Impeach the what?

BY JOE GENCO

A short take on today’s news:

• Saying “Impeach the motherfucker” and being defended by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is enough to get Rashida Tlaib to Fox news for another day.
• Of course, while Fox calls Rep. Ocasio-Cortez “the left’s latest media darling,” she makes it twice above the fold on the Fox website and only once on CNN. Whose new darling is she again?
• Meanwhile, 800,000 Americans remain out of work because of the Trump shutdown. Their jobs are being held hostage in exchange for a wall for which our President promised Mexico would pay. It’s OK the unemployed are most likely Democrats anyway.
• Pope Francis served Mass to observe the Epiphany, preaching humble love and care for those who can give nothing back.
• The Mueller grand jury has been extended for 6 months. That will make it a full 2 years. I guess that means more indictments to come. Drain the swamp.
• You know it was good oatmeal when you go for a hike, come back 10 hours later, find it cold in the pan and eat it anyway. Pears, walnuts and cranberries are delicious. I still have a big bag of cranberries, unopened. They lasted until May last year.
• Speaking of last year, Beth’s cousin, Mark Gordon an airline captain, told me at Belle’s funeral that he missed being tagged in an item about the kid in the Pacific Northwest who stole and crashed a plane. It seems certain airline crews, on the end of a long assignment, would rally around the old captain saying “let’s fly this thing like we stole it.” Can’t say that anymore. Go Eagles. Fuck the Pats*.
• As I write this, I just heard a car door in the driveway. Perry Newton of Newton’s Car Care put new pads and rotors on Beth’s Fusion while we were hiking today. Pads, rotors and labor. $293.80 delivered.
• Considering recently acquired music: We won Christina Havrilla’s CD, Beth bought me Margot Price and Metric. Havrilla might be a regional, singer-songwriter without national renown. I need to listen to Price and Metric more, but so far, 2 commercial recordings and one indy and Havrilla wins. Hands down, she is stronger than you think. Explore her music.
• So Mike Niman introduced me to TruthOut I have enjoyed the writings there — peer-reviewed and fact-checked, if blatantly partisan and leftist. Can anyone suggest a right equivalent?
• The wunderkind whose plastic boom is supposed to clean up a Pacific garbage patch suffered a setback in experiments with his prototype but remains optimistic.
• “This American Life” portrays the “Room of Requirement”, the value of United States libraries, including one on the US/Canada border where separated families reunite because the border goes right through the middle.
• Mitch Albom got his panties in a wad because Rashida Tlaib said “we’re going to impeach the motherfucker.” He thinks she is lowering our discourse, taking it to an unacceptable place.
• WNY Weather: Clouds, sun and a high of 2 (35). Warmer Monday, up to 5 (40) with some rain, sleet and yuckiness. Collected some American chestnuts Saturday at the Iroquois refuge. I wonder if they will grow.
• Abandoned mines in Utah are fun (and dangerous) to explore. Some people don’t want them all safely sealed.
• Boyd Curiosity: No, a regulation boxing ring is not 20 square feet but 20 feet square.
• A Phoenix woman went on one date with a guy she met online. It went no further. She sent him 159,000 texts and broke into his house to take a bath while he was out of the country. They found a butcher knife in her car. This seems like a scary movie plot or a Hitchcock novel.
• It is likely to end against the Chiefs, but how can you not love Frank Reich, as calm and confident as ever.
• Halfway through the season, the Sabres remain in a playoff position. It’s just that 10-game streak had us feeling more optimistic.
• Grading the Bills defense.