Sorely disappointed.

 It's a beautiful day here in Central PA.  The sun is shining.  Temps are predicted to reach the low to mid 80s (F), and no rain is in the forecast.

And no, I didn't decide to adopt that poor, old Boxer.  I do feel sorry that as a senior dog she has to deal with issues her puppy brain is not going to understand.  They tell you in her profile that's she's very confused, and at her age that confusion may never go away.  If you're a senior who adopts a dog make plans the same way you would if you were adopting a child, because that dog is going to be dependent upon you.

Yesterday, I got a lot done.  About 1/3 of the writing room floor has a new coat of polyurethane, words were written, and I got a nice bike ride in.  

A few nights back I watched the first 2 episodes of The Acolyte on Disney.  Originally, Star Wars was geared for young adults and adults.  Then George Lucas decided to kiddiefiy it to grow its box office receipts.  The Mandalorian targeted a more mature audience.  Andor does the same thing.  The Acolyte?  It's for the tween and teenage crowd.  The cast is kids.  Two episodes was enough.

And then there's this?

I thought it was amusing.  Hopefully it will be true.

The Southern Baptists voted against IVF yesterday.  Basically, what they're saying that if you're a couple who wants a child, and have problems making a baby by just having sex, you're most likely going to remain childless.  I don't really pay that much attention to the process of baby making, but from what I understand there are a significant number of couples who rely on IVF to become parents.  To give this a little more perspective, this is the anti-abortion crowd limiting the number of ways a woman can become pregnant.  I find that rather archaic.

As someone commented on Threads yesterday, this is the reason the number of Nones is increasing so dramatically.  People want religion to stay out of their personal lives.  Another big reason are the Alitos and people like them who are trying to force their beliefs upon an unreceptive nation.  Conservatives will never be happy until they can control every aspect of our lives.  It's a good thing they're going to be sorely disappointed.

  

I got mine

 Well, today's going to be a slow Sunday.  I work for almost 8 hours.  I get to work for another 7 hours tomorrow, and then I have off for my mid-week weekend.

Oh, and it's cold here in Central PA - 18 (F).  Winter is not over yet... though the temps will be in the low to mid 60's for the next 3 days.  That's right, on Tuesday and Wednesday the weather will have spring like temps, however there will be... rain.  The dogs mind the rain, I don't.  Hopefully it will just be showers.

My test kits were waiting for me in my mailbox when I got home last evening.  Unlike some who desperately worry that every sniffle is the onset of Covid and will use these tests at the drop of a hat, I'll wait until I run a steady fever... or find myself breathless.  For all I know, I've already had it and exhibited very minor symptoms, something I could very easily overlook.  I take my temp every day I work and it's always sitting at 97.6 (F), never higher, never lower.  So, they may end up sitting in a drawer until way past their expiration date, but at least I have them, which is a nice thing.

For those who missed it, Frankie Graham got dinged by Facebook last week by posting a lie about Hillary Clinton.  When a faux Christian of his stature stoops to dropping falsehoods, he must truly be desperate.  Anyway, that got me to thinking:  what other mistakes has Frankie purposely made.  Lo, and behold, according to the Baptist News Franklin Graham not only dropped a whopper, he was downright blasphemous.  You see, Frankie compared those ten Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump to Judas Iscariot, implying something akin to 30 pieces of silver passed hands.  One suspects that Frankie, like the Orange Anus, is clinging to the power he so desperately feels he deserves, and as such is just as big a loser.

 

Unmasked

Good Morning.  And how are we all doing today?  I had a good night's sleep so I'm up and raring to go.  Now ain't that nice?

The temps are supposed to be nice today so there's some yardwork on the menu.  And peaches need to be picked.  I'm going to have to use a small ladder, since the larger ones are at the top of the tree. 

And, of course, there is always the ubiquitous laundry.  

Yesterday, I signed back up with Rouvy, only for 6 months.  I wasn't about to plunk down $144 for an entire year.  I think that's a lot of buckarinos for an app I may only be using sporadically.  While I'm not cheap or desperately frugal, I do know the value of a dollar.

This year there is going to be something different during the Tour de France.  This will be the first year I don't have a subscription to NBC Sports Gold.  This is not of my own choosing.  Nope.  NBC Sports Gold is now part of the Peacock Network, NBC's streaming service.  In their uninfinite wisdom, NBC has chosen not to partner with Amazon.  They've chose to go with Apple, and as most of you know, I am not an Applehead.  There is a work-around, should I choose to take it.  I can subscribe through my X-box which I believe is rather odd... almost a conundrum.  You see, Microsoft and Apple are competitors in so many markets except for phones.  Strange bedfellows for NBC.

And, as most of you know, I use song lyrics in my books, call it an idiosyncrasy if you like.  Here's the first song to have lines in the next book, The Body in Repose.  It's originally by Little Mix.

And the Southern Baptists voted in a moderate as president!  Now isn't that a surprise?  I'm not going to say there's hope for them, because in the end they're still a conservative hate group bent on taking control of America.

Finally, four months into Biden's administration, the Republicans have chosen not to put their masks back on... you know, the masks they ripped off when Trump got elected.  Selfish, and self-centered, and greedy.  They are the party of no incarnate.  The only way to prove God is not on their side is to vote them out of existence.  2022 is approaching.  This is not the time to sit back and relax.  We need to knock them back so hard, and when they're down, we need to start kicking.  That's the only way they learn.

 

Let the Staycation Begin

 Yes, it has begun, the Staycation.  Well, that's not exactly true since it implies I won't be going anywhere.  I'm actually heading down to York, PA in a few hours to have lunch with my friend Betsy.  Tomorrow, I'm going the That Fish Place in Lancaster.  There's also yard work which needs to be done.  A good wacking of the weeds out side the fence, and there is a lot of pesky English ivy which needs to be taken care of before it covers the fence.  

I started watching something called Manifest last evening... it didn't really impress me.  Series developed for television usually fail to impress me, I suspect because they're written specifically to allow for commercial breaks.  Every 10 minutes or so there's a mini-hook to hold your interest while the commercials play.  Watching the show on Netflix where there are no commercials, the storyline really comes across as bumpy.  And I'm not even going to get into the show's predictability.  Ouch.  Losing interest, I began watching 'Army of the Dead,' Zack Snyder's latest attempt at exploitation and... fell asleep.

BORING

And the Southern Baptists are having a Civil War convention.  Evidently, not all the members want to play nice, some of them are MAGAs, some of them are pseudo Christians, there's a lot of racist comments being thrown at the white Baptists because they don't want to teach Race Theory.  People are quitting.  Golly, gee whiz!  Is anybody surprised?  For years, their philosophy has been 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.'  As might be expected, some want a lot more scratching then they deserve.  And some are just walking away because this shit show is seething just below the surface.  Let the fireworks begin!

Scuttling the Johnson Ammendment

No more store Openings!  Yesterday was the last.  And I only have 2 more closing, Saturday and Sunday.  And I also seem to be scheduled off every Tuesday, which is cheap movie ticket night here in Harrisburg! Woah!
And I have to give it to Bob for coming up with BLOTUS (Biggest Liar of the United States), such a perfectly well tuned acronym!  Talk about hitting your high C's.
Anyway, I saw that DT wants to scuttle the Johnson Amendment.  That's funny.  Pushing your own brand of politics without losing your Tax Free Status.  The devoutly religious in the country started running around, waving their hands in the air and wailing Hallelujah at that, without realizing that though they are all in the same Christian boat, they are not the same.  Evangelicals don't like Catholics... at all.  Evangelicals think Catholics got the whole thing wrong.  Praying for the intercession of a Saint is praying to a false god.  And Southern Baptists really don't like the Evangelicals... at all.  And, of course, none of them want to lose that tax free status.  I see this all the time as they come into the store and buy rope, and nails, and wood, and light bulbs - you name it, they buy it, and they always make sure we know they are tax free.  So let's say you have an Evangelical candidate running in a district where Evangelicals outnumber Catholics by enough to swing the election (or vice versa), who do you think is going to get the shitty end of the stick?  Even though they are all in the same boat, some of them believe they are in First Class and everybody else is in 2nd, or 3rd, or storage.  Because money seems to be at the root of all Faith in this country, or at least those who really want to play with politics, the Johnson Amendment keeps them all on the same playing field.  That tax free status?  Priceless.

Allowing one Faith to create a religious mandate in the country would be a total disaster, look at Northern Ireland.  In fact, look anywhere religious discrimination is tolerated.  No matter what these groups may be saying out loud, privately, and in very discrete whispers, other things are said, and if you don't belong to one of these sects?  Life as you know it will end forever.