12-07-2022 - Warnock Victory, Tom Brady, Newspapers, My Art Work, Ibises, Jerseys Without Names, , and the Transfer Portal

The Winner

The Georgia Senatorial Run-Off Election

Rev. Raphael Warnock won re-election yesterday to a full six-year term in the Senate by an almost two percentage point margin, defeating the totally unqualified Hershel Walker in a close run-off election.  

This will strengthen the Democratic hold on the Senate, now 51 to 49 in their favor, helping to make President Biden's task of dealing with the House, with its tiny Republican edge, a bit easier.  It will make the appointment of judges easier and possibly even bring about action to weaken the filibuster as a weapon.  It even weakens the influence of questionable Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin. 

But Walker, in losing, received over 1,700,000 votes.  Do not forget that. Many of those Republican voters did not cast their ballots for him, but rather, despite him, holding their noses as they voted.  Besides his total lack of fitness to be a Senator, Walker's candidacy was in effect sponsored by the defeated former president, whose reputation, already sullied by his associating with white supremacists, antisemites, and fascists, his willingness to 'terminate' parts of the Constitution, and the likelihood of his devoting the rest of his life to figuring out ways of staying out of jail, was hopefully dealt a fatal blow with Walker's defeat.  It would be too much to hope that he would now just go away.

But those 1,700,000 votes for Walker, and whatever motivated those who cast them, should remind Democrats of the fragility of democracy, and the tender, loving, care with which it should be treated.  

JL

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More on Newspapers 

Continuing the newpaper ‘kick’ I was on in the previous posting, I suspect that I have always been a fan of newspapers. When I was a kid, my dad brought home the Newark Evening News, a solid conservative paper, every day and went down to the corner at about ten each evening to pick up the New York Daily Mirror for the late sports results and Walter Winchell’s column. On Sundays, he went out to pick up the New York Herald Tribune, (sort of a right-wing version of the Times) that he preferred to the Sunday version of the Newark Evening News, which was labeled the Sunday Call. In those pre-TV days in my home, newspapers were read thoroughly. 

In my high school, students could have the New York Times delivered to their homerooms at a bargain price, which introduced me to that newspaper.  And once settled on Long Island, Newsday was dropped off every morning at my house for thirty years by a kid on a bike. So, the Palm Beach Post, and even the Sun-Sentinel for a while, are a continuing part of my life. Reading newspapers is a habit difficult to lose. 

(And clarifying one point in the prior posting about the Palm Beach Post, it still carries news items originating with other Gannett papers in other parts of Florida, a practice already started by Gatehouse, the newspaper group Gannett purchased that included the Post.  Most of the time, however, these articles seem to be included not as 'filler' but because they relate to issues in Palm Beach County so they indeed have some local relevance, which the Sun-Sentinel’s Broward County news rarely did, at least for me.)

JL

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My Art Work

Added to the blog today is a feature showing my most recent painting.  Besides writing, I also paint with acrylics for recreation.  It will be periodically revised to show earlier paintings.  Look for it off to the right, at least on desktop and laptop devices.  I don't know if it will show on phones and tablets.

 JL

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A Congregation of Ibises

I took this picture the other morning from my patio, capturing some ibises having breakfast as I sipped my coffee.  It occurred to me that there might be a collective term specifically applicable to ibises, and I found that there are several, one being ‘a congregation of ibises.’  (I don’t know what religion such a congregation involved, however.)  That's the one I prefer.

There are a lot of such words, like a ‘gaggle of geese’ describing birds.  If this whets your appetite, here’s a brief twelve-year-old article on the subject that comes from Utah Public Radio:

‘Birds of a Feather Bird Collective Nouns’

 ‘Hi, I’m Holly Strand from Stokes Nature Center in beautiful Logan Canyon.

The word flock is a collective noun that refers to a natural grouping of any kind of bird.

Certain bird species commonly flock together to feed, to travel or to help defend themselves. Flocks are usually thought of as composed of just one species but mixed species flocks also occur. A mixture of species can take advantage of a variety of abilities to find food or detect predators.

When you are talking about a group of single species–birds of a feather so to speak– there exist specific and sometimes eloquent terms that can be used instead of the word flock. We’ve all heard the term “gaggle of geese.” But did you know that earlier this spring, we saw a “season” of tanagers come through the valley? I have never seen a flock of owls, but if there were one, we could call it a “parliament” of owls. More common than a parliament of owls is a “congress” of crows. You can also call this same group a murder of crows.

(At this point in the article, a photo appeared of a “pod”, “scoop”, or “squadron” of American Pelicans with Black-necked Stilts & White-faced Ibis.)  Another photo was accompanied by the notation that collectively on the ground, ibises might be a 'stand,' but while flying, a 'wedge.'

Check out the full illustrated article and its audio link by visiting https://wildaboututah.org/birds-of-a-feather-bird-collective-nouns/ or by CLICKING HERE.

Conceivably, “pod," “scoop,” or “squadron,” might be used to describe the ibises pictured above, or even 'stand,' but I prefer 'congregation,' as the following paragraph uses it since our local ibises are usually seen in the company of egrets rather than pelicans or stilts.  

The word siege can apply to either bitterns or herons. A congregation may refer to plovers, egrets or ibises. A bouquet connotes warblers, hummingbirds or pheasants. However, for hummingbirds I prefer the collective terms shimmer or charm.”

(Punsters might appreciate a seasoning of cinnamon teal, a chain of bobolinks a ladle of dippers or– my husband’s favorite—an outfield of flycatchers.)

Sometimes, a bunch of birds in the water is different from a bunch of birds in the air. You’ll find a paddling of ducks in the water but a team of ducks flying overhead. Likewise a gaggle of geese is swimming, while a skein of geese is airborne.

One collective phrase is so evocative that it became the title of an entire book on collective nouns for birds and other animals. In An Exaltation of Larks, (now in its 3rd printing) author James Lipton explains that many collective nouns were hunting terms that originated in the 15th century or earlier. Nevertheless, the collective terms are correct and appropriate for use today.

This Saturday, August 21st, experience a shimmer of hummingbirds with Stokes Nature Center. Our hummingbird program will take place just east of the Second Dam in Logan Canyon. Drop in anytime between 8-11am. Signs or people will direct you on where to park. For more information call the Nature Center at 435.755.3239.  

Which one of the followers of Jackspotpourri is going to get back to me saying that this article is 'for the birds'?

JL

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Jerseys Without Names, the Yankees, USC, and the Transfer Portal

Whenever I watch a sporting event on TV, and one of the teams does not have its players’ names on the back of their jerseys, just their number, I always root for the other team. 

To me, it’s a sign that the team that doesn't identity its players on their uniforms feels that their excellence puts them so far above having to bother with that, even if that is not the case, that it's not worth the trouble.  (For those who love words, this more or less defines ‘hubris.’)  That’s why I have always disliked the New York Yankees, whose nameless jerseys seem to tell those fans who cannot recognize Yankee players by sight that their support isn’t as welcome as that of those who know the players by sight or number.

So it was that when I watched the PAC12 football championship the other night between Utah and Southern Cal, I immediately chose to root for the Utes against the Trojans of the University of Southern California when I saw that their jerseys only carried numbers.  And Utah won, knocking the Trojans out of the top four college football teams that would compete for the national championship.  Hurrah!

This is the nameless USC quarterback, who played last year for
Oklahoma. Who knows where he'll be next year.  

Another reason for my dislike of USC’s football program, besides their nameless jerseys, is the fact that USC takes tremendous advantage of the ‘transfer portal,’ which enables college football players to switch schools during their college playing career. According to a New York Times article that you can find at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/sports/ncaafootball/usc-football-transfers-lincoln-riley.html  or by CLICKING HERE, USC leads the nation with 26 such transfers on its football roster!

I am sure that their eyes tear up when they sing the words to USC’s famous ‘Fight On’ song, that is, if they even know the name of the school they are (ahem) attending.  You've heard the song before.

‘Fight On, For old SC, Our men Fight On, To Victory! etc. etc.

Who knows what school they will be enrolled at next season?  The Times article includes a quote referring to USC as ‘Carpet Bagger U.’ and adds that ‘What is happening at U.S.C. is an extreme example of what the professionalization of college sports has wrought.’ 

In earlier blog postings, I have condemned the ‘transfer portal’ as a major step in the destruction of college football, and instrumental in turning our major colleges into something other than educational institutions, something like triple A baseball teams, devoted to preparing players for the next step up, the major leagues, or in football, the NFL, where the big money is.

Ultimately, such corruption can infect the entire college, motivated by greed.  My alma mater, Rutgers University, for example, is willing to be the Big Ten's football doormat, so long as they get a share of the conference's TV revenues to finance their athletic programs, money the Big Ten is willing to dole out for east coast media exposure.  Mention the University of Alabama for example, and what comes to mind?  The excellent State university it is, or consistently excellent football teams?  I would bet 90% of Alabamians can name that school’s football coach, but 99% cannot name its president.

Once a student enrolls at a college, even though they can subsequently transfer elsewhere for a variety of reasons, that original college should be the only place where they might be part of a college athletic team.   I'm not even touching on the effect legalized online wagering will have on the destruction of college football, but the unavoidable scandal that will eventually occur will only add to the damage being done to the college sport by the 'transfer portal.'  

JL

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Brady !!! (Football can still be inspirational.)

With 180 seconds left to play, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (whose uniform jerseys include their players' names) trailing the New Orleans Saints by thirteen points, 44-year-old quarterback Tom Brady (who spent four years at one college, the University of Michigan) ran a clinic Monday night for all quarterbacks present and future.  

With the aid of glue-palmed receivers, an inspired offensive line, a defense which made quick work of the Saints after his first TD, and a heaven-sent 'pass interference' penalty, he led his team to a 17 to 16 victory!  He even had to pass for the winning touchdown twice, due to an untimely holding penalty by a Buccaneer's offensive lineman.  You had to see it to believe it.  The Buc's winning touchdown, 'a short pass to a rookie receiver who ran one yard into the end zone,' came with only three seconds remaining on the clock!

JL

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And of course, please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it.  The place to send them is: 

https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com

It has come to my attention that Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, has revised its forwarding abilities.  If you click on the envelope with the arrow at the conclusion of every posting, (it looks like this:   ), you will have the opportunity to list as many email addresses as you wish, along with a comment from you, each of which will receive a link to the full blog that you now are reading, with all of its bells and whistles.  This is a great advance from the very basic format Google Blogspot originally provided when they forwarded something for you.  It might take a few minutes longer for your message to be transmitted but this method of forwarding offers the advantage of being able to forward jackspotpourri to many addresses simultaneously. Try it.

Either way will work, sending them the link above or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.   

JL 

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12-2-2022 - Popular Election of a President, the Fascism Luncheron, The 1st Amendment, World Cup Officiating, this Blog's Viewers, and My Newspaper Choices

 

 

                          

Fuentes, the DFP, and West - An evil trio!

                                       

 A Fascist Luncheon at Mar-a-Lago

Here’s the text of a letter I sent to the Palm Beach Post, published on Nov. 30. 

‘Any individual, organization, or charity, planning an event at Mar-a-Lago should be aware of the white supremacist, antisemitic, holocaust-denying, and pro-fascist dinner guests whom that establishment’s resident-owner recently welcomed there.  There are plenty of other catering facilities in Palm Beach County.’  

Groping with the problem of what to do with its imminent big fund-raising event scheduled for Mar-a-Lago is the Salvation Army, whose principles suggest it should cancel it and reschedule it elsewhere, a move which would negate months of detailed planning.  The theme of the event actually is a tribute to cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, a supporter of the Salvation Army and builder of Mar-a-Lago, which ended up in the government's hands before it was sold to its present resident.   Not doing so might even result in bad publicity reducing the amount of money dropped into their red kettles during their holiday campaign.  (To some, it comes down to how seriously the Salvation Army takes the biblical answer to the theological question, ‘What Price Salvation?’ ) 

But getting back to that sit-down meal with the Defeated Former President, by now you ought to be aware that Kanye West (Ye) brought along America First leader Nick Fuentes to dinner (or was it just lunch) with the DFP at Mar-a-Lago last week. If you are not, you should seriously consider your sources of obtaining news.

Fuentes represents and leads an antisemitic, Holocaust-denying, white supremacist organization.

The DFP’s claims that he didn’t know with whom he was breaking bread, are ridiculous.  Fuentes had swiped the America First moniker from the DFP who had been using it during his campaigns, probably ignorant of its historic origins and connections with right wing groups in this country.  Opponents of this country’s entry into the Second World War, many of whom had ideas similar to Fuentes’, used it.

Obviously, the DFP needs these kinds of allies on the extreme right to counter the Republicans who are showing early signs of growing back some brains again and abandoning him.  And such right-wing allies will not hesitate to use violence, as they proved in Charlottesville in 2017 and on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol, much to the delight of the DFP.

For more information on Fuentes, The New York Times article by Peter Baker (11/29) is very informative.  Try to find it at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/briefing/nick-fuentes-trump.html or by CLICKING HERE.   If you cannot get into the Times site, there is a lot in the Anti-Defamation League’s report on him at https://www.adl.org/blog/nicholas-j-fuentes-five-things-to-know.  JUST CLICK HERE to view that.

It is to low-life bigots like Fuentes and West that the DFP is turning for help.  It’s hard to find anyone in this country worse than this crew, but given the chance, the DFP will find them.  No one gets invited to chow down with the DFP at his place without his knowledge.

Fuentes is a very bad guy, far worse than West whose simplistic antisemitism is part of his effort to lead, trading on his fame as an entertainer, those Americans of color who are looking for someone to blame for what they see as historic injustices.  West should better look across the luncheon table at his white supremacist ‘friend,’ Nick Fuentes, who represents a far better target for his venom and is a sworn enemy of persons of color.   

Any Republican who fails denounce Fuentes as well as the DFP for sharing a meal with him at Mar-a-Lago is not fit to hold any political office and is participating in the death and burial of their party. 

And a lot of Republicans should be asking, as the Salvation Army might be, ‘What Price Salvation?’  There are limits.

JL

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How to Elect a President by Popular Vote

Of the many requests I receive for political donations, one that I definitely disagree with is one asking for money to support a Constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College, an idea allegedly but probably inaccurately attributed to Robert Reich, who served in Bill Clinton’s cabinet. 

Reich, a noted professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator, is smart enough to know that such an amendment would need the support of two-thirds of each House of Congress and three-quarters of the States, and is extremely unlikely to be approved.  A better method, which I believe Reich supports, is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, whereby State legislatures pass legislation requiring a State’s electoral votes to go to the candidate with the greatest number of popular votes, nationwide.

If States with a total of 270 electoral votes pass such legislation, the popular vote would, in effect, determine who won the election, not the Electoral College. (There are 538 votes in the Electoral College.)  As of now, fifteen States (plus D.C.) have passed such legislation with a total of 195 electoral votes.   Those States are Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, California, Illinois, New York, and the District of Columbia.

That means that all that is now required is for such legislation to be passed and signed into law in enough States to provide 75 additional electoral votes! We are getting close!  This spotlights the importance of elections for governors and State legislators.  Now, ask me to donate for that, and I might write a check! 

JL

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Officiating in the World Cup Matches

I am not an expert in this area, but it is clear to me as I watch the World Cup Football matches (or Soccer as we in the United States call it) on TV, that having only one ‘referee’ on the field watching for violations and otherwise managing the game is grossly inadequate.

True, there are ‘linesmen’ on the sidelines determining who was responsible for knocking a ball out of bounds or when a player might be ‘offsides’ and another official available off the field when a video has to be reviewed, but there is only one ‘referee’ on the field, trying to keep up with 22 athletes (including two goal keepers) running back and forth for at least an hour and a half, watching for violations and otherwise managing the game.

No one person can do that without missing something and making mistakes. They would need eyes in the back of their heads to do the job properly.  I fully understand the frustration and anger of players when a foul is missed by a referee who happened to be looking in some other direction at the time.  This happens at least a dozen times in every match.  Contrast this with the number of officials actually on the field (three) in ‘American’ football. This should be corrected for what the rest of the world calls football, but what we call Soccer, with the addition of a second ‘referee’ on the field. 

JL

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Increasing Viewership of Jackspotpourri!

From the statistics I try to keep an eye on, it looks like my suggestion (repeated again at the end of this posting) regarding forwarding it to others have been working.  Viewership of Jackspotpourri’s last posting more than doubled from prior postings. 

With that in mind, and I hope this message reaches some of those newer viewers, I urge you to provide your email address to me so that I might add it to the list (now at about 55) of those who regularly receive email alerts which precede each new posting on Jackspotpourri.  Then you won’t have to count on someone else forwarding it to you.

You can send it to me at jacklippman18@gmail.com

JL

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Newspaper Choices

This month, I switched back to the Palm Beach Post after a few months of subscribing to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  It was a hard decision. That paper’s inability to endorse anyone for governor or senator in the recent elections, the policy dictated by their hedge-fund ownership, was the last straw, adding to the Fort Lauderdale newspaper’s emphasis on Broward County material, of no interest to me, even in their supposed ‘Palm Beach County’ edition.  

Meanwhile, the Post is not without problems of its own.  I was disappointed to discover that its ‘opinion’ pages including readers’ letters are no longer published every day.

In April of 2022, the Post's Gannett, Inc. owners asked its many newspapers (100 daily papers and over 1000 weeklies) to ‘de-emphasize’ those opinion pages believing that (1) they are the least read part of the paper and (2) they are the greatest reason for the cancellation of subscriptions.  From a dollars and cents viewpoint, they may be correct, but this is an unhealthy approach to journalism on which I will have to keep an eye.  

A healthier approach to journalism can be found in an article published back in July in ‘brilliantio.com,’ entitled ‘Why Journalism is the Cornerstone of Democracy.’  Gannett’s management should take note of this.  Good journalism should be practiced seven days a week, even if it loses a paper a few subscribers. Excerpts from it read as follows:

 ‘Journalism plays an important role in holding those in power accountable. Journalists are critical in keeping elected officials and government agencies honest at the local news, state, or national levels  … It helps to foster a well-informed citizenry, which is essential for the functioning of any democracy. In a world where information is increasingly available, it is more important than ever to be able to sort through the noise and find reliable sources of information.’

While Gannett’s business-based reduction of ‘opinion’ pages in its papers might end up being a back door to the kind of censorship that caused the Sun-Sentinel’s failure to endorse anyone for the Senate or Governorship last month, it does appear to be a reasonable compromise.  Meanwhile, I also maintain a low priced ($4 a month) digital subscription to the New York Times which gives me everyday access to its headline stories each morning that serves to balance the reduction in the appearance of ‘opinion’ in the Post.

But on the good side, after several months of the Sun-Sentinel every day, I decided to go back to the Post.  Its sports and local coverage have improved.  Its comics were always better as is its far more readable typography, a larger sized font than the Sun Sentinel’s, and its wider selection of occasional national columnists.  And of course, the Sun-Sentinel had no one to equal political humorist Frank Cerabino. They did have the Post’s old editorial page editor, Randy Schultz, writing for them but that wasn’t enough.

While there really are no substitutes for the Washington Post or the New York Times, our leading ‘national’ newspapers, reading a locally oriented daily newspaper that does a decent job reporting national and worldwide news as well is important in today’s world. The late Tip O’Neill, former House Speaker, famously said that ‘all politics are local.’  And reading a good local newspaper is essential to being aware of local issues and local politics.  Except in New York, the Times does not fill that role, so subscribing to a local paper is necessary.

I read the Post’s printed paper version over coffee each morning and occasionally access its digital edition, which sometimes include ‘bonus sports or news sections’ not present in the print edition as well as material taken from Gannett’s flagship newspaper, USA Today, and is superior to that of the Sun-Sentinel.  Actually, there is a digital link to USA Today provided each day with Post subscriptions which provides access to some, but not all, of what is in that ‘nationwide’ Gannett newspaper! 

JL

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First Amendment Woes - Suicide by Speech

Misuse and misinterpretation of the Second Amendment is not the only problem with the Bill of Rights.  For information on the dangers presented by misuse of the First Amendment as well, which enables those like West and Fuentes (see above article) to thrive and survive, check out the Nov. 29 posting on another blog, written by a wise retired attorney, Marty London.  Its title is ‘Suicide by Speech.’   Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy, but it also can lead to its downfall. Read this well-reasoned piece at https://londonsbh.blogspot.com/ or by CLICKING HERE.

JL

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And of course, please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it.  The place to send them is: 

https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com

IMPORTANT: It has come to my attention that Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, has revised its forwarding abilities.  If you click on the envelope with the arrow at the conclusion of every posting, (it looks like this:  ), you will have the opportunity to list as many email addresses as you wish, along with a comment from you, each of which will receive a link to the full blog that you now are reading, with all of its bells and whistles.  This is a great advance from the very basic format Google Blogspot originally provided when they forwarded something for you.  It might take a few minutes longer for your message to be transmitted but this method of forwarding offers the advantage of being able to forward jackspotpourri to many addresses simultaneously. Try it.

Either way will work, sending them the link above or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.   

 

JL

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