I suppose I’m being narrowminded here, missing the nuances of the situation. But it seems to me that if some Republican had hacked into Joe Biden’s e-mail account we’d have all the news media calling for a federal investigation and a special prosecutor.



By way of Conservative Grapevine, here’s a Popular Mechanics piece on 10 Kitchen Gadgets You’ll Use Only Once. Some of that stuff looks pretty neat. The only thing that keeps me from filling my house with impedimenta like that is poverty. Thank God for poverty, I say.

It’s bill-paying night for me, so that’s a good thought to keep in mind.

I note that the editors weren’t much impressed by a device that cooks chicken that isn’t messy. That idea appealed to me immediately.

I do not like messy food. That’s one of my major objections to barbecued ribs (barbecued anything, actually), pork (like the taste, hate the grease), big hamburgers with salads piled on top of them, and oranges (which I love, except for the dissection).

I guess that’s another sign that I’m not a Real Guy.

Now, bills.

As you may have noticed if you’ve been here a while, I have strong opinions on the subject of “book banning” accusations, as made by liberal interest groups.

Michelle Malkin examines the question of who are the real book banners in this country in our time, in a column today.

*The reference is to “Excelsior,” a poem by Longfellow.

I wonder if the Viking Age Club and Society of the Sons of Norway will be asked to participate in Walker, Minnesota’s annual Ethnic Fest again, next year.

I fear we’ve made ourselves unwelcome up there.

No, I’m not talking about the arson in the courthouse. Or the sacking of the coffee shop. Or the drunken assault on the Irish dancing troupe (admittedly a lapse of judgment on our part).

No, I’m talking about the weather. The legend of the Ethnic Fest, as passed down through the generations by the village elders, states that it has never rained on the event in its history.

Until last year, when the VAC&S came.

And this year, when we came again.

Rainy events are a drag. We can’t put out our stuff for sale (because it gets wet and loses its intrinsic market value) or our display equipment (because it rusts). Basically we just hung out in costume, most of us huddled under my sunshade (suddenly the most popular tent in the camp). With a waterproof tarp draped over it, it provided a relatively dry spot.

We did, however, do two live steel combat shows. So the town got something for its money.

It was actually raining lightly during our first show. Think of the final battle in The Thirteenth Warrior. It was pretty much like that. Except, of course, that I’m much better looking than Antonio Banderas.

By the time of the second show, the sky had cleared enough for the guys to unpack the chain mail assembly demonstration, always a venue of great fascination to teenage boys.

When all was done and we’d packed our wet canvas in our SUVs, our group repaired to the nearby Ojibway casino for supper. After a very nice buffet, the others turned to gambling. I myself went back to our gracious hosts’ home to bed, having explained politely to my friends that they were all going to Hell.

I’ve had better weekends, but at least I wasn’t in Galveston.

It would be wrong and insensitive to make a joke about this story:

A British woman who was scratched several times by a rat she was trying to set free from her bird feeder died six days later from the wound, The Daily Mail reported Friday.

It would appear from this account that her love for animals led her to attempt to set the animal free rather than call somebody to kill it.

When Jesus told us not to throw pearls before swine, he was affirming certain sensible kinds of discrimination. Discrimination in itself is not bad. You’ve got to determine whether it’s discrimination based on a relevant or an irrelevant difference.

In other words, you’ve got to discriminate between different kinds of discrimination.

The differences between people and animals, or the differences between kittens and rats, are not irrelevant ones.

Can’t think of anything else to write about today. I’m unqualified to say more about the anniversary, and any other subject seems inappropriate.

I’d gotten messages to fly the flag today, but it was raining, and I subscribe to old fashioned Flag Etiquette, which says don’t put it out in the rain.

I probably won’t be posting here tomorrow, since I’m leaving in the afternoon for Walker, Minnesota. I mean, they name a town after me, the least I can do is go and visit.

Actually, it’s their annual Ethnic Festival. Come by if you’re in the area. I’ll be in the Viking encampment by City Hall.

Today I’m thinking about people standing at the edge of a void, weeping in terror, a raging fire at their backs.

I’m thinking of those lonely, lonely falls.

I’m thinking of passengers on planes, calming their children, and calling loved ones on their cell phones to say goodbye.

I’m thinking of “Let’s roll.”

Never forget. Never forget.