Remarkable in it's simplicity, this was a fantastic week. Virtually every economic indicator was terrible and the market continued to melt up. The only thing that could make this market any better or weirder it seems- would be if that fat little Nork dictator would start launching those nuclear missiles of his. We'd probably have a 3... maybe 400 point rally. I just can't get this picture out of my mind. For some reason, the Major reminds me of my friend Troy in Idaho Falls. You just have to click this. I want to be THAT guy.
Very often, and certainly since the great meltdown of 2008, I am in awe at the lengths government will go to try and hide the fact that we are bankrupt and insolvent. The great cover up seems to be working.
The emperor has some great clothes. Honest.
I had a week filled with gratitude. Gratitude that I still get a retirement check and that I don't have to kiss someone else's ass for 8 hours a day anymore. That is freedom and that is a beautiful thing. All day Friday, I witnessed the greatest single day collapse in the price of gold that I had ever witnessed. Down 85 bucks.
It was as though the world had returned to solvency, all debts were paid, and even Charles Manson had found a job. All they ever talk about is jobs. They make them up. I do not want a job. Primarily because I hate working and secondarily, I got issues.
I have jobophobia. Everytime I think I want a job, this is what happens to me.
I have to fill out applications because resumes' don't work anymore. I have to jump through a series of online hoops which are usually a vast waste of time. Secretly I want to mark "pacific islander" and then scream if they don't give me an interview. If they do call, we schedule an interview. I have to dress up and then spend 45 minutes convincing someone that I have been yearning for this 10 dollar an hour job for most of my life. I have stopped short of calling the prospective job my "dream job" although that shit still works. It just seems like overkill anymore.
The worst thing that can happen is that every once in awhile, I will actually bullshit someone into offering me a job.
That's when my jobophobia strikes me. I am paralyzed with fear. Not only will they expect me to arrive at some pre determined place at an agreed upon time- but they will actually demand some level of performance and productivity. Coming from the government sector, this is a difficult concept for me to grasp. Not only that- but I will have to answer to some maniac with a brain the size of a walnut. Of course, the new guys always get the shittiest shifts.
Never work for a place that has turnover beyond 50% of the staff per year. I should have asked first.
I lost my last job because one of my co-workers, the guy who was screwing the director, decided to embarrass a client in front of his wife. Unfortunately, I listened to the client's complaint. When I challenged whether or not embarrassing clients in front of their wives and other visitors was entirely necessary- my employment there ended the following day.
If you wanna challenge authority it seems, you should at the very least, be sleeping with it.
Because that's how the real world operates. I hate the real world. It is run by shmucks. Can you imagine this year's graduates out looking for crappy jobs that pay less and less, with no benefits, armed with 100k in student debt, and working for shitheads? Woohoo! Where can I sign up?
You better be some ass kissing professionals that's all I've got to say. Obedient workers.
This is also the year that Obamacare will use as a base salary year for determining how much health care tax you have to pay in 2014. They are actually incentivizing me not to work.
So I think I am going to take that bait. Besides summer is here.
I am going to get up when I want, take a nap when I want, play golf when I want. I am going to spend a little extra time with mom and dad because we all ended up with a little extra time. Maybe I will go prospecting with my uncle, fishing on his jet boat, riding around the Black Hills on the Road King and generally living my life like I want to.
I got a promising future behind me, and I gotta say, I like it that way.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Gold, Central Bankers, and Blood In the Streets*Updated
If you trade precious metals, this has been a rough year so far.
Gold is trading down 64 dollars this morning close to the 1498 dollar an ounce level. This is the lowest level for gold in two years. Silver is even worse. Silver is at it's worst levels since late 2010. To put it bluntly- any investment gains you have made in precious metals over the last two years- have been officially wiped out.
So what happened?
Did the world suddenly add one hundred million jobs and get solvent? Have deficits and inflation been completely wiped out? Has the U.S. solved all of it's problems? Have central bankers suddenly and everywhere- quit debasing their currencies as we collectively race to the bottom? No of course not. Is the world economy getting better or worse?
What is going on?
It's actually the convergence of several factors. Some of them are natural supply and demand issues although Cyprus selling a few tons of gold should not be that big of a disruption. The world is beginning to realize that growth and growth prospects worldwide are terrible, and the bankers are still driving prices down in the metals any chance they get. Gold is real money. Bankers know this. They can't create actual gold, so they do the next best thing. They manipulate the price of gold with currency and futures. They have an unlimited supply of both and they use them
There is plenty of evidence that central banks everywhere- are gobbling up actual gold supplies just as quickly as they can.
Mining stocks are down 30% this year as well. The miners have absolutely gotten slaughtered over the past few years even as metals prices soared. It is almost- blood in the streets time. In other words- it's almost time to buy.
One of the greatest gifts that I have ever received in my life is the ability to fundamentally examine something without getting emotionally involved. To invest money with out worry and to actually add to my positions if I have arrived early- or accept a loss when I have simply screwed up.
As I write this, CNBC commentators are declaring the death of the gold market and citing collateral sources. At the same time, they are preaching stocks. This is getting good.
There are two things that I absolutely live and die by. When your barber is telling you to buy stocks- it is time to get out. If the barber is committing his money- then you are certainly near the end of the demand stage of any type of fashionable investment. At that point- demand is drying up because everybody is in. Consequently- anytime somebody is predicting the end or death of a market you are nearing a complete washout. All of the sellers, the weak hands, have sold. That is blood in the streets time.
I think you have to seriously examine your investment strategies here. If you have made 100% in equity markets since the 2009 lows- it's time to ask yourself if you really think there are appreciable gains left in this central bank fueled and controlled market and how long can it last? If you had to rotate out- where would you go?
I know I am preaching to the choir. Like you, I am sick of watching manipulated markets and a world that has gone fundamentally insane. It is exasperating and frustrating. But this is the end game. This is where all of the stops get pulled. World governments and bankers are doing everything within their power, in a somewhat unprecedented and synchronized way, to maintain the illusion of healthy economies and balance sheets. They will try everything within their power to maintain control. They are desperately trying to survive and putting their best face forward. The world is swimming in debt and getting worse. Nothing has fundamentally changed.
I am due for a haircut. I might make an appointment next week and see what Katie, my hairstylist, thinks about markets and gold. Maybe she will say that she hates gold. I'll know what to do then.
*Updated
Dr. Roberts claims here that today's giant losses were planned and orchestrated. http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/4/12_Former_US_Treasury_Official_-_Fed_Orchestrated_Smash_In_Gold.html
Gold is trading down 64 dollars this morning close to the 1498 dollar an ounce level. This is the lowest level for gold in two years. Silver is even worse. Silver is at it's worst levels since late 2010. To put it bluntly- any investment gains you have made in precious metals over the last two years- have been officially wiped out.
So what happened?
Did the world suddenly add one hundred million jobs and get solvent? Have deficits and inflation been completely wiped out? Has the U.S. solved all of it's problems? Have central bankers suddenly and everywhere- quit debasing their currencies as we collectively race to the bottom? No of course not. Is the world economy getting better or worse?
What is going on?
It's actually the convergence of several factors. Some of them are natural supply and demand issues although Cyprus selling a few tons of gold should not be that big of a disruption. The world is beginning to realize that growth and growth prospects worldwide are terrible, and the bankers are still driving prices down in the metals any chance they get. Gold is real money. Bankers know this. They can't create actual gold, so they do the next best thing. They manipulate the price of gold with currency and futures. They have an unlimited supply of both and they use them
There is plenty of evidence that central banks everywhere- are gobbling up actual gold supplies just as quickly as they can.
Mining stocks are down 30% this year as well. The miners have absolutely gotten slaughtered over the past few years even as metals prices soared. It is almost- blood in the streets time. In other words- it's almost time to buy.
One of the greatest gifts that I have ever received in my life is the ability to fundamentally examine something without getting emotionally involved. To invest money with out worry and to actually add to my positions if I have arrived early- or accept a loss when I have simply screwed up.
As I write this, CNBC commentators are declaring the death of the gold market and citing collateral sources. At the same time, they are preaching stocks. This is getting good.
There are two things that I absolutely live and die by. When your barber is telling you to buy stocks- it is time to get out. If the barber is committing his money- then you are certainly near the end of the demand stage of any type of fashionable investment. At that point- demand is drying up because everybody is in. Consequently- anytime somebody is predicting the end or death of a market you are nearing a complete washout. All of the sellers, the weak hands, have sold. That is blood in the streets time.
I think you have to seriously examine your investment strategies here. If you have made 100% in equity markets since the 2009 lows- it's time to ask yourself if you really think there are appreciable gains left in this central bank fueled and controlled market and how long can it last? If you had to rotate out- where would you go?
I know I am preaching to the choir. Like you, I am sick of watching manipulated markets and a world that has gone fundamentally insane. It is exasperating and frustrating. But this is the end game. This is where all of the stops get pulled. World governments and bankers are doing everything within their power, in a somewhat unprecedented and synchronized way, to maintain the illusion of healthy economies and balance sheets. They will try everything within their power to maintain control. They are desperately trying to survive and putting their best face forward. The world is swimming in debt and getting worse. Nothing has fundamentally changed.
I am due for a haircut. I might make an appointment next week and see what Katie, my hairstylist, thinks about markets and gold. Maybe she will say that she hates gold. I'll know what to do then.
*Updated
Dr. Roberts claims here that today's giant losses were planned and orchestrated. http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/4/12_Former_US_Treasury_Official_-_Fed_Orchestrated_Smash_In_Gold.html
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
"It's All About the Children" and Other Liberal Tactics Exposed
Tactics. It's all about tactics.
Many years ago, I became acquainted with our local school district's sneaky agenda and how they accomplish their goals. Anytime they wanted to expand their employee base or spend taxpayer money on worthless security measures- they would use "children" as an excuse. The trump card, the one that is always played by liberals everywhere is, "we are doing this for the safety of our children."
That is a tough line of shit to tackle head on. In fact, it is almost insurmountable. Anytime you oppose measures "designed" to protect our children- you look like some thoughtless, heartless cad. A stupid, child hating monster. That in fact, is precisely where the liberal progressives have us right now. They have secured the high ground.
Advantage them.
That's why your President paraded the families of Sandy Hook victims around this week and gave them rides on Air Force One. http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/08/obama-to-bring-some-sandy-hook-families-on-air-force-one/
They are stage props. Obama is using the victim families to further his agenda. They of course, are either too stupid, complicit liberals, or too scared to tell the President "no." I mean, who would turn down a ride with the President on AF1?
The real agenda here, as President Obama stated shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy, is gun control. The means will always justify that end. So what if Obama has to use the families of Sandy Hook in order to further the liberal agenda of gun control? You use whatever available assets you have when you are seeking victory.
Obama told us who he really was long ago. Please jump in the Delorean with me for a moment.
Five years ago Obama had this to say. I call it foreshadowing. This is a quote from a fundraiser in San Francisco. A place with big money and devoid of "rednecks." In other words, this quote was safe to say there.
I remember thinking back then that Obama was exposing just a bit of who he really is. That last sentence says it all. Think about the message.
I dislike bitter clingers, religious homophobes, narrow minded immigrant haters and protectionists who are nothing like you generous, open minded, and well educated progressive liberals.
We are in this together. We are a team. It is us against those evil, stupid conservatives. Now sign the checks please.
It is amazing to me that small town politics can present a window into the tactics used on the nation's highest political stage. But the tactics are sound. They work in Moonbat Valley and they work in Washington D.C.
Obama is a master manipulator with a concealed agenda who pretended to be centrist. That's all he is. That's all he's ever been. The problem now of course, is that Obama has divided this country into two hate filled groups of people. Both sides are digging in. I've never seen it this bad.
No wonder Obama gave himself lifetime Secret Service protection in a sneaky little bill that sailed through Congress a month or two ago. He added Bush's name to get it through the House. It doesn't take a crystal ball and a psychic to see the divisiveness and hatred that this guy will cause in the next 4 years.
We have a long way to go.
Many years ago, I became acquainted with our local school district's sneaky agenda and how they accomplish their goals. Anytime they wanted to expand their employee base or spend taxpayer money on worthless security measures- they would use "children" as an excuse. The trump card, the one that is always played by liberals everywhere is, "we are doing this for the safety of our children."
That is a tough line of shit to tackle head on. In fact, it is almost insurmountable. Anytime you oppose measures "designed" to protect our children- you look like some thoughtless, heartless cad. A stupid, child hating monster. That in fact, is precisely where the liberal progressives have us right now. They have secured the high ground.
Advantage them.
That's why your President paraded the families of Sandy Hook victims around this week and gave them rides on Air Force One. http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/08/obama-to-bring-some-sandy-hook-families-on-air-force-one/
They are stage props. Obama is using the victim families to further his agenda. They of course, are either too stupid, complicit liberals, or too scared to tell the President "no." I mean, who would turn down a ride with the President on AF1?
The real agenda here, as President Obama stated shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy, is gun control. The means will always justify that end. So what if Obama has to use the families of Sandy Hook in order to further the liberal agenda of gun control? You use whatever available assets you have when you are seeking victory.
Obama told us who he really was long ago. Please jump in the Delorean with me for a moment.
Five years ago Obama had this to say. I call it foreshadowing. This is a quote from a fundraiser in San Francisco. A place with big money and devoid of "rednecks." In other words, this quote was safe to say there.
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.
And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.I remember thinking back then that Obama was exposing just a bit of who he really is. That last sentence says it all. Think about the message.
I dislike bitter clingers, religious homophobes, narrow minded immigrant haters and protectionists who are nothing like you generous, open minded, and well educated progressive liberals.
We are in this together. We are a team. It is us against those evil, stupid conservatives. Now sign the checks please.
It is amazing to me that small town politics can present a window into the tactics used on the nation's highest political stage. But the tactics are sound. They work in Moonbat Valley and they work in Washington D.C.
Obama is a master manipulator with a concealed agenda who pretended to be centrist. That's all he is. That's all he's ever been. The problem now of course, is that Obama has divided this country into two hate filled groups of people. Both sides are digging in. I've never seen it this bad.
No wonder Obama gave himself lifetime Secret Service protection in a sneaky little bill that sailed through Congress a month or two ago. He added Bush's name to get it through the House. It doesn't take a crystal ball and a psychic to see the divisiveness and hatred that this guy will cause in the next 4 years.
We have a long way to go.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
An Unremarkable Life- The Sunday Collage
Last Tuesday, I did something so stupid that I have been hobbling around and whining all week long.
Tuesday was the day that I traveled to Butte, Mt. by high speed Elantra. I arrived fairly early. So after trying to negotiate a two week stay at the Finlen Hotel with Ebeneezer Scrooge, I found myself with some extra time. It was only about 3 P.M., so I jumped in the Elantra and found the golf course of my youth. The Butte Country Club.
I have a lot of fond memories of that place. It was my first job- cleaning golf clubs, putting them away, and picking up range balls. I was 12 years old. It is also where I met the Kneivel clan. It is where I learned to play golf and gamble. I have always meant to play the course again at varying times in the past 38 years- but alas I have always been too busy.
So Tuesday was the day. I put on my new golf shoes. I talked to the assistant pro. He told me to go ahead and play for free- because they were still playing on temporary greens. I haven't played on temporary greens for 40 years. For those of you who don't know- a temporary green is a piece of fairway that the greenskeepers shave down to nubs, stick a cup and a flag in the middle somewhere, and leave it that way during the winter months. They do this to prevent damage to the regular greens. They also do this even though nobody ever plays amidst the sub zero, arctic, Butte winters because inevitably if they did not- some member with clout would whine and criticize the employees. Usually some whiny ass liberal. I understand all of that.
The pro said I would have to walk, the course was wet from the snow melt. No big deal I thought. Off I went. A chance to revisit my youth which was long overdue and I was pretty excited about it. I wondered if I would remember it accurately.
The golf course was in horrible shape. It was covered with leaves and goose shit, but mostly goose shit. It was soggy. They had cut the temp greens far short of the regular greens and they were simply unplayable. The goose shit was everywhere.
By the fourth hole, I began to feel that my new shoes were wearing blisters in both of my heels. Like an idiot, I soldiered on thinking the pain would go away. It got worse. By the 7th hole, I was a hurting unit. It was time to make a decision. This golf course is configured in such a way that the 8th hole is the absolute maximum length away from the pro shop and parking lot. Playing the 8th meant an additional 400 yards, each way, worth of blister damage.
So I said fuck it. I would just have to revisit my youth some other time. First, I had to take off the shoes. I then had to walk the 14 miles back to the clubhouse through soggy grass, knee high goose shit, and some of the most jagged asphalt anyone ever called a cart path.
Of course I saw someone playing in a golf cart. The privileged elite are everywhere. Rules never apply to them.
When I arrived back at the clubhouse, I looked at my soggy, goose shit covered socks and threw them away. It occurred to me that goose shit might not be good for one's bloodstream- that bacteria potentially entering my body through newly formed access holes in my epidermis. I went to the pharmacy for some of that "New Skin" which I have used in the past to disinfect wounds and to dress areas of my body where bandaging doesn't work.
I have always imagined that the pain of giving birth might be intense. My mother, or the woman who claims to be my mother because I don't remember the event exactly, has always claimed that I have some low pain thresh hold which of course, I have always vigorously contested. However, as I painted the "New Skin" on over those quarter sized holes on both of my heels- the pain was intense. I pictured my mother in the hotel room with me, nodding her head and saying, "I told you so."
So I have been hobbling around all week like a cripple. Each day, my shoes wear new holes through the original blisters. So I have been using the "New Skin" regularly because I am an idiot and I am also starting to enjoy the pain a little. Shifting gears here ever so gently to the actual subject of today's blog...
On the way home from Montana yesterday- I was listening to a story about a college bound teenager, Suzy Lee Weiss, who had been denied admission to several Ivy League Universities. The writers and broadcasters said that she had SAT scores in the stratosphere, a 4.5 GPA (how the hell do you get that?) and that she did a whole host of other things which normally would guarantee someone like her- a trip to a prestigious university. After being turned down by several of these schools, poor Ms. Weiss wrote an op ed piece with plenty of smart assery in it and offered it up to the New York Times. She calls it "sat... TIRE." Being the whiny ass liberals that they are- the Times published the piece and now Ms. Weiss is a celebrity. She was even on the Today Show.
Talk about throwing a pity party.
Most people caught on to the part where Ms. Weiss thinks she is entitled. They can also see the "spoiled tantrum" part. I see all that. I can even say on behalf of Ms. Weiss- that maybe she has a point.
It is her complete and utter unconsciousness that absolutely blows me away. That level of self absorption is world class.
Less than 1/10th of one percent of all Americans can graduate high school with the appropriate prerequisite credentials and have the means- which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars and elite connections- to attend an Ivy League school.
For millions of us- attending an Ivy League school was impossible. I am the son of a farmer turned many other things. I am so stupid that I thought high school was a waste of time. I went to state college because that was all I could afford and they had to accept me.
I am incredibly grateful for all of that now. I know plenty of people who didn't get that far.
Ms. Weiss is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this country. Of course she has a sense of entitlement. But so do millions like her. Of course she is spoiled. But the part that absolutely fascinates me- is the self absorbed part. It's all about her. The world revolves around Ms. Weiss. She has to get into an Ivy League school- don't you see- because she is better than most. Can you imagine the absolute horror she must now endure in some state college? She will be relegated to some inferior life, forced to toil in some investment bank at a mid level position, denied the opportunity to rule the banking world. Gone are her dreams of that house in the Hamptons. The private jet. The good life. Gone, gone, gone.
Worse yet, she might even be sentenced to an unremarkable life. A life of petty happiness, surrounded by family and friends, where nobody asks you what school you attended. Perhaps she will even drive an American built van with child seats. Can you imagine the indignity of that?
Yes, all of that would suck something terrible. Ms Weiss might even have one of those lives where the planet forgets who you are. Or...maybe you become one of the...
Millions of ill people, dying people, impoverished people. Imagine being sentenced to one of those lives, Ms. Weiss.
No indeed honey, life ain't fair at all.
That level of unconsciousness and ego is sadly, not uncommon anymore. Ms. Weiss, like so many others, won the birth lottery and she is too fucking stupid to know it. She wants what she wants when she wants it. I know the type well. I repaired myself. Unfortunately, it took me 46 years. I do not have a 4.5 brain.
You are right Ms. Weiss, life isn't fair. If it were, maybe you would have been born somewhere else. Maybe to a single mother shooting dope in the projects. Or to a family in a labor camp. Instead you had the bad luck of being born to parents that know the advantages of a quality education and the means to make it happen. You were born with an intelligent mind. You have an "E" coupon for the day Ms. Weiss- and you waste it whilst whining.
So far I see nothing remarkable here. Another spoiled kid who woke up on home plate and thinks she hit the home run. Let's hope Ms Weiss acquires some sense of clarity and with any luck, some humility and gratitude. Often, life delivers what we need the most. Let's hope that 4.5 brain is working when the message arrives. Here is the story on Huffington Post. Have your Kleenex handy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/suzy-lee-weiss-high-schoo_n_3022159.html
Tuesday was the day that I traveled to Butte, Mt. by high speed Elantra. I arrived fairly early. So after trying to negotiate a two week stay at the Finlen Hotel with Ebeneezer Scrooge, I found myself with some extra time. It was only about 3 P.M., so I jumped in the Elantra and found the golf course of my youth. The Butte Country Club.
I have a lot of fond memories of that place. It was my first job- cleaning golf clubs, putting them away, and picking up range balls. I was 12 years old. It is also where I met the Kneivel clan. It is where I learned to play golf and gamble. I have always meant to play the course again at varying times in the past 38 years- but alas I have always been too busy.
So Tuesday was the day. I put on my new golf shoes. I talked to the assistant pro. He told me to go ahead and play for free- because they were still playing on temporary greens. I haven't played on temporary greens for 40 years. For those of you who don't know- a temporary green is a piece of fairway that the greenskeepers shave down to nubs, stick a cup and a flag in the middle somewhere, and leave it that way during the winter months. They do this to prevent damage to the regular greens. They also do this even though nobody ever plays amidst the sub zero, arctic, Butte winters because inevitably if they did not- some member with clout would whine and criticize the employees. Usually some whiny ass liberal. I understand all of that.
The pro said I would have to walk, the course was wet from the snow melt. No big deal I thought. Off I went. A chance to revisit my youth which was long overdue and I was pretty excited about it. I wondered if I would remember it accurately.
The golf course was in horrible shape. It was covered with leaves and goose shit, but mostly goose shit. It was soggy. They had cut the temp greens far short of the regular greens and they were simply unplayable. The goose shit was everywhere.
By the fourth hole, I began to feel that my new shoes were wearing blisters in both of my heels. Like an idiot, I soldiered on thinking the pain would go away. It got worse. By the 7th hole, I was a hurting unit. It was time to make a decision. This golf course is configured in such a way that the 8th hole is the absolute maximum length away from the pro shop and parking lot. Playing the 8th meant an additional 400 yards, each way, worth of blister damage.
So I said fuck it. I would just have to revisit my youth some other time. First, I had to take off the shoes. I then had to walk the 14 miles back to the clubhouse through soggy grass, knee high goose shit, and some of the most jagged asphalt anyone ever called a cart path.
Of course I saw someone playing in a golf cart. The privileged elite are everywhere. Rules never apply to them.
When I arrived back at the clubhouse, I looked at my soggy, goose shit covered socks and threw them away. It occurred to me that goose shit might not be good for one's bloodstream- that bacteria potentially entering my body through newly formed access holes in my epidermis. I went to the pharmacy for some of that "New Skin" which I have used in the past to disinfect wounds and to dress areas of my body where bandaging doesn't work.
I have always imagined that the pain of giving birth might be intense. My mother, or the woman who claims to be my mother because I don't remember the event exactly, has always claimed that I have some low pain thresh hold which of course, I have always vigorously contested. However, as I painted the "New Skin" on over those quarter sized holes on both of my heels- the pain was intense. I pictured my mother in the hotel room with me, nodding her head and saying, "I told you so."
So I have been hobbling around all week like a cripple. Each day, my shoes wear new holes through the original blisters. So I have been using the "New Skin" regularly because I am an idiot and I am also starting to enjoy the pain a little. Shifting gears here ever so gently to the actual subject of today's blog...
On the way home from Montana yesterday- I was listening to a story about a college bound teenager, Suzy Lee Weiss, who had been denied admission to several Ivy League Universities. The writers and broadcasters said that she had SAT scores in the stratosphere, a 4.5 GPA (how the hell do you get that?) and that she did a whole host of other things which normally would guarantee someone like her- a trip to a prestigious university. After being turned down by several of these schools, poor Ms. Weiss wrote an op ed piece with plenty of smart assery in it and offered it up to the New York Times. She calls it "sat... TIRE." Being the whiny ass liberals that they are- the Times published the piece and now Ms. Weiss is a celebrity. She was even on the Today Show.
Talk about throwing a pity party.
Most people caught on to the part where Ms. Weiss thinks she is entitled. They can also see the "spoiled tantrum" part. I see all that. I can even say on behalf of Ms. Weiss- that maybe she has a point.
It is her complete and utter unconsciousness that absolutely blows me away. That level of self absorption is world class.
Less than 1/10th of one percent of all Americans can graduate high school with the appropriate prerequisite credentials and have the means- which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars and elite connections- to attend an Ivy League school.
For millions of us- attending an Ivy League school was impossible. I am the son of a farmer turned many other things. I am so stupid that I thought high school was a waste of time. I went to state college because that was all I could afford and they had to accept me.
I am incredibly grateful for all of that now. I know plenty of people who didn't get that far.
Ms. Weiss is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this country. Of course she has a sense of entitlement. But so do millions like her. Of course she is spoiled. But the part that absolutely fascinates me- is the self absorbed part. It's all about her. The world revolves around Ms. Weiss. She has to get into an Ivy League school- don't you see- because she is better than most. Can you imagine the absolute horror she must now endure in some state college? She will be relegated to some inferior life, forced to toil in some investment bank at a mid level position, denied the opportunity to rule the banking world. Gone are her dreams of that house in the Hamptons. The private jet. The good life. Gone, gone, gone.
Worse yet, she might even be sentenced to an unremarkable life. A life of petty happiness, surrounded by family and friends, where nobody asks you what school you attended. Perhaps she will even drive an American built van with child seats. Can you imagine the indignity of that?
Yes, all of that would suck something terrible. Ms Weiss might even have one of those lives where the planet forgets who you are. Or...maybe you become one of the...
Millions of ill people, dying people, impoverished people. Imagine being sentenced to one of those lives, Ms. Weiss.
No indeed honey, life ain't fair at all.
That level of unconsciousness and ego is sadly, not uncommon anymore. Ms. Weiss, like so many others, won the birth lottery and she is too fucking stupid to know it. She wants what she wants when she wants it. I know the type well. I repaired myself. Unfortunately, it took me 46 years. I do not have a 4.5 brain.
You are right Ms. Weiss, life isn't fair. If it were, maybe you would have been born somewhere else. Maybe to a single mother shooting dope in the projects. Or to a family in a labor camp. Instead you had the bad luck of being born to parents that know the advantages of a quality education and the means to make it happen. You were born with an intelligent mind. You have an "E" coupon for the day Ms. Weiss- and you waste it whilst whining.
So far I see nothing remarkable here. Another spoiled kid who woke up on home plate and thinks she hit the home run. Let's hope Ms Weiss acquires some sense of clarity and with any luck, some humility and gratitude. Often, life delivers what we need the most. Let's hope that 4.5 brain is working when the message arrives. Here is the story on Huffington Post. Have your Kleenex handy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/suzy-lee-weiss-high-schoo_n_3022159.html
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