@johnldeboer Also, keep in mind, there are people who consider what they were able to destroy as their legacy.
Tomorrow, on the last day of hearing oral arguments for the year, the Supreme Court will entertain Trump’s absolute immunity claim. SCOTUS has already demonstrated its affinity for Trump by one, taking the case to begin with; two, for putting a stay on the appeals court decision that no such immunity exists; and three, putting off the hearing until the last possible day in the session. But it took them less than a month to decide in favor of Trump in the Colorado ballot case. Need I say more?
Mind boggling! Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in 1977, are 15 and 12 billion miles, respectively, from Earth. It takes about two days to send them a signal and receive one back. It would take another 400 years for the spacecraft to travel the distance light does in one year. And another 1200 years to reach the distance of the next nearest star besides our sun. And another 21,000 years to reach the distance of the nearest galaxy outside of the Milky Way.
My prediction, and it’s not because I”m a hand-wringing lib pessimist, is that Trump will at least get a hung jury if not an acquittal in the hush money trial. Too much reasonable doubt out there, IMHO. Falsifying business records, yes, that’s a fact. But it’s a misdemeanor. Extending that to an election-interference felony seems a bridge too far. That’s likely why the previous prosecutor didn’t pursue it. I hope I’m wrong, because I think he’s guilty. Easy for me to say. I’m not on the jury.
#collegebasketball I made a prediction a number of years ago that colleges would hire players for their teams - employees who would have nothing to do with being student-athletes. With NIL and the transfer portal, and players heading to the NBA not having to even attend class after the first semester, this prediction has almost come to pass. Colleges are fast becoming like pro teams that have a city in front of their nickname for bragging rights, but no sense of belonging to the city or region.
Tiger made the cut at the Masters for the 24th consecutive time, establishing still another record. But he finished dead last. And by the time St. Andrews rolls around for The Open venue again, Tiger will be in his fifties. Time to retire, man. You can still design golf courses, captain the Ryder Cup, and ride in a golf cart when playing golf for fun.
It’s painful to watch. For almost 30 years I’ve followed Tiger Woods achieve records in golf that will likely never be equaled. Only one record escapes him - most majors. To see him hobbling around in search of another Masters victory is sad. His reconstructed body and his age have finally done him in. Please, Tiger, retire now before the memories of your has-been years eclipse those wonderful feats you accomplished.
The stock market decided today who are the real culprits keeping us in inflation : the corporations who took advantage of the Covid downturn and subsequent recovery to keep prices high. There is no reason for the continuance of inflation now. The labor market is strong, we’re pumping out more oil and natural gas than ever before, supply chain issues have been addressed. Consumers, after two years of shortages, will spend more for things that are available again. CEOs know this.
I wish an interviewer would ask Trump supporters and even “undecided” voters who express their liking of Trump’s economic policies, what policies they’re referencing. His tax cuts for the super wealthy? His deregulation of industries that make the environment more toxic? The tariffs on China that would make the stuff they buy more expensive? His non-existent solutions for inflation? Tell us, please, what economic policies Trump espouses that would make your financial life better.
States that ban abortions always point to their exceptions, including rape and incest in a few to the threat of death or irreparable harm to the woman in all to show they aren’t being unreasonable. Problem is, and this has been demonstrated countless times, proving these exceptions is unworkable, making the exceptions moot. And Republicans now want to make this attitude the law of the land. Not only that, many espouse banning contraception, thereby putting more women at risk. Yikes!
A solution that makes sense to me would be a work-permit program. Foreigners could work here while waiting for immigration visas (if they desire such). Europe already does this a little, but the oil-rich Mideast countries do it in a big way, using foreigners to do the lowly jobs no citizen would think of doing. Then the hotel owners, farmers, and construction companies wouldn’t have to worry about losing their workers if Republicans get their way.
Republicans are against raising the minimum wage and unionization. No need to address those low-paying jobs in the agriculture, hospitality, and construction industries, because those employees are plentiful and happy to be working. Sure, because many are undocumented workers and want to stay beneath the radar, and conditions in their native countries are what drove them across our border to begin with. If the border was actually shut down, and all the illegals deported, who’d do those jobs?
March Madness update: I watch a lot of college basketball, study the NET and KenPom rankings, listen carefully to what Joe Lunardi and his fellow bracketology gurus have to say. And I’m out of the running in my pool. My wife, on the other hand, doesn’t follow college basketball except as it involves the UNC Tar Heels. She knew hardly anything about the teams when making her picks for our bracket pool. And she has a chance to come in first. Go figure!
Retired surgeon, now a novel writer (thrillers mostly) in North Carolina