Many Thanks to Governor Shapiro

Some years ago, I was in library school at the University of Pittsburgh.  In all my years as a librarian, I never dreamed that I would be up late at night writing a speech to introduce the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Yet it happened.  I wrote a speech late last night and Gov. Shapiro showed up this afternoon to give a speech at Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls about high-speed broadband internet.  There are so many people that I wish to thank.  And I thanked folks in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to the best of my ability!

In the final analysis, I have no regrets and nothing worth mentioning here. During a pandemic, I got nowhere initially when buying real estate in Western Pennsylvania.  Then things started moving really fast when I communicated in a series of linguistical patterns that exist perhaps in a few places in Scotland as well as Western Pennsylvania.  So yeah, I left New York.  And I'm happy to report that the bagels and pizza are excellent out here -especially those cinnamon toast crunch bagels.  We're having a good time.

Since I last blogged...

I've been incredibly busy and neglecting this blog.  Much has happened and changed.  Most of it has been largely for the positive.  Part of me doesn't want to blog about what I've been up to lately.  I will write this much: It's been really exciting.  Since I last blogged, I've travelled a bit.  My passport is getting some use.  I'm having an interesting life.  Things are definitely not boring.

Thank You, Kansas

On Tuesday, Kansas voters kept the legal right to an abortion in place.  Legal access to abortion is as much of a Kansas value as anything.  Kansans are fiercely independent people.  And abortion is something that's incredibly personal.  Famous Kansan David Koch had some strong opinions about abortion.  He was pro-choice:

David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights | CNN Politics

Somewhere someplace, David Koch is smiling.  I know abortion is a tough issue for a lot of folks.  Speaking as a Jayhawker myself, agree with the Kansas vote.  Thank you, Kansas:

Kansas vote on abortion heard nationwide ahead of midterms | The Wichita Eagle

And to those who want to vote on a constitutional abortion amendment in other states, I say bring it on.

Eisenhower was right: "Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America."  A lot of very important things start in Kansas.  Whether it's Pizza Hut, Amelia Earhart, or the first skirmishes in Bleeding Kansas that eventually became the Civil War, Kansas is an important state.  You can add backlash to the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade to the list.  The gay pride rainbow flag?  It was invented by a Kansan, Gilbert Baker, known as the "gay Betsy Ross."  Come to think of it, Melissa Etheridge is a big deal too.  Kansans enjoy challenging stereotypes.  As we say, everything you've heard about Kansas is true and... none of it is true:

Fight "Ruscism"

 I came across a new word today in the New York Times -"ruscism".  It's the English language equivalent of a Ukrainian word for russia's slide into fascism.  Written by a history professor at Yale University, I learned a lot about Ukraine and russia from this article:

The War in Ukraine Has Unleashed a New Word - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Ukrainians are mocking and ridiculing russia as they should.  If spelling russia with a lower case "r" makes that belligerent, war-hungry country less scary and more pathetic, I say go for it!  Apparently, the Ukrainian language is not nearly as rule bound as russian or English.  Or maybe they're fed-up with getting invaded and have bigger things to worry about than being sticklers for grammar.  

I have much respect for Ukraine.  If you're criticizing NATO and ignoring russia's aggression in some far-left "anti-war" group that's an apologist for Dictator Putin or flying a "Let's Go Brandon" or "F--- Joe Biden" flag in front of your house, you're part of the problem.  You can disagree with Pres. Biden without being a jerk by putting profanity on your front lawn.  Likewise, if you are anti-war, you can't just sit by "when a dictator declares war and commits genocide" as Joe Biden put it.  I still remember all the anti-war protests on college campuses against George W. Bush during the Iraq War.  All fine and good back then but where are they now?  In many ways, Dictator Putin is far worse than former Pres. George W. Bush.  And it's easy for anyone without an authoritarian mindset to see why.  Occasionally, George W. got something right.  For instance, George W. Bush is 100% correct when he stated that electric vehicles and gas mileage are directly linked to America's national security:

George W. Bush, Father of the Modern Electric Car (thecarconnection.com)

That's one reason that I own an electric car.  If you don't want America getting tangled up in dopey wars in the Middle East while enabling dictators like Putin, make sure your commuter car gets great gas mileage.  And to be clear, I'm not puritan.  You can have a classic Corvette or Jeep in the garage for Sunday drives and sunny days.  And have you heard?  Jeep is making a plug-in Wrangler and there are plans for an electric Corvette.  Times are changing.  In the meantime, to hell with ruscism!  

Much Respect for Ukraine

It's been a while since I last blogged.  I've been really busy.  I did want to take a moment to express my gratitude and respect for the Ukrainian people.  They are standing up to Dictator Putin -a bully and a tyrant who is waging an unjust war against Ukraine.  

Faced with economic sanctions, Russia responds with nuclear provocation and threats.  There should be protests in every major American city.  Period, full stop.  I'm glad to see rallies in support of Ukraine across America and against Russia's unjust war.  

I protested against the Iraq War because it was morally wrong and a stupid waste of money.  Ukraine is a democracy.  If Ukrainians don't like their president, he can be replaced and voted out of office -just like we do in the United States.  That is one sign of a healthy democracy.

Finally, the wingnuts who malign Ukraine, put down America, and attempt to justify Putin's behavior are a bunch of cowards.

Kudos to Gov. Wolf and the PLCB for dumping Russia vodka from Fine Wine & Good Spirits, PA's state store system:

Russian vodkas and other products are banned from Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores (inquirer.com)

Finally, don't waste your time on Kremlin sponsored propaganda such as RT (Russia Today):

Kremlin-Funded Media: RT and Sputnik's Role in Russia's Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem (state.gov)

Putin's Russia is radically anti-gay.  Seriously, Gay Pride parades have been banned in Moscow for the next 100 years:

Gay parades banned in Moscow for 100 years - BBC News

Putin makes Mike Pence look like Harvey Milk.  Fun Fact: Mike Pence never banned the Indy Pride Parade in Indianapolis because he was Gov. Pence of Indiana, not a dictator.  Indiana has a system of checks and balances.  As imperfect systems go, Indiana's functions reasonably well to prevent a real dictator like Putin from seizing power.

I'm usually pretty quiet about these things.  That said, I couldn't quietly watch what's happening.  I have distant family who support Russia and they are degenerate losers.  And I haven't spoken to them in years -in part because of their affinity for Russia.  Famous Russian language movie actor Aleksei Serebriakov noted that Russia's most common traits are "[Brutal] force, rudeness, and arrogance."  After he made that statement, Russian calls to strip Serebriakov of his Russian passport only proved his point.

Thank you for reading.

Dormzilla

Every now and again, I see something in higher education that catches my eye.  This Munger Hall is something else.  It's a dorm that's in the works for UC-Santa Barbara.  Rooms are largely windowless.  There's one toilet for every 8 dorm rooms:

Yes, Build the Windowless UC Santa Barbara Dorm in My Yard (curbed.com)

As I was reading the article, it had me laughing in stitches.  You can't make this stuff up!