I am now a dedicated fan of Bruce Springsteen. I have always enjoyed his music although I had to google the greatest hits list. Born in the U. S. A., Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, Glory Days and MyHometown are songs most of us boomers recall. If you enjoy trivia, his only number one hit was recorded by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Blinded by the Light. The Land of Hope and Dreams tour kicked off in Manchester England in mid May. The Boss started with comments about his concern for the America he loves. To paraphrase, ‘In America today we are abandoning the poorest children in the world to sickness and death, rolling back historic civil rights progress, abandoning our allies and siding with dictators….’ I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to songs from the concert; “Long Walk Home” and “Chimes of Freedom.” The words are heart felt and meaningful, the E Street Band is world class, and Springsteen’s passion is palpable. There is an added bonus, The Orange Wanker hates it!!
I told you about the encouraging graduation I attended for our Great Niece in Utah.
We went on to spend a few days in Salt Lake City. I learned from my Nephew, we will call him Sean, about the State’s ban on non-official flags on government property. I think Idaho has a similar non sensical ban. Salt Lake City has approved three new flags, “the Sego Celebration Flag (Juneteenth), The Sego Belonging Flag (LGBTQ+) and the Sego Visibility Flag (Transgender). The Sego lily is the city’s emblem and the Utah State Flower. By adopting the flags as official city flags they are not in violation of the State Law. The unanimous city council action allows Salt Lake City to continue to display symbols of inclusivity. Mayor Mendenhall said, “I want all Salt Lakers to look up at these flags and be reminded that we value diversity, equity, and inclusion—leaving no doubt that we are united as a city and people, moving forward together.”
Boise’s Mayor Lauren McLean took a similar action, making the pride flag an official city flag, along with a flag honoring organ donors. The council approved the action in a 5-1 vote. Bonnet’s Ferry has long flown a Canadian flag in honor of the friends and neighbors, after removing the flag they found that the law allows a “special occasion” exemption and their City Council has designed every day of the week as the occasion to commemorate friendship with Canada. Lots of threats and angst from the Republican’s, makes my day!!
The kids had a fine time in SLC at a Bee’s baseball game and at the Living Planet Aquarium. The aquarium is known for its diverse animal exhibits, and showcases animals from around the world. I especially enjoyed the penguins, the blue billed curassow, and the clouded leopard. I made a trip back to get a better picture to share with you. The animal is an endangered species primarily found in the foothills of the Himalayas. They are medium sized cats weighing up to 50 pounds, up to 43 inches long and only 10-16 inches at the shoulder. They are compared to the saber toothed tiger as they have extremely long canine teeth.
Thanks to the Court system for standing up to The Wanna-Be King—no you cannot impose these ridiculous tariffs on our trading partners without the consent of Congress. How many law suits have been filed against the extreme actions #47 has taken? Well over 100 I believe. Keep up the pressure on the Republican’s who represent us in Washington and please support a free and independent press in our country.
Mike
The Boss
