Random Notes from a Crank

This example is just a small segment of the economy, but the small companies are likely to hurt most by President Adolf's tariffs as noted by this article in The Washington Post: "Craft Distillers' Hit Hard as Tariffs Mix with 1930s Rules for Alcohol." 

The Nation had an interesting article about renewable energy. I had no idea that the country of Uruguay was so forward thinking with green energy. 97% of their energy comes from renewable source. Check out "Going for Green: Uruguay's Renewable Energy Revolution." 

This week a Democratic candidate was elected in a special election in a red district in Pennsylvania, which I hope is a harbinger for Democrats winning some midterm elections in the House. James Malone won the seat in a district described by the local media as "Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities." 

Now people are looking ahead to the special elections to replace the House seats of Gaetz and Waltz, two goons of Moscow Don. There's hope I guess: "'Tide's Turning' for Dems in Florida as Special Election Reveals 'Buyer's Remorse' among Trump Voters." 

I don't think the Democratic candidates will win in those special elections. Florida is the crazy limp dick of America (see its shape). The fabled Florida Man meme is out there for a reason. 

And it's safe to assume that Florida Man votes MAGA. 

Random Notes from a Crank

On a mainly weekday basis, I've been posting definitions from the Dictionary of American Slang, which was published in 1967, in alpha order on my FB feed. 

Today I was on the letter M in the alphabet, so I posted this definition from the dictionary:

"meatball meat ball n. 1. A dull, boring person; an obnoxious person; anyone regarded with disfavor, esp. one of flat or uninteresting character; a creep, a drip, a square, a wet blanket. 2. A tactical signal flag bearing a black dot on a yellow field; also, the Japanese national flag. #. A swelling of or on the face, cause by a blow in fighting. 4. In baseball, any pitched ball that can be hit readily by a given batter. v.t. 1. To strike someone with a fist. --ism n. 1. Anti-intellectualism; the state of willing ignorance or mediocrity. 2. A state of, or instance demonstrating, decreasing standards of integrity, ethics, intelligence, and individualism in culture, politics, education, and the like; democratic rule by an uneducated, non-thinking majority."

I'm particularly fond of the term "meatballism" because I think it properly describes the U.S. for quite some time. It's an anti-intellectual country, and it's been like that for centuries. 

The amount of willful ignorance is astounding, and the if you follow politics for any amount of time, the "decreasing standards" will make you depressed. 

I think the U.S. is currently engaged in "democratic rule by an uneducated, non-thinking majority." 

I guess there are glimmers of hope though with the Labour Party coming back into majority power in the U.K.: "How Ken Starmer Overwhelmed Britain's Conservatives."

And over in France, Macron's gamble to call an election turned out better than expected since left-leaning folks flocked to the polls and put down the right-wing idiots trying to take power: "France Electioin Results: Far Right's Rise Suffers Unexpected Blow as Left Surges." 

But what does this mean for November? 

At least if you're going by a flash poll by YouGov that I took today Trump hopefully is in trouble. At the time I'm writing this post, 36% of people polled think Moscow Don is mentally fit to be President, 5% think he was mentally fit to be president in 2020 but is no longer mentally fit to be president, and 54% believe he was not mentally fit to be president in 2020 and is not mentally fit today. 

At least on that last answer, Biden only clocks in at 31%. 

In better news, the people polled were asked about their opinion of the GOP's "Project 2025," and 53% have a very unfavorable opinion of it. 

The biggest challenge before Biden is that he has to hit the swing states hard since we still live under a system that relies on the idiocy that is the Electoral College.

Random Notes from a Crank

I don't know why all these razor blade companies are making razors with five blades. The cartridge is just too large to get around the small spaces on one's face, such as around the nostrils. I had to use my son's razor a while back when I forgot mine when we rented a lake house when visiting my daughter in Southern Illinois, and I much prefer my Mach 3 razor. 

I can't find the article because the whole GOP fiasco to nominate a new speaker has taken so many twists and turns, but one of the reasons Moscow Don and other GOP clowns opposed his nomination to be the next Speaker of the House is because Emmer apparently supports the movement to move to a majority vote for the President of the U.S. and eliminating the arcane and stupid Electoral College. 

I'm a huge proponent of moving to a majority vote for President. 

If you're voting for a Republican candidate for President, say, in Illinois, your vote doesn't count. If you're voting for a Democratic candidate for President, say, in Alabama, your vote doesn't count. 

Those votes don't really count because of the outdated Electoral College, which should have been thrown in the dustbin of history, screws the minority voters in certain states. They should have moved to the majority vote for President sometime in the early 20th century. 

It's ridiculous. 

Sure it's our tradition. But it's, as Thoreau wrote, a "foolish consistency." 

As traditions go, it's DUMB. 

Unfortunately, going to a majority vote for President doesn't address the other problem in our country: two parties don't really represent the political leanings of most voters. 

For someone like me who is strongly liberal on a number of social, educational, and environmental issues but is kind of middle of the road or somewhat fiscally conservative, I almost always side with the Democrats because the views of GOP candidates on various aforementioned issues are abhorrent. 

I'd like most Democratic candidates to be more frugal about some economic issues even though there are some lines I won't cross for GOP talking points about publicly funding private education and their "voodoo" economic theories that make no flippin' sense, among other legitimate concerns about their asinine trust in the so-called free market. 

For example, even though a number of people were taken with the ideas of Bernie Sanders, I backed Hillary Clinton because she was actually asking, "How are you going to pay for that?" Grandpa wanted to let the kids eat whatever they want, but Mom wanted the kids to eat a nutritional meal and then have dessert. 

My work this semester has made me become quite jaded about students' willingness to do the work that's necessary to improve. As much as some people have grading contracts or labor-based grading (based on Marxist principles, which is problematic), it's hard to give people grades on work when they turn in their work. 

Random Notes from a Crank

For the first time in my life I voted in a Republican primary on today (Tuesday). It made my skin crawl to do so, but here's why I did it. 

My county votes primarily GOP in national elections, which isn't surprising since I live in east central Illinois. I simply focused on races where I didn't want certain candidates to win the nomination. 

The easy vote was for US House Rep where the GOP has two abhorrent choices. I chose the less abhorrent candidate. They are both terrible, but one candidate is less terrible than the other. 

As for the ass-wipes running for Governor, I chose the candidate who is the least likely to win against Pritzker. The GOP candidate I voted for is an intellectual bumpkin. And for county judge, I voted for the incumbent who seems to be doing a decent job. I voted against a person in a local race out of spite and experience. 

I could write a long diatribe about the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade, but I'll leave that to better writers than myself. 

However, it's inconsistent that guns aren't covered by "state's rights" but a woman's body apparently is. 

At my son's baseball tournament this weekend, there was a team there that had a player exclaim "Eyes like a beaver!" whenever one of his teammates was up at bat. 

It's an odd but humorous saying to say the least. 

After some cursory research via the InterWebs, I suspect the 14-year-old got the saying somehow from the Urban Dictionary definition of "beaver eyes," which is defined as "using abnormally good eyesight to see something clearly or something concealed." 

With a bit more research about beavers, the saying does not make any sense because beavers don't see that well according to various nature-based websites. 

So where the heck did this term "beaver eyes" originate from? Considering the definition came from Urban Dictionary, I have some obvious suspicions. 

Musing of the Moment: Georgia Again

 Once again Georgia showed that its citizens are smarter than Iowa and Maine. 

Georgia voted for Biden, and now Warnock has won the Senate runoff, and hopefully Ossoff wins versus Perdue. But that race looks headed for a recount because it is so close. 

In contrast, Iowa voters voted back in crazy-ass Joni Ernst, and Maine voters retained Susan Collins. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I cannot understand how anyone watching the first presidential debate can justify Moscow Don's behavior and justify their support for such a man. 

People will say it was a "shit show," but the reality is that it was a shit show because of Trump with his constant interruptions, lies, and bullshit. 

As Rainn Wilson posted on FB in obvious reference to the 45th president's performance, "My parents taught me that it was rude and disrespectful to interrupt people." 

Regardless, during a presidential debate, the sitting president gave a shout-out to a white nationalist group and advocated for voter suppression. Class act. 

I checked the Real Clear Politics website this morning to check on the Senate races, and much to my pleasant surprise, the South Carolina Senate race has moved to "toss up." I hope Jaime Harrison is running ads that point out Lindsey Graham's multiple levels of hypocrisy. 

I contributed to Theresa Greenfield's campaign. Durbin is likely to easily retain his Senate seat in Illinois, but I'd love to see an Democrat from Iowa in the Senate. 

As the New York Times reported about Moscow Don's tax returns, he's in deep debt. He has loans coming due that amount to 421 million dollars. And the reason he hasn't paid much in taxes over the years because he's a terrible businessman. A person in that much debt holding political office is a serious national security threat. 

As a result, he's Putin's lapdog. 

What a con artist. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a recent Grist "Briefly" article, I learned that Volvo is going to be the first big automaker that is getting rid of the internal combustion engine. In two years, the only new cars the company will roll out will be electric. 

In other good news featured in "Briefly," an appeals court is at least slowing down MoscowDon's EPA decision to gut regulations about methane. 

James Hohlman in The Washington Post shows how MoscowDon's asinine "Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity" is not only nonsense but also an attack on the values of some real Republicans: "Principled Conservatives Show Federalism Is More Than Just a Talking Point by Rejecting Voting Data Requests." 

Our new car, a family edition (has a third row if desired) Nissan Rogue, came with SiriusXM radio, so when I get to drive the car (it is Mrs. Nasty's primary car), I like to explore the radio stations they offer. For the most part, I've settled into a number of "Rock" stations that I alternate among: The Spectrum, Lithium, Alt Nation, First Wave, Pearl Jam, E Street, and Underground Garage. I also listen to Real Jazz, Bluesville, Outlaw Country, and Bluegrass Junction from time to time. 

I wish they offered some kind of "Americana" music station.