The Sunday Rumble: 30.7.17

I funked it!   And yes, I did spell that correctly.  I am referring to my somewhat rash promise to myself the other day that I would have a massive cull of my book shelves.  I did make a start but most of what I tossed out were old play scripts which are now, alas, surplus to requirements.  However, since then I have been picking out one or two of my history books and re-reading them.  I have just started Andrew Roberts' biography of Lord Salisbury.  It weighs a ton so picking it up also counts as my daily exercise.  If I come up with any more daft ideas, do feel free to tell me I'm a prat!

 

More from A Shropshire Lad:

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free."
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
"The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue."
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

 

Dan Hodges throws a mean punch:   Well, he is a bit of a bruiser having lost an eye in a pub fight defending a lady.  Today, however, he rather sensibly lays into a weedy, old geezer called Jeremy Corbyn!  His opening paragraph sets the scene: 

If you were one of the 12 million people who turned out to support Labour in the Election, I have some bad news for you. There’s no gentle way to break this, so I’m just going to come out with it. Jeremy Corbyn thinks you’re a mug.

Well, if you're one of those teeny-weeny millennials who actually believed 'Jezza' would vanish your student debt you have just had your first lesson in Politics 101!

 

I told you he was a gent:   I refer, of course to the 'Right Honourable Sir' Lewis Hamilton, chauffeur supreme!  Listening to the Hungarian Grand Prix, because my ex-Best Friend, 'Rupe', makes it too expensive to watch, I hear that he requested his team mate to move over so he could get past to have a go at those damned Ferraris.  Alas, despite his heroics they held him off and so that damned Hun won the race.  However, on the last lap 'Sir' Lewis moved over as promised and allowed his team mate to finish third.  What a pukka gent!

 

Could they run a piss-up in a brewery?   I refer, of course, to our less than distinguished government.  They are making a total 'Horlicks' of Brexit mainly due to that "straight-backed chinless wonder" who, rumour has it, runs the Treasury.  Then there is that mouthy bird in charge of the Home Office who seems to be in favour of a Merkel policy on immigration.  Then there is that lesbian minister who has announced that from now on anyone can be any sex they feel like without anyone being allowed to ask questions.  The next time I find myself in a ladies' dress shop I must wander into the changing rooms and assure them I am really and truly female.

 

And then there is Gove!   There was a time when I rather approved of Michael Gove MP but then he had a mental fit when 'Dim Dave' finally did the decent thing and retired by suddenly launching an attack on Boris (his ex-Best Friend) in a futile attempt to seize the leadership for himself.  Daft as a brush, I thought, but that didn't stop 'St. Theresa of May' bringing him back into the cabinet.  Now he has blithely announced that all petrol and diesel cars will be run off the roads by 2040 and replaced with electric cars. I read somewhere that we would need at least five more Hinckley Point nuclear stations to provide enough energy power.  Nor, so far, has Mr. Gove explained how car owners who live in blocks of flats are supposed to recharge their batteries.  Also, I gather, that the size of lorries will need be reduced by around 60% in order for them to drive much more than 25 miles!  Get a grip, Gove, you clot!

 

I have no wish to travel anywhere:   Hitherto, I have always enjoyed travelling but not anymore.  A friend invited me to join him and his family in the heart of bucolic France this Summer.  Without thinking I instantly accepted - but then I thought about it!  Driving through Calais is a bit like driving through Syria these days.  Crossing to another Channel port means a longer crossing and then hours and hours of driving.  Flying, of course, means coping with crowded airports and utterly crap airlines.  Today's headline in The Telegraph merely confirms my grumpy fears:

EasyJet passenger holding a baby 'punched by Nice airport worker during flight delay'

 

Glengarry Glen Trump:   The National Review is beginning to rival The Spectator in detached, humorous assessments of 'our less-than-glorious' leaders.  An article in today's edition by the always shrewd Kevin D. Wilson slices Trump and his administration - if you can call it an 'administration' - straight down the middle.  Read it and weep - with either tears or laughter! 

 

No more rumbles today

 

Comments

[mike fowle]

I've got that biography of Salisbury, even as a paperback it runs to nearly 1,000 pages. I've yet to tackle it......

[Whitewall]

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/07/u-k-news-is-eerily-familiar.php

The current war should be our focus in the West.

[Bob]

Any motive assigned to Corbyn by the loyal opposition should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. The current government has no idea how to proceed with Brexit either:

"British government divided on free movement after Brexit"

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-idUSKBN1AE0RW

[Whitewall]

"Then there is that mouthy bird in charge of the Home Office who seems to be in favour of a Merkel policy on immigration. Then there is that lesbian minister who has announced that from now on anyone can be any sex they feel like without anyone being allowed to ask questions". Brexit or no, with two loons like those, Britain will allow itself to be eaten alive and just stand dead in time for Islam to remind each gender what each is for. That "religion" has no gender confusion.

[Peter G]

Well you can readily understand how disappointed Labour voters, particularly the young, must be that Elizabeth May the current Prime Minister is not carrying out Corbyn's campaign promises. Obviously the shrewd move must be to vote Conservative in the next election because that will force her to do that. Right? That's some clear thinking that is right there that is!

Perhaps relieving students of piles and piles of student debt despite presumed English competence in finance is beyond them. Why don't you ask the Germans how to do it? They seem to know how. And they also seem to know that saddling graduates with debt loads that can take a decade to repay prevents them from partaking in those wonderful free markets and creating demand for goods and services. Smart nations seem to know instinctively that investing in higher end taxpayers, college and university graduates, is a smart investment. Particularly in these competitive free trade globalizing times. In fact I would go so far as to say this is another reason the Germans are going to eat your lunch.

[Whitewall]

The Germans have been on the verge of eating everyone's lunch since 1871. They seem susceptible to frequent bouts of food poisoning of their own making.

[David Duff]

If anyone can make head or tail of PeterG's comment do let me know, er, well, on second thoughts, don't bother!

[Peter G]

I will endeavor to explain it to you David and I will use simple words. The leader of your government is the Prime Minister. That is not Corbyn. It is May. Imagine the surprise that Labor voters did not feel when May did not move to honor Corbyn's campaign promises? The policy per se is wise. Saddling students with massive amounts of debt is stupid. It drags on the economy in many ways. My guess is that is the part you don't understand.

So you want a meritocracy do you? Where social privileges are earned by merit? Or do you prefer the old inherited doofus system? I'm asking because the latter is a bit of a handicap when your plan is to sail off into the wonderful world of free market free trade competition. The WTO has nothing to say about who educates the most students or the best. But the nations that have the best will win. That, as they say, is the end of the story. So if you imagine that creating the highest possible barriers, massive amounts of debt, is the conservative key to winning that particular competition I will leave you to explain how that works as either an end in and of itself or how these graduates can spend their earnings twice, on debt repayment and purchasing goods and services. Show us the magic!

[Peter G]

That was a noble effort David to try and find common ground. Don't all our leaders suck?! Well no. In fact they don't. It's not Manichaean at all. Some don't suck. Some moderately suck like your May. Some completely suck like Donald Trump. The latter is unique in his profound ignorance. There is hardly a national leader anywhere in the world who doesn't know more about government and policy than Trump. Sorry no lumping together allowed.

[Timbo]

David, you seem to have a blind spot regarding President Trump. While all the dimwits, Democrats, Nevertrumpers, sore losers, whiners etc etc (sorry for all the repetition) are fixated on his tweets or hair or whatnot, he is getting stuff done. Electing a very sound Supreme Court judge, delivering a resounding kick in the goolies to the Climate Change fraud, now with his sights on EPA overreach, education, getting the military back to basics I.e. Focusing on the ability to kill and destroy stuff and not pandering to mentally ill individuals. He has the potential to be one of the truly great presidents.

[Peter G]

Come Timbo, David is doing the best he can to tar all political leaders with the Trump brush. You can't expect him to do much more than that. You can't expect everyone not to notice what you yourself can't see. The smart guys on the conservative side can see it quite clearly too hence the link to the National Review. I'll give you this, you have the audacity of hope.

[TheBigHenry]

Timbo,

Best to ignore the hosers. Everyone's a critic. Because easy.

[Whitewall]

Timbo, that's a great take on Trump! While the side show captures the media and mentally ill Left...but I repeat myself, Trump is getting more done through properly functioning administrative agencies including a plunge in illegal immigration across our southern border. It is true he knows little about government, but what have those who know more done to us? Trump likes the company of some people with bad manners. Our last president liked the company of some people with bad ideology.

It would not surprise me if Trump did a turn on the Republicans AND Democrats all at once over the failed Obamacare. All of them lied over it. After all, Trump ran against BOTH parties as well as the media and the DC Swamp. There might be a massive political realignment within four years.

[David Duff]

Perhaps I should make clear to all my readers, Left, Right and Centre, that I am not given to the worship of politicians of any political slant. Perhaps the nearest I came to it was when 'that woman' was in power, not that she was perfect but she came damned close.

Alas, Timbo, apart from choosing a Right-wing judge, not exactly a difficult task given the make up of the Congress, he does not appear to me to have achieved anything very much and his personnel appointments are, by his own subsequent actions in sacking many of them, not exactly a sign of good judgment! Of course, he's only a few months into his Presidency so we must await those wretched "events, dear boy, events!"

Even so, as I have stated before, I would have voted for him on the 'ABHB' principle - Anyone But HillBilly!

[Peter G]

Inconsistencies are the hobgoblins of little minds it is said. Massive contradictions on the other hand are the fruit of extremely minute minds. So all politicians are the same, whatcha gonna do? Except Hillary the incarnation of all that is vile and evil. And you'll prove it in fifty years or so when the investigations are complete.

[TheBigHenry]

David,

I understood you to be not given to the "worship" of politicians of any political slant. But you are a bit given to hyperbole, as evidenced by your use of the word "worship" (your implication being that the opposite of a negative view is "worship").

[Peter G]

Ah Henry. Psssst. A whisper in your ear. You know all that criticism you've been fond of spewing? You've just equated that with both being easy and establishing the critic as a hoser. Do not be so hard on yourself. Look what you just came up with! It's a perfectly valid criticism of David and his propensity to hyperbole in, well, everything regardless of fact or nuance.

[TheBigHenry]

I will allow myself a bit of elaboration on my foregoing remark ...

Not even George Washington nor (dare I say it?) Abraham Lincoln was worthy of worship! Perhaps the only human ever so worthy is the GOAT (in basketball), Big Mike Jordan!

[TheBigHenry]

PG,

As I said, everyone is a critic, which includes me. But not everyone is strictly a critic.

Most of the people who comment here enjoy each other's company, despite occasional disagreements and occasional criticisms. You, however, must be the belligerent hoser.

[Timbo]

The appointment of judge Gorsuch to the SCOTUS is no small matter. Without Trump in the campaign, HRC would have been a shoe-in, riding roughshod over any of the GOP candidates put up against her. Trump fights.

[Bob]

Technically Trump did nominate him, but it's a stretch to consider Gorsuch a Trump accomplishment. Mitch McConnell kept the seat open until after the election and deserves most of the credit.

Everything else is termite-like: The use of executive orders, which Republicans considered evil during the previous administration; appointing people ideologically opposed to the departments they run to disassemble them; not filling appointments; continuing to ramp up immigration enforcement that had already been upped by the "deporter in chief" Obama, and so on. His ban on Transsexuals in the military is being ignored by the Pentagon for the time being.

Trump has gotten no major legislation through Congress. In fact he's hindered it. His travel ban has been diminished in the courts and is still facing challenges. Several attempts to repeal Obamacare have failed and there is no serious replacement bill. His Mexican border wall has gotten only token financing. Tax reform is looking iffy because the expected tax cuts would have been financed by cutting healthcare expenditures.

It's true that if you get your "news" from Fox or right wing talk radio, blogs or other web sites you can think Trump is doing just great. The drip, drip, drip of Russia connections either doesn't exist or is "fake", his popularity rating that seldom breaks the high 30's and his unpopular policies, such as they exist, are never mentioned. If the Republicans survive next year's mid-term elections the rest of us might have to take him more seriously. We'll see.

In the mean time fans can get the most official Trump talking points from Sinclair Broadcasting's Boris Epshteyn, complete with a Russian accent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KZSxJBRDFg

[Michael F Adams]

I think that the senate leadership believed that there was something very fishy about Justice Scalia's untimely death. They could prove nothing, so they said nothing, but they sat on the confirmation of a Dem Justice until after the election, when Mr Trump appointed a Conservative. He does not have a strongly Conservative record, but Mr Trump did, indeed, nominate a strict constructionist Justice. He has also nominated twenty seven lower court judges, who may, in due course, rise to greater heights. Considering how the leftists have used and abused the courts to overturn political decisions that they did not like, seriously frustrating the will of the people, whom they casually dismiss as bigots, this was a strategic move on Senator McConnell's part.

When the Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by that noted Right wing bigot, William J Clinton, they made great strides in personal liberty, or in the destruction of a key bourgeois institution. Rousseau would have been so proud. We were founded as a bourgeois republic, and prospered as one. Nobody stole anything from anyone, but somehow, since Rousseau said it, it must have been so. Absent a time machine to go back to 1757 and start Rousseau on a course of lithium, confirming strict constructionist justices is what we can do. President DJ Trump, whom may God save, has done what he could.

[TheBigHenry]

Michael,

A good response to the other Trump basher here (I do not consider you, David, to be a Trump basher), but I still think there is not much point in responding to the bashers. Let the bashing proceed; no response will change the Left's deranged hatred. As if the Left had nothing to do with the hindering of legislation and the blocking of the President's appointments. History will eventually reveal what it reveals.

BTW, I'm glad the repeal of obamacare failed in the Senate. I have always felt that this POS legislation deserved to die a slow and painful death because of the way obama, pelosi, et al. rammed it up America's ass.

[Whitewall]

Trump is slaying sacred cows and, in the words of "American Greatness" Senior Editor Julie Ponzi, he is killing the gods of the city and no one knows what to do. The only thing anybody knows is that the things we are seeing have never been done before and Donald Trump is refusing to follow any of the proper conventions (if he even knows what they are . . . tsk tsk).

The media—the cornerstone of the establishment—is doing its best to make it clear to the American people that they ought to be wringing their hands about all of this. Chaos reigns in the imperial city, and Trump is to blame. Nothing is getting done, and everything is terrible.

Of course, this is all poppycock.

People should not be upset; they should be enjoying this. . . .

Americans who elected Trump do not worship the current gods of the city. They know you’re responsible for killing the old ones and they wish to return the favor now. We want your gods dead.

Trump is not the cause of Washington’s decline. He’s a symptom, the wrecking ball that many Americans think was required.

[Timbo]

WW, well said.

[Bob]

The NRO piece is representative of the cracks widening among Conservatives, the right, and Republicans. They're the ones who will eventually bring down Trump, not the left. Of course Democrats and the left will help in any way they can, but they're still in disarray and don't have real political or government power at this time.

To be clear, I do not hate Trump. He's a lousy president and glaringly flawed human being, but there's no reason to make an emotional investment in him one way or another. Feelings for patriotism and democracy more or less cancel each other out. That isn't true for public employees, the immigrant and LGBT communities, serious conservatives, leftists and many others, though. The impulse to damage the Washington elite is justified in many ways, but there's real danger it will end badly for the country.

[Richard]

I'm probably missing something here, but "Elizabeth May" is a new one for me. 'Theresa May' 'that bloody woman' or even 'Maggie May' are what come to mind. The latter (of course) is a punning reference to Britain's first lady Prime Minister and an absolutely superb song by Rod Stewart.

I enclose a link to the latter for anyone who wants to hear it again, and for young Pompous, who almost certainly hasn't heard it at all as it is well before his time.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxtCqs2WFZE

[TheBigHenry]

OK, Bob,

"To be clear, I do not hate Trump. He's a lousy president and glaringly flawed human being, but ..."

I'll accept your word on that and clarify my own position. Mr. Trump is a flawed individual (who among us isn't, besides PG?), but by winning the Presidential Election he has already accomplished a great service for our country: (1) he kept the vile Hillary Clinton from the Presidency; and (2) he enabled the eminent Judge Gorsuch, at age 49, to become a Supreme Court Justice. Anything else that President Trump accomplishes in the next 3.5 (or 7.5) years will be pure gravy.

Now, I have already made my position clear on more than one occasion. And (dare I say it?) you have also repeated yourself here. I submit that the other readers here are bored stiff to hear these assertions of ours.

[JK]

What! Me bored TheBigHenry? And for that matter, neither with Bob!

Now as for Pompous G ... well "bored" isn't either a synonym or an antonym and therefore would not be, properly applicable.

(You'd need TheBigHenry, come up with something along the lines of how you *enjoy* the experience with that monoculared piece of shit nearer - geographically speaking - us.)

Carry on.

[TheBigHenry]

Oy,

Why'd you have to remind me of Cyclops, JK? I was having a relatively pleasant day ...

[Bob]

Richard, those were the days... before Stewart started wearing makeup and polyester and singing disco.

-

TBH, I never get bored with politics, not even yours, and am looking forward to seeing if you'll admit Trump has faults worse than being like anyone else.

Bless his pea pickin' heart, JK likes us both. (Sorry if that's TN and not AR, JK).

[TheBigHenry]

Bob,

For me, politics are not only boring but also frequently quite irritating. My feeling is you can't live with them and you can't kill 'em. So I do what I can must, which is vote. More often than not, my candidates lose. Imagine how elated I was last November when I thought there wasn't a chance in hell ...

If it will make your day, however, I will concede that Mr. Trump is an ogre. But I still thank god he won.

[Bob]

TBH, I am gobsmacked, and you might be to know I agree in one way: We don't have Hillary to kick around. Where we differ is that Trump isn't only an ogre but a danger to the republic.

[TheBigHenry]

Bob,

I am not in the least concerned about our beloved Republic. It has survived immense crises: the overwhelming odds against finding George Washington when only he could prevail against Britain; the overwhelming odds against finding Abraham Lincoln when only he could preserve the Union; withstanding Pearl Harbor; succeeding at Normandy; Truman's saving innumerable American lives with Little Boy and Fat Man; the Cuban Missle crisis; f*cking obama; f*cking HRC; et al.

Mr. Trump's flaws as a human being are, IMHO, of little consequence to the Republic. His tweeting is a sideshow that makes the Left go crazy but has no bearing on the ship of state.

I don't want to get into an argument with you about whether or not you disagree with my assessment. It is, of course, my opinion only, but I'm sticking to it and getting on with my life, such as it is.

[Bob]

TBH, fine, except that if you're not interested in politics how can you have informed reasons to hate Obama and HRC?

[TheBigHenry]

Bob,

I think we are speaking past each other. When I say I am "not interested in politics" I don't mean that I don't care what politicians like obama and HRC do to my country. I just don't like arguing with people who support the people I hate. What is the point? I hate obama and HRC. You have strong negative feelings about Mr. Trump. I can live with that, but I don't want to argue about it -- I have better things to do.

[JK]

If you'll allow me TheBigHenry,

Well Bob, its that Entitled To It Thang.

Plus a little bit of that, "It's inevitable don't you (the public) see?" - More on the media-experts that last but, HRC especially oozed that very evident essence.

(An aside Bob, my sister has this little really annoying chihuahua and, whenever Hillary was given the mic if I'd not managed to hit the mute fast enough, the gddamned little mutt would start howling/whining. [Damned dog does it along with my area's TV weather lady but, the weather-show hews to the regularly scheduled so, pretty easy to avoid the howling/shrieking there] But, given the media's adoration of all things Hillary, I'd had to pay too many replacement TVs for my sister ... worse, my excessively Progtarded 'Bro-in-Law.

[JK]

Oops.

Apparently TBH, my (relative) absence from the net has atrophied my trigger-typer.

(As to that absence - I "relocated" my physical residence last October and as yet, ... just maybe never ... I've to bother installing/connecting either tv or internet. Kinda inconvenient to, everytime I need/want access, I gotta go to my office - or worse, "the network" but, my sleep has greatly improved.)

[Bob]

Agreed that people with left and right tendencies usually talk past each other. I'm trying hard not to do that, but have no unrealistic expectations. I'll insist again that I have no emotional investment in Trump, even though it's probably futile.

Also agreed HRC seemed entitled, sometimes absurdly so, but that wasn't apparent in Obama. Trump seems to feel more entitled than both of them put together. He's been berating Republicans for not being more loyal to him and for not changing the Senate rules to repeal Obamacare even though it wouldn't have made a difference. He's even picked a fight with the Boy Scouts.

[JK]

Trump's amusing though Bob. (of course as I've mentioned there's not a tv or a speakered pc in the house - cellphone I admit but, Trump's not got my number.)

Now be honest Bob - when's the last time you, "the real you" - as opposed to the pretty funny D&N you - anyway, when's the last time you observed in the company of friend[s] the wifey, coworkers, ... "Gee guys, since I" [you - being the only fellow in your neighborhood when the imaginary tornado roared over last night destroying all your neighbor's houses and wifey was bowling two counties over] anyway, "Gee guys since I know y'all need some cheering up, Obama/Hillary told this uproariously funny ___________!

Then; after you'd related the _________, cheer was restored?

[Bob]

Well, JK, I don't remember ever repeating anything either of them said because I thought it was funny, but Obama was good at the White House Correspondents' Dinners. He had writers for the jokes, but had a pretty good sense of timing. What has Trump ever said that was funny? Intentionally funny, I mean.

[JK]

Dunno Bob. Maybe if either of the latter marriages happened under religious circumstances and Trump responded with an "I do" but Wolf Blitzer hasn't said.

I know however whenever I do sit down to watch tv I'm sure to see some tv-person's hair on fire - figuratively speaking. Couldn't always depend on that with the O and, where it was Hillary and a tv critter all the glare from Hillary's sunbeams alighting the "In-the-presence-of" adulatee, well that sort of hair on fire makes me think I ought dial 911.

[TheBigHenry]

OK, Bob,

I avoided saying that you "hate" Mr. Trump, but I'll accept that you have "no emotional investment in Trump" at all.

Allow me to amend what I said above:

I hate 0bama and HRC. You have opinions about Mr.Trump, with some of which I tend to disagree. I can live with that, but I don't want to argue about it -- I have better things to do.
______________________________

Now, about Kyrie Irving possibly being traded to the Spurs. I think that might make the Spurs a viable contender against the Warriors in the Western Conference of the NBA. What do you think?

[TheBigHenry]

JK,

No TV? No problem, as far as I'm concerned (except during March Madness). But no computer at home? Sheer madness, dude.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we are in the second decade of the 21st Century, are we not?

[Bob]

JK and TBH.

I care about TV "personalities" even less than individual politicians. Politics is interesting as a subject for a lot of reason.

It's more likely Irving will end up with the Knicks, but I haven't really followed BBall since Jordan left the Bulls.

[TheBigHenry]

Bob,

I also mourn the end of the Jordan era, so we have that in common.

How about them Cubbies?

[JK]

Bob,

I've no connected pc in my home but, that's not to say there's no pc. Too Bob, you've followed along (and quite adroitly I'd concede) with certain comments I've placed which, when you figured appropriate, you've made some effort establishing an enfilading field.

Which, generally, left me to spend more time than was always convenient. (But when I'm "networked" ... conveniently - algorithms you [may] understand ... I'm On-The-Clock) But Bob, I have to also say that I'd rather pass my time "arguing" with you than, for instance, Congressing with the Hairies most simply because, through argument or somesuch we, occasionally, can make headway. Thank God for the American tax-payer - you especially Bob.

(Yeah sorry Bob, but you're on a version of the No-Fly but I figure as you're getting on but [relatively] unencumbered, it ain't gonna affect you much. ... Should you Bob "run into [real] difficulty" just steg TBH and I'll do my best to expedite the paperwork. (Of course you understand I'll not be returning any bonuses and since on off-hours I'm doing everything off remote storages eg flashdrives, it may [probably will] take a little over 72 hours [depending on Zulu] however since Bob, nothing I've initiated turned you up in any of my AORs I figure, you'll be spending no more than 24 hours lockdown - 'observation time' limits I cannot know. But I'll do my best. I promise. TBH, I reckon, promises too. ... Again, relatively speaking 'cause I can't know. TBH "knows how" to get in touch with a person who has the info to direct a sat-burst to me - yeah yeah I know Bob, "No TV, no Internet, we're in the 21st Century and you don't have a pc?!!!"

Well Bob, so you don't worry ... I do have a sat-phone. Just in case.

Now. Where was I? This you Bob ... what was your question?

[Bob]

JK, last time we took a jet we were pre-cleared, but thanks for the offer. And I'm glad you consider me more friendly than an Islamist combatant. I'm kinda choked up.

--

TBH, seems like the Cubs lasted about as long as my hangover after they took the series. That's Chicago sports.

[TheBigHenry]

Bob,

Chi-sports reminds me of my younger days as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan.