Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438

Non-Whites make up about 17 percent of the viewing fans for NFL games. I wonder if the league can survive an 83% (or even a 30%) loss of revenue if they drive away angered or bored fans?

Sitting in my dark house, lighting a few candles and charging my cell from my laptop. Power went out at 10 last night. Just called the electric utility (municipal). They don’t expect to fire it up until noon. The steady drone of my neighbor’s generator is a reminder once again that I always swear during an outage that I will get a generator; the urgency fades quickly once the power is restored. LL

LL

And when a skilled engraver could be had for $2/day. The hand work in 19th century manufactured goods was amazing. Mass production and assembly lines brought the unit prices down, but spelled doom for fine craftsmanship. LL

Who'd you marry? Elizabeth Warren? LL

I have one - an 1888 Hampden that belonged to my Grandfather. Unfortunately, the gold case was sold during the Depression; the movement, however, is intact and working. I need to find a new case. LL

Doc: Try here: https://www.tag1000diver.com/ LL

This is laughable. A movie actor makes some statements a generation ago, some folks take issue with the content, so a government body decides to rename an airport. They own the airport, so I guess it's their right to do so; it will not extinguish some folks' appreciation for Wayne's film legacy. Seems to me that there is a lot of self-righteous indignation going on. LL

Harvard Sportsman's Club, which lies in Harvard, Littleton and Boxborough, MA. Thought I was going to say Harvard University, huh? LL

Nearing retirement, this is something that has spun through my brain a lot. In high school, the aptitude test they gave us for vocational planning indicated that I should be a plumber. Before law school, I worked as a field hand in a farm, an apple picker in an orchard, a counterman in an auto parts store, and a car salesman at an Oldsmobile dealership (remember Oldsmobile?) After graduation, I have put in 40 years investigating and trying primarily products liability cases, most of which involved fire, explosions or chemical events. On balance, I derived the most satisfaction from solving complex puzzles, demonstrating the errors of "experts", and exposing liars. I probably ended up where I belong, but given the chance, I would have wanted to add a law enforcement element - BATFE, FBI, FAA. On the flip side, I don't have much tolerance for bureaucracy. Hmmm...maybe plumber was a valid choice. LL

Pat: Blaming New York or New England is a convenient excuse, but a misstatement of fact. Take a look here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/upshot/where-people-in-each-state-were-born.html#California Immigration into CA from the entire Northeast is at about 3% of the CA population, and has not exceeded 5% since about 1910. The overwhelming majority of transplants into CA come from outside the US (presently about 28% of the population). I respectfully suggest that any cultural or economic changes in CA are more likely the result of factors other than the arrival of a few folks from the Northeast. LL

Pat: Neither New Englanders nor New Yorkers would be thrilled with your idea that New Yorkers are New Englanders...... LL

Ask and thou shalt receive:

Gunfighter: We do not disagree. I was perhaps too vague. The State of Arizona did not exist at the time of the War, and so could not have been a participant in the War (as a State). I was trying to point out that the drift of some of the prior posts seemed to have been that those nasty Yankees and carpetbaggers were again swarming South. I was trying to point out the movement of some stock traders from Washington State to Arizona has nothing whatsoever in common with the War or its aftermath. Certainly, there was military action, involving both the Union and the Confederacy, in and through the Arizona/New Mexico area. Sorry for the confusion. LL

The Founders would not recognize much about America today. Times change. The population grows. Technology advances, and challenges our ability to deal with it. The laws become more complex, in an attempt to deal with these changes. I don't think the Founders would think that we have done justice to their creation. But unless we have a way to dump 90% of our population, return to an agrarian economy, and still protect our people and our land from real outsiders, we have to find a way to function in our present society. LL

In a free country, there is no such thing as "intruders". There are, however, local folks who care more about making money than preserving their culture, and willingly sell large swaths of farm land to developers for strip malls, shopping centers, suburbs, car dealerships, and any number of other forms of spreading urban blight. They are not "wrong", but they are making a choice, and their neighbors will have to live with the consequences. LL

Well, as I read it, a bunch of Washingtonians are moving their business to AZ. Neither state was involved in the Civil War. The business is not connected to New York or the Carolinas. And there are no "Yankees", either plain or damnable, involved. As much as I resent certain social changes, I try to keep my eye on the facts, not the rumors or the made-up stories. Frankly, the fellows headed for AZ are displaying damn good judgment, getting out of Seattle while the getting is good. And I have no reason to point my finger and claim that they have "soiled their nest"; they may, in fact, be fine fellows. Will there be some folks moving from liberal cities and carrying with themselves a penchant for the same intrusive, high tax government style that they created elsewhere, and are now running from? Sure. But it's a free country, and they are entitled to live where they want. It's up to us to resist unfavorable changes, if we can. And show them the error of their ways. Vote. LL

We are (I think justifiably) proud of the Granddaddy of MLB stadiums, Fenway Park. Originally built in 1912, it is one of the best places in baseball to watch a game. With the Green Monster (the tall left field wall), the manual scoreboard (1934), and the retired numbers of Williams, Yaz, Martinez , Doerr, Pesky and others on the right field wall, history dominates. There is no dome or air conditioning here; night breezes off the harbor cool fans, or if blowing out, carry long balls over the wall and into adjacent streets. Small, but a gem. LL

Now, It's a rat writ, writ for a rat, and this is lawful service of same! LL

Drove down to Cape Cod this weekend. Normally, on a sunny Sunday in June, there would be a couple of miles of traffic backed up on the approach to the Bourne Bridge as daytrippers headed for the beaches would be out in force. Not so this weekend; we sailed over with no stopping. Very few boats in the Canal. Almost no traffic on the way to the cottage. Out for lunch at a local brewery. Per our Phase 2, restaurants could open outdoor eating areas, as long as we kept spacing. Beautiful day in the sun, staff sparse and masked, full disinfecting of furniture between seatings. Things were slow, but we didn't care; my first time out to eat since March. We are still wearing masks in public areas. Restaurant lets you take them off once you are seated. I feel badly for the merchants here; this is not going to be a profitable summer, and most of them have to make their full year's sales between June and September. LL

Mrs. received an unsolicited package from China in the mail. Despite being labelled as "Wire connector" , it actually contained a small quantity of some type of herb or seed or other vegetable matter. Concerned that we might be looking at a drug or other illicit substance, she swung by the local PD, who were totally non-plussed and not even interested in making out a report. They had no idea what it was. Note: the customer phone number listed on the address label is not ours; not even the same state. All I could think of was the scam where illegal materials are sent to the address of an innocent third party, and stolen from their mailbox by a party to the scam; if successful or not, no way for cops to trace. But such a small amount? Any ideas? LL

Correct. Except that some slant is probably inevitable; even Cronkite had his opinion moments. I dumped two Boston newspapers in favor of the Wall Street Journal; it had more factual reporting than any other that I could find. And editorials were clearly marked as such. I can't name a TV "news" show whose content I consider factual and trustworthy. They are all in the entertainment and politics businesses, not news. When I was in college, many journalism schools were following the Woodward and Bernstein school of investigative journalism; every story had to contain some spectacular disclosures leading to the indictment of some public figure; conspiracies were everywhere, just waiting to be uncovered; and factual support could wait until speculation and accusation "unveiled" the story. It was the beginning of the end of truthful, verified reporting. Remember the scene in the Watergate movie where Ben Bradlee is insisting that his reporters must have two independent verified sources before he will publish the story? I wonder if that kind of integrity exists anywhere in the news business these days. LL

The political slant of all "news" programs is most likely a reflection of the political affiliations of the owners (who set policy and hire staff) and of their target advertisers and audience. Follow the money. LL

Mental midgets trying to rewrite history in SF......even when they have no idea what that history actually consists of. https://www.foxnews.com/us/ulysses-grant-statue-toppled-san-francisco It can only be a matter of time before they build a guillotine and get started on the living unwoke. LL

I'm still stuck on the nearly colorless liquid in the glass....no amber hue, no trace of peat.....has UB switched to (gasp!) lemonade???? That's a whopper of an ice cube, too. LL