Price Increases

 The for this weekend is going to be Soggy.  Ophelia has arrived.  Now, I know that most of you out there think of Shakespeare when you hear that name, as she was the one told to "git theeself to a nunnery," and, of course, before the young thing can go, she ends up drowning.  In current day, however, Ophelia is a tropical storm which may become a baby hurricane for a little bit, and she's churning up the east coast with her final destination being somewhat south and west of us.  Right now the prediction is that we're going to get at least 2 inches of rain, possibly more.  I hope Bob and Carlos have their waders ready because they're probably going to get a few more inches then we do here in Central PA.

The rain is going to drive retail sales down.  For those who need some form of definition: today and tomorrow are going to be slow at the great orange retailer I work for.  This means I'll be sitting quietly at the flooring desk, most likely making notes for the smashing conclusion of The Body in Motion.  

I saw where Amazon Prime is going to begin charging those customers who wish to avoid commercials.  They're saying this is necessary to pay for the extensive entertainment they are providing.  Wrong.  For those of you who aren't paying attention, there's a writer's and an actor's strike going on right now and I don't doubt that studios, including Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, will give those striking much of what they want, but it is you and I who will be footing the bill.  Corporate profit is everything to these entertainment behemoths.  What viewer really need to do is start a boycott to reign in these price increases.  Hah!  That will never happen.  People are too weak.  What would they do if they couldn't watch Peacock, or Paramount +?  Read a book?

Paradoxically, and possibly on a bright note, once the strike is over production is going to begin on Troll 2.

And, as you might expect, the country is turning to the chaos that has overwhelmed the Republican party.  Their Just Say No tactic is backfiring is a very public way, with many media outlets now pointing to the complete collapse of what ever governing skills they might have once had.  Their refusal to compromise may satisfy that vary small minority that makes up the ultra-far right, but the rest of the nation is looking at them and a total failure of the conservative movement.  Of course, they don't get it because that would mean their beliefs are anti-American, keep in mind, however that in their vision, American has a far right, authoritarian government.