Yet Another Bicentennial Minute

 Just a guess here....

Video Dilettante, or something less than a Bicentennial Minute

 It's an experiment. And we need to do more than just turn this feature into a tout sheet for the Benster. So here goes. About 1 minute, completely off the cuff, and with only a modicum of stammering:

Three things

 As I said, the blog is still alive, but posting will likely remain light until we get closer to Benster time. I am posting at least a few times a week at Mitch Berg's place.

As it happens, the last two posts I've featured here are of men, both recently deceased, who like to swear a lot. I assure you that's coincidental and not a preview of coming attractions.

If you have a moment, say a prayer for our friend King David, who has been fighting heart disease and has had a rough go of it recently. We're hoping for good news. 

 

Changes afoot

 Blogging has, despite my best intentions, been spotty around here lately. An opportunity awaits for me. I'll have more to say about it in the next few days. Yes, that last sentence channels an annoying habit from the likes of Tim Walz, who is constantly announcing he's going to make an announcement, but I have to do some thinking about what the opportunity means for this blog.

It's all good, though. Trust me on that. More soon.

Artifact

One of our usual Wednesday night stops during the summer of 1983. As you can see from the flyer, it was easy to get altered for a low, low price: 

We liked the Vulcan Mind Probes WAAAAY too much

Factored for inflation, the 2021 cost of one of these drinks would be about $3.50. You can't actually get something like this for less than $10 any more. Sin is not as cost-effective as it used to be.

Ruminating on Tuesday -- Bad Behavior

 Why do I believe Trump is going to win? Because enough people recognize the last four years have been less about Trump's policies than about the reaction to him.

I cannot recall a day in which some news outlet, somewhere, has excoriated the Bad Orange Man. I cannot recall a day when Chuck Schumer, or Nancy Pelosi, or some other grandee, has avoided a lectern. The signal to noise ratio is off the charts. We had this:

Ripping good

And this:

Chickenshit Congressman eats chicken

And this:

Not how you laid it out, Congressman

Trump is a bullshit artist. The Democrats are liars. If the American people let the Democrats get by with their behavior without some form of reckoning, it's going to get really ugly.

Ruminating on Tuesday

 A few disjointed thoughts. I have more, but we'll start here.

I haven’t voted for a Democrat for president in my lifetime. I have voted for Libertarians a few times and in 2016 I cast a write-in vote for my wife. Most of the times I’ve voted for a Republican, it’s been with limited enthusiasm. 

Chin music

I was Never Trump in 2016 because I thought he was a charlatan. When Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, who I knew was a charlatan, I was mostly amused. Still, at the point the election was decided, it was time to give Trump a chance, so I put the Never Trump stance away. In the four years since last Election Day, I have observed Trump’s presidency and have been amazed. He may sound like a carnival barker, but he’s actually kept his promises. And despite every obstacle and attack he’s faced, I strongly believe he will be re-elected on Tuesday. And yes, I plan to vote for Donald Trump. Donald Trump has all manner of uncorrected personality traits, but he’s far superior to his opponent.

The modern Democratic party is a hot mess, a septic tank gumbo of careerism, cronyism, corruption, and collusion. Its luminaries are uniformly appalling. Its standard-bearer is clearly demented – put him in a bathrobe and he’d be a modern-day version of Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, except without the artifice. Joe Biden was a plagiarizing buffoon in 1988 and he’s been on the slide ever since then, but the party apparat felt he was a better candidate than any of the others who were running against him. It's a stunning indictment of the Democratic Party.

70s Icons leaving the scene

 They were contemporaries on the pop charts and they left this mortal coil on successive days. Helen Reddy, best known for her feminist anthem "I Am Woman," died yesterday at the age of 78. "I Am Woman" was a smash hit, but it's actually fairly polite and with a moderately brassy arrangement typical of the time:

She had a few other hits over the years, but as a practical matter she disappeared by the end of the decade. Her later hits were somewhat weirder, like this one:

That was yesterday. Today, word came that another familiar face from the early 70s, Mac Davis, had passed away. Davis had one foot in the pop world and another in country, and first made his name as a songwriter. He wrote this one for Elvis Presley:

Not exactly a social justice move, but certainly of the period. About a year later, Davis had his largest hit with this song:

"Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me." It was a smash hit. And I hate this song with every fiber of my being. It's horrible and smarmy, a cautionary tale told by a cad. But it sold a lot of records and since Davis was a reasonably handsome dude, he managed to have a decent career, including a year or two with his own television variety show, in a time where the networks were so in love with the concept that they gave one to a pair of mimes. This might be the most 70s video of all time:

Then again, this is likely the most 70s video of all time.

Yeah, I digress more than a little. But all these years later, the common thread is that entertainers were interested in entertaining, even if they were a little mixed up on their concepts. I don't miss the 1970s, but I am glad we can visit.

Neighbors

 My next door neighbor died last weekend. He was a successful general contractor who had built over 50 homes and remodeled countless others, including the house across the street. His lawn is smoother than the 18th fairway at Augusta National. He had every power tool known to man and knew how to use them. He owned a boat that might be worth more than my house. He had friends and companionship. He was muscular and looked the picture of health. And yet, his heart gave out, apparently after a period of despair following some business and personal reversals that weren't immediately evident. And he was young. He died at the age of 44.

There’s no sense in any of it. I didn’t know my neighbor well; we would chat from time to time, but mostly he went his way and I went mine. One of his coworkers knocked on my door earlier this week and asked me what happened. And I really couldn’t tell him much more than what we saw out our window; the police cars, the ambulance that left empty, the hearse that left with his body. His co-worker was distraught. I knew what happened, but I could not tell him why, so I wasn't much help.

It’s been a weird time on my street. Beyond the imposed social distancing from the pandemic, our street has been under construction for months. Only in the past month have we been free to move about without dodging bulldozers and steamrollers. Lately, in this period of weirdness, some of my other neighbors have been putting on impromptu concerts in the cul-de-sac on the end of my street. The family at the end of the block has a number of talented musicians and one of their adult sons has a college roommate who has moved to Minnesota; the roommate is a talented guitarist and can play pretty much anything. Beyond that, we have several other guitarists in the neighborhood. It’s turned into a bit of a jam session with a socially distanced audience of neighbors, putting out their lawn chairs and sipping a few beers. I’ve taken the microphone a few times to sing along. It’s been a nice thing, a source of joy. We always intended to invite my next door neighbor, but it never happened. 

We seek a tidy summation, a suitable framework for what we experience. Generally, such things aren't available. I pray for many reasons, but most often for understanding. In a year riddled with conundrums, my neighbor's demise tops the list. I continue to pray for his soul, for his family, and for understanding.

We Want Justice/We Want Barabbas

I am a Milwaukee Bucks fan. They assert they want justice, so tonight they scuppered their scheduled game with the Orlando Magic:

The Milwaukee Bucks appear to have boycotted Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic due to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, according to social media reports.

TMJ4's Lance Allan reported that neither team was on the floor as the pregame countdown clock hit zero.

So what does justice mean to you? Does it mean cops should stand down in a domestic dispute, with a guy who has a felony warrant out for his arrest? 

Jacob Blake had a long history of entanglement with law enforcement when he lived in Lake County.  

Blake's shooting by police in Kenosha on Sunday sparked destructive riots in the Wisconsin city not far from the state border. 

Records reveal Blake was arrested in 2013 in Round Lake Beach and criminal trespass to a vehicle and arrested in 2012 in Zion, Ill. for domestic battery, endangering the life and health of a child and driving under the influence. 

Blake is currently facing a rape charge in Kenosha.

A warrant was issued for Blake’s arrest on July 7 on felony 3rd degree sexual assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, all related to domestic abuse.

Well, he was unarmed, we're told. Or was he? I've seen this image multiple times:

I don't know what he's holding there. It could be a weapon. But we don't know.

We have reason to be skeptical of cops, all of us. Every profession has its bad apples, but most people's jobs do not include the use of deadly force. But do we romanticize bad guys? In this moment, I think we do. There's a reason we learn of Barabbas in all four Gospels. 

Worth remembering

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

                                                                   -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

In practice:

1. Some things Donald Trump do are counterproductive at best.
2. Donald Trump has been wronged countless times since he came down the escalator in 2015.

Or, if you'd prefer:

1. Donald Trump is not the sort of person you'd want to be president in an ideal world.
2. We don't live in an ideal world and the current batch of Democrats are uniformly horrible people who should have no power, ever.

91119

91101 was a beautiful day in which, to borrow from Yeats, a terrible beauty was born. I’ve written about 91101 more than once; how we prayed, how the powers that be at my office demanded in vain that we turn off the televisions and get back to work, how my then-kindergarten age son came bounding down the stairs to watch Scooby-Doo and saw something far, far worse.

We didn’t have social media then; the internet was around but Facebook and Instagram and Reddit weren’t even on the drawing board yet. There were bloggers, but even that phenomenon was in its infancy. I didn’t start this feature until four years after the events of 91101. I’m still blogging, but most people have long since abandoned the field.

Many believe the aftermath was a botch. I agree. Homeland Security is a vast, pointless bureaucracy more concerned with security theater than protecting anything other than its own prerogatives. We’re still fighting in Afghanistan, even though no one seems to know why. Iraq was a blunder that continues to haunt us. We have troops deployed over vast regions, defending people who despise us. And yet, as recently as last week, it appeared we were going to invite the Taliban, who gave bin Laden safe harbor, an opportunity to visit to Camp David. It's a change I cannot understand

91119 has been, at least in the Minneapolis area, a rainy, nasty day. We’re at a rainy, nasty time in our history. We've grown older and our priorities have changed. That's inevitable; a lot happens in 18 years. My kindergarten-age son is now a college graduate, while my toddler daughter is a college sophomore. People remember the moment, but it has become more of a historical moment than a shared experience. And the cynics and conspiracy theorists have taken the field. Social media makes it easy for people to peddle nonsense and outright lies (where’s the plane that hit the Pentagon?! What about WTC 7?). I’ve seen several screeds on social media today to that effect. It’s disheartening.

I don't pretend to have answers. The last 18 years have, in various ways, disabused me of many notions I had about how the world actually works. But the one thing I did that day still makes sense to me; and I will again pray for the families who suffered and continue to suffer, and for a greater understanding.

Talking sports with the inimitable Mr. Carlson

My friend Brad Carlson, multimedia sensation that he is, will have me on his radio show tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Central. We'll be previewing the NFL season, with particular attention to the NFC North. Brad is a diehard but rational Vikings fan. I am a diehard but (mostly) rational Packers fan. If you're in the metro, tune in to AM1280; it's also available in a variety of other formats that Brad details here. It's always a good (and good natured) time; the only drama will be to see if I can accurately pronounce the names of Olabisi Johnson and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, among others.

Back online

Our computer had a long, slow slide to oblivion. We have a new one now (it's even shiny!), which will make it easier to get back to the blogging business.

Whether or not I'll blog more often than I have recently is an open question. Time is a factor; it was my practice to get up waaaaay too early in the morning to blog. A lack of sleep and a too-often sedentary lifestyle is a good way to end one's blogging permanently, if you know what I mean and I think you do. So I'm not likely to do that anymore. But I do want to find time to blog, so I'll be experimenting with it a bit.

Ten days in

One thing is obvious at my new gig: trial lawyers and regulators may not have a stake in the business, but they drive much of the activity. I'd always suspected as much, but until you're in the environment, you don't really get to experience it. It's something else.

Still plugging away

I remain hopeful something will break my way soon.

Still alive

A few quick updates and ruminations from the blogger:

• Things are picking up on the job search a bit -- I feel confident I will be back in the saddle soon. More as I know more.
• We were back in St. Louis earlier in the week to bring Fearless Maria back for the summer. We would definitely like to have the state of Iowa physically removed from the trip. It's 566 miles each way from our house to the campus. That's a lot of driving.
• Politics continue to meander, but I sense AG Barr is starting to frighten the correct people. That's an encouraging sign. Let's see if they do anything more than identify the miscreants. If Roger Stone gets a no-knock nighttime raid, James Comey really ought to have one, too.
• Or better yet, let's get rid of no-knock nighttime raids altogether, please? This Gestapo stuff really needs to end.
• As expected, the citizenry of Minnesota and Wisconsin both have big-time buyer's remorse concerning their respective governors. It's worth remembering; even if you don't like Bad Orange Man, he's not likely to do much more than irritate your sensibilities. Democrats like to take your things.
• Fear the Deer.

Getting closer

I hope to get back to blogging more regularly soon. A few quick observations in the meantime:

• If you haven't read Tyler Dunne's longform evisceration of the Packers, you should. Especially if you are a Packers fan. It's brutal, but Dunne is credible and the only way forward for this franchise and its fans is to understand the past.
• There's been a lot of buzz about Pete Buttigieg, who at first glance appears to be freshest fresh face among the approximately 7,492 Democrats currently running for president. But is Mayor Pete any good at his current job, which is mayor of South Bend, Indiana? Daniel Greenfield takes a look and you should, too.
• I've removed a few links from the sidebar. In most cases, they are sites I can no longer in good conscience recommend.

Thanks for your continued support of this feature. I do appreciate it!

The words aren't there at the moment

We're still in a period of transition here. Although I have a lot of time available for blogging, I'm really not finding much that interests me, especially on the political front. The Democrats are eyeing the full Mueller Report much like Geraldo Rivera thought he had found Al Capone's vault. Apparently I'm supposed to be excited by the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at least this week. Tim Walz turns out to be as incoherent a loon as his predecessor, if less prone to public mumbling. 

Is it thin gruel? I think so. But I'm not done blogging. It's possible things will be more interesting soon. Hope things are interesting with you. Meanwhile, the thread is open.

Post 6000

Another odometer flip, as we've reached 6000 posts. This feature started in December of 2005 and, on average, we've averaged about 455 posts a year, although lately the pace has slowed a bit. Generally, we don't post much on the weekends any more, and there have been more open threads lately than I'd prefer, but it's still a lot.

Blogging isn't as big now as it was back in '05, primarily because social media and Twitter have swallowed up most of the potential bloggers. There's a fair amount of overlap between our readership here and my friends on Facebook, although the content here is substantially different. I do my best to stay out of politics on FB, because it's not a particularly tolerant place and many people I know who are decent and respectful in real life turn into flying monkeys when they log in to Zuckerbergia.

Is that cowardly? Shouldn't I let my freak flag fly there? I don't think so. I make a point of "liking" pictures of my FB friends, or funny things they post, but in the main I just scroll by the political rants. It's not worth engaging people on that level. But sometimes I wonder if the intemperance and intolerance of social media doesn't creep in here, at least a little bit. It seems to have creeped in everywhere else. When I look back at things I wrote, say, 10 years ago, the tone was different. I'm not always comfortable with that, but generally this is still a reasonably calm place, except when Benster is in the house.

Some, maybe most, of the people who come here these days have been coming for a decade or more. I consider most of my readers to be friends. As Gino has pointed out, friendships are still the best reason to stay in the game. I am grateful for the wisdom and good humor I receive here. Thank you for sticking with me, and the rest of us, as we continue on the eternal quest to sort things out.