This and That for a Friday

Herewith a few odds and ends that have popped into my fevered mind in the last day or two...

1. You cannot send text messages while walking an energetic dog, especially when the dog keeps trying to take off after squirrels. Here is the full text of the message I tried to send to my daughter-in-law yesterday afternoon, trying to figure out when to call to wish grandson Joseph a happy birthday: "R U home t ..."

2. In the words of Ellen Ripley in the classic science fiction film "Aliens": "Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?" Note this bizarre headline from CNN online yesterday: "Legalizing Marijuana Is Civil Rights Issue, California NAACP Says." The president of the California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is quoted as saying that passing "Proposition 19," a legislative initiative on the November ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California, is a civil rights issue because blacks are disproportionately affected by the criminalization of marijuana. I wonder if people who marched for their civil rights in the 1960's while threatened with police dogs, beatings, and lynchings would see it that way.

3. The government of Iran is denying reports that a woman convicted of adultery will be executed by stoning, though it notes that her death sentence may still be carried out by some other method. Those of you who think that living in a theocracy is the way to go might want to take note.

4. NBA superstar LeBron James has announced - in a major "special report" on ESPN television - that he will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. Who cares? The economy is in the toilet, health care reform is a sham, Afghanistan is a mess, and the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico continues ... and an overpaid prima donna's decision to switch teams is headline-making news? Mr James said that "The major factor (in my decision) was the best opportunity to win now and to win in the future." That's as may be, but I somehow think that enormous piles of cash probably had something to do with it.

5. Our dentist has sent us a fairly sizable bill for X-rays our insurance company wanted so that it can decide whether or not to pay anything toward some major dental work Agnes needs. Speaking of affordable health care, the insurance company does not appear to be willing to pay anything toward the x-rays which will allow it to decide not to pay us anything, anyhow. Go figure.

That's all for today. I'm grouchy, but if I can just get through the day to the dance party tonight, things ought to be better.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday comes to your rescue.

Bilbo