Free-For-All Friday

"Smart folks can tell the difference"

From column by Gina Barreca in Norfolk Daily News (7/31):  "I can vouch for the fact that a person can be ridiculously well-schooled & yet startlingly stupid. I also know you can be dazzling smart & have left school after 8th grade.
          "So we're not talking about book learning here:  We're talking smart, as in being aware of what's going on around you & able to process the surprising complexities of life. Smart allows you to distinguish strength from barbarism, courage from brutality & rudeness from honesty. It won't let you mistake cunning for insight, information for erudition or pandering for respect . . . And that's where the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' comes into play; accepting responsibility isn't usually the fun part. But it's a side effect of being smart . . . "

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing

From "late laughs" in Norfolk Daily News (7/27):  "I read about a woman in Washington D.C., who found a dead lizard in her bag of Trader Joe's kale When people heard that, they were like, 'Gross! Kale?!'" [Jimmy Fallon]
          "According to a new report, legal marijuana sales in CO have seen a plateau in growth. Apparently, people are still going to marijuana stores, but they can't remember why they went in." [Seth Meyers]

Wit & Wisdom of Cal Thomas

From "How about trying a little tenderness?", column in NDN (2/6):  ". . . tenderness & love are such powerful forces for good it is a wonder we don't practice them more often. Last year was one of the ugliest political years in recent memory. Nasty things were said by Republicans about Democrats & Democrats returned rhetorical fire Names were called & labels applied. It was repulsive & nothing good came from it, did it? . . . 
          "If our goal is to change minds & hearts about issues important to us, which approach do you think might work better; treating political opposites like a burdensome mother-in-law who overstays her holiday visit, or demonstrating at least a degree of kindness & tenderness? . . . 
          "This year, could we hug each other a little more, speak a little softer &, yes, try a little tenderness, especially in our political discourse?

Political Potpourri

In light of Cal Thomas' excerpt above, I confess that (1) I voted for DT; & (2) I am NOT a fun of his bombastic tweets. I was also disturbed by his moral character & nothing he's said or done has changed my opinion.
          Having said that, I am VERY grateful that it's DT who's nominating justices to the SCOTUS & NOT HC.