I thought I could withstand the pressure from you readers but due to overwhelming demand, I am dropping this in mid-July and swear you won't hear from me again until Labor Day or thereabouts. That demand thingy in the previous sentence was fake news. But, in terms of real news, I am starting with some soft serves.
If any of you doubted or continue to doubt the impact of Title IX on women's sports, I present to you the world champion U.S. women's soccer team. Virtually beat all of your Europe's best and please do not tell me how much better European teams have gotten. Perhaps they are better but then the Americans have also improved. The penalty resulting in a penalty kick was iffy; but Rose crunched a goal off her left foot and that was enough.
A BIT OF SPORTS TALK (Skip on down if you must):
--Since we are two weeks beyond the 4th of July, I promised some baseball thoughts. The red Flops bullpen is in tatters but I still think in the end they will be a playoff team. Just too many excellent hitters. My Yanks are playing out of their minds but my translation of that is that they are also playing way over their heads with thin starters but a very deep bullpen. A Labor Day update is in the cards. That baseball game in London was stupid and both teams stunk.
Now lets get serious. More or less two exact quotes from our crack team of Border Patrol agents on the Southern border:
--"You can just look into their eyes and know they are or will be gang members".
--"Immigrant children can just leave the shelters even if they are just 10".
On top of which, we have the discovery of all those racist emails on some sort of secret website used by the agents. OK, fine not all of them. But enough so that the culture is infected. A positive culture depends on shared values and respect for the "customers" being served--in these cases the immigrants. A culture requires a leader who can define those values and who can enforce adherence to them. We have seen no such leadership.
--Some Congressmen/women visited some of the shelters where sleeping apparently has to be done in shifts because there is no horizontal room for laying down. They were appalled. Pence went and prayed on it and wished we could talk more civilly. Wonder what Mother Pence says/thinks.
--OOOH, Kelly Anne wants to know the ethnicity of a reporter. What is that about although already being on edge, I can guess she wanted to slime him. Glad he refused to answer.
--POTUS really believes he was a super genius at Wharton. And has no racist bones in his body.
--I do love the "squad" but I worry POTUS will distract us with attacks on them.
--Listen up, Spuds: You can draw a direct solid line from POTUS to 3 southern governors. Wallace of Ala., Maddox of Ga, and Barnett of Miss. Back in the day, they also appealed to white nationalists and eventually faded away. I worry this guy will not--not with the support of those silent Republicans and the evangelical Christians. It's just about the judiciary which in turn is about overturning Roe V. Wade.
--I missed the parade--did I miss anything other than bombers in the air and tanks on the ground?
--And then a suburban synagogue north of Boston was leafletted with fascist slogans aka "make America great again".
--Some of my most consistent readers believe we should "do something" about the Great White sharks. Besides getting the fuck out of the water, what is that we should do? Maybe kill all the seals so the sharks starve or relocate them? It is called wildlife for a reason--it is wild and such is life.
--More to come, god willing, in September.
Shalom
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Friday, June 21, 2019
IN OLDEN TIMES
In the fabulous 60's, some of us chose to join VISTA as a way to delay our exposure to the draft. I will avoid a discussion of the implications of that. But, as a volunteer, you were an actual employee of the Federal government. The good news about that was that we regularly opened our mailbox and found a check!! We also ate a lot of surplus Velveeta cheese. But, here comes the point: we were also subject to the Hatch Act. You know that law which restricts federal employees from using their employee status to advocate for or against political candidates. You know that law that Kelly Anne
just got busted for and that POTUS will certainly ignore. No surprise--the unpleasant entanglements posed by existing laws like the Hatch Act need not be followed. Moving on.
--The continuation of the war against people of color and/or poor people is undiminished. SNAP, which essentially is what we used to call the food stamp program, has been under attack. Stores like 7/11 do not want to follow regulations which tend to support healthy food choices. It is basically too much trouble. Now many of those stores are in low income neighborhoods whose residents have no access to supermarkets. So let the folks buy cigarettes and liquor but not bananas.
--Does anyone else look at Jared and believe he is old before his time? Does he ever wear a T shirt or go without a tie? We all know he would have been hated in High School.
--So excited when I was recently on our North Shore--I actually saw a Dairy Queen and a Sonic. While seeing all those ads (especially the Sonic one with the 2 knuckleheads sitting in a car), I was dying to figure out where they were located. Don't go West young man; just go North.
--Nate "the great" Silver sent me an email urging me to send money to a number of candidates. Nate is the same guy who lulled me into believing Hillary would win. Now these might be good people to support, but why should I believe Nate?
--Speaking of which, I am ignoring all polls predicting an election 16 months from now. I am also refusing to watch the Democratic debates--there are too many candidates and I am worried Joltin' Joe might actually get nominated. Say it aint so, Joe!! Call me when it is "mano v (wo)mano".
--From the fine pages of the Boston Globe: A picture of a bulldog undergoing surgery for swallowing a disgusting number of pacifiers. And we saw his iv's too. Then our crack but corrupt State Police
rescued 12 ducklings from a sewer.
--Mitch and his wife really do need to be kicked to the curb. She has now been revealed to be a double dipping thief. We know marble mouth Mitch just wants to appoint right wing judges.
--Between "nasty women" and the loser who is mayor of London, POTUS has had a great time calling people names but not doing a fucking thing except almost bombing Iran. I said almost.
-- The high temperature range in Austin this coming week: between 93 and 100. Get that AC going now. I will be heading in that direction for an important/happy celebration.
--And a reminder. I won't be bothering you again until the fall. Have a good summer and a good Shabbos.
Shalom
just got busted for and that POTUS will certainly ignore. No surprise--the unpleasant entanglements posed by existing laws like the Hatch Act need not be followed. Moving on.
--The continuation of the war against people of color and/or poor people is undiminished. SNAP, which essentially is what we used to call the food stamp program, has been under attack. Stores like 7/11 do not want to follow regulations which tend to support healthy food choices. It is basically too much trouble. Now many of those stores are in low income neighborhoods whose residents have no access to supermarkets. So let the folks buy cigarettes and liquor but not bananas.
--Does anyone else look at Jared and believe he is old before his time? Does he ever wear a T shirt or go without a tie? We all know he would have been hated in High School.
--So excited when I was recently on our North Shore--I actually saw a Dairy Queen and a Sonic. While seeing all those ads (especially the Sonic one with the 2 knuckleheads sitting in a car), I was dying to figure out where they were located. Don't go West young man; just go North.
--Nate "the great" Silver sent me an email urging me to send money to a number of candidates. Nate is the same guy who lulled me into believing Hillary would win. Now these might be good people to support, but why should I believe Nate?
--Speaking of which, I am ignoring all polls predicting an election 16 months from now. I am also refusing to watch the Democratic debates--there are too many candidates and I am worried Joltin' Joe might actually get nominated. Say it aint so, Joe!! Call me when it is "mano v (wo)mano".
--From the fine pages of the Boston Globe: A picture of a bulldog undergoing surgery for swallowing a disgusting number of pacifiers. And we saw his iv's too. Then our crack but corrupt State Police
rescued 12 ducklings from a sewer.
--Mitch and his wife really do need to be kicked to the curb. She has now been revealed to be a double dipping thief. We know marble mouth Mitch just wants to appoint right wing judges.
--Between "nasty women" and the loser who is mayor of London, POTUS has had a great time calling people names but not doing a fucking thing except almost bombing Iran. I said almost.
-- The high temperature range in Austin this coming week: between 93 and 100. Get that AC going now. I will be heading in that direction for an important/happy celebration.
--And a reminder. I won't be bothering you again until the fall. Have a good summer and a good Shabbos.
Shalom
Monday, June 3, 2019
I'M BACK
I know I have been missed because of all the questions I received about where I was going and when and why. A glorious 4 days to Maine and Ipswich, Ma. Maine continues to be in my list of top 5 states. Rhode Island just got demoted because of the RI Bishop's nasty message to parishioners about LGBT Catholics.
In other news:
--Bear in mind that the following people were not elected: John Bolton, Stephen Miller, Kelly Anne Conway, William Barr, Jared, whats her face, and those two new guys on the supreme Court. Don't tell me that one prerogative of the President is to select his staff. I Get it. But picking stupid ideologues for key positions is also his prerogative. But when these unelected people start making decisions that POTUS is unable or unwilling to make, we are all at their mercy. Miller, for example is behind the new plan to set high tariffs on Mexico. He is a member of my tribe and I am both embarrassed and horrified at his words and messages.
--Bolton wants more troops sent to the Middle East to "counter" what appears to be a trumped (!!) up fantasy about the dangers of Iran.
--Kushner continues to work on a Mid-East peace plan which no doubt will empower Israel even more. But with Netanyahu in trouble, his plan is likely going to be focused on supporting Bibi and giving bubkas to the Palestinians. Kushner is a man old before his time.
--A great New Yorker cartoon cover showing POTUS having his shoes shined by Lindsay, Mitch, and Barr. All pathetically important acolytes.
--I am in the weird position of rooting for John Roberts who now seems to be the swing vote on SCOTUS. If these new batch of anti abortion/anti women laws reach the court, he is now the key. Him and the continued health of RBG.
--Additionally, we have to thank our lucky stars that there are still other Federal judges appointed either by Clinton or Obama who are overturning some of these ugly ugly state laws and POTUS policies. The abortion fight is a reminder to me that things we fought for in the fabulous 60's and thought were resolved are back on the table--especially down in the old South.
--Fifteen billion dollars was found to compensate farmers which is fine by me--but that money was lost to them because of these nationalist tariffs not because it makes any fiscal sense. When will some of those POTUS supporters who are conservative begin to worry about the trade deficit and how these tariffs will worsen it?
--Btw, we continue to separate kids from their families and in some cases put them on planes and send them to who knows where. Just sayin.
--In the latest episode of Animal Kingdom (otherwise know as the Boston Globe), I share the following: Pictures appeared with big headlines about a squirrel who was on a subway and was being fed by passengers. There were also ducks rescued from a sewer. Just inform me when the Orange line cars are finally replaced not when animals are along for the ride.
--AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF MONUMENTAL IMPORT: I will be sending another screed out on or about 6/20. Then, summertime and the living is easy according to Ray Charles. So you won't be bothered (at least by me) again until the fall.
--GO BRUINS!!
Shalom
In other news:
--Bear in mind that the following people were not elected: John Bolton, Stephen Miller, Kelly Anne Conway, William Barr, Jared, whats her face, and those two new guys on the supreme Court. Don't tell me that one prerogative of the President is to select his staff. I Get it. But picking stupid ideologues for key positions is also his prerogative. But when these unelected people start making decisions that POTUS is unable or unwilling to make, we are all at their mercy. Miller, for example is behind the new plan to set high tariffs on Mexico. He is a member of my tribe and I am both embarrassed and horrified at his words and messages.
--Bolton wants more troops sent to the Middle East to "counter" what appears to be a trumped (!!) up fantasy about the dangers of Iran.
--Kushner continues to work on a Mid-East peace plan which no doubt will empower Israel even more. But with Netanyahu in trouble, his plan is likely going to be focused on supporting Bibi and giving bubkas to the Palestinians. Kushner is a man old before his time.
--A great New Yorker cartoon cover showing POTUS having his shoes shined by Lindsay, Mitch, and Barr. All pathetically important acolytes.
--I am in the weird position of rooting for John Roberts who now seems to be the swing vote on SCOTUS. If these new batch of anti abortion/anti women laws reach the court, he is now the key. Him and the continued health of RBG.
--Additionally, we have to thank our lucky stars that there are still other Federal judges appointed either by Clinton or Obama who are overturning some of these ugly ugly state laws and POTUS policies. The abortion fight is a reminder to me that things we fought for in the fabulous 60's and thought were resolved are back on the table--especially down in the old South.
--Fifteen billion dollars was found to compensate farmers which is fine by me--but that money was lost to them because of these nationalist tariffs not because it makes any fiscal sense. When will some of those POTUS supporters who are conservative begin to worry about the trade deficit and how these tariffs will worsen it?
--Btw, we continue to separate kids from their families and in some cases put them on planes and send them to who knows where. Just sayin.
--In the latest episode of Animal Kingdom (otherwise know as the Boston Globe), I share the following: Pictures appeared with big headlines about a squirrel who was on a subway and was being fed by passengers. There were also ducks rescued from a sewer. Just inform me when the Orange line cars are finally replaced not when animals are along for the ride.
--AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF MONUMENTAL IMPORT: I will be sending another screed out on or about 6/20. Then, summertime and the living is easy according to Ray Charles. So you won't be bothered (at least by me) again until the fall.
--GO BRUINS!!
Shalom
Thursday, May 16, 2019
ALABAMA AND GEORGIA ARE DIFFERENT
Don't tell me that Atlanta and Birmingham are open minded cities that make up for the rural narrow mindedness of the rest of those states. A while back, a reader asked me to be mindful about referring to those 3 old guys down in bumfuck Louisiana. I was asked, gently, to be careful about using southern stereotypes. I agreed though I did have some basis for my thoughts/comments being a child of the segregated south. Now we get to see the great legislative bodies of those states pass laws which are so bad that even Pat Roberson (!!) thinks they have gone too far. Women who have been raped and impregnated can no longer have abortions. Doctors can be sent to jail for murder. They are different and not in a good way. They want us to go back to the good ole days of horses and carriages. Lets get those confederate flags out of the attic and fly them proudly.
The context of all this is that, wink, wink, we are going to make America great again. The war against the poor, the immigrants, the Muslims, and others has been given tacit approval. POTUS goes to the panhandle of Florida (quaintly known to all of us as the redneck riviera) and someone yells out that we should shoot the immigrants as they attempt to enter our southern border. A chance for POTUS to stand up and maybe say nah. But, nope, he laughs and does not confront the hate. My birth state also just passed a law allowing teachers to be armed because that will make schools safer. Think those kids in a Colorado middle school would have been saved if their teachers were armed? We won't ban assault weapons (like New Zealand just did) but we will arm teachers. Moving on.
--Right after getting scared by a New Yorker article about John Bolton, I read that he and some of his cronies think Iran is up to no good and decide to send all sorts of ships to the area. The guy and his yellow pad are in cahoots with Stephen Miller and taking us to dangerous places.
--To say nothing about their contempt of Congress--which actually is contempt for us since at least Congress was elected while Bolton and his crew were not.
--POTUS did have some bright insights into the Kentucky Derby and shared them with us. Also hosted the Red Sox except he forgot how to spell Sox. He also forgot that only the white half of the team showed up. The Puerto Rican manager and the players of color stayed away.
--Very quietly and away from the spotlight, the war against the poor continues. Rules governing food stamps are tightened while rules governing disasters ike the Deepwater Horizon are eased. Betsy DeVos is taking an ax to school programs which primarily serve low income kids.
--Josh Rosen is a football player who just got traded. The big complaint about him has nothing to do with skills. Apparently, he has opinions. In the follow up to his trade, he put the trade into perspective by saying (more or less): at least I am not a child soldier in Darfur. I guess that would be worse than being traded.
--Culture:
1.."The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis looks at three Federal Agencies and how they transitioned after the election. My takeaway: Thank god for the civil servants still working. Otherwise the political appointees might really be wrecking things. They are inexperienced idiots.
2. The documentary about Larry Nasser, USA Gymnastics, and Michigan State is sad and the number of young women who he abused is impossible to comprehend.
3. A filmmaker followed 4 never before congressional candidates as they ran in the 2018 election. Most luckily, one of them was AOC. It turns out she was the only victorious one.
--Within the week here in my "perfect little bubble", an attempt was made to burn down a rabbi's house and two school systems in affluent communities were dealing with swastikas.
Cannot write another depressing word tho I can say I don't give a shit about Kyrie Irving.
shalom
The context of all this is that, wink, wink, we are going to make America great again. The war against the poor, the immigrants, the Muslims, and others has been given tacit approval. POTUS goes to the panhandle of Florida (quaintly known to all of us as the redneck riviera) and someone yells out that we should shoot the immigrants as they attempt to enter our southern border. A chance for POTUS to stand up and maybe say nah. But, nope, he laughs and does not confront the hate. My birth state also just passed a law allowing teachers to be armed because that will make schools safer. Think those kids in a Colorado middle school would have been saved if their teachers were armed? We won't ban assault weapons (like New Zealand just did) but we will arm teachers. Moving on.
--Right after getting scared by a New Yorker article about John Bolton, I read that he and some of his cronies think Iran is up to no good and decide to send all sorts of ships to the area. The guy and his yellow pad are in cahoots with Stephen Miller and taking us to dangerous places.
--To say nothing about their contempt of Congress--which actually is contempt for us since at least Congress was elected while Bolton and his crew were not.
--POTUS did have some bright insights into the Kentucky Derby and shared them with us. Also hosted the Red Sox except he forgot how to spell Sox. He also forgot that only the white half of the team showed up. The Puerto Rican manager and the players of color stayed away.
--Very quietly and away from the spotlight, the war against the poor continues. Rules governing food stamps are tightened while rules governing disasters ike the Deepwater Horizon are eased. Betsy DeVos is taking an ax to school programs which primarily serve low income kids.
--Josh Rosen is a football player who just got traded. The big complaint about him has nothing to do with skills. Apparently, he has opinions. In the follow up to his trade, he put the trade into perspective by saying (more or less): at least I am not a child soldier in Darfur. I guess that would be worse than being traded.
--Culture:
1.."The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis looks at three Federal Agencies and how they transitioned after the election. My takeaway: Thank god for the civil servants still working. Otherwise the political appointees might really be wrecking things. They are inexperienced idiots.
2. The documentary about Larry Nasser, USA Gymnastics, and Michigan State is sad and the number of young women who he abused is impossible to comprehend.
3. A filmmaker followed 4 never before congressional candidates as they ran in the 2018 election. Most luckily, one of them was AOC. It turns out she was the only victorious one.
--Within the week here in my "perfect little bubble", an attempt was made to burn down a rabbi's house and two school systems in affluent communities were dealing with swastikas.
Cannot write another depressing word tho I can say I don't give a shit about Kyrie Irving.
shalom
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
DON'T TELL ME NOT TO WORRY
As the saying goes: Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are NOT out to get you. Another Shabbat and another assault at a synagogue. Six months to the day of the Pittsburgh murders. I am sure my synagogue has all sorts of precautions and security measures in place. But when I am there, all I can think about is what would I do if a vigilante attacked. My children and grandchildren are there regularly. "They" are out there and they don't like me. They have access to automatic/assault weapons. The NRA believes that rather than banning those weapons, we all should arm ourselves. Yup., lets make the synagogue an armed camp with all the clergy carrying weapons. Makes sense, right? Only if you want to pray in an armed camp.
POTUS SECTION
--In response to the shooting, POTUS did manage to call it a hate crime and did manage to express sympathy. These comments came at the tail end of POTUS telling us about a round of golf he just played with the Japanese Prime Minister. He's got his priorities straight, huh?
--He is still after Obamacare. He promises a better plan in its place but has no plan or any details. He truly has no clue how complicated this is. Kind of like when he got surprised that Puerto Rico was an island which made recovery more complicated. Let's see what happens to the base when he attempts to take their coverage away.
--He is not even sure what he thinks about the measles vaccine. I do--tell all those anti science folks (including some who are my co-religionists) to back off. Or keep your kids away from my kids.
--One country that POTUS is enamored with is Saudi Arabia. Perfect, they continue to execute their own citizens without trials. The man is in love with any leader with a whiff of being a despot. Loves that man child Kim.
--As he boarded a plane to take him to Mar A Lago, we learned that he was cutting federal funds which support food subsidies for low income people. He hates the poor and now they could have no health insurance and not enough to eat. But he charges us for all those fights. Seriously.
--The same day the Chabad shul was attacked, he went to Green Bay and began his attack on abortion, on Biden, and on Mueller. Did not cancel the gig; just fanned the flames of the virtually all
white audience. He is a direct descendent of George Wallace. Let those fine citizens use axes on the harbor ice and not rely on the Coast Guard to keep it open in the winter. Can live without the feds, huh?
--Finally, he wants to "charge" fees for anyone seeking asylum. My mother would have been refused "admission" because I know she did not have any money--just send her back.
Moving on:
--MGH (AKA, the world's greatest hospital) is always bitching and moaning about their rates. Yet they are in the midst of a capital campaign which will raise billions and just received a gift of 200 million dollars as part of the campaign. Maybe they should just shut up and quit whining or not load their rates with all their Harvard academic affiliation.
--Mueller caught Sara Sanders lying multiple times and documented it in his report. I will now call her called lyin' Sara.
--My Commonwealth has issued a one pager called "turkey tips". Seems my fellow citizens need help in dealing with the birds. Unless they mean the kind of tips we eat.
--Great hockey name: Pierre Luc Dubois. Plays for Columbus.
--Even I admit that I had too much faith in Mueller. But, I trust and believe him more than I do Barr.
--Good luck, CN. BTW, Bob Cerv was the left fielder.
No sports talk for a while.
Shalom
POTUS SECTION
--In response to the shooting, POTUS did manage to call it a hate crime and did manage to express sympathy. These comments came at the tail end of POTUS telling us about a round of golf he just played with the Japanese Prime Minister. He's got his priorities straight, huh?
--He is still after Obamacare. He promises a better plan in its place but has no plan or any details. He truly has no clue how complicated this is. Kind of like when he got surprised that Puerto Rico was an island which made recovery more complicated. Let's see what happens to the base when he attempts to take their coverage away.
--He is not even sure what he thinks about the measles vaccine. I do--tell all those anti science folks (including some who are my co-religionists) to back off. Or keep your kids away from my kids.
--One country that POTUS is enamored with is Saudi Arabia. Perfect, they continue to execute their own citizens without trials. The man is in love with any leader with a whiff of being a despot. Loves that man child Kim.
--As he boarded a plane to take him to Mar A Lago, we learned that he was cutting federal funds which support food subsidies for low income people. He hates the poor and now they could have no health insurance and not enough to eat. But he charges us for all those fights. Seriously.
--The same day the Chabad shul was attacked, he went to Green Bay and began his attack on abortion, on Biden, and on Mueller. Did not cancel the gig; just fanned the flames of the virtually all
white audience. He is a direct descendent of George Wallace. Let those fine citizens use axes on the harbor ice and not rely on the Coast Guard to keep it open in the winter. Can live without the feds, huh?
--Finally, he wants to "charge" fees for anyone seeking asylum. My mother would have been refused "admission" because I know she did not have any money--just send her back.
Moving on:
--MGH (AKA, the world's greatest hospital) is always bitching and moaning about their rates. Yet they are in the midst of a capital campaign which will raise billions and just received a gift of 200 million dollars as part of the campaign. Maybe they should just shut up and quit whining or not load their rates with all their Harvard academic affiliation.
--Mueller caught Sara Sanders lying multiple times and documented it in his report. I will now call her called lyin' Sara.
--My Commonwealth has issued a one pager called "turkey tips". Seems my fellow citizens need help in dealing with the birds. Unless they mean the kind of tips we eat.
--Great hockey name: Pierre Luc Dubois. Plays for Columbus.
--Even I admit that I had too much faith in Mueller. But, I trust and believe him more than I do Barr.
--Good luck, CN. BTW, Bob Cerv was the left fielder.
No sports talk for a while.
Shalom
Monday, April 15, 2019
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.
--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.
Monday, April 1, 2019
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
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
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