Avoiding Responsibilities

 So, I meant to blog last nite but crashed during "Twelve O'Clock High," which indicates the depths of my drowsiness, as I love that movie...one of the few to show the mental cost of war.  Solid acting, action off-screen...quite underrated, I think, even now.  Anyways, this past night and the night before I didn't exactly sleep well -- not sure why -- so the eight hour rest is a long memory.  Alas.

This morning I slept in and met an old friend for coffee...odd; one of the few times this year I have had a Saturday morning -- or a whole Saturday, for that matter -- to myself, and it was glorious, catching up on old times and having a delicious caffeinated beverage.  I don't know why I don't do this more, aside from having to give up any of the other 20 things I have to do.  Course, I could marry (never the mind the no woman -- or man, nowadays -- is dumb enough to marry me factor) and have kids and completely eliminate all of this in one fell swoop...

Yesterday I watched "News of the World," the Tom Hanks Western.  It was pretty good!  It was a standard tale -- man finds lost girl, taken from whites by Indians, who are in turn killed by whites, and thus this girl is a double orphan with little knowledge of her past...  and the story revolves around trying to get her "home" to her surviving relatives.  Had some action, didn't memorialize the past, throw in some modern moralizing for post-Civil War Texas...  but it was good.  I certainly need to get back into the movie-watching frame, pardon the pun...

Fatigue Duty

 So, yesterday I went to bed promptly at 10... and woke up at 6, so I got nearly 8 hours of sleep, which is practically unheard of me.  Yet... it was weird.  I would have thought a full night of rest I would have been full of vim and vigor, but... I felt tired all day.  Extra coffee.  I pulled a double at the gym, and I barely completed cardio each time, to say nothing of the fact that I felt a challenge in finishing all my workouts.  Oi.  I couldn't believe it... I guess I am that tired that I need more sleep than that.  Alas.  

Got the vaccine booster today; my MD recommended it, and while I am not exactly sure I need it, better safe than sorry, right?  Summer is coming up, and while I may not be having any summer romances, I would like to get out this year and try and enjoy the city and the good weather.  So I guess in that way I need it; I didn't have any symptoms, thank God, so there is that.

With the long weekend coming up...well, I do intend on hitting the gym, catching up on the reading, and maybe going through the pile of books and movies (some of the NFR) to clear that backlog.  I may even do some house cleaning, or at least crank open the windows and let some air in.  Of course, that is the plan, and I think we all know what happens to plans...especially around here.

A lack of progress

 I went to bed somewhat early-ish last nite, but didn't sleep well and then woke up with low blood sugar, so...right back we are started.   The new TV and install person is supposed to come this morning, so that will solve that first world problem.  In other first world problems...few days ago I bought two large jars of Jif (coupons!)...well, lo and behold, they are on the recall list.  Oops.  Back to the store, I guess...I do eat a lot of peanut butter (I should eat nothing else, honestly) so it is good that I caught it, but...

Interesting results from the primaries.  Did anyone expect Kemp and Raffensburger to run up the scores like they did in GA?  I did not.  Boozman cruised to re-election in his primary; normally I wouldn't care, but a lot of money was spent to save his seat, which could have been better used elsewhere...  Mo Brooks held on in Alabama, barely; can he rebound next time?  I doubt it, but...  I guess my take is that while yes Donald Trump had a bad day, it was also...expected (maybe not to the extent he expected) and thus... I don't exactly think this is going to change the trajectory of his rebound campaign.  A few more losses, maybe; places like MO, though, are a long way away...

The Dwayne Haskins revelations... I don't know; I am for openness and transparency and all...on the other hand, it does seem like they are slamming the guy after his demise.  To be sure, he was doing drugs and drunkenly wandering home from a night out (it appears) with a lady not his wife... but what is the point of putting all that out there?  Giving some comfort to the driver who hit him?  A reminder to people to be alert?  I realize if this stuff was NOT released people would be equally irate over the secrecy, but I couldn't but feel a tinge of sadness reading the details.

Back in the Saddle

 Not much to report this weekend, as I mainly caught up on some work...not that I needed to, but I wanted to get some shit done.  Alas.  Not very exciting.  That and watching the grass grow -- it's true that it grows fastest after the first cut.  Oi. Tomorrow I can handle it, and then we will start anew again.  Alas.

Didn't sleep much this weekend -- a bunch of reasons -- and I am feeling it today; should nod off early, but probably will not.  I did do a gym double today -- lifted this morning, legs in the PM -- but due to low blood sugar, no cardio...so I am also feeling that.  Alas.  I should go out for a stroll this evening, but... I do have things to do inside.  

The TV was settled, sort of; Best Buy basically gave me a new TV. and someone will come Wednesday to hook it up; I could, theoretically, but...these things tend to end poorly, if you get my drift.  So there will be a small charge for that, but... not too bad.  I was impressed by the collection of arcade games they had in the front of the store; for $500 you could take home Pac-Man, TMNT... etc.  I will admit I was...tempted.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000180-ef3a-d1a7-abf1-efbe16530000

Oh, I don't know...did people really think that the early days of "competence" would continue?  I mean, the guy was known as the dumbest guy in Washington for decades; did anyone really think he got any smarter in the interim?  The real issue, of course -- certainly not one to be explored by the press -- is to how any Democratic voter thought that he would be an improvement; certainly, one must consider their intelligence...

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/05/20/cherie-westrich-alt-rock-gen-x-maga-00033769

The Rentals?  "Friends of P?" I loved that song when it came out!  What a joyous memory!  More seriously... are we really that surprised by this?  I was not raised by Baby Boomers, but many of my peers were, and given their... foibles, to put it politely, is anyone really surprised that we turned out the opposite, to some great extent?

A New Era

 So, I went to see the new Downton Abbey movie tonight.  Despite all the mockery of my friends, there I went.  First, a pretzel at Auntie Anne's was $4.69... oi.  No pre-movie snack for me! 

Anyways, the movie itself was.... fine?  I don't think it was quite as good or sharp or funny as the first one.  Not that it didn't have its moments.   Much as "Glee" suffered from having two locales, so too did this one, though either plot line would have been enough.  More seriously, the series said goodbye to several characters in this one -- through death, love, and general departure.  I would say that these moves were probably necessary, not that it made it any less sad.  But such is life, if you will.

One thing that amused me about the reviews was that it wasn't woke enough; not enough diversity in the cast (I do not recall any non-whites among the aristocracy in Britain at any time in the country's history but that is besides the point), though they have plenty of class issues, some LGBT characters, and -- with some justice -- the fact that the Crawleys act far better than most aristocrats (at any time) have traditionally done.  I guess the point to me is that fans of the show don't really care about that sort of thing; not that we are not aware of them, but we just want an escapist drama for a bit.  I know they are, but I can't believe that liberals are such worrywarts about things all the time.  Oi.

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/05/20/breaking-pelosis-archbishop-orders-her-to-stop-receiving-communion-over-abortion-n470919

Well, this was a bolt out of the blue!  I am not sure I agree with this -- for a bunch of reasons --but it is absolutely invigorating to see Catholics actually standing up for the faith and endorsing the Church disciple once in while...

Thoughts

 So, continuing my new trend of technical catastrophes...my TV died.  Yes, the one I bought in August (of 2021).  I turned it on at lunch to check the weather, and it looks...well, nothing.  I reset the cable and such, but it did nothing, which leads me to believe it is the TV.  So tomorrow I get to call Best Buy and see what the next steps are.  Not that I need the TV -- don't watch much -- but I need this like a hole in my head...

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2022/05/in-recent-years-growing-number-of.html

https://www.outkick.com/woke-medical-experts-call-obesity-concerns-racist/

I don't know; I obsess about this, and the boys and I often discuss this as well... I mean, this is one of the easiest ways to improve one's health; it's not like we just figured this out, either... having excess weight is not good... so when people say we should ignore this -- especially when they are of the so-called party of science... all I can is no.

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/james-m-buchanan-the-political-economy-of-debt-financing-ch2.pdf

Speaking of the boys, one of them sent me this a couple of days ago, and I was laughing.  Not that it is wrong, but.. we were discussing the failure of the Biden Presidency, and they were making the inevitable Jimmy Carter comparison.  Being the natural contrarian, I opined that James Buchanan was the more apt comparison...in addition to their being the oldest President elected (at the time)... both were heralded as figures who could unify the country and transcend the political differences of the time.  And, of course, both threw gasoline on the fire(s).  Indeed, both of them had domestic and foreign policy screwups; neither could suppress the radical fringes propelling their parties to disaster.  Now, will Biden unify GOPers enough in the way Lincoln did?  Not sure...

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/05/18/adam-serwers-take-on-the-politics-of-roe-leaves-out-a-few-things-n470424

I don't know...can't it be both?  I mean, the thing about letting the Supremes decide the issue was that it literally threw it in the face of the people.  I guess you can say it taught the Religious Right about the need to have political power to attain their goals... the group that really believed in rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar's really had to adjust on the fly... back then, of course, they could, and I think that now, even, in that corner of the world... it works.

Football follies

 Crashed hard last night, so no post today...well, until now.  Funny; I didn't really want to go out -- it was in Northfield (I know), not drinking (fatness), had shit to do...but a friend was in town and he wanted to get away from his parents, so...and, of course, it was quite nice -- just two friends having beverages for a couple of hours.  I am like that a lot, and I prolly should stop.

Interesting stuff from the world of college football...one, the OSU extensions; I stumbled on to sports radio, and you would have thought Chris Holtzman should be tried and condemned.  I guess I am not sold on it -- yes, he should reach a Sweet Sixteen once in a while -- but as I have pointed out here before, he tends only to lose to better teams, and there is no shame in that.  So I can see why people are irate, but...keeping him here and happy is probably better.

Then, of course, there was Nick Saban complaining about A&M buying players.  He is probably right, of course, but I would LOVE to see someone -- anyone -- ask a coach about how they flip jobs, make millions of dollars, etc.; followed by why it is ok for them to do that but not a player.  

Next is the demise of college football divisions; the Pac-12 -- trying to be relevant -- is the first to go, and I am sure the rest of the Power 5 is considering it.  I don't know; yes, conferences in the old days chose their bowl representative (when there were six of them), so this is a reversion to the mean.  And you would get the better teams in the big games.  On the other hand...the nice thing about college football is that you literally have to run the table to be in consideration for the (not yet extended) playoff; that's sort of the whole point.

Dramatis personae

 Interesting day...all sorts of drama at the food pantry, which I need like a hole in my head.  Mind you, this really isn't a cause for drama, just that some people are making it that way, which makes me want to pull the dwindling numbers of hairs from my head.  I am letting an email or two stew in my mailbox, recalling to mind Lincoln's practice of writing letters and not sending them.  Course, I am no Lincoln, so...

Funny thing. it was a good day!  Double day at the gym -- legs and arms -- and while low blood sugar prevented a second cardio (grr) it was good to work out some.  I am still fat, but the calorie burning...I ramped up the exercise bike this morning, and will do so again tomorrow.  Work was fine, and I even finished a book -- Martino's Cheated. It covers the Astros scandal, as well as a brief history of cheating and players reading tells and stealing signs.  It was...ok.  Interesting but I expected more; mainly what we got was a retelling of what we already knew, which was nice but not terribly helpful.

I noticed I have not texted people in a few days; some people I try to stay in regular contact with, but between work, sleep, and just trying to get stuff done... it's been a couple of weeks since I have chatted with some people.  Stuff should ease tomorrow or so, so I can catch up...but I feel sort of douchecanoey about it.

Seeing the Elephant

 Is it me, or is PA politics...interesting?  The rise of the third candidate in the PA Senate primary?  The GOP primary in the governor's race, which is a hot mess?  Hell, even the stroke suffered by John Fertterman to rev up the campaign in that Senate primary?  Maybe because in OH we are in quiet phase; Ryan has ads up, Vance is restocking, and the governor's race is surprisingly quiet; maybe Mike DeWine is talking to all his rabid fans.  :)

OC duty again Saturday, and it was surprisingly busy -- triple digits again, which is good.  We didn't get a lot of produce, so we pushed that; aside from the potatoes (from last week), it all went, and we moved on to the piles of cheese - sliced Swiss, cottage, sour -- which needs to go sooner or later.  Alas.  The weather was nice so we put out as many clothing racks and boxes as we could...we have given a way a LOT of stuff this month.  Heck, even the spare clothing room is pretty sparse.  This is good, as we all know it will come back, or at least more drives will be coming.

The news about the shooting in Buffalo completely saddened me; I mean, I always think of the end of the Holmes short story "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box," where Holmes asks about what is the end point of all this violence... today's Gospel. of course, was a useful counterpoint; to me, it challenges us to go out and challenge the hate we see and experience and fight it with the message of Christ.  Of course, it is easier in theory than in practice...

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/megan-fox/2022/05/12/the-first-rule-of-gay-club-is-you-do-not-talk-about-gay-club-groomer-teachers-plot-on-zoom-n1597324

I am beginning to see why some people think it is good idea to go after people like Ron DeSantis...  More seriously, as I like to say, public school teachers let parents into their classrooms, and now that the man behind the curtain has been revealed...

The Funnies

 Long but good day today...finished a couple of projects at work, answered some emails, cleaned up some links, read up on some new things...good.  Everyone seemed happy with getting the projects out the door, which is awesome.  I like the new job, and if they like me...

One thing I have noticed that it is now ant season in my house -- every year, for a couple of weeks, once spring arrives, the ants try to come in.  It's an older home, and there are cracks and crannies, and until I kill enough of them and set out the traps...it is annoying but we survive.  I guess I could do a stint of cleaning around here; stuff can be dusted. crap can be removed, that sort of thing.  Tonight is my quiet night, and I am going to enjoy it....by cleaning up links and emails while reading.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/liberals-should-be-worried-about-the-conservative-comedy-scene/ar-AAXdYmO?li=BBnb7Kz

I don't know; part of the problem is that liberals find a lot of things to be... not funny, whereas the average GOPer finds much about the left to be...ridiculous.  So of course mockery ensures, libs get miffed, and we of course find this even more amusing.  I watch Gutfeld every once in a while, and while I think he is funny, he's not that funny -- it does depend on the guests and the pontification.  But it's easy to make fun of the insufferable; remember all of the mockery over the Falwells (junior and senior) and Swaggart and Bakker?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/arts/george-carlin-comedy.html

I don't know; I think I love Carlin because of the irreverence and the pushing the boundaries...it's what comedy is supposed to be about!

Labors and Leisures

 So, cut the grass today, finally; I mean, it was more than time, and with the days of sun and dryness, the yard was perfectly firm.  Anyways, the mower fired up, and things went smoothly... which is good.  Tomorrow we weedwhack, and the yard will look presentable enough.  My concerns about the earth, the carbon emissions, etc... alas.

https://thehill.com/news/ap/ap-business/high-inflation-leaves-food-banks-struggling-to-meet-needs/

Oh, I don't know...on the one hand, this is a problem that affects everybody, and it is an issue -- people will donate less if they aren't comfortable with their own economic situations, there will be less available to give away, and this is a concern, as demand goes up.  On the other hand, most of these food banks receive generous funding and subsidies from taxes (i.e., other peoples' money), and thus they can handle it.  God forbid people receive less when everyone else is doing without.  And... at a time when there are two job openings for every unemployed person (let's not consider the people who have left the job market), it seems...well, this, to me, is the big problem with the food bank industry.  Like so many other social justice agencies... no one seems to consider that it is one thing to help the poor, but we also need to make them less poor.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-years-of-debate-conservatives-split-from-united-methodist-church/ar-AAWZ84v?li=BBnb7Kz

Did I miss something here?  The UMC had a vote, which they lost...but then, they decided that they would not accept the results of the election, and thus -- earning my sobriquet of "neo-Confederate" -- forced this schism...mind you, keeping all of the churches and assets and forcing everyone else to find a new denomination.  And they are held to be in the right here...

Bemusements

 You know, I have come to wonder as to how farmers can get any crops out of their fields.  I have been working on a project about plant diseases and pests for work (still loving the new job!) and it's incredible the range of things that threaten crops -- fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insects of every type.  Then, of course, there is the stuff the put on the crops to kill or mitigate the threats -- which can affect all sorts of other things, from killing off honeybees to pollution to carbon emissions (I know, I know).  And still stuff gets planted and harvested.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/with-roe-v-wade-in-peril-abortion-rights-activists-ask-where-are-the-men/ar-AARDzMJ?li=BBnb7Kz--

This is...chutzpah?  I mean, men really have no role in this, legally, which is indefensible, as -- unless things have changed since I took biology -- males play an equal role in creating babies, and have a more than equal role in supporting them, yet cannot play a part in the decision as to whether or not that life is to be brought into the world.  Indeed, the only way a man has only role in this is to hope that abortion is outlawed...

I've been listening to a lot of stuff on Youtube while at work -- lectures about various historical topics, mainly.  I have hit a bunch by Gary Gallagher (the prolific Civil War historian) and he is quite good.  Interesting; he seems to push back against the...wokeness, if you will, that seems to be the vogue.  For instance, he points out that everyone in the North was racist by the standards of today, but, as he says...so what, that's not interesting to study; the interesting thing is to see how quickly the North became less racist.  He is against pulling down statues, noting that they were put up at different times and for different reasons, and a much better approach is to put up new ones.  He is disdainful of the modern trend to disregard battles because that's what the people of the day concentrated on (to say nothing of their effects on the US).  He certainly obliterates any bit of Lost Cause stuff with vehemence, but then he goes and makes a historical case for, say, Great Man History.  It's pretty cool.  (His jokes about Joe Johnston are also pretty funny.)

Also, he said that the book that got him into the Civil War was the following -- which is the same one I loved and read many times when I was a kid!  Awesome!

https://www.amazon.com/American-Heritage-Picture-History-Civil/dp/0517385562/ref=pd_sbs_sccl_1_1/144-3182657-6472860?pd_rd_w=w02Rh&pf_rd_p=4b6b5072-e9bd-4f30-a3af-a1f5d52978ec&pf_rd_r=PWY49NM4BBCQQB91PAP1&pd_rd_r=e3acb2d0-a206-4383-b286-2adbfcd04913&pd_rd_wg=06wgs&pd_rd_i=0517385562&psc=1

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/07/gop-steers-clear-of-roe-in-2022-battlegrounds-00030880

Interesting...maybe.  On the one hand, I think they are largely correct; the economy is going to drive the midterms, and all they have to do is steady the buffs and we will be fine.  Of course, there is plenty that could go wrong, and this may help drive Dem turnout, and thus save them a few seats.  (I would love for a GOPer to run an ad saying that Dems care about abortion but not $5 gas, but that's me.) The Senate is also razor-thin, and we need to be careful there.

Of course, I wonder if this will boost GOP voters, as well.  For one thing, it reminds everyone that elections do matter -- the Trump wing of the Court (and I love saying that) has given us this glorious day (calling to mind Stonewall Jackson at Antietam).  Secondly, religious voters -- both Evangelicals and Catholics -- should want to go to the polls and ensure that what the Supremes have made no Congress may tear asunder.  Finally...does anyone think all these protests and such will help them?  I sort of want pro-death protestors swarming Masses and other religious services, as the ads will literally write themselves...

Catching Up

 Jesus...didn't post all weekend?  Guess not; I was busy with work and stuff, and I guess it slipped my mind (that and trying to get some sleep, which didn't go well).  Alas.  It wasn't a bad weekend, just a blur -- food pantry, work, other stuff.  Busy at the OC; cracked 100 clients, pushed produce like mad, set out all of the clothes racks we could... felt good.  The weather was largely perfect this weekend, too; maybe a tad bit cold, but other than that...good to have spring in mid-May, I guess.

Picked up the yard today -- got rid of all of the twigs and such.  I hope to cut the grass tomorrow -- first time this year, should be dry with the weather.  I started old reliable a couple of weeks ago, and it turned over... let's hope this year she keeps running.  I think we all know how I feel about spending money...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/05/02/gold-treasure-hunt/

This is a fascinating story!  Ok, I don't really buy it; not all of it.  Jesse James burying his money all over the place -- especially in a state in which he didn't rob banks... could be.  The idea of some secret society being a part of this -- and then forgetting the money -- seems a bit suspect.  Even if you think that they achieved all of their goals after Reconstruction...well, people just don't forget about buried treasure, do they?  Of course, the whole story is soooo fantastical that that is why people want it to be true... everyone loves an underdog, and what could be more underdog than a bunch of people -- disbelieved by everyone -- going out and finding the literal pot of gold?

https://thefederalist.com/2022/05/05/j-d-vance-and-the-new-right-are-racking-up-wins-while-the-establishment-stabs-at-their-backs/

I think this is exactly right, and I certainly want to see more of this....I mean the wins by the new right, not the backstabbing.

Exhaustion

 So, I see Tim Ryan dropped his first ad today, ending the day without political ads.  I liked it -- separating himself from the party, of course -- but one has to wonder how it will play, especially when the GOP runs the ads -- inevitable as they are -- that links him to Biden, the economy, etc.  I don't the thing is unwinnable for him, but it will be an inside straight...

I am quite tired today -- woke up in the middle of the night with low blood sugar, lost some sleep, and have been dragging all day... now, of course, I feel tired but not enough to sleep.  Oi.  I mean,., as I have gotten older, my body can't catch up like it used to... I know this is a part of life, but it is no fun.  At least when I was laying down on the floor watching J! I didn't have that CGM digging into my stomach; I can barely feel the one in my arm, and it is hardly noticeable...the simple pleasures, if you will.

I do find it fascinating that the reversal of Roe v. Wade has generated so much...well, calculation as to how it will help either party.  Everyone seems to think the Dems will benefit, and to some extent they will, but of course, for many on our side...well, for one thing, it validates the Trump presidency, as he put the three justices who overturned it on the Court; the Trump wing, as I like to say.  Now, I don't think that going for a total ban on abortion is wise, for a number of reasons, but if people think it can be done...the voters will turn out.  But that. again, is an inside straight....

Focus

So, first of all... JD Vance pulled it out last night.  I guess I was not that surprised; I spent much of the evening reading (finally finished Milk), watching "High Plains Drifter," and watching the results trickle in... in the end, RINO Matt won only three counties -- Franklin, Geauga, and Cuyahoga, while Mandel won what appeared to be Jim Jordan's district.  The rest was Vance, and he had some nice margins out there as well.  Now, I wonder...was this latent support not picked up?  Did Trump make it happen?  I suspect a mix of both, more the latter, but...  

More interesting was the GOP gubernatorial race; Dewine won with less than half the vote.  Now, given the uninspired and absent nature of his opponents...well, one wonders what would have happened if one of the other Senate candidates had run against him.  Gibbons and his $30 million (I liked the guy!) or Mandel (whatever happened to him?) or even Dolan (ha).  The vote was a protest, nothing more, but it does say something about the nature of the OH GOP that this was an issue.

That said, voting was a breeze Tuesday.  I went on my lunch break, and there was no line, and everything was quite smooth.  I was impressed, which is rare for me.

After travails, fights with the insurer, delays, pre-authorizations (if you like your healthcare, you can keep it, remember?), I finally got my new CGM. the Freestyle Libre, which I infinitely prefer to the Dexcom -- it's an arm mount, it lasts longer, stays on longer, has fewer glitches, and is less of a pain in the ass.  I will miss the nice customer service people at Dexcom when I had to call them to report a malfunctioning meter, but...

So, the new company HQ is ten miles from the fires in New Mexico.  Ten miles; South Park mall is about 8 away from here, and I cannot imagine living and carrying on with that nearby.  My HR person told me that the Los Alamos National Laboratory is between our HQ/lab and the fire, which should help -- I would like to think that the USA would pull every trick to stop an immolation there.  I was just surprised on how calm everyone was...going through the plans on what to do if things go poorly... I would be shitting my pants; that or digging firebreaks and filling every container with water.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/what-alito-got-right/ar-AAWVqhr?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Exactly.  I guess, as I like to say, that a Court that gives rights can take them away, and while it is unfortunate for some...well, not really.

All Things Must Come to an End

 Roe v. Wade to be overturned?  Well, this is a special day.  I read the highlighted excerpts online -- no use going to read it if it going to be changed a bit (there is a draft circulating, you know), and... Alito's points are exactly correct.  Now, I realize things will be a bit hectic, but eventually states will come to an equilibrium on this, and...that's ok.  As it has always been.  The people of each state should decide these things, and if Ohio wants to allow it in some circumstances and Indiana does not... I think that is exactly what the Founders intended, and we all will be the better for it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/opinion/ohio-senate-trump.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20220501&instance_id=60134&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=31060267&segment_id=90956&user_id=f914b0e213c5e2b4265494b6d07fe88f

Interesting; I think Douthat is largely correct here; now, the question is whether this will hurt the party in November (it would hurt me, for instance, if Dolan wins, though I don't think he will). I don't know; I suspect most of the people would return to the party no matter what, but whoever does win will have 10,000 ready-made ads for the Democrats to use against them, which is not good.  Back to the article, I think this whole process is incredibly fascinating; like seeing an organism evolve live.  Insofar, of course, that we believe in that sort of thing.

Funny; on the one hand, one is simply inundated by the ads, the mailings, the phone calls, the emails...imploring you to donate your time, talent, and treasure to a campaign, to attend rallies, that sort of thing...given that all candidates seem to have a path to the top, it has been exhausting to consider it all.  But, as I am fond of saying, there are literally billions of people on the globe who would kill for this experience; voting for the candidate of their choice, expressing their own opinions, not being subject to torture, imprisonment, or worse for their views... it is a good thing, what we have in this country.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-childrens-book

This is awesome; I want to buy one for myself, just for the principle of it.  Hell, nothing would amuse me more than for someone to buy a million (or so) copies of this book and just donate it away... libraries, schools; hell, even those little free libraries that spring up everywhere. I could imagine 100 of these in Lakewood or the PSRCH; just consider the fun -- and education -- we could foment!

Fatigue

 Long day....for a bunch of reasons, I helped out at the parish booth at the Polish Constitution Day fest (yes, I can't believe this is a thing, either)... and while it was good, and a boon to the parish, it was...well, so much of an experience that I couldn't possibly do it again next year.  I didn't get home until 7 -- and was rained on twice (why can't we have events inside climate-controlled structures?), which didn't help.  Anyways, after a shower and a spot of dinner, I just decided to go through and largely empty my inbox, and maybe go through a few links.  And it was good!  Restful.  Useful, read some interesting things.  

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/03/the-100-greatest-pop-punk-songs-of-all-time.html

I have been listening to this, intermittently, and finally finished it today... nice.  Interesting; certainly listened to some good and interesting songs; a lot of these were from the salad days of my youth.  Some were trips down memory lane, while others were completely new to me.  Wished I had heard more of them when I was younger; now, of course, one's musical tastes tend to ossify.  That, and a lot of these songs..well, I am certainly getting old.  Sigh.  At least I learned what some of these things are about, which is...always good.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/were-the-stimulus-checks-a-mistake/

Well, yes!  I mean, not in the early days (maybe) but it was clearly not needed later on, I suspect.  Now, I don't think the spending is totally responsible for all of the cost increases now (I still think we have a labor shortage, but the prolonged stimulus and tax credits probably exacerbated that), but it hasn't helped, and as we all know, it is hard to put the inflation genie back in the bottle.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/29/house-republican-freedom-caucus-challenges-00023071

The House Freedom caucus grows up!  More seriously, I think they are right; the size of the GOP majority will dictate their influence, not that we do not want as large a majority as possible...