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Showing posts from April, 2019

VISIT TO BERN, SWITZERLAND IN PICS: APRIL, 2019

My first cousin, once removed (the son of my first cousin) is on sabbatical in Europe with his family. We hadn't seen each other for 25 years or so, give or take a decade. After a bit of back and forth, we chose Bern as the most convenient place to catch up. We weren't able to spend much time together but it was quality time and I got the skinny on all of the family members that I had lost touch with over the years. Bern was worth the visit, too. The Old Town is typical European with the appropriate local twists - a pedestrian-friendly space with interesting architecture, plenty of shopping and restaurant choices, and since it's Bern, fountains and bears. Pics with commentary follow: Beautiful animated clock tower in the middle of Old Town. Draws crowds every hour. Bells ring and figures move. I'm not certain what all of these dials represent. Perhaps predicting the next President? Bell ringer at the top... My first cousin, twice removed. I ca

JUSTICE DEMOCRATS ENDORSE EUGENE V. DEBS FOR 2020

Spokesman Mel N. Yull announced that the progressive Justice Democrats would be endorsing the candidacy of Eugene V. Debs for President of the United States in 2020. The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. BLOGGER: That's quite a surprise. Why did you decide to endorse Debs? MEL N. YULL: Debs was a great orator, an unabashed socialist. He's... BLOGGER: He's dead. You know that, right? MEL N. YULL : Of course. And he was an old white guy before he died. But we can overlook that. BLOGGER: Do you think that the voters can? Do you think that you can elect a dead man, old and white or otherwise? MEL N. YULL : Of course not. But that's not the point. Purity is the point. And there's nobody who can represent Democratic Socialism better than Debs. BLOGGER: So winning doesn't matter. MEL N. YULL : Look, Justice Democrats endorsed 79 candidates in Democratic primaries in 2018. Seven made it to Congress. If winning mattered

BORIS JOHNSON EXPLAINS BREXIT

TIGER WOODS, NOAM CHOMSKY, AND PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

To demonstrate the convoluted twistings of my mind, as I read that Tiger Woods had won the Masters golf tournament, my thoughts turned to Noam Chomsky. Some background is in order.  First, Tiger Woods. A child prodigy of whom much was expected, Woods delivered on those expectations in spades. He won tournaments in intimidating fashion. His name was mentioned alongside the greats of the sport and the greats of the sport accepted the proposition that he might equal their accomplishments, might even exceed them. Woods was young, good looking, rich, and still in his prime.       Then the wheels started to come off. From what can be inferred from aggregating the various sober-to-sensational news stories, a combination of back pain caused by years of swinging a golf club at high speeds and the medication that he took to ease that pain resulted in breakdowns of his health, his personal life, and his golf game. For the past decade, the question was not whether or not  Woods would take his

SECRET RECORDING OF THE MEETING BETWEEN MAY AND CORBYN

PERSONAL SPACE, RACISM, AND JOE BIDEN

I live in the south of France. When the local rugby team walks into our sports bar, there's a lot of kissing. Big, sweaty, bearded guys greet other big, sweaty, bearded guys with kisses on the cheeks. Then they hang out with their arms draped over each other's shoulders. Nature or nurture? I was curious. I googled: Do children have personal space? The answer? Apparently not. Page upon page of results lead to that conclusion. Why? Perform the exercise yourself and you will see. Children must apparently be carefully taught about personal space. There are exercises, worksheets, activities, and publications promoting the teaching of personal space. When it comes to explaining the necessity for personal space, though, things get a bit fuzzy. Again, google: Personal space is vital to being oneself. Being able to engage in outside interests is a good way to develop a stronger sense of self, which leads to the discovery of one's desires and dreams. This is important becaus