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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 394

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Fleetwood Mac delivered a great show at last weekend’s aFa Weekend Concert. Reminder – no concert this weekend – but it returns next weekend with the Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin!

Due to a hectic personal schedule, I’m unsure about the timing of the next post.

With baseball spring training in progress, 2019 will mark the 150th anniversary of the Cincinnati Reds franchise – the oldest in Major League Baseball.

As a whole, the dress on Oscars night disappointed me enough to mention it here. Actually, many were head scratchers, but thumbs up to Amy Adams, Constance Wu, Tina Fey, Amandla Stenberg, Regina King, Jennifer Lopez, and Julia Roberts.

I imagine most readers here are not familiar with Sister Rose Ann Fleming – so a Cincinnati legend, so this is a good story.

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With the final Mueller report seemingly being on the near horizon, my skeptic side feels the narratives are already established – therefore, changing nothing with the Democratic narrative and the Republican narrative are set. The unknown question is how will voters react? Then again, by the time November 2020 arrives, will voters even remember?

I normally don’t read columns by Marc Thiessen (Washington Post) because of his partisan nature. However, something compelled me to read this one, and I smiled.

A friend asked me if I thought Joe Biden could beat Donald Trump in November 2020. I said YES, but added I’m not sure he can get the Democratic nomination.

To lead you into the weekly dose of satire, The Onion looks back at the biggest Oscar snubs in history.

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Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)

Teen on verge of either joining ISIS or getting super into rollerblading
Unclear why stagehand wrote heartfelt little notes to everyone in cast
Poor attendance at intervention a wake-up call
Bouncer who is not that big must be crazy
Chef makes hamburger

Interesting Reads

The US-EU trade war with olives
Evolution and humans drinking milk
Fats Domino
A Holocaust story
Verona + gnocchi = gnocchio
Correlating personal happiness and leisure time
(Photos) Iconic views
(Photos) Elton John through the years

To send you into the weekend, let’s go back to the time of Linda Ronstadt. In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

56 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 394”

  2. I’m in agreement with you, once again, about Biden! I think he’d win. But I think the Dems are going to shoot themselves in the foot. Crazy times! I stopped and read two of your articles as soon as I saw the titles. I’m interested in the olive tariff and resulting trade issues. Very interesting article. And I couldn’t resist the one on the Holocaust. What an article. I hope many people stop to read this. I’ll eventually probably read more from your interesting list. I always look forward to seeing what you’ve found for us! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Debra,
      The Dems missed a layup on 2016 and may be willing for a repeat performance in 2020. Who can united them? Who knows – but unity may force a candidate to be who they aren’t – and that’s seldom a good recipe for success. Thanks for letting me know you found some good reads!

      Liked by 1 person

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  6. I totally share your – ‘Will the voters even remember?’ worries, especially after last Wed. watching on TV what was truly the mother of all political circuses, as the U.S. House of Rep. Committee Members grilled former Trump personal attorney Robert Cohen. I can only hope that Robert Mueller’s boa constrictor-like, follow-the-money strategy, will in the end save the Republic.

    Last year I made it to “Fat Tuesday” in New Orleans. Why not “Gnocchi Friday” in Verona, Italy in 2020!

    Hoping to find enough time to read “Correlating personal happiness and leisure time.”

    Be assured that I’m digging into my jazz archives for your Aretha Franklin fest.

    No splats.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Tim,
      Congressional hearings are more about show than discovery with one side feasting as a feeding frenzy – the other acting to circle the wagons for protection. This one was no different than the past … and sadly … the future probably will be no different.

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  8. Cincy,

    I don’t know if Biden will get the nomination either, but I hope he does. Because we will have found someone who won’t back down or be thrown off by the Trumpian strategy of throwing shit at a wall and waiting to see what sticks (Pun intended).

    WHAT a story! I bookmarked it, and thank you!

    Interesting how the Cohen hearings are reported depending on who you watch. On the eve of Cohen appearing before Congress, Don Lemon and his guests were reading over the talking points of what Cohen would say. Pretty damning stuff. So at the commercial break, I turned to Fox News. Crickets.

    More reason to want Biden.

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. The primaries will be nothing if not entertaining. I think there are a lot of Dems trying to get out there just to secure whatever wind in their sails they can should Uncle Joe toss his hat in the ring. With Jay Islee’s entry, it’s getting interesting…at least if you’re contemplating viable VP candidates. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. Didn’t know that about the Reds. Maybe they’ll have a stronger team this year. Re narratives: somewhere there are facts, some narratives are true, others not. The truth part always makes the difference for me.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Bumba,
      Yep – that history is a source of local pride in Cincinnati. Teams have struggled in recent years … and a long draught without a playoff win (besides not many appearances). On paper, this year’s team is better – but time will tell.

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. Linda Ronstadt, one of my all time favorite female voices. So sad she can no longer sing.
    How interesting about Biden, I’ve heard others express the same opinion, that he can beat Trump but he may not get his own party’s nomination. I wonder what that says about the Democratic party.

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. I think Thiessen gives Trump too much credit when he assumes Trump’s goal is to obtain a Wall. The Wall itself is finished or not is secondary to pandering to his 80% GOP base. Trump the reality TV man is selling the sizzle, not the steak.

    I found the “read” on human evolution and milk interesting. The researcher’s statement about milk containing vitamin D however is misleading in the evolutionary sense. Commercially produced milk does contain significant amounts of it because it is added but the natural stuff contains only “trace amounts.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Jim
      As always, thanks for letting me know you found something interesting in my list of reads. As a columnist, Thiessen is very partisan, but at least this time he got on Republicans!

      Like

      Reply

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