The Quagmire of Deceit

Our outside temp is 5 (F).  Tomorrow we're supposed to drop below Zero.  Friday and Saturday are stacking up to be the coldest days so far this year.  Next week temps are predicted to climb into the upper 20s (F), so break out the shorts and T-shirts.  No precipitation is predicted, at least nothing that's going to add inches to what's already on the ground.  One good thing is that we're now one third of the way through winter.  Isn't it nice that February is a short month?

I didn't bake or cook anything yesterday.  Dinner was a hamburger made in the air fryer.  That doesn't mean I didn't snack.  I did.  But then I also managed to complete a decent workout with the machine and dumbbells.  I also used a 15 pound kettlebell for upwards thrusts.  Believe me, that gets your heart pumping.  

The only thing Howie likes about the winter is the ice.  It's hard and crunchy, so instead of bringing a stick or a stone into the house, he brings in chunks of ice, like mini-icebergs.  Since they have all sorts of detritus in them, I switch them out with an ice cube from the freezer.  Like me, he has no problem chewing on ice.

While I was putting dishes in the dishwasher two days ago, I banged my thumb up, one of those freaky little things where the left corner of the nail snagged the rack.  What made this so freaky was that I keep my nails short, it's how I was raised.  This doesn't mean that if I see a man with long nails my opinion of him drops... much.  Suffice to say it hurt, and it bled, and I kept a bandage on it until last evening.  Howie has found this whole thing interesting.  This morning he's inclined to sniff my thumb, and on occasion has tried to lick it, and I'm hoping he's not developing some sort of carnivorous fascination for it.

Is this the face of a thumb eater?

A headline that made me chuckle was a report that Tesla is going to stop manufacturing their X and S vehicles, the cars that moved them into the mainstream.  Supposedly Elonia will be focusing on robotic vehicles.  My take is that sales have tanked so badly on these models its cheaper to stop production than take the hit.  Perhaps if Elonia didn't have a billionaire's baby brain things might have worked out better.

And big change of ICE.  Evidently, there's been an "all caps" directive telling them not to interact with agitators.  According to NBC, it took several people over an hour to come up with the exact wording, that's a good indicator of this administration's lack of intelligence.

According to a poll by Fox Entertainment, 17% of the American people do not believe ICE is being aggressive enough. Since this is a pro Orangie propaganda network, that number has most likely been inflated, still that's a terrible amount of racists in this country.

And for someone who demands extreme loyalty, Orangie's discovery of how easy it is to lose those 2nd amendment people must really sting.  What's sad about this is that those people never realized that Republicans were saying they were pro guns just to get votes.  This party has a been a quagmire of deceit for quite some time.

   

Sparkling news

“All this time, while we patiently waited for you to do your jobs, someone has been raping this museum, piece by piece by piece.”

                                                                Claude Aubert… Director of Security


That's the epigraph for "The Body in the Tower."  Normally an epigraph comes from another writer, many times authors will take one from Shakespeare.  I choose not to do so mostly because I can never find anything which fits my work.  I'd rather let one of my characters provide the introduction.  What I don't provide is information about that character.  I don't tell you if Claude Aubert is one of the good guys, or one of the bad guys.
And, of course, yesterday we did get a lot of 'sparkling news!'

In the first poll of the 2020 presidential race Biden has a 6% lead over the Idiot Jerk.  He also raised $6.3 in campaign donations in the first 24 hours of his campaign.
The Idiot Jerk stood by his Charlottesville comments and once again chose not to blame White Supremacists.
Only 3 out of 10, that's 30% of registered voters, believe the Idiot Jerk was exonerated (let that sink in) and his approval rating seems to be solidly grounded at 39%.
The NRA is crashing in chaos.  Wayne LaPierre has been asked to resign by Ollie North.  Remember Ollie?  He's the one who had Fawn Hall sneak secret documents in her panties during the Iran-Contra Hearings.
Maria Butina, the Russkie who infiltrated the NRA was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
A man was arrested for throwing a phone on the stage at the NRA convention prior to the Idiot Jerk's entrance (that made me laugh).
And Bernie has signed and dated his Democratic Affirmation agreement: 

BERNIE SANDERS: The most important thing that has got to happen is that this dangerous president is defeated. I'm going to do everything I can to defeat him. I look forward to winning the Democratic nomination. And if I don't, I will support anybody else who's out there to defeat him. But this guy cannot win another term.

On a slightly amusing note, on the 24th Bernie also filed paperwork for his re-election campaign as a senator from New Hampshire.  I suspect Bernie realizes something his supporters don't.

Words

Okay, so it's Thursday morning and I'm sitting here eating my oatmeal.  We're going to be getting some rain today... maybe a lot.  That's fine, as long as it doesn't turn to ice.  The dogs hate ice.
It's that time of year when my massive retail home improvement chain hands out bonus checks to every associate.  Our store was number one for the last 6 months of the fiscal year.  To help celebrate, my store is throwing a Back Yard Barbecue this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.  Free food is always well appreciated.
New Zealand passed a superior piece of gun control legislation.  They are banning nearly all semi-automatic weapons.  To do so was relatively easy because New Zealand doesn't have a bunch of crazies who have sanctified guns.  In New Zealand the lives of human beings are much more important than the ability to own any, and every, lethal weapon you want.  Will we, in this country, ever learn... someday... after the Conservatives are ousted from power.
 And what about the Idiot Jerk and his followers whining about how he never got a Thank You after John McCain's funeral?  Yes sirree, he has fans who are shrieking almost as loud as he is about this, believing it's a sign of disrespect.  Holy Shit!  They are talking about the Idiot Jerk in the White House here, a man who show absolutely no respect to anybody.  Even when he's pumping phony praise towards someone you can tell he's lying through his teeth... or maybe I should say dentures.  In fact, the more he rants about McCain, the more George Conway appears to have nailed the perfect diagnosis on his mental state.  What's funny is that there are a number of medical professionals out there who have come to the same conclusion:  The Idiot Jerk in the White House is nuttier than a rabid squirrel.
Okay, and we have the associate at work who is a very nice individual.  Commons sense, however, sometimes flees when this person starts to talk.  Yesterday, while a number of us were in the lunchroom, this person was watch the weather channel on the big screen TV and suddenly turned to everybody and said, "you know?  we'd all be a lot safer if we lived behind a dike."  This, of course, is the image which flashed through all of our heads.

Of course, this is what she was really talking about.

Special Surprise

Well, it's Friday.  For some the weekend begins.  Not for me.  Of course, I only have to work 3 day before I get off 4.  Of course, after that my schedule sucks.  Black Friday is only 3 weeks away.  Give me a break.  That week I work 40 hours.  I will get paid for 48, which is nice, but let's be honest, I think I'd rather have the day off.
Today I also get to sell the flooring to that "special" racist customer who talks about those "terrible migrants."  I will have to bite my tongue... literally.  I've decided I'm not going to tell her the installers are going to be black and Latino.  Doing so would open up the 'ugly box.'  I'm just going to let this be her 'Special Surprise.'
The new sound bar arrived yesterday.  What a difference.  I had no idea the old one was producing such inferior sound.  Because the new one is a Sony, I can connect it to the TV with an HDMI cable.  Now one remote can turn both the TV and the sound bar on at the same time.  Believe me, that a really nice surprise.
Another 'Special Surprise' is going to be happening Tuesday.  Since I don't read crazy conservative lies, I can only go by what Bloomberg, and the WSJ, and the NYT, and Reuters, and The Hill, and the Huffpost are saying.  It seems as though the White House is in Chaos mode.  You see the Idiot Jerk and his spawn don't like investigations in which they are the subject.  In fact, a lot of the people he has surrounded himself with are now entering that "oh, shit" stage of their phony political careers.  Many of the appear to be looking for the nearest exit ramp, including Steve Mnuchin.  He, of course, is quietly saying it's his bimbo wife who wants him out.  That's it, blame the the wife.  She is evidently getting a lot less respect than your normal trophy wife, and hates it.  She thought she would float into Washington with her bottled blonde hair and people would fawn.  My, didn't she get a 'Special Surprise.'
Then there's Ryan Zinke, you know stinky Zinke?  His scumbaggery is so bad, even the Republicans are giving the Justice Department control.  He never figured on possible jail time.  Now won't that be a 'Special Surprise' for him?
Every single cabinet position has the possibility of being vacated... rapidly.  Conservatives like to run things... as long as they don't have to worry about transparency, and ethics, and morals, and just simple decency.  For every one of them, those attributes are an ugly 'special surprise.'
And all those special interest groups, like the White Evangelicals and the NRA?  They had better be preparing themselves for the wrath of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  The blame for losing the House will be on their heads.  He will damn them from here to hell and back for getting out their voters.  Just thinking about that makes me smile.  How's that for a 'Special Surprise?'

Things Change

Well, looks as though we're back to sweat pants and sweat shirt weather.  Today the high is only supposed to go up to 63 (F).  Monday and Tuesday we should hit the mid to upper 70's with some sunshine.  Today, though?  Overcast, drizzly, and cool is the forecast.
So I got to work yesterday and discovered that I had been told wrong, we weren't having tacos, rather nachos were on the menu... so to speak, and nachos do not a meal make... well, they do if you hear 4 or 5 pounds.  See, it was just nachos and salsa.  Thus my lunch consisted of nachos and a 'cup of noodles.'  Yummy.  Bet that has you all smackin' your lips just reading about it.
I see that the Idiot Jerk in the White House pissed off the French... and the British by farting stupidity during his NRA speech.  Anything and everything he says has one goal: for people to talk about him.  Does he care about France?  Or Britain?  Hell no.  But then he doesn't really care about America either.  His sole priority is getting his ego fed.  The country is being run by his advisers who have few other duties.  Those other chores consist of making sure Faux News is on every TV in the White House, and that there's plenty of canned, diet Coke on hand.
I do have a 'to do' list for my first of three days off, but it's not chock full of what I consider work.  I want to go to my Giant, I need to make an appointment to have my car inspected, and laundry is also part of the agenda.  I'd also like to dust and vacuum the upstairs.  This evening I'm going to go see "The Avengers."  Everybody I know who's seen it say it's very good.  One of my friends said to remember that this is only Part 1, and that Part 2 comes out next year.  Like most serials, I'm presuming bad things happen in 1 and then get rectified in 2.  I guess the real question is whether this movie is going to steamroll it's way to a billion dollars in two weeks.  Disney has become pretty much of a juggernaut when it comes to entertainment.  I can remember when Disney was the equivalent of pablum entertainment relying on saggy family films and milked down action films all of which had soppy endings with the company making most of its money from its theme parks.  My, haven't times changed.

Getting rid of the Cinco de Mayo Fluff

Well here we are on Saturday.  Cinco de Mayo.  I'm not taking lunch today because they're providing food.  Tacos.  That's right, we're going to be celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the store by eating tacos (hint of sarcasm).  Now, don't get me wrong, I like tacos, but I also like burritos, and taquitos.  Many out there will be downing Margaritas today.  Not me.  Not a big tequila fan.  Anyway, my feeling is that we've taken a Mexican Holiday and both commercialized it and whitewashed it, I mean, can't you see the Idiot Jerk in the White House holding up a taco and saying "Happy Cinco de Mayo?"  Oh, and he might have some of his kitchen staff come out and stand around him while he eats his taco and washes it down with a diet Coke.
For those who don't know, Cinco de Mayo is an important part of the Mexican Heritage.  Unfortunately for many conservatives, this is just a day when you get to wear funny hats, have a reason to go to Taco Bell, and maybe drink tequila.  In their minds they will still be equating Mexican people with bad hombres, and drug dealers, and illegal immigrants.  When they visualize Mexicans all they see are people with darker skin, the opposite of the white Conservative.  Oh, and most of them are Catholic... which is a big part of the White Evangelical bias.  What can be worse than being dark skinned and Catholic?  Well, maybe being a white, racist Republican.
After today's celebration at work, I can get myself back into my standard routine.  With the past couple of days of dealing with the sudden onset of mid-July temperatures, and my neighbors sewage issues I've fallen out of sync.  This means I've not lifted waits since Tuesday, nor ridden the bike, and on top of that have eaten way too much junk.  As much as I hate to say it, in the past couple of days I've grown fluffy.

Holy shit, I feel like I'm a 30

This is a feeling I hate.  And I can trace the whole thing back to breakfast with my brother on Wednesday morning.  I ate heavier than normal, planning on riding that afternoon, but the ride didn't take place because... sewage issues, and talks with the bean heads plumbers my neighbors hired.  Everything sort of snowballed from there.
Anyway, the shit storm that is the Idiot Jerk's administration continues to fire shit rockets all over the place.  I guess he spoke to the NRA yesterday and called London a War Zone.  He calls a lot of places a War Zone.  When he flew over Harrisburg he called the city a War Zone.  Oh, and the white trash Evangelicals here still voted for him.  Stupid is as stupid does.

Roll this

Well, Monday has arrived and I don't have to go into work today.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to be doing anything.  Yard work is planned.  In the dining room, I have to pull the table front, replace the quarter round, and get that section of trim painted; as well as hang the tapestry and the mirror at the foot of the staircase.  Oh, and I want to see if I can get an 18 mile ride in... hopefully.
Yesterday I had the displeasure of selling some cheap indoor / outdoor carpet to a woman who refused to listen to what I said.  Initially she had picked up a pre-cut roll (6' x 8').  However, she saw "a better quality of carpet" on the 6 foot rolls we cut.  I told her that it was the same carpet, but not everybody wants 8 feet.  And she said, "no, the carpet on the rolls is better.  You can almost see through the pre-cut carpet."  It's the same thing, more like Felt then carpet.  Oh, and it's more expensive when we have to cut it.  She totally refused to understand, and so I cut her a section that was...(are you ready for this?) 6' x 8'.  After it was cut, she lifted the corner up and said, "oh, you can almost see through this."  And I said, "yes, it's the same carpet."  I have no problem when stupid people end up paying more money they they need to because they're... well... stupid.
And evidently Dense Pence is speaking at the annual NRA gathering in Dallas on Friday and there will be no firearms allowed in the arena.  The NRA has no problem with this.  Can you smell the hypocrisy in the air?  Supposedly some gun enthusiasts smell it too, but most will have no problem surrendering their weapons.  They will all be sitting targets in that arena, and none of them will care.  These people are phony as hell.  One of the things which make the above article so... amusing, is a comment by some Idiot Jerk supporter about Hilary still not being in jail....  Which is the kind of thing I'd expect to hear from the woman who bought rolled indoor / outdoor carpet because she thought I didn't know what I was talking about.  Wait... no, that's not right.  That's giving the supporter way too much credit.  That woman is an embarrassment to America.  She proves stupidity has no bounds... especially if you're a conservative.

Unglued

Well, here it is Saturday and the storm has come and gone.  We had horizontal snow which melted and some very high winds.  People lost power.  Not me.  Though the river birch I have planted in my back yard did lose a lot of branches.
The new ceiling fan arrived yesterday - in all of that wind.  I found it waiting for me on the front porch, too heavy to be blown around.  I unpacked it, checked to see if it uses the same mounting bracket as my current ceiling fan, and then went to bed... early.  Bad idea.  You see I woke up... early.  And since I was awake, I got up... another bad idea.  Even though I got things done, by the time 0530 rolled around, I was tired, wishing I'd stayed in bed.  As a result I took a nap, and ended finally getting up closer to 0700.  No cardio today.  Shit.
And last week was a banner week for cluster fucks at the White House.  The Idiot Jerk came out for gun control... and then an NRA lobbyist, evidently a new spokesperson for the White House, announced that the Idiot Jerk had not been serious.  Hope Hicks announced she's leaving... after chatting with Mueller...  they say she had a "misty" goodbye with the Idiot Jerk.  Jared lost his Top Secret clearance.  Jared is also under some serious investigation - selling White House favors in order to get financing for Kushner debt (lock him up!  lock him up!).  Oh, and the Idiot Jerk wants to start a Trade War.  Did I miss anything?
This past week we got to see the Idiot Jerk become "unglued."  He also Tweeted an attack against Alec Baldwin, who basically told him to wipe his ass and shut up.  That's was funny, too.
We also got to see resistance against the NRA growing.  And the Georgia legislature tried to punish Delta Airlines because they stopped giving discounts to the NRA.  Those Republican legislators from Georgia love the NRA so much they voted to exclude Delta from getting a tax break.  Delta, announced that they are going to review which groups get discounts.  Translation?  Legislators from Georgia will lose their discounts.
And anger towards the gun lobby is not dissipating, rather we see that it's growing and spreading, the boycott now including other products gun manufacturers sell... like surfboards.  People are finally telling these morons to shut up.  Good.  I suspect the NRA is on the verge of following the Idiot Jerk in the White House, also becoming unglued.
Finally, a bit of movie irony.  This Crazy Christian flick called "Samson" opened the same night as "Black Panther."  To date it has earned a little over $4 million at the box office, while "Black Panther" might actually hit $500 million this weekend.  So, who do you think is out of touch with the real world.  I suspect there's another group that's about to become unglued.

Moving stuff

So, what did I do yesterday since I called off from work?  Well, moved some stuff around.  A dresser that was in the walk-in closet got moved into the cycling / weight / computer room.  Almost everything that had been inside it is now in the trash:  Christmas cards, wrapping paper, ribbons among other things.

Biggie and the dresser

Weather wise, outside we have high winds and heavy snow - a N'or East'r is blowing past.  There might be some wind damage, branches down and the like, but nothing really to worry about in the area of the state.

There was this little article in Bloomberg regarding gun sales, and how they are tanking across the country.  Evidently good gun sales require a Democrat in the White House.  I doubt very much this is what they, and the NRA, anticipated.  Not one bit.  You see in their piss poor logic, the easier it is to buy a gun, the more people will buy them.  The fact that vast numbers of people see gun ownership as pointless has never even occurred to them.  They thought that with the Idiot Jerk in the White House, Oprah would want to weaponize the housewives of America.  You know?  "And you got a gun, and you got a gun, and you got a gun."  That ain't going to happen.

And what about Wall Street?  Did the stock market drop or what?  Brother, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Evidently the Idiot Jerk says that trade wars are good for the economy and easy to win....  This is from the loser who's had to declare bankruptcy 4 times.  I suspect there's going to be another drop in his approval rating, which is not the direction he wants it to move.

Some are blessed... some ain't

So I see that the Idiot Jerk in the White House's breeder spawn (I vant it) Ivanka is as colossally stupid as her old man.  I wonder if the NRA promised her a copyright if she echoed their belief that teachers should be armed... of if perhaps they just offered to loan the Kushner family some greenbacks.  The only people in this country who don't want any form of gun control are those Crazy Conservatives and their Republican representatives.  These representatives, when it comes to a choice between your child's life and being funded by the NRA in order to get re-elected, are always going to take the money.  For them, staying in power is much more important then living children.  Even more amazing is that many of these Crazy Conservatives claim to be Social Conservatives, supposedly Christians through and through.  These fools don't understand that they've made the NRA's phony 2nd amendment claim much more important than the sanctity of human life.  There's going to be hot time in hell when they die.
And Congress goes back in session today... don't look for any noticeable change in the Republican gun control tactics.  Once your soul is sold... there's no getting back.
Speaking of souls, now I know many, many Social Conservatives have already signed that pact between themselves and the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  They love him.  They praise him.  Does anybody know if they actually bow their heads when he walks into the room?
My cycling shorts arrived yesterday.  Olive green.  They look like regular shorts.

The spandex lining (with the padding) is separate.  Now, I have to tell you, I'm not a spandex kind of guy... not in the least.  Back when I was in college, not only did I direct a couple of shows, I also did set design and chorus work.  One year they did "Once Upon a Mattress," a show I'm not too fond of, and, unfortunately ended up being cast in a bit part:  Sir Studley.  Go ahead and laugh.  Anyway, I had to wear tights... and hated them.  And comments... boy, did I get comments.  Things like "oh, I see you got the part because of your talent," to "don't you get tired of being typecast."  I'd never realized that such a blessing could be such an embarrassment.

Make My Day

It's Sunday morning and some of you are sleeping in - not me.  As usual, I was up at 0500.  And, while some of you are still snoring, I just finished 59 minutes of cardio - 528 calories.  The only problem I had was Garmin updated the Fenix 3 HR and my elliptical app didn't reload so I ended up using their treadmill app - not the same thing.  After I finish writing this I'll reload the app.
Not only have I decided on the new ceiling fan, I've already ordered it.  I'm getting a Vento Fiore with retractable blades.  Originally I saw it on the Home Depot website with a price point of $399 - way more than what I wanted to spend.

So, when I got home from work I Google'd it - Amazon had it for $111 less (that's right!)  I ordered one and paid with my Amex using my points and paid quite a bit less.

I understand the Idiot Jerk in the White House called Faux News and had a bit of a meltdown.  Oh, my, this is becoming old hat, don't you think?  He wants to arm teachers and people call him a dumb shit - and you know he hates that.  And then we find out that armed Security didn't rush inside Parkland - and the Idiot Jerk calls him a coward. Tell me, do you really think the Idiot Jerk would have rushed inside?  Hell, no, he's as spineless as most Republicans.  Then we find out that 3 deputies arrived on the scene and they didn't attempt to take down the shooter.  And the Idiot Jerk says these are the people who are supposed to take down the "sickos?" He is so damn stupid.  No one wants to rush into a building just so they can take a bullet from an AR-15 in the mouth.

And those kids from Parkland, the ones the NRA is really beginning to hate?  Don't they make you proud!!  Talk about having big brass balls!!  Not only are they turning the tables on the gun lobby, one of the most powerful in America, those kids are also shoving their fingers into the faces of all those NRA crazies, and they're turning into Dirty Harry as they do so.  Can't you hear them?  With power and anger they are saying "Make... My... Day."  How many people ever thought that the NRA would be blown away... with words.

The ceiling, the NRA, and the padding

Saturday morning - I'm off.  I'll have to work Sunday and Monday but then I'm going to have off for another 2 days.  Right now I'm working 32 hours a week and that's fine with me.
As for yesterday, I got everything accomplished that I planned on - this doesn't always happen.  Usually my 'to do' list ignores time constraints and not everything gets finished.  Yesterday?  Everything ran slick.
The dining room ceiling is painted.  Counting a primer coat to help cover the different shades for green, I used to more coats of Behr Premium Plus (flat) - the color is Garden Rose White (sort of a very, very pale peachy yellow).

You can see where I started ripping off some of the boarder - can't wait until that's gone.  And the ceiling fan is going to be replaced.
And the Idiot Jerk in the White House spoke at CPAC yesterday - after Wayne LaPierre's ranting the day before, these crazy conservatives seem more bent then ever on isolating themselves away from Centrist America.  Of course, our phony president lied about all of his accomplishments because this fool is a serial liar.  What's even funnier is that those morons applauded his lies.  These people are so out of touch I find it amazing that even one of them can wipe his ass without getting it all over his face.
Florida wanting to raise the legal age to 21 for gun purchasers is a small step in the right direction.  You do have to remember that there are a lot of seniors living in Florida who have been brainwashed by the NRA into believing any from of gun control is an attack on their 2nd Amendments rights.  Of course, that's bull shit.
An interesting thing about that NRA - by their estimates, there are only 5 million members.  In a country with a population of almost 330 million where do they get those very major dollars they give as campaign contributions to Republicans?  We're not talking about small change here.  If each one of their members gave $100 each they'd have $500 million in their coffers - until you started deducting wages and business expenses.  However, most of their funding doesn't come from members, rather it's the gun manufacturers and those who sell accessories are those who provide the bulk of the monies. 
Anyway, I ordered a new pair of bicycle shorts - they should be arriving tomorrow.  Bicycle shorts, you ask?  Yepper.  Bicycle seats are not the most comfortable and if you're planning on spending more than a half an hour riding you're going to need a little extra padding.  This comes in the form of 3D chamois (not the real chamois, the fake stuff) which looks a lot like a splayed Kotex (if you know what a Kotex is).  If you don't, here's a picture.

Maybe Kotex isn't the right word....

Colossally Stupid

Well, here it is Friday.  I don't work today, but you might... that's life.  The alarm was set for 0530, it went off, I turned it off, and laid back down for a couple of seconds and woke up an hour and half later.  That is also life.  And I just finished a small bag of caramel corn left over from our Holiday Party, sealed of course, not stale, and I thought it was pretty tasty.
My plans for today are not that complicate:  go to the supermarket, put the final coat of pain on the dining room ceiling, and go for a bike ride (hopefully 10 - 15 miles).
I find it rather amusing that there are people out there who believe that the Idiot Jerk's idea to arm teachers is pretty good.  They have no idea how close that would get us to living in a Police State, all because there are some people who just can't give up their guns.  Let's be honest here.  The idea of using an AR-15 to go hunting is simply ludicrous.  Putting 15 bullets into a White Tail Deer is not hunting.  Nope, that is killing for killing's sake.  Going to a shooting range, pointing an AR-15 at a target and pulling the trigger as fast as you can?  That's not target practice.  You're not aiming.  Just because you get your jollies from pointing and shooting doesn't make it a sport.
The 2nd Amendment does not guarantee you ownership of any or every weapon you want.  Of course the NRA wants you to be able to own any fucking gun that you want, not matter how crazy you are.  Mental instability should not be a barrier, they shriek.  And for a small group of people, around 5 million members, they have a lot of political power, thanks to the bullet makers who pump their coffers full of dollars.  You see, it's the ammunition makers who make a financial killing; bullets are expensive.  And no Republican is going to turn down those buckos.
Just as amusing... well, no, a hell of a lot funnier was the reaction of most people to the Idiot Jerk's suggestion.  The one comment I thought to be strikingly pertinent was the one that called it "colossally stupid."  Isn't that a nice word?  Colossally?  Bigger than immense.  And stupid?  Well we all know that the Idiot Jerk is the king of stupid.
And another funny thing is that there's a special election coming up in Pennsylvania and the Republicans are shitting bricks!  They're guy is in such bad trouble they're planning on bringing in the big guns.

No, no, no, they're not sending in the Big Guns Bobble head from Fallout IV.  If they were wise enough to do that, I'd have to tell you to stand back.  Nope.  Pencil Head Pence will be showing up to try and erase some of the growing animosity among the voters in the Western part of the state.  He's also supposed to be preparing the ground work by a visit from the Idiot Jerk.  You know, that guy loves playing to small crowds.  They don't seem to understand that his showing up might just be... colossally stupid. 

Crib notes from Hell

Yesterday the temperature hit 82 (F) around here - hot, humid, muggy as hell, and then showers moved in making it cooler, but still humid and muggy as hell.  Today the temps are forecast to be a more seasonal 46 (F), though right now it's still fairly humid.  Today is also a dumbbell morning... and also my last day of work - 2 days off, then 2 days on, then 2 days off.
The dogs are outside right now, but because of the on again, off again showers, their paws are getting muddy.  This is life.  We all have to deal with a little mud now and then.
Mud is okay, shit is a lot worse.  Like yesterday.  There was a lot of shit happening yesterday.  I understand Marco Rubio was at a Town Hall and things didn't go well for him.  You know who I'm talking about?  The Latino, Republican from Florida who sold his soul to the NRA for Campaign Cash?   Evidently he got booed... not a good thing, and jeered... people yelled things at him... and then when asked if he'd stop taking contributions from the NRA?  Well, he avoided that question.  They're saying he was grilled.  I wonder if he understand that those teenagers, some of whom are already 18, and many who will be turning 18 this year, want gun control and they are going to vote for the person who gives them what they want.  They are not members of that minority group, the NRA, but rather individuals who are learning that their votes count, and they will use them.
And then there was the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  When I heard he had actually suggested to a group of grieving parents and student survivors from Parkland that they were considering arming teachers and administrators in order to keep students safe, I wanted to hit him upside his head with a brick.  This is America.  We should not have to arm teachers and administrators because a minority group, the NRA, has twisted the 2nd Amendment so crazily to the right it now holds sanity contemptible.  Making this ignoble insult even worse, the Idiot Jerk in the White House sat there among these grieving parents, beside these students who had seen their friends shot to death, holding crib notes.

This turd of a human can't even think of appropriate questions to ask.  He needs them written down, no doubt by John Kelly, who most likely said "don't forget to ask these questions, they'll make you look sympathetic."  The time has come to flush this turd.

Of guns and biscuits

Well, here it is Monday, my 6th day of work.  I have tomorrow and Wednesday off, Wednesday since I requested it off - it's my birthday.  I've taken November 8th off ever since I stepped into retail eight years ago, not that I do anything special, I just want to treat it like the holiday it is.
Yesterday there was another tragic shooting - this one in Texas.  That's the 2nd mass killing in a southern, gun happy state in what?  Two months?  Once again the Idiot Jerk in the White House said that it was a "mental health issue."  Excuse me, but if it's a mental health issue, then you need to pass laws to keep the mentally ill from buying guns.  NRA lackeys don't like that, they always come back with "if you want a gun bad enough, you'll get a gun and laws aren't going to make any difference."  Dumb shits.  Will these shooting continue?  Of course they will.
And the Idiot Jerk in the White House read a prepared statement regarding the shooting.  That's right, a prepared statement.  I watched the video, volume turned down of course; he didn't look into the camera one, single time.  Nope.  He was focused on reading the words someone else had written down.  I commented about this on Facebook and some dolt actually replied that "all presidents use speechwriters."  Ponder that statement a few seconds.  Let it sink in.  Some moron opens fire in a church using an automatic weapon killing 26 people, including children, and the Idiot jerk depends upon a speechwriter to convey his 'heartfelt' grief.... and some other moron thinks that's standard operating procedure.  Talk about a mental health issue.  Can you even imagine George W. Bush standing atop the ruins of the World Trade Center reading a statement.  True, Obama did have a prepared statement after Sandy Hook, but it was over 4 minutes long and he cried through it.  The Idiot Jerk's comments were 22 seconds long, and he read them verbatim.
On a lighter note, I've decided to put Big Seig on a biscuit diet.  That doesn't mean he's going to be eating biscuits all the time... he wants to do that now.  They used to be a reward when he went potty outside, now, however, he thinks he deserves one every time he goes outside.  Not happening.

How can you say 'no' to this face?

The time has come to break his biscuit habit.

Dog Tired

Even though they were predicting storms to smash through the area yesterday, we had... about 20 minutes of rain.  Looking on the map, the big storm that came through the Pittsburgh area split into two parts, one skirted us to the north, the other was much farther to the south.  This is how it goes.
Me?  I did some painting.  Baked another loaf of bread also, with a new recipe which is much better than the one I'd been using... using olive oil.  Tasty!  And since the weather was mostly just over cast and humid, and because I was home, the dogs could go in and out as often as they liked.  They played inside.  They played outside.  We played fetch (Lily likes to play fetch much more than Seig).  I pulled a couple of squeaky balls out from under the dresser where they'd gone to hide so the dogs could squeak and chase each other around the house.  Later, when my friend Betsy called, they were... dog tired.

And I saw this morning that the Idiot in the White House had some sort of Twitter breakdown yesterday...  doesn't this seem like it happens at least once a week.  I suspect this is because for most of his life every time someone criticized him his standard response was "sue their ass off and shut them up," except he can't do that now.  In fact, as I said to Betsy last night, "it wouldn't surprise me if every other word out of his mouth was 'fuck,'" in private, of course.  And the bit about the pardons?  Sorry, but if you pardon someone isn't that tantamount to admitting guilt?  And isn't it also sending the message that "you can do what ever you want," but only to certain people, the 1%, the wealthy?  The Idiot in the White House is a walking, talking, and Tweeting catastrophic event for the GOP and everybody who rooted for him and who voted for him.  The NRA?  Basically, they backed an individual who's turning into a traitor to the Constitution.  Just wait until he starts worrying about all of the 'armed and dangerous bad people out there.'  And the Social Conservatives?  Ooops, pardon me, but your hate is showing rather blatantly.
Anyway, this is my 2nd day off and I'm thinking of going to get my haircut.  Tough life, eh?

Greg Evers - Bullet head

Greg Evers is an asshole, plain and simple.  The NRA loves him, evidently he gets their highest rating.  He is, for all intents and purposes, a bullet head.  He loves his guns.  He loves pulling a trigger, no doubt because it gives him a dopamine orgasm.  How did Orlando effect him?  Well, he's pissed off.  He doesn't really see the shootings at Pulse and a nightmare.  Nope, he sees them as a threat.  You see, if Orlando upsets enough people they may actually pass gun legislation, maybe not on a national level, but at a state level.  And that pisses him off.  In fact, he is so pissed off, he's going to be giving away an AR-15... free.  No background check.  There will be a random drawing.  Some lucky person who 'likes' his Facebook page is going to go home with an assault rifle.  There's nothing worse then a pissed off bullet head.

Greg Evers

If you think he's an asshole, you can send him an email here.  I'm sure he's going to be get a lot of... fan mail, so he may not respond promptly.  Oh, and remember, as a bullet head, he doesn't really care what you think.  That's why the NRA loves him.

Trump hits Harrisburg

Well, Donald Trump was in Harrisburg last evening for a rally.  That's right, he was about 2.5 miles away speaking at what we here in the mid-state call the Farm Show Arena.  Yesterday morning I had breakfast with my brother and he was a little concerned.  His son and daughter in law had sent him a text asking if he wanted to join them in protesting.  We all know sometimes protesters don't fair too well at Trump rallies.  I told them he ought to go, and if he didn't he should at least tell them to have fun.  You know, it's not just everyday you get to protest an idiot like Trump.

And this morning I was reading some of the comments by those Trumplodites in attendance, and, of course, they loved him.  However, there were some complaining about his security.  It seems as though they didn't let individuals carry their firearms inside, and that upset some of those who feel naked with out a loaded weapon.  In fact, one went so far as to wonder where the NRA was and that organization wasn't fixing this atrocity. 

Anyway, they only arrested one protester, and it wasn't either my nephew or his wife.  Evidently local law enforcement knows just how much distance they need to keep between those who know Trump is an asshole, and those who can't wait for him to bend over so they can pucker up.

NRA & Crowd Control

A couple thoughts on the shootings out in Oregon:

When these things happens the NRA goes into Crowd Control Mode on a vast scale, because ammunition manufactures tell them this is what they need to do, and Lord knows we do need more bullets.  One of their most popular sayings is " guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Whenever I hear this I say, "which means not everybody should have access to guns."  They don't like that.

The media provides us with a shit load of info about the shooters, but are they card carrying members of the NRA?  You never find that out.

Adam Lanza, the wacko kid responsible for Sandy Hook, was he a member?  Was his mother a member?  I think the public needs to know.  Did a card carrying member of the NRA give her wacko son access to automatic weapons?

Was this crazy out in Oregon a member?  He owned a number of guns, all purchased legally, so I think the public has a right to know.  Did he pay his dues to the NRA?

And James Holmes out in Colorado?  He tried to practice shooting at a gun club?  Was he a member?  Had he applied?

Every time something terrible like this happens the public has a right to know as much as possible.

It seems to me that the NRA thinks everyone should be able to own a gun.  But they don't seem to police their members, do they?  If they did, the bullet makers might not sell as many bullets.  Wouldn't that be a shame?

Elliott Echols - buttonholed?

I saw the other day that the RNC has a hired a young man to help them connect with younger voters, one of many groups they seem to have turned off over the past years.  His name is Elliott Echols and from what I've seen of him he seems to be a fine young chap.  I'm sure he can spit out GOP talking points as fast as the NRA can pump out bullets, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten the job.  Of course, that doesn't guarantee success.  Young people do not seem to have as much of an interest in politics as their elders, different generations, you know.  Young people today see the recent Republican debacle in the House of Representatives as a turn-off, not a fiercely fought battle.  This does not mean there aren't any enthusiastic youngsters in the party, Mr. Echols is evidence of that, his challenge, however, will be to become a sponge and suck in more young voters.  Just by looking at him you can see just who is target audience will be:

Ain't he cute as a button?

white, affluent young men and women.  He is as wholesome looking as white bread, and the epitome of what the Republican Party stands for: white America.  This is not his fault.  I suspect he knew well in advance of taking the position the RNC was not expecting him to be a big hit with young Latinos or young African Americans.  No, I'm fairly certain they want him to focus on the college educated white crowd, the group which gave us Mitt Romney, since that's where the big money waits.  I also have a hunch that he'd look just as out of uniform wearing jeans as did the aaforementioned Mitt.  At least it seems as though the GOP is going to give it the good ol' college try, however they still don't seem to understand it's not the messenger which turns people off, it's the message.