My predictions

Everybody is making predictions for the new year, some are good, some are bad and many refer to people are currently, or have recently, been making headlines.  Here's what I think:

That fart infused gas bag ego known as Donald Trump is going to sustain a serious puncture once the primaries begin.  There just aren't enough racist, bigot Republican voters to carry his political career any further.  Be prepared for the stink because it is going to be bad, all of that shit he's been storing in his colon is going to explode.

Kim Davis will leaver her state job and hit the road, you see her pimp, Mat Staver, has by this time convinced her she can make more money her preaching to foolish Christians than she can issuing nameless marriage licenses.  But, then isn't that what pimps do?  And she's happy as a pig in shit because all she cares about is living forever with Jesus, of course she doesn't really know she's going to be living with him, but her pimp tells her this is true and that's all she cares about.

Caitlyn Jenner's reality show is going to be canned... because, sadly enough, no one no longer cares.

Star Wars, The Force Awakens is going to be the biggest money maker of all time.

And, finally, the Oscar for Best Picture is going to go to......  ha,ha ha, I'm not that foolish.

Run, Run, he's got a gun!

This past week training loaded all associates are supposed to take regarding 'active shooters in the building,' or as I call it "Run, run, he's got a gun."  This is a sad statement for our times that corporations should feel it necessary their associates understand they might actually have to deal with this type of situation.  What I found interesting was that the whole thing, lasting only 2.5 minutes, was all about concealment, about either getting out of the building or finding a safe place to hide, and what to do when law enforcement arrived - leave the building with your hands in the air and fingers spread wide open.  There was not one mention of what you should do in this type of situation if you happened to be one of those individuals who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, most likely, I suspect, because by the time you got your weapon out of your coat pocket, took off the safety, and started aiming at a moving target you would probably have already been shot.  You see active shooters don't usually carry single fire weapons, they carry assault weapons that fire a lot of bullets in a few seconds; they don't really need to aim, they just point and pull the trigger.

Interestingly enough, with all the shootings we've had, I've never heard one word from one survivor lamenting the fact that if he/ she had had their gun with them they'd have been able to save lives.  No doubt because in intense moments like shootings, panic sets in and your basic instinct is to save your ass.  That's why this training session had nothing to do with putting a bead on the shooter's head and everything to do with running away or finding a safe hiding place.  This concept is quite alien to a number of gun fanciers simply because they just don't understand how severely limited they are. 

Welcome to Kentucky, home of bad Christians and no minimum wage

Home of Governor Bevan, Kim Davis, and mall riots.  I had to laugh when Davis, who has evidently decided to give comedy a try, said she was surprised that God had chosen her.  When it comes to horse's asses, this idiot is in a close race with Donald Trump.  Firstly, she wasn't chosen by God, she was chosen by her pimp, Mat Staver.  Secondly, she is so selfishly focused on her own biased beliefs she is totally clueless as to the terrible changes her new bestie, Governor Bevin, is forcing onto the people of Kentucky, like the minimum wage.  She doesn't care if his beliefs are this:

THE MINIMUM WAGE STIFLES JOB CREATION AND DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTS LOWER SKILLED WORKERS SEEKING ENTRY LEVEL JOBS. WAGE RATES IDEALLY WOULD BE ESTABLISHED BY THE DEMANDS OF THE LABOR MARKET INSTEAD OF BEING SET BY THE GOVERNMENT.

Gov. Matt Bevin

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article51139910.html#storylink=cpy

Does Kim Davis care if her newly elected governor doesn't believe in a minimum wage?  Or that he would like Kentucky to be like Mississippi, the poorest state in the United States, and have no minimum wage?  Of course not, because she doesn't think about people at all.  She thinks about herself, and how wonderful it is to have been chosen by God.
Does Kim Davis care if Matt Bevin guts Obamacare and those who finally got insurance are going to lose it?  Hell no, she's a state employee with damn good, fairly inexpensive insurance.
The truth is that Kim Davis is a member of the 'Me Generation,' and by being so, has personalized her religious beliefs to such an extent that they revolve completely around her own wants and desires.  The fact that people in Kentucky will end up being poorer is not even an issue for her.  As a result she's not a very good Christian because she doesn't care... not about them, only about herself, and the beliefs she has cherry picked.  No matter how bad things get, as long as she gets her way, her world is a good place.

Candidates Kids

For those of you who didn't see the news flash, Bristol Palin dropped her second 'cow' (child outta wedlock) just before Christmas, and while mamma Palin wishes people would be sayin' "holy cow," most of America is saying "look, another cracker."
Anyway, I thought I'd write about children in politics since Ted Cruz made some tiny headlines complaining about a cartoon drawn by a cartoonist who publishes with the conservative Washington Post.  His two daughters were depicted as trained monkeys and, of course, he started shrieking about the liberal media since that's red meat to conservative Republicans.  First of all, the cartoonist got it wrong, they're not trained monkeys, they're more like little animatronic robots silently waving at the the crowd.  Secondly, Cruz immediately prostituted the image by asking for $1 million dollars to fight the "liberal Media," but then that's how he works.  Thirdly, while many, many politicians parade their kids on stage, I can't remember a single one of them capable of doing tricks.  You would have thought that when Palin pushed all of her brood out they might have been able to do at least one barrel roll.  Nope, they all just stood there and waved.  Even Chelsea Clinton stood there and waved.  And, of course, I've never been to a Cruz rally so maybe his little girls do tricks to please the crowd, maybe a somersault or two, but I doubt it.
In fact, the only time I can ever remember giving a candidate's kids a second glance was when Romeny's boys walked out on stage.

That was when I realized what Conservative Preppie Porn was, all T-shirts and flannel.  But even they didn't do tricks, all they did was stand there looking like they were waiting for 'Vogue' to start playing, and, unfortunately for Mitt, it never did.  I can't even imagine what kind of crowd pleaser that would have been. 

Two days till Christmas

In just two days the 2015 Christmas season will be over, well, almost over.  Sure, on the 26th people will be returning the gifts that don't fit, or that they just don't like, and, of course, they'll be out spending their Gift Cards since that's what Gift Cards are for.  Over all, I'd have to say this wasn't a bad Christmas, at least in the retail market I work in, home improvement.  And it started with Black Friday.  This year we did not open early.  Face it, no one rushes out on Black Friday to buy a refrigerator, or a stove, or to have a deck designed.. it just doesn't happen so there really was no reason to open our doors hours early.  This year, they didn't relentlessly play Christmas music, only on weekends when the aisles were full of customers which was nice for associates who've listened to the same music year after year after year.
This doesn't mean we still don't get bad customers, however, though I can say this year we had very few come to the paint desk.  Well, there was this one woman who had bought a faucet at our store on the East Shore and returned it to our store ten minutes before we closed, and, of course, she didn't have her receipt, and to our chagrin, the credit card she'd used to pay for the faucet was inexplicably not letting us pull up her purchase information, which meant we needed to give her store credit for $86. I got to deal with her when she decided to purchase some caulk and just couldn't find the specific caulk she needed.  She took 2 tubes and I went back to stow my apron since the store was now closed.  And, of course, when I left the building she was at the register complaining loudly because she was trying to use her credit card to pay for her purchase, you know, the one that was inexplicably not working, instead of the store credit she received.  HHHmmmm
Anyway, I thought I'd leave you with a picture of what looks like an insect.  This is what happens sometimes when we tint paint.

Nifty ain't it?

Trump: Aiming for icebergs

Where as Captain Edward John Smith tried to avoid sailing the RMS Titanic into an iceberg,  Donald Trump seems to be aiming directly towards as many as he can, playing tag with them in the freezing water of politics.  Because the GOP has spent decades fermenting this hatred of anything and anyone who doesn't bow down to them, they seem to have ceded the Captainship of their party to this lunatic, and he is steering them towards icebergs.  This was apparent yesterday when that horse's ass made personal, derogatory comments about Hilary Clinton.  And, while his Trumplodites are cheering themselves into a frenzy, a majority of American women are asking "what the hell is up with this asshole?"
In fact, more and more, he seems to be making the American voters cringe... except for his Trumplodites, because the Republican party has groomed them for this embarrassing political behavior.  Actually, embarrassment is what half of registered American voters feel about Donald Trump.  That's not the way you win elections, it's the way you lose by a landslide.  This is how you sink a political party.

The fact that the Republican base, many of whom are Trumplodites, is out of control is their own fault.  Instead of offering positive politics, and positive solutions, all they've done is foster hate:  Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi... They failed to realize that at this point in time no one really gives a shit.  They thought they were heading into warmer waters and all they were really doing was heading straight into an iceberg field.  And Donald Trump now seems to be at the wheel, and while the lookouts are shouting warnings his ego is smiling as he orders "full speed ahead."

One Million Moms stupefied the GOP

I'm sure a number of your have seen this article noting that about one third of registered Republicans would love to bomb Agrabah, the fictional city in Aladdin.  If you read it you'll see that around 51% are undecided, you know?  Should we bomb it or shouldn't we?  No one should really be surprised about this since socially conservative Republicans hate Disney.  Their films are too diverse.  Can you believe it?  Big Hero Six had an Asian / American lead!  With a co-star who was a big, marshmallow thing!

One of the most vocal socially conservative, Republican groups is One Million Moms, who's numbers don't really number one million, and who aren't all really moms.  A lot of them are just haters, which is why in 2010 they were designated a "hate group."  And, believe it or not, this small group of haters has apparently declared war on Disney.  To say that they are crazier then a box of Cracker Jacks is an understatement.  They hate everything Disney.
And, the Republican party kowtows to hate groups like this since they believe these minority voters are their future.  Right. With this mentality I'm sure very few Republican parents took their children to see Aladdin, since the real star was a big, blue genie voiced by that liberal Robin Williams.

As a result, many Republicans believe the fictional Agrabah is a real place, filled with real Muslims they are born to hate, and that small group of haters who desperately wish their numbers counted to a million, have stupefied the Republican Party.

Putin, Trump, Shkreli, Walters and Boyd

It's been a hectic past month and a half.  We moved my 82 year old mother into a Senior Living Facility after she developed some health issues (she hates it) and we're selling her home (closing is 1/18/16).  Anyway, I needed to post some observations.

Firstly:  There's evidently some kind of Bromance going on between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump since they've both started admiring each other.  Bet the Trumplodites into near earth orbit, you know, having the Ruskie and their little demagogue bonding in such a dictatorial way.

Secondly:  There is the Smelly Shkreli story.  For those who don't know, he got busted this past week, and the judge was wise enough to take away his passport... hhmm.  Wouldn't you think a Social Psychopath like Marty Shkreli my have a phony second passport, maybe even a third.  My suspicion is that in the next few weeks he will... disappear.  Isn't that what scumbags like him do?

Then there's the Barbara Walters Top 10 list... who gives a shit?  She should have retired on her laurels years ago rather then failing so obviously to remain relevant.

And then we're back to the passport thing, though not with Smelly Shkreli, this time we're dealing with Ethan Couch.  You do remember him, don't you?  The 16 year old drunkard who killed 4 when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving?  Anyway, Judge Boyd, (now retired) sentenced this losing sack of shit 10 years probation.

Why, because his dysfunctional parents failed to raise a human being most because they're just bottom feeding breeders.  Anyway, Texas authorities now believe that Ethan and his sow of a mother have split the country.  That's right, they are on the lam.  Not yet International Fugitives, but I suspect that's the target their aiming for. Now I'll be honest, way back when Judge Jean Boyd demonstrated utter incompetence in sentencing Ethan Couch to 10 years of probation I said to myself, "hey, that piece of shit is going to split," and... surprise!  Anyway, I suppose Judge Jean Boyd is not sleeping easier because now, at least, she knows he's no longer driving drunk in Texas.

On Reagan's head

While Trump continues to revel in his negativity for all who aren't his supporters, most of whom are older, less educated, and financially less secure (if you don't believe me Google it), the rest of us have done a big jump-back as we try to fathom how the GOP could be manhandled in such a way by this neo-fascist.  It all goes back to Ronald Reagan's landslide re-election.  Having survived an assassination attempt, Reagan saw his approval rating sky rocket to the high 90's, peaking out at 97% and confused Republicans thought this meant the country, far and wide, had suddenly gone conservative.  It didn't.  People just liked the old fart.  He was very grandfatherly.  His second term in office was a mess.  This is why he's considered an average president.

George H. Bush's presidency was marred terribly by a vomiting session at a Japanese state dinner and by the fact that, following the map set out by Reaganomics, the economy started drying up.  And the GOP began to hate everybody who didn't agree with them.  When Clinton won with the campaign slogan "It's the economy, stupid," the hate went into over drive.  It was impossible for them to believe everything they held sacred was false.  They've been hating ever since.  

Instead of understanding they needed to comprise after getting George W. into the White House by the skin of their teeth, they said "screw you America, your popular vote means nothing, we are in charge so shut up."  And they continued to regionalize themselves, and marginalize themselves as a party.  They used terror tactics to get W a second term and we ended up with the 2nd worst economic disaster in American history.

When Obama was elected for his first term their hate and negativity rose to a fever pitch, and at his second win of the White House they became frenzied.

Now they're facing the very real possibility of having a Democrat in the White House for a 3rd consecutive term and they're reeling back and forth.  Their front runner has alienated so many groups of voters, voters they need to get into the White House, and he doesn't care since all he's really doing is masturbating his own ego.  And they're wondering how they could have ended up in such a shit hole.  What the GOP really needs to do is put the blame where it belongs, on Ronald Reagan's head because his re-election was a lie.

Trump = Demogogue

For all the Trumplodites out there, it looks like The Donald is a true demagogue, as noted by the conservative Washington Post.  These aren't the silent majority, but rather the clueless masses.  Under his leadership the country would quickly cascade down into chaos.  And those who love him?  They don't understand he would crumble their hopes and dreams down upon them, except for a special few.  This is how demagogues work.

They evidently don't know they should be careful of what they wish for.

From FIOS to the Trumplodite ascension

Ah, FIOS, some of know you too well.  Me, for instance.  My 82 year old mother recently moved into a Senior Living facility.  So far everything is going well except for her one dismay, she now needs to watch Comcast rather then FIOS.  She hates Comcast because they don't broadcast the same religious channels as FIOS.  She'll learn to live with it.  Anyway, it's my job to return the two set top boxes and her router.  When I cancelled her service I was told I could return everything to an authorized Verizon / FIOS dealer.  So I toted everything across the river only to be told "we don't do that anymore, you need to take them to a UPS Store."  So, on my way to the gym yesterday, I stopped off at the UPS Store and was told "our contract with FIOS expired at the end of October."  So, when I got home, I called Verizon and was promptly told "Oh, you were given wrong information.  There are only 2 authorized dealers who can do returns in Pennsylvania, one is in Pittsburgh (4 hours away) and the other is in Philly (2 hours away).  They're mailing me boxes, and mailing labels, so I can drop off my Mom's equipment at my nearest post office.  Now, isn't that nice?

And then I saw this article in the Washington Post which I found to be on the humorous side since it was coming from a fairly conservative news source.  There is evidently some serious concern that Trump might actually get the Republican nomination, the thought of which, I'm sure, is sending all of his Trumplodites into hands free orgasms.  For many, I suspect his ascension in this political arena is the next best thing to the Rapture.  For me, well, found the comparison to both Barry Goldwater and the wonder Wendell Willkie almost heartwarming.

And what really has their concerns all riled up is the fact that a Trump nomination would severely damage their tenuous hold on the Senate.  Oh, woe is me, those poor Republicans.  One can only speculate what might happen to the GOP should the Democrats win stunningly,.. implosion has a nice ring to it, don't you agree? 

 

Republican ammosexual gun slaves

Yesterday something terrible happened in San Bernardino, 14 people were murdered by pseudo terrorists, one of them born and raised in the good old USA.  Oh, and these two killers bought their guns legally.  Not surprisingly, all those Republican wanna be presidents all sent a lot of "thoughts and prayers" to the victims.  Of course, they couldn't really do anything else, could they?  The NRA sends them lots of legal donations to keep silent.  Mum's the word every time there's a mass murder.  No outrage, no sign of anger what so ever, just bowed heads diligently praying that all those Ammosexuals out there will continue to fill the Republican coffers.  Innocent people get mowed down by bullets and the Republican reaction is always the same.  True, they do wear their dismal little frowns and shake their heads silently, but there's no real empathy ever put on display.  Were they to do that, perchance, some of their gun totting base might not vote, they might stay home because their representatives seem to have gone a little soft on guns.  And every vote counts.

Now you might think that because they are so muted by mass murders they are not be a very excitable breed, these Republican Presidential wanna be's, but that's not true at all.  Drop the word Benghazi into the conversation and see just how violently they react.  If only they could channel just a teeny, weensy bit of that rage, and demonstrate just a modicum of concern over this multitude of mass murders, well, they might just surprise you by saying "this is not normal".... oh, wait, that was Hillary, wasn't it?

Trumplodites

I went to the Colonial Park Mall today, hoping to return my Mom's FIOS box to the Verizon store and, as I was approaching the last red light before turning into the parking lot, I noticed that the brown pickup in front of me was boasting a 'Trump 2016' bumper sticker.  The light changed red and I stopped, however, the driver of the pickup truck drove right through it.  Damn the cross traffic, he was not going to stop, the sign of a true Trump supporter.  There are a lot of them out there, you know?  Trumplodites:  white, high school education or less, both racist and bigot, and blaming the Democrats for everything they don't like.
And every time Trump makes a public appearance he throws his Truplodites some rancid red meat.  He calls Mexicans 'rapists and killers' and his Trumplodites cheer him on.  He insults Carly F.'s looks and they shout with joy!  "This guy tells it like it is," they squeal.  He lies about seeing thousands of Muslims cheering on 9/11 and his Trumplodites begin stomping their feet in unison.  He says all Muslims in the United States should be registered, and, though they cover their mouths with their hands, they still cheer him on.

And they do this without comprehending that Americans came, as immigrants to this country, to get away from rulers and dictators like Trump.  They do this because he feeds them rancid meat.  They are his pet Trumplodites.  Their cheering and their squealing and their stomping of their feet warms the cockles of his heart.  He brings out the worst in America, and, not surprisingly, most of the worst in America happen to be Republicans.

Reese's candy catastrophe

Evidently there's this big to do going on about Reese's and their peanut butter Christmas trees and, since the Reese's factory is just down the road from me, I thought I might as well comment.  First of all, you have to remember that this is a piece of peanut butter candy dipped in milk chocolate.  Secondly, this is mostly to be eaten, not looked at.  I don't know anybody who unwraps a piece of candy just to look at it.  In fact, there is only one reason this candy tree even exists, and that is to be eaten.  You're not going to frame it and hang it over your mantle.  You're going to take a bite out of it.  It should not be about how it looks, but how it tastes.  Get over it people.  Still, there are those out there who want it to look a lot like this:

Gee, now ain't that cute.  Bet it's homemade.

What's actually inside the wrapper is something like this:

Now, I'll be one of the first to admit that this does not look a lot like a tree.  And I will also admit that perhaps Reese's went a little too far in calling it a tree.  Christmas lump might be more apropos.  But then I also have to admit it is just meant to be eaten.  In fact, the truth is most people will unwrap this bulk produced candy and shovel it into their mouths with out so much as a curios glance.  People, get over it!  There are more important things to think about in this world then they way a freaking piece of candy looks.  Like... will I be finding the new Fallout Four under the Christmas tree this year.

Black Friday

Tomorrow is Black Friday and... I don't have to open the store.  I actually don't have to be there until 9 am, which is a first.  It's so nice not having to get up at 2 am to get to the store by 3:30 am so I can get the donuts and coffee ready.  In a way I will miss seeing the big, burly contractors running down the aisles towards the stockpile of shop vacs the way 12 year old little girls chase after Justin Beiber.  And then there are the church people.  Church people you ask?  Yes, the church people.  Every year we sell poinsettias in 6 inch pots for  $2 a piece, with a limit on 2 per customer.  And every year this one church sends in 15 - 20 of their most religious to buy as many as possible in order to decorate their church on the cheap.  Last year they managed to get about 80 before we put the cabosh on the their sneak tactics, you know, changing coats in the parking lot, putting on a hat, going to different cashiers.  They sure know how to make Jesus proud, don't they?

Anyway, tomorrow I'll get to sleep in until about 6 am, if the dogs will let me, and that will be nice.  I won't have to deal with the people who complain when the "limited" quantities run out, or those who create a scene when they realize the Ryobi Combo Kit that's on sale is not the combination of tools that they want.  I won't have to deal with the people who order something on line at 6 am and expect their purchase to be pulled and waiting at the service desk at 7 am, and then complain even louder because there's a crowd of 40 people ahead of them.  Or that idiot who decides that the best time to return that toilet seat which just isn't soft enough, ten minutes after the store opens. Believe me, people return shit at that hour of the morning.  And then they get pissed because it just happens to be Black Friday and there are crowds of people everywhere.

And I will miss out on all of that fun tomorrow morning..... oh, darn it.

Caitlyn Jenner - Lesbian?

I haven't written anything for a while, and with all of the shit going on all over the world, some may be surprised that my subject today is Caitlyn Jenner.  Glamour magazine recently named her Woman of the Year.  I find this rather funny.  Evidently Jenner has spent millions on facial reconstructive surgery in order to look like Caitlyn, and no doubt spent another small fortune in order to achieve an hourglass figure.  From the belt on up you do see Caitlin, however, from the belt on down, it's still Bruce.  The transition is incomplete, and, from what's getting spewed out over the Internet, that surgery might probably never occur.  So are we talking about  man or a woman?  Sexual orientation comes into play here.  Heterosexual women tend to have sex with men.  Yet according to Jenner that's not going to happen until after the surgery.  Which makes one wonder if Jenner is still having sex with women, and if that is the case, is that an indicator of Lesbianism?

I don't care if Jenner's a Lesbian or not, but only having sex with women is a major complication, especially since there is guy gear involved.  This means nothing needs to be strapped on.  And, of course, is Jenner truly transitioning if the attraction is only for women.  There are women out there who have spent a surgical fortune in order to look like Barbie - that doesn't make them Barbie.  Emotionally Jenner may identify as female, but as long there's guy gear getting used in the bedroom, and there's no indicator of that guy gear ever getting removed, anatomically he is still Bruce.

Should Jenner have gotten the Glamour magazine Woman of the Year award?  Nah.

Ben Carson: Phony life = political suicide

I have to admit to feeling more then a little amused as I watch Dr. Ben Carson's personal world implode in slow motion while he simultaneously commits political suicide.  Oh, sure, he's blaming the liberal media.  Honestly, all of his problems can be traced to one guilty party, and it's not the media, liberal or otherwise.  The only one to blame is Dr. Ben Carson.  You see, he wanted to be special, and not just in your ordinary special way.  He wanted to be be more then just liked, and loved, and admired as a brilliant neurosurgeon.  No, Ben wanted to be adored.  So much so, that back when he started writing about his life's history, he began altering facts, padding them, even simply just creating them in order to wow the bejesus out of adoring fans.  Now they believe he is blessed.  They believe he has been Chosen.  And really, all he did was lie.

Oh, and he seems to be rather stupid, too.  I mean, he's old enough and been around long enough to know that any fool who wants to be president is going to be put under a microscope.  Every word, every syllable, even every glance he's made is going to scrutinized.  And all of sudden, this supposedly brilliant man is coming across as a phony.  Everything thing he's done has had one goal, to enhance his public image.  And it's not as those these investigations are difficult and complex, they're actually nothing more then people being asked "do you remember this?"  No one is digging deep into shit to turn over a rock in order to find something really stinky.  They're just asking that one question, and evidently it's that one question Ben Carson never thought people would ask.  Except for the Krazy Kristians who will vote for him simply because he claims to be one of their own. his political career is over.  And it is funny, watching him squirm as he gets shoved out into the holy light of honesty.  What a phony.

The GOP and Divine Wrath

I've been thinking about Ben Carson and his inability to get the record straight.  I say this because under scrutiny a lot of his personal history, the stuff he uses to manipulate people, seems to have been padded.  Now he is saying all that jazz about being offered a scholarship to West Point was really a problem with semantics.  Dropping the "semantics" word bomb is a clear indicator that a lie has been told, and this is Ben's way of tap dancing around the truth.  However, because he's a Krazy Kristian a number of other Krazy Kristians believe he's the real thing... how quickly they forget.
Remember George W?  He was also a Krazy Kristian.  He's the one who said to Bob Woodward "I talk to my Higher Father."  There were a lot of jokes back then since it did not seem as though his Higher Father was actually listening to him.  Of course the Krazies ignored the sarcastic humor because they were in love with his words.  He was the answer to their prayers, his presidency a gift from God.  Except nothing really good came out of those eight years.  In fact, if you think back, it seems as though we were actually suffering from Divine Wrath.

Pat Robertson makes a lot of predictions about what is going to happen to the United States since Marriage Equality has come to pass.  However, every one of those predictions has already happened to us during the George W. Bush presidency: worst terrorist attack in history, failed war in Iraq, Katrina, the second worst economic catastrophe in American History.  Someone needs to tell Pat Robertson those were not our salad days.  In fact, someone should point out to the Krazies that the last time one of their guys was in the White House, this country was smacked back again and again and again.

And, of course, the Krazies, and the GOP, will put the blame on someone else.  The fact that their phoniness, just like Ben Carson's, may have resulted in Divine Wrath is totally beyond their ken.

Elections skew towards the center, oh, and Kentucky fails.

As many know, yesterday was Election Day.  Here in Cumberland County, PA, there was not a large turnout, at some polling station it was as low as 20%.  That is not a good thing.  Special interest groups tend to do well when this happens because the Crazies rally.  This is how we get wack jobs like Ted Cruz in Congress.
Out of 153,000 registered voters in my county, only a little over 40,000 voted.  What I did find interesting while looking at the numbers is that out of 40,000, a little over 14,000 people voted straight down the party line.

Straight Party Votes

Candidate Name	Party	Election Night	Absentee	Total Votes
Democratic	Democrat	4385	125	4510
Republican	Republican	9258	244	9502
Independent Judicial Alliance	Independent Judicial Alliance	230	3	233
Libertarian	Libertarian	2	0	2

This means that while the number of voters in this mid-term election is rather low, most of them are paying attention to just who they are voting for, not just voting straight Republican or Democrat, and this is a problem for the Republicans because this is a Very Conservative County.  Instead of sweeping power into their corner, it's split between both parties.  This is a long way from one Party domination, in fact, this is very centrist voting.

On a side note, I saw that Kentucky now has a GOP Governor, some walking failure who supported Kim Davis.  How do I know he's a walking failure?  He has promised to "gut' Obamacare.  This guy is dumb as a brick.  His name is Blevins.  He's going to shit away a lot of Kentucky money trying to do what both the Republican controlled House and Senate have failed to do. Oh, and he's going to give Kim her way and diminish the value of marriage in Kentucky, but that's okay because at least there's a Republican Governor in Kentucky, and that's what's important.

Back to lifting

Went to see my Orthopedic specialist on Tuesday for my 3 month check in and received, as I expected, good news.  Well, actually it was good and bad.  My back is a good as it's going to get, that's the good part.  I can once again lift 5 gallon buckets of paint that's the bad.  Why is it bad?  Because now I can open the store since that's when most of our 5 gallon buckets are sold.  That means getting up at 3:30 in the morning, something the dogs never get used to doing.
And there is always the possibility that the remaining discs between L1 and L2 will once again squirt out their jelly.
This is what my back now looks like.

If you blow up the picture you can see that the disc between L4 and L5 no longer exists, and that those vertebrae have fused together.  The same thing is happening between L3 and L4, in fact the fusion between those vertebrae is almost complete.  These fusions limit my ability to twist and turn and bend, to some extent - solid bone does none of those things.  At some point all that bone growth will need to be removed if I want to be able to walk.  Hopefully it will be years from now.

WT1190F... man made or alien?

For those of you who don't know, a piece of what astronomers are classifying as space junk is set to crash into the Indian Ocean.  They're calling it space junk because they don't exactly know what it is, but because they seem to think that it's hollow they're assuming the planet of origin is Earth.  They've given it the name WT1190F, indicating that when this unknown object was discovered, astronomers across the planet wondered WTF is that?
So, what if it isn't man made?  What if it happens to be alien?  That would be pretty freaking awesome.  And I have to admit, I'm kind of leaning towards the alien origin because, with the computers astronomers have at their fingertips, they could just back track WT1190F's orbit and determine who and when it was shot into space.

They done the backtracking bit rather efficiently on other things, why not this?  I mean, they've taken the moon's orbit and the earth's orbit and gone back billions of years to determine it was formed when another, smaller planet collided with the earth.  If they can do that, surely they should be able to tell us who's responsible for this bit of junk.  

What if WT1190F isn't actually completely hollow?  WE don't know.  It might be carrying something, an alien cargo, perhaps.  For all we know this might be the prelude to an invasion.  Who's to say it isn't?  It might contain a zombie virus.  Or maybe something worse, a plague that turns the whole world into Republicans.  

Regarding Jeb... and his cone of silence

Evidently the news is not good for Jeb.  He's spending lots of add money for nothing.  Someone should have told him a long time ago that there are many more fun-filled ways to waste your money instead of flushing it down the toilet.  Of course, maybe he likes to see how fast the green bills will spin before they disappear into the sewer.  Of course, someone should also have told him that his last name "Bush" is more acidic then the blood of an alien, thanks to his brother.  But then W is a brother, as well as Republican, and they do like to re-write history, and surprisingly, it works on their base.
I work with a gentleman named Fred who's a devout Republican.  A few weeks back, while sitting in the lunchroom, I overheard a conversation between Fred and another associate.  Because of something Trump had said, their main topic of discussion was George W. Bush.  Neither seemed to have a problem with the former president.  In fact, at one point, I nearly fell out of my chair when Fred said "now there was a president who stood for something."  To be honest, I was worried I might bleed to death from biting my tongue so hard because I really wanted to say "yeah, he stood for, and still stands for failure."  There is a toxicity around George W. Bush which will last for generations, similar to that dead space that surrounds Chernobyl.

Bush advisers hard at work

Of course, Jeb doesn't understand this, and neither does the Republican base, perhaps because they've surrounded themselves with their own little cone of silence, they hear only what they want to hear, and everything else is silent.  In fact, I suspect, that quite often they can't even hear themselves.

The GOP wakes up and kicks a dead horse.

Yesterday morning the GOP got up and kicked a dead horse... again.  You know what I'm talking about, Benghazi.  They're terrified the election of 2016 is going to put another Democrat in the White House.  Instead of doing anything substantial to actually try and win the election, they kick a dead horse.  Why should we expect anything more out of them?  In fact, it seems as though the GOP has cornered the market on two things:  kicking dead horses and shitting in their pants, they do both exceedingly well.  While they will try and salvage a festering scrap of red meat from Clinton's testimony yesterday for the party base, for all intents and purposes they failed.  This is what was to be expected.  They've been failing for years.
And they've been shitting in their pants ever since they managed to get George W. Bush into the White House.  They totally ignored the fact that he got the job thanks to hanging chads and a conservative Supreme Court (amazing how much they liked the Court back then), and with a resounding splat, shit in their pants.  He is considered the 2nd worst president in American history, though I suspect as time goes he'll reach the pinnacle of incompetents.  The GOP will never admit to this, to do so is to admit that they, themselves, are good at only two things, kicking dead horses and shitting in their pants.

Don't believe me?  Look at those jokers who are vying for the Republican nomination.  Crazies, every single one of them.  The fact that the Republican base likes both Trump and Carson, that those two individuals are leading in the polls, is frightening.  And the rest of the clown parade is just as bad.  So, instead of presenting ideas that actually might be workable, they attack.  And they kick dead horses.  And they continue to shit in their pants.  I suspect it might be 2024 before are even able to name a viable candidate for the presidency.

Senior Living

On Tuesday morning, my sister and I are taking our Mom to Senior Living facility.  They used to call these places 'assisted living' but I suppose that wasn't politically correct enough for some seniors, God forbid they might need assistance.  Anyway, we're hoping she likes it enough to agree to the move, and we're hoping that if she does move it doesn't turn out to be a big mistake.  You see, my Mom loves to tell people what to do.  She loves to be catered to.  She tells her neighbors she's having a bad day to garner their sympathy.  Here's an example:  12 years ago she had a very minor stroke on the right side of her brain.  She was in the hospital one day and out the next.  She had some weakness in her left hand which disappeared shortly.  Yet she tells everybody she meets about her stroke.  That and her Maccular Degeneration.  She tells everybody she's going blind.  She isn't.  I've been with her to Optometrist, her eyes are fine.  But it gets her sympathy.  People say, "oh, that's so terrible, she's had a stroke and she's going blind."

Mom & Big Seig

This isn't to say she doesn't have some health issues, she does.  Her circulation isn't that good so she needs to sit on the edge of the bed in the morning, and she needs to walk a little slower, but then that's a fairly common problem in an 82 year old.

My sister, brother, and I are all hoping this meeting on Tuesday goes well, and that she decides to sell her house and downsize.   

Comedy Hour, Hosted by Kim and Reince

This past week, besides being a bit hectic at work, was also one of much hilarity on the Internet, know what I'm talking about, the ironic funny stuff.  Like Kim Davis' pimp Mat now saying that those marriage licenses issued by her office, without her name, are legal documents, which is different then what he and that cow he's pimping out were saying a few weeks back.  Probably because that scammy bullshit they tried to pull with the Pope backfired.  Wouldn't you think that if their Deity were on their side the whole world would have been flummoxed?

Then there was Trump's second attack on George W. Bush, which was really a ha ha ha.  The problem with the Republicans is that they are living in an alternative universe, one in which everything they do is wonderful. They love changing history, you know? And of course Jeb, who wants to prove there is a least one Bush in the family who can be a adequate president, objected.  There is no way they are ever going to admit that W was one of the worst presidents in American history.
And another funny thing was Reince Priebus' comment about the 2016 election.

I suspect he said that because he now realizes that everything is getting flushed down the toilet.  Not one person in the Clown Parade is electable.  Only an idiot can see either Trump or Carson in the White House.  Priebus knows this.  He is, no doubt, trying to get the wagons into a circle in order to survive the Indian attack without understanding it's not the Indians who are attacking, which is more of their alternative universe.  A closer analogy would be a horde of Republican lemmings racing towards the edge of a cliff.  At this point, I don't think anything is going to stop them.

Divorce Tax

There are a lot of people out there who think marriage is greater than sliced bread, or it's better than apple pie, or even that it's the greatest thing that can happen to two people.  I don't eat sliced bread and apple pie is just okay with me, I'd rather have blueberry... or peach.  As for the greatest thing that can happen to two people?  I guess that would be just fine, if divorce didn't get in the way.  Now I'll admit that the romantic allure of marriage can sometimes be overwhelming.  So much so that some people tend to do it over, and over, and over again.  If you're a Christian, marriage is supposed to be a Holy Sacrament, a vow before God, yet in the state of Pennsylvania at least 63% of all marriages end up in divorce.  So much for the sanctity of the vow.
There are several reasons why marriages fail:  people get married because they don't know the difference between love and lust;  familial pressures, you just need to get married, society expects people to get married, it's what everybody does, isn't it?  And let's face it, divorce is cheap.  What's a couple hundred bucks, especially if you're blaming someone else?  And let's face it, blame is important.  Everyone wants to point the finger at someone else, and even, on those rare occasions when someone does admit to being at fault, there are always qualifications.

Besides, divorces aren't that expensive.  In fact, ending a marriage can be a lot cheaper then actually staying together.  Marriage is a business contract, after all, in spite of all the romantic trappings used for decoration.  If it were far more expensive to get a divorce, I suspect a lot of people would take a lot more time thinking about just what they're planning.  Having said such, I think all states should enact a Divorce Tax.  If you want to get married, well, that's fine, however, if you want to get a divorce you have to pay a tax.  I think 10% of the cumulative gross wages  earned during their time of marriage would be a nice round figure.  This means that if a couple gets married, and stays married for 5 years, and the total gross wages both of them earned during that 5 years totals $300,000, they they would owe a Divorce Tax of $30,000.

Now I know there are people who are going to say "Holy Crap, that's too much money, I can't afford that."  Well, then maybe you shouldn't be getting married in the first place.  Commitments should be cheap and in today's world marriage is a cheap commodity just about anybody can afford.  

Bill Cosby - failed seducer

A long time ago, back when I was in college, a friend of mine named Dave H. tried to teach me about the art of seduction.  The lessons were fairly simple.  You were supposed to ply your intended with a cocktail or two, possible a joint, make them feel special as you maneuvered yourself close enough and then slowly let nature run its course.  I tried it once and my intended and I both ended up getting drunk and so nothing happened.  Celebrities, on the other hand, have long had a reputation for being seducers.  They seem to have this extra pheromone called 'Celebrity Status,' which seems to drive both men and women wild.  Back in his day, Errol Flynn was a notorious seducer of women... and sometimes men,

Errol wearing his 'hit me' smile

And it isn't just actors (and actresses) who have been seducers.  It's musicians (some rock stars are real sluts) and poets, and playwrights, and rocket scientists, and televangelists, and politicians, though the Republicans seem to get caught out more than the Democrats, most likely because they tend to have a wider stance.

So, why all the hub-bub about Bill Cosby?  None of his accusers seem to have been physically forced.  He didn't threaten them and throw them down on the bed and ravish them within an inch of their lives.  There was alcohol involved in some cases, but none of them claim to have been slobbering drunk before he took advantage of them. 

I think Bill's real problem is that he's made a career out of playing clean-cut characters.  He wore a lot of sweaters.  How many seducers do you know (if you know any) own that many sweaters?  His total reputation is being "Mr. Nice Guy," not your average Joe who sometimes gets a little too horny for his own good.  Back when his celebrity pheromones were pumping out in over time mode, he didn't realize his own career was setting him up as a failed seducer.  In their own minds, those who were nailed by Errol Flynn had bragging rights, but let's be honest, who would really want to brag about getting nailed by Mr. Huxtable?

Speaker of the House = Dead End Job

And that's the truth.  You're not going to use the position to balance power, nor are you not going to be able to use it as a springboard into a more powerful position.  Being Speaker of the House is worse then being a snake wrangler dealing with a burlap bag full of cottonmouths... not that there's any cotton in their mouths.  You see the Tea Party branch of the GOP, for some reason only the stupid know, decided to remove the word 'compromise' from their vocabulary.  In fact things have gotten so bad they can't have a decent conversation among themselves.  All they want to do is demand and blame.  Kevin McCarthy (not the actor), the presumptive Speaker stepped in a pile of shit when he admitted Benghazi was nothing more then a ruse to attack Clinton.  OOPS!

Dolt on the run

Now he's practically on the running to save his political career.  And any smart politician would think twice before applying for the position since no one is going to be able to rein in the crazies on the far right.  In fact, I have no doubt, that the party has, indeed, achieved escape velocity and is no spiraling out towards Jupiter... or maybe Saturn.  This is how a political party dies.  Messy, ain't it?

Big Seig and the water filter

While South Carolina experienced at truly devastating flood, I was dealing with my own, little, invisible one.  My 110 year old house has hardwood floors throughout that are, for the most part, in very good shape.... except for the kitchen floor.  Because there was damage, and because I have dogs, I put down vinyl planks.  This was a 3 step process, first 3/4 inch plywood, then 1/4 inch Masonite, and then the planks.
I also own a side by side Whirlpool refrigerator, that's about 9 years old and still works like a charm.  For some reason only the designers know, Whirlpool put the water filter down at floor level.  In order to change it you need to get down on your hands and knees.  Two months ago this filter needed to be changed, so I got a new one out of the cupboard and set it on the kitchen counter, got down on my hands and knees, pushed the release on the old filter, and removed it.  However, during this process Big Seig, my then 6 month old, and very large, Boxer pup got the the new filter from the counter thinking it was a brand new, fancy dancy chew toy.  When I got it from him the label looked a bit chewed up, but other wise the filter looked fine, and so I installed it.

Unbeknownst to me, however, he had managed to damage a teeny, weeny, black rubber gasket, and as a result, once the filter was installed, it began a steady drip... and drip... and drip.  There is a small drip pan under the filter which filled up to the brim, and then for every drop that went into the pan, a drop went over the side.  And, of course, one of the seams for the vinyl planks runs directly under the drip pan.

So, for some time water has been soaking in to the Masonite, which began to swell.  Four days ago I looked at the floor around my refrigerator and said to myself, "that looks odd."  So, getting down on my hands a knees, investigated and discovered the problem.  The damaged filter has been removed and a new one ordered.  The dripping has stopped.  Now I'm just waiting to see how much damaged has been done.  This is how it goes some times. 

NRA & Crowd Control

A couple thoughts on the shootings out in Oregon:

When these things happens the NRA goes into Crowd Control Mode on a vast scale, because ammunition manufactures tell them this is what they need to do, and Lord knows we do need more bullets.  One of their most popular sayings is " guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Whenever I hear this I say, "which means not everybody should have access to guns."  They don't like that.

The media provides us with a shit load of info about the shooters, but are they card carrying members of the NRA?  You never find that out.

Adam Lanza, the wacko kid responsible for Sandy Hook, was he a member?  Was his mother a member?  I think the public needs to know.  Did a card carrying member of the NRA give her wacko son access to automatic weapons?

Was this crazy out in Oregon a member?  He owned a number of guns, all purchased legally, so I think the public has a right to know.  Did he pay his dues to the NRA?

And James Holmes out in Colorado?  He tried to practice shooting at a gun club?  Was he a member?  Had he applied?

Every time something terrible like this happens the public has a right to know as much as possible.

It seems to me that the NRA thinks everyone should be able to own a gun.  But they don't seem to police their members, do they?  If they did, the bullet makers might not sell as many bullets.  Wouldn't that be a shame?

Kim and her pimp dine on Cow Pate

So it seems her meeting with the Pope was not as private as Kim Davis, and her pimp Mat Staver, would have the world believe.  While she, and her pimp, would have liked everybody to believe the Holy Father was in full support of her position, this is not the case.  And these press releases are everywhere.  The Vatican is putting as much distance between the Pope and Kim Davis, and her pimp, as possible.  The other day when I'd read that her pimp had said "the how and why" of the meeting were not important, it was the meeting itself which counted, I started wondering.  Lo and behold, the nuncio (the Vatican's ambassador) knows her pimp, and he is the one who arranged the meeting.  One suspects this whole thing was engineered to pin the Pope into a corner, forcing him to take a stance against marriage equality.  People who hate will stoop to any low measure.  And, of course, her pimp is flipping out.  I like the bit about how "she changed her hair style" so she wouldn't be recognized.  This is really funny because what her pimp was going to be their 'coup de gras' has turned into a stinky pile of shit.

Anyway, one can only wonder about the power of their deity since He seems to have the Pope's back, and as a result they're now eating shit.  Oh, wait, that sounds vulgar... let's say their dining on Cow Pate.

And a Great Silence fell upon the Vatican

as they realized the Kentucky cracker wasn't.. even.. a Saltine.

 I just thought of that as I was mopping up after the dogs... it's raining here and that means lots of big, muddy, dog prints.

Anyway, I read that Matt Staver (Kim's pimp) was on a show called "The Talk" yesterday and seemed to grow a little flustered about the questioning.  Remember those pics that were taken of Kim and the Pope?  Well, evidently the Vatican is still sitting on them.  And instead of everybody saying "oh, wow!  Kim, that's so neat!" they're asking questions as to how... and why, and Staver's not answering, which makes one wonder if those mutterings about a 'set-up' might be true.  Could be.  Has anybody heard if Carlo Vigano is looking for a new job?

Pope Francis aligns himself with an Anti-Gay Hate Group

By now, just about everybody with any interest knows this.  That's right, Kim and the Pope had a little meet and greet.  At first the Vatican was a little shy about the subject, but now they admit the meeting took place, however they're not talking about it.  Of course, they don't need to because Kim is... well, actually, it's the Liberty Council that's doing most of the talking, filling the media with quotes from Kim.  In fact the Liberty Council is waiting for pictures taken of Kim and the Pope.  Don't worry, we'll all see them plastered on T-shirts at their next Hate Rally, each bearing that smashing new slogan of hate:  Stay Strong!  Of course, they not only hate, they have no problem with lying.  It took them a while before they admitted this picture was horse shit an honest mistake.  One can only wonder if this is what convinced the Pope a secret meeting with Kim was important.

I can only wonder why no one told him how much hate the Liberty Council sponsors towards the LGBT community.  They are not just against Marriage Equality, that's just the tip of the iceberg to them.  If it were up to them we would have no rights what so ever.  They are, to use the Pope's own terminology, totally consumed with ideological Christianity.   In other words, they cherry pick those things they want to believe, those things they love, and those things they hate.  By having that few minute conversation with her, he aligned himself with them because she is one of theirs.  I'm surprised she wasn't wired to record the conversation... oh, maybe she was.  Wouldn't that be a joke on the Pope?  Or maybe it was her husband who was wearing the wire, since Kim evidently gave the Holy Father a hug.

Roland Emmerich hits a brick wall

Stonewall opened in 112 (?) theaters last weekend, not one of which was in Harrisburg.  Not that I had planned on going to see it... too much bad press.  What I find surprising is that there were those out there who hoped for something better.  Evidently no one took the time to look at his track record.  His forte is smashingly good special effect sequences... and that's about it.  "Independence Day" was a remake of the film version of "War of the Worlds," and it made him a lot of money, the fact that an alien species, who've been harvesting planets throughout the galaxy, could be beaten with a 20th century computer virus is... well... preposterous.  But that's how Roland's mind works.  Then there's that great scene in "The Day After Tomorrow" where a young (and still Otterish) Jake Gyllenhaal, knowing things are going to get really, really cold, decides the best way to keep warm is to burn books.  Sure, they're in the New York Public Library, and there are lots of books around them, but there are also large wooden tables, and wooden chairs, and wooden bookcases.  The fact that burning wood does give off more BTU's then burning paper was totally ignored and they burned books.

Then there was "Godzilla," in which a very, very large raptor / alien was cast in the lead.  And don't forget that little thing Roland called "2012" in which we got to see his updated version of Noah's ark.

Knowing all of this, why would anyone have expected "Stonewall" to be anything more than it is?  When it comes to logic?  When it comes to serious expose?  All Roland can do is hit a brick wall.  Sad to say, but I don't think he actually cares much about what's on the other side, because hitting that brick wall as fast as he can is what's important to him.

Immigration Flummax

Just saw an article in the NYT about immigrants coming into the US and wasn't surprised at all.  Just about every local and state governments, as well as our National leaders, jumped on board the Spanish train and published everything in both English and Spanish.  Retailers jumped into the mix too.  Now, according to the Pew Institute it looks as though the Spanish speakers are lagging behind.  It seems to be the Asians, (Chinese and Indians) who are immigrating in much larger numbers.  Oops.  Does this mean we're going to have to change all of those signs?

Boehner 'let's loose the hounds' kind of...

John Boehner is quitting his job.  His last day will be at the end of October - scary because the only thing he's managed to do while in the position is keep rabid Tea Partiers at bay... well, sort of.  However er, they don't want to be kept at bay.  They want to attack, attack, attack no matter how terrible it makes them look.  They want to shut down the government as often as they can in order to prove to themselves how powerful they are, without the least bit of consideration of the damage they're doing.  They headlines are interesting, most of them alluding to this fact.
However, I did see this little thing, about this little investigation going on which might also factor into his resignation.  Of course, he's not the only politician who's had problems with campaign financing.  You would think they'd know by now that money is like drugs, and the best thing to do is just say 'no.'  Oh, wait, that's right, I'm speaking about a Republican here.  Anyway, we'll have to wait and see if this pans out.

Personally, I've always thought he was a little too smarmy, even for a politician... sort of like 'old school' scum.
Of course, maybe it's true that he's quitting as a result of pressure from the Far Right.  If that's is the case it couldn't have happened at a worst time for them.  They have a clown parade of wanna be presidents, and they're going to replace Boehner with a Speaker who's going to 'let loose the hounds.'  Looks like we'll have another Democrat in the White House in 2016.

Big Seig - Steve vs Kim

Today is Big Seig's birthday.  He's a nine month old Boxer... who's still growing.  He's called Big Seig because he's approaching 100 lbs... and he's still growing, and he's not fat, he's all muscle.  He's also a big, big baby.  I have a lot of pictures of him, but the one which gives you the best idea of how big he is was taken a month ago, when he was eight months old.

That's Big Seig with my 82 year old mom. Anyway, today's his birthday.  To celebrate, he and Lillian D'aubert, my female Boxer, shared a piece of white cake with butter cream icing.  Normally, they don't get people food, only on birthdays.

On a lighter note, I saw that Kim Davis was given a little soap box on Fox News last evening - didn't watch it.  I did read she said something to the effect that she wouldn't issue a marriage license to her own child if he was gay, and I thought, holy crap, if she had a gay child she'd be beating the gay out of him in Jesus' name when ever possible.  That's what crazy, religious fanatics do.

What I did watch was Steven Amell in Arrow on Netflix.  I like the show because it's definitely not PG rated.  And, on top of that, he's not bad looking.

Though I have a funny feeling that in the real world he's a bit on the petite side, even though they say he's over 6 feet tall.  Now be honest, who would you really rather look at?  Steve or Kim?