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There can be a lot of reasons for children not learning to swim. Some cultures are generally less involved with swimming for recreation and some children don't have ready access to pools or lakes. It can certainly have socioeconomic factors, but that isn't just a matter of race.

In some communities, swimming pools were historically tied to private clubs, whether country clubs or swim clubs. Many kept out 'riff-raff' by working through a system of member referrals. My own family was too recently arrived in America to pass muster at our local country club, so dad took us to local lakes and ponds after he got off work. Mom taught us basic swimming and then we honed our skills at the Y or Scout camp. Private clubs are still a factor in many places. There are certainly children who have limited access to pools in the summer if their community lacks public pools or a lake.

Increasing children's access to pools for swimming lessons is a worthwhile charitable goal. On this I support Mrs. Fetterman in principle. I take it as a sign of woke times that she finds it necessary to call out swimming as racist. It would suffice to offer access to swimming for children who otherwise don't have the opportunity without all the virtue signaling and race baiting language. A private donation to the local Y or scout camp would support swimming access and lessons but that assumes her true goal is charity rather than political posturing.

We followed the same sorts of precautions we’d normally follow - take our vitamins and supplements and stay home when sick. We didn’t lie about it and paid the price as social pariahs for not taking the jabs. We have dropped out of some social groups as a result of medical discrimination. We have not heard any apologies from anyone who gave us a hard time, nor do I expect we ever will.

Yeah, I agree. The breeding over generations had its purpose and it wasn’t bred for family protection. Not the dogs’ fault. People are funny - calling a 99 pound pit bull Mimi. That name is more suggestive of a toy poodle.

"They can be triggered anytime, and they were bred for fighting, or killing wildlife like deer, bear, or lions."

I've had a number of people tell me that they've been very happy with their pitbulls and that they're sweet. I've never spent time with one, but I wouldn't want a dog that combines those jaw muscles with an unpredictable temperament. It just isn't worth the risk when there are so many other doggos in the world.

And yes, I'm aware that much of the money behind the Trans movement comes from rich and powerful gay men. There is a strong element of misogyny in the trans movement. I think there's a special place in hades for those who are funding this hideous movement and trapping innocent children. Planned Parenthood, by the way, is a major supplier of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to young people with few if any questions asked. This is part of the horrific picture.

My acceptance of gay people is of the variety that they have always been among us and I don't support making pariahs of them as long as they don't victimize anyone.

There are gay people speaking out against the trans affirmation train wreck, especially with respect to children. This is much bigger than the activism for gay inclusion, and from what I've read, quite a few resent how the 'T' has been added to 'their movement'. We have many children in our community who have been influenced in the trans direction in the past few years. It is really quite alarming in the numbers, and there is a LOT of money pushing this agenda.

From what I've read, one of the issues the gay community has with the push toward trans affirmation is that it ultimately destroys gay people. Some of those who would ultimately come out as gay instead mutilate themselves in this fashion. The other objection is that this constant agitation for trans affirmation threatens gay inclusion itself. Apart from a small percentage of activists, most gay people in my experience and from my reading, just want to live in peace in their own fashion (as adults). By screaming at everyone and mutilating children, the trans movement creates a backlash that also discredits their simpler goals of living in partnership with whom they chose.

While I don't support gay grooming of children any more than trans grooming, I can support letting consenting adults live in peace with whatever domestic partner they chose. Whatever I personally may think of that lifestyle or whatever my religious stance in that regard, I don't think it's my place to interfere. Trans children are another matter altogether. I have a good friend whose teen girl has declared that she is a boy. It is a heartbreaking journey for parents.

I still have my workhorse HP 12C from ~1980. Few people ever borrow an HP calculator, since the RPN input is very confusing to the casual user.

I agree Lake Erie is much nicer than it once was. When we were kids it was considered a dead lake. Reductions in industrial effluent and the action of zebra mussels have both helped to improve clarity. There are still sediments containing heavy metals. I wouldn’t eat large fish or bottom feeders from Lake Erie on a regular basis.

The comments and puns at the end of the article are a hoot!

Declining literacy and numeracy are widespread. I taught high school science for 7 years before retiring. I was appalled at the amount of cheating, poor basic skills and lack of knowledge of most of the youngsters. They were in a suburban parochial school. The long-time teachers there told me that they saw a huge drop-off in student learning when mobile phones became prevalent among youngsters. Most of them lost focus and discipline around that time. They also read very few books, which require more sustained concentration. Technology has its advantages, but it is also harmful to young people in many ways.

"In short, it’s both—dementia and Joe just being Joe."

Agreed. Dementia sufferers also tend to lose their filters and say things that in better days they would have kept to themselves.

We had a relative who grew up in a very racist culture who when stricken with dementia used language that he never would have used when well. We were really concerned for his private duty nurse. He really liked her but referred to her in offensive terms. Amazingly she was able to overlook it because she'd experienced this repeatedly. She was at his funeral and seemed very broken up at his death.

:My mother went through Dementia. I highly doubt it was a fake. She would have moments of absolute clarity then be off into the ozone a few minutes later. With enough drugs, a level of clarity can be achieved, but the decay does not stop."

We saw this with a loved one as well. Good hours and bad hours. Late in the day was worst (sundowning) and taking a walk or increasing hydration helped a bit. He seemed to have a mix of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. I always figured that when we raised his hydration and blood pressure, a little more oxygen got through to his brain. By evening, his brain was just plain tired from fighting to function.

Drugs didn't help much. He had a succession of mini strokes and falls, and each time he had a step-down in function. I was really sad for him when this caused him to be fearful of his surroundings. He thought there were rats in the bathroom (so he was scared to use it) and that revolutionary organizers were plotting in the hallway of his nursing home. Drugs to calm him just made him a zombie. No easy answers.

"I dont doubt irregularities and illegalities but was it enough to throw the election?"

I don't doubt it for a minute. I say that as a long time poll watcher and 'observer' of mail-in ballot counting in a swing state. Observer is in quotes because it was a partisan election operation in which observers weren't allowed to see anything meaningful. We could watch the scanning but not the intake. There was no ability to verify that ballots arrived in envelopes, with signatures, or postmarks. They could have come in little red wagons hot off the copier for all we knew.

You’re so right about the Oakley sunnies. Annoying bunch.

"at a kids fishing tournament, one of the "daddies" bragged how he himself caught this fish but had his little son take the credit....so the kid could win.... I never understood how simpletons and idiots cheat at the most mundane things...."

I've seen this with Cub Scout Pinewood Derby cars as well as elementary science fairs. Our solution was to create some parent competition for the Cub event as well as 'artistic' categories for the kids. The science fair was made non-competitive to discourage the parents from participating. As it is, the kids pick cookbook projects off the internet rather than investigate something of personal interest. It's a sad reflection on our culture.

:Professional SPORTS fishermen which is mostly an oxymoron to begin with. If there is a lake with just one fish of a vanishing species, some professional SPORTS fishermen will go there and take it. "

Yup. My daddy fished and hunted most of his life. We consumed it, and scraps were processed for the family dog. There's nothing like freshwater fish or venison in my book. These days we have a cottage on a lake that has developed a big bass tournament industry. The fishermen are parked right in front of our cottage every few weeks in the summer, taking all the big fish out of our local waters. The weigh-in station is some 20 miles down the lake, where they are supposed to be released. Some die, others get caught by 'sport' fishermen who wait for the release, and others just stay in their new home rather than return north.

The fishing at our end of the lake has been dropping off, per my 80+ year old neighbor. He's fished those waters for personal consumption for most of his life. He knows. You can't keep up with the stocking at the rate they're depleting the fish stocks.

The fishing pros have some very expensive rigs and with the electronics of fish finding, it doesn't seem sporting to me anymore. When my daddy fished in a new place, he'd pay a guide to teach him the area. After a few years he knew it well enough to find his own way around, but it was always based on his knowledge of the fish, its eating habits, movement within the waterways, etc. There was a lot of knowledge and skill. To me that's a true sport. What we see today with these fishing tournaments is huge money, expensive sponsored rigs, and a race to find and catch all the biggest fish using the latest electronics. I find it pretty unappealing but money talks.

This was common in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s in Czechoslovakia. I used to see it when visiting my relatives. I don’t think I’ve seen it in my last few visits though. Times change and for all the unpleasantness of a police state, there was a lower level of street crime before freedom returned.

This is so sad and degrading - for the volunteers and ultimately for the recipients. The pillars of our civilization have been terribly damaged.

I find myself more careful with every passing year where I donate money, time or surplus goods.

Ugh. I’ve not run into that with SA, but the ‘contagion’ is getting harder to avoid. I like Samaritan’s Purse as well.

"I’m looking for a place to send some money that is feeding the first responders and the linemen."

The Salvation Army has sent canteen trucks to feed people in Fort Myers. I don't know how much goes to first responders vs residents. I'm with you not trusting many of the big charities, but the Salvation Army keeps its admin costs really low and has a long history of disaster assistance on a global level.

Our family has long supported them. When my parents arrived as refugees in New York Harbor on a cold November day in 1950, the Salvation Army was there with hot coffee to greet them. It was their first cup of coffee in America, delivered free of charge. My parents never forgot how they were welcomed to the new world where they were starting over with nothing.