George Floyd's Murderer Convicted/Walter Mondale, RIP -- April 20, 2021

 

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I was happy to learn that the police officer who killed George Floyd was convicted of his murder. A lot of people were worried that he would be acquitted. I don't see how anyone could think kneeling on a man's neck for 9 minutes and 27 seconds is a good idea. 

Perhaps our country is moving in the right direction.

listal.com

I was sad to learn that former Vice President Walter Mondale has died. I voted for him in 1984. He was a decent guy. When he served with Jimmy Carter, Mondale may have been the first vice president to serve as an active partner, as Joe Biden did with Barack Obama, Dick Cheney did with George W Bust and Al Gore did with Bill Clinton. 

COVID-19, Church, Baseball and Martial Law -- July 31, 2020

COVID-19 is making a comeback.  San Mateo goes back on the California watch list tonight.  It is raging in Florida and Texas. A news report said one American is dying every minute from COVID-19.  Some people still insist it is a hoax instigated by the Democratic Party.

My wife and daughter don't know if school will start in the classroom or as a Zoom meeting.

Last Saturday we went to mass at Good Shepherd in Pacifica for the first time since shelter at home started. Father Lu left as pastor earlier in July. Our new pastor is Father Charito Suan. He gave a nice homily. This week the parish is cutting back to one mass per weekend, at 11am on Sunday, with communion at 12:30pm.

Baseball has started up again. The Giants are 4-4.  New manager Gabe Kapler is doing a lot of mixing and matching.  One of his coaches, Alyssa Nakken is the first woman to coach a major league team.  Last night we got to see extra innings begin with a runner on second.  It did not go well for the Giants.  People are hitting a lot of home runs, perhaps because the viewing area under the right field pavilion is blocked.

Our so-called president has been sending Federal agents dressed in camouflage uniforms with no identification to provoke trouble during protests in Portland, Oregon.  They have snatched people off the street into unmarked vehicles.  He is threatening to occupy other cities like Oakland.  

Statues and RIPs -- June 22, 2020

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The protests inspired by the death of George Floyd and too many others has evolved into protests against America's historic racism.  In the south, people are pulling down Confederate statues. In Golden Gate Park, protestors pulled down the statue of Francis Scott Key, Key was an objectionable man, but the monument was paid for by James Lick and has stood in the park since the 1880s.  They went on to pull down a statue of Saint Junipero Serra near the DeYoung and a bust of Ulysses S Grant.  Why Grant?  His credentials as a practical abolitionist are unquestioned, but he did push the Indian Wars.

Art Curtiss, retired Muni Chief Inspector and longtime Coast Guard reservist, died this week after getting told he would live three more months in 2018.  He led a life dedicated to service and he was very good about sharing what he knew with transit fans.

David Perlman wrote for the Chronicle from 1940 to 2017. He was the science reporter for many years. He died at 101.

Vera Lynn, who was an icon of World War Two, died this week at 103.

Peaceful Protests, Virus Round 2 -- June 16, 2020

Protests about the killing of Eric Floyd and other people of color by the police have continued and are generally not marred by violence or looting. 

Many states are reopening businesses, and COVID-19 infections are skyrocketing. 

Our so-called president spoke at the West Point commencement and appeared to have trouble drinking water and walking. 

Cry Havoc -- June 2, 2020

www.kalw.org

May came to a wild climax.  We saw a video of a Minneapolis policeman kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, an African-American who was supposed to resemble the description of a man who passed a counterfeit twenty dollar bill.  Floyd died lying face-down in the street, after trying to tell the policeman that he couldn't breathe. Other people tried to get the policeman to lift his knee. Protests were peaceful, but after dark, anarchists, right-wing agents provocateur and thieves rioted and looted in several cities. San Francisco declared a curfew from 8pm to 5am. The policeman who knelt on Floyd's neck was arrested after a few days.  The three policemen who were with him have not yet been arrested.

New York Times, 24-May-2020

People continued to die in large numbers from the TrumpVirus.  The numbers were rising rapidly in states that opened up businesses too soon.

The Market Street Railway's San Francisco Railway Museum has been closed because of the TrumpVirus. Early on the morning of 31-May-2020, during the after-dark looting, people broke into Market Street Railway's San Francisco Railway Museum. They stole tee shirts but left historic items untouched.

SpaceX

In better news, on 30-May-2020, SpaceX made the first launch of  humans into space from the United States since the last Space Shuttle launch in 2011.  The first stage landed on the recovery vessel and the Crew Dragon docked with the  International Space Station on 31-May-2020.  The astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, enjoyed the trip. I wish them a safe trip  home.