Excerpt from Norfolk Daily News (8/21):  "Anti-Hillary obituary. A New Jersey woman has used her obituary to make a final request to friends & family:  Please don't vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton for president. Elaine Fydrych's husband said she was a registered Democrat & not 'a political person.'
          "But he said she grew to strongly dislike Clinton after the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi & believed Clinton's handling of the matter as secretary of state was 'terrible' . . . The last line of her obituary says:  'Elaine requests, In lieu of flowers, please do not vote for Hillary Clinton.'" [I applied the test I put into place last spring, when I dared to suggest that maybe we were all ganging up on "She Who Shall Not Be Named" & her family. I substituted George W. Bush & asked myself  what standard I would hold him to re:  his handling of the Benghazi incident & aftermath. Well, actually, a pretty high standard. Chalk one up for George W. Wish I would have known Elaine. May she R.I.P.]

Excerpts from Omaha World Herald (8/4):  "Amy Schumer, Sen. Schumer call for more gun control. Actress Amy Schumer is teaming up w/New York Sen. Charles Schumer to call for tighter gun control. She joined the senator Monday in unveiling a 3-part plan that would make it harder for violent criminals & the mentally ill to obtain guns . . . " [Because the person whose opinion re: gun control I would have the next highest level of respect for after Sen. Schumer would be his Hollywood celebrity daughter.]

Also from OWH (8/5):  "Kelly Osbourne apologizes for remarks about Latinos. Kelly Osbourne apologized Tuesday for remarks she made on 'The View' that suggested that if Latinos were expelled from the U.S., there would be no one to clean Donald Trump's toilet's." [I saved this clipping from 8/5, wondering how loud the outcry would be against Kelly around 2 weeks later. Kelly is another Hollywood celebrity. I rest my case.]

Also from OWH (8/8):  "Venezuela's top beer scarce amid heat wave. Venezuelans are facing the prospect of a heat wave w/o their favorite beer, the latest indignity in a country that has seen shortages of everything from disposable diapers to light bulbs. Cerveceria Polar, which distributes 80% of the beer in the socialist [emphasis added] South American country began shutting down breweries this week because of a lack of barley, hops & other raw materials, & has halted deliveries to Caracas liquor stores." [Bernie Sanders is a self-professed--make that LOUDLY self-professed socialist. Beer-lovers take note. You might want to take that into consideration if you have any thoughts of voting for him.]

Also from OWH (8/15):  "Sam announces he is stepping away from game. Michael Sam is stepping away from pro- football. Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, has told the CFL's Montreal Alouettes that he is leaving the team. He tweeted Friday that 'The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned w/my mental health. Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time.' [Comment #1:  Although I could point out that it was not that many years ago that the American Psychiatric "Bible" listed homosexuality as a treatable, mental disorder, I'm not posting this to suggest a link between this young man's professed homosexuality & now his professed concern about his own mental health. I am not, I repeat, not a hater. Comment #2:  From the very first, am I the only one who felt that he was being badly used by those w/an agenda in order to promote a certain "cause" when, by many credible reports, he almost certainly did not possess the tools required to play pro football?]

Also from OWH (8/20):  "U.N. agency will let Iran inspect own nuclear site. Iran will be allowed to use its own inspectors to investigate a site where it has been accused of developing nuclear arms, operating under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work,according to a document seen by the A.P. 
          "The revelation on Wednesday riled Republican lawmakers who already have been critical of a broader agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program, signed by the Obama administration, Iran & 5 world powers in July. Those critics have complained that the wider deal is unwisely built on trust of the Iranians, while the administration has insisted that it depends on reliable inspections." [Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Iran gets to inspects its own nuclear site. Wait . . . what?]