Random Notes from a Crank

The anti-vaccine stupidity will be infectious. Literally.  

And it's appropriate that Florida is leading in stupidity by ending vaccine mandates: "Florida Says It Plans to End All Vaccine Mandates." 

This political cartoon by Clay Jones sums up what's happening at the CDC. 

I'm with Lucy. 

I bought some plums from my local Aldi. 

I know Dr. Pepper does not contain plum juice, but its plum-like flavor has made it the second most popular pop in the U.S. 

It's surprising that plums aren't that popular. They're tasty,

As a bourbon drinker, I'm intrigued by the offerings by Holladay. I remember when I used to live near that area in Missouri, and I traveled to Weston back when it was the McCormick distillery.  

But I have a hard time buying a bourbon over forty bucks. It's just booze, man. 

My hope is that there are fewer bourbon enthusiasts in the future and supply leaps ahead of demand. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The comic above makes a lot of sense. I got it from The Atheist Vanguard on FB. 

As inflation worsens, all signs point toward the U.S. economy suffering stagflation. Read all about in the article by The New York Times: "U.S. Inflation Accelerated in June as Trump's Tariffs Pushed Up Prices." 

And as reported in The Washington Post, the shaky economy and tariffs are seriously affecting the travel plans of Americans: "Americans Are Downsizing Their Summer Vacations." 

If you're interested in a bit of satire, surprisingly from USA Today, check out "I Saw the New Liberal Superman Movie and It Gave Me a Woke Mind Virus." 

Of all the things that the MAGA faithful should be mad about in regard to the doings of President Adolf, they're really concerned about the release of the Epstein files? 

Those are some bizarre priorities. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I read an article in Mother Jones about Rep. Maxwell Frost: "Why Maxwell Frost Wants Democrats to 'Get Caught Fighting.'"

Later that day he was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's sharp as hell. 

When he turns 30, he needs to run for the U.S. Senate to kick out one of the GOP douche bags in Florida--hopefully that penis-look-alike Rick Scott. 

Lately I've become irritable about the drivers where I live. They drive so damn slowly. 

So this past weekend I was in Muncie, Indiana for a baseball tournament, and the drivers around there might be even morse. 

People were driving so slow, especially around corners. It's like I was in the Deep South again with all these slow-ass drivers. 

What's the deal with people calling sports stars/personalities by their first names? My in-laws do this with professional golfers they follow. Or most notably they use when they talk about Caitlin Clark. They call her "Caitlin" in casual conversation. 

I just find that weird because using the first name connotes a personal connection. 

Well, the U.S. under President Adolf is back to bombing brown people because of "weapons of mass destruction." 

We've seen that move before. The president's poll numbers are in the crapper, so the administration gets into some kind of military intervention based on shoddy intelligence. 

There are some consequences here. First, Congress is the only entity that can wage war, not the Executive Branch. Moscow Don has basically involved us in a war because he's just doing what Israel wants. 

Second, one can assume Iran is going to react in various ways, whether it's related to the Strait of Hormuz or sleeper cells inside the U.S. doing terrorist activities.

The Trump administration is making America poor and making American less safe again. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As was expected, Moscow Don's foolish economic policies have made the economy worse because of his stupid tariffs and the amount of debt the U.S. owes to all kinds of countries: "Markets Rattled on Concerns about U.S. Debt." 

This is what the U.S. gets when the country votes in a moron who bankrupted a casino.

The GOP says they care about budget deficits, but when they get the White House, the deficit increases. 

They only seem to care about the deficit when a Democrat is in office. 

I recently purchased some chia seeds because I've been reading about the health benefits of eating them. People suggest using them with yogurt. 

I've moved from the high-sugar yogurts to something much healthier. I'm going with Greek yogurt with fruit intermixed, and I add some honey for a bit of sweetness. Then I will sprinkle in some chia seeds. 

Here's what Healthline says about chia seeds: "Chia Seeds 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits." 

Tottenham Hotspur won the Europa League yesterday. #COYS

I'm intrigued with which new players will join the club to bolster its squad because of the Champions League competition. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As I can attest to, gardening is good for people from a physical and mental standpoint. The New York Times has a nice little article about the subject: "Why Gardening Is So Good for You." 

As much as I hate weeding, especially flower beds, I enjoy seeding and planting new crops. 

However, there are benefits of digging in the dirt. 

I'm in the midst of watching the Netflix documentary Turning Point: The Vietnam War. It's a good documentary. It's not as good as the PBS documentary by Ken Burn and Lynn Novick, but it's solid. 

As I was watching the third episode "Life Is Cheap," I had the idea or rather the question of whether anyone has ever written speculative novel that narrates what would have happened if Bobby Kennedy would not have been assassinated and would have become President in 1968. 

I guess what I'm looking for is perhaps some positive speculative fiction. 

At an antique bazaar we went to on Saturday, I bought a movie poster for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, easily one of the best comedies of the 80s. 

The poster inspired me to watch the movie yesterday, and it was excellent. 

The one scene in which the teacher talks about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that launched the Great Depression and George W. Bush's description of "voodoo economics" is relevant. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Lots of things are going to get more expensive. 

A bunch of idiots are counting on Moscow Don to make some deals that help the U.S. and bring business and industry back to the United States. The New York Times has a good article on this nonsense: "A Flashing Economic Warning and a Sharp Political Jolt." 

The Canadian Prime Minister, who has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oxford, has a more realistic view of what's happening: "Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The system of open global trade anchored but the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades, is over."

What's more menacing is how President Adolf tariff nonsense has strengthened China's position in the world economy. China is now importing soybeans from South American and getting its beef and pork from other countries. 

I woke up in a pissed-off mood this morning because I was thinking about how the head coach of high school basketball team basically wasted my son's junior year. And to a certain extent, the head coach of the high school baseball team is doing something similar. 

As I was driving to a baseball game yesterday, I caught the broadcast of the Barcelona-Inter Milan Champions League match, the first tie of two matches. It sounded like it was bananas. 

Based on the highlights, it was. 

I don't have a team I'm rooting for in that competition, but I certainly want PSG to beat Arsenal. 

Musing of the Moment: Canada's Election as a Harbinger of Good?

The New York Times reports that the Liberal Party of Canada won the election this week, so the new Prime Minister is Mark Carney. 

See "Mark Carney's Liberals Win Canada's Election. Here Are Four Takeaways." 

As polls have shown this week, Moscow Don's approval rating is in the crapper. 

The Democrats need to take advantage of this goon's failings, overreach, idiocy, and mismanagement to take the House back in 2026. 

Get it done. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a FAFO moment, the current administration is denying disaster relief to ruby red Arkansas, which is surely a stinging rebuke to his former press secretary who is the governor of the Natural State. 

If you like this image, I got it from SheTraps. 

Apparently, President Adolf and his goons want to eliminate FEMA and leave relief funding/repairs to states and local governments. I'm not sure how that's going to work. That idea is as illogical as his dumbass tariffs. 

The Guardian has a good article about it: "Trump Denies Aid for Arkansas after Storms That Killed More than 40 People." 

Ah, the result of GOP Complicity...

Some Chinese folks on social media are doing some good work: "For China's Trolls, 'Chairman Trump' and "Eyeliner Man' Are Easy Targets." Check out the video of the "Chinese Trump." 

I've been using a 50/50 white vinegar and water mix for cleaning for years. The BBC has an interesting article about the benefits of using vinegar: "'Its Strength Is Its Simplicity': The Benefits of Cleaning with Vinegar." 

Archeologists found a skeleton that provides proof that gladiators had to fight large mammals: "A Roman Gladiator and a Lion Met in Combat. Only One Walked Away." So all those movies about gladiators have some proof about depictions. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In the wake of all kinds of deregulation from the Adolf administration, the U.S. is set be a hell of a lot less safe and more polluted: "Inside Trump's Plan to Halt Hundreds of Regulations." 

I saw a clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart talking to Rahm Emanuel about who will become the next leader of the Democratic Party, who will become the next presidential candidate. 

Emanuel seemed to think that the next leader will be a governor, which got me contemplating which governors would be good choices: 

• Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan)
• Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania)
• J.B. Pritzker (Illinois)
• Andy Beshear (Kentucky)
• Tim Walz (Minnesota)

I'd be fine with any of those people. Beshear is the only person from a traditionally red state.

The notion that other countries "stole" American jobs is asinine. The ultra wealthy and greedy corporations moved those jobs to other countries because they didn't want to pay U.S. workers what they deserved and didn't want to follow sensible environmental regulations. Instead, they wanted to employ sweatshop cheap workers in foreign countries. 

Moscow Don and his cronies are defying court orders. We are in a constitutional crisis. 

President Adolf has bankrupt this country morally and ethically. And don't forget money. The guy who somehow got a casino to go bankrupt is fleecing Americans because of his stupid tariffs and his dumb economic policies like tax cuts for the wealthy. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The New York Times has a helpful article about simple moves one can make to remain healthy and live longer: "5 Science-Backed Longevity Hacks That Don't Cost a Fortune." 

The article validates my daily practice of walking the dog. I could get back to doing dumbbell work on my upper body though. 

And I'm a big fan of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

"Training my brain to be more optimistic" isn't realistic though. I've been a grouchy 80-year-old man trapped in a younger body since I was a kid. 

Regardless, one has to be concerned because I am currently in the drop-dead years for men that the comedian Bill Burr talked about in his most recent stand-up special on Hulu. 

Burr has an appropriate take on Musk, his DOGE goons, and the cronies of President Adolf.

I especially like the rant on his podcast. 

In bizarre news, the person nominated to be oversee the Bureau of Land Management under the Department of Interior withdrew because people found that she wrote a letter that was highly critical of Moscow Don's lies about the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. 

She stepped down because they found that she was critical of the lying autocrat, by being disgusted at what happened on Jan. 6th. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I found an image on a social media site. 

It says, "A straw man walking a red herring up a slippery slope on his way to the comment section." 

It's true. Reading the comments on a newspaper's site will make you understand how stupid the average person is, which reminds me about what George Carlin said.  

In areas that are likely to be hit hard by tariffs, the Canadian government has an ad campaign that is trying to educate dumb Americans. The New York Times has an interesting article about this move: "Canada Drops the Gloves in the Tariff Spat, Makes Its Case on U.S. Billboards." 

I hope the Democratic Party does something similar. 

Regardless, the last paragraph of that article is hilarious: "'Normally, Canadian fans come down on buses,' she said. 'I hope they know we like to have them. They sure are nicer than Philadelphia fans.'" 

Oh lady, travel and tourism to the U.S. is definitely taking a hit.

I saw that Soundgarden has been nominated three times for the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and has not gotten in. That's a travesty. 

Vote for Soundgarden.

When we visited the Hall of Fame years ago, I think that was the year after Pearl Jam got in. And I remember this video playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in which Prince just totally shreds. It's a great solo. 

Prince was a genius and an underrated guitar player. 

And then there's this. He brings the funk even better than the original. 

When we lived in St. Louis, Mrs. Nasty went to one of his concerts. I should have gone too. 

I need to reacquire Sign O' The Times. That's a great album. 

Happy National Beer Day. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've heard of French bread, and I've heard of Italian bread. But this is the first time I've had French Italian bread. 

What manner of culinary mash-up of this? They didn't even have the grammatical acumen to use an hyphen. 

I'm sure I've said this before on this blog, or maybe I just have thought it many times. I don't go to Walmart often, but when I do, I feel much better about myself. 

If you want to feel better about your body image or your sense of style, go to Walmart. You'll feel like a healthy and well dressed person. 

The New York Times did an interesting analysis. Apparently the retaliatory tariffs from other countries are going to hurt areas that widely voted for President Adolf: "Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest." 

I think it's pretty clear we are headed to a showdown about the Constitution and about what the Executive Branch can and cannot do. I don't feel good about with the makeup of the Supreme Court. 

Perhaps this trend has always been the case, but based on my history of watching Reels, my trinity of jokesters is Norm Macdonald, Bill Burr, and Seinfeld (the TV series). 

I started watching Krapopolis on Netflix. Episode 11 that uses the Hydra to signify social media was a brilliant move. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I volunteered to conduct a couple of mock interviews with graduating seniors in our department. The one I did last week was with a young lady who is intending to enroll in a graduate program at the University of Alberta. 

My first question to her was why that university, and I asked a joking question of "Are you a big fan of the Edmonton Oilers or something?"

Her reply was that part of the reason was the "political situation" in the U.S. 

I suspect Canadian universities are going to see an uptick in applications from U.S. students over the next few years. I know my daughter is probably looking at some grad programs in Canada along with universities in blue states. 

I saw this chart of sorts on Facebook. 

I'm no vegan, but looking at this chart and based on my tastes, here are more go-tos for protein:

• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Tofu
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Lentils
• Garbanzos
• Lima beans
• Spinach

Now that it's warming up, I need to get to making some tofu fried rice on my Blackstone griddle. Tofu is so cheap compared to meat. I wish I would have known how to cook it back in college. 

I'm worried about Ange's future at Tottenham if he doesn't move forward in the Europa League. Thursday's match looms large. 

I see the Vikings moved on from Sam Darnold, and they resigned Aaron Jones. And then they signed Ryan Kelly for the interior line. Good moves all around. 

I also saw that Najee Harris signed with he Chargers for a one-year contract in a run-first offense. I will be targeting that guy in my fantasy football draft. Harbaugh loves running the football. 

As we expected, RFK Jr. is claiming all kinds of nonsense in a recent interview. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I take YouGov surveys on a regular basis. The most recent survey asked about the U.S. and Canada. At the time of me taking the survey, here are the responses to this question, "If you and your family lived in Canada rather than the United States, do you think your life would generally be better or worse?"

• Much better - 21%
• Somewhat better - 26%
• About the same - 21%
• Somewhat worse - 12%
• Much worse - 10%
• Not sure - 9%

In response to the second question, which asks about which country "has a better reputation around the world," here are the responses:

• The United States - 27%
• Canada - 56%
• Both equally - 10%
• Not sure - 7%

Those percentages are rather damning of the U.S. 47% of those polled think their lives would be either much better or somewhat better if they lived in Canada. 

With Moscow Don's dumbass tariffs about to hit, it's going to hurt the economy and raise prices as supported by various smart people in "U.S. Economy Shows Signs of Strain from Trump's Tariffs and Spending Cuts." 

As a supporter of President Adolf says, "At least for now, the economic signals are flashing slower growth and inflation. Not good." 

Measles, of all things, is making a comeback in certain area of Texas. Read the NBC News article "First Measles Death Reported in Texas as Kennedy Downplays the Outbreak." The anti-vaccine crowd did this. As the article relates, measles was considered gone 25 years ago, but now the number of vaccine exempt kids entering kindergarten is 3%. In that area of Texas it is 18%. 

Of course, Kennedy is going to downplay it. He's a moron. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thomas Friedman has a great opinion piece in the New York Times: "Why Trump's Bullying Is Going to Backfire." 

The basic premise is that all this talk about using tariffs is a bunch of hokum and/or patented nonsense because most products rely on several countries. Friedman uses the examples of the car industry and the iPhone, which apparently uses 50 different countries to be produced. 

If one needs any more proof that Moscow Don is a traitor, consider that he wants to give away territory in Ukraine to Putin and has stated that Ukraine started the war. 

I'm glad Zelensky has called out President Adolf's lies. 

It's clear to our allies in Europe that the U.S. cannot be trusted as detailed in "Musk and Trump Are Causing the Dumbest Imperial Collapse in History" from The American Prospect. 

Random Notes from a Crank

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that Congressional Republicans are going to reduce funding to or simply eliminate Medicaid to help try to offset their tax breaks for the rich. 

A repost on Bluesky the other day shared a great article shared by Charles Gaba shows by congressional district how many and what numbers and percentages of people are enrolled in such government programs. 

In my district, House District 15 of Illinois, 25.6% of the population depends on them. I would venture to guess that a number of those folks voted for President Adolf. 

If you're interested, it's "How Many People Have Medicaid/CHIP Coverage in YOUR Congressional District?"

I'm not much a gaming kind of guy. I had an Atari back in the day, and Mrs. Nasty and I got a Playstation as one of our wedding gifts, but other than that, there's only two games I've really played in the past five years. The first was Stars Wars Commander, which was a lot of fun and went defunct years ago. 

The past month I've gone back to the 80s. I'm playing Tetris. 

I find the game kind of calming for whatever reason. 

It seems pretty clear to me that President Adolf and his dumb-ass Secretary of Defense are going to "negotiate" in favor of Putin acquiring Ukrainian territories unless NATO gets involved, which they should. 

Read about it in the New York Times: "Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot." 

Random Notes from a Crank

There's an interesting guest essay in the New York Times by a conservative who is voting for Harris because the MAGA crowd has basically taken over the GOP and turned it into a non-conservative party: "To Save Conservatism from Itself, I Am Voting for Harris." 

In another guest essay, Roxane Gay's provides the positive energy with "The Harris-Walz Ticket Is Our Opportunity for Political Imagination." 

Let's hope the voters that matter take that opportunity. I'm still concerned about the polling in all of the swing states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. 

I didn't know Margo Price had a new album out. I found that out from a brief article in The Washington Post: "Country Star Margo Price Says What She Means -- And Sleeps Well at Night." 

In other good news, the USMNT hired Pochettino as its head coach. I look forward to seeing what he does with that group of players. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This past week's Kristen Wiig episode of Saturday Night Live was one of the best overall episodes in recent history. The opening skit was hilarious. 

Here's a great part of that episode's "Weekend Update."

"Weekend Update" has always been my favorite part of most SNL episodes. That feature was a template for The Daily Show. 

In good news on the environmental-issues front, the EPA passed a rule that chemical plants will have to curb the toxic chemicals they emit. The chemicals that are being more heavily regulated are carcinogenic and known for the area of the country called "Cancer Alley." Check out "Environmental Protection Agency Limits Pollution from Chemical Plants" in the New York Times. 

The opinion piece, "I'm Jewish, and I've Covered Wars. I Know War Crimes when I See Them," is a must read for what is happening in Gaza. To criticize what Israel is doing is not being antisemitic. It's being a human. 

Random Notes from a Crank

There's an extensive article in The New York Times about carbon-capture technologies that are being backed my large conglomerates. It's titled, "Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?"

The short answer is No. But you can mash the link and read for the various opinions on these ventures. 

Here's a noteworthy statement about these moves: 

“This is a new wave of denial, deception and delay,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law. “You have the fossil fuel industry trying to say we can engineer our way out of this without any major changes to business as usual.”

I discovered that Hulu now has the MLB Network. I'm watching baseball like a drunk on a bender since I haven't had the network since we switched from DirectTV many years ago. 

Of course, I still can't get Marquee Network to watch the Cubs because of Ricketts working with the evil Sinclair Broadcast Group to create the Marquee Network. If I ever switch allegiances to a National League ball club, it'll probably be the Brewers. They were one of my favorite AL ball clubs back when they were in the American League.

Or I guess I could just more closely follow AL teams I like: the Royals and the Twins.

It's hard to switch from the Cubs for me though because I've been so emotionally and intellectually attached to them for so long.

Being a Cubs fan brings with a certain mindset, what one might consider a positive fatalism. You have hope, but you're realistic. The mindset fits with me being a highly skeptical agnostic.

Based on this article in The Washington Post, "Cancun, Cabo, or Puerto Vallarta: Which Mexico Resort Is Best for You," if we go to Mexico again, I'm thinking Vallarta is place to be.

Stay Positive: In Praise of Cottage Cheese

Probably because I follow a number of cooking-related sites on FB, an ad/article came across my feed today touting an article by The New York Times titled "Cottage Cheese Makes a Comeback."

The line below the title says, "The diet staple of the 70s is jiggling back into the mainstream--bringing with it a host of benefits." 

I don't have a subscription to that great paper, but I got intrigued by the health benefits of cottage cheese. 

And I've always liked cottage cheese. It looks weird - sort of like really white brains - and it tastes good. 

I grew up in Iowa. One of the best dairies in the state is Anderson Erickson out of Des Moines. They have some great cottage cheese and chip dips. Their cottage cheese is excellent. It's old fashioned. 

So I did some sleuthing on the InterWebs and found a few articles I thought I'd share.

"7 Reasons Why Cottage Cheese Is Good for You" from the Cleveland Clinic

"Cottage Cheese: Are There Health Benefits?" by WedMD

"Why Cottage Cheese Is Super Healthy and Nutritious" by Healthline

It's high in protein and gives you a good helping of B12, selenium, riboflavin, and phosphorus. Also, people also recommend it when one is trying to lose weight. 

I've always been a fan of cottage cheese. Now I like it even more.