Dour Days

Well, today's going to be the last comfy day for a while with our high temp this afternoon climbing into the mid 70s (F).  When I climbed out of bed this afternoon, our outside temp was 54 (F).  This is what's called good sleeping weather.  It's also keeps the cooling bills... cool.  How nice it would be to not burn through my bank account in order to keep my house cool this summer.

Yesterday was good in the morning and then ho hum in the afternoon.  My workout went well.  But then I had to go to work.  And it was slow.  I have a commercial tile job in the works, and there's an issue.  The tile the customer chose has a PEI of 3 (PEI has to do with the durability of the tile).  PEI 3 tiles are good for households, kitchens, and light commercial use.  He wants the floor installed in a restaurant which is, if it's a popular restaurant, is considered heavy use, so he needs a tile that has a PEI of 4 or 5.  Those tiles are more expensive and he was looking to go cheap.  This means there's a good possibility he might simply buy the tile and then find a cheap, local contractor who will do the install.  The fact that in 2 or 3 years those tiles are going to start cracking and breaking is something he isn't going  to think about.

And I sold my other tile job.  It went well, except for one thing (key heavy dismay).  After working with this couple for over 2 years on various flooring projects in their house, it turned out that they signed up for their measure with another associate.  This means that even though they know my schedule, and came in to go over their quote and do the changes they wanted, the other associate is going to get the sale.  There was a time when that didn't happen.  Before we switched to the Order Up system, if you did changes for a quote you would get partial credit.  Now, those days are history.

According to an NBC poll, very few people are proud to be an American.  These are our Dour Days.

Only around 23% of the population are proud to be an American.  Everybody else is looking around thinking WTF.  After 9/11, pride in American soared, until we realized that George W. Bush was prime example of Republican idiocy, and then it crashed.  During the Obama administrations pride cruised along on an even plane until Fox News decided they would earn bigger bucks if they sided with the MAGA Cultists.  You'll notice the big crash in pride happened when the Orange Anus got his ass reelected in 2024 and since then pride has been basically in freefall.  Now, it's only  soulless conservatives and MAGA cultists who seem to have any pride in America.  This is probably because they get so much joy in ruining other people's lives.  They are an unforgiveable sour bunch who celebrate the destruction of compassion.  They are the  millstone around American's neck that can only be broken by their defeat and, in their ignorance, have no idea how fast their vanquishment approaches.  This will be a good thing, this end to the dour days.

Toy Time

 Well, the temps did climb into the low 80s (F) yesterday and it was... nice.  What a shame that I had to work.  Temps are supposed to be warm again both today and tomorrow, however storms are predicted to spoil everything in the late afternoon of both days.  Tuesday, my day off, the forecast is for us to return to season temps which are... a tad cooler.

And the warmer temps brought out the shoppers yesterday.  The last time I had checked the flooring department had sales totaling over $36 thousand.  I began working at 2, however by 3 foot traffic was in an obvious decline.  We did have a customer who's attempts to wheedle us with various coupons and discounts on his phone that we were forced to put a stop to his sale.  At one point he wanted to apply for a pro-contractor credit card in order to get the pro discount.  He had difficulty in understand that having a business was not the same thing as a person who's sole income come from remodeling a bathroom, or a kitchen.  Luckily we had an assistant manager working with him and she politely educated him on the difference.

This is also a Success Sharing weekend.  They bring in food.  I've been counting calories, but decided to stop yesterday and today since I happen to be a grazer.  Yesterday we all got a personal pan pizza with the toppings of our choice.  I chose a white pan pizza with mushrooms and artichoke hearts.  Scrumptious.  Today is ice cream sundae Sunday.

And my new heart rate monitor arrived yesterday.  It has a much needed upgrade: you can easily replace the battery.  With older models you needed to removed 4 teeny weeny screws with a tiny screwdriver,  That's no longer the case.

For those who don't know, it's always toy time here.

In case you haven't been able to read the signs, the Orange Anus is lava level angry, that's about ten grades above and beyond his being furious.  Remember, in his world he never makes mistakes, he is never wrong.  This Signal Chat screw up has exposed his total incompetence.  He put in unqualified idiots into his cabinet, idiots who would always say "yes," and now the world is laughing at him, and he's doing what he does best:  making things worse by doubling down.  How can I (we) tell?  He said that he's absolutely not going to replace any of the people on that chat, that would mean he screwed up by picking those idiots.  an even better example is his saying, "we are taking Greenland."  I can't even imagine the protest that will happen if he follows through on that.  The worst example was him saying in an interview that he "doesn't care if auto prices go up."  That's right, he doesn't care if American's suffer.  Shit!  But than Orangie has never cared for the American people, he's never cared for America.  In his mind we are just another product he can barter with.

When a Kiss is not a Kiss

 Well, did you have a lazy Sunday?  Get a lot of rest?  Read a good book, maybe?

Here in Central PA, my accomplishments were numerous.  No lazing around for me yesterday.  I got a ride in on the bike, one with an 18% grade hill somewhere in Germany.  Several loads of laundry.  A trip to my local Giant supermarket.  About 500 words written on the next book.  And I topped the day off with some time playing Elden Ring.

Nichelle Nichols passed away yesterday. She was part of an ensemble cast of a groundbreaking show that brought science fiction into American living rooms weekly.  She and Bill Shatner had the first interracial kiss on national TV.  I remember that kiss.  Network PR ensured everyone in America knew it was going to happen, though I was very disappointed when it finally occurred.  There was absolutely no hint of romance; some viewers might find that offensive.  Aliens with the ability to control minds forced Uhuru and Kirk to kiss.  So, when is a kiss not really a kiss?  More important than that was her being on the bridge of the Enterprise.  She was a black woman who was the Communications Officer.  She was a person of importance.  That, in itself, is an extremely important first.

Oh, and I ordered a wall clock.  Not cuckoo.  Pendulum.  Big, because sometimes size does matter, with chimes that bong 4/4.  The clock it's replacing was a pendulum wall clock, though not as large.  This one is about 6 inches longer.  It's a Hermle Hopewell.  

And, finally, the midterms are rapidly approaching.  I read an interesting opinion by E.J. Dionne in the Washington Post about expectations.  If these were any other midterms, the Republicans would most likely have a lock on tacking back the House and the Senate.  The media trumpeted this from the rooftops, and the Republicans believed this, in fact, they were so sure they began firing conservative broadsides into Centrist America.  You can bet that, had they not been so sure of the midterms, the extremists on the Supreme Court would not have overturned Roe v Wade.  They were going to force Americans to kiss their conservative asses.  However, these are not normal midterms.  The January 6 committee has Republicans attacking Republicans.  In fact, a day doesn't seem to pass when some new revelation isn't causing Americans to take a big step back and say, "what the fuck was going on?"  You have the Roe v Wade fiasco which only appealed to a minority group.  You have Trump calculating that if he announces his run for the presidency, he'll be safe from prosecution.  You have mental ingrates like Kari Lake and Marcia Blackburn spitting out insanities.  And, most recently Republicans defeating the PACT act without even considering the message they're sending to Veterans.  In fact, this November, it could well be the Centrist of America turning their butts to the Republican party as they say, "shut up, and kiss my ass."

On the Bright Side

 Okay, so it's New Year's Eve.  Can you feel the electrified excitement flowing through my fingers as I type?  You can't?  Golly Gee!  I wonder why that is.  Could it be that I learned a long, long time ago that nothing's going to change at midnight?  Probably.  There's also the possibility that I realized, again, a long, long time ago, that New Year's Eve was just an excuse to party hearty.  That is the excuse most people rely upon.  And it's already started - I received a notification a short time ago that New Zealand is the first country to celebrate the new year.  Excuse me, but what's to celebrate?  While some countries might be a little better than they were last year this time, there are also some countries which aren't, some are even worse.

Of course, in America, Conservatives refusing to get vaccinated will end up getting Covid over and over again until it finally kills them.  I guess that could be considered a bright spot.  I tell those who believe the nutso jobs on The Daily Wire when they say there's no concrete proof you can catch Covid more than once that they need to come work in my store.  A number of people have already had it twice.

On the bright side, I am off today.  I do work tomorrow, but I get holiday pay, and they're bringing in food for us.  Now, ain't that a jolly treat.  Business will be slow, except for the duffers who think we're going to be running New Year's Day sales.  That'll never happen.  

Other Bright Spots?  My back is feeling great.  The dogs are healthy.  The fish tank is evolving into something old (photos when I get the live plants).  Oh, and I'm thinking of baking chewy, spice cookies today.

Another bit of Bright Side news is that Ron DeSantis appears to have disappeared.  Family vacation in Cancun?  I think they're saying it's been about 2 weeks since he's made a public appearance.  His spox (that's short for Spokesperson, though let's be honest, it sounds a lot like something Republicans spread among themselves), said that his wife is  battling breast cancer, and he is raising 3 children.  We know some of that to be true.  Still, with Covid raging across the state, you would expect Ronnie to make an appearance... oh, wait, I forgot, he really doesn't care if people are dying across his state.  So, my money says he has taken the family on a vacation... maybe to Mar a Lago.

Pensive Lily

 Well, you might say that we are officially in the sweat pants / sweat shirt season.  Outside temps this morning were in the mid 50's (F).  There was a time when these temps signaled  it was time to put away our shorts and T-shirts.  Not any more.  I work with people who wear shorts all year round.  Believe it or not, the same thing used to be true with sneakers.  Odd how things change as we adapt.  

As I'd said, I'm looking at my subscriptions since my income is going to be halved in a few weeks.  One of them is the NYT - I pay $17 a month for the digital edition.  That's $4.25 per week.  That's not much in the scheme of things, so that one is going to stay on the books.  A subscription to the Dallas Morning News costs $5.00 per week.  I am not subscribed because I think that's way too expensive for a regional paper.  While the articles provide more gist, those details are far too focused on localized happenings for someone who is not a resident of the state.

I took this pic of Lily yesterday.  She looks so pensive, doesn't she?  Actually, Seig had one of 'her' toys in the living room.  In case you didn't know, every toy is 'her' toy.

So, I just got a schedule update from work.  I'm now working in Paint from 10:30 - 3:00.  That's interesting since with my back issues I can't lift 5 gallon buckets of paint.  

One of the myths about America I wish we could change is that this is the land of opportunity.  While true 100 years ago when the country was still expanding, this is no longer the case.  Poor immigrants coming to this country end up trading one desolation for another.  They don't understand there are white politicians in many states who see them as a scourge needing to be supported, and it's not only white politicians.  Immigrants are the backbone of America.  Yet there does need to be some sort of reality check for those seeking to come into this country.  We are not always the answer they think we are.  We are not that shining city on the hill.

Interesting Things

 Well, it's Thursday and I'm going back to work.  I was supposed to return yesterday, however I ended up taking a personal day because something cropped up.  Something other than the inauguration.

My new color printer was set to arrive 3 days after I placed the order so bright and early, before I even had a chance to start writing my bog entry, I went to went to my 'orders' tab at Amazon and clicked on my recent order.  To my surprised, the cost had dropped $88 dollars, from $423 to $335.  Wow!  I requested an adjustment from Amazon, who sent my request to the 3rd party seller, Provantage LLC.  An hour later I received my response.  Provantage LLC does not price match after an order has shipped or is considered complete.  I was astounded, but then I work for the largest home improvement retailer in the world and I can say we have no problem price matching an online order as long as the time period is within reason.  So, I processed a return and the minute FedEx dropped that printer off on my porch I threw it in my car and drove it over to the UPS Store.  I also filed a complaint with Amazon about Provantage, and in doing so discovered a number of complaints have been filed against them through the Better Business Bureau.  Ouch.  Now that I've got that bitch moment out of my system... on to more interesting things.

And, as you all might suspect, I did watch the inauguration.  Now, wasn't that simply fantastic!  I must say I enjoyed the lack of pomp.  Simplicity can be very powerful.  We now have a Centrist President who understands the diversity of America.  One party one the election fairly and legally, the other has lost in so many, many ways.  While America anticipates a Biden presidency, do not doubt that their eyes are still on the losers, watching as that party dissolves.

Some things I find interesting:

  Both The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have issued statements breaking with Biden's predecessor, citing the fact that he is a failure and a loser.  The Proud Boys have actually issued a statement congratulating Biden saying they are glad to have a president who stands for what he believes in...  I have to admit, that was one of the weirdest things I saw yesterday.  Truly odd.

Those Q people?  Their brains are shredding, half of them understand they've been duped from here to Hell and back while the other half have jellified their thought processes in total disbelief.

Joe Exotic can not understand why he didn't get a pardon.  Right.

The Trump S**T Show

I slept in today... well, that's not entirely true.  I did get up.  I did a few chores.  After they were done I laid back down.  This is my day off.  I think I'm going to back banana walnut bread later on. 
Yesterday I worked my full 8 hours shift.  I followed the schedule.  As I was leaving, the store manager asked if I had changed back to my regular shift.  I told him "no," that I was only working what I had been scheduled.  Evidently my schedule for this week hadn't been changed.  That has been remedied.  I don't mind working as long as I don't have to deal with stupid people.
My nephew's not too bright wife posted some silly thing on Facebook.  She said she couldn't understand why people working at grocery stores should be treated like heroes and given metals.  Of course, I had to ask her what kind of metal she was talking about.  Copper or tin?  Like I said, not too bright.
I understand the Idiot Jerk in the White House had some sort of "unhinged" pandemic update yesterday.  That's what The Guardian called it.  Everybody else called it pure propaganda.  Since I don't have cable, I didn't watch it.  My friend Betsy said it was horrible.  Evidently it was a real Shit Show and pretty much everybody is calling exactly that... a shit show.  I really do think he should do the American Public a favor and fire Fauci, that way his ratings would plummet and the networks would cancel his absurd reality show.   The American Public is going to fire him this fall, so maybe he should start getting used to it.
The Idiot Jerk also implied he had Supreme Authority to open the country when he wanted.  Many Republican and Democratic governors are telling him he needs to flush that hoodoo down the toilet and stop playing with it.  Right now there are 2 coalitions forming:  one on the West Coast and one in the North East.  Both groups are telling him to shut up.  Not that he's going to listen.  White Evangelicals, so craven for power, have been consistently telling him he is a Gift from God.  Unfortunately for them, he believes in his own glory.  Because of that, there is going to be an even bigger Shit Show as both he, and they, ravenously cannibalize themselves as they self-implode.

And then, of course, they're going to do what Conservatives have always done, point fingers at everybody but themselves.

On the First Day of my StayCation

I did not sleep in.  Nope.  Up at 0515, normally up at 0500, so I guess I'd have to admit to a minor bit of sluggishness.  What can I say, I had 3 glasses of wine last evening.
We had rain over night and things are going to cool off - the temp is only supposed to hit 84 (F) today.  I can live with that.  The dogs like temps in the mid 80's.  When it gets really warm Seig starts melting into the veranda... well, he doesn't really melt as much as decided he's going to lay down,,, and not move.
Speaking of Seig, he was out on the front porch this morning as I took a snap of my sunflowers, more of them are opening. Can you spot him?

Sometimes brindle can be so hard to find.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House says Rep Omar needs to apologize to America.  If I were her I'd say "America, I'm so sorry you have to deal with this liar in the White House, a man foreign dignitaries have called inept.  I am so sorry you have a president who has no problem destroying the finest things about this great country as he desperately clings to power."  I'd continue, but you get the gist.  Remember what I said, let him use his own words to get him out of office.  An apology like that would get him doing double back flips.  Turn his own words back on him because he's stupid.
Okay, and finally, so I know everybody is wondering just which body wash I chose to lather away the dirt, and grime, and post cycling sweat... well I just placed an order for Every Man Jack, (how's that for masculinity?)  Here's their website.  And a picture:

Organic, no animal testing, and just think, I'm going to smell like a cedar tree.  Say that name several times.  Don't you like the way it rolls off you tongue?  Every Man, Jack... oh, that's right, there's no comma.

Happy Birthday America

Happy Birthday America!
Well, kind of.
We are living in a time very few of us ever though would happen.  We have an Idiot Jerk in the White House who has no comprehension of what America stands for, let alone any idea of how Democracy is defined.  A bobblehead has more sense.  Pride in our country is on the decline.  His trade policies are well on their way to binding the EU with China.  The world order is changing.  He seems more preoccupied with a private meeting with Russia's Putin and anything else.  He loves his dictators.  He also loves his rallies.  They let him openly lie.  He loves firing up his base.  Their cheers feed his ego.  He is the heart and soul of the Republican Party.
Happy Birthday America!
The Blue Tide is rising!
The Russians worked to get this Idiot Jerk into the White House.  Even Faux News grudgingly admits this.  They did this, not because they believed he would be more sympathetic, which he is, but rather they understood that his inability to govern would be far more damaging to Democracy.  He is their bobblehead.  Now he will get his 'private meeting' with his Vlad.  And Putin?  He will unabashedly pet the Idiot Jerk's ego, all the while sowing more seeds of disruption.  The Idiot Jerk will bob his head up and down as he walks deeper into his garden of insanity.
Happy Birthday America!
We outnumber his supporters!
We are stronger than their aging, decrepit bones.
I don't find it surprising that a majority of those who support him are older and whiter, less educated, and, on the surface, at least, far more religious than the rest of Americans.  These people from the sixties, who once advocated change, now find the new terrifying.  They long for the old days.  They hate the new.  Evolution has passed them by.
Happy Birthday America!!
This darkness will pass.
Difficult to believe, but on our 242nd birthday we are still experiencing growing pains.  We will always be growing, never reach maturity.  We will never hit those Golden Years.  Change is constant.  Evolution continuous.  There will be easier paths ahead, and also roads just as rocky.  We will always be walking towards Utopia, coming close, but never quite reaching that paradise.
Happy Birthday America!!
We are the spark that will light the Universe!

It's a stretch

This morning at Planet Fitness was interesting.  I have a routine that I follow however, since I'm a versatile kind of guy, I have to shake it up, do it out of sequence, and that happened this AM because the Three Caballeros were using the chest equipment and they were chit-chatting behind me while I was doing my presses.   Holy Crap, talk about shallow pretentiousness.  Each has their own water bottle, their own towel, and a pad to jot notes in:  one has a fancy clipboard in a case and the other two have steno pads (that's right, steno pads, I didn't know they made those anymore).  And they surround themselves with their "equipment" and then stand there a chit-chat.  Note, they don't really talk.  Talking is using words that have meaning in a way that creates an idea which makes sense.  Chit-chat is air passing over vocal cords to make sounds which most often have no logic.  So, instead of doing my hammer curls, I went over and did my sets of Lat Pulldowns until they gathered their "gear" and moved on.   As a result, I ended up stretching my gym time out another 10 minutes, which is actually a good thing so maybe their chit-chat about using "using coupons to buy meat," had some value after all.
And speaking of stretching, what about the Idiot Jr?  Emails?  "Love it!"  Evidently the media isn't stretching for their truth, and the Idiot's claim that they're involved in a 'Witch Hunt' is just a stretch of the truth.  I mean, you have to admit that this is funny as hell.  All of those Conservative morons voted for a Traitor who had no problem asking a foreign government for help in winning the election.  A foreign government, by the way, that wants to make America Ungreat.   I also have no doubts that this is one of the main reasons McTurtle has demanded Congress delay their August recess.  In fact, it would surprise me if Conservatives all over DC have seen the Cyrillic Eviction notice written on the White House Wall.

Of course, there really are a lot of different types of stretches, just like there are all sorts of words, and sounds, and the Idiot and his entire family seem to have no problem in taking the truth and pulling it tightly onto the frame of their preferred reality.  Me?  Give me real, muscles any day.

Of Idiots and Dictators

So, I didn't write anything yesterday because it was one of those days, starting at 0531 when my Mom called me from Manor Car to tell me I needed to get her out of there.  She has vascular dementia and it ranges from mild to moderate and it was not on the mild side yesterday morning.  Physically, she's fine so they're sending he back to Graysonview today.
And, of course, the Idiot in the White House pulled the U.S. out of the the Paris Climate Agreement - if that was a surprise to anyone, well they need to re-evaluate their perception of the Idiot.  He is now, and has never been a Team Player.  The Idiot wants to be in charge.. of everything.  Hence trade agreements are out because he believes he is shrewder and wiser and more capable of negotiating than anyone else.  He believes his deals are the best.. even though historically, with what?  Three bankruptcies, he's been pretty much a failure.  But then he's always seen bankruptcy as a 'wise choice' when it comes to reneging on contracts which makes him pretty much of a failure.  And, of course, after yesterday, most of the world is looking at him thinking "what a fucking idiot."  Everybody except Vladimir Putin, who complimented the Idiot.
The Idiot in the White house doesn't understand that Putin is running his own "make Russia great again" campaign, and for that to happen we need to be taken out of the number one spot.  That's right, we need to be moved down the ladder to at least 3rd place, maybe 4, behind India.  In fact, Putin wants us to be knocked out of the competition completely, he wants America to be a fourth rate country, a big, lumbering buffoon of a nation, toothless and declawed and harmless.  Bloomberg had an interesting article this AM where the Dictator in the Kremlin almost came right out and admitted Russian hackers were working hard to get the Idiot elected; it's to his advantage we have a fool leading our country into disarray.  This whole game is to make Russia Great Again.  Amusingly enough, the Dictator has done little to help the Russian economy, evidently they've been in recession for almost 20 years - of course, he's gotten wealthy and that's all that counts.
As for the Idiot in the White House?  I would not be too surprised if his adventure in politics doesn't come to an abrupt ending shortly.  The Russia thing, you know?  Not that he personally, actively incited Russian involvement, more than likely the Idiot became aware of it and chose to take advantage of it the same way, say.. a bad businessman might try and take advantage of a hostile takeover, of course that would make the Idiot a crook as well.. and.. let's be honest, most of us have known that for some time.  His days are numbered and he doesn't understand at all because he sees himself as a CEO and immune.  He may be angered that a majority of Americans can't stand him, some even hate him, but remains unfazed because the idea that they might soon remove him from office doesn't even register in his consciousness; employees don't fire their CEO.  This Idiot doesn't know the difference between a President and a Dictator and so has sealed his own fate.

The hell of holiday retail

As someone who works in retail, I can tell you the holidays bring mostly hell.  First of all there is the merchandising: somebody in corporate always knows the best way to merchandise no matter whether you are a high volume store or a low volume store, or even where the store happens to be located.  After you do you Christmas set you hear from two kinds of customers, those who love it and those who hate it.  A classic example is "every year it gets earlier."  These complainers don't seem to understand that if people didn't come in and shop the merchandise it wouldn't be displayed.  If they don't like this they need to start throwing bricks as those customers busily browsing away.  This year there were some customers who couldn't wait for the display to be set.  If they buy it early, it will be put out early.

If doors are open, they will shop

This year a lot of people pissed and moaned because some retailers were open on Thanksgiving day.  This is America and American Capitalism rules supreme.  Blame the shoppers, not the retailers.  If a Wal-mart or a Target opens their doors and customers show up, those doors are going to be opened.  If the doors are open, they will shop.  All you need to do is look at history.  At one time all of these United States had what were called Blue Laws.  Stores were not legally allowed to be open on Sundays.  Then supermarkets started staying open.  After a while large retailers began to take notice, Sears and Woolworth's and Montgomery Ward's and they thought, hhhmmm, if the supermarkets are making money then so can we and their doors started opening on Sundays.  Nothing is going to change.  This is America and Americans want to make money.  If that means retailers are going to need to be open on Thanksgiving, they are going to be open.  Americans also like to shop.  They like to think they are getting a good deal.  There is no going back to the way it was.

Republican Reality

It's funny listening to the Republicans waffle.  Some of them understand there is something wrong with their party, some of them don't.  I suspect a lot of them are simply parroting what their leaders want them to say without even taking the time to try and comprehend what their words mean.  A few of them know they need to start down the path of change, but change is difficult.  They're blaming Romney for running a bad campaign, but they were all behind it.  They're blaming the polls.  Franklin Graham is blaming the Evangelicals.  This party likes to point fingers at everybody but themselves.  They like to point to past Republican presidents citing their accomplishments without bothering to note that these presidents did not lean far to either left or right but were, rather, centrist presidents.  This election cycle they tried pointing to the Founding Fathers as representing traditional beliefs without bothering to explain how Liberal those beliefs actually were, like Freedom of Religion.  They're not acknowledging that if it hadn't been for the racist vote Romney would have ended up with what, 39%?  Guess what, the racists are slowly dying off.  America is changing and they're being left behind.  Their Party Platform was so far to the right and they thought people would jump on board.  They don't understand that candidates like Akins and Mourdoch are 60 years too late.  Now they're accepting the fact that revenue needs to be on the table to avoid the fiscal cliff they helped design and they are bit happy.  Why?  Because they are all wealthy and it's their own taxes they're going to have to raise by cutting out loopholes.  That's why they stand around looking like they've been sucking on lemons.  This election has shown them just how unspecial they are.  I think Mitch McConnell looks particularly sour.  Could be he has discovered he's standing there with a diaper full of shit.

Time for a diaper change?

I saw where Mitt Romney made some sour grapes comments alleging Obama's victory had more to do with gifts to young blacks and Latinos then anything else.  Doesn't this sound a bit racist, especially when coming from an older white guy?  I suppose he must be appealing to all of those racists whose whose election night tweets were a reflection of the ugly side of America.  Like so many Republicans he is in denial.  In their minds there is no logical way they could have lost this past election which means they need to blame somebody or something.  This is quite normal with Republicans.  There is never a moment when they look at themselves in the mirror and admit to screwing up.  No, they are like that aging woman who paints her face with pounds of make up in order to convince herself she is still a porcelain beauty.  Like that old woman, they will eventually die still unaware the porcelain has cracked.  While there is some apparent bipartisanship jockeying right now history tells us the Republicans will shit it away because in their minds they can not be wrong.  If  you see anything even remotely resembling change it will only be one faction attempting to throw another faction under the bus.

Has the GOP already lost?

And you can bet they are already plotting the next presidential election.  I suspect they will run a white man for president and a token black, Latin, or woman as vice president.  Why?  Because they've tried using that playbook before:  McCain and Palin, a party ticket made in hell.  They don't understand.  For some reason they feel all they need to do is run a token to get votes.  People aren't that foolish.  They're not going to fall for the bait and switch.  Unless the GOP begins roasting some of the far right chestnuts no one is going to believe they've moved even marginally to the center.  What I suspect you'll see is more blame.  They may need to lose three elections in a row before they stop hitting the snooze button on realities alarm clock.