With Cormac properly deposited in the trash chute of history and still without a replacement (makes me scared) the undersigned randomly pulled an old book off the shelves, Nixon and Mao, and, as is his wont, randomly opened said Nixon and Mao and began reading again. And didn't want to stop. I had forgotten how completely fascinating China was to me. It was a joyful random opening, the near-war between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, which I realize sounds Cormacian but is not intended to be, it is not the near-war that is funny but the little incidents between the two countries that the author, Margaret Macmillan, relates. In two places on the same page I had written in the margins previously "LOL!"

Trouble started over a mudflat called Zhenbao (or Damansky) Island, in the Ussuri River...[Two conflicts later] Both sides claimed victory. The Chinese scornfully described the Soviet soldiers as "politically degenerated and morally decadent."  Their own soldiers, they said, "armed with Mao Zedong Thought," [:)] had easily dealt with the Soviet tanks. The Americans, though, got intelligence that the Soviets had plastered the island with heavy artillery fire, leaving nothing but a pockmarked surface. [It's the Thought that counts but how about some Mao Zedong artillery in addition?] The Chinese tried to deliver a note of protest to the Soviet ambassador in Beijing. He refused to receive it. The Chinese threw the note over the Soviet embassy wall; the Soviets threw it back out. [The first "LOL!"]

The propaganda from both sides became highly emotional...Soviet commentators now described Maoism as "a criminal racist theory," and the Chinese responded with talk of wild beasts. [wild beasts! :) :)]
...
...both sides were left in a highly agitated state, each wondering what the other was up to...Members of the Soviet Politburo...were panicking: "A nightmare vision of invasion by millions of Chinese [The Yellow Hordes!]...Soviet hard-liners...: the time had come to deal with China once and for all. "Those squint-eyed bastards," the Soviet ambassador at the United Nations complained to American diplomats. [THE SOVIETS WERE SAYING THIS ABOUT THE CHINESE TO THE AMERICANS!!]"We'll kill those yellow sons-of-bitches." [CATO, YOU FOOL! WHAT FRESH ATTACK IS YOUR FIENDISH YELLOW BRAIN THINKING UP NOW!] Kosygin used a hot line for the first time in years to telephone Beijing, asking to speak to either Mao or Chou En-lai, but the Chinese operator refused to put through a call from a "scoundrel revisionist." [The second "LOL!"]

It all reads "so Cultural Revolution China" to me. And authentically Soviet, too! The Americans must have thought they had entered some twilight zone of reality. What must the Americans have thought when the Soviet ambassador PAUSE 1. SOVIET 2. AMBASSADOR. UNPAUSE tells them, THE AMERICANS, he wants to kill those squinty-eyed yellow sobs?! JESUS CHRIST!

The Soviets decided to attack! They really decided to attack China. It was to be a "limited" attack in Xinjiang Province. Now, that does not sound authentically Soviet to me. Russians don't do limited attacks, that is an American thing to do, Russians do unlimited attacks. They didn't attack so maybe Macmillan's information was wrong or, more likely for she seems a careful scholar, the situation eventually was deescalated. Eventually, but not immediately:

In August, a Soviet diplomat in Washington had lunch with an official from the State Department. What, the diplomat asked, would be the U.S. reaction if the Soviet Union were to bomb a Chinese nuclear facility? [I bet the reaction of this one State Department official at lunch was nearly to spit up his coffee. Can you imagine? "Booby, let us do the lunch." "Okay, Boris, how 'bout The Bear and Dragon at noon?"... "Booby, what you think we bomb yellow bastard nuke plant?"...Back at Foggy Bottom: "How was lunch with Boris, Bob?...Bob?"] The Americans picked up reports of similar queries to Warsaw Pact countries in Eastern Europe. ["Lech, what you think we bomb yellow bastard nuke plant?"]

The Nixon administration was seriously concerned.
...
There was something close to panic in Beijing that autumn
...
The Chinese waited anxiously. Perhaps the attack would come on October 1, China's National Day. [So China: the paranoia and the focus on symbolism.] Lin Biao ordered all planes in the Beijing area to be flown away, and obstacles were placed on the runways. When October 1 came and went, [OMG. Of course, right? Russians don't think like Chinese, it never entered the Soviets' minds to attack on a symbolic day. CATO, YOU FOOL!] the Chinese decided that October 20, when a Soviet delegation was due to arrive to start talking about the borders, might be the day. [Thinking like a Chinese I totally get why they would have thought Oct. 1. Thinking like a Chinese I could not conceive why they would think October 20 was the day when the Soviets own delegation would be vaporized.] What if the Soviet plane carried nuclear bombs rather than negotiators? [I am incapable of thinking that Chinese.] Mao and Lin Biao hastily left Beijing for the south. [Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho.]
...
And this is so Mao, he was steeped in the lessons of classical Chinese thinkers and had genius capacity for far-sighted thought:

That autumn, Mao asked his doctor to consider a problem: "We have the Soviet Union to the north and the west, India to the south, and Japan to the east. If all our enemies were to unite, attacking us from the north, south, east, and west, [The classical Chinese fear of encirclement.] what do you think we should do?"  Dr. Li confessed that he was at a loss. "Think again," Mao said. "Beyond Japan is the United States. Didn't our ancestors counsel negotiating with faraway countries while fighting with those that are near?"

Indeed they did. Brilliant. And so when the Americans made their overture, Mao was already receptive. 

A Tale of Two Statements

Ted Cruz: California Will Decide the Republican Nominee for President-KTLA

Cruz says Indiana will decide GOP race-FOX NEWS.

"Autoerotic asphyxiation." Know of a case, a death, ruled accidental, by autoerotic asphyxiation. The job colors everything I think. That's what I first thought when my son sent me the photograph. Was unaware, totally unaware, of that mechanism to smoke weed. Legal speciality is homicide, not weed. Didn't know that you could buy gas masks to smoke weed on Amazon. No idea. Don't know why a college, soon to be professional, tackle football player would self-shoot smoking weed via gas mask and post it on his twitter account. No idea.

The Los Angeles "Lakers" PAUSE It must be a long time since I wrote "Los Angeles 'Lakers'" because every time I do I get irritated and I don't remember being irritated by this recently. California is home to the two stupidest names in sports-Golden State "Warriors," I refused to write "Golden State" for a long while, it is just so stupid, and LAL, which is even more stupid. "laker: one associated with a lake." There is no one in La-La Land "associated with a lake," there are no lakes in La-La Land, there is no water in La-La Land. As everyone knows, but indulge an old man his whims, the "Lakers" began existence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lotta-Lotta Lakes Land, "Land of 10,000 Lakes" Land, great nickname, "Lakers" for Minnesota and the "Lakers" played in Minneapolis with that great nickname for thirteen years. Then they moved to La-La Land. No problem. Move. No problem at all. Just don't take the fucking nickname with you, you fucking idjits. Change the fucking nickname to something that exists in your new locale, the "Bubbleheads" would have been great, or at least change it to something that does not not exist in your new locale, you feel me? UNPAUSE hired Luke Walton as its new aquatic basketball coach. Unfortunately for L.A., young Coach Walton cannot bring the elf magician with him.

 But he does bring...

...he brings joy. Luke Walton brings with him the joy that makes the Golden State "Warriors" unique, literally unique; never been, never, a professional team that plays its sport with the joy that the "Warriors" have. 73-9. Unprecedented success, too. It starts with head coach Steve Kerr, a modest, laid-back wizard and spreads throughout the team. Kerr sidelined with a back injury for over half this season-no problem! Cool hand Luke stepped in and guided the team to a 39-4 record. Kerr returns after his assistant goes 39-4-no problem! Luke cooley resumed clipboard duties. No friction, no jealousy, none. 

More accurately, Luke Walton brings back joy to the Los Angeles "Lakers" for Walton is also royal purple and gold royalty, he played nine years for the "Lakers" and was the fans' choice for the job. Joy has been associated with "Laker" basketball since Magic Johnson. Joyful place, L.A, no lakes, but they have joy.

General manager Mitch Kupchak has had a checkered career with L.A., not been a lot of joy or success recently. This hire therefore is a home run. Luke Walton fits the team and the city like a glove. Better, I think, even than "Lakers" as the team's nickname.

Any Questions?

This was the Republican Party in March 2015.

This is crack.

This is the Republican Party in March 2016, on crack.

"...this is a Joe McCarthy moment. People will be judged by where they stood at this time. Those who walked with Trump will be tainted forever after for the degradation of standards and the general election slaughter."-David Brooks, New York Times.

A Tale of Two Cities

Protesters storm Iraqi parliament in Baghdad-Washington Post

Demonstrators storm California GOP convention to protest Trump-CNN

OOOMPH!

Miami karate-kicked Queen Charlotte right in the gut tonight to send her flying off her skateboard and evening the series at 3-3. The final score was 97-90. Looking at the play by play, Miami led nearly the entire game. The "Queens" had a lead for exactly three minutes in the first quarter, 37 seconds in the second, That was it, a total of 3:37 in a 60 minute game. Score was not dominating, but play-by-play progress of the game was. "Queens," you blew tonight.

Race In America

I ran across this article. I'm going to make the headline the size in the original for shock effect:

Black Men Don’t Like Black Women-Courtney Carter, Huffington Post, October 15, 2014.

Now I'm going to make my reaction the size of the original:

WHAT THE FUCK?! I intended that to be bigger than the headline but that's as big as Blogger can make it maybe because they are and I am white. 

Seriously, what is up with this? Is this true? We all know the celebrity cases of Black men dating White women and given the history of race in America I get that-dating a White woman says "You've made it," it's a status symbol. If you're a successful Black man you get a white trophy. That is the stereotype, those are the celebrity cases anyway. That is still different from, I'm going to do it again,

Black Men Don’t Like Black Women

It follows but it needn't follow. Lawyers are considered successful, they're not movie star or NBA successful but lawyers are considered successful and I know a TON of Black male lawyers. NOT ONE I can think of...No, I take that back. I know of one Black male lawyer who was married, briefly, to a White female lawyer. That is the only one I know. Yet, this is what the author of the article Courtney Carter, a black woman, writes:

Let me start by saying this: I know writing this blog post is going to cause quite a bit of controversy, so let’s get this out of the way: I am intelligent, not what society deems “ghetto,” and from what I am told, and given where I work in the television business, I am attractive. Why is that necessary to say? Let’s start below.

Black men don’t like black women. Yes, I said it.

...

I think I wouldn’t really care if other races felt this way about black women, but the fact that my own men do has made me consider turning my back on them multiple times.

My boyfriend and I were having a conversation about black men vs. black women. (He is black and Puerto Rican.) It started getting intense, and I said, “You don’t get it! Black men are viewed as sexy and, in a sense, a ‘trophy’ for another race,

[As I have none but one Black male friend who married a white woman this "Black men are viewed as sexy and, in a sense, a 'trophy' for another race," that notion is a matter of first impression with me. I have dated a lot of women in my long, sordid life, NOT ONE has EVER dated a Black man.]

 but black women are never deemed the most attractive. 

[I have never dated a Black woman but I seriously considered it, almost asked a Black woman, an old friend, out an ex-gf or two ago (Unbeknownst to me she was the long-time girlfriend of a successful Black male lawyer) and I have had a spontaneous make out session with a Black woman that was so hot I thought in my dotage I might have a heart attack.]

Other races are always seen as a trophy on the arm of a black man.”

He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “You don’t understand the black-man struggle. They look at me like I’m a criminal.” 

[WHO looks at you as a criminal, White women? Or white men? The whole tone of Ms. Carter's article is that Black men prefer, and get, white women. I don't understand.]

In a sense, I might not. But I thought in my head, “At least black women value black men. It’s becoming rare to see the reverse.”

This all started because I was referencing a conversation [Wait till you hear this!] we’d had when I was pregnant with our son. My boyfriend had said lightheartedly, “I hope our son has my hair.” My boyfriend has beautiful, soft curls, a genetic gift from both his races.


But my heart sank. What did he mean? I am known for being sensitive, so I asked.


He said, “Courtney, I see you struggle with your hair, and I think it would be nice if he had my curly hair. You wouldn’t want him to have coarse hair if you could help it. It would be easier to manage if his hair was curly was all I’m saying.”

[Okay, that mother-fucker is a LOW-LIFE. That is UTTER BULLSHIT but more importantly it is so unspeakably callous, CRUEL, I cannot imagine someone other than a LOW-LIFE saying it to the mother of his child! Ms. Carter, you can do WAY better than this guy. Fucking cockroach.]

The rational part of me thought about what he was trying to say, but no matter how much I replayed it, it still didn’t sound right to me.

What was he trying to say about my hair? 

[Oh, he was only making the racist statement that you have "nigger hair," that's all, don't think any more about it. He wanted your child to have his part-White, part- Puerto Rican HA-HA-HA-HA-HA hair. I am really quite positive that is what he was trying to say.] 

Why are rap songs all about white women? If you think I’m wrong, listen to your music and get back to me.

[By most conscious choice I am unfamiliar with the musical genre known as "Rap" but I will take your word for it.]

Granted, I think everyone is entitled to a personal preference regarding whom they like. But when, as a black man, you start saying things such as, “I don’t date black women; I don’t find them attractive,” I think we have an issue. 

[Ummm, okay, let's not "rush to judgment,"  let me think about that for a minute okay done, yes "we have an issue."]

...

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve met many men who will openly say they don’t want a baby with a black woman. They want a baby with “light skin or light eyes and good hair.” 

[Ms. Carter, respectfully ma'am, FUCK THEM, not literally; in fact STOP fucking them if you still are, DROP them like the LOW-LIFE LEAD BALLOONS THEY ARE.]

IF. I. HEAR. THAT. STATEMENT. ONE. MORE. TIME. I. WILL. LOSE. IT. 

[I'm hearing it for the first time and I'm losing it.]

I never understood why it makes a certain type of black man feel good to have a white woman on his arm. 

[C'mon, man, see above. If you don't get that you're clueless.]

It would be one thing if it were true love, but some are just doing it because they see it as a prize. 

[Right! So what did you "never understand?" Ms. Carter, now hold that thought and never let it go. That is correct. Do not ever forget that.]

Even on social media, my heart will sink as I see black women I’ve known from high school or elementary school now say they’re “black and Filipino,” “black and Puerto Rican,” “black and [whatever race]” — just don’t say you’re fully black! It seems these women have been conditioned to think they’re not worthy if they’re “just black.” 

[It's self-hatred, Ms. Carter. You see it for what it is. It is utterly pathetic. You do not seem the type to ever give in to that and hold that thought and never let it go either.]

These statements below are the most common things I hear about why black men don’t like black women: [I am literally afraid to read. Okay, let's do it.]

“Black women have too much attitude/ghetto.”

...

“Black women are unattractive.”

...

“Black women wear weaves. I like good hair.”

Okay, enough. This is making me nauseous. Sorry, one final thing...Two. 

That is astonishing. Those are "the most common things" she, a Black woman, hears from Black men. 

My final final point: ANY MAN WHO SAYS THAT IS A RACIST. I am going to go out on a limb but on a limb I think sturdy enough for support: IF I, a 100% pure Whitey Pale Face, Blue-eyes, the "whole nine yards," EVER, EVER said any of that shit to a Black woman, I would be, rightfully, subjected to death-by-slicing or, what is much worse, forced to listen to these self-loving, self-hating Black men demonstrate THEIR UTTER INTELLECTUAL DEFICIENCIES by elucidating on the subject. I repeat: FUCK THEM!]

So I left Ms. Carter's painful article and googled a pretty neutral search query, "black men black women." Here's the first page of results:

I doubt the second one because I now have doubts if Black men can count as high as seven. Only that.

I end this post on a measured, positive note: BLACK MEN, GO FUCK YOURSELVES. YOU'RE LOSERS. 

Good night.

Attractive Drunk Business Man Lying On Desk Wasted And Drinking ...
www.123rf.com1300 × 918Search by image
Attractive drunk business man lying on desk wasted and drinking whiskey directly from bottle in alcoholism problem , alcohol abuse and addiction concept ...

Description of that photograph. :(

That's a better Friday photo anyway. Stupid space.

I don't like space. I wish space was dead.

That big thing sort of looks like England but England doesn't have Spain coming out the top of its head. There are some little things to England's "left," West, better to say West, but not a big thing like that to its left. Right? FUCK.

:(

Okay, let's try another one.

Where the fuck is that? Is that the turd of Florida coming out of the asshole of America at bottom and the Bering Strait across which Sarah Palin can see Russia at top? Or not. If so, it's stretched or distorted or something and I can't be sure. I don't like to drive at night (not good at it).  I also have spatial issues, especially from space.

It's Friday night somewhere!

What should we put on the header, what should we put on the header? It's Friday, we can't have a Trumpist animal on the header on Friday, what should it be...

Arright, Trumpist animal, off the header, be gone! Shoo. Shoot. I hope he's alright. I don't think they killed him. 

"Vichy Republicans"-Bill Kristol

Oh! That is exquisite. A Poznan for Kristol for coining that phrase.

Oh, one more thing, there's always one more thing, so here's one more thing. In addition to there being no baseball this year there is also no NFL draft. I never heard of Jared Goff (QB) California nor of Carson Wentz (QB) NDSU so those two non-existent personages were not selected first and second in this non-existent draft.

Ok, done. This popsicle stand is blown.

An even 100 now on "Foxes and Swans." And with that, adios amigos and enemies.

This is a great article. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/05/12/the-trump-bomb/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20Guernica%20Xi%20Jungle%20Book&utm_content=NYR%20Guernica%20Xi%20Jungle%20Book+CID_1d518d6363f22013fba6a2791e1423d4&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=The%20Trump%20Bomb

The Trump Bomb
Jeremy Bernstein MAY 12, 2016 ISSUE

I recently offered to tutor Donald Trump on nuclear matters. To put things clearly, I went on his website and in the place where you could send comments, I began mine by saying that on these things he did not seem to know his ass from a wheel. I felt that as a person who seems to like straight talk he might appreciate my candor. I then went on to say that while I was not a supporter I would, as a physicist, be willing to tutor him so he would have a clearer understanding of the issue. I have not heard back and the interviews he gave on March 26 to two New York Times reporters—the transcript is available online—show that my services are badly needed.

One of the reporters was David E. Sanger, who is a very great expert on these matters. He showed in the transcript and a subsequent report an almost Buddhic self-restraint. I wish I had been present when he hung up the phone. The other reporter was Maggie Haberman, formerly of Politico.

The undersigned read the interview transcripts carefully and published more than a dozen posts on them under the heading "Trump New York Times Interview, Foreign Policy." I did NOT know that David E. Sanger was "a very great expert" on nuclear weapons. I DID think that Sanger and Maggie Haberman showed "almost Buddhic self-restraint" letting this charlatan go on and on and on without calling him a charlatan, especially Sanger now that I know his expertise. I thought the effect was to let the charlatan hang himself. At the end Trump was almost pleading with them "to be fair." There were a couple of times where Trump's statements were so obvious and so egregious that Sanger corrected him, gently corrected him. North Korea's number one trading partner was Iran, Trump said. Sanger corrected him gently on that. 

Donald J. Trump, Jr. is a no-nothing piece of shit charlatan, that is he is a Republican. If you let him talk long enough on one subject, as in these interviews, he reveals himself. But people don't read long, detailed policy interviews, if they did Jeb Bush would be the presumptive GOP nominee, and Trumpists can't read. A few times I sent M.B.T.T. long emails on Trump's nonsense, one in response to his question, "As a lawyer..." His response: "Just lawyer talk."

That is definitely a Trumpist. Now, c'mon you just can't be shooting people in animal costumes outside TV stations! #PeopleInAnimalSuitsOutsideTVStationsLivesMatter.

"Man in Animal Suit Shot Outside Baltimore TV Station"-CNN

Trump endorsement?...Maybe?

Everybody's got to watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWeg1lQp7Ug The people of the city of Leicester pay tribute to their football club's manager, Claudio Ranieri.

God bless Claudio Ranieri and God bless the people of Leicester.

There Is A Situation in Britain.

With days to go before local and regional government votes across the country, including for the London mayoralty, voters were treated to the sight of [former London mayor Ken] Livingstone being chased up a flight of stairs by Labour lawmaker John Mann, who accused him of “rewriting history” and of being a “disgusting Nazi apologist.” Livingstone later hid in a toilet, while journalists outside shouted questions asking him for his views on Hitler.

-Bloomberg

Chris Bosh

The media reports as an open secret that what ails Bosh is a recurrence of the blood clots that sidelined him last season. Then why is it an open SECRET? When he went out last year the diagnosis was open, not secret. There is, literally, no medical condition I can think of that would be kept in 2016 when it comes to a star athlete: AIDS? Please. Magic Johnson revealed he had AIDS in 1991.

Nor can I see what skin either side has in the game in keeping it secret. The "Heat" are not trying to lull an opponent into thinking Bosh is not playing and then spring him on them, like Willis Reed. Neither are they trying to keep Bosh's trade value intact (He would have next to none.), nor to save money (They are paying him.), nor for "salary cap" maneuvering (Bosh's salary counts.).

Is it "Reggie Lewis Syndrome"? Lewis collapsed in the middle of a playoff game (against the original Charlotte "Hornets"...Cue Outer Limits theme song, please. Thank you.). Okay, wait a minute. PAUSE: This really weirds me out. The date Reggie Lewis collapsed against Charlotte? April 29. The date Chris Bosh would play his next basketball game if he had his way? Tomorrow, April 29. In the playoffs, same opponent, same date.) UNPAUSE.

Lewis played for the Boston "Celtics." The "Celtics" assembled a "dream team" of physicians to assess Lewis. The dream team diagnosed Lewis with cardiomyopathy, deteriorated heart muscle. The dream team wouldn't let him play again. Lewis switched docs. (Bosh has got his own doc who has said he can play.) Lewis' new doc opined that Lewis had a benign fainting condition and cleared him to play. Two months later, while shooting baskets in an empty gym (just like the video Bosh posted Tuesday) Lewis "fainted" again, and died of cardiomyopathy.

Okay, fine! So maybe it's Reggie Lewis Syndrome and the "Heat" don't want to become the "Celtics." Why the secrecy?

Richard Nixon? No. Joseph McCarthy?

In modern American history has there ever been a national political figure as universally loathed as Ted Cruz? McCarthy had seventy Senate colleagues attend his funeral. Cruz' colleague Lindsey Graham wants to murder Cruz on the floor of the Senate. No, not McCarthy either. Cruz is it.

John Boehner, Mr. Popularity

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone..."

Are you kidding me? Why did lightening not strike him dead?

Ted Cruz, Mr. Popularity

 When specifically asked his opinions on Ted Cruz, [John] Boehner made a face, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“Lucifer in the flesh,” the former speaker said. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/04/28/john-boehner-talks-election-time-in-office/

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was King George III's wife, Queen of England, and in her youth Olympic freestyle skateboard bronze medalist, Mad Women's division. Sculptor Raymond Kaskey captures the grace and charm of Charlotte in this statue which "greets" visitors upon arrival at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

"Queens" Crown "Heat", Take 3-2 Series Lead

How do you spell embarrassment, Pat Riley?

Somebody got a stinger prosthetic. In Miamuh tonight the Charlotte "Queen Bees" are right with the Miami "Heat," it's 78-77 "Heat," late in 4th. Miami loses this one, sayonara.

Cruz-Fiorina

1. Cruz is a smart guy. Has only bird-pumped once during campaign. Gave thought to this.
2. Cruz knows Republican voters.
3. This hits Trump at a weak spot. Women loathe him.
4. One of Trump's most boorish moments was with Fiorina when she was a candidate. This reminds voters, better than any other female running mate would.
5. This gives the Cruz' campaign the ability to go after Trump in stereo.
6. Trump destroyed Fiorina's candidacy. She has no base to join to Cruz'.
7. She gets under Trump's skin. He thought he had vanquished her and memories of his treatment of her. Cruz' thinking may have been to "push Trump's buttons" to get him to Go Trump. In some parallel reality where the general election were between Cruz-Fiorina and Trump and a comparative moderate e.g. David Duke, this would make more sense. However Cruz intends this gambit to try to shake loose some Trump supporters and win the nomination of the Republican Party where David Duke is a rock star.  Now, if Cruz had chosen Adolph Eichmann he would have such a chance. Nothing less than Duke, Eichmann, if you wanted to get really outside the box, Idi Amin, would have given him that opportunity. Carly Fiorina, no.
_______________________________________
Verdict: Carly Fiorina will not shake up the race.

Ted Cruz Chooses Carly Fiorina as V.P. Running Mate

The strange saga of "Foxes and Swans" continues, reaches 82.

"The strange saga of Chris Bosh continues."

That was the first sentence in an April 23 Miami Herald article.

It just got stranger.

For viewpagers unfamiliar, or who, like the undersigned, done forgot, Chris Bosh has not been playing basketball for the Miami "Heat" since February 9. He has been, and continues to be, per Miami management, out indefinitely with some medical condition. No one, officially or unofficially, from management or from Bosh has said why. They have given one why not: it is not blood clots, which truncated Bosh's season last year.

This is truly a matter of first impression in a world, the sports world, where when a star athlete has a cold the public is told how many times he has sneezed.

Okay, well, we're long past the strangeness of these sounds of silence. It just got stranger:

Chris Bosh reaffirms desire to play; Heat says he's out indefinitely-ESPN headline

Huh? The player, who Miami signed to a max contract last year says he is fit to play, wants to play, to earn some of those max bucks, and the paymaster says no, sit home and collect our checks.

Bosh traveled with the team to Charlotte where the "Queens" made the "Heat" their bitch, the first time he has traveled with them in a while, the last time was to Charlotte too but there is too much foreground weirdness here to be peaking into the background for yesterday Bosh's wife started one of those things, hashtags or whatever, like #BlackLivesMatter, #BringBoshBack and Bosh posted a video of himself practiving his shooting in Miami's arena with the caption or legend or whatever "Still got it" to which management responded of a fashion "Yeah, he's still got it," whatever it is that has kept him out, "There is no update. He is still out indefinitely."

Too weird.

Walking, Thinking

Walking back from lunch just now I thought "I wouldn't put it past Trumpists to lie to pollsters." Right-wingers have long had a mantra: "Annoy The Media," do something or vote for someone that will annoy the media.

This has come up with me in the following fashion. In the beginning of this election cycle when I was trying to figure out who the Trumpists were I swear I saw articles-more than one-that Trumpists were not less educated than normal people. I am so certain in my memory of that (but I could be wrong). Now and for a long while it has been unanimous: Trumpists are less-educated. My brother-the-Trumpist has a college degree; he is, as he says, "the smartest dumb-ass you know." 

But, M.B.T.T. is an "Annoy the Media" (and aggrieve-your-brother) type, too. He is also embarrassed to be a Trumpist. He voted for him! but is "in the closet" as he says. This is a very political guy. Wears his political preferences, literally: shirts; yard signs in front of his house. Trump? Nada. He sent me a photo of him holding a political sign-it was for Marco Rubio. He mentioned to a fellow Republican neighbor that he was going to vote for Trump and she walked off in disgust. 

I have seen the photographs of M.B.T.T.'s fellow Trumpists and they look like cretins, wholly consistent with the recent demographic reports. My brother does not look like that, which may be cause for some of his embarrassment.

I concluded my walk thinking "If [M.B.T.T.] was polled I believe beyond a reasonable doubt that he would answer truthfully to his political preference and to his educational level." So some walks are not productive of good thought. But what about other Trumpists?

When I got back to the office I checked out 538:

While the Northeast had long appeared to be a reasonably strong region for Trump, the polls two weeks ago suggested it was a tossup whether he’d get to 50 percent of the vote in Connecticut; instead he won it easily with 58 percent of the vote. It looked as though he’d probably lose a couple of congressional districts in the Washington suburbs in Maryland even if he won the state; instead, he swept all eight districts.

In other words, something changed for the better for Trump in the past couple of weeks.
-Nate Silver.

 I immediately reverted to "Annoy the Media" as the explanation. Silver doesn't offer that explanation. Silver's explanation, or "theory," is much more plausible: Did you know that Republican turnout yesterday was abysmally low? I was shocked.

New Hampshire 27.8%
Wisconsin 25.6
Alabama 23.9
Ohio 22.3
Missouri 20.7
South Carolina 20.3
Idaho 19.7
Arkansas 19.2
Mississippi 19.1

Georgia 18.8

Michigan 17.8

Tennessee 17.6

Virginia 17.0

Oklahoma 16.5

Texas 16.4

Florida 16.3

North Carolina 15.8

Pennsylvania 15.8

Illinois 15.3

Massachusetts 12.8

Vermont 12.5

Arizona 11.4

Maryland 10.6

Delaware 10.0

Louisiana 8.9

Connecticut 8.7

Rhode Island 7.8

New York 6.4

Had no idea. Really surprised. So Silver's eminently sensible theory is not that unknown hordes of Trumpists emerged from the forest, from under their rocks, to vote for Trump to "Annoy The Media," rather, that NeverTrumpers see the handwriting on the wall (or on the sidewalk in chalk), are discouraged and just didn't see the point of voting. 

So that was a really unproductive walk.

 

*

What a night for Donald J. Trump, Jr.!

In Pennsylvania (at this writing), 58% of Republicans are Trumpists.

In Maryland 54% of Republicans are Trumpists.


In Connecticut 61% of Republicans are Trumpists.

In Cormac McCarthy's birth state Rhode Island, 66%, two-thirds of Republicans are Trumpists.

And in Delaware 61% of Republicans are Trumpists.

The Republican Party: Trump Country!

In God's Party:

Hilary Clinton has won 57% in Pa., 66% in MD., and 59% in Underware. The Bern has been felt in Little Rhody (56%) and Connecticut is warm (50%) although not...quite...Berned yet.*has been won by Clinton.

Judge Rules Trump University Lawsuit To Go To Trial

Eric Schneiderman, New York state's attorney general, filed a $40 million civil suit against Trump University — an online program for would-be real estate investors — in 2013. He claimed the school used fraud and false advertising techniques to lure students with the promise that they could get rich — just like Trump.
...
Schneiderman said he wants a trial to move quickly in court after "thousands of Mr. Trump's alleged victims have been waiting years for relief from his fraud."
...
"As we will prove in court, Donald Trump and his sham for-profit college defrauded thousands of students out of millions of dollars," Schneiderman said in a statement Tuesday.
-NBC

Eric Schneiderman– Verified account ‏@AGSchneiderman

Statement on our case against Trump University:

1:20 PM - 26 Apr 2016

52 RETWEETS49 LIKES

"drab"-Telegraph.

"dull"-ESPN FC

Really? That's disappointing.

"Manchester City missed chance."-Sky Sports

They did that. At home against Madrid without Ronaldo, they did miss a chance.

"surprising torpor"-The Guardian

"Sixty years Manchester City have waited for a Champions League semi-final, and that was it?"-Sports Illustrated.

:(

Why, pray tell?

And it ends 0-0. Advantage Madrid. The second leg at the Bernabeu May 4, avec Ronaldo.

It is the biggest Champions League match ever played by Manchester City, the semi-finals! And in the 77th minute City and Real Madrid (sans Cristiano Ronaldo) are even  at 0-0.

Raiders

The currently Oakland, formerly Los Angeles, nee Oakland "Raiders" are hot to trot to Las Vegas. Unlike their previous moves, this is an inspired one. The "Raiders" are a state of mind, they are a legendary brand that transcends notions of "home,"-They have no home, they're raiders!-like Cosmos who were too big even for New York, and the "Raiders" have a well-deserved bad boy image that plays off perfectly Las Vegas' identical image. Have 'em play eight games in the desert but, please, don't add Las Vegas to the name. The full name is Raiders.

"All the Pretty Horses" is less risky -- repressed but sane. 

Hmmm.

The main character, a teen-ager named John Grady Cole...

What are you repressing, Cormac?

A linear tale of boyish episodes...the book has a sustained innocence and a lucidity new in McCarthy's work. There is even a budding love story.

Let's get right to the point: Cormac, are you gay?

"You haven't come to the end yet," says McCarthy, when asked about the low body count. "This may be nothing but a snare and a delusion to draw you in, thinking that all will be well."

I see. A sort of schadenfreude, eh Charlie? You get your rocks off shocking readers, drawing them in, "thinking all will be well," and then BOOM! a baby has his skull crushed against a rock. Ohh, that was a good one, Cormac! You got me. Congratulations. 

I picture Cormac McCarthy at work. I picture him sitting there in his study thinking. I picture him pulling wings off flies. 

I picture Heydrich at the Wannsee Conference and I see Heydrich's face

morph into Cormac McCarthy's.

Never can tell why a particular post floats readers' boats. "Foxes and Swans" has. Forty-seven pageviews since Sunday.

Je see Cruz has a v.p. short lost? Presumptuous right? Strategic. It's what he should do. http://publicoccurrenc.blogspot.com/2016/04/what-trump-or-cruz-should-do.html?m=1

WSJ: "The Road" is this love story between father and son, but they never say, "I love you."

CM: No. I didn't think that would add anything to the story at all.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572

What's love got to do with a love story! Let's ignore half of humanity, half of humanity's most intense feeling and let's set the body count record for a novel! Oh, he's a great writer, he is.

Oh my garsh. The Charlotte "Hornets" were BLOWING OUT the Miami "Heat" in the third quarter last time I checked but then I got all on a roll about Charlie McCarthy and didn't check no mo. I just went back and Charlotte won by only fo. Miami got on a roll. Series tied 2-2! 

"Most people don't ever see anyone die. It used to be if you grew up in a family you saw everybody die. They died in their bed at home with everyone gathered around. Death is the major issue in the world. For you, for me, for all of us. It just is. To not be able to talk about it is very odd."

How many people have you seen die, Cormac? 

Why are you even talking about "pleasant"death? You don't write about pleasant death. You write about cruel, heartless, torturous murder. 

Have you ever seen a murdered person like you write about? 

Ever ride along with the cops on homicide call? Go to a morgue? Have you ever been *this* close to the face of a body just pulled from the water, so close that you could see the individual pores in her face,, so close you could smell the brackish water in her mouth and coming off her water-logged corpse?

Have you ever stuck your little finger in the bullet hole in the back of a man's skull? Do you have those sharp edges fixed in your mind?

Have you ever smelled massive quantities of blood on the floor of a house? Do you have that smell fixed in your mind, Cormac? Or do you have to imagine it?

Ever smelled a "sweetie?" Know what a sweetie is?

Ever gone to the home of a man who just murdered his wife and child as they came home from church and then shot himself in the chest with the .45? Can you see the hole it made in his shirt as you sit on his couch with your feet on his coffee table, your legs propped up over him watching his TV as you think to yourself, "I don't give a SHIT about you, you piece of shit"? 

Cormac? Charles, Jr.? Chucky? 

How much of what you write about have you experienced, Mr. McCarthy?

Have you ever killed a person, Cormac? Drawn blood? Punched anyone in the face? Do you think Trump has? Are you a voyeur, Charles, JR.?  HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANY OF THE SHIT YOU WRITE ABOUT?

Do you think Trump is a tough guy or tough guy manqué

What do you think of Donald Trump?

Cormac, why did you change your name from Charles, JR.? More the "image" you wanted? 

Curry out two weeks, "Grade 1," i.e. least serious, MCL sprain.

Bet Cormac McCarthy'd play with a Grade 1 sprain. Bet he would. 

Cormac In The Trash!

You know how I say, how Pep Guardiola says, you need enemies? To tell your team from their team, the good guys from the bad guys. To tell good from evil. In a morally monochromatic world you couldn't tell.

Implicit in that saying, so obvious that it need not be made explicit, is that you have friends. That the only meaning to evil is the contrast. That is theodicy. No one but a child thinks there are only friends in the world, only nice people like Mom and Dad, only goodness, and she soon learns that it is not good to hit Johnny, nor for Johnny to pull her hair and why does she think that in the first place? Because she does not yet know the distinction between good and evil.  There is, in fact, a presumption in the law that children younger than a certain age do not know the distinction between telling the truth, good, and telling a lie, bad. Evil provides "teachable moments."

See, this is the thing about Cormac: There is no contrast;

"The problem with a novel like “No Country for Old Men” is that it cannot give violence any depth, context, or even reality...the writing makes the violence routine... And McCarthy’s idea…of life’s evil is limited, and literal: it is only ever of physical violence.”

there is no evil because no good, turning the saying, and theodicy, on their heads; the world is a monochrome, and that, black-and male! Johnny wakes up every day to do the everyday business of hitting and pulling hair. “The kid” wakes up every day to pull scalps off heads; and there are no teachable moments:  when he’s done his day’s work the kid “moves on.”  Violence is the norm, it is the routine, and there are no consequences. McCarthy’s characters don’t know the difference between right and wrong.

"There's no such thing as life without bloodshed." 

HOW MUCH BLOODSHED HAS THERE BEEN IN YOUR LIFE, CORMAC?

"McCarthy was born in Providence, Rhode Island..." 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy

Rhode Island? And you are the champion of the Southern Gothic genre? Was it at least southern Rhode Island?

"The oldest son of an eminent lawyer, formerly with the Tennessee Valley Authority, McCarthy is Charles Jr., with five brothers and sisters...It seems to have been a comfortable upbringing that bears no resemblance to the wretched lives of his characters. The large white house of his youth had acreage and woods nearby, and was staffed with maids. "We were considered rich..."
https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/mccarthy-venom.html

That is the way it is, that is the way it has always been, that is the way it will always be:

"I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous."

“Death is the major issue in the world. For you, for me, for all of us. It just is. To not be able to talk about it is very odd."

"Not be able to talk about it?" You're not able to talk about it? That's ALL you talk about.

His list of those whom he calls the "good writers" -- Melville, Dostoyevsky, Faulkner -- precludes anyone who doesn't "deal with issues of life and death." Proust and Henry James don't make the cut. "I don't understand them," he says. "To me, that's not literature. A lot of writers who are considered good I consider strange."

https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/mccarthy-venom.html“McCarthy is a colossally
gifted writer, certainly one of the greatest observers of landscape.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/07/25/red-planet

He is. It is as if Adolph Hitler or Hermann Goering or Adolph Eichmann had been colossally gifted writers.

That's why Cormac is in the trash.

Ouch. MRI results due later.

"Maybe Donald Trump has really lost his mind: What if the GOP frontrunner isn’t crazy, but simply not well?

http://www.salon.com/2016/04/25/maybe_donald_trump_has_really_lost_his_mind_what_if_the_gop_frontrunner_isnt_crazy_but_simply_not_well/

"Simply not well?": Gave me a little sick lump in the middle of my stomach. Hadn't thought about that.

Campaigning in Pittsburgh, he recently blathered, “How’s Joe Paterno? We gonna bring that back? Right? How about that—how about that whole deal?”

That was a little weird. Their campaign said he was referring to the statute.

Then there was the time that Sean Hannity asked Trump which government agencies Trump would shut down, “The Department of Environmental,” Trump replied.

Look, if we're going to pick every malapropism as a sign of being mentally "not well" Bush41 would have been committed 40 years ago. 

Take the example of Trump’s interview with the Washington Post editorial board in March. During that exchange one of the editors asked Trump if he would consider using a tactical nuclear weapon against ISIS.

Check out Trump’s reply:

TRUMP: I don’t want to use, I don’t want to start the process of nuclear. Remember the one thing that everybody has said, I’m a counterpuncher. Rubio hit me. Bush hit me. When I said low energy, he’s a low-energy individual, he hit me first. I spent, by the way, he spent 18 million dollars’ worth of negative ads on me. That’s putting [MUFFLED]…

RYAN: This is about ISIS. You would not use a tactical nuclear weapon against ISIS?

TRUMP: I’ll tell you one thing, this is a very good-looking group of people here. Could I just go around so I know who the hell I’m talking to?

That's a better example, a better "symptom." 

...I urge you to re-read the exchange above and register the range of nonsense—the lack of basic grammar, [See Papi Bush] the odd syntax,[See Papi Bush] the abrupt shift in topic, [Yes] the disconnect from reality,[No. He got off topic, got on a roll and forgot he started rolling.]  the paranoia, [WHERE? There's no "paranoia" there.]  and the seeming inability to even grasp the question.[He grasped the fucking question...Well...Maybe he didn't. ISIS doesn't have nukes, the no first-strike response is inapposite.]

...I want to throw out a concern...What if it’s an example of someone who doesn’t have full command of his faculties?


There could be a good reason why. At times it can be very hard to distinguish between extreme right-wing politics and symptoms of dementia. [lol. Serious point though: I believe America was birthed slightly crazy. Our insanity has flared, as with Trump, and remitted but even in remission one still has the underlying condition.] The Alzheimer’s Association tells us that if two of the following core mental functions seem impaired then it is time to seek medical help: Memory, communication and language, ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning and judgment, visual perception. Alzheimer’s carries other symptoms besides memory loss including difficulty remembering newly learned information, disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes.

Scholars of the recent trends in GOP politics point to some of the very same tendencies happening across the extreme right-wing faction of the party. [The American strain of insanity has always been right-wing, never left-wing.]

Much to the chagrin of the reasonable conservatives who wonder what has happened to their party, it is now often difficult to distinguish Republican rhetoric from the ravings of someone suffering from diminished mental capacity. [What has happened to the Republican Party is Republican people. This is not just about Trump. If Republicans didn't share his insanity he wouldn't appeal to them, wouldn't have gotten ~40% of their votes, wouldn't be favorite to win nomination!]

Last October, Death and Taxes ran a piece wondering if Trump had dementia. They pointed to the fact that Trump’s father, Fred, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years prior to his death. [Trump is 69]  They also highlighted Trump’s aggressive late-night tweets, [Yeah. I write late at night, too.] his childish behavior, [Ditto.] his name-calling [Now, wait a minute here.] and mood swings.[I do NOT have dementia.]  They explained that it would be really easy for Trump take some tests and prove that he is mentally fit. [That is true, he could...And I see a shrink once every few months and he will tell you I'm fine, so fuck you.] “Because if Trump can prove he’s not suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder that has left him with a damaged mind devoid of all shame or self-awareness, he might just be an asshole.” [I do think my shrink would make that same diagnosis of me.]

I need to be reassured that Trump is indeed OK [Define OK.] so that the jokes about him remain funny. [Brother...Sister, if jokes about Trump are still funny to you, you need a reality check. This LONG ceased to be funny.] Public mockery has been the only way to stay balanced this election. And, of course, the best jokes about Trump have come from political satirists because satire does more than poke fun. It encourages critical thinking in the face of blind acceptance. It doesn’t just make Trump look silly and stupid; it points out that he’s dangerous to democracy. [? I am having comprehension difficulty with that. The "best jokes," the ones that are still "funny" are the satirical ones; satire doesn't just make Trump look silly and stupid, those would not be "funny"?; satire, the "best jokes," point out Trump is "dangerous to democracy," those are the "funny" ones? Dude, that's fucked up. Trump is a danger to democracy and there t'ain't nothin' funny about that.] It’s the difference between jokes about his orange face and jokes about his demagoguery. [You're saying jokes about his orange face are not funny and jokes about his demagoguery are funny. No.]

Oh my, Stephen Curry, the elf magician of professional basketball, sprained his knee last night and will miss more playoff games, perhaps the remainder. Curry missed two games against Houston with a sprained ankle. An MRI will be performed today. The club is treating this as The End.

Cleveland, who were decimated by injuries in last year's playoffs, swept Detroit 4-0 to advance to the second round. The "Cavaliers" are in a different gear altogether. Detroit won all three regular season encounters.

Little higher. Get the leg up a little higher when you're marching.

Golden State abused Houston "We Have a Problem" today 121-94 in rocket town to take a 3-1 lead in its playoff series. The Dubs lost game 3, one in which Stephon Curry did not play because of a twisted ankle. Curry played sparingly in this one and had only six points on 2/9 shooting. That's a problem for Houston.

Charles Koch: Trump's Muslim Proposals "Reminiscent of Nazi Germany."

STEPHANOPOULOS:...Jon Karl traveled to Kansas, where Koch, who recently wrote the book, "Good Profit," explained why he probably won't back the GOP nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Well, I'll tell you why. We said here are the issues. You've got to be like Ronald Reagan and compete on making the country better rather than tearing down your opponents.

And right off the bat, they didn't do it. More of these personal attacks and pitting one person against the other, that's the message you're sending the country. That's the way you should -- you're role models and you're terrible role models.

So how -- I don't know how we could support him.

KARL: So are gonna sit out this presidential election?

KOCH: Well, we'll see. I mean, when we get a nominee then we'll explore that. And we don't want arm waving. We want to know specifics.

KARL: What did you think when you first heard Donald Trump’s proposal to put a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States?

KOCH: Well, obviously that's antithetical to our approach, but what was worse was this we'll have them all register. That's reminiscent of Nazi Germany. I mean that's monstrous as I said at the time.

KARL: So is it possible another Clinton could be better than another Republican--

KOCH: It's possible.

KARL: Next time around?

KOCH: It's possible.

KARL: You couldn't see yourself supporting Hillary Clinton, could you?

KOCH: Well, I-- that-- her-- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric. Let me put it that way. But on some of the Republican candidates we would-- before we could support them, we'd have to believe their actions will be quite different than the rhetoric we've heard so far.

Harris Wofford, 90 years old, former Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, is remarrying twenty years after the death of his wife Clare to whom he was wed 48 years. Mr. Wofford's new spouse is 40 year old Matthew Charlton.

San Antonio became the first NBA team to win its first round playoff series. The "Spurs" blew past and blew out the Memphis "Shorthandeds,' four games to nil with scores:

106-74
94-68
96-87
116-95