BARR(ING) MUELLER

I may have (and I actually think I did) put too much faith in what the Mueller investigation would produce.  My distrust of POTUS and his ugly pronouncements contributed to my over the top faith in the report.  Now it appears we are to see the "redacted" version of the report this week.  I get it--some things likely need to be kept secret.  But I'm in an even less trusting mood about this shit given that Barr, selected by POTUS, will be the redacter-in-charge.  I believe that Cuomo guy wondered why we should even trust Barr since you know who picked him. A fair question.  Moving on.

--Speaking of POTUS:  He is closing the border;  he is building a wall that Mexico will pay for; and he wants to totally eliminate Obamacare because he has a better plan known only to him.  What does this say about us?
--I'm so far ahead of the curve.  Flew a couple of times in the last week and wondered on each fight about this:  terrific technology allows planes to use radar and other gizmos to fly "blindly".  Why is it so hard to figure out the passenger loading process.  It is a mess on virtually all flights on all airlines.
Then in this weekend's NYT travel section--a whole article on how specific airlines board passengers.  You must be glad you heard it here almost first.
--Only in Florida item:  a Cassowary (a bird native to Australia) killed its owner down there in the sunshine state.  The man fell and the bird pounced on him for lunch or dinner or just a snack.
--How's this for a seamless transition?  From the Globe:
   1.  A bear killed a horse someplace in my fine state.
   2.  A wild turkey attacked a woman in Cambridge and she was "scared".
   3.  Twenty pets and one resident escaped a fire.
All of this was considered vital news by the fine editors at the Globe. Notice in item 3, how the pets preceded the person.
--The National Football League is frequently called the No Fun League (NFL--get it?).  I'm now ready to call Boston the NFC--the No Fun City.  Legislators have nothing better to do than trying to limit the number of restaurants that want to have beer patios.  They also screamed loud and often
about the TV show SMILF for its brutally honest portrayal of a single mother in Southie.  And they totally screwed up the stupid casino regulations.  EECH.
--In the dark ages I worked for non profits providing services to children, adolescents, and their families.  It is so disheartening to read articles now that document the same problems we struggled with 10 and 20 years ago--e.g.  the foster care system is a mess and kids languish in ER's for lack of beds in residential programs.  And I do not believe money is necessarily the answer.
--Now, some wonderful stuff.  SD was on the Today show using acupuncture on Al Roker.  Her parents have been kvelling.
--Our Governor gets worse hair cuts than me.
--Our VP, who is as stupid as a rock, believes South Bend Mayor Buttigeg is attacking his faith.  I never thought we might be better off with Pence taking over.
--The last episodes of Broad City were tear jerkers--the Jewesses (and those are their words) have left us kind of bereft.
--Iris Dement sings that it is too hard for things to be easy.
--If you celebrate either Passover or Easter, have good holidays.

Shalom.

COURAGE COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT COLORS

Went to the Boston Public Library yesterday (its recent renovation/addition is simply spectacular) to see five brief films made by and made about immigrants in the Metro Boston area.  The subjects were from:  India, Bhutan, Uganda, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.  One had been in a refugee camp with his family for 17 years before coming to America.  One was a DACA child and is now a college graduate.  One left his country because the national religion was Muslim and he was a practicing Christian.  Both the filmmakers and their subjects have more courage than me and, unlike me, they still believe in the "American dream".  Work hard and your social/financial/emotional rewards will follow.  But you have to get here first   And POTUS and his slap happy crew are doing everything they can to make sure fewer get here. Better stock up on abodes in case the border is shut. Any of you claiming to be a Mayflower descendant?  Native American?

Moving on:

--Oh that Boston Globe.  A headline:  "2 dogs, a cat, and some people".  Turns out all survived but check out the order!!
--On the other hand a great column in the Globe by Yvonne Abraham.  Her focus was on New Zealand and how their Prime Minister responded to the murders of Muslims praying.  She wrote it as a letter to the Prime Minister asking her for citizenship.
--Climate change is a hoax and no need for vaccinations.  Some imaginary ideas from science non-believers.
--Mike Pompeo believes "God sent Trump to us".  While in the Holy Land our Secretary of State came up with that brilliant thought.  He is an ugly embarrassment.
--Speaking of which, Betsy DeVos wants to cut the Special Olympics.  Seriously--let's just pick on another group that we can  step on.  Leadership is not what this POTUS and crew are about.
--POTUS remains obsessed with Hilary and McCain.  Continues to go after them.  Claims he is responsible for approving use of the National Cathedral for McCain's funeral service.  The Cathedral's religious leaders promptly reply that is not true.  But no retraction just more gibberish from POTUS.
--"Womb Cleaning and Connection Ceremony".  That is the title of a hand out I picked up in my neighborhood last week.  I am trying to be open minded here and not offend too many people but I have no clue what this is about and I am kind of thinking I don't want to know.
--If I hear one more word from defenders of Robert Kraft that inform me of his wife and his religion and how they guide his 
life, I will puke.  I have no clue why he is fighting this charge but if it prolongs his stay in the gutter, then that's fine by me.
--Are we supposed to understand Felicity Huffman and the other Hollywoodites who used bribes to get their kids into Ivy League schools?
--Watching Belmont play Temple in an early NCAA game was eerie.  I did not know there were any teams in the 
tourney that were both all white and tattoo-less.  That's Belmont.
--Speaking of which, a very much younger relative (OH) of mine was doing better than me in selecting winners.  I just got 
wiped out.  But Zion is positively a handful.
--Federal judges continue to block POTUS and his attempts to drill in Alaska.  Another reason to say my nightly prayer for RBG.
-- Going to Beto's home state on a big silver bird. Hoping for some barby.

Sayonara