Chamblee54

Booknotes featured an interview with Hendrik (Rick) Hertzberg, who does something for The New Yorker. BTW, the majority of TNY readers live west of the Hudson River. Supposedly, the biggest number of readers is in California.
In 1965, Mr. Hertzberg was about to get drafted. At the time, this meant a one way ticket to Vietnam. Young men looked for alternatives to this, some of which were legal and moral. Mr. Hertzberg heard about an organization called the National Student Association. “And so I went to work after college for the National Student Association for a year. And it wasn`t just because the National Student Association was a wonderful cause that advanced liberal ideas and fought communism abroad and all of that sort of thing. Later, we learned that it was a CIA front, but I didn`t know that. What I did know was that if you worked for the National Student Association, you didn`t get drafted, that — it wasn`t exactly that you were deferred, but anyway, nobody got drafted while working for the National Student Association, so it was a way to have a year without worrying about getting drafted.”
The CIA was involved in all sorts of things in those days. (It still is today.) One of the fronts was Radio Free Europe. When I was a kid, the cartoon shows had a commercial for Radio Free Europe. These fund raising commercials were part of the scam. These commercials netted around $50k a year, towards a multi-million dollar budget.
The conversation turns to religion/tribal allegiance. (Charles, Booknotes host) LAMB: Explain this. “The Nuremberg laws would say I`m Jewish. The Law of Return would say I`m not.” HERTZBERG: Well, according to the Nuremberg laws, if you have a — if you had a Jewish father, the Nazi classification, you were a Jew. But the Law of Return, where — what entitles you to citizenship, automatic citizenship in Israel, you`ve got to have to have a Jewish mother. So I`m Jewish one way, I`m not Jewish the other way. I guess I feel sort of 51 percent Jewish because my name, Hertzberg, sounds Jewish, and therefore, people respond to me, often assume that I`m … 100 percent Jewish.”
This conversation was in 2004, when BHO was a little known Senator. Today, BHO, who had a white mother, is routinely considered black. If you go by the laws of the Nazis, BHO is black. If you go by the laws of Israel, BHO is white.
Mr. Hertzberg took a break from journalism to write speeches for President Jimmy Carter. Mr. Hertzberg is a member of the Judson Wellover Society. HERTZBERG: Judson Wellover was the very first White House speech writer. Not the first person to write speeches, ghost write speeches for a president — that would probably be Alexander Hamilton for George Washington — but the first person who was ever hired just to write speeches in the White House was Judson Wellover. He was hired by Warren G. Harding, and he — it was such a matter — it was such a shameful thing to have somebody writing — hired to write speeches that they hid his salary in the budget of the White House garage. And when we started, when Bill Safire and I started the Judson — the society of sort of a marching and chatter society or dinner — we have a dinner every couple of years of White House speech writers from all administrations, we named it after Judson Wellover.
Warren Harding is credited/blamed for coining the phrase “founding fathers”. Was Mr. Wellover involved? This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress. @RickHertzberg is still alive, but doesn’t seem to write as much.

3.14% of sailors are pi-rates.
A man tried to sell me a coffin today… I told him that’s the last thing I need.
Comedians who tell one too many lightbulb jokes soon burn out.
Did you hear about the crazy Mexican train thief? He had loco motives
Did you hear about the runner who was criticized? He just took it in stride
Don’t kiss your wife with a runny nose. You might think it’s funny, but it’s snot.
Feeling Cold? Go stand in a corner for a bit. They are usually around 90 degrees.
How do you count cows? With a cowculator!
How does a penguin build it’s house? Igloos it together.
I burnt my Hawaiian pizza last night… I should’ve put it on aloha setting.
I don’t trust stairs. They’re always up to something.
I hate perforated lines, they’re tearable
I just read a book about Stockholm syndrome. It was pretty bad at first, but by the end I liked it.
I was looking at my ceiling. Not sure if it’s the best ceiling in the world, but it’s up there.
If you want a job in the moisturiser industry, the best advice I can give is to apply daily.
Past, present, and future walked into a bar…. It was tense.
RIP boiled water. You will be mist.
Steak puns… They’re a rare medium, well done
Tell ya my chimney joke? Got stacks of em! First one’s on the house
The sign said “Television for Sale – $10 – Volume Stuck On Full”. I can’t turn that down.
There are 10 types of people: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.
To the man in the wheelchair that stole my camouflage jacket… You can hide but you can’t run.
Today’s top fact: 50% of Canada is A
Want to hear a joke about construction? Nah, I’m still working on it.
Want to hear my pizza joke? Never mind, it’s too cheesy.
What days are the strongest? Saturday and Sunday, the rest are week days.
What did the Buddhist ask the hot dog vendor? “Make me one with everything.”
What do you call a fat psychic? A four-chin teller.
What do you get if you stand between two llamas? Llamanated.
What happened to the cow that jumped over the barbed wire fence? Udder destruction.
When my wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo I had to put my foot down.
Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl using the bathroom? Because the P is silent
Why did the blind man fall into the well? Because he couldn’t see that well.
Why do trees seem suspicious on sunny days? Dunno, they’re just a bit shady.
You can’t run through a camp site. You can only ran, because it’s past tents.
You heard the rumor going around about butter? Nevermind, I shouldn’t spread it.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Similar material may be found at @baddadjokes.

Last week, Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson hosted Darryl Cooper, aka Martyrmade. DC has a podcast about history, with a series about Israel-Palestine especially well regarded. People who follow @martyrmade know that sometimes, DC says things you don’t want to hear.
The TSMC/DC gabfest … which was well sponsored by commercial interruptions … settled on World War 2. As with many historic events, WW2 has a standard American viewpoint, which you challenge at your peril. DC said things that you are not supposed to say. Many observers are outraged. One wonders how many of the angry commenters actually listened to the show.
I heard the show. Some points were reasonable, while others were not. It seems like we are going through another phase of our appreciation for that conflict. This is an ongoing historic process.
Some responses are wothwhile. As is often the case, you have to read a bit to find out anything.  @GrayConnolly “I am finally watching the @martyrmade / Tucker discussion on Churchill. I am not sure who among the critics have actually watched it. As I dislike Twitter pile-ons, I think everyone should watch what X says before X is put in the tumbril. My response as a Churchillian below.”
Look at the way America deals with the War Between the States. First there was a bloody war. After about sixty years, there started to be reconciliation, between the Union and the Confederacy. Now we are in Phase 3, where the only permitted dialog is condemnation of the Confederates.
This same reckoning is going on with WW2, and is not well received by some parties. WW1, which created many of the conditions which led to WW2, is mostly ignored. Maybe that is how this is going to go. Vietnam is always a contentious topic, while few talk about Korea. These things too shall pass. Pictures are from The Library of Congress · selah

PG saw a facebook post from his cousin. It was about the town he lives in: Wilton Named 83rd Drunkest Place to Live in Connecticut: Report It was based on a bit of creative clickbait, These Are The 10 Drunkest Places In Connecticut. This is a repost.
The distibutor of this information is RoadSnacks. “RoadSnacks is based in Durham, NC. We aim to deliver infotainment about where you live that your real estate agent won’t tell you. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country.” Other information opportunities include: “TAT10 Poorest Places In Kentucky”, “TAT10 Drunkest Places In Pennsylvania”, “TAT10 Dumbest Cities In Illinois”, “TAT10 Cities In New Jersey With The Most Ashley Madison Accounts”, “TAT10 Snobbiest Places In Louisiana.”
When PG saw the initial TAT10, he wondered about Georgia. A google search was made for “TAT10 drunkest places in Georgia.” Apparently, RoadSnacks is still crunching the numbers on that one. Three enlightening features were available: TAT10 Most Dangerous Places In Georgia, TAT10 Most Ghetto Cities In Georgia, TAT10 Most Redneck Cities In Georgia.
TAT10 lists are not scientific. The criteria varies from study to study. (For more information, be sure to check the actual post.) In dangerous places, “If any places tied, we used the violent crime rank as a tiebreaker.” In ghetto and redneck, it seems to come down to the number of retail outlets. Ghetto was ranked by convenience stores, drug stores, beauty supply stores, and discount stores. Redneck is determined by dive bars, mobile home parks, tobacco stores, guns and ammo stores, Walmarts, Bass Pro Shops, Dollar Generals and Piggly Wigglys.
In OTP Atlanta, many areas change names at the county line. When you leave Dekalb County for Gwinnett, you go from Doraville into Norcross. One road you can do this on is Buford Hiway, which is lined with Asian businesses like My Dung video. This area is home to one of the metro area international communities, and is well known for ultra authentic restaurants. Well known by everyone except RoadSnacks.
According to the TAT10 body of knowledge, Doraville is the 5th most redneck city in Georgia. When you cross the county line, Norcross is the most ghetto city in Georgia. People who are familiar with this area are probably laughing right now. Especially when they see that most ghetto Norcross is also 15th most redneck. Doraville did not make the 90 spot list for most ghetto.
The most dangerous city in Georgia is College Park, with East Point in second place. Neither city was on the redneck list. On the ghetto list, College Park is 67, and East Point is 72.
The city of Brookhaven evidently has not been in existence long enough to be rated. The only list that included Chamblee was ghetto, at 55. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end.
He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.
When the Director of Nursing became aware of Edna’s heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable. When she went to tell Edna the news she said:
“Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you’re being discharged. Since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.
The bad news is that Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself in his bathroom with the belt of his robe right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he’s dead.”
Edna replied, “He didn’t hang himself. I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?”
This story is from an e-mail, and was not written by chamblee54. The authors deserve your thoughts and prayers. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost

This is a repost from 2018. This controversy is mostly forgotten today. Many of the original posts have been deleted. If you want to read How To, click the link. @AndersWeePoet, has product to promote, and seems to be doing just fine.
“Read the controversial poem and let me know what you think.” It has been a while since a poem was controversial. Somebody made a fuss about How To, a feature at The Nation. It is not sure how many people complained, or whether The Nation amplified the protests to create awareness.
‘By the time most people heard of it, the magazine had apologized. The author, @AndersWeePoet, took a sincerity pill, and pinned an apology to his twitter feed. Many observers are not amused. “Katha Pollitt, a columnist for the magazine, wrote: “I can’t believe @thenation’s poetry editors published that craven apology for a poem they thought was good enough to publish … [it] looks like a letter from re-education camp.” “In the morally illiterate idiom of the moment, a white poet’s “appropriation” of Black English serves “white supremacy,” putting it in the same category of things as lynchings, cross-burnings, and segregation. The Nation is neck-deep in that nonsense.”
I was puzzled by this. I did not think the poem was important enough to warrant a tweetstorm of this magnitude. It is encouraging to see poetry receiving attention, even if it is from re-education camp. One response was a blackout poem, based on the politically incorrect doggerel. The next step was to re-write the poem in his own style. Should Part Two say you, or you’re?
How To Part Two
if you’ve got hiv say aids told her
go say you’re pregnant if you are a girl
if you’re young say younger old say older
hardly even there so give it a whirl
crippled don’t flaunt it don’t tell me to pray
stops’m from counting when they drop it rough
splay a knee cock your leg funny today
let them think that they’re christian enough
say you’re homeless whatever you call it
they don’t know what opens a wallet
you gonna lower yourself to spend
little shame they’re going to comprehend
people passing by listen for the kick
what you believe about sin is the trick
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

There might be a problem. When I see a word, my instinct is to anagram it. What is the fancy psychological name for Compulsive Anagram Disorder?
I sometimes go to events in the lobby of 7 Stages. There, in big red letters, are the words MAIN STAGE. Saint Game. Game Stain. Mets Again. Will I be ever be able to sit in that space, and not think of ways to rearrange MAIN STAGE?
Google directed me to various sites that create anagrams. While these are amusing, this is not what we need. The next step is to try DuckDuckGo. First, hit cntr+k. Nothing happens. Is google making a bid for world domination, by limiting access to other search engines? You have to google ddg, and create a bookmark for future GoingDuckDuck.
DDG does not answer my question either, but they sent me some amusing links: Compulsive Versus Pathological Lying: What’s the Difference and Why Do People Do It? · Distress Response to the Failure to an Insoluble Anagrams Task: Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Binge Drinking Students · Fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid: a list of inaccurate, misleading, misused, ambiguous, and logically confused words and phrases · Why Anagrams Are More Than Just Fun: Benefits for Cognitive Development · The Fascination With Anagrams.
What is the future for a person with compulsive anagramming disorder (CAD)? Is there a chapter of Anagramist Anonymous? I should look for Again Smart Mayo Nouns to find a meeting near me. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

It was a monday morning for the books. After finishing the weekly notes, I started to download podcasts. Blocked and Reported was available early, which does not always happen. Working my way down the list, I thought to check Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Low and behold, the 2024 winners are here. It felt like winning the lottery.
Going further down the list, I thought of checking in on Search Engine. They had ended season one a few weeks ago, with no indication of when more episodes would appear. Turns out the new episodes started to appear a few weeks later. There are  now have 6 episodes to binge on.  After depending on youtube for Gaza-bad-news, there is now an overflow of distractions. Life is good. …
Tuesday stormed in uninvited. Though the weather outside appears to be clear and calm, inside, it is as dark and stormy as ever. The winner of the BLFC 2024 is an out and proud “opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.” “She had a body that reached out and slapped my face like a five-pound ham-hock tossed from a speeding truck.” Lawrence Person, Austin, TX. …
@asymmetricinfo “As a gentile, I don’t want to pretend that the surge of anti-semitism online affects me the way it does my Jewish friends, neighbors, and colleagues.” … @rhealforno “You can talk about antisemitism all you like. It’s not going to distract people from noticing that Israel is committing a brutal ethnic cleansing right under our noses.” @asymmetricinfo “How does dislike of Israeli government policy explain spreading vile lies about Jews murdering Christians on Passover?”
This exchange says something about the battle for public opinion. To Megan McCardle, shock about mass murder in Gaza is “dislike of Israeli government policy.” When anti-semites of the future talk, #Hasbaratwitter is what they will discuss.
Pictures today are from the Library of Congress. Marjory Collins took the pictures in September, 1942. “Dyeing hair at Francois de Paris, a hairdresser on Eighth Street, New York NY”