Bath Salt Zombieland

OK, it's getting weird. The "bath salts zombie" stories are piling up. This time from a ZH reader today.

Tue, 06/12/2012 - 14:45 | 2518921 Clashfan

A bit off topic here, but "insanity" is part of the topic/headline.

My wife just got accosted by someone apparently on the bath salts. I thought you folks would be interested. We live in rural suburbia, so this seems odd. Or maybe not?

She was turning off of the highway onto our usual side street and, immediately after she turned, she saw a man walking toward her car on her side of the road. He then stepped out in front of the car, and she could see that he was brandishing a sickle and waving it around. No shit. He had jeans but no shirt and was sweating profusely. He stood squarely in front of her car, screaming "Hit me, bitch!".

She miraculously managed to get around him into the other lane as he shouted at her through the passenger side window. When she looked into her rear view mirror as she sped away, she could see that he was going after the cars that had been turning behind her. As she got about a mile down the road, two cops sped past in the other direction (toward the incident) with their lights on.

I mean, a sickle. Freaking zombie grim reaper shit. I am thankful to the Father in Heaven that she made it home from the bank. Insanity is catching.

Followed by

Tue, 06/12/2012 - 14:49 | 2518941 Muppet Pimp

This seems to be happening more and more often around my area also. They arrested a man last night behind the diner who was eating a stray cat. Very strange indeed.

Is the media ginning up fear like like they did with the McMartin Preschool scandal, or are we actually seeing a growing swarm of bath salt zombies trying to eat us as we head home from work?

I am not so sure it's media hysteria this time around. Good thing I am working on Rule #1.

I can run 3 miles now, but these bath salts zombies seem pretty quick and don't tire easily. Could I outrun a bath salt zombie waving a sickle around? (They did have to double-tap that guy in Miami, BTW.)

There oughta be a central repository for bath salt zombie stories so that we can track the spread. Sounds like a job for Google Flu Trends.

Goodwill Everywhere

Am I the only one a little bit freaked out by the number of Goodwill stores popping up like Starbucks? I am not criticizing them, but it's freaky that so many stores are opening, including ones in the "nice" shopping centers.

I guess it makes sense, what with the retail mania of the last 20 years. Empty strip shopping centers on every corner, and these guys pay the rent on time. So now it's:

• Bounce House
• Vietnamese Nail Salon
• Dollar Store
• Ace Cash Express
• Liquor Store
• Darque Tan
• Goodwill

Calculated Risk embraces nuttery

I was very surprised to read this yesterday on Calculated Risk:

CalculatedRisk wrote on Mon, 6/4/2012 - 7:32 pm (in reply to...)
TJ and The Bear, I hear Zero is now associated with Rush. Figures.

If you need a decoder, CR thinks that Zero Hedge is in cahoots with Rush Limbaugh. He didn't provide any evidence to back up his claim.

Last I checked, Zero Hedge is anti-establishment (both left and right) and hates the military/industrial complex. Rush is definitely not anti-establishment (he only hates the left) and he loves the military/industrial complex. Moreover, a number of Zero Hedge contributors are certifiably insane. They've turned the place into a cesspool of bizarre conspiracies and racism, albeit a cesspool that is highly entertaining once you've put on some waders.

Rush is pretty far-right but even he'd be booted off the air if he started ranting like the people over on Zero Hedge.

CR, buddy. Get a grip and quite imbibing in the Kos. I read you because you're pretty good with the charts and stuff. Leave the weird conspiracy tales to others who are more entertaining at it. Like the insane asylum at ZH.

Why we're sliding into Part II of the Great Recession

I mentioned back in April that based upon what I'm seeing on the front lines, we're sliding back into a recession. Talking with various people over the past few weeks, I've concluded why. (I'll avoid politics/laying blame and stick with facts.)

1. The impending massive tax increases, also known as Taxmaggedon.
2. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Huge parts of the act will be coming into effect over the coming months, yet few people seem to know exactly what it will mean to them. Particularly business owners. We don't even know if the Act is legal, pending a decision from the US Supreme Court.
3. Economic doom in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. It most certainly is hurting US exports.

These three events alone make it pretty near impossible for small and medium-sized business owners to plan for the future, and if they can't make solid plans they aren't going to hire. In fact, they will do everything they can to survive, including tossing employees overboard.

As Americans we have control over the first two issues. There's not much we can do about the rest of the world. Until the first two issues (at least) are resolved one way or the other, the recession will continue.