P.S. A Column On Things

Start of September 9 Column. More or Less Continuous News Service since 1998

Getting Out The Vote Wasn't This Easy Back In The Day

Back in 1972, when I worked on George McGovern’s quixotic run against the criminal Nixon, we used landline phones to call registered voters, reminding them to vote and offering rides to the polls.

The technology of the 21^st century has changed that. If you’re registered, you can vote in the privacy of your own home. And you don’t have to guess if you’re registered.

Of course there’s still room for the human touch; I just addressed 25 postcards to female no-party-registered voters, asking them to vote. Not to vote for someone, just to vote.

I have mentioned before  my streak of bad luck; I helped Wayne Morse lose his Senate seat, Art Pearl to lose his run for Oregon governor, Bobby Kennedy to lose the Oregon Primary, and, of course McGovern.  I think I’m a jinx, so if TFG had a ground operation in California, I’d sign up.

One other quick note. The Bill Of Rights contains only one responsibility: jury duty. Clearly, voting is another responsibility. But the founding fathers didn’t bother to mention it because they couldn’t imagine anyone who had the right to vote not voting. After all, that was the whole point of the American Revolution. This simply demonstrates their lack of imagination.

Grandkids: Grandson: Unicookie

My daughter bought a container of cookie dough, and my grandson and I rolled it into balls and placed it on a sheet of parchment paper in a baking pan. His previous effort had resulted in a unicookie. We tried spreading the balls apart and rolling smaller balls. Mihir would consistently grab my balls, peel off about a third of the dough and have me reroll them,

Instead of one unicookie, we ended up with several smaller ones that were easier to break apart once cooled. My MIT friends suggested doing cookies in a muffin tin, being careful to insure that the center is cooked. They also suggested smaller balls and wider spacing. I think my grandson is ready for MIT.

Things That Float Into My Mind

I am nothing if not a creature of habit. I found myself reminiscing about the start of my announcing career at Benson Polytechnic. To listen to me, you’d think our founder had three first names: Millionaire Lumberman Philanthropist. He was Simon to his friends.

And then there was the award-winning Benson band. Conductor Harold Rowe glowered at the fact that I used that adjective a dozen times after the band won an award, but it had the added charm of being true.

Meme O’ The Week: Unflattering Yet True

Humor: Jesus at Dinner

[Thank you Clark Smith]

One evening, Jesus walks into a restaurant with his 12 disciples following him in. The Maitre D greets him and says. “Good evening sir, how can we help you today?”

Jesus responds, “Yes, we’d like a table for 26 please”

The Maître d' looks confused for a second, before gathering his composure. “But sir, there are only 13 of you?”

Jesus responds, “Ahh, yes…. but we’re all going to sit on one side of the table”.

Unpaired Words

You can be disgruntled or unkempt, but can you be gruntled or kempt? Not in this century you can’t. But if you go back 500 years, these words were not unpaired. It does appear there are suffix examples too. You can be reckless but not reckful, rueful not rueless, ruthless (I wonder where Ruth is?), not ruthful.

This and That

The Canon of American Literature
I was shot out of the canon of American literature years ago. It turns out my 2nd novel, The Great American Novel (1970) was just a journal of my 1^st year at MIT. My firstVernon Jones, Super-Scientific Detective (1964) served as a 180-page doorstop.
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Attention Tom Lehrer Fans
I have engaged in the Find Tom Lehrer game, in order to tell him about my love song set to the tune of Vatican Rag. A great entry in the genre explores his time in Santa Cruz: Sleuthing The Trail Of One Of America’s Premier Satarists. It shows his appearance on BBC’s Desert Island Discs.
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About AI
Spoken in the 80s, true today.
“More money has been wasted in artificial intelligence than in any other area of computer technology. We're still not close to having any real idea or model of how the human brain works.”

―George Morrow in Sayings of Chairman George

End of September 9 Column (No. 946)

Voting has never been easier

Until after the election, this item will be at the top of my column.

Here are the relevant focus-grouped mottoes: Democracy is stronger when we all vote! Your Neighbors Are Waiting For You To Vote!

These links apply to the entire country:

It is now trivial to Get Your Absentee Ballot

In case you live in a place where some people are trying to throw you off the voter rolls, check on your status and register if need be:

Am I registered to vote?

Feel free to share to share this item with others:

Short version (suitable for posters and written letters): tinyurl.com/1psacot1

Long version: Voting has never been easier