Majority Rules

Well, shall we all say hello to Thursday?  For some of you, the day is half over, for us living on the eastern seaboard of the US, the day is just beginning, and for those of you still sleeping farther to our west, don't worry, morning is coming your way.

Today is a workday for me.  6.5 hours.  That means I have a lunchbreak.  I'm taking rice and meatloaf, with lots of tomatoey sauce.  Yum.  Also, 2 bananas for my fresh fruit supplement.  

I have plans to go down to York, PA on Sunday, so I'll probably bake a peach cobbler tomorrow.  And, in case any of you are wondering about my nectarine tree, well, this will be the 3rd year without any fruit.  Not that there weren't any nectarines, it's just that the squirrels have been eating them.  They must find the green, unripened fruit tasty.

As most know, I enjoy Alternative Music.  Some call it Rock, as in rock & roll.  I rarely listen to old music; I've already lived through it once.  Unlike a lot of people, I feel very little need to regularly dance down memory lane.   Give me fresh and new.  The 1975 was founded in 2002, so that means it is not a new band for some, but to me it is.  Any band that can work the word ejaculate into a lyric is pressing the boundaries.  This song is great!

And Lyndsey Graham is trying to quash his subpoena.  Whatever he's hiding must be scaring the shit out of him.  Good.  He's gone to Federal Court to keep from having to lie under oath.

Remember when, after Biden won, all of the pundits, and many, many in the media said the midterms were going to go Republican?  Easy, peasy fact, they said, the winning party always loses in the midterms.  Well, it turns out that they were wrong. the midterms races are closer than Hell.  Oops.  Ain't that a pisser if you happen to be a Republican?  And it also turns out many voters want to upend the system.  They are not happy that a minority party managed to steal the Supreme Court.  They are not happy with having their votes nullified by gerrymandering.  They are fed up with the Electoral College deciding the presidency.  They are sick and tired of their congressmen and congresswomen over riding what they want in order to push party politics.  Basically, a large majority of Americans what to satisfy the majority and put Americans first.  And mostly, it seems, they blame conservatives.  This is not good for a minority party who so desperately feel the need to say, "shut up, we're in charge."

The Clarence Thomas failure

 And this is the beginning of the holiday weekend.  I'm off tomorrow.  No plans.  For me, it's just another day in Central PA.  This means I'll miss all those shoppers looking for a July 4th sale.  If you're going to buy paint, now's a good time... or an appliance.  Of course, many believe sales are store wide, they're not.  Lawn furniture might be on clearance right now, simply because they need to clear out space for the next big merchandising event.

There are nectarines on my tree, but they're small and quite few of them have problems, and I'm not just talking about spots.  Some sort of disease, I believe.  I don't think any of them will be edible.  This will be the 2nd year without a harvest.  If it happens again next year, I'll cut the sucker down.  I don't need a non-producing tree taking up space in my yard.

The cucumbers and cantaloupes have issues, too, of a different nature.  They're planted in small mounds of dirt that came from a bag of topsoil I bought early in the spring.  Well, besides the fruit, I seem to be grown tons of little mushrooms.  Now, isn't that interesting?

And, of course, the Supreme Court is edging the country to the right in regard to voting laws, those rules and regulations white Republicans are putting into place to try and maintain control over the country.  What else can you expect from a mostly white Supreme Court?  Clarence Thomas doesn't count, because he's a black man desperately trying to be white.  That man sold out his black self-esteem a long, long time ago.  He doesn't understand historians are going to see him as more of a traitor to his race then anything else.  I do find it odd that a man who is so virulently anti-abortion has no children, don't you?  It makes you wonder how much hatred he has for his race.

 

The Damned Squirrels ate all my Nectarines!

That's right, every single one of them.  The boughs are empty!  Stripped Bare!

There.  Now that I've gotten that out of my system, things are a little bit better.  Not much, since now I have to buy my nectarines.  I believe there netting you can buy to keep to keep the damned squirrels at bay.  This, I will have to look into.

Presently, I am fasting.  Blood work this morning.  At 0715.  That means I'm drinking my morning coffee black.  They prefer you only drink water, but I like mine flavored and enhanced with caffeine.  Because of Covid 19, everything has gone high tech, except for the drawing of the blood, of course.  I send them a Text when I arrive and they will Text me instructions.  This shall be interesting.

I saw where the Idiot Jerk Tweeted out a picture of him wearing a mask saying those who do likewise are being patriotic.  Boy, did he come to the party late or what?  Oh, and he's going to do a briefing tonight... stop laughing... did you hear me?  Stop Laughing!  This is what desperation looks like, in case you were wondering.  Someone should tell him, you can't change stupid.  And at the same time, he wants to eliminate funding for testing and tracking.  You see, he believes if you don't test, you'll never know how many are infected, and if you don't know how many are infected Covid 19 will go away.  Because in his teeny tiny mind it is no worse than the flu.

Here's another bit of hilarity.  The McKloskey's, those MAGA heads who waved guns at a peaceful protest, have had charges filed against them.  Supposedly, they are both attorneys... with a terrible sense of fashion,  I mean, she got the stripes right, they're just going the wrong way, but the stretchy black yoga pants?  With thighs like hers?  Dear Lord, what was she thinking.

 

Staying Safe

Once again, I managed to get a lot of chores done yesterday.  The lawn is now mowed, however the weeds have not yet been wacked, that will happen this morning.  All my roses were sprayed, as well as the fruit trees.  And in case any of you are wondering, I've got little peaches and nectarines.  I did cut some of the lower branches from the nectarine tree last fall because Biggie could stand there and eat the fruit from them.  In case you didn't know, as in humans, too many nectarines can create gastrointestinal issues in large dogs. Hey, I even got around to baking a loaf of banana nut raisin bread.

There's supposed to be another demonstration by the brain dead, ultra right in downtown Harrisburg today.   They don't understand the 'stay at home' orders are to keep the virus from spreading too fast hospitals are overwhelmed.  For these protesters, that is complex thinking.  Their argument is that the Constitution allows them the right to act like an asswipe.  I agree.  As my friend Patty says, "let them go someplace else and get sick," but make sure they sign a waiver saying they're not going to go to a hospital, but rather stay home and suffer... and maybe die.
And the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the Governor's 'stay at home' orders were unconstitutional.  Of course, 3 of the 5 judges are Conservative Republicans.  Their decision is seen as odd since the state is in the process of reopening.  I suspect that not only are they asswipes, they're asswipes desperately trying to prove their fealty to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
I did get a bit of a laugh when the Idiot Jerk called out Wall Street's billionaire investors on taking advantage of the stock market when it was down.  Of course, this make him look good to his base, but they don't understand that 84% of the stock market is owned by billionaire investors.  Nope.  The fact that crater faced Stevie Mnuchin did this same thing in 2008 doesn't enter their consciousness.  Of course, if you're a billionaire who doesn't criticize the  future of the economy, just quietly takes advantage of the falling stock market then you're okay.
The best thing any of us can do until we vote this imbecile out of office and into jail is stay safe.  Wear you mask, practice social distancing, and decontaminate and we will outlive both these dinosaurs and the faltering economy.

Separating Church and State

Sunday.  Yippee.  Yesterday morning the store manager asked if I'd work my first 2 hours in paint today.  No problem.  Homer buckets (5 gallon orange buckets) have been set up as a barricade in front of the desk to keep customers back and obligatory 6 feet.  There are dumbshits out there, you know?
As far as the flooring department goes, I got one call yesterday from a customer who had been measured and was questioning when the installs were going to begin.  My response:  "installs have been stopped until further notice."  The day before I received a call from a whining woman who's daughter's living room was supposed to get measured... and that was cancelled.  She wanted to be first up on the list when they started measuring again.  I put her in the system for 4/10, the first day available.  I told her that might change.  She's one of those simple minds who simply don't understand. 
If you read Random Thoughts you know Treaders lockdown was extended.  She seems to be handling it well.  When that happens in America (and it's on it's way) people are going to go bat shit crazy.  I know because yesterday the store was filled with browsers again; couples pushing around a shopping cart with just one can of spray paint, or a box of screws.  When asked, they will tell you, "we're just looking."  The idea that more people congregate in one area, the higher your risk gets for being infected.
And, speaking for congregating, Covid - 19 is giving us all a primary reason for why there needs to be a separation of Church and State.  A minority group of Americans has managed to get a dumb ass into the White House and he is going to try and give these Zealots every wish their selfish little hearts desire.  Because they are Zealots concerned only with their personal, selfish beliefs, they will ignore what is happening to the rest of the world.  It's only about themselves.  They beliefs put them above everyone else, they make them special.  Once this shit is over, we need to enforce the separation of Church and State.  They can believe what ever they want, we just need to take the power away from them and never let them have it again.
Finally, yesterday we had rain, slow and soaking through most of the day.  Last evening we had thunderstorms, with more noise than anything else.  In the afternoon, though, I ran out and snapped another picture of my nectarine blossoms in the rain.

Mike and Barbara?

Something is eating my nectarines!  I have no idea what... some sort of buggy things.  It's actually not that upsetting.  I hadn't planned on being able to harvest any this year.  I'm off tomorrow and that's one of my yard work chores.
In my Trek Riding Challenge I am 98,983 in the rankings.  That sounds bad, right?  Well, there are actually 41, 208 cyclists who are doing worse than I am.  Oh, and I hit 50 miles yesterday.  Also, I can tell you that some of the few ahead of me have over 1000 miles in so far this month.  Think of that, the month is not even half over and they've already traveled more than 1000 miles on their bikes.
One of the things I did to aid myself in learning Greek was to print off a copy of the alphabet.  For me, learning a language has always depended upon specific sounds with specific letters.  Showing me a word with letters I've completely unfamiliar with is not the way to teach me, especially when at some point I'm going to have to write Greek... and that depends on spelling.  I also write down the new words I'm given.  You need to be familiar with the Eta, Beta, Theta... if you know what I mean.
On Jeff Epstein: there are a lot of words being written about how he, as a sex offender, a jailbird, managed to get so many of the rich and powerful to turn their heads.  He lent his jet to the rich and famous.  Here is a very small list of those many who flew Little Lolita down to Florida:

The names include well-known performers, including Ralph Fiennes, Alec Baldwin, David Blaine, Jimmy Buffett and Courtney Love; media figures including Charlie Rose, Mike Wallace and Barbara Walters; former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, former British prime minister Tony Blair, industrialist David Koch and the late Salomon Brothers Chief Executive Officer John Gutfreund and his wife, Susan.

Holy Shit!  Barbara Walters!  Mike Wallace!  It wasn't just Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton, there were a whole slew of people.  So, were all these people being flown down to one of his parties?  No. Before we blindly brand everybody with Epstien's evil we need to get to the truth.  He is not some dolt, like the Idiot Jerk in the White House, rather he is exceptional when it comes to muddying up the waters.  The truth he doesn't want you to see is there, all you need to do is filter the water first.  His purpose has always been to do what he wants by covering his ass.  Tell me, do you really thing Mike Wallace and Barbara Walters got massages from 14 year old girls?

Of course, you never can tell.  Maybe they made a sandwich with Tony Blair...

Oh, my, did I really write that?

I was wrong! Sort of...

So, evidently the terms in the US / Mexico agreement had been agreed to by both countries weeks before the Idiot Jerk in the White House began shrieking about tariffs.  Fool on me for believing this Moral Degenerate had successfully managed to badger a foreign country into submission.  On the other hand, we all now know for certain this little shit charade was aimed directly at his racist base.  They squeal with delight every time he puts on one of these little dictator masquerades.  They will never understand his administration is nothing more than a two bit funhouse filled with cheap trickery, just like his life.
Anyway, it's Sunday.  I'm off.  I'm going to see "Rocketman" this evening.
Oh, and I have to mow my grass this afternoon - tomorrow it's supposed to be rainy.
Cori, the woman who does the artwork for my books, has lived on farms for most of her life.  She tells me my big, black snakey friend has probably been living here for some time.  My catching a glance of him on my back sidewalk was extremely rare.  That's fine with me.  I'm tired of having to put mousetraps out every fall.  This is how nature works, you know?
And my peaches are maturing:

There are only seven peaches on the tree, but I guess that's just fine for the first crop.  Here's a closeup of one:

The only problem is that they're small... about the size of large plums.  I thought it was a full size tree, but it's a dwarf so I guess this is about as good as it gets.

On the other hand, my nectarine tree has 17 nectarines.  It is not a dwarf, so will grow to between 15 and 20 feet in height.  This means I'll end up with baskets of nectarines.

The Value of Threats

Another late day of blogging.  Well, it is a day off for me.  And it's sunny.  And I mowed my lawn yesterday which means I don't have to do it today.  Not that I don't have things to do.  In a bit I'm going to be planting the nectarine tree I bought by accident.  That's right.  The big tag on the branch said peach, however  after I got it home and looked at the little plastic tag I saw it was a nectarine.  Shit.  Of course, I eat both peaches, nectarines and plums... apricots are delicious, too.

Biggie investigates

I had breakfast with my brother this morning.  We talked about my book.  Paperback copies can now be ordered by clicking here.  I gave him the title of the next one.  In case you're wondering, writing can be addicting.  I also have the option of having it sold as an audio-book.  I'm debating that.  I don't know how people would react to hearing Bobby Tussel talk about his sloppy eggs.

Oh, and a funny thing is happening down in Washington.  The Senate has the FBI report on their investigation of Ford and Kavanaugh.  Amazing that they didn't talk to either one of them.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House said that was off limits.  Oh, and each senator can only look at this paper document for only one hour in a secure place because of its... confidentiality.  Adding to the chaos is the Idiot Jerk's rally in Mississippi, where, in front of an all-white crowd, he mocked Christine Blasey Ford.  My, the Chinese must be right, he does have a big brain....  Stop laughing!  Now!!  Do I need to bring out Sister Mary Elephant?

And, as I said, I had breakfast with my brother this morning.  Towards the end of the meal he brought of the 2020 presidential elections, asking who I thought would run from the Democrats.  I told him I thought it was too early to even speculate, that maybe after the midterms we might have a better idea.  He asked again, so I told him I thought possibly Elizabeth Warren might run.  He nodded, and  said, I could get behind her.....  Okay, do I need to threaten you with Sister Mary Elephant again?