Sunday Morning Coming Down

The World is in a dangerous place. One of the biggest truisms of modern life has been that war is too destructive to be an effective tool of policy.  You destroy something and you find you have bought it.  It is for that reason that a strong competitive military exist as much to deter wars as fight them. The stakes become too high and as we have learned the conflicts are not resolved. Economically, Europe is a major market for Russian Oil and Russian Oil is financed by banks around the world.  Oil may not seem like a giant part of the economy, but it touches transportation and is something that consumers are very aware of as those costs are integral to a modern economy.  It is possible to use substitutes for oil but that can take time and be even more expensive as supplies are disrupted and demand continues and may increase for nonproductive uses.  This is a worldwide problem and will require folks to cooperate and sacrifice to contain its spread. It is possible...

One thing about the pandemic has been dramatic change in my viewing habits. I like PBS/English/Commonwealth dramas and instead of going to the movies I have reserved time in the afternoon for streaming shows that might look promising. Quite by accident I came upon "Seven Days In Utopia".  I would call it a "Hallmark" movie about golf. Definitely not "Tin Can. However, it reminded me of good times on the golf course and in particular of Hickory Knoll a small 9-hole golf course that had been bought by a Bensenville family that owned the Foremost Liquor Store at Mason and Green Street. It was a family affair and at the time maybe a real estate speculation possibility. The course still exists and the "clubhouse" is under renovation.  It's a "hilly" course by Illinois standards and I'm glad it is still a golf course and it is planned to reopen soon in 2022.

 I hit the dice at a game played at a local watering hole.  It was worth about $250.  Second roll I think and los dados came up with 5 deuces.  I bought a round of drinks for my bar mates and tipped the barmaid. I've told this story before but this morning I was reminded that it is 2/22/22.  I'm surprised I did not post this on Face Book so I might have been reminded of this longshot coming in. 

Ezra Klein pretty much nailed it in his 2/6/2022 column for the New York Times. "It’s easy to speak as if policy smoothly reshapes reality. I’m more guilty of that than most. But policy lies downstream of society. Mandates are not self-executing; to work, policies need to be followed, guidance needs to be believed. Public health is rooted in the soil of trust. That soil has thinned in America." " You know what’s better than a vaccine mandate? A society that doesn’t need one."

It's almost time for the Super Bowl. The poohbahs of the NFL would probably like to have a do over on at least three things that happened in the recent past. Flores being fired. Flores suing NFL and teams that interviewed him. Flores allegation that he was offered $100,000 for losing games and moving up in the draft to get a "franchise quarterback If Coach Flores hadn't been fired the dirty laundry of the NFL coaching merry-go-round could have continued for another cycle and he would be held out as a potentially great coach that reflected the majority of the NFL's players. The owner of the Dolphins would be saved from a double dose of embarrassment and maintain a relatively positive image in Miami. Tanking has happened too often in Miami sports history, and you might even wonder if Ross had a Fan Duel account.   And finally, I imagine that Cincinnati beating Kansas City and the resulting Super Bowl matchup is probably the least favorite matchup. As things look now Bria...