New Shoes in the Rain

Actually, in truth, there's no debate that these made-for-TV events that are CALLED debates are about anything but. I was involved in speech and drama in high school, but we didn't have a debate team.  I met people in college who came from high schools that had them, and I always envied them for their experience.  What we're seeing on TV in these group shouting matches is less a debate and more of a free-for-all, where the less-known candidates are vying for air time and the better-known ones are trying to hold or expand their lead over others. Once we get down to the actual candidates from each major party, then we can consider these events to be "debates," but I suppose the television networks who compete to televise them have to call them something. My wife and I watched last night, and while we're pretty well informed on most issues, it's easy to see how the back-and-forth on many of these issues would be confusing to the point of putting people ...

If you watched any of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony before two House committees yesterday, you would be right to view his appearances as something of a non-event. The point of all of this is that Mueller had said as much when he made a very brief public statement when he officially closed the Office of the Special Counsel, saying that he did not wish to testify, and that the report he and his team compiled IS his testimony. Nevertheless, House Democrats pushed ahead in order to get Mueller in front of cameras and on the record, postponing his appearance in response to a subpoena by a week.  The best way to get a feel for his testimony is to watch one of the supercuts that's available online, showing highlights.  In many cases, extensive, detailed questions were met with brief, sometimes even single word, responses from Mueller. But the primary takeaways, for me, at least, were confirmation of some of what's in the actual report. No, the counsel a...

Greetings from central Kentucky.  It's gonna be hot here today, but not nearly as hot as it will be both west and east of here this weekend.  We customarily have high humidity and heat, but not like what will be experienced in something like 40 states over the weekend. Looks like President Trump has found a new enemy, or in this case, SET of enemies, in the form of the "Squad" of four freshman Congresswomen of color.  He's apparently been looking for a new foil for all of his negativity to replace former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary "Lock Her Up" Clinton.  Thus far he's received ample resistance to his distasteful comments about how these women hate America and how they should simply "go back where they came from," to use his words. I won't even attempt to trace how we reached this point in our national discourse, but we can only hope that this won't be long-lasting. Major League Baseball has started its season's sec...

Hot here in central Kentucky, friends, but, then again, it's the second week of July.  Of course it's hot! Today's 24-hour news cycle certainly is really something.  There are so many channels to feed--on television, online and elsewhere--that the effort to find the latest news just keeps on coming.  And at breakneck speed as well. Unless you've been living without media contact, you know that the sordid story of Jeffrey Epstein and his association with scores of girls and young women is THE story right now.  It became so just a few days ago.  Before that it was the U.S. women's soccer team winning the Women's World Cup, and before that....well, gee, that was a long time ago, almost a week. See what I mean?  The doings of our current administration would not have been tolerated twenty or more years ago, because there wouldn't have been something worse or more noteworthy to push those deeds from the front page or the top of the feed or the lead story o...

It's Monday, July 1.  Hope you'll get to spend some time with those you care about on the Independence Day holiday. That day will also be my 33rd wedding anniversary, so I know where I'll be.... I recently added some music to my collection, from a familiar name but it's music that you would be unlikely to associate with that name.  I'm referring to Bruce Springsteen's 19th and most recent studio album, a collection of songs entitled "Western Stars." I read about this album sometime about a year ago, but as is often the case with showbiz news, sometimes what's publicized never actually occurs, such as casting news of a movie that's never made.  But this time the news items were accurate, that Springsteen has for some time been taken by the orchestral pop sounds that emanated from southern California in the late 60s and early 70s.  Not the Eagles or Buffalo Springfield or their ilk.  Think a little harder, if you're of the right age, an...