Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Well, that was weird
On Monday, there was a huge power outage across Spain, Portugal, and even a part of France. Subways shut down, traffic lights stopped working, and lights went out. The weird thing is that no one is really sure what caused it.
Officials are referring to it as a "systems collapse," which is usually driven by the demand side-- say, when a huge heat wave hits and everyone turns on the AC full blast at the same time. However, there was no such event.
And there is this: internet and phone service was affected, too.
The scary thing about this is that they don't know. Sadly, that seems to be the answer to too many things lately.
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
DC to get kinda-scary stadium
Yesterday, officials in Washington, DC announced plans for a brand-new 65,000-seat stadium for the town's "professional" football team, the Washington Commoners. It will have a roof and what looks like six (!) decks rising vertically over the Anacostia River on the site of the old RFK stadium. Those top seats make me a little dizzy just imagining it.
The total cost of the development-- which includes not only the stadium but a parking lot, a concession stand, 4 port-a-potties and a place where people can set up card tables and hand out pamphlets about their religion (among other stuff)-- will cost about $3.7 billion, with the team's owners covering $2.7b and DC taxpayers the other $1b.
Currently, the Commoners play their home games in Landover, Maryland, and I like the return to the city.
What do you think, IPLawGuy?
Monday, April 28, 2025
On Misbehavior
I worried about this topic... but I needn't have! People really came through, and Craig's was one of my all-time favorite entries:
Never good to be
too good; we need to own the
shadow: dark and light.
Need to honor our
inner Ferris Bueller; even
Saints need a day off!
too good; we need to own the
shadow: dark and light.
Need to honor our
inner Ferris Bueller; even
Saints need a day off!
And this anonymous entry (yeah, little sisters...):
My little sister
Got away with everything!
She made us all laugh
Got away with everything!
She made us all laugh
Tim brought not one:
Dig into the dark
But not that dark or hurtful
Just mutual laughs.
But not that dark or hurtful
Just mutual laughs.
But two:
Laughing at dying
Writing obituaries
Celeb limericks.
Writing obituaries
Celeb limericks.
Christine was her usual high-quality self (and, fact check: accurate):
Trouble, moi, never
Was called Miss Goody two-shoes
Now make Good Trouble.
Was called Miss Goody two-shoes
Now make Good Trouble.
And another anonymous chimed in:
He liked to eat what
Fell at his feet—long dead fish
Old Big Macs—Dang dog!
Fell at his feet—long dead fish
Old Big Macs—Dang dog!
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Two spheres, or one?
Here is something I believe, straight up: I think our government should feed the poor, cloth the naked, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger. I believe these things because of my faith; that's what Jesus said was important to do. It's not a violation of church and state for me, as an individual, to want my government to do those things.
Many disagree with me, from two directions. One group of critics include those who want a sharp wall of separation between church and state, a wall that even extends within our own selves, such that our faith does not intersect with what we think about government.
A second group of critics thinks that what I list above counts as "charity," and that is the duty of private individuals and groups, not the government.
Both critiques ask for a destruction of integrity-- that there be two spheres we create.
To the first group, I would say this: I can't do that (separate my political self and personal self), and it's not fair to expect me to put aside my core values when I vote. In other words, I can't have two spheres inside me, one for politics and one for everything else.
To the second group, my answer is this: Isn't all the world God's? And if you believe real truth lies in faith, why would you carve out a part of that world from being subject to those truths? In other words-- why would we divide the external world into two spheres, one of which is subject to the truths we believe, and the other is not?
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Intriguing!
I've become a little obsessed with Slate, the new EV company that is making a completely unadorned $25,000 electric pickup (well, they will actually make it starting in 2026). Check it out:
Friday, April 25, 2025
Haiku Friday: Misbehavior
Even good people get into some mischief now and then. Let's haiku about that this week-- it can be your own rascality, or that of someone else.
Bart Simpson: famous
For being up to something
Never very bad.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, April 24, 2025
PMT: No Deal in Ukraine
Back when he was running for the office, President Trump asserted that he could cut a deal to end the war in Ukraine in one day. It still hasn't happened, nearly 100 days out.
Yesterday, Ukraine rejected a proposal by the US that would basically give Russia everything they want: Crimea, the land they now occupy in Ukraine, and a pledge that Ukraine would not join NATO. That wouldn't be a deal; it would be a surrender by Ukraine.
It would seem that there will not be a negotiated truce, nor will there be continuing material support for Ukraine from the US. That means that one of three things will happen.
First, Ukraine could be isolated and suffer a defeat on the battlefield, probably extending over years.
Second, Europe could more actively back Ukraine, leading to the Russians being repelled. I'm aware that a lot of experts are saying that couldn't happen, but those same experts thought Russia would take Kiev in a matter of weeks. Underestimate Ukraine at your own peril.
Third, a different third party might intervene to negotiate an outcome that both sides grudgingly accept. If that happens, it is now clear that the third party making the deal happen will not be the US, and that (like the other two outcomes) only adds to our diminishment on the world stage.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Pope Francis
Like many others, I greatly admired Pope Francis, and will remember him well. He was a man who probably reflected my own beliefs more than any other religious or political leader of the past few decades, though his actions were more effective and consistent than my own. He never, ever, ever lost sight of Jesus's command that we must serve the least among us.
I never met him, but felt his presence twice. The first time was when I was teaching in Rome, and went to Vatican City to come out into the square in his Pope-mobile. It sounds kind of corny, but it wasn't. What I was most taken by was a young woman near me who was nearly hiding behind a pillar. When Pope Francis appeared she began weeping with emotion. I pretty much ignored the Pope and watched her, this modern Mary.
The second time was at the end of last year. Many of us were trying to find a way to convince Joe Biden to commute the sentences of the men on federal death row. We were trying... but Pope Francis did it.
Not many of my heroes are heads of states or denominations. But this one, yes.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
The Coming Disaster
Good presidents and bad face them: the cataclysmic event that somehow no one saw coming. Sometimes it is a natural disaster (Katrina) or a pandemic or an economic collapse or a military conflict or... well, it's hard to even know.
The last one we faced was the pandemic, and the truth is that Trump handled that pretty well (though he later disowned most of the actions he took). He shut things down, imposed health mandates, rushed vaccines to the market, and increased government spending to keep the economy going. Seriously-- it was not a bad response. Things could have been much worse if he had refused to do any of those four things (though, of course, it could have been better and more consistent).
That was a different administration, though, one that had not ejected from government the people with expertise in each of those areas, and which still maintained a civil service able to carry out those crucial tasks. It could be very different the next time. Trump had conflicts with the medical experts in 2020, but he more or less did what they advised. But now, there are not really the same kind of medical experts in place, or expertise in other key areas.
I don't wish any such cataclysmic event on our country-- but somehow they do find us.
Monday, April 21, 2025
On Birthdays
Good work, all! It sounds like Desiree and I both have February birthdays:
Tie up your ice skates!
Time for the February
icy birthday blast!
Time for the February
icy birthday blast!
And CraigA was well-fed:
Birthday spareribs were
My choice; always a highlight
With chocolate cake!
My choice; always a highlight
With chocolate cake!
Anonymous had a good memory:
Mom made ice cream cake
Angel food, rainbow sherbet
Epic sixth birthday!
Angel food, rainbow sherbet
Epic sixth birthday!
And so did Christine:
A summer birthday
Swim party, and lots of cake,
With friends and fam'ly.
Swim party, and lots of cake,
With friends and fam'ly.
While another anonymous writer just wasn't down for it:
As a quiet child
I never wanted birthdays
Too much attention!
I never wanted birthdays
Too much attention!
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Sunday Reflection: When nothing is everything.
A part of the Easter story I love is this: That the wonder was in finding nothing.
In so many heroic stories, the apex is finding something, like a magical ring or hidden treasure or oneself. But in the Easter story, when the women go to Jesus's tomb, what they find is the stone rolled away and inside the tomb is... nothing. And that is the world-changing miracle.
Sometimes, it is like that. We expect something terrible, all signs point to tragedy, we expect a dead body and then... nothing. Hallelujah!
I often think of that moment at the tomb when clemency is granted to someone in prison. Because what will happen is that they... well, they won't be there. The cell will be empty. Hallelujah!
I know that people will not like the idea that I am comparing the story of Christ to people in prison. But (as some of you have heard me say) that all was Jesus's idea-- he was the one who said "when you visit those in prison, you visit me."
So today is a day about finding no one there. Hallelujah!
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Kind of on point....
Friday, April 18, 2025
Haiku Friday: Birthdays!
We all have them. Some like to celebrate, some would rather hide-- but we all have at least one we remember. It can be yours, or someone else's... but let's haiku about that this week! Here, I will go first:
Got to choose dinner
I always chose KFC
Happy kid, happy Mom.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, April 17, 2025
PMT: So... this is about anti-semitism?
Last week, the home of a Jewish family in Pennsylvania was firebombed during Passover, not long after they completed a Seder. Fortunately, no one was killed or hurt, but the damage was extensive and people easily could have been victimized. The two Molotov cocktails were hurled by a man named Cody Balmer.
You would think that given the Trump Administration's oft-declared focus on combatting anti-semitism, they would be all over this. But, no. It turns out that the suspect was fervently anti-Democrat, and the victim was the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro.
Instead, they are focusing on universities where protests were held during the height of the conflict between Gaza and Israel. The dispute with Harvard, in particular, is bringing out the fact that the supposed focus on anti-semitism is really a pretense; what the government really wants is control over those universities, which always present a challenge to governing bodies.
It's too bad, too, in a lot of ways. For one thing, there is actual anti-semitism in this country, just as there is a raft of other toxic biases. And the administration's attempts to address anti-semitism AND root out those parts of universities that identify and eliminate bias (ie, DEI offices) is inherently contradictory. Do you care about bias or not?
I think the answer is not. And the agenda is really about something else.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
They're all gone....
If you don't think NIL and the transfer portal haven't transformed college sports, consider this: Already, Baylor has no players returning next year to its basketball team. None. They are all leaving one way or another:
-- 9 players entered the transfer portal: Josh Ojianwuna, Robert Wright III, Langston Love, Jalen Celestine, Jason Asemota, Kaleb Jackson, Marino Dubravcic, Omar Adegbola and Yanis Ndonga.
-- VJ Edgecombe will be in the NBA draft.
-- 5 players graduated: Jeremy Roach, Jayden Nunn, Norchad Omier, Davidson Hubbard.
That accounts for all 15 players on the 2024-25 roster. They are all gone. And this wasn't some dumpster-fire of a team-- they made the tournament and are not that far away from the National Championship in 2021. They even have a legendary and well-respected coach in Scott Drew.
The myth that there is a connection between these players and actual schools is hard to believe anymore....
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
What's all this stuff about treasury bonds?
If you were following all the hub-bub about financial disruption last week, you probably noticed a lot of blathering about treasury bonds. They actually are very important-- and what is happening with them now could have a huge impact on our financial future.
The United States government has a lot of outstanding debt, and we finance that debt by selling treasury bonds that are purchased, held, and traded by people all over the world. Because everyone has been pretty confident that the United States will pay its debts, it is seen as a bedrock safe investment. Because of that, treasury bonds don't have to offer much in terms of interest.
That's good for us, because the higher the interest rate on treasury bonds, the more expensive it is to finance our debt. It's like someone who spends 30% of their income on their mortgage, which is an adjustable-rate loan. If that rate goes up suddenly, then the homeowner is suddenly paying much more on the mortgage every month, even though they still have the same old house.
What happened last week is that the United States threw up tariffs all over in a way that didn't seem very well thought-out, and that spooked the bond markets. We didn't seem so reliable. People (well, mostly governments and institutions) started to sell their US treasury bonds, and when that happens the interest rate on new (and old) bonds goes up as the price goes down, because we have to keep selling them to finance the debt and the higher yield will induce people to accept more risk and buy the bonds. So, in a nutshell: Crazy times>America unreliable>People sell US bonds>Price goes down>Yield goes up>suddenly we owe a lot more on our debt because our interest rate increased.
And we are more than $36,000,000,000,000 in debt, so having to pay even a half-point more to service that debt is a huge expense-- billions and billions of dollars. That's money we all will owe that we get nothing from, simply because markets were (or will be) destabilized by our elected government.
To put it another way, a tiny increase in the bond yields will cost far more than anything saved by all of DOGE's cuts, pain and mayhem.
The other thing is this... a lot of what we are doing right now is alienating other countries, banks and foreign institutions-- the people who hold a lot of those treasury bonds. They know that dumping them will hurt the US, and we too often are giving them a reason to do just that.
Monday, April 14, 2025
On rivalries
Well, this one got people's interest! We had several entries from IPLawGuy, but this one was the best:
Breakfast Cereals
Spaceman Quisp v. miner Quake
Both Sugarlicious!
Spaceman Quisp v. miner Quake
Both Sugarlicious!
Though I liked this one:
Redskins v. Cowboys
was important to DC
Not so much these days.
was important to DC
Not so much these days.
And this one, too:
Maryland v. Duke,
UNC and NC State,
The old ACC.
UNC and NC State,
The old ACC.
Desiree had a good one (also about the ACC):
His face was dark blue.
None of that pale tarheel blue.
Cameron was home turf.
None of that pale tarheel blue.
Cameron was home turf.
And Christine, too (also about UNC/Duke):
Torn loyalties
Our healthcare from UNC
Volunteer at Duke.
Our healthcare from UNC
Volunteer at Duke.
And I love this anonymous one!:
Rivals for Archie
Betty and Veronica
Blonde versus brunette!
Betty and Veronica
Blonde versus brunette!
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Palm Sunday v. Palm Beach Sunday
Today we read this in Luke 19:
36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
It's the end part that strikes me. The disciples were telling a truth with their words. The government tried to tell them to stop, but Jesus made something important clear: that the truth will always come out.
We are entering a time when it seems there are some truths that are not supposed to be said out loud by law firms or students or by government workers: about the continuing racial bias in our country, about the value of immigrants, about the needs of people who have the least among us.
But those truths will come out; that is the way of God's world.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Ladies!
Yesterday, after the first haiku came in and mentioned them, I asked AI for a picture of "Betty and Veronica with Archie." Here is what it gave me:
Yikes! There are a lot of problems with this image:
-- First of all, that is NOT Archie.
-- And why is everyone kissing Veronica?
-- In addition, the car behind them has an odd anomaly: The front of it is a hardtop (or a convertible with the top up) and the back of the car is a convertible with the top down.
-- There seems to be a quote bubble coming from someone in the vestibule of the building behind them-- probably wondering about all this mess.
-- And finally-- What's the deal with Betty's shoes? They don't seem right somehow.
Friday, April 11, 2025
Haiku Friday: Rivalries
I once accidentally wandered onto the campus of Ohio State's The University, and was surprised to find that all of the "M's" had been x-ed out on street signs. I couldn't figure it out... until I did. Boy, do those guys hate the University of Michigan!
So let's haiku about rivalries this week-- college rivalries, personal ones, cola wars, whatever! Here, I will go first:
The Harvard-Yale game
Somehow, a real spectacle
Not about football.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun....
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Political Mayhem Thursday: Two steady truths in a time of economic mayhem
Markets are in tumult as the Trump administration seemingly comes up with a new and zany tariff regime every few days. After a couple days of "huge tariffs on everyone (except Russia)!" now they have flipped to "even huger tariffs on China, a pause for everyone else!"
Here are two central economic truths that may shape the outcome of all this over the long term.
1). Businesses can handle almost every challenge if they can know what that challenge will be over the next several months or years. They build tariffs, for example, into their cost estimates and make adjustments over time. What business does NOT deal with well is rapid and unpredictable change-- and that is exactly what they are being given. This tumult may freeze both investment and credit, and that is going to be very bad for the economy.
2). China has been hit hard by the tariffs, and now is singled out. The problem is that their economy is huge-- the second-largest in the world, and about 2/3rds the size of the US economy. That means that they can react to this by shifting to new markets and building new alliances, including (and probably especially) to economies in Asia and Europe that have historically looked to the US to take the lead on trade. In other words, China connecting to Europe and basically ignoring us won't be a good thing for us in the long term-- we are going to lose markets in both places. Also, the severing of an economic relationship with China is going to really hurt agricultural exports and create inflation in the US, since all that cheap stuff you get at Amazon and Walmart comes from super-efficient manufacturers in China.
It may be tough to look at your 401k right now-- but the true cost of all this may come due in several years, where we find ourselves looking around at world that is working around us rather than with us.
Wednesday, April 09, 2025
Well, Justice Sotomayor has had it...
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in Trump v. J.G.G., vacating a DC Circuit Court opinion that upheld a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration that attempted to stop the government from deporting Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act. The four dissenters were Justices Jackson, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Barrett. The most striking part of the dissent was this, from Justice Sotomayor:
Far from acting “fairly” as to the controversy in District Court, the Government has largely ignored its obligations to the rule of law. From the start, the Government sought to avoid judicial review, “hustl[ing] people onto those planes” without notice or public Proclamation apparently “in the hopes of evading an injunction or perhaps preventing them from requesting the habeas hearing to which the Government now acknowledges they are entitled.” That the District Court is engaged in a sincere inquiry into whether the Government willfully violated its March 15, 2025, order to turn around the planes should be reason enough to doubt that the Government appears before this Court with clean hands. That is all the more true because the Government has persistently stonewalled the District Court’s efforts to find out whether the Government in fact flouted its express order.
The Government’s conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law. That a majority of this Court now rewards the Government for its behavior with discretionary equitable relief is indefensible. We, as a Nation and a court of law, should be better than this. I respectfully dissent.
So, there's that. But still, a dissent.
Tuesday, April 08, 2025
My Wordle Habit
For the past several years, I have played Wordle pretty much every day-- and most days I write a little poem about it on Facebook. There are a lot of people who have dropped the habit, but I can't shake it. Here are some of the things that I love about Wordle:
-- It's not much of a commitment. In the absence of something odd, it usually can be completed in a few minutes.
-- Unlike much of our lives, vocabulary is rewarded!
-- People who play have feelings about it, especially when a word seems unfair (ie, "Kazoo")
-- The game is governed by a firm set of rules, most of which (ie, no plurals) are never stated by the game makers.
-- Some days are just harder than others-- just like real life.
Monday, April 07, 2025
Great concerts!
Like a bad promoter, I forgot to post haiku Friday's topic on FB. Still, we got three solid entries:
This one from Des:
Salsa, African
beats. We danced all night to those
Carlos Vives’ tunes.
beats. We danced all night to those
Carlos Vives’ tunes.
This from Jill Scoggins:
Last-minute invite:
Springsteen at Houston’s Summit.
The Boss delivered.
Springsteen at Houston’s Summit.
The Boss delivered.
And an anonymous post:
We rode Norton there—
Mick rode piano sans belt!
Opened mouth—crowd roared!
Mick rode piano sans belt!
Opened mouth—crowd roared!
Sunday, April 06, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Moments of Joy
Can we talk about joy?
Everyone I know who has a profound faith aspect in their lives has been propelled towards joy through that faith. It sounds odd, I know-- we often think of faith as somber and hard-- but it has certainly been a part of my own journey.
I think the root of that joy is in the freeing nature of the essence of faith-- that there is a God and it is not me. To know that there is a creator of the universe, an order to things that we may not understand (and that is ok) uncorks something in us. And of course it does!
There are times I have expected joy but did not feel it: when I won a trial, or an award of some kind. But when I do feel it is when I may not expect it: when I am skiing, or driving and singing, or in church. It comes up unbidden, real, alive, good. Like that still, small voice it is something that is beyond me.
I want more of it.
Saturday, April 05, 2025
Maybe we aren't doing this right?
Friday, April 04, 2025
Haiku Friday: Memorable concerts
On Sunday, I saw Kraftwerk in Minneapolis-- the first time I have seen them since the 1990's, in Detroit. (That's actually a photo I took at the concert above).
Let's haiku about memorable concerts this week! Here, I will go first:
Ramones in August
Warehouse in Anacostia
Sweat revelation.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, April 03, 2025
PMT: It's Tariff Time Again!
Yesterday, President Trump imposed a new round of tariffs, largely directed at our top trading partners (though not, this time, Canada and Mexico). I have some thoughts:
-- I DO think we need to capture some of the manufacturing that has shifted wholesale to China. This is one way to do that-- but it is going to produce a shock to the system we may not be ready to handle, because of Chinese products our own manufacturers need, and the low-value products we are not good at producing.
-- One anomaly is that if we really wanted to restrict China, we would probably not also smack around the alternative low-cost producing countries, like Vietnam and India. What this combination of actions will spell is the end of $5 shirts at Wal-Mart and cheap toys at Target. That's fine with me, but it will matter to a lot of people.
-- It might be surprising to some that the EU makes up a higher percentage of imports than China. I suspect there are two core causes of that: (1) that products from the EU, like cars, tend to have high value; and (2) it could be that much of what comes from the EU is not manufactured goods but services.
-- The point of this, according to Trump, is to encourage manufacturing in the US. Some of that might happen-- but it will take a while. And in the meantime, a slew of side-effects (including inflation) will be something we have to deal with....
