Esophageal Cancer: When the Grim Reaper Darkens Your Door Part X

The past few weeks have seen a gradual but steady improvement of my wife’s health. We were able to make another road trip to Idaho to attend to our property and see some old friends.

The hair loss that my wife has experienced after chemo and radiation has slowed. It’s thin but uniform. Sometimes it gets covered with a wrap/scarf sort of thing.

Eating food is better but she avoids spicy things and some types of menu items.

The second PET/CT scan was done about a week ago. The tumor is about 1/3 as bright as it was initially. Her SUV rating went from 18 to 6. (SUV is not a tiny Humvee driving around your innards blasting cancer cells with a microscopic .50 Cal machine gun; instead, it’s a measure of how much radioactive material accumulated in the tumor and its intensity on the scan.) This is good and the expected result of the treatment thus far. In addition, no cancer was detected elsewhere in her body during the scan.

Many days later, we did have a meeting with her oncologist. At the meeting, the oncologist said that a pathology report would be done on the tissue removed during her upcoming surgery. This is the first mention of a pathology report that I have hear from her medical team. The report would follow within two weeks of the procedure. The oncologist said that if the pathology report detects cancer cells—which is likely—then a follow-up treatment of immunotherapy would likely start in January. This also is the first admission that cancer will remain in my wife after the surgery.

It was at this point that the words of the oncologist got very close to using the “cure” word. The little yellow flags went up in my mind as I heard her say this. Such a promise is not what I have found in my reading of the literature on esophageal cancer. I can only reconcile the two opposing views as meaning that we can buy you a few years more if everything goes your way.

I have written elsewhere in this series about the surgery, so I won’t rehash that now; but I did need to get into the latest with Covid restrictions. The most important thing is that nobody with the initials M.D. after their name can tell you what the Covid testing rules are. We ended up being told to talk with the security guards at the hospital and find out.

What we learned is that there is no formal way required to prove that you had a recent Covid test. My two upcoming appointments at CVS or wherever it is, won’t get me very far. The security guys at the hospital will accept a home test if you bring it to them in the hospital. Please note this is a medical determination made by people that just might have a Red Cross First Aid certificate if you’re lucky and are probably the lowest paid folks in the hospital not changing bedpans. Also, they kept saying something about 72 hours but whether the test must be within that interval, or they only let you use it for that long; both or neither, I guess I will find out next week. Oh, I plan to have the home version of the Covid test in my car or on my person. I guess once they document my quickie test, I can trash it until I need another.

This brings up my next question which is why are face masks and Covid quickie tests just common garbage? If Covid is really so bad, then shouldn’t anything Covid related be biohazardous? Yeah, I know it’s not but if Dr. Fauci and the rest were serious then wouldn’t disposal be an important issue to prevent the spread? (Sorry I assumed for a minute that they might follow at least the easy science related to virology and contamination.)

Oh, lastly, when in the hospital, my wife is allowed one visitor per day. We are having sign-ups at our Thanksgiving celebration to let our relatives get in line. However, and isn’t there always one of those somewhere, the security folks will allow more people to visit if the nurses on her floor say that its ok. How this is communicated to the security guys was not explained. Also, minors are not allowed to see their moms in the hospital. Wanna bet it’s a Covid rule too?

Anyway, I’m thankful to have my wife and I’m glad see her doing better, even if it’s all about to be undone by the forthcoming medical procedure. Have a good Thanksgiving and expect to hear from me again after the surgery.

Troll on the News: November Edition

First time, long time folks, but I had to get off Hope Hicks for a moment….so here we go.

Former NFL Running back Zac Stacey charged with domestic violence after being caught at airport: Word to the wise, going to an airport to try to evade capture isn’t too bright; literally it’s the one place you must show ID.  I would have hid at a polling place, never need to show ID there.  Also just want to point out, the part of his head where the brain goes is also the smallest part of his head…. coincidence?  We caught up with his mother and asked her to comment on the arrest:  “Muh Baybay din du nuffin.”  Obviously Stacy’s mom doesn’t exactly have it goin on, as that song states.  Well that settles it, I would have gone with the defense of: CTE, or he grew up in an abusive environment so he thought it was ok, or she called him the “n” word.  Stacey played a violent sport called the NFL; however, he will soon find out that fails to compare to the violence he will encounter in the general population at State Penn.  Stacy threw his girlfriend and a television among other things.

We reached out to a friend of the blog who works as a defense attorney at the prestigious Law Firm: Lowe, Ballem, and Lynch. She offered this defense for Mr. Stacy:  If the TV ain’t 4K, you can’t put him away!  Way to channel your inner Johnnie Cochran sweetie.  Lastly we reached out to MSNBC for comment and they stated “she flashed a gun at him and tried to hit him with a skateboard.”  Ok so there is that.  Then we reached out to ESPN and the only thing they wondered was if Stacy was vaccinated.  What a world.

Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges:  Hat tip to the Blog Father on this one, as Kyle Rittenhouse was able to grab his AR-15 and two more full magazines upon leaving the courthouse.  Declaring loudly, the judge asked me to defend the courthouse tonight from all the rioting.  Rittenhouse also exclaimed he was going to visit the Whitehouse since he felt as though he had won a championship!  We reached out to Target Corporation for comment and they stated “Black Friday is coming early this year.”    Another corporation commented that the “semi-annual everything is free sale” will go on as planned this evening in your local inner city!  I guess this is like reparations.  We tried to reach out to any Republican but we found out they all actually have lives and jobs so no one was available for comment.  We reached out to the Democrat National Party Chair Tom Perez who was shocked at the outcome, claiming they sent over 85,000 ballots marked guilty to that courtroom, loudly proclaiming they wanted a recount!  However he was happy to learn the now deceased Joseph Rosenbaum, and Anthony Huber had their voting rights restored and will vote in every election going forward, as many times as it takes.  “It’s the small victories” remarked Perez.  Perez did express remorse that Gaige Grosskreutz was only injured, saying “we really need every vote these days, and look forward to the day we can count him multiple times to vote where needed.” 

Colin Kaepernick says Rittennhouse verdict validates the need to abolish our justice system:  Yo Jackwagon, who has taken a knee more in their lives, you or the Vice President?  I’ll take my answer off the air.

Joe Biden says he is angry and concerned about Rittenhouse verdict:  On second look, he was angry it wasn’t chocolate ice cream day, and concerned his diaper was filling up.  Nothing to see here.

Lauren Boebert stuns in red dress:  Whoa, momma mia!  That’s a movement I could get behind…. Hope Hicks may be jealous.

KCRA 3 Reports:  Truck spills bags of money in Southern California.  Fake news, in CA we only give bags of money to illegals and those who do not work.

Troll

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Troll asked that these photos of Hope Hicks be added to his post because he thought it was important that you know what he wants most for Christmas.

The Guilty Party in Kenosha isn’t who you think

Editor’s Note: This was sent to me prior to the beginning of today’s Black Friday looting in select markets.

As the country waits with bated breath as the jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial debates his faith.  Will he walk?  Be found guilty?  Or will the jury split the baby? 

Sadly Mr. Rittenhouse is not at fault for his actions, and he is being slandered in the media.  Most are calling him a racist, even though he shot 3 white men.  Others are calling him a deranged far right anti-government zealot when zero proof of that exists.  Some are even saying he crossed state lines with a banned firearm…also not true. 

Mr. Rittenhouse is guilty of one thing, being a hardo.  The optics of him walking about with the AR-15 slung over his shoulder were unnecessary.  However, he had no choice, as the local government failed.  Government, much to the dismay of Tea Party/BLM types, has a role in our lives; it is to keep us safe.  In Kenosha that did not exist.  The local Police and City Leaders decided to stand down and let the protestors create a chaotic scene.  When “reasonably prudent persons” (it’s a law school term for a normal person) decide the government won’t protect them, they arm themselves for protection.  When an angry mob is running amuck, like we have seen so many times before, normal folks get scared.  Look no further than the scene at the CHAZ or CHOP in Seattle.  In that autonomous zone, people were killed as paramedics and police were not allowed to enter. 

Where was the local government?  Where was the governor?  They allowed this mob to run amuck.  I saw a similar mob in Sacramento, they tried to throw a Molotov cocktail into the DA’s office.  They tried to enter and burn the local jail.  Mayor Darrell Steinberg told the police to stand down. 

The situation descended into chaos and as a result, we have abandoned store fronts, and businesses with boarded up windows.  Folks like us here at the blog refuse to travel there because the situation could get chaotic again and any time, and we have no trust in the local official’s will to do anything about it.

While I disagree with Mr. Rittenhouse going to Kenosha and doing what he did, let us take a step back for a moment.  Rittenhouse was threatened by all 3 men he shot, killing 2 of them, lawfully I may add.  The “victims” Joseph Rosenbaum, who was a convicted pedophile and Anthony Huber a convicted domestic abuser, Gage Grosskreutz who is a felon, aimed a gun at Rittenhouse.  Folks these are not the martyrs they have been made out to be, as is the norm when a black man is shot by police these days.  Could we please stop making these folks out to be innocent victims?  In the case of all 3, not one of them would have died if they weren’t there provoking trouble.  I’m sorry, but running about and threatening violence, is a good recipe assume room temperature quicker than most.  Even more so when threatening someone with a high-powered weapon.

Frankly I feel Rittenhouse will walk, and once again chaos will begin all over the US.  It is very preventable, but local politicians will pander to the mob, and as a result normal law-abiding folks will suffer.  The news media should be asking a simple question to all.  Isn’t the main role of government to keep us safe?  Why did the local police or leaders create a protest zone?  It is due to the local government failing to do its duty that 2 men were killed and 1 was wounded, Mr. Rittenhouse is just the collateral damage.

Now an entire city hangs on the verdict of a jury (who by the way has only 1 minority on it) regarding the fateful events of that night.  Even the judge has been scapegoated by the national media.  Chaos is set to happen again, and the question we all should be instead of why? Is How come our government isn’t keeping us safe?

The Chief

Former Raider Players to Star in The Longest Yard Part III

I knew something was up when the Raiders were 3-2, no way that could last.  They had no troublemakers on their team, everyone knows choir boys don’t win in the league.  I had figured Saint Jon Gruden the Martyr had died for our sins, kind of like Good Friday Part 2 Electric Boogaloo.  But just like our Savior, the Raiders rose again on the 7th day, winning their next two games. 

Hope springs eternal if you are a Raider fan.  We have documented in this space before that every Raider fan is either; on their second wife, defaulting on their second mortgage, or “between jobs.”  However, they can all find solace in one thing, losing at life.

Check out the rough couple days the fan base had.  First you have Henry Ruggs III who decided after being a .16 that driving a Corvette 156 miles per hour, with a loaded gun in the seat was a smart idea and a female passenger (who Ruggs calls “His Baby Momma” in the front seat.  That wasn’t the stupidest thing Ruggs did that night, he rear-ended a stopped vehicle, killing that car’s occupant.  It gets better if you are a fan of this upstanding team, Ruggs swore at the police, and when at the hospital attempted to pull the IV out of his arm.  Rumor has it, water was not a strong enough “proof” for him.  To prove the University of Alabama education system is top notch, his defense about the women dying at the scene is “The fire department didn’t get their quick enough.” 

“Firemen did not attempt to extinguish the fire at Ms. Tintor’s vehicle for approximately 20 minutes at which time the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames,” defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said in a Wednesday court filing that does not identify their witness.

Good luck with that Mr. Ruggs, I bet the judge and the jury will be impressed.  I am sure you remember that night like it was yesterday since you were the only one thinking clearly that evening.  A word about the high speed he was traveling, anyone think the “baby momma” traveled at least that fast to a divorce lawyer the next morning?  The speed should not be a surprise to Raider fans as most players tend to run that fast to try to get away from your team.

Already facing felony DUI resulting in death and reckless driving charges, Ruggs was also hit on Wednesday with additional felony DUI and reckless driving charges and a misdemeanor charge for possession of a firearm while intoxicated. The additional charges would mean additional prison time for Ruggs if convicted.

Oh yeah, I know who the Clark County State Pen team is picking first for the annual cons vs guards game!

Ruggs III set the bar pretty high even by Raider standards, but he was somehow outdone by fellow Raider player and first round pick Damon Arnette.  He gives Ruggs a run for his money in the “who has an IQ closer to double digits” competition.

The Las Vegas Raiders have waived second-year cornerback Damon Arnette, a first-round pick in 2020, after video surfaced this weekend of Arnette making death threats while brandishing firearms.

Arnette, 25, had been on injured reserve since Oct. 9. He is also facing lawsuits stemming from a Las Vegas car accident last October.

Smart, no one has ever turned over video footage of a deranged human making death threats over to the police before.  What a trash bag human being Arnette is.

“There have been a series of bad decisions over the last year or so, but we can’t stand, we cannot stand for the video of Damon with a gun, threatening to take a life. The content was unacceptable, contrary to our values and our owner Mark Davis has been very clear and very consistent that this is not how we will conduct ourselves in this community. The bottom line — the Raiders will not tolerate this type of behavior.”

Pretty bad when even the Raiders a team known for trash bag fans and trash bag players won’t tolerate your BS anymore.  Even worse when you find out the owner is known for using the statement “Just win Baby.”

Mayock added that he had talked with Arnette, his father and others in his life and “from my perspective, he’s a very talented young man with a good heart. He cleans up his life, I know he can make a living in the NFL. But not now, with the Raiders.”

“If he cleans up his life” big IF there buddy.

Mayock acknowledged there was “significant concern” over Arnette’s character coming out of college, but the Raiders felt they could help him on and off the field and knew the Ohio State coaching staff well enough to trust its advice and take on Arnette.

“At the time, we thought it was an acceptable risk … after doing more homework on Arnette than anybody we’ve done in the years I’ve been here. And obviously, we missed, and that is 100% on me.”

“Character concerns” that is how you sum up most draft picks this franchise makes.  The GM did more research than anybody, and they missed.  Yeah big shocker there.  Mayock whom the Raiders hired, on NFL network has a claim to fame as a draft guru…. seems like he is really bad at his job.  Arnette was a highly rated as a player in high School and recruited to Ohio State by known scumbag and friend of the blog Urban Meyer.  Yeah, there is that name again.

So, there you have it, the Raiders got rid of these two players and it sounds as if Ruggs will be spending time in jail, and Arnette may be “just visiting” but I heard Burt Reynolds and Adam Sandler want to shoot a new version of the Longest Yard.

Troll

PS dumb Raider fans, everyone knows a team with zero choirboys ends up losing sport games.  But oh well, add these two to the Raiders Hall of Fame.

Vaccine Mandate = Defund the Police/Military

Folks have you heard the words “defund the police lately?” Of course, you haven’t, since our inner cities are now crime riddled utopias, the idea of calling to removing police from the streets is toxic.  Key word in my last sentence was “idea.”  You see the liberals in the country don’t change their beliefs, they change a buzz word.  

What is happening in big cities nationwide right now is a massive crime surge, violent crime especially.  You don’t need to watch the news; you can see it with your own eyes.  We have been releasing “non-violent” folks from prison.  These folks mixed with reduced morale at the local precinct, and city councils who are pressuring the local DA not to charge on certain offenses.  The result is a powder keg about to blow.  The Democrats saw all this, and they know the suburban moms (aka the ones who supported Trump the first time, not the second) are having second thoughts on “defunding.”  So, they changed the rhetoric, now it’s a vaccine mandate. 

Cities got smart, why call it defunding when the word mandate works just as well?  It’s not about your health and safety, right?  That officer standing guard on the corner?  The officer who pulled you over?  Well, they better not be unwashed!  So as a result, a mandate works here.  Again, it’s a public health crisis, right?  Most know the public safety workers voted overwhelmingly for Trump and are most likely to be resistant to a vaccine.  The answer is simple, order a mandate, if they don’t comply fire them. Why not, we get to shrink to police force and blame the officers not elected Democrats.

This is playing out all over the country, there is discussion of entire firehouses and police precincts shutting down.  Look at New York City a place where crime has skyrocketed…the answer is less police due to a mandate! Remember when NYC cut one billion in police funding. 

San Francisco has become a lawless region, parts of LA have vigilante justice.  The problem will be getting worse not better, as these mandates are set to go into place over the next couple weeks. 

Do not kid yourselves loyal readers, defund the police is alive and well, it just exists under a different name.  Calling it a mandate and invoking public safety is the new buzzword.  This is playing out in all big cities, hopefully it won’t come to one near you.  We used to believe in freedoms here, sadly since 9/11 we have given those up, and put them in the hands of bureaucrats and a media that selectively reports and edits as they see fit.  The virus isn’t killing the masses, it seems like it targets specific groups.  Also why is it that today we have entire generations who want to go after people’s livelihoods?  I think some do not understand the loss of a job leads indirectly to a loss of housing, transportation, food and mental state.  Aren’t those things what the Left and BLM argue so much that they are in favor of?

Hiring police is not easy, it costs a ton of money and time.  The candidate pool for recruiting has dried up.  Now we have mandates.  What will they mandate next?

The Chief

Esophageal Cancer: When the Grim Reaper Darkens Your Door Part IX

When we last left my wife, she was getting her potassium back into the normal band. Since then, about two more weeks have passed. She is still dealing with nausea and occasional vomiting. She is eating three small meals a day; think mashed potatoes, ice cream, oatmeal, and other fairly soft foods. In addition, she is getting saline added to her via the port about twice a week.

She says that it hurts to swallow many types of food but that it no longer is getting “stuck” on the way down. Speaking of down, she said that she is down 40 lbs. from the time of her first chemo treatment until now. Another symptom that she is now experiencing is that much of her hair has fallen out. Its not all gone but is very thin compared to what it was back in July. Ironically, the hair loss didn’t start until chemo and radiation were concluded.

In other developments, my wife wants to make a short road trip before her next PET/CT scan scheduled in mid-November. Yep, cancer patients get cabin fever too. Surgery is scheduled following Thanksgiving.

As I have previously mentioned, this procedure is not one I enjoy contemplating. It will forever change her lifestyle and maim her for the rest of her days. As a refresher, let me briefly explain the surgery.

The esophagus is about 9-10 inches (25 centimeters) long and less than an inch (2 centimeters) in diameter when relaxed. It is located just posterior to the trachea in the neck and thoracic regions of the body and passes through the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm on its way to the stomach.

Esophagus

As previously blogged, the “height” of her tumor is 6 cm or about 2.4 inches. Per what I have read on medical websites, the upper incision of an esophagectomy is 3 inches above the top of the cancer.

If the cancer is in the lower part of the esophagus (near the stomach) or at the place where the esophagus and stomach meet (the gastroesophageal or GE junction), the surgeon will remove part of the stomach, the part of the esophagus containing the cancer, and about 3 to 4 inches (about 7.6 to 10 cm) of normal esophagus above this. Then the stomach is connected to what is left of the esophagus either high in the chest or in the neck.

Surgery for Esophageal Cancer

Ok taking the above quotations, let’s do some simple math.

We know that my wife’s cancer is in the lower third of her esophagus. Let’s say that the tumor is one inch above her stomach’s sphincter. (This is a guess and the only part of my math that is an estimate.)

Length of Esophagus (10.0”) minus distance above stomach (1.0”) minus height of tumor (2.4”) minus additional three inches (3.0”) leaves 3.6” of esophagus.

Thus, the likely outcome of the surgery is that my wife will get to keep about 1/3 of her esophagus (3.6 inches) plus, the top of her stomach will be removed. The remaining parts will then be sewn together. This surgery takes about seven hours.

Folks, the above scenario and a “successful” surgery involve many things going right and none going sideways.

I’m not sure that my wife has the stamina to take a road trip in mid-November but I’m willing to let her try. I don’t think you will hear from me again on this subject until we get the scan results. Until next time…

The Worldwide Woke Leader (ESPN) Continues to be Woke

On Monday night I was checking my ESPN app for no reason other than to see the status and score of the Monday Night Football Game, as a proud cord cutter that is how I get my sports fix.  As you would imagine I was surprised by a “news headline” conveniently disguised as sports.  See the photo sent to BlogFather (who was able to verify its authenticity).

Check out that exact wording “Texas law restricts trans students’ access to sports” Barf.  Folks if you get your hard news from ESPN, you likely believe Joe Biden is actually running the country.  The Texas law is simple, you play on the team associated with your birth-gender.  So, to break this down for those related to Aaron or George Park, if you have interior plumbing, you play on the girl’s team, exterior plumbing you play on the boy’s team.  If you are confused maybe you could just sit on the bleachers.  It’s not about hate, it’s about safety.  Something ESPN cares little about as they allowed an anchor of theirs, Sara Walsh, to have a miscarriage while hosting a live show.

ESPN also protected and defended piece of sh** dirtbag employees Jonathan Coachman and John Buccigross and Bomani Jones from sexual assault allegations.  Buccigross refers to himself on air as “Bucci-mane” as an ode to rapper Gucci Mane, I’m sure the rapper uses similar words toward women in his songs.

So, at ESPN, if you are trans, play on any team you want.  If you’re women, make me a sandwich, wear revealing clothing, let me hit on you, sexually harass you, or have a miscarriage live on air.  Got it?  Good.

But ESPN wasn’t done yet, check this article out they posted predominately on their website. NAACP calls on athletes not to sign with Texas teams due to recent legislation

Yeah, if you’re black, ESPN has your back, but if you like it from behind, ESPN say don’t have a Texas team in mind.  Thus the Woke amongst us want you to boycott the Cowboys, Texans, Rangers, Astros, Mavericks, and Spurs.  Keep in mind Mark Cuban is the owner of the Mavericks, and Greg Poppovich, the coach of the Spurs, are two of the wokest humans on the planet.  Keep in mind this has to do with transgender sports laws, nothing else.

In closing I will say this, while the suits at ESPN think they are a hard news network, they ought to understand safety.  Put me, a 6’2 205lb man, against almost any female and I would have a decisive advantage.  For no other reason that the testosterone and muscle mass that I possess, I could beat a girl into submission.  Think about it, almost all cases of domestic violence involve the male being the one arrested, it’s not by accident.  I am not sure why it is so hard to play on the team of your birth gender, and why do folks want boys in the girl’s bathroom?  Check out what is going on in Virginia right now in Loudon County.  The school board, the superintendent and others are actively stonewalling and covering up the sexual assault of what could be 2 or more girls by a “trans person.”   It’s not about hate for us at the blog, it’s about safety.  Keep in mind a sitting Democrat senator was filmed while using the bathroom at Arizona State University, and no one on the Democrat side even seemed to care about her privacy.  Mind you one of the “filmers” was male.

Rest assured ESPN still employs Adrian Wojnarowski who tweeted at senator Josh Hawley “F*** You.” So, it’s very clear if you are a Democrat or are just plain unhinged, ESPN has a spot for you.  If you are a woman better watch you back, the men at ESPN are well protected when it comes to sexual assault.

ESPN has nothing going for it anymore, I am not sure why they try to push their far-left BS on the masses, maybe Disney executives will address this on the earnings calls?  Wait, they did by showing falling subscribers and revenue.

The Chief

#ArrestFauci #PuppyKILLER

Very few things in the world today make me literally speechless.  I came across this article yesterday and was at a total loss for words.  Yep, believe it or not folks, our all-knowing, America’s Favorite Doctor Tony Fauci is a puppy killer.  Yep, I’ll let the article do the talking for me.

According to documents acquired by a government watchdog group, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — led by Fauci — funded research in 2018 allowing scientists to force-feed experimental drugs into 44 beagle puppies before killing and dissecting them.

The dogs — between six and eight months old — were also “devocalized,” according to the report. The procedure involves the slitting of a dog’s vocal cords as a means to stop barking.

In another instance, live-puppies in Tunisia were held in cages and exposed to sandflies. DeSantis lambasted the research while speaking to reporters in North Venice.

“They’re doing cruel experiments on puppies,” DeSantis said. “What they were doing with those puppies is flat out disgusting. It’s despicable. I cannot believe American tax dollars would go to treat those dogs the way those dogs are being treated.”

Barf.  Yep, the innocent telegenic Dr. who claims the vaccine is just for you among other things, was doing heinous research on “man’s best friend.”  Not only did he infect/kill the dogs, but he also instructed the researchers to cut their vocal chords.  This is straight out of a movie like the Mummy where no one could hear them scream in horror.  The photos are sick, this Fauci is a literal modern-day Dr. Frankenstein.  This is so gross, its reprehensible.  Does anyone now doubt us here at the blog who have been telling you this coronavirus was grown in a lab?  The conspiracy doesn’t seem so far-fetched now, does it? 

Dr. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Senator, has been all over Fauci from day 1.  He knows Fauci is a dishonest, little man syndrome having prick.  He gets on TV with that fake used car salesman look (when he isn’t wearing his mask) and tells everyone how self-righteous he is.  By the way, did you see how his NIH institute has been funding gain of function research in Wuhan?  Yeah, you likely missed that too on your favorite cable channel. 

But a letter from the NIH to Ranking Member Rep. James Comer of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Wednesday admitted to a “limited experiment” conducted in order to test if “spike proteins from naturally occurring bat coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model” – contradicting Fauci’s previous claims.

Folks allow me to remind you, this would not be the first time the good doctor has lied to Congress.  A move that if made by any of us unwashed would lead to jail time.  Yet somehow this evil man is able to continue to peddle his bullshit while telling us to get vaccinated or else. 

This is exactly what Donald Trump fought against his entire presidency.  The Bureaucracy in the country has too much power.  These folks just wait out the leaders they do not like.   Fauci needs to be gone yesterday, he helped create this virus and now he wants to keep it going.  He cares only about power.  How else does one describe the endless changes in policy from him?  Mask, no mask, tinder hookups are ok, Christmas is not, Halloween is ok, church is not, take-out is ok, indoor dining is not, vaccine passports, corporate mandates.  Let’s end this.  It’s time.  Fauci is a dog killer and a liar, the worst kind of person.  Just remember Michael Vick got jail time for an illegal dog fighting operation.  I wonder the punishment for literally maiming and killing dogs in the name of science?

In the meantime, back to your cable watching, and be sure to get the booster shot.  Because?  Science, and you better go along or else no Christmas for you!

The Chief

Oh, lest you think The Chief has left the reservation on this one, even the MSN is appalled by his puppy torture.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID and the National Institutes of Health as a whole have been under intense scrutiny in recent months over what types of animal testing should be funded with taxpayer grants in light of questions about gain of function experimentation at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Fauci-Led Agency Funded Abusive Animal Experiments Promising To Kill Dozens Of Beagles

“According to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by taxpayer watchdog group White Coat Waste Project, and subsequent media coverage from October 2018 until February 2019, NIAID spent $1.68 million in taxpayer funds on drug tests involving 44 beagle puppies,” the Thursday letter reads.

Bipartisan legislators demand answers from Fauci on alleged puppy experiments

Why Gruden had to Resign

Loyal readers I’m late on this one, but as you know, I’m a card-carrying Oakland…eh Vegas Raider Nation hater so I have to weigh in.  Jon Gruden aka the Messiah of Aaron Park’s loser squad was “axed to resign” circa 10 days ago.  Yes, during the middle of the season, he got caught up in a scandal involving the Washington Football Team…. yeah, that’s a real name.

Gruden apparently sent quite a few emails when he was out of work to his former GM friend Bruce Allen, the President of the “Football Team.”  These emails were uncovered during an investigation of “Football Team’s” owner Daniel Snyder.  Snyder is a dirt bag accused of all kinds of stuff, but this blog doesn’t focus on him. 

Gruden was the collateral damage.  This was because in said emails he called NFLPA (Players Association) leader Demaurice Smith a racially tinged name.  He basically said Smith had large lips and was taken maybe out of context.  Smith was about to be removed as player association leader, so these emails had to drop.  This saved Smith’s career, as he has been a do-nothing bozo as player association leader.

However more came out; Gruden basically went after every single protected class.  He went after trans people (Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner), gay people (Michael Sam) woman, and Jews.  I understand the language he used flowed freely at one point to describe people, trust me, I played football at an all-guys high school, that language was used daily.  Not just by players, it was coaches, teachers, and administrators too.  But it’s not 2004 anymore.  This gets you fired, it’s not just Cancel Culture.  Gruden went after every single protected class.

Here are the actual words; mind you it wasn’t one email it was a bunch.

What did Jon Gruden say in emails?

Gruden used racist, sexist, homophobic and transophobic language in the emails, which the Times reports dated from 2010 through 2018, before Gruden was hired by the Raiders for his second stint with the team. Per the Times, he often called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a “f—t” and a “clueless anti football p—y.” He also used homophobic slurs to describe NFL owners, coaches and reporters who cover the league.

Gruden also reportedly exchanged emails with Allen and others that included photos of women wearing only bikini bottoms. One photo reportedly included two Washington Football Team cheerleaders. Per the Times, Gruden and Allen also sometimes included Ed Droste, the co-founder of Hooters; Jim McVay, an executive who has run the Outback Bowl; and Nick Reader, the founder of PDQ Restaurants, in the emails.

Per the Times, Droste in 2017 shared a sexist meme of a woman refereeing in the NFL, with Gruden replying, “Nice job roger.”

Gruden also criticized larger issues that surfaced in or otherwise had platforms of discussion in the league. For example, he reportedly criticized former President Barack Obama during his 2012 reelection campaign and called then-vice president Joe Biden a “nervous clueless p—y.” Gruden reportedly also denounced the league for attempting to reduce concussions, adding that Eric Reid — who demonstrated during the playing of the national anthem as a form of protest against police brutality — should be fired.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden admits he insulted Roger Goodell in 2011 emails

In 2015, Gruden condemned a congressional bill that attempted to force Washington to change its name from the Redskins, which many Native Americans view as a slur. Gruden received a link, also that year, detailing how players wanted Goodell to support them in efforts to promote racial equality and criminal justice reform.

“He needs to hide in his concussion protocol tent,” Gruden said.

Gruden also singled out individuals as targets of his hateful language. That includes Caitlyn Jenner, whom Gruden mocked when she won an award in 2015 after transitioning. He also asked Allen to tell Bryan Glazer, whose family owns the Buccaneers, to perform oral sex on him. Allen reportedly responded that Glazer would “take you up on that offer.”

Gruden coached Tampa Bay from 2002 through 2008.Gruden also targeted Michael Sam, who came out as gay before attempting an NFL career, and Smith.

Michael Sam

Per the Times, Gruden criticized Goodell for pressuring former St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher to draft “q—rs.” That was a reference to Sam, who came out as gay ahead of the 2014 NFL Draft and was selected with the Rams’ second-to-last pick in the seventh round. He spent the 2014 season on St. Louis and Dallas’ practice squads, later spending time in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes.

Prior to his resignation, Gruden coached the NFL’s first openly gay active player, Carl Nassib, who came out ahead of the 2021 season.

DeMaurice Smith

The email that initially got Gruden in hot water was a 2011 email to Allen in which he used a racist trope to describe Smith:

“Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of michellin (sic) tires.”

Jon Gruden’s second coming to save the Raiders

Jon Gruden’s comments after emails leaked

Gruden, perhaps in an attempt to soften the comments he hurled at Smith, told ESPN on Friday that the NFLPA executive director wasn’t the only person he insulted in 2011 during labor disputes that led to a lockout: He said he also insulted Goodell:

“I was in a bad frame of mind at the time (in 2011), and I called Roger Goodell a (expletive) in one of these emails too,” he told ESPN. “They were keeping players and coaches from doing what they love with a lockout. There also were a lot of things being reported publicly about the safety of the sport that I love. I was on a mission with high school football (in the Tampa, Fla., area) during that time, and there were a lot of parents who were scared about letting their kids play football. It just didn’t sit well with me.”

Folks the Glazer family owns the Tampa Bay Bucs, the team Chief cheers for, Gruden has since been removed from the Ring of Honor aka the teams Hall of Fame.  Gruden was erased, he is gone.  Going after Smith could be explained away possibly.  Jenner?  Well, no one likes a transgender Republican so ditto there.  Going after women in the NFL is bizarre as they now make up 55% of the viewership, and it’s growing quickly.  Going after Goodell and gays did him in, Goodell has a gay son.  Gruden has officially ended his coaching/broadcasting years.  He worked for ESPN for a while in between gigs.  It was brought to my attention he could coach in college…. are you kidding me?  They are more woke than the NFL.

The real lesson here is this, while some possibly share Gruden’s beliefs, it’s always best to do so verbally.  Gruden not only emailed these thoughts, but he also sent them to Bruce Allen’s work email.  A work email folks is not protected, and for most, you see a pop-up when you log into your work computer saying “they know every click”, or” any emails sent are property of the entity you work for”.  Hence Gruden has no leg to stand on in regard to any sort of wrongful termination suit.  Worse yet, he back loaded his 10 year 100 million contract, he is currently in year 4, and up words of 85 million could be lost.  Gruden was not the target here, but he is the scapegoat.  Collateral damage was needed as the scandal involving the Washington Football team is big.  I call it a PHD lawsuit, since its Piled High and Deep.

The Chief

PS Troll emailed me saying “Why did they find Grudens 10-year-old emails but cannot recover Hillary Clinton’s emails.”  Just a thought on this.

BTW Troll continues his quest for a date with Jen Anniston or Hope Hicks, his commentary will resume soon.

The Supply Chain is a Crisis of our own Making

Unless you live under a rock, think Joe Biden is a good president, or are related to one of the Park Brothers, you likely have heard our supply chain is in dire straits.  Our Commander in Chief is obviously bothered as well.  I saw the Clinton News Network hosted a “Presidential town hall” with Biden last night to give him a chance to explain away all his failures. 

Joe Biden does CNN Townhall

Anderson Cooper was a great host as he cherry picked questions from 15 folks in the “audience chosen at random.”  Like any Biden Q and A session, the participants were carefully vetted and handed a softball question to ask.  Of the 15, 10 were registered Democrats, 3 were Republicans and 2 were Independent.  Definitely a hostile crowd for Ole Slow Joe.  This campaign event, I mean propaganda event, I mean town hall was based in Republican voter rich Baltimore.  Biden basically said he had no answers for the fuel crisis. But he was considering calling up the National Guard for the shipping crisis.  And…. Yeah, thank god my hour on the treadmill at the gym was done, because that was torture to watch.  Shame on CNN for airing that, and shame on us for electing this fellow to be President.

Anderson Coper asks hard hitting questions

I will sum up clearly and succinctly what the supply chain issues are really about.  They are not just the doing of Joe Biden’s failed presidency; this has been going on since Bill Clinton.  Believe it or not, NAFTA aka the North American Free Trade Agreement was a major catalyst.  The goal of NAFTA was to create a free trade zone, free of tariffs, to allow a flow of goods and services across borders.  In theory this is a good idea, it tears down borders and disputes and creates “friendly neighbors.”  However, NAFTA has evolved and not in a good way.

NAFTA in the last 15 years has become a catalyst for corporations to reduce expenses and outsource jobs.  One of the most argued points cited by myself and others are “we used to build things in the USA, now we no longer do.”

The reasoning here is we used to have factories to assemble the parts imported from Mexico, but with increased expenses here domestically, we now build it in Mexico.  Furthermore, Mexico sends it here and we “finish it,” in essence we put the stickers and decals on it, and a few other accents and can still call it “made in the USA.”  In many ways this was palpable because expenses were cut, and our producing workforce could transition to a “paper pushing” workforce.  Workers were mostly happy, shareholders were trilled, and executives bonused out at year end.   Win.  Win.  Win.  Right?

Incorrect.  As time went on, more and more jobs were sent to Mexico, and Mexico has become a developed country.  I say that in a sense that the workers there now want more money and benefits.  As a result, the job merry go round has started again.  Jobs from Mexico have migrated to China, and neighboring countries.  Many of which employ slave labor, child labor, prison labor or just flat-out deplorable conditions.  But that’s ok, because you need your new TV, iPhone etc. and you ain’t paying full price.  So, you ignore that part of the supply chain.

Enter the virus.

I’m leaving the political BS out of this blog in regard to the Corona Virus.  We locked down in the USA, and other countries followed suit.  It was supposed to be 14 days, which has turned into almost 2 years.  The vaccine was the end all, cure all…. not so much.  It didn’t affect the US that much because other countries produce most of what we consume.  But over time, the virus spread to countries we import products from, and this has exasperated the issue.  Most recently Vietnam has locked down its factories; don’t believe me look it up yourself, most of our clothing is made in Vietnam.  With those countries locked down, we get no additional clothing sent here.  Contrary to the belief of some, we here in the US are not able to build a factory to make said clothing here. 

Furthering my point, the lockdowns here taught us one thing, the workers have the upper hand.  Currently and recently, we have seen striking workers for; Nabisco, Frito-Lay, Deere, Kellogg and parts of the healthcare sector.  These workers were ordered to work during the pandemic, most given mandatory overtime and restrictions on time off requests.  At year’s end they were given a small bonus of a few hundred, maybe a thousand if they were lucky.  Management got far bigger bonuses and shareholders got even richer, keep in mind the former stayed at home during the pandemic because it was safer for them and their workers.  We are now seeing a revival of unions, don’t believe me, but look around.

The problems at the port are another issue.  However, we are focused on the cranes and the operators, what we need are semi-trucks and trailers to move those containers once off loaded.  We don’t have those, so the containers are stacked on shore.  Running the port 24/7 as senile Joe suggests isn’t the problem.  Corporations for years have mistreated the drivers of said trucks, so now we are unable to find workers to do that.  Most corporations, especially Target made the drivers contractors, and required them to bid on a route, and pay for the gas, lease payment, insurance et. Al. This resulted in truck drivers making close to zero when expenses were paid.  Don’t believe me, look it up.  Again, Target is one of the worst offenders here, but that’s ok, because they told Biden they want to help.

Editor’s Note: The Federal government and California in particular has also punished truck drivers in a number of ways including limiting the number of hours per day that they can drive and outlawing independent operators via AB-5, diesel engine regulations, and other restrictions.

The long blog short here is the workers in factories are burned out, and years of consolidation are partly to blame.  Look at Campbell Soups, they used to have a plant in California, but due to costs they shut it down, production moved to Texas.  This is a no-brainer, until Texas is snowed out.  Pretty hard to get soup from Troy, Ohio to California.  In addition, try building a plant in the USA to make something, forget for a minute the ungodly amounts of red tape (unless you want to build a basketball arena downtown, somehow the red tape vanishes for that) you also have to build it, hire, train workers, and have production lines set-up and built.  This is not easy, and it’s a tough sell to shareholders who expect you to beat last quarter’s earnings and lower your expenses.  American workers get breaks, lunch, benefits, and extra time, these are federal and state laws.

While Senile Joe may have won the day yesterday, he has lost long term.  The issues of years of outsourcing and production cuts, met with lockdowns have created a toxic cocktail.  Sadly, for people like Jorge Riley, this isn’t a cocktail that you want to drink.  The problem is going to get worse.  Here are a few examples of just what we are facing here.

I bought a jacket on sale $22 marked down from $44, I ordered the wrong size, I shipped back for a return.  The company I purchased from said due to supply chain issues I could not exchange unless I paid the difference.  Another package I ordered sat in a FedEx office for 7 days in Sacramento prior to making the trip to the world headquarters of reallyright.com.  Keep in mind we live about 15 miles from Sacramento.

The Chief

Editor’s Note: Our family has been buying gift baskets from a company that ships from Oregon to California. Every order that we have placed in the last year starts with an estimated delivery date of about a week but in reality, it takes 6 to 8 weeks before it actually ships to our Sacramento suburb. Ditto for our new Samsung phone order. Delivery keeps getting delayed.