Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Epipen

I’ve been depending on Epipens for quite a few years.  I learned that I was allergic to insect stings when I was in high school.  I was stung by a honey bee (I was in 4-H Bee Club), and rather quickly got hives, a headache, and, on the way to the doctor, a swollen throat that made breathing difficult.

I’ve used Epipens twice.  Once my uncle Leon gave me the shot after a wasp sting, and three years ago I gave myself the shot.  It’s actually rather easy.  You take the cap off and jab the “pen” into your thigh.  The shot is delivered automatically, right through your pants.

So yes, I do have a personal interest in the company that produces Epipens and raised the price through the roof while the CEO, who is the daughter of a U.S. Senator from West Virginia, added millions to her salary.


The problem in this country with medical care is not too much government control.  The problem is not enough.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Uninformed

That’s the title of a book I’m reading by Arthur Lupia.  The book is subtitled:  “Why people know so little about politics and what we can do about it.”

Much of Dr. Lupia’s book is a defense of the American voter.  He points out that many of the questions asked to determine the “political knowledge” of the American voter have almost nothing to do with a voter’s ability to vote intelligently.

For example, a frequently asked question is “Who is the Supreme Court Chief Justice?”  Lupia asks how knowing that would help you when you cast your vote for U.S. Senator.

I agree to a point, but I think Dr. Lupia also misses a major issue.  Knowing who is the Supreme Court Chief Justice really doesn’t matter.  (Roberts?)  

On the other hand, knowing the Court is deadlocked 4 to 4, and knowing that Republicans in the Senate are refusing to even vote on Obama’s nominee, and knowing that Toomey, my Senator, is one of those Republicans, all lead me to vote for the Democratic candidate, Katie McGinty.

And, in fact, knowing that Republican Supreme Court justices voted to gut the Voting Rights Act, and said that corporations could make unlimited campaign contributions because “corporations are people,” and decided to give the Presidential nod to George W. Bush in a partisan decision all affect my vote.

American voters are ignorant, and it does matter.  You want proof?  I can give it to you in one word. 


Trump.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Toomey's ad

Today the Allentown Morning Call did a wonderful thing.  It analyzed a political ad, in depth and objectively.  The ad was one that I have not seen (no surprise there), but it is a Toomey ad attacking McGinty for supporting the anti-nuke treaty with Iran.

In a very short and inadequate summary, the article noted that while some of the facts cited in the ad were correct, the ad missed the big picture of the purpose of the treaty with Iran.

My point is this.  This is one of the few times I have seen an article about a political campaign or campaign ad that was actually substantive.  Almost every article you read is about polls.  Who is ahead, who is behind, who is moving up or down, what demographic groups support which candidate.  


I sent an email to the editor telling her just how refreshing this article was.  I’m hoping to see similar articles in the future.  

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Obama's legacy

What will President Obama be remembered for?  The health care act that expanded medical care for millions?  The Supreme Court appointments, and the Republican opposition to approving his last appointment?  The grace he showed under relenting Republican opposition to every initiative he tried?  The attempt to make Americans aware that global warming was the major problem facing mankind?

Perhaps it will be his protection of America’s natural resources.  Next week President Obama will travel to Midway Atoll, a small island in the middle of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, to dedicate the expansion of the marine sanctuary.  

President Bush actually created the monument in 2006, but the Obama move represents a major expansion.  


President Obama,using the Antiquities Act signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, has protected more resources than any other president, often to the dismay or opposition of Republicans.  I’m pretty sure, however, that one Republican, President Theodore Roosevelt, would be very proud.  Bully!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Trigger warnings

You know how some guys are huge fans of the Second Amendment?  I’m like that with the First.  I joined the American Civil Liberties Union when I was a freshman at Ursinus College, and I am a proud card-carrying member of that organization, devoted as it is to the Bill of Rights.

I retired from teaching before “trigger warnings” were part of the college lexicon, but I am opposed to the whole idea of telling students that a particular reading might upset them.  

This does not mean that I was insensitive to the shock a student might feel when he or she read about “Nigger Jim” in Huck Finn.  Any reasonable professor or teacher knows that when he or she is assigning certain readings in a classroom, the students have to be prepared and the reading put into historical context.

I also believe that students must be made aware of our past.  Indians were once called “redskins.”  (Actually, that term is still used for a professional American football team.)  Chinese were called “chinks,” Italians “wops,” Jews “kikes.”  This is part of our history, unpleasant as it is, and students should be aware.

Opposition to “speech codes” and “safe spaces” and “trigger warning” is sometimes presented as a liberal vs. conservative issue.  Actually, it is more of a liberal vs. liberal issue, with liberals on both sides.

Today I would like to applaud the University of Chicago, which sent out a letter to incoming frosh students that said, “Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

The University of Chicago is where President Obama taught con law.  They get it.


The quotation is from “University of Chicago Rebels Against Moves to Stifle Speech,” New York Times, Aug. 27, 2016, p. 1.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Lyme disease

Yesterday I went into the Lehighton Hospital to give blood for a lab test to determine if I have Lyme disease.  I’ve been having pain in my knee and hip joints, and Lyme disease is one of the reasons that might be happening.

Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks.  The ticks first breed on small mammals like mice and chipmunks, then move to deer.  We have a large number of deer in this area.  A few days ago I spotted eight of them feeding on the soybeans less than a half mile from our house during the middle of the afternoon.


What we need are some large predators.  Wolves, cougars, and coyotes would reduce the deer population.  I know this would not be popular with deer hunters in the neighborhood, but it certainly would meet my approval.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Bat Count

I finished my annual bat count for the Pennsylvania Game Commission last night.  I’ve been counting bats for years, emerging from our attic, from the space above our porch roof, from our shed, and now from the Kibler one-room school to the east to our house.

My father and I started this years ago.  (He died in 2006, so you know we’ve been doing this for quite a while.)  This year our grandson Gavin helped in the count, so it has become a family tradition.  

I did succeed in keeping them out of our attic, although it took 19 tubes of caulking.  We like bats, but the amount of bat crap in the attic was not a good thing.  We didn’t mind them in the space between the porch and the porch roof, but evidently “white nose syndrome” hurt that particular population, and none are currently living there.


On the other hand, the population in Kibler School is growing, and last night I counted 40 bats emerging from the eaves.  We have installed a bat house on the back of the school, but so far we don’t have any bats living in it.  In my experience, it usually takes a year or two for the bats to discover the house.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Christman goes to the Supreme Court, but no one notices

Almost every reader of this blog could identify Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools in 1954.  Some of you may even know that the “Brown” was Linda Carol Brown, an elementary school student, and the Board of Education was the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education.

What you may not know, and neither did I, was that Brown was not the only plaintiff.  Last week Harry Briggs, Jr., another plaintiff in the case, died at age 75.  Mr. Briggs’ parents actually brought the suit, but five separate cases were brought together and Brown was the first name used.  The others were part of the et al.  

I can identify with Mr. Briggs.  I too was a plaintiff in a Supreme Court case, March Fong Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee.  The case established that California political parties had the right to endorse in non-partisan elections and affirmed the free speech rights of California political parties.  I was one of the plaintiffs as the Chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.  Santa Clara County is where San Jose is located.

Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion.  [Lawyers reading this can look it up.  The case is listed as 109 S. Ct. 1013 (1989).]  


But here’s the rub.  It will always go down as March Fong Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Party.  My chance at glory, and I’m relegated to the et als.  I certainly can identify with Mr. Briggs.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Pro-Death Penalty

Timbuktu, an ancient city in the African country of Mali, is home to a number of old tombs made of mud and stone, many of which were recently destroyed by a jihadist group linked to Al Qaeda.  

Now one of the perpetrators, Ahmad al-Faqu al-Mahdi, has been sentenced to nine to eleven years in prison after a trial in The Hague..  Mr. al-Madhi, now contrite, identified structures to be destroyed and even provided the pickaxes and crowbars to carry out the destruction.

Andras Riedlmayer, a scholar of Islamic art, said, “The courts have been slow to recognize this, but there is a clear link between crimes committed against people and attacks on their cultural heritage.  The ethnic cleansers in the Balkans, like the jihadis in Iraq, Syria and Timbuktu and other places, are keenly aware of this, which is why they devote so much personnel and resources to the destruction of religious and cultural landmarks.”

The destruction of art work, like the massive Buddhist statues in Bamiyan Afghanistan, is permanent.  The original is gone forever.  

My opinion is that anyone who destroys an archeological treasure or an important cultural heritage deserves the death penalty.  Those evil people have diminished our world in ways never to be undone.


Information for this post came from “Extremist Pleads Guilty to Destroying Cultural Sites in Mali,” New York Times (Aug. 23, 2016), p. A8.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Disappointing Trump voters

If by some fluke Trump should win, millions of his followers will be terribly disappointed.  I am not sure if they have thought through a Trump victory.  They seem to be reacting to slogans with little thought about reality.  Here is a dose of reality.

Manufacturing is not coming back.  Bethlehem Steel is not coming back.  Robotics and automation mean that old-fashioned factory jobs are gone forever.  This is not only true of the U.S., but also of China and India.

Coal is not coming back.  The economics aren’t there.  Sorry West Virginia and Kentucky.

Climate issues will continue, and the sea will continue to rise.  Pretending a problem doesn’t exist does not make it go away.  

The wall will not be built.  I mean, really?

Eleven million undocumented residents will not be deported.  Won’t happen.  

The drug problem will not disappear.  If anything, it will get worse.

The U.S. will lose credibility in foreign affairs and be weakened internationally.  Other countries will begin to take advantage of our weakness within six months.  


America will no longer be great.  It will be a joke.  People who got caught up in the Trump bandwagon will feel like the British after the vote to leave the European Union.  They will wonder how they could have been so stupid.  I’m already wondering that.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Burkini

Let me see if I got this right. 

It is wrong for a religion to impose rules on what a woman can wear.  In order to prevent that from happening, some local French governments will impose rules on what a woman can wear.  

Actually, I kind of like the burkini.  I’m one of those guys who, when around women in bikinis, always feel like I should be averting my eyes.


On the other hand, I could understand if they imposed restrictions about how far a man’s belly can hang over the top of his swim trunks.  There are some things best left unseen.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Pat Toomey, politico?

For years political science professors have been explaining two theories of representation to their students.  The delegate theory of representation states that the legislator should do what his or her constituents want.  If the legislator personally thinks that abortion should be an issue between a woman and her doctor, but a large majority of his or her constituents think abortion is wrong, then the legislator should oppose abortion.

On the other hand, the trustee theory of representation holds that a legislator should do what he or she thinks is correct.  This theory is usually credited to English parliamentarian Edmund Burke, who disagreed with his constituents and explained that they elected him because they trusted him to do the right thing, no matter if it went against their particular opinion on a specific issue.

More recently, a third theory of representation has emerged.  The third type is neither delegate nor trustee, but is labeled a politico.  Politicos have no fixed ideology, nor do they necessarily do what their constituents wish.  They do whatever it takes to get reelected.  If the NRA contributes a large amount of campaign contributions, they will oppose restrictions on weaponry, no matter what their personal beliefs or their constituents’ wishes.


The question is, why did Pat Toomey change his mind on the TPP?  For years he supported that agreement.  Now he sees that both Clinton and Trump oppose it.  When did he really decide the TPP was a bad idea?  Did he decide he better do what the voters want?  Or did his desire for reelection override his beliefs,and this was the road to victory?  I’m guessing politico.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Phasing out private prisons

Earlier this week the Obama administration said it would phase out the use of private for-profit prisons to house federal inmates.

It’s about time.  Those prisons were more violent, saved the government very little money, and actually encouraged longer sentences for greater profit.

The Pennsylvania scandal known as “Kids for Cash,” in which corrupt judges sentenced juveniles to for-profit prisons in return for kickbacks would never have happened if those facilities had been run by the public.


Unfortunately, states may still use private for-profit prisons.  They should be phased out as quickly as possible.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Bat in the house

Tonight when I entered the house from the front porch, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a very large moth flying in through the open door.

About 15 minutes later I knew what it was.  A little brown bat was hanging above the doorway to Linda’s office.  I got a towel and very gently caught it and took it outside.  It seemed somewhat disoriented at first, but then it flew off, I’m hoping to catch insects and live a full life.  

If you do get a bat in your house, don’t panic.  Eventually they will roost.  Then you can catch them by using a towel or thick rag.  Since bats do occasionally have rabies, and their teeth are like sharp little knives, you wouldn’t want to pick them up with your bare hands.  


On the other hand, you don’t want to kill them.  Given the decline in the Pennsylvania bat population because of White Nose Syndrome, we need to save every possible bat we can.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Paper ballots

I recently wrote about how difficult it would be to commit in-person voter fraud.  In-person voter fraud is what Trump and the organization “True the Vote” and Republicans in general are always yammering about.  It doesn’t happen, but it does provide an excuse to push for voter ID laws and restrictions that benefit Republicans and suppress Democratic turnout.

However, there is a type of voter fraud that is quite possible and hardly ever mentioned.  When voters cast ballots using computers, programming shenanigans or hacking scenarios are quite possible.  Georgia, for example, relies completely on an electronic system that leaves no paper trail.

I will be contacting our county commissioners about a system that uses paper ballots that are scanned.  While the election outcome is available immediately after the polls close, if there are any questions, the actual paper ballots are available for checking.  


The system is fast, easy, and foolproof.  I have used it in Marin County, California, where I was  a judge of elections.  It works, and it is impossible to hack.  We need it in Pennsylvania

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

"Marcellus Drilling News"

A major drawback of the Internet is that it encourages people to say things about you that they would never say to your face.  

Today my attention was drawn to a blog entitled “Marcellus Drilling News.”  The post about the Penn’s Peak hearing was entitled “FERC Alters PennEast Hearing Process to Reduce Antis’ Bleating,” and featured a picture of an open-mouthed goat.

The people opposed to the pipeline were referred to as “”anti-fossil fuel freaks” and were called “anti-drilling trolls.”

I don’t know the person who posts on this blog, but I’ll bet he or she is rather nice in person.  I’ll also bet that if he or she met Albertine Anthony, a farmer in her 80s who has put her farm in the Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation program and is worried about her well water and the scar that will cross her fields, he or she would be very reluctant to call her a troll.

On balance I think social media is a good thing.  After all, I post my blog entries almost every night, so I would be rather hypocritical to criticize.  Nonetheless, I think that many people forget that there are real people out there who are often hurt by what people say about them on the Web.


I’ll give you a personal example.  I don’t like it that a number of unions favor the PennEast pipeline.  Some of their members showed up last night to testify in favor.  I sat between two of them before I gave my testimony.  Face-to-face, they were nice guys who were hoping for employment.  We talked about Hillary Clinton, and how we all were fervently hoping she would beat Trump.  These were real guys who were looking for employment; I was a real guy who was trying to protect my farm.  None of us were “trolls.”

Monday, August 15, 2016

Public hearing?

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is obligated to hold public hearings on Environmental Impact Statements for pipelines.  Tonight FERC held a “public hearing” at Penn’s Peak from 6 to 10 p.m.  Here’s how it worked.

Participants who wanted to make a statement were given numbers.  (I was #9).  You then were called in numerical order to talk to FERC employees sitting at two tables.  The FERC people recorded what you had to say.  You had three minutes to speak.  

The tables were behind black screens.  None of your friends and neighbors could hear what you said.  You could learn nothing from each other or even hear one another’s names.  After you spoke, you went out a door with no readmission.


It was painfully obvious that FERC was using “divide and conquer” tactics as a favor to the PennEast/UGI pipeline company.  FERC is a federal agency that is supposed to be representing the public interest.  

Sunday, August 14, 2016

How to cheat in a Pennsylvania election

Yesterday Trump said that it was “shocking” that Pennsylvania did not require photo ID to vote, he was worried that he would lose the Pennsylvania election because of cheating, and he urged his supporters to check on polling places to see that no one was cheating.

So, here’s how you cheat.

I go into my polling place, which is “Towamensing North.”  There are four poll workers there, three of whom know me.  (If I am a first time voter, I do have to show ID, but I’m not, so I just sign my name.)  They give me a book, and I sign my name.  I sign and vote.  

Obviously, I can’t come back to my own polling place to vote again.  So I go to Lower Towamensing.  Now, I have to know a voter listed on the rolls.  I have to know he isn’t planning to vote.  If he voted already, I’m caught.  If he votes later, I’m caught.  And IF ANY OF THE FOUR POLL WORKERS KNOW THAT PERSON AND KNOW THAT I AM NOT THAT PERSON, or I MESS UP THE SIGNATURE, I AM CAUGHT.  But let’s say they don’t know the voter, the voter doesn’t vote, and I fake the signature, and I get away with my deception.  Great.  I have successfully cheated and cast one extra vote.

Now I go to the polling place in Palmerton East to cheat again.  I have to know someone listed on the rolls who hasn’t voted, doesn’t plan to vote, isn’t known by any of the poll workers, and pull off the signature again.  

Really.  How likely is that?  How realistic is that?  And how stupid is Trump to even suggest that? 

None of this matters to Trump supporters, of course.  They do not live in the real world, do not respond to rational arguments, and believe in conspiracies (“born in Kenya”), fantasies (“Build the Wall”), and fairy tales (“voter fraud is commonplace”).  

Let’s hope reality triumphs over fantasy.  I am not optimistic.


If you know someone worried about voter fraud, please explain how the polling places in Pennsylvania really work.  Chances are, of course, that the person who is worried about voter fraud has either never voted or is a Trump supporter living in fantasy land, in which case your explanation won’t matter.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Carbon County Fair ends

I need to thank people.  

First of all, when we were hit by a fast moving thundershower about 7:40 p.m., George and Marie helped me pack up, pull down the tent, and save our material from getting soaked.  I know THEY got soaked, and I am so grateful for their help.

Secondly, I am also grateful to the young man who asked me if I needed assistance in carrying out a bin to my truck.  His name was Jonathan, and he said he needed the exercise to get ready for soccer.  He also was soaked.  Thank you Jonathan.  (The time when I would have been insulted by a teenager asking if I needed assistance has long passed.)

I also appreciate Mike, our next door neighbor on the midway who operated the stuffed pretzel food truck.  Mike gave me all kinds of suggestions on how we could improve our booth to attract more passersby.  We don’t do nearly as well as the Republicans, and now I know why.


Finally, I want to thank the Hillary Clinton supporters who stopped by our Democratic Party booth to say how happy they were to see us there.  The Carbon County Fair attracts lots of Trump voters, and it was heartening to get positive feedback from Clinton supporters.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Joe-Pye weeds

One of the pet peeves of our daughter, California girl she is, is that easterners always say that California doesn’t have seasons.  Anyone who lives in California for any length of time quickly realizes that California does have seasons, but they are more subtle that the seasons back east.  You don’t get snow storms in San Jose in the winter, you don’t get colored leaves in October, but after you have lived in California for a few years, you  begin to recognize subtle seasonal changes.

Nonetheless, and what I am leading up to, is that the seasons in eastern Pennsylvania are more pronounced.  Not subtle at all.  And we are now in the season of Joe-Pye weeds and goldenrods.  I noticed both of them today.  


My mom had an expression, “When the wind blows over the oats stubbles, fall will soon be here.”  My addendum is, “When you see Joe Pye weeds blooming, NFL games will soon be on TV.”

Thursday, August 11, 2016

I love the poorly educated

I worked the Carbon County Democratic Fair booth again today from 3 to 6 p.m.  The Republican Party booth was directly across from us.  This gave me a view of the people who showed up at the Republican booth to sign up for Trump signs.  


Remember when Trump said “I love the poorly educated.”  He should.  They love him back.  And there are a lot of them.  And I am scared.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Unhealthy people

I worked the Democratic booth at the Carbon County Fair today from 3 to 6 p.m.  I can tell you that there are an amazing number of unhealthy-looking people at the fair.  

The obesity rate among fair goers must be way above not only the national average but the Pennsylvania average.  Believe me, it is not pretty.


What’s even worse, I’m in that group.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Anxious in Pennsylvania


Google tracks search rates, including searches that connect in some way to “anxiety.”  Google’s measure of anxiety includes other searches, including “anxiety symptoms” and “panic attacks.”

According to Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, a researcher and economist, anxiety seems to be associated with lower levels of education, lower median incomes, and populations living in rural areas.  

Hey, wait a minute.  That’s where I live.  And sure enough, Pennsylvania is way above the state average in “angst.”  Oregon residents were the least anxious.

I’m guessing Trump should do well where people are anxious, although Trump himself may be a a cause of anxiety.  That’s certainly true for me.


Information for this post was taken from Seth Stephen-Davidowitz, “Fifty States of Anxiety,” New York Times, (August 7, 2016), p. SR2.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Heffley and energy subsidies

At a hearing in Penn Forest Township Rep. Heffley made a big deal about “Obama’s” federal subsidies for wind energy.  It seemed to be the major reason he opposed the windmills proposed for the Bethlehem Municipal Water Authority land.

What I am curious about is why he is not opposing the PennEast/UGI pipeline.  Oil and gas companies receive four billion dollars (that’s $4,000,000,000) a year to drill for gas and oil.  Those are federal subsidies.


Could his position have something to do with campaign contributions from the gas industry?  Just asking.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Carbon County Fair

We spent the day preparing for the Democratic booth at the Carbon County fair.  We’re ready with voter registration forms, candidate signs, the candy, and the local high school football schedules.  

I also included three possible replies to people who tell our volunteers how great Trump is:
  1. I just don’t like the way he insults veterans and their families.
  2. I just don’t like the way he stiffed the little people on his projects by declaring bankruptcy.
  3. I’m not sure someone of his temperament should be in control of nuclear weapons.
I also have a comeback for those people who badmouth Hillary:

That’s what great about America.  Even stupid people have a right to their opinions.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

The American Economy

According to the latest reports, the American economy is doing well.  Allow me to quote from an article by Neil Irwin in today’s Times business section.

The United States economy is creating jobs at a rapid pace; most people who say they want a job are able to find one, and employers are having a hard enough time finding workers that they’re having to pay higher wages.  But large segments of the population, especially those without advanced education, left the the labor force during the last several years, and relatively few of them are bing pulled back in by this improved job market.

Exactly.  These are the people who show up at Trump rallies.  55-year-old guys who have no job, no hope, no future.  The sad thing is that their jobs are not coming back.  Anthracite coal mining is not coming back.  Shirt factories are not coming back.  They aren’t even coming back in China.  Automation is global.


Another sad thing is that these men and women think that Trump will fix this.  They think he will bring back manufacturing.  Unfortunately, if you look at towns like Scranton or Johnstown, the jobs left long before NAFTA.  The final sad thing is that people are being duped and don’t even know it.

Friday, August 5, 2016

The opening ceremonies

Here are my conclusions after watching the opening ceremonies.

First, there are a lot of really good looking women out there.  Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, North America–the world is full of beautiful women.  Wow!

Secondly, I love seeing the pride of tiny countries field Olympic teams.  They probably won’t win any medals, but it is wonderful to see countries like Cook Islands, Chad, and Burkino Faso with teams in the Olympics.  How proud their fellow citizens must be to see them marching in.


Third, I love the U.S. team.  Our whole team is a rebuke to the ugly politics of Donald Trump.  I don’t consider myself a flag waver type guy, but tonight I’m waving our flag, and I am so proud to be an American.  We have a great country.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

St. Ann's Church

We are losing our local cultural heritage one building at a time.  St. Ann’s Church, built in 1911, was a Lansford landmark and a beautiful building in its own right, now a pile of rubble to be used as fill.

Can you name a demolished historical building, bridge, or structure that you wish had been saved.  Of course you can.

Now name a structure or building that has been saved from the wrecking ball that you wish had been torn down.  I’ll bet you can’t think of even one.

I’ve also heard people say, “you can’t save everything.”  Really.  Why not?


Wednesday, August 3, 2016

No guns allowed

In the wake of mass shootings and open carry laws, a number of restaurant chains have declared themselves “gun free” zones, including Starbucks, Chipoltle, Chili’s, and Panera Bread.

While I applaud this, I think there is something else the rest of us can do.  When you see a guy in a restaurant with a weapon on his hip, ask him what he is compensating for.  Is there some problem with masculinity at work here?  

We don’t have many opportunities in the modern world to prove our bravery, and this is one.  Last year there was a guy in the Republican Party booth at the Carbon County Fair who was carrying a gun on his hip.  If he is back this year, I plan to confront him.  It should be both interesting and fun.  


Unless I really set him off, I’ll let you know what happened. (And if he does shoot me, please see that the SOB spends the rest of his life in jail.)

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Heel Spur Trump

Trump is always making up names for people, like Lying Ted, Crooked Hillary, Pocahontas Elizabeth.  We’ve now been handed one for us:  “Heel Spur Trump.”  


I can’’t wait to use it the next time someone tells me he supports Trump.  That had to be some heel spur to keep him out of Vietnam.  And five deferments!  Chicken Hawk Donald wouldn’t be too bad either, but I’m using Heel Spur Trump. 

Monday, August 1, 2016

Trump and Nixon

This weekend the public broadcast network ran a special on the 1970s.  Much of the program, as you might expect, was about Nixon and Watergate.  When during the investigation it was learned that Nixon had tapes (HE HAD TAPES!), the entire focus of Congress and of the Special Prosecutor was to get access to those tapes. 

Nixon said that the tapes exonerated him, but he wouldn’t release them as a matter of principle.  Anyone who had followed Nixon’s career knew that principle was not a high priority with him.  We also knew that if the tapes really did show his innocence, he would be the first to play them to the American public.

Now we get Trump telling us that his income tax returns show nothing amiss with his taxes, but he wouldn’t show them to us as a matter of principle. 


Really?  Sorry, Mr. Trump, but we’ve been down that road before.