Expunging Trump

We dropped down into the mid 50s (F) overnight.  Today's supposed to be bright and sunny with a high in the low to mid 80s (F).  Those people in the weather office, however, say that this coming week temps are going to soar in the mid to upper 90s (F) again for a day or two.  Even though we're not even close to being far enough into September and are still officially summer, there are those who are going to be running around crying Indian Summer.  Interesting fact, other countries experience the same phenomenon, however they use names like Old Woman's Summer, or Saint Martin's Summer, and simply call it Second Summer.

Even though I didn't do my morning workout yesterday, I was busy.  Plants were repotted.  I also hung that gift I received from the Lebanese associate who worked in the flooring department for about a year.  Twice a year he and his wife would spend a month in Marrakesh, she owned an apartment there.  One time before they left, I jokingly said he should bring me back a souvenir, and he did.  I've posted a picture on earlier blog, but here's one with it hanging on the wall.  

And the Orange Anus is going ahead with his plan to cut down all 138 cherry trees in Washington.  He's going to expand a golf course because he wants to be the most authoritarian president this country has every seen.  For those who don't know, his terrible business practices nearly destroyed the Trump brand.  The only thing that kept it from dying in obscurity was an idiotic reality TV show that was based totally on lies.  Well, his terrible business practices are now doing the same thing to America.  One of his many problems is that he believes that cheap, tawdry, and tacky are definitive adjectives of greatness.  This means he will tawdrify, and cheapify, and tackify everything he can get his tiny little hands on.  He has no appreciation for beauty.  Only the gliterization with fools gold and rhinestones catches his eye.  He actually believes that this destruction will glorify his name for centuries to come. He has no idea that the expunging of his name will be a monumentally joyous task for so many millions of not only Americans, but people around the world.  And his supporters?  They have no clue that they will be held accountable for all of his wanton destruction.

Resistance

 Well, we did get snow yesterday, about 5 inches... maybe a teensy bit more.  Several times I looked out the window and saw we were having gray outs, which is close to a white out except I could still see the outlines of the houses across the street.  And, of course, the Polar Vortex has descended upon us.  Bitterly cold temps are in store for the next 3 days.  One thing I have noticed is that on Wednesday we were supposed to be deep into the negative numbers, now they're only predicting it to go down to 4 (F).

For those who are interested, Howie doesn't like the snow.  Every time he goes out, he comes back in with one of those "what the Hell is this white shit" looks on his face.  His problem?  The snow has buried all of his precious sticks and leaves.  There is nothing he can bring back into the house except snowflakes and ice crystals.

I did take a personal day yesterday and am glad I did.  The snow was falling heavily until roughly around 7 PM.  While my car is made to get around easily in snow, the last thing I wanted to be doing was dealing with blowing snow on my drive home... after dark.

What I did do is bake a delicious loaf of bread and cook up some rice pudding.  Yummy.

And in spite of what some of you might want to think, this is not a picture of the taverna outside The Kraken's Grotto.  Honestly.  Seriously.  You must believe me.

And something truly terrible is happening in Washington today, on this National Day of Mourning.  Conservatives are wresting control of the country away from a majority of Democracy loving Americans.  They do not care about your rights.  The only thing they care about is shrieking "shut up, we're in charge," at the top of their lungs.  If you look at the other authoritarian governments around the world, many of them have had some form or authoritarianism for centuries.  We have not.  Those other governments?  They have all toppled at one time or another.  Putin is not the first dictator in Russia.  Xi is not the first dictator in China.  Many have come before them and all of them have failed.  The Oligarchs gathering in Washington?  They are not prepared for the resistance they will face.  The minute Americans begin killing Americans chaos will erupt and Wall Street will collapse.  They simply do not understand their greed is also their Achilles tendon.  Musk has said Americans need to suffer through 2 hard years, and we will soldier through them, and in the end he will be gone.

Red

 Whether you like it or not, the new week started a little over 7 hours ago EST.  In a little over 2 hours, I will be sitting behind the flooring desk for a fun filled day.  One of my tasks today will be to call what are called Zero-comms.  These are customers who set up a measure through our website.  I suspect sometimes they set these measures up after a little too much vino, or after they've popped the top on the 4th brewskie, but then maybe I'm wrong.  I say this because the quotes they get tend to be rather exorbitant, quite often around $9 or $10 thousand.  These people never purchase the installation, still, as flooring specialists we will call them.  Management calls this due diligence.  I call it a waste of time.

Biggie is still in bed.  His back end was really wobbly when I got home from work yesterday; too much running around on Saturday when my neighbor and her kids were putzing around her house.  Now, just like humans, I suspect he's sore for simply over doing it.

And, after my tub picture, I figured I should make sure that you understand I did not spend all of my younger years lollygagging around in a bathtub.  Sometimes I was a cowboy.  What a shame this picture is in black and white, both my little boots and my hat were red.

For those who didn't know, Trump quietly arrived at Dulles airport in Washington DC early last evening.  The Twitterverse exploded with speculation.  I had no idea so many people who hated him, tracked his every movement.  This was after approximately 20 hours of being silent on Truth Social, his chat site which will soon be going into bankruptcy.  There were pictures; I'm not posting any.  But I can tell you, his hair was not sprayed down, he was wearing white shoes, either sneakers or golf shoes, and had a gray coat draped over his shoulders.  Oh, and the small jet he arrived in was a rental.  As I said, speculation was all over the map.  There is a feeling in the air that something is going on.  It could be a routine trip to Walter Reed, or something more important.  We shall have to wait and see.

Downfalls

 Well, it's Monday and that means I have a full day of work ahead of me.  This I don't mind, since these days only happen once a week.  After today, I don't work again until Saturday.  I can deal with that.

Outside, the temps are in the low 60's (F), a sign spring is rushing headlong towards us.  Though we've still got about 2 weeks.  Thursday, they're calling for mixed precipitation.  The night time temps are going to drop down below freezing.  In a few weeks I'll be able to begin planting the summer flowers.

I changed out the water filter in the new tank yesterday morning to the same Cascade filter I use in the bigger tank.  The new light arrives today and the new, glass top arrives tomorrow.  The change over from the 'starter aquarium kit' is moving nicely.

I watched "The Power of the Dog," last evening.  This is an extremely good drama about some very flawed people.  They fall prey to their individual weaknesses, weaknesses which are easily exploited, and for some these weaknesses lead to their own personalized downfall.  Heroes do exist, but too often they fall outside of the standardized definition.  Even bunnies have importance in this film.  I will watch this again because I know I missed so much.

For those of you who didn't hear, there was this big convoy of crackpot conservatives heading to Washington to cause a great disruption.  They were anti - mask, at first, and anti-vax, in fact, they were anti-everything they didn't like.  They were going to drive a slow loop on the Washington Beltway, jam up traffic, create a nuisance for every other driver in Washington... and, well that didn't happen.  Simple Sunday traffic was their downfall.  Now they're going to try it again today.  Their tactics might work on a two lane black top, but they are just not made for a multiple lane express way.

This demonstration of selfishness is in itself a downfall for those foolish conservatives who don't understand how stupid they look.  But then, these are conservatives whose favorite word is 'my,' and who don't have a single consideration for anyone else, unless they, themselves, benefit from the consideration.

Frantic Fingers

 Crap, the timer on my washer has started to go.  I put a load of pants / trousers / jeans in last evening and the damn thing just kept washing.  Rinse Cycle was a distant place that timer was never going to find.  The quick solution is to just start farther into the wash cycle.  That works... for now.  Eventually, I'm going to have to decide whether I should simply replace the timer (something I should be able to do) or purchase a new unit.  I'd like to wait on the buying bit.  One of the last things I ever want to do is spend my hard earned bucks on a new appliance when I'm 87 years old, so I'm thinking to just wait until the thing finally crashes before doing anything.

Yesterday was relatively slow at work, at least in the afternoon.  In the morning, we cut a lot of vinyl, answered a lot of questions, and dealt with customers until around 2:30 PM and then everything just died. Up until then, customers bought, bought, bought.  Where are people getting all of the money?  Well, you have to remember that while large swathes of the country are suffering from the pandemic, our local infection rate is low.  The state capital is located 5 miles away.  Our next door neighbor is a very large Navy supply base.  We also have a lot of hospitals, two within 3 miles of where I live with a 3rd opening within the next few months.  We are almost at Shangri-La status.

Don't worry, we're working on the architecture

And what about that three ring shit circus down in Washington.  Lots of memes went around yesterday showing the Idiot Jerk desperately trying to sign in to Twitter.  Can we talk about frantic fingers here?  Of course, that doesn't stop him from spitting shit out through fascists like Jared, and the rest of his crime family.  Of course, the far-right crazies are flipping out because Parler is now without a host, Amazon cloud services shut them down.

A majority of Americans want him out now, of course, that's only 57% according to Reuters.  Quite a few Republicans want him out, too, but they don't want to impeach since that would make them legally complicit.  The want to just wait for his term to expire.  They do not understand the damage they are doing to themselves... but that's fine.  Senators and Congressmen are being called out by name... and picture.  You see, a lot of them who were in Washington for that riot thought this was a great idea.  Vote them out.  Show the world how a Democracy does this legally and without violence.  Vote the party into oblivion.  

Cleaning Up

Well, it's Sunday and I'm thinking of calling off from work today.  I have a very good reason - it's raining.  That may seem like a paltry reason, but footsteps are always down in "big box" stores on Sundays.  And rain?  That's just one more reason to stay home and watch organized sports on TV.  Believe me, if a local team is being televised people stay home to watch.  And, living in Central PA, I am in the Shangrila of localized sports zones.  Don't believe me?  Hahahaha (evil laugh).  Phillie is 2 hours away:  Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers, and 76'ers.  Baltimore is 55 minutes away:  Ravens and Orioles.  Pittsuburgh is 3.5 hours away:  Steelers, Pirates, and Flyers, and Penguins.  New Jersey has the Nets.  Washington DC has the Nationals... I think they're playing in the World Series, and they're a little over an hour away.  I'm not including New York because it's a 4.25 hour drive from where I live.  However, we don't have a professional cycling team... and that really sucks!
Anne Marie recommended Dr. Squatch as a replacement for my body wash... soap.  They make great commercials.  Here's the one they put out for their shampoo and conditioner.

They're a bit pricey:  $10 for a 3 oz bar (which is supposed to last for 2 weeks).  I ordered a test bar.  I also ordered a test bar of Marlowe, a bit less pricey at $8 for 7 oz.... Both are cruelty free, however, I'm getting some real conservative vibes from the Marlowe website.  Even if it's advertised as being exfoliating, you know there's no way it can remove much of the dirt from a Conservative's skin.  We'll see.

I understand the Idiot Jerk in the White House is planning on making some sort of big announcement this morning.  No, it's not the one you're hoping for.  It seems that some of our troops, with the help of the SFD Kurds (you know, the Kurds who are not our allies?) killed one of the leaders for ISIS.  I suspect he's going to try and pull a Zelda Rubenstein on the American people on the subject of ISIS.

Damn, the Idiot Jerk in the White House could swim in Dr. Squatch or Marlowe and never, ever be clean.

The Garden Pary

I guess there was this little party yesterday somewhere in Washington.  Yeah, this group of white supremacists thought they'd show the world how strong they were, how many there were of them, and....  And, well, I guess you could say 'someone left their cake out in the rain.'  They showed up, saw the thousands of anti-white supremacists had gathered around them, massive numbers they said, and went home without even putting on their party hats.  They dispersed faster than a fart in a hurricane.  I'm sure the Idiot Jerk in the White House was filled with dismay.  Sure, one of his spokes lackeys has said he 'condemns all racism' but his supporters know better.  That's why some of them gathered in DC... so he could fawn over them.  They were hoping for another pro-racists statement similar to the one he made after Charlottesville.  You know what I'm talking about, that there was blame on both sides.  Oops.  Well that never happened, at least publicly.  Let's be honest here.  If there were a large enough voting block who supported him, and who also happened to eat kittens for breakfast daily, he would try and give them what ever they wanted.  If you bow down to him, he doesn't care who you hate, what you pray to, or even what you eat.  He will have your back as long as he has your vote.  This is not to say he isn't racist.  Look at whom he surrounds himself with:  bleached blondes, White Russians, and that token fool Ben Carson.
And what about that Amorosa... 'what's her name?'  She has a book out (she can write?), and some audio tapes of the Idiot Jerk.  I guess yesterday the world got to hear John Kelly firing her.... I guess it wasn't pretty.  Does she have any idea how much her career choices invalidate everything she says?  She claims to have been paid what?  $15,000 a month for her silence....  Translation for those who don't know - she got fired, she's no longer getting paid, and now she's going to talk.  Basically, she had no problem with the Idiot Jerk's racism as long as she was on the payroll.  Now she's talking.  Give me a break.  She doesn't help the Blue Wave.  She doesn't hurt the Blue Wave.  She's nothing more than a zit that will go way in time.
Finally, I'm having some dental work done this AM.  I chipped my front tooth on a peach pit.  My good dentist is going to fix the chip.  Yippee.  If I swing down around the DC area I might be able to fine one of those party hats... I'd have to do something about he swastika though.

Drowning in a Sea of Roses

Well, it's Saturday and the sun is out... for the time being.  Showers and thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon and this evening.  Tomorrow things are supposed to be cooler.  Actually yesterday wasn't that hot, 88 F.  Hot happens when the temps soar into the upper 90's.
Walking out my backdoor this morning, I had no problem in smelling my roses.  There are lots of them.  This will pass though, only to be repeated in a month or sow.  I usually get 3 bloomings per summer.  Right now, you could say, I'm drowning in a sea of Roses.

The red antique roses were an accident... the bush just started growing

And I must say, the perfume of blooming roses is much more preferable than the stench oozing up from Washington.  Of course the Idiot Jerk in the White House tweeted out jobs info early because... well, he needed to feed his ego.  And, perhaps, rather illegally let investors know yesterday was going to be a good day to buy... sort of honor among scumbags.

I know there are conservatives out there who are upset that Mueller's investigation has cost over $16 million so far.  Funny, they had no problem spending $8 million to investigate Benghazi.  Interesting how easily they justify money spent for their political benefit.  Interesting, also, is how Trey Gowdy, the leader of the Benghazi witch hunt is telling them to shut up, to leave Mueller alone.  Mr. Gowdy knows full well the difference between a witch hunt and a serious investigation.  He no doubt understands the corruption brought to the White House by the Idiot Jerk is on the verge of boiling over, splattering democracy with an unhealthy spray of shit.

My vacation begins on 6/11, and I've already started planning things to be done.  One of those is to take out the wisteria pushes around my front porch.  This is the 2nd year where they failed to bloom.  There was a time when the front of the house was awash with purple flowers.  Those days started disappearing a couple of years ago.  That will be a chore.  I will probably put in more roses... maybe a red climber to weave among the wrought iron railings.

Nasa gets a Kickstart

Guess what, NASA is going back to work.  This doesn't mean they haven't been putting in some time over the past couple of years putzing around with the International Space Station.  They had, however, put their exploration programs pretty much on hold.  This came as a result of the Augustine Commission's report back in 2009 that the current program was terribly underfunded.  The United States would have to spend trillions of dollars to keep it moving forward.  Do you remember 2009?  Middle of the worst recession in American history?  Given the time it made sense, some what.  The monies which could have been spent on the development of a heavy lift vehicle could be better spent going to General Motors.  Of course there was also the housing market crash, we couldn't let those banking and financial institutions responsible for that shit hole mess to die, we needed to keep them afloat.

In the five years since then the country has pretty much recovered, though not as much as some Republicans would like, and we are in a better financial place.  Hence, in the budget approved and signed by the President, space exploration programs have once again been funded to a tune of over 1 trillions dollars.  Have we finally gotten it right?  Kind of, I think.

I don't think for a second Congress muttered to itself "hey, we got a little spare cash lying around, let's give it to the space program."  No, not at all.  I think what really happened were China and India.  You see about two months ago the Chinese landed a rover on the moon and... it's roving around up there.  Even though the American news media gave it some airplay and most people probably didn't even notice, you can be some pudding head down in Washington said "Holy Shit!"  The next thing you know they'll be sending men there, Chinese Men, and they'll be setting up a Moon Base.  And where are we?  Dicking around with the likes of small minded Ted Cruz.  India has launched a probe to Mars!  I tell people that and their response is almost universal disbelief.  "India?" they ask.  Yeah, they are more then just a Call Center for American Companies.  So, Congress and the government really had no choice, it was either kickstart the program with a big boot, or sit back and eat dust.

Fox News is killing the Republican Party

Democrats are ecstatic and Republicans are devastated.  What else can you say about the recent election?  I'll also go so far as to say most Republicans now find themselves in a quandary; how to regroup and proceed when statistically they alienate women and minorities.  I actually work with an associate who was claiming in the break room that Obama won "because the Democrats were loading people into vans, registering them, and taking them to vote."  When I started listing voter polling results he claimed "that's all from the liberal media, who lie," though I'd actually seen the information on number of websites from the Washington Post, and Bloomberg, to MSNBC.  Oh, wait, I'm wrong, there is a bastion of Conservative Honesty on the airwaves and it's called Fox News.  As soon as this associate said that I knew Fox News would kill the Republican Party.  Why?  Ratings!

I'd first read, a number of years ago, the Republican Party playbook was based on the ancient television show Leave it to Beaver and that the family values represented by that fictional family were those they wanted all Americans to aspire to; it doesn't work.  There was a time when the Republican Party was, like the Democratic Party, more centrist.  This is where the majority of Americans sit, leaning a little right here, veering a little left there, but never really straying too far to either side.  The Democrats get this, the Republicans don't.  Fox News doesn't either.  They mistakenly believe, based on high television ratings, that the American People accept Fox as an authority.  While some, like the associate I work with, might, most Americans vote their gut instincts, not the way some news organization wants them to vote.  We are not sheep, well, most of us aren't.

As for the Republican Party?  They've sutured themselves to Fox and as a result are in a terrible dilemma.      They have shut out most Women, Black, and Latino voters because they did not fit in with their Leave it to Beaver playbook.  And, things are only going to get worse for them.  During this past election Puerto Rico voted to apply for statehood.  When this gets ratified there will be even more Hispanics the Republicans will need worry about.