linx

Here I am blogging, watching the World Series, and... dealing with a cold.  Or at least I hope it is just a cold, though I suspect it may be in sinus infection territory, which would suck for any number of reasons (length of illness, life disruption, have to see an MD for a Z-pack, etc.)  I have been going to bed at or before 10 the past two nights, and I feel a little better, but...

https://www.lawfareblog.com/nonconsensual-pornography-political-scandals-and-warning-2020
I don't know...for Democrats, isn't this the sort of thing that would promote a career? At least I had some fun at work today by telling everyone I was going to dress as Katie Hill for Halloween...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/californias-legal-weed-profits-going-up-in-smoke/ar-AAJfYpO?li=BBnb7Kz
I got a kick out of this one, mainly because you would think this is the sort of thing you can't fuck up, but they did in CA... I have always thought that not only should we in OH legalize it, but keep the taxes as low as possible, to both maiximize revenue and encourage legal sales -- if it is cheap enough, no one will go to the neighborhood junkie to re-up...

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-23/democrats-fear-more-trump-voters-in-wisconsin?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=191023&utm_campaign=sharetheview
This is...interesting? I will believe it when I see it, of course... I mean, I an not sure the President has all that much more support out there, but you never know...

https://www.vox.com/2019/10/17/20913821/beto-orourke-religious-institutions-guns-conservatives
Again, if I was a GOPer.. I would be running ads with him every day...

Fooling you...

Look at this, Mattie blogging twice in one week... I know, I know. I did have a busy weekend, and while I now should nap or something, I am trying to catch on my reading and some other fun activities, and answering some emails, so this is not the worst thing....

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/10/15/democratic-debate-supporters-ohio-donald-trump-country-column/3984999002/
I think this is interesting, for one, and two... I think it explains Trump's support; much as Obama could use health care for his re-election, Trump's policies have gotten people better lives in places where this wasn't imagined, and if they stick around...

The problem though is that I think there are too many scandals to ignore. I said at work that it's one thing if the President pulls crap, it is another if his staff says he did....much like the decision to abandon the Kurds in Syria, it is an unforced error..

https://www.city-journal.org/san-francisco-homelessness
Remind me never to go there, but then again, I wouldn't anyway....

Shout to Lovie Smith...who'd have thunk that?

Catching up

My promises of more frequent blogging are beginning to be just.. those.  Oi, alas.  I have been busy -- and to top it a friend had a minor meltdown yesterday which I had to solve, as best as I could (which amuses the hell out of me).

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/beto-orourkes-pluralism-failure/599953/
I don't know... this could be me, but wouldn't the smart thing for Trump/any GOPer to do is to call the Dems out on this?  I mean there is the obvious on -- opined on various GOP sites -- of asking if this means "Mosques," which is sort of dog-whistley, but, more to the point... ask them?  Run ads?  No one said no or disagreed with it when it was said -- certainly not the audience -- and this to me is a commercial in waiting if I ever saw one...

https://deadspin.com/what-art-briles-brought-to-the-town-that-never-asked-fo-1838408237
My favorite part of the story is the end where the person says that Brles should have run a squeaky clean program and all would be ok.  This amused the hell out of me, mainly because he's never done it before, so why would he do it now, when the stakes are for...less?  I guess this is one of those what did they expect sorts of things...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/8/20903433/pence-trump-impeachment-conservatives
I think the part about the fight holds a lot more truth... I am not sure most mainstream conservatives approve, of course, but to the rank and file GOPer... well, this is new, and different, and...good?

I also watched one of the newer additions to the NFR, "The Navigator," a Buster Keaton piece from the 1926 era... it was funny, and I like these things, but I am not really we are doing much by adding films like this except to preserve them....

Musings

I was sort of....amused, perhaps... by the reaction to the Dodgers last night.  OK, I think sending out Kelly for another inning was a bad idea, but I am not really sure you can fault the move to leave Kershaw in.  This could be me, but -- accounting for his issues in the postseason -- don't you want your best guy out there?

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/9/24/20872558/california-north-dakota-public-bank

 I first came across this in college, and two things struck me about it... one was that it was a good idea, and two, it was a good idea in that it was used in conjunction with the private sector -- and not a replacement for -- to achieve a goal.  Basically, the bank subsidizes the state's main industry (farming) by ensuring that farmers have access to capital...it's a little incestuous, but the thing is also run like... a bank, so it sort of works.

Back to baseball, I got a kick out of the Gabe Kapler firing... as I told one of my coworkers, in comparison to the Callawa axing -- that you really shouldn't fire a manager if the guy did about what you would have expected.  For Mickey, I think 86 wins is about what you would have expected; maybe not the way in which they got there (bad defense, crappy bullpen, a rapid but unsuccessful close) but given the Braves, the Nationals' rotation, the supposed talent of Philly... well, you get the drift.  Kapler, of course, going .500, and kookily, to boot...

Catching Up....

So, another long break between blogs (and I should be sleeping).  This weekend was the parish Polish Festical, so Thursday night -- after reporting to the kitchen -- I baked brownies, and then I worked all weekend at my usual kitchen spot.  It was not exactly fun, as we were super busy, and much of yesterday was spent lounging about, watching the blisters on the blisters on my feet go down.  But I hope it was a good festival for the parish...

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/three-big-things-the-most-important-forces-shaping-the-world/
I thought this was interesting.

Boy, starting Verlander on three days' rest worked out pretty well, didn't it?  I don't know, this could be me, but....with their rotation, why would they need to start him on three days' rest?  I would think Verlander in a game 5 is what you want, and if you don't need him...then he starts in the ALCS.

Whimper, Not Bang

As always...well, yes, I am busy, and even tonight, my blog presence will be... limited.

Well, that was a fine end to the Tribe season, wasn't it? Remember when Terry Francona's teams were at their best when the chips were down and they were faced with elimination?  Those times seem so very long ago...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/cleveland-indians-roster-reset-see-the-tribes-2020-potential-free-agents-arbitration-eligible-players/ar-AAI76sy
I think this is...largely correct?  I mean, I don't know...there might be a chance you re-sign Kipnis; not sure they want to put Nolan Jones out there, and the FA pickings are slim.  I can see 1/$5 or even 1.$8, but... the man really does need to be platooned, IMHO.  You also need a closer, or so, as I don't really trust Brad Hand.  I was at the rainout, of course, and they showed an infographic that said that no reliever had had more appearances than Hand between 2016 and 2018... I suspecg that more than anything might the root of his issues....

https://fortune.com/2019/09/25/the-remarkable-rise-and-epic-fall-of-weworks-charismatic-controversial-founder-adam-neumann/
I've been reading a couple of these articles... I mean, there's the whole point of what exactly the company is trying to do, and, of course, as I like to say... everyone loves a train wreck...  I guess I just wondered how he thought he could get away with it, especially nowadays...