The Republican Base is a lost cause. But there are lots of “undecideds” out there. And, in Texas, people who just don’t bother to vote.

Which is why many of us avoid the woods, come hunting season. (Of course, some of those rural folks have other uses for goats....)

Stop lying.

Should I forgive your ignorance of American politics because you claim to be a Brit? I don’t respect Thatcher—indeed, she and Reagan (note correct spelling) got along all to well. But Hillary (note correct spelling) will be strong.

Most Texas cities are liberal—not just Austin. But gerrymandering is a big problem.

Read up on the Texas Freedom Network to find out the why & how of Texas Schools & Textbooks. We’ve managed to keep Creationism out of the science texts but Social Studies fared less well. “There were three causes of the Civil War: States Rights, Tariffs & One Other Thing....” (Bad joke based on our previous…

The problem is all those Texans who don’t vote. I do.

If you can vote here, please do. This is a long-term solution, but voter turnout is abysmal in Texas. If more sane Texans came out to vote, we’d have fewer nuts like Abbott & Cruz in state-wide offices.

Texan here. No, there are not a bunch of non-PP clinics ready & willing to offer health care (including contraception) to women. And to men, in some cases.

I live in Texas. A pricey tickets is one thing—air fare & a hotel & ancillary expenses of a visit to That City are Other Things.

For optimum results, treatment must begin within 24 hours of the first symptom appearing. What about people without good medical care? Or those who might think it’s some kind of “flu”?

Nova re-ran an episode on vaccination the other night; it will probably show again this week & may eventually be available online. It was a pretty good summary of the subject—but the beginning really caught one’s attention.

The Second Amendment was written to convince Southern states to ratify the Constitution. Their “militias” were slave patrols—and the Southerners wanted to ensure Their Way Of Life—at least, for a while.

Work on your reading comprehension. The doctor was cold & offputting throughout the pregnancy. She didn’t blame him for the complication & said his technical skills were excellent.

Good recent book: The Men Who Lost America by Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy. How France, Spain & the Netherlands distracted Britain with a world war—so the Royal Navy & the Army were busy elsewhere when Cornwallis got stranded at Yorktown. We know of the French Army & Navy who were on hand, but events all over the…

As we celebrate American Independence, let’s say a word for George Washington—who saw the damage smallpox was doing to the war effort. Some British were inoculated (variolated) with live smallpox cells—a somewhat hazardous procedure that, done correctly, conferred lifelong immunity from the dread disease. Others were…

Bluegrass music has roots in the British Isles—& the Blues. Mr Monroe would have told you.

The network decreed the season be split. The showrunner did not.

Tom & Lorenzo Rule!

Cancer did not make Betty a Warm Earth Mother or an Ascended Master. She was still the Betty so many of us have found annoying. Caring about appearances. But knowing when to give up—and that diagnosis (then & mostly now, unfortunately) was almost not worth fighting.