I think it most certainly things will end when the sun expands into our orbit. There is some talk about us getting out of here in our shiny spaceships but that doesn't seem likely to me or even a very good idea because hasn't the universe had enough of us. Well maybe not if good has defeated evil for once and for all. Imagine that. Imagine us, puny humans with our hairless simian bodies and big hairy heads, knocking on the doors of the United Federation of the planets and offering them our message of peace and love. Imagine our shiny spaceships landing on the planet of intelligent octopi and setting up a little stand where we hand out peace and love literature, or worse yet go knocking on their doors and asking if we could come in and chat with them and deliver our message.
But what kind of message would it be? Nowadays there is this Seti thing where we are winnowing through cosmic noise and looking for a pattern. If we ever find one I imagine the plan is to send a pattern back at them, and eventually develop some kind of conversation even if it is like fifty years between asking and getting an answer to a question. There is a general assumption that they would have been around longer than us, and therefore they likely would have figured out how not to blow themselves up or lay waste to their planet, and we and we would surely like to know how they have done that, so that once we have figured out some way to communicate our first question is likely to be how did you guys do that?
I imagine the scene where they are waiting on the answer. For some reason I see one of those wall-like computers of olden days, it just seems so much better than a cadre of white coats huddled around an iphone, still chuckling over the last cat video, and checking to see if there is any new news from outer space. At any rate the message comes through and the answer is something along the lines of, Why don't you guys just be nicer to each other? And all the science guys look at each other with disappointment and exasperation, Geez, like we didn't know that?
Well it's not just a message that is going to do it is it? Actually I kind of think it is a message, the sane message of The Liberal Agenda. Well I'm not going to go there right now. I'll probably get to it in the course of this meandering discussion, but there is no hurry. I'm trying to keep away from politics. Even though I'm pretty sure I am in the right in my political views I often get too fired up. I am not without sin, and I am going to try to avoid the subject.
Anyway I have gotten a bit off my intended subject. I wasn't intending to address the subject of which side will win or lose in the end, not even sure what that means. My original question was how is it that evil has never been able to completely defeat good. I'll try to get back to that by next Monday.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Thursday, May 28, 2020
The Continuing Saga
Somebody once said, "Good will always win in the end because, if good has not won, it's not the end yet." A noble sentiment, but I wonder if the bad guys are saying the same thing about evil. Good and evil are human concepts after all, and all humans don't have the same concept. And what about the concept of the end itself? Will there ever really be an end? Was there ever really a beginning? Or is life more like a soap opera than a movie, with each day being another episode in the continuing saga? Some day the writers will kill off our characters, but the show will go on without us. It doesn't matter how long because we won't be here to see it. We might land a part on a different show, but we won't be on this show anymore.
One of the Cheboygan businesses that didn't make it through the lockdown is Taylor Power and Equipment. I went there today to see if they were back open yet, and there was a sign "Out of Business". I asked about it at another store, and was told that it's permanent. I've dealt with that guy for three decades or more, first when he ran the repair shop at the old Ace Hardware, which was owned by his father in law. He didn't want to take over the whole hardware store when the owner retired, he just wanted to continue working on small engines and maybe selling a few new ones now and then. The old Ace was sold, the building demolished, and a bank was erected on the site. Taylor established his shop a little ways down the road, I think he built it from scratch.
Hardware stores were allowed to remain open during the crisis, but small shops like Taylor's were not. A new Ace Hardware even started up in the old Sears building right in the middle of the lockdown. I don't know if they do repairs, but I hope so because nobody else around here does. There used to be a guy in Levering, some 20 miles away, but he closed down a few years ago. I can do some of that work myself, but I still need somebody to sell me the parts and advise me how to install them. Taylor was good about that. He always had jobs backed up for weeks, and he often would tell me that I could fix it quicker myself, and then he would tell me how if I didn't already know it. You can't get service like that at the Walmart.
One of the Cheboygan businesses that didn't make it through the lockdown is Taylor Power and Equipment. I went there today to see if they were back open yet, and there was a sign "Out of Business". I asked about it at another store, and was told that it's permanent. I've dealt with that guy for three decades or more, first when he ran the repair shop at the old Ace Hardware, which was owned by his father in law. He didn't want to take over the whole hardware store when the owner retired, he just wanted to continue working on small engines and maybe selling a few new ones now and then. The old Ace was sold, the building demolished, and a bank was erected on the site. Taylor established his shop a little ways down the road, I think he built it from scratch.
Hardware stores were allowed to remain open during the crisis, but small shops like Taylor's were not. A new Ace Hardware even started up in the old Sears building right in the middle of the lockdown. I don't know if they do repairs, but I hope so because nobody else around here does. There used to be a guy in Levering, some 20 miles away, but he closed down a few years ago. I can do some of that work myself, but I still need somebody to sell me the parts and advise me how to install them. Taylor was good about that. He always had jobs backed up for weeks, and he often would tell me that I could fix it quicker myself, and then he would tell me how if I didn't already know it. You can't get service like that at the Walmart.
poetry in troubled times
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Gerard Manly Hopkins, died in 1899, a Jesuit priest not regarded highly as a poet in his time, but rediscovered in the 30's because of his unique way with words. Which is what drew him to me because I am not a religious man.
If Beagles remembers in sophomore English Mrs Stark made us remember so many lines of Shakespeare. I didn't care much for that because of the mindless roteness of it. and I cared even less when in my sophomore year in college I was required to memorize so many lines of poetry, Yeats, Eliot, some other guys. Kind of appreciate it now because I still know many of those lines while so much other stuff has just slipped away.
The Hopkins stuff, I know a couple other poems, I learned on my own. As I've said the religious stuff has no impact on me but I just love the flow of the words. I do not sing in the shower but I do sometimes recite poetry. I can go through that particular poem three times and it will take me from stepping into the stream to toweling off as I step out.
I was a Warren guy in the primary. I went so far as to go to one of her offices located conveniently across the street from the Ten Cat and give her some money to get a button and they also showered me with pages of propaganda which I was supposed to propagate which ended up being swept right into the trash can a couple days later when she withdrew her candidacy,
That left Biden and Bernie, and I liked Bernie better, but I thought Biden had a better chance of winning and that seemed more important so I went with him.
I got involved in some short fb discussions on the subject. My main point to the Bernie guys was look you can fight this out in the primaries as much as you want, for that is the way of democracy, but don't go so far out that when this is over you can't join the other dems to defeat the much greater evil.
But the harder core of the Bernie people saw it as a battle between good and evil, and in that case there was no place for compromise. Of course I am a big fan of compromise. "I had rather be right than president," Henry Clay declared in 1839, and I submit that dumber words were seldom spoken. It is always better to be president than to be right.
You know there has always been this conflict between those who want to set things right for once and for all and those who just want to muddle through with the least damage and I am in the camp of the latter.
One of my arguments is that the battle for good and evil has gone on forever and in all this time good has never won out for once and all, so very likely it never will, so let's just win one battle at a time.
Kind of depressing to think that good can never win out completely. But remember the poem, I was reciting it in the shower, specifically those lines about the holy ghost above the bent world brooding with ah, bright wings, which are maybe my favorite lines and it occurred to me that those bright wings were making their appearance after all that smearing and smudging of trade and toil, so here is a defeat for evil. In all of the long battle between good and evil, evil has never won out for once and all.
Which is good news, but it leads one to wonder why evil which seems so dark and dauntless in the present time has never been able to defeat good.
This will be expounded on later. I bought ten new tomato plants yesterday and I want to get out on the balcony and wish them a hearty good morning.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Winding Down the Lockdown
Our governor has been gradually easing back on her restrictions for some time now. She has divided the state into regions and is lifting restrictions faster in the regions that have been minimally affected by the virus since the beginning. This is one of the things she refused to consider when the legislature asked her to before they pulled the plug on her state of emergency. I think the only businesses still closed in our region are hair salons and barber shops. Bars and restaurants are operating at 50% capacity. Mask wearing seems to be declining, although it never was 100% except in that one store I told you about. Cheboygan County is still reporting 21 cases and one death. The death happened early in the crisis, probably late March or Early April, and at least half of the remaining cases have officially recovered. Last I heard, the big Hospital in Petoskey was treating two new corona patients after having discharged the other two that they had been treating previously. Doctors and dentists are now being allowed to treat other than corona patients, I'm not sure about veterinarians. And so it goes.
Old Dog emailed me and offered to send me some yeast that he had on hand, but I told him not to bother. I'm sure it will reappear in the stores eventually like everything else has. Meanwhile there is a small Mom and Pop bakery that I have been meaning to try anyway. You can brew beer as well as make bread with wild yeast, but the results are not as predictable as with store bought yeast.
Old Dog emailed me and offered to send me some yeast that he had on hand, but I told him not to bother. I'm sure it will reappear in the stores eventually like everything else has. Meanwhile there is a small Mom and Pop bakery that I have been meaning to try anyway. You can brew beer as well as make bread with wild yeast, but the results are not as predictable as with store bought yeast.
better days?
I never thought about yeast too much except in the case of making beer. I think brewers keep a culture of their yeast all the time. As Old Dog said, it is not that hard to make and actually it sounds like fun. I guess it is always floating around in the air just hungering after sugar. Isn't that how feral animals end up loaded from time to time from eating fermented fruit? I hear drunken gangs of adolescent elephants besotted on fermented fruit joy juice are a problem in places where elephants run free.
Speaking of running free I went out to old town Memorial Day to a plant store in search of cherry tomatoes, which I did not find. But I did notice that there were little knots of youngish folks clustered around bars which were selling drinks through open windows. Drinks to go are allowed under the lockdown but drinking on the sidewalk has never been legal. Further down the road though I saw a couple cops hanging around one of the open windows, so I guess it was somehow okay. There were knots of people sitting in a couple parks, but none of the knots numbered more than ten, and it was outdoors and on a hot sunny day with a breeze so I guess that is not so bad.
Yes, it was a hot sunny day, the wicked east wind has faded away and I am once again reading the paper on the balcony while the cats sniff around my pots and the finches hover around that big fat sack o seed waiting for the savage beasts and the big ape with the gargantuan brain to go away. Watered and inspected the plants, and had a nice chat with my neighbor and it was just so oh, groovy. The Covid cloud was lifted for a few hours.
And speaking of which, checking the Illinois Covid site we are in a definite downswing deathwise. The gov has loosened up on things like outdoor restaurants but the mayor is keeping the clamp on, which rankles me, especially about the river walk and the lake front, but I've seen where some of those states that have gone hog wild are having spikes in their death rates and I'm for keeping it on as long as necessary because I don't want to die, and I'd rather it was over, or sort of over, sooner rather than later.
Maybe brighter days are ahead, and now the balcony beckons.
Speaking of running free I went out to old town Memorial Day to a plant store in search of cherry tomatoes, which I did not find. But I did notice that there were little knots of youngish folks clustered around bars which were selling drinks through open windows. Drinks to go are allowed under the lockdown but drinking on the sidewalk has never been legal. Further down the road though I saw a couple cops hanging around one of the open windows, so I guess it was somehow okay. There were knots of people sitting in a couple parks, but none of the knots numbered more than ten, and it was outdoors and on a hot sunny day with a breeze so I guess that is not so bad.
Yes, it was a hot sunny day, the wicked east wind has faded away and I am once again reading the paper on the balcony while the cats sniff around my pots and the finches hover around that big fat sack o seed waiting for the savage beasts and the big ape with the gargantuan brain to go away. Watered and inspected the plants, and had a nice chat with my neighbor and it was just so oh, groovy. The Covid cloud was lifted for a few hours.
And speaking of which, checking the Illinois Covid site we are in a definite downswing deathwise. The gov has loosened up on things like outdoor restaurants but the mayor is keeping the clamp on, which rankles me, especially about the river walk and the lake front, but I've seen where some of those states that have gone hog wild are having spikes in their death rates and I'm for keeping it on as long as necessary because I don't want to die, and I'd rather it was over, or sort of over, sooner rather than later.
Maybe brighter days are ahead, and now the balcony beckons.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
I Was Not Pretending
I remember when there was some talk in the news about the gerrymandering, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to it because I thought it was just an urban problem Down Below. There are lots of urban problems Down Below that have little effect on Northern Michigan unless you have family or friends there, which I don't except for that one guy I mentioned, and he lives in one of the nicer suburbs. I only see this guy a few times a year and I don't remember talking a lot of politics with him, although I'm pretty sure he mostly votes Republican.
The reason I thought that our district was "too big to gerrymander" was that it is a really big district geographically. It includes the entire Upper Peninsula and about 15 counties in the Northern Lower Peninsula. It's mostly bounded by water, and the only direction it can expand or contract is southward. I assumed that the next district to our south was Republican territory just like ours, so I didn't see what could be accomplished by fooling around with the border between them. After looking at the maps that Uncle Ken posted, I could see what happened, but I never looked it up before because I had little interest in the issue.
Still no yeast to be found in Cheboygan. Well, I haven't looked for it all over town, but my experience with the toilet paper shortage suggests that, if the three stores we usually frequent are out of something, chances are that all the others are out of it too. I don't need to make bread until Monday and, if I don't find any yeast by then, I think I'll just survive on store bought bread for awhile. Some things, although they are important, are not important enough to justify getting so upset that you make yourself miserable in the process.
The reason I thought that our district was "too big to gerrymander" was that it is a really big district geographically. It includes the entire Upper Peninsula and about 15 counties in the Northern Lower Peninsula. It's mostly bounded by water, and the only direction it can expand or contract is southward. I assumed that the next district to our south was Republican territory just like ours, so I didn't see what could be accomplished by fooling around with the border between them. After looking at the maps that Uncle Ken posted, I could see what happened, but I never looked it up before because I had little interest in the issue.
Still no yeast to be found in Cheboygan. Well, I haven't looked for it all over town, but my experience with the toilet paper shortage suggests that, if the three stores we usually frequent are out of something, chances are that all the others are out of it too. I don't need to make bread until Monday and, if I don't find any yeast by then, I think I'll just survive on store bought bread for awhile. Some things, although they are important, are not important enough to justify getting so upset that you make yourself miserable in the process.
The Fighting Fourth
Ah yes, the 4th congressional district, known popularly as The Hairpin. There is an interesting story behind that. About thirty years ago it was noticed that although Hispanics made up a high proportion of the population of the state of Illinois, they did not have any congressional districts. To remedy that the 4th district consisting of Humboldt Park where the Puerto Ricans lived was joined by a thin land bridge to the east to Pilsen where the Mexicans lived and the Hispanic district was created. This sort of thing was done throughout the country giving Hispanics and Blacks representation equal to their populations.
This was gerrymandering. One might say, as was the current thought, that it was gerrymandering for a good cause, but gerrymandering nevertheless. It turned out to be a bad idea. Where previously Blacks or Hispanics may have had no districts out of say ten, they now had one or two, but the cost of that was that none of the other districts had any Blacks or Hispanics. In consequence districts that had once had maybe twenty percent minorities now had almost none, so the congressman who had had to pay some attention to minority issues now had no reason to pay any attention to them at all, and since the white districts outnumbered the minority districts, the minorities were left with a spokesman (their representative) but no real power.
That aside the dems are certainly guilty of gerrymandering (notice I am not pretending that I don't know this) but their gerrymandering is basically to help out the current alderman. Since the city is totally democratic it had no effect on rep vs dem, just which dem. Now that the state is blue that gerrymandering is statewide, but the fact is that most people in the state vote democratic anyway so it's not like it is stealing the election for either side.
A comparison can be made by noting the total vote of a state, rep and dem. and the proportion of representatives rep and dem elected. Illinois does indeed elect more dems than the vote would predict, but it is a relatively small number, It is much different in a slew of other states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina off the top of my head where reps rule in much higher numbers than their overall vote would indicate.
This was a plan ten or twenty years ago when the reps flooded local races with money to take control of the state houses to control the redistricting and went gerrymandering wild. In case this widely known event has slipped from the consciousness of a member of the Institute, it can be looked up under the name Redmap.
I know that Beagles is just a mild-mannered guy living in a swamp and had no hand in the gerrymandering of his state. What raised my ire (perhaps too much in the view of Da Scourge, but these are the times of the corona and it takes its toll, particularly on us behaving nicely while watching some of our neighbors behave not so nicely which will bring a resurgence in the plague causing us to suffer home confinement) was not the gerrymandering but Beagles pretending that he didn't know about this headline event taking place right where he lives.
Gentleman the winds from the east have stopped blowing and I enjoyed my first day of the summer reading the paper while my cats sprawled at my feet and the finches buzzed by eyeing their sock of seed which would be theirs once I had finished my paper and begun my painting. And that is where I hasten this morning.
This was gerrymandering. One might say, as was the current thought, that it was gerrymandering for a good cause, but gerrymandering nevertheless. It turned out to be a bad idea. Where previously Blacks or Hispanics may have had no districts out of say ten, they now had one or two, but the cost of that was that none of the other districts had any Blacks or Hispanics. In consequence districts that had once had maybe twenty percent minorities now had almost none, so the congressman who had had to pay some attention to minority issues now had no reason to pay any attention to them at all, and since the white districts outnumbered the minority districts, the minorities were left with a spokesman (their representative) but no real power.
That aside the dems are certainly guilty of gerrymandering (notice I am not pretending that I don't know this) but their gerrymandering is basically to help out the current alderman. Since the city is totally democratic it had no effect on rep vs dem, just which dem. Now that the state is blue that gerrymandering is statewide, but the fact is that most people in the state vote democratic anyway so it's not like it is stealing the election for either side.
A comparison can be made by noting the total vote of a state, rep and dem. and the proportion of representatives rep and dem elected. Illinois does indeed elect more dems than the vote would predict, but it is a relatively small number, It is much different in a slew of other states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina off the top of my head where reps rule in much higher numbers than their overall vote would indicate.
This was a plan ten or twenty years ago when the reps flooded local races with money to take control of the state houses to control the redistricting and went gerrymandering wild. In case this widely known event has slipped from the consciousness of a member of the Institute, it can be looked up under the name Redmap.
I know that Beagles is just a mild-mannered guy living in a swamp and had no hand in the gerrymandering of his state. What raised my ire (perhaps too much in the view of Da Scourge, but these are the times of the corona and it takes its toll, particularly on us behaving nicely while watching some of our neighbors behave not so nicely which will bring a resurgence in the plague causing us to suffer home confinement) was not the gerrymandering but Beagles pretending that he didn't know about this headline event taking place right where he lives.
Gentleman the winds from the east have stopped blowing and I enjoyed my first day of the summer reading the paper while my cats sprawled at my feet and the finches buzzed by eyeing their sock of seed which would be theirs once I had finished my paper and begun my painting. And that is where I hasten this morning.
Monday, May 25, 2020
No Quick Fixes
Thanks to Old Dog for the tips on growing your own yeast. I have heard of that before, but it always sounded like more trouble than it was worth. I might try it some day, but I don't need another time consuming hobby in my life right now. What I was looking for with the baking powder was a quick fix, and it seems like there is none. Some weeks ago, a guy I know who lives Down Below reported that he couldn't find yeast for awhile, and then he could again. First there was no bread in the stores so he started making his own, then there was no yeast, then there was yeast again. I don't think there was ever a bread shortage in Cheboygan, but there was a flour shortage for awhile. Now we have flour but no yeast, and so it goes.
It seems like there is no quick fix for this corona thing either but, come to think of it, nobody ever promised us one. The state of emergency was only supposed to last a month or two, but that was just to buy some time until a long term solution could be worked out. It seems that, rather than work something out with the legislature, our governor thought she could just keep extending the state of emergency indefinitely. Our legislature offered to codify some of her orders if she would back off on the others, but she would have none of that, so they declined to extend the state of emergency, rendering all of her orders null and void. Our governor then claimed that she didn't need the legislature's approval to extend the state of emergency, and the matter is now being debated in court. Since then, our governor actually has backed off on the very orders that the legislature wanted her to, but she asserts that she did it because she wanted to, not because they wanted her to.
Meanwhile, I read about a similar case in Wisconsin that had recently been resolved by their state supreme court in favor of their legislature. Uncle Ken commented that the Wisconsin state legislature was gerrymandered in favor of the Republicans, which reminded me of a gerrymandering controversy we had in Michigan some time ago. My memory of how the court case turned out was vague, so Uncle Ken challenged me to look it up, which I did. Now he seems to be saying that the only reason I approve of the court's ruling is because it favors the Republicans. While it certainly does my heart good to see the Republicans win one for a change, the main reason I approve of the ruling is that it is consistent with the Tenth Amendment. It's nice to see a court upholding the Constitution as written instead of rewriting it to suit their own activist agenda. If it took the "introduction of two toadies to The Supremes", to accomplish that then maybe we need to re-elect Trump so he can appoint more such "toadies" in the future.
When Uncle Ken refers to a choice between Trump and Pence, I assume he is talking about that failed impeachment thing because that is not the choice being offered on the ballot this November. The choice on the ballot will likely be Trump and Pence versus Biden and somebody else. I considered voting for the Libertarian candidates like I did last time, which is equivalent to voting for "none of the above" but, at my age, I never know which election will be my last, and it might be fun to "stick it to the man" one more time before I die.
It seems like there is no quick fix for this corona thing either but, come to think of it, nobody ever promised us one. The state of emergency was only supposed to last a month or two, but that was just to buy some time until a long term solution could be worked out. It seems that, rather than work something out with the legislature, our governor thought she could just keep extending the state of emergency indefinitely. Our legislature offered to codify some of her orders if she would back off on the others, but she would have none of that, so they declined to extend the state of emergency, rendering all of her orders null and void. Our governor then claimed that she didn't need the legislature's approval to extend the state of emergency, and the matter is now being debated in court. Since then, our governor actually has backed off on the very orders that the legislature wanted her to, but she asserts that she did it because she wanted to, not because they wanted her to.
Meanwhile, I read about a similar case in Wisconsin that had recently been resolved by their state supreme court in favor of their legislature. Uncle Ken commented that the Wisconsin state legislature was gerrymandered in favor of the Republicans, which reminded me of a gerrymandering controversy we had in Michigan some time ago. My memory of how the court case turned out was vague, so Uncle Ken challenged me to look it up, which I did. Now he seems to be saying that the only reason I approve of the court's ruling is because it favors the Republicans. While it certainly does my heart good to see the Republicans win one for a change, the main reason I approve of the ruling is that it is consistent with the Tenth Amendment. It's nice to see a court upholding the Constitution as written instead of rewriting it to suit their own activist agenda. If it took the "introduction of two toadies to The Supremes", to accomplish that then maybe we need to re-elect Trump so he can appoint more such "toadies" in the future.
When Uncle Ken refers to a choice between Trump and Pence, I assume he is talking about that failed impeachment thing because that is not the choice being offered on the ballot this November. The choice on the ballot will likely be Trump and Pence versus Biden and somebody else. I considered voting for the Libertarian candidates like I did last time, which is equivalent to voting for "none of the above" but, at my age, I never know which election will be my last, and it might be fun to "stick it to the man" one more time before I die.
Missing Indy
First the important stuff:...
The good news is that yeast is very easy to cultivate and grow, the bad news is that it can take a week or so before you can start baking bread. I went through some online resources and found some yeast recipes, only one, I think, is for sourdough; it uses flour. The other recipes use fruit or potatoes as a source. Yeast is curious, so Mr. Beagles could have a bit of fun sorting it out. Here they are: (yeast1) (yeast2) (yeast3) (yeast4)
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Old habits die hard, I guess. After fifty years I still can't get used to the idea that Memorial Day is the last Monday in May and not the 30th, and it's likely I said the same thing last year. No Indy 500 this year; I know you guys don't care about it but it's a bummer for me and I miss it.
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I have to confess that I don't always pay strict attention to the postings of Uncle Ken. He doesn't know when to shut up and his personal digs at Mr. Beagles are off-putting, but that's just my opinion. I don't know what got him started on the extent of gerrymandering in the state of Michigan, and don't care, but he should turn his attention closer to home. Consider the 4th Congressional District of Illinois. That, gentlemen, is gerrymandering!
The good news is that yeast is very easy to cultivate and grow, the bad news is that it can take a week or so before you can start baking bread. I went through some online resources and found some yeast recipes, only one, I think, is for sourdough; it uses flour. The other recipes use fruit or potatoes as a source. Yeast is curious, so Mr. Beagles could have a bit of fun sorting it out. Here they are: (yeast1) (yeast2) (yeast3) (yeast4)
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Old habits die hard, I guess. After fifty years I still can't get used to the idea that Memorial Day is the last Monday in May and not the 30th, and it's likely I said the same thing last year. No Indy 500 this year; I know you guys don't care about it but it's a bummer for me and I miss it.
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I have to confess that I don't always pay strict attention to the postings of Uncle Ken. He doesn't know when to shut up and his personal digs at Mr. Beagles are off-putting, but that's just my opinion. I don't know what got him started on the extent of gerrymandering in the state of Michigan, and don't care, but he should turn his attention closer to home. Consider the 4th Congressional District of Illinois. That, gentlemen, is gerrymandering!
we don't need no stinking principles
Well I applaud Beagles for actually doing some internet research even if he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do it.
And of course he feels quite smug about it, I can hear him dusting his hands as he walks from the computer, justice served. But that is only because the ruling went for his side. If it had gone the other way, as who doubts it wouldn't have without the introduction of two toadies to The Supremes, upholding the principle of democracy which is one man one vote, he would have been pissing and moaning and rendering his garment over the injustice of an unelected body deciding something for the people. I refer of course to the proposed impartial body to fix Michigan's gerrymandering which he had been rendering his garments about earlier in this series of posts. To wit the principle of elected vs unelected bodies, means nothing to him. There are no lofty principles in his worldview, if his side is winning or not is the only thing that counts.
I have often referred to Beagles as a constitutional scholar, but once again, as often happens in these ivied halls, I discover that he seems clueless about the basics because apparently he is unaware of the office of the vice presidency. It is not Trump or nobody, it is Trump or Pence. It is a loose cannon as opposed to an unloose cannon. I am certainly no fan of the man, but I have to say this in his favor. He is not bat-shit crazy. He would not be measuring strawberries as the ship sinks in a storm he creates daily. The reasons I don't care for Pence are his inborn sycophancy and his rockhard biblical conservatism. Both qualities which I think would please Beagles very much.
And he had the chance, well not Beagles, but the party that he claims to disdain but which he has absolute fealty to had that exact situation in their hands less than six months ago and among their ranks they could not find twenty who would vote against Capn Queeg. indeed there was only one.
Surely Pence would have looked after Beagles's interests which are simple. guns and making sure that others are never allowed to exercise the rights that he was born into.
I have been corresponding with a former Gage Park classmate of mine and she has expressed an interest in contributing to The Institute. She is having internet trouble into making comments, so she will be emailing me her comments and I will be posting them.
And of course he feels quite smug about it, I can hear him dusting his hands as he walks from the computer, justice served. But that is only because the ruling went for his side. If it had gone the other way, as who doubts it wouldn't have without the introduction of two toadies to The Supremes, upholding the principle of democracy which is one man one vote, he would have been pissing and moaning and rendering his garment over the injustice of an unelected body deciding something for the people. I refer of course to the proposed impartial body to fix Michigan's gerrymandering which he had been rendering his garments about earlier in this series of posts. To wit the principle of elected vs unelected bodies, means nothing to him. There are no lofty principles in his worldview, if his side is winning or not is the only thing that counts.
I have often referred to Beagles as a constitutional scholar, but once again, as often happens in these ivied halls, I discover that he seems clueless about the basics because apparently he is unaware of the office of the vice presidency. It is not Trump or nobody, it is Trump or Pence. It is a loose cannon as opposed to an unloose cannon. I am certainly no fan of the man, but I have to say this in his favor. He is not bat-shit crazy. He would not be measuring strawberries as the ship sinks in a storm he creates daily. The reasons I don't care for Pence are his inborn sycophancy and his rockhard biblical conservatism. Both qualities which I think would please Beagles very much.
And he had the chance, well not Beagles, but the party that he claims to disdain but which he has absolute fealty to had that exact situation in their hands less than six months ago and among their ranks they could not find twenty who would vote against Capn Queeg. indeed there was only one.
Surely Pence would have looked after Beagles's interests which are simple. guns and making sure that others are never allowed to exercise the rights that he was born into.
I have been corresponding with a former Gage Park classmate of mine and she has expressed an interest in contributing to The Institute. She is having internet trouble into making comments, so she will be emailing me her comments and I will be posting them.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
It's the Same Only Different
First the important stuff: I was right, it's baking powder and not baking soda, although baking powder is nothing but baking soda with some other added ingredients. Before baking powder was invented, bakers used to mix baking soda with other stuff to induce an acid/alkaline reaction that produces carbon dioxide bubbles which cause the dough to expand or "rise". Baking powder is just a commercially available product that does the same thing with more predictable results. Some specialty recipes call for both baking powder and baking soda because other ingedients increase the acidity of the mix and and additional baking soda is needed to restore the balance. Bread type products that are made this way are called "quick breads" to distinguish them from yeast breads, which is the kind I make. At this point, I don't think I can merely substitute baking powder for yeast in my recipe and expect it to come out the same way. Old Dog may know something about this.
Now about that other matter:
"But in June, ruling on cases from North Carolina and Maryland, the Supreme Court said federal courts could not consider partisan gerrymander claims because they present "political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts."
"In response to a request from Michigan, the justices put the three-judge panel's ruling on hold. Monday's ruling wiped it off the books."
"While the Supreme Court's ruling in June shut the door to federal lawsuits over partisan gerrymandering, the claims can still be heard by state courts."
Now about that other matter:
"But in June, ruling on cases from North Carolina and Maryland, the Supreme Court said federal courts could not consider partisan gerrymander claims because they present "political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts."
"In response to a request from Michigan, the justices put the three-judge panel's ruling on hold. Monday's ruling wiped it off the books."
"While the Supreme Court's ruling in June shut the door to federal lawsuits over partisan gerrymandering, the claims can still be heard by state courts."
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." - U.S. Constitution, Amendment X
Ipso facto, case closed.
Friday, May 22, 2020
So Many Issues, So Little Time
I must have read something about that gerrymander thing at the time, but I had forgotten about it until Uncle Ken brought it up. Since he has expressed an interest in it, I may look it up over the weekend if there's time, but I have another mission ahead of it on my agenda. I am out of yeast and I haven't been able to find any on the empty shelves of Cheboygan. They have it on Amazon, but their price is eight or nine times what it used to sell for in the stores when they had it in the stores. Several Amazonian customers had posted comments complaining about the price, and one of them said that it's possible to make bread using baking soda instead of yeast. I think that she might have meant baking powder, which is a different thing, so I have to look up both substances and see if I can find a recipe for whichever one is the correct one. In times like these, one must set priorities you know.
A loose cannon is unreliable and dangerous, but it's better than nothing when you need to defend yourself against the hungry hordes who are bent on depriving you of your life, liberty, and/or property. Trump is also unreliable and dangerous, but he is the only candidate who has expressed an interest in protecting my life, liberty, and/or property from the aforementioned hungry hordes. Any questions?
A loose cannon is unreliable and dangerous, but it's better than nothing when you need to defend yourself against the hungry hordes who are bent on depriving you of your life, liberty, and/or property. Trump is also unreliable and dangerous, but he is the only candidate who has expressed an interest in protecting my life, liberty, and/or property from the aforementioned hungry hordes. Any questions?
Look it up yourself
The supreme court case was a big deal. It was all over the national news, I remember it well here in my distant tower, I didn't make much of it at the time because it was just another perfidious act of the Trump-loaded supreme court. But like I said it was front page on both Chicago newspapers.
And Beagles was right there, Right there in Michigan, right there in one of the gerrymandered districts (even if it was big, even if it was cold, even if it was in a state that begins with an M, or whatever reason Beagles was claiming it could not be gerrymandered), and he claims to read the local paper and watch some of the tv news. And yet he claims to know nothing about it. How is this possible?
I suspect, and arguing with Beagles in this venue over the last few years has lent credence to this, that Beagles follows the advice of our childhood hero, Davy Crockett: "Be sure your right and then go ahead." only in his case he doesn't bother to be sure he is right because he knows he is right, so he just goes ahead. Any facts that bolster his worldview stick in his mind, whereas any facts that oppose his worldview drop by the wayside. Makes it kind of pointless having a conversation with him.
Why didn't the Supremes order a do-over? It was in the national news, It had to have been in all over the local paper and the local tv station. The reason was right there. Look it up yourself. It will take like five minutes of internet research. Of course it will make your beloved Trump-loaded supreme court look bad. It will make them look like pirates or bad guys or whatever you remember from the Lone Ranger so likely it will not be able to penetrate your skull..
On behalf of the democratic party if the price of getting Beagles's vote is to nominate a racist like George Wallace we decline. Unlike the so-called republican party, which has become the party of Trump, we do not encourage that sort of thing.
I still see no explanation of what the loose cannon metaphor has to do with Trump. when the pirates are closing in on your ship, a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all. I suspect that there isn't any.
And Beagles was right there, Right there in Michigan, right there in one of the gerrymandered districts (even if it was big, even if it was cold, even if it was in a state that begins with an M, or whatever reason Beagles was claiming it could not be gerrymandered), and he claims to read the local paper and watch some of the tv news. And yet he claims to know nothing about it. How is this possible?
I suspect, and arguing with Beagles in this venue over the last few years has lent credence to this, that Beagles follows the advice of our childhood hero, Davy Crockett: "Be sure your right and then go ahead." only in his case he doesn't bother to be sure he is right because he knows he is right, so he just goes ahead. Any facts that bolster his worldview stick in his mind, whereas any facts that oppose his worldview drop by the wayside. Makes it kind of pointless having a conversation with him.
Why didn't the Supremes order a do-over? It was in the national news, It had to have been in all over the local paper and the local tv station. The reason was right there. Look it up yourself. It will take like five minutes of internet research. Of course it will make your beloved Trump-loaded supreme court look bad. It will make them look like pirates or bad guys or whatever you remember from the Lone Ranger so likely it will not be able to penetrate your skull..
On behalf of the democratic party if the price of getting Beagles's vote is to nominate a racist like George Wallace we decline. Unlike the so-called republican party, which has become the party of Trump, we do not encourage that sort of thing.
I still see no explanation of what the loose cannon metaphor has to do with Trump. when the pirates are closing in on your ship, a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all. I suspect that there isn't any.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Looks Gerrymandered to Me
Uncle Ken did not provide us with a link, but the text looks like Wiki to me, so I will accept the data contained therein. Like I said, I was not very familiar with this case, but I am more familiar with it now. It looks like they traded some counties on the Lake Michigan shore for some counties on the Lake Huron shore, which may have contributed to our district swinging to the right after years of loitering on the left. I thought at the time that the swing to the right was largely driven by the passage of Obamacare, and I still think that had a lot to do with it. Nevertheless, that 2013 map looks gerrymandered to me. The only remaining question I have is: If the court found the redistricting plan to be illegal, why didn't they order a do-over like the plaintiffs requested?
"On February 1, 2019, the court rejected a proposed settlement in which maps for some state House districts would be redrawn in advance of the 2020 election."
Good guys - bad guys: As Uncle Ken has pointed out in the past, good guys sometimes do bad things and bad guys sometimes do good things, nobody is perfect. Nevertheless, the line must be drawn somewhere, otherwise how would we know who to vote for? I'm sure the bad guys have their share of loose cannons too, but Trump is the one upon which we are currently focused. As I have previously said, I would consider voting for a Democrat who had rehabilitated himself and started acting like a Republican. He wouldn't have to call himself a Republican, just act like one. Indeed, the first presidential candidate I ever voted for was George Wallace back in 1968. Okay, he was running on a third party ticket at the time, but he reverted to the Democrats in 1972, and I voted for him again, even though I had to vote on the Democratic side of the primary ballot to do it.
I read in the paper yesterday that you guys had a bit of a flood on Tuesday. The central part of the L.P had one too, a couple of dams blew out and 10,000 people had to evacuate. We didn't get anything like that here, just enough rain to bring out the morel mushrooms and set the woods to greening up.
Speaking of court cases, I saw on the TV news this evening that the court declined to issue a preliminary injunction against that rebellious barber in Owosso because "The state has not demonstrated that the barber shop remaining open poses a danger to the people." This means that the shop can remain open while the case wends its way through the courts.
For all of our many new fans out there: Uncle Ken's comment about me being without sin dates back to a discussion we had on the subject of sin some time ago. Uncle Ken defined sin as doing something that you know is wrong at the time you do it. While I have certainly done things in my life that I regretted after the fact, I don't remember ever doing anything that I believed to be wrong when I was doing it.
"On February 1, 2019, the court rejected a proposed settlement in which maps for some state House districts would be redrawn in advance of the 2020 election."
Good guys - bad guys: As Uncle Ken has pointed out in the past, good guys sometimes do bad things and bad guys sometimes do good things, nobody is perfect. Nevertheless, the line must be drawn somewhere, otherwise how would we know who to vote for? I'm sure the bad guys have their share of loose cannons too, but Trump is the one upon which we are currently focused. As I have previously said, I would consider voting for a Democrat who had rehabilitated himself and started acting like a Republican. He wouldn't have to call himself a Republican, just act like one. Indeed, the first presidential candidate I ever voted for was George Wallace back in 1968. Okay, he was running on a third party ticket at the time, but he reverted to the Democrats in 1972, and I voted for him again, even though I had to vote on the Democratic side of the primary ballot to do it.
I read in the paper yesterday that you guys had a bit of a flood on Tuesday. The central part of the L.P had one too, a couple of dams blew out and 10,000 people had to evacuate. We didn't get anything like that here, just enough rain to bring out the morel mushrooms and set the woods to greening up.
Speaking of court cases, I saw on the TV news this evening that the court declined to issue a preliminary injunction against that rebellious barber in Owosso because "The state has not demonstrated that the barber shop remaining open poses a danger to the people." This means that the shop can remain open while the case wends its way through the courts.
For all of our many new fans out there: Uncle Ken's comment about me being without sin dates back to a discussion we had on the subject of sin some time ago. Uncle Ken defined sin as doing something that you know is wrong at the time you do it. While I have certainly done things in my life that I regretted after the fact, I don't remember ever doing anything that I believed to be wrong when I was doing it.
I knew it
2003
2013
On December 22, 2017, the League of Women Voters of Michigan, along with a group of Michigan Democrats, filed suit in federal court alleging that Michigan's congressional and state legislative district plans represented unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders (i.e., the plaintiffs argued that the state's district maps gave an unfair advantage to Republicans over Democrats). On December 27, 2017, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued an order that a three-judge panel be convened to hear the case.[41][42]
On February 1, 2019, the court rejected a proposed settlement in which maps for some state House districts would be redrawn in advance of the 2020 election. State Republicans petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to delay lower court proceedings pending the high court's rulings in Lamone v. Benisek and Rucho v. Common Cause. On February 4, 2019, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied this request, clearing the way for a trial to commence on February 5, 2019.[43]
On April 25, 2019, the court ruled unanimously that 34 congressional and state legislative districts had been subject to unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, violating the plaintiffs' First Amendment associational rights. The court also found that 27 of the 34 challenged districts violated the plaintiffs' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by diluting the impact of their votes. The challenged districts are listed below:[44]
- Congressional districts 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
casting the first and only stone from the swamp
I know what a loose cannon is, I know how the metaphor works. I'm pretty sure most people do. How it has any application at all to the current situation with Trump is where I was, and continue to be completely at a loss. Pirates, weren't battleships most of the time fighting the ships of other nations rather than pirates, and weren't loose cannons a problem with the pirates as well? And if the British ended up with a loose cannon when they were fighting our revolutionary forefathers did that make our side the bad guys?
We also have a system of electing judges in Illinois and it is a terrible system. Every election day there are like two complete pages of judges that you never heard of. Before the election various groups and the two newspapers list who you should vote for. Which is most of them. Except there are a few stinkeroos, mountebanks and incompetents. If you happen to remember that handful of votes when you enter the booth you can vote against them, but it won't matter because most people don't remember any such thing and vote for everybody just to get on to what they really want to vote for. The result is that almost all of them regularly get elected, mountebanks and drunks and dunces included. Myself I always vote against all of them on the theory that it won't hurt the guys without obvious blemishes but combined with the negatives of the good citizens, who remember who to vote against them, might sink the boats of the obvious stinkeroos and put them at the tender mercies of the buccaneers, Oh wait, they are the buccaneers.
It was the supreme court which is unelected, which ruled to let the Michigan gerrymandering continue. I myself have nothing in principle against unelected bodies, but Beagles apparently does, or anyway he does when they might interfere with elections that favor the republicans, probably not when they would favor the democrats. Actually his idea that his district is too large to be gerrymandered, that size has anything at all to do with gerrymandering, makes me think that he does not even know what gerrymandering is.
I reckon what makes Beagles upset with the gov is not so much that she is an outlaw as that she is not his outlaw. Well normally outlaw is a term for folks who live outside the law, but in Beagles's case it simply means somebody he doesn't like, If the situation was the same only the gov was a rep and the legislature was a dem then it would be the legislators who were the outlaws.
In a better world Beagles would test people's worthiness in the crucible of logic, but Beagles just uses that to condemn people he doesn't like in the first place. But what can you expect of a person who claims that he has never sinned in his entire life?
We also have a system of electing judges in Illinois and it is a terrible system. Every election day there are like two complete pages of judges that you never heard of. Before the election various groups and the two newspapers list who you should vote for. Which is most of them. Except there are a few stinkeroos, mountebanks and incompetents. If you happen to remember that handful of votes when you enter the booth you can vote against them, but it won't matter because most people don't remember any such thing and vote for everybody just to get on to what they really want to vote for. The result is that almost all of them regularly get elected, mountebanks and drunks and dunces included. Myself I always vote against all of them on the theory that it won't hurt the guys without obvious blemishes but combined with the negatives of the good citizens, who remember who to vote against them, might sink the boats of the obvious stinkeroos and put them at the tender mercies of the buccaneers, Oh wait, they are the buccaneers.
It was the supreme court which is unelected, which ruled to let the Michigan gerrymandering continue. I myself have nothing in principle against unelected bodies, but Beagles apparently does, or anyway he does when they might interfere with elections that favor the republicans, probably not when they would favor the democrats. Actually his idea that his district is too large to be gerrymandered, that size has anything at all to do with gerrymandering, makes me think that he does not even know what gerrymandering is.
I reckon what makes Beagles upset with the gov is not so much that she is an outlaw as that she is not his outlaw. Well normally outlaw is a term for folks who live outside the law, but in Beagles's case it simply means somebody he doesn't like, If the situation was the same only the gov was a rep and the legislature was a dem then it would be the legislators who were the outlaws.
In a better world Beagles would test people's worthiness in the crucible of logic, but Beagles just uses that to condemn people he doesn't like in the first place. But what can you expect of a person who claims that he has never sinned in his entire life?
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Loose Cannon Metaphor Explained
The loose cannon metaphor is about the old fashioned muzzle loading guns of the sailing ship days. A loose cannon could not "shoot up the place" because it had to be reloaded after each shot. The gun was mounted on wheels so that the crew could use a ramrod to clean and reload it, then roll it up to the gun port to fire again. The recoil would drive the cannon backwards, and it was restrained by ropes or something so that it wouldn't roll back any farther than necessary. If a cannon broke loose of its restraint, it might injure somebody or damage something as it rolled backwards out of control. At the very least, the gun crew would have to retrieve it and roll it back up to the gun port by hand, which would increase the reloading time. If the pirates (meaning the bad guys) are closing on your ship, a loose cannon is still better than no cannon at all because you could at least get one shot off before they come swarming over the rail.
Michigan judges are elected by the people, while federal judges are not. I don't remember if the Michigan gerrymandering case was handled by state or federal courts, all I remember is that the plaintiffs wanted the latest redistricting plan to be nullified and the court decided not to do that. The new method of redistricting might work after all, but that remains to be seen. At the time of voting, I had the impression that a panel of unelected bureaucrats were going to do the redistricting. Turns out that it won't be bureaucrats, it will be citizen volunteers selected more or less at random by our secretary of state. The panel is supposed to be balanced between self identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents. We'll have to wait and see how that turns out. I haven't had a lot of interest in this issue because my legislative district is too large to be effectively gerrymandered anyway. It's possible that the smaller districts Down Below have had a problem with this, but you couldn't prove it by me. Be that as it may, current Michigan law requires the governor to request an extension of a state of emergency from the legislature after 28 days, which means that she, not the legislature, is the outlaw here, and I have no reason to believe that it's any different in Wisconsin.
Michigan judges are elected by the people, while federal judges are not. I don't remember if the Michigan gerrymandering case was handled by state or federal courts, all I remember is that the plaintiffs wanted the latest redistricting plan to be nullified and the court decided not to do that. The new method of redistricting might work after all, but that remains to be seen. At the time of voting, I had the impression that a panel of unelected bureaucrats were going to do the redistricting. Turns out that it won't be bureaucrats, it will be citizen volunteers selected more or less at random by our secretary of state. The panel is supposed to be balanced between self identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents. We'll have to wait and see how that turns out. I haven't had a lot of interest in this issue because my legislative district is too large to be effectively gerrymandered anyway. It's possible that the smaller districts Down Below have had a problem with this, but you couldn't prove it by me. Be that as it may, current Michigan law requires the governor to request an extension of a state of emergency from the legislature after 28 days, which means that she, not the legislature, is the outlaw here, and I have no reason to believe that it's any different in Wisconsin.
elixir dreams of the swamp
I have said right from the beginning that Trump is a loose cannon, and his moorings certainly have not tightened since his election but, when the pirates are closing in on your ship, a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all.
I've been puzzling over this for some time now, reading it forward and backward and right side up and upside down and the whole thing remains a puzzlement to me. Remember Humphrey Bogart and the strawberries I think it was, Anyway they are all on the good ship Caine and their problem is that their captain is crazy. I don't think they saw their options as either going along with Cap'n Nutso or just having no captain at all, though surely the latter option was better than following the captain.
A loose cannon is better than no captain at all? I think if I were on one of those old time man o wars I would much rather have no cannon at all than have a loose cannon on deck shooting up the place. A constitutional scholar such as Beagles is doubtless aware that there is an office called the vice president. He is a rather dim guy, funny looking, and doesn't trust himself to dine with a woman without having a chaperone, but he doesn't guzzle snake oil.
Not that long ago, about the time of impeachment, I was against Pence ascending because I thought that it was better to forebear Cap'n Queeg just to have him damage the GOP so that the dems could win the next election, but I had not realized the scope of an untrammeled Trump and now I would gladly take Pence. And I would gladly take nobody at all also. I don't think a bullet to the temple is better than no bullet at all.
And Pirates? There are Pirates too? The Pittsburgh Pirates maybe. Perhaps not being a sports fan he is unaware that they finished last in the National League Central last year,
The ballot proposal was put forth because the legislature, which does not reflect the will of the people of the state, could not be trusted to do anything but favor their interests over the will of the people as proved by the fact that it was passed by the people. If Beagles thinks there is something wrong with having an unelected body make a decision what does he think of the unelected supreme court which declined to scrap the gerrymandering?
If the prez is guzzling snake oil with a hint of zinc, one wonders is the elixir of the swamp?
I've been puzzling over this for some time now, reading it forward and backward and right side up and upside down and the whole thing remains a puzzlement to me. Remember Humphrey Bogart and the strawberries I think it was, Anyway they are all on the good ship Caine and their problem is that their captain is crazy. I don't think they saw their options as either going along with Cap'n Nutso or just having no captain at all, though surely the latter option was better than following the captain.
A loose cannon is better than no captain at all? I think if I were on one of those old time man o wars I would much rather have no cannon at all than have a loose cannon on deck shooting up the place. A constitutional scholar such as Beagles is doubtless aware that there is an office called the vice president. He is a rather dim guy, funny looking, and doesn't trust himself to dine with a woman without having a chaperone, but he doesn't guzzle snake oil.
Not that long ago, about the time of impeachment, I was against Pence ascending because I thought that it was better to forebear Cap'n Queeg just to have him damage the GOP so that the dems could win the next election, but I had not realized the scope of an untrammeled Trump and now I would gladly take Pence. And I would gladly take nobody at all also. I don't think a bullet to the temple is better than no bullet at all.
And Pirates? There are Pirates too? The Pittsburgh Pirates maybe. Perhaps not being a sports fan he is unaware that they finished last in the National League Central last year,
The ballot proposal was put forth because the legislature, which does not reflect the will of the people of the state, could not be trusted to do anything but favor their interests over the will of the people as proved by the fact that it was passed by the people. If Beagles thinks there is something wrong with having an unelected body make a decision what does he think of the unelected supreme court which declined to scrap the gerrymandering?
If the prez is guzzling snake oil with a hint of zinc, one wonders is the elixir of the swamp?
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Y'all be the Outlaws
I'm not familiar with the details of the Wisconsin case, but the little I read about it suggests that the governor issued some orders that the majority of the legislators believed to be illegal. The courts were asked to resolve it, which is what courts are supposed to do when the legality of an action is in question. Ultimately, the state supreme court ruled that the governor's orders were indeed illegal and ordered him to cease and desist. They also told him that, if he wanted to impose similar regulations, he should work with the legislature to develop them, which he has declined to do.
I am more familiar with the Michigan case, with which my esteemed colleagues should also be familiar since I have previously explained it to them. Some recent developments are that our governor has been incrementally easing some of her restrictions without making reference to the pending court case, apparently expecting us to believe that she is doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Unless the courts fast track this case, most of the restrictions will likely be gone by the time the legal issue is resolved, but at least a precedent will be established to prevent future governors from exceeding their duly constituted authority.
Uncle Ken seems to believe that all we have to do is meekly submit to our governor's orders and the virus will magically go away. Well maybe, but we've been trying that for over two months now, and the virus is still raging on. He also seems to believe that the penalty for disobedience is certain death. While that might be true in Illinois, Michigan abolished their death penalty back in 19th Century so, if y'all kills us now, it is y'all who will be the outlaws.
I don't know about Wisconsin, but I seem to remember that the gerrymandering issue has already been through the Michigan courts, and they have declined to order any sort of remedy. Meanwhile, a ballot proposal has been passed that took the redistricting power away from our legislature and gave it to an unelected panel of volunteers that is to appointed by our secretary of state. (Let the record show that I voted against the proposal.)
I have said right from the beginning that Trump is a loose cannon, and his moorings certainly have not tightened since his election but, when the pirates are closing in on your ship, a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all.
I am more familiar with the Michigan case, with which my esteemed colleagues should also be familiar since I have previously explained it to them. Some recent developments are that our governor has been incrementally easing some of her restrictions without making reference to the pending court case, apparently expecting us to believe that she is doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Unless the courts fast track this case, most of the restrictions will likely be gone by the time the legal issue is resolved, but at least a precedent will be established to prevent future governors from exceeding their duly constituted authority.
Uncle Ken seems to believe that all we have to do is meekly submit to our governor's orders and the virus will magically go away. Well maybe, but we've been trying that for over two months now, and the virus is still raging on. He also seems to believe that the penalty for disobedience is certain death. While that might be true in Illinois, Michigan abolished their death penalty back in 19th Century so, if y'all kills us now, it is y'all who will be the outlaws.
I don't know about Wisconsin, but I seem to remember that the gerrymandering issue has already been through the Michigan courts, and they have declined to order any sort of remedy. Meanwhile, a ballot proposal has been passed that took the redistricting power away from our legislature and gave it to an unelected panel of volunteers that is to appointed by our secretary of state. (Let the record show that I voted against the proposal.)
I have said right from the beginning that Trump is a loose cannon, and his moorings certainly have not tightened since his election but, when the pirates are closing in on your ship, a loose cannon is better than no cannon at all.
cheesehead outlaws
Almost since the day he stepped into the office there has been an increase in Trump craziness. At first it was held back by his handlers who could sometimes get him to behave, but since Kelly's demise (I don't even remember if he quit or was fired, so many men, so little time). Since then it has risen through an exponential rate you know like the thing with the grains of rice on the chessboard. Capped I would say by his announcement that he has been taking snake oil for the past couple weeks and rather proud of it. Of course in a week or two he will be up to stuff that will make that look tame.
Biden has always seemed a bit addled. It's kind of like it is for myself, and I assume the dawgs, when I can't remember the name of that thingamajigger, you know the one I got from, whatshisname, or something that was in my hand just five minutes ago has now apparently disappeared from the universe. Is it just one of those funny things that we oldsters do or is it the onset of The Big One?
Banana Republicans is I assume a play on banana republic. It still seems odd to me that Trump has not designed some kind of whiz bang uniform for himself. I guess he likes that hunched up suitcoat and that flapping tie and that hair that is like a helmet. He has a new Space Force flag, shouldn't he have some Space Force medals? Many people think so.
It's hard to gauge things by how long people have been under lockdown because not all people have been obeying it at the same rate. And now these often piecemeal openings are going to cloud that data completely. In that barber's town there may be some guy who has it but doesn't feel it and otherwise might have stayed home another week when it would have passed but now ambles down to the striped poles and the next thing you know we have like fifty cases in some itty bitty town. Happens with stunning regularity.
I used to think that the further north you went the more civilized people became. You know those long winters where people have to stick together to survive, as opposed to those warmer climes where you don't need that much to get by so you don't have to be all that responsible.
But the republicans in Wisconsin are like the republicans in Michigan, elected from gerrymandered districts and winning the majority of seats even though most people voted for the democrats. and acting like the outlaws they are so that now Wisconsin is like the wild west with open saloons where the yahoos among us can go west young man and breathe in all that corona air and come back and breathe it on us responsible folks so that all our sheltering and masking come to naught.
Biden has always seemed a bit addled. It's kind of like it is for myself, and I assume the dawgs, when I can't remember the name of that thingamajigger, you know the one I got from, whatshisname, or something that was in my hand just five minutes ago has now apparently disappeared from the universe. Is it just one of those funny things that we oldsters do or is it the onset of The Big One?
Banana Republicans is I assume a play on banana republic. It still seems odd to me that Trump has not designed some kind of whiz bang uniform for himself. I guess he likes that hunched up suitcoat and that flapping tie and that hair that is like a helmet. He has a new Space Force flag, shouldn't he have some Space Force medals? Many people think so.
It's hard to gauge things by how long people have been under lockdown because not all people have been obeying it at the same rate. And now these often piecemeal openings are going to cloud that data completely. In that barber's town there may be some guy who has it but doesn't feel it and otherwise might have stayed home another week when it would have passed but now ambles down to the striped poles and the next thing you know we have like fifty cases in some itty bitty town. Happens with stunning regularity.
I used to think that the further north you went the more civilized people became. You know those long winters where people have to stick together to survive, as opposed to those warmer climes where you don't need that much to get by so you don't have to be all that responsible.
But the republicans in Wisconsin are like the republicans in Michigan, elected from gerrymandered districts and winning the majority of seats even though most people voted for the democrats. and acting like the outlaws they are so that now Wisconsin is like the wild west with open saloons where the yahoos among us can go west young man and breathe in all that corona air and come back and breathe it on us responsible folks so that all our sheltering and masking come to naught.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Recoveries
One thing you don't hear a lot about in the corona news is recoveries. I didn't catch the numbers today because I spent an hour or so wandering around the Family Fare store, breathing like Darth Vader, finding only four items on a ten item list. As of yesterday Michigan was reporting over 50,000 cases and almost 5,000 deaths. Recoveries are only updated once a week, and we gained about 6,000 of those last week, bringing our total to more than 28,000. This means we should have about 17,000 active cases left. At this rate, recoveries are on track to start outpacing new cases, if they haven't already. This isn't counting all the people who might have recovered from the virus without even knowing that they had it, or people who might have the virus now without knowing that they have it. Somebody should do a study about that.
I read on my news app that the Wisconsin State Supreme court has overturned their governor's corona orders. I don't think it's exactly the same situation as in Michigan because I found no mention of a state of emergency, and their laws might be different than ours anyway. Our case has been heard by a judge, but no ruling has yet been rendered as far as I know.
I read on my news app that the Wisconsin State Supreme court has overturned their governor's corona orders. I don't think it's exactly the same situation as in Michigan because I found no mention of a state of emergency, and their laws might be different than ours anyway. Our case has been heard by a judge, but no ruling has yet been rendered as far as I know.
Another Monday
Another new term caught my eye last week in one of the many editorial cartoons that are floating around the Web: Banana Republicans. Has a nice ring to it, rolls off the tongue and, in this troubled election year, seems very apt in my opinion. There doesn't seem to be a lot of energy around this contest; we might all be numb to the supposed foregone conclusion that it's going to be a race between Biden and Trump. Or is it? As the days go by it looks like Trump is starting to go off the rails with his comments and tweets in a descent into madness, reminding me of Humphrey Bogart's character in The Caine Mutiny. Instead of strawberries Trump can't get Obama out of his mind. And what's the deal with Biden, is he losing his grip? He seems to be disconnected at times, not sure of where he is or what he's doing. Are these the two worst possible presidential candidates this nation has ever had?
-----
Has Old Dog been following this. Does he have any ideas?
Oh, yes. Well, not any good ideas but I have been following it. I was fooling around with a calendar and seeing which days the highs and lows fell upon. The low death days are usually Sunday and Monday, with the high death days being Tuesday through Thursday. There are some exceptions but it looks like a regular, repeating pattern to me. Your guess is as good as mine as to the cause of any apparent pattern. Maybe it's the food that hospitals serve later in the week.
-----
NBC News has a good site for pandemic info, including some nice charts. Here's a comparison of the daily death rates of Illinois and Michigan.
Michigan had some terrifying numbers for a while but now it looks like they are over the hump. Illinois, however, is slowly and steadily getting worse, at least according to my tired eyes. I don't know what the states are doing differently or why there is such a variance. It seemed to me that they were implementing the same kind of mask and self-isolation protocols, and maintaining the same kind of social distancing. This could all be moot if we are only in the first of many waves of this pandemic. The Spanish Flu of 1918 had three waves and I don't think we are ready for something like that.
-----
Has Old Dog been following this. Does he have any ideas?
Oh, yes. Well, not any good ideas but I have been following it. I was fooling around with a calendar and seeing which days the highs and lows fell upon. The low death days are usually Sunday and Monday, with the high death days being Tuesday through Thursday. There are some exceptions but it looks like a regular, repeating pattern to me. Your guess is as good as mine as to the cause of any apparent pattern. Maybe it's the food that hospitals serve later in the week.
-----
NBC News has a good site for pandemic info, including some nice charts. Here's a comparison of the daily death rates of Illinois and Michigan.
Michigan had some terrifying numbers for a while but now it looks like they are over the hump. Illinois, however, is slowly and steadily getting worse, at least according to my tired eyes. I don't know what the states are doing differently or why there is such a variance. It seemed to me that they were implementing the same kind of mask and self-isolation protocols, and maintaining the same kind of social distancing. This could all be moot if we are only in the first of many waves of this pandemic. The Spanish Flu of 1918 had three waves and I don't think we are ready for something like that.
trust 3
The socialists weren't alone in their struggles against the inequities of the gilded age. They were joined by the unionists and the populists, but there was a difference between the two. The socialists by and large included women and blacks and hispanics in their cause, the unionists by and large did not. The socialists cry was the oppressors must be defeated if we are to be free, The cry of the populists was we are oppressed, but we only care about our personal (white male) oppression and once we improve our position then the hell with everybody else.
And once they were allowed to have unions big business still existed and it was not to be trusted, but they did have their unions and they could be trusted. Maybe not all that much because the union leaders themselves had become fatcats, and many of them were not loathe to strike a sweetheart deal with big business as long as there was something in it for themselves, and when the racketeers came knocking they found a pretty open door.
In The Irishman, as in real life I think, Hoffa was Irish (actually half Irish I just learned from a quick wiki peek) and he did not like all those Italians and he took a shine to Richard Nixon, certainly no friend of labor. But I guess that was an aberration because in later days it was the union leaders that held with the democrats while the unionists themselves went to the republicans. They were sitting pretty on their fat contracts and felt more threatened by minorities than big business. Well we see what became of them at the tender mercies of the republicans.
Colleges were originally the institutions of religions and of the wealthy. When they crossed the pond it was the same way. Grammar and high schools came later. Seems like kind of a patchwork thing but by the 1850s we had free public education. Sounded like a good idea. If the kids learn how to read and write they can read about George Washington and they will be able to conduct business better and isn't business the business of this country? Except for paying for it there wasn't much of a controversy in it. Then came the land grant colleges, and then in September of 1963 Uncle Ken began his education at the University of Illinois.
To be continued.
Now that I have discovered that if I hover my cursor over the top of the blue bar I can get the numbers I have become a fan of the site that Old Dog discovered. At the time he spoke of seven day intervals, but it seemed more irregular to me at the time. Still I kept an eye on it and look at the last three weeks. The Sundays are low, which makes sense because things are generally short handed on Sundays, and then it shoots up on Monday which makes sense if you consider that some Sunday deaths are not included until Monday. Generally after Mondays it goes down but not in a regular pattern. I don't know. Has Old Dog been following this. Does he have any ideas?
And once they were allowed to have unions big business still existed and it was not to be trusted, but they did have their unions and they could be trusted. Maybe not all that much because the union leaders themselves had become fatcats, and many of them were not loathe to strike a sweetheart deal with big business as long as there was something in it for themselves, and when the racketeers came knocking they found a pretty open door.
In The Irishman, as in real life I think, Hoffa was Irish (actually half Irish I just learned from a quick wiki peek) and he did not like all those Italians and he took a shine to Richard Nixon, certainly no friend of labor. But I guess that was an aberration because in later days it was the union leaders that held with the democrats while the unionists themselves went to the republicans. They were sitting pretty on their fat contracts and felt more threatened by minorities than big business. Well we see what became of them at the tender mercies of the republicans.
Colleges were originally the institutions of religions and of the wealthy. When they crossed the pond it was the same way. Grammar and high schools came later. Seems like kind of a patchwork thing but by the 1850s we had free public education. Sounded like a good idea. If the kids learn how to read and write they can read about George Washington and they will be able to conduct business better and isn't business the business of this country? Except for paying for it there wasn't much of a controversy in it. Then came the land grant colleges, and then in September of 1963 Uncle Ken began his education at the University of Illinois.
To be continued.
Now that I have discovered that if I hover my cursor over the top of the blue bar I can get the numbers I have become a fan of the site that Old Dog discovered. At the time he spoke of seven day intervals, but it seemed more irregular to me at the time. Still I kept an eye on it and look at the last three weeks. The Sundays are low, which makes sense because things are generally short handed on Sundays, and then it shoots up on Monday which makes sense if you consider that some Sunday deaths are not included until Monday. Generally after Mondays it goes down but not in a regular pattern. I don't know. Has Old Dog been following this. Does he have any ideas?
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Risk
"So see, for two straight posts I have written about something other than the pandemic. But let me just add a little something for Beagles, and that is I would hate to have a shop and have it go bankrupt., but I would hate even more to be dead." - Uncle Ken
The lady barber in question was not offered the choice of going bankrupt or dying, she was offered the choice of going bankrupt or opening her shop in defiance of the governor's order and risk losing her license. Life is full of risk, we pays our money and we takes our chances. With financial investments, the general rule is: the greater the risk, the greater the potential gain or loss. The barber lady has a certain amount of sweat equity as well as money invested in her business. If she went bankrupt, she would lose all of that and also be out of a job. The same if she loses her license, but there's a pretty good chance that her potential loss of license would be temporary, since the legality of the governor's order is being tested in the courts as we speak. I expect that she took all that into consideration when she made her decision and chose what appeared to be the less risky option. Then again, maybe she is just a hot headed reactionary who gets a kick out of defying authority regardless of the cost. Be that as it may, I doubt that the prospect of imminent death entered into the equation.
In our lifetimes, we have seen a number of things come and go that were supposed to kill us all, yet we're all still here. Okay, we're not all still here, some of us have died and the rest of us will too someday, but if you worry too much about that it can drive you crazy. The best we can do is proceed with our lives, exercising a reasonable degree of caution and taking reasonable risks when we deem the potential gain to be worth the potential loss.
Trust: Of course we cannot trust people to be absolutely honest, which is why we have government. This government, however, is staffed by people, and government people are just as capable of duplicity as civilians. Also, both kinds of people are capable of making honest mistakes with good intentions. That's why the Founding Fathers devised a system of checks and balances, to prevent one guy from making a mess of things, either accidently or on purpose.
Some good news for a change: The legal marijuana business in Michigan is booming, they've been selling seven million dollars worth of pot a week since the corona hit the fan. Just think, if we had not legalized the stuff, most of that money would be going to Mexico.
The lady barber in question was not offered the choice of going bankrupt or dying, she was offered the choice of going bankrupt or opening her shop in defiance of the governor's order and risk losing her license. Life is full of risk, we pays our money and we takes our chances. With financial investments, the general rule is: the greater the risk, the greater the potential gain or loss. The barber lady has a certain amount of sweat equity as well as money invested in her business. If she went bankrupt, she would lose all of that and also be out of a job. The same if she loses her license, but there's a pretty good chance that her potential loss of license would be temporary, since the legality of the governor's order is being tested in the courts as we speak. I expect that she took all that into consideration when she made her decision and chose what appeared to be the less risky option. Then again, maybe she is just a hot headed reactionary who gets a kick out of defying authority regardless of the cost. Be that as it may, I doubt that the prospect of imminent death entered into the equation.
In our lifetimes, we have seen a number of things come and go that were supposed to kill us all, yet we're all still here. Okay, we're not all still here, some of us have died and the rest of us will too someday, but if you worry too much about that it can drive you crazy. The best we can do is proceed with our lives, exercising a reasonable degree of caution and taking reasonable risks when we deem the potential gain to be worth the potential loss.
Trust: Of course we cannot trust people to be absolutely honest, which is why we have government. This government, however, is staffed by people, and government people are just as capable of duplicity as civilians. Also, both kinds of people are capable of making honest mistakes with good intentions. That's why the Founding Fathers devised a system of checks and balances, to prevent one guy from making a mess of things, either accidently or on purpose.
Some good news for a change: The legal marijuana business in Michigan is booming, they've been selling seven million dollars worth of pot a week since the corona hit the fan. Just think, if we had not legalized the stuff, most of that money would be going to Mexico.
Friday, May 15, 2020
More on Masks
"In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made masks mandatory in late April and allowed stores to bar customers who refused. But she did not criminalize such refusals, so police have only intervened when confrontations turned violent."
https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB148J3f?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
I'll post more later, I just wanted to copy and paste this before it disappeared.
https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB148J3f?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
I'll post more later, I just wanted to copy and paste this before it disappeared.
trust 2
What would we do without shopkeepers who may well put a thumb on the scale? Well maybe we could have the gummint run the shops. Not some gummint run by fat cats who own the politicians, but by people who care first and only about the welfare of their fellow man. Well that didn't work out well for the Russkies did it? On the other hand look at where they are now, some thirty years after tossing off the red yoke, not much better off I'll wager. But who do you trust Stalin or Putin? Well in that case I guess Putin is the lesser of two evils, but maybe jolly old Khrushchev would be better than the dour Putin.
But I was talking shopkeepers and trust. Shopkeepers represent business, but who is the enemy of business? In Thatcher's day it was socialists, and the Iron Lady certainly plowed them a new asshole. Well shopkeepers, say even the moms and pops.who sold young Uncle Ken that loaf of Wonder Bread and quart of Wanzer milk, who would never think of putting a thumb on the scale, would not like some guy, some gummint guy, poking his head in and maybe checking their scales, and the expiration dates on their Rice Krispies. Even if their scales were perfectly balanced and their Krispies up to date, nobody likes anybody poking around. Better to let their dishonest competitors get away with something then to have gummint guys poking in their wares. Best if there were no regulations at all. As the Margaret Thatcher of libertarianism, Ron Paul, once said there is no need to check breakfast cereals for rat poison. If some company makes cereal with rat poison, people will eventually, after many have died, figure that out and stop buying that particular brand and the manufacturer will go bankrupt and see, the problem will take care of itself. We don't need no stinking regulations.
Such were the conditions in 1906 when Sinclair Lewis wrote The Jungle. Then was a time of the libertarians wet dream, lassiez faire capitalism. This was the gilded age when just a few owned most of everything, much like the present day. But them along came the socialists. And I spoke of socialists earlier as linked to academics, but at this time they were not very academic at all, they were nitty gritty downtrodden guys who were just as likely to toss a bomb as to lead a parade down Main Street. In the end they did not fare too well against the forces of capitalism and the gummint that the capitalists had bought. But their fallen flag was taken up by the progressives who the socialists considered sell outs, but they did get elected and they did get us the 40 hour week, and a guy to poke around the shopkeeper's shelves and keep things hunky dory.
This will be continued next week.
So see, for two straight posts I have written about something other than the pandemic. But let me just add a little something for Beagles, and that is I would hate to have a shop and have it go bankrupt., but I would hate even more to be dead.
But I was talking shopkeepers and trust. Shopkeepers represent business, but who is the enemy of business? In Thatcher's day it was socialists, and the Iron Lady certainly plowed them a new asshole. Well shopkeepers, say even the moms and pops.who sold young Uncle Ken that loaf of Wonder Bread and quart of Wanzer milk, who would never think of putting a thumb on the scale, would not like some guy, some gummint guy, poking his head in and maybe checking their scales, and the expiration dates on their Rice Krispies. Even if their scales were perfectly balanced and their Krispies up to date, nobody likes anybody poking around. Better to let their dishonest competitors get away with something then to have gummint guys poking in their wares. Best if there were no regulations at all. As the Margaret Thatcher of libertarianism, Ron Paul, once said there is no need to check breakfast cereals for rat poison. If some company makes cereal with rat poison, people will eventually, after many have died, figure that out and stop buying that particular brand and the manufacturer will go bankrupt and see, the problem will take care of itself. We don't need no stinking regulations.
Such were the conditions in 1906 when Sinclair Lewis wrote The Jungle. Then was a time of the libertarians wet dream, lassiez faire capitalism. This was the gilded age when just a few owned most of everything, much like the present day. But them along came the socialists. And I spoke of socialists earlier as linked to academics, but at this time they were not very academic at all, they were nitty gritty downtrodden guys who were just as likely to toss a bomb as to lead a parade down Main Street. In the end they did not fare too well against the forces of capitalism and the gummint that the capitalists had bought. But their fallen flag was taken up by the progressives who the socialists considered sell outs, but they did get elected and they did get us the 40 hour week, and a guy to poke around the shopkeeper's shelves and keep things hunky dory.
This will be continued next week.
So see, for two straight posts I have written about something other than the pandemic. But let me just add a little something for Beagles, and that is I would hate to have a shop and have it go bankrupt., but I would hate even more to be dead.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Shopkeepers
Where would we be without shopkeepers? Let's say that Uncle Ken gets a hankering for an Italian beef sandwich, but nobody is selling them anymore because the corona shutdown put them all out of business. No problem, all he's got to do is feed a cow for two years, kill it, gut it, skin it, and cut it up into pieces small enough to slice really thin. Oh wait, he has no knife. No problem, all he's got to do is find a piece of scrap iron somewhere and rub it on the sidewalk until it gets sharp. Of course he can't make a sandwich without bread. No problem, all he's got to do is plant some wheat, wait for it to mature, harvest it, grind it up into flour, and bake his own damn bread. Oh wait, he has no oven. I could go on with this, but I think I've made my point.
Of course we need the academics almost as much as we need shopkeepers. Without them the shopkeepers wouldn't know how to make change or figure out their income tax. I suppose we need the politicians as well. Without them the government would be run by the biggest and meanest guy on the block, and the only way to get rid of him would be to hire somebody even bigger and meaner to literally kick him out of office. We might not need a government at all if everybody was nice to each other, but then who would print the money Uncle Ken needs to pay the shopkeepers, who need it to buy the fixings for their Italian beef sandwiches? Let's face it, we really are all in this together, whether we like it of not.
I saw on the TV news this evening that another Michigan barber shop has reopened in defiance of our governor's illegal order. The lady barber said that she risks losing her license, but she was about to go bankrupt and lose her whole business anyway. I read somewhere that many businesses have already been so badly impacted that they might not be able to reopen ever. Somebody will replace them eventually, but meanwhile there will be some empty storefronts on Main Street, and even Michigan Avenue.
I saw on yesterday's news that Elon Musk has reopened his Tesla plant without permission. They reported that some of his employees were nervous about the virus, but that others were just happy to get back to work. They said that they couldn't interview all of them because there are over a thousand people working at that one plant. That rich capitalist pig! Where does he get off employing a thousand people to make electric cars that the academics say we need to stop global climate change that's going to otherwise kill us all?
Of course we need the academics almost as much as we need shopkeepers. Without them the shopkeepers wouldn't know how to make change or figure out their income tax. I suppose we need the politicians as well. Without them the government would be run by the biggest and meanest guy on the block, and the only way to get rid of him would be to hire somebody even bigger and meaner to literally kick him out of office. We might not need a government at all if everybody was nice to each other, but then who would print the money Uncle Ken needs to pay the shopkeepers, who need it to buy the fixings for their Italian beef sandwiches? Let's face it, we really are all in this together, whether we like it of not.
I saw on the TV news this evening that another Michigan barber shop has reopened in defiance of our governor's illegal order. The lady barber said that she risks losing her license, but she was about to go bankrupt and lose her whole business anyway. I read somewhere that many businesses have already been so badly impacted that they might not be able to reopen ever. Somebody will replace them eventually, but meanwhile there will be some empty storefronts on Main Street, and even Michigan Avenue.
I saw on yesterday's news that Elon Musk has reopened his Tesla plant without permission. They reported that some of his employees were nervous about the virus, but that others were just happy to get back to work. They said that they couldn't interview all of them because there are over a thousand people working at that one plant. That rich capitalist pig! Where does he get off employing a thousand people to make electric cars that the academics say we need to stop global climate change that's going to otherwise kill us all?
trust
So I said I'd take 24 hours to come up with something besides the corona to talk about, and that time has elapsed and I am sorry to say I haven't come up with much.
There is the issue of trust. I have an email from a couple weeks ago from myself that contains one word: trust. Saturday nights I watch a movie and then smoke some dope and watch it again and dope just sparks all kinds of ideas, all kinds of insights, valuable stuff, like why have I never thought of this before. Some times it is so compelling that I have to write a note to myself, and that is what that email was all about.
I was watching The Iron Lady, the story of Margaret Thatcher with Meryl Streep playing the grande dame. It centers on her last days when she had Alzheimers, with flashbacks telling the story of her rise from a shopkeeper's daughter to the virtual queen of England. It' centers on her rise within the conservative party. The first thing is she marries a rich guy. No slam on her for this because this is the first step in the career of pols of any ilk.
At first the tea and crumpets crowd within the party doesn't take to young Margaret, she is just too uncouth and has no pedigree to speak of, after all she is just a shopkeeper's daughter. Ah but she makes that her strength. She is proud to be a shopkeeper's daughter, Britain is a nation of shopkeepers and she steamrolls the opposition.
I think it was at this point that I emailed myself that one word: trust. I'm thinking of shopkeepers and businessmen in general. I'm thinking of the shops where Mom used to send me to get a loaf of bread and a quart of milk. I knew the owners and they seemed like nice people, but you know I never quite trusted them, not that they were dishonest, but maybe their prices were higher than they should have been. And they seemed rich, just because they had all this stuff, though in reality they were probably just scraping by. Further up the chain, bigger stores, chains, businessmen in general, I never really trusted them. They have all these accountants and lawyers and stuff, you know they are never going to give the common man an even break.
But Margaret trusted them, they were the people. What she didn't trust was the liberals, and kind of gummint in general, unless she was running the gummint, and even then, the way our pols are always claiming that they are outsiders, she pretended that she wasn't the gummint.
Well the gummint, here in the USA we kind of take turns running it, sometimes the shopkeepers, and sometimes the other side, but who is the other side, who are these guys? I think, very roughly that they are the academics, and I will continue this further in the morrow.
That is my way of putting the corona behind me, though I am only looking away from it at the moment. Beagles may think he is putting the corona behind him, but I think it has other ideas.
There is the issue of trust. I have an email from a couple weeks ago from myself that contains one word: trust. Saturday nights I watch a movie and then smoke some dope and watch it again and dope just sparks all kinds of ideas, all kinds of insights, valuable stuff, like why have I never thought of this before. Some times it is so compelling that I have to write a note to myself, and that is what that email was all about.
I was watching The Iron Lady, the story of Margaret Thatcher with Meryl Streep playing the grande dame. It centers on her last days when she had Alzheimers, with flashbacks telling the story of her rise from a shopkeeper's daughter to the virtual queen of England. It' centers on her rise within the conservative party. The first thing is she marries a rich guy. No slam on her for this because this is the first step in the career of pols of any ilk.
At first the tea and crumpets crowd within the party doesn't take to young Margaret, she is just too uncouth and has no pedigree to speak of, after all she is just a shopkeeper's daughter. Ah but she makes that her strength. She is proud to be a shopkeeper's daughter, Britain is a nation of shopkeepers and she steamrolls the opposition.
I think it was at this point that I emailed myself that one word: trust. I'm thinking of shopkeepers and businessmen in general. I'm thinking of the shops where Mom used to send me to get a loaf of bread and a quart of milk. I knew the owners and they seemed like nice people, but you know I never quite trusted them, not that they were dishonest, but maybe their prices were higher than they should have been. And they seemed rich, just because they had all this stuff, though in reality they were probably just scraping by. Further up the chain, bigger stores, chains, businessmen in general, I never really trusted them. They have all these accountants and lawyers and stuff, you know they are never going to give the common man an even break.
But Margaret trusted them, they were the people. What she didn't trust was the liberals, and kind of gummint in general, unless she was running the gummint, and even then, the way our pols are always claiming that they are outsiders, she pretended that she wasn't the gummint.
Well the gummint, here in the USA we kind of take turns running it, sometimes the shopkeepers, and sometimes the other side, but who is the other side, who are these guys? I think, very roughly that they are the academics, and I will continue this further in the morrow.
That is my way of putting the corona behind me, though I am only looking away from it at the moment. Beagles may think he is putting the corona behind him, but I think it has other ideas.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Get Thee Behind Me Corona!
"Well of course I know about the house party, I imagine most of the country knows about it, I don't know why Beagles didn't just say it instead of hiding it behind a link and making me click on it to see what it was. Don't I already do most all of the Institute internet research as it is?" - Uncle Ken
First of all, it wasn't just one house party:
"The Chicago Police Department broke up several house parties across the city on Friday night, Lightfoot said, and police learned of at least six more planned for Saturday night — including the one near the spot where Lightfoot spoke." - From the link.
Second of all, Most of the country may have known about it, but I didn't until
I read it on my news app. Third of all, I did just say it and Uncle Ken doubted my word, so I provided a link so he wouldn't think that I made the whole thing up. How is this "hiding it behind a link"? Fourth of all, I did my own research this time. All Uncle Ken had to do was click on the link that I provided, and he wouldn't have even had to do that if he had taken my word for it in the first place.
The mask rule never was an actual law, it was an executive order issued by our governor under the authority of her state of emergency declaration, which has since expired. I only went to town once between the issuance of the order and the expiration of the authority under which it was issued, and I did wear my mask that time. There is still only one store that I know of in Cheboygan enforcing the mask rule, and I intend to don my mask if I ever have to go in there before they come to their senses. It's their store after all, and I respect the property rights of the owners. I also don't want to bother our sheriff about it, since he certainly has better things to do with his time. By the way, our governor has authority over the National Guard and the State Police, but not over our county sheriff. I know this because of a case that was in the news many years ago. It's kind of a long story, but I will tell it if anybody is interested.
I read in the paper today that the big hospital in Petoskey has discharged their last two corona patients. If we can believe the numbers being fed to us, about half of the corona patients in Michigan have either died or recovered. The recovery numbers are only published once a week on Saturday so, if present trends continue, it will be more than half by Saturday. I agree, therefore, that it will soon be time to put this corona thing behind us, if it isn't already. Truth be known it never was ahead of us in the rural counties of Northern Michigan, we just went along with it in sympathy with our urban brethren Down Below. I would like to believe that they would do the same for us if the situation was reversed.
Speaking of being in sympathy, I think one of those good old boys in Chicago said it best:
"Ya'll overdoing it. Ya'll need to find a cure, talking about go home. You go home."
First of all, it wasn't just one house party:
"The Chicago Police Department broke up several house parties across the city on Friday night, Lightfoot said, and police learned of at least six more planned for Saturday night — including the one near the spot where Lightfoot spoke." - From the link.
Second of all, Most of the country may have known about it, but I didn't until
I read it on my news app. Third of all, I did just say it and Uncle Ken doubted my word, so I provided a link so he wouldn't think that I made the whole thing up. How is this "hiding it behind a link"? Fourth of all, I did my own research this time. All Uncle Ken had to do was click on the link that I provided, and he wouldn't have even had to do that if he had taken my word for it in the first place.
The mask rule never was an actual law, it was an executive order issued by our governor under the authority of her state of emergency declaration, which has since expired. I only went to town once between the issuance of the order and the expiration of the authority under which it was issued, and I did wear my mask that time. There is still only one store that I know of in Cheboygan enforcing the mask rule, and I intend to don my mask if I ever have to go in there before they come to their senses. It's their store after all, and I respect the property rights of the owners. I also don't want to bother our sheriff about it, since he certainly has better things to do with his time. By the way, our governor has authority over the National Guard and the State Police, but not over our county sheriff. I know this because of a case that was in the news many years ago. It's kind of a long story, but I will tell it if anybody is interested.
I read in the paper today that the big hospital in Petoskey has discharged their last two corona patients. If we can believe the numbers being fed to us, about half of the corona patients in Michigan have either died or recovered. The recovery numbers are only published once a week on Saturday so, if present trends continue, it will be more than half by Saturday. I agree, therefore, that it will soon be time to put this corona thing behind us, if it isn't already. Truth be known it never was ahead of us in the rural counties of Northern Michigan, we just went along with it in sympathy with our urban brethren Down Below. I would like to believe that they would do the same for us if the situation was reversed.
Speaking of being in sympathy, I think one of those good old boys in Chicago said it best:
"Ya'll overdoing it. Ya'll need to find a cure, talking about go home. You go home."
let's change the subject fer krissake
Well of course I know about the house party, I imagine most of the country knows about it, I don't know why Beagles didn't just say it instead of hiding it behind a link and making me click on it to see what it was. Don't I already do most all of the Institute internet research as it is?
And it was pretty egregious but also it is anecdotal. I would not use the anecdote that Beagles only dons his bandana when somebody asks him to, (and noting the bad fates that had come of that request who is likely to do that?) to imply that rural people are not putting their shoulders to the wheel of putting the corona behind us.
I get lost in the fiddle faddle of Michigan politics but I guess what Beagles is saying is that he is not breaking the law about masks because it is no longer a law, but I wonder if he was obeying it when it was a law. If those county sheriffs can have better things to do than to enforce a law that they do not care for what becomes of the fact that immigration law has to be enforced because it is the law period?
Right that woman who flashed Beagles that polite smile meant it to say that she was so happy that you were going into her store maskless so that you could more easily spread the disease which you may have, to her coworkers who could then pass it onto her and her family.
Well I hate to be so irritable but the corona does it to us all. Big spike in Illinois deaths this morning after five days of decline. I have been trying to think of something else to write about but so far nada, Well there is Trump, but that is even staler. I will give it twenty four hours to see what I can come up with.
And it was pretty egregious but also it is anecdotal. I would not use the anecdote that Beagles only dons his bandana when somebody asks him to, (and noting the bad fates that had come of that request who is likely to do that?) to imply that rural people are not putting their shoulders to the wheel of putting the corona behind us.
I get lost in the fiddle faddle of Michigan politics but I guess what Beagles is saying is that he is not breaking the law about masks because it is no longer a law, but I wonder if he was obeying it when it was a law. If those county sheriffs can have better things to do than to enforce a law that they do not care for what becomes of the fact that immigration law has to be enforced because it is the law period?
Right that woman who flashed Beagles that polite smile meant it to say that she was so happy that you were going into her store maskless so that you could more easily spread the disease which you may have, to her coworkers who could then pass it onto her and her family.
Well I hate to be so irritable but the corona does it to us all. Big spike in Illinois deaths this morning after five days of decline. I have been trying to think of something else to write about but so far nada, Well there is Trump, but that is even staler. I will give it twenty four hours to see what I can come up with.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Virus? - What Virus?
"I haven't read any of those news reports that urban people are taking fewer precautions than their rural brothers." - Uncle Ken
https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB13weOT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
I posted this link on May 2 as a PS to my post of May 1. Since it came from the Chicago Tribune I'm surprised that Uncle Ken is unfamiliar with it. I seem to remember that Detroit and California have been having similar problems, but that probably came from the TV news so I can't provide any links. Then there's that security guard in Flint who was murdered by a couple of Black guys because he asked a friend of theirs to either put on a mask or leave the store. Last I heard all three perpetrators were in custody, one of whom was apprehended in far away Texas.
Just before our governor's state of emergency expired, she added some new restrictions which many people believed were excessive, one of them being the mask rule. Our legislature wanted to negotiate some of these before extending the state of emergency, but she refused, so they didn't extend it. Now that the state of emergency has expired, I wouldn't expect any law enforcement personnel to try to enforce the governor's orders because they are null and void. Even before that, several of the county sheriffs in the region indicated that they had better things to do than enforce such chicken shit rules, or words to that effect.
As I have said before, I will put on my bandana mask if somebody asks me to. What I should do is comply under protest and file a lawsuit, but I will leave that to somebody who has more time and energy to spare than I do. I went to Save-a-Lot today. Some people, perhaps the majority, were masked and some were not. I even saw one unmasked employee, who was going out the door as I was coming in maskless. She smiled at me and continued out into the parking lot to round up carts. I don't know if she donned a mask when she went back in, but I like to think that she did not.
Cheboygan County is still reporting only 19 cases and one death. Today they started reporting recoveries, of which there have been nine so far. That leaves only nine active cases in a county of over 26,000 people. I think most of us took the virus seriously in the beginning, but we are getting tired of it by now and want to get on with our lives.
My wife and I have been cutting my hair for decades now. I do the front part and she does the back part. I have offered to do hers on numerous occasions, but she has always declined.
https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB13weOT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
I posted this link on May 2 as a PS to my post of May 1. Since it came from the Chicago Tribune I'm surprised that Uncle Ken is unfamiliar with it. I seem to remember that Detroit and California have been having similar problems, but that probably came from the TV news so I can't provide any links. Then there's that security guard in Flint who was murdered by a couple of Black guys because he asked a friend of theirs to either put on a mask or leave the store. Last I heard all three perpetrators were in custody, one of whom was apprehended in far away Texas.
Just before our governor's state of emergency expired, she added some new restrictions which many people believed were excessive, one of them being the mask rule. Our legislature wanted to negotiate some of these before extending the state of emergency, but she refused, so they didn't extend it. Now that the state of emergency has expired, I wouldn't expect any law enforcement personnel to try to enforce the governor's orders because they are null and void. Even before that, several of the county sheriffs in the region indicated that they had better things to do than enforce such chicken shit rules, or words to that effect.
As I have said before, I will put on my bandana mask if somebody asks me to. What I should do is comply under protest and file a lawsuit, but I will leave that to somebody who has more time and energy to spare than I do. I went to Save-a-Lot today. Some people, perhaps the majority, were masked and some were not. I even saw one unmasked employee, who was going out the door as I was coming in maskless. She smiled at me and continued out into the parking lot to round up carts. I don't know if she donned a mask when she went back in, but I like to think that she did not.
Cheboygan County is still reporting only 19 cases and one death. Today they started reporting recoveries, of which there have been nine so far. That leaves only nine active cases in a county of over 26,000 people. I think most of us took the virus seriously in the beginning, but we are getting tired of it by now and want to get on with our lives.
My wife and I have been cutting my hair for decades now. I do the front part and she does the back part. I have offered to do hers on numerous occasions, but she has always declined.
reading the graphs
I've been eyeballing those charts and they do have regular ups and downs. If it was a seven day cycle it could easily be put down to the vagaries of the week. Remember when the word was not to buy an automobile on a Monday because the crew would be hungover by the weekend and likely to leave a wrench or something somewhere where it would jam up the works? And I have to say I see peaks on Mondays for the last three weeks, but that does not explain the lack of peaks before then. It seems more likely that the variance is due to vagaries in reporting than that it is due to vagaries in the virus, but that's all I have. I wonder if the conspiracists have latched onto this. Seems unlikely that they haven't. How about those stupid Blue Angels, inspiring the populace by, well I don't know, or spreading the virus with their contrails so that there is a curious spike periodic with their visits?
I haven't read any of those news reports that urban people are taking fewer precautions than their rural brothers. We are certainly dying at higher rates but I think that is because we are packed tighter, have more visitors, and we have large pockets of poverty.
I wonder what is the import of the age of that Owosso barber. It reminds me of George Dunne who was once the Cook County Board President. At the age of about that feisty (aren't all us old folks feisty?) barber. He got caught in a three way, but the general attitude was wow at his age, what a man, and I don't think he got in any trouble for it,
How are the dawgs doing on haircuts?. Myself I'm not due until after the Fourth of July, and I suspect that Beagles's wife, who is no longer hypothetical, will be able to trim his locks, though she may not be as eager about him returning the favor. But I wonder about Old Dog, Maybe he is waiting until after the Fourth of July like me.
I wonder why Beagles, who is so opposed to not enforcing laws, chiefly immigration laws, has no apparent umbrage towards the sheriff for not enforcing mask laws., I have to wonder about the intelligence of clerks who are perfectly fine with hundreds (I'm guessing at the number) of their friends and neighbors casually breathing possibly virus-laden air at them that could be prevented by wearing a mask for like half an hour, but they find that protecting others is just too much of a pain in the ass to bother with.
Six days of declines in Illinois deaths, if you ignore a rise of one on 5/7 which I am. It could go splat tomorrow, but I am grasping for rosy glasses
I haven't read any of those news reports that urban people are taking fewer precautions than their rural brothers. We are certainly dying at higher rates but I think that is because we are packed tighter, have more visitors, and we have large pockets of poverty.
I wonder what is the import of the age of that Owosso barber. It reminds me of George Dunne who was once the Cook County Board President. At the age of about that feisty (aren't all us old folks feisty?) barber. He got caught in a three way, but the general attitude was wow at his age, what a man, and I don't think he got in any trouble for it,
How are the dawgs doing on haircuts?. Myself I'm not due until after the Fourth of July, and I suspect that Beagles's wife, who is no longer hypothetical, will be able to trim his locks, though she may not be as eager about him returning the favor. But I wonder about Old Dog, Maybe he is waiting until after the Fourth of July like me.
I wonder why Beagles, who is so opposed to not enforcing laws, chiefly immigration laws, has no apparent umbrage towards the sheriff for not enforcing mask laws., I have to wonder about the intelligence of clerks who are perfectly fine with hundreds (I'm guessing at the number) of their friends and neighbors casually breathing possibly virus-laden air at them that could be prevented by wearing a mask for like half an hour, but they find that protecting others is just too much of a pain in the ass to bother with.
Six days of declines in Illinois deaths, if you ignore a rise of one on 5/7 which I am. It could go splat tomorrow, but I am grasping for rosy glasses
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