New Uncle John

Here is another article from Uncle John. I may as well rename this the Uncle John blog the way thing have been going lately.

Hillary has chosen a theme song. What a load off my mind. She chose one performed by a Canadian. I wonder how politically savvy that is. Her hubby chose "Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow" by Fleetwood Mac. That is the only Fleetwood Mac song that Ginger hates.

I made fun of Indiana's seat belt laws after I learned that they exempted all pick up truck drivers. Well, in between that trip and the just finished trip, Indiana decided to go overboard the other way. Not only are pick up trucks now covered under the law, but now all passengers in a vehicle (yes, even rear seat passengers) will be in violation if they fail to buckle up.

I saw a bank called "Fifth Third Bank." I wondered if there was a "Third Fifth Bank." Why not just make it the "Fifteenth Bank?"

The Passport Office has announced a 17 month delay in their new rule since they were already hopelessly behind.

I read an article that kept referring to "Jones" or "Mr. Jones." After a while I began to think that that the name was bogus and the author was providing anonymity. But toward the end, the first name was revealed, and its absence theretofore was understandable. The name was "Tyqwiice."

Nifong, the Durham, NC prosecutor who botched the Duke Lacrosse team case whilst breaking most ethical and legal guidelines for a prosecutor, got beat up pretty good last weekend. To me, his most egregious misconduct was withholding the exculpatory DNA evidence from the defendants' counsels. His explanation for not having turned over the evidence clearing the accused was that he had become somewhat unfamiliar with the laws applying to criminal cases since he had been focusing on traffic violations during the past three years. Don't you just want to punch this idiot?

The Dems blasted the GOP, and rightly so, for all manner of "ear marking" abuses on pieces of legislation. This is the technique by which non-related spending initiatives are tacked onto various bills. The Dems naturally promised to end this nonsense when they swept to power. Just as naturally, "ear marks" are still ubiquitous in new legislation. Some reporter actually pointed this out to Speaker, San Fran Nan. She said the examples cited were not "ear marks" but rather were "directed legislative spending." There you go. Not surprisingly, the approval rating of Congress is now 14%. There is surprisingly little mention of this in the papers and network news.

I have learned indirectly via NT that our beloved announcer Mike Shannon is or was known as "moon man." I have no idea what the origins of that moniker were but somehow it seems so appropriate. I will repeat my favorite of the Mike Shannon pearls. As a switch hitter came to the plate, Mike said "You just can't imagine what an advantage it is to be able to bat from either side; I would have given my right arm to be ambidextrous."

Father's Day was special here. My children assembled and joined forces with their mom and they all collectively kicked my behind in a game called Crack Uno. I had a really good time. Well, if I'd have had crack, maybe I would have had a good time.

The last challenge word went unanswered. It is my first shut out. "Propitious" means favorable, favorably inclined. The states with capitols beginning with the same letters are Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, and Oklahoma. The lyrics were from American Girl by Tom Petty. I paid good money to take our gang to a Tom Petty concert last summer.

The new challenge word is "excoriate." The new trivia challenge is: According to Mary Poppins, what word, even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough you''ll always sound precocious? The new lyrics challenge is: "I have a mansion, forget the price;/ Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice./ I live in hotels, tear out the walls;/ I have accountants pay for it all./ They say I'm crazy, but I have good time;/ I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime."