Youngkin's White Sensitivity

Well, today is very special for some people.  For those who are easily excited about creatures surrounded by mythology, today is Groundhog Day.  Will winter continue, or will spring arrive early?  His accuracy is.... has... a lot to be desired.  Still, that does not keep a lot of people from showing up at Gobbler's Knob every February 2.  Perhaps they think Gobbler's Knob offers more than a groundhog.  Anyway, look at all of these people.

Today is also special at the store.  Why?  Today is inventory day.  Yep.  This is the day when hoards of Regis counters in their purple vests swarm the store.  Since I am never available to work on Wednesdays, I'm going to miss the fun.  Right.  Nothing was ever fun about inventory.  Managers prepping the store in order to find out if there's been 'shrink' or 'swell.'  Yes, and even the HR managers need to help with the pre-counts.  I don't miss it in the least.

I roasted chicken thighs in the air fryer yesterday. They were tasty.  I was surprised at how much fat cooked out.  Wow.  I drizzled that over the dog's dinners last evening, they got the skin as well, and let me tell you, they loved it!  I bought 2 potatoes so this afternoon I'm going to make French Fries!

Today is also treadmill day.  Currently, I cruise along at 3.4 mph and 2% grade.  I'm slowly picking up speed and increasing the grade.  Both are driving my heartrate higher, which provides great cardio and burns calories as well.

Dana Milbank posted an opinion about Youngkin and the desire of Republicans to protect overly sensitive white people from history.  His excerpts are from an actual textbook.  That was the last decade before Americans began chopping up the same lies conservatives so desperately want to embrace... again.  That decade was anything but innocent.  Minorities had no rights, but then neither did women, for that matter.  Father knew best.  Every housewife wore and apron and pearls.  You could beat up a fag and not have tow worry about it.  In almost every respect, white conservatives believe this was as close as America got to heaven.  Their fondest dream is to go back to those days.  That can never happen.

This isn't that complicated

 When I got up this morning (for the 2nd time) the temps outside were a crisp 30 (F), and they're supposed to drop below freezing for the next few days.  That's fine with me.  I was also up at 0300 because Biggie had to go potty outside.  Just like an old man, he gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and grab a midnight snack.  Of course, Lily joins him; she likes her biscuits, too.

My Thanksgiving schedule was posted yesterday - 4 days off in a row, only 19 hours.  It took me a few seconds to realize those hours didn't include holiday pay.  I'm not working Black Friday.  Though, surprising, I'm considering going in from 1100 to 1600.  Of course, I'm also considering I might not.  One of the nice things about being part-time is that I can volunteer to work hours if the need them.  This is not that complicated.  I tend to do what I want.

And this morning, breakfast is an egg over easy (with fresh thyme) and a slice of homemade Italian bread.  A very uncomplicated meal.

I find it amusing that so many are trying to read the tea leaves after Tuesday's election.  Republicans are elated and Democrats are flustered.  Honestly, when I heard McAuliffe was running for governor of Virginia I was surprised - he's old school.  As such he made mistakes, believing he could make this race about Trump one of his biggest.  Democrats need to look at the changing dynamics in the country.  The census of 2020 showed for the first time that white people are declining in numbers.  For many Americans, this was a wake-up call. These voters see Critical Race Theory, even though they don't know what it is, as a major threat.  When Youngkin brought up Toni Morrison's book, Democrats had nothing to counter.  He already had the white Republicans, but suddenly white Independent voters grew alarmed.  The last census set the stage for a future they see filled with serious complications..  They believe Youngkin, and the Republican Party, are a way for them to hold onto the status quo.  That's not going to happen.

The Time to Change

 Yesterday afternoon was sunny, the temps were warm.  A loaf of bread baked as I began working on the aquarium: a change is on the way.  And then the temps outside began to drop.  As the sun rose, the temps were a cool 31 (F), cold enough to start putting the roses into hibernation.  The foliage for the dahlias will be gone soon.  This is the time of change.

I went to see "No Time to Die" last evening, the latest Bond flick.  This is not your average 007 thriller.  The color palette reminded me of a film from the late 50's to early 60's, filled with deep colors and shadows.  Daniel Craig played the oldest Bond ever, easily a man in his late 40's, a spy brought out of retirement.  There is a lot of dialogue.  And don't try thinking about the Nano byte threat which defies logic.  Rami Malik's villain seemed too wispy at times.  This is my way of saying there are some problems.  Nothing to keep me from not liking the movie, but things my brain needs to just pass by rather than think about.  

Oh, and there was an election yesterday, for those who weren't paying attention.  The Republicans did well, Democrats poorly.  This doesn't mean that Democrats didn't go out and vote, they did, especially in Virginia, however more Republicans and Independents voted for Youngkin.  Some want to blame Biden, yet the Democrats inability to show a united front hurts, paraphrasing Dana Milbank.  Sinema and Manchin's refusal to compromise demonstrated an ongoing problem:  Democrats can work together.  They need to take "my" out of their vocabulary and replace it with "we."  Americans don't want a maybe, they want a yes, and several Democratic members of Congress simply don't understand that.  Republicans defined Critical Race Theory as all white people are to blame for racism and scared the shit out of white voters in Virginia.  Democrats need to come up with a way to attack this lie, otherwise they will loose for the next 3 - 4 elections cycles.  This is the time to change... not wait.