Human folly

 

If you search "Life Imitates 'The Simpsons' you will find a variety of examples.  We may have another:  Harris Wolobah of Worcester, Massachusetts, may have died as a result of eating a spicy tortilla chip.  The fourteen-year-old was taking part in some Tik-Tok "challenge" idiocy when he collapsed at school.  I'm reminded of a chili contest where Homer Simpson eats a pepper "grown by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum" and soon hallucinates about a talking coyote who sounds like Johnny Cash.  That was funny.  This is awful.  There is a GoFundMe should you wish to assist his family.

Covid lockdowns are over (for now) and the gender reveal party is back in all its extravagant stupidity.  Shortly after emitting pink smoke over San Pedro, Mexico, a small plane crashed into a field, killing the pilot.  But at least everyone knows it's a muchacha.

Sports heckling takes many forms, from the basic "REGGIE SUCKS!" that once echoed through Fenway Park when the Yankees came to Boston to the anthem of the UK-Germany football rivalry, "Two World Wars and One World Cup."  The U.S. Open raised the stakes (in keeping with a game that still insists players wear white), when a spectator was ejected for singing "Deutschland uber alles" at Alexander Zverev, who considers it "the anthem of Hitler."  His feelings were hurt and he complained to the ref, but he won his match anyway.  It would be a shame if he was greeted with the "Horst Wessel-Lied" when he plays Carlos Alcaraz.  A real shame.

I can't even get a handle on what's happening in Spain after Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish Football Federation, kissed player Jenni Hermoso and grabbed his crotch by way of celebrating the women's World Cup victory over England.  Rubiales expressed remorse for the uninvited kiss but lost his job anyway, as did coach Jorge Vilda, who had supported him.  Rubiales's mother is on a hunger strike to protest her son's treatment.  This has preoccupied the country for two weeks and could still bring down the government.   It's probably better to obsess about football than to declare war, but only a little.

Xitter is losing ad revenue and Elon Musk knows why:  the Anti-Defamation League is driving advertisers away by accusing him of being antisemitic.  To prove his commitment to free speech, including the antisemitic kind, he says he will sue them ("Oh, the irony!").  Alleging the undue influence that Jews have on media should bring those advertisers running back.  Jump into this M.C. Escher drawing at any point.

Did you know that "wokism, communism, whatever you want to call it" is a bigger threat than World War II or 9/11?  Then you haven't been listening to California Republican Scott Baugh and fair play to you.  Evidently being aware of historical wrongs and sensitive to the concerns of others constitute "a threat to religious freedom."  He should do splendidly in his quest for Katie Porter's House seat.  

Back in the days of radio, which was TV without pictures, Jack Benny and Fred Allen had a long-running "feud" which helped both comedians remain high in the ratings.  The technique worked so well, it's been adopted by third-rate politicians of our own time.  If you haven't read anything recently about how much Margie Greene and Lauren Boebert hate each other, it's probably because the Crossfit Cracker has taken on a new feud partner:  Kari Lake.  Lake, Empress of the Southwest and candidate for the Senate from Arizona, wants to be Trump's running mate and Marge isn't having it.  A Trump courtier has described their rivalry as a "death race," which is fine with me.  "Hunger games" would also do nicely.  Defendant No. 1 is apparently delighted to have two women fighting over him, although some have told Rolling Stone that Trump is "not stupid enough" to pick either one.  People have gone broke underestimating his stupidity.

And in "How's that two-week special operation going, Mr. Putin?" news, authorities in Cuba say they have broken up a human trafficking operation coercing Cuban citizens into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.  Additionally, Russia is seeking help from North Korea in topping up its supplies of antitank missiles and artillery shells.  In return, the Hermit Kingdom would get foreign currency to spend on ICBMs, if not food.  (Probably not rubles, which have lost almost half their value in the past year.)  Truly war is the idiots' delight.