Sunday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Sunday, June 4, 2023
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20 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Guess it’s my turn to give the first greeting of the day. Hope it’s a good one for all. It’s quiet and 53, full moon. Time for a drink and a cigar for Luddite.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Morning, Lud. Gotta make coffee. I hope you enjoyed your drink and cigar.
Trump gave Kim Jung (sic) Un his hearty congratulations on being appointed to the governing board of WHO.
It’s June 4 and we’ve received about 75% of the month’s average rainfall total. Forecast is for showers off and on today and tonight. High temperature is supposed to be 68. Dammit, if I enjoyed Portland-style weather I’d have moved there.
ETA: The edit link really seems to show up reliably now.
@CSK:
Thanks, I did. Last of my small (winter weather) cigars and Buffalo Trace. I don’t have the pallette or wallet for high ticket anymore.
@Michael Cain:
Shoot, been beautiful and sunny here in Portland. Highs expected 80s all week. Unseasonably sunny and warm.
ETA – thanks again to our host for the much-appreciated thumbs up and editing features!!
@Michael Cain: It’s rained almost every day for the past 2 weeks, up here.
It’s still kinda surreal, seeing all the green grass and not snow as far as the eye can see.
Ok, this was a wtf moment at the mega-mart yesterday. Soy-free tofu???
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pRMhkTpnAsZtEitu8
At NJ Pride waiting for the parade to pass by, yay!
@Flat Earth Luddite:
It’s for:
1. People with soy protein allergies
2. People that don’t like GMO crops because almost all soybeans are GMO
3. People who want to avoid the calcium sulfate used to coagulate soy tofu
You can make tofu with almost any bean, nut, or seed
@Stormy Dragon:
Thanks, that makes it clear. I had no idea about the GMO issue (or the process of tofu manufacturing).
But the good news is that Luddite figured out how to post a link. Yay!
@Stormy Dragon:
And here I thought it was exclusively a soy product.
On other things, I voted today. The State of Mexico (not to be confused with the state known as Mexico City), has elections for governor. I voted for the anti-royalist candidate.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Far less disturbing than “fat free half-and-half”.
Bonus points for whoever came up with the march order and put the Church of Satan immediately after the United Methodists =3
@Flat Earth Luddite: Shout out for Buffalo Trace. Almost impossible to find on the shelf where I shop.
@Stormy Dragon: Do non-soy tofus have any flavor or are they like soy and take on the flavors of the recipes?
@JohnMc:
Out in my suburbs of Portland it’s one of the cheaper decent drinks. Under $30/750ml. And unlike Famous Grouse, it fits on my likker shelf
My home town
USA Today
How one quiet Illinois college town became the symbol of abortion rights in America
On another matter, what has this town in a spin currently is that the Dairy Queen Corporation suddenly pulled the franchise from the local owner since he refused to expand the business to include a grill and inside dining. The DQ has operated at the same location in the center of town since the ’50s. People are PISSED!
The owner is pledging to reopen as an independent operator with a new yet to be determined name. I wish him well.
WSIU
We had a bit of an event here in the DC metro area today, a little after 3:00 PM there was an enormous BOOM that shook houses and scared everyone. My first thought was that someone had bombed the Target across the street for displaying Pride merchandise, but that wasn’t it. Next I thought it was the sonic boom of a meteor in the atmosphere, but it wasn’t that either. A DC Air National Guard F-16 cleared for supersonic during a training exercise over the Chesapeake Bay was the next hypothesis, but even that wasn’t it. Apparently a Cessna Citation jet enroute from Tennessee to New York had a problem–not sure what–and made an unexpected left turn that led it into the restricted zone over the National Capitol Region, which triggered a speedy response by the aforementioned DC ANG.
No idea at this point what caused the aircraft to do what it did, but I’m reminded of the death of pro golfer Payne Stewart. He and several others were flying in a similar corporate jet when it lost cabin pressure and everyone aboard lost consciousness and likely died, while the aircraft continued for hours until its fuel ran out and it crashed. I guess we’ll find out at some point if a similar fate befell those on the jet today.
ETA: I found the flight path of the ill-fated Citation on flightaware.com and holy shit it flew directly over my house. Not half a mile one side or the other, directly over my head. No wonder the boom was so loud here!
@Mikey:
I’m surprised none of the aviation blogs I follow have posted anything about it.
I don’t expect to hear much about causes unless a determination is made quickly.
@Mr. Prosser:
Some do, some don’t