Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 295

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Regarding the return of the headstone in the post earlier this week. A grandson (in Columbus, OH) had it removed to add an engraving, but then decided to keep the stone. I discovered an obituary of a person in Columbus with that name who died last summer (June 25, 2015). Coincidence?

Last week I failed to mention the passing of Nancy Reagan. The longevity of recent First Ladies is amazing. WOW! Meanwhile, a tip of the cap to Nancy Reagan for demonstrating grace and love for her man.

Cincinnati is one of the regional locations for the final 16 in the college hockey tournament. Depending on the times, I may go. Meanwhile, college basketball’s March Madness is underway – Go ABK – Anybody But Kentucky!

Last weekend (and I think two weeks ahead of the rest of the world), we in the USA did our spring SkylineGreenforward into Daylight Savings Time … and the first week of is a struggle for many of us.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I continued my tradition to Skyline Chili served with green spaghetti.

Act 5 of Colors: The Musical is next on the musical agenda, which will feature the color blue,

  • All song titles must have Blue in the title
  • No forms of the word as blues, bluest, etc
  • No shades of blue (such as cobalt, indigo, aqua, blue-green, etc)
  • No compound words of blue (such as blue-blood, bluebird, bluejay)
  • No duplicate songs

My wife had a wonderful birthday this week.

I will have an Explore post this weekend.

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I was about to scold President Obama for delaying his Supreme Court Justice nomination, but he did so this past Wednesday. Although Republican logic for delaying the confirmation is very flawed, it is good for their partisans who are clueless enough to agree with flawed rationale – therefore allowing elected officials to drag the nomination of a qualified, consensus candidate to the highest court of the land into the political sewer of selfishness. After all, to the partisans, the nominator is more important than the nominee – and that is true on both sides of the aisle. Here a past post with my thoughts about the vacancy.

Governor John Kasich (R-OH) wins the important Ohio primary, but even if he won all the remaining delegates, he would go to the convention short of the number needed for the nomination. I’ve heard Kasich supporters here say he should get out of the race, he should stay, and he’s simply positioning himself for the VP slot.

Despite Elyse’s final plea for me to either vote against Donald Trump (R-NY) or vote in the Democratic primary, I accepted an “Issues Only” ballot. Then again, I also told her that voting in the Democratic primary was equivalent to voting for The Bloviator because it wasn’t a vote against him – to which she didn’t agree.

Good bye Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) – and thanks for the poor showing in your home state. Hopefully a lesson learned – Don’t try to be who you aren’t.

Whether she meant it that way or not, Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) comment regarding the coal industry will work against her.

Republicans explaining the current chaos in their party being President Obama’s fault got me thinking about other problems due to the current president – such as El Nino, Malaysian Air missing for two years, Oscar nominations, McDonald’s excluding McGriddles from their Breakfast Anytime Menu, latest flooding in Mississippi and Louisiana, Charo, the Cleveland Browns waiving Johnny Manziel, cost of airfare to Europe from Cincinnati, and my lactose intolerance.

Regarding the Republican chaos, I offer this possible explanation. Since President Obama took office, Republicans formed coalitions with other groups to oppose the president. However, this short-term coalition was unsustainable in the long run – so now they are paying the price.

A note for the political junkies. Not long after the 2008 election that put President Obama in the White House, I wrote this post about the Republican party. In light of the past 7 years and the current fractures with the GOP, readers may enjoy this look-back through the lens of what we know today.

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To lead you into your weekly dose of satire, The Onion explains how to reduce wasted food. 

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Nation reaffirms commitment to things they recognize
$4.75 cupcake scrutinized with jeweler’s eyepiece
Beautiful sunset wasted on a few schmaltzy bozos
First grader wants monkeypox
History sighs, repeats itself
Report: 83% of wise guys think they are really funny

Interesting Reads
Linking social skills and being bilingual (Thanks, Tim)
The island of no escape
The minaret of Allepo
Who was worse: Hitler or Stalin?
Death of the Stethoscope?
(Pictures) 10 beautiful ceilings

It’s been too long since I’ve sent you into the weekend with The Piano Guys. This video has beautiful scenery and is a unique rendition of a popular hit. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 293

One of my favorite events is this weekend: The Grand Tasting at the Cincinnati Wine Festival. Here’s the setting: an empty glass, a room with over 600 wines, and 2 ½ hours.

I regularly see 3 types of wine corks: natural, plastic, and composite (my term). Interestingly, recycling programs around any of the 3 types are (at best) minimal.

All normal in our life with dance, handbells, and volunteering leading the way. Meanwhile, we are looking forward to my wife’s upcoming retirement, so we’re also planning future travel. A few other things got in my way this week. 😦

Thanks for the great response on the previous post (On an Inspiring Edit).

Colors: The Musical continues on this coming Tuesday with Act 4 featuring songs with Green in the title. Tips: No compound words with green, no shades of green, and no duplicates. On an important note, Dale (the musical’s official Maitre d’) will probably not be present to protect visitors from The Producer. Curtain time is Tuesday, March 8th at 9:30 pm (Eastern US).

No Explore post this weekend.

Many recall that former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) represented the district to the west of mine. In the upcoming primary, 15 Republican candidates are vying to become the next representative.

Super Tuesday delivered interesting results for Republicans. The thought of a Donald Trump (R-NY) nomination is making it interesting … and Thursday was loads of fun. Got to love the circus!

As some of the Republican candidates and their surrogates have now turned to attacking Donald Trump, where were they when Jeb Bush (R-FL), Carly Fiorina (R-CA), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were the only ones attempting to challenge Mr. Trump?

Watching Sen. Rubio and Mr. Trump the past 2 week reminded me of the middle school encounter between the obnoxious brat challenging the boisterous bully … and I find this demeaning, embarrassing and unpresidential.

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) continues to be the adult in the room, which doesn’t seem to be working to his advantage. Because he speaks and behaves in a sensible manner while focusing on issues, that does not mean he is a moderate. As resident of Ohio, Gov. Kasich is unquestionably a conservative.

The Ohio primary is in 10 days. Television ads are now appearing, but we haven’t been swamped with them or mailings. I think they are giving us a break until August.conservative.

I previously stated that March 15th would be pivotal for the Democrats. The rationale was simple – the Super Tuesday states were stacked for Hillary Clinton (D-NY) with a few openings for Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT). I see Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, and Illinois as the last stand for Senator Sanders – thus where the Bern goes to a flicker.

In a political campaign (especially the presidential nomination process), I notice individual endorsements. For instance, I have very low regard for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), and his endorsement is an unquestionable negative for me.

Two questions to ponder for each side of the aisle.

  1. If the your party could only win one, which of the following would you chose: winning the presidency or having a majority in the Senate?
  2. If Democrats won the Senate, who would you rather have as president: Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, or Donald Trump?

This tidbit from The Onion about Sen. Cruz made me laugh … and what a great image.

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Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Area tweet not exactly lighting the world on fire
Bored God tries to fit all of Jupiter in mouth
Banana bought, carried around, thrown out
Area man walking around in his underwear again
Breaking News: Some bullshit happening somewhere
Cirque Du Soleil’s new ‘Travelique’ examines the movements and mystery of public transit

Interesting Reads
Conservative media and the GOP
Radioactive reindeer
First users of geometry
The curious story about China and the mango
(Interactive) How religious is your state?
(Photos) An astronaut’s year in space

To lead you into the weekend, here’s a classic hit from the ‘70s. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.