It had always been since early voting by mail began in Arizona that older, conservative, Republican voters were the majority of those who voted early by mail. Since Trump's trashing of mail-in voting, their numbers have been dropping. In this year's primary election, the Democrats are a majority when it comes to early mail-in voting. Not clear what, if any, the impact will be on results, but just saying. Makes you think.
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Just like Costco with its Kirkland brand and Fry's with it's Private Selection and Simple Truth brands, Whole Foods has its Happy Belly brand. Some things might not be up to your standards, but many of them are excellent (e.g., their provolone slices), and they all are at prices that are as good or better as any grocery store.
With the so-called "rebound" infections experienced by Dr. Fauci and President Biden, where they tested negative 5 or so days after having come down with symptoms and having tested positive for Covid, they then started testing positive again, we have been flooded with inquiries as to what this means and whether one should start isolating again. We have NO knowledge on the matter, and we are a bit befuddled by what the CDC says on the matter. But this article seems to give a fairly decent overview of the issue even if it doesn't have all the answers either.
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We are getting a little tired of Wirecutter sneaking around our house to see what stuff we use, and then write it up as the best of breed. They just did it with handheld vacuums and chose what we've been using for years: The Black+Decker 20V Max Lithium Pivot BDH2000PL. It's like a reverse tornado in your hand, and our only complaint with it is the lack of a light, which we brought to Black + Decker's attention but to no avail.
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As this Consumer Reports article explains, the FDA has denied a petition to ban all phthalates in food packaging. Phthalates are chemicals that have been linked to numerous health problems, but the agency says it needs more information. The article goes on to give some healthful tips: (i) Eat fresh, home-cooked food as often as possible, and avoid store-bought and processed food that comes in plastic; (ii) drink tap water rather than bottled water; (iii) don’t store food in plastic; instead, use glass, silicone, or foil; and (iv) don’t microwave food in plastic containers; instead, use conventional heating methods (stove or oven) or microwave in glass containers. Be sure also not to buy bottles with the number 3 on them.
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The punditry regarding DOJ's investigation and possible indictment of Trump, focusing almost exclusively on how supposedly difficult it is to establish his criminal intent--oh please, give me a break--and on questions of attorney-client privilege (re Trump's discussions particularly with Giuliani and Eastman) and executive privilege (re Trump's discussions with non-lawyers) are in the main gibberish. When it comes to questions of these two so-called privileges, it would be salutary if these talking heads, or anyone for that matter, might explain: (i) Why doesn't the fraud/crime exception override any assertion of attorney-client privilege as to discussions with Eastman and Giuliani--they were not trying to do anything colorably legal, they were unquestionably trying to undo an election and stop the peaceful transfer of power; and (ii) speaking of the fraud/crime exception, why does it not apply to any executive privilege claim Trump makes just as it does to any claim of attorney-client privilege?
As of July 28, Southwest Airline's flight credit policy has changed. With this change, now your flight credit(s) that are unexpired on or created on or after July 28, 2022 will not expire! No action is required on your part—your applicable flight credit is available and ready for you to use. When viewing your flight credit, you will temporarily see an expiration date until we are able to update our systems. That said, there is no longer an expiration date for your flight credit. Remember a flight credit with an expiration date on or before July 27, 2022 is still expired and not available for use.
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There was a time when you might not have known anyone who got Covid. Since the pandemic has ended, however, you likely have many friends and relatives and acquaintances and associates whom you know have or have gotten Covid. You might pass on to them this WSJ article, which explains: "Doctors say it is important to rest, even for people with mild to moderate cases of the virus. Some doctors worry that as we get more inured to the pandemic, some people with symptoms aren’t taking enough down time. Pushing yourself too hard can lengthen your recovery, they say, adding that the healing trajectory for Covid-19 is less predictable than for other respiratory illnesses."
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Although Outlook is not perfect as an email client, it is far superior to the default Gmail client. Fortunately, it is easy to use Outlook for your Gmail. Here is how to set it up:
In Outlook, select File, then Add Account.
Enter your Email Address for your Gmail account and select Connect.
A window will appear. Add your Gmail account again if it doesn't automatically appear.
Select Next and add your Gmail password.
Read over the statement that appears and select Allow > Done.
Restart Outlook.
Look for your Gmail email in the folder pan
If you need any help on importing Gmail or your Google Calendar or your Google Contacts to Outlook, this article has a link for each such step.
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This cnet review will sets out cnet's picks for best laptops for 2022. We agree on their Dell XPS and on their Acer Swift 3 recommendations although we prefer the 13" to the 14" because it is less expensive and easier to travel with. Indeed, those are the laptops we currently are using.
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If Trump is not prosecuted, presidents will forever more be deemed above the law. It might tear the country apart to prosecute him, but it would shred the constitution not to prosecute him. And when it comes to the core of the prosecution, the core must be his gathering an armed crowd for his avowed purpose to follow him to the Capitol to nullify an election and stop the peaceful transfer of power. The fake elector stuff, the failure to call off the mob, the selling of the big lie, and on and on, certainly might be included in the prosecution. But the nub has got to be Trump's efforts to undo our democracy. Just as Lincoln had no choice as to what was needed to save this country, Garland has no choice either.
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Airline fares typically come down in the Fall, but this Fall they look to be coming down more than usual. Particularly if you can be flexible for days of departure and return, weekdays tend to see lower prices than weekends. Typically, the price of a ticket drops steadily up until around 20 days before the flight date, and then the ticket prices for that flight will tend to rise markedly until day of departure. And if you are flying into smaller airports, take note of the emergence of low-cost carriers such as Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways giving flyers even more options. By way of example, there are no non-stops from Phoenix to Syracuse. But, one can fly from Phoenix to Las Vegas for under $50 and then non-stop from there to Syracuse on Breeze Airways for $125 coach or $260 first class. The airline map on the Breeze Airways website lets one see all the non-stop routes by just putting the cursor on an originating airport.
PS: If you do a lot of flying, as this article explains, it is easier to get into airline airport lounges than it used to be. That has made them more crowded and some even impose time limits as a result, but, just saying.
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Personally, I take comfort that there are people out there who, because I use my phone, know where I am and what I am doing. That said, I can understand why others might feel differently. If you are one of those others, you will want to take a look at this article which will go through the various default tracking settings you will want to turn off or limit (e.g., allowing your device to let them know your general location but not your specific location) in your Android and Apple devices and in various social media apps.
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As Seinfeld explained quite a few years ago, low-fat yogurt can make you fat. If you need a reminder, as this article explains, food and drink claims like “just a tad sweet” or “healthy” may mask high levels of added sugars.
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This week's episode of Better Call Saul has been trashed universally and defended by none. It's beyond awful and boring and pointless and incomprehensible.
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I tried watching a Phillies/Braves game last night on MLB TV. Watching the Phillies’ defense, or more precisely the lack thereof, was hard enough, but there were 4 boxes on the left side of the screen with a guy in each box and they were yapping to each other. I don't know who they were or why they were there or what they were talking about or how to get rid of them or what's that about, but if that's MLB's answer to dropping viewership, sheesh!
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The Arizona Cardinals' contract with Kyler Murray gives him $230M, which is astounding in itself given his so-called "record" to date. But it has a clause requiring him to study 4 hours of game film per week, likely as a result of his known statements to the effect that he has no need to watch films and prefers instead to play video games. This revoltin development rightly has drawn ridicule, scorn, and disapprobation from all quarters. It leaves me speechless, but not surprised, given how the Cardinals seem to prove over and over again that stupidity in the front office and from the coaching staff flourishes over whatever talent might exist on the field.
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While engrossing, there seems to be no end to the first season. For all I know, it could be 52 episodes.
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Starting at just over $40K, the Volkswagen ID.4 is touted as the most affordable EV. It is said to have a range of over 250 miles. My neighbor has one and just used it to drive from Phoenix to San Diego. It took them 2 days because the actual range turned out to be 100 miles. I cannot explain it and have no desire to press for details. Just saying.
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Bret Stephens has an intriguing piece, which is not to say I agree with it especially on the culture point, as to why not to shun people who voted for Trump in 2016. He points to the following: "Trump voters had a powerful case to make that they had been thrice betrayed by the nation’s elites. First, after 9/11, when they had borne much of the brunt of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to see Washington fumble and then abandon the efforts. Second, after the financial crisis of 2008, when so many were being laid off, even as the financial class was being bailed out. Third, in the post-crisis recovery, in which years of ultralow interest rates were a bonanza for those with investable assets and brutal for those without. Oh, and then came the great American cultural revolution of the 2010s, in which traditional practices and beliefs ... It’s one thing for social mores to evolve over time, aided by respect for differences of opinion. It’s another for them to be abruptly imposed by one side on another, with little democratic input but a great deal of moral bullying. This was the climate in which Trump’s campaign flourished." But then, as he goes on to say: "Would I be wrong to lambaste Trump’s current supporters, the ones who want him back in the White House despite his refusal to accept his electoral defeat and the historic outrage of Jan. 6? Morally speaking, no. It’s one thing to take a gamble on a candidate who promises a break with business as usual. It’s another to do that with an ex-president with a record of trying to break the Republic itself. But I would also approach these voters in a much different spirit than I did the last time. “A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall,” noted Abraham Lincoln early in his political career. “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.” Words to live by, particularly for those of us in the business of persuasion." That's hooey. To follow Trump at this point is beyond salvation. It's fine for the Failing NYT to have a conservative columnist. Even the WSJ editorial page is tougher than Bret Stephens on the matter.
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This NYT article seems to be an excellent primer on the basics of Monkeypox.
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When you make an Amazon Prime purchase with an Amazon Prime Visa card, you get a 5% credit that will turn into cash every month. For a typical family of 2, this averages about $50/month or $600/year. That's not peanuts or, as Mitt Romney would say, bean bags. When you buy something on Amazon but decide to return it, you have an option to have the credit go back onto your card or post on your Amazon account and it will automatically apply as you make future purchases. One advantage of posting to your Amazon account is that the credit typically will appear in under an hour from the time Amazon gets notice it has been delivered to a UPS store for the return. Here is what I cannot figure out (math prowess is not part of my family's genetic makeup): Whether by choosing the account credit option it avoids "erasing" the 5% credit I'm guessing gets "erased" if the credit goes back on the card. The source of my confusion is that, because the account credit reduces future purchase costs by the amount of the refund credit, in effect you don't get the 5% that way. This is one example of why so many people say life is really hard.
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Rhinorrhea is not a pejorative term used by Trump (or Kari Lake in Arizona) to describe what they consider to be fake Republicans. It's a symptom of a Covid-19 infection. It doesn't mean you have Covid-19 if you are suffering from rhinorrhea, but if you have Covid-19, you likely will exhibit rhinorrhea.
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There are many auto-correct options that can be set in Outlook. But sometimes, there is a word that Outlook thinks needs to be capitalized (like Airbnb) that you might not want to capitalize. Don't go looking for a settings change--at least I can't find one that will fix that. BUT, if you hover your cursor over the word in question, and right-click, you can tailor the option you want to that word.
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Unlike any other major individual sport and (such as tennis, gymnastics, skiing, ice skating, etc.) and even some minor individual sports (e.g., curling, darts, pickleball, etc.), golf has no developmental programs or teaching academies where young talent not only is groomed, but is supported. By way of example, if you watched King Richard as was recommended, you would know that Venus Williams was a multi-millionaire before she ever played her first professional tennis tournament. As a result, golf kids are on their own and unsupported in their efforts to make a living as touring pros. LIV Golf is going after the young phenoms with a vengeance (no pun or double-entendre intended), and the PGA Tour, under its current structure, has nothing to compete with on that ront. If LIV Golf prevails in the courts or otherwise to keep the majors open to their members, once the next crop of phenoms start winning majors, game over.
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As this NYT article explains, there are some simple things to do to lower your summer air conditioning bill. Closing shades and blinds and raising the thermostat even just 1 degree can make a significant difference.
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According to Nielsen, 17.67 million people watched this week's primetime hearing across 10 broadcast and cable outlets. That’s down from the 20 million who watched the first televised hearing (across 11 channels) on June 9, but significantly more people than watched any of the six daytime hearings in between the two primetime sessions. The eight hearings averaged about 13.1 million viewers, with the daytime sessions drawing between 10.16 million and 13.23 million. The six daytime hearings average 11.2 million viewers, with a peak audience of 13.2 million on June 28, when ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified about former President Donald Trump’s behavior. An estimated 13.6 million of Thursday’s viewers, or 77 percent, were age 55 and older, Nielsen said. Only 705,000 viewers were 18 to 34. MSNBC had the biggest audience for any individual network Thursday with 4.88 million viewers for its coverage of the hearings. ABC had 3.98 million viewers, followed by CNN (3.18 million), NBC (2.69 million) and CBS (2.68 million). CNBC, CNNe, Fox Business Network, NBCLX and NewsNation made up the rest of the audience. Fox did not cover this week's hearing.
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We have touted the virtues of slow closing toilet seats. There's an additional toilet seat improvement we had never heard of where the toilet seat is easily removable for cleaning, and the installation is much easier. Just watch this video and prepare to have your socks knocked off. One word of caution: This Bemis 1500EC Toilet Seat will show up in Amazon if you search for slow closing toilet seats, but it is not slow closing, and so, because slow closing is a must, it has to be schlepped to the UPS store to return for credit. Fortunately, there are slow closing toilet seats that also are removable. We'll see on Monday when one arrives.
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While many people call me a Renaissance person, I'm not a doctor nor do I have any degree or expertise in any science, and so I don't know why I'm hounded for medical advice about Monkeypox, which the WHO just declared a public health emergency of international concern. If you are interested in testing or treatment, leave me alone and read this NYT article.
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We welcome any feedback as to substance. But we have lost patients with those taking gratuity shots at our typos. As we have explained, we have not monetized this blog, which we provide as a service for no fee, as a result of which we do knot have the resources to employ editors. We have the ability to cut off the subscription of any reader, loyal, semi-loyal, or otherwise. We shall knot hesitate to do so if they send in any more snide typo corrections. Note that this post cleared the spell-checker which we do use.
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1. There is no question the January 6 Committee has amassed overwhelming incontrovertible proof sufficient to indict and convict Trump and his co-conspirators for violating the laws against defrauding the government, interfering with government functions, sedition, treason, insurrection, and more. I cannot figure out why any further investigation is needed. Time is running out.
2. Speaking of time running out, as explained in this article from the Constitution Daily, while there is scant precedent, there is no impediment to impeaching Trump right now. Indeed, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has issued guidance that a trial, if needed, could still take place after the inauguration when Trump was no longer president.
3. Word of advice to future investigative committees: Work with professionals when videotaping depositions. There is no reason for the questioning lawyers and the little armies with them to be on camera, nor any reason for anyone but the witness to be on camera. On the other hand, I recognize that some audience members, who also happen to be loyal readers, much prefer seeing the deposition testimony with all kinds of people hanging around and asking questions and supporting the witnesses and the questioners, so the better might be to ignore this blog's "word of advice."
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This NYT piece claims to set the record straight on Covid variants and reinfections. Of course, I cannot assess how accurate it is, but it is clearly written and overall comforting without being Pollyannaish.
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Kyler Murray is now the second highest paid quarterback in the NFL after Aaron Rogers. Oh please.
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Just go to this link and you can get the Wall Street Journal for $4/month and you can cancel any time.
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If online reviews were all real and a complete view across all customers, that would be fantastic. As we've explained STR reviews, negative reviews often have a difficult time even getting on the website listings because owners will "negotiate" out of them. Another problem is fake reviews. This WSJ article has an excellent discussion addressed to spotting fake reviews on Amazon.
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Turns out putting a small pot on a large burner is probably costing you. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that putting a 6-inch pan on an 8-inch burner, for example, wastes over 40% of the heat created by the burner. Using the right size pot or pan can actually save you around $36 a year if you use an electric range and $18 a year for a gas range and help the planet as well. Another cooking tip that can save you money and the planet energy: If you keep a lid on your pans while cooking, you can set a lower temperature on your stove, and can decrease your energy use by up to 66%.
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The public, schools, public fora, gathering places, and even medical offices, with full CDC approval, have called time-out if not game-over when it comes to do anything to mitigate the pandemic. As a bell-weather indication that the opera is over, the fat lady--aka as the CDC--has sung this area: "[The] CDC has determined that the cruise industry has access to the necessary tools [e.g., cruise-specific recommendations and guidance, vaccinations, testing instruments, treatment modalities and non-pharmaceutical interventions] to prevent and mitigate COVID-19 on board," an agency spokesperson told CBS News. "Therefore, CDC's COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships is no longer in effect as of today." Given how responsible and caring about their passengers the cruise lines are, I can't begin to book every cruise I can.
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Sardines are inexpensive and, unlike many other foods this day, are readily available on your grocer's shelf (they come in tins in various varieties as you can see below from Whole Foods). Here are the ways to serve them that I like the most and have found guests have liked the most: Straight out of the can; on a cracker with or without mustard or mixed with mayo, salt & pepper; sauté in oil, garlic, onions, and tomato with a bit of lemon juice, salt, and pepper; tossed into a salad or added to a pasta; on a sandwich with cream cheese and a thin slice of red onion; stuffed in a pepper; mashed and spread on a toasted bagel schmeared in cream cheese; as sardine tacos; in a dip, with spinach & artichoke; or dipped in hummus.
Re Designated Survivor: While it misses not having Keri Russell in it, Designated Survivor perhaps has more overtones to The Americans than any of the other genres mentioned in earlier posts.
Re The Importance of Being Earnest: I have been "advised" that my glowing review is not shared by persons of more refined taste and appreciation for the cinema.
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While there is disagreement with the findings, some studies report that there may be no link between serotonin levels and depression. This raises questions about antidepressants that focus on this brain-signaling molecule, say the authors of the analysis. Of course, please do NOT rely on this post nor consider it medical advice of any kind.
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In addition to the problem of cancelled and delayed flights (airline complaints are now running at triple the rate they did in 2019), airlines are losing luggage at the highest rate they ever had. One Delta flight from London to NY carried no passengers but just luggage that had been lost. Here is what the WSJ recommends by way of luggage tracking devices. Here is what Elaine Benes recommends.
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Golf Monthly and other sources are reporting that LIV golfers are going to be banned by the Majors next year. Not only will it be fun to watch the PGA Tour's defense to the antitrust claims, but it would be equally satisfying to watch the defenses of the U.S.G.A. and Augusta National, Inc. to charges of conspiring with the PGA Tour and with each other to stifle competition. Okay, there are some tricky issues for sure, to which I defer to two loyal readers in particular. But I just hope their former employer brings the case as a criminal prosecution. Heck, this isn't just milk or eggs. This is golf.
At the same time, LIV Golf makes news now on a daily basis. Henrik Stenson was fired as Europe's Ryder Cup captain upon his joining LIV Golf. And the defections continue with Charles Howe, III and Jason Kokrak joining, and rumors flying that Cam (the Mullet) Smith will be joining in about a month. But perhaps the biggest shocker of all is the whisper that Charles Barkley might be on the LIV Golf team albeit not as a player.
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If you haven't seen this version of The Importance of Being Earnest, it's an absolute must-see, and if you have seen, it's an absolute must-see again. The cast could not be more stellar or turn in better performances, the photography is gorgeous, and the writing is beyond perfection. I don't know who wrote the dialogue but it's spell-binding--note that the subtitles are far more accurate and complete in the HBO Max streaming than in the HBO taping, and every word should be heard and read because the lines are brilliant.
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Although as a member of the human race it is imperative to finish this last season, each episode of Better Call Saul seems worse than the previous one. There's no way to understand what's going on, but given how boring and drudging the show has become as it draws out scenes for no apparent purpose, one doesn't care what's going on.
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Some loyal readers, showing no appreciation for the monumental undertaking it is to get this blog out everyday, with no editing or copy editing staff to help, lambasted us unmercifully for what was an obvious typo in discussing the Arizona Republicans running for governor. Well, as it turns out, a study now reports that patients with high blood viscosity had death rates 38% to 60% higher than those with low blood viscosity. The inflammation associated with COVID-19 likely contributes to high viscosity, which in turn can lead to damage to blood vessel linings and clogging of arteries, according to the researchers. No study was apparently done on vicious blood, but Kari Lake, like her idol Donald Trump, surely have vicious blood, and some people seem to hope they have viscous blood as well. On the good news side, no problems seem to be associated with getting flu and Covid shots together.
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There are cellphones today (including iPhone 10s and later and Samsung Galaxy S20s and later and Google Pixel phones) that do not need physical sim cards because one or more e-sim card is built-in the phone and is programmable electronically. The shelf-life of the physical sim card will expire in the not too distant future. As this WSJ article explains, getting rid of the physical sim card has some real benefits, including making it a snap to change carriers and never having to worry about losing a sim card or finding that tiny tool to remove a sim card. If you don't know where that tool is, now is a good time to look.
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I have guarded my recipes for what I've been told are the greatest burger and best bread pudding in the world, but now I shall relent:
Burger: Place a small ball of ground beef atop a griddle, then top it with a confusingly large haystack of very thinly sliced onions. Then, aggressively smash the beef into the griddle, spreading it into a rough patty large enough to overhang the edges of a bun, while simultaneously embedding the onions into the meat. When juices start to collect on top of the patty, scrape them up and flip the burger, onion side down, and season with pepper (I don't add salt to anything). It’s okay to top with a slice of cheese, if requested, followed by a soft, untoasted brioche bun — heel stacked on crown stacked on burger — which warms and softens in the onion-scented vapors rising through the beef. A few moments later, the entire stack is lifted with the spatula, the heel of the bun is removed from the top and placed underneath. Then, with a light squeeze and pull, the spatula is removed, and the burger is placed on a plate.
We have given a positive review of Designated Survivor and stick by it. But we have a correction to make. It is not a West-Wing type show as we had noted. It's more of the genre of The Plot Against America or Independence Day or the Manchurian Candidate. In all events, while one might have to suspend belief at various points, it holds one's attention that's for sure.
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Sometimes after you place an order for Amazon Fresh delivery you decide to add items to the order. Most of the time, doing so is not a problem. But, on occasion, you will get a notice that the item(s) you want to add is/are not available or something to the effect that the item(s) you want to add cannot be added for some unknown reason. In either event, just set the page to auto-refresh say every five minutes, and there's a good chance, when you check later, the item(s) will have come back in stock or the unknown reason no longer applies, and you can add the item(s) to the order.
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There are two leading Republican candidates for governor in Arizona: Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson. Both are horrible, but Lake is the more horrible of the two. Trump has endorsed Lake and she rivals Trump for the percentage (close to 100%) of her statements being viscous or totally disconnected from reality. One of Lake's ads accuses Robson of being a "real rino." I don't know whether the adjective modifier "real" is to distinguish Robson from someone who is a "fake rino" or has some other connotation. Further, what is galling about the media coverage of Lake is they always refer to her as a former journalist. A loyal reader has made the following observation: "Why does the media keep referring to Lake as a former journalist? She has spent most of her adult life reading the news to people. Calling her a journalist is like calling someone who reads for a books-on-tape recording an author." Pence has endorsed Robson. Robson has more money and is expected to win the nomination, but you never know.
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Let's say you've lost the deed to your house and cannot find your title insurance policy. In what will take you less time than searching high and low in your house, and less aggravation than trying to put the blame on someone else, the Recorder's web site will bring up the deed in a matter of seconds, the deed will give the name and number of the title insurance policy, and a short phone call to the title insurance will produce a copy of the policy within minutes. Wow!
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If you don't have slow closing toilet seats, you should get them. They cost under $30 and are simple to install. Once you have the slow closers, you can never go back. And if one ever does stop slow closing, while repair might be possible, the replacement is so inexpensive that there is no need to fuss with repair.
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Tiger Woods is a prime example of a philosophy I ascribe to which is, "If you ain't fixing it, it's broken." Put another way, there is no state of perfection, there is just a striving for perfection. The slogan for Lexus, before it started making really ugly cars, was "The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection." At the other extreme is the view that, "If ain't broken, don't fix it." This view is especially apt to avoid making changes that make no sense or changes that are for the worse. Lexus changed its slogan to "Experience Amazing." Oh, please. The NYT this Sunday took great pains to explain that it was changing the name of its Sunday op-ed section from Sunday Review to Sunday Opinion and reversing the order the various pieces are presented. It is obvious the NYT has employed people, likely at elevated salaries, who have too much time on their hands, and nothing of anything significant to do.
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All the things that most of us love about summer—bright sunshine, dips in the pool, and long days at the beach—are rough on our swimsuits. Heat, chlorine, and salt cause colors to fade and reduce the material’s resilience over time, while sunscreen and body oils can leave tricky stains. On top of that, synthetic swim fabrics are prone to a number of other woes, including pilling and persistent odors. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep your suit in great shape season after season. The simplest way, which works well at home pools and many beaches, is just skip the swimsuit. But if you insist on swimming clad, we've put together a list of tips--just click on this link.
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Undoubtedly, this year's Champion Golfer of the Year will be heralded as having pulled off one of the greatest final rounds in major history. As a win for the ages, it might even bump off Nicklaus's 1986 Master's championship--and knocking Nicklaus off any list is always welcome as a tradition like none other. But, when the story is told about the 150th Open Championship, the questions are: (i) will anyone remember the winner's name or will he just be referred to as the mullet; (ii) is it a real mullet or were those hair extensions that didn't match the color of the hair on top of the head; and (iii) did anyone ever tell the mullet that his endorsement money might be enhanced if he looked like a golfer?
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We reviewed Designated Survivor after watching just the first episode and gave it a 👍. We now watched most of the first season and will continue watching. It certainly has its flaws and ridiculous moments and characters and scenes that make no sense, and while it pales compared to West Wing for capturing what the West Wing must be like, and pales compared to Dave which comes closer on the unlikely-premise scale, it does keep leaving you wanting to know what happens next.
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Once Tiger proved to be unable to compete (my theory is his legs cannot keep him still enough for his short game or to putt), there was only one reason to watch the randomness of where golf balls can end up given a bizarre terrain: Might a LIV Golf member have his named etched onto the Claret Jug. There's a long outside chance DJ could do it, but the earth cried back, fat chance, fat chance. Had that happened, not only would it have been fun to watch the Royal & Ancients and the Golf Channelers go nuts, it would have given LIV Golf leverage on many fronts. Oh well. That sucking sound is the PGA Tour and R & A exhaling.
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An ABC/Quinnipiac poll was just released with the finding (some might find astounding) that 3 out of every 4 people in the United States consider this blog their primary source of both news and opinion.
[PS: It is meet to note that the our reporting this poll result is not an exercise in bragging, but might be the result of our having nothing else to post today, and wanting to allay any concern that might be created if the daily blog email did not show up]
Everyone handles grief differently. Hours after his beloved ex-wife passed away, Trump re-sent his initial warm and laudatory comments about her to his supporters in a message that looked like this:
[Prefatory Note: This might be my theory, but Will Humble, Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association, concurs]
The sole dedicated purpose of the coronavirus (or any virus) is to survive. To survive, a virus needs a host. That explains why, as the coronavirus mutates from Alpha, to Delta, to Omicron, to the Omicron subvariants, it becomes increasingly transmissible, i.e., natural selection favors the variants that more easily can find hosts. But it also explains why, as the mutations move down the line, they become less lethal and less debilitating, i.e., natural selection favors the variants that keep more hosts alive.
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Dominion Voting has sued Sidney Powell for defamation. Her "alternative" defenses are: (i) no reasonable person would conclude that what she said was factual or true; and (ii) her statements were not made with malice because she then and still does believe them. You can't make this stuff up.
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Hyundai will be offering a sedan to compete with the Tesla 3 in the U.S. early next year. Although pricing has not been announced, it is expected to be substantially lower than the Tesla 3.
Ladies of the Jury is one of the great trial movies ever. Even if you are not a lawyer, you will love it, and if you are a lawyer, you will be over the moon. The trial itself (which has a couple of hiccups and inconsistencies with reality) is as good as A Few Good Men or Inherit the Wind and the jury deliberations, which were unabashedly copied by and far surpass in every way 12 Angry Men, are brilliant. Before this movie, the star, Edna May Oliver, was a mere character actor, so it highlights the ability of a great actor to go from character to leading role. Finally, for anyone in Maricopa County, it confirms the wisdom of letting jurors ask questions, and for anyone in a jurisdiction that does not allow jurors to ask questions, it highlights the importance and benefits of letting jurors ask questions. It also is a good example of why letting the jury view the crime scene is a good idea. It's available on TCM and Hulu.
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The January 6 Committee will conduct one more hearing and then issue a written report. While the hearings to date have been better than we predicted, they suffered in various ways mentioned in earlier posts. Alas, they have one chance to blow the roof off and hit a home run, and maybe change history, and no readers here will be surprised by this suggestion, nor surprised that I have no hope it would be followed, but here it is: In addition to whatever written report they make, they make a 2-hour documentary or docudrama movie that can be shown in primetime on television and streamed anytime. Actually, they shouldn't make it, they should hire the best professional docudrama producer/director they can.
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JT Realmuto of the Phillies is concededly the best and most valuable catcher in MLB. The Phillies have an outside shot at winning their division and are in a close race for a playoff spot. But Realmuto refuses to be vaccinated and therefore may not travel with the team for their games against Toronto in Canada. According to JT, "My teammates know how much a I would like to be with them, but I'm young and healthy and had Covid twice and it was no big deal, and I talked to my doctor who did not object to my refusing to get vaccinated." Excuse me!!!!
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The Final Episodes of Better Call Saul (there are 6) began Monday, July 11, on AMC. I don't know quite what to say about it, but if you've watched this far, the thought of not finishing the series is too horrible to contemplate. Whether or not you care for the story (even if you can follow it which many of us are not able to do), Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn are so magnetic that they alone make watching worthwhile--and who doesn't love Gus Frig whom many say plays himself on the show. Speaking of Rhea Seehorn, who started as a comic actress, it is agreed she steals the show. If you don't believe me, then you probably think this NYT article is fake news.
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Confirmation (by text, email, and BeBallotReady website ) typically will be received or appear 3 business days after the ballot is mailed.
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Trump has not shied from taking to various media to express his "views" about the January 6 Committee's presentations and the testimony of witnesses he doesn't like. The Committee members have not shied from accusing Trump of the most serious criminal and treasonous conduct ever seen. Cheney today, without disclosing who the witness was, accused Trump of attempting to obstruct justice by calling that witness before they were to testify (i.e., witness tampering), noting that the witness refused to take the phone call. Here's what boggles my mind: Instead of beginning and ending each hearing with odes to democracy and the rule of law and such, why not begin and each hearing with an invitation to Trump to come and testify? And if they want to add in Trump's top co-conspirators, add their names to the list.
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Even if what they are presenting is just, as they put it, a small fraction of the evidence they have, the January 6 Committee has presented overwhelming evidence of Trump's criminal, indeed treasonous, culpability. While each multi-hour presentation provides some amazingly damning points, we do not complain that they could have been made in 15 minutes. Nor do dwell on the fact that, if they had organized what they had into 5 days of hearings in one week, and told the story from beginning to end in that week, they would have knocked the cover off the ball as it sailed out of the ballpark. They really have the goods ... no question about it. I just wish they could take a few minutes to read how the best lawyer I ever worked with, no not Edward Bennett Williams who was excellent too, but Abraham Lincoln, focused like a laser on what mattered and ignored what didn't in presenting a case, as this piece explains. There's no question the Committee knows how to rile up the commentators and others who long ago declared their hatred for Trump. But, we understand the criticism some have made about the Committee's continually repeating what's been proved and promising how much more there is and consoling us with how small a percentage of the overwhelming evidence they are showing us and veering off into tangents whose relevance is difficult for some of us to follow.
Note 1: We sat agape shocked when it took over 15 minutes for some staffer or other Committee member to pass a note to the Congresswomen from Florida who was repeatedly, but unmistakably, mispronouncing Cipollone's name.
Note 2: We cannot say they didn't do this follow up, but when questioned about whether Pence did the right thing on January 6, Cipollone not only said yes, but asked to say something about Pence, and then gave a glowing set of laudatory characterizations about what a fine person Pence was and how much Cipollone admired Pence (whom he said should be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom). If they have it they didn't play it, but everyone is wondering: Did any of the people questioning Cipollone (and there were several, including Committee members) ask Cipollone: Do you think Trump did the right thing on January 6 and then please tell us, in your words just as you did in describing Pence, what you think of Trump.
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A loyal reader has brought this review of the 12 best hearing aids for 2022 to our attention. It looks to give an excellent overview of the features of each to help you make your selection. The reader gave further helpful information for those who might prefer Costco for their hearing aids (which Costco rebrands as Kirkland): Kirkland hearing aids are manufactured by Sonova International, a Swiss hearing aid company, which also manufactures hearing aids under the Phonak, Hansaton, and Unitron labels; and the Kirkland Signature 10.0T hearing instrument comes equipped with Bluetooth as well as T-coil technology. As I've written in this blog before, vanity drove my decision to eargos which got picked in the review as most invisible.
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As this NPR article and other sources report, the BA.5 Covid variant: (i) is the most transmissible by far; (ii) evades vaccination and infection immunity; (iii) can produce a reinfection shortly after one recovers from a first infection; and (iv) in a testing irony, reported infections are now about 100,000 per day, but because of home testing, the actual number of infections is estimated to be about 700,000 per day. Some places are re-imposing mask mandates for indoor settings. Fat chance in Arizona.
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While I look forward to watching Tiger Woods in the Open Championship (thank goodness for my DVR that lets me skip everyone else and be done for the day in short order), his attack on LIV Golf today and the players who have joined it as "turning their backs" on what supposedly "got them to where they are" and on what makes golf great because they are taking guaranteed money is hypocritical blather. First, it is meet to note Tiger has ducked every issue of race and politics that golf has been embroiled in, which are far more important than the issue of LIV Golf . Second, Tiger has eagerly taken gobs of guaranteed of money for showing up at events all over the world. Third, guaranteed money to sign is the way it is in every other pro sport (especially baseball, football, and basketball) and it certainly has not dampened the quality of play in those sports. And fourth, who is kidding whom, his big worry is that professional golf and the majors are going to undergo fundamental changes, so that no longer will Tiger Woods' legacy be one measured against "all of golf," but instead, he will become the Rod Laver of golf, celebrated as the greatest ever (or not even that if all you're doing is counting majors) in "the old era." If LIV Golf were not Saudi sponsored, they would put the PGA Tour out of business in no time. Unlike what happened in football and basketball, there would be no merger--the PGA Tour would be toast. I am not in favor of LIV Golf but only because it is backed by Saudi money. I will be delighted to dance on the grave of the PGA Tour, which has existed for just a short time compared to how long professional golf has been around, and only because Nicklaus and Palmer broke with the PGA of America over money.
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If you are installing or replacing any kitchen or bathroom products, the ONLY manufacturer to go with is Grohe. We have a Grohe kitchen faucet which is now over 10 years old. It had a small discoloration and we emailed Grohe on Saturday asking to buy a replacement. On Monday, we received an email response from Grohe confirming that they were shipping out a replacement for no charge. Is this a great country or what?
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You can get a digital subscription to the WSJ for $4/month for a year, cancellable at any time. While the editorial page should burn in Hell daily and the op-ed most days as well, the news reporting is excellent, and in many ways far better than every other newspaper. Here is the link to subscribe.
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The Royal & Ancient, which runs The Open Championship (which Americans call the British Open), typically invites past champions to attend the champions dinner and to play (like The Masters does). They have banned Greg Norman, a past champion, because they don't care for his commentary and his pushing the Saudi Tour (aka LIV Golf). We have no problem with that (although we note that DOJ has opened an investigation into the PGA Tour's anticompetitive conduct, and we think they will nail the PGA Tour), BUT the irony, hypocrisy, and schizophrenia of the R & A is not lost on us when they are going to honor Jack Nicklaus by naming him a "Citizen of Saint Andrews," which they have done only twice before when they did so for: Bobby Jones and Benjamin Franklin. Yes, the Saudis are odious. But Trump, whom Nicklaus gives full-throated support to, in addition to taking outrageous stands on every issue he's addressed especially since he hung up his spikes, certainly rivals and in many eyes exceeds the evil of the Saudis.
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A loyal reader's partner obsesses over expiration dates of everything. We have been asked to do an intervention. While we have declined to do that, we are bringing to their attention this NYT article which explains, and we hope they are listening: "Although expiration and beyond use dates provide useful information — you can feel confident your medicine will work for at least that long if it’s been properly stored (more on that in a minute) — drugs [unlike some office holders or some foods] don’t necessarily become dangerous or less potent once that date has passed."
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If you drive a hybrid, and don't use cruise control, you are wasting money and, worse, burning more fossil fuel than you need to adding to the climate crisis everyone is talking about. In many instances, as soon as you set the cruise control to take over at a given speed, and take your foot off the gas pedal, you will see the fuel consumption gauge go to zero. As an additional bonus, if you like to drive at a set speed in relation to the posted speed limit (e.g., many prefer 9-10 mph over the stated limit), doing so by cruise control lets you do so without having to keep checking the speedometer.
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In New York, the best way to ask for help is to give the person a choice of responses, such as: "Can you tell me how to get to the Empire State Building or should I just go f _ _ k myself?" But for elsewhere, this NYT Magazine piece has some very helpful tips. "Keep your request simple and direct. 'Don’t offer a million excuses and apologies.' To avoid potential rejection, you might feel inclined to passively hint at what you need rather than saying it outright. Don’t do that. Ask directly for what you need, and if someone says no, move on and ask another person. Whether you’re approaching a stranger or a friend, it’s always more effective to ask for help in person."
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An important piece of information when looking to buy property is "days on market." Some info sources will show both days on market (DOM), which refers only to the time listed most recently and cumulative days on market (CDOM), which refers to the total time listed even if pulled off the market for a while and then listed again, but some will display just DOM. By way of example, I condo I've been tracking now shows 1 DOM at $715K, while the CDOM shows it has been on the market (other than the 10 days it was removed to change realtors) for over 90 days with starting asking price of $800K. So, don't trust DOM on the listing website--look also at the History detail to see the CDOM.
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I have no clue if it will hold up, but you will not stop after the first episode of Designated Survivor. The title tells the plot line, and I am told it's a West Wing kind of story ... not as good as West Wing of course, but good enough to hold you from beginning to end. It's got your Kiefer Sutherland in the lead and he's very good, Kal Penn has been a pleasure to watch since House (although he seems taller now), and Italia Ricci never fails us (who can forget her as the immigration officer in House).
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Microsoft OneDrive will keep your documents backed in real-time in the cloud but also on any device you have plugged into your computer, such as USB drives or Network Attached Storage devices. For example, say you have My Documents file on your computer and on each of your external devices. Whenever you change a document or add or delete a document from your My Documents file, the same will happen immediately in the My Documents file on each of your external devices as well as offline.
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Putting aside its more momentous decisions, the lack of principle and willingness to ignore basic canons of judicial review of the conservative majority of the Supreme Court were laid bare in its decision to uphold the public school football coach's supposed first amendment right to pray at the 50-yard line after the game. Putting aside that this decision did not like its others zoom off into a flawed historical analysis, here's the point: The first amendment has, until this case, been subject to reasonable limitations as to time, place, and manner. No one would dispute that the coach could pray after the game. The issue was whether his being required to find some time, manner, and place other than one where his teenage players might not feel compelled to join him. But worry not that religious freedom will trip up this Court, for when the case challenging Florida's abortion laws as violative of Jewish religion reaches them, free exercise of religion will not carry the day.
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An earlier blog post touted the advantages of flying JSX (e.g., you fly in and out of private terminals and the cost is no more than regular commercial and often is less). At the time of that post, JSX did not fly from Phoenix to San Diego. Now it does. We are glad to share this with loyal readers, but please don't tell anyone until I book my trip. Thanks.
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Many people have asked what the name LIV means in LIV Golf (astoundingly, some people don't care and have not asked). But for those who have asked, here's the answer: The name LIV is a reference to the Roman numeral for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied, and the number of holes to be played at LIV events.
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Upon receiving your ballot in Maricopa County, included is a Voting Instructions pamphlet that gives the following URL for tracking your ballot: BallotStatus.Maricopa.Vote. Well, maybe it's me, but that link went to nothing. But here is a link that will let you track the status of your ballot as well as get text alerts as to its status: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/Elections/BeBallotReady/
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This blog has long railed at the largely silent clergy who have stood by and said nothing or did little or nothing to promote the moral imperative to protect others by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask as the pandemic raged (and appear to be standing pat as the B.5 subvariant is raging). While the deaths of a million Americans seemed to not move them, hundreds of thousands of which were unnecessary, we are gratified that some clergy are taking a moral stand against assault weapons, which lead to thousands of unnecessary deaths of innocent people each year. As this NYT article sets out: "The clergy leaders and spiritual leaders of the Kingston Interfaith Council in upstate New York, are calling for an immediate ban on all assault weapons and all modifications of weapons that transform them into assault-style weapons. We call upon our neighbors and businesspeople who are financially benefiting from the sale of assault-style weapons to take the moral high ground and immediately stop those sales. We also ask that our law enforcement officials work together to create an ongoing buyback program for assault weapons and all guns that people are willing to relinquish. Our children are being murdered in schools. Our youth are dying by suicide with the guns in our homes. Our siblings of color are being targeted and murdered in our streets, in our grocery stores and in movie theaters. Our neighbors are being targeted as well as murdered in their houses of worship. We must recognize that what we once called “safe spaces” are now sites of horrific and unspeakable violence. We can change this! No more hiding behind rhetoric. We call on our politicians and government officials to take responsibility and take action. Our communities expect and demand that you do what is right and necessary to stop these atrocities." That beautiful and forceful statement, which we applaud (although it is doubtful that assault rifles are weapons of choice for suicides), leaves us scratching our heads: What is it about murder by guns that so moves the clergy, but murder by the unvaccinated and unmasked seems to matter not at all? I would assume that parishioners would not be permitted to bring assault weapons into the houses of worship of these clergy, while the unmasked and unvaccinated are welcomed with open arms.
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If one orders frozen food delivered by Amazon (through Amazon Fresh or Amazon Whole Foods Market), they usually will put a frozen bottle of water into each bag that has frozen food. So, in addition to 5% off for using your Prime Visa card, this represents another discount against the total bill.
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Very few people like ants in their homes. But if you try to kill household ants the wrong way, you can actually split the colony—and make the problem worse. This Wirecutter article will steer you to the right products and the right way to quash the unsavory little beasts, and avoid the problem portrayed so accurately, eloquently, and terrifyingly in Leiningen Versus the Ants (also titled The Naked Jungle).
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One might wonder how the Georgia state grand jury gets to serve Graham with and have him show up in response to the subpoena they've issued in connection with Trump's efforts to fraudulently undo Georgia's 2020 presidential election results. But rather than play lawyer procedural games, like challenging service of process on some technicality, Graham's lawyers have come up with a head-scratching defense that could land him in a hoosegow some where. Here it is (red added to help readers focus on the head-scratcher): "Graham attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said in a statement Wednesday that the Republican senator "plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail," and they slammed the probe as politically motivated. "This is all politics. Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington," they wrote, adding that, "As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections." "Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job," they went on."
So, let's get this straight: Graham interfered with a state election, where he was not a resident or citizen, in his role as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee--which has no jurisdiction over state election results. Wow!!!!
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All Prime members in the United States can sign up for Grubhub+ for free and access unlimited $0 delivery fees from hundreds of thousands of restaurants on Grubhub for one year. To sign up, just click on this Amazon link. That link also has an informative set of FAQs (and answers). Unfortunately, the selection of restaurants at least for my area is not as wonderful as one might hope, and some of the sorting is a bit head-scratching--e.g., IHOP comes up under French restaurants (which I guess confirms that the "I" in IHOP really means "international"). That said, likely those living in more hoity-toity areas will find this to be a wonderful Prime perk.
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On Prime Day this year, several add-on channels for Prime Video, including Starz, Paramount Plus, AMC Plus, PBS Masterpiece, BET Plus and more will be on sale for $1 a month for up to two months. You can simply add these subscriptions into your Prime Video account.
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We have come to learn that some people think they can sell a house, pocket a gain, and not worry about any tax or IRS issues. A quasi-loyal reader likely will take credit for bringing this to our attention, but as they explained, and this link confirms, the title company will submit a 1099-S to the IRS.
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Nadal's withdrawing from Wimbledon given the seriousness of his abdominal injury is totally understandable and justified. But a simple rule change would have avoided the spoilage it did to the tournament. With Nadal's withdrawal, the odious Kyrgios gets a pass to the finals where he will meet the odious Djokovic in match everyone hopes both lose. If Nadal had retired with a point to go before his victory over the likeable Fritz, Fritz would have met Kyrgios in the semis that would have been thrilling and, if Fritz won, would have set up a final for the ages. So, here's the suggested rule change: If a player withdraws, the player they beat in the previous match advances.
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Debbie Lesko, AZ Republican Representative in Congress (and this is no joke, she just tweeted this): "I have five grandchildren. I would do anything, anything to protect my five grandchildren, including as a last resort shooting them if I had to to protect the lives of my grandchildren."
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The common wisdom (sometimes referred to as the court of public opinion) says to be sure to take 10,000 steps every day (unless you're feeling under the weather or doing so is not weather permitting). While I have prided myself on taking 20,000 steps per day, as this NYT article explains, the advice that one take 10,000 steps a day is more a marketing accident than based on science, and taking far fewer steps may have notable benefits.
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As we have repeatedly stated here, the Covid pandemic is over. Why we bother referring to any fake news is beyond us, but given our reputation for being fair and balanced, we note this WSJ article which paints a somewhat different picture as a result of the emergence and dominance of the BA.5 Subvariant.
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1. Tiger Woods: Tiger Woods played in the Irish Open and, while he said he felt great, he played miserably. Still, he's entered the Scottish Open, and we believe and predict he will be playing in the Open Championship. We doubt he will join LIV even though, as is now being reported by the bleacher report and elsewhere, he was offered $1B or more to join.
2. LIV: The early predicted obituaries for LIV are feeling the confidence in their heretofore no-doubt-about-it views get a little shaky. While the PGA Championship and the US Open saw TV ratings declines, no one is watching the non-major events, and no one cares about them. The top players who have not abandoned the PGA Tour might continue their righteous dismissal of LIV (and for the record, that LIV is Saudi-backed makes it, in our view, a disgusting enterprise that no one should be associated with), unless the majors start banning LIV players, the PGA Tour is done. Not today, but when the next TV contracts come up for renewal, Katie bar the door. And if the majors do start banning LIV players, a lot of lawyers are going to get rich as the courts sock it to the PGA Tour.
3. The Next New Tour: Just as Palmer and (the ever odious) Nicklaus broke with the PGA of America to launch the PGA Tour, if they are smart (and golfers are rarely thought of as smart), the top non-LIV players (McIlroy, Rahm, Thomas, Morikawa, Spieth, Hovland, Fitzpatrick, Cantlay) will break with the PGA Tour and form their own league, and make a fortune, especially if they can get Tiger Woods to join them. Two notes: (i) I remain agnostic on their bringing into their fold any LIV players; and (ii) I left off Scheffler because I don't believe he has any staying power and Zalatoris because I don't like him.
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It's easy to find the right gift for one's spouse, but it's not so easy to come up with the right gift for one's girlfriend. This Wirecutter article has 19 excellent suggestions, which might work for others on your gift list beside your girlfriend.
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This WSJ article relates new research on the risks associated with Covid reinfections.
The news is replete with air travel delays and cancellations. In reporting the story, a local Phoenix television channel ran a large graphic in color that revealed what some might think is an even a bigger problem, which apparently ran in some newspapers as well. Here is the headline from one newspaper mirroring the television news graphic:
Glitch Leaves 12,000 American Airlines Flights Without Pilots
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The issue of Trump's criminal intent when it comes to his promoting the big lie about the bona fides of the 2020 election and instigating and fostering and failing to stop the January 6 insurrection even being an issue has dumbfounded me. That said, if he is indicted, prosecuted, and convicted, Katie bar the door when the case gets to the Supreme Court. In Ruan vs. United States, the Supreme Court reversed a conviction that had been affirmed by the 11th Circuit where the doctor accused of running an opioid pill mill had issued 300,000 prescription in four years, which the government argued was way over the top what any reasonable doctor would have done. The Supreme Court vacated the conviction holding that a "reasonable doctor standard" could not satisfy the criminal intent needed for conviction where, as the doctor argued, he thought he was doing what the law permitted. Before you start railing at the conservatives on the Court, it is meet to note it was a 9-0 decision.
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Great Balls of Fire tells the dual story of Jerry Lee Lewis busting onto the rock and roll scene in the late 1950s and his marriage to his 13 year-old cousin. While the music is fabulous (JLL does the actual songs), and the choreography/dancing, of which there is quite a lot and it's very well done, it's not an easy movie to watch. It's as if everyone just listened to music and danced and shook and screamed through the 1950s. The cast is amazing, although if Dennis Quaid's portrayal of JLL is accurate, he was not easy to be around (JLL was on the set as a consultant with a bottle of Seagram 7 in one hand and a 38 pistol in the other, screaming that every scene was done wrong, but he approved of the end product). Winona Ryder is fabulous, and Alec Baldwin as an Evangelical minister is a hoot. The one disappointment is the movie's failure to show actual footage of a concert in Philadelphia in 1958, where JLL and Little Richard performed, which is the first concert a certain person, then age 12, attended (unchaperoned). Given that they were on tour, it was likely the first concert other kids attended. His second concert was Bob Dylan, whose rendition of It's a Hard Rain Gonna Fall took from his walking onto the stage to the curtain coming down at the end of the first half.
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This WSJ article gives an excellent overview of the benefits and traps of doing charitable gifts out of retirement accounts.
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As this WaPo article explains: "If you see the glass as half full instead of as half empty, you might be surprised to learn that this tendency could actually be good for your health. A number of studies have shown that optimists enjoy higher levels of well-being, better sleep, lower stress, and even better cardiovascular health and immune function. And now, a study links being an optimist to a longer life." So, put on your dancing shoes and turn that frown upside down.
This article lists the fourteen movies and shows that will be leaving Netflix at the end of July.
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If you're selling a condo, here are some tips: (i) don't be there when prospective buyers show up; (ii) don't insist on giving them a history of the complex and the surrounding area; (iii) don't yell at them or grab them by the arm if they stray from your tour of the unit; (iv) turn on the air conditioning before they arrive especially if it's 107; (v) turn the lights on before they arrive or at least open the shades; and (vi) don't tell them how great some of the features are you built yourself.
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Belle de Jour is quite the movie. It's French starring Catherine Deneuve and directed by Luis Bunuel (tilde omitted). Ostensibly it's the story of a frigid young housewife of a surgeon who decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute. It's a post-Freudian venture for sure with many small side-stories and many surprising twists and turns and some horrible people especially one guy--Michel Piccoli who plays the odious Henri Husson. Often it's difficult to tell what's actual events and what's fantasy (or nightmare). Although I turned them off because I love listening to French, there is captioning for those not fluent in French. The movie is beautifully shot and it's not boring even if not easy to take in many spots.
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The Democratic nominee for president in 2024 will be a governor or former governor.
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Text of Letter to NYT: If anyone thinks the Supreme Court is not going to end fair elections when it takes up the voting decision next term that will give state legislatures the power to ignore the voters' choice for president, they are living in a dream world. The only way to stop them (and to undo their other assaults on rational judicial thought) is to adopt the idea proposed in these pages on October 27, 2020 by Kent Greenfield of creating a new court to handle constitutional questions and remove the current Supreme Court's jurisdiction to do so. See Link It's not hard: Jettison the Senate's filibuster and it can be done in days. It is true that should the Republicans flip the Senate, they could do untold mischief unleashed from the filibuster, but at least for 2 years, Biden's veto will stand in the way, which will give the pro-democratic and pro-constitutional forces time to figure out how to stem the tide of anti-democratic and anti-constitutional Trumpism that Representative Cheney has so aptly challenged. In all events, the point is this: If the filibuster is going to be ended as some urge to restore women's reproductive rights, there is scant reason not to end it to protect all the civil rights this Supreme Court threatens to take away.
See Link
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Andrew McCarthy writes in a WaPo opinion piece, and he is not alone in this view, that "his [Trump's] indictment would tear the country apart ... [and] a prosecution is apt to do more harm than good." The flaws in this position are five-fold: (i) the country is already torn apart; (ii) the only way to stand up to a bully is to not cower from a bully; (iii) the only way to confirm that we are a democracy governed by the rule of law is to impose the rule of law on those who assaulted that democracy and the rule of law; (iv) any such prosecution should not be limited to Trump but should include his co-conspirators (at a minimum, Giuliani (and his co-counsel), Eastman, Meadows, Clark, McCarthy, Jordan, Gaetz, Greene, and the fake elector crews) to confirm it was not just "him" who did it and all those participating in conspiracies against our democracy and the rule of law will be treated like the racketeering mob enterprise they are); and (v) while those who stormed the capitol deserve prosecution, they are entitled to see that justice will be met out to the mob bosses just as it is to the low-level mobsters.
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[Prefatory Note: This should NOT be taken as financial or investment advice. For that, talk to your financial advisor. Rather, this is simply the relating of a very painful lesson learned by someone who shall remain anonymous, who likely is the only person in the world over the age of 5 not to have understood the issue addressed by this post]
FDIC insured CDs can be seen as a very safe way to produce guaranteed income. Laddering CDs has those benefits plus the benefit of reducing interest rate risk. Here's what happened to the anonymous investor because they did not understand one thing: When the pandemic hit and interest rates went effectively to zero, most of the CDs they held were called in. Yeah, they got their money back and accrued interest, but their ladder was gone, and there were no fixed income assets that paid anything. Now, with interest rates having shot up, the anonymous investor has been re-building the CD ladder but with one BIG DIFFERENCE: The CDs they are now buying are NON-CALLABLE. The interest rate is bit lower than if they were callable, but now the anonymous investor can get back to the position they thought they were in before but really weren't.
[EOP]
It's a little confusing, but T-Mobile says it is covering a year of AAA membership. There's no detail on the email notice or on the TM website. When you call TM, they will email you this link to activate the benefit, but as of right now, it does not work. They also can text you this link, which works and it will take you to the site that, with a few clicks, activates your benefit. Whether that benefit is the full yearly membership cost (of about $97 for two members) or something less is not clear, and how and when you will actually get the benefit is not clear (e.g., as a monthly credit on the TM bill or a one-time credit or AAA does the discounting), but it's something. Or, at worst, it's nothing.
[EOP]
