Politics and other funny things

No need to go farther than the daily newspaper for a good chuckle. Yesterday, it was reported that the State of Missouri added Rush Limbaugh to its Hall of Famous Missourians--see they don't even get the title right. Shouldn't it be Missouri Hall of Fame? Anyway, they inducted Limbaugh and unveiled a bust of him in a secret ceremony from which reporters and Democrats were barred. It was kept secret until thirty minutes before the ceremony began. Now that's scary stuff--an abuse of power at least. Predictably, Democrats in the Missouri legislature are howling that the bust should not be displayed with others in this Hall of Fame. The governor of Missouri is apparently the consummate politician: he announced that jurisdiction or authority over the Hall of Fame was an "iffy" thing, which is a way of saying, "Don't put that ball in my court!" The Speaker of the House in Missouri blamed the secrecy on "radical liberals" who have no undertanding of forgiving past mistakes, referring apparently to the young woman Limbaugh derided as a slut and a prostitute. Ain't politics fun?
The presidential candidates spoke at commencements this weekend. President Obama preached to his base in this day of the so-called "war on women"--he addressed the 600 graduates of the all-women Barnard College, telling them to "Fight for your seat at the head of the table." Former governor Mitt Romney, on the other hand, tried to solidify his base by speaking to religious conservatives who had been cool toward him during much of the primary fight. At Liberty University, which boasts of a World Class Christian Education, he told graduates, "The welcoming spirit of Liberty is a tribute to the gracious Christian example of your founder." That would of course be Jerry Falwell. Because I didn't know a thing about Liberty U. I looked it up online--and the first thing to come up is the world's largest online university. Don't know if that's a branch of the physical university or not, but, Mitt, I think you lost this one.
And then there's the man in New York who has spent $60K suing his ex-girlfriend for custody of a dog she alleges he gave her as an outright gift. He appeared on the TODAY show this morning wearing orange pants and black-and-white striped socks--and he wants us to take him seriously?
Finally, there's a new book out called Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores. The ad features this conversation: Customer: Who wrote the Bible? Customer's friend: Jesus.

Not much

I thought I wouldn't post tonight. Buried in a set of galleys, nose to the grindstone, and no deep thoughts nor exciting events to report. But I decided I needed a break. Started the day at the Volkswagen dealership where they ordered a part so I have to go back Friday--double drat. They also told me I had two nails in my right rear tire--but the tire place they sent me to was really fast and reasonable. VW told me ten minutes, and that's what those tire people did. Lunch full of laughter with Dick Hoban and his daughter and one of her co-workers at the zoo.
Tonight had my second meal in two days at The Woodshed--and loved it. A beet and ricotta salad--ricotta was too bland for these smoky sharp beets. They deserved goat cheese, but it was still great. Then the animal of the day was lamb--the most tender, flavorful I've had in forever.
But of course the day got interesting with a special news report on Super Tuesday. The Republican race continues to amaze--and leaves me, for one, breathless wondering who will eventually win. I cannot imagine the Repubican party with Rick Santorum as their frontispiece. It strikes me that John Boehner has been very very quiet lately--and for a while he was all over TV screens. Of course the outcry about Rush Limbaugh goes on but the point has already been made, and those that still call for denouncing him are simply coming late to the party. There are, as I've said, many things that I waited late in life to learn and wish I'd learned much earlier--add an interest in politics to that list. Though this year it's like watching a carnival. Funny, if the future of the country weren't at stake.
Tomorrow another early day--dentist at 8:30! But for today, that's it. I repeat, no deep thoughts, no great adventures.
Now I'll happily go back to proofing galleys of my 1994 novel, Libbie--a fictional biography of Elizabeth Custer. Look for more about that later.