Monday was the birthday twins’ special day, so Kate came home over the weekend to eat cake with her father. We drove her back on Sunday and ate at a fairly awful Chinese restaurant in Ann Arbor before dropping her at her dorm. But! It was a worthwhile experience, because we sat next to a table of athlete/frat bros, and eavesdropped shamelessly on their conversation, which ended up being about women, of course.
What women are 10s? they discussed. The main point of contention seemed to be whether Victoria’s Secret models were 10s by default, having been admitted to the most exalted realm of female pulchritude, or whether there were gradations of heat within the Victoria’s Secret pantheon.
“They’re, like, the primo examples of humanity,” one protested. Another was pickier. Heidi Klum, well past her VS years, was a permanent 10, a hall-of-fame 10, but the rest of them? They would have to apply one by one.
The Derringers sat with ears cocked like cocker spaniels, listening to this. The best entertainment is our fellow human beings.
Which is why today’s bloggage kicks off with examples of humanity at its most confounding, including a man who paid $718,000 to a series of psychics, because he was lonely:
He knew none of it made sense: He was a successful and well-traveled professional, with close to seven figures in the bank, and plans for much more. And then he gave it all away, more than $718,000, in chunks at a time, to two Manhattan psychics.
They vowed to reunite him with the woman he loved. Even after it was discovered that she was dead. There was the 80-mile bridge made of gold, the reincarnation portal.
“I just got sucked in,” the man, Niall Rice, said in a telephone interview last week from Los Angeles. “That’s what people don’t understand. ‘How can you fall for it?’”
This, on the other hand, is a scary-as-hell story about how life and law enforcement works in the Deep Souf’, and how it led to the death of a little boy in the proverbial hail of gunfire.
And with a shift, we pivot to a topic near and dear to my heart: The meeeeedia. Which, it would seem, is getting tired of being a punching bag. In three pieces:
There absolutely is room for debate about the proportionality of coverage of an incident like this compared to something like the Paris attacks that happened on Friday, but to say that the media don’t cover terrorism attacks outside of Europe is a lie.
They do.
But as anyone working in the news will tell you, if you look at your analytics, people don’t read them very much.
We live in a world now where no one wants to pay for news. Newspapers are struggling, and foreign bureaus have been shuttering for years. Many of the buzzy new media sites don’t have foreign bureaus or even much original reporting from overseas (with a handful of notable exceptions, and good on them). Publications are increasingly dependent on freelancers abroad, who do their work for low pay, with virtually no institutional resources behind them, often at significant personal risk. To suggest that “no one” is reporting on Beirut, on Garissa, on Baghdad is an affront and an insult to the great many professionals who put their lives in jeopardy to do just that.
We complain that we don’t see the reporting we want. But aside from an outraged Facebook status, many of us in the U.S. don’t actually seem to want the kind of reporting we claim to value — we’re overwhelmingly not paying to subscribe to the outlets that do good, in-depth reporting about places around the world. Aside from when tragedy strikes, we’re not sharing articles on Beirut or a city we’ve never heard of in Kenya nearly as often as many of us are sharing pieces about Paris, or even 10 Halloween Costumes for Feminist Cats.
And three:
Since college students are free to vent what they feel about the media, it’s only fair that the media return the favor.
So allow me, based, not on biases absorbed from my parents along with my Maypo, but on actual experience, teaching college courses, including one at Loyola.
College kids don’t know shit. The average college student couldn’t find his ass with both hands and a map. I once taught a journalism course for the State University of New York’s Maritime College. At the end of the final exam, I prefaced the extra credit questions with, “A journalist should have a rough idea of what is going on in the world.” One question was: “With the collapse of the Soviet Union, one Communist super power remains. What is it?” Some students guessed “Cuba.” Others, “Iraq.” Some didn’t even hazard an attempt.
That should give you enough to chew over for a Tuesday. Me, I’m back at work.
Brandon said on November 17, 2015 at 1:28 am
One question was: “With the collapse of the Soviet Union, one Communist super power remains. What is it?”
China.
120 chars
Dexter said on November 17, 2015 at 4:10 am
Tammy Pescatelli, a beautiful comedian herself, was a guest on my favorite XM show last week and she said she had seen Christie Brinkley in the hallways at XM radio.
She said Brinkley was freakishly beautiful and perfect, like she had a genetic mutation for “permanent 10 status” (as your M frat boys might say). So maybe Heidi Klum is not alone. And I get Heidi Fleiss and Heidi Klum interchanged a lot. It makes me look really stupid at times. Which I am, as I fucked up my bank checking account and created a mess as I had to scramble to get cash into the account before the paid bills came back for insufficient funds…too late. My wife convinced me to humble myself and call a manager and beg for a waiver of my $90 penalty charge. I had to hold for a half hour but…they did it. Due to 43 years of no problems, I got a pass.
And the Red Wings won. Happy. The Bengals lost. Sad.
897 chars
Dexter said on November 17, 2015 at 4:12 am
Tammy. http://www.lucy-desi.com/wp-content/themes/lucidpress/timthumb.php?src=http://www.lucy-desi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tammylucydesi.jpg&h=300&w=670&zc=1&q=100
187 chars
Julie Robinson said on November 17, 2015 at 6:46 am
Talk about running through money: sells company for $10 million in 2002, declares bankruptcy in 2015. That would be the man who thought he could buy the Fort, Don Willis: http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Entrepreneur-Willis-files-for-bankruptcy–blocking-sheriff-s-sale-of-home,
Didn’t he try to buy himself a mayor? He did buy himself a school, which is now closed, and I remember he also bought his wife a seat on the local symphony’s board. But where did the rest go?
At least one member of our house is betting Switzerland or the Caymans.
555 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 17, 2015 at 6:58 am
Spent some time this weekend talking to a woman trying to help her dementia-afflicted uncle, a member of our church from forty years ago, who we’re getting moved into a more secure facility and sifting his worldly goods. Her cousin, the man’s son, is of no use to us, but is legally needed to sign certain papers, which he’s wanly, goofily willing to do, drifting in and out of the process.
He went through almost exactly one million dollars over the last three years, more like two. And almost entirely through legal gambling. Travis McGee would hear his story (or his cousin asking on his behalf), and not take the salvage job, because “there’s one mob you don’t take on, that you can’t con, and that’s legal casinos. They’ve got both the cops and the crooks working for them. Sorry, hon, that money is gone and out of reach.”
831 chars
alex said on November 17, 2015 at 7:23 am
Willis made a vulgar show of paying much more for the house than it was worth, then stuck those two outsized lions in front of it as if it were the Art Institute of Chicago, where I remember the lions being quite a bit smaller. I think it’s possible he burned through his fortune just showing off. Too bad he didn’t consult a psychic with better taste.
352 chars
Wim said on November 17, 2015 at 7:40 am
Me and the Missis ran into Christie Brinkley and Richard Gere in a Soho gallery many years ago. Richard Gere checked out my wife and then glared when I checked out Christie Brinkley. There wasn’t a whole lot to see, though; Brinkley wore an ankle-length trench coat, belted tight.
282 chars
alex said on November 17, 2015 at 8:01 am
Wim, you sure that wasn’t Cindy Crawford? She was the other big supermodel of that vintage. Brinkley was married to Billy Joel.
127 chars
Suzanne said on November 17, 2015 at 8:02 am
I was on Forest Park Blvd sometime in the past year or so & noticed that house with the gaudy lions. It was obvious that it was vacant. The lawn was unmoved, flower beds weedy. I wondered what had happened. I try to understand blowing through that much money and I can’t. Yep, probably hidden somewhere.
And just when you think Mike Pence can’t be any more idiotic, he tops himself! Sadly, he’ll probably be reelected.
427 chars
nancy said on November 17, 2015 at 8:28 am
I don’t find Willis’ bankruptcy so odd. He paid a lot in taxes. He had complicated business dealings — venture capital, real estate, a foundation, a charter school (these rich guys with their charter schools, jeez). All of these require layers of lawyers, who will all bill you until there’s no jingle left in your jangle. The house was a relative pittance, although I’m told the first thing they did after paying too much for it was gut it to the studs and remake it to their liking, and I’m sure that wasn’t cheap, either.
Ultimately, though, I think he’s like a lot of similar guys, including Ben Carson: Success in one area led him to believe he had the Midas touch for everything else. Now he’s driving a 2002 Ford Focus and filing Chapter 11. Live and learn.
769 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 8:46 am
College kids don’t know shit. The average college student couldn’t find his ass with both hands and a map.
This is true to the extent that the college kids in question have been raised by shitheads, they are nurtured in college environments that greatly resemble the fuck-hollers they were trucked in from, and the best you can hope for in a four year degree from schools where the professors have learned not to rock the boat with administration is a kid with the knowledge base of a CNN anchor. My experience with time-serving professors in college was an education in itself. An American Military History prof who taught the Dunning School version of the Civil War, and said straight-faced that Hitler was a military genius of the first water. A Professor of German who tried to fuck his students, and told me “You might as well kill yourself” when I dropped his useless class. Professors who were exactly as Nabokov described, old men with a syllabus they’d drawn up when they were doing their graduate teaching. There were good professors, too, but American History as it was taught in those days was utter bullshit, and the Political Science department featured John East- a far right protege of Jesse Helms who followed my German professor’s advice and put a bullet through his own little bald head.
American adults are pretty fucking stupid, too. Here’s pork-fed clown Andy Withers, a dolt our local paper thinks sufficiently intelligent to write a column on the Constitution:
It’s mainly because progressives in both political parties have found it convenient to ignore constitutional limits when using tax money to buy our votes.
There are three phrases in Article 1 Section 8 which have been abused the most.
They are “general welfare” in clause 1, “interstate commerce” in clause 3, and “necessary and proper” in clause 18.
The intended meanings and purposes of these phrases were clearly and narrowly defined in the Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, but were subsequently abused by Congress and/ or the Supreme Court.
For example, the interstate commerce clause has been “broadly interpreted” to allow the federal government to regulate almost every possible aspect of U.S. commerce, not simply to prevent each state from enacting tariffs that would hamper interstate trade of goods and services as was originally intended.
Next month we’ll begin discussing actions that are necessary to prevent such abuses, and how to return our government to one that faithfully follows the Constitution.
There’s only one response to this kind of Founder fellating goober racist trash, and that’s from one of the founders:
Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of nineteen years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right. It may be said, that the succeeding generation exercising, in fact, the power of repeal, this leaves them as free as if the constitution or law had been expressly limited to nineteen years only. In the first place, this objection admits the right, in proposing an equivalent. But the power of repeal is not an equivalent. It might be, indeed, if every form of government were so perfectly contrived, that the will of the majority could always be obtained, fairly and without impediment. But this is true of no form. The people cannot assemble themselves; their representation is unequal and vicious. Various checks are opposed to every legislative proposition. Factions get possession of the public councils, bribery corrupts them, personal interests lead them astray from the general interests of their constituents; and other impediments arise, so as to prove to every practical man, that a law of limited duration is much more manageable than one which needs a repeal.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:459, Papers 15:396
3900 chars
Wim said on November 17, 2015 at 9:00 am
Alex, indeed, she was probably Cindy Crawford. Such is the peril of research from memory.
90 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 17, 2015 at 9:02 am
Well, let’s hope Emilio doesn’t need help if Martin Sheen gets into late-in-life issues, because Charlie makes my fellow’s situation sound modest. Ten million in extortion, and it took you to this long (i.e., broke) to come out and tell us something no one is surprised by?
As Gene Weingarten has already said, this is just multi-level sad.
343 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 9:34 am
Cooz, excellent, thought-provoking post.
Nance’s main post, about macro-journalism, is also thought-provoking.
My guess is, even in the halcyon days (which I bet were few, to begin with) of Big Media – with big foreign bureaus and intelligent people posted and reporting – that only a relative few consumers ever really read what they wrote; and those self-selected news consumers could just as easily be mislead by the ‘information’ they got, as a skilled internet-surfer could, today.
I’m rolling through Richard Reeves’ JFK book, and aside from a few glaring errors-in-fact that I’ve tripped over*, the most striking thing in his (semi-trustworthy?) portrait of the 35th president is the reckless bravado with which he makes huge (and terrible) decisions, such as the Bay of Pigs – right out of the gate.
It is (coldly)….not reassuring, but maybe…enlightening – to see what a semi-incompetent president with charisma can do, give the (ever so slight?) possibility that we could elect one of our current-day national Republican candidates (Rubio? Trump?) to office
*Coolidge was the 30th president? Bzzzzt! North Vietnam was different from Korea, since it doesn’t border on China? Bzzzzt!!
1212 chars
Deborah said on November 17, 2015 at 9:37 am
Remember when I told you the story of my husband getting scammed online a month or so ago? Well, now there is a major screw up and it’s the bank’s fault. Holy cow, they have fucked up royally. Not by the scam but by their own incompetence when we opened up a new checking account after it happened. Every time my husband talks to someone on the phone or in person they sound or look like they are about 12 years old and they haven’t done anything correctly. How aggravating.
474 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 9:47 am
Forgot to say – Happy Birthday to Mr Derringer and to his lovely daughter!
And Deborah – strength to you. After (watching Pam) wrestling with insurance adjusters/contractors/installers, all I can say is I have some (small) idea of your husband’s and your exasperation in straitening things out with the bank
310 chars
jcburns said on November 17, 2015 at 9:58 am
“The Derringers sat with ears cocked like cocker spaniels”…man, I can visualize this.
I think this could be the basis for a hit reality TV series. We open every week with the Derringers at some public place. They start by bantering amongst themselves, but then at a prime moment, one of them says “wait, ssh…” and we pick up the conversation that is happening nearby, and off we go. Drama and excitement from real life, annotated by America’s Favorite TV Family.
I’m calling the Bravo people to see what they think.
526 chars
Diane said on November 17, 2015 at 10:03 am
@17 I’d watch.
15 chars
BigHank53 said on November 17, 2015 at 10:09 am
Never, ever underestimate the dumb shit that people can waste money on. My brother spoke with a cabinetmaker last week who has spent several months putting $600,000 worth of cabinets into a single mansion. Talk about Veblen goods: nobody who spends that kind of money on a kitchen is going risk chipping a nail or spattering grease on themselves while actually cooking. They have other people do that.
408 chars
alex said on November 17, 2015 at 10:21 am
I’ve been doing a slow burn this week over a neighbor situation and still haven’t decided how I want to handle it. Thought the folks at NN.C might have some good counsel.
I have two adjoining properties in a rural addition on a lake, one of which I rent out. On the other side of the rental is a divorcee with whom I’d been on good terms in the past. On Saturday she took a chainsaw to an entire row of evergreen shrubbery on my side of the property line and cut everything off at the base. The remains are now heaped on her burn pile.
Earlier this year she asked me if I would allow her trim some of those same bushes because they were getting a bit overgrown, and she assured me that she knew how to trim such bushes. She also mentioned that she would really prefer I just get rid of those bushes altogether. I should have realized what was going down and said no at that point.
Instead of thinning from the bottom, as you’re supposed to do, she hacked them from the top and made them look horrible, no doubt hoping I’d just rip them out. Instead I salvaged them as best I could. Though they looked scraggly, I figured they would rebound in a year or two. If she thought they were unsightly before, then she shouldn’t have fucked them up. In addition to the bushes she fucked up, she took out several more that were quite large and vigorous. I haven’t counted the stumps but all in all I’d say there may be somewhere around twenty.
Obviously I can’t let her get by with such a gross violation but taking her to court is likely to cost more than I’ll ever be compensated. Still this needs to be addressed firmly.
I’m so mad I’m afraid I’ll call her some really bad things if I see her face to face. I’m leaning toward writing a letter; at least this documents the situation if I take her to court.
I used to feel sorry for her because her ex-husband was reputed to beat her. Now I understand what may have driven him to it.
1948 chars
Suzanne said on November 17, 2015 at 10:23 am
In a moment of pure, unadulterated irony, Mitch Daniels is partially of Syrian descent. I had forgotten.
http://2012.republican-candidates.org/Daniels/Biography.php
165 chars
Julie Robinson said on November 17, 2015 at 10:25 am
Deborah, oy veh. Sometimes it feels like everyone is incompetent. (It sure felt like that at work yesterday, as I spent half the day unraveling other peoples’ screw-ups.) Once you get it straightened out, I’d decamp to a credit union.
Perhaps others here were part of Medical Informatics identity breach? Apparently it has affected millions across the country, with names, addresses, birthdays, SSNs, and even treatment information compromised. Both our son and I received letters about this, and were offered two years of credit monitoring, which we signed up for pronto.
And then this morning, an alert; my “identity could be at risk”. Upon logging in, it was for a Carson’s card I applied for 25 days ago, when I bought the hubby a couple of new suits. 25 days. Considering how much damage can be done in 25 days, it’s hard to see how this is a helpful service. I know there’s already a class action suit forming, but those are worthless, and I’m considering suing as an individual.
991 chars
Judybusy said on November 17, 2015 at 10:28 am
Seven years ago, when my father-in-law died, we were very upset, didn’t pay attention, and had overdraft charges. I just popped into my credit union and ask them to forgive the charges. We’ve learned to keep a nice cushion in the savings account so it doesn’t happen.
I think I had a pretty decent high school education: we were taught to pay attention to the news, and I’ve always had a natural inclination to be interested in things foreign. This lack of knowledge among today’s youth is part of the reason we’ve taken our nieces on trip to foreign places, hoping to displace some of the parochialism in which they’ve been raised.
I am acquainted with this local singer (http://aligray.com/) through a mutual friend. She is even more stunning in person and has a wonderful voice. She is a very warm, kind person. She will be releasing a Christmas album shortly, if you’re in need! Her sister, Anse Tamara Gray, converted to Islam, and is a leading authority on Islam and champions gender equality.
1007 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 10:33 am
Alex, I’d think writing is always good, since you can revise/extend/edit until you’re happy.
And/or, you could run it past a lawyer – who might (for some fee) put it on her letterhead, just to increase the wow-effect
220 chars
Heather said on November 17, 2015 at 10:43 am
I read something recently with a statistic that 40 percent of Americans can read only at a very basic (read: around middle school) level or lower. Which makes complete sense given our current election cycle, but is terrifying. How do you deal with people who have no concept of critical reading or thinking and probably no desire to learn?
339 chars
john not mccain said on November 17, 2015 at 10:48 am
You cannot overestimate the intimidation effect a letter from a lawyer can produce on those who have never worked for or been a lawyer. I highly recommend going that route with the bush whacker.
195 chars
Dorothy said on November 17, 2015 at 10:58 am
Oh Alex that’s so sad. Before I finished reading your entire post I was thinking “He should put this in writing so there are NO MORE QUESTIONS about what she can and cannot do.” I’d follow that up with taking pictures of it, just in case you do have to pursue legal action. I’m not familiar with small claims court – can that be done without too great an expense if she does any more damage? Maybe if you even put that in the letter you want to write to her – sort of as a threat that she needs to be aware of the consequences of her actions – that might be enough to discourage her from any further actions.
612 chars
Deborah said on November 17, 2015 at 11:11 am
Alex, if you own the property she destroyed, can you not evict her? Strong, I know, but it seems like she is someone you don’t need around. Maybe I misread your comment about the situation?
189 chars
Minnie said on November 17, 2015 at 11:26 am
Alex, the advice so far – write, get it on a lawyer’s letterhead, take photographs – is all excellent. As for the hedge, depending on the plants, it may look better than new in a couple of years. Some bushes benefit from severe pruning. What kind of bushes are they?
266 chars
Jenine said on November 17, 2015 at 11:35 am
I can understand being angry about mutilated evergreens. But next time leave off the stupid ‘now I know why he beat her’ comment.
129 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 11:47 am
Jenine – that did induce a wince
39 chars
alex said on November 17, 2015 at 11:47 am
To clarify, it wasn’t my renter who did this but the property owner next to my renter.
And the plants were yews and junipers. Yes, they can return from being severely pruned, which is what they were before she lopped them all off at the ground. I think their survival is iffy at best now.
292 chars
chuckie said on November 17, 2015 at 11:48 am
That guy who gave all that money to the psychic, can you get his phone# for me? I got something he might be interested in.
College kids don’t know shit? I’m shocked to read that here, in light of all the support I’ve seen here for the Mizzou1950 crowd. There were also student demonstrations at Ohio State, estimated to involve about 700 people, in support of the U of M silliness. I say silliness because as of today, I have not seen or heard of anything of substance supporting claims of racism on that campus (or any other). A yapping goober in a pickup truck off-campus doesn’t count, by the way. And the poop swastika…Pulease.
641 chars
Jolene said on November 17, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Various stories about and tributes to the people who died in Paris are beginning to appear–stories about individuals, that is. There are a couple in the NYT here.
And, on Twitter, there’s a tweet about each victim, with a few phrases about the person and a picture. Search for tweets posted by @parisvictims to see them. As you would expect given where and when they were killed, they are all young and gorgeous, and the sense of lost potential is overwhelming.
635 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Good to have yet another racist in the comments section.
56 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Cuz whites is so special.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUIapa-U0bY
70 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 12:26 pm
So I took a look at Fox News, both for the headline update* and to see the latest know-nothing nativist spin on the recent atrocity in Paris, and came upon this – about another senseless slaughter
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/17/sheriff-6-dead-in-texas-campsite-attack-man-charged-with-murder/?intcmp=hpbt3
except this one involves a white native goober, instead of a darker-skinned Islamic fellow, and I suppose the prescribed response is to say “What a tragedy” and move on.
*to give Fox their due, I can see the headlines without umpteen videos launching
578 chars
Jakash said on November 17, 2015 at 12:36 pm
“Newspapers are struggling, and foreign bureaus have been shuttering for years.”
I realize this, of course, but was still shocked to see that the Chicago Tribune’s banner-headlined, front-page Paris stories on Saturday and Sunday were from the Associated Press and Washington Post, respectively. For the formerly self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Newspaper”, this doesn’t seem like a good thing. While I think they’re fighting the good fight in trying to keep the thing going, I’m not sure that adding pages of “commentary”, which they’ve done, at the seeming expense of reporting is really what’s needed in this media landscape. Uh, I can find plenty of commentary right here, for free! : )
698 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Brian: According to Dominionists, you cain’t go to heaven unless you’re mowed down by a piece of white garbage.
111 chars
Joe K said on November 17, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Nancy,
Willing to bet more people don’t return to this sight because of comments like # 35 then comments like #33.
What happened to being able to voice a opinion with out being slandered?
Pilot Joe
202 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 1:49 pm
Racism isn’t formed opinion, it’s a symptom of a cognitive disorder. But it’s a kind of stupid that is undeserving of pity.
Willing to bet more people don’t return to this sight
I don’t believe for a minute that’s the “more people” anyone wants. You can always drive up to the Wal-Mart and watch goobers pick at their assholes.
342 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Lookin’ more like our domestic filth every day:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/jan/13/captagon-amphetamine-syria-war-middle-east
146 chars
john not mccain said on November 17, 2015 at 2:17 pm
There never has been a “right” to say anything you want without other people responding to it. This is something straight white men just can’t wrap their heads around because it involves people disagreeing with them. Why can’t everyone just respect their authority?
267 chars
coozledad said on November 17, 2015 at 2:32 pm
James goes from zero to Klan in less than 60 seconds!
53 chars
dull_old_man said on November 17, 2015 at 2:59 pm
Jeff mmo wins the thread for a Travis McGee reference. Broke up the gray mist on a November afternoon and let me to bask on the Busted Flush for a minute.
154 chars
Sherri said on November 17, 2015 at 3:45 pm
Jeff(tmmo), did the uncle have a prior gambling problem? There are certain medications, dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson’s, Restless Leg Syndrome, and a few other conditions, that have been linked to compulsive gambling. Not that that would help in getting money back from legal gambling interests, or from drug companies, either, but might make people feel better.
377 chars
adrianne said on November 17, 2015 at 3:51 pm
Here’s a dispatch from Nancy’s first big-time newspaper, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, which has been taken over by the soulless minions, Gatehouse Media, who destroyed my former newspaper.
New publisher sends out a memo urging one and all to sport Buckeye gear for the big game with Michigan state.
http://jimromenesko.com/2015/11/17/columbus-dispatch-publisher-tells-employees-to-wear-buckeyes-garb-on-friday/
417 chars
Sherri said on November 17, 2015 at 4:27 pm
This isn’t likely to affect his standing in the polls in the slightest, but Ben Carson is at about Sarah Palin’s level on foreign affairs and learning about as quickly: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/us/politics/ben-carson-is-struggling-to-grasp-foreign-policy-advisers-say.html?_r=0
286 chars
Sherri said on November 17, 2015 at 4:37 pm
You know, I think corrupt career surgeons have been raking in too much of our money for far too long. They build their surgery centers and force us to go to them, while skimming off the top, and surgeons make more than any other doctors. Their arrogance knows no bounds. I think it’s time an outsider came in and shook things up.
So, I’m announcing my candidacy for Chief of Neurosurgery. Sure, the press will claim that I have no qualifications, but I know my head is screwed on straight! The AMA is just a cartel that has conspired with the government to require licensing to protect surgeons’ cushy revenue streams. Don’t let the corrupt status quo keep your from the true free market health care you deserve! Before the government got involved in restraining the number of doctors, health care was cheap! Choose me, and return to the days of cheap, available health care!
879 chars
alex said on November 17, 2015 at 4:37 pm
And much to Palin’s credit, she acknowledges all these years later that Katie Couric didn’t ask a “gotcha” question. Palin just gave a “crappy” answer:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sarah-palin-katie-couric-crappy-answer
231 chars
Deborah said on November 17, 2015 at 5:07 pm
James, that was really uncalled for.
36 chars
Suzanne said on November 17, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Excellent, Sherri.
18 chars
Sherri said on November 17, 2015 at 5:41 pm
Can’t imagine any problems here: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/kasich-proposes-new-government-agency-promote-judeo-christian-values-n465101
Remember, this is the sane Republican candidate.
207 chars
Sherri said on November 17, 2015 at 5:43 pm
Sorry, everybody, for filling your comment thread. I’m bored; we’re having a windstorm, and the power is out. I still have Internet for now because I have a UPS.
161 chars
David C. said on November 17, 2015 at 5:47 pm
BigHank53 @19. My niece is a chef and once in a while picks up extra gigs cooking for people who have more dollars than sense (and ability). She knows to always bring her own knives, because with all the restaurant type ranges, wall ovens an huge fridges (often filled with frozen dinners), there isn’t a decent knife in the house and the only appliance that looks well worn in the microwave.
392 chars
brian stouder said on November 17, 2015 at 9:33 pm
Sherri at 51 – excellent.
And, regarding the Kasich link – you just burst my bubble!
If one assumes the R’s have about a 50/50 shot at winning the presidency, it is some small comfort to think that might at least nominate someone who is close to sane (rather than the ‘DT’, or the idiot savant doctor)….and you remind me that THAT ain’t gonna happen!!
361 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 17, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Sherri, I was wondering about potential avenues of appeal, but he seems to be compulsive in little except his ennui, which somehow meandered into a racino, where he quickly became everyone’s best friend . . . until he ran out of money. With the family history of dementia, I suggested they have him tested, but he’s not co-operated with even having a physical, and I suspect we’ll be hearing about his need for a placement before the decade’s out.
And no idea who will have to sign for *that* admission paperwork.
Dull Old Man #47, I drop by Slip F-18 as often as I can. If they can really get “Deep Blue Goodbye” made with Peter Dinklage as Meyer, I’ll deal with Christian Bale as McGee.
694 chars
Jill said on November 17, 2015 at 10:07 pm
Alex, think about filing a police report. There was a similar (although milder) situation in my neighborhood and I know the aggrieved property owner was advised to make a formal report.
186 chars
basset said on November 17, 2015 at 10:44 pm
Sherri@55, I said, if I remember correctly, that Kasich appeared to be sane and rational, not that he actually is.
Just back from deer camp in Newaygo County – just three of us there, compared to a dozen or so in that camp’s prime years. Didn’t take a shot. Yesterday morning I shit in a privy and bathed in a tin tub, then got on the road. 640 miles door to door. Didn’t take
380 chars
basset said on November 17, 2015 at 10:45 pm
“didn’t take”
where IS that edit button?
41 chars
Dexter said on November 17, 2015 at 11:14 pm
jc…I know nothing gets censored here but that video at #44 , wow. While not obscene , it offers nothing but content that only the most lonely 13 year old boy might find interesting. Oh well…I know I go all rogue on yas, get wound up and bore yas most of the time, but a nearly five minute video of shaking asses at Walmart just doesn’t belong here with us doddering seniors. 🙂
385 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 17, 2015 at 11:35 pm
Hey, I’ve got another year before I get the senior discount, Dexter. Some of us are [koff] young!
97 chars
Carter Cleland said on November 17, 2015 at 11:38 pm
Nancy,are you and Alan coming to Chicago for the Deadly Vipers Thanksgiving show at the Empty Bottle?
101 chars
Dexter said on November 18, 2015 at 12:08 am
Jeff MMO, I get senior coffee at McDon’s and Tim Horton’s, I get 10% off at KFC, and probably could get a nickel off other places but I always forget to ask (natch!)
No discount for the feeble, canes-dependent old guy at the apple orchard near Angola, Indiana Tuesday. A half-peck of Cortlands for Carla Lee, a half-bushel of Jonathans for moi, and a gallon jug of non-pasteurized fresh-squeezed cider for the fridge…twenty-six semolians. I don’t mind paying it one bit. I love Jonathans and cider, and this cider is damn-good. G.W. Stroh Orchard, north of Angola a couple miles on Route 827 (Williams Street extended)
625 chars
MarkH said on November 18, 2015 at 12:32 am
Dexter — That was james, not jc @44.But they’re brothers so the confusion is understood, I guess. I’m surprised more here did not pick up on him tweaking coozledad, who thinks only crackers inhabit Walmart. I could be wrong, it happens.
Wait…Deadly Vipers playing Chicago? That would be a hell of a turkey day for the Derringers. And Borden.
349 chars
MichaelG said on November 18, 2015 at 12:44 am
Damn, Dexter, you’re looking for a nickel on a cup of coffee at KFC (which coffee I would pour on the ground) but you will pay 26 bucks for a gallon of cider. That’s $5.20 a fifth. Must be good stuff.
Chemo is over until 11-30 when I do it again. Meanwhile, I feel OK now. About normal. But shit, that stuff kicks my ass for a week or so. I’m feeling a bit shaky about my Cuba trip.
Alex, do a police report accompanied by a letter from lawyer. Or maybe nothing works with some people.
Can’t believe that business about not accepting Syrian refugees. A terrorist will find a way. Stupid compounds stupid and attempts to find the lowest common denominator. Have any of those assholes actually thought about this?
730 chars
MichaelG said on November 18, 2015 at 12:46 am
Have another glass of wine, Big Mike.
37 chars
Dexter said on November 18, 2015 at 1:46 am
haha…I was merely trying to suggest jc could unveil his superpowers and delete #44, but now we have a new thread, so let’s forget that.
The KFC discount was given me by a senior-age lady once, that’s how I even know about it. I would guess we might go there twice a year tops. If I ever had a KFC cuppa joe, it must have been forty-five years ago.
Since Bobby Jindal suspended his campaign for prez, the magic number is 13. 13 more must throw in the towel, last man standing wins. Maybe even a woman republican nominee…or…Romney gets a convention draft.
567 chars