Selection day

Vivek Ramaswamy may have lost himself the election

It’s Selection Day, and I’m not taking anything for granted. Here’s the Weekly Sift’s 2026 election-watching guide. And The Republican Party & The Far Right: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. 

There’s a danger of counting on a blue tsunami. “Republicans are winning over late-deciding voters by 9 percentage points in seven battleground Senate races, according to a new poll suggesting the GOP is gaining momentum ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“The New York Times/Siena University survey, released Sunday, found that voters who made their choices within the past month favored Republican candidates, even as Democrats maintained leads in six of the seven contests.

“‘There are still some undecided voters, and voters who decided only in the last month favored Republicans by a nine-point margin,” the Times reported.”

More broadly, Are Polls Overstating Democrats’ Midterm Leads?

MI

Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed’s opponent in the Michigan Senate primary, endorsed  Mike Rogers, Dr. El-Sayed’s Republican opponent in a race critical to control of the Senate.

In his blog The Farce, Jason Sattler offers a message for any of his fellow Jews who happen to live in Michigan: Religious bigotry, even if it takes the form of Islamophobia, will eventually hurt Jews. He asks them to reject Mike Rogers’ campaign of hate and vote for Abdul El-Sayed.

AK

My buddy Jim pointed me to Explaining the Case of the Two Dan Sullivans on Alaska’s Ballot. 

OH

Vivek Ramaswamy Attack Ad Backfires As Ohioans Switch Votes to Amy Acton. Expect this to blow back on J.D. Vance, who supported the ad, if he runs for President.

FOTUS

I think it is readily apparent that 47 is a wackadoodle.  Or in more specific NYT language, “he is more profane, more absolutist, longer-winded and less coherent than he was in 2016.” So, per Weekly Sift, “you watch any significant chunk of his speeches, read the increasingly bizarre rants he posts on Truth Social, or listen to his ridiculous self-aggrandizing fantasies (‘I would have won the Vietnam War in a week.‘ He would have won the Afghan War in three weeks — ignoring the fact that he had troops in Afghanistan for his entire first term and didn’t win.), it’s obvious that this man is insane.” I’d settle for him ending the Iran War, a conflagration of choice, NOW.  

That said, DOJ plans 1,000 election monitors in all 50 states for Election Day. The Justice Department told a court no FBI or ICE employees will serve and monitors will not carry firearms; the NAACP calls the plan voter intimidation.

Already done

My wife and I cast our ballots on Sunday past. I voted straight Working Families line, folks who had been cross-endorsed by the Democrats, except for the comptroller, which I passed on. I voted for a few unopposed Democrats. For Albany County,  was a YES on the coroner/medical examiner issue, and NO Establishing Additional Qualifications for County Legislators because I felt the procedures for investigating and disciplining County Legislators for violating these rules was a bit too fuzzy for me. 

Anyway, go vote. If We Ever Needed To Vote! | Rev. Dr. William J. Barber (2012); 

Getting out of the car

roots

As someone who doesn’t drive, I recognize the variables drivers face when getting out of the car. They have to watch for cars, bicycles, and the occasional jaywalking pedestrian.

Unless they’re parking on a one-way street with parking on both sides, they don’t have to worry about uneven curbs, trees, and the like.

In front of the houses both north (pictured) and south of our house, large shade trees stand. They do a wonderful job keeping the street a bit cooler in the summer. I would hate for them to go.

But each of them pushes the curb into the street and slightly upward, no more than a few inches, but enough to make it difficult for someone on the passenger side to get out of the car. And walking over the roots is an adventure in balance.

You say verges, I say berm 

I’ve become very, I say very, cognisant of uneven road verges. What?  It is “a strip of ground cover consisting of grass or garden plants, sometimes shrubs and trees, located between a roadway and a sidewalk. Verges are also known by other names such as parkway, grass strip, nature strip, curb strip, berm, park strip, or tree lawn, the usage of which is often quite regional.” There are other terms.

Recently, I was getting out of the car, and the verge was at least a 30-degree angle. I don’t usually need my cane to get to the sidewalk, but I did that day. 

Sunday Stealing – Just Another Meme

Do I NEED business cards?

Created with the Imgflip Meme Generator

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week we’re inspired by Blogography. More than 20 years ago, he stole this meme from Neil, his blogging buddy. Alas, Neil’s blog no longer exists, so that’s where the trail goes cold.

Another Sunday, Just Another Meme

1. Do you have a business card? If yes, what’s your job title?

No, but I’m seriously thinking of getting one. I would hand it out when I’m trying to get people to give book reviews or author talks for the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library. Maybe my titles would be library volunteer and blogger. Optimally, it would be green and have a picture of the duck. 

When I WAS working, I had at least four different business cards, for each of our office spaces: SUNY Central (the castle), 41 State Street, 22 Corporate (frickin’) Woods, and 10 N. Pearl Street. I believe the phone numbers changed each time.  I was an Information Specialist.  

2. What day of the week were you born?

Saturday’s child has far to go.

3. What vegetable do you refuse to eat?

Kale. This past week, my ophthalmologist gave me a list of veggies good for eye health; kale was at the top, but I despise it. Spinach, fortunately, was third.

4. How many times have you stayed overnight in the hospital? 

Lessee: the nosebleed when I was five; the car accident when I was 19; and the arrhythmia, which was more than 10 but less than 20 years ago. 

Not Franklin Pierce, either 

5. Do you have more piercings or tattoos?

Neither. But here’s Tattooed Love Boys, from that great first Pretenders album. 

6. Do you like to shop?

Not at all. I DID like to buy music online for a time, especially during COVID, but I’m running out of room. As I wrote here: “One time this past decade, my wife was going to buy me a winter coat for Christmas, so we went into JCPenney’s. I looked at two coats and liked the second one. I tried it on; it fit, and I said, ‘Okay, we’re done.’ She said, ‘Don’t you want to look at some others?’ ‘NO!'” 

7. How much cash is in your wallet right now?

$37, three tens, a five, and two ones.

8. Let’s play MASH: Do you live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house?

A one-family house. Before my wife and I moved here 26 years ago, she lived in a two-family dwelling which she owned. When she moved here, her voter registration carried over the Apt. 1; this was rectified about three months ago.  

9. Where are you in the family birth order (oldest, middle child, youngest, or only child)?

I am the eldest of three; two younger sisters.

10. When you were 5 years old, what did you call your parents?  

I am not sure. Maybe Mommy and Dad. 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Hot R&B Singles for 1996

Aaliyah is my daughter’s favorite artist in the genre

The Hot R&B Singles for 1996, formerly Hot Black Singles and so many other categories I can barely keep track of, has some crossover with the pop charts, but here are plenty of other songs.

Down Low (Nobody has to know) – R Kelly featuring Ronald Isley and Ernie Isley, seven weeks at #1

*Tha Crossroads – Bone thugs-n-harmony, seven weeks at #1; #1 pop

I Believe I Can Fly – R Kelly, six weeks at #1

Killing Me Softly – Fugees featuring Lauryn Hill, five weeks at #1 as an album track; no, I don’t really know how that works. The song was written by Gimbel and Fox, and was a #1 pop/#2 soul/#2 easy listening hit (as Killing Me Softly With His Song) by Roberta Flack. I do have the Fugees album The Score, from whence the 1996 hit came.

Not Gon’ Cry– Mary J. Blige, five weeks at #1

*No Diggity – BLACKstreet featuring Dr Dre, four weeks at #1; #1 pop

*How Do U Want It – 2 Pac (featuring KC and JoJo,  three weeks at #1; #1 pop

Hit Me Off – New Edition, three weeks at #1. I believe this was on the playlist when my daughter and I saw them.

Twisted – Keith Sweat, three weeks at #1

Nobody – Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage, three weeks at #1

Before You Walk Out Of My Life – Monica, two weeks at #1

*You’re Making Me High – Toni Braxton, two weeks at #1; #1 pop. Part of the New Edition show in Boston

I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I) – R Kelly, two weeks at #1

My daughter’s favorite

If Your Girl Only Knew – Aaliyah, two weeks at #1. My daughter has gotten into 1990’s soul, and Aaliyah was the lynchpin. This is why we went to the New Edition tour. She recently bought me an Aaliyah compilation. 

Pony – Ginuwine, two weeks at #1. My daughter’s affection for ’90s soul turned me on to this artist, who I had not heard of previously.

These are number one from one week

You’re The One – SWV (Sisters With Voices). I own their 1992 debut album, It’s About Time.

*Always Be My Baby – Mariah Carey; #1 pop

Last Night – Az Yet

Almost drowned, almost arrested

Rockbottom Dam in the Susquehanna River in Binghamton, NY

My dear friend Carol, who I’ve only known since kindergarten, sent me this link to a WNBF radio story, “Rockbottom Dam Removal To Be Studied By City of Binghamton.” That would be in my hometown. She asked, “Didn’t you almost drown there?”  

I replied, “Why, yes, I did. And I almost got arrested for skinny dipping the same day.”  Carol noted, “I see a blog here, unless you’ve already done that.” No, I had not noted when I almost drowned. I said, “Okay, a blog post it will be! Thanks. I always need content.”

First, a bit of description. “The Rockbottom Dam, which has been a fixture in the Susquehanna River for two centuries, might become a thing of the past.” I did not know this: “According to historians, the dam was built in 1828 to power a nearby gristmill. The city acquired the structure several decades ago to control river levels for the nearby water filtration plant.”

And: “Three Binghamton firefighters died in the flood-swollen river near the Rockbottom Dam over a two-day period in September 1975. The mayor said the dam continues to pose a ‘‘huge safety risk’ for the downtown district and prevents people from safely using the river.”

Sketchy recollection

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t remember a lot of the details of my misadventure. For instance, it was likely in the summer of 1970, when I would have bicycled there. But it could have been the year before or after. I don’t know what month it was.

Obviously, it was hot enough for me to decide to go swimming. It was a spontaneous decision to go into the river. I didn’t have a swimsuit, but I figured I wouldn’t be seen from the nearby Brandywine Highway. I was only in the water above the dam for about five minutes when I obviously got too close to the undertow. For about 30 seconds, I was pretty sure I was going to die.

I have never been a strong swimmer, though I was pretty good at holding my breath underwater, a skill I honed from hanging out in the above-ground pool in the backyard of my maternal grandmother’s next door neighbors; one of the girls who lived there was one of my sister Leslie’s best friends.

In any case, I made it to the shoreline. I put on my underwear, pants, and shirt. At that point, two city of Binghamton cops came toward me from the roadway. One asked, “We got a report of a man skinny dipping here. Were you skinny dipping?” I lied, “no.” The cops looked at each other, shrugged, and one said, “Okay, then.”

I went home. I don’t recall that I told anyone, such as my family, though OBVIOUSLY I told friend Carol. I don’t remember doing that either.