😁 Friday Night .....MEMES 😳 it starts our wordy but ends up...

800 827 1000. Called the VA today about loan eligibility

Welcome to the Veterans Affairs telephone assistance service. For the assistance via the internet please visit www.va.gov.
If you are having thoughts of suicide press 7 now to be connected with the Veterans Crisis line or call 800-273-8255 and then Press 1.


Look it's great that they have that as the top of the phone tree but it's also sad.

Work: everyday I come here and everyday those people bother me

I was not sure how to lead this off so I went with that. I say it at work all the time, with a smile.

So yesterday we got a call from our landlord/real estate company that manages this property (Berkshire Hathaway), the owner is selling the house. We have 60 days.

Yes we rent. A ridiculously low $1,200 a month for 1,500 square foot trilevel home. 3 bedrooms (one is a "craft room&quot suburbian to the nth degree. Great schools - my daughter is locked into a high school program after she got accepted (yes we can apply to high schools here). And so forth.

I've shared a lot here on DU over the years but this is a bit strange for me. Apparently WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE. Like real quick. I've never owned a home, never really wanted to. So I guess part of this is any tips you all can offer. I am eligible for a VA loan and our income should allow for a nice place. I get the feeling we are going to an even whiter place.

My wife and I, since last night, have had several "it's going to be okay" deep breath moments. My main concern at this point is packing. I moved so many times when I was a kid you'd think my mother was in the carnival. My wife on the other hand has every gravy boat her great grandmother ever cast a shadow upon. Plus, she's a "prepper", we have about 6 months of food in this place.

So....here we go. Out into real life.... I guess. Sorry just needed to vent before I go to work.

TGIF. WHO wants to have some fun?

Alabama sucks so hard...

Taco Bell ("lifestyle") is opening a taco-themed hotel and resort

Starting on Aug. 9, fans of the fast-food chain looking to get away from it all can book a room at The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs, Calif. According to Taco Bell, the hotel will offer several unique menu items that will only be available at the hotel. It will only be open for a limited time, however.

"Get ready for ‘Bell’hops and Baja Blasts, fire sauce and sauce packet floaties, because the Taco Bell Hotel is coming and will give fans an unexpected and unforgettable trip of a lifetime," reps for the chain said in a press release obtained by Fox News.

“From check-in to check-out, The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort reimagines what a hotel stay can be, unveiling a destination inspired by tacos and fueled by fans. <—— 🌬 👀😳

The hotel and resort will also reportedly feature a “not-to-miss gift shop,” which will offer exclusive apparel. There will also be an onsite salon which will offer Taco Bell-inspired nail art and hairstyles options.

Taco Bell’s Chief Global Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg called the hotel “the biggest expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to date.”

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/taco-bell-hotel

Walmart says tariffs 'will increase prices' for shoppers (Macy's store closings)

"As we have said before, our goal is to be the low-price leader," Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said Thursday, as the company reported first-quarter earnings. "We want to manage margins with customers and shareholders in mind. We have mitigation strategies that have been in place for months. But increased tariffs will increase prices for customers."

That's after the Trump administration raised tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods last week. But retailers, for the most part, scooted by unscathed, with many of the items impacted by that hike hurting agricultural workers more than anything else. Some consumer-related goods on that list included furniture and handbags.

The company sources about two-thirds of its good domestically, largely because of its massive food business. The remaining one-third of items comes from overseas, including from China.

Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette had similar remarks on Wednesday. He said it would be hard for Macy's to get to a place "where you don't have a customer impact" if the additional tariffs go into effect.

Another analyst has warned the tariff hike could cause "widespread" store closures.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/16/walmart-says-tariffs-will-increase-prices-for-shoppers.html

Little Things You Can Do to Save the Environment 😆

Abortion was never supposed to be an issue

A few years after joining DU I read Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter with Kansas?"
A real eye opener. Highly recommended.

Abortion (and guns) were perfect one issue voter manipulation tool.
Pro-Life ✅ Pro-Gun ..later PC'ed to Pro-2nd Amendment RIGHTS ✅. You got 'em.
Large swaths of voters just need a little lip service and they are good to go. These two topics being so obviously ironically counter to each other made no difference.
The problem came when the Republicans had candidates who actually wanted to DO something about it. There is a parallel to the new blood in the Nazi types and Charlottesville. And boy did they get creative - from using zoning and building codes to proximity to hospitals and doctor privileges.
THEN they got nuts. What we are seeing is the right losing complete control over what was never meant to be. The party of "perception is reality" has lost its own messaging.

***A great summary here via Wikipedia ***

What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004) is a book by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of populist anti-elitist conservatism in the United States, centering on the experience of Kansas, Frank's native state.

Frank says that the conservative coalition is the dominant coalition in American politics. There are two sides to this coalition, according to the author: Economic conservatives want business tax cuts and deregulation, while social conservatives focus on culture. Frank says that since the coalition formed in the late 1960s, the coalition has been "fantastically rewarding" for the economic conservatives. The policies of the Republicans in power have been exclusively economic, but the coalition has caused the social conservatives to be worse off economically, due to these pro-corporate policies. Meanwhile, the social issues that the "Cons" faction pushes never go anywhere after the election. According to Frank, "abortion is never outlawed, school prayer never returns, the culture industry is never forced to clean up its act." He attributes this partly to conservatives "waging cultural battles where victory is impossible," such as a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He also argues that the very capitalist system the economic conservatives strive to strengthen and deregulate promotes and commercially markets the perceived assault on traditional values.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_the_Matter_with_Kansas%3F

8-year-old boy accidentally shoots mother at baseball game, gun owner charged

The boy found a loaded gun while playing inside an antique World War II jeep on display at an event honoring veterans.

A Tennessee mother was hospitalized in critical condition after her 8-year-old son accidentally shot her at a college baseball game, police said.

The gun's owner, Charles McFarland Jr., was arrested and faces charges of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.



The jeep had been on display as part of a celebration the stadium holds for veterans, the Millington Police Department said in a press release.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-year-old-boy-accidentally-shoots-mother-baseball-game-gun-n1005876