Round and Round she goes

Happy New Years Eve!!  The weather outside is overcast and drizzly.  Looks like much of the same for this afternoon.  I work, so it doesn't bother me.  I don't know how late the store's open, but I can tell you, there will be customers.  Not a lot.  I work tomorrow as well, though I'm not scheduled to start until 2 PM.  I think that's about when the games start on TV, though they may start earlier.  Business will be light.  Not everybody boozes away New Years Eve.

I will not stay up to ring in the New Year.  If I wanted to watch fireworks, I could turn on the BBC, they're going to be live from Sydney shortly.  Honestly, it's just another new year following another old year, round and round they go.

As I was prepping my breakfast this morning, I made an interesting discovery:  the dogs like bananas.

Barbara Walters died.  She took the brunt edge of a lot of humor early in her career, being the first woman in national broadcast news to be an anchor.  SNL called her Baba Wawa.  I feel bad about that now.  Without her we would have no Rachel Maddow.

That pro-Nazi pope died, too.  No loss.

Finally, I thought I'd prep you for the new year with a little sea shanty.  Play this loud.  It is freaking awesome!

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The Seriously Red Sky

 Well, it's Friday, the end of the work for those who don't work in retail, or law enforcement, or unless you're a bartender, or a waitress, or a sous chef.  At this point in time, I would not be surprised if a decent majority of Americans work at least one day of the weekend.  So much so, I do believe they should rewrite that old song, you know the song I'm talking about:

Everybody's working on the weekend

Everybody needs to pay the bills

I talked to HR yesterday.  I like to work 20 hours a week and I was scheduled for 16 hours, two weeks in a row.  We added 4 hours to each week.  I'll be covering evening meals.  That's fine.  I'm a morning person.  Everything around the house gets done before noon, so I don't mind heading into the store at 3 PM for a few hours.

There's a new trailer out for Picard, season 3.  I honestly don't know if I'll watch it.  Season 2 was horrifically terribly.  The show took all of the lore that the franchise has spent decades building upon and crapped all over it.  Season 3 looks to be nothing more than a Star Trek, The Next Generation redux.  Damn!

We had a seriously red sky this morning.  Bad weather must be coming.

The view from my computer chair

And what about Andy Tate?  I had no idea who he was until Twitter erupted with Greta Thunberg clapped him back over some sort of crack he'd made about his cars and pollution.  Now he and his brother Tristian are sitting in a Romanian prison charged with sex trafficking.  Andy had been one of Tucker Carlson's special guests who complained about being persecuted because Tucker loves his misogynist underdogs. 

George Santos is set to be sworn in on Tuesday proving without a doubt Republicans have no integrity.  I find it fascinating that here lately a day doesn't pass without one of them saying the quiet part out loud as they either try and defend him, or simply remain silent.  I look out my window and see a fiery dawn, for them, the seriously red skies are soon going to be eternal.

Run, Donald, Run

 Hello Thursday.  I don't know what the temps are like where you live, but here in Central PA they're supposed to climb into the mid 50s (F), which is toasty for late December.  Wednesday of next week, we're supposed to top off at around 60 (F).   I'm fine with warm weather, as long as it saves me money on my heating bill.

Yesterday was good.  I rearranged some furniture, not doubt part of my DNA, did 2.6 miles on the treadmill, and worked on the book.  

Re: the treadmill.  I don't like running, but I don't mind walking very fast, my average speed being 3.6 - 3.9 mph, once I hit 4 mph I'm actually in a slow jog.  To increase my heart rate, I make the incline steeper, so I'm walking fast up hill.  The videos I watch are either Pro-Walk Tours (great for the stay at home tourist) or The Average Runner (he runs around New York City).  I avoid content providers who are into wilderness trail running.  When I try to explain what these videos are like, people say "interesting," but I can tell they don't really understand, so here's one from The Average Runner running down the entire west side of Manhattan.

One of the headlines that caught my attention this morning was about police in Michigan finding the body of a doctor under pond ice.  There is a huge difference between a pond, and Lake Huron, but I did find the similarity between the headline and the title of my next book interesting.

As we all might have expected, the Feds are now investigating George Santos.  Allegedly, he used $700,000 from his business (?) to fund his campaign.  That's against the law.  Santos is, truly a man after Trump's own heart, a pathological liar.  It seems that barely a second goes by without another revelation.  I have to stop reading and simply laugh at times.  He started a GoFundMe for himself, and used a fictitious name.  He's becoming more and more preposterous and, of course, the Republicans are ignoring his lies because they need his vote.

And finally, everybody's least favorite moral degenerate, Donald Trump, supposedly said yesterday that if the Republicans don't give him the nomination, he'll run as an Independent.  That might just be the final nail in the GOP's coffin.  I read that and surprised the hell out of myself by shouting Run, Donald, Run!  

Drama

 Good morning, afternoon, or evening.  The good news for today is that the temps here in Central PA are supposed to top off in the mid to upper 40s (F).  This is so much better than those Christmas days when the temps bottomed out down near 0 (F).  

I've been thinking lately that some of Biggie's midnight bathroom breaks have more to do with getting a biscuit rather than the pressure of a full bladder, more of a bad habit than anything else.  Last night I put my theory to the test.  A little over an hour after he was on the bed, I felt the weight change (he weighs 116 lbs.) and the ker-thump of his paws hitting the floor.  Instead of getting up, I just lay there.  About 20 minutes later, he got back on the bed and slept through the rest of the night without any problems.  I'm suspecting my theory is correct.

There are certain loud voices complaining about Babylon's failure at the box office, claiming that audiences are more interested in going to see a Marvel film rather than a good drama.  While these people are somewhat right, they're missing the point entirely.  It's very rare for audiences to flock to the movies to take in a good drama,.  With all of the freaking drama around us, why would anyone spend money to expose themselves to even more.  This has always been the case.  If you don't believe me, spend some time looking over box office grosses for dramas for the past 30 years.  Dramas are simply not popular.

And, speaking of movies, rather than waste time at Babylon, I went to see Avatar, The Way of the Water last evening.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The movie is filled with eye candy that's simply amazing at times.  The story's good, there's even drama between two different fathers and their sons.  There's even a bit of a Titanic moment.  Three hours and 20 odd minutes went by very fast.  

And now, for the Drama.  Republicans were praying that the George Santos revelations, that he's a lying sack of shit, were going to go away.  They're getting worse.  His claim to being Jew-ish took a terrible turn yesterday when forms he sent to Jewish groups had him claiming to be a proud Jewish American, and this from a Catholic boy.  Even Tulsi Gabbard is questioning his integrity (stop laughing).  I'm guessing she knows how badly this is going to effect Republicans in the long run.

Evidently, on numerous occasions copies of confidential documents were made, and taken to the White House, and disbursed to members of the private sector.  People are wondering if these are the papers Mark Meadows was burning in his office fireplace.

Trump's taxes will be released to the public on Friday.  

More drama to arrive this afternoon.

The Hardy Boys

 Hello Tuesday!  Temps here are supposed to climb into the upper 30s (F).  Tomorrow into the 40s (F).  And by Thursday will be in the 50s (F).  Now, how's that for a rebound from the Cyclone Bomb?

Plans were to go see Babylon this evening.  They've changed.  It opened poorly.  That doesn't usually phase me, what does is that it has a 3 hour + running time.  Another thing:  the film was advertised more as a comedy with dramatic moments and that's wrong.  It's an all out drama, little comedy, about the problems Hollywood dealt with in the switch from silent films to talkies.  I'm thinking someone should have told Damian Chazelle there's already been a really super movie made about that time.  It's a little thing called "Singin' in the Rain."

 The NYT has a good list of people who died during 2022, that includes many you wouldn't know about.  One of those mentioned was Tim Considine, who played Frank Hardy, of the Hardy Boys on Disney's Micky Mouse Club, a long, long, time ago.  I was 6 years old at the time, and yes, I did love the Hardy Boys.  Joe Hardy was played by Tommy Kirk, a Disney regular until they found out he was gay and kicked him out.

And what about the George Santos fiasco?  His resume is thick with lies:  never graduated from college, never worked for Goldman Sachs, he's not Jewish, though he explains that by saying he said he was Jew-ish, with a silent hyphen.  Oh, and George says that he's not going to resign.  He's going to go to Congress.  Kev McCarthy has been silent; if he's going to become Speaker of the House, he's going to need every vote he can get which means he's going to seat him.  Hell, what's another liar among Republicans?  From what I understand, his financing is going to bring him down.  He claims to own a company called Devolder, which has very little revenue, yet he supposedly pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money into his campaign.  Santos epitomizes the Republican party. 

Bombs

 I hope everybody had a nice, relaxing Christmas, that everybody stayed safe and warm inside their homes as frigid cold from Canada bombed America.  We did have single digit temps here on Saturday, the 24th, but no snow.  Yesterday things began to warm up, temps climbed into the low 20s (F).  Today they're predicted to reach 30 (F), and by Wednesday we should be a balmy 52 (F).

Here in Central Pa, Christmas day was quiet.  There was ham, corn, and mashed potatoes... lots of ham, that will be eaten as sandwiches and turned into ham salad.  Some will be frozen.  The dogs will have the juicy fat served up to them with their dinners this evening.

Oh, and Biggie and Lilly got cake and ice cream.  The dainty, lady Lily took her time, licking her ice cream the way you do an ice cream cone.  Biggie, who's head is the size of a personal watermelon, swallows things whole.  For him, it's not about the taste, it's about the consumption.

I watched Glass Onion, a Knives Out mystery on Netflix.  It was only released into around 700 theaters back in November, and only for a week or so before Netflix pulled it.  Reviews were middling.  I didn't like it.  Not one bit.  This was more of a bomb than a hit.  In Knives Out, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) ask questions to solve the mystery, in Glass Onion rather than deduce, he makes statements; he tells the audience what they saw using different camera angles.  By the time the ending comes along, he is no longer the star of the movie, that honor goes to Janelle Monae.  I don't know about you, but I like it when my mysteries have a brain.

Besides Trumps ranting and ravings about the stolen 2020 election, other thing making the news this past holiday weekend, was Texas' governor Abbott sending bus loads of immigrants to Kamala Harris' home in Washington.  You don't need to excuse my lack of political correctness, but Greg Abbott is truly a cripple, both physically, and emotionally, and politically.  He shits on human beings in order to win approval from the MAGA Republican base.  There was so much outrage on social media, people quoting scripture, as though their words were going to punish Abbott.  They didn't.  Abbott doesn't care what Jesus thinks.  Abbott cares about Abbott.  In case you haven't realized it yet, he's running against DeSantis for president in 2024.

Oh, and Kari Lake lost her case in Arizona.  The judge actually told her, "you lost."  Of course, Lake has vowed to appeal because that's what her lord and savior Donald Trump would do.

May the Joy of the Holidays fill you with Happiness!

 The ham is in the oven.  Both Biggie and Lily are keeping guard, they know they'll be getting bones and hammy fat, and probably skin.  This afternoon both will also get cake and ice cream.  Biggie's 8 years old today.  

Here's hoping your lives are as full of happiness and contentment as mine.  

I'm also so glad I don't have to deal with this.

Stay warm.  Stay safe.  And may the joy of the holidays fill you with happiness.  

The Joys of Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve!!

I get to go to work for 5 hours.,  I'm hoping they have snackery type morsels and tidbits to graze upon.  Who'll be shopping?  Customers looking for a deal on those hideous holiday ornaments no one would even consider putting on their front lawn.  The big markdowns will happen on Monday.  The same thing goes tools, except in reverse, their price will be marked up and customers will buy because they believe they're getting an after Christmas steal.  Around 3:30 PM they will begin cutting the staff loose.  Not so much because they want associates to have a happy Christmas Eve, rather it's a good time to cut back on your payroll expense.

Weather wise.  It's 5 (F) degrees outside.  I did kick the thermostat up to 72 (F).  That means it's very warm upstairs.  I will turn the heat back down to 70 (F) when the temps warm up.  

As for Christmas, itself.  I wonder if Democrats are beginning to understand that Donald Trump is the greatest grift they could ever receive.  Republican red is not going to hide all the political blood the party is going to spill.  Charlie Kirk is going after Ronna McDaniel (yeeha!).  And all of those glorious texts the January 6 committee has blessed America with?  Who cares if they weren't wrapped with a pretty bow on top.  And Trump's taxes?  Patience is a virtue.  Good things come to those who wait.

For those who don't know, one of my favorite groups right now is a German duo named Milky Chance.  Here they are playing variations of the same song.  The first was recorded in 2020 while they were on the Steven Colbert show.  I like that one, and not just because I own the same Miele vacuum cleaner. The 2nd version is a live version recorded at a concert in Berlin this past summer.  Which is better?  I like both versions.

 

Reality Checks

 Hello happy day before Christmas Eve!  I say that with good hearted jest.  You see, the first thought that went through my head when I woke up this morning was: damn, I have to go to work this afternoon.  Yep, I thought it was Christmas Eve.  It wasn't until I sat down my computer that I saw today was actually Friday, the 23.  I'm in really good spirits, now.

The Vet call last evening.  Biggie is not going on meds.  No hormone blockers.  He does have Cushing's but his symptoms are not severe enough to require medication.  Biggie, as if he had already known this, slept through the night without having to go potty outside.  While I have no problem spending the $$$ for treatment, $400 + every 3 months for bloodwork was mice.

As for the snow we had yesterday morning?  It's practically gone.  We a total accumulation of 3 inches.  I went out and shoveled because a delivery from Chewy was expected.  Then, around 1:30 PM, the rain began, and it's been raining ever since.  Had it been cold enough, this would have been one hellatious snow storm.  The cold doesn't arrive until later this morning, carried in by high winds gusting to 50 + miles per hour.  That's another reason why I'm glad I don't have to go to work this afternoon.

Yesterday there were quite a few individuals got reality checks.  Can you hear me laughing at them?

Matty Gaetz was shooting off angry retorts because many, many people were outraged that he and Bimbo Boebert sat through Zelenskyy's speech.  This is one of many images of the two sitting on their hands, or checking their phones.  Did they think they were making some sort of bizarre statement?

Even the conservative rag, Newsweek, published, with large headlines, the names of the seven congressmen who stayed sitting.

That Putin asset, Tucker Carlson, was gesticulating so wildly I felt certain he was having a conniption as he shrieked about Zelenskyy throwing a foreign flag on the dais.  Fox has a serious problem with Tucker in that he makes news because he rants, not because he makes points.  Ranting people are rarely taken seriously.

And then there's George Santos, a Republican from New York who lied extensively about... well, everything.  Let's see, he's not Jewish.  His grandparents didn't flee Hitler, they were born in Brazil.  He was married to a woman for some time.  He has not been openly gay for 10 years.  He never worked for Goldman-Sachs.  Shit, the list goes on and on.  George is having a serious reality check.  George says he will tell all next week.  Right.

Finally, the January 6 committee has released it's findings.   The Republican party is dealing with a very serious Reality Check, as well they should. 

The Big Stick, and how to use it

 And... we... have... snow!  Just flurries at present.  We might get as much as 2 inches!  The dogs will love that.  Looking at the weather map, I doubt very much if we're going to be in the 'your screwed' region, and I didn't get to the liquor store yesterday, so I failed to take that advice.  Honestly, the precipitation event doesn't seem to be entering into the picture.  The temperature drop is.  Our high on Christmas day is forecast to be a balmy 17 (F).  That's the predicted high.  I'll just crank up the heat a bit.  According to UGI, I've used 19% less natural gas this year than I did last year.  The temps have been about the same, so I that's interesting.

Speaking of UGI, one of their guys was next door yesterday for around a half hour.  I suspect he was assessing the furnace, which is very old.  I sent a text to my neighbor across the street who so desperately wants to rummage through the rubbish the previous owner left behind.  She told me she saw a crockpot sitting on kitchen shelf and I asked to myself, why would you want a used crockpot?   I do not understand this need some people have for acquiring things for free; that doesn't make it better.  Free does not equal quality, durability, or long life.  Having a lot of junk does not make you important.

The snow's coming down much heavier now

Only 88 of the 213 Republican members of the House were there for Zelenskyy's speech and 7 of those present refused to stand:  Boebert, Gaetz, Jordan among them.  The Republican party is worse than pathetic.  The authoritarian government they dream of would lead to civil unrest and chaos.  They will never understand until they are taught to respect Democracy.  Taking the high road has only emboldened them.  The time has come for us to speak softly, but use a big stick.  This is the only way they will learn.  

 And what about Trump's taxers.  All those times he said he was being audited?  He lied.  No one should be surprised by this.  Legally, hanging him out to dry will be a good start to swinging that big stick.  Every will be a strike for Democracy, every charge a blow against the authoritarianism too many Republicans endear.  Some will never learn.  To do so would mean they've been wrong, that's a mountain too high to climb for many conservatives climb.

Finally, testifying in court, Sean Hannity has said he never believed The Big Lie even though every night he was pushing that deceit as an authority on Fox News.  I'm betting Sean is scared shitless he's going to be taken to the woodshed.  What a coward, so terrified of the big stick.  

The Long and Short of it

 Can I get a big 👍for the Winter Solstice?  Shortest day of the year.  For the next 180 days, give or take one, we're going to start stretching the sunlight until it covers more of the day.  For some reason, back when I was a young whipper-snapper, I believed the shortest day of the year always arrived sometime in February.  That was until I learned in elementary school that there such things as solstices, and the word has more to do with the long and the short, though they use fancier words, like declination and excursion.  Doesn't one word sound like it might have something to do with sex, while the other?  I don't know anyone who would willing want a medical excursion.

Biggie is back from his long, long blood test.  He was happy to see me.  Ate like a wolf when he got home.  I made BLTs for lunch yesterday and saved the bacon drippings for both he and Lily's dinner.  

I did watch the last 4 episodes of Wednesday on Netflix.  I enjoyed the series, and am wondering if the Hyde is going to be a recurring character.  

And, of course, this week leading up to Christmas has not been good for Republicans.  The DOJ received referrals for not only the Orange Anus, but many of his cohorts in crime, including one for Mark Meadows.  Yesterday Congress voted to release Trump's Tax Returns.  One foolish Republican complained that if they release Donald's taxes, people might also want to see the Tax Returns for sitting member of the Supreme Court.  The social media response was overwhelming to his comment.  Bring it On!

As for the indictments?  I don't believe we will have to wait long.  I understand the Atlanta Grand July is in its final sessions and their charges should be arriving shortly; probably not before Christmas, though.

The Republican civil war in the house will very shortly turn into what will no doubt be a very long and very brutal battle, and looks to probably consume the full length and breadth of the party.  What a shame they can't wrap it up and give it to us with a bow on top.

Santa's on his way

Good Morning!  Biggie's at the Vet.  I was telling everybody his appointment was for Wednesday - well, I was wrong.  This is why I put everything in my calendar.  Sometimes things stick in our minds of which we are so very certain and turn out to be incorrect.  Why did Wednesday stick in my head?  Was I thinking of the Netflix series (which is pretty good), or was the first date the Vet suggested Wednesday, tomorrow?  I'm thinking that's probably the case.  Of course, there I go thinking again.

Work was very slow yesterday.  We're down in measures and sales.  Seriously, when I look at sales for the district, the numbers are almost spot on with our sales pre-pandemic.  That's a reality many corporations don't want to deal with.

The garbage men took my old garbage can.  I had just gotten home from dropping Biggie off, when they drove my my house.  No problem.  It was very old.  The bottom had large holes in it.  One of the wheels had fallen off so it no longer rolled.  I got my money's worth out of that purchase, since it survived over 14 years.

There's big storm a brewing!  It's supposed to begin on Thursday in the Midwest and move east.  This little map looks bad.  According to this I should hit the liquor store prior to getting screwed.  Accuweather says we're going to be getting mixed precipitation on Thursday, snow to rain on Friday, and then the temperature is predicted to crash on Christmas eve, with the high only reaching up into the mid 20s (F).  I think I'll play it safe and pick up a bottle of wine. 

For those who don't Tweet:  Elon lost his poll and decided to change the rules.  If you want to vote in one of his Twitter polls now, you need to purchase and $8 monthly subscription.  Some will pay, I will not.  I'm on Post, signing up for Mastodon, and already on Tribal.  Of the 3, I suspect Post will become the most popular, except for MAGA bots.

And, of course the celebrating has just begun.  As everyone knows by now, the January 6 committee has recommended the DOJ indict the Orange Anus on 4 different charges.  The BBC has a nice take on the matter, but then so does everyone else.  It will be interesting to see how the effect the Republican party, especially in the House of Representatives where the American Freedom Caucus worships the shit beneath his feet.  Social Conservatives who believed they were going to declare holy war on America are now embattled in war with each other.  And as for the Evangelicals, their holy grail has sprung a leak.  What will the DOJ do?  Indictments will follow more rapid than eagles, and as leaves that before the wild hurricane fly when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky. Santa's on his way.

 

Elon's Loss (corrected from this morning).

 Monday - this is going to be an abbreviated work week; I'm scheduled for 2 days, Monday and Saturday.  Today I'll rack up 8 hours, Saturday I work 5 hours.  Today will be boring.  The only departments that will do any business on Friday will be Garden (marked down Holiday decorations) and hardware (that last minute drill for dad).  I did put in for 6 hours of vacation pay even though I've earned 4 hours of holiday pay.  Biggie's expenses are approaching.

The actual new owner of the house next door showed up yesterday for about 10 minutes.  He pulled his black Escalade in front, put on the four way flashers, and proceeded to follow his worker into the house.  He's probably in his mid 30's, had a large gold chain that swung away from his chest when he walked, and I was not impressed.  I suspect the new owner discovered just how much rubbish the previous owner left behind.  Buying a house 'as is' means you're getting it as it is.  It's not going to be cleaned out and ready for painting.  'As is' also means there was no way that house could pass a home inspection.  If a deal is too good to be true, it's almost always too good to be true.

Our new store manager arrives today.  In fact, she's probably already walking the aisles of the store.  Some of our newly promoted assistant managers may have problems.  They will have to go through a learning period.  They may have a rough time of it.  I have no problem with that.

A bit on Troll:  it is the most popular non-English film in Netflix history, people have watched over 128 million hours as of last week.  Could Mads have anything to do with that?  Some people like it, others don't, but overwhelmingly people are sympathizing with the troll.  Now, isn't that interesting?

 

For those who haven't been paying attention, Elon had a poll.  Should he stay as CEO of Twitter, or leave.  Elon lost.  Now the questions is will he actually resign.  He has been very quiet.  I'm suspecting he thought his bots would pull of a victory for him.  While this is the current sturm and drang on Twitter, some saying this chaos is what his backers want, I'm seeing elsewhere that they are very unhappy with the man / baby.  While they may have wanted him to move the direction of Twitter to the Right, they had not anticipated he would bring such mayhem.  For many, the total disorganization is unbelievable.  As for the poll?  Well, Elon, as with most billionaires, has very thin skin; he finds it almost impossible to admit he's wrong, that he made a mistake.  Tesla stock is tanking; other electric vehicle makers have less problems and are more reliable.  Investors are upset.  We shall have to wait and see if he publicly admits that he's a loser.  I'm betting he'll install a puppet CEO, so he can quietly, behind the scenes, continue to drive Twitter deep into the ground.

Mike Lee's Quality Jail Time

 It's a bright sunny Sunday outside.  Cold, the temps are not supposed to climb out of the 30s (F).  This morning, when downstairs to let out the dogs and start the brew the temp in the writing room was 69 (F) just before the heat kicked on.  Christmas is supposed to be bitterly cold, with highs in the mid 20s (F), so I'll probably kick the heat up a notch or two.  

I don't doubt that this year it will be more expensive to heat my house since no one is living next door, and at this point, I don't imagine the new owner doing any work to get it ready for rental.  In fact, as far as I know, it is still overflowing with all of the crap the previous owner left behind.  Workers were stopped by yesterday to drop of boxes of vinyl plank flooring bought from my store.  The associate who sold it to them said the guy who bought it was a slum lord.  How well he manages the property will have a direct bearing on how many $$$ I put into my property.  

We have a new store manager starting tomorrow.  This will be fun.  You see, 14.25 years ago, when she was only a supervisor, she offered me a part-time job as a cashier.  Then, when I moved into an HR position, I worked with her for 4 years at the Carlisle store.  I don't doubt for an instant she will be managing my store when I go into full retirement.  This is how circles work.

So, and what about Mike Lee?  Here he is cozying up to the Orange Anus.

He has introduced a bill to ban pornography from the Internet.  Well, it's a little more than pornography he wants taken away, nudity in general is a bad thing.  You see, Mike Lee is one of those terrible individuals who believe a theology that was crimped together by men who not only believed the Earth was flat, but that it was the center of the universe as well.  For Mike to believe otherwise would mean he'd need to question.  Questions are bad for religion; answers not being might you want to hear.  Of course, Mike also knows that his beliefs are a great way to control the masses.  These rules have been divinely inspired, of course, they don't always apply to Mike, or to pastors, or to priests, or preachers.  And Mike? Because of his close affiliation with the Orange Anus during the insurrection, might find that he'll be spending some quality time in jail.  He will, of course, believe he is being punished for his beliefs.

Just 7 more Shopping Days until Christmas

 Well, we are a week out from Christmas.  This should be a busy day for shoppers, so there's a very good possibility the store will be full of customers.  At least that's one possibility.  We have not been heavily shopped so far this year.  Holiday decorations?  Yes, and there is that occasional individual looking for a saber saw, but mostly our sales have been flat.  We had 2 good years during the pandemic when people used their government dollars to upgrade their homes.  Many took advantage of that.  Lower sales volume is the price we pay for that.

Speaking of pricing, and costs, my water bill dropped $6 dollars.  I'm suspecting it's the new front load washer, which only takes around 12 gallons (45 liters) per load, as to my old washer which required at least 50 gallons (189 liters) for both wash and rinse cyclers per load.  Can we talk about a washer actually paying for itself?  I did buy this to take care of the monthly cleaning.

For the 2nd night in a row, Biggie did not have to go potty outside.  This is a very good thing.  Wednesday he goes for his 8 hour test and by Friday I should know what dosage his new med will be.  From what I understand, it will slowly destroy the cells that are producing his extra cortisol.

Evidently every one of the Orange Anus trading cards sold.  He made something like $4.5 million.  How's that for a money laundering venture?  I wonder how he's going to lie about that income on his taxes.

Elon reinstated the journalists he didn't like, the ones he claimed were doxing him when in reality all they were doing was reporting on his own actions.  The damage is already done.  Many of these journalists have now set up other accounts on other platforms and they are letting their supporters know.

The January 6 committee is recommending that the DOJ charge the OA with 3 crimes relating to the insurrection.  I suspect he's not going to be having a jolly holiday with Mary.

As for Ronnie DeSantis?  He continues to tact farther and farther to the right.  His heart yearns heavily for his future of being an authoritarian dictator.  He needs to understand that polls showing him more popular with Trump and Conservatives have absolutely nothing to do with the American people.  

Troll

 Can I get a happy hello to Friday?

The rain, sleet, slushy snow is predicted to end this morning.  The temps are supposed to climb to 44 (F), but then the their supposed to tank, meaning drop, not explode like the round aquarium in Berlin.  I feel so bad for those 1500 fish, dying because of stupidity.

Yesterday was so slow at work.  I talked to 2 customers.  A husband and wife.  They were disappointed that the mosaic tile they were looking at on her phone didn't look like the mosaic we carried in the store.  I explained to them about color accuracy, and how back lit colors are never true.  They also didn't like the fact that they were looking at a natural stone mosaic which meant each mosaic was going to be different, that there was no way to guarantee uniformity.  He shook his head, "well, that's sad."

I did stop off on my way home and picked up a small bottle of merlot and watched "Troll."  I liked it, but then I've always been a sucker for monster movies.  Not all fairy tales are about fairies.  At some point, I will watch it again.

For those of you planning on purchasing any of Trump's NFT trading cards, I hate to disappoint you, but they're sold out.  This means Santa's not going to be leaving a little Christmas grift under your tree.  I did show his little commercial to associates at work yesterday and everyone laughed hysterically.  As someone pointed out, this was a great money laundering scheme with buckos coming in from all over the world.  The Orange Anus will always rely on the con to get money from his supporters.  More power to him.  The more he steals from his MAGA base, the less they'll have for other candidates.

And, of course, the Twitter exodus continues.  What used to be an amusing social media platform is now becoming simply tedious.  Suspending accounts simply because they point out the deceit in Musk's supposed 'free speech' is bad for business.   There is a difference between posting an opinion and posting disinformation.  Phony fact attacks do promote discourse, so using them to draw in subscribers is a failed endeavor.  Journalists are now posting their new addresses on POST, Mastodon, and Tribal before Musk suspends their accounts.  Musk's bullshit about being doxed is nothing more than his anger at finding out that a lot of people simply don't like him.

From the Teat of Republican Hatred

Thursday.  Outside the temp is 31 (F) and we have freezing rain.  Supposedly, this is not going to amount to much.  A glaze, perhaps.  Looking out onto the veranda, there's a lot of shine, but it seems more wet than slick.  I'm not about to go out to see how slippery things are.  I am scheduled to work today.  If around10 ish the roads seem slick, I'll take a personal day.

I went to the dentist yesterday morning to have a filling replace; it was old and had started to leak around the edge making the tooth sensitive to hot and cold.  Well, that's fixed now, however, he wants to put a crown on the tooth.  Well, that's not going to happen.  He didn't like the fact that I'm switching to Blue Cross dental insurance, "they don't pay so we dropped them," he said, "and I'd hate to see you go to another dentist."  Maybe if he didn't charge so much that people need to rely on insurance, there might be no problem.  A really bad fiscal policy is to charge as much as insurance companies will pay.

I found this nifty! The sound of a wind devil on Mars.  This is what it looked like.  Someday we will be walking on this planet.

The Orange Anus is going to make some sort of big announcement today.  There notified the world of this big announcement with an animated video:  him ripping open his shirt to reveal large T (like Superman) while lasers shot out of his eyes.  I'm not posting it.  Very amateurish, possibly hoping to suck Marvel fans into the MAGA cult, some think he's going to announce that Kari Lake is his running mate.  Others believe he might be announcing his intention to run for Speaker of the House.  Still, others think he's going to re-announce his candidacy, since the first announcement floated like a turd in a public swimming pool.  Or, perhaps, he just needs a boost to his ego since recent polls shown DeSantis leading him among the Cracker Jack Crazies.

And then there's this:  Deep controversies in the Republican party are causing serious rifts.  Usually, after a stunning defeat in the midterms, a political party re-evaluates their positions, they pinpoint mistakes which need to be corrected, they understand the need for softening their rhetoric in order to appeal to more centrist voters.  This is not so for a majority of Republicans in the House.  Instead, they are gathering as many dead horses around them as possible:  Hunter Biden's laptop, Fauci's wisdom, disagreeable election results, and they are going to continue kicking them as hard as they can.  For them, this is survival mode; hold onto the base by giving them what they want.  Expect nothing less from the party which has suckled supporters on the teat of Republican hatred for years.  After Trump is indicted, these same people will be desperately searching among the ruins for survivors.

Going Dental

 Short entry today because I have a dental appointment in an hour.  There's some leakage around a back filling making it sensitive to cold and hot... mostly cold.

Speaking of cold, the temp outside is a cold 24 (F).  Things are frozen.  Tomorrow we're supposed to get a combo of sleet and snow, maybe up to 3 inches.  If it's crappy when I get up, I might call off work.  Though, since I'm not scheduled until 1 PM, the roads will most likely be fine.  

Here's a pic of the new laundry room with the bar cart in place.  You'll notice it's on wheels.  I'm still going to be using the shelves for storage.  I'm going to be getting an area rug for in front of the washer / dryer.  That vinyl floor may look nice, but static electricity makes it a dust magnet.  I'm always wiping it up.

And, what about all those texts coming out?  The ones from Republicans to Mark Meadows telling him Trump should declare martial law in order for them to stay in power.  THIRTY FOUR  of them.  An indicator as to how stupid some of them are, is the fact that some of them didn't know the difference between martial and marshall, the latter not only being misspelled, but the wrong word.  These people are so craven for power they would have no problem destroying the United States.  These congressmen are still in the House and Senate, though mostly in the House, I believe.

The problem in America is that we have been far to politically benevolent.  Punishment for crimes is supposed to teach lessons, more often then not, our presidents have doled out pardons to offenders and always for political reasons.  Ollie North should still be sitting in jail.

The problem is that our newspapers and cable news networks try to be politically correct, softening the truth about lies, calling them falsehoods.  Being kinder and gentler when it comes to dealing with sedition is never going to work.

The very petty Elon Musk

 Around here, Tuesday is garbage day.  This is also the day I put out my recycling.  All of those Chewy boxes are put out on the curb.  Because I live alone, I put my garbage and recycling out every 2 - 3 weeks.  Sadly, that does not drop my quarterly garbage and sewage bill.  When I moved here, that bill was $65 ever 3 months, now it 3 times that amount.  Families who line the curb with 3 or 4 garbage cans weekly are supposed to pay more.

The replacement part for my bar cart arrived yesterday.  Assembly will be completed this morning.  That means the laundry room will be one step closer to being completed.  I'm going to hold of installing the 2 folding doors until after Biggie's test expenses have been paid off.  I'm also going to be buying an area rug to put in front of the washer and dryer.  The vinyl click / lock floor I put down is nice, but static electricity on the surface has turned it into a horrendous dust magnate. 

Nine days until the shortest day of the year.  I cannot wait until the winter solstice has passed.

For those who are interested, I am on Twitter, mostly because I find it amusing.

While I can scroll through the comments on my PC, more often than not, I'm on my phone.  By now, everyone knows that the richest second richest man in the world purchased the social media platform for around $44 billion dollars.  As a result, chaos has erupted.  While Elon wants the world to think he's... well, possibly a genius, he's really on smart at certain things, like listening to his advisors.  Electric cars?  He was smart about that.  Going to Mars?  Well, he's done a lot of the space program.  With his purchase of Twitter, however, he's revealed his pettiness.  His release of the Twitter file?  Well, all of those boring little emails are not shaking the Twitterverse.  Only a handful crazy conservatives seem to care.  With every misstep he makes, his pettiness lashes out.  He wants recognition and a majority of Twitter users are calling him a dumbass.  Most are actually calling him worse.  

A little over 24 hours ago Dave Chappelle invited him up on stage and Musk was booed.  Loudly.  For almost ten minutes.  There are videos all over YouTube.  Those posted to Twitter were deleted.  Those posting the videos had their accounts shut down.  Petty Elon was pissed at his public humiliation.  Now only links are posted, no videos.  Of course, petty Elon was not finished.  Yesterday, Musk disbanded the Truth and Safety council.  Believe me, he will get worse as more and more people mock him.  Me?  I have accounts set up on both Tribal, and Mastodon, and am waiting my approval from POST.  In the meantime, whenever I pick up my phone and go on Twitter, I'm blocking advertisers.  If you're on Twitter do the same thing.  That hurts Elon more than anything.

And finally, a bit of a ho ho ho.  The Trump legal team appealed to judge Aileen Cannon on some sort of horseshit regarding the FBI and Mar a Lago and she declined to hear the argument saying it was out of her jurisdiction.  No doubt Cannon has been advised that her legal career might be expiring soon.

The Body Under Ice

 A new Monday and a new week.  As usual, I'm scheduled to work today, but only for 6 hours: 12 - 6.  I can do that, especially since I'm off for the next 2 days.  That's so nice.

I was down in York yesterday for lunch with my friend Betsy.  One of the gifts I got for my 70th was a $50 gift card to Outback Steakhouse.  While I don't mind a decent steak on occasion, I'm more of a poultry, pork, or seafood kind of guy.  And Outback is okay for a sit down meal of fast food.  If you want fine dining, you go to a restaurant.  I thought the food was overpriced, and their desert menu had 7 items, 2 of which were variations on the ever popular carrot cake.  I ordered a chicken sandwich which came with one slice of swiss cheese and one strip of bacon, I know, I looked under the bun.  I will admit, however, that for a free meal it was quite tasty.

Otherwise, yesterday was quiet.  When I got home, I finished the last chapter of The Body Under Ice.  78,000 words, right now.  That will increase as I start to polish the manuscript.  As you can see, I have lots of notes.  Are there any secrets in the post-it notes?  Hhhmm, I don't think so.

I don't know if anybody else saw it, but Michael Steele, who used to be the head of the RNC, said publicly that he hopes Trump is in jail by the time the 2024 election rolls around.  That made me laugh.  There is a small segment of Republicans who understand the amount of damage the Orange Anus is doing to the party.  Honestly, if I were one of those Republicans, I'd want him in jail by next week so the public furor has a chance to die down.  Well, that ain't gonna happen.  He's going to be indicted maybe 2, 3 or 4 times, and then we're going to have to wait for the trial (s), and all that time he's going to be taking a baseball bat to the Republican base.  He will stretch this out until there are no Republicans left standing.

Marjorie Taylor dumbass has said that had she and Steven Bannon been running the January 6 riot, they would have succeeded.  Every time this stupid woman opens her mouth she dumbs down the GOP even more.

Finally, Elon the Stupid tweeted some shit about how his intervention in Twitter is going to save civilization.  He evidently doesn't realize that  the number of people on Twitter is small, being dwarfed by the number of people on Facebook.  He doesn't understand that quite a few of those people on Twitter aren't really people, just bots who will never be paying for a subscription.  There's a good possibility he will not even be able to save his own ass, let alone civilization.  He does put the shit in dumb shit.

Snow

 So far Sunday's sort of foggy, sort of frosty, overcast and gray.  We do have snow on the ground, but our current precipitation is mixed, with snow and drizzle.  There is snow on the ground, but not on the sidewalks or roadways; no slush at all.  Temps more than a bit above freezing so salting is unnecessary.

I've a load of sweatpants in the washer..  I have been regularly checking the KW hours I use, and they are decidedly lower than in the past; thank you new dryer.  This month is still going to be pricey, mostly because P.P. & L. raised their rates.  According to the info they provide, the average family uses around 1000 KW hours per month.  Me?  I'm between 475 and 500.  I think my bill is expensive.  I can't imagine paying $1200 to $1400 a year for electricity, yet that's what the average family here in Central PA has to pay.

Biggie got up 3 times last night.  Twice he had to go potty outside.  When he's on his meds, that should stop.  Right now, he's sleeping on the sofa downstairs with a T-Rex, like a 2 year old with one of his toys.

Our dusting of snow is already beginning to melt.  This may just be a foreshadowing of what's coming our way on Thursday and Friday.  The Big storm moving across the country will be overhead by then.  I'm scheduled to work on Thursday, however if the roads are crappy I'll stay home.  Here's what the back yard looks like now.

Like the snow, the fallout from Sinema's party switch is still falling.  While some Republicans cheered at the Democrat's loss, they were few and far between, had she chosen to caucus with them, that might be different.  Neither party wants to rely on a loose cannon to get their agenda either passed or blocked, especially since a small number of Republicans and Democrats have demonstrated a willingness to cross the aisle.  Compromise seems to be returning making Sinema's vote even more obsolete.  

And now, a word about Aunt Vicky.  A Republican congresswoman who was primaried out in these past midterms, Vicky Hartler has made national headlines over her tearful plea to shut down the Marriage Equality Act.  Her gay nephew has publicly called her out; her office has no comment.  Her tears represent more than her homophobia, there's anger and terror in those tears.  Aunt Vicky, as are many intolerant Christians, is bitter because her strict religious beliefs are no longer being seen as an authority.  Christianity is, in fact slowly evolving.  This doesn't mean that Christianity is becoming kinder and gentler, just that the voice of one the most stringent apostles is being muted.

Bibi's good, Sinema's bad

 Hello Saturday!  We're having another sunny day that's going to be on the coolish side.  Temps are predicted to rise into the low to mid 40s (F), which is fine with me.  I do get to work today.  1 PM to 7 PM.  This is the shift I worked during the pandemic and I liked it.  Being a morning person, everything is pretty much done before noon, so being paid very well to sit at a flooring desk for 6 hours is not bad.

Biggie's appointment has been made for his BIG blood test.  He's scheduled for December 20, and will be there for a full 8 hours.  The last time he was at the Vet that long was when he had his little man jewels removed.  The cost to definitely prove he has Cushing's Disease is $469.  How's that for a bite out of the pocketbook?  Not only will the test give him an idea of which glands have the little tumors, but also indicate what his med dosage will be.  That dog's going to be on more meds than me.

I had chosen a ride through Arcadia, Maine, for my treadmill jaunt yesterday.  It looked like it might be relaxing.  Well, 3.5 minutes into it YouTube popped in commercials that I skipped, and then 4 minutes later there were more commercials I needed to skip through, and again, 3.5 minutes after that there were more commercials.  I shut down the video after 16 minutes because by then there had been 4 sets of commercial breaks.  The problem is some content providers want to monetize their videos and so they allow commercials, and Youtube wants you to pay for a subscription to get out of commercials.  Sorry, but I'm not on Youtube long enough to justify a monthly payment, and there are plenty of content providers who aren't really interested making a pittance from their videos.

This being said, there are a number of people I do follow on YouTube, content providers whose originality stands out, like Dylan Bibi.  He's French, speaks very fast, tends to drink a lot of beer, and is both funny and original.

Evidently Kari Lake has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa county claiming election fraud.  This was to be expected.  Like her lord and savior, Donald Trump, her shrieks and lawsuits will only benefit the Democrats of Arizona.

And, speaking of Arizona, there is still quite a bit of fallout regarding Kristen Sinema.  Most people have come to the conclusion she made the only move she could knowing Democrats were going to primary her out in the next election cycle.  Some think she will not run for re-election, I'm betting that's not going to happen.  Even if she received every independent vote, she'd still need either Republican or Democrat voters to win, and both parties hate her.  There is a theory, however, that I do find attractive and it goes like this:  wanting that 51st seat in the Senate, Biden will offer her an nice ambassadorship, which Sinema will accept.  That would allow Katie Hobbs to replace her with strong minded Democrat.  Sinema is not stupid, but she is totally self-serving.  She will do whatever will benefit her the most.

 

That self-serving Bitch

 We've got a sunny Friday outside.  Again, the temps are forecast to rise into the low 50s (F), which is not bad for this time of the year.  Predictions are that we're supposed to stay this warm until the middle of next week, then temps just might drop.  That's okay.

I talked to the Vet last night about Biggie.  I nixed the idea of doing an ultra-sound on his belly.  There is only a 15% chance this little tumor he has is located on his adrenal glands.  Instead, I'm opting for the low-dose dexamethasone test, which has good results at locating the location.  Two days after the bloodwork is completed, he should be on meds.  

Cori, my cover artist, informed me yesterday that the cover for The Body Under Ice should be ready next week.  I'm finishing up the last chapter.  Then there will be a revision; I have notes on some changes that need to be done before it goes through the editor.  As in the past, I'll be looking for 2 blog readers who want to provide input before the final draft gets published.  As payment, these readers get an autographed paperback copy. They are on a schedule though, meaning it's not something you can take your time to leisurely read through.  Interested people should contact me through the email address I have listed in my profile.

And now, about this self-serving Bitch.

She changed her party designation to Independent.  Honestly, when I saw that this morning I wasn't surprised in the least bit, however, I did blurt out two words: that Bitch.  Comments I've seen in the Washington Post, and the NYT have almost all focused on the fact that she's always been self-serving, prioritizing her own need for attention over everything else.  She doesn't give press conferences, doesn't openly seek the limelight, but everyone is always talking about her.  The minute Warnock won, she became irrelevant.  She could be ignored.  No one was ever going to be wondering what Sinema was going to do, or if she was going to vote with her party, never again.  She would be just another Democrat.  So, what does this self-serving Bitch do?  She changes party.  Sorry, but congressman who change parties halfway through their terms are always asswipes.  By getting elected, Sinema made a commitment to the people of Arizona who gave her their votes that she was going to represent them.  Now, she's done something worse than simply ignoring those voters, she has dismissed their importance with a simple 'fuck you.'  And it puts her in the spotlight.  Paraphrasing Steven Beschloss, she has put herself on a whole new level of attention whore.  Some are saying she changed to Independent in an attempt to save her political career.  What career?

Biggie farts

 So, wouldn't you know it?  I'm off for 2 days and the weather is crap, misty, drizzly, and the occasional heavy downpour.  We had fog warnings letting us know the fog was dense with poor visibility.  Today, I have to work, and the sun is out.  The temps are supposed to climb into the low 50s (F).  Not that I was planning a lot of yard work, other than the regular poop patrol, but I do tend to get more done on sunny days.

I did manage to bake 2 loaves of rye bread yesterday.  Tasty.  And I baked them the old fashioned way, kneading by hand, letting them rise, and baking them in the oven.  The bread machine is nice, but I'm sure the electric heating element suck down the KW.  Natural gas is cheaper for me than electricity and using the oven rather than the machine saved me almost 3/4 KW.  Now, that doesn't sound like much, but that adds up when you look at how much bread I bake.

Funny story about Biggie at the Vet:  I'm sitting alone in the examination room waiting for them to bring him back from his blood draw, when hear the assistant say, "oh, he just farted," followed by her making a disagreeable sound.  When she brought him back into the room, she told me he farted.  My response: "that's why I burn candles."  As my sister says, whether he wants to or not, Biggie has no problems clearing a room.

I'm wearing one of my paint shirts today.  Can anybody guess what I leaned against?

So, Britney Griner has been released from a Russian prison.  An exchange has been arranged.  Griner for a Russian bad guy who deals in arms dealer.  Call me cynical, but I'm betting he was the reason she was arrested in the first place.  Note to Americans, when working, or even just visiting a foreign country that has hostile ambitions towards the United States, don't do anything stupid.  Leave the hash, and the hash oil at home, unless being used by a dictator is on your Bingo card.

A few more documents have turned up at a storage unit rented by the Orange Anus.  I'm betting he has them tucked away in many, many hidey holes.

And finally, the fight to be Speaker of the House is going to get very messy.  McCarthy is promising heaven and earth to everybody and anybody in hopes of getting their votes.  Rep. Andy Biggs, he leads the American Freedom Caucus (which is bent upon an authoritarian government) also wants the position.  And then there are the Centrist Republicans who realize that either Biggs or McCarthy would lead the party into ruination.  For those who don't know, this is the Trump effect.  Destructive news to be updated regularly.

Cushing's Disease (syndrome)

 Well, it's Wednesday and more rain is expected today.  Buckets, perhaps.  Yesterday was dismally gray, with drizzles and mist.  Sitting at my PC and looking out the window, it's foggy and I can hear the rain upon the roof.  The temps are predicted to climb into the mid 50s (F), which is good.  It's nice not having the furnace running constantly to heat the house.

With the new washer and drying connected to LG, I can track the power usage.  I'm can use that to compare the usage PP & L is recording to see how much I'm saving. Three loads of laundry yesterday = 2.06 KW less than the 3 loads using the old washer / dryer.  That's a nice saving every month.

Results are back from Biggies bloodwork.  They are fairly certain he has Cushing's Disease.  Boxers are one of the 5 species of dogs in which it is prevalent, and usually it shows up when they are 8 years old, or older.  Biggie will be 8 on Christmas day.  There is an 85% chance that he has a tiny tumor on either his pituitary or one of his adrenal glands which is pumping out cortisol at a high rate.  With treatment, he should be around 2 - 2.5 more years.  The average boxer lives to be twelve years old, but Biggie is twice the size of your average boxer, so I always figured he be around for 10 years.  The Vet told me the treatment is about equal to one of my social security checks.  Since all I'm doing is banking them now, I'm opting for the treatment.

Warnock won.  I didn't think the race would be this close, believing he'd win by a much larger margin.  Still, a win is a win.  Walker conceded shortly after the race was called, I'm betting he was highly relieved. His campaign did do what it was intended to do, knock some of the wind out of Warnock's sails, though in the end I'm sure white, evangelical conservatives are sorely disappointed they don't have a puppet they can employ.

Oh, and the Trump organization is guilty of tax fraud.  No surprise there, well, there is a bit of one.  The fact that there was a conviction is important.  The Orange Anus knew what was going on, but I believe it was his spawn, Ivanka Danka, Donnie Jr., and Eric the Dumb, and I may be wrong here, who share the blame.

 

Evangelical Greed

Tuesday.  Rain.  There's a loaf of Italian bread rising down on the kitchen counter and the smell of warm yeast is rising up through the house.  Showers are supposed to be sporadic through out the day.

Of course, Biggie has to go for bloodwork at 2 PM, so that will be fun.  They like it best when he fasts so they can get an accurate sugar read; if they want that they'll need to schedule appointments early.  Since they don't open until 9 AM, that's going to happen rarely.  The dogs are used to getting their first meal around 6 AM.  I'm not going to starve them until late in the afternoon.

I've got a yen for stewed tomatoes, so I may be busy at the stove when we return.

Work was boring.  We're not making plan.  Prior to Covid, our weekly plan was between 800 and 900 hundred thousand.  Now they want us to do about 1.2 million a week, some weeks a little more, some a little less.  This is what greed looks like.  The stockholders might decide to sell if we don't make plan.  Right now our stock is about $220 (give or take a dollar) per share.  We are way overpriced.

I saw this trailer last evening.  I want to see this.  I will probably have to find some channel that streams it since the theaters in Harrisburg will never play it. 

Of course, it's election day down in Georgia.  Is everybody sitting on pins and needles?  Some media outlets are saying the contest is too close to call.  I suspect this is more a ploy on their part to drive up ratings.  They want people across the country to watch, it's good for ad buys.  This is a problem, not, as the MAGAs say, they create fake news, rather they tend to create fake drama.  Every pundit needs to put in his 2 cents to feed his or her ego.  The words spilling from their lips are not necessarily what they actually believe, and they do use their platform to, if at all possible, drive up ratings.  Ratings = ad buys.  The more money advertisers are will to spend, the bigger the smiles in the corporate offices.

Me?  I'm thinking Warnock has this in the bag.  He's been through this before, remember, and last time his competition was not as stupid as Walker.

The NYT has an interesting take on Evangelicals and Trump.  Leaders of the far right Christian group are seeming to have second thoughts about The Former Guy.  Some are implying Trump may have used them the same way he used Stormy Daniels (my allusion).  Well, no surprise there.  However, these leaders have a problem.  They've spent years festering the belief that God sent Trump to give them what they've been praying for: a socially conservative country.  They have groomed their followers to say things like Trump  doesn't lie, he's just being brash.  Now, these leaders are concerned.  "We don't want a Republican civil war," they whine.  Someone should have told these dumbshits that every thing has a price, and Trump is going to extract every single penny he believes they owe him. 

 

The Cross that Trump Built

Monday, and I work.  8 hours.  Though my shift begins at 0930, meaning I should be home by 6:15 PM.

More was accomplished yesterday than I had expected, including a 2.59 mile trek through Dana Point, CA, on the treadmill.  I did not do any laundry.  I did cook red beans and rice for dinner.  Leftovers will be lunch today.

Four solar lights I'd ordered also arrived yesterday.  They will light up the path from my driveway to my house on those winter evenings I work past sunset.  

I got an email this morning from the company I bought the bar cart from: they will be sending a replacement part within the next day or two.  That's rather pleasing.  It is Asian, and my bias tends to expect their customer service might not be up to par.  This is a complex problem I have since I deal regularly with a number of Asians at work and most of them are very nice people.  It could, in fact, be an online order bias since so many companies selling online are foreign.  Example:  I bought a cuckoo clock and the time mechanism was made in Germany, however the pine cones were made in Hungary, and the wooden housing in China.  Speaking of China, does everyone know they have space station?  They are launching 3 astronauts up to it tomorrow.

I know a lot of people are anxious for the indictments to fall.  Everybody knows it's just a matter of time.  The Georgia runoff election is tomorrow, results should be released probably tomorrow evening at the earliest.  By Wednesday morning, America should know who won.  The DOJ doesn't like to make political indictments preceding elections, since losing parties (especially Republican) will look to place blame on any and everybody but themselves.  The real question is if they will start to arrive prior to the Holiday and ruin Christmas for all those MAGAs?

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, from Georgia, has said that Herschel Walker "will probably go down as one of the worst candidates in our party's history."  No shit Sherlock.

Trump called for throwing out the Constitution.  Did any Republican congressmen speak out against him?  Mostly I heard and read them frittering around with words and catch phrases, like "he says all sorts of things."  They made excuses.  The ugly truth is that all they have are Trump and lies.  Without those 2 things they are nothing, which means, for all intents and purposes, that right now the GOP is nothing.  Republicans are dying on the cross that Trump built.

Splitting

 Well, if today hasn't started out lazy.  Sunshine is pouring in through the windows.  The temps are supposed to climb into the mid 40s (F).  A nice, quiet day is in store.  I had made plans to drive down to York to have lunch with my friend Betsy, but we've postponed that until next Sunday.  That leaves today open for me and, shock of shocks, there are no loads of laundry waiting to be washed!

The company that manufactured the bar cart I'm using in my laundry room sent me an email.  They said they would replace the part that split and asked for a photo of the split and the part number.  Honestly, their response seem on the up and up, however, looking at their reviews, fulfillment doesn't seem to be a priority.  In the mean time, I've done a search on how to fix the 'split,' and may take the matter into my own hands.

Yesterday was slow at work, at least in Flooring.  Garden was busy; lotsa people were buying trees, real and artificial.  And Christmas decorations were being sold, secular lawn ornaments were flying out of the store.  We don't sell a lot creches.  You can have your choice of either a black or white audio animatronic Santas., but just try and fine even one of the Three Wise Men.  So tell me, how's this for crass commercialism?

And, speaking of splitting, I saw where Lara Trump is exiting Fox News.  She evidently got the gig because of her last name and Fox wanted to both capitalize and commercialize on it.  She was a contributor, at least that's what they called her.  Of course, since I never watch Fox, I have no idea if she was ever anything more than a mouthpiece of the Orange Anus.

Her father-in-law did post a demented rant yesterday on Truth Social calling for the termination of the election laws in the constitution in order so the bad election of 2020 could be thrown out and he could be put back in power.  A day doesn't go by when he doesn't publicly post his desperation.  He knows that his Christmas stocking will undoubtedly be filled with indictments, which are far worse than simple coal.

Finally, the Republican party is the minority political party in the United States with about 30 million people voting for what they claim to be a socially conservative agenda.  About 20 million of those have sworn fealty to Trump.  When the indictments come, and they will be coming, this group will split away from the group considered traditional Republicans.  They may, in fact. form a new party, not that they will have any political sway.  This is a no win situation for the party.  The second the first protests starts after the first indictment, the GOP will launch itself into a death spiral.  Splitting and splintering into a thousand pieces.