Republican Blackmail

 Well, I get to go to work today.  That fact is sweetened by the fact that I will also have the next 2 days off.  For those who don't know, life is about balance.  The more we keep things on an even plain, the happier we are.  

Even though the forecast claims we have 0% chance of rain, the sky outside is heavily overcast.  A little rain would be nice.

I got a lot done yesterday, including a 2.5 mile walk through Herculaneum.  It is not nearly as tourist friendly as Pompeii.  

Twitter gave me headaches yesterday.  First of all, I got a message I was being locked out for sending threatening or harassing Tweets.  There was no example, but not knowing what else to do, I clicked 'next.'  A few minutes later telling me that there was suspicious activity on my account, and I was being locked out for them to verify.  Shortly after that I got a warning telling me there was no email attached to my account.  Well, shit.  How could that be when I'd been verified?  So, I tried signing into my account and got a warning:  wrong password.  Suddenly, there's no email attached to the account and the password I've used since day one is wrong.  Son of a bitch!  What did I do?  I set up a new account.  Easy Peasy.  No problem.  What happened to my old account?  I have no idea.

Looking out my front window this morning, I saw that my elephant ear plant had been devastated.  As you can see in the picture, the culprit was still nearby.  This is what happens when you live in Bunny Hell.

And, of course, people are talking about Lindsey Graham's visit to the Trey Gowdy show on Fox News last evening.  You remember Trey, don't you?  Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi?  Those failed hearing which cost the American taxpayer over $160 million in the Republican attempt to blame Hillary for the incident at Benghazi?  Well, last evening Lindsey told Trey that if Trump were indicted there would be riots.  Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds I think that sounds a lot like Republican Blackmail; the sort of warning a crime boss might make.  Trump, himself, while not make the threat himself, is using the same rhetoric he used going into January 6.  Personally, I'm at the point where I'm saying, "bring it on."  This MAGA cult Trump controls?  They are a cancer.  If they get away with this shit now, they will only grow worse.  The time for niceties is over.  We do not cave into threats of violence.  A large majority of Americans has had it up to their ears with both Trump and the Republican party.  Trump needs to be indicted and jailed along with Lindsey Graham and the rest of these losers.

The Truth

 Can we get a nice 'hello' for Sunday morning?  Unlike many of you, I did not sleep in, though the dogs are still lazing away.  When I walked into the bedroom to pull open the drapes, I got one of their 'it's 6 AM on Sunday morning, why are you up so early' looks.  

My neighbor's 2 children and their families were here yesterday to help her pack up and clear things out, at least that's what I thought they were going to be doing.  I stayed out of their way.  I avoid intruding into the personal issues of others.  Dirty Dawg showed up to give her an estimate for emptying the house.  She's going to throw everything she doesn't want away.  Dirty Dawg is expensive, I used them to clean out my mom's things from the senior living facility.  In the end, they packed up the belongings she wants to keep and drove off.  Her plan is to sell the house as soon as possible, which means dirt cheap, and move into an assisted living facility near her daughter.  However, there are problems with the house.  Nothing was done in the form of upkeep.  Whereas I have a full basement, she has a partial basement, with half of it being no more than a crawl space, and both basements get water.  The future will be interesting.

My neighbor across the street did give me some good news yesterday regarding my elephant ear plant.  She grows them, too, though she keeps her in pots on the side of her patio.  She told me to just chop off the top in the fall.  They winter well in Central PA.  That's what she does, and her pots stay outside year-round. 

And I see that Rand Paul wants to repeal the Espionage Act now that his false god has been busted... or is in the process of being busted.  Does a day go by when he doesn't prove himself to be an asshole?  But then he so desperately wants the MAGA voters to like him and vote for him, so he'll do and say whatever it takes to earn their votes.

Yesterday, the Orange Anus brought doubled back on his claim that the documents found at Mar a Lago are part of a political witch hunt.  Oh, and they're also a hoax.  Witch hunts and hoaxes.  This was to be expected.  They are his 'go to' complaints.  His MAGA base eats those 2 words up with a spoon.  He also jibbereshed something about how they should always count on him to tell the Truth.  Yep, he said that.  Keep in mind, many members of his cult believe him to be 'brash.' They will tell you that he doesn't lie.  Every word popping out of his mouth is verifiable.  The Truth.  Of course, their definition of truth has nothing to do with honesty.

The Surprise

 So, the five hours I spent at work yesterday were more of an inconvenience than anything else.  11 AM to 4 PM really takes the wrong chunk out of my day.  I don't mind being scheduled in the mornings or afternoons but losing the middle of the day really bothered me.  I had no desire to either start or continue a project before I left for work, and the same was true when I got home.  The fact that the five hours I spent at the flooring desk turned out to be uneventful marriage of boring and blasé didn't help.  This happens sometimes.

Temperature wise, we did get up into the mid 90s (F).  Even though forecasters were calling for rain, we had none.  That meant watering my little garden, which has so far produced only 1 tomato and 1 green pepper.  Some of the branches on my peach tree are dying.  Son of a bitch.  

There was, however, one nice surprise.  Two months ago, I had planted an elephant ear believing it would grow large, cutting down the amount of lawn I'd have to mow.  Well, nothing happened.  For two months.  I thought the plant had just died.  And then yesterday morning as I was taking out the garbage, I found this, and while it's only about 5 inches long, it's nice to know it didn't die.

As for politics, we are heading into the summer doldrums.  Congress will be going onto vacation shortly.  Will any legislation get passed?  That's difficult to pass.  I know many are hoping that the Marriage Equality Act gets a vote.  A lot of Evangelical leaders are pushing against it, and they represent a voting bloc the Republicans have courted for years.  However, that little decision the Supreme Court made regarding Roe v Wade didn't sit well with a large majority of Americans.  Roughly 2/3 are pissed.  That same figure wants to change the rules for the court:  mandatory retirement at a certain age, and term limits.  Americans want to get rid of justices having a job for life.  I'm up for that.  

And will Ginni Thomas ever talk to the Jan 6 committee.  I doubt it.  She has a fat mouth and says a lot, but only follows through if she can spread her hatred.  Married to Thomas for 37 years, her womb is evidently barren, or they made a conscious decision that birth control was essential in order for her to avoid giving birth to black children.  I do think that's the main reason.  Clarence Thomas truly does hate his DNA.