Random Notes from a Crank

I strained and tried the oxymel recipe I talked about in a Random Notes post on January 26. I did the one for cold and flu season. It's not harsh or anything. It initially hits the pallet with honey and has a subtle tang of vinegar on the finish. 

Can you tell I've been watching bourbon videos on YouTube? 

I'm subscribed to Bourbon Junkies, TheRow, and Brewzle. Even though it appears the guy from Brewzle is an Auburn fan, I like his videos in which he goes bourbon hunting in certain towns. He has way more expensive taste than I have though. 

And I like my bourbon more on the spicy and oaky side. 

President Adolf's plan for Gaza is insane. I think it's just a wild political proposal to distract the American people and journalists from all the damage he's doing to our republic and creating a federal government full of his flunkies. 

Or Dictator Donald is just a madman. 

The ultra-right Israelites love the plan because it destroys the dream of a Palestinian state. 

Here's a reaction from Informed Comment: "Ethnic Cleansing for 'Gaza's Riviera'?"

There's ultra-right reasoning behind what is proposed because of leaked documents in Israel. Kushner might be behind all of this. 

A house a couple of blocks down from our home is displaying an inverted flag. 

The traditional meaning of flying an inverted flag is used to show "a signal of distress in instance of extreme danger" or as a sign of protest, as noted by The Free Speech Center's "Flying Flag Upside Down." 

I'll assume that the residents of the home are displaying it because of President Adolf's unconstitutional actions. 

I hope it's not a symbol supporting this autocratic goon. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a surprising development that surely is angering the White House, Moscow Don's tariffs on solar panels hasn't had the impact that many advocates of alternative energy had feared. It's hurting the sale of natural gas though because instead of buying from America, China is purchasing natural gas from Russia and Qatar. Read all about it from Juan Cole on Informed Comment: "Trump's China Tariffs on Solar Backfire: American Natural Gas Hurt, as US PV Sales Soar." 

I would imagine this Kavanaugh character getting accused of sexual harassment now from more than one woman makes the GOP fearful for how their defense of him is going play out in the midterm elections. At least from the early polling I've seen, the Republican Party has a problem with wooing a substantial portion of the woman vote. 

I don't know how this Supreme Court nominee confirmation is going to play out, but I'd keep my eyes on Collins (Maine), Murkowski (Alaska), Flake (Arizona), and Corker (Tennessee) if they are going to be any defections and no votes. 

I still believe Anita Hill, 

Random Notes from a Crank

If you'd like to read a detailed, informative, and intelligent perspective on MoscowDon's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, read "Trump Flip-Flops on Afghanistan, Opts for Years-Long Quagmire." Cole relates six reasons why the Taliban is so powerful, reasons why providing more troops isn't going to do much at all. The last sentence is acerbic but spot on: "If Afghanistan's curses are corruption, fanatical identity politics and a hatred of globalization, its more problematic organizations resemble most of all ... Trump's base." 

In somewhat more positive new, Grist reports that "California Defies the Claim that Environmental Regulation Kills Economic Growth." The state's cap-and-trade law is reducing emissions and spurring innovation. As the report's main author relates, “The narrative that strict environmental policies that impact large parts of the economy are always bad is simply not the case. These policies have pushed innovation, and innovation is always good in a capitalist system.”

Unfortunately, that report doesn't take into account California's water problems. 

And don't get me started on Arizona. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Over at Informed Comment, Juan Cole tells us about how "On One Day in May, Italy got 87% of Its Electricity from Renewables." And Scotland, Spain, France, India, and China are making major steps to move toward a sustainable future as he relates. 

This is kind of old news, but it's related. France banned fracking, and Macron made a pitch to professionals who give a damn about the environment: "Green France." 

The Guardian's "The Observer" provides a spot-on analysis to the world in which the White House and the U.S can't be trusted to do much of anything: "The Observer View on Donald Trump's Unfitness for Office." I enjoyed the Shakespearian references: "Like some kind of Shakespearean villain-clown, Trump plays not to the gallery but to the pit. He is a Falstaff without the humour or the self-awareness, a cowardly, bullying Richard III without a clue."

Lee Schubert, a transgender women, writing for The Globe and the Mail gets it right in her editorial, "What Trump and His Base Get Wrong about Transgender Americans." Somewhere around 15,000 transgender troops already serve in the U.S. military. The fourth ¶ hits the mark on the "reasoning" behind his tweet about transgender troops: "So let's look behind all the poppycock at the real reason the President wants to keep transgender men and women from serving their country in the military: It is the religious conservatives who helped elect him but who have always questioned whether he is really one of them. (Of course, he isn't - but he does feel he must pander to them)." 

Random Notes from a Crank

The other day a friend on Facebook shared a listicle about left handers. One of the few surprises of that click bait was that only 10% of the population is left handed. That's astonishing to me. Only 10 flippin' percent. How is that even possible? I know back in the bad old days, people would "turn" lefties into righties for various stupid, inane, and insane reasons. But you'd think so-called progress would catch up and produce more lefties in this world. 

As you can tell, I'm a southpaw. 

It's not surprising the Raiders got approved to move to Las Vegas. Not soon after the news hit, there are various articles featuring a businessman who is providing the Pirate's Booty Sports Brothel. 

I need to start reading Informed Comment by Juan Cole more often. I've now put it on my "Blog Roll." Check out "The Simple Number That Will Defeat Trump's Attempt to Roll Back Obama Energy Policies." 

In the March issue of Harper's, the magazine has an excerpt from Simple Sabotage Field Manual put out in 1944 by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, which is a manual intended for people living in "enemy states" at the time. What I find darkly humorous about the manual is that many of the recommendations I see happening in organizations -- both public and private, both government and industry -- all the time. Here are some juicy snippets related to to the behavior and actions of Employees, Managers and Supervisors, and Organizations and Conferences (which I quote in full):

• Employees: "When you go to the lavatory spend a longer time there than is necessary." 
• Managers and Supervisors: "To lower morale and production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions."
• Managers and Supervisors: "Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done." 
• Organizations and Conferences: "Make 'speeches.' Talk at great length, illustrate your 'points' with long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible. Haggle over precise wordings of communications. When possible, refer all matters to committee for 'further study and consideration.' Attempt to make the committees as large and bureaucratic as possible."