Basket of Thoughts

Thoughts from my mind to the internet

Storm on Capitol Hill

Nathan Smith

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January 6, 2021

A truly disgusting display by desperate losers happened today. The peaceful protest in objection to the certification of the presidential election turned out to just be a coup. A coup to try to overthrow the government is all I can try to presume. It’s disgusting to see my former countrymen act this way. I say former because in my opinion those that stormed into the Capitol Building are traitors. Those on the outskirts that did not break in and truly were peaceful are not. They were exercising their right to peaceful assembly. Even more disgusting is the president telling them to march down to the Capitol and encouraging it. Trump should also be tried for treason due to this. It is appalling that these people actually think the democrats are the fascists. The truly scary thing about this is, if they resort to this during the electoral votes being certified. How the hell are they going to react during the inauguration? This is absolutely insane! How warped so many people have become. They simply can not accept the fact their guy lost. It is shameful, it is disgusting. This is nothing to be proud of. If you don’t like Hitler you must stop believing what Trump says. Trump is telling the big lie about election fraud and repeating it over and over and over and therefore you have been believing it. That was Hitler’s tactic and a quote of his even. Another of his quotes is “It is not truth that matters, but victory.” Sounds an awful like what Trump is trying to attempt. Be smart and don’t let it happen. Learn from history for once and let’s not repeat it.

Thoughts about fraud

Nathan Smith

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January 5, 2021

Here we are. My first post in 2021 and what a topic to discuss. Fraud. We’ve been hearing plenty about that these days haven’t we? So let’s get into. To start let me provide the definition of fraud. Fraud – Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain or a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities. That is verbatim from google searching it. So bearing that in mind let’s go forward with my train of thought. I have seen posts on social media speculating how the flu is down and COVID is going up. Among the comments within I have seen many people stating that its because they get more money for COVID therefore they aren’t even testing for the flu. While they may get more compensation for COVID they can’t just say you have it and go on their way. Do you know why? I’ll give you a hint, it’s the topic of this whole post. Yes, that’s right. It is fraud if you bill for treatment of something that someone doesn’t have. I know from first hand experience. I worked for a guy who was nailed for Medicare fraud. It didn’t end well. He lost everything, but that’s the price you pay when you get caught. That’s the price health care providers will eventually pay if they intentionally try to do it as well, so if they enjoy their livelihood I don’t think they are chomping at the bit to bill everything as COVID. Moving on from that debate, we go into the real meat of what I wanted to discuss. The whole charade that Trump is pulling in regards to the election and how it was a fraud election and rigged. Now, he has a coalition of Republicans that are going to object the certification results. This is the stuff that infuriates me. Everyone towing in line behind a man who is an actual fraud. He’s a fraud claiming a fraud happened. Granted he should know all about it as that is his whole life but the truth is, he has been the one all along trying to rig the election. He even resorted to intimidation tactics by calling the Georgia Secretary of State and telling him to find 11,780 votes which is one over he would need to win… I’m sorry, isn’t that fraud? Trying to have votes come out of nowhere so you can win? This coming from a man who had to settle a lawsuit over a fraudulent university he had. Does anyone remember that? Everyone’s cool with that and thinks he’s Honest Abe? Give me fucking break, the dude lies on top of lies. This is exactly why I know there isn’t widespread voter fraud to sway the election. If there was, it was on his side. He told his supporters to vote twice when he spoke at his rallies for fuck sake! Don’t we all know that if he had legitimately won there wouldn’t have even been a peep about fraud? It is discouraging to see how many people believe this fucking asshole even more so support him. I encourage you to read that definition again and do some research on Trump. I’ll be damned if a picture of him wouldn’t be the same fucking thing.

Year In Review

Nathan Smith

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December 31, 2020

2020. A year that will forever remain, as one that marks the history books. Ranging from a pandemic to riots and protesting there was an awful lot crammed into these 12 months. A very large majority of it being pretty shitty for most people. On the other side of the coin, some had found a way to flourish. This year also took some pretty big names from us as well. Two of the more recent ones but most significant to me, were the deaths of Eddie Van Halen and Alex Trebek. Those bummed me out. Overall for me I was fortunate to remain mainly unscathed throughout this year. I was able to stay employed and don’t tell anyone…. I even got a bump in pay. I fucking earned that shit though, so it felt quite deserved. I had my car get totaled not due to accident but due to flooding it driving through deep water. It was deeper than it had looked. It’s ok though because I now have a 2005 black Cadillac. She’s older but it feels like driving a cloud. I like it. Despite so many things happening throughout the world this year to be honest very little happened to me. Wait, I take that back. I did have an amazing trip in Europe with my brother and friend. Right as the shit was starting to hit the fan with COVID. It was interesting because that was all we saw on the news over there. We all ended up getting sick during the course of the trip as well. Did we have it? Who the hell knows, it’s possible. I still think it was from swimming in the Mediterranean Sea that night. Other than that trip it was mostly just work for me. Let’s look forward to what will hopefully be a better year for everyone. Happy New Years to you all!

Demons In My Head

Nathan Smith

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December 19, 2020

The demons in my head

They are beckoning

They will not stop

They must be fed

So I must write

To give them breath

Or else it’s me

I’m found dead

No need to panic

I’m just fine

Just needed to get

Things off my mind

It’s crazy, this genius

That constantly hides

Inside laziness

A brilliance resides

Thankfully forced

To release my mind

Here and there

Not often enough

I fight within

Call my bluff

Force myself to writing

Words that mean nothing

Sex Wars

Nathan Smith

1 comment

December 1, 2020

Today at work my manager had sent me a message with a link. I clicked on it and it was the breaking news that Ellen Page was now transgender and is now going by Elliot Page. Now, if you don’t know who Ellen Page was/is, she is an actress. The film she is probably most well known for is the lead role of a movie called “Juno”. She also starred in a series on Netflix called “The Umbrella Academy”. This got me to thinking about the whole transgender movement. I call it a movement because that’s sort of how it feels like to me. I don’t want to come off as being an asshole but I know by the time I finish this post that there will be some that think I am. That’s fine. Anyways, I have nothing against it. People can do what they want with their bodies and often they do. Shit, you notice all the face tattoos out there now. We were all thinking Mike Tyson was fucking crazy when he did it. Now it’s the thing to do. Not my thing and honestly I think it looks fucking dumb on most. It looks like an attention grab to me. Our culture has turned into a driving constant need for attention. Shit, look at the fucking dickhead that’s on his way out of the White House. No bigger attention whore than that cunt. Now now, let’s reel it back in and get back to the topic. Topic being, the influx and increase in transgender people. Now it could be because things are looser now and things are more acceptable so people are more comfortable coming out about it. That’s a great thing and I’m happy for them for that. However, to be brutally truthful, I think its mental illness. I think this because if you are born with a penis you are a male. If you are born with a vagina you are female. If you are the extremely rare circumstance and are born with both, you are a hermaphrodite. That is science and fact. If you look up the definition of transgender it states a person that identifies as the opposite sex as what they are born as. That is not science. I’m sorry but in my blog we lean towards science, facts, and common sense. So, if you are born with a vagina but feel like you want to be male…. IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU A MALE! There I fucking said it. You do have those like Caitlyn Jenner who go forth and have operations… That’s a bold move but go for it. I could be completely wrong but I feel, like with face tattoos, it’s an attention grab for some. The danger with that is, it is an influence for younger people going through the awkwardness of puberty and it could convince some of them they are when they may not be. Bottom line is I guess I just don’t understand it. Wait a moment, I feel this blog has gotten me a tad emotional… I’ll end for now feeling like a woman.

Enough of…

Nathan Smith

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November 11, 2020

The shit show that continues in the U.S. The petulant child, who is supposed to be in charge of the country can’t handle the results of the election. He’s fighting tooth and nail to prove his claims of voter fraud are true. Now, I’m sure there are smidgens of fraud in every election we have had. Invalid votes get counted when they shouldn’t but for the most part there aren’t enough to sway the election. Not to mention if they are deemed close enough a recount would be done. A majority of the cases Trump has filed have been tossed away because they are making false claims with zero evidence. The ones that are being looked at, well, the number of ballots in question wouldn’t make a fucking difference anyways. The other thing to look at which I’ve already mentioned in a previous post, is worth stating again. The votes show a complete rejection of Trump due to the fact that the Senate will still belong to the Republicans and they also gained seats in the house as well. So, in the long run Trump needs to finally put on some adult pants and concede already. Enough of the bullshit…. Oddly enough, that reminds me of something I had seen on my way to work about a month ago. I was behind a truck that had a “Trump Pence 2020 No More Bullshit” sticker on the left rear window. There was also a sticker on the right rear window with a cartoonish character that read “If you don’t like Merica’ then get the fuck out!”

He was driving a Toyota Tacoma.

Author’s note: I originally had a lot more I wanted to say in this post but I thought I would end it there for the sense of humor. Hopefully, you find the irony funny. If not I apologize.

American Reflection

Nathan Smith

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November 4, 2020

I think it’s safe to say that we won’t ever trust the polls again. To be honest I’ve never had any faith in them to begin with. Needless to say, events have seemed to unfold as it was theorized. The beginning votes all around would be showing much higher for Trump and I actually went to bed bed not knowing until this morning that HE had declared he was the winner. Now, it wasn’t surprising to hear of this as this was also something that was predicted and actually even proclaimed by his campaign. They said they would declare victory if he was ahead that night. Not so fast bucko. Not all the votes are in and with there being so many mail in votes to be counted the numbers surged for Biden. Now, it’s still possible Trump wins the electoral. If that’s the case, fine. It is what it is and we move on. However, it is absurd for ANYONE to find it acceptable to stop counting votes if there are some to be count. The only one who has mentioned and brought the idea of the election being rigged has been Trump. He has put so many toxic, illegitimate thoughts into his base’s minds and they believe it. Take for example Qanon. That is a completely and 100% false conspiracy theory. But they lap it up like WAP (wet ass pussy). So if they believe that farce they will certainly believe his claims of cheating in the election. The sad thing is, it wouldn’t even be up for debate if it were the popular vote. It’s all because of the dumb fucking electoral college. Now, I’ve heard the whole reasoning behind it being because the major cities would decide the election…. Excuse me, what??? That makes no fucking sense to me. Yeah, there are more people that live in cities but it’s one person, one vote. How does living in a densely populated area as opposed to less populated make a fucking difference? I mean, don’t we elect our governor’s and senators based on popular vote or am I missing something? Why should the presidency be any different? Anyways, it’s the shit show that has been expected. I hope the violence doesn’t happen. Violence that has also been cited by Trump. I think America needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if we like what we see. I know I don’t. I feel shameful seeing all the self centered only me attitude everywhere. Trump is like Reagan in a sense, not only by plagiarizing the Make America Great Again slogan but they also both trickled something. Reagan had the trickle down economics and Trump has created trickle down narcissism. Get over yourself America, we aren’t looking that great to the world.

Shoes

Nathan Smith

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October 31, 2020

Esther Rosenbaum froze in panic. Her strong will and survival instinct unthawed her quickly as she stealthily ducked behind the pile of shoes. The shoes of her fellow people who had been murdered. If she was seen by the Shutzstaffel she would be among them. There were several she could see, thankfully all either with their back turned or staring off elsewhere. As grotesque as it made her feel, she felt no better option at the moment then to burrow herself into the shoes. She managed dig to herself a niche and found an odd comfort in the pile as she dozed to sleep.

Esther screamed in fear as she was grabbed by firm hands out of the pile of shoes. The soldier squared her up in front of him and shook her while yelling at her. “Mom! Mom! What are you doing?”

Norman shook his mother trying to bring her back to reality. He felt a sudden guilt, knowing how long it had been since he had last visited. The house was a disaster and his mother had become a hoarder. The major thing she hoarded was shoes and he found her dug into a pile of them. As he was gathering his thoughts over the strange pattern of behavior, Esther came out of her fugue and embraced Norman.

“Oh Norman, I’m so happy to see you!”

“Good to see you too, mom, but what were you doing in the pile of shoes? What is going on?”

Esther stood confused, unsure of how to answer it. Norman held her by the hand and said “Come on, mom let’s go sit in the living room.”

As they sat down Norman noticed the black and white photograph on the coffee table. He picked it up and looked at it in awe, realizing it was a photo of a pile of shoes from a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Tears welled up in his eyes as things became crystal clear to him. The crude and simple black “KL” tattoo on his mother’s left forearm wasn’t a stupid rebellious thing she had done just to spite her parents like she had told him when he was a kid. It was the permanent reminder of the horrors she saw as a child. The permanent badge of a survivor. The permanent scar that caused her to denounce her Jewish faith. The permanent nightmare she was still occasionally living due to dementia.

Author’s note: Happy Halloween! This was just a quick story that jumped into my brain. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to get some more frequent posts up.

Tales From A Cross Country Trip: A Family Adventure (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Nathan Smith

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September 25, 2020

Welcome back to another story from a family cross country trip across the U.S.A. It was 1990 and I was 8 years old. It only took me 30 fucking years to finally decide to write about my memories from it. Anyways, on to the tale today. I literally do not remember anything from Salt Lake City, Utah other than remembering this experience. It was a warm night and we were getting prepared to eat dinner. We were going to have some pizza that we had gotten from a super market along the trip. Who doesn’t love pizza? I grabbed it hastily from my mom after it was cooked and took a gleeful bite. Almost instantaneously, my joy went to horror as my taste buds registered the toxic taste of styrofoam. Mind you I had never eaten styrofoam but thing about it, is that it has a distinct smell that creates the taste for you. I spit it out and immediately and stated “I can’t eat it this, it tastes like styrofoam.”

My father wasn’t buying it. He thought I didn’t want to eat it because it had green onion and pepper on it and at my age then, I wasn’t a fan and wouldn’t eat it. I pleaded my case and request he try it. He obliged and his reaction was immediate as well. Oh, what the fuck!? was definitely the look on his face, but I didn’t put in quotes because I can’t honestly say I remember his exact words. It wouldn’t surprise me though, if they were. So, let’s be a tale of caution as well. If you ever see pizza and its packaged with styrofoam on the bottom, be cautious because you may suffer the same fate. Blah, thinking of it now I can still taste it. So much so, that this is my sole, solid, memory of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Unforgettable

Nathan Smith

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September 11, 2020

On Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001 I was walking through the dish wash room at work when I foggy brained heard the news on the radio. A plane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. Without even a single hesitation a voice in my head said “Oh well, that’s definitely a terrorist attack”. Now, I’m not sure if it had been obvious to everyone at that time but it was my immediate thought.

Now, let’s delve into the night before shall we? I had done what is called candy flipping. It is when you take acid and ecstasy together. I can’t recall much of that night oddly enough, but knowing I had done that the night before makes the events of what was to happen the next day so burned in my mind. I had felt guilty going to work the next day after being fucked up all night. I remember my mushy brain the next morning and feeling numb hearing it. Almost as if it wasn’t really happening. I also, in a sick way, recall thinking, well, maybe we deserved it. Always trying to play the fucking World Police. It wasn’t until actually seeing the footage of the events, where it sunk in and was sobering. Despite how awful that day was. There was some good out of it. There was a period of unity. Unfortunately, it’s something we don’t seem to have at all currently. As I recall that day, I hope that we can rediscover that unity as well. Forgive but never forget.

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