Trump Statements; Cockroach Milk; Returnable Bottles; Tough Old Ladies; Bully Treatment; Bad Drug Arrest; Sex Stuff

Hot and muggy.

Well... what has Mr. Trump said today that has alienated another portion of the population?

He has insulted Mr. and Mrs. Kahn  (The Gold Star couple whose brave son died to save his fellow military men.)  This will be (and should be) top news for a while.  Already his apologists are getting messages out to the internet... but he continues to tweet.. and just wait a few minutes, he will say something else dumb.

I listened to his interview with George Stephanopolous yesterday, in which he contradicted himself a number of times and once again showed that he has no concept of what is going on in the world. He did say that he is not a friend of Mr. Putin, but that Vladimir likes him a lot.  Donald said that Russia had not taken over the Crimea... Donald said that Russia had taken over the Crimea.  Who knows what the hell he is going to say next?

Pundits are now saying that he will clinch the Presidency if he grabs the following three states:

Florida (will Hispanics vote for him?)
Pennsylvania (there hasn't been a Republican Presidency win there for a while)
Ohio (toss up there... but I'm hoping clear heads like my Brother Joe will prevail.)

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

Interesting stuff this week... at least to me:

Icky Formula?

Studies have shown that the most nutritious milk of any creature is that of the cockroach.  Supposedly, it is three times as nutritious as cow's milk

Bottle Money

A man was stopped in his car heading to Michigan to cash in thousands of returnable bottles.  Michigan pays a lot for returnables.  I don't know why they would jail him for being so enterprising.

My Uncle Charlie and his friend Lewin Stevens liked to travel to my cousin Charlie's home in Pennsylvania because they could scrounge around for bottles and return them to stores in their Massachusetts home.  A nice little income for these two old farts.

When I was 11 years old, I delivered milk every morning.  I noticed early on that some people left their returnable bottles out on their back porches.  So, I began to collect them.  I made a little money from them and that was welcome because I sure didn't earn much on the milk truck.  Besides, I had to give the money I made to my Grandmother, with whom I lived. 

However, somebody turned me in to the milk company and I had to quit my nefarious activity.  I was hoping they would fire me so I wouldn't have to get up at 4 am every morning.  But they didn't.  After a while I had to quit though when I kept falling asleep in class.  That's probably why my height stopped that year.  I had been a tall 11 year old... but I turned into a short man.

Tough old Broads and Bully Handling!

An 86 year old lady in Britain was attacked by a mugger.  She managed to beat the poor guy us with a package of bacon which she wielded like a sledge hammer.

(Earlier, a 93 year old lady was also attacked by a mugger.  She also messed the guy up...  by grabbing and squeezing his testicles.  She had perfected her grip over the years by milking cows.)

(Remember my story about being attacked in Germany and me using the grip "known only to the emperor"  to cause the attackers to scatter... crying for their mommies.)

(Remember my story about being attacked by Richard and Walter in Elementary School and how I handled these bullies with Uncle Allen's ballpeen hammer.)

(Remember what Hillary said recently when she told her mother that she had been attacked by a bully.  She said that her mother would not let her into the house until she took care of the bully.)

(Remember me telling you about my job at the New Bedford Boys' Club Summer Camp.  I was given a pair of boxing gloves and my job was to beat up the bullies.  Luckily there were only a few.)

Sweet Stuff?

A policeman stopped a car for a minor infraction and as he was talking to the driver, he noticed white powder on the car seat.  He asked the driver what it was.  The driver said it was from a sugar donut.  the officer said it looked like meth and arrested the driver.  After a while a test was finally made on the white powder.  Result:  Sugar donut residue.

How Mad can you Get?

A couple of drunks were arguing about the size of their penises.  One of them got mad when a measurement bore out his buddy's contention that he was better endowed..  In fact, he got so mad that he chopped off his friend's offensive member.

Show me Yours?

This is hard to believe (so to speak) and I can't find anything about it online.  But, WWDTM reported that  UK 4 show is all about genital selection.  Similar to The Bachelor maybe?  Male contestants view the genitalia of six or so ladies (faces screened of course.)  Female contestants view the genitalia of six or so men (faces also screened.)  Contestants pick winners who they then get matched up with (or so it was said.)    What next?

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EMAIL Scams

Buckets of rain. Good. We needed it.

As civilian coordinator of the Carroll County TRIAD group, I help people learn how to cope with those scumbags who are trying to scam them through telephone methods or with online methods.  Just to show  you how innovative these folks are, let me list some of their EMAIL efforts.

01.  From Mr. Charles Darwin 

You have won $485,000 in our monthly lottery.  Call our fiduciary agent in Turkey to learn how to get your money.

02.  From Rabi Koliana in Senegal

You are one of seven EMAIL beneficiaries eligible to receive $1,500,000.  Call Mrs. Helen Kuan one our 24 hours hotline.

03.  From Jenny Crona in Senegal

Your $1,500,00 has now been approved by the U.N. in their ongoing poverty alleviation program. Call Helen Kuan in our Claims Department.

04.  From Mrs Aliizerbeth Benko in lv?

WE THE MONEY GRAM URGENT REMITTING OFFICE HAVE SENT YOU YOUR LONG AWAITED TAX REFUND COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF $2,500,000.  Contact our director DR. Jude Amalachukwu.

05.  From Mr. Jimmy West

The Federal Ministry of finance Benin has registered your $2.800,000 with the Diamond Bank.  Call  our number. 

06.  From Monrad Poppel

I emailed you before any response.  I have a business suggestion I believe will be of mutual benefit to the both of us. I want to present you as a foreign investor and authorize my client deposit to be moved to  you for 19 years investment in your business.  The available amount is $12,500,000.

07.  From Mr. Steve Mark

We will send  you an ATM card which you will use to withdraw  your money in any part of the world, and the maximum daily limit is $10,000.

08.  From United Nations

Right now, as directed by our secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Thousand United States dollars Only would be paid to you through installment.

09.  From Mr. Timothy F. Geithner (Department of Int'l Affairs)

Our team of experts were delegat3ed to Benin Republic, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana to ensure that you get your unclaimed funds.

10.  From Central Bank of Nigeria

Your inheritance cash trunk box worth $8,300,000 is at JFK Airport.  Call me as soon as possible.

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Enough?  I have plenty more.  These scumbags work overtime to mess up our lives.  Just think if you are 89 years old, have a little dementia,  and get one of these emails.  You might believe it.  ..  Scary?  You bet.  Let's catch and lock up these bums.

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Dermatology; Slasher in Japan; Juvenile Sex Offenders; Monkeys; Alligator; Trump Quotes; New Stuff to me in English and German

Hot as usual.  Not too bad.  Maybe 91 and humidity isn't extremely high.  Lots of thunderheads in the sky near us.

Got another zucchini today.. I think that makes 5 so far.  Also, about 5 short fat cukes... although they taste good.  Lots and lots of green tomatoes.  Even if they don't turn red, we'll fry them up and they will be good.  I picked our second green pepper and mixed it with some ham salad.  Very tasty.

I just got back from a dermatologist appointment.  I'm skin cancer free.  I'll be  going back in six months.  Dr. Yang did warn me to keep a close watch on my skin because skin cancers move fast.

I don't have much time, so here is some "fast" stuff:

From that rag... the New York Post... they hate Hillary and kind of like Trump.  Is this a Murdoch paper?  Probably.

Uninvited Hara Kiri

A Japanese man wanted to rid the world of disabled people.  So, he slashed 19 disabled people to death at a care facility.   45 more people were injured.  All of the victims were aged 60 to 80.  Now, when American nutballs read this news, some will want to become copycats.

Middle School Sex Offenders

Lenore Skenazy wrote an article in the Post that pointed out the absurdity of judges sentencing 12 year olds to jail and to be labeled sex offenders and have restrictions on housing and contacts for the rest of their life.

Jacob was found guilty of touching his sister inappropriately when he was 11. He was taken out of his family moved to a juvenile home and then to a foster home.  He is branded as a sex offender, and will bear that title for the rest of his life.

Two 14 year old boys grabbed a couple of 12 year old boys and "sat on their faces"  as a joke.  It was a stupid thing to do.. but because of it, these two kids will be labeled a sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

A young boy, roughhousing with his "Tomboy" sister will now sport a "sex offender" label when he tries to get a job.

Now... think back to your childhood... what do you think?  Is the world going crazy?

A New Voter Suppression Trick to Think About

The Post also mentions that a roving band of Thai monkeys attacked a polling station and tore up voter lists.

Not your Rubber Duckie Bathtub Toy

The Post also mentions that an Australian teen-ager found a 6 foot alligator in her bathroom.  Not native to Australia, the alligator was a pet of her neighbor.    

Trump Quotes

People for the American Way listed some recent quotes by Donald Trump.  I thought it might be interesting to quote them:

"Torture works, okay folks?.. But we should go much stronger than waterboarding.  That's the way I feel."

"There has to be some form of punishment" for women who have abortions.

"I could stand in the middl3e of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters."

Unbelievable.... and scary!!

New To Me  ..  English

I probably should have known these entries in a recent New York Times Acrostic Puzzle, created by my old buddies, Emily Cox and Henry Rothvon:

EEPHUS PITCH  ..  Slow, high arcing throw to a batter.

SADAHARU OH:   Giannt who hit a record 898 Home Runs.

GAMBOGE:  Saffron-hued pigment used to d ye Buddhist monk's robes.

(Look them up.. there's some great stories there.)

New to Me .. German

KREIDE .. weisser Kalkstein (chalk)

GENICK .. Nacken  (neck)

"Einem auf das Dach steigen"  Tell someone off (kind of)

Genug!

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Hillary wins Nomination; August 1999 Recap for Vaughan Genealogy

Hot... but not quite as hot as yesterday at 100 degrees.

Well... she did it.  Hillary Clinton got the official nomination from the Democratic Party.  She can now go after Trump  with a full throttle. 

I'm now going to recap some of my life for Genealogic purposes.  If you are not one of my relatives or an old friend, you might want to skip this blog.

August 1999  Calendar

(Elaine and I had no idea that in less than one year, she would leave us during a heart operation.)

During the month, I sent some more money to sister Donna for Ma.

I also set u p a trip binder and modified our trip checklists.

I sent a Niagara Falls postcard to Rudi Challupner in Austria.  (1KSIG)
(This is my Mensa Postcard club.  We send them all over the world.)

August 02

I called granddaughter Danielle and sang the birthday song (Vaughan style.)
I talked Sears into doing Elaine's eyeglass exam over for free, since they had screwed it up.
 I sent a pic to "Charlie"  Burrell... "bad hair day." (Wait a minute, wasn't Charlie Elizabeth's great Dane?  This doesn't sound right.)

August 03

  I gave a speech to my Toastmasters Club
  I babysat granddaughter Kaitlin.
  I  took Joan Baylin to Randallstown and to the Fruit Stand.

August 04 

Got a picture in the mail from Pauline Kraihanzel.
 I push mowed all of our acre.             
 I picked a lot of blackberries.
 I sent some good jokes to Toastmaster Jim Beckstrom.
 Chris and the girls came for supper.
  The girls are all excited about Plays Camp.
  Elaine had a "good talk" with Kaitlin. (why?)

(sorry about all these "I" s.)

August 05

We ate lunch at the Suburban Club.  Good Kosher food!
 I took out a new cd and cashed one in.
 I picked up AAA Travelers Checks.

August  06 

I finally got a haircut.
We went to lots of yard sales.
(For a while, we would go to yard sales on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  Elaine loved them.)
We ate lunch at Bullock's .. at the Airport.
I bought a garlic roaster.
Elaine treated me to crabs from Giant.
I   joined ABOUT.com.
                    
August 07 

Gave Chris a swimsuit video.  (?)
We  ate a snack at McDonald's.
Beth introduces us to oatnut bread.
 We celebrate Adrienne's birthday.

August 08

Prepared application for National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE)
Prepared for our upcoming trip to New Bedford..

August 09

Elizabeth takes us to the airport.
We leave for Providence by US Air.
 We picked up a Mercury Mystique rental at the Providence airport.
 We signed into the Somerset Comfort Inn.
 Ate great lobster rolls at McD in New Bedford.
 Had supper at the Oriental Pearl in Fall River with the "large" Langlois Family.
  My hip is really messed up.

August 10

 We moved to the Seaport Inn, Fairhaven (nice pillows, nice and quiet)
 Visit with Ma and Donna.  Take Ma some mums.
 Visit with Allen and Doris.
  Treat Allen and Doris to Bob's Restaurant.
   It's Casey's birthday.. I tried to call him.  No luck.
    My hip and now my leg are messed up.

  August 11

We ate breakfast at Jake's Diner.
 We visited Plymouth ... and the wax museum
 We took the trolley tour
  We visited the Mayflower Society Mansion tour
   We had a very short visit to Cranberry World
   We ate supper at Bertucci's Restaurant in Taunton.
    My hip doesn't hurt as bad.

August 12

We visited the Whaling Museum Store.
Visited with Ma and Donna.                                                          
 Took Ma a lemon meringue pie.
  Met Charlie and Pauline for supper at the Blue Point Restaurant in Acushnet.
 Norma and Bob McKinney ate with us.
  Later, we all ate ice cream at the Newport Creamery.
  We went over Aunt Hattie's photo albums.

August 13

We're back at the Dartmouth Comfort Inn. (why?)
 We had breakfast with Charlie and Pauline at Jake's Diner.
  Elaine spent all day with her sister Janine.
  I went to the New Bedford Public Library for an hour.
  I went with Chalie and Pauline to visit Mary and Winnie.
  I took herring for Aunt Mary and MandM's for Cousin Winnie.
  We toured Janine's house and met Mathilda.  (bulldog)
   We gave Janine a jump start.
    We had Fish and Chips with Lennie and Jerry (Lennie treated!)

August 14

This was Pauline Kraihanzel's 45th High School reunion, I think.
I tried again to contact my buddy, Casey. No luck.  I left a message.
We visited Ma and took her a big box of crackers.
We ate some pizza at Richie Langlois' Pizzaria.  Lennie treated us again.
(Richie's pizza is really good and he certainly knows how to twirl them in the air.)
We went to some to New Bedford's great yard sales.
We bought a lot of pewter necklaces and gave them to relatives.
I bought one of the famous Purchase Street books.
In the evening, we visited Allen and Diana with Allen and Doris.

August 15

Our plane arrived back home at 8 am.
Bill and Adrienne picked us up at the airport.
We treated Bill and Adrienne to breakfast at the Double T.

August 16

I learned that Kathy Adams is going to work for Renny DiPentima  on the Year 2000 Project.

August 17

I spent the day at Social Security.  Alumni meeting and then a Toastmasters meeting.
I took Joan to the fruit stand.
My buddy, Casey, called from New Bedford.
The Coles came to eat supper with us.
We gave Jackson some birthday gifts.
We gave Diane a Priscilla Alden pewter charm.
(What did we give to John and Dylan?)

August 18

Christopher and I went on a trip to the Delaware Racetrack.  (We lost our shirts.)

August 19

We went to our PIPIC meeting at the China Chefs.
Elaine got a haircut.
I went to AAA to pay for Branson trip. (?)
I bought a Hewlett Packard color printer.

August 20

Some rain at last.
I got Elaine's medical records transferred from Doctor Dicke. (What a mess!)
We ate a buffet lunch at Casa Rico
Kaitlin and Bridget are actors!  Oliver.. in Columbia. They play many parts.
Elaine treats to an AfterShow at Burger King.

August 21

Yard Sales.
Bought:  six pairs of underwear.
Bought:  old Palm Pilot for $25
Bought:  white yard fencing
Bought:  an "L" jacket (?) (fit?)
We visited a church bazaar at Glen Falls.
At the Post Office, we packed and mailed a punch bowl and book to Janine.
We had lunch at Bullock's Airport Restaurant.
Ed Tall thanks me for Social Security Alumni Secretary work.

August 22

Marie Lister visits
Card:  Thank you to Betty Quinn
Card:  Sympathy to Diane- Lois and Earl's daughter. (Lois died?)
Card:  Sympathy to Paul Garver. (Westminster Senior Center)
I sent Rural Cemetery Information to an Ancestry person.  (?)

August 23

I installed the HP color printer.
Elaine tried to get a plumber.
We tried to contact Dr. Dicke (why?)
I sent an "Ishmael" sticker to Brother Joe Powers
I lent a tall tree trimmer to Jim Rider.
I finished washing the porch windows.
A dog barked from 8-11 am at Barbara's house.
I talked to Don Campbell and mailed a card for class kit. (?)

August 24

We got the Dr. Dicke appointment straightened out.
Elaine got a Sears plumbing appointment scheduled.
Cousin Tom Phillips sent a picture of Grandma and Grandpa Vaughan.
I typed up a poem that Ma wrote and sent her a copy for approval.
I wrote a letter to Mercy medical for Elaine's medical records.
Dog barked 10-11 am.

August 25

I went to the SSA Toastmasters meeting.
I took Joan Baylin to Security Mall and CVS and the Fruit Stand.
Elaine and her friend Kaaren Riner ate out at Boston Market.

August 26

The plumber came this morning.  $492.
I got out 90 NARFE brochures.
I spent 2 hours on opportunity in papers. (?)

  
August 27

Deliver NARFE brochures to Jim Barnett.
We visited yard sales in Hanover, PA. 
Torrential rains in Hanover.
I bought lots of post cards.

August 28

I recorded 1998 and 1999 bills to CRDFILE.
I got the new printer to actually print colored ink.
We donated lots of stuff to the DAV.
Card:  Logging truck postcard to Mary and Winnie.
Card:  DC postcard to Brother Leon.
Casey and Norma arrive for a visit.
Casey brings me some special beer.

August 29

I set up  90 NARFE applications and manned a booth from 4 - 6 at Timonium Expo.
We treated Casey and Norma to Timonium.
We treated Casey and Norma to supper at Cactus Willy's.
Card:  Seattle postcard to Allen and Doris.
Card:  Logging truck postcard to Charlie and Pauline

August 30

Scramble eggs for Casey and me at breakfast time.
Babysit Kaitlin.
Sign up lots of people for my "55 alive" Driving Class.
Take everybody to Ellicott City.
(Very close call on Route 40. Thank God I learned defensive driving.)
We had lunch at Sorrentos.

August 31

Casey and Norma still visiting us
I obtained and printed an AOL msg for Casey  (?)
I showed Genealogy PC stuff to Casey.
Norma showed Kaitlin how to do cross stitch and Kaitlin showed Bridget.
We took Casey and Norma to WalMart and the Card Store.
Elaine takes Kaitlin to the Doctor's for a rash.
Norma buys me a burp doll.
We ate supper at Bullock's Airport.
Card:  Savannah, Georgia card to Allen and Doris.
I took some more applications for my "55-Alive" class.

My weight at the time was 199... it's more or less that now, 17 years later.  It must by my set-point.                                                                                                 
                       

Democratic National Convention Starts; Email flap; Eating Too Much; Tips; Food Variety; Kitty Food Hunt

Our thermometer must be broken... it was pointing to 100 degrees from 9 am til 5 pm.  Whew!

The Democratic National Convention has started in Philadelphia.  It was gaveled to order by  the mayor of Baltimore (Stephanie Rollins-Blake)  around 4:30 pm.  Wasserman-Schultz decided to let someone else chair the convention, because of the email flap.

When the emails were sent, Sanders was running as an Independent, not a Democrat.  So, what the hell is the big deal.  Trump will be hitting on this forever I'm sure.

Perhaps Donald will also try to say that Hillary was born in Benghazi, and therefore is ineligible to become President.  Or, maybe he'll pick up on some weird thing that the National Enquirer says about Hillary, the way he got excited by the phony Cruz/Oswald connection.

Stop Eating So Damn Much!

Dr. Roy Walford writes in  the Bottomline Health that it is possible to slow the aging process by eating less.  He says that in the 1970's he placed certain mice on a calorie-restricted diet and found that they lived up to 50% longer than their food guzzling fellows. He suggests that this could be applied to humans.

For two years, he was resident physician for the residents in Biosphere 2, a self-contained domed habitat in the Arizona desert.

The residents could only eat what they grew within the dome. This restricted their daily food input to less than 2,200 calories.  At the end of their "confinement" the residents showed "dramatic improvements in 'biomarkers'  for aging."  Their blood sugar and insulin levels fell, as well as their blood pressure.   I don't know how much weight the residents lost, but I'll bet it was considerable if they were overweight to start.

(For a long time, I have restricted myself to less than 2,000 calories per day, but I can't seem to nudge my 199-202 pound "set-point."  I've got to be doing something wrong.)

Dr. Walford suggests the following principles:

o  Eat more plant foods, such as fruit, vegetables, dried beans, grains and tofu.

(No, you don't have to become a vegetarian, but you might want to substitute fish for red meat.)

o  Eat more nutrient dense foods, such as wheat germ, oat bran, brewer's yeast, kombu and nori seaweeds. (Hmmm, I never heard of that seaweed, but I think that Elaine's daughter and her family eat it regularly.)

o  Cut back on consumption of sugar, alcohol and butter, and other fats. 


PS by Venice A. Fulton in Six Weeks to OMG.

"... it's smart to try different fruits and vegetables... Rotate Your Crops!

Most of us haven't even explored 10% of what's in our grocery store...

... people with super low rates of cancer also had the highest variety  of food in their diet."

Idea for the Obese

In last Sunday's New York Times, an article suggested that instead of putting cats' food in bowls for them to easily find, overeat and throw up, to make them hunt for it instead... which is their natural inclination... and this would keep them nice and slim.  The author mentions buying small gray containers which would hold each cat's food.  The containers look a bit like the mice that cats like to hunt.  The idea is to hide the food container each day and let the cat hunt for it.  So... a happy and slim cat is the result?  I wonder how we could apply that to humans.

"Dammit, Elaine, where did  you hide the potato chips?".



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Go.. and sin no more, Fatso! 

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Democratic National Convention; Active Shooter; Electoral College; Hillary Clinton; Senior Quotes; Bill Engelhardt Passes

HoT again!   So what!  It's summer, dude.

(My goal of publishing a blog entry for each and every day of the year is just 4 entries short as of today.  I'm getting there.)

Politics

Well, we are getting ready for the Democratic National Convention taking place in Philadelphia starting on Monday.  Should be fun.

Of course, right away there are problems... with emails again.  Trump is latching right on to some WikiLeaks output, as expected.  But I don't think it will help him.

Active Shooter

Charles Homan writes for the New York Times magazine about gun violence.  May I quote some of his excellent article from June 26, 2016: 

"The active shooter has always seemed a particularly .. if not exclusively .. American menace, a dark confluence of the country's mania for guns, self-definition, reinvention and fame."

Oh, yeah... the good old U. S. of A. is certainly on top of the list of countries with deaths by guns. 

I think that Charlie nails it when he says: "The active shooter owns something that, in a distraction-addled world, is perhaps even more coveted: our attention.  This is certainly what Mateen wanted.  In the final moments of his life, HE REPORTEDLY STOPPED SHOOTING LONG ENOUGH TO SEARCH FACEBOOK FOR RESPONSES TO HIS OWN PERFORMANCE."

Electoral College

If Clinton wins the 18 states that have voted Democratic in the last six elections, she will gain 242 electoral votes, just 28 short of getting the Presidency.  There are 183 electoral votes to be gained from the swing states.  What do you think?  Does Trump have a chance?  Will these folks vote for a Trump presidency?

o  Women
o   LGBT Folks
o   Hispanics
o   Moslems
o  The disabled
o  Whoever else he has insulted

Also, recently I read on Facebook that at one time a radio announcer asked Trump if he would consider running for public office.  Supposedly, he responded that if he decided to run, he would run as a Republican, because those people are dumbbells.   (Now, I'm not sure if this is a true quote.. I just saw it, but I didn't note who submitted it.)

More Senior Quotes

Anon:  Indentured Servant:  a senior citizen working part time to pay for dentures.

James A. Garfield:  "If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart.  The spirit should never grow old."

Benjamin Franklin:  "By my rambling digressions I perceive myself  to be growing older."

Burt Reynolds:  "Retirement must be wonderful.  I mean, you can suck in your stomach for only so long."

A Dear Friend Passes

Bill Engelhardt passed away this week.  He was getting chemo treatments for a cancer and they caused him to get heart problems which he did not survive.  Bill was an amazing person.  Almost by himself, he built the HCFA Alumni Association.  Even after HCFA kicked his group out of their headquarters, Bill kept it going from his home in Pennsylvania.

Bill had a great sense of humor.. I have stolen jokes from him for years.  His dear wife passed away a few years ago and I went to a memorial service for her.  He was a twin, and his brother was with him when he passed.  He will be missed.   Rest In Peace, my friend.

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Music at the Republican National Convention; Senior Citizen Quotations

Another Catch-up Entry.

Republican Music

In case you missed it, the Associated Press has written about songs played at the Republican National Convention, as follows:

o  Here Comes the Sun   a George Harrison song .. Played during the introduction of Mr. Trump's daughter, Ivanka..  was not authorized and was "offensive..."

o  All Right Now  a Paul Rodgers song.. Played at the climax of Trump's speech.. also not authorized.

o  We are the Champions  by Brian May and the band Queen.. Played during a Trump convention appearance..  also not authorized.

o  Nessun Dorma as sung by Luciano Pavarotti  Played by the Trump folks ... The Pavarotti family made a statement that the "values of brotherhood and solidarity"  That Pavarotti expressed in his career "are incompatible with the world vision proposed" by Trump. :

I wonder if those very young folks on America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent, and American Idol obtained permission to sing Nessun Dorma?  Puccini has been dead for quite some time now... wouldn't everything written by him be in the Public Domain by now?  When a kid sings this aria well, it's a winner.  Of course, the greatest rendition of the aria was by Luciano.  What a voice!

How about some Senior Citizen quotes?

Anon:  "You know you're going through menopause when all of your clothes are sweat  clothes."

Ava Gardner: "Whatever wrinkles I got, I enjoyed getting them."

George Carlin:  "I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older.  Then it dawned on me...they're cramming for their final exam."

San Banducci:  "Old age comes at a bad time."

Henny Youngman:  "A doctor has a stethoscope up to a man's chest.  The man asks, "Doc, how do I stand?"  The doctor says, "That's what puzzles me!"

Anon:  "Have you seen the new social media site for seniors?  It's called Faceliftbook.

Oliver Wendell Holmes SR: "the young ma n knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions."

Enough!

Heat; Air Conditioning; Hacked Again; German Crossword Art; Tomatoes; Open Carry in Church; Australian Snakes, Kids and Beer

HHHOOOTTT!!!

What did we do before air conditioning?  I grew up without it and after moving to Maryland, my wife and I did not have it for a number of years.   Yet. we survived.  In fact, as a teen-ager working at the New Bedford YMCA.. my working area was always over 90 degrees, and I liked it.  Outside, it seldom made it into the 90's.  If it was 83, that was a heat wave.  Here in Maryland, one year, we experienced 45 days when the temperature was over 90 degrees.  Everywhere we drove, we ran over melting tar in the road and saw heat mirages on the street ahead. 

Hackers Hack Again

I was surprised today to learn that I had over 200 new comments on some of my old blog entries.  Now, who would subject themselves to reading and commenting on all those blogs in a 24 hour period?   Why, a hacker of course.  Each one of the comments is a list of computer locations.  I suppose that the hacker gets "points" or money for putting some business' information onto the Internet, so, this clown has learned how to do that.  Probably some teen-ager with a lot of time on his hands... school doesn't reopen for a few weeks and it's too hot to go out looking for Pokémon-Go's.

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

On today's show, there was mention of a great German crossword fan:  supposedly, at a German museum, one of the modern art displays was of a crossword puzzle and bore the instruction that the viewer was supposed to fill in the blank words.  So, this elderly lady had a ballpoint pen, and did so.... and got arrested for defacing an art work. 

Now, as an uncrowned expert on German crossword puzzles...I would predict that the art work was of an American type puzzle, since the German ones would not lend themselves to such an artwork... in my humble opinion.

Tomato Time

I heard that to combat the problem that tomatoes shipped across the country sometimes go rotten before going on sale,  growers are adding fish genes to their tomato seeds, thus creating FISHMATOS.  The fish genes keep the tomato from rotting so fast... thereby the growers can make more money.  (Sounds a little fishy to me.)

Speaking of rotten tomatoes..  our only red ones so far have "bottom end rot."  They look nice when they are green, so, if I can't cure this problem, we will be enjoying "Fried Green Tomatoes."

Open Carry for Christians

Chuck Shepherd writes in the Funny Paper for August 2016 about the custom at a Pennsylvania Church.  Congregants place Bibles on the pews where they plan to sit during the service.  However, recently another congregant violated that tradition and got into a confrontation. The argument ended when one of these clowns shot and killed the other.

Once, when we were visiting our friends in South Carolina, we went with them to an Easter Catholic service... a full house.  We saw empty seats and when we sat down, we were accosted by some mean looking people who said that we were in their seats.  Luckily, "open carry" was not a law then and we all survived.

Australian Beer Must be Good

Chuck Shepherd also tells about an Australian man who likes to swim with his pet carpet python.  The Aussie throws the snake a few feet ahead of him and the snake comes back to him each time, while the Aussie slugs some more beer from the can in his hand.  (Does he give beer to the snake as a reward?)

Chuck also reports on another Aussie stopped by the Highway Patrol.  His "several" children, including an infant, were bouncing around unrestrained because he had used all the seat restraints to hold his cases of beer.

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Politics; RNC; Tony Schwartz; Donald Trump; Libertarians; Gary Johnson; Bill Weld; Questions for a Candidate

More HEAT!  51 degrees in Pakistan.... that's Celsius, folks.  It should get to the upper 90's today in Maryland.

Politics

Well, thankfully, the RNC is over.  It ended with Mr. Trump reiterating his goal  to be the American messiah who will be eternally known as our greatest "Law and Order President."  Nixon said the same thing, and look what happened to him.  Ronald Reagan also implied the same thing.. but did he do anything amazing along that line?  I don't know.

If you are planning to vote in November,  I hope you are going to do, I would ask you to read two articles in the July 25, 2016 issue of the New Yorker.  (You know, that magazine that Donald Trump says that nobody reads anymore.)

#1  Trump's Boswell Speaks by Jane Mayer.  Jane writes about Tony Schwartz' recent revelation that he was the sole author of Donald Trump's "breakthrough memoir," The Art of the Deal, which spent almost a whole year on the Time's best-seller list.  You have to read Jane's article yourself, but the gist of the article is that "Trump is unfit to lead."  (I wonder what Mr. Trump is going to do about this "stab in the back" by someone he supposedly shared royalty money with.)

#2  Flying High by Ryan Lizza.  Ryan talks about the  two Conservative Republican ex-Governors who are hoping to lead the Libertarian Party to some kind of victory in November.  Gary Johnson tops the ticket.  Gary has been involved with marijuana issues for a number of years.  Bill Weld fills the Vice President slot.  It amazes me that Bill was a former moderate Republican who became the leader of ultra Liberal Massachusetts.  (Wait a minute... I forgot about Mitt Romney.)

If these two guys can earn the respect of 15% of the electorate (as determined by polls, I suspect) Johnson would earn the right to debate Clinton and Trump. Some think that Weld would be the better debater.  Time will tell.   Sounds like fun to me.

Some Questions for a Candidate

Frank Batavick is a Friday columnist for the Carroll County (Maryland) Times.  Today's column intrigued me.  Frank had 9 questions to be posed to Mr. Trump as he pushes to "make America great again."  Since the questions are not aimed at me, I will list them here as though I were asking the questions to a Trump supporter. (I don't think Frank would mind, but please read the original column yourself.)

1.  Why are some items with the Trump label made in China?

2.  Why are the Chinese obtaining so many Trump fashion jobs, rather than Americans?

3.  Why do you think that Mr. Trump will not release his tax returns?   (Is he not really a billionaire?)

4.  What happened to the large amounts of money that Mr. Trump said he donated to charity?

5.  How come Mr. Trump missed being drafted?

6.  How come Mr. Trump banned the following news organizations from his rallies and press conferences?  What about Freedom of the Press?

o  The Washington Post
o  The Des Moines Register
o  Univision
o  BuzzFeed
o  The Daily Beast
o  The Huffington Post

7.  Why does Mr. Trump show a "dangerous naivete about foreign affairs?" 

8.  Why do White Supremacists and Nazi sympathizers seem to like Mr. Trump?

9.   What era in America's history would Mr. Trump like to return to?

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Republican National Convention; Race

HOT!

I'll be glad when the RNC is over.  It's getting me depressed.

Let's talk about Race today.  I scanned the RNC audience as shown on National TV and saw only a few African Americans in attendance.  Of course there was Dr. Carson and Mike Tyson.  I'm sure this will be a great contrast to the Democratic National Convention.  I hope so.  We need to include everyone in our election processes. I don't think that the Republicans have learned that yet.

But sometimes I get discouraged when I can detect outright bigotry when I am speaking to certain people.  For instance, today I was having what I thought was a pleasant talk with a person who worked where I had worked.  Every time she talked about somebody, she had to preface that person with a word: "white" or "black."    She mentioned that just before she retired she was one "of only four white people" doing what she was doing.. and that contributed to her decision to retire.  I think that I detected "hate" in her remarks.  Very sad.

She did mention that she liked an elderly lady that worked with her.. but she had to say "elderly black lady." 

I still remember that Star Trek episode where two sets of almost identical looking persons were in a "death struggle."  They hated each other, because they were different.  One had his right side different in color to his left side.   The other had his left side different to his right side. 

I've mentioned this before.  It was September, and my late wife asked the little girl next door if she liked her new teacher.  "Miss Elaine, she is black."   My wife said: "Yes, but is she nice?"  The little girl replied:  "But, Miss Elaine, I said, she's black."  She got this attitude, of course, from her family. I think that is shameful. What do we do about this?

Everybody today, black, white, yellow, red.... is descended from the same African lady.  Many, many, many years ago her descendants spread out all over the world, and some changed color and facial peculiarity based on environmental situations.  So, if we are all related, why the hell can't we get along.. and become color-blind? 

Enough!

Abraham Lincoln

The 2016 Republican National Convention continues today.  Some of the speakers surprise me with what they are saying.  For instance, Doctor Ben Carson... obviously a nice person, who has saved many lives during his remarkable career.  But (IMHO) Ben has got it all wrong.  His rant against Hillary was disjointed, often incorrect and just plain mean.  I predict that a year from now, he will be regretting his backing of Mr. Trump.  Wait and see.

Meanwhile, to offset the nonsense that I feel current Convention Republicans are spewing, I look to a famous Republican,  Abraham Lincoln. Brant House put together a book called: "Lincoln's Wit."  In the introduction to the book, he quotes Carl Schurz' tribute to Lincoln:

"No American President had ever spoken words like these to the American people.  America never had a President who found such words in the depths of his heart."  

Can I have an "AMEN" to that?

Here are a few of those "Lincoln words."

1835  "You may burn my body to ashes, and scatter them to the winds of heaven;  you may drag my soul down to the regions of darkness and despair to be tormented forever; but you will never get me to support a measure which I believe to be wrong, although by doing so I may accomplish that which I believe to be right."

1837  "There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law."

1842  "In very truth he was the noblest work of God - an honest man."

Lincoln, while a member of Congress, took his stand against the Mexican War.  He declared that those who argued that the war was not a war of aggression made him think of the Illinois farmer who said:  "I ain't greedy about land, I only want what joins mine."

1847?  "To lay a duty for the improvement of any particular harbor upon the tonnage coming into that harbor will never clear a greatly obstructed river.  That idea that we could involves the same absurdity as that of the Irish bull and his new boots. 'I shall never get 'em on,' said Patrick. 'till I wear 'em a day or two and stretch 'em a little.'"

1852  "Pharaoh's country was cursed with plagues and his hosts were lost in the Red Sea for striving to retain a captive people who had already served them more than four hundred  years.  May like disasters never befall us."

1855  Some of Mr. Lincoln's friends were arguing and asked Abe for his opinion.  The question was: What is the proper length of a man's leg?    Mr. Lincoln reflected a while and then said: "I should think that it ought to be long enough  to reach from his body to the ground."

1856  "We will hereafter speak for freedom and against slavery as long as the constitution guarantees free speech;  until everywhere on this wide land the sun shall shine and the rain shall fall and the wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to unrequited toil."

Lincoln's remarks about an orator: "His sophism was as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had been starved to death."

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.   This expresses my idea of democracy.  Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."

"It's a fortunate thing I wasn't born a woman, for I cannot refuse anything."

"It is said that an Eastern monarch once charged his  wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations.  They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away."  How much it expresses!  How chastening to the hour of pride!  How consoling in the depths of affliction."

(I always thought that this was said by Saint Theresa.  This phrase got me through almost three years of excruciating leg pain.  That, and help from Elaine Lottes.)

.

A Rant connected to Religion

Something has been bothering me since the opening of the Republican National Convention this year in Cleveland.  Prayers.

I'm not against  praying.  If that is what you want to do.. do it.  But, if you do it in public, at least in the United States, remember that there are people who may not have the same beliefs as you have.

When I was President of the local AARP Chapter, we had meetings where 200 or more people would attend.  Where I live, I believe, most of our members were Christians.  However, some of our members were not.

When we opened the meeting, according to custom, a preacher would give a short prayer.  Since AARP is not a religious organization, such prayers should have been non-denominational.  The man who gave a prayer at our meetings was beloved and respected by our members and nobody would ever think to say anything that would have made him uncomfortable.  So, even though he would name Jesus in his prayers, nobody would say anything.  Even our Jewish, Indian, and Atheist members never complained, until one month.

An Indian woman complained, in a  nice way, that she had nothing against prayers, except that in a non-denominational setting, they should be generic.  I agreed with her and regretted that I had never mentioned the type of prayer needed to our preacher friend.  So, I discussed it with him (in a nice way).. and he agreed to comply.  He did so, for a few months.. until a different President took over.

In Toastmasters, we are advised to give all-inclusive prayers, when asked to do invocations and such. One of our members wrote a beautiful prayer that nobody could ever possibly complain about.  She has been using it at functions for years with no problems.

So.. why couldn't the Republicans talk to their preachers and explain to them that their prayers would be heard and seen throughout the Nation, and the World, and that "exclusionary" prayers would be seen by some as more evidence of the American Republican Party being just for "certain" persons?

Cases in point:

At the opening of the Convention, a preacher mentioned Jesus. 

After the crowning of Donald Trump, a preacher yelled out that God was on the side of the Republican Party... and also mentioned Jesus.  Surprising to me  was the fact that the person asking for "AMENs" was an African American preacher from South Carolina.  In an NPR interview later, this preacher was unapologetic, just as the Trump faction is unapologetic about the apparent plagiarism by Mrs. Trump. 

Enough!

PS 

1.  During the American Civil War, both Yankees and Rebels prayed that God would be on their side, and help them slaughter their neighbors.

2.  During World War II, the German soldiers prayed to God to help them prevail... so did our American soldiers.

3.  Some years ago, a violent hurricane was threatening an East Coast city.  The people got together and prayed to God to spare their town.  God must have heard them.... but not the people who also prayed in the next town, because the hurricane veered off course and destroyed the other town instead.

Hey, while I am on a rant... let me mention something else  that bothers me.  At a relative's home, I saw a "yellow pages" book.  Not your everyday telephone company book, but an exclusive book, listing only those local businesses "with Christian ownership."  Unbelievable.  However, some churches make arrangements for their members to buy such "anti-Semitic?" books.  I've heard that it is a good "money maker"... of course, because it panders to stereotypical bigotry.  (In my humble opinion.)
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RNC; Mrs. Trump's Speech; Preacher Joke; Saggy Pants; Summer Olympics; Food; Beer; Viniciius; Female Swimmers

More Summer heat.

Right now, the delegates to the Republican National Convention are taking their turns casting their votes and kissing Trump's ass.   The vote on a rule change got squashed, so the delegates have no choice but to cast their votes as their State (actually Trump's folks) requires.  Good luck. 

A hot topic now is the speech given by Mr. Trump's wife.  Some folks have plugged what she said into what Mrs. Obama said in 2012.  A LOT of similarities.  Too many to be coincidence?  But what can be done about that?  Mr. Trump will get angry and huff and puff and accuse somebody of being "a jerk" for bringing it up. 

Those of you who have seen the movie: "The Stepford Wives" are suspicious about the current Mrs. Trump. She is unbelievably beautiful and slim and says she loves her husband, and probably likes to do housework.  No...I don't want to bad mouth her, she seems nice and  I think that she deserves a lot of credit for living with a man with such a big ego. But that is just my humble opinion.

)*/:@#&!!

Melvin Hilty shared this joke in the Saturday Evening Post:

A preacher was nailing up boards on his fence when he noticed a boy watching him.
"Getting tips on how to fix a fence?" the preacher asked.
"No," replied the boy.  "I'm waiting to hear what a preacher says when he whacks his thumb with a hammer."

Dress for Success

The Week magazine reports that a councilman in Dadeville, Alabama is trying to get the town to ban sagging pants.  I like what the councilman said, and I quote:  "I prayed about this.  I know God would not go around with His pants down."

Summer Olympics  at Rio

The Saturday Evening Post mentions the following Olympic trivia:

Food:  230 tons of food will be served DAILY at the Olympic village.

Doping:  Swede Hans-Gunnar Litjenwall got himself disqualified in 1958 for drinking beer!

Games Mascot:  Vinicius, a yellow and blue creature (looks like a cat or monkey?) that can fly.

I'm not surprised that the massive amount of free condoms was not mentioned by this very family-oriented magazine.


I'm looking forward to the women's swimming contests.

Bye for now... got to get back on CSPAN to see if the Donald got the nomination.

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RNC Activity; Prison Expose; Pottygate; Foreign Accent Syndrome; Foreign Languages Tip; Hitler and Lenin

The "Stop Trump" faction got "trumped" when they tried to get a vote on the Convention Rules.  They definitely were not happy.  I wonder what they will do next... they know that his nomination dooms the Republican Party for years to come.

Prison World View

For those of  you who watched Orange is the Next Black on Netflix, check out the Mother Jones magazine issue for July and August 2016.  Investigative reporter, Shane Bauer, went undercover at a Louisiana private prison for four months.  Amazing story!  Think about it and then think about the Baltimore city prison where the inmates were in charge.  Eyeopening.

Mind Your Pees...

Mother Jones reminds us of "Pottygate."  In 1990, Denise Wells was arrested in Texas for using a men's room at a concert to avoid long lines to the Ladies' Room.  She was acquitted only when hundreds of women offered to pay her fine.  (Welcome to the Lyric Theater in Baltimore.  Between acts of an opera, long long long lines of women wait to use their toilets .. one on each floor .. and miss the opening and part of the next act.  While men go in and out of their toilets in minutes.  Not fair.  Sometimes we men would stand guard while women used our toilet.  This was, of course, frowned upon.  When will women and the disabled be truly free?)

The Gift of Tongues

The Week magazine reports that after jaw surgery, a Texas woman suddenly sounded like a Brit.  This is called the "Foreign Accent Syndrome."  Around  100 people have had this ailment over the past century.  What makes this one more interesting is that the lady involved normally has a Southern/Hispanic accent.

Accents are funny.  When I was in Germany, German friends said that I spoke the language with their accent... was this because I came from Massachusetts?

Now.. when I traveled in Europe, people thought that I spoke lots of languages.  I have a secret.. and it works very well. 

When conversing with someone using a language you are not familiar with, just repeat the last word they said and shake  your head in agreement.  Works almost every time.

Or, if you know a little of their language, you can try this... while shaking your head, say the following:

In Germany:  doch!  doch! .... or Ja! Ja!

In France:  oui, oui

In Spain:  si, si

In Russia:  da, da.. and maybe once in a while throw in a "spasebo!"

So.. now you know.

Now, Adolph, shame on you!

Mental Floss magazine recommends a new book by Giles Milton.  The title is "When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain".  I quote from the magazine: ""did you know that Hitler was on as many as 80 drugs when he invaded Soviet Russia (including meds for his chronic flatulence)?"

Fun at the Republican National Convention

Big thunderstorm... lots of rain... 93 degrees.

Catch up entry.

Cartoonist, Brian McFadden had a strip in the New York Times last Sunday.  The title:  The RNCs Unscheduled Events.

One cell shows Mr. Trump twirling the "wheel of hate."  He says, "Let's see who we're going to demonize tonight."

On the Wheel are "hate" categories, as follows:

o  Elizabeth Warren

o  Mexicans

o  Mosquitoes

o  China

o  Establishment Republicans

o  Women

o  Hillary Clinton

o  Judges

o   The Media

o   Latinos

o  Muslims

o  Immigrants

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He could have probably added more categories, if he had room.

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The Week Magazine; Books; Elephant Leg; Racing Couple; Police and Kid; the Rapture; Wiener Eating Contest; Presidential Voting; Odors

Here we go  again.... 3 policemen killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!  When when when when will we ever learn?

Well, in my duty to take our minds off of disaster for a short time, here is my take on a favorite news outlet.

The Week Magazine

I love this magazine.  It tries to give us interesting news and if appropriate, lets us know how opposing sides feel about an issue.

For example, to show how interested I am in this magazine, let me mention 8 of the 14 items appearing on just two pages of the July 15, 2016 issue:

1.  A Wonderful Kid

A 9-year-old Tennessee boy walked into the county sheriff's office with over 100 books he was donating to the jail library.  (How many kids that age would even stop to think about people in jail, much less about how much books could help in their rehabilitation.?)

2.  Pachyderm Prosthesis

Mosha, a ten year old Asian elephant has been fitted with another custom-made leg.  She lost her leg to a landmine when she was 7 months old.  Even though her weight has gone from 1,300 pounds to 4,000 pounds since she was a baby, her keepers at the Thai Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital have managed to keep her happily supplied with a total of nine prosthetic legs. 

3.  The couple who races together...

An Irish couple celebrated their 80th birthdays by crossing the finish line of the Cork City Marathon hand in hand.  They have been racing together for 51 years!  Now... ain't you youngsters ashamed!  Throw away your Pokémon-go computers and get into serious running.

4.  Here we go again.

A New Jersey 3rd grader was questioned by police when he said something about "brownies" at a school party, and school authorities reported him as a possible racist.  Paranoia reigns again in a public school.

5.  Repent!  The end is near!

A Christian family refuses to educate their children because they believe "THE RAPTURE"  is about to occur.  They were held in contempt and appealed to the Texas Supreme Court... which, get this.... ruled in the family's favor!

6.  I'd rather be a sword swallower.

 Joey Chestnut once again won Nathan's Famous annual hot dog eating contest in Brooklyn.  He managed to down 70 wieners in ten minutes.  Almost 20,000 calories!  (Did he eat the rolls too?)

 7.  Voters' Decisions

A Public Policy Polling survey showed that 13 percent of potential voters would prefer the meteor destruction of the Earth, than see either Hillary or Donald become President.

---  OR ---

8.  It could not happen here.

A Swedish soccer player was singled out for unsportsmanlike conduct for farting during a game.  (Well, I never thought about that.  They don't have huddles in soccer, do they"?)

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Mini AC Units; Mr. Liberty?; Robotic Butt; National Enquirer; Ted Cruz; Mr. Trump; Charitable Donations; Reader Digest Trivia

Hot again. More summer.

Hot Topics!

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me:  I learned today:

1.  Japan is manufacturing underarm Air Conditioners.  (Americans are so concerned about armpit smell... why?  Studies have shown that women are attracted to men's underarm smells.  Besides that, my physicist cousin, Charlie, informed me that sweat does not smell... what we smell comes from not changing our shirts as it dries... so, he said that one will not offend as long as one wears fresh clean clothes.

Did you watch the most recent episodes of Orange is the New Black?  One of the inmates has problems with guards and other inmates when she refuses to bathe.  Pungent?  But then again, smelly undies are in demand, and are being smuggled out of the prison to sell to strange persons in Asia.)

2.  The Face of the Statue of Liberty is that of a man!  Think about that, Mr. Trump.    For years, people have thought that the face was modeled after sculptor Bartholdi's mother.  Recent studies (why?) have indicated that it probably is modeled after the sculptor's brother.

3.  Britain inventors have come up with a realistic robot that mimics a man's butt!  Up until now, there has apparently been one guy who travels around offering himself as a target for the fingers of Medical Interns, who need to know how to give a prostate test.  But now... a robot can be used instead.

So, the WWDTM consensus was that "two British asses lost their jobs this week.. David Cameron and this guy."

4.  Trump Charitable Donations have been discovered!  (Newsies have been trying to locate money that Donald J. Trump claims to have donated to charity.  Unsuccessful for a while, they finally found where thousands of dollars had been donated by a Donald Trump.  However, on close examination and discussion with the donor.. they found that the donor's name was Donald L. Trump, no relation. Donald L. says he would rather be called Skip.

More about Mr. Trump.

The Truth from the National Enquirer?

During the primaries, I was interested in something that Donald Trump said about Ted Cruz' father, Rafael.  Mr. Trump mentioned that there was news that Rafael Cruz stood by Lee Harvey Oswald in a photograph.  Rick Perlstein, in the Washington Spectator for July 1, 2016, said that Trump told Fox News in an interview in May,  "That was reported, and nobody talks about it... I mean, what was he doing--what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death?"

Two days later,  Ted Cruz withdrew from the Republican race.

Where did Mr. Trump get his news scoop?  Perlstein tells us... he got it from:

"April 20, 2016:  The National Enquirer cover blares, 'Ted Cruz's Father--Caught with JFK Assassin!'

As President, would the National Enquirer be the Donald's morning news briefing?

Enough!  Let's talk about something else.... less cerebral.

The Reader's Digest has been a favorite diversion for me, off and on, for many years.  I always learn something from each issue, such as this info from the July 2016 magazine:

01.  Quora.com:  "Why is a second called a second? Because it is the second division of the hour by 60."  (Reminds me of the punchline of a joke:  God said: "Just wait a second.")

02.  Word Power: "brushback... this is a special baseball pitch.  It forces a batter to step back and breaks his confidence."

03.  Maine:  the single state whose name is just one syllable.  It's state flower is the pinecone, which is not really a flower.

04.  Massachusetts:  Sixteen of the top 25 windiest U.S. cities are located here.  (I would have guessed Illinois or a prairie state.)

05.  Montana:  the temperature in Loma once climbed from -54 degrees Fahrenheit  to 49 degrees Fahrenheit in a 24 hour period.  This was the largest one-day hike ever reported.

06.  New Hampshire: the state license plates display "Live Free or Die."  These plates are made by prison inmates.

07.  Feeling Blue?

The Trenton Star-Ledger reported the following:

A Trenton councilwoman called an emergency council meeting to address something that was reported to her by a constituent.  She was told that a terrible new epidemic was turning women's genitals blue.  She told her fellow council members that the "Blue Waffle Disease has already claimed 85 lives!"

April Fool!

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Now, see what you learned from RD.

Trump's Pick; Ishmael's Puzzle; Cryptograms; Tattoos; Truth; Freedom of the Press; Living Simply; Learning; Religion; Love

Hot!  Again.  Summer.

Mr. Trump has made his pick.  I have no comment right now, but I will have as I learn more about the Conservative Indiana Governor.

Puzzle Stuff

Ishmael sez:

My brother, Joe, is  a puzzle expert.  One of his efforts was put on Facebook by him this week.  Without his permission, but I don't think that he would mind.. here is the puzzle, if I can remember it correctly:  No, that would not be fair... I will go out to Facebook and copy it accurately.  It is a gem.

"A barber had cut hair in town for 70 years before finally retiring.  His thousands of clients decided to plant a tree on the town square in his honor.  What kind of tree?"

.... this was hard, so Joe gave us another clue:  "You SAY you want me to PUT on a CLUE?  Okay!"

I know, I know... it is very hard, so, I will give you the answer...

EUCALYPTUS

Now, come on.. you puzzlers out there.. isn't that the best one yet?  I think so.

Cryptograms, anyone?

When I want to take a break from crossword puzzles and cryptics, I like to break the easy Cryptograms that fill cheap newsstand magazines.  Some are a little tough and require knowledge of word frequencies and word order.  Many contain famous quotations, and I thought that I might write out a few pertinent (impertinent) ones to distract us a little from the insanity in the world at the moment.

01.  Humorist Wodehouse said:  "I attribute my whole success in life to a rigid observance of the fundamental rule... Never have yourself tattooed with any woman's name, not even her initials."

I'm sure that Mr. Wodehouse had me in mind when he wrote this.  Yes, when I was in the service, I found myself I a tattoo parlor with my fellow airmen who wanted to damage Government property by covering their bodies with the forms of naked ladies and such.  I was not drunk enough to do that.. instead, I did, indeed, mark my left shoulder with my girl friend's initials.  And... luckily we later got married.

Unfortunately, my wife passed away 16 years ago and I found another woman to assuage my grief.... but guess what?  She has the same initials as my late wife.  I did not need to alter my tattoo in any way.

02. Henrik Ibsen said:  "It is a lie that truth always belongs to the majority!  What kind of truths do the majority rally around?  Truths so old that they are positively decrepit with age."

Let's relate this to the current Presidential campaign. 

03.  Barbra Streisand said:  "I think freedom  of the press ought to be about uncovering abuses and exposing tyrants, not about whether or not I'm walking down the beach in a junky sweater."

04.  Henry David Thoreau said: "I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely."

05.  Douglas Adams said:  "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

06.  S. Parkes Cadman said:  "Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat , and dog do not feel its benefits.  Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility."

07.  Marlene Dietrich said:"How do you know love is gone?  If you said that you would be there at seven and you get there by nine, and he or she has not called the police yet .... it's gone."

See.. you can find wisdom even in a cheaply purchased magazine.

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