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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 368

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Pronouns: The Musical debuts this weekend. Act 1 features songs with “I” in the title. Curtain goes up this Saturday at 1:00 am (Eastern US). My goal is to have a different act every weekend, but time will tell if I can do that pace. Meanwhile, The Producer is ready!

Earlier this week we cut-the-cord; that is, we discontinued our satellite TV service, then went to an antenna for local channels and a streaming service for a package of stations. Saving $75 per month will take care of the upfront costs in less than a year. Should I do a post on the process of considering cutting-the-cord?

Time demands the past two weeks have been greater than normal – so thanks for your patience.

Baseball’s All-Star break was this week. My Reds have been playing very good and entertaining baseball in recent weeks. Although they have one of the best records over the last 35 games, they remain in last place of the division by 4.5 games.

Amazon is a great service. We bought something a day or two before Prime Day – which offered the same product $50 less. Amazon would not credit the difference to our account. So, they paid for shipping to return the unopened product, credited our account for the entire purchase, gave us a $10 courtesy credit, and then allowed us to repurchase the product. Although we came out ahead, it doesn’t make sense to me.

Congratulations to France for winning the World Cup.

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Here’s a worthy read: What’s wrong with political leaders citing research?

Although his followers love it, President Trump’s European trip was a disaster.

Last week’s joint hearing of the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committees with FBI official Peter Strzok was a great example of political theater and partisan hackmanship. On the plus side, the hearing resulted in one of the best Stephen Colbert monologues ever! Below is one of my favorite segments in the monologue that is worth 12 minutes. To see the entire monologue, click here.

Because he naturally says things that are fitting for a comedy skit, President Trump is a gift that keeps on giving. Ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin, The Bloviator said he had met Putin “two or two-and-a-half times before.” Hmmmm …. that is definitely worth pondering.

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To lead you into this week’s dose of satirical headlines, The Onion provides tips for getting the most out of life.

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Bride and groom clearly have not kissed much
Guy on cologne advertisement must smell pretty good
Heavenly Sources Confirm Joe Jackson Already Screaming At Michael
Half Of Morning Run Spent Trying To Change Song On Phone
Poll finds 97% of Americans don’t know who Donald Trump is
Woodpecker Having Difficulty Remembering Tree Where He Got The Really Good Bugs That One Time

Interesting Reads
People in a difficult world
The history of steel
Populist Parties in Western Europe
The breakfast capital of the world?
For those who are scared of math
(Graphic) Household wealth by countries
(Photos) An enjoyable collection from National Geographic

To send you into the weekend and continuing the summer theme, here’s a song from my youth. In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

60 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 368”

  1. That Stephen Colbert clip is great! I had seen and read some of the key points. FBI agent Peter Strzok would definitely be the hero in the movie and “Supercuts Vampire” Trey Gowdy the villain.
    My younger daughter and her husband don’t have “regular TV” at all. She catches up on shows on Hulu, and they watch Netflix and Amazon.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Merril,
      Glad you enjoyed this Colbert clip. It seems so fitting for that spectacle masked as a hearing. Trey Gowdy had the great look for the villain. Your idea is a great potential!

      Thanks for sharing what your daughter does with television. So many options today! … and we also use Netflix and Amazon.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. The hearings are the usual assortment of bombastic gasbags feigning astonishment and incredultiy at the very behavior they exhibit on a daily basis in their own jobs.It is the Theater of the Absurd. Cutting the cord to the cable company would make a great article. Janice and I are contemplating this very ideaafte yet another negotiation session with Fioptics.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Gary,
      Thanks for urge to cut the cord. Dealing with “another” negotiation at the end of the promo was one of the reasons. I was simply getting tired of it (and have been). I will post about it in time – but we can talk about it too. Meanwhile, how do you really feel about that Congressional hearing? 😉

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  10. I hope to get around to the reads in your post today, but I first want to plow into the very worth Pew Research Center’s “In Western Europe, Populist Parties Tap Anti-Establishment Frustration but Have Little Appeal Across Ideological Divide.”

    “Bride and groom clearly have not kissed much” was a splat.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Colbert did a great job with this one! I watched some parts of the hearing and thought it quite lively!

    Yes, you should do a post on tv options. Husband and I have been thinking of dropping cable as we don’t watch half of the programs offered.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Jo,
      I initially thought that a cutting-the-cord post would have minimal interest here – but given the comments, it seems to be a no brainer. Thanks for the encouragement.

      Meanwhile, Colbert is a way I keep my sanity with the current administration.

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  12. I am so very tempted to cut the cord myself. I rarely watch anything lately as it is. Mind you, it is summer and there are other things to do. Like work in this awful, dreadful, soul-sucking, mind-numbing, energy-thief of a humid heat… it’s unending and I fear that our numbers will rise on the number of deaths. We had way too many a couple of weeks ago and the heat is coming back with not quite the same vengeance but pretty close.
    Sorry… got off track there! And I’m behind. Again.

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. We cut the cord at one time, but had trouble with the antennae and reverted back. I actually watch most of my television on my tablet, so I’m sure at some point we’ll take the plunge! Good for you. I liked the graphic on “household wealth” by nation. I was fairly sure USA would be at the top. I think we have enough to share with others and still have plenty left over (by comparison, at least). I feel I may be a minority opinion.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Debra,
      For those of us desiring local channels, clear reception is paramount. I’ve got the feeling that some people rely too much on a small internal antenna available today. Just a thought. Hopefully my future post will come in handy for you. Meanwhile, cheers to the minority opinion.

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