Ten Things I Think

   I had a bunch of random thoughts on my mind and decided to incorporate them into the blog.

I am hoping to make this a regular feature, so I am looking for a name for this- drop me a line through whatever avenue that you read this and if I select something that I like, I'll try to scrape up a prize of some type for the winner...

1) As an avowed mustard lover and one that usually has several in the fridge such as Cleveland's Bertman's, Harrisburg's Miller's, and others that look interesting in the store- a new contender has emerged- Plochman's "The Works".

The Works says it's a Chicago-style mustard with relish already in it and it is definitely a must (pun-intended) for those of you that like relish and/or dill pickles.

The lovely Cherie also swears by this one, and the only one of the local supermarkets that carry it is Weis Markets, so give the Works a try, should you see it available.

2) I try to watch fewer political programs of late mainly because I feel that so few are where I'm at politically and that few are able to play anything other than a game of "What About"?

Is it possible that maybe just maybe, one can believe that wrong is wrong for ills from either side of the fence and not make it only about ideological "friends and enemies"?

3) I suppose this is why I do like the Bulwark because it seems the closest to what I believe.

I'm maybe slightly to their left socially and pretty even up fiscally, but they are closest to my feeling of you can say the Andrew Cuomo's are awful as well as disliking the former president and not be wrong.

4) One final political note- I've also cut back my political podcast listening for a bit and why I haven't added any pay products of late, but I always stop and listen when Amanda Carpenter makes a podcast appearance (Or her CNN spots, but I've got that cut back as well).

I'm a big fan of her writing and I promise (on the word of my financial backer Fred Landucci! Ha Ha!) if the podcast returns, I'll take a shot at trying to get her to do it!

5) I'm not as down as many on Carolina trading for Sam Darnold for a 2021 6th and 2022 2nd and 4th with the Jets.

Matt Rhule and Joe Brady might have luck with Darnold that the Jets never had, but Darnold should have no excuses this time if his career doesn't progress.

6) One thing that I've missed from Covid-19 is a good Chinese food buffet.

Sadly, I'm afraid that few large restaurants will return from Covid.

Insurance will likely be higher and would-be owners will be more reluctant to open an already difficult business to start up.

7) I was really hoping that North Carolina would hire Steve Robinson to replace Roy Williams just so I could once again see Steve Robinson pull a "Steve Robinson".

8) For as much as I love the internet, the information at your fingertips, and all that you can read, it's sad that a generation will go by to not know the excitement of seeing a new sports magazine or comic book in a grocery store or pharmacy and have it be a complete surprise.

Looking for the latest boxing magazine, Street and Smith's sports preview, issue of Green Lantern, or a pack of Topps at a Sheetz or 7-11 was a thrill for a kid that loved to collect and read, and losing that is an underrated factor in why kids are losing interest in so many things that kids loved in previous eras.

9) The mail still is the main avenue that this country uses for getting packages and their needs.

No matter what the internet has improved on billing and purchasing, there still is a need to move those items from the start to your home or business.

The USPS has flaws, but they have been bloated out of control since Louis DeJoy was installed to "fix" it- His latest idea is to charge more, slow their service, and have fewer open hours for the various offices around the country.

The answer is plain- this is not how normal businesses are "fixed". 

It's time for him to go.

10) If I could change one thing to streamline healthcare, it would be to make a universal insurance/payment card that all companies would need to provide.

A friend's wife works at a local doctor's office and she reports that is the biggest hassle with multiple companies doing their cards in different formats, making them harder to decipher, slowing the process down, which can result in mistakes to squeeze between the cracks.

Is it asking too much for one format?

Hope you like this post, I haven't felt like writing about baseball with the Indians' gumball-like bats of late, so thought I would do something different.

Back later, with a turkey in the backyard and I was glad Fred Landucci wasn't driving in the area at the time!

We get letters

Well, we actually didn't get letters, although should enough of you want to send them, I'm sure that we could accommodate a post filled with them.

However, I do have some various thoughts to fill a column that's different from a Cleaning out the Inbox and might be enough to fill out a post.

I know that I've been critical of the President and I'll choose not to waste your time with my opinion on what he is trying to accomplish with this war on the USPS, but allow me to ask this- If the USPS goes out of business, how do you propose you receive your everyday mail and if you don't have the time or ability to get to a mailbox somewhere, do you really believe that your service will improve by the elimination of USPS?
For all the flaws and issues with USPS and there are plenty of those, it is a free service that brings mail and packages to your home six days a week.
Enjoy paying 25-30 bucks a month for a service to bring your mail to your house a few times a week.
The crowd that screams about waste (and isn't it funny, how many of that bunch has gone silent over the last three and a half years?) will be begging for the USPS once they realize the alternative is to start paying to receive their mail as well as send it...

I'm not a fan of Kamala Harris.
She comes off as insincere and she wouldn't have been in my top few Vice Presidental candidates, considering Joe Biden's commitment to a woman on the ticket.
However, the President's tired act of claiming that an opponent isn't a "Real American" isn't just stale, it's ridiculous.
Harris was born in Oakland, she's qualified legally to be on the ticket and any statements otherwise only makes the person stating the false claim look desperate.

For all of the chat about sports being back among the return to "normal", remember this- Basketball and Hockey will start much later with their new seasons, closer to winter than fall and with college football off the table, we aren't anywhere near being "normal".
I have a funny feeling come October, we'll be fortunate to have the NFL on Sundays and maybe the niche' sports such as boxing, UFC, golf, etc.
You think the public handled this poorly the first time?
Wait until they go through with colder weather and nothing to do outside!

The behavior of Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac in ignoring the MLB protocol and leaving the restricted area earlier in the week was irresponsible and endangered the season.
I know the life of a player in the baseball world right now is very dull and I might prefer the bubble of other sports if it was my choice.
However, Plesac's firing back at the local media for reporting on his violations are a very bad look and strikes me as immature.
Clevinger's screw-up though was even worse as he avoided the public relations mistakes, but he covered up his role, attended team meetings, and flew back to Cleveland with the team- all of which could have blown up the team and put the Indians in the same spot as the Cardinals in missing games, falling behind in the standings with games that will never be made back up completely.
The point isn't what they did, which by all accounts seems tame, it's that they left at all and betrayed teammates at a time when trust is everything.
Both Clevinger and Plesac were demoted to the minor camp in Eastlake and it'll be interesting to see if a team attempts to buy low on Clevinger after all this.
Clevinger won't be a free agent until after 2022, so he'll have value should the Indians decide to listen to offers.