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.

Opinion in the Shorts: Vol. 283

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Sky: The Musical – Act 4: Moon is about 50 songs. A tip of the cap to all!

Act 5, the final act, focuses on Stars – so Star or Stars must be in the song title – but no compound words involving stars (as starlight, stardust, etc). Curtain time is Tuesday, December 15th at 9:30 pm (Eastern US) … and yes, I know it’s competing with the next Republican debate.

Explore series returns this weekend with a place that is on my bucket list to visit.

My Holiday Blog Party is next weekend – starting Saturday morning for the Europeans, but Saturday afternoon for the Aussies, Kiwis, and others in that part of the world – and it will go well into Sunday. Past guest know they will get to pick a gift, and to the first-timers, who knows what you will find. Music will also fill the air, plus I hope to convince Dale to provide the culinary treats. Feel free to invite your friends … and feel free to check in throughout the weekend.

Microsoft shortened this video into a commercial, which caused me to pause when I saw it.

Looking for a unique gift? Don’t forget to visit two of artist Marina’s sales sites: Marina’s Art Shop (artwork for sale) and Society 6 (where her artwork is transformed into other items). Besides her artistic talent, she’s a good person!

A high school football player in New Mexico had a concussion, in which policy requires to miss the next game. Because the next game is the state championship, the player and his parents sought and got a court order overturning the policy.

Numbers of Arabic-speaking people in the US continues to increase. Here’s an interesting article about the complicated matter for a school district in the Cincinnati area.

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I recently discovered a little known perk with taxpayer dollars. Retired House Speakers (most recently, John Boehner, R-OH) have a budget to establish an office, hire staff, and send mail for up to five years. I’m far from a Tea Party supporter, but cheers to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for wanting to defund this perk.

As Republicans continue use mental illness to explain gun violence, I ask this question: What legislation have Republicans advanced to address mental illness?

I’ll ask this tough question: Why wasn’t the shooter at the Planned Parenthood Center in Colorado Springs labeled as a Christian terrorist?

Donald Trump’s (R-NY) latest bloviation has created quite the stir. His followers are loyal, and will remain loyal. His numbers may dip – but the campaign continues to crack while the ceiling strengthens. Over time, the two candidates benefiting the most from him remaining in the race are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Donald Trump is smart, very good at thinking on his feet, and is using television to his benefit … thus, he is out marketing the rest of the field. After all, his strategies successfully aims at a segment of Republicans – thus is not intended for independents, moderates, or cross-over Democrats.

Given recent events, the next Republican debate could be a good one. It is this Tuesday (December 15th) on CNN … but I won’t be watching.

My wife (the Right Angle) laughed at this from one of her Facebook friends.

To lead you into The Onion, here’s a headline of an actual event that one would think is from The Onion: Man named Bud Weisser arrested at Budweiser brewery (True story here)

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Employee returns from vacation refreshed, ready to waste time
Hitchhiker with machete, driver with machete can’t help but laugh
Shamefaced man stands stock-still as acquaintance zips up backpack for him
After watching news, man checks wallet to make sure cash still there
Study: Heart transplant group significantly healthier than heart transplant placebo group
Vacuum cleaner salesman asks that ashes be spread on potential customers’ carpets

Interesting Reads
Smiling for photos hasn’t always been the way
Problem for Democrats: Little faith in government
An effect of finger-pointing in a free-speech society
Muslim Americans and ISIS
How to never forget a name
(Photos) Windows

Here’s a two-fer to send you into the weekend. The first is a leftover from Act 4 that features a sexy song by Maria Muldaur, JJ Cale, and Eric Clapton. The second helps celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday celebration on Saturday. 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. 238

On Politics

From WordPress … but I will vote on Tuesday

I encourage those in US states with Congressional races to use the three fact checkers I provide on the sidebar (under Resources): Annenberg FactCheck, PolitiFact, and The Fact Checker (@Washington Post). , ,

On the topic of fact checks, one of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) ads mentions a factcheck regarding his opponent. Interestingly, Sen. McConnell’s has claims don’t clear the same bar.

Not surprisingly to me, the Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed Sen. McConnell for the contested Senate seat. However, and sad to say, the last sentence in the endorsement caused me to laugh: We (the editorial board) just hope that, if re-elected, McConnell will remember that’s it’s Kentuckians first – not his party – whom he answers to first.

I find this scenario interesting: What if the Republicans gain control of the Senate, but their leader loses his re-election?

Mitt Romney says a GOP-controlled Senate would end gridlock in Washington. Sorry Mitt, I disagree. Did your Civics class leave out the White House’s role in legislation?

Last week I asked instead of disposing all four of the top Congressional leaders (Reid, McConnell, Boehner, Pelosi), and if you could keep just one, who would it be? … and who do you think I would keep. Surprise … for me it would be John Boehner (R-OH). Although he has to deal with a difficult caucus within his own party, as an individual, I believe he would be the one most willing to make a deal.

To lead you into this week’s headlines from The Onion, here a few about next week’s election:

• Midterm candidates distancing themselves from the United States
• 45-year-old to help candidate understand the youth vote
• Traumatized nation terrified to make its voice heard in another election

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Two-year old never thought he would see the Giants win the World Series
Man’s heart stops as speaker asks audience to turn to person next to them
Four angels banished from heaven for attempting to unionize
Antidepressant can’t believe it’s expected it’s expected to fix this mess all on its own
Crowd outside White House hoping to catch glimpse of President naked

Bonus Graphic: How Ebola Quarantine Works

Interesting Reads
Shift college programs to 3 years?
Media habits of the partisans …. (and something I wrote in January 2009)
Keyless cars and thieves
Neil Young: Musician, artist, and painter
Denying science in politics
Interactive: Henry Hudson on the Hudson

On Potpourri
Happy Halloween. Here’s an interesting read wondering if adults have hijacked Halloween.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning baseball’s World Series … and special congrats to their fans who visit here that I know love their Giants … especially Lame and Amy.

Pope Francis’ support (this week) for science regarding evolution and creation not only does not surprise me, but it continues a trend going back to Pope Pius XII. Regardless the clamor of the noisy cranks, there is no question in my mind that when measured along denominational lines, this is the predominant view among Christians. Even in that light, much of the Atheist community is not willing to join in partnership against the conservative agenda of placing God-driven creationism based on Genesis in public schools.

To go along with the previous comment, I’ve been saving this one from Pew Research about attitudes about evolution by political party.

Dr. John Walton is a professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. (I loved his book about Genesis that I reviewed here.) Recently, I read this worthy essay about right vs. wrong … and I think agree vs. disagree is also valid.

I continue to find a wonderful interest in Cynthia’s poems, Her audio versions add to my experience because she has an outstanding cadence. If you visit and comment, tell her I sent you … and a special thanks to Mary for directing me to Cynthia.

Lauren Hill, the college freshman from the Cincinnati area with an inoperable brain, is expected not to see 2016, yet this Sunday she will get her dream of playing in a college basketball game. It seems that various cable stations will be broadcasting the game in different parts of the country. I’m curious if this makes the local news (television, radio, or newspaper) in your area … so let me know. Here’s an article about her. PS: I’ve learned that she will be in the starting lineup, plus the last player introduced.

Cheers to everyone’s effort in yesterday’s Act 11 of Life: The Musical. In the history of musicals here, readers provided many songs that I didn’t know … and as one who appreciates a wide-variety of music, I say Many thanks!

This blog hit the 200,000 hits mark late Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the rollover, but my guess the celebratory moment occurred sometime between 11:40-11:55 AM (Eastern US).

No Saturday Morning Cartoon this week because tomorrow is a special day! Do you remember why?

Your weekend celebrations

• (Weekend) Punkin Chunkin Champtionships (Video to learn about it)
• (Fri) Happy Halloween!, Knock-Knock Jokes Day, Caramel Apples Day, Books for Treats Day, Day of the Seven Billion, Frankenstein Friday, Girl Scout Founder’s Day, Bandana Day, Breadsticks Day, Magic Day, Scare a Friend Day
• (Sat) Fried Clams Day, Extra Mile Day, Give Up Your Shoulds Day, Sadie Hawkins Day, Games Day. Authors’ Day, Family Caregivers Day. Family Literacy Day, Go Cook for Your Pets Day, Prime Meridian Day, Kite Day, Games Day
• (Sun) Deviled Eggs Day, Cookie Monster Day, Plan Your Epitaph Day, Zero Tasking Day, Name Your Car Day, Look for Circles Day

Here’s another 2-fer to send you into the weekend. With Saturday being Sadie Hawkins Day, the first takes you back to 1959 with Stubby Kaye in Lil Abner. If musicals of that era aren’t your thing, you are only going back to 1980 for Turn It On Again (Genesis). 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. 226

On Politics
I saw this headline: Religious Conservatives to Judge Top Republicans. Really? I thought that was a given, not news.

The Congressional hearings regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to demonstrate that politicians are more interested in politicizing the event than reforming the organization.

As chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has regularly demonstrated that he is a partisan ass.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) filing a lawsuit against President Obama regarding use of Executive Orders supports my growing disdain for each party … especially Republicans

To help bring stability to the party, I have a suggestion for the Republican party: Nominate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as your 2016 presidential candidate.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Pigeon wishes just once it could complete head movement smoothly
Man had no idea what to do with good mood
Magical office worker able to turn everything he touches into more work for colleagues
Anthropologists classify 43 new species of Weirdo within subway ecosystem
Area man wonders, If humans evolved to be social creatures, then why didn’t any come to my party

Interesting Reads
Heroes: Military, politics, and policy
Retrospective of a river on fire
A young-adult’s view of religion and homosexuality
Chaos and billiards

Bonus: Photo Galleries of the Ugliest Dog Contest
One
Two

On Potpourri
This post is later than normal because we were hosting a good friend for dinner.

I know the US advanced in the World Cup, but to me, there was a difference between the American and German teams. Nonetheless, it’s the first time the US has advanced in consecutive World Cups.
A busy weekend ahead for me.

I’m aiming for the return of Saturday Morning Cartoons on the second weekend in July.

Your weekend celebrations
(Weekend) Watermelon Seed Spitting Days, Water Ski Days
(Fri) Bomb Pop Day, Happy Birthday to You Day, Decide to Marry Day, Orange Blossom Day
(Sat) Backyard Campout Day, Body Piercing Day, Paul Bunyan Day, Tapioca Day
(Sun) Gnocchi Day, Log Cabin Day, Almond Butter Crunch Day

To send you into the weekend, enjoy Real Real Gone – one of my favorite Van Morrison songs. 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. 221

On Politics
For those you think the Tea Party is dead because of its unsuccessful showing in Tuesday’s primary, think again because if nothing else, it has shifted the party to the right.

As Washington examines issues at the Veterans Administration (VA), comments by members of Congress demonstrate to me that they are more interested in political gain than solving the problem.

Speaker Boehner’s (R-OH) new conference came on the radio as I was listening today, and I changed the channel. Later, I returned to find Minority Leader Pelosi’s (D-CA) new conference, so I changed the channel again.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Congress reluctant to cut funding for tank that just spins around and self destructs
• Revealing spring attire reminds man he’s nothing more than weak, hormonal ogre
• High school student, teacher applying for same summer waitressing job
• Paleontologists unearth earliest known dinosaur stickers
• Experts recommend breaking down crushing defeats into smaller, more manageable failures
• Ohio replaces lethal injection with human new head-ripping-off machine

Interesting Reads
Leadership lessons from Dancing with the Stars
Columnist Ruth Marcus on politics and money
Interesting interactive sorting state (US) data
Learn to love your doppelgänger
The real Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Interesting infographic on man-made structures
Nutella in America

On Potpourri
Meryl and Maks were very deserving champions of Dancing with the Stars. Although some complained about co-host Erin Andrews in her debut season, but I say bring her back.

Taken April 22, 2014

I took this picture about a month ago after getting some gas.

Thanks for the wonderful music in Act 4 of Life: The Musical. I love getting different genres of music!

With Monday being a national holiday (Memorial Day) in the USA, I will not have a Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic post this weekend. I know … this pattern is too frequent, but I’m still digging out of my hole from the move.

Your weekend celebrations

• (Weekend) Mudbug Madness, Polka Weekend, Old-Time Player Piano Weekend
• (Fri) Taffy Day, Wig Out Day, Turtle Day, Don’t Fry Day, Crohn’s Disease and Colitis Day, Heat Awareness Day, Polka Day, Lucky Penny Day
• (Sat) Military Appreciation Day, Brother’s Day, Jazz Day, Morse Code Day, Escargot Day, Scavenger Hunt Day, Mary had a Little Lamb Day
• (Sun) Cookie Monster’s Birthday, Something Day, Wine Day, Tap Dance Day, Towel Day, Nerd Pride-Geek Pride Day

With Saturday being Lucky Penny Day, here’s a question to answer. If you see a penny on the ground with the tails side up, do you pick it up?

To send you into the weekend, let’s celebrate Morse Code Day (Saturday) with this hit from 1967 … Western Union by the Five Americans. (The song starts 1 minute in.) Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.