Conniving Coward

Good Morning from Central PA.  Our outside temp is 71(F) and our afternoon high is expected to be in the low 80s (F).  We only have a 1% chance of rain today, which is nice because things need to be done.  Our next rainy day is not supposed to be until Sunday.  I have plans for Sunday, so that figures.

So, what did I do yesterday?  Not a lot.  Well, that's not completely true.  I did about half an hour of lawn cleanup pulling together branches that need to be run through the wood chipper.  I tried that little handheld chainsaw and it works well.  I'm going to try and get them chipped this afternoon.

My excitement for later this morning will be paying off my school tax.  After that I'll be paying off the credit card I used to purchase the lawn cleanup tools, chainsaws, wood chipper, etc.  I haven't paid interest in years, except for the car loan, and do not intend to start now.  

I'm also going to be pausing my trainer.  There are too many other things going on right now for me to focus properly, yard cleanup for one.  I don't want to pay for something that I'm not using, and I have been looking for reason to skip my training sessions.  I find my thoughts wandering, not absent mindedly, but usually towards one extremely sore subject.  

The chicken toy Howie got for his birthday?  Its lost a leg... er... drumstick.

The Washington Post has a 2+ minute clip on this morning's front page detailing how the Orange Anus swapped planes.  This is a good thing.  For the Washington Post, owned by Orangie supporter Jeff Bezos, to post this video is important because we are probably seeing the beginning of divorce proceedings.  The Wall Street Journal, owned by another Orangie supporter, Rupert Murdoch, yesterday said that Orangie is in a very "precarious position."  Other media outlets are calling him a Conniving Coward.  I don't doubt for a second that these betrayals of their tax break benefactor are one of the reasons Orangie decided all aircraft carriers need to go back to steam based catapults.  I don't doubt that this is also the reason he is once again attempting to put his name on the Kennedy Center.  As Mark Kelly said yesterday, Orangie should have stuck "to what he does best, ballrooms, bullshit, and bankruptcy."  

Speaking of aircraft carriers, the Abraham Lincoln is finally heading back to the states.  I feel so sorry for those sailors.  I was on an aircraft carrier in a warzone, and the longest we were on station was 15 days.  Believe me, that was stressful.  The sailors on the Abraham Lincoln have been at sea for over 250 days.  This shit is Hegseth's fault.  He will be tried for war crimes and I do not doubt he will cry like a little girl.

The Force

 Holy Crap was it windy yesterday.  The March lion was definitely on the prowl in Central PA.  Not only did gustiness abound, yesterday was also garbage day, so quite a number of unfettered garbage cans roamed the neighborhood, propelled by winds with speed up to 35 mile per hour.   Having a driveway in which to park, my car was relatively safe, however those cars parked along the street were fair game.

Today I'll drive to the Municipal Building a pay my taxes.  There was a time when I'd go inside, but now I just put the envelope with the check in the drop box.  I could email my bank and have them send a check, but I'm also going to have to hit my local giant for walnuts.  

So, I watched "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" last evening, or I should say watched most of it.  For some reason, there have been issues both times I've tried to watch it.  The first time the sound wasn't synced right.  I sat through the entire 2 hours and 19 minutes with words never matching lips.  Last night the sound was right, and I was enjoying my second viewing until 20 minutes from the end.  Then, a blue vertical rectangle popped up in the center of the screen, about 2 inches wide and 6 inches tall.  It was right in the middle of the screen.  The movie played for another few minutes and then shut down.  I had the option of restarting, but chose not to.  There's nothing wrong with the TV, but there does seem to be some force out there which wants to prevent me from watch this movie.

I posted this to my YouTube channel yesterday.

I find it amusing that Dominion is releasing all of these emails and texts sent by the on-air personalities of Fox; people whose on-air personas are extremely right wing complaining about Trump.  These says a lot about their lack of moral fiber.  They had no problem pushing Trump's outlandish claims of election fraud basically to insure they were getting a paycheck.  It makes you wonder if Tucker, and Laura are still being phony; do they take their programs seriously?  Is Rupert still pulling their strings?

Word is that a certain someone is going to be indicted this afternoon.  I give a name, but, if it's true, I wouldn't want to jinx the chances.  If it is true, there will be joy in Mudville this evening.

No heart, no brains, no courage

 Well, it's Sunday morning and crap, they're predicting an extended period of snow flurries.  No accumulation.  There are several other storms making their way across the country, but from what I've been seeing, whatever snow they're bringing will be to our east, or to our west.  

OLT (On Line Taxes) sent me an email this morning reminding me that tax filing season is upon us.  I've used them for a number of years because they were free, and filed both my federal and state taxes.  This year, that's going to change.  That won't be happening this year.  They've dropped their AGI to $41K and, well I earn a bit more than that, so I may have to use Turbo-Tax, or a similar software.

I do work today.  With the football playoffs on TV, business is going to be slow.  That happened yesterday, when business was steady in the morning, but as the day wore on and the customers thinned out.  That will happen today as well.  

My first reader / editor, Patty gets her copy of The Body Under Ice today.

Saw this and had to chuckle.

And, speaking of Republicans, have you noticed that across the country Republican state legislatures are going from wack-job to extreme?  A party that desperately needs to be in total control is slowly falling out of popularity is doing what should have been expected.  Missouri passing a law that women cannot show their arms in their senate is just one example.  They are trying to masculate women, make they less female and more manly because bare arms, like long hair, are a temptation and must be hidden.  Every day these Republicans become more extreme.  For them, this is necessary, you see, the deity they created is not giving them what they want: total control.  They believe their deity must be angry.  The only way they can appease his anger, to get on his good side, is to prove their loyalty by becoming more extreme.  They don't understand that the more extreme they become, the more people see them as pariahs.

Fasten your seatbelts because these crazies are going to get even crazier.  By not succeeding, they believe they must be doing something terribly wrong.  The truth they will never understand is that they've steered their party into a cul-del-sac of decline where they will drive in endless circles for the rest of time.

The Big Stick, and how to use it

 And... we... have... snow!  Just flurries at present.  We might get as much as 2 inches!  The dogs will love that.  Looking at the weather map, I doubt very much if we're going to be in the 'your screwed' region, and I didn't get to the liquor store yesterday, so I failed to take that advice.  Honestly, the precipitation event doesn't seem to be entering into the picture.  The temperature drop is.  Our high on Christmas day is forecast to be a balmy 17 (F).  That's the predicted high.  I'll just crank up the heat a bit.  According to UGI, I've used 19% less natural gas this year than I did last year.  The temps have been about the same, so I that's interesting.

Speaking of UGI, one of their guys was next door yesterday for around a half hour.  I suspect he was assessing the furnace, which is very old.  I sent a text to my neighbor across the street who so desperately wants to rummage through the rubbish the previous owner left behind.  She told me she saw a crockpot sitting on kitchen shelf and I asked to myself, why would you want a used crockpot?   I do not understand this need some people have for acquiring things for free; that doesn't make it better.  Free does not equal quality, durability, or long life.  Having a lot of junk does not make you important.

The snow's coming down much heavier now

Only 88 of the 213 Republican members of the House were there for Zelenskyy's speech and 7 of those present refused to stand:  Boebert, Gaetz, Jordan among them.  The Republican party is worse than pathetic.  The authoritarian government they dream of would lead to civil unrest and chaos.  They will never understand until they are taught to respect Democracy.  Taking the high road has only emboldened them.  The time has come for us to speak softly, but use a big stick.  This is the only way they will learn.  

 And what about Trump's taxers.  All those times he said he was being audited?  He lied.  No one should be surprised by this.  Legally, hanging him out to dry will be a good start to swinging that big stick.  Every will be a strike for Democracy, every charge a blow against the authoritarianism too many Republicans endear.  Some will never learn.  To do so would mean they've been wrong, that's a mountain too high to climb for many conservatives climb.

Finally, testifying in court, Sean Hannity has said he never believed The Big Lie even though every night he was pushing that deceit as an authority on Fox News.  I'm betting Sean is scared shitless he's going to be taken to the woodshed.  What a coward, so terrified of the big stick.  

The Future

 Well, it's Thursday, and I'm a little disappointed.  I work today, and for some reason I thought I had a short shift.  Well, wouldn't you know that while I was grabbing the milk from the fridge for my coffee, I glanced at my schedule (posted on the fridge door) and saw I'm at the store for a full, 8 hour shift.  Son of a bitch.  And here I had planned the entire day joyously running loads of laundry through my brand new washer and dryer.

They did arrive yesterday, in the rain, a bit earlier than I had expected.  There was supposed to be a call 1/2 hour before the delivery men / installers arrived.  That didn't happen.  They were here for about 50 minutes.  My ventless dryer kit arrived early, around 5:30 last evening.  I quickly attached that and ran my first load, towels, through washer and dryer.  

The front load washer uses a lot less water than my old washer.  It spins in both directions, clockwise and counter clockwise, and a load of laundry takes longer.  The dryer, with the sensor-dry, takes less time.  I have not downloaded the Wi-Fi settings yet, maybe later, before I go to work.  Here's a pic.  The shelves on the back wall are still going to be used for storage; I'm keeping some of the walk-in closet's functionality.

Yesterday, the Democrats quietly transition power to a younger generation.  This pleases me greatly.  Young and diverse, this is the future of America.  Say "hello" to Hakeem Jeffries, Kathrine Clark, and Pete Aguilar; not an old, white guy among them.

The taxes for the old Orange Anus arrived in Congress yesterday.  Will they be leaked.  I'd say there's a possibility, though not until after he's indicted.  

And, speaking of indictments, I've been hearing a lot of hush hush regarding those members of the House who had requested pardons from Trump, the idea being that no one requests a pardon unless they did something wrong.  The word is that certain names, Perry, Gohmert, Biggs, Brooks and Green, are very big blips on the insurrectionist's radar.  Gaetz requested one, too, but his seems to have been more geared towards his sexual proclivities than anything else.  This is important because the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is, shall we say, rather tenuous.

Puppies, Users, and Losers

 Yesterday we had spotty thunderstorms, if you blinked you missed them.  We topped off around 90 (F)and the same forecast is scheduled for today and tomorrow as well.  We're not quite at summer, but who's going to gripe about a week or so when the temps are so warmly holding steady?  Without the A/C, I'm sure I'd be pissing and moaning, until I adapted.  You wonder how people survived before A/C?  Well, they relied on fans and sweated a lot.  We, here in America, are spoiled.  Window A/C units are flying out of the store.  Some will be returned at the end of the summer.  Some of us here in America are Users, actually, it's only here in America, it's all over the world.  Nothing will ever change them. 

And, what about the billionaires club not paying taxes?  Thank you Republicans for creating so many tax loopholes.  If you're upset that Bezos pays no taxes, or Musk, or any of the 1%, blame the political party that is more interested in their campaign donations.  Blame the senior members of that party for foisting the lie of Trickle Down Economics on America.  It should be no surprise to anyone that the 1% are really nothing more than Users.  Oh, and a lot of them are Conservative, too.

On a lighter note, I checked to see when Windows was first activated in my PD.  The answer surprised me.  2013.  Wow. I had no idea the thing was that old.  That means the laptop I use for cycling is even older.  Ouch.  I figure, as long as they work it's fine.  Both are getting updated constantly.  In fact, I understand there's a new Windows update around the corner.  Yippee. I'm not wild about them.  They want me to sign in with a password and pin... I guess they don't want the dogs looking at porn when I'm at work.  I was going to post a video of doggy porn thinking it might be funny... it wasn't what I was expecting and might actually be considered offensive by some.  So, instead, here's a cute video with puppies playing.

There are 2 Governor's races in November, Virginia and New Jersey.  In New Jersey, the Trump loyalists got their butts whipped.   I'm sure this bites the ass of the Orange Anus.  Maybe, if we're lucky, he and his sexual predator cohort Bill O'Reilly will hold a superspreader event in the state.

 

Run This Way

 I'm hoping today turns out to be a slow day at work.  Maybe we can have a Sunday like we used to have in previous winters.  I don't mind if the weather is overcast, I'm inside.  Whether it's sunny or not, the dogs are going to be home sleeping, one on the sofa and one on the futon.  

Since I bought my running shoes from Amazon, I knew I should be expecting one of their little 'review' emails.  What I wasn't expecting was the product.  The running shoes I bought are evidently 'women's' running shoes.  My selection was made on size  (9 1/2 wide US) and color alone, not gender.  So tell me, do these look like women's running shoes?  If so, what makes them specifically for women?

I did file my 2020 taxes yesterday.  Evidently the Fed doesn't accept them until February 12, so I'm no in the queue awaiting my refund.  I use a service called OLT which takes care of my Fed and State returns but not my local taxes so they will have to wait since I find them such a bother.

And I went for a 15 mile ride around Amsterdam yesterday on a route I created with their maps.  Really nice, though my legs were a bit wobbly afterwards.  Oh, and I no longer use the earbuds.  I simply shut the door and turn up the speakers, that too is very nice.

Arizona Republicans censured Cindy McCain yesterday.  She was not alone; two other high level Republicans were also censured because they opposed the Idiot Jerk.  And the Fool in Florida is now talking about starting a 3rd political party.  I am too kind by calling him a Fool, but then neither he nor his base understand January 6.  On that day, a large majority of Americans flushed them down the toilet.  They are now truly the minority party.  This idea is beyond their comprehension.  Over 5000 Republicans in Arizona changed their party identity on January 7, and while numbers disavowing the GOP have slowed down, they are continuing. This is happening in every state.  Son of a Bitch!  Instead of assessing the damage done to their party by the Washington Riot, they are clenching their teeth and buckling down as they screech 'screw you.'  That's right, they're going to bury themselves in their own shit.

Approaching Frenzy

Today's my Friday! (For those of you who can't hear the excitement in my voice).  

According to Accuweather, rain showers are in the forecast, tomorrow, too.  I can deal with that.  This past summer was dry... and hot.  Growing up I can remember the temps being warm, anything in the upper 90's (F) was called a heat wave.  Temps in the mid 90's were common this year and low 80's were almost considered cool.  Climate change, you know?

Of course, everybody is talking about the Idiot Jerk's taxes.  What about that $70,000 deduction for haircuts.  Yep, that's right, supposedly he paid $70,000 during one season of his reality show for someone to wrangle that rat on his head.  That's right.  $70,000 for this:

I wonder if that figure includes the tip?  Probably not.  I don't see him being a big tipper unless he's trying to impress someone.  More likely, he's one of those people who says, "I'll get the check, you get the tip," and then adds the check to his expense report.  Now we know why he's approaching his lost bid for re-election with such frenzy.  His bill is coming due and the United States is not going to be there to pick up the tip.

The debates are this evening.  The Idiot Jerk's team is already beginning to tamper down expectations because... well, he's not really a fast thinker.  Occasionally words pop out of his mouth that are ridiculous as hell.  Supposedly he hasn't prepared, which makes perfect sense.  How can you prepare yourself when you do nothing but lie?  No matter what the question, he will do nothing but bear false witness, over, and over, and over again.  His taxes prove he is nothing but a fraud. an embarrassment to the rich and famous, whose ranks he desperately wants to join.  

Results

My Friday has finally arrived.  It has been a long, slow week at work. 
I still haven't received my W2 from the US Government.  For some reason, I thought they were faster last year at getting them out.  Know how tight fingered the money grabbing Republicans are with money, I'm sure they see every refund check as a little knife in the government's bank account.  Greed.  They want to use their most favorite pronoun of all time... my.  They don't want to pay taxes because they effect "my money," and the sure as hell don't want to pay out refunds because, again, they affect "my money."  In case you didn't know, Conservatives are all about selfishness, being self-centered is their main reason for living.
The Oscars are on tonight.  They're the only award show I still watch.  I go to a lot of movies.  I like to see how Hollywood rates them.  This year, as in no year I can remember, the results already seem to be set in stone.  If Brad, and Renee, and Joaquin, don't win, everybody will be stunned.  Tarintino will win for best ad-libbed script.  1917 had the best Director award in the bag.  Knowing this might just give me enough reason to go to bed early.  There was a time when I used to host a party... those days are long gone.

Here's a funny story from work.  We had a very good Customer Order Specialist named Crystal solving problems that cropped up with orders.  She resolved many issues, from appliances being delivered with knobs to flooring installations with level issues.  She transferred to distribution facility.  Now, I also work with a specialist who sells a lot of jobs... quite a number of which have problems and shouldn't have been sold.  He relied heavily on Crystal to fix his mistakes.  Friday was Crystal's last day.  This specialist was at her going away party.  He had a piece of her cake.  Yesterday, he wrote along note detailing problems cropping up on a job he had sold... and he emailed it to.... Crystal.... whose last day was Friday.  Good luck with that.

Notice, I wrote this whole entry without naming a certain evil presence, but just so you know, I've been doing a little impromptu survey among the Democrats at work.  Results tomorrow.

Abandon Ship

Today is Friday... it's also payday.  I like it when money goes into my bank account because I like to buy things.  Don't we all?
Anyway, last night was the 2nd night of the first Democratic Debates.  As usual, I watch a bit, mostly because one of them is going kick the snot out of the Idiot Jerk in the next election.  As luck would happen, I tuned in during the "pass the torch" discussion was happening.  That's right, I saw Uncle Joe say he wasn't ready to pass the torch.  What ensued was a moment of Democratic inspirational chaos, with everyone trying to make a comment.  Looking over notes from a number of different sources this morning it seems as though 3 survived with almost flying colors:  Harris, Butigieg, and Bennett.  Nobody else, including 2 of the front runners, Biden and Sanders fared very well.  When I get the chance I need to find the clip where Maddow uses a quote to ask Sanders a question and he says something to the effect that the quote is a mischaracterization.  I guess the audience erupted in laughter when Maddow said "but you said it."  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Bernie's an old fool who's just trying to feed his ego.
On the way home from work yesterday I saw that the temperature was 98 (F).  It dropped down to 97 by the time I hit Enola.  This is funny because no one has said anything about heat warnings.  Maybe we only have heat waves in July...
Oh, my, and it seems as though the Idiot Jerk and his wealthy minions are thinking about screwing around with taxes... again.  I didn't get the gist of what's being planned, but evidently something with Capital Gains.  He knows Congress will not approve it... the election is coming, so he using some sort of Executive Action to bypass all those Senators who would vote against it.  This change will... of course, benefit the wealthy, and only the wealthy.  I see this as another sign that those around him realize he's going to fail in his bid to get re-elected.  They're trying to shove as much shit into their lifeboat as they can.

Can you even begin to imagine a debate between the Idiot Jerk and either Warren or Harris?  I wonder how many times he'd say "fuck" on National TV.

Tax This

Okay, so I didn't get a chance yesterday to sell that racist customer her flooring.  She came in on Wednesday, my day off, and made her purchase.  They took off certain charges because she kept complaining how she was an "older woman with a fixed income."  Once the black and Latino installers get to her house, they will have those charges put right back on.  She will most like shriek and moan "they're charging me because they're black and Latino."  Sorry, the very large, home improvement retailer I work for has very diverse policies.  Of course, the install will take place after Tuesday's midterms and she might be too shell-shocked to do anything except shove another bon-bon in her mouth.
So, a friend of mine posted a meme on Facebook about Pennsylvania having the 6th highest taxes in the Nation, and that was a good reason to vote 'red.'  Of course, I spent a minute and a half researching this claim, already knowing it was false.  In fact, when it comes to State and Local Taxes, Pennsylvania ranks 34th.  Here's what we pay in State Income Tax.

And when it comes to Sales Tax... we're at number 32.

Taxes are a lot higher in some states, like California and New York.  Using high taxes in Pennsylvania as an incentive to vote Republican is a lost cause.  Unfortunately, shrieking about taxes has always been a GOP strong point, until you start drilling for the truth.  Higher standards of living and higher pay rates equate with higher taxes.  If you happen to live in a state with a lower standard of living and a lower average pay rate, like down in Conservative Mississippi, and your taxes are high then there's a problem.  Look at North and South Carolina.... Wow.  Those people do pay a lot of money in taxes compared to... oh, say, Pennsylvania.  When it comes to taxes, Republicans have always promised a lot and, in reality, given very little.  Greed, you know?  Their economic plans are always dependent on greed.

Non-digestable

Well, it's Thursday morning and I e-filed my Income Taxes this AM.  I'm getting money back, but then I always get money back.  Hopefully I'll get a refund next year as well - that's a bit iffy since as a single person I fall into that category where I may earn just too much money.  Yessiree, I'm one of those 'special' tax payers who may not benefit from this wonderful tax overhaul.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House threw another bone to Social Conservatives yesterday, permitting health care workers to deny services if they go against their "religious beliefs."  This is another example of how selling your soul to the Idiot Jerk in the White House will get you what you want.  As usual, there's no way this isn't going to end up in the courts.  These people are so caught up in their own personal, self-centered, self-aligned beliefs they totally fail to grasp reality, that getting their way will not move the country down a socially conservative path.  Rather, historically the evidence is that the exact opposite is what occurs.  The direct result of their pressure is to move the country farther to the 'left.'
And a new poll shows a majority of Americans strongly disapproving of the Idiot Jerk.  People just can't stomach him.  I used to think that this would bother him, now not so much.  You see, he is such a petty, small minded individual all he needs is one group of people to kiss his ass and praise him, like the Social Conservatives.  That makes them just as phony.  Do they care?  About as much as he cares.  You only have merit and value if you kiss his ass.
Anyway, I bought myself a new helmet.

Red, of course.  It kind of looks like I have a shiny muffin on my head.  Do I care what it looks like?  Hell no.  Just as long as it does what it's supposed do in case I do a header over the handlebars.
Also, Big Seig dug the squeaker out of one of the purple squirrels this morning and was running around the house with it in his mouth.  Squeak, squeak, you know?  I had to take it from him because he has a bad habit of swallowing them, and being non-digestable he always end up vomiting them back up... along with the rest of the contents of his stomach, which is what most of the American people want to do when they think of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.

The Birthday Boy

Today is Saturday, December 23... yipee, and it's the last day I work this week.
Tomorrow is Sunday, December 24 and it is a very, very big day.  No, no, no, not because it's Christmas Eve.  Tomorrow is Big Seig's birthday!  That's right, he's a Christmas Eve puppy and he's going to be 3 years old.  Tonight, on my way home from work, hopefully after most of the pre-Christmas shoppers have already been to my local Giant, I'll stop off and pick up his birthday present:  white cake and vanilla ice cream.  That's right, my dogs get 'people' food on their birthdays.  And even though he doesn't want to, he'll be sharing with Lily because she's special too.

The Birthday Boy

I also did some time on the new bike... on the new Cycleops trainer this AM.... Holy Shit.  Hills are simulated, by shifting gears you can to turn a flat surface in a 12% grade.  Most people have no idea how steep that is until they actually try walking up a hill with a 12% grade - if you have a treadmill try and see how difficult it is, then imagine doing it on a bike where you're mainly using one muscle group... Holy Shit.

Yesterday the Idiot Jerk in the White House signed the Republican Tax thingy.  Evidently Mike Pence made some sort of 3 minute speech in which he went deep diving up the Idiot Jerk's rectum... sorry, my computer censors that type of perverted pornography.  Just about every economist on the face of this great planet has stated in one form or other that at best it will achieve nothing, but more likely it will just make things worse for most people.  Interestingly enough, the stock market actually went down after he scratched his name on the bill.  Does the Idiot Jerk and his party care?   Hell no, they'll do what they always do, blame Hillary's emails.

And I did see this little bit in the NYT about the steel industry losing jobs... in a big way.  Now, this is the type of Christmas present most people should expect from the GOP.  You see, they're good at failing.

We are like Young Volcanoes

Well, here it is, Tuesday already.  I did over 55 minutes on the elliptical this AM and feel good.  The time has come to get  back into the regime.
For those who don't know, the Republican Asswipes or on the verge of passing some sort of tax cluster fuck.  Only 24% of Americans believe this to be a good thing.  You might be wondering why they would do such a thing.  That answer is easy.  The 'do nothing party,' under the leadership of the Idiot Jerk in the White, desperately wanted to prove that they could do at least one thing, unfortunately for them, that one thing is to shit on America.  "But," they're telling themselves, "we passed legislation and that's all that counts."
And while they are clapping each other on the back, and winking gleefully at each other, 2017 has by no means been a banner year for them.  In fact, quite the opposite.  Even an individual with an average IQ could look at those stats and realize that the Republican Party is 'cruisin' for a bruisin,' but then they don't really care, either.  Their main goal is to pass an agenda that meets the approval of a minority group of Americans - nothing more.  As long as those few, small minds are happy everything is ducky dandy.  Not only do these loser not understand Americans, or the American Economy, the totally do not grasp human beings at all and they never will.
What they simply don't get is that we are like young volcanoes.

Cut this

Well, here it is.  The day of my surgery has finally arrived.  I need to be at the Lebanon VA Outpatient Surgical Unit at 0900, and by 1000 the scalpel should be at the ready.  They've slotted an hour and a half for the procedure - though it wouldn't surprise me if they're done a lot sooner.  Back when I had my consultation, my Dr had said he thought they'd operate in the afternoon - I prefer the earlier time.
And what's happening to me is so much nicer than what's happening to the GOP.  Bannon's calling on the Jews to rise up against the GOP establishment and Mitch McTurtle believes the women accusing Roy Moore... and another woman came forward today.  Watch out, they's be reaching for their clubs, and let's be honest, there's nothing wrong with a little Republican blood sport.  In the end, both sides will be bloody and beaten to an impotent pulp.
Oh, and the Idiot Jerk in the White House said something about making sure that the 'rich get a tax cut.'  Sorry,  they don't need a tax cut.  They're rich.  They sleep in clean sheets every night.  Someone else scrubs their toilets, and cooks their food, and most probably wipes their asses.  These are people who have an employee who helps them pick out their clothing and helps them get dressed in the morning, who most likely hand washes their delicate dainties.  These are people who have never washed a dish, or dusted, or vacuumed, and may be hard pressed to tell the difference between a broom and a mop.  They don't deserve a tax cut.  Yeah, that's the penalty for being rich, you have to pay more taxes than us poorer folk.  Tough Shit.

Chicks on line

Well, I get to go back to work today.  I'm not so excited, if you know what I mean.  Over the past 2 days I did get pretty much accomplished: draperies in the dining room dry cleaned, replaced some trip, painted the molding around all of the windows in the dining room, cleaned.  Not too much on the workout scene, however - it's this damn hernia.  I can not wait until I get it fixed.  My current recurring nightmare is that because I'm going through the VA they're going to tell me it's going to take at least 6 months.  If they do, I'll go through a civilian doctor and have it done sooner.
And I see that the Idiot Jerk in the White House has released his TAX PLAN.  There was actually some sort of pompous GOP ceremony where they all gathered together like giggling school girls looking at a Playgirl for the first time.  Of course they did the same thing with their every attempt to repeal the ACA, well, maybe not so much with their last try.  This is the DO NOTHING PARTY, remember?  My money says that behind the scenes they're already scrambling for votes because this is nothing more than a give away to corporations and the wealthy.  I saw a news feed on Facebook where one of the Republican sponsors for this piece of shit admitted "well, the middle class may have to pay more, but they'll get more back in the end."  That's bullshit. 
And, speaking of Playgirl, I did a search to see if there still was such a thing.  There is.  And it does have a gay section called Playgirl Blue.  This doesn't surprise me since I always thought it was the guys buyng the magazine that kept it in business.

Remember when?

This got me wondering, just a little, if Playboy has a lesbian section, and if they do, is it called Playboy Pink and so, even though it's against my religion, I checked.  They don't.  It's just chicks on line.  That sounds funny, doesn't it?  Chicks on line.

UPS, Samsung, Kardashian inside job, and taxes

Well, I didn't go in to work today.  I called and told them I'd be in late... how late I don't know.  You see I'm waiting for UPS to come and pick up that expensive Samsung television that was delivered broken / damaged.  That's right.  It's going back to Amazon.  Last night, while I was waiting for the alarm check in the store to be finished so I could leave, I checked my email.  Lo and behold, there was a communication from Samsung, and once again they apologized for my inconvenience, and once again they confirmed that I would have to pay the expense for fixing the TV.  So I popped on over to Amazon and processed the return.  And, as I said above, they're picking the TV up today.
On the Kardashian robbery?  I honestly think it was an inside job.  You know, just a little something to keep their names in the headlines.  I mean, that bimbo can't possibly have over $10 million in jewelry.  Of course, that may not be the appraised value for her paste rocks, just her idea of what all of that zirconium is worth.
And what about Trump not paying taxes?  Ha, ha.  That his supporters are saying he's a genius for figuring out how to cheat the government?  That's kind of sad. It's Trumplodite mentality all the way.

And I have started looking for another TV.  I have an 8 year old Sony Bravia flat screen now that was rather expensive way back when I bought it.  It has been hoisted around, carried here, moved there, and I've never had a problem with it.  When I emailed Samsung and said I'd be buying a TV from one of their competitors I was right, and it just might be another Sony.

The NRA wants to raise your taxes!

Now I know there are some few sitting out there saying, 'hey, wait, that's not true, the NRA is conservative, they back the Republicans and they will never raise taxes."  This is, of course, false.  Thanks to Wayne LaPierre there is a big debate raging over his idea of putting armed guards in schools.  There are those who are for it and those against it.  What nobody seems to be discussing is that if LaPierre gets his way, who is going to pay the cost?  We're talking salaries here, and they can't be minimum wage pay rates, and then there are uniforms to buy, and weapons, and ammunition and training.  Can you imagine how expensive the training is going to be?  I don't suspect there are many colleges offering a curricula in "School Armed Guard."  And face it, would you want someone with just a GED walking the hallways of your school with a loaded weapon?  Any person hired into this position would need to pass a battery of psychiatric screenings because no one wants a pervert prowling around outside the classrooms.  So, let's say the cost for two armed guards and all of the crap that comes with their hiring adds an additional 80 thousands dollars of expenses to the school district.  Of course, it would be the school district's responsibility because believe me, the NRA wouldn't even consider footing the bill.  Hhhmm, and yet they have no problem making the suggestion.  And how do you think the school district is going to handle this additional expense?  Why, they're going to raise your school taxes.  If you don't think this is how the cost is going to be taken care of, well, you're rather naive.

Do you think he really cares about your taxes?

If the monies don't come from the school district they'll be disbursed by the state.  Do the math.  Multiply the number of school districts  there in your state( 200, 2000, or ten thousand, maybe) by $80k per year.  Holy Mackerel!  That's a lot of moola!  If the NRA has their wish come true the additional taxes will slowly bleed you to death.  Why is it these groups have no problem spending your hard earned money?