Cancel culture has become just another "white supremacy" or "systemic racism," a bugaboo to be blamed for every setback. The horse was not "cancelled," it was doped by the trainer - as were several others by the same trainer over the years.

"This America's different." How so, Bob? Is it because "this America" has better drug tests and you can't get away with what you used to get away with?

Horse racing, like boxing, is a sport built on and by betting. As such, its practitioners have always skirted ethics and rules with sometimes reckless abandon. Baffert is a white Don King - bad hair, bad ethics, and whiny excuses when caught.

This is clever.

https://creapills.com/truesync-flawless-levres-films-20210511

But there's a lot to be said for letting viewers of foreign films be reminded —clumsily, and moment-by-moment— that these cultural artifacts we've composed with their sensitivities in mind.

And of course, miscreants can put whatever the want into someone's mouth at this point.

Everybody still have access to gasoline?

Everybody still have access to gasoline? ~ Crid at May 11, 2021 10:16 AM

Living in Florida and California, I got in the habit of keeping a few 5-gal cans on hand for emergencies. Filled them up last month with new gasoline since gasoline only stores for a year or two, even with Stabile in it.

With the Jeep getting 16 mpg in the city, that's good for about 240 miles.

North Carolina might be on the verge of an emergency. Twitter is reporting that folks in Asheville are having trouble finding gas stations with any inventory. Charlotte may be next.

As a child, I lived through the late '70s with gas lines, racial strife, shortages, brown outs, Mideast violence, and inflation. We had an inept, but well-meaning Democrat in the White House then, too. This is all starting to feel eerily familiar.

Looks to me that Kamala Harris wasn't the only one who got by in politics by not having a gag reflex:

https://twitter.com/MonicaCKlein/status/1392091392290217984

MIT researchers 'infiltrated' a Covid skeptics community a few months ago and found that skeptics place a high premium on data analysis and empiricism.

https://mobile.twitter.com/commieleejones/status/1391754136031477760

This starts with a long comic strip - but some of the comments are more thoughtful and compassionate to both sides than you might expect.

It's about those husbands who expect to be "asked" to do chores, as if they were clueless children, instead of having to be proactive. (From what I can tell, we're not talking about wives who get mad over every tiny mistake when a chore DOES get done.)

Personally, I think my rule would be something like "let's not do any TV/video games/goofing off unless we're doing that together, and the rest of the time, we WORK. If that doesn't work out after a year, we'll try something else."

After all, what's the point of being an adult if you can't figure out how to take pride in jobs that NEED to be done - or pride in being a real, adult partner who works toward a common goal? (Much like your paying job?)

https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/

Here's one commentator. (Note that this is her father she's talking about - and, for the record, MY dad is always good at cleaning, but only cooks simple meals):

Jumi
18 JANUARY 2021 AT 14 H 10 MIN
My parents are separated, and as I’ve gotten older I’ve done more and more of managing my dad’s household (more than just chores kids usually take on, the actual “management position” you referred to). He recently said that “you should have asked!” in response to me explaining I felt too relied upon to do household tasks–and I was just left speechless. Was it that simple? Was this the magic key to less exhausted daily life and having leisure time back? But when is the opportunity to ask, exactly? When helping my little sister with something distracts me from cooking, like your example of the overflowing pot on the stove, is he not prompted to step in? Or is it only his responsibility once it’s clattering loudly and distracting him and affecting him directly? Are communal tasks only ever his once I’ve acknowledged it as A Task To Complete, and asked would you like to help with a Task I have figured out and then delegated? When does he start to consider the household /his/, and therefore /also his/ to manage? My sister doesn’t need to be prompted to recognize the kitchen has gotten a little too dirty and that she can go ahead and clean a space she herself lives in! But of course, she was socialized that way.

You mentioned a possible solution in feeling guiltless over disengaging from the managerial tasks and leaving things up to the other person, but what if they never take on the tasks you stop overmanaging because they’re used to everything being assigned to them and now won’t take on new things undirected? For example, I’ve lacked the energy to do the grocery shopping when the fridge was looking empty, but I figured it could wait a day. But the next day I’m drained from schoolwork. And the next day from this or that and we really need to get groceries, but he never thinks to make the run himself with that list helpfully taped right there on the fridge. This comes back to the question for those that say “you should have asked!” When? This is a gradual process of needing to get groceries more and more pressingly, and it was the next logical step when you see the fridge is empty, when could I have suddenly realized you weren’t going to do the task unprompted? It’s food for all of us, it’s a group responsibility; why is that not a Task for you to do? When your search for those chips you like only found them on the grocery list, did you never think, hmm, I’ll go buy those? Oh, actually I’m remembering he does do grocery runs like this. In which he buys only the chips. It just feels like a lack of consideration for the whole household, instead there’s consideration only for yourself. “The Household is not my responsibility, only My Tasks are my responsibility, and maybe I add some Tasks to my list because I want to add them, and I’ll do Tasks delegated to me to ‘do my part,’ because I’m focused on me and my part and what I might do for myself, and the wholistic, collective perspective–the Household–isn’t my responsibility.” This seems very tied to the emotional mental load women carry in terms of needing to cater to everyone else’s needs and make sure everyone’s comfortable and happy–the antithesis of focusing only on your own part. Individualism strikes again.

For all my complaining, my dad does still take on some household tasks automatically, without being managed, and we’ve been expanding those to prepare for when I move out, but that again falls more on me thinking to arrange this and easing him into living alone again. I really appreciate this comic as it has helped me recognize this phenomenon in my own life, clarifying what I saw as “he just needs to help more” into “he views his help as directed by me too often and needs to take on responsibilities of running the household, not just individual chores.” I also think this comic will help me explain it all to my dad when I raise the issue again. So thanks 🙂

Ellie K
26 JANUARY 2021 AT 9 H 46 MIN
Hi Jumi. Your situation is more difficult than living with a male spouse. I am STEM-y, and have no problem issuing dictats to male romantic partners I live with, e.g. saying,

“I am no longer going to the market to get groceries for us. If you do not do the shopping properly when the refrigerator is almost empty, then you will go hungry for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Going to the store and buying only chips does not constitute proper shopping. Rather, proper shopping is defined as taking the list which I helpfully wrote up and taped to the door, then going to the market, purchasing the items, and putting them in their proper places upon returning home. I will be supportive and provide guidance when you make mistakes, but this is just like a task at work. You must learn how to do it correctly.”

My father is gone from this world, but I love him very much. My stepmother died, and I had to get him accustomed to living on his own. He was healthy and alert, quite capable. I didn’t want to be disrespectful or unkind to him, never! Sometimes I would hold in my feelings, then get exasperated and yell at my father, which was awful.

Finally, I took the mindset that I was hurting him by being so accommodating. He would need to do these things for himself, and it would be better for him to learn while I was available, nearby, to help. Try being polite but unyielding when telling your father what he needs to do. Don’t apologize. You actually DO know what is best for him, an odd feeling maybe, but valid. You are a good daughter for caring for your father, but you have your own life to live.

(end)

Another one from Ellie K, in April:

There are no women on submarines, nor were there any women on naval ships until about 30 years ago. Toilets still needed cleaning, food needed cooking, dishes had to be washed and put away after every meal, laundry had to be done, shirts needed to be ironed, etc. Occasionally, there were sewing tasks, for officer’s buttons and probably ripped sails. Men did all these things without any woman’s instruction or oversight.

I have only read a dozen of the many comments, so I do not dispute whether prior comments suggest men have a genetic abnormality when it comes to household duties. Y’all are just as capable as women at managing a household. Plenty of men are more capable than I am at it...

(snip)

Yes, Lenona, women are SO put-upon by men. I suggest that women live only by themselves. That way, they can be responsible for EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. Poor babies!

Jay R:

Ohmigod! YOU, an advocate for single motherhood? Shock! Horror! (sarc)

Fellow Olds— You probably once ran into this guy, if only in a film class.

Inept, well-meaning, and ineffectual, and expensive.

I hate this guy.

> After all, what's the point
> of being an adult if…

Time to Crack Down, Lenona! Get on it, kiddo!

Or were you expecting MEN, perhaps even men with GUNS, to do the "crack down" part on your behalf?

You know perfectly well I meant parents, Crid. (There's no shortage of parents who spoil their kids - or who unfairly favor one gender over the other.) People who grow up to be constantly inconsiderate generally weren't taught, firmly, to BE considerate. Co-workers at your job shouldn't have to teach you to be considerate, and neither should anyone else.

Of course, parents who act like drill sergeants and hound their kids can easily see their efforts backfire, but it IS possible to be strict and hands-off at the same time. Sort of like some sports coaches.

In the meantime, now that Norman Lloyd is gone, that means that when it comes to English-speaking audiences and actors born before 1920, there are only TWO actors left (they had secondary roles in reasonably famous movies). They are:

Marsha Hunt ("Smash-Up," 1947 - it stars Susan Hayward and it's about alcoholism)

Nehemiah Persoff (he played Little Bonaparte in "Some Like it Hot")

> You know perfectly well I meant

I didn't actually read that closely, I just wanted to tease you for 'cracking down.'

Conan: about gasoline: at the motorcycle dealer, you can buy 5-gal cans of 100-octane which do NOT age in storage. You might also ask your local airport about buying 100LL, which also doesn't die in storage.

It's amazing to me how horrible "modern" gas is. The product is actually the cheapest possible substance your semi-intelligent car can burn.

Today's news at the Associated Press:

"The Biden administration is holding tens of thousands of asylum-seeking children in an opaque network of some 200 facilities that The Associated Press has learned spans two dozen states and includes five shelters with more than 1,000 children packed inside."

Amy Dickinson on how (some) boomers are averse to therapy. This surprises me; I'd always thought that hardly any boomers, these days, were averse and that it was the Silent Generation that was prejudiced enough to say things like "you should have the strength within yourself to solve it."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/advice/ask-amy-uninterrupted-conversations-lead-to-monologues/2021/04/30/1d3b2b08-a708-11eb-8c1a-56f0cb4ff3b5_story.html

Dear Amy: Why are so many middle-aged folks/baby boomers resistant to mental health care?
While millennials (like me) openly seek help for our issues, we watch our parents go in circles with the same issues — emotions, stress, social dysfunction — and insist they don't need help.
They are often defensive and hostile to the suggestion, saying, "It wouldn't work" even though they've never tried it.

For those of us who have put in some hard work on ourselves, it's hard to watch them go through the same patterns over and over and refuse to talk to professionals.
— Frustrated

Frustrated: Even though I am of the generation you critique for not taking care of ourselves, I cannot reject your blanket assertion because I think you’re right!
To spitball my own assertions, I’ll try to explain that we boomers were raised by a generation who had stoically survived — and suffered through — a global conflict. Our parents encouraged us to “keep calm and carry on,” “suck it up,” and sometimes demonstrated unhealthy forms of “self-medication” in the form of nightly cocktails.
Also, mental health treatment has made huge strides in the past 20 to 30 years, thanks in part to the work and advocacy of boomers. (You’re welcome, by the way...)
I think it is helpful and compassionate for your generation to give your own parents credit for raising you to be in full touch with your own feelings, to take great and good care of yourselves, and to seek mental health help and support when you need it.
I hope you can encourage your parents to do the same.

Which brings me to something else. Back in early January, 2014, a Catholic Republican acquaintance of mine (who's diabetic and on disability) was talking about the Supreme Court, health insurance, and how religious employers shouldn't have to go against their beliefs, etc.

I said (not verbatim): "What if that should, some day, include refusing to help patients get their Prozac on the grounds that it's morally wrong to get help for depression, aside from your own willpower?"

He suddenly went silent.

That is why you should pay for your own healthcare and not depend on someone else to do that.

Tada! Your moral confusion is resolved.

And, as you could tell from than one detail above, that conservative acquaintance of mine likely wouldn't quite agree with you.

Then he is wrong. Simple as that. Employer purchasing of health insurance is a response to wage controls during world war 2. I don't know if you've looked outside recently but world war 2 seems to be over. It is long past time for people to pay for their own services.

Keep your deal with your employer simple. Demand cash. It works better for everyone involved.