Monday's Random Thoughts: Let's Party Like it's 1864

 

I’ve had a few things rattling around in my brain that I felt like I needed to write out and express. And with a few friends saying they missed my weekly blogs, I figured there was no time like the present to get some of those thoughts out.

Wanna know what the biggest one is? It boils down to one word – one number really: 1864.

This is the year we want to go back and get our legal precedence from? When the Civil War was still active? Before Marty took the DeLorean back to the Old West to save Doc Brown? OK, so the last one’s fiction, but when you think about that era in America, isn’t that one of your frames of reference? Want a more historically accurate example? Sure – 1864 is before the events that were depicted in “Tombstone” happened.

Seriously Arizona?

Look, I understand there are people that are dug in on ending all forms of abortion, and hey, you be you. But this the straw you’re grasping at?

If we’re going that far back, let’s go all the way back. Let’s outlaw the cars you drive to get around. Give up your phone. Say goodbye to your indoor plumbing and electricity while you’re at it. (Honestly, there might be some people who’d be OK with all of that because it would mean no one would be bothering them about their guns – of course, there wouldn’t be semi-automatics, so maybe not.)

That’s the thing about the whole abortion battle that baffles me – the complete disregard of science and technology. We have the ability to know exactly what is going on with a pregnancy for almost every step of the way. Doctors can now know if the fetus isn’t viable. They can diagnose conditions that will put the mother in danger for her long-term health (and ability to have more children down the road) with a level of certainty that if it was cancer, we’d have no problem believing or supporting it.

But for abortion? No. Can’t have that.

Look, again, believe what you want to believe. I’m not here to say that abortion is the answer in every case, but we need to start realizing that not every law or rule needs to be this or that. There has to be spaces in-between – and not just some randomly chosen cut-off date.

How about we start thinking about it this way: Maybe if a doctor (or two doctors if you wish) give their expert opinion, maybe we don’t fight against it. There should always be exceptions for those who are victims of rape and incest. Who knows, maybe if you got off your high horse, maybe you could convince some people that there can be a cutoff date for women to decide to have an elective abortion – but if something changes after that date and there is a medical emergency, then they should still be allowed while under a doctor’s care.

Of course, none of that will happen because it makes sense. And there are too many people who are stuck in the “my-way-or-the-highway” mode of thinking to listen to reason. We see it in the House of Representatives whenever someone suggests that the two sides *gasp* work together to get something done. The extreme members would rather burn the whole thing down than do something that the majority of Americans want done if it goes against their personal beliefs – including abortion, gun control, health care, infrastructure, etc., etc., etc.

But maybe, just maybe, the invoking of 1864 will be a tipping point toward some sanity in this country. We sure could use it.

PRETTY GOOD, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT: So Gwen Stefani (my alma mater’s most famous alum) and her fellow Orange County ska brats played together on stage for the first time in nine years, and all seemed right in the world.

For those who missed it, No Doubt stepped back into the spotlight at Coachella this past Saturday, and sounded pretty good despite the time apart. I watched along on the livestream on YouTube, mostly because I’m not hip enough to spend a weekend in the desert (or, more accurately, my hips wouldn’t survive a weekend at a festival), and was hopeful that it would be a grand return.

I did get a little worried at the start, as they opened with “Hella Good,” which had some Hella Bad sound quality – something I chalked up to them starting on a stage extension that was separate from the main stage. Once they got back to the stage, however, it was all old school Orange County.

Gwen was a foul-mouthed OC Gen X brat, and the rest of the boys rocked out as a group that had been going strong for years, bopping and bouncing around the stage like they did 30 years ago (yes, it’s been that long). Olivia Rodrigo was a pleasant surprise on stage, and she looked excited to be there, and fit right in with the SoCal vibe.

I only had one major quibble: When she introduced “Just A Girl,” Gwen mentioned that the song seems more relevant that it ever has … and then she just left it there. I get not wanting to alienate any fans, but it wouldn’t hurt to use the platform to encourage all the women in her audience to be informed and – if they agree to the sentiment of the song - get out the vote. If not, it seems like there are some that would like her words “Oh, I'm just a girl, living in captivity; Your rule of thumb makes me worrisome” become the law of the land.

QUICK HITS: Wrestlemania 40 was amazing, top-to-bottom. Yes, I watch WWE. And the product has become one worth watching. The stories make sense, they follow logic, and the performers are putting on great shows, worthy of returning the phrase “pro wrestling” to the lexicon instead of “sports entertainment.”

* The Arizona Coyotes are apparently headed to Salt Lake City for next season. Yeah, it’s time for the NHL to get the team out of the 4,600-seat college arena, and into something more appropriate. Not that Salt Lake City’s Delta Center is a perfect location (it was built for basketball – hockey games there aren’t well lit in the corners), but it at least is a professional facility that will be able to better handle the demands that professional hockey places on its arenas.

* The former president’s trial starts today. If you thought your jury summons was inconvenient, can you imagine what the people reporting in New York are dealing with as they show up to the courthouse for their public service? I wish them well.

Maybe, just maybe, they're not all out to get you

 

The thing about today’s instant satisfaction world of 24/7 news and social media websites is that everyone thinks that there has to be a conclusion right now.

Or right now.

Or now.

Dangnabit, why not now?

What is taking so long?

OK, so I drove the point into the ground. But that seems to be the general feeling out there. We have to make declarative statements about what has happened before we really know what has happened.

The latest case in point is the cargo ship crash that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland. Even before 24 hours had passed, there were people shouting from the rooftops that this had to have been some sort of terrorist attack. Or it had to be because the company was too woke because of its diversity. Or … insert whatever other conspiracy theory you want to throw in here.

 I got a novel idea: How about we let the investigators investigate and then tell us what actually happened? Can we do that?

Yeah, I know that will take time, and the result won’t be as sexy as some conspiracy theory that you absolutely know was true no matter what those deep state cops find. But maybe let’s let them do a little bit of the job before we start jumping to conclusions.

Anyway, if this was some terrorist inside job, let’s just say I haven’t heard of many terrorists sending out Mayday calls to warn the victims of their attack that the attack is imminent to try and save lives. Just sayin’.

Or, maybe, people just don’t want to know the truth – and that’s even more frustrating. The truth gets in the way of their worldview, and having someone screaming at you online that it was an inside job is much easier to deal with than having to find out that maybe there isn’t a deep state controlling things or that one side is out to get the other (no matter what side you’re on).

Look, I’m not above having conspiratorial thoughts about things in the news (and there was an event pretty recently that my conspiracy flag was ready to fly). I just generally keep them to myself because I really don’t know the truth. Is what I’m thinking plausible? Sure. But is it likely? Well, let’s let it play out a little bit before we start crowing about it.

But let’s look beyond what happened in Maryland to the long-term picture. The Key Bridge is relatively new in the grand scheme of things, having opened in my lifetime. But when it was built, I’m betting that the cargo ships that used that waterway were not the size they are today. The margin of error in steering under the bridge has probably become much smaller. And if you were paying attention to the news, this is the THIRD time a ship has hit a bridge this year across the world. Also, don’t forget we’ll be hearing about supply chain issues again sooner than later, since that is a big hub for the east coast. Get your toilet paper now.

So do all your friends on social media a favor and take off your tin-foil hats. Be engaged with trusted news sites and turn off the Youtube or TikTok “expert” who is shouting that it HAS to be true because if they really knew it was true, you’d be seeing the “expert” being interviewed by someone besides themselves shouting into their selfie camera.