Nonsense

"Is it a big deal if the President goes to dinner and the press doesn't know?  In a word, yes."

I disagree. The press has been outed, in cold print, as a biased, partisan tool. Why reward them? Besides which their justifications for pool coverage are pathetically weak.

Ouch

I just got a cortisone shot in the hip. This should be a fun day.

Pumpkin Carving with Junie

Back in mid-October I took Junie to a pumpkin carving event at a nearby park. You carve a jack-o-lantern, leave it behind for a few days as the park celebrates Halloween, and then pick it in time for the actual holiday. 

 I didn't want to go. I was salty as heck about the 2015 event, when some folks in the neighborhood took it upon themselves to decorate their homes with (literally) dozens of jack-o-lanterns they swiped from the park. 

I don't cotton thieves. 

But obviously I went. Someone's taking the pictures, right? Unlike prior years the pumpkins were precleaned, which robbed us of the seeds, which ticked me off even more And it was pitch dark, and we had to carve it under the light on my cell phone. Which also annoyed me. But Junie had a blast. 

She carved a face on one side, her initials on the other.

Some of her friends were there and they "dabbed" and showed off for the camera. 

A few days later we picked up the pumpkin, avoiding the pumpkin grabbers, and proudly displayed it on our porch!

Yup

Vocabulary lesson: When Obama warns against a rising tide of "nationalistic tribalism," he means "patriotism."

Congrats!

40 Years of TV Greatness

This month is the 40th anniversary of Jack Horkheimer's StarGazers TV show. It's original, longtime name of Star Hustler was abandoned with the rise of the internet when school search engines blocked sites with "Hustler" in the address.

I used to routinely watch these short, informative shows just as PBS was signing off for the night. Each one, of course, focused on things you could see in the night sky in the upcoming weeks.  I don't think I ever got to *see* any of the wonders he promoted, as the lights of the city wiped out everything dimmer than Orion, but it was still fun to watch. 

Ronald McNair

When he was nine, Ron McNair walked to a white-only library. When the librarian called the police, the cop asked "What's the problem? Why don't you just give the kid the books?" The librarian reluctantly agreed. Thirty years later, when as an astronaut McNair died aboard the Challenger, that library was renamed in his honor.

If I won the lottery

Where I would spend my money if I had enough to give away: dental and psychiatric clinics for children in Milwaukee, food pantry's, Catholic radio, local public television, and the Bay View Community Center.

On the MPS Uniform Policy

MPS's proposed uniform policy is bunk, both for lefty individuality reasons, and practical ones: unless Goodwill has uniforms galore, it is prohibitively more expensive than street clothes. It's economic warfare in the guise of unity.

My Thoguhts: Globalism

Globalism is a philosophy that says it's ok to love your country, if you're not too vocal about it,  but you have to love other nations just as much. Screw that. America is your spouse. You can admire the curves on France and the rear on Spain, but admire is where it ends; polygamy is illegal.

I'm down 2.7 pounds this week, the first crack in the plateau in over a month. If my hip would co-operate, and I could hit the gym as often as I like, maybe the losses could continue.

One last thing

This will be my last post on the election itself, I hope. In response to the "HRC won the popular vote by 1 million, proof we should dump the electoral college" argument: you are actually proving the opposite. Take away CA and NY and Trump wins the popular vote by 7 million. California and New York should not, MUST not, have the power to overrule 48 states. The Electoral College has proven it's worth.

D'Oh

It's 2:30 AM, I have class in six hours, and I just realized that in my good-faith effort to get a headstart on next month's final by reviewing all weekend, I never bothered to do my homework for class. So, 2 things: 1. FML she'll chew me apart. 2. I'm way too f'ing old to write the words "my homework" and to be scared of a teacher. So #2 also boils down to FML.

Update: I made it through class unscathed by keeping the book open at all times to the relevant page, maintaining confident eye contact with the professor, and nodding judiciously in agreement with her points. Be wary of an old man in a young man's game. Experience matters.

My Thoughts: Media Fear Mongering and Division

The media needs to stop its fear mongering, its victim narrative, and its race baiting. It's so transparent   I'm seriously starting to think maybe the press is past the point of ever being capable of true journalism again. And that's not partisan spiel: I have real doubts they are up to the task. And that's scary for a nation that depends, in theory, on a free and objective press.