With the passing of Tim Conway this week it got me to thinking what four faces I’d put up there. The initial three came pretty quickly: Conway, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye. But who get’s the fourth slot? Mel Brooks was a great comic writer and director but as an actor, with the exception of his 2,000 year old man sketch and occasional appearances in his own movies his front-of-the-camera schtick wasn’t that awesome. Jerry Lewis? Not my type. Carlin? Pryor? Lenny Bruce? Dave Chapelle? All good but perhaps a bit too cerebral. Hope? He became a parody of himself. Cosby? Sadly his fal has dropped him to the second tier in this discussion. Louis C. K.? Same. So I’ll leave the last face blank and wait for YOUR input. But don’t be surprised if Groucho Marx gets it.
I am not a scientist
This should go without saying but so MANY people today seem to think they ARE scientists. And there’s this:
There are other ways to tell I’m not a scientist.
I wasn’t wrong about the coming Ice Age in the 70’s. Or about the acid rain or Ozone Holes killing us in the 80’s. In the 90’s I didn’t wrongly predict that long before now global warming would destroy us.
Nope. Not a scientist. (with an acknowledgement to Kurt Schlichter.
Canadian’s aren’t thrilled with their head of state either.
Most recently, their dear leader in sensitive trade talks with the Japanese prime minister referred to the country as China. Trudeau wished the Canadian Olympic team in Seoul, South Korea, best of luck in Pyongyang, North Korea. We learn from an interview in The New York Times that he claimed Canada has no core identity—not how a sober statesman speaks of his country. This is the man who, as the beneficiary of a family trust fund, never had to run a household out of his own earnings, could say “The budget will balance itself,” while leading the country into astronomical debt. According to his way of thinking, the Boston Marathon bombers needed to be sympathetically understood, since they must have felt “completely excluded.” He sought a gender-balanced cabinet “because it’s 2015.” This is the zany who on a diplomatic visit to India can affect Bollywood and dress in a ceremonial costume to the bemusement of his hosts.
This is the man who appointed as his attorney general a Kwak’wala woman who wants to break up the country—and who, in an instance of poetic justice, later accused him of bullying and malfeasance. This is the man who has no shame about his servile Muslim vote-pandering, switching into another exotic costume and praying at the Jamea Masjid mosque in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau also visited the Al-Sunnah Al-Nabawiah mosque in his Quebec riding, undeterred by its Al-Qaeda ties. He saw no discrepancy in later wearing Eid Mubarak socks at a Pride parade. The inappropriateness is startling. This is the man who cannot utter a non-scripted sentence without painfully stumbling over his phatics, who believes that the term “mankind” should be replaced by “peoplekind,” forgets to mention Alberta in his list of provinces during a Canada Day speech, and greets the Belgian royal family with German flags.
And less you forget the comparison: recall that former President McBama was also regularly praised for his superior intelligence and poise, though he could be incoherent off-teleprompter. This was a president who famously thought that the union consisted of fifty-seven or possibly fifty-eight states, that Austrians spoke Austrian, that a corpsman was a corpse-man, that Israel was a strong friend of Israel, that the Falklands (Malvinas in Spanish) were the Maldives, that Hawaii was in Asia, and so on. This was a man who in his Cairo address got his historical calendar wrong by several hundred years and stated, ludicrously, that Islam had always been part of the American story—true in a sense if one considers Jefferson’s and Madison’s wars between 1801 and 1816 against the Barbary pirates.
The list goes on, but I’ll end it there with apologies. To my readers, to whom I said I was going to try to avoid politics much, and to David Solway over at PJMedia from who I stole the above.
Quote of the Week
We must not be afraid to be free. Hugo Black, writing for the dissent in In re: Anastaplo 36 U.S. 82 (1961)
I’m running for POTUS
My Common Sense Agenda for A New America is as follows:
- Other candidates say we have 10 or 12 years before climate change dooms the planet; I say 7.5 years and will go even lower if anyone tries to undercut my position or implies they are otherwise more concerned than am I. Fossil fuels will be banned in my first term.
- Other candidates would limit abortion after the first few moments after delivery. I believe that a mother should have a full year after delivery to decide. The fact that the fetus is outside the womb does not reduce the degree of lifestyle infringement; it increases.
- I believe reparations for slavery should be made but are inherently inadequate. I propose a lottery to be held in selected Red States for which a set number of white adults will be selected for sale to buyers in African nations.
- College tuition should not only be free but top honors for all students should be guaranteed in advance. And all colleges, universities and community colleges must be named “Harvard” immediately after my inauguration.
- The tax rate for the tippy-top bracket should be over 100% to force sale of the assets that keep making these greedy bastards rich.
- Instead of registering lobbyists (seriously, who checks these logs and lists) I propose that no one may directly communicate with any elected official. Messages must be presented to the new people’s tribunal I will create which will determine whether the content is appropriate to pass on.
- The Census Bureau will establish a victim index for each registered voter and their vote shall be weighted accordingly. (e.g., Transgendered persons of color shall henceforth get three votes, white persons who are related to passengers on the Mayflower or George Washington get -1, etc.)
- Borders are for Nazis.
- Right after they complete the mission to fan out and confiscate all guns in private hands, the US military will be dissolved so there can be world peace.
stolen from Old Bathos over at Ricochet.com
Never forget
On April 29, 1945, 74 years ago, the U.S. Seventh Army arrived at the main camp at Dachau and liberated the surviving prisoners there.
The times, they are a changin’
On March 24, Donald Trump tweeted “Good Morning, Have A Great Day!” You can learn a lot about our society by reading the 67,000 ensuing comments
Outkicked my coverage
It’s a term from North American football (maybe applicable to ARF and Rugby as well, not sure.) On kicks and punts the usual ideal is to kick as far as your coverage can go. A high kick gives your defenders a chance to arrive at the point where the ball will be caught at the same time the ball does, thus greatly reducing the possibility for a kick return. If you out kick your coverage you give the return team the opportunity to field the kick, set up the blocking for a return and get better field position.
I’ve often heard the word applied to a man dating over his head. This does NOT apply to the rich and powerful, for whom the effect of hypergamy mean there IS no out-kicking. But that middle level management guy dating the drop dead gorgeous woman? He’s out kicked his coverage. The character of Jerry Gergich (played by Jim O’Heir) on Parks and Rec is married to the lovely Gayle (played by Christie Brinkley.) CLASSIC case of out-kicking.
Which bring me to Viagra. Sildenafil. In the 60’s the Rolling Stones sang of “Mother’s Little Helper.” This is father’s. It won’t GIVE you an erection – you’re on you own (so to speak) there. But it will serve to prolong it. Many men claim that condoms reduce sensation and they are, by the condom’s very nature, correct. This can, as one ages, contribute to the inability to maintain a functional erection. And let’s face it, the AGING process itself contributes. It’s natures way of saying “you’re beyond your child production and child rearing years so CUT IT OUT! But since mankind’s great advancements all seem to be either to prolong life or to prolong the ability to do certain things, it applies here as well. It allows middle aged (and beyond) men to continue to perform sexually the way we could 20-30 years earlier.
Except it doesn’t. I no long her the physique I had in my 20’s and 30’s. I’m still in decent shape (for a 61 year old – although the physical I’m due to take in about eight hours may say otherwise) but my legs are nowhere NEAR as strong as they were then. C’mon, I was a decent college athlete, so they aren’t. Neither are my abs (although my abs were never a big selling point.) Core strength is reduced. So the little blue pill (actually I’m taking a generic version … they’re white) gives me an erection that lasts for well over an hour if attended to. But my body just can’t “do it” for that long anymore. Since my partners are of similar age and physical condition they can’t either. So I out kick my coverage. My erection lasts longer than the rest of me does. It usually lasts longer than my partner does.
Swipe Left
My dating life (even at 61) isn’t bad but I’ve made occasional forays into OKC, Tinder and Bumble for research and entertainment purposes. I usually limit my searches to “38 and over” and “within 30 miles.”
Three distinct trends that concern me. First is the “I’m looking for a life partner/LTR” from someone in their 50’s and up. Ladies, you’ve missed the life partner boat Assuming a life expectancy of 90 yours is half over. I understand not wanting a poly or open relationship. Those aren’t for everybody. But the other phrases just sound … silly. Looking for someone to share “golden years?” “Retirement?” “Partners in crime?” All nice and we’ll know what you mean. But that LTR stuff is just sad wishful thinking.
Second is the fact that these apps exist at all. Much has been made recently of the breakdown of our civil society. Church, school, community groups are no longer the cement that binds a community in most cases. Back in the 80’s and 90’s I was active in central Ohio community theaters to meet women. There was a dearth of straight men and a plethora of attractive, creative straight women with time on their hands. I actually married one. But today why should one commit to two months of rehearsals in the hopes of meeting a decent dating partner when all one needs to do is log on?
Third, and the one I find most distasteful, are those profiles that suggest to perspective beaus that if you have a specific belief system or support a specific candidate for public office you should swipe right (reject, for those of you still reading this not up on your lingo.) I ALWAYS swipe right to those pleas, whether I meet the criteria or not, because I would prefer not to associate with someone so judgmental, exclusive and narrow minded. Ladies, the pond in which you are fishing is small enough as it is. To rule out ½ (or more) of potential partners who conform to your needs in most other categories is just …. bad fishing.
100 YEARS AGO TODAY, Sergeant Alvin C. York received the Medal of Honor…. https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/328107/
Good movie too.
Checking the Fridge for Leftovers 