Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 182

On Politics
With current topics as Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP, our elected officials continue to demonstrate their preference for diversions over finding solutions to primary problems.

The IRS story has activated a burr. I’ve been writing on it other the past several days for this post, but eventually exceeding a short, so it will an upcoming post.

Here’s a good one for Gov. Steve Breshear (D-KY) responding to state Republicans avoiding expanding Medicare at the state level in response to Obamacare: “I say get over it. This law was passed by Congress and it was upheld by the Supreme Court. This is not a political decision, it’s a policy decision.”

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Seedless watermelon coming to grips with facts it will never have kids
New crispy cracker to ease crushing pain from modern life
Man demands to know how many siblings co-worker has
Sea World to discontinue Great White Shark ride
Elf finger found in box of Keebler cookies

Interesting Reads
A conservative economist’s support for Keynes
The Bible is not a science book
Top 10 blown umpire calls
Fred Flintstone’s feet as breaks
Wyatt Earp’s Fourth Wife
How curling stones curl?
A slideshow of Cincinnati’s mosaic murals

On Potpourri
The recent news about Angelina Jolle’s choice of a preventative double mastectomy surprised many. Interestingly, the morning of the Jolle’s news, CNN’s Zoraida Sambolin stepped up to publicize her decision for a double mastectomy after her recent breast cancer diagnosis three weeks ago.

Just finished reading Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists versus God and Religion by Karl Giberson and Mariano Artigas (2007). Very interesting profiling six leading scientists who also publish: Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Steven Weinberg, and Edward O. Wilson. I’ll review it later, but a thumbs up. PS: Debra, I haven’t forgot!

I haven’t cooked this recipe in a while, so we just did for a friend. Still, a big thumbs up to Cranberry-Sausage Spaghetti.

Several weeks ago, I mentioned the Cincinnati Ballet doing a production with Peter Frampton to his music. Here’s a review.

Sorry – no Saturday Morning Cartoon feature this weekend.

As my Chocolate and Wine week ends, below are a few short videos fitting for the occasion. Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

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Chocolate Covered Jalapenos

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Chocolate in Wine (Rosenblum Desiree)

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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 180

On Politics
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has introduced the High Quality Research Act. Do I seem like a person who trusts a Tea Party Republican from Texas trying to control National Science Foundation (NSF) funding?

This editorial cartoon explains so much.

Copyright of The Cagle Post: Cartoons and Commentaries

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Couple at point they are comfortable using toilet at the same time
Applebee’s introduces 50 appetizers for $250
Sparrow thinks it might have bird flu after puking seeds all morning
Divorce hard on screen door
Athlete arrested

US Politics Special Edition

• Mitt Romney drops by to see how down-and-out family he met on campaign trail is doing
• Obama order reinvasion of Iraq after illuminating trip through Bush Presidential Library
• Joe Biden publishes 7 techniques for enlarging your member
• Dick Cheney Vice Presidential Library opens in dark, sulfurous, underground cave
• Secretary of State Kerry lost somewhere in the Gobi Desert

Interesting Reads
Chemical weapons: a brief history
NYC Sanitation Workers
Skydiving in New Zealand for El Guapo
Seven facts about hairballs
Whiskey and beer saved baseball

Two Interesting Slideshows
National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest entries
Chernobyl today

On Potpourri
Because I’m seeking help for promoting the A Frank Angle Challenge that I introduced yesterday, feel free to publicize it.

Cheers to NBA player Jason Collins!

Jeers to ESPN the Magazine Senior Writer Chris Broussard for thinking he represents all Christians regarding homosexuality.

I recently mentioned the increase of followers. Here is an interesting read about the issue. Thank you, Alex.

A few value California wine values from Wine Spectator

• Red: Cameron Hughes Syrah (Lot 341 2010), Toad Hollow Merlot (Russian River 2009), Plungerhead Zinfandel (Lodi Old Vine 2011), Bogle Merlot (California 2010), Castle Rock Zinfandel (Lodi 2011)
• Rose: Halter Ranch Rose (Paso Robles 2011)
• White: Husch Chenin Blanc (Mendicino 2011), Bonterra Viognier (Mendicino 2011)

OUCH! Last year, the Cincinnati Reds had 11 players on the Disabled List (DL). This year, after one month of a six-month season, 7 Reds players have visited the DL.

There will be a Saturday Morning Cartoon feature this weekend.

To send you into the weekend, enjoy this musical montage tribute to the Marx Brothers. Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 178

On Politics
Interesting to see that Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) now has concerns with the Affordable Care Act. By the way, he’s up for re-election in 2014.

The US Senate has me in a snit. The people elected these officials to debate and legislate – but not to determine the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a law. Civics 101 says that’s the duty of the Supreme Court. Sure makes me wonder about the constitutionality of their action.

Polls show that people have a low opinion of Congress and they don’t trust Congress. Here’s one key question to ask each member: What are you going to do to change those perceptions?

The Onion offers tips to Congress on passing a gun control bill.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Excited man only 2 therapy sessions away from resolving issues
• Couple making out at bus stop like its Paris
• TV viewer relates to totally unbelievable character that could never exist in reality
• Boss has deft touch for making employees feel like shit
• An airport security pig finds concealed truffles
• Justin Bieber fan jealous of Anne Frank

Interesting Reads
The rise in pseudo-academic conferences and journals
Moving Bridges by Sliding
Picking the Pope
Evolution and good science
When alcohol was medicine

Honorable Mention to those who missed it because this article received many comments last week: America is pooping wrong

On Potpourri
Time: The Musical – Act 2 was successful, so I proudly announce to hopefully premier Act 3 in mid-May.

Congratulations to Georgette for being the 25,000 comment.

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Strangely, there has been a recent rush on followers. Is this the forerunner to a something weird?

There will be a Saturday Morning Cartoon feature this weekend … and it will feature a cartoon icon.

Instead of some sort of entertainment to send you into the weekend, marvel at this animation by NASA of their Asteroid Retrieval Initiation. Thank you Alex for this great find, and I invite everyone to read Alex’s post on this venture.

Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 176

On Politics
The way Washington is playing around with sequester cuts is just another example about the clueless, self-centered nature of the Washington establishment … and this includes President Obama’s symbolic pay gesture and the Republican response to it.

A legislator has sponsored a bill to establish an official religion in North Carolina. Someone wake me up and tell me this is a dream …or at least the other Carolina (where I would expect this)

As President Obama does fundraising for 2014 Congressional Democrats, I saw a Democratic majority in Washington would be a great boost for Republicans in 2016.

I found this site to be interesting – the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Although the gun control debate drivels on, Congress missed its opportunity for finding common group, thus I appreciate this op-ed from Dana Milbank.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Mississippi bans soft drinks smaller than 20 ounces
• Businessman does work lying on bed like schoolgirl
• Guy with 10,000 tweets, 15 followers ready to hang it up
• Financial expert saves struggling zoo by firing all employees and getting rid of cages
• STD had awesome time on spring break

Interesting Reads
Macaulay’s Catholic dissidents
Dinosaur Sex
Germany and Fracking
Time Place for Port Wine
Book Review about Herbert Hoover

As a tribute to the late Roger Ebert (1942-2013), here is a wonderful commentary about a movie – and one that I greatly appreciate.

On Potpourri
Cheers to Virgin Airways for this April Fools spoof.

I loved this one from consumer giant P&G, who actually promoted this in the Cincinnati during Opening Day festivities.

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Those knowing my interesting in the interchange between religion and science may be amused to know that at last week’s Easter Vigil service, I read the creation text from Genesis.

On the handbell front, we’re going to have a concert in early May, so here is one of the selections.

Interestingly, injured Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees) has a higher 2013 salary than the entire opening day roster of the Houston Astros.

Thursday’s (yesterday) game marked the 20,000th game for my Cincinnati Reds – a mark only attained by the Braves and the Cubs.

Looks like the 25,000th comment on this blog should occur this month.

Coming soon … Time: The Musical – Act 2 ….. And, hopefully I will remember to tell more next week.

Cheer up Saturday Morning Cartoon fans because there will be a post on Saturday.

This video (thanks Patti) will send you into the weekend with a smile. Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 174

On Politics
The Republican Party releases a major report about ways they can compete in 2016. All is join and dandy in print, but in reality, as long as organizations as Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) keeps trotting people like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and Donald Trump in front of the cameras, welcome to reality.

Thanks to The Onion: Authorities on alert as hundreds of crazed psychopaths enter Congressional chambers

Most people know that history comes in several forms. For instance, the US Revolutionary War from the US perspective probably differs from the British perspective. Well, when it comes to the US Constitution, we now have the Texas Republican Party perspective, which is also lawmakers are pushing into Texas schools. For evidence, this will introduce you to Texas’ newest senator – ladies and gentlemen – Mr. Ted Cruz.

James Madison, the Father of the US Constitution, had a recent birthday (March 16th). Here’s some interesting tidbits about him.

Republicans criticizing President Obama for waiting so long to visit Israel is funny because they don’t realize the past history of Republican presidents.

I’m not a Bill O’Reilly fan, but cheers to him for blasting Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN).

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Cruel owner chains bike outside in freezing weather
Groundhog beheaded for inaccurate prediction
FDA relaxes definition of Smoothie
Baseball star David Ortiz listed as season to season
NASA designers release 50 new space skirts
Boss gets on man’s ass about finishing NCAA bracket
Another job interview ruin as sutures popping open during handshake

Interesting Reads
About wine ratings
Are polar bears really disappearing?
Why ballroom beats the treadmill
Respites and autism from M3 Red, someone we see here at times
Darwin’s observations on biogeography
Stephen King (author and gun owner) on gun control
Lina and the Wolf: A book review about a Prokofiev and his soprano wife
Can man survive on beer alone?

On Potpourri
Cheers to Robin (Life in the Bogs) as she moves to a new location – Breezes at Dawn. Besides being a good photographer and one who finds the right words for the photographic moments, I’m confident that she’s also – and most importantly – a good person. Visit her new location and if you are new, tell her I sent you.

This week’s post On a Coin Analogy received interesting comments. On a related note, I appreciate these words by Dennis Vemena:

In common English usage, “theory” means something like “guess” or “hunch”. It means something speculative, uncertain. In science, however, the meaning is almost exactly the opposite. In science, a theory is an idea that has stood the test of time. This difference between the common usage and the scientific usage of the word is a frequent source of confusion for nonscientists. In science, a theory is a well-tested idea – an explanatory framework that makes sense of the current facts available, and continues to make accurate predictions about the natural world.

It’s college basketball March Madness in the US, which means my alma mater continues having the 12th longest streak in the country of not participating. How’s this for a catchy marketing phrase: Bowling Green Falcon Basketball – not since 1968

On the SEC getting only 3 teams in the tournament: “This is a BSC league … that shouldn’t happen! (Tennessee Head Coach Cuonzo Martin). Coach Martin, good job at identifying the problem because the BSC is about football, not basketball.

The University of Kentucky didn’t (and thankfully so) make the tournament. Hey UK – sell yourself to the devil in favor of winning at all costs, things like this happen. How many of your recruits the past four years are on target to graduate? Answer – not many!

I will feature another classic cartoon character on Saturday.

Readers surprised with the amount of praise for last Monday Morning’s Entertainment post of Donald O’Conner. To send you into the weekend, enjoy Gene Kelly’s famous bit from the same movie: Singin’ in the Rain. Have a good weekend! In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

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