An End to the Ukraine War?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Jonathan Turley on universal basic income.

- Some interesting thoughts on the Bering Strait and the Artic Ocean.

- Who knew today would be Artic Ocean day.

- Because everybody loves bacon.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- VDH: Who are really the lawless and dictatorial? He's not wrong.

- Remembering "The Stacks." I have fond memories of finding a desk to do work in a random floor of "stacks" and taking a break to peruse the stacks and pick a random book. Was it procrastination or exploration of the mind?

- Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland's presidential runoff - 50.89% to 49.11%. Can you imagine the AP's headline if the results were reversed?

- Trump Administration is betting on Alaskan energy. Don't underestimate the energy needs of AI data centers in South Korea or Japan. Guessing these announcements wouldn't be made if deals weren't already worked out.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- In regard to that 747 from Qatar.

- Celtics Jayson Tatum ruptures Achille's - out of rest of playoffs. Oh great!

- US Military aims to reopen Adak Naval base in Alaska to counter Pacific threats (read China).

- Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe among players reinstated by MLB.

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What happens when the cops have had enough?

- Alaska removed infamous "into the Wild" bus after years of hiker rescues and deaths. Chris McCandless was not a hero nor someone to be emulated.

- RIP Ian Holm

- This is amazing

- Cool - map shows literal meaning of every country's name. For example Spain is "Land of Many Rabbits" and the United States of America literally means the "United States of America"

- Smart move - "the Patriots will allow season ticket holders with risk factors for COVID-19 to skip the 2020 season without losing their seats for 2021 and beyond"

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Sorry but I can't help but think that Iron Man would make short work of the Night King and the army of the dead. Maybe half-hour worth of work tops... Heh Heh...  Remember when Adam Schefter wrote "Robert Kraft is 'not the biggest name' involved in prostitution bust"? Well Adam we're all still waiting... "If you don't know what your top three priorities are, you don't have priorities." - Donald Rumsfeld... I too would want this as my reading room... Fact of the day - Alaska is so big that t could fit the state if New Jersey into it 75 times... My guess is that the one thing the people on Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2019 all have in common is that none of them subscribe to or read Time Magazine... 

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I think political debates would be much more interesting if A: only the microphone of the person who is supposed to be speaking is on and B: if they took place inside giant Faraday cages with giant electric bolts being fired when a speaker goes over their allotted time... What a hero looks like... Who knew? They are looking to re-make the movie Death Wish with Bruce Willis playing the Charles Bronson role... I'd vote for Tim Tebow if he was running for Congress in my District... Speaking of politics - I think if the names Frank Castle or Matt Murdock were put on the ballot in the election of New York mayor there's a good chance they'd win. Or maybe I'm still in my Daredevil Season 2 refractory period... Louis CK will definitely make a profit (eventually) off the critically acclaimed Horace and Pete... All New England Dunkin Donuts should be sent a picture of Pablo Sandoval with the instructions "Do not sell this man donuts!"... The Internet was built specifically for things like this... Hairy Toilet would be a good name for a punk band... Robots were developed specifically for tasks like this... Internet fact of the day - Alaska is so big it could fit the State of New Jersey into it 75 times...

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Mount McKinley Now Once Again Mount Denali

President Obama has changed the name of Alaskan peak Mount McKinley back to the original native name of Mount Denali. I've heard the mountain called both all my life which I think is a testament to the name Mount McKinley never fully taking hold. I have no issue whatsoever with the name change back to Mount Denali.

Speaker John Boehner however is not pleased with the name change. Some things are worth fighting for. This is not one of them. Hey Boehner how about spending your time and effort to repeal Obamacare or stop the Iran Deal instead of this fluff.

As for me - I'm just happy that Vladimir Putin hasn't strong-armed Obama into selling Alaska back to Russia (although when he sees what Obama is willing to give away to Iran would you blame Putin if he tried?).

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Sewards Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So Al Sharpton was an FBI informant? That should help his inner-city credibility.... Extreme tree trimming in the days before bucket trucks... Internet fact of the day - Alaska is so big that you could fit the state of New Jersey into it 75 times... Schwartzenegger driving... I think if you randomly inserted Whoopi Goldberg into the show True Detective - it would have been much scarier... JFKFC... You can't have good without evil yet Christianity has official blessings without any official curses. Seems like a missing ingredient... Confession - I haven't missed an NCAA championship game in years yet I have never seen One Shining Moment. Either at a bar and you can't hear song over noise or at home and go to bed. I don't think I'm really missing anything...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

As others have pointed out if Rutgers ended up with Ben Howland instead of Mike Rice the men's basketball program will actually come out ahead in this mess. Come to think of it - anyone they hire will be an upgrade... The Beeriodic Table of Elements... Internet fact of the day - Alaska is so big that it could fit the State of New Jersey into it 75 times... I think it is unfair that Charlie Brown finally got to kick the football but Elmer Fudd never got to kill the wabbit... Many people have heard of Talk Like a Pirate Day but did you know that April 23rd is Talk Like Shakespeare Day?... I signed back up for HBO last Sunday so that I could watch Game of Thrones. I think Justified is the only other show on TV that I would pay money to watch... Prediction - the Patriots will acquire Tim Tebow for a 7th round draft pick and then trade backup QB Ryan Mallett for a 2nd round pick (making Tim Tebow Tom Brady's backup). The Jets will HATE dealing with New England but the 7th round pick will be better than releasing Tebow and getting nothing... Happy 42nd birthday to Framingham's own Lou Merloni...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Delaying the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight just serves to further slowly kill boxing as a sport. I hang with sports fans and none can name the heavyweight boxing champ. Most of these same guys know Brock Lesnar is the UFC champ. And honestly, Mayweather and Pacquiao are probably the only two boxers I could name right now... Awesome Pictures of Alaska. I think I could actually see Russia from one of the pictures... Next week the Rockies will have to face Josh Johnson on Thursday and then Roy Halladay on Friday - both on the road. That's a killer schedule... This is an awesome wine glass. If only it was a little bigger so you could fit ice cubes in it... It is tough to beat the first sip of a really cold beer on a hot summer day... Heh heh - Advice for young Girls from The Little Mermaid... RocknRolla is a very under rated movie. I hope they go through with the sequel. I've slowly become a Guy Ritchie fan... Mad Men thought for the day. The first thing Betsy learned from Henry Francis is that when you don't have the power - you delay. I think she was planning divorce for some time - even before their trip to Rome. She finally acted when she thought she had the power because of her knowledge of Don's past... I did not know this! Chris Farley was the original voice of Shrek. Almost a year after Farley died, Mike Myers took on the role... Hard to believe but Miguel Olivo of the Rockies is having a better year offensively than the Twins Joe Mauer. Olivo has more HR, more RBI and better BA, OBP and SLG numbers than Mauer... In the history of bad free agent signings - ESPN signing Rick Reilly has to be near the top of the list.