Tom Faranda's Folly

Thai Buddhist temple left with no monks after they all fail drug tests (not parody or satire)

Strange. Maybe not though... Meditating? Finding inner peace? Having a vision?

The small religious site in Phetchabun province was raided by police and health officials on Monday. The departure of the monks has caused consternation in the local community, which relies on them for religious functions. There has also been concern about what will happen to several dogs and cats that also live in the temple.

Tuesday's wordle

Jordan Peterson on climate change

I love this guy. His book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos is great. Worth whatever it costs just for the first chapter.

Here he gives a reality check on our efforts to support our planet. Excellent 6 minutes.

Monday's wordle

Consistent Ethic of Life - from their recent email

Brigid an I are major supporters. This is not pie in the sky. It is life or death.

Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal 
 
        The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect on January 22, 2021. Though the nations that actually possess them didn’t ratify the treaty, the international community has made it clear they should stop.
        This is having an impact on finance: a November 2021 report shows $63 billion in investments were moved away from the companies that produce nuclear weapons in the previous two years.

Roe v. Wade Is Overturned
 
        While it doesn’t mean that people have seen the light on what’s wrong with abortion, it does remove a major obstacle toward making progress on protecting unborn children plus all of their families and communities that suffer from the violence used against them.
 
        Last year, we commemorated the tragedy of Roe and the hopefulness of the U.N. Treaty. We still observe on January 22 the anniversary of a court decision that will take us years to recuperate from even when it’s now overturned. But because after all this time it’s finally no longer in effect, and we’ll have our first protest of abortion in general rather than of the court decision in particular, we have more hope for the future. Thus, our Day of Horror and Hope has added more hope.

The Death Penalty Keeps Losing Support
 
        Despite a rise in violent crime in the U.S., two polls show that support for the death penalty is at a 50-year low.
 

^^^^^^^

 
 
Euthanasia for Depression is Ruled Unjust
 
        The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the euthanasia of a depressed woman in Belgium violated Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The woman was given a lethal injection at the age of 64 for “incurable depression,” a surprise to her psychiatrist and a deep anguish to her son. We can hope that people like this woman can get greater care than can ever be available when being killed is pushed.
 

The Sunday wordle

In his will Sports Broadcaster Vince Scully gifted Fordham U. and Fordham Prep $1 million each

This is a very nice article from the Fordham University magazine. Vince Scully was a broadcasting legend.

Sometimes referred to as the Velvet Voice, Scully was beloved for his eloquence and iconic style as an announcer, and provided inspiration for generations of sports broadcasters. Scully served the Dodgers for 67 years, retiring in 2016. He was 94 at the time of his passing on August 2.

The son of Irish immigrants, Vincent Edward Scully graduated from Fordham Prep in 1944 and went on to call baseball, basketball, and football games for WFUV—which was founded during his student years at Fordham College at Rose Hill.

“WFUV turns 75 this fall, and in the beginning, there was Vin Scully,” Singleton said. “Vin set the tone in 1947, and his influence echoes today in the quality work of WFUV’s talented young sports journalists.”

Scully kept up with Fordham over the years, taking interviews from FUV student journalists, hosting some workshops for them, and returning to campus as commencement speaker in 2000 and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University. His presence is also felt in Fordham athletics, since he played for the baseball team as a student.

In remarks after the meeting, Kull said Scully was “more than just a voice; he was an institution and a true master of his craft.”

********************

“As a lifelong Catholic, he had a deep appreciation for the faith foundation provided at this exceptional Jesuit institution,” said White, senior partner with Edward White & Co., LLP, in Woodland Hills, California. He noted that Scully sponsored him during his own conversion to Catholicism. “He loved the foundation that he received, spiritually and academically. Every time he spoke of Fordham, it was glowing.”

 

Saturday wordle

Some Black Friday humor - check the last one ...

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Baby Hippo Raised By Rhinos Meets A Hippo...

Pretty cool. This youtube channel has 12 and a half million subscribers.

 

Friday's wordle

Brooklyn mother cooks & serves Thanksgiving meal to New Yorkers on L train

My friend Nancy sent me this cool story - hit the link and see the two minute video.

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/brooklyn-mother-cooks-and-later-serves-thanksgiving-meal-to-new-yorkers-on-l-train/

 

"Fired Twitter Employee Applies For First Real Job"

Ok, funny. Three million views in one week. I think they used the young lady for a number of their videos.

 

The Thanksgiving wordle

I had a feeling the Thanksgiving wordle would have something to do with Thanksgiving. Sure enough ...

Thanksgiving walk through Brinton Brook Santuary

The Brinton Brook Sanctuary is about 7 minutes from our house. I went for a walk while Brigid was doing the heavy lifting for our Thanksgiving meal. There's a number of trails - I took a leisurely walk of 2.2 miles, chatting to a few people and taking some pictures. Took 55 minutes.

Couple of pictures of the pond which is about 160 yards long and maybe 80 yards wide.

From the south end

From the west side

In a couple of places there are wooden raised platform pathways. They are only a couple of years old - presumably to make the path more passable when there's lots of mud.

A nice modest walk in the woods, in very good weather.

 

 

Turkeys unite with interesting PR strategy

Wednesday wordle

WSJ: "Anti-Woke Bank GloriFi to Shut Down" - not satire or parody

Texas startup has laid off most employees after failing to secure more funding

GloriFi has laid off most of its employees and told them that it is closing up shop, according to people familiar with the matter and emails to employees reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

The company’s fate became clear on Friday, when funding that it hoped would carry it through the first quarter fell through, Cathy Landtroop, the company’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in an email to employees.

************************

GloriFi’s app made its debut in September. The company said customers could open checking and savings accounts and apply for credit cards. The app was aimed at people who saw Wall Street as too liberal and wanted a bank that shared their values.

An October article in the Journal detailed GloriFi’s turbulent start. The company missed launch dates, blaming faulty technology and failures by vendors, and laid off dozens of employees. Some employees said that founder Toby Neugebauer had a volatile temper and drank on the job, and that the company’s unusual workspace—Mr. Neugebauer’s home—added distractions.

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“This is a devastating day,” Mr. Neugebauer wrote in an email to employees.

 

Tuesday wordle - an ace!

Yay! These are always a bit of skill and lots of luck. This took about 30 seconds. Luck...

Soccer World Cup stunner: Saudi Arabia beats Argentina!?!?!? Amazing - and the coach behind the win

Wow. I don't know much soccer, but Argentina is one of the favorites to win the World Cup while Saudi Arabia ranked #51 in the world.

Here are the highlights - Argentina had three goals disallowed in the first half. Two were definitely for offsides, not sure of the other.  Below the highlights a link to an interesting article in the WSJ on the Saudi French coach.

 

 

The French Mastermind Behind Saudi’s Historic Upset of Argentina Hervé Renard has made it his specialty to turn around national teams in Africa and Asia

Weeks before sending the Saudi Arabia national team off to the World Cup, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman summoned the players and staff for a meeting. He wanted to look them in the eye before they became his soccer envoys to Qatar.

His message was clear: Just do your best.

*****************

“He didn’t put any pressure on us,” Saudi manager Hervé Renard said here. “This is the way you have to work in football. When you put too much pressure, it isn’t always working all the time.”

Except this time, it worked. In one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, Saudi Arabia—ranked No. 51 in the world—took down two-time champion Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday. The result immediately joined the list of all-time stunners, alongside Senegal upsetting defending champion France in 2002, North Korea beating Italy in 1966, the U.S. taking down England in 1950 and Cameroon shocking Argentina in 1990. 

According to data analysts Nielsen Gracenote, it ranks as the World Cup’s most unlikely result of all time, with just an 8.7% chance before kickoff.

**************

Saudi hardly expected that kind of impact from its national soccer team. In six appearances at the World Cup, it has only survived the group stage once, in 1994, when it lost in the round of 16. A similar result this time, in a group featuring Argentina, Mexico, and Poland seemed about as realistic as a snowman in the desert. Not one member of the Saudi squad plays his club soccer outside the country and the team won just four of its 11 games this year before the World Cup.

By November, however, Renard had transformed the Falcons, as the team is known, into a well-drilled side that seized its limited opportunities, rode its luck, and bent without breaking for the last half-hour of the game. Saudi Arabia’s solidity came as no surprise to his longtime friend and French countryman, the former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

“They were physically superior, well organized, and mentally prepared,” Wenger said in a text message.

After the game, Renard was the first to remind his squad that once their 20-minute celebration was over, they still had everything to achieve at this tournament. The Saudis weren’t out of the group stage yet, nor should they get carried away. “Relax,” Renard said he told the team. “You are from Saudi. Do you know the first quality of the Saudi player? When they are winning, they are flying.” 

“You think you are one of the best teams in the world?” he added. “Keep your [feet] on the ground.”

But once Renard left the locker room, he could begin to appreciate what he had just pulled off. His team from a soccer backwater in the desert had gone a long way to eliminating Messi, one of the greatest players of all time, from the final World Cup of his career. The Kingdom even declared Wednesday a national holiday. 

Trump back on twitter; Taliban quits in protest

The legitimate government's final tweet read, "So long, and thanks for all the American weapons!"

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Individuals and organizations are quitting Twitter in droves to protest Elon Musk's "recklessly violent" decision to reinstate Donald Trump's Twitter account, chief among them the Taliban.

The legitimate government's final tweet read, "So long, and thanks for all the American weapons!"

"Long has Twitter served as a safe haven of free speech for North Korea, Iran, Al Qaeda, and ourselves," said Taliban Spokesman Badrash Onmyrhir, still tired from a long day of lashing young women for daring to remove their head scarves. "But with Trump's return to the platform, we no longer feel safe from his violent and hurtful tweets."

North Korean Press Secretary, Hae Yu Suk applauded the Taliban's decision, saying: "We, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea have followed The Taliban's courageous gesture and have quit Twitter for fears that allowing a violent lunatic access to the free speech platform may lead to the deaths of millions."

Al Qaeda is reportedly up in the air about quitting Twitter, stating legitimate fears that Trump's mean tweets could reign terror upon the world, while at the same time recognizing Twitter as a powerful tool for recruiting suicide bombers.

At publishing time, the Taliban had already resumed using Twitter, stating in a tweet, "After pausing for much of the weekend to assess our concerns, The Taliban is resuming its activity on Twitter as we continue to monitor the situation."

Epic rugby: England vs. New Zealand, played in London

YIKES! A result you don't see very often.

 

Monday's wordle

Wall Street Journal rates the twenty largest and thirty mid-size USA airports.

An interesting and long set of articles. I was sure they were going to rate JFK as the worst of the 20 but I was wrong. JFK came in 19 out of twenty. The worst? Newark!

The best? San Francisco. 2nd and 3rd place went to Atlanta and Minneapolis.

Among mid-sized airports, where did La Guardia rank? 30th out of 30.

WSJ has a paywall, but sometimes you can get through it.

This year’s airport report card ranks the 50 largest U.S. airports on 19 factors from on-time performance and security waits to J.D. Power customer-satisfaction score and ticket prices. Reliability matters most to passengers and carries the most weight in our rankings. The airports are divided in two categories: the 20 biggest, by number of passengers, and the next 30, categorized as midsize.

Sacramento International Airport, just 100 miles northeast of SFO and a competitor for some Northern California fliers, nabbed the top spot among midsize airports and the highest score overall. Airport director Cindy Nichol, who used to work at San Francisco International, attributes Sacramento’s high score to good weather, plenty of runway space and customer service. The airport’s landscapers even pitch in to direct travelers, she says, earning passenger compliments.

The San Diego and San Jose airports were Nos. 2 and 3 among midsize airports, creating a California trifecta.

The worst performers in the large and midsize classes, respectively, were Newark and LaGuardia Airport. Both are plagued by flight delays and other issues but have big plans for fixes. LaGuardia’s physical makeover is already well under way and you won’t recognize the place if it’s been a while. And Newark’s new Terminal A makes its debut in early December.

 

Sunday wordle

Fraudster embezzler: " "Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Prison"

A short video. And below are links to two other videos I have posted in the past. The first an interview seven years ago as she defends herself after the Wall Street Journal writer exposed her. Virtually everything she says in the interview is a lie. The second is an interview with John Carreyrou, the writer who broke the story and wrote Bad Blood the book about the whole scheme. An amazing book.

The interview defending herself seven years ago - what a master manipulator!

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes: Firing Back At Doubters

And the interview with the journalist who first exposed her -

Bad Blood Author Carreyrou On Elizabeth Holmes And Theranos

 

Saturday wordle

Women's Rugby - World Cup Final! New Zealand v. England

England went into the game with a record 30 game winning streak. 42,000 fans at Eden Park, in Auckland, New Zealand. A "scrappy" match.

 

Yankee stuff - Judge MVP! Rizzo re-signed!

Double Yay for Judge!

And we love Rizzo!

Fr. Thomas Shelley, one of my best Stepinac teachers

Died at the age of 85. I had two outstanding teachers my senior year - F.r Shelley for AP European History and Fr. Bernie McMcahon - who died several years ago - for English (TS Eliot! ... Herman Hesse!)

Fr Shelley (eventually became Msgr.) was written up a few days ago in a very nice article in the Jesuit America magazine.  I left a comment which I will post below the link to the article. He was a historian himself, of some note.

“It is bad form to criticize a living pope. But it’s no sin to praise a dead one.” Msgr. Thomas J. Shelley delivered this sage advice with a wink in his graduate seminar on the 19th and 20th century papacy at Fordham University in the spring of 2005. It was, not coincidentally, just a few weeks after the Catholic Church had buried one pope and elected another, and the learned historian took—as he always did—the long view. It served him well in life and in his career, including the many years he taught at Fordham.

Here's the comment I left -

I want to add that Fr. Shelley also taught at Stepinac in White Plains, NY. I took his AP European History course when I was a senior there (class of 1969), so he would have been in his early 30's. Fr. Shelley was an excellent teacher with a very dry sense of humor. He told us at the end of the course to let him know what results we got on the AP exam as he would not find out otherwise! I always regretted not getting back in touch with him with my results ... until about 40 years later when I left my results in a comment to an article he had written. Just a reminder Msgr Shelley as you strum your harp, I Aced it - 5 out of 5

Thursday wordle

Wednesday wordle

Cocktails: A comprehensive list of James Bond cocktails!

I stumbled across this yesterday. You can get the ingredients and preparation for all 11 of them if you hit the link.

James Bond Cocktails

The definitive guide to all the cocktails that James Bond drinks in each of the films. The Vesper Martini is obviously featured in many, but was first created in Ian Flemmings 1953 book - Casino Royale.

� Vesper Martini - Casino Royale
� Vodka Martini - Dr. No
� Black Velvet - Diamonds are Forever
� Vodka Tonic - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
� Americano - A View to a Kill
� Old Fashioned - Live and Let Die
� Stinger - Diamonds are Forever
� Negroni - For Your Eyes Only
� Rum Collins � Thunderball
� Mojito - Die Another Day
� Dirty Martini - Spectre

Tuesday's wordle

The Babylon Bee celebrates their 1,000,000th youtube subscriber.

And they seem to be successfully moving into other areas.

We did it, y'all! We hit 1 MILLION subscribers thanks to all of you! We wanted to express our utmost gratitude, so we shot this video thanking you from the depths of our heart. We never could have done this without your love, support, and most importantly your money. Thank you for allowing us to spread right-wing misinformation under the guise of satire.

 

Monday wordle - an ace!

After failing on Sunday Sunday wordle - another failure!, a quick score yesterday. YAY Tom!

No surprise: DeSantis overtakes Trump among Republicans for 2024

A small sampling though.

According to the survey of 413 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 42 percent want DeSantis to be the party’s nominee two years from now, while 35 percent would prefer former president Donald Trump. It was conducted in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s disappointing returns for the GOP.

Sunday wordle - another failure!

Wow. Got two vowels right away and then couldn't close the deal. This is at least the second and maybe the third time I've been bested by repeat consanants The word this time - INANE.  I believe this is the fifth time I've failed to get the word.

Selfish: "DeSantis takes entire red wave for himself"

plus this - "Republican Party Staves Off Red Wave"

Wave to the people Ron

As the nation waits patiently for final tallies to trickle in and determine party power, one thing is for certain: Florida governor Ron DeSantis selfishly hoarded the entire red wave for himself.

"While we're glad to see DeSantis win Florida, it's obvious he didn't need the whole batch of red wave to get the job done," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the GOP puppetmaster adept at appearing to do nothing for the Republican party while working tirelessly behind the scenes to actually do nothing. "We could have used some of the stuff in Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona. Did we get any? Nope."

Donald Trump has appeared unphased by his young rival's selfish stockpiling of precious red wave, an act that purportedly made the 45th president's handpicked MAGA candidates look like incompetent morons, costing the party vital seats in the House and Senate. To demonstrate how unfettered he was by DeSantis, Trump went to TRUTH Social and Truthed, "Little Ronnie DeSelfish won't know what hit him when I very soon will reveal a redder, wavier wave, bigger than any wave that's ever waved. Huge wave. Huge, red wave!"

Saturday wordle

"Republican Party Staves Off Red Wave"

As the Senate is now guaranteed to be Democrat - the Nevada lady eked out a win.

Amid record discontent around the economy, inflation, and education, the Republican Party has narrowly managed to stave off what many thought would be a record-breaking red wave.

"This was a close call," said one Republican leader in Washington. "We were worried that we would achieve massive victories tonight, but we thankfully snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to achieve a much more proper and sensible red trickle, like the proper gentlemen we are."

Some Republicans achieved major victories, which were largely ignored by party leadership due to the fact that those Republicans were loud and icky "MEGA-MAGA" culture warriors. "Ron DeSantis won by double digits, and frankly, we find that quite uncouth," said a D.C. consultant while holding up a glass of red trickle victory champagne. "Everyone knows the key to being a good Republican is to muddle your message and make it really squishy so no one knows what you stand for and everyone will like you. Duh!"

Everyone in the room then golf-clapped politely.

At publishing time, Republican strategists were researching ways to keep their power in D.C. without achieving so much power that they'd actually have to become compelling leaders.

Veteran's Day in Croton

Because of the threat of rain, the ceremony moved from Five Corners to the Holy Name of Mary gym. A decent turnout of about 170 people. No complaints about Separation of Church and State...

 

Election results from perspective of "Peace and Life Connections", a consistent ethic group.

Election Results

  The pattern on the referendums we tracked is clear: all three poverty-reduction measures passed, as did the removal of the exception for abolishing slavery (crime conviction). Tennessee passed that with almost 80%!
        But all the abortion-related measures came out different from our hopes. The “no right” to abortion amendments had a perfect track record pre-Dobbs, when the context was defiance of judicial imposition. Post-Dobbs, the context is whether or not people have rights. The framing suffers. Abortion joins the death penalty as an issue where simple referendums may not be the best strategy.
        We offer some ideas for referendums that may work better, especially a Positive Protection Approach.

Friday wordle

Nice interview with my new Congressman, Mike Lawler - modest in victory.

And who I voted for. He only won by a bit over 1%. On CBS Wednesday morning.

Thursday wordle

WSJ: "The GOP’s Midterm Failure ... but at least we may get gridlock in Washington."

The Journal had a bunch of editorials this morning and I will post a couple more

Though the results are split, Republicans are dismayed, and they should be—at themselves. Some 70% of voters Tuesday said they’re unhappy with the state of the nation. With an unpopular President, 8% inflation, falling real incomes, rising crime, and chaos at the border, the GOP should have coasted at least to a normal midterm victory.

Instead they failed to win most of the toss-up House races, especially in the many suburban seats they lost in 2018. Their majority, if they get it, will be so narrow that Democrats could easily take it back in 2024. They lost winnable races for Governor across the Upper Midwest against weak incumbents.

***

The GOP’s failure owes in part to the deep partisanship that makes large swings more difficult. But it also owes to the party’s mistakes. Republicans only broke even among independents, according to the exit poll, which means millions of these voters found GOP candidates too extreme. Americans are unhappy with Democratic governance, but they aren’t sold on the GOP as an alternative.

Abortion hurt the GOP in some states, notably Michigan where the Legislature failed to modify a 1931 law. Many anti-abortion candidates won, but Republicans need to explain to voters what they believe and why. In most states they will also need to back away from a total ban in favor of restrictions favored by most voters.

The larger failure was that the GOP nominated too many lousy candidates who courted Donald Trump more than they did voters. They fed his ego about the “stolen” 2020 election but then were vulnerable to Democratic attacks (however exaggerated) that Republicans threatened democracy. The Democratic strategy of spending money to help MAGA candidates win primaries was cynical, but it worked. Every one of those candidates lost.

Doug Mastriano was a catastrophe in Pennsylvania and hurt GOP candidates up and down the ballot. Lauren Boebert, the Colorado MAGA star in a GOP-leaning district, may lose. We offer more examples nearby. The pre-election triumphalism of the MAGA media would seem to call for some rethinking, not that anyone should expect it. There’s money to be made, if not political success, in niche tribalism.

The GOP exceptions Tuesday were Republican Governors running for re-election with a record of competent conservatism. Brian Kemp in Georgia, Kim Reynolds in Iowa, Greg Abbott in Texas, Mike DeWine in Ohio, and Chris Sununu in New Hampshire all won easily.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s 20-point re-election victory in Florida makes him the night’s biggest winner. His combination of a conservative reform populism with managerial competence offers a model of how to build a majority party in a once-swing state.

The risk for Democrats, as they celebrate, is that they’ll ignore voter unhappiness with their policies. Inflation helped Republicans, as did crime and a concern about progressive excess. In the exit poll, voters had similarly unfavorable views of both parties.

But progressives will argue that the election results aren’t a broad repudiation of their policies. They will continue to press Mr. Biden to skew to the left, as he has for two years, if he wants their support to run for re-election with the party behind him. Two-thirds of voters in exit polls said he shouldn’t run for President again, including many Democrats. That still leaves him in a perilous position.

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All of this is a recipe for two years of gridlock in Washington, which certainly beats the progressive binge since January 2021. The country faces enormous challenges in slowing growth, political polarization, and foreign powers on the march.

A government that showed it can address those challenges would be welcome. Instead we have a government that defines success as passing out money for green subsidies and welfare entitlements. As gridlock sets in, the voters will be looking to see if new leaders can offer them a better vision.

Bush speechwriter - midterm GOP results an "absolute disaster"

Tut tut. Looks like I got it pretty much right in my post here -I'm voting for Zeldin for NY Governor; but unfortunately I don't think he's going to win it   - and I also wrote (quoting myself  in the same posting) "While the Republicans are almost certain to win the House, I don't think the "Republican Tsunami" of victories is very likely."

Here's the brief rant - from Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen who was a speechwriter for Bush.

The Wednesday wordle

"Record Numbers Of Voters Show Up To End Democracy"

"In a nation built on democracy, we simply cannot afford to have this many people making their voices heard in a democratic fashion," said one high-ranking member of Congress under the condition of anonymity. "If we let everyone in the country legally vote to choose the nation's leadership, democracy itself may be lost forever. Democracy!"

In order to calm the intense waves of voter turnout, plans were being hatched and put into motion from coast to coast. While vote tabulating machines in Maricopa County, Arizona were being commanded to malfunction and voters in Michigan were being informed that they had already voted, other potential schemes were rumored to involve blaring Nickelback at polling locations and even unleashing hatchet-wielding badgers in major urban centers.

"We'll do anything to make sure people stop exercising their right to vote," another Congressional staffer said. "Just think — if record numbers of people were to actually vote, our entire democratic process would collapse in on itself. Things might actually change, and we can't have that!"

At publishing time, calls had already been made to Dr. Anthony Fauci and the NIH to fast-track the release of their newest deadly virus with the hope that a new global pandemic might save democracy as we know it.