Trends

Well, here it is, Sunday.  Here on the East Coast we switched to Daylight Saving Time.  People complain because now it's going to get dark around 1730 in my neck of the woods.  Me?  No problem at all.  I'm one of those rare morning people.  That's when I get my household chores done, not after I get home from work.
And for once I'd like to thank the Idiot Jerk in the White House for being such a success.  That's right.  You have to admit, who else could rip of the masks off of Social Conservatives and prove them to be the racist creatures they are?  Without him people might think the Alt-Right was a sportswear company specializing in ultra-long, white hoodies.  He illustrates brilliantly how much presidents need to have weekly golf games in order to keep their Twitter minds healthy.  He demonstrates the necessity of bromancing enemy dictators.  In fact, I understand that his meeting with Putin at the end of his Asian trip will culminate in a golden.... moment.  How successful is he?  His disapproval rating has dropped a bit, down to 56 and his approval rating has climbed to 39... but that's only for today.  Six days ago his approval rating was at 33, and you have to remember, for the past 20 hours or so he's been on travel time. 
Now I know there are people out there who are saying things would be different if Hillary had won.  Nope, not at all.  The GOP has a majority in both houses.  They'd still be sitting on her cabinet nominations.  There would 3 new Benghazi investigations, 4 more email investigations, and the House would have most likely managed to wretch up another Whitewater investigation.  As  I said before, it was her Karma to lose and the Idiot Jerk's to win.
While the rest of the world watches, the Republican Party has entered into Revelations... alone.  This is their End of Days.  All we can do is shake our heads in disbelief as Social Conservatives bow done in praise to the Idiot Jerk.  This is a party that's been making their own noose for a long, long time and all we can do is stand back and watch them put their head through it.
On a brighter note, I'm going to see Thor on Tuesday, and as a little ray of sunshine, here's Chris... shirtless.

And here's Chris shirtless.

And here's Chris shirtless.

I guess this is what you might call a Chris trend.

Republican Tax Charade

Well, today is day 3 of a 6 day stretch, then I have 2 days off in a row, and it's less than 2 weeks until my surgery.  I can't wait.  This morning I planned to put a half an hour on the bike (doesn't effect my core muscles... much) and discovered there was a firmware update.  They always take a while, so there was no ride today.
The Republicans released their fake tax overhaul yesterday and surprise, surprise, people are already saying it's pro-rich.  Oh, and in case you're wondering, approval for this sorry mess is relegated to core Republicans.  They will never learn.  They love Trickle Down economics because they get to give tax breaks to their wealthiest donors who don't use it to create more jobs.  Nope, they bank it, or plop it into safe investments.  As a co-worker of mine said, the rich are not going to suddenly increase their spending because they get a tax break.  They're not going to look for a start-up and say, "hey, the odds of you succeeding are poor, but let me give you money to hire people anyway."
They are saying that the average family should pay about $1860 less a year, which breaks down to around $36 per week.  Now I'm sure that Idiot Jerk supports are ecstatic about that figure since for them it's about... oh, 6 or 7 cases of beer (they only buy the good stuff, you know?).  The single personal deduction goes from $6000 to $12,000, and that sounds good... except you lose a $4700 personal exemption, which means you only get about a $1300 deduction increase.  This is the line item that's going to effect most single people.  However, if you look at least year's tax charts that $1300 deduction will net you about... a $360 tax break, or about $7 per week. Wow!
If you happen to be a single homeowner who itemizes, you can still deduct you mortgage interest, but not you state and local taxes (which includes school and property taxes).  That's a big chunk of change you can no longer deduct.  For me, here in Central Pa, that's a $4500 deduction I'm going to lose.  Oops, there it goes.
Anyway, I'm not really concerned about this tax charade.  Remember, we're dealing with the 'do-nothing party' here.  They always make a big 'to do' about their legislation and then it falls flat.  Expect nothing.
Oh, and the Idiot Jerk is leaving for Asia.  My guess would be they're terrified that the North Koreans are going to shoot off one of their long range missiles while he's there.  Oops, there he goes.

I am, for the most part, a creature of habit; I set routines and I follow them.  I like my life to be regular and I like to regulate it.  I plan my life.  My fitness regime is 6 days a week, alternating cardio and strength training.  However, going to the gym it's fairly obvious that I am in a minority group, that many of those that go there. work out for a couple of weeks (if that) and then skip a couple of weeks, or even stop going, which is one of the things I truly fail to comprehend, how you can live a life without organization.
Anyway, today is my first official day of vacation (and I got up at 0500 so I could go to the gym).  After I finish writing this, I'm going to take the dogs up to the park, something they love and which we haven't done in a while.  Fun stuff, eh?
And what about the "fury and the fire" the Idiot Jerk was talking about yesterday?  What an asshole.  Of course the world's stock markets reacted exactly as you'd think they'd react - they started dropping.  And, of course, Rex Tillerson, a billionaire who is in way over his head, finds he has to calm jumpy nerves.  He should have been expecting this, and yet I'd bet money that the Idiot Jerk caught him totally off guard.  What yesterday's comments really did do was put the entire world's attention on the Idiot Jerk, some thing, I do not doubt, that gives him endless pleasure.  Can't you just picture him gleefully jumping up and down, shouting "they're talking about me!  they're talking about me!"  Idiot Jerk.  He doesn't seem to understand that he's already got a lock on "the worst president in American History," so I guess he's aiming for "the worst president in the world."  I really do feel sorry for those people in Asia because he's using their lives in his boast.
Well, it's time to go to the park.