Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 259

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Got to wonder why I selected that opening image.

Love the fact Congressional Democrats are having a public family fight over trade.

Congress continues to shamefully ignore infrastructure.

Interesting that to be Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton signed of statement about separating herself from the Clinton Foundation – but would it have been prudent for her to have a similar written statement with the Clinton Foundation?

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nominee for president. Here’s The Onion’s introducing us to Senator Sanders.

The headline is interesting: South Carolina Republican Refused Obamacare, Now Going Blind, Blames Barack Obama (see for yourself)

Because there was no need, the events around the Tom Brady, the New England Patriots, and deflating footballs reminds me of the Nixon administration and Watergate.

The current season of Dancing with the Stars has been better than I thought it would be when it started. From Noah’s inspiration to the Nastia’s (now eliminated) athleticism to Riker’s full-speed approach to Rumer’s artistry, a tip of the cap to them.

Earlier this week I posted about my journey as one of the Cincinnati Burger Guys. Love the banner below that I found on a blog. Meanwhile, I hope to join them for a burger in the future.

Speaking of hamburgers, here’s one of my favorite burger places in Cincinnati. Come on now – click here to see the menu … so, what would you order?

A shout out to AbyssBrain for this brilliant problem-solving flowchart. It’s worth the visit.

I enjoyed this post by Ocean Bream about the internet, brain activity, and behaviors.

Act 4 (Meats) of Meals: The Musical seemed to throw many for a loop. As I write this, acceptable songs that haven’t appeared from artists like Alan Jackson, Roy Orbison, Uncle Kracker, Les Paul, Manhattan Transfer, Fats Waller, Doors, Andrew Sisters, Neil Young, Ike & Tina Turner, and more. As always, quite the musical selection has been gathered.

It’s spring in Cincinnati, and summer is approaching – but, this video is for my southern hemisphere friends.

There will be a Saturday post as the Explore series resumes.

To lead you into this week’s headlines from The Onion, here’s their explanation of Super PACS.

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On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Anthropologists discover Ancient Greek Super PAC that helped shape first democracy
One year old still waiting for father’s first words
God realizes he forgot to put souls in humans
Child visits Ellis Island to see where grandparents once toured
McDonald’s reintroduces Hamburgler as attractive suburban dad

Interesting Reads
Books about evolution published before Darwin
Berlin: Compared to 70 years ago
Generations and partisanship
Columnist David Brooks on the center-right
The bacteria at Yellowstone
A personal look at Ukraine

Your Weekend Celebrations
(Weekend) Art on the Square Days, Calaveras County Frog Jumping Days

(Fri) Straw Hat Day, Day of Families, Nylon Stockings Day, Peace Officer Memorial Day, Hyperemesis Gravidarum Awareness Day, Endangered Species Day, O. Henry Pun-Off Day, NASCAR Day, Bike to Work Day, Pizza Party Day, MPS Awareness Day, Defense Transportation Day, Tuberous Sclerosis Day, Chocolate Chip Day, Sauvignon Blanc Day, Dinosaur Day, Over-the-Rainbow Day, Kangaroo Care Day

(Sat) Mike the Headless Chicken Day, Do-Dah Day, Mimosa Day, Piercing Day, Sea Monkey Day, Biographer’s Day, Learn to Swim Day, Armed Forces Day, Love a Tree Day, Coquilles Saint Jacques Day, Wear Purple for Peace Day, Pickle Day, Spaghetti-O Day

(Sun) Morel Mushroom Day, Neighbor Day, Hypertension Day, Information Society Day, Telecommunications Day, Neurofibromatosis Day, Pack Rat Day, Cherry Cobbler Day, Walnut Day, Turn Beauty Inside Out Day, Merry-Go-Round Day

Here’s a two-fer to send you into the weekend – one questionable leftover from the latest Meals: The Musical Act and one for Dale who recently saw him in concert. 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. 217

On Politics
My state (Ohio) is one of 15 states with a law against false political statements. Challenge to the law has reached the US Supreme Court has some interesting situations, such as Ohio’s Solicitor General arguing for the law that his boss (State Attorney General) wrote a letter about the law being unconstitutional. Given the high court’s rulings of money is a form of speech, I can see a ruling opening up the vaults for more deception – but time will tell. Here’s a story about the case from respected court writer Lyle Denniston, plus a synopsis with additional resources about the case.

Although I think columnist Charles Krauthhammer is a conservative crank, I enjoyed this column about campaign finance.

Here’s an interesting timeline with various milestones about bipartisan efforts.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Gas station clerk glad to see Pump 2 doing so well today
Fisher-Price designer would like to see 2-year-old try and choke on newest version
White male privilege squandered on job at Best Buy
Casinos getting people to play longer by telling them civilization destroyed
Man with no plans too exhausted to go out
Baseball catcher keeps signalling “I love you”

Interesting Reads
One person’s opinion on the next Ukraine
Surprise birth of the scientific method
Vietnam War Maps
Animated map about the North Africa campaign WW II
Book review about John Wayne

On Potpourri
I tried not to focus on the stats, but I can’t help noticing that the numbers here are tanking to pathetic levels. Is anyone else experience this?

Earlier this week I mentioned the weight of handbells. Think of handbells like a piano key, that is each bell is a single note. Here’s a link showing the weight and diameter of each bell by different manufacturers. You will notice that the larger bells can be aluminum or brass. (For non-US readers, 1 ounce= 28.4 grams, 1 pound (lb) = 454 g, and 1 inch = 2.54 cm)

If all goes as planned, Life: The Musical returns next week. I will announce Act 3’s theme on the upcoming Monday Morning Entertainment. Curtain time will be Wednesday, 9:30 PM (US Eastern)

A Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic is on the docket for tomorrow.

Here are your weekend celebrations

• (Weekend) Satchmo Days, Fiddler’s Frolic, Nation’s Powwow, Interstate Mullet Toss, Mariachi Days, Pie Championships
• (Fri) DNA Day, Plumbers Day, Malaria Awareness Day, Red Hat Society Day, Penguin Day, Zucchini Bread Day
• (Sat) Arbor Day, Audubon Day, Do-Dah Day, Bob Wills Day, Eeyore’s Day, Hug an Australian Day, Dance Day, Go Birding Day, Animals in the Laboratory Day, Hairball Awareness Day, Help a Horse Day, Herb Day, Kids-and-Pets Day, Rebuilding Day, Pretzel Day, Intellectual Property Day, Richter Scale Day, Save the Frogs Day, Sense of Smell Day, Healing Day
• (Sun) Babe Ruth Day, Mantanzas Mule Day, Morse Code Day, Mother-Father Deaf Day, Pinhole Photography Day, Morse Code Day, Prime Rib Day

To send you into the weekend, here’s a flashback to 1971 with headliners Blood, Sweat, and Tears and their hit Lucretia Mac Evil. Enjoy, have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.