Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 304

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The recent incident at the Cincinnati Zoo put my city into the spotlight. All I will say at this time is that the situation put zoo officials into a lose-lose situation. However, I’m hoping to put a post together very soon.

Did you see the news about the Cincinnati policeman and the goose? Here’s a short version.

My signs that summer has arrived: volunteering in English Second Language (ESL) is over – volunteering ushering at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is over – Golf league is in full swing – and my part-time job at the golf course is getting more hectic – but we are still dancing.

Colors: The Musical returns next week featuring songs with a Color Shade in the title. Curtain time will be at 9:30 pm (Eastern US) on Tuesday, June 7th June 14th. Here are the key rules.

• No songs with any of the following colors in the title: Black, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Purple, or White in the title.
• Shades should be an acceptable shade name, therefore caution should be used when selecting a shade. Just because the shade is used as a paint color doesn’t automatically qualify the entree. To make matters worse, The Producer has the final say on if the submitted shade is acceptable.
• No duplicate shades can be used. In other words, once an acceptable song with Puce in the title has been submitted, no other songs with Puce in the title will be acceptable.
• No duplicate songs.
• NOTE: After considering my work schedule for next week, hosting a blog musical isn’t a good idea … so I’m delaying the next act one week (as noted by the strikethrough).

There will be an Explore post this weekend.

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Regardless of their rhetoric, I continue to believe politicians are “party-first” in their efforts. This USA Today article is interesting.

Cheers to columnist Kathleen Parker for her column about voter discontent.

This week’s aFa Power Ranking for Donald Trump’s running mate: 5) Scott Walker, 4) John Kasich,  3) Jeff Sessions, 2) Bob Corker, 1) Newt Gingrich

The strong candidate from the Never Trump wing of the Republicans … LOL.

Given the high negatives of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, it will be interesting to see if the Libertarian Party can get any traction. On the other hand, having a party chairman strip to his underwear isn’t the best way to gain respect and acceptance.

Some are wondering about potential Democratic VP candidates. It’s coming, but let’s get the primaries over.

To me, a government official having a private server is a sign of arrogance, poor judgment, and a lack of government oversight in growing technology. Therefore, the Clinton email scandal bores me. Maybe that’s a reason I enjoyed this article from The Hill.

Coming soon! I’m on the final stages of a political post on a topic that has been building up within me for some time.

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To lead you into your weekly dose of satire, The Onion is using the event from the Cincinnati Zoo to provide this pros-and-cons list for and against zoos.

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Origami Foundation announces they won’t accept any more swan proposals
New Study From National Family And Parenting Institute Finds Stigmas Persist Against Stay-At-Bar Dads
Ice Cube Thrown Into Sink Flies Up Side Like Skateboarder Shredding Half-Pipe
New Uber Update Allows Users To File Lawsuit Against Company Directly In App
Family Chooses Different Dog Than Reincarnated Grandfather
Ice Machine Reaches Deep Within Itself To Give Man One More Cube

Interesting Reads
Relating ancient trade routes and camel genes
The climate-nuclear-security triangle
Berlin: Then and now
Mastering the British method for put-downs
About a jazz legend – Peter Brötzmann (Thank to Tim for the article)

Because I know many of my readers enjoy The Piano Guys, here’s their latest video to send you into the weekend. It’s about less than a month old. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.