Summer is in full swelter here in DC, complete with daily afternoon thunderstorm. You'll look outside at what appears to be a mild, perhaps even overcast day, then head out there and be assaulted by humidity's brute force, or soaked by a sudden torrent. Additionally, the private summers have returned, so one way or another, I'm just hot and bothered. To wit--
1. Is this basketball series EVER going to end?! Sheesh! It used to be professional sports had seasons, they were played over a defined span of time, not overlapping, or just barely so, with basketball culminating sometime around January, I think. Now, just as I'm marvelling that some 24 year old Portuguese soccer player was "sold" by Manchester United to Real Madrid and that he will make $175 million dollars over a few years, a story comes on about the latest Magic and Lakers game. This seems as endless as last year.'s Democratic primary. Somebody win, already, geez! How many games are there?!
2. Given the daily thunderstorm, above ground power lines and a neighborhood chock full of old-growth trees. (We're a Tree City!), I've been spending a lot of time in the dark lately. While I've been blogging in my head by candlelight, mulling over post titles like "The Obama Effect", people WITH power have been throwing that phrase around for days, according to last night's Daily Show! My thoughts would've probably been more aptly titled The Obama Backlash anyway. I was wondering if the xenophobe victories in the recent European Parliament elections were fueled by the uncomfortable reality of a Black man in the White House. I wonder too if it also tipped Von Brunn over the edge, first to The Naval Academy to complain about the number of cadets of color, weeks before heading to The Holocaust Museum with murder on his mind?
3.So...companies pay insurance for their pension plans, which allows their pensioners to still draw a pension even if the company is sold to another or goes bankrupt. Is there no such fund for plaintiffs in lawsuits?! People who have pending lawsuits against GM or Chrysler claiming injury or death due to inadequate safety measures may recoup nothing; the lawsuits could be thrown out alongside the debts. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's stay of the Chrysler/Fiat deal may be reason to hope. Meanwhile the Hill has been overrun with lobbyists protesting dealership closings. So far, GM has reversed its decision to close 41, and Chrysler, given pending legislation, may soon be similarly "inclined".
1 comment:
I worked in DC for quite a while. One thing you could always count on was the streetlights going out at the first sign of rain, espcially along Canal Rd. When we lived in NOrthern Virginia we lost power constantly. Ah, the joys of summer.
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