Primarily Political XVIII

With all the events of opening night of the DNC the comment that stands out was Steve Schmidt's "Michelle Obama's speech was so good we may hear it again in four years at the next Republican Convention."

Donald Trump was ranting about the failure of the air conditioning at the Roanoke Va. hotel - expect him to negotiate the bill.

It sounds weird to hear Mike Pence call his boss Mister Trump in his speeches. I am waiting for his buyer's remorse to kick in.
tjs

The Cat's Meow

Dateline London - When David Cameron left 10 Downing Street the house cat, Larry, did not go with him as Larry belongs to the civil service. But recently Larry paid a visit to the Foreign Office where a new feline, Palmerston, had set up shop. It was not a friendly encounter and Larry limped home and had to see a vet. Just shows that not all Tories get along. This story allows me to segue to the item of that happy inebriated fellow who boarded the subway and began to speak to everyone and asked the riddle "What has four legs and chases cats?" No one responded and having arrived at his stop and as the doors opened he called out "Mrs. Katz and her lawyer!" They could hear him laughing all the way down the platform.
tjs

Primarily Political XVII

We know that Donald Trump gets his updates on the military by watching the Sunday shows. In 2008 Katie Couric posed the question to Sarah Palin "What are you currently reading?" Her reply was damning. After thirteen months of campaigning I wish someone would ask Donald Trump the same question. Does he read anything between the tweets? And with his policy slate a blank the folks on K Street are salivating. The motto down there is "Make lobbying great again!"
So tonight the Trumpathon staggers to its final performance - cue the elephants and don't forget the balloons - and the hijacking of the Grand Old Party will be complete. And wanna bet his first post tweet will be about the ratings.
 tjs

A Play on Words

When I was a young "clark" in a steamship office circa 1950 one of my duties was to peruse the cargo manifests from London & Liverpool and convert the British sterling into U.S. dollars. Their monetary system was based on twelfths before they went to decimal. It went something like this:
12 pence = 1 shilling........20 shillings = 1 pound. The key words that stand out are PENCE SHILLING. In circus parlance every carnival barker needs a shill. And I fear the poor Hoosier has made a deal with the devil and his life may never be the same again.
tjs

"Heads" of State

On this Bastille Day the French have a flair for pageantry which was displayed in the movie "The Day of the Jackal" which I have viewed three times. But I also read today that the Socialist President of France pays his hairdresser $10,000. per month which is a lot of Euros and equal to the wages of a government minister. I'm sure he throws in a few hot towels and some witch hazel and perfumery. It recalls our own experience with expensive haircuts when Bill Clinton had his tresses trimmed while Air Force One was parked on the tarmac. I only hope my barber doesn't read this and start calling his one chair establishment a "tonsorial parlor" - there goes my senior citizen rate.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/world/europe/hollande-hairdresser-france.html?src=me

Quiet Time

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg was musing about the tragedy to our nation if Donald Trump were elected. She said she might have to follow the advice of her late husband and move to New Zealand. It is very quiet down under. A friend honeymooned there and told me the most exciting thing to do on Saturday night was to go down to the town square and watch them shearing the sheep. But don't forget to mail in your absentee ballot.
tjs

Potpourri X

The postal service in Finland is offering to mow your lawn for a fee if you provide the mower. They would do this every Tuesday which is a slow mail day and would recoup lost revenues. There is no mention of snow shoveling which would think would be more of an inducement.

Time zones - In the U.S. we have four time zones and in Russia there are nine. But in China there is only one based on Beijing time. So the poor folks living 2000 miles from the capital have to start their day in the middle of the night. Can't believe Mao wrote this edict in his little "red" book.
tjs

Deja Vu Again

After an absence of many years the infamous Watergate Hotel is reopening under new owners on the banks of the Potomac River. To maintain a link to the past, room keys will instruct guests "No need to break in!" In addition the voice of former President Richard M. Nixon will soon be heard in the public bathrooms and provides the soundtrack for the hotel's phone system - which happens to get its number 617-1972 from the date of the famous break in. I think I would find an excuse to use the restroom. You can't make this stuff up.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/style/watergate-hotel-is-back-and-banking-on-history-glamorous-or-scandalous.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Primarily Political XVI

There is a rumor that Donald Trump is seeking an exit strategy  which reminds one of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's famous quote "If nominated, I will not run - if elected, I will not serve." That's where the comparison ends. Except Trump couldn't qualify to be the general's orderly. Incidentally, Sherman's statue sits outside the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan a property Trump lost in one of his financial debacles.
tjs

A Cutting Remark

Sunday's Times did a story on one of the few smoked fish delis on the Upper East Side of Manhattan - a Chinese owned Jewish deli! A regular customer fussy about his salmon told the cutter "Not fatty enough" - a few more slices "Not yet" - after another "Better"........reminded me of the lady who asked the counterman for some lox -he cut a few slices and paused - she said "Cut -cut" - he resumed with his razor sharp knife and paused again - she again said "Cut -cut" - a few more and she said "I'll take those two". And he had a blade in his hand.
tjs
http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/neighborhood%20joint