Patterns

 Monday, and the weather is supposed to be icy.  I only wish the forecasters could get their times right.  Originally the icy / snowy mix was to begin this afternoon around 1300.  Now they're saying it has already started.  Well... not here.  They've also adjusted their total accumulation downward to about an inch of snow and a glazing of ice.  I do sometimes believe weather forecasting is still not a science, that predictions are made after pulling suggestions from a hat... or a box... or maybe they're using a big, spinning wheel.

My return to work was... slow.  There were some customers, but around 4PM they began to dissipate, like a spring shower that has just passed over.  Spring is on the way, in case you were wondering.  This means I'm will need to begin ordering spring ornaments for my seasonal tree.  This should prove interesting.

There was an interesting article in the NYT on how the Pennsylvania GOP is attempting to change the way judges are chosen in the state.  Right now the state supreme court leans liberal.  Now, as my friend Patty would say, "those crack-heads in Harrisburg so the less popular, very white rural areas have more power."  That's right, they want the more populated, more diverse areas of the state to have a weaker voice.  They no longer care about the people, just their narrow minded viewpoints which they desperately want shove down the throats of the majority.  I have no doubt their rule changes will end up going to first the state supreme court, and possibly the national supreme court.  I have no doubt this legislation will fail.  

Like a crappy summer thunderstorm, their power grab will fail as the state continues to become more and more diverse.  Their weather pattern cannot be sustained and they will back themselves into a corner somewhere in the Appalachians where inbreeding will leave them toothless and bald. 

Breaking America

Yesterday work was... odd, seeming more like a Sunday morning rather than a Monday.  Financially we did really well last week, one of only 2 stores to hit their forecast.  Some missed largely because of... well, probably online sales.  The main focus for us now until Christmas is to condense.  That's a word which will ring constantly.  Condense.  All the crap that didn't sell gets moved into smaller and smaller areas.  Oh... and prices start to drop on it because it's... crap.  If you thought you were getting a deal on it on Black Friday, wait 2 weeks.
Here in Central Pennsylvania we were all waiting for snow yesterday and... some received a dusting.  I got nothing.  Most of the white stuff fell on the mountain tops surrounding the Susquehanna Valley.

Now, I know there are some who will say "that's isn't a mountain."  You're wrong.  It's part of the Appalachian Mountain range, a very old and distinguished mountain range.  Back when Europe was still anchored to our Eastern Seaboard, the Appalachians were higher than either the Rockies or the Alps.  Now in their senior years, they deserve our respect.  Besides, you ought to try riding a bicycle up one... then you'll know it's a mountain.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House is slapping new tariffs on Brazil and Argentina because... they're selling boatloads of soybeans to China.  All of those boatloads our American framers used to sell?  Well, the Chinese have found another source.  This is what's called a Free Market Economy.  Our American farmers are having an 'oh Shit!' moment.  They believed they were the only ones in the world selling soybeans.  And the fact that these tariffs might tighten the bonds between Brazil, Argentina and China totally eludes the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  This is how you break America.
And new tariffs are threatened against France and the European Union.  That's right.  They passed new laws which will financially hurt American Tech Companies - the result, tariffs against them.  The problem is that France and the EU are saying "bring it on, Asswipe."  Ooops.  This is the wrong reaction.  They're supposed to cower and bow down at American Greed.  Wrong.  They're going to give us the finger.  This is just one more example of how the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to break America.
Oh, and this just in:  The Idiot Jerk says it might be better to wait until after the 2020 to try and get a deal from China.  Oh, Shit!  And how many Americans went deeply into debt over Black Friday?  This is how you break America.