of $8,000. But in my account that is a difference of $82,000,000. Five years ago I never thought Id have $1M. I cant even fathum Ive lost that much in value over one year.

So we will see how this continues to play out.

I Think Its Crazy

First and foremost, I want to say that I love the idea behind the form of government of the United States. I say “idea” because if you look at the state of the government of the United States, I dont think it truly represents anymore what the framers had in mind when they drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights so many years back. In their defense, of course, nobody can see what the future is going to look like 250 years in the future. Hell, I bet most of them didnt even think the United States was going to last that long.

Congress is supposed to be a select group of people, elected by the citizens of their districts, to represent THEM and THEIR needs and wants, and have those made into law. If you really listen to candidates campaign these days, they are stumping on their OWN beliefs and desires and trying to convince YOU that THEY are right.

A true representative of the people would bring ideas to congress that they themselves might not believe in, but ARE the wants and desires of their people. When was the last time you heard of someone doing THAT?

But Congress, I believe, is also supposed to go against the wishes of the people if the requested actions would do more harm than good to the country as a whole. For instance: If everyone all of a sudden wanted to invade Mexico for some reason, Congress would have to say “No, we are not going to do that. That is not a very good idea, even if my making it a state it would solve the illegal immigration problem.”

Right now, we do not have two political parties in government. We have two warring factions. And nobody wants to introduce a third in fear that it would take away from one faction and give control of congress to the other.

Personally I want to set term limits on both the House and the Senate. These should not be lifetime appointments. Because the country is ever evolving, congress must as well. If a younger generation of people are running the inner workings of the country, then, I think, we have to have a younger generation who understands it to be running it.

You cant just kick out all the old timers though. You need to have some people around who know how to work the fine art of upper management. But they should be in more of supervisiory liasion position, helping you get things done on a day to day, but not activly participating, if you know what I mean.

I am so done with turning on the news every day just to see what argument congress started bickering over today. You fuckers need to comprimise. You are not going to get everything you wanted, so deal with it. We pay you to comprimise to get shit done. And if you are not going on, it is harder than Hell to fire you.

The Big Quit

Right now all over the new you are hearing about a record number of people who quit their jobs in 2021, and now how employers are having a hard time finding employees without giving up the sun and moon in pay and benefits.

In my case, I stopped working “because I had to” when I turned 25, looked at my investments, and said to myself: “What am I doing?” It wasnt because I really didnt like what I was doing, it was more because I didnt LOVE what I was doing.

Ive heard the line from so many different people: “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”. I wasnt yet working something that I loved doing. And even today, the search is still on for that.

But I had made enough with my investments that if I set them up right, which I have done now, I could stop working altogether. So, when I turned 25, I handed in my resignation, and havent worked for last two and a half years. Great timing, sort of speak, since Covid-19 was about to shut everything down anyhow.

Up until yesterday when I told my parents the truth behind why I wasnt working, they thought Id been laid off due to Covid. Of course it didnt help that I didnt say anything to contradict that either. It was a lot easier to let them believe that Id been laid off rather than saying “oh, by the way, Im rich now and thats why Im not working.” Especially since both my parents arent quite 50 yet, are still working their own full time jobs, and are raising my younger 14 year old brother. I was originally planning to wait until their 50th birthdays, the same year my brother would have graduated high school, to pretty much tell them they didnt have to work again either if they didnt want to.

Im planning now to have a big sit down with my brother to let him know that once he graduates from high school he wont have to work “because he has to” either. But that in order to get that support from me, he IS going to have to get a job or go to college so he can at least build a work ethic and know what it is like to have to have some responsibilities to others and to himself.

I also want him to know that he doesnt have to get a job just for having a jobs sake. I want him to find something that he loves and is passionate about, then go out and do it. Kinda like Dr. Hodgins on the TV show “Bones”. Nobody knew that he was secretly the owner of the Cantalever Group that ran the Jeffersonian. He worked because he loved what he did.

I dont plan on sitting around on idol hands either. I like photography. Once the sale of the house I offered on closes, I plan on turning one of the areas into a studio. That way I can do what I love too.

It just makes me sad to think that the friends of mine who actually let me know of the investment didnt get into it themselves. At the time we were all just out of high school sitting around at McDonalds shooting the breeze and I dont think anyone was really taking it seriously. But after I did some research on it, I found out that it was very serious. So far its turned out to be more than “once in a lifetime”, its more like once in humanity.

Getting back to the Big Quit though. I think Covid has let people realize that they are worth more than the pay and benefits that corportate America is willing to give them. A family of four in 2018 needed almost $100K per year to live on. Figure a minimum wage of $15 x 40hrs/week x 52 wks in a year = $32,760. That amount is not going to do you very well.

Depending on where someone lives, the minimum wages should at least let someone have decent housing, food, transportation, the home necessities, and child care. If not, of course you are going to have a bunch of unhappy employees.

After Covid laid everyone off, and now the employers are trying to hire back, they are realizing that they have given the drivers seat to the employees. Now they have to offer big in order to keep people, or in some cases even have them show up on the first scheduled day. This isnt going to be a quick fix, but I think it opened the eyes of a lot of employers who now realize they cant continue to give low wages and benefits if they want to keep a workforce.

And with a lot of “At Home Work” technologies now, the office type employeers have a whole new sector that they have to compete against. It is going to be interesting to see how the next five years plays out. So hold on to your horses, its going to be a bumpy ride.