Republicans Were the Party of Family Values

Baby, it's cold outside, though warmer than it was a week and a half ago, in fact, our current low of 26 (F) would have been considered super warm.  If the forecast holds, we will hit the mid 30s (F) today, and tomorrow the mid to upper 40s (F).  This coming Tuesday we should be cruising through the low 50s (F).  This is a good thing.  The snow and ice need to melt so I can clean up the yard.

Yesterday was fairly good.  I got a really nice ride in yesterday afternoon.  New Zealand.  I only rode for 7.5 miles, but the ride was filled with steep hills and low valleys, and when I say steep, I'm talking about a 10% grade.  According to Garmin, the ride is considered Extreme, and I'll admit to not doing the most difficult section, but the hills are good for the legs.

Now that I've watched this season's Fallout, I'm going to be canceling my Prime.  Maybe I'll sign up for HBO Max and watched Heated Rivalry.  Maybe not.  I'm slightly intrigued by the show, but suspect it's really has a not too compelling story wrapped around a lot of soft-core porn.

My neighbors were so quiet yesterday, the silence was almost surreal.  And then this morning a little after 4 AM they had a loud fight.  He's a mail sorter.  My cousin's husband worked for the US Postal service for a number of years once he retired for the Navy.  He told me every one starts off a a mail sorter, but that most people try and move out of that position as fast as possible to get better pay.  My neighbor never chose to move out of that position, so I guess that says something about him.

And the Washington Post has been using AI to research and probably write articles about Americans.  Even though I canceled my subscription, I usually scan the headlines.  This morning there was an article with a graphic about where the lazy people in America live.  It should come as no surprise that they live in Republican states.

Of course, yesterday the Orange Anus reversed the regulatory part of the clean air act. The Guardian said he did it to satisfy billionaire polluters.  I agree with The Guardian.  His plan is, no doubt, to make the richest people even richer.  Of course, he could have also done that to distract from the fact that Dr. Oz is also in the Epstein files.  Remember when Republicans used to call themselves the Party of Family Values?  For those of you who don't remember, that was their kick-off slogan when they started their culture wars.  Now it seems as if you can't get a job with Orangie's administration unless you got at least one visit in to Epstein's island.  Now Orangie is whining about the fact that no one is moving on from the files.  He doesn't like the fact that no one is listening to him.  Was he working with his best friend Jeffrey to traffic little girls and boys?  Every day the answer to that question becomes more and more likely yes.  The Epstein files are breaking apart the GOP.  If I were more religious, I'd say this is a sign from God that Judgement for the party of Family Values is eminent.

Daily Chores

Okay, so it's Tuesday.  I'm scheduled off today - that doesn't mean I'm not going to do things.  Basically, this is a clean, clean, do laundry day.  These are the chores I do on my day off.  While I will do the dishes everyday, the big stuff is put on hold till I'm off.  Not that it takes that much longer.  These are just the things I enjoy the least.
They are forecasting cloudy skies which I can deal with.  The temp is comfortable outside, though humid.  Central air is off, and the ceiling fans are still on.  If I get the chance, I might even do my nails 🙄.
So, we had another stupid customer at the paint desk:  she owns a 'rental unit,' her term for a townhouse with tenants.  One set is moving out and another is moving in.  There were stains on the bedroom carpets and she wanted to replace them.  She picked the cheapest carpet we install, and the cheapest padding and made her purchase, a carpet which is guaranteed to get installed in 3 days.  A day after putting this install on her credit card... she changed her mind.  She decided the stained carpet in one of the bedrooms weren't that bad, and her new tenants could just live with them.  She also complained about the last tenants, how they left the place a mess... now you know why.  Anyway, she called too late.  The carpet had already shipped.  If she didn't want to go through with the install on one of the rooms, she'd have to pay a 20% restocking fee (the carpet was already cut).  We had to deal with her complaining about fairness, and how the customer was always right, and how she was going to go to our competitor.  In the end, she chose not to pay the restocking fee.  The install is going through.  Her new tenants are going to get new carpet in both bedrooms.  These are the chores we deal with at work.

Funny thing, as I was looking for clip art for today's post, I came across a chore list that included 'morning prayers.'  I'm sorry, but if you consider your daily devotions a chore, you should probably re-evaluate your faith.
And finally, one of my daily chores is checking out my news feeds.  Sometimes they make me laugh, sometimes they piss me off.  This AM I saw in the WSJ a report on tariffs on car imports is being delayed (Ha Ha).  We have a lot of car dealers selling imports... ouch!  And in a desperate attempt to keep the Coal Industry alive in West Virginia, the EPA is permitting states to set their own emissions standards (this is shit).  Power plants are running away from coal as fast as possible, however this administration's 1950's viewpoint doesn't see that.

Spring

Friday, and I have a day off, though someone didn't tell the dogs.  Nope.  They were wide awake at their normal time.  You see, every day is a day off for them.  Nice, right?  Today, however, is not like any other Friday.  The Carhartt guys are back to finish the roof across the street.  Excitement rules!  Strangers!  In bib overalls, no less.  As soon as the over-sized pickup truck showed up Seig and Lily were out barking up a storm, warning the whole neighborhood about the persons unknown present.  If those roofers were smart, they'd just walk over and give the dogs a couple of biscuits.  They bribe easily.
Tomorrow we start our "Spring Black Friday" sale.  And it's supposed to rain.  Starting tonight and into tomorrow, with a dusting of snow, the weather is not going to be very spring - like.  This happens every year.  The idea is to capitalize on the 'Black Friday' theme, which just happens to be today, but the weather always hands us a plate of shit.  How successful will this sale be?  Middling.  We never quite hit expectations, mostly because Black Friday in November preps for Christmas and people buy all sorts of junk intended to be presents.  That holiday doesn't happen in the summer.  A majority of people don't see the importance is seasonal landscaping.
Anyway, I have to go to the supermarket today.  Seig and Lily ate the last of the dry Beneful this morning.  Time to get another big, big bag.
Hopefully I'll get a ride in this afternoon.
Oh, and the stock market's dropping again.  Am I the only one who's noticing a pattern here?  The Idiot Jerk mentions Trade War and the Dow falls.  You get 2 -3 days of recovery, and then the Idiot Jerk farts out something stupid about Trade Wars, and tariffs, and the markets drop more than they gained...  Does anybody think the Idiot Jerk cares?  Absolutely not.
And what about Scott Pruitt?  He's one of those Crazy Christian attorneys who's moved out of reality.  I don't doubt that he believes everything that goes in his favor is a blessing.  Like a room in an expensive condo, owned by the wife of a favored lobbyist, for on $50 a day.  However it seems that on the lease the name of the lobbyist's name was scratched out and his wife's name was inserted.  Oh, and it seems that one of Scott's kids was staying there as well, in another room, that wasn't covered in the lease.  And there's the bit about his favored assistant, a blonde named Ms Davis, who suddenly quit.  That shouldn't have come as a surprise since she evidently didn't show up for work for almost 3 months.  She must have thought she was really Blessed.  I did think it was funny when one of Pruitt's supporters said all this negativity was because Pruitt was one of the most successful Cabinet members.  Nope, more likely this Crazy Christian is ethically challenged.
Anyway. my challenge today is to complete several chores - one of them is supposed to be yard work, and it's a shitty, drizzly day outside.  Should I have expected more?  Nope, this is spring in Central Pennsylvania.