Which brings us to the Democrats’ “big lie” — that Joe Biden was just fine. He was not. Yet he was encouraged to run again. When the party’s big guns (Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama) finally hustled him off the stage, it was too late. Harris barely had a chance to leave the gate before it was over. Despite spending $1.4 billion, she was bound to lose.
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Oh, that one relative...
Friday, November 29, 2024
Haiku Friday: Leftovers
I love Thanksgiving-- and the day after. Not because it is "Black Friday," (I'm not ready to shop yet), but because of everything else: family together, outings to museums, and leftovers. So let's haiku about those this week. Here, I will go first:
24 pound bird
So yeah, there are leftovers
And people to love.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun.
Thursday, November 28, 2024
The Bounty is Great
I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday, mostly because I love the idea behind it so much. Gratitude makes life so much better. I know some people who spend most of their time appreciating what they have and see and do, and many others (including some of those who are the most affluent) who mostly gripe about their relatively minor hardships. Which group people fall into seems to be determined by what they choose rather than their relative situations. One group, not surprisingly, is more happy than the other.
It's not hard for me to see all that is good-- my parents taught me to do that from the time I was very young. It might have been their best gift to me. And, of course, I'm very fortunate in so many ways.
And today I see people I love, work that fulfills me, beauty in this world, friends I cherish, and challenges I can handle. A perfect time for thanksgiving, the verb.
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
One more weekend....
If the season were to end today, the above chart (from WaPo) shows how the playoff would look, based on last night's CFP rankings:
Of course, the season does not end today. Here are some games coming up this weekend that could throw a wrench in things:
-- Michigan could, maybe, probably won't, beat Ohio State. Were that to happen, Ohio State would probably still be in, just with a worse seeding.
-- Vanderbilt might beat Tennessee; after all, they already beat Alabama, and will be at home. That could knock Tennessee out altogether.
-- Texas could lose to Texas A & M. That would just make things messy.
-- I have a hunch Arizona State will either lose to Arizona this weekend or in the Big 12 final, knocking them out.
-- Georgia could lose to Georgia Tech. But they probably won't....
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Oh, this could be interesting...
[I asked AI to give me a picture of "angry Canadians and Mexicans," and this is what it gave me-- guys in jeans and a monster riding on the hood and roof of a 1970's-era VW Karmann Ghia. Go figure]
Yesterday, Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social:
As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border. On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!
If that happens, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. US auto manufacturers shifted much of their manufacturing to Canada and Mexico after Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into being, which had a terrible effect on Detroit. But once it is done, can it be undone?
Monday, November 25, 2024
Here's who's coming to Thanksgiving....
So many great haiku! I loved this one from Tim:
I want to invite
Lots of thankfulness and joy
With sweet potatoes.
Lots of thankfulness and joy
With sweet potatoes.
Jill Scoggins has unusual plans:
Dining at Churchill
Downs this year with dearest friends.
Giddyup ponies!
Downs this year with dearest friends.
Giddyup ponies!
While IPLawGuy is experiencing all of it:
Thanksgiving Guests? Stress!
Anxiety! As for me,
Turkey on the Grill.
Anxiety! As for me,
Turkey on the Grill.
While Christine doesn't share his stress:
Crystal, fine china...
Turkey, cranberry, green beans
Laid back and stress free.
Turkey, cranberry, green beans
Laid back and stress free.
The Medievalist sees snow (which is likely):
Heading north to farm,
What could possibly go wrong?
Blizzard mania!
What could possibly go wrong?
Blizzard mania!
Desiree is making it large (and probably turkey-free):
Hubby says the house
is too small 🙁. But I just keep
inviting more folks 😎.
is too small 🙁. But I just keep
inviting more folks 😎.
An anonymous writer has a similar issue:
Too many people
In too small a space, but what
Can you do? Fam’ly.
In too small a space, but what
Can you do? Fam’ly.
And Tim had another (and dude, I don't even try):
Try to eat healthy
Oh no here comes pumpkin pie
And too much gravy.
Oh no here comes pumpkin pie
And too much gravy.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Sunday Reflection: Kingdom and Power
Power-- the ability to force people to do things-- is a fascinating thing: people want it, but it never lasts. At best, it ends when you die. Meanwhile, influence-- the ability to convince people to things of their own free will-- can far outlast the life of the teacher. Jesus is the ultimate example of this; he denied himself power, but his influence is profound even two millennium after his time teaching ended.
Jesus baffles the authorities by denying kingly power-- but here in John 18 he explains his true role:
33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
This to me says something simple: Jesus came to tell the truth and urge people towards what is right, not to use power to force people to do things. We need to be careful when we call him a "King."
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Well, HE's still talking about the election....
Friday, November 22, 2024
Haiku Friday: Who's coming for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a great gathering time. Perhaps you are having a crowd (or part of a crowd) this year, or maybe in the past. Either way, let's haiku about that this year! Here, I will go first:
Wednesday frenzy
The arrivals continue
"Come in from the cold!"
Now it is your turn! Just use the5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, November 21, 2024
PMT: The AG?
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
The Trump Administration/Reality Show Nexus
Back around 2017, some people accused Donald Trump of treating politics and governing like a reality show: maintain lots of drama, create internal conflicts, and do whatever it takes to make sure people are watching.
This time around, a number of Trump administration figures (or appointees, at this point) are actual reality show or game show alums:
Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary (The Real World)
Linda McMahon, Education Secretary (WWE)
Mahmet Oz, Medicare/Medicaid Admin. (two weeks on Jeopardy)
Donald Trump (The Apprentice)
I'm pretty sure I am missing some-- help me out?
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Still Number One
After 11 weeks, I'm still number one in the country in Yahoo's College Pick'em. I explained my method here last week and it is... not scientific. But, apparently, effective!
Monday, November 18, 2024
So many great poems about... couches!
Zounds! I had no idea this would be such a popular topic!
Jill Scoggins told a great story:
Leather sofa has
“baseball stitching” that hubby
loves. So we keep it.
He’s a sports writer.
Sports rules his life. So it rules
mine to a degree.
Twenty-plus years on,
sofa needs retiring. But…
he can’t let it go.
“baseball stitching” that hubby
loves. So we keep it.
He’s a sports writer.
Sports rules his life. So it rules
mine to a degree.
Twenty-plus years on,
sofa needs retiring. But…
he can’t let it go.
We had this tale from IPLawGuy:
Made partner, bought couch
Office move, took the couch home
Cat pee; had to go.
Office move, took the couch home
Cat pee; had to go.
And Desiree's family had a dog/couch issue:
“No dogs on the couch!”
That is what my parents said.
“Yeah, right” said the dogs.
That is what my parents said.
“Yeah, right” said the dogs.
Dr. Daniel Price used the couch to good effect:
My plan: get her to
sit there, so that she'd then want
it. Sofa, so good.
sit there, so that she'd then want
it. Sofa, so good.
Christine, like WCWM, had a blue couch:
Faded, blue leather
Have spent so many a night
Enjoying sweet dreams.
Have spent so many a night
Enjoying sweet dreams.
And so many anonymous but excellent entries, like this:
Some timely advice:
I wouldn't sit there if I
Were you -- couch, three kids.
I wouldn't sit there if I
Were you -- couch, three kids.
And this:
Brown corduroy couch
So ugly but so comfy!
Felt like a warm hug
So ugly but so comfy!
Felt like a warm hug
And this:
Lumpy dumpy couch
Got it from the (wrong) roadside
Still sitting on it.
Got it from the (wrong) roadside
Still sitting on it.
And this:
Soporific couch
Two minutes before sleep hits
Magical sofa.
Two minutes before sleep hits
Magical sofa.
And, finally, this:
Three dogs. One love seat.
One has to go. A problem.
Dog ate the couch. Solved.
One has to go. A problem.
Dog ate the couch. Solved.
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Sunday Reflection: About Men and Christ
This election brought to the surface a view of masculinity-- an idea about how men should be-- that is not just dangerous but profoundly unChristian.
Here is how that ideal is portrayed:
-- Admirable men are rich, handsome, and powerful
-- Men have a duty to protect and control women
-- "Real men" don't admit being wrong, and are willing to fight for their honor.
It's a recipe for a dysfunctional society, of course. It takes away the agency of half the population, obscures the crimes of the powerful, and stifles change.
But also, and importantly given that most of these men identify as Christian, it runs completely contrary to what Christ taught:
-- It is acting to help others that is admirable, regardless of that actor's wealth, looks, or power.
-- Jesus's encounters with women were always respectful, and not controlling. Like men, they have agency to do what is right or not.
-- Jesus emphasized again and again the importance of humility and confession. As for protecting one's honor... he spoke directly to that. If someone strikes you, offer the other cheek; if they take your coat, give them your cloak.
Where are we headed?
Saturday, November 16, 2024
The most Detroit interview ever
Friday, November 15, 2024
Haiku Friday: Favorite Couch
Look how happy those bears are! And no wonder-- they have a great couch, as most of us have at some point in our lives. And some bad ones. Either way, let's haiku about that this week! Here, I will go first:
WCWM's couch
Blue, vinyl, sticky, lumpy
It could tell stories...
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, November 14, 2024
PMT: The Most Significant Lie
Writing in the Washington Post, Kathleen Parker argued that the biggest lie of the entire presidential campaign was the claim that Biden was mentally fit for another four years of service. Here is how that piece ends:
By lying about Biden’s mental acuity and scrambling to turn an unpopular vice president into a hot ticket, Democratic Party leaders left voters dissatisfied with a last resort. How sad for President Biden that his legacy is President Trump.
She is right about the damage done by that lie. As a Democrat, I'm sick of being told by party leaders whose turn it is to run for president-- a process that hasn't gone so well for us. In 2028 there needs to be real, vigorous primaries and no anointment.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Appointments!
Donald Trump is wasting no time in choosing people for key roles in his administration. Here are some of the selections so far:
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State (previously, Senator)
Matt Gaetz, Attorney General (previously, Member of Congress)
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense (from "Fox & Friends")
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security (SD Gov.)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services (prev. cand. for pres.)
Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior (previously Governor of North Dakota)
Doug Collins, VA Secretary (previously, Member of Congress)
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director (previously Director of Nat'l Sec., Congress)
Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador (previously, Member of Congress)
Tulsi Gabbard, Dir. of Nat'l Intelligence (previously, Member of Congress)
Mike Waltz, Nat'l Sec. Advisor (previously, Member of Congress)
Lee Zelda, EPA Administrator (previously, Member of Congress)
Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff (previously, Trump campaign)
Bill McGinley, WH Counsel (previously, Cabinet Secretary)
Todd Blanche, Deputy AG (previously, Trump's defense attorney)
Thomas Homan, "Border Czar," (previously, ICE)
Steven Miller, Deputy Chief of Policy (previously, Special Advisor)
James Blair, Deputy Chief of Staff (previously, Trump campaign)
Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff (previously, Trump advisor)
Taylor Budowich, Deputy Chief of Staff (previously, MAGA Inc.)
Mike Huckabee, Amb. to Israel (previously Gov. of Arkansas, Fox News)
Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy, "Department of Gov't Efficiency" leaders (Note: this doesn't actually exist, and will apparently be outside of the actual government. Curious.)
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
#1
Every year, I play a game with thousands of other people on the Yahoo platform called College Pick'em. Every week, I pick the results of 25 college games against the spread, and hope to move up among the others playing across the country. I usually enter in three categories: fans of Baylor, people from Minnesota, and then the pool of everyone in the country. Right now, I am #1 in all three. [And yes, Class of '31 is my ID).
You may wonder what I did to achieve this lofty status after 11 weeks of play. Do I assiduously research injury reports and the latest news on every team?
No, I don't.
Do I have favorites that I bet on regularly?
No, I don't.
Do I furtively seek out the spirits of college football to divine the outcomes?
No, I don't.
Instead, I have a pretty simple process: I always pick the better academic institution (and I do have a system for that). It doesn't have anything to do with football, but it does have a lot to do with betting. The spread is established by how bets come down on each side, and there is a bias against good academic schools, so people tend to bet against Duke and Stanford and Northwestern (for example) for an irrational reason-- academic prowess. The strong academic schools also tend to be smaller, so there are fewer alums betting on their alma mater, skewing the odds. It usually puts me above average-- but this year I have had that and a lot of luck!
Monday, November 11, 2024
Poems, from angry to resigned....
On the election, you told your truth. This came from CraigA:
Desiree had a tough task:
I looked at a class
of sad, scared faces Wednesday.
Tried to give them hope.
of sad, scared faces Wednesday.
Tried to give them hope.
Christine sought refuge:
I left Florida
Returned to my blue enclave
in woods, cocooning
Listening to jazz
And audio books so many,
Swimming clears my head.
Returned to my blue enclave
in woods, cocooning
Listening to jazz
And audio books so many,
Swimming clears my head.
The Medievalist.... well, he's in Texas:
Texas just parties,
The just love Ted Cruz a lot,
It bewilders me.
The just love Ted Cruz a lot,
It bewilders me.
Jill Scoggins had a rough evening:
Falling asleep then
waking up. Hoping results
are diff’rent. They’re not.
waking up. Hoping results
are diff’rent. They’re not.
And Anonymous steers us to the right task:
Love your neighbor, no
exceptions - such a hard task,
but I have to try.
exceptions - such a hard task,
but I have to try.
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Sunday Reflection: A Proud God
There are things about our modern worship that don't seem to fit with what I see in the Gospels. One of them, a big one, has to do with humility.
When I read what Jesus taught, I see an emphasis on humility, over and over. We are to see the log in our own eye, not the stye in another; we must give serve others to truly lead; the first will be last and the last will be first. It is there in so many parables, and of course in the example of Jesus's life and death itself.
So we have a faith that is centered on humility. Yet, we seem to imagine a God that requires constant praise, who completely lacks humility. Jesus implores us to love God, which is not the same as to praise him. The modern trend towards praise music at the exclusion of nearly everything else is just one sign of that.
It might be that praise is easy theology. There is no sorting out social issues or fretting about what we can do for the poor or conflicts over the source of our understanding. Many church leaders are all about avoiding conflict by standing on common ground, and they do that through praise theology.
And, of course, there is an industry-- particularly, a music industry-- built up around this easy theology.
I just can't imagine a God who needs our praise. What kind of God is that? But the fact that so many do imagine such a God makes it easier to understand how they have conflated God with Donald Trump-- who inarguably does demand praise.
Of course, there is some role for the praise of God, but it is for our benefit, not God's. Praise reminds us that God is greater than us, which is a root of my own theology. It's simple, but profound. Yet, that needs to be a starting place, not the whole message.
Saturday, November 09, 2024
Oops!
Friday, November 08, 2024
Haiku Friday: Post-election reflection
You know that I gotta go there, right? Here, I will go first:
Television glows
Red, blue, red, red, red, red, red.
"Magic Wall," so red.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, November 07, 2024
Political Mayhem Thursday: Now with even more mayhem!
Was I surprised by the outcome of the election? Yes, I was. Do I have some predictions about what comes next? Also yes:
-- First, the world isn't ending. And we have about two and a half months left of the Biden Presidency (remember him?) that could be very consequential-- if Biden is active and engaged. That could be a very big "if."
-- Second, some of the things Trump described doing "on day one" are just impossible to implement. For example, mass deportations would require huge amounts of personnel to carry out, and they just aren't available "on day one." Day 560, maybe... but even then it would be a hugely expensive and disruptive project and it could be we stop hearing about that for a while.
-- Third, the Elon Musk/Donald Trump relationship is inherently unstable. They both love the limelight, and Trump will be loath to share it. If they turn on one another, it will be a battle royal.
-- Fourth, the one thing Trump seems most likely to do is to cut taxes. He did that last time, after all, rather than build the wall and get Mexico to pay for it (among other things he talked about a lot in the campaign). Certainly, those tax cuts could juice the economy for a while, but it will also spike the national debt. But.... I seem to be the only person in America who pays attention to the national debt.
Wednesday, November 06, 2024
An important mission
I don't know about you, but I found yesterday to be kind of exhausting.
Yeah, I loved voting in the morning-- I always do. For the first time ever, I saw people waiting in a long line at my polling place. But wait they did, as they did all over the country. That was the best part of the day.
In Minnesota, we will have Tim Walz back here as full-time governor. And, in this new era, that will be a very important job. Here's why:
It's common to say we are becoming "two nations," referring to blue and red states, and there is some truth to that. But the deeper truth is that each state is becoming, in a way, its own nation. Red states are different than one another, and the same is true of blue states: Oklahoma is not the same as Indiana; Minnesota is not California. Texas is putting up its own border controls. My own state is an island surrounded by red-- we might as well be our own country, one that people flee to if they need an abortion.
To get through the coming years, a governor like Walz will be more like a president-- he will be leading a government that is largely cut off from the federal government both in culture and practice.
Are we ready for that?
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Things to do today
1) Vote
2). Text a friend and see how they are doing
3) Have a good lunch
4). Don't check in on the news until after 7 pm
5) Read about sports
6) Check on when Christmas events will be happening where you live
7) Finish up those travel plans for the holidays
8) Watch a few old SNL clips
9) About 3:30, have a snack
10) Wear comfy socks
