I spend a lot of my retirement time in Board meetings. No one really says, “call for the question” any longer but folks respond to “those in favor please say aye.” Aye is an exclamation that is said to express assent. You also often hear “I” as the affirmative response. Occasionally there is dissent which is often a ney. Ney does not mean no, rather it is one of the oldest continuously used flutes in folk and traditions in West Asia and Eastern Europe. The instrument likely dates back to ancient Egypt over 4500 years ago.
President Biden has a low approval rating. I don’t think it is fair, however, he is not alone among Leaders around the world. According to the New York Times: The German Chancellor, Olaf Schulz has a 73% disapproval rating, Emmanuel Macron in France has 71% Trudeau in Canada at 59% and Biden a solid 54%; only the Belgium leader De Croo is above 50%. Without recapping the entire detail, The Article is simply titled “The four I’s” Inflation, Immigration, Inequity, and incumbency. The US inflation rate is one of the lowest in the world, but no doubt has impacted many Americans. Everyone is up in arms over immigration in their own country. “Across the world, the rich have “captured a growing share of income…. the big companies keep getting bigger”. These inequities lead to a distrust of national leaders. Finally, incumbency has a cost, who do we blame?
On CBS good morning on Sunday, I watched a 4 minute animated video by Robert Krulwich. Do you know why i words always come first in word combinations? Tik TOK, Kit Kat, King Kong, ping pong, nitty gritty, flim flam, Shilly shally, hip hop, ding dong, clippity clop, clickity clack, the list was longer. The theory is that the soft i is easier for us to say, it requires the least movement of the mouth and lips. Krulwich calls it “mouth fatigue”. Humans are basically lazy in their speech patterns. O’s and U’s require more effort and come last. So how does this help us!
It appears “mouth fatigue” is not an issue for the Great Orange Wanker. I proposed re designating him by the extreme Irish view of idiocy, the Orange Gobshite. Calling him this word is a reference to one who everything that comes out their mouth is metaphorically speaking “bullsh*.” In the future if you see OG from me, you will know who I mean.
Idaho should be embarrassed. The University of Utah, women’s NCAA team was the object of racial slurs in Coeur d Alene. This travisty earned coverage on the National News. The team had to move to Washington to feel safe. On another note Idaho eliminated DEI, Diversity, Equity and inclusion on Idaho college campuses. For the third time the Legislature refused to allow, “Too Great to Hate” on Idaho license plates. In a final mean spirited action, the child summer food program was starved of funding in spite of or because of a federal match. Guess those kids who lives we value so much can go without food. Really Idaho, we have got to do better.
Baseball begins this week. Hank is working on his batting at practice. Take me out to the ball game.
Don’t forget to be clever on April 1, trick someone in a humorous way. It is also Clio’s seventh birthday. Happy day to Clio!! Mike