There was a time, ladies and gentlemen, when I could sit here in the bloggery and while away the hours wordsmithing a verbal and sometimes profane assault on the powers that be and the destruction they were perpetrating upon us.

Back then I took great issue with the baby steps which were being taken to encroach our Freedom.

I’m going to leave that one capitalized because it deserves it.

In the early days of this website, the most prevalent rants I launched were against the TSA body scans and pat downs, and the implementation of universal healthcare.

Gone are the days.

My feelings at the time were that those encroachments were introductory gateway drugs to worserer things.

If the ‘Merican people could get used to the government forcing them to participate in a specific market under penalty of a fine, go ahead and prime the pump so that other mandates could be instituted later on.

If the ‘Merican people could get used to subjecting themselves to having nekid pictures taken in order to board an airplane, all at the same time while having the chance to get the occasional groping under the guise of a pat-down because they forgot to remove their belt before entering the nekid-picture taking machine, then have at.  After all, it’s all in the name of safety.

Excuse me a moment while I fight back a flashback.

Rest assured, I still hold those feelings.

I just don’t rant about them very much anymore here on my beloved website.  I’ve developed the mentality that the more I rant about stuff like that, the more rent free head space I bequeath to the poachers. 

I’d rather spend my time writing about everything bagels lovingly slathered with cream cheese, the antics of Faith, the TharpSter TreadMill, and updates on Charlie, our newly minted Fetching Officer.

As soon as she gets better at releasing the fetched item so we can huck it again, we’ll upgrade her title to a C suite level.

On a regular basis, I open up the Notes app on my phone and enter a phrase or an idea in there of something I would like to write about later on.  Scrolling through that list right now, I’m still trying to figure out how to incorporate the term “danger pants” into a post.

I’ll have to work on that one.

The interesting times in which we live, the same ones that fortune cookie warned us about, have been resplendent with plenty of rant-worthy material.  Even still, every single one of those rants has been executed by a vast gaggle of pundits who have a voice on the airwaves, in print, and here on the web.  It’s not necessary for me to contribute to the resonance in the echo chamber unless I have a take on a matter that hasn’t really been expressed.

As I sit here on day one of my annual September vacation, I’m pondering how far I’m going to take this post into the disgust I feel about the way things are going.  I’m also reminding myself about poachers and rent-free headspace.

It does occur to me that I have a take on one of today’s situations which I haven’t heard out there yet, so I’m going to make a prediction.

Predictions are easy nowadays when it comes to prognosticating what the gub’ment is going to do to us next.

When they promise that they would never take a specific action on the ‘Merican people because it would be unlawful or unconstitutional, just count on the fact that they will do what they said they wouldn’t do.

A few weeks ago, the stupid, lying asshole who occupies more space in front of the White House teleprompter than in his own head took a respite from his prescription ice cream to announce a mandate.

The Department of Labor has been ordered to work with OSHA to require all companies with 100 employees or more to require their people get vaccinated against COVID, or provide a negative test on a weekly basis.  The penalty for any failure to follow the mandate will be $14K per incident.

As I understand it, there are two problems with the mandate.

It messes with equal protection for those companies with more than 100 employees, versus those with less.

It also messes with states’ rights.

The mandate will be challenged and fought in the court system.  Even then, I don’t trust the court system to make the right decision.

The sun will come up so many times in the east before you just learn to expect it there.

The problem is that some people either just don’t want, or don’t need the vaccine.  The Biden (46*) administration is not taking this into account.  Instead, they are acting like the vaccine is the end-all, be-all to fighting the virus without taking the rest of the science into account.

Did I mention baby steps earlier?

The vaccine mandate is just another step, downstream from the TSA protocols and the Obamacare individual mandate, which degrades our individual autonomy. 

Build Tyranny Better.

So here’s my prediction.  If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll already know what it is.

Something will happen with the vaccine mandate where it will not be implemented as initially described.

There’s language within Obamacare which requires that the health insurance we purchase carries a bare minimum of coverages.  I would suggested to you right here and now that an effort will be undertaken to alter that bare minimum of coverages to include a COVID vaccination.

The IRS will be tasked (or taxed, take your pick) with monitoring compliance, much like they are with the individual mandate today.  For those filing their taxes who fail to provide proof of vaccination, a penalty (pronounced \’taks\) will be levied.

It will be referred to as the Vax Tax.

Now that’s it’s been said out loud (at least on the internet), I’m going to lovingly slather an everything bagel with some cream cheese, put on my danger pants, and play fetch with the silver lab. 

In the meantime, I’ll let the wheels of destiny spin to determine if I nailed it with the prediction.