Do You Wanna Dance?

The Dance

Anyone who pays even the slightest attention to the national news is familiar with a process I like to call The Dance. It is simply a manifestation of the 21st century's ongoing assault on the notion of freedom of expression. In its most basic form, The Dance goes like this:

• Public figure says X.
• Firestorm of online protests about statement X ensues.
• Public figure is pressured to apologize for having said X.

There are variations on the basic theme, of course. Sometimes, as with Donald Trump's latest outrageous statement, the public figure declines to apologize, and that becomes the story for the next news cycle or two. (The phrase "Trump refuses to apologize..." is the kind of phrase the we used to describe in journalism as "set in type," meaning we would need it very often in putting out the paper). More commonly, the public figure tries to put out the fire with an apology, as Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley did on Saturday after pissing off some whack-job progressives (if that isn't a redundancy) by saying "all lives matter." But the basic formula is always the same: Statement, criticism/shaming, public response. And "statement" can be viewed very broadly as any mode of expression, as British astrophysicist Matt Taylor (a shirt) and former Mozilla executive Brandon Eich (a political contribution) can attest.

Sometimes, the people doing the protesting/shaming settle for a public apology as sufficient obeisance to their ideological agenda, and then move on to other prey. Sometimes, though, as with Eich, Nobel Laureate Tim Hunt, and others, the "transgression" is considered such an example of Thoughtcrime that whoever is guilty of it must be destroyed (loss of employment, driven from public life, etc.).

These days, there's a new outbreak of The Dance pretty much daily. A particularly busy day might see two or three instances of it making the news. Of course, there is a variation of the game that is unique to conservative/Republican public figures: Whenever there is an instance of The Dance unfolding involving a conservative and/or Republican public figure (or in the case of asshat Donald Trump, someone merely claiming to be one such), every other conservative and/or Republican figure will be asked to comment on The Dance. Depending on what X was, they're usually asked to repudiate the statement, express disapproval of the person who said it, etc. This often unfolds into a version of The Dance all by itself, either because the third party conservative/Republican tries to stay out of the kerfuffle ("Ted Cruz refuses to Condemn Donald Trump"), or because they choose to jump into it with both feet ("Scott Walker: Trump Needs to Apologize," etc.). This sort of thing never seems to happen with progressives/Democrats. Bernie Sanders could come out in favor of human sacrifice, and Hillary would never hear a single question about it (on those rare occasions when she even allows the press to ask her questions).

Meanwhile, The Dance is distracting us from things that actually, you know, matter...

Not that anyone pays attention to such things these days, of course, but the invaluable Andrew C. McCarthy reminds us in an article today that the Obama administration is at the United Nations trying to circumvent the U.S. constitution. No big deal for Obama, who regards the law as a mere inconvenience to be ignored when it suits him. But I remember a time, under a different president, when this sort of thing would have been considered...

But then, trying to get progressives to display any intellectual consistency (or even honesty) is a fool's errand...

Morning Rituals

 

Although there are things I do in the mornings that precede this ritual, it doesn't really feel like the day has started until I've had my first cup of real coffee.

For more than a decade, I have been counting on my Hamilton Beach BrewStation 10 to assist me with my coffee addiction. The one I have now is only the second one I have needed over than span of time. It is simple, quiet, and very good at what it does.



I especially enjoy not having a carafe that needs regular cleaning, and Hamilton Beach's claim that this design keeps the coffee hotter longer without burning it is absolutely true. I also like being able to dispense a cup while the batch is still brewing (try that trick with machines that dispense to a carafe!). Some days, I really really need that first cup...

This morning I'm brewing the new Starbucks Kati Kati blend. It was first introduced in 2013, but it is only available during the summer months, and I have only just now gotten around to giving it a try. I have enjoyed it so far, even though their medium roasts usually don't do much for me.

Speaking of Starbucks, I'm enjoying my coffee this morning in my Komodo Dragon mug, one of a collection they came out with a back in 2011. It's one of my favorites among my larger-capacity mugs, as is the Kenya mug that was part of the same collection. I look for other mugs in that collection on eBay once in awhile, but they've gotten pretty scarce, which has driven the price of them way up...

Shut your pipe, quadruped...

Things That Make Me Happy: Pitcher's Duel Edition

The finale of the series between my beloved Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox pitted Chicago's All-Star Chris Sale against the Royals' prized young left-hander Danny Duffy.

Sale is a fine pitcher, but he has a losing career record against the Royals even though he always seems to pitch very well against them. Yesterday's game was just the sort of pitcher's duel the Royals were hoping for, because the bullpen was gassed after a doubleheader on Friday and a 13-inning game on Saturday. Danny Duffy rose to the challenge, pitching perhaps the best outing of his major league career (certainly it was the longest, 8 innings plus one batter in the 9th).

"Not gonna be your day today, White Sox."

The Royals nicked Sale for a run in the 1st inning, but he buckled down after that, as he usually does. Duffy was even better, though, so it was a classic 1-0 pitcher's duel heading into the 6th. Red-hot center fielder Lorenzo Cain led off the 6th with a solo homer (his 10th overall, but his 4th in his last eight games) to make it 2-0, and rookie Paulo Orlando hit a two-run shot with one out in the 7th (just his 4th, but his 3rd in eight games since rejoining the team on July 7) to give Duffy some breathing room. Danny carried his shutout into the bottom of the 9th, but after allowing a solo home run to lead off that inning, manager Ned Yost brought in Joe Blanton to close out the win, which he did. Joe needed just 12 pitches to record three outs, including two strikeouts. It isn't clear how much longer Joe will be on the team once we activate Jason Vargas from the Disabled List on Tuesday, but he certainly helped the team through a rough spot this year, and Royals fans should be grateful for his service...

After taking three out of four from the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field to begin the second half of the season, the Royals return to Kauffman Stadium to begin a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have the second-best record in the National League but trail the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL's Central Division. Yordano Ventura takes the mound for the Royals in the opener tonight against the veteran A.J. Burnett.

Until Next Time...

Today's send-off selection is the result of one of those weird confluences of thoughts that rattle around in my head from time to time. Let me explain...

A little over a month ago, the Celtic Woman 10th Anniversary Tour made a stop in Omaha. I wasn't able to attend but a few of my former students were able to do so, and I know they had a marvelous experience. There really isn't another musical ensemble like this one anywhere in the world. I'm still hoping to be able to see the group on its fall tour.

Yesterday the TNT Network broadcast all three "Lord of the Rings" movies back-to-back-to-back. I had the channel on, but wasn't really paying it much mind, as I had other things to do and of course I've seen the films many times. But at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, I paused to listed to Enya singing "May It Be" over the closing credits. It's a great song (it was nominated for an Oscar), and hearing Enya's voice made me think about missing the Celtic Woman show, which in turn reminded me that Celtic Woman did a splendid cover of the song on their eponymous 2005 album and DVD, which...well, you get the idea, I'm sure. Enjoy...