Fallout

 Well, yesterday was... different.  After dropping off my car at the repair shop, I was chauffeured to Enterprise to pick up my rental.  I had already decided that I would ask for an SUV; I hate sitting low to the road.  My agent, a young man named Sean who looks very much like a shorter version of my friend Justin, who's 6 feet 6 inches, surprised me with my options, which were limited.  That's right, there was not a great selection.  What I ended up with was this:

That's right, I'm in a Jeep.  It's okay.  I told a friend last evening that if I was ever wealthy enough to feel I needed to own 2 cars, a jeep might be one... but then again it might not.

As I said, yesterday turned out to be...different.  

Sadly, most of the day was spent scanning news releases and social media for opinions on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade, (with a smidgen of interest in the Ohio primary).  Some conclusions:

A majority of Americans now see the Supreme Court as a political tool of the far right.  Evidently Alito affirmed this when he said, "our decisions are not dependent upon public opinion."

There are a lot of whispers that the leak was done on purpose, hoping the fallout will be over by the midterms.

The only ones happy about the decision are Republicans, who are more concerned about the leak.  However, the shit sock that hit them in the face yesterday, is going to hit them in the face again at the end of June when their decision is made official.  They are too giddy to understand the coming repercussions, and this is important, because they don't see it as a shit sock.   This is evidenced by Lyndsey Graham's comment about this will probably have some impact on the midterms. Of course, when have conservatives ever demonstrated any concern for anything other than their own selfish objectives?  

Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski?  The Conservative Boys Club they wanted to so much be a part of has just shit on them both.  People are calling Collins and easily duped dumbass.  Her political career is now over, and the Conservative Boys Club doesn't care.  These women are no longer useful.

Republicans will never understand that being selfish and self-centered doesn't make them smart.  This is their ultimate "shut up!  We're in charge!" moment.

JD Vance won the senate primary in Ohio.  He was backed by Trump.  Mandel, who had been a moderate, flipped into a radical rightist lost.  Had he stayed moderate, like DeWine, the Governor, he might have won.  I do not have too much confidence Vance will carry the election, being a Trumper, the Supreme Court decision will most likely doom his candidacy.

And, to end on a cheery note:  May the Fourth be With You.

Flyer hell

I always enjoy getting old fashioned snail-mail (do they still call it that?) because I never know just what's going to be waiting in my old fashioned, metal mail box.  Yesterday I received a brochure from Honda regarding their "Spring into a Honda Sales Event," which I found rather peculiar.  You see back in August of 2013 I purchased a brand new CR-V.  Now I know there are people out there who feel they need to get a new car every two or three years.  Not me.  When I get a new vehicle I plan on holding on to it for at least a decade, most of the time even longer.  Hey, if you're going to go into debt you might as well get your money's worth, right?  Yet after 7 months Honda seems to think I'm a prime target for a new car.  Actually, I know that isn't true.  By buying my CR-V I put my name and my address on their mailing list.  This means I will be finding their brochures in my old fashioned, metal mail box on a regular basis.  What a waste of paper and postage.  And it's not only Honda, Toyota does the same thing, as does Ford and GMC and every other car manufacturer who can access your information.  Now, through out the years, I have owned on various occasions a Ford Mustang and a Chevy pick-up but I've never owned a Toyota so why do I get crap from them?  I suspect it's because several years ago I paid a visit to Bobby Rahal Toyota in Mechanicsburg.

At one point I thought I might like to buy a Prius.  Of course the sales associate there, seeing I was driving an 11 year old Saturn, felt he should put me into a less expensive vehicle.  In fact, he pretty much came out and said the Prius was too expensive and I should look at cheaper models, cars I might better afford.  He did this without even asking about my finances. So I did what every smart customer should do, I walked, of course he already had my address.  What I ended up doing was going to Honda and buying an Insight, their version of the Prius.  I got great mileage but did not like sitting so close to the ground.  I also got the hankering to get another full sized Boxer.  I already had Gert and, weighing in at just under 80 lbs, she took up the back seat.  It was obvious another one just wouldn't fit.  So, even though I'd only owned the Insight for 4 years I started a vehicle search.  The idea of purchasing a Toyota RAV-4 never occurred to me.  I looked at a Jeep Compass, a Nissan Rogue and finally settled on the CR-V, and then got another Boxer.

Gert and Lilly watching me vacuum

As a result, I'm eternally going to be getting flyers and brochures from Honda about vehicles I have no intention of purchasing.  As I said, I hold onto my cars a long time.  Ford, GMC, Honda and Toyota are never going to wise up.  Oddly enough Nissan sends me nothing and I came really close to buy a Rogue.  Of course it doesn't really matter as it all goes into the recycle bin.  Twelve years from now, when I no longer have the dogs, I may trade in the CR-V or something smaller.  Or, maybe I'll just sell the house and move to the south of France where I can drink wine and ride my bicycle.