Morning Thunder

 The forecasters stated there was a real small chance of thunderstorms with the approaching arctic air mass. They were right, and the thunder woke me before my dog had a chance. I tried to get him to go and take care of his morning business, but after walking onto the porch, and observing the rain, he hesitated, until a clap of thunder led him wanting to go back in. Even with the rain slowing down, I couldn't get him out of the house. He finally went out after the rain stopped, hurried his business, and quickly was back in for his morning meal. 

It was 48 degrees at the time, now it's 42 degrees, the wind is strong from the north, and the forecast is for the temperature to drop to below freezing sometime during the night. The big question is how much of the precipitation will freeze before the rain ends. It's looking like it won't be much, and there is a good chance tomorrow a good portion of the day will be above freezing. That will end tomorrow night, and the temperature will drop to the mid-twenties, which is a better temperature than originally forecast. We'll see, but with the strong effort by our electric utility company over the summer months, the nuisance trees now gone from around the lines will not interrupt our power. I hope their efforts were successful.

Monday night is supposed to be clear, with a temperature in the teens. Schools will probably start late to allow any ice on bridges to melt. It's looking much better than the heavy ice storm we had in the late nineties. That one brought down major power lines, and left us without electricity for a week. 

Rubicon in Minneapolis

Don Lemon, and a bunch of reprobates, decided to invade a church during a service, and terrorized the congregation. That was crossing a line that has no return. May the agitators find their efforts lead to their destruction, and may Lemon find himself as a pariah with nowhere to go but to the bottom of society.

"Going To" and "About To"

When I was supervising crews, some of the standard answers were "I was going to" or "I was about to". I'd watch a new equipment operator crawl into the cab of a machine that cost a half million dollars and ask a question I already knew the answer. "Have you checked out the machine?" They were reaching for the key, when I would ask, and I knew they had no intention of checking the oil, other fluids, and greasing the zerts on the machine. The answer was "I was going to", or "I was about to." It was a standard answer, and indicated my trust would need to be earned, or they would soon need to find a new employer. 

That's were we are as a country. All the new hires have the same answer, and if they think there's any trust, there isn't any at this time. The Clintons are still free, illegal voting is still occurring, the grift is still strong in some states, the debt is growing like mushroom in crap, after a rain, the "deep state" is still muddying the water, judges are still ignoring the Constitution, aliens are still roaming at will, the autopen is still in charge of many important actions, and the media is still cheerleading some of the worst reprobates in history.  It's time for things to happen, and if Trump doesn't know this, he only has three more years to insure someone is checking the machine before the engine starts knocking.

Understanding the Wheels of Justice

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine....or so it's written. If it was a grist mill, the amount of corn being turned into corn meal wouldn't keep a rat alive. Somewhere, in the preponderance of justice, most all attorneys, judges, and prosecutors forgot justice isn't served if those harmed are bankrupted, or die of old age before justice happens.

**spit**

More of the Same

The Clintons are choosing to ignore a Congressional subpoena. So what will happen? Complaining, plenty of posturing, and nothing. In a perfect society, neither would still be here.  

How Much is Enough?

While there isn't an amount reported, it is reported some of the protesters/agitators in major cities are being compensated for their time. It make me wonder how much is enough to get people to endure the weather, spend their time protesting something they don't understand, and create problems that only make their position less tenable. When the most ignorant decide to partake in throwing things, or burning something, there is real danger involved, and with all mobs, the least that can happen is to be injured by those trying to run from the police, or a dangerous situation. 

I don't know what the amount is, but know it's not enough. Push too hard, trigger that final nerve on someone you've frightened, and the result will be some small projectiles much deadlier than the asphalt found on the edge of the pavement. Regardless, when it becomes bad enough, some citizens will take to their roofs with weapons, fire on the mob with impunity, and there will be nobody to collect the money promised for being stupid. 

A Special Brand of Dumbassery

 From reading some news reports, Governor Tim has basically declared war against the United States. When that was tried in the middle of the nineteenth century, there were a lot more people on board with the idea, but the outcome wasn't good. Even if he managed to get a substantial amount of Minneapolis to back him up, I doubt he could get even 1% of the citizens outside the city to join his side. Calling in the National Guard to keep the peace while the protestors continue preventing ICE from doing the job of removing illegal aliens is a foolish wish. The name "National Guard" doesn't describe Governor Tim's personal armed force because he decided to put on a crown. How do I know? It's the word "national". That doesn't describe "state" or "personal security". 

So, my suggestion at this time is to cut to the chase, announce insurrection, secure the state records before Governor Tim burns them all up, and start the prosecutions. Does that sound harsh? Of course it does. Harsh is something people like lying, pieces of crap politicians understand. I almost would pay for a video of them frog walking Tim Walz into jail. 

In With a Bang

My New Year literally started with a bang. My neighbor ensured plenty of noise, bright colors, and bad karaoke. My dog didn't like it, but my wife kept him close, kept the television loud, and comforted him through his perceived threat of mayhem. The surrounding area was filled with loud bangs, which went on for long minutes, after the stroke of midnight. After that, with all the fireworks expended, it was quiet. 

The Venezuela operation sure stirred the pot. One side thinks it's terrible affront to the rules of law. The other side thinks it is an example of the rules of law, and in between there are many wondering what's next. My thinking is that some foreign countries have lost their ability to influence, will stir up trouble every chance they have, and the covert operations by all will lead to some shaky times for the citizens of Venezuela. If I could give them at least one piece of advise, that would be to punish those manipulating elections are severely punished. Honest elections help with the process of dealing with dishonest politicians. 

Tim Walz has reached the pinnacle of his incompetence. While some think he's corrupt, I think he's basically a well manipulated dumbass about to be thrown to the wolves. Many will applaud his leaving office, but unless a few dozen key figures are thrown into jail, the grift will continue. Reality says he's just a small fish in a big sea of corruption. Unless some good examples are set, the stealing of tax dollars will continue.

The local economy is in what I call the annual doldrums. Many companies have a fiscal year that ends on December 31, and the mad dash of budgeting is in progress. My experience in construction showed late in the fiscal year brings some companies to finish spending their budget, but not at the moment. Purchase orders were written for projects, but the work would not be started until after the new year. After that, the new wild guesses, wish lists, ridiculous wants, boiler-housing, budgets would be contemplated by the wizards of bean counting, and those with the power to allow expenditures would see who their favorites were at the moment. The money allocated the previous year now had to be shown as spent, so we had to hurry up and do something to cover somebody's ass. Otherwise, the money might be removed, someone would be dragged across the carpet, and we might lose some work. 

It appears many in the media haven't become any smarter. Instead of reflecting, being honest, and understanding the errors of not reporting facts, too many are doubling down on ignorance, and complaining because their award winning shows are not winning awards with those that watch; and now have stopped doing so. They say you can't fix stupid, but the media is proving it can flourish if you keep feeding it.

We've had exceptionally mild, dry weather for the last month. We had one light freeze in the middle of December, but haven't seen any rain, or severe cold. I've seen this before, and it was a welcome sight for construction workers. Wet, cold weather shuts down projects, or makes it miserable to work in. I'm not in that environment now, but know there are many workers trying to offset the costs of Christmas with any hours they can get. This type of weather is what's needed. 

Sleight of Hand

There are many articles on how to take advantage of tax savings on tips and overtime. The responses are many, with some applauding the actions, while others think it won't do much due to that few will undertake the complexity of sorting out the different incomes from a form that doesn't specify how the taxes were collected. In my opinion, it really doesn't matter. Changing where the tax comes from doesn't relieve the burden. Tax less for wages? Increase excise, and sales taxes to compensate for the problem that is being avoided: Government entities spend too much, don't care how much it burdens citizens, and will always find another way to steal from the labor of their citizens. Tax sleight of hand is the continuing process of fleecing the public, and the public becomes more ignorant every new generation.