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<\/a><\/p>\nThe silly season drones on. President Obama faces two problem: his enthusiasts are no longer enthusiastic and may not turn out to vote. Those who don\u2019t like him are saying they will definitely vote. The remedy according to some strategists is to poison the election. Pox on both houses! It don\u2019t matter, they\u2019re all bums. Make everyone disgusted with the process, and use organizations to turn out just enough votes to win.<\/p>\n
It could work. At least they hope so.<\/p>\n
But the executive decision to choose Ryan has changed some of that. At least there is now an issue. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile I have a day to think while I run errands. And I\u2019d better be off doing them.<\/p>\n
Now I wait. Friday after I found the place I usually take my car for smog certification was not operating and I was driving to what I thought was a smog certification place, for the first time in the decade I have had the my Ford Explorer the \u201cCheck engine\u201d light went on. Actually, it has been on before, but that was because I had left the gas cap off after filling the car, and it turned itself off after I closed the cap. Never otherwise though. But this time it came on. So I went to the usual smog certification place and they had four people in line before me, so I went to another which is actually closer to he house. Went to the local Pinkberry yogurt place for a yogurt with fruit lunch, back to the smog place, and things went weird again. I\u2019ve never flunked a smog certification before. They showed me the forms. The car has to pass \u2018visual\u2019 meaning that the technician doesn\u2019t see anything wrong, such as having the smog stuff removed from the car. It has to pass the emissions test, weaning that it\u2019s not making smog. And it has to pass some kind of computer certification, meaning that the car\u2019s internal memory system hasn\u2019t detected a smog problem, but what it really means is that the \u2018check engine\u2019 light isn\u2019t on. In my case the computer was telling me that the car was randomly stalling, which it wasn\u2019t and never has been so far as I know. <\/p>\n The smog certification people can\u2019t fix your smog system. That\u2019s part of the California law. It happens that this particular place is very close to a Shell station I have dealt with for years, and which has been recommended to me by neighbors, and it\u2019s a hot day, so I left it with them and walked home. It\u2019s about 100 out there. And of course they called, and there were problems \u2013 my car was overdue for its annual checkup, so I fold them to go ahead to do that as well as take care of the smog computer thing \u2013 and now I \u2018m waiting. I suspect the whole mess will run more than a grand, but since that will include what I usually pay for the annual checkup and fixup, I don\u2019t suppose I can complain. My Explorer is old but it hasn\u2019t got all that many miles on it. I don\u2019t drive a lot any more. When I got it I still thought in terms of driving out to Fort Apache or taking the Scouts to rifle practice in the Mojave, but I don\u2019t turn out to have done much of that. I don\u2019t really need a full size SUV any longer, but I like this one even though it doesn\u2019t get great gas mileage. It\u2019s built like a tank, it still looks all right, everything works, and this is the first serous problem I\u2019ve had with it. My car philosophy has always been to get something I like and drive it until it stops working, and this fixup should keep mine going a few more years.<\/p>\n I suppose this would be no bad time to remind people that this is the rational discussion site, and it operates on the Public Radio principle, which is to say it\u2019s free but it won\u2019t stay open if I don\u2019t get subscriptions and renewals. I also have to say that we do all right on subscriptions, so I\u2019m not claiming poverty, but if you\u2019ve been thinking about subscribing this would be a great time to do<\/a> it.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t quite understand what is going on, but it looks as if the leading Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri may have just done himself in. He was considered an odds on favorite for taking the seat which is now held by a Democrat. Republican Congressman Akin was apparently trying to avoid answering a question about abortion rights of rape victims without quite saying that he\u2019s against abortion under essentially all circumstances with the possible exception of a choice affecting the survival of the mother. Instead of saying that, which he has in fact said many times in his Congressional campaigns, he rambled on with some odd theory of female physiology and used some of the most unfortunate language one could devise. He said something to the effect that if it\u2019s really real rape the woman probably won\u2019t conceive. I don\u2019t know much about reproduction physiology, but historically that certainly hasn\u2019t been the case.<\/p>\n Akin later stated his real position, which is that rapists ought to be punished, but it\u2019s not the child\u2019s fault. <\/p>\n Akin is running for a federal office, and this ought not be a federal matter. The US Supreme Court made a wrong decision in Roe vs. Wade, assuming some kind of constitutional basis for federal interference in state law on abortion, and the country has been suffered from this ever since. I don\u2019t intend to get into the substance of the debate, which has to do not only with both science and religion, but with the very basis for believing in the law. If the purpose of law is to protect the innocent, there are few creatures more innocent than the unborn. Innocent humans should be protected, not killed. If that seems clear enough, nothing else really is. Precisely when human life begins is not agreed upon by science or religion. Is a fertilized egg human? Is an 8 month old unborn child human? Is a newborn child human? Those questions will produce different answers from different people, and we will never get universal agreement. I see no point in the discussion since everything about the subject regarding faith and morals has been said many times and for a very long time, and there is no disagreement about scientific fact.<\/p>\n We can discuss the constitutional issues, but there isn\u2019t much to be said about that either. Abortion was not debated at the Convention of 1787 because none of the delegates would have for a moment considered it a matter for the federal government, and the states were pretty well agreed in forbidding abortion under any circumstances whatever. Most educated people in the United States were agreed in forbidding abortion as late as 1950: that was the year when the Broadway play Detective Story closed after a highly successful run; the play very well expresses the national view on abortion at the time.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written more on this than I intended to. For single issue voters Akin\u2019s consistent belief<\/a> coupled with his addled expressions will probably be decisive. I have no idea what the people of Missouri statewide will think. His constituents in his Congressional District have probably not been surprised about either his beliefs or his expressions and they continued to elect him.<\/p>\n My car is fixed, the \u201cCheck Engine\u201d light is off, and tomorrow I have to drive it fifty miles, then get the smog check again. After which I can pay the ticket and this mess will be over. The car runs fine. While they were fixing whatever caused the check engine light I had them do the annual maintenance which turned out to require new brake linings all around. They did a good tune up, too. The whole mess cost more than I expected. A good reminder not to forget the smog check after I pay the registration. At least it\u2019s almost over.<\/p>\n And last night I recorded the opening episode of the new TV series \u201cCopper\u201d about 1864 New York City. We watched a bit less than the first half of it tonight. It was unrelievedly depressing, and I don\u2019t expect to see the rest of the first episode much less spend any time watching any more of them. On the subject of time wasting, I still watch the series Bunheads although I can\u2019t possibly say why I like it. I suppose I like perky actresses, and the dialogue is often \u2013 not always, but often \u2013 sparkling. My first impression of the show was that they didn\u2019t know whether they were doing high comedy, broad farce, or melodrama. I\u2019ve since decided that they know very well what they are doing, and it\u2019s an odd mixture of all three, presented by people more experienced in stage plays than television — and all having a great time. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n View 738 Monday, August 20, 2012 Today will be eaten by errands. Friday a neighbor came to the door to tell us that I\u2019d got a ticket put on my parked car. I went out and discovered that Lo! he was correct, I had a ticket for expired license tabs. \u2026 Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"