Lightning Round -- 050817

Haven't done one of these for a while. Fire up the Doppler:

• Didn't have a dog in the French election. I suspect M. Macron will have as much trouble running France as everyone else does. From what I can gather, Macron seems like a fusion of John Kasich and Justin Trudeau, which doesn't seem especially promising. I assume Angela Merkel will do her best to get Macron up to speed, but the issues in France, especially related to its shameful colonial past, will continue to remain a problem. 
• I strongly recommend Salena Zito's recent column in the Washington Examiner, which concerns the difference in communication styles between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. In a column filled with smart insights, this one is the best: "Voters want fewer media "Etrumptions" and more information. People do believe what is going on Washington is consequential, but they want to judge for themselves with good, relevant information. They are tired of being told what they are supposed to think about every Trump word, especially the words that don't matter." The meaning of "Etrumpion," which is a handy term, is at the link.
• As we sometimes say, res ipsa loquitur. Behold the views of Kurt Eichenwald, a senior writer at Newsweek:

The pre-existing condition seems to be an excess of bile. I would also wager that Eichenwald has never been touched by the consequences of the Affordable Care Act. As you might guess, he deleted these tweets. Profiles in courage, as always.

Lightning Round - 101316

I can't keep up with it all, really. But I can make note of it:

• As far as I know, Donald Trump hasn't touched me inappropriately. I may be the only person in America who can safely make that claim.
• Anyone calling for a "Catholic Spring" hasn't heard about Lord Mountbatten.
• Ol' Drudge has a crapload of links you may or may not find probative. Easiest way to explain it all is to screen shot it:

I'll give you such a pinch!

• Walter Russell Mead is still on the Calpers beat, in which he relays how Royalton, California is getting royally screwed. If you only have time to click one link today, this link would be a good choice.
• Mark Dayton notices what we all have known for years -- the Affordable Care Act isn't. Naturally, it's the fault of the Republicans, who had nothing to do with any of it. Go back to sleep, Governor.
• The owner of the Smitten Kitten thinks $15/hour should be everyone's minimum wage. I'm guessing the markup on her, ahem, merchandise is a little higher than what they sell at the ol' Dollar General.
• And if the glitter cuffs at the Smitten Kitten aren't your speed, maybe you'd enjoy a stock market crash instead.
• Blogging may be lighter over the next few days; we're going to be busy. It's good to be busy.

Lightning Round -- 071816

The news hasn't been very good at all lately and it comes so fast that I'm finding it difficult to keep up. That's when you need a Lightning Round!

• Three police officers murdered in Baton Rouge, which was the scene of a controversial police-involved incident in which a suspect named Alton Sterling was killed during a struggle with police. The guy who killed the cops seems to be ex-military and a self-styled Black Panther. Meanwhile, another cop was shot in Milwaukee, although he survived because of his bullet-proof vest. I have a feeling this is going to get worse.
• The local Black Lives Matter was planning to protest at Rosedale Mall on Sunday, but the protest was canceled. Roseville is just south of us and our parish is there, so we were in the area after going to Mass. The police presence was, frankly, a little unnerving. I saw at least a half-dozen state patrol vehicles driving up and down Snelling Avenue, which borders Rosedale on the east and we even saw increased security at the neighboring HarMar Mall, which is down the road a half mile from Rosedale. According to the linked article, the planned protest was a diversion and that the real target is Falcon Heights, which is where Philando Castile was shot. I am glad that BLM stood down, especially in the wake of what's happening in Baton Rouge. Tensions are very high right now in our area.
• Meanwhile, it's been essentially radio silence on the Castile matter. Investigations are underway, but there's been little news in the last week or so. I still would like to know more about the robbery incident that took place in Lauderdale two days before Castile was killed, especially since the St. Anthony police officer who shot Castile apparently stopped him because he resembled the perps in the Lauderdale case.
• They've been building expensive new sporting venues all over the Twin Cities in recent years, but I'd not been to two of them before this weekend. Now I have. We were at a Drum Corps International show at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, and then we attended a Saints game at their tidy new ballpark in Lowertown on Sunday. TCF is an impressive facility and it was a good place to watch a competition. The sightlines in the stadium are terrific and the view of the skyline and the university itself are fantastic. The one problem was concession prices were ridiculous, but we enjoyed ourselves. The new ballpark in St. Paul is a great place to watch a game -- it's intimate and fits well into the existing neighborhood, which has a lot more bustle than it used to. I've lived in the Twin Cities for nearly a quarter century and we've never had much reason to spend time in the Lowertown area of downtown St. Paul; most of the major attractions (Xcel Energy Center, the History Center, the Science Museum) are on the west side of downtown and until recently, unless you had business in the area, it wasn't a place worth visiting. Gentrification is ongoing in Lowertown now, however, and it's got the same vibe you get in the Warehouse District in Minneapolis. I'm a suburban guy and it's not my milieu, but it was fun to visit. We'll get to see the new monstrosity where the Vikings play later on in the year.
• Meanwhile, I haven't even gotten to Turkey and Mike Pence. Maybe another time. Events are in the saddle.

Lightning Round -- 111615

Haven't done one of these in a while. Shake down the thunder from the sky:

• We may be on the verge of our own Ferguson. A man was shot by police early Sunday morning in North Minneapolis. That much we know. The actual sequence of events seems to be in dispute, as is the condition of the man in question. The response is not. “We’ve been saying for a long time that Minneapolis was one bullet away from Ferguson. Well, that bullet was fired last night,” said Jason Sole, an associate professor at Metropolitan State University and a member of the local NAACP chapter. That's the quote from the Star Tribune. I have no idea what really happened. I'm pretty sure Sole doesn't, either. It may not matter.
• It's easy to make fun of the French, but it's never a good idea to mess with them, as ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is finding out. The French military dropped bombs on Raqqa, the city in Syria where ISIS maintains a stronghold. I would assume there will be more bombs coming. The French always, always act in their own interest, and they aren't hesitant to use force as they see fit. You doubt that? Ask Greepeace some time.
• Are you an obscure local politician in Burnsville? Would you like to have fifteen minutes of fame that is fully wrapped in ridicule? Would you like to be denounced by every member of your own political party within shouting distance of a microphone? Well, here's how you do it.
• So, apparently the reason Hillary Clinton has taken a metric ton of money from Wall Street fat cats is because of 9/11 or something. That's amusing. Fortunately for Clinton, not too many people were watching.
• Another of the old time wrasslers is gone -- Wicked Nick Bockwinkel died the other day, at the age of 80. Not many of those guys left any more.