Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It's not surprising that Joe Biden is not campaigning for any candidates up for election in November given his health, mental capacity, and how unpopular he is but where is Barack Obama? Hiding in Martha's Vineyard? How come the most popular person in the Democratic Party isn’t hitting the campaign trail?... In medieval times there was a belief in mortification of the flesh. It could be argued that in modern times the use of social media is an unconscious (or conscious) mortification of the mind. Flogging the brain with hours of Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter scrolling. Future generations will probably view both acts as equally stupid...  Oh those wacky Germans... Just saying but Dick Cheney had a lot to say about Donald Trump but I don't remember him uttering a word about Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan - a war he helped start. Lost all respect for Cheney - he was nothing without Donald Rumsfeld... Is it bad that I want this coffee mug - mainly because of where it's from?... Not surprisingly but nobody is asking Kamala Harris to campaign on their behalf either... Have you noticed how the media has stopped reporting any news out of Afghanistan? Very little reporting out of Ukraine either. Not a coincidence... The Lexophile would be a good name for a blog or Substack about books... Analysis - true! Fair’s fair... You learn something every day - today I learned (via Paul Graham) that all of the top 25 women's outdoor shotput results were achieved before the introduction of random drug testing in 1989. Of course all those records are bound to fall if transgendered women are allowed to compete. Not sure if that's exactly fair to the East Germans... Confession - I tried a couple of times to read Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses to see what the big deal was but both times couldn't get more than 50 pages in... Still say the push-up bra is the greatest invention since sliced bread... As always if this column has made you smile or think - don't be afraid to hit the like button. Also please subscribe (it's FREE) and share with your friends. Thanks in advance...