Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,
I pray this missive finds you well. I put my foot down this morning and said that there would be no work of any kind at our house this weekend: no yard work, housework, office work, homework, or busy work, you name it, and it will not happen if the word "work" is in the name, except for one thing. While I was repairing the garage door last weekend, a black widow spider approximately half the size of a golf ball crawled across my hand. So after I set off a bug bomb in the garage, no work will be done. I know spiders are an essential part of the ecosystem, but that does not include my home.
Gender reveal
Kamala Harris will likely never get a balloon bouquet with one of those "World's Greatest Boss" mugs full of Hershey's kisses. Multiple reports indicate that Harris is a horrible person to work for. During the Biden administration, there have been many stories that turnover in the VP's office was rampant due to her alleged abuse of her employees. You can find examples here and here. Harris's reputation as a terrible employer even predates her days as Vice President, with incidents of abuse and profanity dating back to her time as California's Attorney General.
With so many staffing issues, it appears that the Harris campaign is trying to sweeten the pot a little and attract young, fresh-faced, idealistic folx who want to save the world and burn down the country. To that end, The Daily Mail notes that people applying for a job with the Harris campaign will discover that on the job application, there are nine, count 'em, nine options for personal pronouns. For you aspiring political wonks, they are:
- He/him
- She/her
- They/them
- Xe/xem
- Ze/hir
- Ey/em
- Hir/hir
- Fae/faer
- Hu/hu
(What's truly scary about this list is that Grammarly didn't act up once the whole time I was typing it.)
I don't know about you, but I'm dying to see what the Venn diagram looks like.
There is also a feature where one can add one's customized pronouns. I have to wonder what would happen if someone wrote MAGA/MAGASELF for the custom option. Imagine an entire room full of Harris campaign staffers forced to say MAGA twenty times a day. It does say right on the application, “Let the employer know what pronouns you use so that they can address you correctly.” So if you identify as MAGA, what choice would they have?
This, of course, assumes you even get hired. The application also asks, “Do you identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community?” This does not strike me as particularly legal, but "legal" has not been a problem for Democrats for some time now.
According to the New York Post, some social media users admitted that they had never heard some of those pronouns. Count me as one of them. And for that matter, what is the difference between the hir in Ze/hir and the one in Hir/hir? Are they the same? What happens if you cross the hirs? For that matter, what if you mix up your hirs, faes, and zes? Somebody will get offended, and the whole workday is shot with everybody sitting down for an "issues and tissues session." And there are probably not going to be any donuts.
Wine recommendation
Because my drinks identify as wine — that is when they don't identify as beer or scotch.
I'm starting to think we need to move to a town with a bigger liquor store. It is getting easier to find wines I have reviewed versus ones I have not unless I start trying the $45-$65 bottles, which will not happen anytime soon. So this week, I present the 2022 Mark West Pinot Noir.
This is a nice Pinot Noir that will cost you somewhere around $12 to $15, give or take. I look for wines that do not lean to the pricey side since neither you nor I have the money to dump on an expensive bottle of vino these days. Some reviewers have said that the taste of this wine reflects the price point, which sounds a little snotty to me. That being said, while there is nothing that makes it stand out, it is a good choice.
It runs to the dry side and is low on the tannins, which is expected of a Pinot Noir, but I found it finished really well. You can expect the usual red and dark fruits and a little jam in the taste. You can taste a bit of the oak, but some reviewers claim that it has a dash of cola in the flavor. I never found it, but what do I know? Pair it up with the usual red wine suspects, but one person suggested it would go well with a cheeseburger. I intend to test that theory tonight.
That's it for me. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next time.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member