Luckily, serendipity often seems to intervene to relieve our boredom at pompous events, reminding us that life is, after all, pretty random.
The fly on Pence's well-coifed head at the V-P debate was one such event. A positive way to view it is that unlike Trump's joyride outside Walter Reed, the debate environment must not have been hermetically sealed without natural ventilation.
Either that, or somebody left a food scrap somewhere and the fly was pausing on a snowy peak on its way to or from that delicacy.
I'm not aware whether Pence has commented on the fly or whether he considers it is the latest evidence that Biden would ban fracking.
Harris, meanwhile, was too polite to note the creature on her opponent's head, or maybe her vision is lacking.
Had I not recently benefited from cataract surgery, I no doubt would have mistaken the fly for a melanoma on Pence's head.
One good (or unfortunate) thing about white hair is that others can see anything out of the ordinary going on up there. For example, recently one of my daughters plucked an errant ant out of my long white locks.
***
It's a bit odd to be back on the job market, after a brief hiatus. Naturally, I am aware of the problem of age discrimination. What those job listing services fail to disclose is they often set age parameters on the algorithms that search applicant resumes, thereby sorting out older candidates.
In this way, older people are disqualified before they are even considered.
Recruiters handle this by advising older people to only list their more recent jobs and accomplishments in order to avoid tripping those algorithmic flags. Thus, a 60-year-old may appear to be more like a 35-year-old, based on experience, and in that way, make the first cut.
BTW, it is illegal to ask an applicant what his or her age is. And job applicants are under no obligation to disclose their age.
Of course, older workers can be especially valuable when it comes to having had experience handling the types of issues that commonly come up in jobs, plus many of them have outgrown personality defects that might have made them less attractive when they were younger and ambitious.
Most older people have learned to set personal ambition aside, unless, of course, they happen to be running for president.
Many of us cringe at old politicians duking it out with younger combatants. Why give us a bad name? As a group, we tend to be sweet, lovable, generous old guys, with plenty of quaint stories featuring self-deprecating humor.
No, we don't really take ourselves all that seriously...
***
The news, sadly, takes itself *very* seriously...
* Six men were charged Thursday in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint. (CNN)
* New England’s Forests Are Sick. They Need More Tree Doctors. -- Climate change is taking a toll on woodlands in the Northeast. (NYT)
* Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie remained hospitalized Wednesday, four days after he revealed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Christie is one of at least five people who helped prepare Trump for last week’s presidential debate and have now tested positive for the virus, including former White House aide Kellyanne Conway and Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller. Christie said last week that no one wore face masks during the prep sessions. Christie, who has asthma, may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19. [HuffPost]
* Vulnerable Republicans are beginning to distance themselves from Trump (WashPo)
* For the sixth time in the Atlantic hurricane season, people in Louisiana are once more fleeing the state’s barrier islands and sailing boats to safe harbor while emergency officials ramp up command centers and consider ordering evacuations. Most of Louisiana is in the path of Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the Atlantic’s unprecedented hurricane season, with the latest National Hurricane Center estimating landfall in the state on Friday. The center’s forecasters warned of winds that could gust well above 100 mph and up to 11 feet of ocean water potentially rushing onshore when the storm’s center hits land. [AP]
* Venezuela, Once an Oil Giant, Reaches the End of an Era -- Venezuela’s oil reserves, the world’s largest, transformed the country and the global energy market. Now its oil sector is grinding to a halt. Will it ever recover? (NYT)
* Avoiding election interference is the overarching principle of Department of Justice policy on voting-related crimes. The policy generally bars prosecutors not only from making any announcement about ongoing investigations close to an election, but also from taking public steps before the end of voting because the publicity could tip the balance of a race. But now, if a U.S. attorney’s office suspects election fraud that involves postal workers or military employees, federal investigators may take public investigative steps before the polls close, even if those actions risk affecting the outcome of the election. [ProPublica]
* Putin, Long the Sower of Instability, Is Now Surrounded by It -- Fueled by the pandemic, uprisings in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan and a war in the Caucasus region are undermining the influence of the Russian leader. (NYT)
* Trump says remaining troops should be home from Afghanistan by Christmas (WashPo)
* Facebook Widens Ban on Political Ads as Alarm Rises Over Election -- Political ads will be banned indefinitely after polls close on Nov. 3 and the company plans new steps to limit misinformation about the results. (NYT)
* Biden is favored to win the election -- We simulate the election 40,000 times to see who wins most often. The sample of 100 outcomes below gives you a good idea of the range of scenarios our model thinks is possible. Biden 85%, Trump 15%. (538)
***
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
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