Journalism at Its Finest? 

   First let’s look at the headline of this new article filed by Nicholas Cardona and picked up by AOL news - - - 

 Neighbor of Shooting Range Tied to Trump Family: 

    What does “tied to” in this headline mean? It could be several things. The neighbor is an employee of the Trump family---the neighbor is a third cousin to someone named Trump---the neighbor once talked with a Trump family member. 
    So we have no idea how this neighbor is connected to someone named Trump, or if what the neighbor says is of any significance to this news article. 
    Next - - It states that Donald and Eric have “ties to a company that owns a shooting range”---it could mean that they own the company that owns the shooting range company - -it could mean that they own stock in the company - - it could mean that they once bought a candy bar from this company - -
    Next, Nicholas claims “that the AP is reporting that it looks like the Trumps acquired the property through limited liability companies.” So the AP is saying that it “looks like”---which tells me that the AP has no idea, and are too lazy to find out, but have just enough energy to publish this news article - investigative journalism this isn’t. 
    So, the news article tells us nothing substantive. But it does, I believe, try to leave the casual reader with the idea that the Trumps are operating a shooting range. And this right on the heels of the latest horrendous school shooting. Curious timing.
    The question here is, what is Nicholas trying to tell us with this news article? It could look like he is trying to get the name Trump and shooting range in the same thought, so the unsophisticated reader will come away saying, “Trump, shooting range, Wow!” and with the recent school shooting fresh in their minds, somehow get lodged in their heads the thought that the Trumps are probably complicit in the school shooting. 
    Or again, maybe it’s just plain sloppy journalism.

Other Notable People Born on January 27th

    Modesty and time will permit me to mention only several. Let’s start with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was also born on January 27. No kidding. And the only reason I’m dragging him into this is because of what his music is able to accomplish with sheep. I mean his music is okay for other things also, but the sheep---well, let me start at the beginning. It seems that Australian Merino sheep who listen to opera (they really didn’t say if it was Mozart’s or not, but I mean, come on) seem to grow much finer wool than sheep who are left alone to be chased around by those creepy looking sheep dogs. So much finer in fact that the price is 367 times the normal market price. Now, unless the sheep learn the difference between an amplified CD recording of an opera and a live performance, this is a great deal for the sheep owners. Nobody is giving an opinion on why this happens. I know from personal experience that about the time I started going to the opera is when hair started growing out of my ears. That may have been a coincidence. 
    Another notable personage born on January 27 was Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert, who was later known as Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany. His inept handling of the political situation in the early 1900s helped lead to World War I. 
   And let’s not forget Frank Nitti who was born on January 27, and served with distinction as one of Al Capone's top henchmen and later the front man for the Chicago Outfit, the organized crime syndicate headed by Capone. 
   And then there was Captain Edward J. Smith, born on January 27. He was captain of the Titanic---what more can we say. 
    A person could get the impression that this date is connected to people of genius-level abilities or of dubious character, or then again, maybe both.

The Only Logical Conclusion? 

    There seems to be an asteroid with the name of ‘Oumuamua’ that is being monitored by Breakthrough Listen, which is a project that monitors over one million such things as this asteroid, listening for signs of intelligent life. 
   Now first of all, it someone gave me a name like ‘Oumuamua’, I might not be too keen on answering either, but that’s just me. There has been no response from this big rock which would suggest there is no intelligent life aboard. 
    So, the conclusion from some of the people connected to this project is that there is life on this asteroid, but that this life is just ignoring us. 
    So what’s worse, that there’s no life on this asteroid, or that there is life aboard and we’re just too insignificant to bother answering? The latter would be a real put-down. 
    But one thing these people haven’t thought of, or at least they’re not talking about, is that this asteroid, or the life forms on it, think they’re sneaking up on us. I can imagine that the life on this asteroid has been monitoring our media for the past several years. They’ve watched our primetime TV shows and have come to the conclusion that the males of the species are dumber than soap, and not near as clean, and that the females of the species are obsessed with how they look, and spend most of their time trying to manage their mates. The children of the species don’t respect their parents or any other older members of society and are continually making bad decisions, but then seem to get it all straightened out within sixty minutes. 
    On the upside for these asteroid life forms is the entertainment they derive from watching the political leaders on this planet. I’m guessing there are times when they are laughing so hard they have difficulty steering their asteroid, which just may be our salvation.

Something To Think About 

Have you ever seen a bank sign that showed the right temperature? 

 And yet we trust them with our money.

What Should We Name the New Baby – How About China White? 

    How often do you think people are sitting around discussing where they can score some smack, and one of the people says, “Let’s try the maternity ward at the hospital? It seems unlikely, now doesn’t it? 
    However, in Pennsylvania a twenty-five-year-old was arrested on charges including selling heroin while in the maternity ward where his girlfriend had just given birth to their child. Already I can see that this guy may not be up for a parent of the year award any time soon. 
    One thing you’ve got to give the new father credit for---he had a product to sell and he was prepared for business even in the most unlikely place. 

 Don’t You Hate it When This Happens 

   In Alaska an animal control officer, answering a 911 call, was told that an alligator had outgrown it’s bathtub. The pet was over 4 feet long. It’s hard to take a bath in a tub with a 4 foot ‘gator in residence. 
    The control officer found a home for this ‘gator in a rescue aquatic center. 
    Now if you were from down South you’d just eat the thing, unless you had grown fond of this reptile that was taking over your bathroom. 
    But it does make you wonder what these people thought was going to happen when they first brought home a cute little ten-inch alligator.

I Didn’t Know There Was That Kind of Money In Being A Psychic 

    In Boston a psychic, or so she calls herself, got a woman to pay her $3.5 million. For what? She claims that she cleansed this woman of her demons. This happened over a seven-year period. The demon possessed woman was 70 years old when this psychic got her hands on her. So, what sounded like a big paycheck works out to be only $500 per year.
    However, I’m guessing that the psychic had other jobs going on at the same time so it wasn’t like she was going without food or anything. 
    We have no record if the woman feels any better for the treatments, or if the demons are really gone or she has just learned to live with them. They can’t be much worse than this psychic. 
    Now the psychic is in trouble for guess what? Nothing to do with scamming this poor woman out of $3.5 million, but with none other than the IRS. They are taking exception to the fact that she didn’t declare this income. If convicted she could be incarcerated for up to three years. That’s a little over $1 million per year. Who says crime doesn’t pay. 
    Evidently, this psychic didn’t see this coming.

A New Form of Entertainment? Maybe 

    Or then again, it could be a new competitive event, although it might take a while for it to reach Olympic status. What I’m talking about is dropping live turkeys from low flying aircraft. Like in Yellville, Arkansas. It seems the FDA is checking to see if any laws were violated in connection with the annual Yellville Turkey Trot which has included dropping live turkeys onto the festivities below for the past fifty years.
    Why? You ask. The reporter didn’t think we would be interested, so we’ll just have to imagine. 
    What could be the fascination with turkeys falling from the sky? After all, they are able to fly, unless the Turkey Trot officials have clipped their wings or some such, which would just be cruel. But this is Arkansas after all. So, if anyone out there can conjure up a good reason for this tradition, please enlighten me. Thank you.

 His Mother Would Be So Proud of Him 

    In New York a restaurant owner came to work to find that someone had cleaned out the register during the night. Not only that, but after watching the security video, the owner saw that the intruder had also cooked a meal and washed the dishes. 
    The burglar had donned food-service gloves and while a pot was heating, he broke into the register, after which he left a dollar in the tip jar. 
    He cooked up beans, chicken, and shrimp. After eating, he covered and refrigerated the leftover food, then wiped the food-prep surfaces and left. Like I said, what mother wouldn’t be proud of a son who showed these kitchen skills, and the thoughtfulness to clean up after himself---and actually do the dishes. When they catch this guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the restaurant owner hires him.