Random Friday thoughts

I confess I have not closely followed the Baylor sex crimes scandal and its aftermath which resulted in the demotion of Kenneth Starr and the firing of their football coach this week. Another instance of privileged college athletes being allowed to rape and assault women without suffering consequences, in fact being protected by the powers that be at their universities? Ho hum. Such things only happen on days ending in y. To afford each such felony the outrage which it deserves would mean that I am in a constant state of outrage. My sincere apologies to the innocent victims of these crimes but I simply can't live my life like that.

Still, even though I've followed the story only tangentially, like many others in Texas - and, I suspect, elsewhere - I was surprised when Baylor fired its winning football coach this week, for, contrary to what you may have heard, evangelistic Christianity is not the number one religion in Texas; football is. To have one of that religion's successful and honored priests ousted is almost unheard of. Perhaps Baylor's board finally remembered that it is supposed to be a "Christian" university and that maybe, just maybe, that should come before the mindless worship of football.

And then there is Kenneth Starr, their former president/chancellor now "demoted" to chancellor, who did nothing about the crimes that were occurring right under his patrician nose. If you are old enough, you will certainly remember Kenneth Starr from the '90s and his Inspector Javert-like pursuit of President Bill Clinton. Just a few days before the excrement hit the fan this week, there was a story in The New York Times about how, now, all that "unpleasantness" is forgotten and Starr has only praise for Clinton. And if you believe the timing of that story was a coincidence, then you are just too naive for our modern culture.

So Clinton engaged in consensual sex with someone outside his marriage. Starr ignored reports of brutal sexual assaults on his campus and offered no support to the victims. But it's all good because now he's been "demoted." Too bad he couldn't be impeached.

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Hodor.

Yes, you can now have Hodor "hold the door" for you. All you have to do is purchase one of these Hodor doorstops. Isn't entrepreneurism wonderful?

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Dahlia Lithwick is one of the reasons I go to the Slate website every day. She writes mostly about the Supreme Court, but occasionally she covers more political subjects as well. She is unabashedly liberal and this week she took her fellow liberals to task for some of their behaviors in the current presidential campaign. Her clear-eyed analysis is worth reading.

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And one of the reasons I watch television is see Samantha Bee's take on the world. I really wish she were hosting one of the four-nights-a-week Comedy Central fake news shows, preferably "The Daily Show," but I'm just grateful that at least we get to see her once a week on TBS.

You haven't seen her show "Full Frontal" you say? Well, here's a taste - last Monday's episode.



(Update May 28: Sorry, the video has now been taken down. You'll just have to take my word for it: it's a good show!)

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Rain, rain, give me a break!

It's been an inordinately rainy spring here - roads flooded and closed, many homes flooded, lives lost. At our house, the inconveniences have been much more minor but still annoying.

Last month, around April 15, we got more than 14 inches of rain over a few days. We continued to get regular showers, some heavy, since then. And now Mother Nature is at it again. We got at least seven inches overnight and the monsoon continues. My poor garden!

The garden had just begun to recover from its April drenching when this new round of floods started. When it dries out a bit, I'm going to have to bring in the big guns to help with the weeding. Those weeds are going to be out of control.

I did manage to hobble out to the garden (strained hamstring, which is a whole 'nother story I won't bore you with) one day this week and took a couple of pictures before the new rains came. I'll leave you with those.

Another new daylily has started blooming.

The feverfew in the herb garden has been going crazy with blooms this spring.

In the past, my Justicia 'Orange Flame' has flowered mostly in the fall, but it got an early start this year. It can flower throughout the year.

You can see how it got the name 'Orange Flame.'

Happy Memorial Day weekend and if you are in the Houston area, try to stay dry!