Osler's Razor

Yesterday morning I went in to have some dental work done. Two of them worked away, anesthetizing my lower face until my lips felt like putty and my tongue like a discount bratwurst.  Then, of course, I went in to work to field calls about the Mueller investigation. "Mrrrph mmlllth thurb," I told WCCO. When the guy from the CBC called, I told him "Manaflorb mrph flurb." It should make for some great quotes.

Some quick takes on the news from yesterday:

-- In terms of what came out, the Papadopolous plea was much more important to the bigger picture than Manafort being charged, because Papadopolous has been talking to Mueller's folks since July. They cleverly got what they needed from him before entering the plea, meaning that Trump could not interfere with a pardon or public bullying.

-- The key fact about Manafort is that he is 68.  Money laundering has a 20-year maximum, and it is easy to bump up those guidelines. A ten-year sentence is natural life at that age and the subpar health care of prison, and that is a strong incentive to cut a deal.

-- There is now a bit of the iceberg popping out above the water... but only a bit.  There is a lot of speculation, a few facts, and lots of possibilities.

Anyways, those are lesser things. Over at his blog, my dad wrote this week about greater things (and combined it with some great photos, like the one above):

I find class in watching an older artist applaud the efforts of a young artist at the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club and in the crowds that sometimes overflow the venues at Detroit’s Jazz Festival, even when they have to stand out of view of the stage they remain uncomplaining out of respect for the music. I find it in watching a young woman standing in line at Kroger give her place to an older customer and in friends who remain friends through the years. I find it in the Eastern Market farmer who lets you know when you have overpaid and in photographers who don’t use flash. Class can be found when a stranger  wishes you a good day, when an executive’s purpose is to retain workers rather than profits, when  leaders  respect their critics as well as their followers, and when teachers  learn from their students while they teach.  We see a lot of class when winners and losers get a beer together at the local bar after the game.