Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,
This week's edition of the Parting Shot is a tad early. I'm on the road with a 300-mile drive ahead of me, and the forecasters are predicting the first real weekend of snow. On the upside, I may finally be able to hit the slopes. That is, of course, if I can find my skis, lose ten pounds, and remember how to ski by Saturday.
Your Go-To Station for Complete Election Night coverage?
Ask any priest, pastor, or someone with half a brain, and they will tell you to stay away from things like Ouija boards, Tarot cards, and the like. I've listened to multiple podcasts and lectures from priests talking about how such things can open horrible doors to the supernatural. And even if they don't do that, they are also a ridiculous waste of money and time. Many, many years ago, I took a date for Sunday brunch to the town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Besides being Dave Chappelle's current home, it is also the location of the absolutely beautiful John Bryan State Park. The area is a sort of wildlife refuge for aging hippies and hippie wannabes. So there are plenty of quaint restaurants and quirky shops. It's a bit like a discount Vail or Telluride but with much less money and hygiene and more pot smoke.
So, my date and I had just finished brunch and were getting ready for our lover's stroll through John Bryan. We happened upon a store that offered psychic readings. My date wanted her fortune told, and I wanted to score some points. One ten-spot later, we're sitting in front of a lady with a crystal ball. Following the requisite hand waving and ball gazing, the fortune teller had the results for my date. The upshot? The fortune teller told my date that she should think very carefully before making any important decisions. Outwardly, I nodded and smiled. Inwardly? What I was thinking could not be quoted here without a significant amount of redaction. That was it? I laid out $10 for "think carefully before making a big decision"? We could have gone to a Chinese restaurant and got that from a fortune cookie. Or, for that matter, I could have paid five cents for a piece of freakin' Bazooka Joe and read her the fortune on the comic.
And now we have Fox News. As you probably know, during the last week of December, the networks begins boring everyone with their top stores of the past year. In some cases, they bore everyone with predictions for the coming year. Jesse Watters invited psychic Paula Roberts to his show for Tarot card readings for Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Watch below.
I know that not everyone scans the headlines like I do, but Trump experiencing a loss and Biden getting piles of money isn't the future. It's history. Watters should ask for his $10 back.
The Failure, My Friend, is Blowin' in the Wind
As we all know, progressives have a dream. In reality, they have a lot of dreams that are probably better classified as nightmares. But one of those dreams is that one day, we will all abandon those icky fossil fuels, and our lives will be solely based on clean, safe, horrendously expensive clean energy. Given the number of electric cars sitting on showroom floors, the dream is dying, or at least on life-support. But there are kickbacks and payoffs to be made, folks, so let's keep hope alive.
But off of Martha's Vineyard, the dream is going fins-up.
Just the News notes that an offshore wind project 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard is not exactly meeting expectations. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid, Inc. spent years peddling Vineyard Wind. This is a 62-windmill project that was advertised as the first utility-scale offshore wind farm. With a mere $4 billion in costs, the company would be cranking out 300 megawatts of power to meet the region's electricity needs by the end of 2023. As of Wednesday, Copenhagen had one turbine working and was cranking out five megawatts. Copenhagen said it was doing some "tests" and would start delivering power "soon." Right. It sounds like they should have thought carefully before making a major decision. I wish they would have called me. I know a psychic that could have helped.
Wine Recommendation: Because you're going to need a drink after your psychic tells you that your power is going out after the wind farm fails.
I have to admit that my recent picks have been a little bland. But if one digs long enough, one is bound to find a diamond sooner or later. As I was browsing the racks this week, I found a Cabernet Sauvignon that seemed perfect for our readers. Behold The Federalist:
I am congratulating myself on picking this one up. The motto is "Made Like America: Bold." As you can see from the website, this is a patriotic American company that even features notable people from history on the labels. That alone is a pretty good reason to buy their wines, and they offer a variety of them. But aside from the patriotic trappings, I enjoyed an excellent bottle of wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon was the only one available and I assure you, it delivered. And this really is a solid, bold wine. It delivers from bouquet to finish. It uses Lodi varietals, and I am rarely disappointed by wines made with Lodi grapes. The Federalist also uses oak barrels for aging, which always adds flavor. I picked up some dark berries in it, and maybe just a smidge of tobacco. Look for some currant in it, too. There is also a little smoke, and if you are looking for it, a hint of cinnamon. I admit that I read that cinnamon was in the flavoring, but it is subtle, so I didn't pick it up in the first glass. While you are in for a stronger red, whatever they are doing, they are getting it right since the wine is on target in terms of acidity and tannins. It also finishes very well, just touching the sinuses. My wife and I like it so much that we decided to add it to our "regular rotation," and I'm going to keep an eye out for their other bourbon-barrel-aged red blends. But I think this quote, which is attributed to the company, says it best:
It was time to break away from convention. From those that would say things like "Make sure your structure is firm and your acidity is lively.” It was time to create something to call our own. A wine for the people. So, we brought forth a union of wines unshackled by the past, yet deeply rooted in the American ideal of “Whatever I’m drinking should taste good dammit.” Distinctly American craft wines wrought with as much character and bold spirits as the figures that don every bottle. Born from the virtues of every forward-thinking, hard-working, red-blooded American, this is The Federalist; this is American craft wine.
That's it for me. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next time.
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