Morning Update: 06/27/24

You can all wake up now! I’m back home, safe and somewhat rested. Yesterday, my dear friend Jennifer and her daughter Ali picked me up from my whining existence and whisked me away to Indiana Dunes National Park where we took pictures of birds, spiders, lizards, and a whole bunch of seagulls! It was a long day driving up there and back, walking through all the sand in moderate heat but oppressive humidity, but it was still a lot of fun. I’ll share my pictures as soon as I can buy a new card reader because I forgot that the one I’d been using is on the other computer.

Yeah, I’m still waiting on that new debit card. I have the PIN. That arrived in yesterday’s mail. But the card itself has yet to make an appearance. We’re hoping that it shows up today because the list of things we’re needing is beginning to breach the limits of the funds I have left for the month, and we’re still two weeks away from the next check.

I noticed that not many people availed themselves of the video treat we left for you yesterday. I kind of understand, given the video’s length. An hour can be a long time. I still hope that more of you will take a look and listen carefully to what they have to say. They really are more intelligent than you and I.

Not everyone is more intelligent, though. They might like to think they are, but their actions tend to prove them wrong. At the top of that list this morning is the Bimbo Bakeries of America. You see, Bimbo, which is a Mexico City-headquartered company, has bakeries all over the place. You may know them for brands such as Sara Lee and Entemann’s. When one has so many locations and product parts may move from one plant to another, cross-contamination becomes an issue that is difficult to manage, especially regarding potential allergens. After the FDA increased the number of potential allergens that have to be listed on wrappers, the folks at Bimbo decided, “Fuck it, we’ll just list the allergens anyway, even if they don’t exist, just to cover ourselves.” Yeah, that strategy doesn’t fly. The FDA has now warned Bimbo to stop listing food allergens that don’t exist. Strong fines come next if the bakery company doesn’t comply. Meanwhile, watch what you’re putting in your mouth.

And as if the summer heat wasn’t troubling enough, over 60 ice cream products have been recalled due to a potential listeria problem. The biggest brand name on the list is Hershey, but it doesn’t apply to all Hershey ice cream products. Click the link to see the full list of affected products.

As we were traveling between Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park, which are two separate but connected parts of the same Lake Michigan coastline, we passed through the town of Portage, IN. Why is that worth mentioning? Because yesterday, your Supreme Court decided that federal corruption laws don’t apply in Portage and that it’s perfectly okay that Portage’s former mayor profited personally from city contracts given to a trucking company. Not surprisingly, the 6-3 decision was dominated by conservative justices with the decision written by “it’s not fair” Associate Justice Brett Cavanaugh. Interesting how justice and the Supreme Court rarely go hand-in-hand.

Interestingly connected, though, 7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality according to an AP-NORC poll. They’re probably not wrong. Even the nation’s highest court is a product of its environment. We probably need to consider how justices are appointed, but we both know that both parties are too power-hungry for that to happen in our lifetimes.

We had stopped on our way home for a quick bite to eat when Jenn got an alert on her phone saying that the voice actor who speaks for Marge Simpson had died. We both immediately thought that the article referred to Julie Kavner, who does the voice for the original show. Turns out, it was Nancy MacKenzie, who voiced the same role for Latin American versions of the program who passed. It was an honest mistake. There were several headlines that simply read, “Marge Simpson voice actor dies.” The error did raise an interesting question, though. When a voice actor dies, do producers re-cast the role, kill off the character, or use AI to continue using the same voice? We see some ethics issues at play there, but we aren’t sure what all the legalities might entail.

I’m not sure what might happen with the rest of the day. I know the rest of the lawn needs to be mowed but we have a heavy dew this morning. The question there becomes can the kids be motivated to get the job done before it gets too warm? I’m not sure. I may need to go back to bed. That involves getting the dogs to scoot over, though, and I’m not sure I have the energy.

I will say that life is much better when we spend the time with friends. Thanks, Jenn, for including me in yesterday’s trip!