There is a wide swath of irony in the following video from Robert Reich. Yes, I like Reich - he has integrity, intelligence, and a great sense of humor. Obviously, this was recorded before the last election. The great irony of the Biden Presidency is that he benefitted this country and tried to remedy Democratic errors. Real wages - they have not gone up. In Indiana, there has been a staunch refusal to raise the minimum wage. Who refuses this increase? The Indiana Republican Party, which controls this state. Why do they continue their stranglehold on Indiana life? One thing about Israe ..read more

 Of all the ideas I have read lately giving advice to the Democrats, Shove the Presidency Down Trump’s Throat by Jason Linkins (The New Republic) is the most brilliant one I have seen. It has no navel-gazing, no lamentations, and no excuses for letting Trump into the White House.  A second Trump era offers the opportunity for a change of course—a second reckoning of sorts. I think that Last is on to something when he suggests that Trump’s opposition should force him to “own every bad outcome that happens, anywhere in the world.” I’d actually take this a step further. Rathe ..read more

 Again, thank you, YouTube! This is actually about a TV show, but I have long had a crush on Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff: The current generation seems to me seriously against anything that is older than last year; here is proof of how much they are missing out on: Ignorance may be bliss; if only the ignorant did not so loudly trumpet their ignorance! After this, I had a lifelong crush on Gena Rowland: Let me scare you with a black & white move - even scarier, it is a Hitchcock movie! (And no one probably recognizes that name when once it was a household name ..read more

 I worked from 7:15 to 11:25. This will be a short week. I went to the Imaging Center for my lumbar x-rays. Oh, the pain of lying on that machine. I ate lunch at the Chinese restaurant across the street (Szechuan shrimp) and picked up a few items at Payless. This used up my time until the 1 pm bus arrived. When I got home, I had to lay down - flat on my mattress, the back did not hurt so much. Except it was to be an hour and came closer to four instead. Last night, when I spoke with CC, she said she might not go back to inpatient treatment, that she might just as well go to prison, that s ..read more

 [Start 1:16 PM. End 1:29 PM] Five A's  Allowing - Differentiation Passionate Marriage from Duff Used his mom as an example - won't eat Asian food; calls it Chinese food; Mom can't help calling it yucky.  Undifferentiated means any disagreement is a threat. How to counter? When you find someone - the reason chosen - get entrapped appreciate & acknowledge differences insecurities reflective of one's self self-sooth - other person cannot fulfill one's self deficits in self-love are generalized (Doing what's in one's best interests) sch 1/20     ..read more

 Philosopher Slavoj Žižek on the re-election of Donald Trump & his fears for Western values. I read two of Žižek's books while in prison. I may not agree with some of his thinking, but he will sharpen your own ideas. What Are Slavoj Žižek’s Most Intriguing Ideas? Slavoj Zizek — Is Jordan Peterson the real Postmodernist? As for the print stuff, I learned some history from Morten Høi Jensen's  Operation Nietzsche: ‘How Nietzsche Came in From the Cold’; a review from Commonweal. And here’s where the story gets really interesting. Sensing an opportunity, two Italian philologist ..read more

No work today. Meaning to get up early, I did not get moving until around 8 AM. I wrote a long post this morning on utopias that will appear in the next few weeks. I missed the 10AM bus. Far too cold for walking any great distances, I got the 10:30 as it headed downtown. Then it was another bus to the laundry. I got back a little after 12:30. More work on the blog, when I was supposed to be working on law stuff. My neck started giving me problems, so I laid down. Instead of 30 minutes, that became 90. I hiked down to the convenience store for supplies. I spent a couple of hours, or so it seeme ..read more

I never did prosecution work as a lawyer. My mentality is probably more geared toward that kind of work, but I never got an opportunity. However, I did enough defense work to make this post seem odd.  Today's sermon is based on How Indiana’s county prosecutors deliver justice with uneven support: What does an ideal system look like? It’s one where every prosecutor’s office has the resources to do the job effectively. Every prosecutor deserves the support to prepare their cases, advocate for victims, and protect their communities without sacrificing their health and familie ..read more

 My sister came down from Wabash, attended Church with me, and came back here to help put up my second table and critique my housekeeping skills. After she left, I napped. The beans did not turn out very well, but they were dinner all the same. Since then, I have worked on my email and posts, rearranged my front room ,and cleaned a little. Some items not used in other posts follow. I think my opinion about David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest has been stated often enough on this blog that everyone knows I have a jaundiced view of the novel. The following video has a far more benevole ..read more

I got the groceries that I did not get yesterday, that was about 11:30 yesterday. Also, stopped by the bank, where I learned my bank statements had been sent back. The x-ray place was closed, so the lumbar e-rays are put off until Tuesday. There were two trips to the convenience store, but otherwise I stayed inside. It was a gloomy day, where the clouds could not decide if they wanted to let loose their snow or just hang around making the place gloomy. I had planned on making story submissions. "Psychotic Ape" went to Solstice. To Harpur Palate went "Problem Solving". Then I decided again ..read more