I get the print Sun-Times daily and Sunday (because daily does not include Sunday, I guess), and the delivery service also includes the print Sunday Tribune for reasons I don't know. I didn't ask for it, don't pay for it, and usually don't even take it out of the wrapper.
When I do a vacation stop, the Tribune stops as well, so that's good, anyway.
I am sharing here because my friends typically don't care about this picayune note, but here ... well ...
I appreciate the digital Tribune, although it's a shadow of what it used to be. I hate dealing with the subscription department. (I feel sorry for the staff in that department.) The last call started with my canceling a rate changed to $16 a month. After a couple of lower rate offers I refused, I finally accepted a $2 a month rate for 6 months, if I paid the $12 total. Ridiculous nonsense. If their goal is gaining subscribers, offer everyone a low fixed rate through an easy online subscription webpage.
To those who espouse the view that God has a plan for us all, I ask might he or (God forbid) she might be too busy conducting the War in Ukraine (Can’t be involved in Yemen, no Christians) to be worried about whether Leo beats Mt. Carmel on Friday night?
Good point on voting. I just got back from walking over to the polling place. I usually take a Dem ballot, since the primary is the election in Cook County. But I decided to go with the Rep ballot so that I could vote for the least Trumpy Republicans. Plenty of Dems I wanted to vote against too. I haven't been 'for' someone in a while. But gotta do what I can.
I liked your DeSantis comments. I am confident (hopeful?) that many of the independents and centrist Republicans are done with Trump. I also think that the Jan 6 hearings have helped and will influence many. It has been particularly effective that the witnesses have been Republicans and that they have been so frank and blunt. They have done no hedging and show no doubt. I also think the fake electors and some of the Proud Boy types have helped by saying that they were duped and used by Trump and then kicked to the curb. Finally, I don't think that anyone is fooled when Trump endorses a candidate that is already projected to win, especially when he pulls his endorsement for someone else at the same time. Money should be harder to come by. We will only be rid of him when people stop talking about him.
What bothers me most is the abuse. I was paying $64 every 8 weeks for All-Digital with Sunday delivery. I timed my cancellation call to occur just before the end of the billing cycle. When I called, however, I was told, "Oh! your subscription was JUST renewed! We'll make the cancellation effective at the end of the billing period. I was persuaded to try "digital only" for a trial period: $6.99 for 6 months. (I'm still on that trial subscription).
My big surprise came when I got my credit card statement 2 weeks later.
GUESS when I was billed for that final subscription cycle? The exact same day as my call!
It was renewed EARLY; I still had 1 delivery to go on the prior billing cycle.
AND I was charged $72 for my final 2 months of All-digital and Sunday delivery.
This reads like the book "Disappointment With God" which is an important read for those who feel that God is in charge and things happen because (S)He is. Many of us believe that God is always available for comfort and guidance, but the rest is up to us. That feels so harsh when a child dies or there is murder, mayhem, disease and violence of every kind. But life is up to us, and how we deal with it says a lot. Sorry if this is small comfort to many as I do care greatly for all of humankind and will help wherever I can. But the God of the Old Testament - who actually made things happen that people could see - no longer acts this way. He sent Jesus to show us how to believe and behave, and we just need to do our best.
Re your 1998 column on the Passover seder: I think you may have actually caused a change in how Passover is observed, for the better! I base this only on my own anecdotal experience. Before 1998, I don't recall the inclusion of recognition in any seder of the Egyptians' suffering. But sometime in the early 21st century, the seders at my temple and the ones in my family all began recognizing and sorrowing for this. And modern Haggadahs began to incorporate this empathy, in print. Credit where credit is due! (Who knows? Maybe!)
Oh, I doubt that. The Seder we go to every year always includes a moment of regret at the suffering of the Egyptians under the plagues, though there is general recognition in this crowd that the events didn't REALLY happen and that the Passover story is allegorical/mythical, so it's not necessary to hang crepe over it.
I remember "Coffee, Tea or me" from my youth. But the first "adult" book that intrigued me was "The Harrad Experiment" by Robert Rimmer. It was set at a coed college not unlike Harvard but sex was permissible and somewhat encouraged. It was pretty racy stuff for a teenager to read in the 1970s.
So, it seems like I have to start every comment with a disclaimer saying I'm not a Trump fan, but....
A couple of things about the January 6th hearing...
1) "I heard he tried to grab the steering wheel." The definition of hearsay, which would not be accepted in any criminal trial.
2) If you were president and your security detail disobeyed a direct order, how would you react? I would be livid. It has to bring up the questions of who is free to disregard presidential orders and what are the consequences? They've been raised before, especially during the Nixon administration, but haven't been answered satisfactorily.
I believe that she truthfully related what she told but I take your point about hearsay. The committee chair probably should have interrupted her to underscore that she was not a first-hand witness to this alleged event, but that those who WERE are more than welcome to come give their version of events under oath.
Not doing so was a mistake because the dispute about wheel-grabbing has been a distraction from the main point, which no one seems to dispute, which is that Trump badly wanted to join the marchers/mob at the Capitol. I have no idea what the protocol is regarding Secret Service directives.
Re: Tribune subscription costs.
I get the print Sun-Times daily and Sunday (because daily does not include Sunday, I guess), and the delivery service also includes the print Sunday Tribune for reasons I don't know. I didn't ask for it, don't pay for it, and usually don't even take it out of the wrapper.
When I do a vacation stop, the Tribune stops as well, so that's good, anyway.
I am sharing here because my friends typically don't care about this picayune note, but here ... well ...
Re: Tribune subscriptions
I appreciate the digital Tribune, although it's a shadow of what it used to be. I hate dealing with the subscription department. (I feel sorry for the staff in that department.) The last call started with my canceling a rate changed to $16 a month. After a couple of lower rate offers I refused, I finally accepted a $2 a month rate for 6 months, if I paid the $12 total. Ridiculous nonsense. If their goal is gaining subscribers, offer everyone a low fixed rate through an easy online subscription webpage.
To those who espouse the view that God has a plan for us all, I ask might he or (God forbid) she might be too busy conducting the War in Ukraine (Can’t be involved in Yemen, no Christians) to be worried about whether Leo beats Mt. Carmel on Friday night?
Good point on voting. I just got back from walking over to the polling place. I usually take a Dem ballot, since the primary is the election in Cook County. But I decided to go with the Rep ballot so that I could vote for the least Trumpy Republicans. Plenty of Dems I wanted to vote against too. I haven't been 'for' someone in a while. But gotta do what I can.
I liked your DeSantis comments. I am confident (hopeful?) that many of the independents and centrist Republicans are done with Trump. I also think that the Jan 6 hearings have helped and will influence many. It has been particularly effective that the witnesses have been Republicans and that they have been so frank and blunt. They have done no hedging and show no doubt. I also think the fake electors and some of the Proud Boy types have helped by saying that they were duped and used by Trump and then kicked to the curb. Finally, I don't think that anyone is fooled when Trump endorses a candidate that is already projected to win, especially when he pulls his endorsement for someone else at the same time. Money should be harder to come by. We will only be rid of him when people stop talking about him.
Re: Tribune Deceit.
What bothers me most is the abuse. I was paying $64 every 8 weeks for All-Digital with Sunday delivery. I timed my cancellation call to occur just before the end of the billing cycle. When I called, however, I was told, "Oh! your subscription was JUST renewed! We'll make the cancellation effective at the end of the billing period. I was persuaded to try "digital only" for a trial period: $6.99 for 6 months. (I'm still on that trial subscription).
My big surprise came when I got my credit card statement 2 weeks later.
GUESS when I was billed for that final subscription cycle? The exact same day as my call!
It was renewed EARLY; I still had 1 delivery to go on the prior billing cycle.
AND I was charged $72 for my final 2 months of All-digital and Sunday delivery.
The deceit felt deliberate.
Same thing happened to me. They're evil scum. (Too strong?)
This reads like the book "Disappointment With God" which is an important read for those who feel that God is in charge and things happen because (S)He is. Many of us believe that God is always available for comfort and guidance, but the rest is up to us. That feels so harsh when a child dies or there is murder, mayhem, disease and violence of every kind. But life is up to us, and how we deal with it says a lot. Sorry if this is small comfort to many as I do care greatly for all of humankind and will help wherever I can. But the God of the Old Testament - who actually made things happen that people could see - no longer acts this way. He sent Jesus to show us how to believe and behave, and we just need to do our best.
Re your 1998 column on the Passover seder: I think you may have actually caused a change in how Passover is observed, for the better! I base this only on my own anecdotal experience. Before 1998, I don't recall the inclusion of recognition in any seder of the Egyptians' suffering. But sometime in the early 21st century, the seders at my temple and the ones in my family all began recognizing and sorrowing for this. And modern Haggadahs began to incorporate this empathy, in print. Credit where credit is due! (Who knows? Maybe!)
Oh, I doubt that. The Seder we go to every year always includes a moment of regret at the suffering of the Egyptians under the plagues, though there is general recognition in this crowd that the events didn't REALLY happen and that the Passover story is allegorical/mythical, so it's not necessary to hang crepe over it.
I remember "Coffee, Tea or me" from my youth. But the first "adult" book that intrigued me was "The Harrad Experiment" by Robert Rimmer. It was set at a coed college not unlike Harvard but sex was permissible and somewhat encouraged. It was pretty racy stuff for a teenager to read in the 1970s.
So, it seems like I have to start every comment with a disclaimer saying I'm not a Trump fan, but....
A couple of things about the January 6th hearing...
1) "I heard he tried to grab the steering wheel." The definition of hearsay, which would not be accepted in any criminal trial.
2) If you were president and your security detail disobeyed a direct order, how would you react? I would be livid. It has to bring up the questions of who is free to disregard presidential orders and what are the consequences? They've been raised before, especially during the Nixon administration, but haven't been answered satisfactorily.
I believe that she truthfully related what she told but I take your point about hearsay. The committee chair probably should have interrupted her to underscore that she was not a first-hand witness to this alleged event, but that those who WERE are more than welcome to come give their version of events under oath.
Not doing so was a mistake because the dispute about wheel-grabbing has been a distraction from the main point, which no one seems to dispute, which is that Trump badly wanted to join the marchers/mob at the Capitol. I have no idea what the protocol is regarding Secret Service directives.