Flirting with Disaster

Okay, so it's Sunday.  I had thought I might sleep late - till maybe 6...  That didn't happen.  Dogs, you know?
Even though we are moving into October, daily temps are still being forecast in the high 70's to low 80's (F).  I do enjoy the cooler mornings, though.  I like sleeping with blankets.  Bundling myself up in cotton and wool has always been a joy.  Unless I have the A/C cranked during the summer, that never happens.
Last evening I watched something called "Singularity" on Netflix - it was bad.  John Cussack has star billing.  He plays an AI which is rather stupid.  He sees humanity as being a big problem and kills just about everyone on Earth.  He says things like "they're human and unpredictable."  He doesn't have a lot of facial expression, but then he's an AI.  The hero is okay - which means his acting is barely acceptable.  The heroine seems to have attended at least 3 or 4 acting classes.  The writing is bad.  The story?  A scavenged mess with bits and pieces taken from every apocalyptic film ever made.
And I guess everybody is wondering just how thorough the FBI investigation in Christine Blasey Ford's accusations will be.  Don't expect much.  There are quite a number of restrictions.  This is what we call serious damage control.  Kavanaugh's testimony didn't just start voters to trickle away, they started running away in droves, and herds.  While dead in the head Republicans see his defense as strong and invigorating, their numbers are far from enough to guarantee votes.  This party is not just flirting with disaster, they're dancing with it. They've been lying to themselves for so long, they don't even know what the truth is anymore.  When the Idiot Jerk in the White House says that the Chinese compliment his 'big brain,' they believe him, nodding their puppet heads and repeating "doesn't he have a big brain."   This car full of clowns is racing towards the edge of the cliff.  When they see the warning sign they don't just ignore them, they get out of the car and cut them down.
They are a lot like the stupid AI in "Singularity," except Republicans say things like "we're number one," and "he has a big brain," and "he's the most popular president in history."

A Brighter Note?

Well, it's Saturday (I think) and neither am I in a park, nor is it the fourth of July.  I do have to work, however.
Looks like the Kavanaugh nomination is on hold.  I suspect for a very long time.  Oh, sure, the Idiot Jerk says he's going to give the FBI a week, but what type of an investigation will that garner?  Not much.  Their best hope was to quickly ram this vote down the people's throats - Republicans are good at that.  Look at their not so great tax cut which gives the Idiot Jerk, and Steve Mnunchin, and Betsy DeVos a permanent tax break.  Most Americans now realize that while they were promised velvet, what they were actually sold was cheap velour.
As for Brett's stalled nomination?  Well, in case you haven't noticed, Evangelical Christians are showing their hateful, ugly side.  Holy Shit! (Literally) They are flipping out!  Their hatred for America and Americans is immense.  They shriek about evil Democrats without understanding they, themselves are a small minority group.  We need to remove these people from politics and give the country back to the people.
Once we take back control, I think a pretty good start would be to take away the tax exempt status we give to churches.  I mean, take Joel Osteen.  He's a business man down in Houston, in case you didn't know.  He runs a Megachurch that nets him tons'o cash.  That heartless sack of shit kept the doors to an arena locked during Hurricane Harvey.  Since Evangelicals did nothing, I think the government should step in and take away his tax exempt status.  Oh, sure, he may talk about God, and tell people how to get on the right path, but in reality his main focus is on those offering plates. He needs to start paying taxes on all of his revenue.  He needs to begin paying real estate taxes.  If he runs it like a business, he has to be treated like a business.
On a brighter note, the little project I've been working on is complete, for the most part.  Right now, all I'm waiting for is to hear how some of the voices I've talked to will sing, or maybe I should say I'm waiting to see how well some will dance.  Ah, music and dance.

With maybe a little... tango on the side.

Missing the Target Audience

Well, I get to go back to work today... but just for today and tomorrow.  Then I have another day off.
Not surprisingly, it rained again last night.  I did manage to get my backyard mowed yesterday.  That's was nice.  I need to get the weed wacker out, maybe on Sunday, if we don't have any rain and things dry out just the slightest bit.
I went to the PA DMV and got my new driver's license - good for 4 more years.  Holy Shit do I look old.  I mean, really, really old.  And I even got my haircut before hand.  What was funny was seeing a young woman fluffing her hair before her picture was taken.  I almost laughed out loud.  She was separating her ringlet, pulling them out with her fingers to make them look fuller, until the woman behind the counter said "okay, we need to take your picture now."  Her first picture didn't do her justice, or so she thought.  The 2nd taught her that your picture on your driver's license is never going to make you look attractive.
Of course, the big news from yesterday was the testimonies of Christine and Brett.  She was soft-spoken and compelling.  The woman hired to drill holes in her story totally failed, and Christine got cheers.  Brett, on the other hand, was fiery, he made faces, called everybody a liar, and tried to call all Republicans to arms.  Who was more successful?  Hhhmmm.
My opinion:  he will most likely be confirmed.  That is not a good thing, especially for Conservatives.  But then Conservatives don't see the precedence of thinking.  Their goal is to make the Supreme Court conservative.  Yesterday millions and millions of women watched Christine speak and their hearts were moved.  These women vote.  Millions of Millennials watched as well and what they saw was a member of the Old Guard raging at women.  Oh, sure Brett may have blamed Democrats, but the blunt finger of his anger was directed mainly at women.  There are more women in the Democratic Party then there are men.  And the midterms are coming.  What the Republicans completely fail to understand, is that a vote for Brett will be countered by many, many votes for Democrats.  You know?  The party which is empathizes with women.  The party which says that the 'good old boys' who forcibly climb on top need to be punched back.
Yesterday the Republicans failed at the number one rule that anybody who has every worked in public relations knows:  succeed with your target audience.  Writers, and singers, and painters, and ad men, and... well, at least Democratic politicians know this.  Even Faux News knows this.  They are saying this morning the Republican Party failed.  They blew it.  They failed to understand just whom their Target Audience is:  women voters.  Yesterday the Republican Party took a big step in ensuring a Blue Judgment.  They played the 'good old boy' game, and shit all over their Target Audience.  Of course, this was to be expected since they are the party of aging white men and failed Christians.

The Whole Truth

Okay, so this entry is being written a little later than usual.  I slept in.  My day off, you know?  The dogs slept in as well.  I'll have to go back to work tomorrow.
I had my physical yesterday.  Everything is ducky dandy except for my blood pressure - it's a little high.  I'm going to be checking it every morning for the next 7 days.  The results are to be emailed to my Dr.  I'm already on a weak dose of Lisinipril.  High blood pressure runs in my family.  You cannot change your genetic make-up.  There isn't really much of a choice, take meds or possibly have a stroke.  I have absolutely no problem taking meds.
A funny thing from my visit:  on the subject of my cholesterol.  He said it's fine, a point or 2 higher than my last visit a year ago.  I told him I had been curious about my HDL, and LDL and all that jazz because I started drinking 'whole milk' again.  His mouth dropped open; he was so stunned.  Why would I drink something so high in fat and cholesterol.  I explained that growing up, whole milk was all I drank, much preferable to water.  He muttered something about "well, as long as it's only in your coffee."  I didn't have the heart to tell him there are times when I guzzle it straight from the bottle.  The truth is whole milk is not nearly as bad for you as you might think.  Whole milk has less lactose than 2%, or 1%, or especially skim milk - bet you didn't know that.

Oh, and I saw where Brett Kavanaugh released several pages of his calendar from 1982...   First of all, keeping a copy of a 38 year old calendar is... odd.  The only calendars I save are those showing a little skin, and they're saved not because of my agenda, but because of said skin.  Believe me, I'm telling you the whole truth.  I suppose releasing his calendars is supposed to prove he is wholly innocent... not quite.  First of all, the notes on them look to have been written by a 12 year old, not a high school student.  I do not know now, nor will I probably ever know, the senior who's excited to be going to summer camp.  Secondly, if he actually was that excited to be going to summer camp, would he list a ' drunken party' party for the following week?  In fact, when I was in high school most parties weren't planned, they more, or less, happened.  There is the possibility, however, that the drunken orgies only happened in the calendar months he kept back.  Thirdly, and this is probably the most important fact, and really has nothing to do with his calendar, one of his good friends, one of the guys he hung around with was... a drunk.  Red blooded, all American boys don't hang around with drunks.  Drunks hang around with drunks.  

We will never know the whole truth about that year.  What we do know is that Kavanaugh hung around with drunks, and got drunk, and went to parties specifically to get drunk, and probably to get laid.  He did the same thing in college.... got drunk.  Now he's lying about those days.  Did he forcefully try and rape Christine Blasey Ford?  Personally, I believe her account is more whole than his.  He, like his calendar, excludes everything which doesn't make him seem wholesome.  What percentage of what he says is the truth?  2%?  1%?  Or, has he skimmed most of the truth away?

When life is wonderful

Just some quick words this AM - I have a physical scheduled for 0800 at the VA Clinic, at their new location.  Before they moved my appointment would have been fine, now it's right in the middle of commute hell. 
Yesterday... the world laughed at the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  That's sad.  We used to be admired for our caring, and understanding, and compassion.  Now we're a joke.
Rumor has it Rosenstein is staying... but only because the GOP is scared shitless over the midterms.
Now, for something nice.
Yesterday afternoon a customer came up to me asked about buying some a strip of roll carpet.  She was house training her little dog.  And as she talked, I thought, hhhmm she looks very familiar.  So, I asked her "is your name Sue?"  She paused for a few seconds, and then said "yes."  At that point I knew who I was talking to.  When she told me her last name, I said "I used to work with you a long, long time ago."  She didn't recognize me at first, I suspect because I was wearing my Milburn Drysdale glasses.  When I told her my name she said "from Marriott," and nodded.  And then she had to cry a little bit as she gave me a hug. 
When I graduated from college, I got a job with the Marriott in Harrisburg, in the accounting department.  For 11 years she sat at the desk next to mine.  She was then, and is still, a very, very nice lady.  Here's my friend, Sue.

And for those of you who are wondering... she's 87 years old.  Life is wonderful sometimes, isn't it?

On The Level

Okay, so I had to give a customer some bad news yesterday.  I felt  bad.  She wants to have vinyl planking installed and... her floor is not level.  Wit vinyl planking you floor can not deviate more than 3/16 of an inch over 10 feet.  The problem is that it is a click lock product, and there is the possibility it might un-click.  She has a 4 foot by 4 foot section where the deviation is 3/4 of an inch.  That's some serious floor leveling.  Very expensive.  Her house was built in 1997, so I warned her this might be the case.  She, of course, said "that's not going to be a problem, my floors are level."  Wrong.  Over time houses settle.  Their foundations shift.  They always do.  You cannot not stop the Earth from changing.  Because she walks on her kitchen floor daily, and because this 3/4 inch is not an abrupt change, she doesn't realize how out of kilter her floors are.  This is life.  No matter how balanced we think things are, more often then not, they are often slightly askew.
Like Rod Rosenstein's flippant comment about recording the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  That was a good joke, with serious overtone.  The Idiot Jerk found his sense of humor more than a little uneven.  Or take the Brett  Kavanaugh nomination.  I guess he went on Faux News last night in an attempt to appeal to white supporters of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  The Idiot Jerk believe he could  Republican members of the House and Senate stabilized...  but then he's an Idiot Jerk.  But then he is the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  For years he's always had someone nearby who could clean his ass every time he shit in his pants - that's no longer the case.  The funny part is that if he fires Rosenstein, the Blue Judgment will investigate, and scour out, every nook and cranny of the Idiot Jerk's life.  The same thing is going to happen if Kavanaugh gets a seat on the Supreme Court.  The balance beam he's trying to walk down is warped from here to hell and back.  In fact, Kavanaugh's beam my be a little too bent.  There's a good chance, if he gets the vote, that he might be the first sitting Justice to be investigated.  Now ain't that a hoot.

Anyway, I will see if I can have the installers call the customer today and explain what's involved with leveling a floor.  There are options available other than vinyl planks.  The decision will have to be hers.

Blame the Game... Show

So, it's Monday, the beginning of a new work week.  Rain is in the forecast, starting this afternoon and lasting until tomorrow.  Just what we need, another nuisance rain.  Otherwise, everything is ducky dandy... unless your name happens to be Brett Kavanaugh.
Holy Smoking Jesus!  There's another accuser!  And the GOP is now calling this a smear campaign.  Give me a break.  In a weird way they're right.  Just look at them.  With their faces covered in shit, all they seem to be able to do is smear it around.  They will never be shit free, but their hope is to spread it thin enough their base will swallow it.
Right now, Democrats have a big edge in the approaching midterms.  This hoo hah about the Idiot Jerk's nomination for the Supreme Court is only going to make the GOP look worse.  They are losing women voters.  They're bleeding them away.  The fact that they have an Idiot Jerk in the White House whose mantra regarding accusations of sexual misconduct has always been to deny, followed a wallowing plunge into the pool of "fake news," makes their position even more dire.
Anyway, I was playing with my nuts again last night when I got home from work.  There are 3 huge containers of them down in the basement.  So far, it seems that for every 9 nuts I husk, only 6 are good enough to keep.  The rest have sat sallow for too long, they're too old, their husks are too dark.  Now and then some of them have little white worms.  Those get thrown away.  The last thing I want is to have worms in my nuts.
Personally, I suspect that the big problem with the GOP is that they didn't watch enough TV game shows while growing up.  That's right, they never had the chance to be tutored by Uncle Monty.  Nope.  Instead, they ran around in their little navy wool suits, barking kiddie orders at the few friends they had.  Just think about it.  They've always been desperately trying to be in charge.  They never learned how to play with others.  Sadly for them, their president truly believes he is Uncle Monty, and no matter which door you open, there's always a gag prize.  Like nuts with worms.

Constituent Power

Well, I slept well last evening.  So far this AM, all I've had is the occasional cough.  That's fine with me.
I will get to work for 3 days and then have off 2.  On Wednesday, I get my annual physical.  It will be interesting to see what they found in all those vials of blood they took last Wednesday.  Probably the same thing they found last year.  Not much to get excited about.
Here's a funny, little ray of sunshine.  Susan Collins is the Republican Senator from Maine.  She's a Conservative.  She wants to hang with the old boys school, though now and they she holds out because she wants to be seen as a Republican championing women's rights.  Well, it seems there's this guy with ALS up in Maine who has started a "gofundme" project for....  Susan Collins?  Nah, he's raising money for her Democratic opponent when she's up for re-election.  But, there's a catch.  You see, her opponent will only get the money if she votes for Brett Kavanaugh.  If she votes against Brett, all that money will stay in the donor's bank accounts.  This is her constituents telling her to vote "no."  And she doesn't like it.  She's calling it bribery - but there not paying her anything.  Of course, the Republicans don't like this.  They hate when their constituents tell them what to do.  And the last time I checked, Susan's constituents had raise over 1.3 million dollars.  In Maine, that's a lot of money to give to your opponent.  If she votes "no," she has nothing to worry about.  Now, doesn't that brighten up your day a little bit?  Thinking of poor Susan, way up there in Maine, being told by the voters what they want her to do?
This is such a hoot.  Nothing seems to be going right for the Republicans.  Their tax cut is failing them.   Rosenstein wanted someone wearing a wire so they could record the Idiot Jerk in his rantings.  The Idiot Jerk's choice for the Supreme Court (you know?  The one who doesn't think a sitting president should be investigate?) is seen by a majority of Americans as a bad choice.  There's also the fact that they can barely hear each other over the thunder of the approaching Blue Judgment.  Their end is nearing faster than they can blink.
Anyway, it's going to be a drizzling, rainy day.  In fact, they're forecasting shitty weather for the next few days.  More rain. The Midterms are coming.  Here's something to look forward to:

My, aren't the midterms going to be merry!!

Feeling cold and feverish

Well, it's Saturday.  At least that is what my calendar says, not that my calendar talks much.  I do look at it daily.  Some times more than once a day, because retail screw with your head.  Really.  Today seems like it should be Sunday and it isn't.
Since Tuesday I've been dealing with a rhinovirus.  I don't get them normally.  When I do, they usually last about a day.  Good immune system here.  About every 3 or 4 years I'll get one which is more intense.  I don't just get a nuisance runny nose.  Nope, sinus headaches, a sore throat, and a cough are all added into the symptom mix.  Oh, and there's the low grade fever.  These colds last about a week.  I have one of them now.  I went to work yesterday, not so today.  I have some chest congestion.  As a result, I'm going to call off work.  This will leave them short handed.  On a Saturday, normally the busiest day of the week, my department is not fully staffed. You are going to have these problems when your scheduling system relies on last year's sales figures.  Supposedly trending sales data is also used, but rarely is there evidence of that.  Yesterday one person was scheduled in Hardware until 1:00 PM.  Ooops.
There was a heated debate in Texas last night.  Lying Ted Cruz against Beto O'Rourke.  All the headlines say "they clashed."  Lying Ted, however, has spent most of his political career... well, lying, and misdirecting.  Beto pointed this out.  Lying Ted is in trouble.  He has gone from a "sure thing," to a toss-up, finally moving into the "too close to call stage," and he's got to struggle through another month and a half, and another 2 debates, until he loses....  Oh, did I just say that?  Bet he's feelin' rather feverish right now, pattin' himself on the back, and lyin' to himself about winning the debate.
And evidently most Americans are now seeing the great Tax Bill the Republicans passed for what it really is: a gift to the wealthy and big business.  Sure, right after the bill was first passed corporations pissed a little cash around, set-decorations, nothing more.  The truth is they're simply not coughing up the new jobs this bill promised.  And their revenue is increasing because of lower taxes.  Those $$$ are nothing to sneeze at.  Wall Street is joyous.  But, where are the pay increases?  Oh, wait, payroll is an expense.  Corporations don't like expenses, especially payroll.  So, what do they do?  In retail they rely on bare-bones scheduling, giving customer service the cold shoulder.  This is how it goes when your economy is based solely on greed.

Soon

I thought it was Saturday when I woke up this morning.  Of course, it isn't.  Friday is on the menu for today.  Well, it is payday, so I guess that's a good start.
Yesterday I went to my brother's farm.  He and I gathered 3 super big buckets of walnuts.  Time to put my tool to use.  He lost 13 chickens to some sort of virus.  I felt bad for him.  They have their chickens for the eggs, so they're mostly treated as pets.  He's needs to build a little coop for the 3 still living, and totally anti-everything the big coop before he can get more.  His turkeys?  Holy Shit!  They are the size of medium sized dogs.  A bit frightening, too.  They can be aggressive birds.  You have to remember, a long, long time ago, their ancestors were dinosaurs.  I have no idea that soon they will take over his farm.
Oh, and of course, there is the Kavanaugh fiasco.  I see the Idiot Jerk in the White House is looking for a quick vote.  We all know he's a selfish sack of shit and only thinks about what he wants.  An NBC/WSJ poll shows more Americans disapprove of Brett, than approve.   Is it because of the allegations?  Or, possibly, because he looks like a smarmy, little, piss-ant of a man?  Look in his eyes and all you will see is petulance.  Another funny thing is that Evangelical leaders are putting out the word that if Brett doesn't get his seat, their voting block may... just... stay at home this November.  Sounds like extortion to me.  Or, maybe, they've just decided that now that they've shit on their plate they might as well eat it.  We will know soon enough.
'Soon.'  I've been using that word a lot lately.  Friends will turn to me and ask me a question and my response is inevitably "soon."  Sometimes 'soon' is a closer than you might think.  And sometimes it's not.  'Soon' puts a chink in the armor of patience.  Everybody wants to know.  All I can say is... "soon," and maybe tease a little.

The Hot Seat

Well, it's Thursday, the last of my 3 days off in a row.  Where did they all go?  The weather has been nice.  I mowed my lawn yesterday... well, the first part.  The damn grass was so tall, I needed to recharge the battery on my mower.  The rest of the lawn will be finished this morning.  Good thing to, forecast for my next days off is... showers.  That's right.  We're going to get more rain.
And I had ordered a new computer / gaming chair for upstairs.  The X-rocker I purchased during Amazon's Prime Days just wasn't working out.  It sits too low to the floor.  I'm not a low sitter.  I work with people who like sitting as low as possible.  Me?  That's too much like squatting.  Also, I had an issue with the speakers.  They're in the chair, which seemed like a good idea, however you use your sound system's jack for them to work, which means there is no sound from your speakers.  Again, not a good thing.  So, the X-rocker is up in the attack.  The new chair is sleek, and black and red, and has a foot rest.

Notice the red and black theme...

And I see the Republicans are going to force a vote on Kavanaugh.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House claims the FBI can't investigate the claims... "Not so," says the FBI.  They just need the Idiot Jerk's approval. Well, we know that's not going to happen.  This shit bag is desperate to give his base a victory, even one so hollow as getting Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.  That's all they want.  They are going to turn the Supreme Court conservative if it kills them... and it will.  Don't they realize these allegations are not going to go away?  Hell no.  Once the House turns blue and the investigations start, when the Idiot Jerk realizes his ass is in serious jeopardy, no one is going to be safe from the sacrificial alter.  If the Idiot Jerk believes an investigation in Kavanaugh's dirty past might keep him off the hot seat,  you can bet there will be three or four.  Republicans just don't understand.  The Idiot Jerk has always run away when the chips are down.  He has always filed for bankruptcy to get out of debt.  The only thing he really cares about is his own ass.  He will bloody the GOP with his own tiny hands.  This is what they get for sitting him behind a desk in the Oval Office.

Cracks

I had my blood work done this AM - annual physical, you know?  The VA Clinic has a new location, out off of Rossmoyne - I tell you this because traffic is freaking horrendous out there.  During normal driving times it takes about 15 minutes.  Rush hour?  Shit!  It can take 45 minutes.  And, of course, there are so many stupid drivers out there.  Like the woman in the Honda Pilot this morning who, instead of getting in the exit lane with everybody else, decided to block traffic.  That's right, she drove pass everybody else, right up to the exit, and then stopped because she wanted someone to let her gyp in line.  So, there she is, blocking traffic, and people are starting to blow their horns because now she's waiting for someone to let her in... and no one is letting her in because they've all been waiting patiently.  This is the kind of driver who causes accidents.  Eventually cars started squeezing by on the shoulder.  As I passed, I glanced over at her.  She was sitting there, waiting complacently, totally unconcerned about the inconvenience she was causing others.
And I see Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court is approaching cluster fuck status.  There is some serious shit going on and their 'screw you' attitude is pissing people off... a lot.  They don't want the FBI involved because... their nominee might actually be a hateful sack of shit.  A majority of Americans are saying "Just Shut Up," and Republicans hate it.  There ain't enough Retinol in the world to fix the cracks and save their face.

Oh, and I saw where the Idiot Jerk gave another on camera interview in which he blasted Jeff Sessions.  He was uttering some sort of nonsense about not having an  Attorney General.  Actually, he's confusing a rim specialist with an Attorney General.  Face it, Jeff Sessions is neither.
The hoot of the day, however, are his claims of a Red Wave coming this November.  The only way that would have was if Russia got involved... again.  Maybe that's what he's counting on.  It worked for him once.  Maybe lightening will strike twice.  His supporters believe him.  In fact, I saw an article in the BBC which claimed they were so assured, they're growing complacent.  You know?  A lot like that woman in the Honda Pilot this morning.  Angry people, blowing their horns at her, failed to register.  Like those who support the Idiot Jerk, she could care less.  I suspect neither know it's too late to do anything about the cracks.

The Mid-Terms are coming! the Mid-Terms are coming!

Today begins a 3 day weekend for me.  I like 3 day weekends... a lot... even if they happen to fall during the week.
By now, Flo has pretty much passed us.  We got rain.  Not nearly the 4 inches they said we might.  This is a good thing.  There is a good possibility 2018 will be one of the wettest years on record for us here in Central PA, if not the wettest.  This is what happens with Global Warming.  Climates change.  The next couple days are supposed to be humid, but dry.  I want to mow my lawn on Thursday, so let's hope the weather people are right.
I ordered myself a new computer / gaming chair for upstairs.  I had purchased an X-Rocker during Prime Days - and it just doesn't work.  Maybe if I were 18 inches shorter, or didn't mind sitting low to the floor, but I'm not, and I don't.
I got on the scale this morning and... Shit!  We've had 4 days of food at work and it shows.  Looks like I will be using My Fitness Pal for a couple of weeks.  I have the app in both my phone and my tablet, but they want you to upgrade to "premium."  I'm not about to, so I'll mostly be using the website.
I guess on Monday both Kavanaugh and his accuser are going to be testifying.  Of course, even though they will not admit so publicly, this is turning into a "worst case" scenario for both the Republican Party and the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Millions and millions of women are going to be paying close attention.  Republicans, fools that they are, will need to discredit her testimony in order to justify a vote for Kavanaugh.  And the Mid -Terms are coming!  If she provides credible testimony and they still vote for him.... well the Mid-Terms are coming!  Making her look bad will light a beacon.  The "worst case" scenario for them is to to turn her into a martyr.  The Mid-Terms are coming!  The party is already destined to lose their majority in the House, and the Senate... it's now up for grabs.  Voting for Kavanaugh now will insure a 'plague on both their houses,' (thought I'd throw in a little Shakespeare there).  And the Mid-Terms are coming.

Can you hear my evil laugh?

The GOP will not RIP

Well, it's Monday - the start of a fresh, new work week.  Flo is set to start pissing on us here in Central PA sometimes this morning.  They say we are guaranteed at least 1.5 inches, possibly (probably) more; as much as 4 inches of rain are likely in some places.  With that being said, I'm going to leave work once the rain starts so I can have my pump at the ready should my basement start flooding.
They're serving us breakfast this morning - the final part of our Success Sharing Celebration.  Since I don't want to have to wait 3.5 hours until I eat, I made breakfast here.  Oatmeal.  For me, not eating until I get to work is not an option.
Yesterday I was told that the associate in my department who normally does the tile clinics is transferring to our store in Niagara Falls - that's where he's from, and so I've been scheduled to do the clinic this Saturday.  I don't do clinics.  I'm not a tile expert.  I've done a small back splash - that's it.  His clinics were 2 hour classes, he put out chairs so customers could sit while he educated.  Mine may run 8 - 10 minutes.  I do not have a massive knowledge base to draw from and am not going to be able to answer many questions.  If they want someone to teach a class, they need to hire in a professional.
Oh, and I see that the Kavanaugh vote is now on hold.  Of course, the white, male Republicans don't see why there's a problem.  They don't understand they are sending a terrible message to women.  Well, I should clarify that.  At this #metoo moment in time, these Republican men are telling women they don't matter.  They have no problem shitting away the facts.  Their only concern is getting a conservative on the bench.  Except... the event was so traumatic, his accuser has been in counseling for a short period a number of years ago.  And, that's been documented.  Ooops.  They have no idea how bad this makes them look.  Do they care?  Hell, no.  If they vote him onto the Supreme Court, the Blue Judgment will be larger, and for every conservative ruling that court makes, the Republican Party.  They don't understand, this is just another part of their death knell.

Stupid people

Sometimes I have to deal with stupid people.  I often wonder what is going on in their heads since logic seems to have abandoned them.  I had woman come up to me yesterday with an emailed receipt on her phone from a purchase she had made several months ago.  Standing in front of the same type of vinyl flooring she had purchased, she told me she wanted me to match the price.  You see, she had purchased that vinyl when it was on sale... several months ago.  Since her original purchase, the price had gone up .24 cents. 😂🤣😂  She could not understand why I could not match that same price, in fact, she grew irritated.  I told her everything goes up in price.  I laughed a lot after she left.  Not only did I laugh, everybody I told laughed as well.  I'm still laughing.
Then there was the gentleman who asked for a lot of help purchasing tile, and thin set, and grout.  He's going to be installing a tile floor in his dining room.  He asked for advice the best information I could.  Then, as he was leaving, he asked about getting one of our credit cards.  The love when customers get our credit cards - they tend to buy more.  After he asked about the card, he told me that he had just lost his job last Friday.....   Think about it now.  Stupid?  Sure, he's going to be getting unemployment for a few months.  And in PA you can work part-time and still get your unemployment.  But, if you're not working, it's not too wise to take on an expensive project - like installing a tile floor.  Like I said, I deal with stupid people sometimes.
And I'm not going to mention the moron who wrote that the Idiot Jerk's political career was hanging on how well he handled Florence.  At this point nothing is going to save his neck.  In this country, Democrats outnumber Republicans, by a lot.  That's bad for the Idiot Jerk.  He and his Evangelical junkies have done nothing but piss of Centrist and Independent voters.  They don't understand that when they say "my way, or the highway" we"re going to kick them out the driver's seat and out of the car.  Stupid.  People are so stupid.
They fed us yesterday.  We're getting fed again, today.  Food is good.  Today's forecast is... cloudy, and Florence begins to turn north.  She's going to pick up speed now as she pisses away what's left of the tropical moisture she stuffed herself with.  Supposedly we're only going to get about half an inch.  We will wait and see.
Finally, I Googled 'stupid' to get some pic for today's blog and, I kid you not, my screen filled with picture after pictures of the Idiot Jerk in the White House and his ilk... or spawn...   Evidently their family portraits have now become synonymous with "dumb fucks."  This one I think really hits the stupid nail on the head.

This if flipping ridiculous

Well, today's Saturday - Flo is wrecking havoc in the Carolinas.  Worry about those people, for them this is cataclysmic..
Normally, today would be my hump day, however I'm scheduled to work 6 days in a row this week.  That might not happen.  Flo is supposed to passing a bit north of here on Monday.  The forecast is for tropical rains...  I get water in my basement when we have torrential rains.  I have a pump, but I need to be here to turn the damn thing on.  Rather than come home and find a foot of water swirling around the foot of the staircase, I will most likely take the day off.  Having an expensive water heater repair is not what I want to deal with right now.
Oh, and in case you haven't seen.... Paul Manafort flipped.  This is what happens when you purchase loyalty rather than earn it.  Prepare for the Idiot Jerk to start Tweeting "he's lying!"  Interesting how everybody around the Idiot Jerk seems to be lie.  I'll bet his whole family is throwing shrieking shit storms.  This close to the mid-terms?  You see, they've been lying shit birds for years, and years.  They've never really been put under a microscope - until now.  Holy Shit Bangs!  Look what we found:  behavior so reprehensible it boggles the mind.  And since that rock has been flipped over, there's no stopping it the flow of shit.
On a lighter note, last evening my store began our Success Sharing celebration - we will be fed well for the next 3 days.  My bonus will deposited into my account on Tuesday.  It's already spent.  Well, not really, not yet.  Those $$$ will be used in my next vehicular acquisition.
And there's this Evangelical blowhard I work with, he has constant diarrhea mouth, not so much about politics, though.  He's one of those who needs to be an authority on everything.  Yesterday he was starting to run at the mouth while I was having lunch.  They were naming hurricanes and he, of course, became the authority.  Someone brought up Hurricane Agnes, which was devastating to Central Pennsylvania.  Just as he was beginning to show us his expertise on that storm, I said "no, I don't.  I was in Vietnam."  Those few words shut him up. He sat there silent, and I finished my lunch in peace.
Anyway, someone evidently wrote a book about Vietnam as experienced by those on air craft carriers.  No, it wasn't me.   Here's the cover picture.

I spent a lot of hours on the bridge of the USS Constellation CVA 64.  Can't you see me waving from the window?

Blue Judgment

Last evening... the sun came out, bright and brilliant, turning the fluttering leaves on the river birch by my house into shiny, little pieces of glass catching the rays and dancing them across the siding.  Only for 20 minutes or so, but  long enough to brighten things up.  By 9:30 PM the drizzle had returned.  Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to be very wet - that's when tropical rainstorm Flo arrives to piss all over the state.
Cynthia Nixon lost her bid big time.  I'm not surprised.  Like many, many, many people out there, I have never watched "Sex and the City," and it seems she based her name recognition on that show.  I couldn't tell you if her platform was based in either socialism or liberalism.  Too much of her campaign seemed to be based on "I am a woman running against the male establishment."  The upset wins by women so far have focused more upon what they want to do.  They understood the wisdom of reaching across gender lines.  They also have had some political experience, membership on school boards, township boards; not one chose to run for a governorship and then jumped onto the campaign trail cold.  Some experience is necessary.
Speaking of experience, you would think that by now the Idiot Jerk in the White House might have learned that when he lies... people are, not too subtly call him a lying sack of shit.  Like with Puerto Rico...  Of course, he's stupid, which is another way of saying he's never going to learn.
Oh, and for those who didn't know, Primary Season is now over.  Statistics are flowing in.  Analysts are combing over 7 months of data.  Trends are being examined, opinion polls ruthlessly dissected, and computers are crunching wins and losses.  Predictions are being made.  Evidence appears to be mounting for a Blue Wave, and I'm not talking about a little wavelet here.  Races the GOP thought were safe are now in jeopardy.  Seats will be flipping from red to blue... lots and lots  and lots of seats.  As I look at what people are saying, I'm beginning to wonder if Blue Wave might not be the correct name for what appears to be happening.  Perhaps Blue Judgment might be better.

Besides, that would really piss off the White Evangelicals, wouldn't it?  The idea Judgment might be made against them?  Oh, my gosh, that almost makes me giddy with laughter.

Photogenic Excuses

Okay, sometime today, or this evening, Flo is going to make landfall.  Torrential rains are forecast.  Because she's a bitch, she might just choose to sit on her ass for a couple of days and piss all over the Carolinas.  I'm not talking buckets here, I'm talking feet.  If you're in a low lying region, run for the hills, literally.  Getting hit by a wall of moving water is just like running headfirst into a wall of bricks.
Oh, and the guy from FEMA says they only gave $10 million to ICE.
On a lighter note, Betsy DeVos got a boot up her ass.  Where as the Obama administration had a problem with predatory schools, Betsy doesn't.  She doesn't see anything wrong with a school that lies to you, makes phony promises, and fakes statistical records in order to sign you up for high interest loan.  To Betsy, that's just American Capitalism.  Her government should not have to police these scavengers.  If you sign on that dotted line, then you, and you alone, are responsible for the financial wreckage that loan will cost.  Except 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, sued ol' Betsy, and a Federal Judge said they were right and she was wrong.  So far there's been no comment from the Department of Education.  No doubt Betsy doesn't know how to respond to someone telling her to "just shut up."
On the even funnier side of things, articles are beginning to pop up about the mid-terms.  Conservative political pundits are scratching their heads.  They don't understand how, with the economy this good, so many can hate the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  His approval rating has dropped to 39.9 - that's really terrible, especially with an economy that's this good.  These conservatives believe if you're making money, you should be happy with any scumbag sitting in the Oval Office.  They don't understand why people don't say "well, so what if he's a reprehensible dick, I'm making money."  And they are muttering about the up coming elections, about how that non-Hispanic Ted Cruz is struggling against that Irish guy Beto O'Rourke, (don't let the last name fool you, Beto is proud of his Hispanic heritage).  I saw one article in which the suggestion was made that Beto must be surging in the polls because he was more photogenic than Ted... 

These people are so fucking stupid.  Their tones are low as they discuss other Senate races, the ones they thought of as sure things.  What did they think was going to happen?  Did they really think a majority of the American People were just going to sit back and swallow their shit?  And instead of dealing with the problem, they're looking for photogenic excuses.

Soon

Okay, so here it is Wednesday... and I get to go back to work.
Weather wise?  Overcast with showers, occasional showers and thunderstorms for the next week and a half.  Hell, we're going to sell a shit load of Mold Control!
And it's only going to get worse.  My niece posted an aerial pic of the beach house they're supposed to be staying in... next week.

Notice I said 'supposed.'  There's a good possibility that come Friday that house will have moved much farther inland, piece by piece.  I understand the Idiot Jerk said that Florence is going to be tremendously wet...  Shit, is his mind always in the gutter?  He also said the response to Hurricane Maria was a success (notice, I didn't include the adjective he used).  Of course, since the number of Puerto Ricans living in the Carolinas is a lot less than say... oh, Puerto Rico, things might go better for them.  Well, maybe not, I understand the government has been transferring a lot of funds from the FEMA account to the ICE account.  Illegal aliens, you know?  We'll find out soon enough, won't we?
And there's this little project I've been working on for nearly a year and a half.  Looks like things are finally going to be coming to fruition... and no, I'm not talking about the cantaloupes I planted in the kitchen, though the vines are coming along quite nicely.  Certain things have become indelibly woven into the intricacies of this project.  One of those things which has proven to be integral is the song below.  It's also great for cardio, in case you're wondering.

So, when will this project be revealed?

Soon.

Censored!

Here it is, Tuesday, my 2nd day off and the rain has not stopped.  Oh, yeah,  it's only a drizzle right now... but then it was only a drizzle most of yesterday... and it's supposed to be only a drizzle until sometime Thursday.  Oh, and don't think Thursday's supposed be clear and sunny.  No way, the forecast is for heavy clouds and high humidity... and then it starts to rain... again.  The eastern seaboard of the United States is turning into a rain forest, no doubt the result of global warming.
I had to email a copy of my POA for my Mom to Pinnacle Health yesterday so I could get her billing address changed.  They mailed a $1750 bill for her last hospital vacation to her senior living address - I got page 2... yep, only page 2.  That's pretty good when you take into account she's 85 and has dementia.
"Fear" comes out today.  For those who don't know (?) "Fear" is a tidy, little expose by a gent named Bob Woodward who has made quite a career of gathering nuggets of truth about presidents and their administrations.  He provided tasty morsels on George W which provided much insight into how a feeble minded, Crazy Christian struggles to survive.  Yeah, that's the tome in which W says he "talks to his higher Father."  Oops.  Of course, we know the Idiot Jerk has no 'higher Father.'  There is no one being in the known (and unknown) universe who is smarter than he, which is why Crazy Christians love him so much.  He has become their surrogate deity.
Today we honor those who died during the attack on the World Trade Center.  Many died in those attacks.  Many, many more died afterwards in a war 'W' chose to wage against a poor, Muslim country.  None of those attackers came from Iraq.  Fifteen of them came from Saudi Arabia, a very wealthy Muslim country, which, interestingly enough, is not part of the Idiot Jerk's travel ban.  When money talks, the Idiot Jerk listens.  Think of him as this fat, ugly pole dancer with orange/yellow plastic hair.  Your average Joe watching him might get a jiggle of cellulose, he only rolls down his G-string for the big tippers, like those high rolling, Saudi princes and kings.

PICTURE OF IDIOT JERK IN A G-STRING CENSORED

On a lighter note, I did buy 2 new throw rugs for the dining room.  Originally priced at $99 each, I bought them when they went on clearance:  $25.03 each.

The pattern is a bit unattractive, but the quality is fairly good.  At that price they're throw-a-ways, good for maybe 3 or 4 years (big dogs, you know).  They're nice, though I will admit the color palette in the center is not one I'd have chosen:  black, and red, and gold, and grey, and some sort of off taupe color.  Still, a deal's a deal.  

Just Shut UP

We have had rain here in Central PA for 25 hours straight.  I have some water in the basement: 1/4 - 1/2 inch in some places.  There are some dry areas.  Some places have had up to 4 inches of rain.  That's a lot.  Flood warnings are up.  Predictions are being made as to when creeks, streams, and rivers will hit flood stage.  That happens when rain has swollen them to the extent they leave their banks and invade fields, and streets, and neighborhoods, and, on occasion, wash away bridges.  On Friday, Flo is supposed to make landfall in North Carolina.  My money says that bitch is going to turn north and bring us more rain.
I just checked on Accuweather and the perimeter is just to our southwest.  Hopefully it will arrive soon, this is my day off work and I have a lot of laundry to do.  The washer and dryer are... in the basement.
As I was lying in bed last night, I started thinking about that anonymous op-ed in the NYT.  I didn't read it, mostly because I don't want to die this young.  Death you ask?  Well, yes, it might either scare me to death, or I might die laughing, neither outcome would be appreciated.  One thing did cross my mind, though.  If there is a dedicated group working to keep the Idiot Jerk in check... what would things be like if they weren't there?  Let's be honest.  This is pretty much of a cluster fuck administration, and they're using no lube what-so-ever.  I can't even imagine how bad things would be without this team dedicated to keeping him in check.  Stop!  Don't even think about it!  Don't let that thought seep in and activate your fear nodes!
On a lighter note, my Nike running shoes came yesterday.

A funny thing about Nike and their "Just do it" campaign.  There are crazy, mini idiot jerks out there who are burning Nikes.  What's so funny?  In a world in which a majority of the people have darker skin, who have absolutely no problem with Nike, or Colin Kaepernick, this minority group of white Republicans actually believe they will have some kind of effect.  Hahahaha.  This teeny weeny turd of humanity doesn't realize how small and insignificant they are.  Perhaps we true Americans should start our own campaign.  We could take black and white pictures of ourselves.  Every time one of these phony Americans comments on Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram, we can post those pictures, and our catch phrase, our slogan, our anthem can be "Just Shut Up."

Plaid Shirts

So, is this Gordon splashing around outside my window panes, and dashing himself upon my sidewalks?  Too heavy for the pitter patter of a shower, the dogs surprised me by running out and doing their morning business.  They hate the rain.  And the flow of drenching looks to continue as another storms prepares to board us on the east coast.
I guess by now everybody has seen the "plaid shirt guy" video, otherwise I'd post it.  Funny, isn't it, how simple facial expressions can say so much.  More interesting, I thought, was the direction he was given, "to be enthusiastic."  They wanted him to applaud, and nod his head, oh, and even wear a MAGA hat.  The "plaid shirt guy" was supposed to be complimentary and encouraging scenery, nothing more.  Or course, when he failed to give them what they wanted he was "fired," or I guess I should say... replaced by females, which in itself is interesting.  Does the Idiot Jerk have a stable of pretty women to fill in the holes in the crowd?  You'll notice I said holes, not assholes.  They would never do that.  They require the assholes.  In fact, I'm fairly certain that if they believed the crowd was going to be too thin they would bus in assholes.  They are desperately trying to flood those arenas with as many assholes as possible.  You can rest assured his administration would like nothing better than to get a video of streams of assholes flowing in to surround the Idiot Jerk, the way detritus clutters up a storm drain after a downpour.
Obama hit the campaign trail yesterday.  He was as eloquent as always.  I saw him speaking from the capital steps in Harrisburg while he was campaigning for his first term in office.  If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, do so.  Yesterday he was very honest.  Republicans hate honesty.  They, like their Idiot President, prefer to sugar their speeches with lies.  Their sentences are far more flexible than contortionists, as they bend and warp their way around the truth.  Video clips of Obama's speech were everywhere, as were transcripts, and takeaways.  If you were to ask me to choose who had the bigger impact, however, I would have to say the "plaid shirt guy."  His video went viral, tearing through social media like a hurricane.  Everybody is talking about him and those moments when he showed his disapproval of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And don't even get me started on all the subliminal messaging of his plaid shirt, with its horizontals, and verticals, and lines intersecting lines.  Our nation is not one solid color, we are not a fancy print, we are a plaid shirt, with lines, and angles, and shades, many, many things that together make us one.

A Fear of Color

Holy Crap, I woke this morning and what a surprise!  It's raining!  Again!  Isn't it a good thing my weekend isn't on the weekend?  Otherwise my days off would end being saturated.  As the forecast stands right now, I might only have to deal with light showers and that occasional pesky thunderstorm.  And next week?  Here comes Flo!
My brother mentioned me in a comment on Facebook, something about walnuts, however he made it on one of Ben Shapiro's posts about Cory Booker.  For those who don't know, Ben Shapiro is a conservative Jew and he supports the Idiot Jerk.  My response was to say "I guess even minorities need their websites."  I can tell you that my brother, along with a multitude of other white conservatives, is simply horrified that Cory Booker might be our next (black) president.  I find this funny.  There is no stopping evolution.  In about 27 years white people will become a minority group in this country.  Their shrinking majority is more apparent every passing day.  People of color (and this includes those from south of the border, Native Americans, Asians, and, in fact, a majority of the people living on this planet) are everywhere.  White skin is not a dominant gene.
And, of course, this is also a terrible problem for White Evangelicals.  They are not the chosen people.  Holy Shit!  For years they've been using their white Jesus to tell them they are special.  Turns out their not.  In their small minds, genetics has joined the war on Christianity.
The Idiot Jerk in the White, a stinkin' ol' white man, feeds their terror every time he has one of his rallies.  For a while, you would see the occasional black man standing behind him, nodding his head in approval.  That guy's gone.  The Idiot Jerk isn't even going to throw in a few tokens in order to make himself look less racist.  Tokens are not going to appeal to his white supporters.  Color is not what they're about.  Nope.  They have a fear of color.  This makes their hatred of anything LGBT understandable:  the rainbow flag.  Every time they see one they scowl: look at all of that Color!
Then we have the Idiot Jerk in the White House, with his plastic blonde hair and his orange, artificial tan.  He's not quite white, but then he's not quite brown, either.  In fact, you would have to agree he is more of an ocher color than anything else.  His colorization alone proves he has never out grown the 60's.  Fifty-eight years later he still has his QT Tan.

A Little Court Intrigue anybody?

Friday is Funday and Humpday for me!
As I write this, Biggie is laying by my side.  He usually does this in the mornings after his breakfast.  Lily prefers the sofa in the living room downstairs.  She likes looking out the window and has managed to nap with one eye shut, the other one open, scouring the front yard for a wayward bunny.  I live in bunny hell.  In a few minutes she will spy one and begin to bark, and Biggie will race down the stairs, and shortly after that, I'll head down to open the back door so they can both go out and bark and the bunny.
And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House is a tad upset because the NYT published an anonymous Op-Ed... badly.  This so reminds me of the Court Intrigue from days of yore.  While not nearly as bloody as with Henry V, this has nearly all the same earmarks.  Rather than using swords, and knives, and poison, in this Administration they're using words.  Could the culprit be Sir Penceiful?  He desperately wants the job.  You can bet he's realized that the longer the Idiot Jerk stays in power, the less likely that is going to happen.  The BBC seems to think he might be the author.  Might that not be his rapier piercing the Idiot Jerk's back? 
Unfortunately, there are so many villains.  From Sister Sarah, a novitiate from the Holy Order of Liars, to Nanny Niki, who just might be tired of nursing the Idiot Jerk's failures on the world stage.  Let's be honest here, the Idiot Jerk's dance card is filled with names of people who are simply dying (figuratively) to dance him into history.  We have Lord Mnuchin, whose blonde, bimbolina wife is fervently egging him on, "Stick in in, Stevie.  Stick it in! (I'm talking about the knife, here).  There's Friar Giuliani, who has so many sharp and phony syllogisms tucked up into his robe he can't keep them from falling out every time he turns, and Lord Larry of the Kudlows, who can't stop whispering "this fool's giving me another heart attack."  And we haven't even gotten to the tip of the iceberg yet.

There have even been rumors that Kellyann might be the author...  Nah, I made that up.  She has no idea that a complete sentence is, so how could she write anything.

For those interested

A lot of you know I was in the Navy a long, long time ago.  I'm a member of several groups on Facebook, one being The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club.  Another one was set up by one of my friends for members of OI Division on the USS Constellation.  I know people in both groups.  However, the OI division group posts pictures of us... some 40 odd years ago.  This one was posted yesterday.  I know a lot of you are wondering which one of these handsome young men is me.  I'll give you a hint.  I am the oldest one in the picture.  A fact I am reminded of every time my birthday is announced on Facebook.

While those were serious times, cruising up and down the Tonkin Gulf as we launched air strikes, we had the easy jobs.  Those guys on the ground?  They were fighting to stay alive.  This is apparently something a lot of crazy conservatives seem to have forgotten.

And what about the 'anonymous op-ed' in the NYT.  I guess the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going ballistic.  For years his legal teams have been smacking the shit out of anybody who cried foul, who tried to get a fair deal.  The Idiot Jerk had no compunction when it came to ruining people's lives.  He believed, and still does, their value is severely limited.  Now he is learning people have very little compunction when it comes to his life.  They mock and deride his every Tweet.  His supporters are seen as human failures, desperately grasping for as much power as their brittle, little fingers can clench.  No matter which way they turn, they find themselves mocked as much as their president.  If, perhaps, they managed to demonstrate just a smidgen of accountability, but we all know they shit that away years ago.  So, what did they think was going to happen?  

Anyway, for those interested, I'm the one wearing the green Adidas T-shirt.  And, what I find funny as hell, everybody in that pictures is younger than me.  That's right, I'm the old man.

The Axiom... repeated.

Today is go back to work day for me... I'm not excited.
Yesterday I checked my 401K.  Once a year I'm allowed to transfer funds tax free into a safer place, where the stock market will have little to no effect on my savings.  No, I don't convert it to cash and hide it in my mattress, if that's what you're thinking.  Interestingly enough, while everybody is crowing about how great the stock market is, since April, my 401K is down 2.26%.  The only funds there are the ones being deducted from my paycheck.  Matching funds from my company have all been lost.  Okay, so what's wrong with this picture?  Maybe the economy isn't quite as good as Republicans say it is.  Sure, unemployment is down, but where's the money!  Show me the money!
And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House is doing flaming cartwheels over Bob Woodward's book.  Can we talk about salty nuggets which leave you wanting more... and more.  I might actually buy it, you know?  As I was reading little snippets yesterday, all I could do was laugh.  If this thing is even halfway true, it makes dysfunctional look downright normal.
At the same time, I was horrified at how reprehensible the Republican Party has become.  They support this monstrosity of humanity simply because he gives them what they want.  Their hatred for America has never been so obvious.  They want a Republican dictatorship, and he is only too happy to oblige.  Except he, very, very unpopular.
For those who have never heard it, I'm going to repeat Dave's Axiom..  "A popular president can move the country to either the left, or the right and the public will go along with him.  An unpopular president, trying to force the country to either the left, or the right, will move the public in the opposite direction."  His disapproval rating pretty much sits at 60%.  Almost 2/3's of the country believe this Idiot Jerk is totally unfit to be president.  They want him out of the office.  Believe me, he will be gone sooner than you think.
On a lighter note, I started playing Skyrim again.  This is probably my fourth play through, though I don't know if I'll finish.  Mostly it's to hold me over until the next Assassin's Creed comes out.  From the reviews I've been seeing, that game is going to be simply spectacular.  They're saying the story is over 100 hours longs.  That's simply amazing.  Here's some game play with Alexios on the island of  Lesbos.

Hot, right?  Really Hot.  This is where he fights Melania, you know?   Chick with the snakes in her hair... wait, you're telling me Melania doesn't have snakes in her hair.  Then it must be that other chick... Medusa.

On Anniversaries

Yesterday the temp here in Central PA hit 94 (F).  I'd call that warm.  We have 2 more days (not quite a heatwave) until the temp drops back into the 80's.  Gordon will be raining his way up through the center of the country for a while.  At some point he's going to slowly fritter his way east - which means we'll be getting more rain.
Today is my anniversary with that large, orange, home improvement retailer I work for - ten years.  Very, very important, you know?  Three more weeks of vacation load today.  That's nice.  Many view anniversaries as milestones in their lives.  For me, they are more of a gauge.  You see, the longest I have ever worked for one specific company has been eleven years.  I will enjoy using that vacation, but at the same time it's impossible for me to deny the itch.  I'm a strong believer in change.  So many people are terrified of change.  They want to stack anniversary on anniversary on anniversary.  The longer they go without change, the safer they feel.  Believe me, no one is safe.  Regularity brings them comfort.  Don't get yourselves to comfortable.  Look at the load of shit we have in the White House.  The time has come for a big change.
I'll be honest, I do like the income.  I would go part-time (32 hours) in a heartbeat if I could be guaranteed 32 hours.  With the retailer I work for, there are 3 months where that is not certain.  The only thing which would help me is my ability to work in multiple departments, but that would mean opening up my schedule.  Meh.  I want my cake, and I want to eat it, too.
While I'm sitting here thinking about that, Gordon is preparing to dump inches of rain on states that voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And the Idiot Jerk is lying to himself.  He's telling himself he's one safe fuck.  Well, he isn't.  Odds are growing daily he may not celebrate a 2nd anniversary in the White House.  Not that he'll spend time in jail.  Nah, he's a coward with a Twitter account.  He'll shriek "bone spurs" and run off to Moscow for treatment.
And all of those Executive Order?  The ones he think demonstrate he has unlimited power?  The ones that make the evil hearts of his base sing with joy?  Well, there anniversary days are numbered.  The same thing goes for helmet head Betsy. 
There will be 'wet clean-ups' in every aisle of this store, as we begin to take back control.  A year from now another anniversary is set to begin.  That minority group which is the GOP will be schooled, and already they are terrified.  Lessons can be very painful, and they've not been very apt at learning.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Well, it's Labor Day.  This is a National Holiday here in the United States.  Supposedly a day to celebrate the accomplishments of Americans, most just see this as a paid holiday.  For the first time in almost 10 years, I don't have to work, which is nice.  That doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything.  Rather, the opposite has been happening.  Besides my normal household chores, I have myself a little project: remove and replace the silicone caulk in my walk-in shower.  I used a tool (which we sell), and a spray on solution (which we also sell.)  Well, the tool, which is plastic, broke, and the spray on solution?  Way too thick to actually spray.  I poured it into a small Tupperware container and used an old toothbrush as an applicator.  The softening process took much longer than the instructions implied.  Removal also required much more elbow grease than was suggested.  In the end, however, all of the old caulk is gone, replaced by new, longer lasting caulk.
As I was laying in bed this morning, I heard on the news that the DeSantis campaign is outraged that a white supremacist group was making robocalls on his behalf.  Can you hear me laughing.  Checking on line, I saw that 'all white' Faux News was coming to his defense...  Can you hear me laughing?  Kelly Wright, their only black anchor is suing them for racial discrimination.  Oh, wait, is he still with Faux News?  There is also Harris Faulkner.  She has a show called Outnumbered.  She's married to this dude Tony Berlin.  At one time he worked for Good Morning America.  He is one of those Crazy Christians, which makes me suspect they are both paddling around in the same canoe.
That gives us two black people.  Don't even try and compare Faux News to any of the other cable news networks, you'll end up breaking a gut laughing.  Faux News is desperately clinging to a history that is disappearing through evolution.  As if we didn't know that already.
The temps outside are supposed to be stinky hot.  Right now the plan is to stay inside when I can enjoy the air conditioned comfort.

Now, I'll be the idea of getting to see an old Ronald Reagan movie will some of you so hot you'll need to pull out your fans.

Eulogies

Well, today is the first of 3 days off in a row for me.  Lily and I were outside for a bit - there's a slight drizzle..  They're calling for a heatwave - starting tomorrow, with temps in the mid 90's (F).  I don't know if I'd call it a heatwave - more like a heat spell.  Soon fall will be here and people will be lamenting about the oncoming cold and snow of winter.  Get over it, people.  In this region seasons change.  If you don't like it, move somewhere else.  Down south the seasons change, too.  They have hot... and they have hotter than hell.  Take your pick.  I'd rather spend 3 or 4 months dealing with snow than roast through that time being hotter than hell.
Yesterday was John McCain's funeral.  I watched some of the eulogies when I got home from work and went through some serous tissue time.  One of the bloggers that I read ranted about George W's presence, venting about the man's failed presidency.  He totally missed the point, but then some people are so obtuse they will never be able to angle in on reason, and purpose.  Democrats and Republicans were unified.  And... who... was... missing?  Who was specifically told not to show up?  There were three eulogies, by a Democrat, by a Republican, and by a daughter.  They all spoke of respect, and honor, and sacrifice, and all of them, while doing so, drove a nail into the political coffin of that one person who was told to "stay away."
I understand that as many in the nation watched, and wiped away quiet tears, this man who never gets an invitation, surrounded by snotty nosed leaches, cheated his way through a game of golf.  His behavior is appropriate for one with no moral compass.  Should we have expected anything else?  His disapproval rating has hit an all time high, and his supporters are getting really angry.  They are beginning to see his future is already lost.  They are starting to understand he is going to be uninvited out of the White House.  Their minority numbers are showing themselves to be rather small.  The temperature is going up.  They are beginning to sweat, not only the small stuff, but the big stuff as well.  Almost daily we get to see another one of his compatriots pleading guilty, and flipping.
This whole thing is, well, rather funny because this is what they voted for: a scumbag who has been lying and cheating all of his life.  A self-centered lout, he has colluded with anyone, and everyone, who could give him what he wanted. He is a living obstruction that will soon be flushed from the system.
Will he be eulogized when he's gone?

Stemin'

Today is September 1.  We have what? 21 days of summer left?  Is everybody ready for the Autumnal Equinox?  I am.  They are forecasting a heat wave next week.  Ninety degree temps are coming back, not that they really left us.  There was an interesting article in the NYT this AM.  By 2060 the number of 90 (F) days for people living in Richmond, VA will double.  I probably will not be around.  I couldn't help but chuckle.  You see, if it's that bad in Virginia, imagine how bad it will be in those Crazy Christian states farther to the south.  Those people down in Georgia, and South Carolina, and Alabama?  They're going to think they've died and gone to hell.  Maybe this is how Judgment works.  They aren't too keen on science.  In fact, a lot of them do as much as humanly possible to keep science out of their schools.  Perhaps if science didn't quickly begin to dismantle their core beliefs this wouldn't be the case.  Unfortunately science answers questions their faith tells them to ignore.  Like the age of the Earth.  Or why aren't their dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?  And these people want to run the country.  Holy Shit!
An associate of mine keeps telling me I should get Twitter just to read the Idiot Jerk's Tweets.  He reads them aloud.  I will have to admit, many of them are hysterical as hell.  He makes as much sense as one of those Crazy Christians... maybe that's why they like him so much.  What are even funnier are the retorts he gets.  Reading his Twitter account gives you a really good idea how much people really hate this guy.  I mean, they really do.  They are constantly calling him names.  "Liar" pops up so often you know he doesn't read his responses.  His ego lives for sensationalism.  Turning him off is a little stake in his heart...  Just think what would happen if everybody disconnected at once.  Buildings might topple at the sound of his deafening shriek of pain.  Only then will he realize how much he is hated.  He'd be suffering through steam heat without any love...  Oh, and don't worry, it won't be long before we'd get to see him dance.... of course, ankle chains pretty much only let you shuffle.

After today I have a 3 day weekend.  That will be so nice.  Of course, it is going to be stinkin' hot.