Mattie is alive

Long break, not that I was trying; Monday and Tuesday I crashed.  Wednesday I joined Team XI at PQ (we came in third, sigh) and then when I wanted to post, I couldn't log in.  And last night I was out -- haircut, dinner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and then a friend was/is in town, so I met him Downtown (he was staying at the Hyatt).  I thought about posting, but... discretion won out.

I have decided I need a new fridge and will be buying one tomorrow.  (Need to take some measurements.)  Mine is old -- a decade -- and not only was it making odd noises, but the fridge part is not very cold.  This is an issue, as I have insulin in there (I have some freezer bags in it for support).  It is pretty sparse in there now -- just pop, potatoes, and some apples.  Alas.  I hope it can be delivered sooner rather than later, but we will see.  I have been paying down the HELOC, and while I wanted to fund some home improvements...well, this is one as well.  And, one needs a fridge.  In the meantime, I am trying to do as much of the catching up as I can as stuff.  Oi!

Exclusive: Phil Mickelson’s Long History of Misconduct
Interesting...  Phil, we hardly knew ye?  And, once we did...

The Platner rape story: all in the timing - The New Neo
But this guy says "Hold my beer!"  I will remind you all that I called this -- sexual assault allegations, or at least worse -- even if I didn't exactly have hard evidence.  Now, for a while I thought he would not withdraw from the race, though he has agreed to do so (for now).  Quite frankly, every GOPer should be making ads with this guy -- and his endorsees/enablers -- front and center, followed by going around and asking Democrats what, if anything, were they thinking.  Now, as they are Democrats, they have plenty little with which to think, but...

Democrats have abandoned Graham Platner - POLITICO
One of my former coworkers -- an admitted and avowed Socialist -- told me that he didn't Platner to withdraw from the race.  I told him that I agreed, and I do not think he picked up my tone...

 Don’t Lock Young Americans Into Social Security | RealClearPolitics
This is an excellent idea, so of course it will never work.

Let’s admit it: The United States is never going to win a men’s World Cup - The Athletic
Monday I watched this game at a soccer party.  Quite dour, especially as it became obvious that we were not going to win.  I don't know... this could be me, and I do not watch much soccer, but it seems like we do soccer the same way everyone else does.  (Boringly.)  Hell, our best players go over to Europe.  Now, if we are not as good as the Europeans are, and we intend to do soccer in the same way that they do, we really won't ever win, will we?  I would think trying to win in our way would be best.  I wonder what a combo of aggressive soccer -- using our size and strength -- AND long-distance shots would work.  Or, considering how often we crammed everyone in front of the box and then we miffed anyway, I wonder if getting out a bit and kicking it in from afar (like our penalty kick goal) might help; we'd have to practice it, of course, and we would have to spread the field, but I think it could be tried.

U.S. soccer’s ‘pay-to-play’ problem: The lightning-rod issue explained in a World Cup context - The Athletic

Isn't this true for all our sports?  It is just that we compete with everyone else in soccer, and come out on the short side...