Sword of Truth

 Today's weather will be a mixture of sun and clouds with our temps climbing into the low 80s (F).  We're on track to have pretty much the same mix of sun and clouds tomorrow, however there will be the added risk that rain will start to fall.  While the forecasters are unsure as to how high that risk will be, I'd recommend that you take an umbrella with you if you go out.  I have one, but mostly it stays at home.  I learned a long time ago that I'm not made of sugar, so I'm not going to melt if I get a little wet.

I worked a full shift yesterday, being that it was Sunday.  In spite of business being slow, I sold 2 measures, which gives me 3 for the week.  As far as measures go, last week I was better than gold.  I failed everything else, no credit cards, no leads, and my sales were in the toilet.  This happens.  Up until yesterday business in the store had been good, but yesterday there were not a lot of customers.  Blame it on football.  This is always a seasonal thing, especially if the Pittsburgh Steelers or Philadelphia Eagles are playing... Philly especially.

The new book is coming along fine.  Technically challenging, creating music without the sound, especially when some of the songs are over 45 years old.  And, as always, I like to tease things.  So, here's a question.  Does one of the regular characters who happens to have an inoperable bullet lodged in his brain and an uncanny ability to dance, dance to this song?  And if this character does, how does one write it down?  Dear me... screaming guitars!

And, for those like me who missed it, the Republican National Committee had a convention yesterday.  Charlie Kirk's memorial service was more memorable for the politics rather than a celebration of Kirk's life.  If you still want to remember everything it shouldn't have been, you can still purchase your Charlie Kirk Memorial Service souvenirs.  Yepper, the grift of selling merch had a definite presence.  Bibles, crosses, pamphlets, brochures, programs.  You know, you won't know the songs if you don't buy a program, or the acts, and there was a lot of political acting and posturing.  An associate at work was watching it on her computer and I, as usual, made a comment she didn't approve of.  In case you were wondering, she is a white Christian who always wears her Pinocchio cross.  She's also a big Joel Osteen fan, and once, when I pointed out his greed, she walked away.  Truth can be a terrible sword.

You'll notice that I didn't bring up the pyrotechnics.  Let's be honest, nothing sets off off the somber tones of a funeral than fire shooting out of the stage...  or wait, maybe that was a preview of Hell.

And just a reminder.  The Rapture happens tomorrow.

No lights

 It rained yesterday.  While it would have been if the forecast was just a little wrong, it wasn't.  So, while we had a storm that was little more than steady drizzle with heavy cloud cover, much of the world got to see the aurora borealis.  While the cloud cover is a little thinner this morning, the best of the solar storm has passed.  Today we're supposed to warm up into the mid 60s (F),. but the showers are supposed to remain.

I did get in 2 miles on the treadmill.  That was good.  I'm getting my Greek body in shape for my trip.

I work today, but I don't have to be at the store until 2.  I had the same schedule Wednesday and Thursday, though on Thursday my brain misfired and I showed up at my normally scheduled 1 PM.  So, I'll get an extra hour of pay this week.  I did have to let management no to keep it from showing up on my performance review.  They do that now.  Too many early ins, or too many lates, and they will dock your performance.  How's that for micromanaging?

The dog sofa is sitting in pieces on my front porch.  It will stay there until next Monday evening, at which time I will move it out onto the curb.  There is so much space in the writing room now.  Behind the sofa, I discovered some dabbles of trim paint on the floor, so I'll grab my little sanding bar and erase them.  I also have some renew finisher to put that satin sheen back on the planks.

There was testimony at Trump's election interference trial, but most of it was technical.  One of the amusing facts that came out was that he only personally signed checks when there was skullduggery involved.  I doubt very much if he did so because he wanted to and his personal touch, rather, I suspect he did so because he wanted to be personally involved, because he thought he was too shifty to get caught.  He definitely thought he was too smart to ever get caught.

And I saw that Melania has decided Barron is not going to be part of the political process of getting his biological father nominated, he's declined being a delegate from the Crazy State of Florida.  I find this funny.  It almost seems as though Melania doesn't want her son to be just another puppet child for the Orange Anus.

One final thing.  Evidently the RNC is really unhappy with how the Secret Service is setting up crowd control for their convention.  A park, one quarter mile away has been set up for protestors, and the RNC thinks that too close.  They want a secure belt around the convention hall that's much wider.  Makes you wonder, what are they worried about.  Another Chicago?

Bliss

 Friday.  The temperature was 29 (F) when I got up this morning, and that was early, around 0530.  Why so early?  Well, my alarm went off and I couldn't get back to sleep.  This is how it happens sometimes.  And it wasn't as if I frittered away the time, I booked my trip to Greece through a company called Explore.  Treaders has used them and speaks well of their trips.  Thirteen days, starting September 1.  I wanted to go later in the summer hoping to avoid some of the heat.  Greece can get hot.  Perhaps that's why they wore togas.

Yesterday was pretty much blah.  I did go for an 11 mile ride on the bike.  Did a little cleaning.  Made a fish chowder for dinner.  The house is so quiet; I don't like it at all.  And, as all of you with pets have said, it's rare for a dog person to not have a dog, so I have begun looking.  Nothing small.  Nothing hairy.  My movie friend Patty said I could have her dog Reggie if I wanted, but Reggie is both of those, small and hairy.  I'm thinking some sort of pointer might be nice.  When I told her I was thinking about getting a male Vizsla and naming him Howard Hawkes she asked why I'd curse a dog with such a name.  I like Howard Hawkes.  The director Howard Hawkes turned out classics like To Have and Have Not, Bringing up Baby, and that little Marilyn Monroe vehicle, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  For those of you who don't know what a Vizsla looks like, here's one.

Now, I have to ask, am I the only one who's not surprised to discover that Donald Trump is broke?  I suspected for quite some time that he's been living on borrowed cash, using the revenue from his real estate ownings to make payments on his constant indebtedness.  How deliciously humiliating for him to have the world laughing at him as more of the truth gets uncovered daily.  He posted another All Cap shriek on Truth Social about how he has the money to pay for the bond in order to appeal the $464 million judgement.  Making all of this even sweeter are all of the clips out there of him bragging about his wealth.  There's a tasty one from 2015 of him boasting about using $600 of his own money to fund his presidential campaign.  This loser is so wealthy that donations to the RNC are going to go to pay off his legal bills before anything else.  Just think about all of those Republican Senators and Congressmen up for re-election having to fund their own campaigns without a dime of assistance from the RNC.  This is almost like bliss.

Challenges

 So, yesterday was warm and sunny, though I spent most of the day nursing a sick dog.  Today our temps are predicted to climb into the up 70s (F), that's way too warm for this time of year.  Seriously.  Those temps belong in late April, not halfway through March.  Luckily for us, they're predicted to drop back closer to normal.

And, as I said earlier, I spent yesterday nursing Lily.  For those who don't know, she's 10.5 years old, which makes her a senior boxer.  She's learning that at her age stairs are too difficult, meaning she's going to have to be sleeping downstairs on one of the sofas.  She doesn't like that at all.  I'd take her to the Vet but she won't get into the car, so I called my normal vet to see if they could recommend a mobile vet since she does have other senior issues.  They gave me Mid-State Veterinary Services; the soonest they will be able to see her in Tuesday.  Cost wise, it's just a tad more expensive than taking her to Good Hope, so when I get another dog, I may deal with them on a permanent basis.

Yesterday I sent a sample of my first book, The Body on the Lawn, up to my narrator so he might have an idea on the difficulties in turning it into an audiobook.  There frequent flashbacks and we're going to have to discuss how he's going to be recording them.  He says he can be very creative, I guess I'll find out just how creative he is.

I hope this doesn't cause any of you to lose your last meal.

We all know this is never going to happen because that would mean The Former Guy would stay in the United States.  You can bet that when things go south, he will fly away home to mother Russia, and and more and more things seem to be going south daily.  The head chopping at the RNC?  For him it's loyalty or death to your career, no matter how conservative you happen to be.  And I'm also advising Republicans to send the RNC as much as they can afford, since the Trump Crime Family is going to use those funds for their own designs.  As someone said, wait until the general election starts and all those Senators and Congressmen who get a healthy campaign donation from the RNC get nothing.  Tough beans.

And one more little bit of frivolity:  Ivanka has evidently dumped her old man's name, and all of her commenting and statements are signed Ivanka Kushner.  Ouch.  She's going to put as much distance between herself and that radioactive brand as possible.

Send $$$ Now

So, I put my phone on the charger last night, though it wasn't centered correctly and failed to charge.  Dead Battery.  Damn.  I hate when that happens.  This is only the 2nd time I can remember this happening.  Now it's nestled in its cradle correctly and should have ready to go when I head off to work.  In the mean time, I've had to use my tablet to get this morning's weather.  Outside, we have partially cloudy skies and they're supposed to stay like that throughout most of the day.  Temps will climb into the upper 60s (F).  No rain today, that's coming tomorrow.

Lily is back to her normal behavior.  Up and down the stairs with little to no problem.  She has gotten pickier about her diet, however, she likes her food ground now, rather than the slices of meat she'd loved for a long time. 

Yesterday, because retail was slow, I endured a long 8 hours of desk time, with occasional breaks to wander the store and talk to friends.  How did I fill that time? Research for the next book took up quite a bit as the story continues to fall into place.  And I also spent some time researching travel packages to Greece.  I figure, I might as well begin looking now.  Many of the include island hopping tours, they don't interest me. This one looks nice.

And, if you're interested in seeing how much interest the Moral Degenerate is accruing here's a nice little website to keep an eye on..

Also, Rhona McDaniel (sic Romney) has announced her retirement from the RNC.  She's stepping down because the Spawn of Satan needs a new influx of cash, and what better spring to tap than the well of the RNC.  Lara Trump is going to be the new co-chair.  Remember, everything Trump touches dies.  So, if you're a loyal Republican, send money now.  Lots of money?   Better yet, give them your credit card number and let them do automatic charges. 

 https://trumpdebtcounter.com/

The Decent Thing

 It's Saturday.  The temps are supposed to climb into the low 50s (F).  And I have a short shift.  4 hours.  

Yesterday was good.  Accomplishments were... well, achieved.

The angelfish tank was cleaned.  They seem happy.  One of these days I'll have to make a fish run down to That Fish Place in Lancaster to pick up more Mollies.  Two years ago there were 4, now there's 1, a solitary female.  I don't know if fish get lonely, but I feel bad that she's by herself.

I got a 2 mile fast walk in while watching a mini-marathon run up a snowy Swiss Alp.  If you, too, want to run in Switzerland, here's the link.  The only problem I have with it, is that the videos are mostly focused on one woman running, so the guy with the GoPro is always behind her.  Now and then he will leave her behind, but usually her long hair is bouncing around ahead of you.  

And the polishing goes on with The Body Under Ice.  I've switched ink colors, from purple to red.  This is the time when I add little things, like Lexi Bowerman's housedress now has a pattern of small, pink petaled flowers.  Nothing really changes.

Since Biggie no longer comes upstairs to sleep on the bed, I bought him one of his own.  He spends hours on it during the day.  At night, however, he sleeps on the sofa in the writing room.

So, the Republicans elected Ronna McDaniel as Chair of the RNC.  She's been an abject failure for the past 3 elections.  When you consider her competition, you can understand the vote.  Mike Lindell apparently got 4 votes.  You also need to keep in mind the Republican mindset.  Voting her out would be admitting they were wrong right from the very start.  Republicans are never wrong.  Were they to even consider admitting something like that their little universe would start to collapse.

No, I didn't watch the Tyre videos.  I understand that Tucker Carlson spewed virulent, racist bullshit.  If you were expecting anything else from him, you are more than a little naïve.  I don't doubt that Tucker's a terribly bitter man who will never be able to deal with change.  Luckily for us, Tucker will pass, just as Fox News will pass.  Both will go the way of Newsmax, and history will not be kind.  History will do the decent thing. 

 

Tasty

I'm back to work today... for one day, and then off again.  Then it's back for 4, off 2, on 2, and then off for 5.  I have this vacation I need to use before September, so I'm taking time off in July and in August.

Yesterday was slow and uneventful.  The temps were hot, but didn't crack that 100 (F) mark which had been predicted.  In the evening we had brief dry thunderstorm, that was very loud for a few minutes.  Since there was no rain, I ended up going out and watering my garden.  My eggplants are getting large.  I picked 2 of my banana peppers.  

For lunch, I made a cold meatloaf sandwich on fresh, homemade bread.  It was delish.

Windows is doing an update, so everything is slow.  I don't know if this is part of the Windows 11 package, but things have changed in the way I find pictures.  Something new to learn.

For those of you who didn't hear, last week the RNC was hacked by the Russians... or at least one of the cybermobs funded by the Russians.  Now, I don't know about you, but I think this is rather amusing.  I wonder if Load #45 even cares that his Besties are trying to find out what his party is up to, probably not.  Or, maybe they were just interested in getting all the email addresses for every MAGA head in America. 

Hey, and I even saw where McConnell is beginning to really push his constituents to get their asses vaccinated.  Oooohhhh.  Maybe Mitch has finally realized his old ass can't get re-elected if half of his supporters are either dead or ventialted.

Loser #45

 And so we're off to a fresh week.  I work 2 days and have a weekend off, then I work 3 days and have another weekend off.  Then I begin what appears to be a weekly rotation, with 5 consecutive workdays between weekends.  That's fine with me.  How long it will last is anybody's guess.

I did use a personal day yesterday to celebrate my 2nd inoculation with the vaccine.  My side effects were not overblown, a mild headache, though I was tired for most of the day and napped on and off.  There's nothing wrong with that.  

During the past year, one of the things I've done which irritates me more then anything is put on weight.  Holy Shit Bags!  All that free food is too blame.  That put me into the bad habit of snacking at work.  When the food disappeared I started using the vending machines.  Well, that ends today.  I'm going to pull out my little scale and start counting calories again.  And now that The Body in the Loch is almost finished, I'll be able to put more time into riding and jogging.

The ornaments have begun to arrive for my All Season Tree.  Here's one of my dangly things:

Other things have been delivered that don't dangle, they just hang, no balls yet, but I'm sure I'll be ordering some soon.

And what about those cease and desist letters Loser #45 has sent ?   He doesn't want The GOP and the RNC using his name to raise funds.  Ouch!  Well, that's pretty damn selfish of him, isn't it?  Usually, even one term presidents have no problem with political parties using their name.  This is a way of validating their 4 years in office, of course they're not greedy like Loser #45.  I don't doubt for a second that his legal team is exploring ways in which these Conservative organizations can, for a small fee, just a tiny %, use his name.  Remember, Loser #45 will exploit any means possible for his own personal enrichment.

Artwork

 Sundays are, for the most part, a non-news day.  I don't work, which is nice, so a number of chores are planned.  I do get to go into the store tomorrow, but then I have off on Tuesday.  Yeah, I have one of those weird schedules for the next two weeks with no consecutive days off until the middle of December.

Rather than a Warwick Rowers calendar this year, I ordered one from Red Hot.  Gingers, everyone of them.  One of the things I had liked about Warwick was their tongue-in-cheek cuteness.  Two years ago that began disappearing, replaced with naked guys using towels to cover their bits and pieces.  The humor vanished.  So, this year I'll have to wait and see how Red Hot does.  Believe me, it's not for the eroticism, it the artwork... it's always the artwork.

Speaking of artwork, and since some of you are interested, here's the first shot of my newly painted hallway.  A grand view will be presented when finished.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court kicked out another attempt by the GOP to disenfranchise 2.5 million voters in the state in their attempt to keep their tinfoil dictator in the White House, and they did so with 'prejudice.'  This is our court system saying "no more," enough with your bullshit.  They are not going to take any more appeals.  It's not just the Idiot Jerk who's a rotten loser, it's his whole damn party.

And evidently the RNC is having a bit of trouble convincing voters in Georgia to actually go to the polls in their run-off election.  Evidently the Idiot Jerk and his henchies have been so successful at convincing his base there is so much voter fraud the election is already settled.  That's right, his base believes all of his lies about voting machines flipping votes from Republican to Democrat, that all these fake votes are being tallied against Republicans.  This is the price of their hatred.

Christmas in July

 Okay, so it's Saturday.  This is the end of my work week, not the end of what I consider my 7 day week, that's tomorrow, Sunday.  Believe me, tomorrow is not going to be a day of rest.  I've things planned, not necessarily fun things either.  Chores, you know?  

I have a new set of cycling shorts coming today.  The foam padding in an older pair came loose and flip flopped while being washed.  Both pads always ended up under my left butt making my ass lopsided.   You have no idea how uncomfortable that is... having a lopsided ass.

I saw Chadwick Boseman lost his battle with cancer.  Such a terrible loss.  While he starred in a number of films, he will always be remembered for "The Black Panther."  Disney had no idea how well a superhero film with a mostly black cast was going to do; they expected moderate success.  "The Black Panther" swept around the world breaking box office records wherever it played.  It is a good legacy. 

Viewer ratings are in for the RNC.... oh, dear, I'm sure the Idiot Jerk must be fuming.  I'm surprised they haven't started shrieking fake new!  Fake News!  They got beaten quite handily by the Democratic Convention.  I read in BBC America how even his base said the convention was geared specifically for them.  This was not meant to be a 'growing' event.  Nope, I suspect this was more of a tourniquet procedure.  Where ever the virus goes, he loses support.

And this past week was horrendously bad for White Evangelicals.  Jerry Jr stepped down... albeit with a nice chunk of change.  The man, and his wife, are moral degenerates on par with the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  For years this man, and his wife, have been using their cherry picked scriptures to pass judgement on so many others while they, themselves, were living a sordid, little lie.  And the revelations continue to fall like turds.  Now, it turns out, the wife performed oral sex on one of their son's friends.  Maybe she was trying to show him how to correctly blow his horn.

And finally:

The Tour de France starts today!!!!

What with the stinky RNC tv ratings, and the Falwell fallout, this is almost like Christmas in July August.

A "Tepid Response"

Today is almost the end of my work week, that will happen tomorrow.  Starting Sunday I will have 3 consecutive days off, now, isn't that nice.  I get these little 3 day mini vacations on a regular basis so I'm not complaining.

Yesterday?  Well besides the fact that it was stinky, winky hot, not of interest really happened.  The temp was 99 (F) when I left work.  During the 12 minute ride home (yes, I live that close to my store) it dropped down to 98 (F).

Paint chips are hung up and down the wall of my hallway as I decide which color is going to proved the best canvas for that 25 foot corridor.  I checked at the paint desk yesterday to see if there was going to be any sort of promotion during the Labor Day weekend.  Nada.  Honestly, I wasn't expecting one.  Our sales have been so great during this Covid Crisis.

As Anne Marie noted in her comment yesterday, last night was finale in the RNC Shit Show.  Even Fox News gave the Idiot Jerk's speech a "tepid response."  Republicans have always been eager to offer their revisionist vision of history.  They seem to believe this a good qualification for the presidency.  Last night, apparently, they were trying to be at the top of their game in this regard.  Oops, someone should have told them giving the Idiot Jerk a microphone is a bad idea.  That fool spoke for over an hour.  I wonder how many out there grasp the paradox of his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again, Again," in that it was under his presidency the country began seriously falling apart.  If, as he claims, he handled Covid 10 well, what made the country fall apart?  Does he even think about what he's saying?  Or does he just accept that MAGA heads will swallow his every word.

And now for a bit on The Body in the Loch.  As many of you know, I often use song lyrics.  Sometimes they foreshadow, sometimes the reveal inner character, and sometimes they help set the atmosphere.  Lyrics are poetry set to music.  Here's a little ditty that has several lines going into the new book.  It's by Rabbie Burns, a Scottish bard who wrote, among other things, Auld Lang Syne.  Sit back and enjoy the moment.

 

Were there any people of color on night 2 of the RNC?

 Wednesday.  I had to get up 3 times during the night to let the dogs out.  You have to believe me, when Biggie has to go, Biggie has to go.  Crap!  I'm chalking it up to too much dinner.  I was thinking about the storm door that's going I'm going to be replacing at the back door.  I started pricing them out yesterday.  Now you have to remember, the last time storm door I purchased, about 26 years ago, cost around $65.  They've gotten pricier, by about 300%.  I hate spending money on the house because I know that I'm going to be selling when the dogs pass on to puppy heaven.

Night 2 of the RNC was evidently filled with a number of false and misleading statements.  Boy, are they keeping the fact-checkers employed which, oddly enough, proves that the Idiot Jerk has created jobs the pandemic hasn't taken away.  Here's what the NYT listed.  There was fact checking at the DNC Convention, but nothing like this.  

And can we talk about all the family members talking up the Idiot Jerk, trying to make a moral degenerate look better.  What's the saying?  You can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear?  Let's be honest here, they're not even working with that.

I understand Melanoma said she knows what life is like to be an immigrant.  I guess that's true if you happen to be a model / call girl looking for anyone with deep pockets.  She was supposed to smooth out the Idiot Jerk's rough edges... sorry, she forgot her sandblaster.

As I looked through the commentary this morning, one thing stood out, except for the pardoning of Jon Ponder, I don't think there was another Black face to be seen.

Now, isn't that whitely benevolent of the Idiot Jerk?  Proof that he isn't a racist?  Gee.  Since I didn't watch I don't know for sure, but were there any people of color represented?  Asians?  Or does Niki Haley have them all covered?  Latinos?  Native Americans?  Were there any people of color at night 2 of the RNC?

Cancelled!

We had rain yesterday... mostly drizzling showers, and then more last night.  The forecast for today is again drizzling showers, but only occasionally.  I'm satisfied with that.  I've got peppers (jalapeno and problano) and tomatoes.  I've got some cucumbers, too, but they're teeny weeny.  Now, what in hell am I supposed to do with a small pickle?

One of my fellow specialists is transferring down to North Carolina.  His daughter and grandchildren live there.  While the transfer doesn't go through until September, he's over 65 so he has that great chunk of personal time given to us by the big Orange Retailer I work for; I suspect he's going to be using a big chunk of that time, limiting his presence in the store.  This is a slow time of year anyway.

Chewy dropped off another big bag of dog food for me yesterday - 47 pounds (21.31 kilos).  That lasts them for a month.  This is way cheaper than buying the dog's food at Giant.  I may not get the gas points, but the money I'm saving easily makes up for that.

Oh, and by the way, the RNC Convention in Jacksonville has been cancelled.  Supposedly this is another pivot by the Idiot Jerk, another failing attempt to revive his dying campaign.  My money says he doesn't want to get to Florida and find out someone has packed his acceptance speech among the bodies.  Not that he would be the one to go in and dig it out.  Nope, most likely he'll send in Mark, or Kayleigh, or possibly Kellyanne.  Wouldn't it be a hoot if it was Ivanka Danka?  Picture her in a stylish HazMat suit prowling between the corpses...  hell, I don't think she'd have a problem.

This latest attempt is going to fail, of course.  Can you imagine the entertainment value of the Idiot Jerk's loss?  You can bet Donnie Junior's going to be out selling tickets.  Anything to make a buck.

Little Roses

Okay, so the Memorial Day Weekend is officially over, that means "you go back to work. And you go back to work.  And you go back to..." Oops, sorry, for a moment there I started channeling Oprah.  I know you can't all go back to work, there's a killer virus out there.
Well, yesterday I didn't mow the lawn, as I had intended.  Nope.  I sat around, both inside and out. I rode 8.8 miles in Gascony through fields of sunflowers.  There were lots of hills.  I got my wattage up to 340 at one point.  I roasted a ham and today I'm going to use some of it to make baked beans.  I have the time because today I don't go back to work, that happens tomorrow.  Five days in a row.  Forty hours.
I took my BP this morning and it was a bit edgy.  Genetics, you know?  Everyone in my family has edgy BP... well, not all of us.  Some of them have high BP.  It's all part of the aging process.  Nothing's going to keep the flexibility in your blood vessels forever.
The Idiot Jerk in the White House shut down arrivals from Brazil.  Originally the ban was supposed to go into effect tomorrow however some smart cracker must have made it into his administration and realized this was deja vu:  been there, done that, waited too long on the travel restrictions with China.  Odds are they waited too long... again and a lot of new infections have arrived in our southern states.
And I got a big chuckle from the Idiot Jerk threatening to pull the RNC convention from Charlotte.  Remember, he's a numbers guy.  He loves his crows of worshipers.  He wants to pack them into the convention center!  A full house all around.  Charlotte, however, is saying "not so fast, social distancing is important."  Of course, that's grating his ego, it needs to feed on the adoration of an enormous audience.  What makes this even funnier is that Charlotte was the only city to really put in a bid to hold the convention.  A spokesperson for the RNC said there were actually 7 cities, however the reality is they asked several other cities... not takers.  Not even Las Vegas.  They're not a very popular crowd.
And finally, not all of my roses are big and showy.  I have this little wild rose which took root at the front corner of my house a few years ago.  Rather than rip it out, I decided to let it grow.  Both the flowers and the perfume are quite delicate.

I really like the tiny heart shaped petals.

ATTENTION:  ALL COMMENTS POSTED PRIOR TO 1200 WERE DELETED BY ACCIDENT.

Dead Elephant in the Room

Well, the Republican Convention is over... as is the Republican Party.  That's right, there's a dead elephant in the room.  No matter how much they tried to and pretty up the smell with snazzy visuals and loud music, there were cadavers lying  everywhere.  Not that I watched any of it, the daily headlines said everything.  The word 'disaster' appeared quite a lot.  Instead of having legitimate speakers they had... well, nobody of any real importance, no one who had any  real political sway.  They couldn't even manage to get Clint Eastwood and his chair.  And still, the Trumplodites went wild.
Trump's pick for VP, Mikey Pence, gave a speech and might as well have been talking to the wall because everybody was talking about Melania's plagiarism.  That was really funny, a lot of verbatim phrases from Michelle Obama's speech, and they thought no one would be smart enough to pick up on it.  They think Americans are so dumb they didn't even run that speech through plagiarism software.  But then you have to remember, Trump didn't buy her for her brains, he bought her for her looks.
And then there was Ted Cruz....  Let's just key the theme from Psycho and leave it at that.

Caitlyn Jenner spoke... who cares.  Well, at least he spoke, of course it was during lunch hour and there were on a smattering of people in the hall.

So did Peter Thiel, who is an openly gay man.  He also doesn't seem to understand that if those people in the convention hall, sitting on their hands, ever truly got into power, they would not only pass laws to take all of his money, they'd pass laws to put him in a concentration camp with all of the other gay people in this country.  He doesn't understand that in their socially conservative view, he is the enemy.

In the four nights the Republicans were in Cleveland there was no unification of the party, and though they like to pretend everything is happy dappy, mostly what they did was stab themselves in the back, over and over and over again.  I am so glad I'm not part of the clean-up crew.  What a bitch it must be to find a dead elephant in the room.

When debates are futile

I didn't watch the RNC Debate last night because I don't have cable.  I could have watched it over the Internet had I wanted to, but, to be honest, I just didn't want to.  I did catch some of the clips this morning in articles which attempt to define the winners and losers.  The one clip I saw which explains everything about this debate cycle was the one where Trump lectured Jeb on his brother.  You know the one I'm talking about, where Trump said "W" is the reason we have Obama, and that the last 3 months of his presidency were so terrible even Lincoln couldn't have been elected.  Truer words were never spoken... and from Donald Trump, of all people.

So bad was the damage done by George W. this country may go another 8 years before it elects another Republican President.  Which is why those debaters standing on the stage last evening were pretty much wasting their time.  It was, so I've read, the most watched debate in quite a number of years, but more so, I suspect for its entertainment value than it's political content.  Donald Trump is an entertainer.  He is outlandish and, for the most part, and extremely wealthy buffoon.  His comments on immigration, and women, and scaffolding around the Capitol Building, and just about everything else, reflect the short comings of the Republican Party.  The GOP is more likely to hit its nadir rather then get a president elected in 2016.  I can think of better things to do to waste my time then listen to 11 people attempt to prove themselves a winner by tossing out one-liners just to please the crowd. 

 

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.

A Spoiled Brat Republican Ha Ha Moment

The Republicans are having another one of their 'ha-ha' moments, just in case you hadn't heard.  This one is over both a documentary and an intended mini-series on Hillary Clinton.  Ha - Ha.  Looks like we're going to have temper tantrum time from the spoiled brats club.  Just wait, any minute now they're going to throw themselves on the floor en masse and start pounding their hands and kicking their feet.  Their base loves this, you know whom I'm talking about, those 20 - 22% of Americans who will actually admit to being Republicans.  Personally, I think it's about time they started growing up and tried acting like mature adults.   Ha - Ha.  Like that will happen any time soon.  What is so really funny about this is that if Hillary Clinton just (and I know this is really preposterous) happened to be a Republican, the RNC wouldn't just be dancing around gleefully, they'd be jabbing with their pointy little swords and stomping with their hobnailed boots to insure no Democrat was left standing.  Remember those Swift Boat Commercials?  No wound can be too deep.  Now, it sounds as though their party is on the verge of drowning itself in crocodile tears.

Any body got a tissue?

They've voted to boycott any debate on CNN and NBC.  Do they really think that type of posturing is going to make the look wise?  Are they demonstrating how they expect their next president to act?  I think we already know the answer to that question.  Remember the Great Recession?  How George W demonstrated his compassion for all the suffering Americans by staying out of sight.  Every time somebody asked me where Bush was, I always gave them the same answer:  probably bowling in the basement.  Ha - Ha.  You would think the RNC would realize every time they pull one of these stunts to rouse their base, more and more disaffected, centrist Republicans wonder away.  They do not seem to understand that as a political party they are beginning to look a bit like a train wreck.  But if you've ever talked to a spoiled brat, they believe their atrocious behavior is perfectly normal.

Republican Clown of the Day

Way back when George W was president, I remember how adamant the GOP was as a party, how anyone not agreeing with his policies on Iraq was not only Un-American, they were also Un-Patriotic.  This was not something one or two loose cannon Republicans were muttering, no, this became the party mantra which they repeated over and over again.  Of course this was the GOP showing only one side of its face, the other side, the one belonging to its base, popped out at the Missouri State Fair.  In case you haven't heard, some clown wearing an Obama mask did a very Un-Patriotic and very Un-American show to end the rodeo.  The first thing that went through my head when I first heard this was that he must have left his Darryl Issa mask at home; that was not the case.  This was nothing more then the base of the GOP showing its face.  These people are its heart and soul.  They are the reason the Republican Party is in trouble.

Republican Clown of the Day



 

If you are a centrist Republican, this is not the far right crazy shenanigan for which you want to be recognized.  Talk about stepping into a pile of shit.  If you are a far right Republican, you can not comprehend why every one is complaining.  Talk about dumb as a box of rocks.  They don't seem to understand that alienating voting blocks is no way to get themselves a Republican President.  They talk about being more inclusive yet don't seem to know who to even find that path.  Instead they seem to be going in the opposite direction, disenfranchising more and more conservative voters.  In fact, the only thing they seem to be able to do these days is send in the clowns.  Eventually, the only way they may be able to save themselves is by amputation.

Mitch McConnell and Matt Bevin - RNC Jello heads

I saw where Mitch McConnell spoke at Fancy Farm (never head of it) which is something that happens at the St Jerome's Church Picnic (again, never heard of it), which is in Kentucky.  Evidently he showed up, gave a little speech and left.  He was, however, followed by some guy named Matt Bevin, who it seems is backed by the Tea Party, and Allison Grimes who is the Kentucky Secretary of State (?).  It seems as though they slammed old Mitch, both labeling him as an 'obstructionist.' I'll be honest, I've never really liked Mitch.  Every time he opens his mouth all I hear is pretentious bullshit.  In his defense, however, I suspect he has bent over backwards to kiss the RNC's ass.  If he is an obstructionist, it's because this is what they wanted from him.  Now, however, just like in Treasure Island, I suspect the RNC has given him the black spot, not because he's bad, but because this is how they plan to show the American people how much they are changing.

The sad truth, however, is that if Matt Bevin does managed to unseat old Mitch, he is going to be just as much of an obstructionist.  No change there.  You see Matt will be indentured to the Tea Party, and they will call the shots.  If he should win the election in 2014, the first voice he hears will be the Tea Party.  And what will they say?  You owe us.  It will be nothing more then superficial slight of hand.  They'll pull a bunny out of their hat who's been up their arm all the time.  Which is why the GOP is in trouble, you see it doesn't make a difference if you have a grape Jello head in office, or a strawberry Jello head in office.  They're both Jello heads.  Change is more then going from flavor to flavor, it means going from Jello to pudding.