Bemused and Bereft

 Two interviews today -- third ones -- and while they went well, they did not include job offers (or rejections).  While I guess that is good, it was also somewhat frustrating obviously.  To be sure, I think deep down I expected this, but... oi.  Everyone tells me "patience, grasshopper," which is somewhat amusing, as anyone who has spent 20 minutes with me knows that patience is simply not in my makeup.  Alas.  I guess I have not been looking for jobs as aggressively as I once was, or should have been, so... back to that.  Also need to call and figure out my unemployment status... to which I am not looking forward.

Probably because I was somewhat down, I went out with a friend for dinner, even if it meant going to Lakewood (parking really is an issue there, especially with my Behemoth).  It was funny, because we meet some other friends of his while walking, so we had a partiee carree for dinner.  We went to a BBQ place on Madison, which was fine, but one of his friends was originally from Sweden, and he has not adjusted to American life.  For instance, we split an appetizer, which to him was an entire entree.  Of course, everyone else in the restaurant was also ordering dinner, and those portions... well, we reminded him about the expanding American waistline.  Other stuff -- his fondness for walking, how most of Ohio is not like Lakewood (it has parking) -- also amused us, and when I suggested he do some American things, like eating at Golden Corral (which he thought was Coral) or going to a county fair... well, it was suggested that I take him to one, as I have the vehicle for it, and was a more suitable cultural ambassador.  I guess there are career opportunities here, as well...

Opinion | Democrats and Republicans Are Living in Different Worlds - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

I thought this was interesting, at least the first part, though it sort of went off the rails.  That said... this could be me, but I believe the shift of men to the right is a natural extension of the leftward shift of women.  Simply put, if one party pushes for one group (and by implication pushes down on another), members of other groups will swing to the alternative.  I for one do NOT think this is good; a party that is pro-male or pro-female will develop tunnel vision but I can also see how it is easier just to mine votes from the existing mine, rather than dig a new one.

Dragging

 Busy weekend -- lots of stuff to do -- and I woke up before 6 today as I could not sleep.  This has been most depressing, as I have been feeling it the rest of the day, or at least the afternoon.  I have been going through the email box, handling minor stuff, but... some of the big-ticket items I have just looked at and said "let me refresh my batteries."  I am on the fourth cup of coffee, and while I would not say it is not helping, it is more treading water.  I nodded off a couple of times a bit ago, and I have been tempted to just go to bed, but the last thing I want to do is wake up at 5:30 or something, so I am at least going through the motions of the proper sleep schedule.  Oi.  I mean, this sleep issue has been an issue since the layoff, and while I have tried to get better at being less stressed and being regular about rest... it is not good.

July 2023 - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (thebulletin.org)
This was quite interesting!  I have always been a science nerd at heart, despite my lack of detailed knowledge there, but these were quite informative and cool to read.

Republicans hoover up earmarks in House spending bills - Roll Call
This could be me, but this is bad in many ways.  Mainly, of course, is the idea that the GOP should adopt this process -- we are for less government and government spending, I thought -- and the other thing is that this is all the sort of corruption and swampiness that people in the GOP -- even those not exactly seen as terribly Republican -- complain about.  I can see how in this closely held House McCarthy would allow this, but... they should be few and far between, if nothing else.

Opinion | What Ron DeSantis Misjudged About the 2024 Race - POLITICO
There certainly has been a plethora of these things in the news recently, and... I fear they are largely true?  I don't know; I would argue he might have a chance in Iowa, given his efforts to build a campaign there.  Absent a Trump, I think he would be the overwhelming favorite, which makes it odd that he is struggling so mightily now.  I realize Trump has a lot of popularity, but... DeSantis has a record of successful conservative stuff to broadcast as well; indeed, I would argue his base of support is derived from that.  As someone who is concerned about the Trump effect on the general... I would like it if Ron can get it turned around, even moreso if the press thinks he cannot.

I am Obviously NOT a Hope and Changer

 I don't know; today was... good?  Started off with the new "job" of helping with the Thursday pickups for the OC.  I went to the Aldi outlet at Tiedeman -- not much, actually, just bread -- but when I arrived at the home base, everyone was just standing around.  Being Matt, I immediately put the crew to work unloading the boxes, weighing it, and filling out the forms.  As the delivery truck from the GCFB was late, I volunteered to do the pickups -- and we had an extra one today, as the SV Sav-A-Lot had macaroni and cheese for us.  There was not much at the Aldi on Kinsman, but when we arrived at Sav-A-Lot... there was an entire pallet of mac and cheese.  Eighty-nine boxes, each with 24 boxes of mac and cheese -- 935 pounds total, all slightly out of date, so they can be given out ASAP (I would have put them in with the main groceries, but it wasn't  my call)... it was funny; just when we had finished loading them into my truck (and it was completely full), our operations manager called me and the first thing she said was "you do answer your phone;" I had missed her calls asking where I was...  Needless to say, my answer was not exactly as charitable as it could have been.

Then it was home for lunch, a quick shower, change into a suit, and my third second interview of the week.  It did not last as long as some of the others -- FWIW -- but I think it went well enough.  As I like to say, with all of these torpedoes in the water, one can only hope some of them (or even one!) hit.  Not that I am being overconfident, but I have a phone screen and a first interview tomorrow, too.  Yes, my sister and others think I am insane -- and maybe I am -- but I believe (fully) in covering every possible base.

After finishing some more food pantry paperwork, I then went about the task of finding some health insurance.  Now, as we all know, my healthcare costs doubled due to Obamacare, so I was looking forward to making some of this back on a plan.  Ha!  Even the basic plans cost twice as much as I am paying now (or was), and of course all of these plans have rather large deductibles.  Now, the nice healthcare agent explained to me that there are non-ACA plans that do not allow for pre-existing conditions, but are much cheaper (for premiums), but that the advantage was in the Obamacare plan.  Now, if I was a Hope and Changer, I would believe that, but as I am not, I can do math (I did it twice!) and I would need 20 months of prescriptions and MD visits before I would actually see savings due to the ACA plan.  So the plan is to buy el cheapo insurance and pay out of pocket.  I have often said that I wished I could Louisville Slugger any Obamacare supporter one time for every dollar it cost me (to say nothing of the $2500 in savings he promised), but now, after this seven minutes of calculations... well, I think they should be beaten like Sherrod Brown's first wife, at the very least.

Catching Up

 No blogging yesterday, as I...simply crashed.  To be sure, I needed the rest, and it felt good to do so, until I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  Oi.  Plus, my legs hurt, for some odd reason (sometimes I have leg pains, no reason why), so I ended up popping an ibuprofen, which I guess helped.  But it was still odd; I think it is stress, honestly.

I had a second interview this morning -- bright and early -- and that went fairly well; one never knows with these things.  But, as I told my sister at dinner tonight, all of these interviews have come from the high-intensity job search; crazy as it may have seemed, if it leads to a new career, it will have been worth it.  I then rushed off to help prep for a fundraiser dinner this weekend (I may or may not attend; I just like to be helpful in this time of enforced idleness, as the good karma cannot hurt).  I did this until it was time for our SVDP quarterly presidents' meeting, which was this afternoon.  That was largely fine -- always good to catch up with what everyone and downtown is doing -- but there was one particularly humorous episode.  People will call downtown with help for rent and are referred to a parish (particularly the cash-poor parishes in MY district).  The parish tells them that they cannot be helped.  Downtown is concerned about this, of course, but as I pointed out (and this was backed up by many at the meeting), but the parishes have discerned that they cannot offer rent assistance for a reason -- the rent is too damn high, if you will.  (To say nothing of scammers and the fact that in many cases, people are several months behind, so...)  Something like food or utilities is simply easier to handle.  Plus, once you help one person... ten others come to you.  We joked that downtown could bankrupt itself in a month and have twice the number of requests the next month.  More seriously, it is a big problem, but this is not the way to solve it (if there is one).

Then it was off to dinner with my sister -- her turn to pick, and she chose Tropical Bay, right in my neighborhood (I could have walked there but given the storm I was glad I did not!).  It is basically a high-end Chipotle -- you can order a bowl or some menu items, and to be a pain, I ordered a mofongo, which had to be cooked.  But... everything was quite good!  I would definitely go back.  And, it was good to hang with my sister and catch up on things, hear her criticisms of my life (like crazy job interviews and semi-excessive frugality), and exchange the usual gossip.  My turn next month, and I hope I will be able to pick a place without using the gift card pile...

Funny; with all the stuff I had to do today, I handled ALL of the stuff that came into the inbox (in both of my email accounts) today.  There is still some stuff from yesterday that has to be taken care of (some of it fairly major) but... I felt good about that.  Of course, I am hoping that between Thursday and Friday, I will be able to take care of ALL of the stuff that needs to be done.  Probably not, of course, but.... aim high, of course!

I need to start reading again.  One, I have been busy, and two, I have been trying to do some of the Games magazines I have piled up; I reached the monthly contest in the one, and I think I have figured out how to solve it, so my one-in-a-million chance (not quite but almost) of $100 is in play.  I guess it is good to challenge myself differently, mentally.  The J! season is coming to an end; a sign of summer going away but also a chance to rearrange my schedule -- no need to be home, hell or high water, at 7:30.

Ron DeSantis Is Telling Quite a Story About His Religion (msn.com)
I don't know; I think he is trying to 1) energize his flailing campaign and 2) thread a narrow needle between Trump supporters who don't want the shitshow and Christian conservatives looking for a more moral alternative to the Donald.  Now, a Catholic is not much better, to a lot of these people, but if he can appeal to the Van Der Platts voters... well, it might be the only way to get the W in Iowa, and if that is what it takes...

The Defenestration of Centrally Devised Plans

 I guess one theme of the past month has been "life is what happens when you make plans."  Today was a fine example of that, as I had scheduled a bunch of interviews for today and tomorrow to save the rest of the week for other things.  And, of course, some of these interviews were moved to later in the week (begging the question of why they were scheduled in the first place, but yes, stuff happens) so now everything is strung out.  This did free up time for another interview set up by a recruiter (my esteem for these types rising momentarily) but on the whole it was...frustrating.  At least I had some good chats today and the expectation is that there will be more of the same tomorrow.  Also, my blood sugar has been low most of the day -- after being high -- so my plan for a gym double was scotched.  Sigh.  Let's hope tomorrow is a bit...smoother.  I was able to get a sheaf of food pantry paperwork and budget stuff out the door, so there is that.  I am sure the Board loves my newfound attention to these details (to say nothing of Downtown) but ideally this will not be a permanent feature.

Why is Joe Biden so unpopular? (yahoo.com)
I got a kick out of this, and then I decided to check out the comments, and I think they are spot on; inflation really hasn't been settled, wages have not caught up with price hikes, and no one seems to think that Washington has a plan to solve this -- not even the "Whip Inflation Now" type.  When you add in the other things -- the gaffes, the odd family items, etc. -- it doesn't make people feel confident.  Now, of course, because we are Republicans, our ability to screw up the slam dunk cannot be doubted, but... between the candidates (starting at the top) and the policies, I smell catastrophe in 2024.

Government by Reason—or by Passion? | City Journal (city-journal.org)

I rather like Dr. Guelzo, and I read this thing recalling to mind his sonorous voice, which boosted my enthusiasm.  Funny, of course, with all that is going around with Issue 1, and one can imagine both sides adopting his arguments -- that unbridled passions are extremely problematic for a democracy (hence the need for an electoral supermajority) and that the voice of the people must be respected (like it or not).  I suspect Abe would not be for Issue 1 but on the other hand, as the article noted, he was certainly aware of the dangers of the passionate mob, and sadly these types seem to be ascendant nowadays...

Recovery

 Interesting day today -- I had a long day yesterday, meeting a friend, handling some food pantry stuff, and then a wedding, which was fine, but, as I noted, long.  I didn't realize how tired I was until this morning.  Mass was quite nice -- I was the EM, a good homily -- and I had a good workout at the gym, but my blood sugar was a bit low, so no cardio.  I am, though, 186 pounds, so... I guess I cannot complain too much.  Anyways, I nodded off twice today -- I guess I needed it, but I did lose some productive time.  To be sure, I have been busy -- applying for jobs, reading articles, deleting links, handing emails, that sort of thing.  But I always have that sense of more could have been done.  I certainly didn't do any housekeeping or something like that, though, of course, that always needs to be done.  

Why Do So Many People Still Support Donald Trump? - The Authoritarians
I think this is interesting, and largely true, but couldn't the same be said for Joe Biden?  I don't think one needs to go far to point out that the man is... of questionable morality, questionable mental health and acuity, picked a larger liability for veep, has permitted his son to perform a wide range of questionable activities... but for many people, the policies he has delivered and represented are far more important.  I really don't think that you can assail Trump supporters for behaving in the same way as a Biden voter.  Well, of course you can, because...

The Kennedys Were Always Bad - by Josh Barro - Very Serious

Umm...yes.  Of course, one never expects the press to call them on this, but you know, you never saw any GOPers calling them on their egregious behavior, either.  I have always argued that that was one of the things that many GOPers found wonderful (if you will), was that the Donald went after Bill Clinton for his extracurriculars; threatening to put the women who accused the guy of rape in the 90s in the front row of the debates was... well, Romney wouldn't have done it, nor McCain.  I admit there is something unpleasant about this sort of campaigning but in this day and age, it is more than right and just that it is done to them, and if more candidates were like Trump and did it...

Oppenheimer

 You will note that I did not blog yesterday.  This is due to the fact that I went with some friends to see "Oppenheimer," the new Christopher Nolan film about Robert Oppenheimer.  I will admit it was a bit bittersweet; as you know, last year, I went to Los Alamos -- the town literally built by Oppenheimer to build the bomb, and it was sort of sad to see all of the places in the film that I saw (hell, I even hit his house).  Of course, that is in the past... as for the film, it was...good.  I do NOT think it needed to be three hours (especially as we hit the 9:30 showing), and some of the scenes could have been easily culled.  That is a minor quibble; the rest is quite good (and now I have to read the book).  I do think it is a good picture of the man -- his brilliance, his ambivalence about the bomb, his tortured personal and political life.  I am not we can even know why acted as he did, why he didn't recant some of his earlier political affiliations, or how he came to his feelings, but... it was worth it.

Continuing the film thing, today I watched "Endurance," the documentary about the Shackleton exhibition to the Antarctic, and his miraculous escape/rescue of his campaign.  No, I had not seen it before, and it was...quite engrossing.  Hard to believe they ALL survived; it is remarkable, given what they endured and how long they were in those conditions.  

Today was a good day; I went to Community Corner again today (they were short-handed, I have time) and helped out there; sadly, not very busy, but I took more notes and shared horror stories/leadership notes with the staff.  Then I crossed the river and went to the OC to apply cement to some of the floor gaps to control the rodent issue.  Now, I will admit that I will NOT be applying for masonry jobs, but... well, we have a lot of retired blue-collar types as volunteers, and they never filled the holes, so I went and did it today.  I will admit it is not very aesthetic, but the holes are filled.  I mentioned that they should -- if we uncover more -- NOT put the pallets by them and I can go and fill them again, but I suspect that will NOT happen.

Yesterday I had a couple of interviews, and today I scheduled some second interviews, which boosted my morale (as you can imagine).  I mean, I will keep looking and applying, but... this is progress, one hopes.  

I don't know what is worse:  The easy answer for Final Jeopardy tonight, or the fact that only one person got it correct...

Braid

 You will note that I did not blog yesterday; rather, I went to see Braid at the Beachland with a couple of my former coworkers (from job one).  I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not -- for a bunch of reasons -- but my friends were ebullient at the prospect, and honestly, I did need to get out of the house and have some entertainment, so... there I was.  And it was fun; I recalled listening to them back in the day, though honestly -- like a lot of bands -- I couldn't recall one song over any others.  The crowd was not too bad, so the parking around there (not so good in many ways) was equally decent. 

The one funny thing was... my one friend was asking about Issue 1; he had heard of it, but had no idea what it was about (I know!).  So we were explaining to him the basics about it, as well as the inside baseball stuff (to protect the abortion ban).  Humorously...my one friend said that, as an elitist liberal, he would have supported the bill, but now he was not sure, as he wanted to protect abortion...but really believed that people couldn't be trusted NOT to vote against their interests.  I of course was amused, as was he that even I think that this is skeevier than usual for Republicans, and might vote against, as I am a small-d democrat and thus love the idea of referendums and direct democracy.  We promised to keep our secrets safe from the Bernie Bros and the MAGAites, of course.

Two interviews today -- one phone screen, one in-person, and two yesterday.  So that is good.   On the other hand, the interview last week is a no go.  Sigh.  I continue to apply for jobs, and now we await responses.  Thank you notes were sent out -- I think they are recommended, but even if not, I sort of like it...and you know how I am old school.

Curtailing University Graft Can Prevent Student Debt Debacle - The Lid (lidblog.com)
I know I have said this before, but you would think in some GOP state -- and especially one where we actually have Republicans in charge -- they would go after this.  It would be politically popular for one, it would "own the libs," and anything that reduces spending, anywhere, would be advantageous for a GOPer, right?  But no one seems to act on this, which I find odd.

A Sense of Ennui

 You will note I didn't blog yesterday, as I crashed at about 11.  Saturday night we had a family fest -- my cousin turned 60 -- and while it was fun (even if I didn't win at poker; my hands were just not very good) I got to bed after one.  Of course I was up early for Mass, gym, QFT with my sister, and then I visited the nice Polish lady from church.  I brought her Communion, helped her grandson move some stuff out of the basement, had lunch, and took some clothes (from her deceased daughter, very sad!) and other items to the OC.  I guess I was more active than I thought, as while I went home and looked for jobs... well, I was tired.  Hence the crashing.  And, of course, I had a nice, long, restful sleep.

Ha!  I got up at 6:15 (woke up a couple of times) and then I started the day -- applying for jobs, did some food pantry budget stuff, wrote all my Conferences in the East District (even had a couple of reply chains), finished the book I was reading about non-combat deaths in the Civil War (I am up to 41 for the year)...and felt like crap much of the day.  I hit the gym, had a good ride on the bike ("Casablanca" was in the Cardio Theater, imagine that!), and have been meh all day.  I suspect I am truly overtired, depressed about the joblessness, and possibly dehydrated -- I started drinking more water today, but the ratio of water to coffee has not been favorable lately.  And I can tell.  Hell, the category on J! tonight about the "Oppenheimer" movie even depressed me, as Oppenheimer is a huge figure around Los Alamos -- he picked that town as the site to build the bomb -- and I was reminded of my enjoyable time at Pebble.  Alas.

GOP goes all-out to avoid another Senate primary mess - POLITICO
Is this a bad thing?  I mean, I think yes, it is partially correct that there is not a universal agreement on who is electable, but I think we can get a reasonable consensus as to who the most electable candidate would be; simply put, we didn't put enough of these guys in the front in 2022.  We can't have that in 2024.  I tend to agree that we don't want carpetbaggers telling us how to run campaigns, but sometimes we need the adults in the room.

Here’s What Will Probably Happen If Trump Wins The GOP Nomination (townhall.com)
I think this is largely true, and it is certainly in the back of a lot of peoples' minds as they look to 2024.  This IS a problem, as the GOP electorate seems not to grasp this point.  Or, put another way -- the Biden Administration is not pushing legal action against Trump because they think he is most beatable.  They won't admit, but... actions speak larger than words.

I think Ohiolink is letting CCPL members to order books, but not renew them.  This is a good thing, mostly; I think, if this continues, I can shove these books to the top of the pile and by only ordering a couple at a time, I can actually read them and get them turned over.  I do, in some ways, have more time to read, and have been, but I should really be doing other crap as well, and sooner or later Mattie will have to do some adulting and consider Plan B, career-wise.  Sigh.

Bemusement

 Food pantry duty today, and while it was not the zoo of last week, we ended up with 131.  I would say it was steady busy -- no real breaks, only a few times was the line long, but for 95% of the day we had traffic.  Lots of walkers, too; I think a three-quarter house has opened in the neighborhood, and they are coming as well.  This was fine, but... as I noted before, we really didn't have a lot of extras to give people -- mainly bread and bags of nuts, with limited produce and other items, and the meat supply was -- enough but not profligate.  (I will note again that people got TWICE what they would get at our other pantries.)

Anyways, by 11 we were out of produce, and it was down to canned goods, meat, and one bread item.  And, of course, people were....antsy.  They asked if we had stuff, and I would answer with such gems as "the operative word is 'had'," "we are not a grocery store," "people who were here at 8 when we opened got the pitifully small amount we received," and "our deliveries were small and this is all we got."  All of which was true, but.... you would think we were giving them one can of dented cream corn, or something.  I realize these people are Hope and Changers (indeed, they are Hope and Changers upon Hope and Changers) and this beats working (it does not, I can assure you!), but... then, of course, there are the people who assume that we get our stuff for free, which of course brings out "the only people getting free shit around are... you."  This is sometimes over their heads, and sometimes brings out wonder; I mean, I guess if you get SNAP and healthcare for free, you assume that everything else is free, or should be.  I mean, I cannot help but laugh but it is also very tedious, and if nothing else, makes me a better Republican, and thus a better human being.

Ron DeSantis Delivers Strong Performance in Tucker Carlson Interview, Throws Shade at Newsom – RedState
I had some of these on last night, and will try to get the rest done tomorrow... I think it is good DeSantis showed up, and while he may have gotten fawning favorite coverage, he hit many of them out of the park,, and if that helps with the non-Evangelical voter in Iowa, so much the better.

Social Justice Tourism

 *Frankenstein* (1910) – The Public Domain Review
Dare I say this was interesting?  It was!  I am not familiar with the novel, nor many of the film adaptations (save for the original, which I believe is on the National Film Registry), but I recall a bit of it... and it doesn't really match the film.  But the special effects (remember, this is 1910) are pretty cool, and I can easily see how people back then would have been fascinated by the rise of the monster.  

Because I now have so much free time, I continued my tours of the SVDP food pantries, visiting Community Corner at 83rd and Detroit on the West Side -- I guess you could call it the cusp of Gordon Square.  It was interesting.  The site is small (basically a store front) with a small waiting area, a counter, shelves with canned goods and some bakery, and a freezer with the meat offerings of the day.  There is a back area with a small office and some storage for more canned goods... but it is NOT a lot of space.  Clients register (MUST have ID and current address) and then walk to the counter, where clients can pick a set number of food items; mainly canned goods, some random stuff sourced from elsewhere, two bread items, and one meat.  I would say that a client gets slightly less than half of what they get at the OC (although they can come twice a month at Community Corner, albeit not in the same week).  I of course took copious notes, photos, and observations, and will eventually get around to reporting them -- I have not yet written everyone about my trip to our Brookside site.  Everyone was very kind, especially as I served as a volunteer -- the pace didn't seem that hurried (a big change) and I quickly grasped the method of operation.  

Then it was home for some chilling and an interview; the job seemed interesting, but the pay -- added AFTER I applied -- was about half of what I had mentioned for my salary range.  I mean, if they can offer more, fine, but if not...why would you offer the position?  Sometimes, I just roll my eyes at these people.

Let Allie Beth Stuckey explain the proper response to being called a "transphobe" | Not the Bee
Quite right!

Ron DeSantis brushes off early 2024 GOP campaign obstacles - POLITICO
Interesting... similarly, I wonder if DeSantis can win the coveted Vander Platts endorsement in Iowa.  Can it move the needle?  I wonder...if it didn't matter that the favorite candidate was a thrice-divorced serial adulterer in 2016, would it make a difference now?  To be sure, Trump was a new thing then, but now... he is not.  But, Trump does have a good record of supporting the priorities of the Christian right, even if he is not among them.  Of course, so does DeSantis. 

I just realized I forgot to do laundry, so -- here we are, making coffee and throwing stuff in the washer.  I should probably be in bed, but adulting is hard, and if I get it done tonight I can let everything air-dry overnight.  This is what passes for an exciting Friday night around here nowadays...

A Sense of Normalcy

 No blogging yesterday, as instead Favorite Niece and I went to Blossom to see the Story of the Year/Mayday Parade/Yellowcard -- the 20th anniversary of "Ocean Avenue" tour.  I had not seen Yellowcard in many years (mainly at Warped Tour, from what I recall), and it was...very good.  Excellent show, if a bit long -- it started before 7, and ended at 11, with Yellowcard putting on a full 90-minute show.  Our seats were in the poors (pavilion only), but I didn't want to pay inflated prices for the pit.  This is sad, as it is NOT the same to be in a seat and in relative comfort.  Alas.  

Today I decided to be somewhat productive and helped with the Thursday pickups at the OC.  Truth be told, we did not get that much today -- some bread and meat and some random stuff -- and while that is fine, if we have another big crowd Saturday, we will be quickly stripped of everything but canned goods.  This is not a problem per se, but the clients will be...grumpy.  I commented that this was a good thing -- if a store manages its inventory well enough, that will keep costs down for the consumer, and I think it was not exactly grasped by the volunteers.  I can only imagine, therefore, how our entitled clients will field about this.

The new power couple taking on Wall Street: J.D. Vance and Elizabeth Warren - POLITICO
I don't think this is a bad thing.  For one, some bipartisanship is a good thing, and the new GOP is a populist party, and there is nothing more populist than going after big banks and protecting smaller ones.  I would assume that no one from cleveland.com has seen this, as they assume that Vance is some neo-Fascist, but those views may explain why they keep moving into smaller and smaller buildings.

Why Democrats are losing men (msn.com)
I wonder when the GOP will start actively campaigning for men and running on men's issues.  Democrats seem to do it on women's issues -- almost exclusively -- and it does work, so why don't we do it?  To be sure, some of this is because we also do well with married couples, and we can't exclude the wives.  But I think there are plenty of ways in which we could drum up votes -- men don't vote as often, especially the younger ones -- and a targeted approach would be wise here, I think.

Turner Classic Movies Is a National Treasure | The New Yorker
I wouldn't go that far, but it is a good thing to have this around... the thing I am fascinated by is that they are profitable, so I would think keeping TCM around would be... not the worst thing.  Of course, Hollywood is also on strike now, so you can guess how they think about things, too.

Diminution

 My plan to sleep in, of course, was ruined by the fact that I woke up at 7 AM.  This was fine, as my blood sugar was a little high so I decided to hit the gym to lift.  And it was good!  It felt good to lift, got a full range of chest exercises in, and even did some cardio, so my blood sugar was completely normal when I finished.  Then I came home and cut the grass; should have weedwhacked, but I had a couple of interviews, so I had to prepare for them.  Both went well, but I am not sure I have all the skills required for the one job.  The other, though, I think it would be a good fit.  Now it is in the hands of the recruiter.  And the Lord.  I am not quite a patient person, so this is the worst part.

Funny; I have made a to-do list, and while I am completing things on it, new things keep popping up, so the end result is that I am about at the same spot I was last week.  Oi.  I wonder how on earth I achieved anything while working full time!  Anyways, I think I need to buckle down and get more of that stuff done.  At least the email account is slowly being purged, which is also good -- though again more things are coming in.  

I weighed myself today, and I was... 187 pounds.  Haven't been that low in a while.  I am eating less (gotta economize), have not really had snacks in the house, and I have been trying to be more active, even if it is just meandering around the house while reading or doing something.  On the other hand... I really like being thinner, and while I do not think I will see 180 again, it IS worth trying to achieve.

Joe Biden Is an Asshole | National Review
This is good that it is coming out, but until figures on the right call out the press on this -- each and every time -- the point is sort of moot.  If the GOP had any brains -- and we all know what I say about that -- they would have each and every person on every TV spot questioning anyone -- from KJP to the usual CNN and MSNBC types -- about this behavior, the lies, and everything else.  They will of course obfuscate and evade, but that's where the real fun lies...right?

A Most Temporary Hiatus

 Watched "Primal Fear" today.  It was...interesting?  Good not great, I think; legal thriller from the mid-1990s, big cast -- Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, Andre Braugher, Frances McDormand, some others.  Plot is good but it goes in odd places, and the story is largely believable, but again, the plot goes everywhere.  And it is a bit long.  But it wasn't bad, and I mostly enjoyed it.  Funny; my sister told me that while looking for a job is a full-time job for me now, I am spending MORE time on it than a full-time job, so... I guess I figured it was ok to take a little break.  There have been some minor developments on the job front, which is... nice, but, to use a phrase, highly guarded optimism here.

Why all the DeSantis panic? – HotAir
Interesting take; I rather like it, though at the end of the day Trump is still the frontrunner.  To be sure, if Ron can pull out a win in IA, or NH, or SC (I think IA is the most likely of the three), that's different.  I suspect DeSantis does have a good ground game and may be adding some behind the scenes voters, but...he has to.  He is behind!  And... there is still plenty of time before they actually start voting.

Toga Parties, Beer Bongs and … Political Campaigns? Animal House Frat and Presidential Visits. - POLITICO
Fascinating... I think I knew the movie was shot there, but this is a cool look at the history of the house.  I have to admit, if I could visit the place, I would... now, I can see why people might not want to, but it does seem to impart a sense of fun to a campaign.

The March of Progress

 Funny; I woke up at 5:30 this morning -- and of course, could NOT go back to sleep -- and now I am awake and cannot sleep.  Sigh.  To be sure, I did take a light nap this afternoon, gently settling down to rest for an hour, but... this is not good.  I was certainly feeling it this morning at Mass and then at my sister's (she had some chores for me and my 6'1 height to handle).  Now... well, I ended up doing nothing tonight but looking for jobs.  I had saved the link with the list of NE Ohio's list of best employers, so I spent some time there -- finding jobs, uploading resumes, that sort of thing.  I am not sure how helpful this will be, but it is, of course, the illusion of progress, and right now, that is all we have.  Sigh.

My Deeply Unsettling Return to the Moms for Liberty Conference – Mother Jones

I read a couple of these articles this weekend, so we may safely conclude that someone is worried about them.  I mean, I think this is a good thing, in general -- people getting involved in such things as local school board races -- but of course, they are also destroying the status quo, and these groups are just not the liberal playgrounds that they once were, and we just cannot have that.  This is the sort of thing that fascinates me; will it last?  Will it hold?  How many seats can they win?  I mean, crazies will be a part of any group, but how quickly can they be marginalized?  How soon will message discipline, if you will, creep down to the lowest of levels?

The MTV generation’s unemployment problem - POLITICO
This, as you can imagine, was not very heartening.  I get it though -- we are at the age where it is hard to pick up new skills, and you didn't learn them before, and thus it is a question of what next?  Hell, I am certainly feeling it myself!

The Bob Huggins story is incredibly amusing to me.  The wife sent the email?  He wants his job back?  Is he trying to get more severance?  Who knows.  I mentioned to a couple of people that if Rick Pitino can get another job -- and now, a power conference one -- I would think Bob Huggins could get one, especially as he has not run afoul of the NCAA (i.e., no show cause clause).  Maybe he doesn't want another job now, because I think it would have to be a rebuild, but I would like to think that there are plenty of schools who would love to take a flyer on the guy, even if his kids just won't have the fun that Pitinio's "student-athletes" will...

A bit of recovery

Took the blog off yesterday; I went to bed late, as I was at a wedding, which was mostly fun -- honestly, I have been depressed lately (I suspect), and it was good to get out and be among people and do something.  For now.  I mean, I did apply to a bunch more jobs (up to 197), talked to a recruiter, had an interview, and... well, we will see.  That's that.  Today I met a recruiter acquaintance for coffee -- I think he expensed the meeting, not that I blame him -- and then hung out with a friend from out of town who is spending the weekend here.  I need to order library books from the local public library, catch up on the next wave of food pantry paperwork (we had a big crowd today, I wonder if anything is left, not that I was there, but I looked it up), and look for jobs.  Sigh.

My health is better, sort of; my stomach is less rumbly, and my gastrointestinal distress is...reduced.  But I noticed my throat was slightly sore yesterday, and it is so now a bit.  Could be anything, I guess, but... I am not exactly concerned, but annoyed.  I had planned on not setting the clock and sleeping in today, and woke up promptly at 7 AM.  Sigh.

Interesting stuff about the DeSantis campaign today and in the past few days.   Fundraising trails Trump, as do the polls.  But in Politico there were two articles from staffers -- one saying they were behind, and the other saying that it was early, they had a good ground game, and the polls were better in the early states.  All of the above could be true, and probably is, but... it seems to me that for better or worse, Trump has a hold on the GOP primary electorate, and until that is cracked (possibly by embalming fluid), that is a problem....

Ado About Nothing Much

 Long day, though it is one of those things where I am not exactly sure what I did.  Ok, I hit the gym hard, caught up on some food pantry paperwork and other administrative details, applied for jobs (up to 178, with rejections to 24), took the rubbish and the recycling out (hilariously, they finally took the garbage can I wanted them to take, even though they have ignored it the last six times I asked them to), and even got some reading done.  I should switch books, as the ones I ordered from the library are due next week, and for some reason one cannot renew them.  Odd.  I still might, as one of the smaller ones I could polish off, I think.  I can always re-order them, or order others and order them again later, but it is... most annoying.

My stomach remains unsettled, which IS a problem.  I know stomach bugs take a few days to pass -- moreso for diabetics -- but with all else that is going on (or not!) in my life now, I need this like a hole in my head.  I am still not sure what actually caused it, and I have been monitoring my diet to see if anything affects it (not really).  To be sure, I am on a cup of coffee now, and that seems to have no effects, so all is not lost yet.

The West Again Learns That War Needs Industry - WSJ
This could be me, but I doubt we ever forgot it, just that we never really thought it would be needed again (and not in the Ukraine; remember how everyone thought the Russians would just march in?).  Oops.  On the other hand, it is good to discover this now, and I would think there is enough bipartisanship somewhere for everyone to get together and try to solve this problem.   One issue, of course, is that creating this reserve of manufacturing capital means exactly that; building and expanding (and staffing) plants, outfitting them with sufficient technology to produce, and then, of course, either using or storing up what they make.  This is, let's face it, incredibly expensive, especially now and with all the debt we have.  But I do not think we can afford not to...

Cracking Up

 I am reading A World on Fire, which is about the US-UK relationship during the Civil War.  It is interesting (so far) but it is...800 pages.  Thankfully, I own it -- it was bought for me by a church friend at a book sale -- but looking at it...oi.  Plus, the text is small; I read 20 pages at the gym today and it seemed more!  Again, this is not a bad thing, but.. at least I am ahead on my reading for the year, so I do not think it will affect my overall goal of 50.  

Today I slept in a bit, helped my friend with the move, and then hit the gym.  It was good, actually, though I am feeling it now.  On the one hand, I could have said that I had done enough lifting, but of course, that is not really true, and arms day and a spot on the treadmill... well, it was wonderful.   I am below 190 pounds again, though I am not sure if it is because I am eating less or because my stomach is still... wobbly.  This is a bit of a concern -- usually it does not last this long -- and while I am not exactly worried, it does affect certain things.  Not like I am going out every night anyways, though.

The crack at the White House story is simply hilarious, and while I can see how it is a bit mean -- given Hunter's struggles -- it is incredibly apt, and I think -- given all else going on with the guy -- completely appropriate.  Of course they cannot figure out whose it was -- perhaps due to the ubiquity of the drug in DC -- but I don't think we have look very far....

The Fourth Means....Freedom

My streak -- of blogging -- stopped yesterday.  I nodded off about 8:30, woke up a couple of hours, applied for more jobs, and then decided to call it a day... I slept in a bit today, but not too long, as I had to help a friend move, and...well, today was the day to do it, given the weather and such.  Tomorrow will be the first above 90 day -- Warped Tour weather we used to call it, given the propensity of that event to happen on the hottest day of the year.  I mean, today was just right -- plenty of sun but not too hot -- but that should be a change tomorrow.  Not that I am complaining, especially come winter, but...

Odd; usually, I have plenty of stuff on the Fourth, but this year, nothing, which is fine, I guess; I can rest and read and watch the fireworks set off by 52 people on my street.  Actually, I rather enjoy that, as it is against the law here (save for when the city does it) and to me there is nothing more American than people giving the government the finger.  That and now the new custom of not drinking Bud Light, which is also rather enjoyable.  This could be me, but don't they -- at some point -- have to admit that they were wrong and apologize and promise never to do it again?  I realize they will not, of course, but sales will only continue to fall, so...

Moms for Liberty's focus on school races nationwide sets up political clash with teachers unions | AP News
Speaking of American, what could be more American than fighting for what you believe in and then running for office to promote it?  I mean, I can see how some people would object to them, but considering the damage done to the children in public schools, I would think the larger source of toxicity is Randi Weingarten and her ilk, quite frankly.

Late at Night

 So, it was the final "Endeavour" tonight, and it was...fine?  I mean, it resolved all of the character and story plots, wrapped up the loose ends, had a nice tie-in to the original, and...I guess maybe I expected more?  The end plot twist was a bit much, I daresay, and the idea of any police force being scared away by a biker gang... well, I guess in the US with our more militarized police this is not an issue.  Anyways, I will miss the show, although with the wonder of DVDs...well, you get the drift.

As you see, it is quite late, and here I am blogging away.  Oddly enough, my stomach has been a little...active this evening (at least I didn't miss any "Endeavour") and thus I have spent a good deal of time making good time to the bathroom.  Oi.  Funny thing is, I am not sure what caused it -- sensible food all day, nothing really crazy (mainly job searching) to do...odd.  I realize I am not a young man anymore -- I removed a dozen or so gray hairs from my head today -- but this is beyond ridiculous.

Turner Classic Movies wasn't broken — and didn't need fixing : NPR
Quite right; I rather love TCM -- "Casablanca" was on when I finally got home today -- and while I can see how people want to save money (trust me), I also suspect that the savings here would be...minute compared to actual sources of wastage in Hollywood.  Hell, the writers are on strike; find some who are willing to cross the picket line, or hire replacements.  That of course would be a sight to see!

Lazy Saturday

 Summer is flying by; it's July already!  I am starting the month lazily... I did NOT set the alarm last night and woke up at 8:30.  I think it was largely needed; getting seven or eight hours of sleep last night was just what the doctor ordered, and while it would be ideal if I could do it 3 or 4 more nights in a row... well, I feel decent today.  Not great, but... decent enough.  I probably should have hit the gym this morning -- the heat is beginning to be slightly oppressive, so much so that I am closing the windows, save for the evening.  Instead, I did a bunch of online assessments and testing for some interviews and such -- nailed them all, per Indeed -- and let's hope this leads to some progress and that front.  

The Hunt for Judah P. Benjamin, the Spy Chief of the Confederacy - Tablet Magazine
Interesting; he is actually a cool story -- indicative of the ways people could advance in the Old South -- and how he was Jeff Davis's fireman, if you will, during the war.  Funny; the article says that he left Davis on May 3 -- the day before the man was captured by Union forces.  History would have been different in they had both been taken at the same time.  Certainly it says something about him that he was able to rise of the top of the profession in the UK...

How Greg Gutfeld on ‘Fox News’ Is Beating ‘The Tonight Show’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
I think the best part of this article is that fact that no one on the NYT seems to get that what they think is offensive is what is boosting his ratings; or, at least, not the full extent of it.  Much like FNC as a whole, if every late night show is hard left, and one is to the right, well... all of the right-leaning viewers will flock there.  

One thing of note:  my email inbox is much lighter than it used to be, as in the past week I have been better at cleaning it out and going through things.  Not that I measure progress in that way (ha!) but I do like a cleaner approach to things (not my house at times), and handling stuff is one way to get order in my life.  Actually, I should do some house-cleaning, and maybe between now and Tuesday I will celebrate Independence Day by winning the way against grime and clutter...