Random Notes from a Crank

I started watching the Disney+ animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and it's pretty good. It's an alternate take on the Peter Parker/Spider-Man story from what I can tell so far. 

I'm sure there are some anti-woke/DEI morons on Twitter and FoxNews who are complaining that the Norman Osborn character is a black man. 

And the series features the diversity that makes up New York City. 

The Republicans in Congress are a bunch of cowards for not strongly rebuking Moscow Don's misinformation LIES about the Ukraine War, siding with Putin and Russia, and calling Zelenskyy a "dictator." 

What a bunch of craven charlatans.

Siding with Russia does not make America great. Doing so does not even make the U.S. good. 

As reported by the New York Times, a recent Gallup survey shows the 1 in 10 Americans identify as queer, with the bulk of the respondents being of the younger generation.  

The actual percentage is 9.3% with 5.2% of that percentage being bisexual. 

These percentages fly in the face of current administration's rolling back of L.G.B.T.Q initiatives. 

I hope queer folks vote in the midterms and the next Presidential election. 

Musing of the Moment: Opening Word Gambits for Wordle

With the ruble in free-fall because of the economic sanctions against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine, I wonder if "ruble" will come as the word of the day on Wordle. 

Hell, they used "rupee" the other day, so why not ruble? 

When I do Wordle, my opening word gambits are typically the following:

• stern
• juicy
• moist

I do the latter two just for the "Ewww..." factor I get from using them. I pine for the day when I start with "juicy" and I get it on the first try. 

A person I know usually starts with "adieu" because that word narrows down the vowel choices quickly. That's smart. 

Musing of the Moment: Russian Aggression & Memories

When I was a kid, I worried about a lot of things. In particular, I followed politics closely. During high school, for example, I subscribed to The New Republic, and that interest in national and global politics carried on into college and thereafter. 

So as Putin directs Russian troops to take over Ukraine (that's what he's really wanting to do), I'm reminded of the many nights I laid in bed not sleeping because I was worrying about nuclear annihilation because of the Cold War with the US and the U.S.S.R. aiming missiles at each other. 

The difference between then and now is that Republican leaders didn't actively praise Russian autocrats. 

I've called the former president #MoscowDon over the years for a reason. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The Guardian has an interesting article that ties in habitat loss, loss of biodiversity, and climate change to the likelihood of more pandemics. It's good reading: "Protecting Nature Is Vital To Escape 'Era of Pandemics.'" 

Because of my area of east central Illinois spiking in cases, our region now can't have eating in at restaurants, and bars will be closed. 

Even Russia is mandating masks in contrast the dumbass that is Moscow Don: "Trump's Ideal Strong Man, Putin, Orders Nationwide Mask Mandate as US Flounders Under Weak Leadership." As Cole notes, "But in the US, the mask refuseniks are about half the population, and they are led by the denialist-in-chief, Donald Trump."

"Mask refuseniks" is great phrasing. And Cole puts it well toward the end of the post: "Trump has confused ignorance and genocide by neglect with machismo."