All-Star voting is live. More anti-Sisters sentiment drops. I talk about a nun. Rod Carew shares. Also: weird helmets, Al Pacino, child labor, "Lost" and a potential bourbon crisis.
Juiced balls? I’ll take it as a Nats fan; it feels like they didn’t hit five home runs in all of April. Also, staff “ace“ Patrick Qorbin was once again underwhelming (5IP/7H/4R/3ER/4BB/2K/2HR) - pitching like a man who realized too late he had only been passively liking hateful stuff on social media, instead of having the guts to come out and say it like the new guy. He’ll never get that warlord gig now.
PS Davey Martinez’ next loss will be #420 - so if you have any special herbs with which you like to celebrate, make sure you have them handy with the Phillies coming to town.
PPS “Carlo” Carrasco - made me smile. Typo of the day for me, #ProudPapa.
The Mets are now 15-0 when their starters have gone six or more innings. Obviously there is a problem in that they've only gone six or more innings 15 times, but they are the only team than can say it's still undefeated in that situation. Proof of concept for the roster construction, and also a reminder that David Robertson has done a great job thus far filling in for Diaz. But the Mets are still resorting to a sixth starter every so often to give Senga extra days off, and odds are it will be Peterson again. So clearly something isn't there yet, and might not be for a while.
I thought a bit about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and how I might react if someone decided to dress up in Hasidic garb as a form of performance art (since, from what I know, drag is definitely theater as much as anything else). Obviously the situation is not the same, but I suspect I would not care much for it. Indeed, at some point in the 90s, someone was making haute couture for women based on Hasidic garb and I found it tacky. Not offensive, just tacky. So I can understand why some Catholics might feel some discomfort at drag performers wearing habits. But looking on from the outside, and knowing what the Sisters have been doing for literal decades, I can say, as a fellow person of faith with a tendency to get tetchy about people not taking my faith seriously, that all the naysayers really need to get over themselves. I have also not met many nuns, but the few I have met seem like Craig's aunt and probably are more chill about the Sisters than the loudmouths.
Not going to defend Lindelof and Cuse, but I disagree that Lost was ever a chore. I loved it till the end. Which more than I can say for a lot of recent shows. But imagine how much better it could have been if the writers and actors were treated better.
Lastly, there is a great article at The Athletic about the San Diego Chicken, who is 50!
I didn't have much hope for the Mets when I saw the pitching matchup was Nola vs. Carrasco, who had been terrible except for one start, albeit his most recent. But he got the outs when he was in mild trouble, while Nola gave up a bases loaded hit. The Mets were outhit too, so I think they got away with one yesterday.
Three of the Phillies 4 big bats (Turner, Realmuto, and Schwarber) are out of sorts, so the Mets caught them at the right time. Heaven help you if you face the Phillies when Schwarber is on one of his hot streaks. He's the streakiest hitter I've even seen.
Finding nuns' habits or Hasidic garb tacky or feeling some level of discomfort at those who wear it for effect is one thing, and a fairly reasonable reaction. Calling it a hateful mockery of the Catholic faith, or "people of faith" in general, is to my mind a purposefully bad-faith attack on an organization that is literally doing Christ's work.
The best season of Lost was the constant time travel one. Until the very last episode of the season. That’s when the show jumped the shark, IMO. The final season was not very good at all.
Sister Sandra may be gone, but my cousin, a Sister of Mercy who runs a kitchen, food bank, and meal-delivery ministry in an impoverished community, is still here, and agrees with the mission of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. She takes no offense.
I don’t know about bowling a Dutch 200. But the phrase Dutch treat was originally used in the same way as the term Jewing them down. The former originated in early New York, referred to the Dutch settlers from the former New Amsterdam and their purported frugality and business practices.
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I went to turn on the ATL game last night before learning that they played in the afternoon. It sure would be nice is they published a schedule or I had some electronic device easily at hand to access the info. Shame how they keep the data locked away.
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Nice little bounce back season for Andrew McCutchen. He is now 1 double away from 400 and five hits from 2000. Fine, fine career.
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Rod Carew, double transplant recipient. Heart and kidney. Register to be a donor and when you are gone you’ll be able to be remembered for helping a Hall of Famer sneak hot dogs in the theater.
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Anyone here have experience with the mini oak barrels for home aged cocktails? While out, I have had aged Manhattans and Negronis lately that really upped the quality but don’t know if I want to deal with the counter space or the minor leakage.
When I was a kid we could get as many paper ballots at the park as we wanted. Punch out the chads and hand write in Butch Wynegar then drop it off with the usher.
I vote once at the beginning and once at the end. And try not to vote for anyone who isn't having a good season, even Mets. But I know that is not what they want from me. They want me to switch to T Mobile.
I don't know about 7, but there was a time in the Big Red Machine days in the 1970s when the Reds had an awful lot of All-Star game starters. And it was hard to argue that it was a grave miscarriage of justice.
For example, 1976: Rose, Morgan, Bench, Foster (on his way to 52 HRs that year), and Concepcion. Can't argue too vehemently about that.
Had an exceptionally annoying classmate in my first class of vet school who had to be right about everything. Insisted that bourbon can only be called bourbon if made in Kentucky, like the sparkling wine & champagne divide. When you'd point out this wasn't true, he would just tell you it was no matter what you showed him saying otherwise. Damn good practice for the real world, that was.
I respect Simon’s take on the Sisters, especially since I was going to bring up Hasidic garb. My feeling as a non-practicing Jew is religion should be off limits for something like this. At that point, at least to me, I think it starts crossing over into a very dangerous and offensive territory. Two things can be true: the sisters do a lot of great work, and people defending the sisters by focusing on the evils of the church isn’t right or fair.
What I always liked about the idea of Pride Night (and I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ family, which might be surprising since I often take some conservative stances here, including today. Pansexuals unite!) is I loved that it’s about pride in bringing people together. It’s a reminder to people that yes, the LGBT community exists and we’re not going away. There’s nothing offensive about two men holding hands or Joe (he/him pronouns) and Platina (they/them pronouns) kissing on the Jumbotron. But when you do or promote something that could be genuinely seen as offensive... to me it’s not worth it. IMHO it hurts Pride more than it helps.
I just really hate how much of the last couple weeks have been CIS white people telling people how to feel and conveying the idea that Catholicism inherently = evil and hatred. It’s the usual suspects. Julie DiCaro, Keith Law. Meanwhile of my most supportive friends are God-fearing men and women from the Bible Belt. They don’t care where I use my tools. The “I must reference the sex scandals” argument is so tired in my book. I remember growing up in post-9/11 New York and being told by adults that not all Muslims/followers of Islam were terrorists. Wish we could have the same tolerance now for Catholics.
Anyway I don’t think you’re a bigot if you disagree with the Sisters wearing nun outfits or if you’re anti the sisters being there. Clayton Kershaw isn’t a bigot IMHO. I’m good with Trevor Williams. I wouldn’t be offended if the Yankees wear pride caps during warmups and Anthony Rizzo skips out. I was good with Daniel Murphy. I’m good. Just don’t go on a massively homophobic rant or start suggesting all gay men are groomers and we’re good!
I'm not trying to be confrontational with you here -- this is more of a general comment -- but one thing that has been lost by virtue of the commercialization of Pride is that Pride's origins are in anything but a feel-good coming together. It was born of a revolt against homophobic harassment -- the Stonewall Riot -- and had as its target those who would oppress the gay community. The Catholic Church and organized religion in general have been TREMENDOUS oppressors of the gay community for centuries -- still are in many respects! - and to expect nothing but bowing respect for them in observance of Pride after all of that is an unreasonable ask in my view.
Put differently: the story of gay rights and gay liberation makes no sense if you pretend that institutions like the Church never suppressed those rights or created a state that necessitated liberation. To do so may make the oppressors feel better, but that's sorta not the point.
Very fair Craig, and I didn’t take this as confrontational at all. I’m not an Ohio politician. :)
For me at least, I don’t view it as bowing respect so much as I do I personally think the Dodgers didn’t think this one out. We’re at a point where some form of Pride Night is almost universally held in MLB, with the Rangers still the only holdout. You’re always going to have the bigots and Newsmax talking heads, but I think those people have mostly been tuned out at this point because it’s all the same. A pride-colored hat won’t turn baseball fans gay.
But when you involve a group whose act can be interpreted as mocking the church and mocking nuns, I do personally draw the line. Doesn’t feel worth it to me. On a night that should be about bringing people from all different groups together, I don’t personally (how many times will I say personally before 8 a.m.?) see the value in taking on another group. Because now, you’ve got even more bigotry and ignorance. I guess the positive there is some people might show their true colors? But that to me doesn’t excuse how Kershaw is being vilified.
How many nuns forced their students into the closet with shame and abuse? How many nuns turned the other way when they saw AIDS patients begging for help? How many nuns expressed “love the sinner hate the sin” bullshit to the face of queer people just trying to exist?!
Fuck the nuns. Oppressors get mocked. You wanna not be mocked? Stop oppressing. Repair the harm that’s been caused in your name.
The Catholic Church has no leg to stand on here. Catholics who are offended can only be offended at the actions of the church itself. The Sisters are simply responding to an oppressive force in society the o Ky way they can - by mocking and calling out the hypocrisy and damage. Nuns aren’t exempt from being irredeemable dicks. Mock em all.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughtful, respectful and grounded take on all this. You seem to be very well adjusted and secure in yourself, with a supportive network around you, which is awesome.
My concern is for people who aren’t as safe as you are - teens trying to navigate high school in Florida, young adults grappling with the dissonance between their sexuality and conservative/religious upbringing, people who haven’t spoken to a parent for years because they disagree with their “lifestyle.”
I’m a straight white man. I have every advantage on earth. But to me, pride and the rhetoric surrounding acceptance/not of the community is for people who don’t, and that’s why I find all the “I’m not homophobic, but….” of it all particularly troubling.
People who oppress queers are not welcome at Pride. The Catholic Church has done more to oppress queer people than any other institution in human history. Thus, Catholics can suck it and shut the fuck up about how queer people celebrate ourselves. We don’t need to placate those who would rather we didn’t exist.
"Time, Place, Manner" complaints about protest are almost always bullshit. Like we know it's bad that cops kill people during routine stops, but let's talk about looting the Walmart.
The classic text on the issue is MLK's letter from a Birmingham jail. And seen within this historical framework, where people in power who don't like the content of a protest choose to engage in the time place and manner of the protest instead of the root cause of the protest, it becomes obvious that it is a proxy war. And that is bullshit.
As people who have noted in this newsletter and all over social media, everyone is trying to avoid talking about the work of caring that these sisters are doing now and had to do in the past. And for me as a person who was raised catholic and has great respect for the community I am a part of for all the good things they do for all kinds of people. (Operation Breakthrough is a good example), the conservative Catholic turn to "freedom of religion" and "we are the victims" only comes in response to an organization that they don't like. Only responds to views they disagree with. And it is because if the conservatives say what they really think, "Homosexuality is a sin, because it is a choice, and people who make that choice willingly and openly, cannot be included in our community," they, the Conservative Catholics and other conservatives, would find themselves in fact excluded from our society. Even Ted Cruz thought the Uganda Law was insane.
Anyway, whenever I see a Time Place Manner complaint about a protest, I absolutely ignore it and know that the true intent is to silence the content of the speech. And though MLK had the patience to engage with these types of people as "people of goodwill," that time has passed now. It's just Racist, Homophobic, conservative bullshit being disguised as "You didn't fill out the right paperwork."
This is some “turn the other cheek” bullshit that only perpetuates the oppressor/oppressed dynamic. If somebody does you wrong, you get to tell them that. If somebody denies your happiness, you get to fight for it. If somebody argues you should not exist, or you should “suffer for your sins,” you get to say “fuck you” and spit in their face.
Two wrongs might not make a right, but the only time things change is when people act. Might that action be seen as a “wrong” by some? Sure, but who cares what they think.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If your action is to cause harm, well look the fuck out buddy cuz that shit’s coming back to you.
The sweet nectar of moral judgement. It is hard to resist. But you start with "burning down the Target is bad" and the next thing you know you spend 5 years making a list of acts by protestors and ranking them in order of worst to least worst, and meanwhile have made no progress on the universally agreed upon horrible underlying root cause of the protest - police brutality or attempting to exclude groups from living or providing housing.
But burning down Target is bad. Not only does it deprive the people working their and supplying it of a job, but it's also a criminal act. And the people who are looting it are criminals, and they aren't doing it for any kind of justice.
They're doing it for the new widescreen and table setting for 8. I defy you to identify one instance when looting a Target during a riot actually did anything to make anyone feel better about their treatment in life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.”
In 1992 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released “Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons.” In this statement there is a condemnation of violence against gays and lesbians; however, there is also an acceptance of many other forms of “just” discrimination against LGBTQ people—in housing, employment, adoption, and military service. From this statement, it seems that the only unacceptable behavior against LGBTQ people is a violent attack.
Here is something about how a nun can show us how to ignore the form of the protest: "One September evening in 1989, a group of activists from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a radical protest group better known as ACT UP, took over the waiting area in the hospital’s emergency room. Tensions had been rising in the gay community over the church’s prohibition against condoms. Doctors and public health officials had urged people at risk of acquiring H.I.V. to use condoms to lessen the risk. But Catholic hospitals in New York City were not allowed to distribute condoms because of the church’s prohibition on artificial birth control. It appeared, at first, that the protest in the E.R. was about this issue; one of the activists had placed condoms on a statue of the risen Christ. Some hospital staff wanted to press charges because of that disrespectful act. But Sister Karen and the other Sisters of Charity took a step back. “I really wasn’t angry. I knew those people were struggling,” she said. “I felt it was a cry for help.” "
I know little about the sisters aside from what I see here, but it seems to me one could argue holding religion off limits to them is unfair because the LGBTQ community certainly wasn't held off limits by the religious community.
While in general keeping religion out of it is a good general rule of thumb to avoid offending someone, when the religious community is one of the antagonists it seems unfair to not be able to strike back.
Have you heard anything about players complaining to the MLBPA about Pride Nights? Saw something about it on Twitter but the source was some MAGA account so wasn’t sure if it was true. It’s really disappointing that no players have come out in support of Pride Nights as well.
I'm 25% Dutch (maternal grandfather 100%). My mom said the phrase "going Dutch" (everyone pays their own bill) came from the belief that Dutch people were frugal, even cheap, with the Benjamins. I'll let it slide...this time. I don't think it's possible to punch down on the Catholic Church. It's like making fun of the USA...I think we can take it and we probably deserve it.
I guess Pacino decided to one-up De Niro, who just went public with pictures of his baby. He's not even 80! In all seriousness, it feels kinda selfish to bring a kid into the world with the virtual certainty that it is going to experience the profound tragedy of losing a parent early in life - or at the very least, a diminished parental figure by their teen years. Sure, these people have money and it's not like the kid is going to be homeless, but surely money can't make up for being 10 and having a parent die? And then, most likely, replaced with a step-dad within a year who is more than half your dad's age. No thanks.
When we had our second at 33, I said that's it. First, table for 4 is the easiest to get. Second, there was no way I wanted to be responsible for a minor by my mid-50s. Time for the wife and I to focus on each other before old age REALLY sets in.
Don't know anything about that data, but personally when I turned 50 I felt I was too old to have a child. I wasn't (likely) going to die in the child's teen years but being late 60s/early 70s raising a teenager would be more than I could physically handle. I couldn't keep up with parents 15-20 years younger than I. Not fair to me, my wife, or the (theoretical) children.
My comment does not rise to the major issues addressed in today's newsletter--serious cultural forces trying to shape what's true and what's best for themselves and others, and so on. But I do want to say that what is right and true is that American League teams like the Red Sox should not play National League teams like the Reds whatsoever during the regular season. That's how it is supposed to be. That's how it was in the good old days. And yes that's my tongue in my cheek if you were wondering.
Gee, do you think The Flying Nun was blasphemous, Blake? And how long did Sally Field remain holy once she began using MGM Grand airline to get around? Better yet, did she still resonate back to Sister Whatsername when Burt Reynolds, in a movie whose title I have blessedly forgotten, yelled at her "Well you could come once in a while!" and she shrugged.
And by the way, that habit she wore was incredibly stupid looking.
PS I also like how "people of faith" can belch anathemas at folks with divergent lifestyles but wax self-righteous and indignant when the absurdities of their religion are pointed out. To folks like that I can only say, FUCK ya.
Speaking of juiced balls, Dr. Meredith Wills would love some actual game-used or otherwise authentic balls for her annual "what the heck is MLB throwing out there this time" analysis. If you happen to have any you are willing to contribute to the cause of science, respond to this post and I'll put you in touch with her.
The Nats had a "Authentics Garage Sale" a year ago--I ordered the "10 authenticated balls for $100" special. It included a preponderance of Bryce Harper-hit balls. Guess they weren't selling well. Those went to her for dissection.
Red Sox go 7-0 to start May then go 6-13 the rest of the way, they hit a ton and get bad pitching, get good pitching and don’t hit. They’d still be near the top of the Central division in both leagues. I would not be surprised to see them sweep Tampa this weekend, including a scheduled doubleheader on Saturday.
Have you actually seen the Red Sox " defense?" Ugly sight particularly with so many pitchers not strikeout types. They have way overachiever which means luck evens things out and you can win overusing your bullpen until arms fall off.
Watch just about every game, it’s bad, but their offense can be good and I’m still sticking with my pre-season prediction where they win about 85-87. I think Paxton will continue rolling for the most part, but needs to go deeper in outings. Sale seems to be the old Sale. If Duval can return next week and hit at even 75% of his pre-injury level he will help. The biggest problem on defense if Kiki, hopefully they get Story back in the 2nd half and that will get resolved, but still don’t know where Kiki plays since I don’t want Duran’s bat out of the lineup.
The "they are mocking or making fun of nuns" conversation is now (it feels) so much louder than "LGBTQ+ folks are being targeted for abuse and more, are taking their lives, etc" and that is really sad to me. (I know it's not black and white, I know many people care about both things. I'm just feeling some sort of way about how we keep having to hear about how disrespectful this group is rather than focus on Pride itself and its purpose. Sigh.)
The late, great George Carlin said it best. "If you're preborn, you're fine; if you're preschool, you're fucked.”
I saw Iowa Powder Monkeys at the 9:30 Club before they sold out. Fun show.
Juiced balls? I’ll take it as a Nats fan; it feels like they didn’t hit five home runs in all of April. Also, staff “ace“ Patrick Qorbin was once again underwhelming (5IP/7H/4R/3ER/4BB/2K/2HR) - pitching like a man who realized too late he had only been passively liking hateful stuff on social media, instead of having the guts to come out and say it like the new guy. He’ll never get that warlord gig now.
PS Davey Martinez’ next loss will be #420 - so if you have any special herbs with which you like to celebrate, make sure you have them handy with the Phillies coming to town.
PPS “Carlo” Carrasco - made me smile. Typo of the day for me, #ProudPapa.
I didn't do that on purpose but my son gets called "Carlos" so often that I feel like it's at least a grain of sand back on the cosmic scales.
No, it clearly was just the result of having him very much on your mind (in a good way!) in the last week… Made this old dad happy.
Pacino produces spawn at age 83 and we're talking about MLB's juiced balls?
Pay the man, Shirley.
The Mets are now 15-0 when their starters have gone six or more innings. Obviously there is a problem in that they've only gone six or more innings 15 times, but they are the only team than can say it's still undefeated in that situation. Proof of concept for the roster construction, and also a reminder that David Robertson has done a great job thus far filling in for Diaz. But the Mets are still resorting to a sixth starter every so often to give Senga extra days off, and odds are it will be Peterson again. So clearly something isn't there yet, and might not be for a while.
I thought a bit about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and how I might react if someone decided to dress up in Hasidic garb as a form of performance art (since, from what I know, drag is definitely theater as much as anything else). Obviously the situation is not the same, but I suspect I would not care much for it. Indeed, at some point in the 90s, someone was making haute couture for women based on Hasidic garb and I found it tacky. Not offensive, just tacky. So I can understand why some Catholics might feel some discomfort at drag performers wearing habits. But looking on from the outside, and knowing what the Sisters have been doing for literal decades, I can say, as a fellow person of faith with a tendency to get tetchy about people not taking my faith seriously, that all the naysayers really need to get over themselves. I have also not met many nuns, but the few I have met seem like Craig's aunt and probably are more chill about the Sisters than the loudmouths.
Not going to defend Lindelof and Cuse, but I disagree that Lost was ever a chore. I loved it till the end. Which more than I can say for a lot of recent shows. But imagine how much better it could have been if the writers and actors were treated better.
Lastly, there is a great article at The Athletic about the San Diego Chicken, who is 50!
https://theathletic.com/4554282/2023/06/01/san-diego-chicken-ted-giannoulas/?source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=6937903
I didn't have much hope for the Mets when I saw the pitching matchup was Nola vs. Carrasco, who had been terrible except for one start, albeit his most recent. But he got the outs when he was in mild trouble, while Nola gave up a bases loaded hit. The Mets were outhit too, so I think they got away with one yesterday.
Three of the Phillies 4 big bats (Turner, Realmuto, and Schwarber) are out of sorts, so the Mets caught them at the right time. Heaven help you if you face the Phillies when Schwarber is on one of his hot streaks. He's the streakiest hitter I've even seen.
I wonder how many of the people complaining are people who laughed at the Inquisition Song from History of the World Part I.
I don't trust anyone who laughed at anything in that movie, but mainly because it wasn't funny. The Producers, it's not.
Finding nuns' habits or Hasidic garb tacky or feeling some level of discomfort at those who wear it for effect is one thing, and a fairly reasonable reaction. Calling it a hateful mockery of the Catholic faith, or "people of faith" in general, is to my mind a purposefully bad-faith attack on an organization that is literally doing Christ's work.
That 15-0 is impressive.
While Quality Start is a junk stat, the idea behind it -- if your starter gives you 6 good innings you're very likely to win -- is actually solid.
A starter who goes six and allows three is probably meeting a basic minimum of competence, and would have not done that well in another era.
The best season of Lost was the constant time travel one. Until the very last episode of the season. That’s when the show jumped the shark, IMO. The final season was not very good at all.
The world needs more people like Sister Sandra Peraldo.
Probably so. We also need more stories of the many we do have.
I don’t know if this will work but here is the story of one, one who happens to be my nephews’ grandfather. https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/birmingham/name/james-tuohy-obituary?id=34166971&utm_source=webshareapi&utm_medium=share_button&utm_campaign=wsapimobile_beta
His wallet said "Bad Motherfucker."
Sister Sandra may be gone, but my cousin, a Sister of Mercy who runs a kitchen, food bank, and meal-delivery ministry in an impoverished community, is still here, and agrees with the mission of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. She takes no offense.
I don’t know about bowling a Dutch 200. But the phrase Dutch treat was originally used in the same way as the term Jewing them down. The former originated in early New York, referred to the Dutch settlers from the former New Amsterdam and their purported frugality and business practices.
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I went to turn on the ATL game last night before learning that they played in the afternoon. It sure would be nice is they published a schedule or I had some electronic device easily at hand to access the info. Shame how they keep the data locked away.
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Nice little bounce back season for Andrew McCutchen. He is now 1 double away from 400 and five hits from 2000. Fine, fine career.
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Rod Carew, double transplant recipient. Heart and kidney. Register to be a donor and when you are gone you’ll be able to be remembered for helping a Hall of Famer sneak hot dogs in the theater.
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Anyone here have experience with the mini oak barrels for home aged cocktails? While out, I have had aged Manhattans and Negronis lately that really upped the quality but don’t know if I want to deal with the counter space or the minor leakage.
Haven’t heard of the ‘Dutch Treat’ or ‘Dutch 200’, but I have heard of a Dutch Oven….
"Dutch treat" or "going Dutch," at least when I was a kid, referred to splitting the costs of a date.
I don’t understand the all star ballot. Surely everyone gets to vote once. Why would you vote 25 times every day?
When I was a kid we could get as many paper ballots at the park as we wanted. Punch out the chads and hand write in Butch Wynegar then drop it off with the usher.
I vote once at the beginning and once at the end. And try not to vote for anyone who isn't having a good season, even Mets. But I know that is not what they want from me. They want me to switch to T Mobile.
Shameless commerce.
Department of Redundancy Department.
I just voted for all Tigers and Pads....World series re-match anyone?
So the Redlegs can have (7) players make the team (including every infielder).
I don't know about 7, but there was a time in the Big Red Machine days in the 1970s when the Reds had an awful lot of All-Star game starters. And it was hard to argue that it was a grave miscarriage of justice.
For example, 1976: Rose, Morgan, Bench, Foster (on his way to 52 HRs that year), and Concepcion. Can't argue too vehemently about that.
No arguments there. I was referring to this...
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13168334/1957-cincinnati-fans-stacked-all-star-team-too
Had an exceptionally annoying classmate in my first class of vet school who had to be right about everything. Insisted that bourbon can only be called bourbon if made in Kentucky, like the sparkling wine & champagne divide. When you'd point out this wasn't true, he would just tell you it was no matter what you showed him saying otherwise. Damn good practice for the real world, that was.
Sounds like the endless "angels dancing on the head of a pin" discussions that characterized law school.
I respect Simon’s take on the Sisters, especially since I was going to bring up Hasidic garb. My feeling as a non-practicing Jew is religion should be off limits for something like this. At that point, at least to me, I think it starts crossing over into a very dangerous and offensive territory. Two things can be true: the sisters do a lot of great work, and people defending the sisters by focusing on the evils of the church isn’t right or fair.
What I always liked about the idea of Pride Night (and I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ family, which might be surprising since I often take some conservative stances here, including today. Pansexuals unite!) is I loved that it’s about pride in bringing people together. It’s a reminder to people that yes, the LGBT community exists and we’re not going away. There’s nothing offensive about two men holding hands or Joe (he/him pronouns) and Platina (they/them pronouns) kissing on the Jumbotron. But when you do or promote something that could be genuinely seen as offensive... to me it’s not worth it. IMHO it hurts Pride more than it helps.
I just really hate how much of the last couple weeks have been CIS white people telling people how to feel and conveying the idea that Catholicism inherently = evil and hatred. It’s the usual suspects. Julie DiCaro, Keith Law. Meanwhile of my most supportive friends are God-fearing men and women from the Bible Belt. They don’t care where I use my tools. The “I must reference the sex scandals” argument is so tired in my book. I remember growing up in post-9/11 New York and being told by adults that not all Muslims/followers of Islam were terrorists. Wish we could have the same tolerance now for Catholics.
Anyway I don’t think you’re a bigot if you disagree with the Sisters wearing nun outfits or if you’re anti the sisters being there. Clayton Kershaw isn’t a bigot IMHO. I’m good with Trevor Williams. I wouldn’t be offended if the Yankees wear pride caps during warmups and Anthony Rizzo skips out. I was good with Daniel Murphy. I’m good. Just don’t go on a massively homophobic rant or start suggesting all gay men are groomers and we’re good!
I'm not trying to be confrontational with you here -- this is more of a general comment -- but one thing that has been lost by virtue of the commercialization of Pride is that Pride's origins are in anything but a feel-good coming together. It was born of a revolt against homophobic harassment -- the Stonewall Riot -- and had as its target those who would oppress the gay community. The Catholic Church and organized religion in general have been TREMENDOUS oppressors of the gay community for centuries -- still are in many respects! - and to expect nothing but bowing respect for them in observance of Pride after all of that is an unreasonable ask in my view.
Put differently: the story of gay rights and gay liberation makes no sense if you pretend that institutions like the Church never suppressed those rights or created a state that necessitated liberation. To do so may make the oppressors feel better, but that's sorta not the point.
Very fair Craig, and I didn’t take this as confrontational at all. I’m not an Ohio politician. :)
For me at least, I don’t view it as bowing respect so much as I do I personally think the Dodgers didn’t think this one out. We’re at a point where some form of Pride Night is almost universally held in MLB, with the Rangers still the only holdout. You’re always going to have the bigots and Newsmax talking heads, but I think those people have mostly been tuned out at this point because it’s all the same. A pride-colored hat won’t turn baseball fans gay.
But when you involve a group whose act can be interpreted as mocking the church and mocking nuns, I do personally draw the line. Doesn’t feel worth it to me. On a night that should be about bringing people from all different groups together, I don’t personally (how many times will I say personally before 8 a.m.?) see the value in taking on another group. Because now, you’ve got even more bigotry and ignorance. I guess the positive there is some people might show their true colors? But that to me doesn’t excuse how Kershaw is being vilified.
How many nuns forced their students into the closet with shame and abuse? How many nuns turned the other way when they saw AIDS patients begging for help? How many nuns expressed “love the sinner hate the sin” bullshit to the face of queer people just trying to exist?!
Fuck the nuns. Oppressors get mocked. You wanna not be mocked? Stop oppressing. Repair the harm that’s been caused in your name.
The Catholic Church has no leg to stand on here. Catholics who are offended can only be offended at the actions of the church itself. The Sisters are simply responding to an oppressive force in society the o Ky way they can - by mocking and calling out the hypocrisy and damage. Nuns aren’t exempt from being irredeemable dicks. Mock em all.
*only way they can
I thought they were only supposed to smack you on the knuckles with their rulers.
If only 😞
I appreciate you sharing your thoughtful, respectful and grounded take on all this. You seem to be very well adjusted and secure in yourself, with a supportive network around you, which is awesome.
My concern is for people who aren’t as safe as you are - teens trying to navigate high school in Florida, young adults grappling with the dissonance between their sexuality and conservative/religious upbringing, people who haven’t spoken to a parent for years because they disagree with their “lifestyle.”
I’m a straight white man. I have every advantage on earth. But to me, pride and the rhetoric surrounding acceptance/not of the community is for people who don’t, and that’s why I find all the “I’m not homophobic, but….” of it all particularly troubling.
People who oppress queers are not welcome at Pride. The Catholic Church has done more to oppress queer people than any other institution in human history. Thus, Catholics can suck it and shut the fuck up about how queer people celebrate ourselves. We don’t need to placate those who would rather we didn’t exist.
"Time, Place, Manner" complaints about protest are almost always bullshit. Like we know it's bad that cops kill people during routine stops, but let's talk about looting the Walmart.
The classic text on the issue is MLK's letter from a Birmingham jail. And seen within this historical framework, where people in power who don't like the content of a protest choose to engage in the time place and manner of the protest instead of the root cause of the protest, it becomes obvious that it is a proxy war. And that is bullshit.
As people who have noted in this newsletter and all over social media, everyone is trying to avoid talking about the work of caring that these sisters are doing now and had to do in the past. And for me as a person who was raised catholic and has great respect for the community I am a part of for all the good things they do for all kinds of people. (Operation Breakthrough is a good example), the conservative Catholic turn to "freedom of religion" and "we are the victims" only comes in response to an organization that they don't like. Only responds to views they disagree with. And it is because if the conservatives say what they really think, "Homosexuality is a sin, because it is a choice, and people who make that choice willingly and openly, cannot be included in our community," they, the Conservative Catholics and other conservatives, would find themselves in fact excluded from our society. Even Ted Cruz thought the Uganda Law was insane.
Anyway, whenever I see a Time Place Manner complaint about a protest, I absolutely ignore it and know that the true intent is to silence the content of the speech. And though MLK had the patience to engage with these types of people as "people of goodwill," that time has passed now. It's just Racist, Homophobic, conservative bullshit being disguised as "You didn't fill out the right paperwork."
It's always wrong to do something wrong, regardless of the other wrongs being committed at the same time.
That's pretty much the idea of 'wrong'. And yes, two rights can make a wrong, if you're right is for the wrong reason.
This is some “turn the other cheek” bullshit that only perpetuates the oppressor/oppressed dynamic. If somebody does you wrong, you get to tell them that. If somebody denies your happiness, you get to fight for it. If somebody argues you should not exist, or you should “suffer for your sins,” you get to say “fuck you” and spit in their face.
Two wrongs might not make a right, but the only time things change is when people act. Might that action be seen as a “wrong” by some? Sure, but who cares what they think.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If your action is to cause harm, well look the fuck out buddy cuz that shit’s coming back to you.
The sweet nectar of moral judgement. It is hard to resist. But you start with "burning down the Target is bad" and the next thing you know you spend 5 years making a list of acts by protestors and ranking them in order of worst to least worst, and meanwhile have made no progress on the universally agreed upon horrible underlying root cause of the protest - police brutality or attempting to exclude groups from living or providing housing.
But burning down Target is bad. Not only does it deprive the people working their and supplying it of a job, but it's also a criminal act. And the people who are looting it are criminals, and they aren't doing it for any kind of justice.
They're doing it for the new widescreen and table setting for 8. I defy you to identify one instance when looting a Target during a riot actually did anything to make anyone feel better about their treatment in life.
And here we are talking about looting.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.”
In 1992 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released “Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons.” In this statement there is a condemnation of violence against gays and lesbians; however, there is also an acceptance of many other forms of “just” discrimination against LGBTQ people—in housing, employment, adoption, and military service. From this statement, it seems that the only unacceptable behavior against LGBTQ people is a violent attack.
Here is something about how a nun can show us how to ignore the form of the protest: "One September evening in 1989, a group of activists from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a radical protest group better known as ACT UP, took over the waiting area in the hospital’s emergency room. Tensions had been rising in the gay community over the church’s prohibition against condoms. Doctors and public health officials had urged people at risk of acquiring H.I.V. to use condoms to lessen the risk. But Catholic hospitals in New York City were not allowed to distribute condoms because of the church’s prohibition on artificial birth control. It appeared, at first, that the protest in the E.R. was about this issue; one of the activists had placed condoms on a statue of the risen Christ. Some hospital staff wanted to press charges because of that disrespectful act. But Sister Karen and the other Sisters of Charity took a step back. “I really wasn’t angry. I knew those people were struggling,” she said. “I felt it was a cry for help.” "
So you think things today are worse than they were in 1992?
It made you think about it
I know little about the sisters aside from what I see here, but it seems to me one could argue holding religion off limits to them is unfair because the LGBTQ community certainly wasn't held off limits by the religious community.
While in general keeping religion out of it is a good general rule of thumb to avoid offending someone, when the religious community is one of the antagonists it seems unfair to not be able to strike back.
Have you heard anything about players complaining to the MLBPA about Pride Nights? Saw something about it on Twitter but the source was some MAGA account so wasn’t sure if it was true. It’s really disappointing that no players have come out in support of Pride Nights as well.
Sean Doolittle (of the Nats) has always been a big supporter, although he's on a minor league contract at the moment.
I saw that too, and wondered who that guy was and if he was any sort of respectable source. I'm not ready for him to be right, I don't think!
I'm 25% Dutch (maternal grandfather 100%). My mom said the phrase "going Dutch" (everyone pays their own bill) came from the belief that Dutch people were frugal, even cheap, with the Benjamins. I'll let it slide...this time. I don't think it's possible to punch down on the Catholic Church. It's like making fun of the USA...I think we can take it and we probably deserve it.
I guess Pacino decided to one-up De Niro, who just went public with pictures of his baby. He's not even 80! In all seriousness, it feels kinda selfish to bring a kid into the world with the virtual certainty that it is going to experience the profound tragedy of losing a parent early in life - or at the very least, a diminished parental figure by their teen years. Sure, these people have money and it's not like the kid is going to be homeless, but surely money can't make up for being 10 and having a parent die? And then, most likely, replaced with a step-dad within a year who is more than half your dad's age. No thanks.
When we had our second at 33, I said that's it. First, table for 4 is the easiest to get. Second, there was no way I wanted to be responsible for a minor by my mid-50s. Time for the wife and I to focus on each other before old age REALLY sets in.
Don't know anything about that data, but personally when I turned 50 I felt I was too old to have a child. I wasn't (likely) going to die in the child's teen years but being late 60s/early 70s raising a teenager would be more than I could physically handle. I couldn't keep up with parents 15-20 years younger than I. Not fair to me, my wife, or the (theoretical) children.
My comment does not rise to the major issues addressed in today's newsletter--serious cultural forces trying to shape what's true and what's best for themselves and others, and so on. But I do want to say that what is right and true is that American League teams like the Red Sox should not play National League teams like the Reds whatsoever during the regular season. That's how it is supposed to be. That's how it was in the good old days. And yes that's my tongue in my cheek if you were wondering.
Gee, do you think The Flying Nun was blasphemous, Blake? And how long did Sally Field remain holy once she began using MGM Grand airline to get around? Better yet, did she still resonate back to Sister Whatsername when Burt Reynolds, in a movie whose title I have blessedly forgotten, yelled at her "Well you could come once in a while!" and she shrugged.
And by the way, that habit she wore was incredibly stupid looking.
PS I also like how "people of faith" can belch anathemas at folks with divergent lifestyles but wax self-righteous and indignant when the absurdities of their religion are pointed out. To folks like that I can only say, FUCK ya.
Speaking of juiced balls, Dr. Meredith Wills would love some actual game-used or otherwise authentic balls for her annual "what the heck is MLB throwing out there this time" analysis. If you happen to have any you are willing to contribute to the cause of science, respond to this post and I'll put you in touch with her.
The Nats had a "Authentics Garage Sale" a year ago--I ordered the "10 authenticated balls for $100" special. It included a preponderance of Bryce Harper-hit balls. Guess they weren't selling well. Those went to her for dissection.
Red Sox go 7-0 to start May then go 6-13 the rest of the way, they hit a ton and get bad pitching, get good pitching and don’t hit. They’d still be near the top of the Central division in both leagues. I would not be surprised to see them sweep Tampa this weekend, including a scheduled doubleheader on Saturday.
Have you actually seen the Red Sox " defense?" Ugly sight particularly with so many pitchers not strikeout types. They have way overachiever which means luck evens things out and you can win overusing your bullpen until arms fall off.
Watch just about every game, it’s bad, but their offense can be good and I’m still sticking with my pre-season prediction where they win about 85-87. I think Paxton will continue rolling for the most part, but needs to go deeper in outings. Sale seems to be the old Sale. If Duval can return next week and hit at even 75% of his pre-injury level he will help. The biggest problem on defense if Kiki, hopefully they get Story back in the 2nd half and that will get resolved, but still don’t know where Kiki plays since I don’t want Duran’s bat out of the lineup.
The "they are mocking or making fun of nuns" conversation is now (it feels) so much louder than "LGBTQ+ folks are being targeted for abuse and more, are taking their lives, etc" and that is really sad to me. (I know it's not black and white, I know many people care about both things. I'm just feeling some sort of way about how we keep having to hear about how disrespectful this group is rather than focus on Pride itself and its purpose. Sigh.)
Wearing talking about nuns. Of course it's black and white.
Sorry, bad habit to make puns.
Sorry, worse habit to make multiple puns. I'll show myself out.
Try the veal!