In yet another drive-by attack on the private sector and the American way of life, California’s Executive has demanded the closure of bars, restaurants, and beaches lest people might celebrate the Independence Day holiday coming up this weekend. This is in addition to local governments in most places cancelling fireworks displays that real people might actually attend and enjoy.
We all now know thanks to Some Black Lives Matter that all people that came before us were evil whether they supported or opposed black slavery—please note that present day slavery in order to build iPhones and mine raw materials to build electric cars and solar panels is perfectly ok—but I digress.
Anyway, the Pontiff of California has decided that people living their lives in liberty is a threat to his control of the populace. He can take all these punitive actions with a clear conscience because there is no way the Orange Man will win in his state and Gavin hopes that as goes California, so goes the nation will ring true. He’s banking that Uncle Sam will then use the power of the press—no not the liberal media and tech companies—but the printing press at the US Treasury to print their way out of this fiscal mess. We all know that once Hidin’ Biden is elected that China—you know that country that engineered the Wuhan Flu and gave it to the world —will once again be our ally and start buying our T-bills in record numbers like they used to before the Orange Man stole the election from the entitled Secretary Clinton.
Folks I’m so angry at all this nonsense I’m beyond words. In know that the restaurants have been following all the BS rules they have been shackled with and on the whole were doing a great job trying to stay open. Most people just want to make a living and be at peace with their neighbors and somehow that’s not good enough for Newsom. It is typical Liberal behavior, punish the innocent instead of the guilty.
Oh, lest you think this is just a blip on the radar, I’m warning you that Gavin is very close to trying to force us to shelter in place again. I predict about two weeks from now that he will claim the continuing spike in Covid-19 cases is due to family gatherings over the July 4th weekend and he has no choice but to further roll-back the openings. Remember that he says we can never safely and fully reopen without a vaccine. Also, his pronouncements were on the very same day that Congress renewed the $600 a week bonus for unemployment benefits. This is not a coincidence. Guess Newsom figures the optics aren’t that bad when the Feds have your fiscal back.
Against this backdrop, the fourth or fifth attempt to recall the governor is now underway. What a laughable windmill to battle. Not only do these guys have no money for such a venture—which is both typical and laughable—but they have no candidate that is better than Gavin to put in his place. Sorry but you can’t recall the governor and then leave the office vacant until the next election. If there was a guy better than Gavin, then why didn’t he run?
I told Johnnie Does and The Chief at our last Pow-Wow that the family is getting out of this wretched state as fast as we can make it work. Long ago, I promised you dear readers that Gavin Newsom would remake California—the whole state—into San Francisco. How’s that going for you? Just think, you folks get him for governor for six more years. I plan to be living in one of the free and thus prohibited states on Attorney General Becerra’s list long before Newsom is finished with his rampage.
One thing that should be known, if you mess with Johnnie Does or any friend of his (Blog Father/wife/child) included; Johnnie is a relentless human being. He has claimed two scalps and after last week, he may be after another. The salsa bar, aka Dos Coyotes (if you’re a gringo that means two coyotes) is owned by a man called Bobby Coyote. It was a great place for a bite, a little expensive but it was quality, a favorite by the staff here at Reallyright.com. Even catered the Christmas Party for law firm Dewey, Screw’em, and Howe!
As has been our practice during the Corona craziness, William and I agreed to meet at the salsa bar last week. Our most recent visit was just after the mask requirement was implemented for customers when ordering. In the case of Johnnie Does, he looks better when fully masked and as such I was geared-up. The manager saw us and told William, called him by name btw, to wear a mask. We weren’t even near the inside of said establishment!
William muzzled-up and ready
After ordering, we encountered a young lady in the outside patio area mad that she was not allowed in, we will henceforth call her Mrs. Howard Jarvis because she was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!
It was surreal, William approached the counter first, he has a preferred benefit card, and ordered a salad and soda, $18. He was flummoxed. The price was raised, it was crazy, you could be feeding 2 for that, but my God. The jamoke behind the counter said he would bring it up to his manager….F**k outta here, your manager is a clown who thinks folks outside need to wear a mask!
This is very sad. The salsa bar was once a great establishment, maybe it’s a foreshadowing of Trump losing, I am not sure. But my god, make the salsa bar great again. Britney is gone, the other cute girl is gone, the 2 jamokes that run that place stink, like seriously they both have a big fat dump in their pants.
Johnnie didn’t feel great afterwards, and William was light in the wallet, so Lowe, Ball’em, and Lynch was called to handle this.
Johnnie Does
Editor’s Note: I was rudely booted out of the salsa bar location in south Davis several weeks ago when I was meeting my mother there for lunch. At the time, Yolo county was requiring masks, but Sac county was not. Salsa bar did not offer customers a covering so they could enjoy the food, just treat people like lepers. This was true even when customers claimed that they had medical conditions that prevented the use of masks. Oh, and said location is near Interstate 80, great way to treat the tourists.
I rarely, if ever write or talk about the Second Amendment on this blog. Its not that I don’t care about it, but that in my experience all people do is brag about how many cannons they have in their closet and whether they have a CCW permit. I have made it a habit of not talking like the rest because I don’t want to be on record anywhere about whether I own something or not because it’s not anybody’s business, especially the government. My feeling is that any record of bragging or self-disclosure is just giving the government a shopping list of what they need to pick-up when the decide to confiscate our guns. Having seen the 1984 version of Red Dawn, I know better. Gun registration is the path to gun confiscation.
On my recent trip thru Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, I got to experience just how other states honor this Constitutional right and how little of it remains in California. California laws for firearms do not stop at the state line. In practical terms, I found that I had no more right to purchase a firearm in another state than your typical career criminal with an extensive felony record. Virtually nobody was willing to sell anything to someone with a California I.D.
Most people that I spent any amount of time with were armed. In Idaho, you can both open carry and conceal carry with no permit. Purchasing firearms is a matter of passing a Federal background check. I overheard one clerk tell an interested customer that the background search is $44. Montana and Wyoming had rules very similar to Idaho.
In Wyoming, we were told about an incident when Some Black Lives Matter sympathizers decided to hold a rally. They were permitted to have the protest because unlike liberal states, the First Amendment is still honored even when the position advocated is a minority view. The difference was that armed citizens were also allowed to show-up at the park and surround the park to protect property. Thus, the citizens protected the surrounding neighborhood, the protestors got to hold a peaceful protest, and then everybody got to go home to their families. No businesses were burned, no statues desecrated, and no rocks, bottles, etc. were deployed. Oh, and the police were there too. Reportedly, they spent most of their time visiting with the armed citizens and watching the protestors at a distance.
Cody Firearms Experience
In Wyoming, we found a place across from our hotel–Cody Firearms Experience–where you could pick from a huge assortment of firearms, pay a fee, and fire them in an indoor range. Yep, it was not just a large assortment of handguns and long guns (rifles) but also some more exotic weapons. If you were over 18, you could go full auto. You could fire the legendary Thompson submachine gun, an M-16, and FN P90. Anybody could also fire a Gatling gun. It was the poor man’s way of doing an episode of Top Shot.
Cody, Wyoming
Having been to Gettysburg last year, my choice was an 1861 Springfield black powder rifle. It was the very same gun that the Yankees used to fight the forces of General Lee and the Southern Confederacy.
William home on the range
Really Right Jr. opted for a Glock 9mm.
Folks I highly recommend if you ever get in the neighborhood of Yellowstone Park to get over to Cody and check this place out. I bet half the guns you can fire here are banned in California, just sayin’.
This vacation illustrated for me just how oppressed our Second Amendment rights really are in California.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark… Revelation 13:16-17
Tried buying food or getting your “retail therapy” out of the way lately? Tried it without a mask?
We were warned
Its ironic that the very same churches (the Dispensational ones) that were warning us about the end of the Age, Jesus was coming back any minute so be ready, and beware the “Mark of the Beast;” the very same ones that claimed they were warning us about a time when unless you were willing to accept the Mark—which also meant you were automatically going to Hell, not passing Go, and not collecting $200; thanks Hal Lindsey—are amongst the churches that shutdown when told to do so. Like all the others, they obeyed blindly and threw-in with all the rest.
A time of persecution which they were warning us about for decades is upon us, and they all ignored their own warnings and threw in with the government. They complied without so much as a whimper when told to shutdown because they were nonessential. According to their interpretation of the above passage, other groups that didn’t heed Dispensationalism and rejected Lindsey’s warnings were expected to be duped but these guys kept saying they knew better. Per Dispensationalism, martyrdom was better than receiving the Mark;at least until their 501 (c)(3) status was on the line. On this dry run for the Apocalypse, these guys folded like a bunch of cheap suits. Talk about epic failure. Apparently, 501 (c)(3) trumps Scripture every time.
If your church closed who’d notice?
There is a cause and effect relationship to closing churches and the rioting, burning neighborhoods, toppling statues, and despair of citizens on both coasts.
Since the 1980’s I have defined revival—which all evangelical churches claim they want—as: “when the church is culturally relevant.” The opposite is “if they put a padlock on your church’s door, would anybody notice?”
Well I guess we have our answer now.
Hey church, the government declared you irrelevant and nonessential, locked the doors, and nobody noticed. What does that say about your ministry? Oh, and you were ok with it too. Shame, Shame, Shame.
In my recent travels, I did meet one pastor in Idaho that refused to close his doors, the only one in his State by the way, and he was willing to go to jail to defend the right of his folks to worship. He said the police showed-up, he stated his case and the police not only left that day but left him alone, period. Too bad he’s the exception and not the rule. The fact that he lives in an open carry state—a behavior which he participates in every day—probably helped too.
Universal compliance without enforcement
Now in California and other places where Democrats reign unchallenged, you cannot buy or sell unless you bear the mark of the State. While the directive says there are exceptions for medical and a few other reasons, the practical effect is that no business establishment is willing to acknowledge that any exceptions or personal liberty exists. They are too afraid of prosecution by the State. Besides the lady at the salsa bar yesterday that was denied entry, there is a media account of the police being called to a Wal-Mart because a guy couldn’t get his four-year-old to wear said mask.
The children were reportedly not wearing masks and the three refused to leave. That’s when police were called to escort them out of the store.
Thankfully, some localities and their police forces have said they will not ticket or arrest anyone for violating the mask order but this seems to be the exception as only areas with Republican officeholders are taking such positions; albeit generously wrapped in lots of weasel words.
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones released a statement Friday encouraging the public to wear masks but will have his deputies focus on education instead of enforcement.
Meanwhile, the government is trying a “full court press” media campaign to pursue doubters to comply.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and three other former California governors joined Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday in a video campaign promoting the use of face coverings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Folks I’ve been on vacation for the last three weeks, two of which were spent in the United States. (For purposes of this post: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.) This last week back in California has been a train wreck.
In the United States, I didn’t encounter anyone wearing a mask except occasionally as part of their working with the public. I saw no people voluntarily wearing a mask until a week into our trip when we got to Missoula, Montana. There we saw a few hippy-type folks muzzled-up. Missoula is only one of four counties in Montana that went for Hillary in 2016. My conclusion is that only Liberals–who are frightened to death or of death—wore masks just because. These guys are genuinely scared but everyone else was behaving like regular people. Oh, Missoula is known as Berkeley at 3,000 feet.
Gavin is Coming for you Barbara
In contrast, the despair and oppression hanging over California is palpable. People here think the current situation is “normal” or all that there. Such a pessimistic view is B.S.
Folks there is no metric, measure, trigger, or whatever you want to call it that will cause the mask requirement in California to be rescinded. It is here to stay until the Governor decides that we don’t need it. Newsom has just over two years remaining in his first term so don’t expect things to change anytime soon.
In case you didn’t hear, Emperor Newsom now has the total authority to decide which counties are not in compliance with his unilateral edicts. Thanks to our one party rule in this state, he can withhold state money from them whenever he feels the urge. Yep, its in the freshly signed budget.
But Newsom warned that counties that don’t comply with their virus containment plans will pay the price.
“I just did a budget deal with the California legislature,” Newsom said. “Two and a half billion dollars is conditioned on counties meeting their criteria under the emergency declaration related to COVID-19.”
Newsom added, “If they decide even though the numbers are going up ‘we’ve got this, we’re going to dismiss these new rules and regulations,’ We’re going to attach some considerations and consequences to that. There’s simply two and a half billion dollars in that budget that simply will not flow to those counties that do that.”
Oh, thanks to the mask mandate, the wife and I have retained the services of a realtor and are actively looking to get out of California. We’ve had enough of the nonsense. Thankfully, California’s litigious Attorney General keeps a list of recommended states conservatives should consider moving to because California officials are not allowed to travel there.
I think it should be up to individuals whether they wish to participate in wearing a mask. Liberty used to be the American way.
Oh, and as reported here while I was on vacation, protestors involved in Some Black Lives Matter are immune from Covid-19. Here’s the scientific proof that we’re Really Right.
Did I do it again or did I do it again????? I reviewed this overpriced restaurant giving it a 1.7 out of 5. Everything was all kinds of bad here, from the tables and chairs still stacked up, to the absence of a menu, to food quality. The phony looking hanging sign inside displaying their name didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Well I went by the joint a week ago, and it was dark inside, at 12:30 mind you, heart of lunch time. Actually, there was a man working inside, he identified himself as the alarm installer. But no workers to be found, not really a surprise. I walked by the place again today, and they are permanently closed, I guess when there is a pandemic and folks aren’t allowed to leave their homes, overpriced, poor quality food is not the answer. Who knew?
Oh, check out their Yelp reviews, looks like they were universally bad.
So yes, they are permanently closed. Johnnie Does claims another scalp, (no offense to The Chief is intended by this remark). I have done more damage to poor/bad businesses in a few short months than The Chief has ever done. And frankly he needs to change his name, it’s very offensive, maybe indigenous blogger would be a better fit?
Just remember restaurants, Johnnie Does is always lurking about. You can try to hide, but if he gains entry, he can elevate you to the next level, or he can shut you down. Side Burn BBQ and Gordito’s have been shut down by Johnnie Does.
Bloggers note:Johnnie Does is apparently channeling his inner James Carville as he was so hot, he almost spontaneously combusted because of his lunch visit. Below is his account.
I visited Rubio’s on Bruceville Road on Friday 6/7 for lunch. Rubio’s is a chain, known for their fish tacos. The menu is a little pricy but that’s ok as they are known for quality. They operate as a fast-casual place, meaning you order at the counter, take a place at a table, and the food is brought to you.
I ordered a bacon and shrimp burrito. It comes with rice, beans, the aforementioned (great word by the way) shrimp and bacon as well as guacamole, which I declined. As the Blog Father can attest, I never order sour cream or guacamole as I am severely allergic. Yes, as in it could kill me; apparently, I had a health episode as a kid and have never touched it since. I even say no guacamole or sour cream even when the entrée doesn’t come with it just to make a point of my major food allergy. To continue, I placed my order and found an empty table. It was filthy, not with food remnants, but dirt and grime. Wasn’t this place closed for 11 weeks?
Continuing onward; I waited for about 20 minutes. I don’t mind waiting because I would rather that my food be fresh and made to order as opposed to a fast food, quick serve place where they have it precooked. As the lady brought the burrito out, I had a feeling something was wrong; especially when a side of guacamole in a small cup was accompanying it. She set the burrito down in front of me, to which I inquired… “is that guacamole?” pointing to the top of the burrito at a green, ¼ inch thick coating. She responded affirmative. I told her I am deathly allergic and asked for it to be left off. She said they would remake it, but only after checking my order ticket. I knew there was a problem here…. customer is allegedly always right, why the checking of the ticket?
So, the young lady promised to have it re-made After a 10-minute wait (again not a big deal), she came right back to the table… with the exact same burrito just face down. The same guacamole conveniently located now on the downside. When I pointed that out, the young lady apologized saying they would make it a third time…. funny she said third because it was never re-made.
Look, I know kitchens are reluctant to remake or scrape off, margins are thin as it is, but when a food allergy is involved… it was their error.
I declined a third attempt as I have a schedule to keep at work, one must earn a living you know. She told me it would take her 1 minute. Again, I declined. It was 1:22 and my lunch is over at 1:30. She insisted. I kept saying I have to get to work, let’s just refund the transaction, I never blamed her. She said she didn’t want me to leave without food, it’s a nice gesture but it was too late. I told her I had to go. She said, let me write your name down and come back later to a free entrée…. keep in mind I already paid for one that was never made correctly. I told her I would not likely be back for dinner, to which she offered just come to the counter your name will be written down whenever you want, like some sort of will call. When I declined, (let’s face it, Johnnie used to be a common name) I don’t want some other jamoke to grab a free entrée because they are a namesake.
This is when it got odd, they would not refund me my money. I used a valid credit card; it should have been easy. She kept insisting on this will call thing, which I was not interested in. I was told no refunds, but I could charge back my credit purchase. Funny, this is likely due to places of business being “protected” when charges are under $25. This means the business does not lose the revenue, yet I am made full.
Rubio’s, I will never visit your weak-kneed establishment again. Twitter followers pin this and retweet as I am in disbelief. They may have messed up on my order, but to re-serve it face down knowing someone could potentially get very sick and/or die from a food allergy is a wild move. To add, seems like your location has several cockroaches there, and I am not talking about just your kitchen, I’m talking about in your bathrooms.
Thankfully, Covid-19 has decided to stand with Black Lives Matter—except unborn blacks or black Republicans—and agreed to allow congregating in Democrat led political districts without worry of spreading the Corona virus. This truce has allowed protestors to pillage and burn black and minority owned businesses.
It seems that black folks are angry about having to social distance, shelter in place, and watch too much cable news or maybe they were looking for an excuse to let off some steam against the oppression of Democrats where they live and help themselves to a new television or pair of Nike sneakers in the process. Anyway, if Dems rule a particular city or state, the police have been told to stand-down and watch as their local elected officials stand (or kneel) with law breakers that are protesting the actions of a few rouge officers in another state run by Democrats.
This whole thing is a farce. It is a George Soros type operation that is paid for and coordinated by a few troublemakers bent on stirring up the masses just before the November election. This is an independent expenditure on behalf of Joe Biden intended to get the blacks back on the Democrat reservation just in time to mobilize their votes. Sorry folks but I have zero sympathy for these protestors.
I’m sorry that the arrest of Mr. George Floyd resulted in his death but last I checked, the police that were involved were being dealt with by local authorities and President Trump ordered the Feds to investigate as well.
Any way you want to calculate it, most blacks are victimized by other blacks. Whether abortion, robberies, homicides, assaults, etc. most blacks are doing it to their own community. Some white cops get filmed on a bystander’s cell phone restraining Mr. Floyd and suddenly we have nationwide protests. This is not a proportional response.
As stated many times before on this blog, if black lives really mattered, these protestors would be at Planned Parenthood every day protesting until the abortion facilities built to eliminate them—minorities and poor people—were all closed.The truth is that BLM is about creating social and societal unrest. It is just a Marxist tool to control people and further a political agenda.
Folks, when you close churches nationwide, don’t feign surprise when evil breaks out. Actions have consequences. I find it funny that the ones supporting the closure of churches for the last three months are now pretending surprise when evil is freely practiced on the streets. People in these communities are sheltering in place now for safety. They have traded fear of one disease (a virus) for fear of another (sin).
If you break the law, you should fear the consequences whether you wear a badge or not. If you smash windows and steal stuff, or beat up strangers, you have become the very thing that you claimed you were protesting. The Liberal response is to remove the consequences and not enforce the law.The solution is the opposite; namely, enforce that law regardless of race, occupation, or social status.
Folks, I’m all for review and reform of our laws—especially in the areas of immigration and criminal justice—but relaxing the consequences for either the cops or the protestors is not the proper framework to begin such an examination.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and likewise, fear of the Lord is the beginning of justice too.
Yep, I just put several pieces of pop culture together in a way that makes sense to our current situation. Here’s the explanation and it’s so simple that even many low information folks—oh, I mean those that binge watch 24/7 cable news or listen to streaming music all day—can understand.
Please note that there are spoilers here for War of the Worlds so if you don’t know the ending, turn back now.
Whether in its more recent rendition with a voiceover from Morgan Freeman or the original radio play by H.G. Wells, its not the men but the microbes that defeat the alien invaders. Freeman’s voiceover can be summed up as this, men have inhabited this planet for a long time and as germs have mutated, our bodies have responded by strengthening our immune systems to cope with the hostile environment encountered in world that we live in.
Please note that I’m not really a Keeper Of Odd Knowledge (K.O.O.K.) but I just watched the show over the weekend for the first time, from start to finish. When I read an article linked by Joe Miller today, the connection was obvious.
The article is an explanation of herd immunity which scientists know exists in the current Covid-19 pandemic but heretofore lacked a good way of understanding. Many, including me, sensed there was herd immunity at work but where we erred was in thinking that you had to be infected and recover from Covid-19 to be immune. Well guess what? That assumption is wrong.
On the one hand, this virus seems to be extremely contagious and transmissible.On the other hand, it appears to have been around for a while, possibly in December, and didn’t kill too many people until super-spreading events in March.
On the one hand, the virus seems to kill a lot of vulnerable people for several weeks. But then it peaks after six weeks or so and nearly disappears a month or so later.We’ve seen the same curve in every country, almost as if it hits a brick wall and then runs out of steam.
But why is that the case? Most antibody tests show no more than 10%-15% of the population contain antibodies in a given area – 25% in the most extreme case of New York City. Why would the virus not continue cutting through the population like butter, as it did the first number of people who contracted the virus? The theory of a more ubiquitous cross-immunity from other coronaviruses would answer those questions and explain that invisible brick wall.
A theory of partial immunity, at least from helper T cells (if not killer T cells) could also explain why, on the one hand, once the virus gets into prisons, most test positive for it, but on the other hand, nearly all of them seem asymptomatic. The outcome of prisons as a fully confined and defined population could be a harbinger of what would theoretically happen if the entire world were exposed to the virus after it had already targeted the most vulnerable population. It’s possible that upwards of 95% would be asymptomatic, just like we are seeing in prisons.
Perhaps, it could also explain why there appears to be a massive gap in severity of the virus in Asia vs. Western countries. Asian countries are regularly exposed to coronaviruses.
“In almost every context we’ve seen the epidemic grow, turn around and die away — almost like clockwork.Different countries have had different lockdown policies, and yet what we’ve observed is almost a uniform pattern of behavior which is highly consistent with the SIR model. To me that suggests that much of the driving force here was due to the build-up of immunity.”
Folks, as stated in this space previously, we should fear neither men nor microbes but only Almighty God. I’m not worried about Covid-19. The time and place of my death was appointed before the world began; all I can do is keep pressing on until my time is up. I suggest that you do likewise.
Victoria’s Secret is a women’s fashion company that has faced struggling sales and financial issues over the last year and a half, in fact they were even sold to a private equity company, only to have the buyer pull out of the deal. I am going to examine just how these problems began arising and what is being done to fix them.
Investing in a company like Victoria’s Secret should be a no-brainer, right? Most of their products are made using unpaid/sparsely paid jail labor and sold for a very large markup. Typically, if you sell a few items you have paid for the cost of the entire box and everything after that is profit. Items sold at VS are sold at very high margins, with the only expenses being rent and employee salaries. Add to that the long line of supermodels and stars who wear/market their products. Their annual fashion show gets millions upon millions of viewers. So why did the stock crater, profitability dry out, and cause 55% of VS to be sold to a private buyer?
The answer is complex and frankly I am not sure the company can dig itself out of the hole they created themselves.
Pink has VS seeing red
It seems like it started in 2002 when they opened VS Pink stores, aimed at the 15-22-year-old demographic. It used to be a brand for mature, older women who would buy a special something for themselves, and for their partner. It was sexy, unique, and basically you wore it in the bedroom for a little bit, or when you were feeling yourself (feeling good, head out of the gutter) or as a surprise for your man. This opening of Pink caused a sea change in the company’s philosophy and likely caused outright shock for anyone who has a daughter, fathers especially. Pink caters directly too college/high school students, but it’s not just the pajama’s, thong underwear, etc. that was shocking, it was the horrendously cheap quality. A hallmark of VS used to be an unmatched quality product.
In addition to poor-to-average quality products, Pink delineated the brand, in another way. VS used to be iconic with models/the bedroom, they began selling workout attire, perfume, swimwear, and regular clothing, similar to Abercrombie and Fitch. The phrase “I went to VS”, went from wow, am I in for a fun night, to……well she probably got some cheap underwear or a bath bomb. If you’re a company selling sex/smut/etc. you want to keep that identity, they threw it away.
Another thing, Victoria’s Secret didn’t keep up with changing times. This resulted in erosion of the brand’s perception. Back then if a girl was not skinny or didn’t have the right body type, her friends didn’t care, they bought the product anyway. Now girls tend to protest companies that do not foster inclusion. VS went all in on girls who were a size 0, basically very skinny, and had the perfect body type, think very toned and the perfect breasts and butt. This works for a while, but stories began to trickle out of VS associates telling certain girls “we don’t sell anything for your body type here” and not stocking sizes over a medium will get you killed in the social media environment we live in today. Think herd mentality (or Yelp), if you get treated wrong at a store, then you tell your friends. Often this results in a high likely hood they will boycott as well.
I spoke to several women about this issue ranging in ages from 18-55 and they all were very down on VS, I have included responses below.
Their products are cheaply made crap, the underwear rips after being washed about 4 times.
I wanted to get sized for a bra, they only had a guy working on the sales floor, he was more than eager to help…creepy!
VS isn’t for me, they market to supermodels…I like my body, VS wants me to hate it.
VS is for college kids, I am not longer in college, I found a new brand.
I’m not a skinny girl, VS has nothing for me…too bad because bigger women have sex too ya know.
I used to shop their religiously, then I realized at 30 I was double the age of the average VS Pink customer…. I found a new brand.
Not every girl looks like Kate Upton or Megan Fox. It creates a dangerous stereotype of perfect women, also it creates a culture of men not wanting to be seen with/date bigger women.
(Editor’s Note: who is Kate Upton? This is the first I’ve heard mentioned about Megan Fox since she quit the Transformers franchise over a decade ago. Guess Chief likes his squaws on the young side.)
Megan Fox Transformers (2007)
Note: every single woman I spoke with was done with the company and would not come back. When I asked their preferred brand, the answers ran the gamut; Aerie, was the number one choice. Most folks these days are intensely brand loyal and will not return if they have a bad experience or interaction.
The stock of VS parent L Brands has gone from about $100 to about $12 over the span of 18 months, most of this pre-pandemic. VS was actually sold (55%) of it to a private equity group Sycamore Partner, they are famous for buying distressed clothing assets and trying to turn them around. Sycamore backed out of the deal about a month ago. When private equity (think Mitt Romney, Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn etc.) want no part of you, it’s a sinking ship. VS is and continues to be a major drag on L Brands earnings. (L Brands also owns high growth brand Bath and Body Works). Problem is they have no buyer so they must do something to re-image the brand. I am not sure what the future will look like, but they announced they were closing 25% of their stores today. Ask how that strategy worked for Circuit City, Sear’s, Pier One, and a host of others. I think VS is circling the drain, problem is management likely doesn’t see the dark hole, they think there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Chief
PS I spoke to a former girlfriend who works for law firm Lowe, Ballem & Lynch, a direct competitor of Dewey, Screwem & Howe, the latter being a friend of the blog. Anyhow the ex had this to say about VS. I used to shop there, I won’t anymore, the Pink store is 90% high school and college age girls, and I am not one anymore. As far as the flagship VS stores, they carry nice stuff but it’s very overpriced, and all the photos are of perfect bodied models. They also manipulate their sizing, I wear a size small at most places, at VS the medium was too small and sometimes the large felt just right? It made me feel very self-conscious and questioned my motives of being a customer of theirs. I shop at Aerie (American Eagle Brand) and they cater to all women, we all have unique bodies and I just feel more comfortable. It doesn’t help CEO of L-Brands Les Wexler (the founder by the way) was linked to Jeffrey Epstein and his underage girls…. I have a hard time supporting someone like that.
Blogger note: For the record Wexler did step aside.
Photo-05/16/2020 residents of Virginia flocking to beaches in violation of their governor’s order that they can only fish or jog.
I wish to tweak a saying quoted often here so it reads, “Lie, damn lies, computer models, and statistics.” This applies not just to Covid-19 but to every other catastrophe of the imagination including population explosion, climate change—formerly global cooling and/or warming depending on which decade and paperback prophet of doom is quoted—rising sea levels, rainforest depletion, fossil fuel depletion, viability of socialism, and just about everything else that leftists have popularized over the years.
High on my list of news recently is the fact that Gavin Newsom is being dragged kicking and screaming, like a spoiled little girl throwing a tantrum, into allowing California into opening despite his wishes. As we have been demanding, the Orange Man has taken up our cause stating that churches are essential. Last week the Justice Department told California to reopen churches and so did the CDC. Look we know the CDC didn’t want it to happen but since Trump is their boss and churches elsewhere are opening anyway, Trump got the CDC to move churches toward the front of the line and issue guidelines for doing so. Frankly, the CDC guidelines sound way too much like those from Tennessee but at least Trump got the ball rolling.
Further irony can be found that my church declined to participate in the statewide protest to hold services on May 31st—not wishing to disobey the civil magistrate—but Newsom will likely be forced to open all churches by then anyway. Look for mandatory and reduced attendance and social distancing to be required when California rolls-out the rules tomorrow. Basically, we will get services without worship and people will be allowed to congregate. Many of the masses will claim victory but without the sacraments is it truly worship—I think not. You will find that we are still a long way from singing, greeting, weddings, funerals, and “regular” resumption of church life.
Folks, I can think of nothing worse in the current climate than dying right now. Denying a Christian burial in such times as these is a curse. That most churches never protested such is a sad commentary on the weakness of the faith in our country. Ditto for weddings.
Anyway, here are news stories that you may have missed.
Sacramento Bee attacks Newsom.
“If we move through Phase Two, that’s roughly 70 percent of the economy. That may sound significant, but modifications are real restrictions in terms of commerce, and the biggest restriction of course is customer confidence,” Newsom said at a press conference last week.
He expanded on that claim during Tuesday’s press conference, when he said that 21 sectors of the state’s economy were now able to operate.
“You go industry by industry, sectors that never closed, construction and the like. And each one of those categories, you add them all up, you’re now north of 70 percent,” Newsom said.
But is it fair to say 70 percent of the state’s $3 trillion-a-year economy is reopening now? Sung Won Sohn, a business economist at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, questioned Newsom’s analysis.
Take the restaurant industry, for example. Sohn said the restaurants where he lives are open for takeout, but their business probably is off 90 percent. The same with car dealers, another major segment of the economy.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” said Thornberg, founder of Beacon Economics and a business forecaster at UC Riverside.
Thornberg said that there is no way to fact-check the statement because it was an empty one.
However, there was good news because of the shelter at home order as deaths in other areas are down significantly.
The pandemic is having a positive impact on California’s highways. The California Highway Patrol says the number of crashes and DUIs have dropped significantly in the past two months.
The agency says the number of crashes is down 75% from March 19 through April 30, compared to the same time last year. There was also an 88% drop in the number of deaths on the road and a 62% decrease in the number of crash-related injuries.
Oh, Newsom is not the only governor leading from behind. In Virginia, the governor there has declared that since so many disobeyed him last weekend, he will bless their behavior, specifically at the beach.
Under Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s eased coronavirus restrictions in effect Friday, the state’s oceanfront was relegated to fishing and exercise only, and social distancing was required.
But that didn’t keep crowds away from Virginia Beach over the weekend as temperatures reached the high 70s. Sunbathers took to the sand, bikers peddled along the bustling boardwalk and newly reopened gift shops were crowded with customers buying hermit crabs and snow cones, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
Following the weekend crowds, Northam announced during a press conference Monday that Virginia Beach would be allowed to reopen May 22 at the start of Memorial Day weekend, which normally kicks off the coast’s busy summer tourism season.
OK, here’s a sampling of stories that focus on the lies of Covid-19 in terms of deaths and other myths.
