RANDOM THOUGHTS AND A POPURRI OF RANTS

--Justice Ginsburg's opera partner (that would be Justice Scalia) has passed away.  I cannot imagine that she would go with Clarence.  Speaking of whom, what will he do without his shepherd to lead him? Will he dare to speak?
--Ah, but we do have every Republican in the universe smacking the Prez around already--how dare he try to appoint someone to fill the seat.  Really--what is he supposed to do just sit around for the next 10 months because they scare him and think they will win the White House?  I think he should appoint someone of color--preferably a woman--and let the Republicans fight that in an election year.
--Chris Christie has pulled out but not before our Governor endorsed him.  Our Governor is in the enviable position of being able to appoint 4 or perhaps 5 Justices to our state Supreme Court.  Which has a mandatory retirement age--even though those Justices in DC do not.  How can that be the case?  Since he supports gay marriage and abortion, I am not too worried about these appointments.  I do wonder about his commitment to cities specifically urban transportation.  I bet he has never ridden the T and likely has a skewed suburban kind of head set.  But if it is good for business, Charley will support it.
--Speaking of Christie, he used his time here in our environs very well--saw the Boss in Boston on one of his nights off.  Be gone, big guy.
--Umm, I think Gloria and Madeline ought to keep their fucking mouths shut.  Hilary has enough problems without them going off on young women who do not support her.
--Thanks to James Surowiecki (in the New Yorker), I now know that gas prices going down means stocks will go down in tandem.  Even though falling gas prices actually help the economy.  Go figure.
--I rarely agree with David Brooks but he is really very very bright.  He more or less wished that the current group of Republican candidates had the civility, integrity, and thoughtfulness of Obama. And Brooks, in general, is not a big fan of Obama
--The Cruzer and the Donald are really slugging it out--I do hope the Donald sues the Cruzer over his citizenship.  A terrific sideshow though a close relative of mine is very worried that come November we will not like the choices of our fellow Americans. Ezra Klein (a terrific writer) wrote online at a site called "Vox" that he is also very worried about the Donald.  I love Ezra but I am not sure I agree.  I think these bullies are beatable though I am not sure Bernie is the one to do it. After all, he is a socialist.  And, oh by the way, I do not like his near denial of his religion.
--From my Senior north of the border correspondent--When did our society become so focused on celebrity and how pathetic is that?  I have no answer though I suspect that the "new" 24/7 media cycle does not help.  Everything is news and, therefore, I expect cameras down here in the man cave any minute.
--Jill Lepore, a Harvard Professor, wrote an article (also in the New Yorker) about the death of a toddler here in Boston.  A depressing article to be sure--made all the more so because the week it came out, another Boston toddler was abused and died.  It will not stop until someone with awfully big cojones (man or woman) is able to re-order the child welfare system in favor of prevention over tertiary intervention.
--What can I say about the Flint water fiasco?  Those Republicans cut costs any place they can get away with it and public health be damned.  The city has a state appointed overseer who saved a lot of money and jeopardized the health of every person living there.
--The religious powers that be in Israel have agreed to allow women and non Orthodox men to pray at the wailing wall in Jerusalem.  But the right wing religious zealots have gotten enraged and I can only wonder if Netanyahu will cave in and over rule that decision.  His administration depends on the support of those creepy zealots.
--Finally, news you have all been waiting for:  Had my colonoscopy and while not clean as a whistle, I do not have to return for five years.  The place I go to is a fucking factory--already expanded to another floor and lined up with patients.
--The next edition of this fine screed will find me having entered my 8th decade.  Yikes.

SPORTS TALK
I'm actually not sure Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics is an all star but he is loads of fun to watch--I mean he is shorter than me!!  Rick Pitino is up to his neck in an alligator swamp full of hookers and staff soliciting them and all sorts of ugliness.  But Ricky had no knowledge--this from a known control freak.  Marchand may be the hottest scorer in the NHL but the Bruins are tough to watch.

Adios