Thurs AM

Some random Thur AM thoughts:

Is this year seeing a bumper crop for deer?  I see them all over the place, on the trails in the woods on my runs and bike rides, in people's front yards, off in fields as I drive by.  Yesterday, a doe was standing in a front yard out on a back road, with a couple of fawns next to her.  (Which reminds me of the Three Stooges schtick, "Oh, see the littler deer.  Does it have any doe/dough?  Yeah, two bucks.)  The day before in the woods, another deer was standing out in the path, not moving until I was within 20 or so yards.  And they've multiplied as road kill.  Not far down the road toward town, a large one had been hit by a car, likely Sat night/early Sun AM.  We saw it, dead, when we drove to Kensington Sun AM for our bike ride.  With the heat and humidity, it didn't take long to putrefy--and putrefy it did!  Wed evening, I finally saw a county truck stop to remove the carcass.  Meanwhile, driving past while taking Bopper to basketball camp was certainly an olfactory experience--and not a pleasant one!  How did the residents stand that rotten smell?

Today's newspaper had an interesting article on compensation ("outlandish" was used more than once) for college administrators.  I've blogged about this several times, but the article is worth reading, esp for those who will pay for their kids' and grandkids' college educations.  And, I submit, such ridiculous pay has percolated down to the public schools.  Here's a link to the article:

http://www.peacevoice.info/2014/07/21/why-are-campus-administrators-making-so-much-money/

Who was surprised to discover that that animal who brazenly shot that two-year old girl in the head last month had been released from prison early?  Yep, instead of being out on the street shooting this little girl in front of her father, this guy should have been in jail, not on one conviction, but at least two!  BTW, a photo in the newspaper at his arraignment shows him with this wise-guy smirk on his face, like he's really baaaddd.

Related was another article about a convicted murderer who lasted an hour and a half during his execution.  Oh, he "gasped" and "snorted" for almost two hours before he died.  No doubt, the state of Arizona botched the execution.  But are we supposed to feel sorry for this guy??????  One of the family members commented, to one of the murderer's lawyers (?), "This man conducted a horrific murder," actually two of them, planned and carried out, because a woman didn't want to date him, "and you guys [the lawyers who were seeking an emergency appeal during the protracted execution] are worried about the drugs [used to kill the scum]?"

BTW, it's been revealed that the EMU football player who was shot to death was killed for his iPhone.  OK, I understand about guns, although I don't necessarily agree with banning them.  What I don't understand is the reluctance, nay, the refusal to address the culture that makes killing other people OK.  Where is the outrage against attitudes that encourage (and, yes, they are encouraged by our culture) shooting someone else because she has something you want, because he "dissed" you," etc.?  Where are those like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, etc. on this?

OK, so if we are so dissatisfied with the way things are in Washington (and, by transference, in our lives), if Congress has its lowest ratings ever, if 2/3s of Americans want to throw the bums--their bum--out, if the Tea Party is offering real differences, etc., why are voters opting to return the same bozos to Congress?  In 293 primaries already held in various states, 291 of the incumbents have won.  Granted, some of the results have been close, which might be saying something in light of the clout carried by incumbents and the money they can raise.  Still, not only can we throw out the bums, but we can send a message that we're tired of elections being bought.  (After all, look at the outcry over Citizens United, etc.)  We continue to say one thing, but do another.  We have chances to right the ship, but blow the opportunities, again and again.

And newspaper endorsements continue to baffle.  All year long editorials and other opinion articles criticize elected officials--and in most cases rightly so.  Then, when elections come, the newspapers almost always seem to endorse the incumbents or some other career/Establishment politician.  Yep, baffle is the correct word.

BTW, we're at it again.  Congressman Kerry Bentivolio, in the primary election coverage, is referred to as "the reindeer farmer...."  But why isn't his opponent called "the lawyer who helped foreclose tens of thousands of home" during the recession?  Again, how anyone can vote for a candidate who is supported by the Establishment is beyond me.  At one time, when the Establishment could be trusted, yes.  In recent years, not a chance.

So, what's with all these "shifts" in  baseball?  When certain hitters, usually the best or at least the big power hitters, bat, defenses will put three infielders on the pull-side of the infield.  (For a left-handed batter, for instance, three infielders will play to the right of second base, one sort of a short outfielder.)  Critics are decrying the loss of offense because of the shifts.  There is even a movement, however incipient, to change the rules to prohibit shifts.  C'mon, that whole idea is wrong in too many ways to list.  First, can't these million-dollar Major League hitters hit one "the other way, " that is, away from the shift???  The ball doesn't even have to be hit hard since there is only one infield on the opposite side.  Have they ever heard of bunts?  Yep, with the third baseman playing out in short right field would make a bunt down the third base line a tough play, wouldn't it?  (A couple of weeks ago, Karen was watching the game and Cabrera came to the plate.  "Miggy's up!" she called to me.  I came in to watch and he laced a rope up the middle--a sure hit, except that a shift was on and it was caught by the 2Bman.  The next time up he dribbled a ball through the vacated right side of the infield, intentionally (not an intentional dribble, but to the right side), for a base hit.  And the time after that he drilled a clothes line through the 2B position for yet another hit.  The next day/game, there was no shift, same team.)  Also, if we want to add to the offense, how about we ban certain pitches.  Sliders are real hard to hit and what about cut fastballs?  I think some pitchers still effectively throw forkballs/split finger fastballs.  Let's get rid of them since they cut down on offense.