#708 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday July 18)
Good morning,
A potpourri of quickies today…
HAPPY HEADLINES
The best thing about big sporting events, award shows, lowering crime, strong economic data, medical and scientific breakthroughs, and heroic rescues is not just that they entertain and inform. It is also that these positive headlines are good for our mental health. Sadly, positive news doesn’t sell. Because it doesn’t sell, there isn’t enough of it provided for our consumption. We are granted little respite from the endless parade of bad news sold by the media and on-line. This constant barrage of bad news is reason enough to abandon cable news and its negativism. It just isn’t healthy, as it plays into the current climate of strained mental health in society.
WHEN THINKING ABOUT UKRAINE, ITS CIVILIZATION AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Words from the great Christopher Hitchens, about an earlier war that attempted cleanse the world of an entire civilization:
“… I thought then and I think now that the defense of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a civilisation question; that if we had let Bosnia and its culture and civilisation be obliterated we would stand exposed as hollow and worthless…” –Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian
TRUMP CONTINUES TO SHOW STRENGTH—WHY?
From Bill Barnett: “The problem is not Trump’s misdeeds or corruptness. It is the mindset of the majority of the Republican party. Hard core right-wingers don’t care if Trump stole documents, deceived the DOJ, raped women or took advantage of his office. They know he did it, and they know we know he did it… but they don’t care. They care about their guns, their ability to hide behind their religious beliefs to further their agendas and most of all their white nationalistic values.
I get impatient with the news that keeps all of the political headlines high level instead of getting to the root of the problem which is the archaic and unevolved thinking of white religious America. Unless we, meaning Democrats, women, minorities, etc. take a strong and aggressive stand we will keep going down this rabbit hole. Why do any black athletes play in a state where their ability to vote is limited, How can any women vote for a party that limits their rights on choice?”
BASEBALL RARITIES, REDUX
After my list of rare baseball feats, Peter Bain points out a real rarity attained by his beloved and resurgent Reds. Peter asks how many times in baseball history a player stole three bases over the course of two pitches. That player was Elly de la Cruz! It’s an extraordinary achievement. Watch this. Two pitches—three stolen bases—with no errors (but with one mental lapse…).
Have a great day,
Glenn