Time to Vote Republican

Bartender AOC doing the work God intended for her.

If Donald Trump discovered the cure for cancer, Democrats would accuse him of being racist for not finding a cure for sickle-cell anemia, a disease that mainly afflicts African Americans. That's how misguided, misinformed, messed-up and mistaken they all are. And I do mean all.

I have few friends left who vote Democratic. The closest one is a tireless workaholic who spends every minute of her life helping others, be it through her work as a nurse, her role as a daughter to an aging parent, or as a mother and grandmother.  Naturally she has little time to educate herself on world events, and being a true bleeding-heart she naturally thinks all immigrants should be allowed in no matter their status and sure, let's give them a nice clean bed and healthcare, everyone else be damned. I get that, and I love her anyway.

My few other Democrat friends skim the surface of what's going on and consider themselves up to speed because they watch CNN or MSNBC and read the opinion page of The New York Times. On the other hand, all the Republicans I know are deep into learning everything they can about what goes on in government. They watch all the news, read all the newspapers and listen to various podcasts with differing political slants. 

There is simply no comparing the two parties. For example, Republicans Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator John Kennedy, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Tom Cotton and Senator Josh Hawley are all super-smart. As opposed to Kamala Harris, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Governor Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg, who are all clearly idiots yet are named as possible front-runners for the 2028 presidential race.

Come on people, do some research before you damn Trump as "orange man bad," as if his hair color has anything to do with anything. And if you mean his skin, well that's just racist.

Don't Believe A Word of This!

Jeff and me, old college buddies, met for a drink just before his arrest.

Recently a photo was circulating online showing Hillary and Bill Clinton laughing with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased POS that everyone loves to hate. It was incendiary because just the day before, Hillary had sworn under oath that she had never even met Epstein! So there she was, caught in another lie.

My husband wondered at the photo's veracity. Checking various sources online, we learned that indeed the photo was a deep fake. Stunned, we wondered just how easy it is to make a phony image and decided to try. So Mitch prompted Grok, the AI app from Elon Musk, to "make a picture of Jeffrey Epstein with this woman," sending along an old (and quite unflattering I might add) photo of me. 

Surely that wouldn't work, we mused. Yet less than one minute later, a reasonably believable photo appeared, which is shown above. I then texted that photo to five of my friends, saying I knew Epstein in college and visited with him shortly before his incarceration. Only one of those friends doubted it, texting back immediately, "Nice AI!" Two others fell for it whole-hog, and one other half-hog.

Here's the thing: Mitch is no expert on how to do this sort of thing, and yet he accomplished the task in no time. Just imagine the results when someone well-schooled in AI manipulation exercises their skills! We can all agree that public trust is over. Be on the alert: Whatever it is, if you can't touch it, taste it or smell it, it's likely not real.

People Who Know Nothing But Should Know Something

Some days it's exasperating just being alive. Today is one of them. Owing to an unfortunate health emergency -- a blood clot in my leg -- I had to purchase a pair of knee-high compression socks. So off to the drug store I went, and asked the pharmacist where I might find such things. He directed me straight to them, saying, "They go by your shoe size." 

Only they didn't. The package said nothing about shoe size. Instead the directions were to measure at the widest part of the calf and also the ankle to determine your size. Thinking that might be the case, I had brought a tape measure with me.

As I was busy measuring my leg, the pharmacist called over to me, "Can I help you? What are you doing?" I explained, after which he muttered something under his breath, shook his head and turned away.

Moral of the story: Whatever it is, if it's possible to do it yourself, do it yourself. People you think will know more than you usually don't.

Things Really Were Better Then

Crazy people today are so much crazier than the crazies of the past. For example, today I read about an elementary school teacher who had sex with a dog and posted a video of it from her cellphone, and a transgender kindergarten teacher who identifies as a wolf and told his/her students as much.

This goes along with other dire developments in our evolution, like fat people being much fatter, mass shootings becoming commonplace and suicides rising among young people. In fact, almost everything is worse today except the number of cereals available in the supermarkets and going to the dentist.

I loved being a mother and I still do, but if I were a young woman this minute and became pregnant I would abort without a second thought. One can only imagine how babies born now will fare in the coming years. Will they all have sex with their teachers in elementary school ? Will they be obese by age eleven and have heart attacks and diabetes on the regular? Of course none of them will actually know anything since everyone will have an AI device implanted in their brain by their fifth birthday. Will they still know what trees and flowers and birds are? 

While growing old in today's youth-obsessed society is no picnic, what with random ills and diseases showing up willy-nilly, at least one has fabulous memories of when things were so much better. Here's a quick walk down memory lane to the good old days before the invention of the Internet, which has gradually turned our world into a waking nightmare.

The Good Humor Man drove past your house every night in summer!

1. Doctors valued their patients and took the time to educate them on how to be healthy.

2. People only wore pajamas and slippers at home, never out in public except if they were insane.

3. Obesity was rare and to be avoided rather than celebrated.

4. Elected leaders were reasonably intelligent, unlike Kamala Harris, AOC, Mayor Pete and Governor Hair Gel, all leading candidates for the 2028 Democratic Presidential nomination.

5. Music had recognizable melodies and lyrics were more than just illegibly shouting to a beat while grabbing one's crotch.

6. Flying was fun and special, with lovely stewardesses treating you like royalty, as opposed to today's short-tempered and often unkempt flight attendants herding you like cattle into a holding pen.

7. There were no people named Spam Risk, Spam Likely and Probably Fraud calling you on the phone.

8. The ice cream man drove right by your house every night in summer! (See photo.)

Everybody's Mommy Dies, Savannah!

Savannah Guthrie, a TV celebrity who became really famous to millions of people who never heard of her before when her mother was mysteriously abducted three weeks ago, just posted a video online saying how sad she is without her mommy. Her heart aches for her. She can hardly sleep.

Well guess what, Savannah: It happens to everyone. Every mommy eventually dies, as does every daddy. And every doggie and kitty and worst of all, sometimes a child of still living mommies and daddies. So just suck it up, we have all heard enough.

My own mommy died at the age of 62 of early onset Alzheimer's and it wasn't on the news. She started losing her mind at age 57 and could no longer speak or recognize anyone after a few years. You had your mother for an additional and relatively healthy 22 years. Be grateful for that.

Go Fund Me, Please

Eric Dane and daughters.

Last week I slipped on the ice while carrying four heavy bags of groceries into my house and since then I have been in a lot of pain with a torn soleus muscle in my calf and a sprained ankle. Not only that, I am also grieving because the actor Eric Dane died and I liked him a lot back when he played Dr. Mark Sloane, a.k.a. McSteamy, on Grey's Anatomy. 

And not only that, but my beloved cat is 19 years old and has lost a lot of weight and doesn't play much anymore and hardly eats anything. And now it's snowing really hard outside and very cold and windy too and we may lose power. So please, help me out!

I would set up a GoFundMe page for myself but apparently that's just for rich people. Like the aforementioned recently deceased Eric Dane, who died with a net worth of approximately $7 million, but still his two teenage daughters need help! Although they live with their mother who is very much alive and an actress herself, with a net worth of $5 million, still they need money for things, like private school and paying the pool boy and going to summer camp and on skiing vacations, and judging by the photo shown here, food!

So if you want to help me out, just email me at andreajrouda@aol.com and I will send you my Venmo address. Thank you.

The Nancy Guthrie Diversion

Like many people, I don't watch morning TV shows. So I had never even seen Savannah Guthrie before her mother was abducted.  Naturally, it follows that I don't care about her mother. At least not much. While it's sad that such a crime was committed, so many crimes like that occur that we never hear about. What makes this case any different, causing it to dominate the news for the last three weeks?

One can only wonder what very important things are all of us not seeing while our attention is diverted towards an unknown missing 84-year-old woman who held no public office and who mattered only to her family and close friends.

Something big, I assume.

Having A Mom vs. Being A Mom

There's a world of difference between having a mother and being a mother. I speak from experience.

I had a mother once. She died at age 62 in 1983. All I can remember about her is that she was my greatest champion who thought I could do anything. My well-being was high on the list of her priorities, if not at the top only because I had an older sister with special needs who occupied that spot. Sadly, in hindsight I see that I did not do for my mother anything close to what she willingly did for me. It never occurred to me.

Then I became a mother myself and suddenly my life took a back seat to my child. His happiness came before anything else, and still does. I would do anything required of me to assure his comfort and success in life. And sadly again, it is clear that he does not feel the same way about me. Motherhood is not a two-way relationship. 

That's just the way it is. There's no punchline, no joke, no laugh. Just the honest truth, which any young woman considering taking on that role should fully understand.

What An Ass!

Cardi B is a popular, award-winning rapper applauded for her outspoken lyrics and "sex positive" messages, including an openness to a variety of sexual orientations, interests, identities and expressions. 

Over the years since she burst on the scene, Cardi has had many injections of who-knows-what and for who-knows-why into her butt. I'm guessing it wasn't to enhance her vocal range or her smarts. 

Still, her net worth is estimated to be $100 million. Apparently money can't buy brains, but it can buy a ginormous ass which somehow can be exchanged for cash. (Sort of like bitcoins.)

Thankfully, even Cardi has her limits, which can be seen in the photo here, saying, "After this tour, I'm taking some time out. I'm going to Colombia, nobody hit me up, nothing. I'm taking this ass out!"

I Don't Believe It

Hogwash!

The police in Tucson, Arizona have officially cleared all the family members of any involvement in the disappearance of matriarch Nancy Guthrie. So how come I still think the brother-in-law did it? Because I am a skeptic.

The definition of skeptic is "a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual." That's me, and I can't help it. I promise you, I have tried. It's hard being a skeptic. Most people think you are an idiot. 

For example, try as I might I still don't believe that someone named Jesus Christ died for my sins 2,000 years ago. How is it possible when I hadn't even sinned yet? Another whopper is that he died and came back to life. How? And why has nobody else ever done that since then? And don't even get me started on Moses parting the Red Sea! (See illustration.)

I don't believe that we landed on the moon in 1969, or ever. I don't believe that Joe Biden was fairly elected in 2020. And I don't believe, for a minute, that Vince Foster committed suicide.

I simply cannot believe that anyone in their right mind would ever consider voting for Kamala Harris for anything. And I am way beyond believing that anyone, anywhere still cares about Jeffrey Epstein, a man who never held public office and died almost seven years ago.

So yes, I think the brother-in-law did it. Who else would have, and why?

Tucson's Keystone Cops

Tucson police chief on the phone with Nancy Guthrie's neighbor.

If you are currently earning living as a petty criminal or are considering a life of crime, you would do well to move to the city of Tucson, Arizona, where the police department is staffed with nitwits. How else to explain that it took a phone call from a neighbor, more than a week after Nancy Guthrie went missing, to alert them that there was a surveillance camera installed on the roof of her home? 

What that makes clear to me is that not one of them saw the movie The Hangover, where the missing man (Dougie) was ultimately found to be passed out on the roof of the hotel where he was staying. And for that reason alone, they cannot be trusted.