CDC Gutted... No COVID Vaccines... Fun Times Ahead!!!

 The CDC is a Hot Mess, just before the Season when Vaccines will be critical, seems this Regime is intent on destruction of the Agency.  Loads of Firings and Resignations of important experienced skilled Staff that really are irreplaceable.  The American people will suffer and some will even Die due to this Anti-Vaxxer Anti-Science Agenda of those in Power now with whacko Extremist Ideology about Health and Care.  To deny people adequate Care and force Snake Oil Ideology upon the Country is dangerous Policy being implemented and quite Draconian.  It goes hand in hand with the abolishing of Female Reproductive Care being available and legal, so that Women control their own Bodies and not the Government or some Fundamentalist Religious viewpoints that aren't their own.

Photo says to me:  "Look Great-Grandma, a Pig's Ass!!!"  *LOL*  And that's how I Feel about this President... he's as Grotesquely filthy and as Useless to us as a Pig's Ass.  *Smiles*  Anyway, this is where we now are as a Nation and restoring Trust and repairing what carnage has been done will be a very long and expensive Journey too.  Either the American People or the Hand of God will eventually eliminate this President, but the aftermath left in his wake will still be very messy.  I'm gonna try to get our Vaccines this Fall like we always have, and while perhaps our Coverage will be honored by Medicare and TriCare For Life?   The Man can get his thru the VA even if we can't get his thru Civilian means and he's more Medically complex than I am and cannot afford to get deadly contagions due to his high risk factors and coupled with advanced Age.  He's Six Years Older than I am.

I have been unable to get thru to his Cardiologist's Office, they're not answering their Phones, which is Weird, I expected to at least get a Voice Message of if they're just Closed on certain days or what?  I needed to find out if I can take him in to get his Vaccines before his Surgery or should I wait until afterwards?   But, if I can't get a response then he just wants to go get them so we don't end up with the Flu or COVID, which, I'm leaning towards that decision too.   If he comes down with something Serious it would delay having his 2nd Heart Surgery anyway.   We go to SAFEWAY's Pharmacy to get our Vaxxes, we like their System there and so far they've taken our Insurances and covered it all in the past.

And of coarse we've had another mass Shooting, at a Parochial School this time, Two small Children massacred by Gun Violence while at Mass. More emphasis has been put upon the Shooter being Trans this time than the Topics that should be addressed.  It keeps reoccurring and nothing is being done at all, nothing... absolutely nothing.  And I doubt it ever will be, since the Love of Weaponry in America seems to supercede our Love of protecting our Children or the General Public from the type of Weapons that shouldn't be on the Market at all.  Weapons used for Wartime don't need to be in the Hands of Civilians.  It's easier to get a Gun than it is to get Cigarettes, Alcohol, a Driver's License, or qualify for Medical or Mental Health Services.  Why is that?

  The Mental Health Issue is also never being addressed, in fact, Cuts are still being made to Services that once were available!  When Families and Friends of those suffering from Serious Mental Illness seek help for the afflicted, you don't get it, or it's woefully inadequate and too expensive or parsed out too sparingly.  The same rhetoric coming out of Administrations hasn't solved or resolved a damned thing either with this problem.  There's a lot of individuals out among us who aren't Well, or are struggling Mentally or Emotionally, it can happen to anyone actually, just like any other Illness can happen to any of us.  Nobody is Immune from becoming Sick, whether Physically or Mentally, or both.  And just becoz you desperately Need Services doesn't mean you'll get them... I've dealt with The System for Years, it's no better Four Generations later!

 Since, receiving Care is very selective isn't it?  Often you have to either be Flavor of the Month or have the Money to buy the best Care or Coverage.  Cuts by this Administration also being made drastically to reduce Millions of Americans from having any Coverage at all isn't going to be Helpful.  And, the Gun Lobby is a very Powerful and well Funded one, so Administrations have always sided with the NRA and not with the Victims of Gun Violence.   None of these mass Shootings is being done with Weaponry that you'd use for Home Protection or Hunting.  So, Calm Down anyone who'd profess that it would take away your Right to Bear Arms, it wouldn't.  If you are wanting the Right Arms that is, and not Weaponry you'd need if you were a Soldier during Wartime!!! 

 And, some people SHOULDN'T own a Weapon if they'd misuse it.  If you have a long Criminal History, are Seriously Mentally Unwell, or have Red Flags when you go to Buy one, chances are, you shouldn't be able to Buy one.  And perhaps have a Waiting Period and thorough Background Checks first, only Sell Weapons that aren't designed for Killing as many People are efficiently as possible... just fucking Sensible things!   Yes, there will still be Illegal Weaponry that folks will Buy thru Illegal means, but justifying doing nothing becoz some Criminals will still find a way, makes no Sense at all. 

 Plus, most of these Shooters that commit these kinds of Crimes don't just do it out of the Blue, so I have to think somebody knew they had Issues and should have said something.  But, mebbe they did and nobody took it or them seriously?  It happens.  And, even if they have Extremist & Radicalized Hateful Views and everyone knows it, it's not like we're rounding people up who are Hateful, Extremists or Radicals either... this whole Regime and it's Base are in fact.  I haven't met a MAGAt yet that isn't spewing some pretty disturbing and Hateful stuff and who knows if they'd follow thru with any of it with Actions and not just disturbing unhinged Rhetoric?  So the See Something Say Something, well, how would that Work really then?  There's a whole lotta Crazy and Unhinged out there these days, it would be impossible to round them all up "Just In Case".  The Home Grown Extremists and Radicals, and this Fascist Regime, are a bigger Threat to America's National Security than any Immigrant, Illegal or Legal.

Anyway, we got our Flu Shot at SAFEWAY but the Pharmacist said with this new Administration they aren't giving them the COVID Vaccines and you now must get an Authorization from your Doctor in order to even get one!  Well, if I have to do that, might as well ask my Doctor to give me the damned Booster for COVID then!  The Pharmacist said this isn't gonna work out and will overwhelm the Medical System, be a Pain in the Ass to both Patients and Doctors, plus, most people won't then bother to get the Vaccine and we'll thus have another preventable Pandemic!!!  He agreed the whole thing is absurd, and he's not even sure Insurance will Cover the COVID Vaxxes anymore either?!  And we already know the CDC has been gutted by this Regime.   Fun Times ahead!!!

So, after we got our Flu Shot and before my Arm got sore, we went to the Antique Mall for me to spruce up my Showroom and make a Halloween Themed Vignette.   It took me about Two Hours, but everything looks Swell now, and Sales are in the shitter for this Pay Period, which ends Tomorrow, so, I better Kill it in Sales Today and Tomorrow then!!!   Sometimes you can pull it out of your Ass on the last couple Days of a 14 Day Pay Period, so, all Body Parts are Crossed I can?  The Mall was busy, but, not a lot of Sales going on, sometimes folks are just cruising around becoz they need something to do but aren't Buying... I do it too.  At least our Showroom looks Fresh now for the Weekend. 

They apparently got someone named Susan to Work the Friday Night Shift.  I was talking to my good Friend Deb, who Works the 1-5 Shift on Fridays, she said Richard had been back for some time, but only working a couple Hours to see if he could handle it, at first.   She agreed that Management should have said something to me tho' and not deceived me about him never returning to Friday Nights.   I moved things around in the Showroom and re-organized all the T-Shirts by Color.  So I have a whole Rack of Black Tees with Specialty and Band Graphics, a whole Rack of Tie-Dye Tees some of which have Graphics, and then Two Racks of various Solid Color and White Tees with Specialty and Band Graphics. I Displayed any Tees that have Halloween or Horror Theme Graphics and any Satirical Political Theme Graphics.

I have a Bernie Sanders Tee, a McDonnie Clown Tee, a Notorious RBG Tee, the Political Satire Merch Sells fast and I'm the only one Selling the Anti-MAGA Merch, so I have great turnover of it.   We do have some MAGA Vendors Hawking his shit, it's not Selling so well anymore.  And at Chazzas I see a lot of it Donated too.  Princess T said they often throw it away and won't Sell the MAGA Merch Donated at their Stores... but I notice it at the GOODWILL Stores who aren't so selective.  And I always see it at the Closeout Color Tags since clearly nobody is Buying it or wearing it like they used to.  They ought to just throw it in the Trash where it belongs or burn it.

So, I didn't take any Pixs of the Showroom coz my Phone was Dead, The Daughter had used it last and forgot to put it on the Charger, so it was at 0%... dammit!   I took The Man to "Appleby's" for Lunch and used his Phone to Photograph our Appetizer Platters, which, they had a new Sale on, any 3 Appetizers plus 3 Dips for $14.99.   I got the Boneless Hot Wings and Two Orders of the Wonton Tacos with Ranch Dips & Celery.  The Man got Mozzarella Sticks, Double Crispy Shrimp and Onion Rings with 3 different Dips.   The Man's Phone takes decent Pixs but I had a hard time figuring out how to transfer them to my Phone, The Daughter had to help me, I'm so Tech Challenged and why I don't Upgrade Phones either to have to Learn a New One.  *LOL*  

He has lotsa leftovers coz he picked at his and barely ate.  Which, since the Dementia, is common for him to just move his Food around and fiddle with it without eating it, unless you make him and remind him that's what you do with it.  *Le Sigh*   He Loves the Idea of Eating Out, but mostly we end up giving his to one of the Kiddos to eat that we had to just take Home after I give him about an Hour to consume what little bit I got him to actually eat.   I'll be done and he's mebbe taken One or Two bites and spend the rest of the time arranging shit like it's an Art Project and not a Meal!!!   It is a nice Visual of Food Porn, I will admit.

I screwed up a Pre-Scheduled Post and rather than setting it to Publish on September 7th, I accidentally did it for August 7th... had to then convert it back to Draft Form, and move it forward to August 29th, which was the Real Time Date I could then switch it to.  It made for an out of sequence Post and a Two-Fer Post kinda day for that Date, oh well.  I'm still 9 Pre-Scheduled Posts ahead and that will be the only one out of sequence that I Wrote last but then Pre-Scheduled a Month Wrong.  *LOL*  Hard to Believe it's almost September tho', Time is warping by so fast this Year!  I am so ready for Autumn tho', it's been a very hard and very Hot Summer, expenses were so high and financially it was tight as Hell for us.  I Hope Social Security for September comes on Time, so I don't have to play Economic Whack-A-Mole again?

We don't Own a Dog but our Grandkids and many of our Friends do and send me Pixs of their Adorable Fur Babies and I just have to Share some of them.  Animals and Children take the best Candid Photos.   The previous Bulldog Pix is the Fur Baby of one of my Granddaughters in Pittsburgh, all Three of those Granddaughters, and our Oldest Daughter back there, own Bulldogs now.   The above Fur Baby belongs to my Industry Friend Robert and his Husband... their Dogs are their "Babies".  A lot of my Industry Friends are busy putting together their 1st Autumn and Halloween Event of the Season, so I've Cribbed some of their Sneak Peek Imagery to Share for Blog Fodder here to get you into an Autumnal Mood early.  *Winks*  I Welcome ushering Autumn in, it's been so damned Hot this Summer we're ready for a respite from it!!!  I heard Reno, NV just had Catastrophic Monsoon Flash Flooding like Texas did!

Metro Phoenix has come close already and tho' the Monsoons came way Late, they're now here with a vengeance and we've had Two HUGE Haboobs already... and some Moderate Flooding and considerable Storm Damage around the Metro Cities.   Mando and The Daughter have Sandbagged the Hell outta the Back Patio to prevent Flooding, that's where Water holds most coz of drainage off the Roof there, but we're gonna install Rain Guttering and hopefully be able to afford Leaf Filter on top of the Rain Guttering so we don't have to clean it of debris.  I have to Call for Estimates on that part, Mando is doing the installation of the rest and using Scrap Guttering he gets from his Recycle Scrap Metal Source.

 

I'm Hopeful there will be an uptick in Sales for the kickoff of the Holiday Season, which is Why I wanted to ready our Showroom for it early.  I usually do quite Well with Holiday Merch, whether it's Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter Merch.   People seem to spend more on their Holidays than other times of the Year.  Especially Decorating for them.   I Love the Shirt Below "Bat Shit Crazy", we should each have one in this Family, but I bet they don't have my Size... dammit.  That Vendor always has the Best Tees but never in my Size, she kind of stops at Large and it's a Chinese Large... so, not very Large at all for the Average American Size Large.  *LOL*   If she had it in XXL I'd Buy one tho'.  I like my Shirts loose and baggy these days so they're most comfortable. 

I Cribbed enuf Imagery to last at least a couple Posts, since, I'm not getting out much to Pathologically Picture Take lately.  Tho' attending next Month's Autumnal and Halloween Events will remedy that and fill the Void.   Really there has been an Industry Void and it's made me Nostalgic for the Past, when the Industry and Economy were Strong and Vibrant, instead of the Shell they now are, and Failing miserably.  A SIZZLER Restaurant that has been in the same Location since 1974 just Closed.  I'd been there just the Month before too and it had looked Solid... but, clearly no Business is Solid anymore.   I do wonder if even the Employees had any Fair Warning of the Closures?   SIZZLER did File for Chapter 11 in 2020, but emerged in January of 2023 and is undergoing a Brand Reintroduction, the Phoenix Location Closed in July of 2025.  I ran Bankruptcy Departments for Major Financial Institutions for many Years in my First Corporate Life.

I'm sad to see that Location Close since I'd eaten there since 1974.  I have a lot of fond Memories of Gatherings we had there for Work and for Church, where we'd have the entire Banquet Room Reserved.  And of coarse many, many Family Meals too over the Years.  Their Lobster were some of the biggest and best, at the most reasonable Price Point too.  Their Salad, Soup and Dessert Bar was exceptional.   The Building was still very 1970's Style but it was Nostalgic Mid-Century Architecture that didn't really Need any Updating.   Some Older Buildings Need to be left As Is as remnants of Past Eras, not everything requires a Remodel.

I don't know if they'll tear the Building down now or not, that whole area it's in has Jumped the Shark and had a lot of Vacancies of Businesses that went under that had been there for Decades.   Urban Blight hit that particular part of West Phoenix badly and it shows.  And it's likely why even Solvent Businesses have pulled out and not renewed their Leases.  Gentrification and Revitalization is not likely happening there either IMO.  It's on a continuous downwards trajectory and it's not the only one, the Cities of Peoria and Glendale, also part of the Metro Phoenix Complex, are in serious decline.   I could have bought some Historic Buildings in Historic Glendale and am glad now that I didn't.  A Chinese National bought up most of the Historic Downtown area and blighted it intentionally, kicking out Tenants so everything would be Vacant and reduce Property Values so he could Buy up even more, cheaply.

I miss how it used to be, filled with Antique Stores, Bistros, Restaurants, Specialty Stores, Boutiques, and lots of vibrant Annual Events... now it's not a Destination and I don't go there at all.   One of my long time Industry Friends has occupied a couple Historic Buildings with her Boutiques for over 30 Years and had to Close one and said the other isn't thriving now either.   She now does Events elsewhere, but is having a lot of Import Issues with Tariffs, so a lot of her Holiday Merch got turned back from whence it came and won't even be Delivered, they just Cancelled her Orders!!!  She's not even sure they'll want to do business with Americans anymore either?   That's put her in a jam for the Holidays, her busiest and most lucrative Season usually.   Even if she could get the Product, most of it would have to be Price Increased by as much as 50%!!!   And she had Higher End Quality Merch to begin with.  She's not a Crap Hawker.

Anyway, I'm highly suspicious of the Motives of this Administration, what they're doing to vital Agencies by gutting them and making them either Loyalists or destroying their Function.   With the Vaccines I really am not certain they're going to only authorize who they want to protect to get them, and withhold them from anyone they don't want to protect?  I'm extremely suspicious of how they're handling it all and I must say the Medical Professionals I've talked to seem very Worried about it all and have grave concerns already.  They know they'll be on the Front Lines when everything goes terribly Wrong and Sideways.  They couldn't keep pace with the last Pandemic... to sabotage the Vaccines that make another one preventable is Sinister stuff and clearly they are alarmed about what consequences that will surely have.

I don't know what's going on in every State, just what seems to be going on in ours, which isn't looking good for Citizens to be protected who are willing to be Vaccinated but might be unable to be?   It's one thing to be an Anti-Vaxxer and choose to assume that Risk, it's quite another to withhold life saving Vaccines, or Medical Coverage, from the rest of us, for whatever Sinister reasons this Administration might have for doing so?   I don't Trust them.  They've given us no reason to.  I'm checking with my Doctor's Office and the VA Clinic on Monday in Real Time, to see if the COVID Boosters are available directly from them and the Docs who already know each Patient's Medical History and Risk factors.  Stay Tuned.

*******

Distrustful in the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian