Some tidbits from here and there:

1. British pub’s ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’ name challenged by PETA — Get this: “they want the pub to change its name to Ye Olde Clever Cocks, ‘in recognition of society’s growing compassion for animals and in celebration of intelligent, sensitive chickens.'” Really. So help me out: Where’d we get the term, “birdbrain?”
2. China to Expand Navy Amid U.S. Tensions — Just FYI, y’all.
3. Charter Agrees to Acquire Time Warner Cable — Just in time for the death of cable as we know it. By the way, speaking of companies time has passed by, did you know that MapQuest still exists, and is profitable?
4. RNC rolls out mini-mockumentary video ahead of Hillary visit — OK, I laughed, a little bit, just because at the moment I’m waiting to find out whether I’ll be approved as one of the few media types allowed to cover her appearance her Wednesday. Here’s hoping posting this doesn’t knock me out of the running, right?

Talk about what you like, but here are some suggestions:

1. Savannah minor-league team moving to Columbia — It’s going to be single-A, part of the New York Mets organization. Sally League. Didn’t we have the Mets’ single-A team before, or am I remembering that wrong? I mean, I thought that team went to Greenville. Maybe y’all can ‘splain it to me.
2. ISIS Takes Full Control of Palmyra — First Ramadi (which POTUS terms a “setback”), now this. Our team’s not doing so good, people.
3. Senate votes to advance Obama trade legislation, fast-track authority — Which sounds like progress to me, but then, I’m not Elizabeth Warren.
4. Boy Scouts President Calls for End to Ban on Gay Leaders — That would be Robert Gates, ex-head of Defense and the CIA. There’s no actual proposal; he seems to be just testing the waters.
5. The Man Who Lost $14 Billion in One Day — Bummer. As my friend Dennis Boone used to say, that’s more than I make in a year.

And whatever else y’all bring up…

Kind of a slow news day, but here’s what we’ve got:

1. Amtrak driver says he cannot remember deadly crash — I find this quite credible. I don’t remember how I hit my head that night last summer. When even mild concussion is involved, amnesia is fairly common, I believe.
2. Obama’s trade agenda clears a key hurdle in Senate — Looks like we MAY have a rational result out of all this.
3. Jeb Bush Tries to End Storm on Iraq Remarks — Hey, I thought what he said initially was fine — but I would, right? Particularly since to me, Iraq wasn’t primarily about WMD. And he reflected my views when he criticized the way the aftermath of combat was totally botched. I found Jennifer Rubin’s “Nine ways to answer the Iraq question” interesting. I think Bush has tried something like four of them so far, and none are really working for him.
4. Tom Brady lodges appeal against four-game Deflategate ban  — Not because I’m interested, but because I told y’all I’d give you more sports.

Yes, I know, I’ve been a blogging slacker today. But I’ve had a lot on my mind as well as my schedule, so this catchup will have to do:

1. Tories appear to be winning, if you believe exit polls — The Guardian appears to be taken aback, judging by the above screengrab from their homepage. Exit poll shocker!
2. Gov. Nikki Haley signs bill to oust S.C. State trustees — A new seven-member board to be appointed.
3. N.S.A. Program Is Illegal, Appeals Court Rules — Oh, yeah? Well…. let’s see what the Supremes say. Or the whole appeals court. Or the Congress. There’s no injunction to cease and desist, and this is still up in the air.
4. VE Day 70th anniversary marked with events across Europe — From the Beeb, fittingly.

Or, whatever interests you…

Well, we seem to have gotten to the bottom of the problem that was keeping me from even seeing my blog, much less posting on it.

So here’s a nice multi-topic post to get us started:

1. N.F.L. Says Patriots Probably Deflated Footballs Purposely — See? Bryan’s not the only one who gives you sports topics to talk about, is he? And you don’t really like him better than you do me, do you?
2. Black Box Suggests Germanwings Co-Pilot Practiced Crash: Investigator — That guy was one sick puppy. Apparently, he tested the settings for flying into the mountain, but reset the controls before the plane could respond to the settings, so no one noticed.
3. Borrowing plan for SC colleges, tech schools on shaky ground — Because fiscal conservatives believe government should live within its means, just the way families have to do, and everyone knows families never borrow money. Right? What’s that? What’s this “mortgage” thing you speak of? Some socialist plot?
4. Baltimore Mayor Asks Feds To Investigate Police Department — The sad saga continues. On a side note, anyone see this Margulies cartoon last week? Seemed to sum up the cognitive divide in the country fairly neatly.

Whenever I type dates lately, my first instinct is to type “2016.” I’ve had to go back and correct it several times. I think that’s because I’d read, and typed, “2016” so many times before this year started, that on some level my fingers thought it had arrived. Or something.

Anyway, I’ve had technical troubles all day and haven’t been able to post. But let’s wrap up the week with an Open Thread, shall we? Possible topics:

1. Six Baltimore cops charged in Freddie Gray death — So, will this be the end of the rioting? Who knows? Once something like that gets started, I’m not sure to what extent we can look for rational cause-and-effect relationships. Of course, we won’t know the upshot of the legal case, or what actually happened, for some time — if then.
2. Ex-Ally Of N.J. Gov. Chris Christie Pleads Guilty In Bridge Closures Scandal — Does this mean that Christie is in the clear politically on this, or does it mean it’s now fresher in people’s minds just as he’s launching? Probably the latter.
3. Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike — An exclusive about al-Baghdadi from The Guardian.
4. Singer Ben E. King Dies — Famous for “Stand By Me.”

Or… whatever’s on your mind…

Y’all haven’t been much interested in anything I’ve shown you today. See if you can get into any of these:

1. BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! — Trey Gowdy says he now has 4,000 documents from the State Department that no one investigating Benghazi has seen before! So that means this is likely to go on and on and on! And on!
2. McCartney still coming, but Vanilla Ice is postponing — Did you know he was coming before? No? Then maybe that’s why he’s not coming now…
3. Psychologists’ Group Said to Collaborate on Torture Stance — NYT reports that, even though you thought it was all Bush’s fault, it was also the shrinks’ fault.
4. Bernie Sanders seeks Democratic nomination for president — Boy, Hillary’s in trouble now! She’s got a socialist running against her! Is there an emoji for sarcasm? He says he’s in it to win. So I need an emoji that’s like really, really sarcastic… Until I find one, I’ll just go with this:

Just a little something to keep y’all busy on a day when I have little time for blogging:

Cindi details the irrationality of SC leaders — This is about Medicaid expansion. No reasonable person unblinded by partisan rage can read this and still make excuses for what our elected leaders have decided. And if you consider that a challenge, have at it — but you are doomed to fail. Cindi explains why in her usual devastating style. But maybe if you come up with an original argument, she’ll let you sign her cast. Or give you a swift kick with it, or something.

Metts gets a year in prison, $10,000 fine — Do you think this is fair and right, based on the principle that law enforcement officials must be held to a high standard? Or do you think this is yet another case of locking up people we don’t need to?

Supremes hear arguments on whether there’s a right to same-sex marriage — Our opinions don’t matter in this — only those of the justices do — but if you have something to say, here’s an opportunity. Even though nothing has happened, several outlets are leading with it, such as the WSJ, the NYT and the WashPost.

And whatever else grabs your interest….

Some possible topics. Feel free to add your own…

1. Anybody have anything to say about Tax Day? — I certainly don’t, but I thought I’d ask.
2. Japan Tops China as Largest U.S. Bondholder — Hmmm. I wonder if this has anything to do with the major financial transaction I pulled off recently in Japan. Probably not… In any case, what does it really all mean? That we’ll start resenting the Japanese more than the Chinese?
3. EU accuses Google Shopping of search ‘abuse’ — Why do these furriners kept pestering our mega-corporations?
4. David Chase explains ‘Sopranos’ ending — again. Can we stop asking him about it now? — Hey, it’s more interesting than international financial news, right?
5. This CEO raised all his employees’ salaries to at least $70,000 by cutting his own — I’d like to work for THAT guy — but I don’t want to move to Seattle
6. Hey, that’s my granddaughter at thestate.com — For several days now, a photo of my eldest granddaughter — she’s 18 now — has been on The State‘s main page, under “Top Photos.” That’s her on the far right, Jennifer Garner on the far left. If you click on it, it doesn’t have my granddaughter’s name. It says “Tiffany Jaspers” instead. My granddaughter took her place at the last moment — and then was honored as the top model of the night! She’s a dancer, and has a LOT of stage presence.

Here are a few items for consideration; feel free to add your own…

How ’bout them Lady Gamecocks? — I may be a bit late with the congratulations, now that the ride has ended, but what a ride, huh?

The horrific campus rape story that wasn’t — Rolling Stone admits to the most fundamental journalistic failures, although no one will be fired. How did it happen? Not because the magazine lied, but because Rolling Stone so wanted it to be true. Further investigation would have spoiled it. A lawsuit is in the works.

The end of baseball cards? — Yet another indicator in the long, slow slide of what to me is still the proper national pastime.

Rand Paul seems to stray from libertarian roots as he courts GOP base — Interesting piece in the WashPost today. So, Doug, does this make him a phony like all the rest?

Or, anything else y’all want to talk about.

Kind of a slow news day. But here are some possible topics:

1. Darius Rucker tells ‘Today’ Hootie & the Blowfish will reunite — If you’re a Midlands resident of a certain age, this has got to be kind of exciting, right?

Was it a sitcom or a game show?

I’m trying to bring myself back down to Earth by reminding myself that not EVERY moment of my trip was ecstatic. There was, for instance, those several hours we were trapped on a bus that was supposed to be air-conditioned and wasn’t, watching a loud Thai TV show that was some sort of cross between a sitcom and a game show — hard to describe, especially since I didn’t understand a word of what was being said.

Of course, other than that, every moment was fantastic, and even that brief experience I’m trying to remember as negative was interesting… so it’s going to take me awhile to adjust to ordinary routine. Bear with me. And be patient as I unfold bits and pieces of our trip and share them with you, beyond what you’ve already seen on social media.

In the meantime, here’s some stuff for y’all to discuss:

1. Hey, didn’t Bryan do an awesome job while I was gone? — Be careful. That’s a fargin’ trick question. No, seriously, I’m deeply appreciative of what he did to allow me to concentrate on being a tourist, which was pretty all-consuming. Now, I’d appreciate some feedback: What did Bryan do that you’d like to see more of going forward here on the blog? Maybe that can be arranged…
2. Bergdahl charged with desertion — Well, this was pretty much predictable from the moment the president swapped five high-value Taliban terrorists to get this guy back.What a mess. What an embarrassment for the country. But I’m glad the Army is confronting the problem, and not just ignoring what happened.
3. Legislature tries to do the right thing in spite of governor — Trying to catch up on the latest bad craziness here in SC. At long last, lawmakers are facing up to the fact that we need to raise the gas tax, and doing it despite the governor’s insistence that we won’t ALLOW us to have a tax increase, even if we want one. No, really; I’m not making that up.
4. FBI still needs to get better at countering terrorism — That’s the conclusion of a review of how well the agency has been doing with implementing reforms after 9/11.
5. White House going overboard in anti-Bibi rhetoric — Things seem to have hit a new low with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough saying “an occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end.”

Or, whatever y’all want to talk about…

Well, I hate to do back-to-back Open Threads like this, but it’s a busy week.

Here’s what I’m seeing out there…

1. Judge stops firing of SC State president — What a mess, I confess. So… is there anything anyone can do about this situation? Not that I think firing this guy who didn’t actually create the mess is the solution…
2. High Court Divided at Health-Law Argument — Does it bother anyone else when reporters and editors try to guess how the court will rule based on the hearing? It’s always kinda bugged me…
3. U.S. Calls on Ferguson to Overhaul Its Justice System — The cop at the center of the probe was cleared of wrongdoing, but the whole city government was essentially indicted in this report.

Anything else y’all want to mention?

Some possible topics:

Whoa! I need to run out and vote for sheriff — This totally snuck up on me, which never would have happened when I was still at the paper. Any of you who also live in Lexington County, please share any thoughts you have on the subject. I’m probably going to follow my colleagues’ advice (they’ve met with and quizzed all of these guys; I have not) and vote for Jay Koon, even though the governor backs him.

Netanyahu Criticizes ‘Bad Deal’ — Don’t know whether he’s right or not. But I agree with Susan Rice (for once) that “A bad deal is worse than no deal.” Hope she means it. But now that it’s done, what do y’all think? Should Bibi have spoken to Congress, or not?

House passes legislation to fully fund DHS — I know it was silly of me to worry, but I seldom travel by air, and I’ve never traveled as far from home as we’re about to, and it was stressing me just a little bit to think of having to deal with ticked-off TSA workers who are not getting paid to work. After all, I went to all that trouble to buy a backpack that I was assured was the right size for carryon, and what if I get somebody who arbitrarily announces it isn’t? I don’t want to check it and lose all my stuff somewhere between here and Southeast Asia…

Y’all have any other ideas?

And just for a little something extra to talk about: Do you suppose even Robin Hood could have done this?

You ever go to type “2015,” and think, “What happened? How did I get transported so far into the future all of a sudden?” Drat that Doc Brown…

Anyway, here are some possible topics. You may have some others in mind:

DHEC board chair defends Kitzman hiring process as new search begins — Talk about defending the indefensible. Yet, “In an email Tuesday evening to The State, board chairman Allen Amsler answered ‘no’ when asked if the eight-member panel made any mistakes in the process of choosing Kitzman as director….” Wowee.

Haley: SC should not borrow $500 million — And as is her wont, she’s talking about Brian White as though he were some wild-eyed, free-spending liberal or something (as if we’d seen anyone like that in leadership positions in the Legislature in the past decade or two): “We got an issue of a chairman of Ways and Means who wants to … run up the credit card debt just because he can.”

Some possible conversation-starters:

The Kitzman confirmation hearings begin — It will be interesting to see whether the Senate really holds the governor accountable on this one. The story at thestate.com doesn’t say much so far, but you might want to peruse Jamie Self’s Twitter feed. Here are some items that interested me:

Confirmation hearing for Eleanor Kitzman looks like it will take a long time. Senators may come back today & stay late next week to finish.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

Kitzman, ushered out by former DHEC director Catherine Templeton, does not take questions from media.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

Back at Kitzman hearing: she says DHEC board asked her for no references before offering her director job upon Gov. Haley’s recommendation.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

.@harveypeeler says @GovernorPerry sent him a letter in support of Eleanor Kitzman before saying hearing is over, will reconvene Tues 4pm.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

On to other topics:

Senate bill calls for ousting SC State trustees — The lurid saga continues. By the way, I saw an interesting headline in the NYT this morning, but haven’t had time to read it: “How to Hold Colleges Accountable.”

No, it doesn’t matter that Hillary Clinton is a woman — I just thought I’d take a second to argue with this piece in the WashPost this morning headlined, “Why it matters that Hillary Clinton is a woman.” The writer notes that three-fourths of voters say it doesn’t matter, and goes on to explain why they’re wrong and don’t even know their own motivations. Well, I’m a pretty introspective guy, and I can say with confidence that it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll neither vote for her (if I vote in the Democratic primary, which seems unlikely this time, since the only contest in doubt will be on the other side) nor against her because she is a woman (if I vote against her in the general, it will be because the Republicans have nominated someone I like better; if they don’t, I’ll vote for her). And if anyone else is going to vote for or against her because she’s a woman, then I wish they’d stay home. Choosing the president of the United States calls for deeper thinking than that.

Or, whatever y’all want to talk about…

Just so I can say I posted something new today:

1. Obama Seeks Congressional Authorization for ISIS Fight — Which includes, ahem, boots on the ground. Which was inevitable.
2. SC House votes to ban abortions at 20 weeks — I’m going to make a sad prediction: We can debate this as long as we like, and no one’s mind will be changed, and no common ground will be found. I’d like to be wrong about that, though.
3. SC Senator: Women Are “A Lesser Cut Of Meat” — When Will Folks reported that via Twitter, I supposed he must be bucking for Jon Stewart’s job. But perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Sen. Corbin is bucking for Jake Knotts’ old role as the Senate’s chief Sayer of Cringe-worthy Things.

Or whatever y’all want to talk about…

Just in case any of you are actually paying attention at this time on a Friday, which seems doubtful:

The latest on the apparent murder-suicide at USC — I’m a little surprised at the slow pace at which info is coming out. For instance, we still don’t have a name of the second person — the presumed shooter — who died.

The burgeoning Bryan Williams scandal — What makes people say stupid stuff like that? Is there something in their heads that tells them the truth just isn’t impressive enough? I don’t get it. You’d think being the best-known anchor in the nation, or the best-known woman in politics, would be enough. But NOOoooo…

ISIS Claims U.S. Captive Died in Jordanian Airstrike — Don’t know yet whether it’s true.

Hiring, Wages Up; Market Nears Full Health — That’s what the WSJ says the numbers say. But does it feel like “full health” to you? Not to me…

… or whatever else y’all want to talk about…

Y’all can probably come up with a better topic than I can, but here are some possibilities:

GOP contenders try to bolster their foreign policy cred — I’m encouraged to see Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker taking trips abroad. Makes me think that maybe the 2016 election won’t be all about domestic issues (which to me are generally secondary with regard to the presidency), as I have feared. Which might undermine the rationale of Lindsey Graham’s campaign…

And what about that vaccination stuff? — Speaking of Christie, is it now a prerequisite for GOP candidates to cater to medical paranoia? On the one hand we have these potential candidates broadening themselves with travel, on the other hand we have this…

What were your favorite Super Bowl ads? — This is entirely self-serving. I need to write a blog item on the subject for the ADCO blog, and I could use some input. (I’m always a bit handicapped in this, since I don’t watch the game and therefore have to find time during the working week to track them down and watch them.)

Below is one of my favorites so far:

The Legislature is back this week, so the time has arrived when downtown Columbia comes alive with the original purpose of the city’s founding.

And here are two or three topics y’all might want to talk about:

What did you think of Nikki Haley’s speech? — If you missed it, you can read it here. It garnered some positive reviews from some unlikely quarters, such as from here.

Get ready for a huge fight over DHEC nominee — It sort of blew my mind when I saw that Eleanor Kitzman was nominated to take over our state health and environment agency. We’re talking about a woman whose main qualification for the position is her ferocious loyalty to Nikki Haley. Remember this? But you know what? Aside from this one nominee, it would probably be a good development if SC senators would start raising some questions about executive branch nominees, in the name of transparency. We definitely don’t need it to be like inside the Beltway, where nominees get blocked because they’re from the opposite party. But some germane questioning and challenging of credentials would be nice. And then, of course, if their credentials stand up, they should be promptly confirmed. Anyway, senators are indicating they’re going to start advising some before consenting. We’ll see how good a job they do.

How “free-range” should kids be today? — Here’s something you should definitely check out:

Story going viral: CPS Hounding Couple Who Let Their Kids, 10 and 6, Walk Home TOGETHER from Park http://t.co/ng2JSEx6Bc

— Lenore Skenazy (@FreeRangeKids) January 15, 2015

But don’t just take Lenore’s word on what happened — we know where she’d be coming from (these parents are devotees of her movement) . Here’s the story in The Washington Post today. An excerpt:

It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.

“We wouldn’t have let them do it if we didn’t think they were ready for it,” Danielle said….

Or, we could talk about what you want to talk about…