Thursday, February 14, 2019
This does not bode well for the GOP
The right wing casually overlooks that trump was outvoted by >11M votes in 2016 in the popular vote, his winning margin in the EC was one of the smallest ever, his popularity rating hovers near and drops below 40%, that Democrats outvoted Republicans by 10M votes in 2018, that Republicans seriously underperformed in Senate elections gaining only two seats given that they should have won many more, and were totally clobbered in House elections when the Democrats picked up >40 seats.
Squirrel Patrol
I worked cleaning national park bathrooms one summer >30 years ago.* One morning I walked into one and found a squirrel in the toilet next to the window. No partner that day, no cellphones to call animal services, just me and my cleaning supplies.
I put on my hat and jacket, zipped it up, buttoned it up, doubled up on the gloves, grabbed my tools and went in to do something about the situation.
The little guy couldn't get any kind of a grip on the wet porcelain. He freaked out a little bit when I first stuck the Johnny brush* in the bowl, but soon realized I was there to help him. I managed to get him out of the cold water and onto the dustpan. He stayed still, as did I. I slowly walked out watching him shiver so much. I put him down on a warm, sunny dirt area and stepped back. He didn't move. I waited a good five minutes for him to make a move. I didn't want to leave him there cold, shivering, and possibly in clear view of predators on the ground and in the sky. After a while, I tried to spook him into moving into cover in the scree nearby. He moved a little bit, but not very far. After another five minutes or so, I had to get back to work. So I left him there, went in and cleaned one side. I came out and he was gone. I hope he made it to the rocks.
* I told myself that I would never do that job, cleaning toilets and bathrooms, anywhere else on Earth, and I never have in the 30+ years since. I called myself the *campground artist* because I worked with a ‘brush.’* *At this point in my life, I wouldn't even do that job there despite it being one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and that season being one of my most memorable ones ever.
The little guy couldn't get any kind of a grip on the wet porcelain. He freaked out a little bit when I first stuck the Johnny brush* in the bowl, but soon realized I was there to help him. I managed to get him out of the cold water and onto the dustpan. He stayed still, as did I. I slowly walked out watching him shiver so much. I put him down on a warm, sunny dirt area and stepped back. He didn't move. I waited a good five minutes for him to make a move. I didn't want to leave him there cold, shivering, and possibly in clear view of predators on the ground and in the sky. After a while, I tried to spook him into moving into cover in the scree nearby. He moved a little bit, but not very far. After another five minutes or so, I had to get back to work. So I left him there, went in and cleaned one side. I came out and he was gone. I hope he made it to the rocks.
* I told myself that I would never do that job, cleaning toilets and bathrooms, anywhere else on Earth, and I never have in the 30+ years since. I called myself the *campground artist* because I worked with a ‘brush.’* *At this point in my life, I wouldn't even do that job there despite it being one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and that season being one of my most memorable ones ever.