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Thanksgiving 2022
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Nov 18, 2013 22:24:21   #
mugwhump Loc: San Diego CA
 
"Winston, come into the dining room, it's time to eat," Julia yelled to her husband.

"In a minute, honey, it's a tie score," he answered.

Actually Winston wasn't very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington. Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its "unseemly violence" and the "bad" example it sets for the rest of the world", Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be. Two-hand touch wasn't nearly as exciting. Yet it wasn't the game that Winston was uninterested in. It was more the thought of eating another Tofu Turkey. Even though it was the best type of VeggieMeat available after the government revised the American Anti-Obesity Act of 2018, adding fowl to the list of federally-forbidden foods, (which already included potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mincemeat pie), it wasn't anything like real turkey.

And ever since the government officially changed the name of "Thanksgiving Day" to "A National Day of Atonement" in 2020, to officially acknowledge the Pilgrims' historically brutal treatment of Native Americans, the holiday had lost a lot of its luster.

Eating in the dining room was also a bit daunting. The unearthly gleam of government-mandated fluorescent light bulbs made the Tofu Turkey look even weirder than it actually was, and the room was always cold. Ever since Congress passed the Power Conservation Act of 2016, mandating all thermostats - which were monitored and controlled by the electric company - be kept at 68 degrees, every room on the north side of the house was barely tolerable throughout the entire winter.

Still, it was good getting together with family. Or at least most of the family.

Winston missed his mother, who passed on in October, when she had used up her legal allotment of life-saving medical treatment. He had had many heated conversations with the Regional Health Consortium, spawned when the private insurance market finally went bankrupt, and everyone was forced into the government health care program. And though he demanded she be kept on her treatment, it was a futile effort. "The RHC's resources are limited," explained the government bureaucrat Winston spoke with on the phone. "Your mother received all the benefits to which she was entitled. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ed couldn't make it either. He had forgotten to plug in his electric car last night, the only kind available after the Anti-Fossil Fuel Bill of 2021 outlawed the use of the combustion engines - for everyone but government officials. The fifty mile round trip was about ten miles too far, and Ed didn't want to spend a frosty night on the road somewhere between here and there.

Thankfully, Winston's brother, John, and his wife were flying in.

Winston made sure that the dining room chairs had extra cushions for the occasion. No one complained more than John about the pain of sitting down so soon after the government-mandated cavity searches at airports, which severely aggravated his hemorrhoids. Ever since a terrorist successfully smuggled a cavity bomb onto a jetliner, the TSA told Americans the added "inconvenience" was an "absolute necessity" in order to stay "one step ahead of the terrorists."

Winston's own body had grown accustomed to such probing ever since the government expanded their scope to just about anywhere a crowd gathered, via Anti-Profiling Act of 2022. That law made it a crime to single out any group or individual for "unequal scrutiny," even when probable cause was involved. Thus, cavity searches at malls, train stations, bus depots, etc., etc., had become almost routine. Almost.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the statute, but most Americans expect a Court composed of six progressives and three conservatives to leave the law intact. "A living Constitution is extremely flexible", said the Court's eldest member, Elena Kagan. "Europe has had laws like this one for years. We should learn from their example," she added.

Winston's thoughts turned to his own children. He got along fairly well with his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, mostly because she ignored him. Winston had long ago surrendered to the idea that she could text anyone at any time, even during Atonement Dinner. Their only real confrontation had occurred when he limited her to 50,000 texts a month, explaining that was all he could afford. She whined for a week, but got over it.

His 16-year-old son, Jason, was another matter altogether. Perhaps it was the constant bombarding he got in public school that global warming, the bird flu, terrorism, or any of a number of other calamities were "just around the corner", but Jason had developed a kind of nihilistic attitude that ranged between simmering surliness and outright hostility. It didn't help that Jason had reported his father to the police for smoking a cigarette in the house, an act made criminal by the Smoking Control Statute of 2018, which outlawed smoking anywhere within 500 feet of another human being. Winston paid the $5,000 fine, which might have been considered excessive before the American dollar became virtually worthless as a result of QE13.

The latest round of quantitative easing the federal government initiated was, once again, to "spur economic growth." This time, they promised to push unemployment below its years-long rate of 18%, but Winston was not particularly hopeful.

Yet the family had a lot for which to be thankful, Winston thought, before remembering it was a Day of Atonement.

At least, he had his memories. He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized his children would never know what life was like in the Good Old Days, long before government promises to make life "fair for everyone" realized their full potential. Winston, like so many of his fellow Americans, never realized how much things could change when they didn't happen all at once, but little by little, so people could get used to them. He wondered what might have happened if the public had stood up while there was still time, maybe back around 2012, when all the real nonsense began.

"Maybe we wouldn't be where we are today if we'd just said 'enough is enough' when we had the chance," he thought.

Maybe so, Winston. Maybe so.

Reply
Nov 18, 2013 22:40:16   #
Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana
 
This should make Tschmath happy that his Socialist Utopia has finally came. Hope he lives long enough to enjoy it.

Reply
Nov 18, 2013 22:55:01   #
magicray Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
Ha ha ha. Very funny! Happy Day of Atonement everyone.

Reply
 
 
Nov 18, 2013 22:55:26   #
Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.
 
If it keeps going the way it is now it will come a lot sooner than 2022. By 2022 we will all living in tents supplied by our commie goverment.

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 00:05:35   #
mugwhump Loc: San Diego CA
 
Bangee5 wrote:
This should make Tschmath happy that his Socialist Utopia has finally came. Hope he lives long enough to enjoy it.


Yes,I wonder how his insurance rate is ...lots of dems screaming about that right now!

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 00:05:59   #
mugwhump Loc: San Diego CA
 
magicray wrote:
Ha ha ha. Very funny! Happy Day of Atonement everyone.


:thumbup: :thumbup:

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 00:06:50   #
mugwhump Loc: San Diego CA
 
Hal81 wrote:
If it keeps going the way it is now it will come a lot sooner than 2022. By 2022 we will all living in tents supplied by our commie goverment.


I am afraid you might be right Hal!

Reply
 
 
Nov 19, 2013 04:15:10   #
RicknJude Loc: Quebec, Canada
 
Great read. Thanks. Enough truth to be scary.

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 06:43:24   #
larrywilk Loc: Palm Harbor, FL
 
mugwhump wrote:
"Winston, come into the dining room, it's time to eat," Julia yelled to her husband.

"In a minute, honey, it's a tie score," he answered.

Actually Winston wasn't very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington. Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its "unseemly violence" and the "bad" example it sets for the rest of the world", Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be. Two-hand touch wasn't nearly as exciting. Yet it wasn't the game that Winston was uninterested in. It was more the thought of eating another Tofu Turkey. Even though it was the best type of VeggieMeat available after the government revised the American Anti-Obesity Act of 2018, adding fowl to the list of federally-forbidden foods, (which already included potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mincemeat pie), it wasn't anything like real turkey.

And ever since the government officially changed the name of "Thanksgiving Day" to "A National Day of Atonement" in 2020, to officially acknowledge the Pilgrims' historically brutal treatment of Native Americans, the holiday had lost a lot of its luster.

Eating in the dining room was also a bit daunting. The unearthly gleam of government-mandated fluorescent light bulbs made the Tofu Turkey look even weirder than it actually was, and the room was always cold. Ever since Congress passed the Power Conservation Act of 2016, mandating all thermostats - which were monitored and controlled by the electric company - be kept at 68 degrees, every room on the north side of the house was barely tolerable throughout the entire winter.

Still, it was good getting together with family. Or at least most of the family.

Winston missed his mother, who passed on in October, when she had used up her legal allotment of life-saving medical treatment. He had had many heated conversations with the Regional Health Consortium, spawned when the private insurance market finally went bankrupt, and everyone was forced into the government health care program. And though he demanded she be kept on her treatment, it was a futile effort. "The RHC's resources are limited," explained the government bureaucrat Winston spoke with on the phone. "Your mother received all the benefits to which she was entitled. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ed couldn't make it either. He had forgotten to plug in his electric car last night, the only kind available after the Anti-Fossil Fuel Bill of 2021 outlawed the use of the combustion engines - for everyone but government officials. The fifty mile round trip was about ten miles too far, and Ed didn't want to spend a frosty night on the road somewhere between here and there.

Thankfully, Winston's brother, John, and his wife were flying in.

Winston made sure that the dining room chairs had extra cushions for the occasion. No one complained more than John about the pain of sitting down so soon after the government-mandated cavity searches at airports, which severely aggravated his hemorrhoids. Ever since a terrorist successfully smuggled a cavity bomb onto a jetliner, the TSA told Americans the added "inconvenience" was an "absolute necessity" in order to stay "one step ahead of the terrorists."

Winston's own body had grown accustomed to such probing ever since the government expanded their scope to just about anywhere a crowd gathered, via Anti-Profiling Act of 2022. That law made it a crime to single out any group or individual for "unequal scrutiny," even when probable cause was involved. Thus, cavity searches at malls, train stations, bus depots, etc., etc., had become almost routine. Almost.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the statute, but most Americans expect a Court composed of six progressives and three conservatives to leave the law intact. "A living Constitution is extremely flexible", said the Court's eldest member, Elena Kagan. "Europe has had laws like this one for years. We should learn from their example," she added.

Winston's thoughts turned to his own children. He got along fairly well with his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, mostly because she ignored him. Winston had long ago surrendered to the idea that she could text anyone at any time, even during Atonement Dinner. Their only real confrontation had occurred when he limited her to 50,000 texts a month, explaining that was all he could afford. She whined for a week, but got over it.

His 16-year-old son, Jason, was another matter altogether. Perhaps it was the constant bombarding he got in public school that global warming, the bird flu, terrorism, or any of a number of other calamities were "just around the corner", but Jason had developed a kind of nihilistic attitude that ranged between simmering surliness and outright hostility. It didn't help that Jason had reported his father to the police for smoking a cigarette in the house, an act made criminal by the Smoking Control Statute of 2018, which outlawed smoking anywhere within 500 feet of another human being. Winston paid the $5,000 fine, which might have been considered excessive before the American dollar became virtually worthless as a result of QE13.

The latest round of quantitative easing the federal government initiated was, once again, to "spur economic growth." This time, they promised to push unemployment below its years-long rate of 18%, but Winston was not particularly hopeful.

Yet the family had a lot for which to be thankful, Winston thought, before remembering it was a Day of Atonement.

At least, he had his memories. He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized his children would never know what life was like in the Good Old Days, long before government promises to make life "fair for everyone" realized their full potential. Winston, like so many of his fellow Americans, never realized how much things could change when they didn't happen all at once, but little by little, so people could get used to them. He wondered what might have happened if the public had stood up while there was still time, maybe back around 2012, when all the real nonsense began.

"Maybe we wouldn't be where we are today if we'd just said 'enough is enough' when we had the chance," he thought.

Maybe so, Winston. Maybe so.
"Winston, come into the dining room, it's tim... (show quote)


Very well written. Scary, probable and will be denied by the Libs.

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 08:25:48   #
FrumCA
 
Scary indeed...

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 08:50:04   #
Gnslngr
 
People who post another person's writings without attribution are scum.

Reply
 
 
Nov 19, 2013 09:31:14   #
FrumCA
 
Not technically a posting of another person's writings but a cobbling of selected "facts" offered without attribution:
"Did you know that the overwhelming majority of working-abled food stamp recipients work full or part-time? Did you know that disabled and senior citizens make up a large percentage of food stamp beneficiaries? Did you know the largest recipient of food stamp beneficiaries are white children? And that 76% of SNAP benefits go towards households with children? Did you know that a majority of food stamp beneficiaries use the program for just 6 months and that the rate of fraud in the program is less than ! percent?"
From Gnslngr post in August 2013
Just saying...

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 11:30:51   #
pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"
 
FrumCA wrote:
Not technically a posting of another person's writings but a cobbling of selected "facts" offered without attribution:
"Did you know that the overwhelming majority of working-abled food stamp recipients work full or part-time? Did you know that disabled and senior citizens make up a large percentage of food stamp beneficiaries? Did you know the largest recipient of food stamp beneficiaries are white children? And that 76% of SNAP benefits go towards households with children? Did you know that a majority of food stamp beneficiaries use the program for just 6 months and that the rate of fraud in the program is less than ! percent?"
From Gnslngr post in August 2013
Just saying...
Not technically a posting of another person's writ... (show quote)


Don't forget that 75% of statistics are false. :thumbup:

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 12:11:52   #
Gnslngr
 
FrumCA wrote:
Not technically a posting of another person's writings but a cobbling of selected "facts" offered without attribution:
"Did you know that the overwhelming majority of working-abled food stamp recipients work full or part-time? Did you know that disabled and senior citizens make up a large percentage of food stamp beneficiaries? Did you know the largest recipient of food stamp beneficiaries are white children? And that 76% of SNAP benefits go towards households with children? Did you know that a majority of food stamp beneficiaries use the program for just 6 months and that the rate of fraud in the program is less than ! percent?"
From Gnslngr post in August 2013
Just saying...
Not technically a posting of another person's writ... (show quote)


So you are saying that piecing together facts in order to present a cogent argument is comparable to the plagiarism of a whole fictional essay? No. I'm sure you don't mean that. Saying that would make you a moron.

Just sayim'.

Reply
Nov 19, 2013 12:28:58   #
magicray Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
pounder35 wrote:
Don't forget that 75% of statistics are false. :thumbup:
Then your claim of 75% is false? Ha ha. The other 25% are highly questionable.

:lol:

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