Mittwoch musings

• I watched just a bit of the DNC the other night.  Whenever I see this guy, I can't not think of this:

Apparently, the DNC had enough funds for a fixed sat uplink

• Or this: 

Write your own joke...

• Which led to this gem: 

The Richmeiseter - doesn't get any Laymer than that, huh?

(And, to all the statements in the pic, the answer is "No, not really.")

• And finally, this one: 

• I included the last because Michael Jordan just recently donated $2 million toward finding a solution to tensions between police and minority communities.  Time will tell whether it's successful, but credit is due for putting his money where others just tweet or run off at the mouth.  Good on you, Mr. Jordan!
• If ComKev goes to Norway in about 20 years to visit Waterworld, maybe he can drive through one of these.  Driving a Ford through a fjord.
• I'm OK with just watching Watters' World: Immigration Edition, from Philadelphia.
• Former President WJC spoke last night at the DNC.  It's a phenomenon that totally flummoxes me, but I believe that he's probably the best resource HRC has, and if he were the candidate, he'd win in a landslide.  Go figure.
• The persecution prosecution of the remaining officers' trails in the Freddie Gray has been dropped.   Apparently, the State's Attorney finally took some remedial reading classes, and read the writing on the wall.
• Is this an endorsement one would actually want?  Uncle Jimmy releases a video supporting HRC.
• Mark Cuban, at times a 'loose cannon', offers possible motive for DJT not releasing tax info.  Other pundits offer different reasons.
• H.P. Scotsman and would-be Presidential assassin John Hinckley is set to be released.  An internet troll/commenter wrote "When John Hinckley Jr. gets out, I hope someone breaks the news about Jodie Foster to him very gently."   Although I am a bona fide admirer of the 40th President, those injured by Mr. Hinckley in March 1981 are now gone, so I am not overly troubled by his release if it's supported by competent psychiatric evaluation.
• From Pokémon to hidden gold: Annie Lennox was right - everybody's looking for something.
• I frequently cringe at some of the 'progressive' rubbish that land on PBS' America Reframed, but last night's episode was very good.  A historically black neighborhood in Athens, GA, sought designation as a protected site when a white fraternity moved in nearby.  Added into the mix was a former Colorado hippie/Mother Earth woman who was part of the area's gentrification.  Between the woman getting assistance from the college boys to clear kudzu from her lot and till the soil for a neighborhood vegetable garden, and the local pastor reaching out to the fraternity, strong bonds were forged that benefited the entire community.

It's Monday in America

• The Democratic convention opens today in Philadelphia.  I said last week that I didn't have any predictions as to the tenor of this week's proceedings, but I am surprised that many are expecting more protests than at Cleveland.
• It seems ironic to me that resigning DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been offered a senior position in the HRC campaign.  If lack of honesty, integrity & judgment were the key shortcomings dogging a candidate throughout their career, why in the world would that candidate hire someone fresh out of a scandal - a scandal involving her own candidacy?  Maybe there is something to the notion of the HRC hubris factor?
• I don't know how effective DJT's overture/invitation to Bernie supporters will be, but apparently the Sanders crowd will be somewhat vocal in/outside the convention.  Could the party still draft the current VP?
• After the dust clears from both major parties' conventions, and the American public wakes up to collective nausea, could an independent candidate emerge a couple of weeks from now?
• Most automobiles manufactured after 1996 feature some form of self-diagnostic software, typically ODBII.  For under a hundred dollars, you can buy a decent code reader, and for less than $10, you can even get a Bluetooth module that displays or logs data from your vehicle's computer to your Android device.  In the past, this has caused some conflict with manufacturers, who would prefer to keep their vehicles' information in the hands of affiliated service providers.  Now, a similar brouhaha has come to the farm implement market.
• A Colorado waitress has been fired after racist Twitter remarks.  You know, there's something to be said for self-editing, if you're inclined to those type of sentiments.
• I didn't know this guy was still around.  The congress-critter who compared Israeli settlers to "termites" is the same guy who, a few years back, worried that the island of Guam might tip over if additional U.S. service members were based there.
• Maybe the DNC exorcised all of the rancor & divisiveness on opening night: Speeches by Bernie Fife, Bernie Rubble, Bernie Miller, Smith Bernie, and a performance by Bernie and the Jets all urged party unity to defeat Ronald Tramp.
• The preceding was brought to you by Mssr. Émile Litella.
• I watched most of a 1990 suspense thriller called Narrow Margin, starring Gene Hackman, tonight.  I knew when they boarded the train, there'd have to be - at some point - an obligatory 'walking on top of the train cars' scene.  I was not disappointed.
• Carson's show tonight was from June 1985, and featured noted primatologist Dian Fossey.  Sadly, Ms. Fossey was murdered six months later in her mountain camp cabin in Rwanda.  Although not officially solved or closed, the investigation centered on a disgruntled former employee, as well as powerful poaching interests.  The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, continues her mission of conservation and protection of the mountain gorillas.

Update weekend

• Mark Cuban thinks HRC has a problem in marketing.   Dude, marketing is the least of HRC's problems.  The problem with her campaign is much more fundamental: It's the candidate.
• One of the video segments they've played at church for the last two or three weeks features a snippet from an event at Burger's Lake.  I think it's been four or five years since I was out there.
• I watched the McGoofy Group today - McLaughlin does not look or sound well.  I like the current line up nearly as well as any other: Tom Rogan, Clarence Page, Eleanor Clift, and Pat Buchanan.  Mort Zuckerman apparently still appears from time to time, and is a good contributor.  I also liked Fred Barnes and Michael Barone in the past.  Thankfully, they have retired the looney leftist moron Lawrence O'Donnell.
• Not sure if this is proof of DJT's claim that we are in grave danger or not: Fox News is reporting today that SoS Kerry has declared air conditioners as great a danger as ISIS.  Yesterday, I was in the home center, and personally witnessed a contingent of heavy artillery 24,000 BTU, several  mechanized 12,000 BTU, and a platoon of 5000 BTU infantry units massed across the aisle from the power tools.  Of course, they were laying low, trying to play it cool, but now I'm on to them. Several even had code names: Frigidaire, GE, DeLonghi, LG, and Zenith - so be on the lookout.
• After a better convention in Cleveland than I would have expected, and what I thought was a decent, if over-long, acceptance, DJT is apparently back to crafting insults.
• No predictions here regarding how next week's DNC in Philadelphia will go.  I am still trying to sort out reports whether speakers will include "Mothers of the Movement", i.e. the mothers of young black men killed by police.  Conservative sources seem to be playing up the notion, but I haven't found a definitive answer regarding who exactly might speak.  It seems it would be a bit risky, as some of them - despite the reality of their loss - are not particularly telegenic.  A couple of weeks ago, Erica Garner (Eric's daughter) walked out of an ABC News Town Hall with the President, after producers deemed her behavior too volatile and incoherent for inclusion on the program.
• I do think the week after the DNC may prove interesting, as the campaigns move into the final stretch.
• Did Ben Matlock ever represent in front of Justice of the Peace Andy Taylor?
• Blogger RPM reported recently taking a job in the bucolic pastures of the former Turner Ranch in Westlake.  The surroundings are beautiful, though the commute is a witch.  I myself have recently expanded my job-improvement radius, applying to jobs in Cleburne and Allen, each of which would entail nearly 100 miles round trip per day, but due to the Chisholm Trail and GWB tollways, respectively, might be manageable.  Of the two locales, I think I would prefer the Johnson County gig, as I'm not sure how well I'd gee-haw with the North Dallas/Collin County mindset.
• In late spring, I got new contact lenses, after having not worn them regularly since about 2002.  Although I can see the veins in leaves on trees across the boulevard, I have to keep readers handy to see close up stuff (the bifocal contacts I tried out weren't to my liking).  Unfortunately, they get uncomfortable after about three hours.

When do we lose the things that we cherish?

Man, the guy can write a great song.  And here's a classic Glen Campbell performance:



Webb performs this song on his 2010 CD release, featuring J.D. Souther.  In the liner notes, Jimmy recounts taking J.D. for a sailplane ride in the early '70s, which went well, then later in the afternoon, they got into Jimmy's 172, but ran into a freak snow squall and were 'whited out'.  Luckily, Jimmy's pilot kept from getting spatially disoriented, and managed to get under the clouds, flying at just a couple hundred feet AGL in mountainous terrain (trust me, it's not fun).  They landed safely, but there wasn't much convo between Jimmy and J.D. on the car ride back to L.A., where Souther's GF was worried sick, waiting at Jimmy's place.

It was the first time Jimmy met Linda Ronstadt.

Mid-week Meanderings

• The fourth Baltimore officer charged in the death of arrestee Freddie Gray last year has been acquitted.  The officers that State Attorney Marilyn Mosby supposedly thought were most likely to be convicted have all been acquitted; nonetheless, two trials remain¹, presumably with the same outcomes. Today the circus blogger criticized a Texas judge who suggested harsher treatment for cop killers for pandering.  Although I don't disagree with the criticism offered, clearly pandering is not the exclusive province of either end of the political spectrum.
• It's all about the outrage these days.  An Albuquerque eatery that posted "Black Olives Matter" on its outdoor sign, has angered protesters.  A trendy/hipster clothing retailer has a line of anti-Trump apparel.  Not sure if anyone's got their panties - designer or otherwise - in a bunch over this or not.
• I like black olives, in case you were wondering.
• The tent camp in Cleveland is apparently somewhat sparsely populated, and a bit remote from the convention site, and seemingly reflects  both Trump supporters and detractors.  One camper, echoing Herb Hoover, said of the tent city: "Everyone with a belly button has a home" and "We encourage conversation and listening with people of diverse thoughts, and so far, that's been a really groovy thing."  Far out, man.  Can't really argue with that.
• Call it the law of unintended consequences, or perhaps proof of what Dallas PD Chief David Brown said about police agencies being tasked with trying to solve all of society's ills:  A Tempe woman is distraught after police kill her belligerent knife-wielding boyfriend.  Yes, the police she called 911 to have remove said BF from her residence.  I'm not saying the BF deserved to die, but Chief Brown is correct - police can't be expected to arrive on the scene and divine every participant's role and intention, then wave a magic wand and make everything better.
• Last week, the, uh, adult film industry derided the RNC for a proposed platform plank denouncing pron.  The golden arches restaurant seems to at least partially agree.  While it doesn't suggest that the fast food outfit has gone all red state, it has announced that its stores' wi-fi will filter inappropriate sites from being accessed.  This seems to be a reasonable step for the company in preserving its brand image.  
• Unsure if the ACLU will somehow take exception (since the routers are owned by the company, it seems they can use whatever filter they want). I also searched to see if perv poster boy Larry (you know the one) had any comments about the change, but didn't find anything.

Larry's brother (& magazine co-founder) Jimmy, 

with, possibly, a fan and supporter

• There's four hands you might not want to shake...
• Watched a bit of the RNC tonight.  Bizarre Cruz appearance.  Eric Trump's address was decent.
• Nary a word from Carson tonight about Trump; however, he did mention that Great Britain was sending naval forces to protect the Falklands...

¹ The first officer's trial ended in a hung jury.  It is scheduled for re-trial in September.

Where to now, St. Peter?

• Knowing my fondness for classic rock, you might take that as an intro for the song.
• I don't think so, Tim.  Not this time.

• It's not just me that wonders if we're accelerating toward the apocalypse: Dallas, Nice, Ankara, Baton Rouge.  With the Trump convention coming up - what could go wrong?
• Whenever I read an article online, I'll often scan at least some of the comments that follow (if they're posted), trying to get some feel of the public's 'pulse'.  It's an old habit that dates back to the days when I read paper copies of Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, the WSJ, DMN, and FWST.  Sometimes all in the same day.
• It's amazing to me how polarized society is, and how many comments some are willing to make that would probably strike most as being 'beyond the pale'.  I've long since conceded that I am a curmudgeon, a fact cemented by my using Paul Harvey quotes from time to time.  One that seems especially apropos to the raging division currently going on in the U.S. is: "Self Government won't work without self discipline."
• Those who say "We ought to send [them] back to Africa", and "Black lives splatter" - are not helping.  Those who say "Let's get some pigs in blankets", or "More dead cops" - are not helping.
• As a last resort, let us turn to the pages of the Book of Henley, where it is written "There is no more new frontier, we have got to make it here." There's no place to run to anymore, we've got to figure this thing out. Although that was almost two decades earlier, maybe it's kind of what Rodney King meant when he asked "Can't we all just get along?"   Rodney was no poster child for righteousness, but in that instance, he was right.
• Eighteen centuries before Harvey and Henley, though, a different Paul might have used the word κοινωνία (koinonia) to urge unity of purpose, participation, and cooperation to heal instead of divide.
• Here's to getting along.

World Turning

• I gotta get my feet back on the ground.

• Political commentator David Brooks says the world is spinning out of control.  No disagreement here.
• The full moon backdrop of that FM Youtube is the same one they used on their Rumours tour when they appeared at the Tarrant County Convention Center, March 6, 1977.  Kenny Loggins opened for them.  My friend Paul and I, being squares straight-laced, did not bring or directly consume any contraband substances.  But hey, ya gotta breathe, right?  So we did.
• I lost track of him by the early '80s.  A dozen or so years ago, I happened to learn he had died in the early '90s of a sudden, un-diagnosed heart condition.  In 2013, when I was working in Arlington, I met a woman with the same last name spelling, and asked if there was any relation.  Turns out she had married his brother, so I asked about Paul's widow (who as his GF had accompanied me and my GF on a double date to see the lovely Linda at DCCC in December 1976).  She had passed away in 2011.
• The location of the truck terror attack in France makes for odd-looking headlines.
• I was in Nice in late July or early August 1974, but only have vague recollection of it.  My memories of Venice, Postojna, Jablanac, Dubrovnik, Athens, Rome, Florence & Pisa, Genoa, Madrid & Toledo, and Andorra - from the same trip - are much clearer.
• The U.S. State Department advised against travel in the area.  Then, as now, there were tensions in that part of the globe (Greeks and Cypriots fussing). However, it was a bucket list trip for my Grandparents from heartland America.  And as four adults, one adolescent (me) and a toy poodle in a Volkswagen Squareback with Austrian plates, the only places we were recognized as Americans were the borders when we flashed our passports.  The only border delay whatsoever was entering Yugoslavia, where it took maybe a half hour to process our visas.
• A few months ago I took an ill-fated job, the interview and background testing for which took over two months - and resigned after two weeks and one day on the job.  Somehow, my profile is still in their HR job agent database.  As of this morning, they have posted my former position 5 separate times.  Apparently no one else wants it, either.
• As editor-in-chief and publisher of MWB, I last night lauded Chief Foreign Affairs Bureau Correspondent ComKev for alerting this publication to the imminent collapse of Venezuela.  Tonight, however, I find that I must apologize to readers, as MWB did not receive any advance intel regarding the attempted coup in Turkey.  What up, brah?