[Mick]

I provide our folks with a very nice high deductible plan plus an HSA contribution that roughly equals the deductible. They pay 25% of premiums, I pay 75%. Our premium increase for 2026? 17% It’s a broken system, largely because of the misuse of “insurance” to cover things like birth control, childbirth, and testosterone replacement. Insurance should only be for things you don’t want, like broken limbs or cancer, not for things you consume as a matter of living or vanity. and don’t get me started on weight loss drugs.

I agree with everything you say. I have four problems:

1. I’m already paying over $30k annually out of pocket for both me and my wife.
2. We were in great health until age 50, then the health issues snowballed. My wife has something major every 18 months or so. We need medical care.
3. Thirty years ago, we only saw MDs. Fifteen years ago, half of our care was given by non-MDs. Today, it’s rare to see an MD. And we notice, at the edges, the difference in care.
4. The mid-level coverages are phasing out. We get care at Palo Alto Medical Foundation/Sutter Health and have since we were married in 1987. We used Blue Shield/Silver, which BS is eliminating. They’re keeping Gold and Bronze.
5. Mrs. Mick, dear woman, will always choose the more expensive option.

I get it, proactive options shouldn’t be covered by insurance. The births of our sons thirty years ago were $25k each (both at Stanford). The average cost of childbirth in the USA is $18,865. If there are no pregnancy benefits, our already-dwindling childbirth rate will shrink further. And if we don’t pay the fat people to reduce their weights, we’ll pay for it on the back end.

Tough issue. I don’t see it improving.

[Mick]

Current poll claims Newsom is behind Harris for the 2028 Democrat presidential nomination.

Gavin Newsom suffers polling blow among 2028 Democratic candidates

Harris has support from 33% of Dems. Newsom is second at 13%, and AOC is third at 8%.

AOC as president…I can’t imagine a politically illiterate barkeep as our next president or citizens of any stripe too stupid to vote for her.

[Mick]

Apparently the oddest phenomenon is the enormous number of old white people protesting.

[Mick]

Those people must have failed high school civics. We haven’t had a king since (depending on how you measure it) either 1776 of 1783. We don’t have one now. We won’t have one.

I get that the Left is bent out of shape because they’re no longer in power and they can no longer fund radical Leftist causes. It is odd to me that they claim Republicans are causing the government shut down. Ah…no. They’re prepared to have another CR, the Democrats want to continue to ignore the laws of the land fund health care for illegal immigrants. And they wouldn’t need a CR if they just balanced the budget.

[Mick]

I couldn’t stand Liccardo. I can live with Mahan, a moderate Democrat.

One of the things I like best about Mahan is that he spars with Newsom. He’s not a fan. He’s challenged Newsom on crime (Mahan supported Prop 36), homelessness, drug addiction, Newsom’s stupid social media posts,

Also, Mahan wants to be Governor…

Newsom’s presidential ambitions are running into a home-state hater – POLITICO

San Jose mayor challenges Newsom’s vision for state – San José Spotlight

[Mick]

Emerson poll says that if JD Vance ran against Newsom, he’d be ahead 46% to 45%.

The August poll had Newsom behind by nearly 2%. So, Newsom is gaining ground.

Gavin Newsom gains ground on JD Vance in 2028 presidential race: Poll

 

[Mick]

I hope moderates are on the rise, I really do. I think SF’s current mayor is doing a great job, particularly in comparison with his predecessors. Hopefully the city comes back.

[Mick]

Kamala Harris was the most qualified presidential candidate…ever. Just ask her:

‘Seen and Unseen’: Kamala Harris says many claim she was the ‘most qualified’ presidential candidate | Watch

Ms. Harris…you were running against a man who had actually been President. 

[Mick]

Thought I would update the list, this time with closures from San Francisco Centre (two blocks south of Union Square on Market between 4th and 5th), which is down to two restaurants in the entire mall.

New closings in bold:

1. 24-Hour Fitness
2. A Miner Miracle Shop
3. Abercrombie & Fitch
4. Adidas
5. Agent Provocateur
6. Aldo
7. Alessi
8. Alexander McQueen
9. AllSaints
10. Amazon Go
11. American Eagle Outfitters
12. Amy Kuschel Bride
13. Anthropologie
14. Archive
15. Arc’teryx
16. AT&T
17. Athleta
18. Babette
19. Banana Republic
20. Bank of America (brand on 1 Market Street)
21. Barneys New York
22. Bed Bath & Beyond
23. Benefit
24. Blondie’s Pizza (relocated)
25. Bloom Room, The
26. Bloomingdale’s
27. Bristol Farm
28. Brooks Brothers
29. Bucherer / Rolex
30. Burke Williams Spa
31. California Girl Jewelry
32. Camper Shoes
33. CB2
34. Christian Louboutin
35. Century Theaters
36. Cinemark Multiplex
37. Coach
38. Coco Republic Furniture
39. Cole Haan
40. Container Store, The
41. Crate & Barrel
42. Crunch Gym
43. Cuyana
44. CVS Pharmacy
45. Denny’s
46. Diana Slavin
47. Diesel
48. Disney Store
49. DSW/Designer Shoe Warehouse
50. eDressit
51. Ethos
52. Express
53. Façonnable
54. Farinelli Decorative Arts
55. Fires of Brazil Express
56. First Republic Bank
57. Forever 21
58. Forum
59. Gallery of Jewels
60. GameStop
61. Gap, The
62. Goorin Brothers
63. Green Arcade Bookstore
64. G-Star
65. H&M
66. Harputs
67. Hilton Union Square
68. Hollister
69. Huntington
70. Icebreaker
71. In-N-Out Burger
72. IWC Schaffhausen
73. Izzy & Wooks
74. J. Crew
75. Jamba Juice
76. Jeffrey’s Toys
77. Jimmy Choo
78. Jimmy Choo Men’s
79. Jin Wang Bridal
80. Jins Eyewear
81. John Varvatos
82. Johnny Was
83. Jos. A. Bank Clothier
84. Journeys
85. Kate Spade
86. Klaus Murer Swiss Jeweler
87. Kohl’s (27 closings nationwide)
88. KPMG – Leaving their $400 million name building
89. L’Occitane
90. La Cocina
91. La Perla
92. Lego Stores
93. Lily Samii Collection
94. Longchamp
95. Lucky Brand
96. Lululemon
97. Lush
98. Macy’s
99. Madewell
100. Makeshop by Brit + Co.
101. Margaret O’Leary
102. Marlowe
103. Marmot
104. Marni
105. Marshall’s
106. Mashaallah  Halal Pakistani Food
107. MCM Worldwide
108. Mephisto
109. Merrell
110. Michael Kors
111. Mija Cochinita
112. Milk Tee
113. New Balance
114. Nordstrom – Closing all San Francisco stores, not just Union Square
115. Nordstrom Rack
116. North Face
117. Oakley
118. Office Depot
119. Old Navy
120. Omega
121. Ordinary, The | DECIEM
122. Panerai
123. Paper Source
124. Parc 55
125. Psycho Bunny
126. Rae | Costumes
127. Ray Ban
128. Razer Computer
129. RealReal, The
130. Richemont
131. Ria’s Shoes
132. Rims & Goggles
133. Rolex
134. Saks Fifth Avenue
135. Saks Off Fifth
136. Sarku Japan
137. Scotch & Soda
138. See’s Candies
139. Sentiero
140. Sephora
141. Seven Eleven
142. Shreve & Company Jewelers
143. Starbuck’s (Two closings three more by 2025)
144. Steve Madden
145. Subway
146. Sunglass Hut
147. Taco Bell
148. Target
149. Ted Baker
150. The Body Shop
151. Theory
152. Thomas Pink
153. Tina’s Jewelry
154. T-Mobile
155. Tourbillon Boutique
156. TSE
157. TUMI
158. Umai Savory Hot Dogs
159. Uniglo
160. V Boutique
161. Vans
162. Veo Optics
163. Vilebrequin
164. Walgreen’s (closed five SF stores in late 2021, twelve by 2025)
165. Warby Parker
166. Westfield Mall
167. Westzel’s  Pretzels
168. Whole Foods
169. Williams Sonoma
170. Wolford
171. World of Charms
172. Yotel
173. Zadig & Voltaire
174. Zara
175. Zumiez

[Mick]

David Hogg, whose vow to target elected Democratic leaders triggered months of party infighting that led to his departure from Democratic National Committee leadership, made his first endorsement against an incumbent House Democrat on Monday.

Hogg’s political group, Leaders We Deserve, endorsed state Rep. Donavan McKinney, 33, against incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar, 70, in a largely Democratic Michigan district.

David Hogg makes first midterms endorsement against an incumbent Democrat

Hogg said in April they intended to spend $20 million defeating “old, ineffective”  Democrats.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 1 week ago by Mick.

[Mick]

The so-called “fact-checker” sites that don’t check facts, they misconstrue a rumor and fact-check the rumor. Example. “Did 20 million Democrat votes disappear?” Fact-check: Did 20 million Democratic votes ‘disappear’? No. 20 million Dem votes did not disappear. So they rated it “pants on fire” lie. But that wasn’t the issue. The issue is that about 7 million Democratic votes did disappear. To explain: Donald Trump received 74.224 million votes in 2020, and a virtually identical amount in 2024, 74.347 million. But Biden received 81.284 million votes in 2020, and Kamala Harris received 70.421 million. Republican votes decreased 1.2%. But Democrat votes decreased 6.94 million votes, or 8.6%. So where did they go? Or was there widespread voter fraud?

Updating the numbers, now that the full count is in:

Trump, 2020; 74,223,975

Trump, 2024; 77,302,580

Biden, 2020; 81,283,501

Harris, 2024; 75,017,613

This makes a little more sense. Trump gained about 3.1 million votes. Harris lost 6.2 million of Biden’s votes.

Interesting trivia note: despite the increased adult population, 2024 was the fourth Presidential election in American history in which the total vote declined from the previous election.

Largest decline was 1992 to 1996, between Perot’s first run and second run. He drew a lot of excitement and a lot of first time voters in 1992. He lost 10 million votes between the elections, which was equivalent to the decline.

 

[Mick]

Just purely evil.

And speaking of which, former FBI Director Comey — the one who happened upon rocks on a beach that spelled out “8647” (Kill Trump) and posted it. Then he said, he didn’t understand what it meant (the head of the FBI doesn’t understand what “86” means?), and took down the post.

Anyway, he’s about to face a criminal indictment for lying to Congress:

Former FBI Director James Comey expected to be indicted soon: MSNBC

[Mick]

It’s a pretty long list of problems. Horrible homelessness that’s getting worse. Half the state is the Brazilian-type of rich that Democrats usually hate, the other half of the state is the poorest, highest-poverty-in-the-country, and the Dems don’t give two sxxts about them.

Right now, betting sites are giving 66:1 odds that Kamala Harris runs for California Governor in 2026 (she’s already stated that she wouldn’t).

[Mick]

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/trump-no-longer-free-speech-00574219 Trump is an authoritarian. Am I even allowed to say that anymore? First thing Putin did was ban the satirists in Russia. I can see you’re all very concerned

I don’t know which I like better, the fact that BYT lies about Trump banning satirists (Kimmel was suspended for a week, and gets his show back tomorrow)…

Jimmy Kimmel’s show returning tomorrow, ABC announces

…or that he says literally nothing about the Left’s murder of a man committed to free and fair discourse.

Both are completely, stereotypically, absurdly typical of the Left

[Mick]

And while we’re on that topic, a few more  stats:

• 9 out of the 10 richest counties in America voted Democrat across the board.
• 65% of all Americans making $500k or more vote Democrat.

[Author]

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