Alexa, Turn This Thing Off!

February 26, 2018

I’ve been reading yet another article on how interns at state and national legislatures are being sexually harassed. Hand-wringing and soul-searching ensue. What, ask politicians, can we do about this situation?

Possibilities:

1. Suspend or end the programs.

2. Send a strongly-worded message to legislators, telling them that this behavior is not acceptable. (HAHAHAHAHA! Like THAT’S ever worked.)

3. Tell interns to expect this behavior, and what to do about it and where to report it. Emphasize that the changing climate means that they are more likely to be believed, but that it won't be a cake walk. They will be making an informed choice from now on.

4. Outfit interns with recording devices.

5. Strap an ice pack in a strategic place onto every elected official, and have a scanner activate it when s/he leaves home and deactivate it when s/he returns.

For Your Consideration

February 25, 2018

If you think society is getting ruder, with no hope of salvation, watch how many people will stop walking so that other people taking pictures can get a clear shot.


Part 1:

I was at a flower show today, where people were taking photos of the beautiful flowers, or of family members in front of the beautiful flowers.

I was struck by how people will always stop for the people who are taking photographs, no matter how long the photographers impede the path of their fellow show attendees.

Part 2:

I think it’s nice that people are still being so considerate of the photographers, as the number of thoughtless photographers seems to be growing at an alarming rate.

It’s an interesting juxtaposition of thoughtlessness and consideration. How long will the considerate people keep it up?

When Weather Fronts Meet (Part 2)

February 21, 2018

Earlier this month I posted that in 1943 Spearfish, SD went from -4 degrees to 45 degrees in 2 minutes.

On February 13, 2018 (last week, in fact), the temperature in Belknap, Montana went from 37 degrees below zero to 45 above.

That's a temperature change of 82 degrees in one day!

What's next?

Constitution Test

February  19, 2018

Dear Elected Officials:

See if you can correctly answer the following question regarding the U. S. Constitution.

True or False: Boycotts are protected as Free Speech

Bonus Question:

True or False:

Trying to make it a felony to support a boycott—against companies doing business in Israel, or businesses that promote skimpy clothing for young girls, or businesses that print T-shirts widely regarded as insensitive –is a violation of the First Amendment.

If you answered “True” to both questions, you’d better start educating your colleagues right smartly. Apparently many of them couldn’t pass a basic test on the U. S. Constitution.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

February 16, 2018

From Yahoo! Finance:

Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO of Ellevest, says that women should not be afraid to ask for raises.

A recent study by the Ellevate Network found that 75% of respondents received a pay bump when they requested it.

“Now, exactly how many of those women do you think got a salary decrease? Zero. That’s right zero. Seventy-five percent got a raise and zero got a decrease. So the lesson here is ask,” says Krawcheck.

Makes sense to me.

Gunning for Criticism

February 18, 2018

From the “Really Bad Timing on Top of a Really Bad Idea” Department:

Bad Idea: Third-graders selling raffle tickets for an AR-15.

Bad Timing: Any time; but right after mass killings at a school?

Bad Coincidence: An AR-15 was the weapon used in the Florida school massacre.

Bad Luck: For anyone who thinks it’s a terrible idea. The raffle for the Neosho (MO) traveling baseball team will continue.

The coach initially referred to critics of the idea as a “hate group” but then retracted that characterization, and said that they were concerned citizens who had every right to stand up for what they believed in.

That was awfully open-minded of him.

I should probably point out that I’m being a little inconsistent here, because I don’t mind when adult groups raffle off hunting rifles. But an AR-15 is not a hunting rifle; and to have kids selling raffle tickets for one just increases the “ick” factor for me.

Making Up The Shortfall

February 15, 2018

A fellow Missourian speculates that the reason Missouri state tax forms are so complicated is so that the state can fine you for filling them out incorrectly. (It happened to her last year.)

I guess that’s one way to make up the budget shortfall.

Move Over, Groundhog

February 3, 2018

Every time I write the date 2/2, I think of Mrs. Howell on “Gilligan’s Island” saying something was “utterly too-too.”

So I think that February 2^nd should also be known as “Mrs. Howell Day.”

Do They Sleep With One Eye Open?

February 9, 2018

There was an author whose series I used to enjoy, until her villains got so disturbed and disturbing that I couldn’t take it anymore. (I also wondered how one heroine could endure so many horrific things without ending up in an asylum; but I digress.)

Anyway, in the Acknowledgements section of one book the author thanked her husband for his support. And I started wondering: What must it be like to be married to someone who could think up these horrific scenarios?

Do the spouses of certain authors sleep with one eye open?

(Note to any author I’m acquainted with: It’s not you!)

Do We Have To Keep It Local?

February 11, 2018

St. Louis is considering privatizing its airport. Naturally, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering about who would land the contract and what changes that would mean for the airport. And skullduggery in making the decision to privatize and awarding the contract is darkly suspected, as is usual with any project involving massive amounts of money going to a corporation and paid for by taxpayers.

An alderwoman wrote a column in the Post-Dispatch, and said that she had seen world-class airports in Tokyo, London and Amsterdam. Who, she wondered, should be in charge of a project like this?

Any chance that our regional leaders would choose an airport administrator from Tokyo, London or Amersterdam?

She Can Blame It On The Internet

February 10, 2018

I was looking in disgust at my cast-iron skillet, thinking, “What the heck is wrong with this thing?” My mom would know what to do, but I can’t call her. I used to call her to get help with crossword clues, or to help figure out what was wrong with the baby, or other general life-stuff. But now I can’t.

So I said, “I’ll just have to look it up on the internet.” And then I had a chilling thought:

My kid won’t need to call me. All the stuff that people used to call their parents about is now available online. If I’m lucky we’ll talk to each other just for the heck of it, but thanks to the internet, centuries of tradition—Can’t figure it out? Ask Mom—is in danger of going the way of the dodo.

Guess there’s only one thing to do to insure regular communication with The Kid once she leaves home:

I’ll just have to move next door.

They Have High Standards

February 5, 2018

If aesthetics are what you’re looking for in your town, Pagedale, MO would have been the place for you. But maybe for not much longer.

As part of a consent decree, Pagedale has agreed to repeal certain ordinances relating to the quality of life there. The city has about 3,300 residents, and, according to one lawyer, has ticketed about 18,000 individuals since 2010. To those who were ticketed for violating the ordinances, and then fined for not paying the tickets, the rate seemed a bit excessive.

Some of the ordinances involved bans on: Sagging pants; walking on the left side of the crosswalk; having a beer within 150 feet of a barbecue grill; barbecuing in the front yard (unless it’s a national holiday); having a wading pool in the front yard.

There are others, but you get the point.

Residents claimed that the city was issuing the tickets to make money, not out of any real desire to improve living conditions in the city.

For the record, the city denies that it issued the tickets solely as a way to make money.

I guess they’re just picky.

A Texting Surprise

February 5, 2018

After the Eagles won the Superbowl last night, I was texting with a friend from Philly, who said that she could hear a lot of yelling and carrying on, and hoped that her neighborhood wouldn’t get wild.

This morning I texted to ask her if she had survived the night with no hooliganism. I thought I was making the word up; but can you believe, it was actually a pre-set in the texting dictionary?

This thing doesn’t have a lot of NORMAL words in it—but hooliganism is right there. Go figure.

Sex Trafficking in the Bible

February 3, 2018

People who are taking issue with Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s assertion that the Sexual Revolution is somehow responsible for human trafficking point to mentions of prostitution in the Bible as examples of how long it’s been going on.

But in my opinion, sex trafficking in the Bible wasn’t limited to prostitution.

Sarah made Hagar sleep with Abraham in order to get a son for Sarah to raise.

Abraham told Sarah to go with King Abimelech so that the king wouldn’t kill Abraham just to get his hands on Sarah.

Lot offered to send his daughters out for the mob to rape so that the mob wouldn’t molest the strangers who were visiting him.

Rachel and Leah made their servants sleep with Jacob so that they could bear sons.

Heck, even Leah was handed to Jacob so that she would be off her father’s hands.

Frankly, you can’t throw a dart at the Old Testament without coming across an instance of sex trafficking.

The sad thing is that in two of the above instances, the women were doing it to other women. And it seems to have been a pretty established custom before Sarah threw Hagar at Abraham. So, not only is human trafficking as old as humanity, women helped to promote it.

So we’re sort of ahead of the game these days—at least we realize that it’s wrong and are trying to stop it.

There’s no real point to this musing, I just thought it was worth mentioning.

He Skipped a Few Chapters

February 3, 2018

Dear Josh Hawley,

You do know that human trafficking is mentioned in Genesis, right?

It’s really not our fault.

Sincerely,

The 1960’s

When Weather Fronts Meet

January 28, 2018

Some weather trivia for you:

On January 22, 1943, the temperature in Spearfish, South Dakota went from -4 degrees to 45 degrees in two minutes. Wouldn’t you have loved to be there for that? (Except for the -4 part, of course.)

The temperature then climbed to 54 degrees before falling back that morning to -4.