This is what's new

Greetings, friends.  I know it's been almost a month since my last post, and I really don't have a specific reason why the delay, but it's good to be back in this space and I have a variety of comments to share.

We now live in a country where a President of the United States was impeached twice and was later indicted on multiple federal charges.  And that man is currently leading the polling among Republican candidates for President in the 2024 election.  I don't know if there's anything else to say to that, we've come close to this sort of scenario but never to this extent.  And the investigations into this former President are ongoing, so there may yet be more charges forthcoming.

We may never know exactly what happened in Russia a couple of weekends ago, but suffice it to say that it probably wasn't planned and it fell apart just as quickly as it came together.  As of this morning, there are questions as to the whereabouts of the leader of the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization that had been most effective on behalf of the Russian war effort in Ukraine.  As a television host of whom I am fond often says, watch this space.

Did you hear that cocaine was found within the White House recently?  Doesn't that seem awfully suspicious and yet obvious for that to have happened, what with the outcry from Republicans about how little punishment is being levied at the President's surviving son?  And a certain former President had quite a lot to say, all unsubstantiated, of course, about this and to whom it belonged, etc.

Since our last visit, the Supreme Court issued quite a few decisions, most of which supported a conservative point of view.  Not all that surprised by some of it, and it seems the Dobbs decision is still going to loom over voter turnout in 2024.

Do you listen to podcasts?  I only started in the last year or two, as I travel extensively by car and while I love music, I get a little tired of listening to some of the same tunes over and over.  My podcast tastes are pretty eclectic, and I believe I have mentioned here how much I enjoy the Smartless podcast (hosted by actors Jason Bateman, WIll Arnett and Sean Hayes), as well as the Vergecast, featuring editors of the Verge tech website.  I've also come to appreciate Hacks on Tap, hosted by a rotation of three different hosts (all former or current political operatives).  

But I believe my favorite is The Tony Kornheiser Show.  Learned about this fellow thirty years ago, when he was best-known as a sportswriter for the Washington Post.  Then he became one of the commentators on Monday Night Football (for only a year or so, I think) and the host of a talk show with another sportswriter called Pardon the Interruption.  But for a longtime Kornheiser hosted a daily radio show on local radio in Washington, DC, and this show has morphed into a nearly identical podcast.  He is witty, he is well-read, he is opnionated, and he's been referring to himself as fat, bald and orange for a long time, adding "old" to the list of descriptive words.

Most of his guests are also sportswriters or writers of other materials.  I listened to two episodes this morning on my drive to my current location (which shall remain unnamed), and heard talk about professional golf, Qatari involvement in sports franchise ownership, chew toys for his dog and trying to break a $100 bill at a bank with whom he did not do business.

If you like any of the subjects mentioned, give it a listen.

I also like audiobooks and am currently listening to Walter Isaacson's excellent bio of Steve Jobs.  I read it when it came out but am enjoying it in this format as well.

Oh, and before I go, let's give it up for the Cincinnati Reds, who unbelievably are in first place in the National League Central Division.  For the moment.  The youth movement has rapidly accelerated and first- and second-year players are filling key roles for this franchise, who have not been all that successful in recent years.  I'm enjoying this and hope it continues.

That's good for now, hope you have a great weekend!