COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA

I may have been premature in posting my first Temp Challenge of the season yesterday. This morning's temperature when I got up was 41. That's too cold. I even put on my flannel pajamas for the first time.

FALL

Today is the first day of fall--the autumnal equinox. [Are you impressed with my flaunting of seasonal knowledge?] Fall has always been my favorite time of year, except in Hawaii. The trade winds died in the fall, allowing humid, warm air to drift up from the tropics. It also allowed vog to drift over from the Big Island Vog is volcanic smog--the smoke from Volcanoes National Park. The best time of year in Hawaii was spring.

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Compliments of Reader's Digest July/Aug 2021

> "I don't want to die doing something I love. I want to die doing something I hate. That way I don't have to finish it."

> "Do people who run know that we're not food anymore?"

> My parrot died yesterday. It's last words were, 'Darn, I think my parrot is about to die.'"

> "Every neck tattoo should read 'I'm not getting the job, am I?'"

TRENDING

"UPDATE:  Woman with no memory found alone on island inhabited by bears." Drudge Report  As is often the case, I don't have time to read every story found on Drudge. It's your responsibility to go to Drudge & read the stories that intrigue you. I can't do everything for you.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"Mutant muscle cows, pigs bred to ward off mea shortages." Drudge

"Extra butter? Consuming more dairy fat may PREVENT heart attack, death." Drudge

"Happy Meals going green." Drudge

CRIMINAL MINDS

"SNAP:  Man fed up with speed bump smashes it to pieces!" Drudge

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"Medical schools update Hippocratic Oath to exclude the unvaccinated." Babylon Bee

ON THE BORDER

"Border Patrol loses horse privileges, must now bang two halves of coconuts together." Babylon Bee

"Until the Biden team realizes that swift exclusion from the U.S. must apply to almost everyone, the problems at the border won’t let up." Rich Lowry, National Review Online

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"The press ever-so-politely turns on Biden, as troubles mount." Drudge

"New York restaurant adds voting booth so they can allow people in without ID." Babylon Bee

"Fiscally responsible Democrat says we should be able to destroy America for way less than $3.5 trillion."

CRITICAL RACE THEORY

"No longer simply an academic matter, critical race theory has become a tool of political power . . . More & more, it is driving the vast machinery of the state & society. If we want to succeed in opposing it, we must address it politically at every level. Critical race theorists must be confronted with & forced to speak to the facts. Do they support public schools separating first-graders into groups of "oppressors" & "oppressed"? Do they support mandatory curricular teaching that "all white people play a part in perpetuating systemic racism"? Do they support public schools instructing white parents to become "white traitors" & advocate for "white abolition"? Do they want those who work in government to be required to undergo this kind of re-education? How about managers & workers in corporate America? How about the men & women in our military? How about every one of us. There are three parts to a successful strategy to defeat the forces of critical race theory:  governmental action, grass-roots mobilization, & an appeal to principle . . . 

Above all, we must have courage--the fundamental virtue required in our time.Courage to stand & speak the truth. Courage to withstand epithets. Courage to face the mob. Courage to shrug off the scorn of the elites. When enough of us overcome the fear that currently prevents so many from speaking out, the hold of critical race theory will begin to slip. And courage begets courage. It's easy to stop a lone dissenter; it's much harder to stop 10, 20, 100, 1,000, 1,000,000 or more who stand together for the principles of America. Truth & justice are on our side. If we can muster the courage, we will win." Christopher Rufo, Imprimus--A Publication of Hillsdale College  What's my opinion of CRT? I'm glad you asked. First of all, there is no place for racism & intolerance. God's people must take the lead in opposing these things. After all, we are enjoined to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are taught to let our lights shine among men, that by our good works, God would be glorified. Having said that, there is no place for CRT to be promoted & taught. That, too, contravenes God's direction to love our neighbors as ourselves. CRT is indoctrination of the worst kid. And that's my opinion!

THE WIT & WISDOM OF BEN SHAPIRO

"In the end, the "tax the rich to be fair" notion rests on a simple lie: the lie that income distribution is purely a matter of privilege or luck. It isn't. In the main, in a free market system, income distribution is the result of successful decision-making that must be incentivized rather than punished if we wish to see a more prosperous society. Some people game the system; some are indeed beneficiaries of insider deal-making. But most success in capitalism is due to innovation, entrepreneurialism and creativity. Biden's "fairness" cuts directly against these core elements of progress on behalf of political pandering." Townhall