The Luddite would be moi and the adjustment (based on serious interaction with some serious and expensive consultants) is that I will no longer list all your names and email addresses when I send this out. You will receive "blind copies" to insure your privacy. Enough said since otherwise I will get tangled in the poisonous weeds of nerd talk.
Moving on to the Boston Globe which is trying to survive by cutting the number of pages printed and by increasing the number of animal stories and pretending that they are newsworthy. To wit (and these first two are direct quotes): "Equine trooper Elliot mourned"; and "beloved Lynn cat missing after theft". So we have a dead horse and a missing cat. In the case of the cat, the robbers might have stolen millions but it is the cat which is taking the lead. The horse business is pathetic since there is a clear implication that this animal is a human. During this same period, the Globe had a story about an escaped calf, one about the introduction of rattlesnakes into state property, and about a seal swimming in the river. We know all of these are real stories since they appeared with journalist's by lines. Seriously, give me a fucking break.
Bruce is not going to North Carolina and neither am I. Nor to Georgia or Mississippi. But Jimmy Buffet is and I will heretofore never buy one of his albums--didn't want to disappoint his fans. Fuck him. Ditto to Tennessee and Mississippi. At least the Governor of Georgia vetoed legislation in that fine state but only because of economic pressure not belief in equity. I am prepared (as if it matters) to just give the South to the Donald except perhaps for my old stomping grounds of Florida--where Hilary might actually win.
Speaking of which. I am thinking Hilary will be nominated and also been revising my thoughts about the Donald. I am getting a bit more worried about him though I continue to believe every woman, every Hispanic voter, every LGBT voter, and every African American voter will be voting for her. She just gotta get to the Bernie voters and it would help if he (and our terrific senator, Elizabeth Warren) got off their tushes and supported her. My big worry about her are those damn emails and I expect that when the race really starts, so will the leaks or the formal release of the investigations--and they will not be pretty. But, oh my, who will he nominate to the Supreme Court? An excellent piece (and not flattering) about her hawkishness in last week's NY Times magazine.
In that same magazine, an very depressing but great article about the police in Chicago. Rahm Emanuel is in deep doo doo with the citizenry in that city and deservedly so considering his being tone deaf and arrogant.
Simply continue to be out of words for the Donald. I am also speechless and,, as I mentioned, the worry quotient is increasing. Am closely following Nate Silver and some very important Senate races--in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and NH.
This is a serious paragraph about sports but I urge you to consider reading on. Richard Deitsch writes for SI.Com. He is , in my mind, the best journalist writing about sports media. His recent column linked me to a video about two female sportswriters and the hate mail they receive. But this is how it was filmed. Men who were friends of the producers (and not the haters) sat across from the women and read the emails and twits to them. The men were often in tears and apologized profusely for having to read them. The women were brave and stoic and almost had an attitude of "so what else is new". Very powerful stuff and if I knew how to link........but that's the luddite business so we have come full circle.
Final word: Had a great time with my mishpacha (look it up) in the DR.
SPORTS TALK
"It's kind of like training with a weight vest on". A direct quote from a U.S. woman who is pregnant and an Olympian and is in training for the next Winter Olympics. Wish I had that strength. No baseball until July 4th but my boys are already in trouble. The Bruins just died at the end and no one can score. Chiarelli fucked them good both in terms of the cap and in terms of trades (remember Seguin? Hamilton?). The Celtics are gone also but I loved watching.
Adios
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Saturday, April 2, 2016
WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I?
Not the kind that writes a blog on April Fool's Day, so there--BAM! Moving on to items of utmost seriousness.
--Each year the St. Patrick's Day parade is held in South Boston. Southie is the neighborhood which had the most virulent anti busing riots when desegregation came to the schools here. In the olden days (as a close relative of mine refers to it), the period leading up to the parade was always marked by controversy. First, the folks did not want any black people to march; then, there could be no Veterans against the war in Vietnam; and, more recently, the organizers could not tolerate having GLBT people involved. Litigation followed each of these decisions right up to the date of the event. This year the route of the parade was to change--right back to court they went. The man who directed the parade was consistently referred to as "Wacko" Hurley (seriously, I could not make it up). I don't know if that was his real first name or not--but they have long memories in Southie and might even now prefer covered wagons and candles to cars and electricity.
--50,000 American soldiers died in Vietnam. But we have normalized relations with them, trade with them, visit each other's country, and generally treat them as a partner. Vietnam is a dictatorship. 90 miles away lies Cuba--another dictatorship. The Bay of Pigs was not a war--it was an invasion and it failed miserably. Because of the rabid Cuban Americans (mainly in Miami), we continue to have a blockade/embargo in place against Cuba. Republicans in Congress are berserk over Obama's visit there. The same Republicans criticize and want to eliminate the immigrants trying to come here from Central America; but welcome one and all from Cuba. Get over it. Anyone who saw Obama's welcome there knows the Cuban people, despite being so limited because of their politics and our own, love American people. It was a terrific moment in history.
--Cannot continue to go after the Donald but according to polls, he is likely to lose in Wisconsin (as is Hilary). I do, of course, have to say say something! Maureen Dowd in the NY Times of 3/20 had an excellent editorial focusing on the Donald and the assault committed by his campaign manager. More pridefully, the Association of Reformed Rabbis boycotted his speech at the AIPAC conference--for those in the dark, AIPAC is the ultra conservative Jewish group made up of gazillionaires who cannot tolerate a two state solution. Good for the rabbis. Another Times editorial by David Brooks excoriated the Donald.
--I am back to following Nate Silver on his 538 blog. Currently predicting Hilary losing Wisconsin but winning NY, Pa., and Maryland. Not sure how Bernie will recover from that but he has been resilient.
--The recent 4-4 vote in the Supreme Court is interesting even though I cannot totally explain the case. The bottom line is that the death of Scalia has really balanced the Supremes--the four liberals can now "win" cases since a tie will support their position. Btw. this new guy who may never get appointed is also a member of my tribe. That should send the anti semites into orbit.
--FYI. I will return from a long period of sunbathing in time for an entry in honor of May Day.
SPORTS TALK
--I need to speak with the person who keeps track of NHL statistics. It seems impossible for the Bruins to be the second highest scoring team in the league--despite their 6 goals last night. Even though both teams lost, congrats to the Bentley women's BB team and the BC women's hockey team for wonderful seasons. The UConn women look unbeatable and a kerfuffle has arisen over whether or not they are "good" for their sport. Raised mainly by male writers. Those writers should just shut up and watch some fine basketball.
Adios
--Each year the St. Patrick's Day parade is held in South Boston. Southie is the neighborhood which had the most virulent anti busing riots when desegregation came to the schools here. In the olden days (as a close relative of mine refers to it), the period leading up to the parade was always marked by controversy. First, the folks did not want any black people to march; then, there could be no Veterans against the war in Vietnam; and, more recently, the organizers could not tolerate having GLBT people involved. Litigation followed each of these decisions right up to the date of the event. This year the route of the parade was to change--right back to court they went. The man who directed the parade was consistently referred to as "Wacko" Hurley (seriously, I could not make it up). I don't know if that was his real first name or not--but they have long memories in Southie and might even now prefer covered wagons and candles to cars and electricity.
--50,000 American soldiers died in Vietnam. But we have normalized relations with them, trade with them, visit each other's country, and generally treat them as a partner. Vietnam is a dictatorship. 90 miles away lies Cuba--another dictatorship. The Bay of Pigs was not a war--it was an invasion and it failed miserably. Because of the rabid Cuban Americans (mainly in Miami), we continue to have a blockade/embargo in place against Cuba. Republicans in Congress are berserk over Obama's visit there. The same Republicans criticize and want to eliminate the immigrants trying to come here from Central America; but welcome one and all from Cuba. Get over it. Anyone who saw Obama's welcome there knows the Cuban people, despite being so limited because of their politics and our own, love American people. It was a terrific moment in history.
--Cannot continue to go after the Donald but according to polls, he is likely to lose in Wisconsin (as is Hilary). I do, of course, have to say say something! Maureen Dowd in the NY Times of 3/20 had an excellent editorial focusing on the Donald and the assault committed by his campaign manager. More pridefully, the Association of Reformed Rabbis boycotted his speech at the AIPAC conference--for those in the dark, AIPAC is the ultra conservative Jewish group made up of gazillionaires who cannot tolerate a two state solution. Good for the rabbis. Another Times editorial by David Brooks excoriated the Donald.
--I am back to following Nate Silver on his 538 blog. Currently predicting Hilary losing Wisconsin but winning NY, Pa., and Maryland. Not sure how Bernie will recover from that but he has been resilient.
--The recent 4-4 vote in the Supreme Court is interesting even though I cannot totally explain the case. The bottom line is that the death of Scalia has really balanced the Supremes--the four liberals can now "win" cases since a tie will support their position. Btw. this new guy who may never get appointed is also a member of my tribe. That should send the anti semites into orbit.
--FYI. I will return from a long period of sunbathing in time for an entry in honor of May Day.
SPORTS TALK
--I need to speak with the person who keeps track of NHL statistics. It seems impossible for the Bruins to be the second highest scoring team in the league--despite their 6 goals last night. Even though both teams lost, congrats to the Bentley women's BB team and the BC women's hockey team for wonderful seasons. The UConn women look unbeatable and a kerfuffle has arisen over whether or not they are "good" for their sport. Raised mainly by male writers. Those writers should just shut up and watch some fine basketball.
Adios
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