good morning.

my college freshman dorm room was where e.e. cummings spent his freshman year too. never liked ol’ e.e.’s poetry much, but admired his clever stunt to avoid having to worry about upper case letters, presenting laziness as style.

i wonder if i could do the same thing with basic spelling?

1. You don’t necessarily have to blame the victim, but you shouldn’t give him gifts for being irresponsible either. Pitching ace Roy Halladay had only been retired for three years when he died in the crash of a private plane he was flying. After his death, he was elected by baseball writers to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ahead of the mandatory five -year waiting period, an honor that was given posthumously to Roberto Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder who died in a plane crash in 1972 while trying to deliver relief supplies from Puerto Rico to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. Clemente was a no-arguments Hall of Famer; Halladay was not, though he was certainly a valid candidate. He was elected by sympathy and emotion as much as by careful evaluation; this is one reason the Hall makes players wait at least five years. Now the  National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the investigation of his death is coming out.

This week it reported that Halladay had a  mix of amphetamine, morphine and other prescription drugs in his system while he was doing aerial acrobatics and stunt flying. It was a miracle that he didn’t kill anyone else, as he was flying dangerously close to boats before his amphibious sport plane  plunged into the Gulf of Mexico  on Nov. 7, 2017.

The 13-page report says Halladay had 10 times the recommended level of amphetamine in his system, as well as an antidepressant, a muscle relaxant, a sleep aid and morphine.

2. Shut up, Paul. For some reason, Sir Paul McCartney felt it necessary to tell Howard Stern on the latter’s radio show that The Beatles were better than the Rolling Stones. I’ll restrain myself from commenting on the fact that it is per se irresponsible to do anything involving Howard Stern, but that obvious and undebatable conclusion regarding the Fab Four and the Stones can be explained by just about anyone except Paul McCartney, from whom it sounds petty. Losers have to plead such things: I was reminded of Jimmy Carter boasting that he is  the best ex-President ever (and he isn’t!) At least Sir Paul  didn’t feel he had to prove he was the most successful ex-Beatle.

3. More stupid interview tricks. Chris Christy, 2016 Ethics Villain of the Year and now reduced to call- in shows and punditry, said on “The View” that President Trump’s confrontational with reporters at  Wuhan virus task force briefings was “beneath what he should be doing.” I’ll restrain myself from commenting on the fact that it is per se irresponsible to do anything involving “The View,” but Chris Christy criticized another elected official for being confrontational with the press? What a wonderful example of ethics estoppel! Christie was infamous for attacking and bullying reporters at his press conferences before Donald Trump was a glimmer in a “deplorable’s” eye!

4. On #MeToo’s death by a thousand hypocrisies.. It’s comforting, I suppose, that Elizabeth Warren is living down to the Ethics Alarms assessment of her as a cynical, pandering, hypocritical and dishonest opportunist and demagogue.  In a video released this week, Warren endorsed Joe Biden and backed his 2020 campaign and also said  she would agree to be his running mate if asked. Warren praised Biden’s character, compassion, fundamental decency, and competence.  The fact that Biden has been accused of sexual assault apparently doesn’t trouble her at all. This is strange, considering that Warren has been one of the most strident  (and eloquent—the one thing Warren does well is talk) voices demanding that we “believe all women.”When Professor Christine Blasey Ford accused then-Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh of sexual assault without  evidence or corroboration, with a conveniently timed “recalled memory” of a three decade old event without a clear date or location. Warren accused the judge publicly and accepted Blasey-Ford’s account without reservation. She  said,

I believe Dr. Ford…Nobody is entitled to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court … Dr. Ford’s credible accusations [are] sufficient reason to vote no on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. Republicans are playing politics with the Supreme Court,, and  they are willing to step on anyone, including the victim of a vicious sexual assault, in order to advance their agenda…Some [women] make the difficult and personal decisions to come forward and tell their stories. They, like all survivors, are courageous, and they deserve to be heard and treated with respect.

“Members of [the Senate] should vote no on Judge Kavanaugh,” Warren concluded. “Our country deserves better.”

What should we glean from Warren’s disparate treatment of Tara Reade’s accusations, which may not be true (I find them suspiciously timed as well), but are far more detailed and credible than Blasey-Ford’s? That no one is entitled to a SCOTUS seat, but one is entitled to be President? That women must only be believed when they accuse Republicans? That Reade’s accusations are inherently incredible because of Joe’s unimpeachable respect for women? (Show us the photos of Judge Kavanaugh nuzzling, groping, kissing, hugging and sniffing unconsenting women and girls, Senator!)

That Warren is an unscrupulous unprincipled phony?

Or as Prof Glenn Reynolds snarked in response to this and other evidence, “So #metoo was basically bullshit, then.”

Among the other catalysts for his conclusion—there are so many!___ were the fact that CNN, as of three days ago, hadn’t mentioned Reade’s three week old accusation, and in that same span Joe Biden was asked 81 questions in over two hours of questioning in ten interviews  and not  a single question involved Reade’s allegation.