A Call For Action

The right-wing and Fox News have exploded over the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and... well, they should be.  Now, I am not exactly one of the "never let a crisis go to waste" school, but... it somehow seems appropriate that we should react, and...strongly?  I mean, does the left really want the GOP -- the party of guns and angry young men -- to go there?  Yes, we in the GOP have a long tradition of killing Democrats and traitors, and this would fall into that.  I am always reminded of the Mencken that even a civilized man will, at some point, hoist the black flag and start splitting throats.  No day but today, as they would say...

In the meantime, the new season of J! is off and I am 1 for 3 on FJ!; Tuesday's was completed missed and today's... well, I am surprised I missed it.  At least I am cracking the 40 boundary, if barely (today was a challenge with the categories).  I always say I watch to track my mental decline, and days like today only confirm it.  Alas.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Riley Moore Requests Presidential Medal of Freedom for Pat Buchanan - The American Conservative
On a day like today, this seems...appropriate?  Funny in that he seems an unlikely candidate for redemption, and most of the ideas he advocated (on the social side) have not exactly been policy successes.  And, plenty of people have called out the left for their dishonesties about the economy, social order, etc... Then again, considering some of the people who have received Medals of Freedom...

Dedication

Late here...had a haircut in Lakewood and then met a couple of friends for dinner, which was fine, but it was 10 before I left.  Funny; I went to their house, and while trying to leave, they were trying to close the door and keep the dogs from escaping, and I ended up having the door closed on my forehead.  It was funny as hell then, funny now, but at the time... let's just say that my disdain for pets on practical concerns was... slightly evident.

I am getting a kick out of the Cleveland Heights mayoral recall; namely, these are the people who are marching against Donald Trump every week, but they can't even elect a non-moron and non-Klansman as mayor.  No one seems to be mentioning this to them, which I think is... well, interesting and telling.

U.S. Job Growth Revised Down by 911,000 Jobs in the Year Ended in March - WSJ
Dare I say that this proves the POTUS point about the economic statistics (and that the economy was not that good under Biden, not that that is much consolation, now)?  I mean, that is a large adjustment, and even if the reasons are legit (and I am sure they are), it is certainly a whipsaw.  That is something that should be addressed, one way or another.

American pope, American Lady: The story behind Our Lady of the Prairie
This is an awesome tale!  I sort of want to go out there and see it.  As far as I am concerned, the Church doesn't stress the Virgin Mother enough (in some cases) and it is good to see someone, somewhere, going out and bringing Her to the people...

A New Season

Funny; I tried to go to sleep early (ish) last night, and... I couldn't fall asleep for about an hour and woke up 30 minutes earlier than I set my clock this morning.  Oi.  So I will try again today...I have to admit I am feeling it a bit, so it is wise.  Also wise... me!  No, just a new season of J! tonight -- my summer of unscheduled nights is now past -- and it was good enough to get 44 and the (easy) final.  I will take it at my advanced age...  for all I joke about checking my mental decline... it is not gone yet.  For now.

In Search of Q: The Hypothetical Source for Matthew and Luke
Interesting; I have always had a fondness for stuff like this -- historical mysteries, a legacy of my disbelief/cynicism that I have kept, etc. -- and I think he did a good job explaining it.  I suspect Q is gone, but... one wonders what people have buried in all of the monasteries of Europe -- East and West, or the Vatican Library, etc.  Hell, even the Dead Sea Scrolls were not a person's lifespan away, so one wonders what else may be in the ground?

Divorce Plunged in Kentucky. Equal Custody for Fathers Is a Big Reason Why. - WSJ
Men -- and fathers -- have rights too.  I find it a little hard to believe that we need to amend state constitutions to beat this into the heads of judges, but...it is about damn time.  Of course, seeing the stories about the atrocity in Charlotte...well, methinks that this is not the worst thing libtard judges have done.  More will be done, of course, until these people are held legally responsible for the crap they pull.

U.K. Economy: Is Britain a Canary in the Coal Mine for a Heavily Indebted World? - WSJ
I don't think that any government -- for a hot minute -- will do something about this until they absolutely have to -- but this article indicates the damage caused by getting in the predicament in the first place.  Of course, everyone does it, but that does not help.  Looking at what we are trying to do here to cut spending... well, I do not exactly have much hope for the future, not that I had that much anyways.  Sigh.

Remakings

Not really a Browns fan, but a lot of my friends are, so I was phone-following today while catching up on some work... and it was impressive.  Two missed kicks, two INTs on deflections... yeah, it sounded like a Browns game to me.  And, after a day when tOSU really scheduled the hell out of it...well, Browns are used to this, some way, somehow.

I am ordering for the food pantry this month, and with all of the stuff to consider -- the budget, delivery or pickup, the paucity of menu items -- it is a bit of a challenge.  To be sure, most of it is... self-imposed?  I mean, we could not give out meat, but we want to, and I found some not-too-expensive ground chicken, so there we go.  The produce pickings were thin -- sweet potatoes instead of "real" ones, mainly veggies -- but I made a full order, and I was about $100 under budget.  We had a big crowd in week one -- 177! -- which explained while the shelves were a little bare today.  But, we should be ok.

Funny; I was catching up on some work today, and I was revamping some spreadsheets... they are mine now, in terms of responsibility, so on the one hand, I was doing them in the way I would do, such as pulling stuff from scattered spreadsheets into one (I am still tracking down dead links, but there are fewer of them, and tomorrow is another day).  On the other... well, it was sad, because I know the person who did the work of putting them together -- good work, mind, with about 80% or so kept.  But I felt I could improve the remainder, and there we were... I suspect there are some sheets out there I didn't find (or their source sheets) but I can move them tomorrow.  I hope.

Trump aides plan megabill marketing reboot for GOP lawmakers - POLITICO
Isn't this a bit late?

Covid’s Corporate Welfare Kings | Dan Albert
This could be me, but... isn't this a good thing, that people are going after these companies and trying to force them to pay real wages?  No one likes inflation but this might not be the worst thing, and if we can reduce government spending (and paying out more in wages means you might just get some more tax revenues)...that would offset the inflationary effects of higher wages (somewhat, in theory).  I guess this is something I like about the new and populist GOP...

Mattie Fests

No post yesterday as I took the night off, sort of... I treated myself to a concert and saw State Champs/Yellowcard/A Day to Remember at Blossom.  Big crowd -- I waited a bit before leaving.  Actually, it was funny...on the way there I realized that I had never been to Szalay's, which probably says a lot about me, given that I am...well, you get my drift.  Next weekend, I think!  Then, going to Blossom, I took the "back" way (down 303 to Riverview) and going home I took the Everett/Wheatley way... I have to admit, it is a bit out there, but you really have like 6 different ways to get home once you leave.  Not many people can figure this out (and yes, living here in Broadview puts me at an advantage) but it sure beats going downtown.

As for the show, it was...awesome?  State Champs was quite good, Yellowcard has "retired" so much that they have a new album (it beats real work, to be sure), and A Day to Remember was very good -- played a full set and then some.  I guess I would say there are like Rise Against...you listen and you are like "that's a good song" and then they have another...  Interesting crowd, as there were plenty of people who were my age and a bunch who were younger.  I couldn't help but notice that cocktails started at $15 -- a double was $25 -- and that seemed....excessive?

Today was...fine.  Got up early, gym, a bunch of errands, some stuff at home (I need to swiffer the floors), caught up on some work (sigh) and then went to the dinner at PLAV for the staff of the Red Chimney.  I heard they might not reopen til next year -- at least til February -- which seemed long?  Anyways, dinner was quite good...it was a nice break.  Then home to catch up on stuff and do some reading, and here we are... should be in bed, as always, but...

Don’t like joining in? Why it could be your superpower | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian
This article reminded me of...me?

The US Population Could Shrink in 2025, For the First Time Ever
I am not sure that this is a bad thing; fewer workers in the US should mean an increase in wages, especially for the traditionally low-wage jobs done by immigrants.  To be sure, they should go up, one because it was the mass hiring of immigrants that caused those wages to fall, and two... because most Americans won't (or can't) work them at those wages...yes, the increase in costs is a concern, but we need to get people into the labor market.

Speaking of which, the jobs report was... a mess.  I can't help but think that the Fed is more of a problem than the tariffs.  Too late is a more than appropriate title for Powell... I mean, the tariffs hurt, but the prolonged period of high interest rates are far more injurious -- on both the micro and the macro level -- and the only people talking about it are on our side, which is a concern.

Dragging

Long day and a bit tired... funny, I went to bed earlier yesterday but couldn't fall asleep, so at the end of the day it was sort of a wash.  I think I will try again tonight.  At least I finished the Gates book -- 36 -- and tried to finalize some weekend plans so I could try some other things... and that went about as well as expected.  Alas.  I mean, on the one hand I complain when my friends and I make plans to meet and hang, and then I complain when we can't make it work.  Yes, I am a horrible person, but we knew this.

Is it me, or was the shitshow with RFK Jr... exactly as expected?  I am no fan of the Kennedys, of course, and I think we saw why.  Does anyone think this was a good hire?  I mean, you could have found someone (anyone, I think) who could do the same MAHA stuff without, say, disavowing vaccines and getting rid of fluoride.  Yes, there would be fewer headlines, but it would be more effective.

Funny; I got invited to a family fest later in the month, and literally every day on the weekend has something going on; this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not necessarily a good one, as even this past weekend was a lot busier than expected, and there are times when it is good to simply chill.  Mind you, I don't have food pantry duty this month, which would be a time commitment in and of itself -- just the food ordering, which is going to be fraught enough.

Reactions

Bit of an earlier post today -- trying to get to bed a tad earlier (in theory).  Just another long day, and I didn't feel like hitting the gym, so I instead had dinner (finished up the Romanian sausage from a few days ago -- good but a bit spicy) and took a long walk around the neighborhood.  It is still warm enough to do so, but the earlier dark is unsettling.  I am not saying I should do this more often -- gym is gym -- but I could do both once in a while.  In the meantime, I am entertaining notions of some culinary journeys this weekend.  Funny; this month I have a lot of things I could do and I will try to hit them...part of the summer of fun, at least the summer of Matt-fun.

‘Exmo’ Influencers Mount a TikTok War Against the Mormon Church - WSJ
Interesting.  You know, I should read the Book of Mormon.  Never have, and not that I have any sense of belief in it, as part of cultural literacy/intellectual curiosity it might be useful, or informative, or something like that.  In the meantime, as a Catholic, I sympathize with the defenders, somewhat.  

I am almost done with Henry Louis Gates' Stony the Road, which discusses the rise and role of Jim Crow in America.  It is interesting, and quite good, though I cannot help but note that 1) He seems not to mention that it was Democrats -- until quite recently, mind you -- who created and defended this system for a century-plus and 2) He seems to assign all of the opposition to Obama/the rise of Trump to racism.  I think the latter is far worse than the former, because 1) Principle, or a sense that someone is wrong about something is not racist, and 2) The flip side is that if everything is racism, people are going to decide that they may as well be racist.  I am not sure if anyone has ever asked Dr. Gates -- or any other Democrat in this country -- if they really believe this to be true, and if they realize what they are sowing.  Of course, they are Democrats, and if they do not realize that giving the drooling moron the nuclear codes is a bad idea...

Randoms

I just crashed yesterday -- not sure why, though the usual suspects apply.  Maybe I was a bit down in that I didn't do as much as I wanted to do this weekend -- Sunday I ended up helping some people move and I think that and the parish fest caused me more exhaustion than usual.  I ended up crashing on the living room floor, which is indicative of a problem in and of itself.  Alas.  

This morning I was washing dishes and my Scooby-Doo mug broke -- it has been cracked once and I patched it up, and this time the piece just came off.  I was tempted to repair it and then I realized I could probably order another one... so tomorrow I will do so.  Favorite Niece bought it for me, and I think we all know how surprisingly saccharine and maudlin I am about some things.

I gotta admit, the Trump presser today -- the one when Peter Doocy asked him about his death and he went on his zingers -- made me pee my pants.  Wrapped in all the truth -- that Biden was stage-managed at every step while the Donald is a free-ranger -- is something else... that for all of the complaints about policy, the man is certainly all there.

Democrats at the Crossroads in Virginia – HotAir
This ad is pretty good, actually -- bit long for TV but then again who watches TV anymore (at least in the traditional sense).  I don't know; I think VA is a reach state for us -- more blue than purple, all of the government workers like their iron rice bowls, Youngkin won because McAuliffe shit the bed in the debate -- but on the other hand Sears has picked up her game, the Dems are making some errors, and... why not?  I mean, this is the state where the Democratic governor (of course) was caught in blackface and there were...crickets.  So... I am not exactly full of hope.

Is it me or is UNC taking some well-deserved crap about the debut of Belichick?  I mean, it is one thing to lose, it is another to do so 48-14.  At least it was the anniversary of UM-Appalachian State yesterday, so the people in the Tarheel State can console themselves with that.