Cryptoquote Solved – 11/08/22

“The cure for anything is salt water:  sweat, tears or the sea.”   —   Isak Dinesen

(Our second pen named author in a row!  Will this trend continue?  I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.  It kind of pairs well with today’s Jumble though!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

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Jumble Solved – 11/08/22

Visual Description:  The knotty novice.

DESEY  =  SEEDY,  NOGGI  =  GOING,  RULPAL  =  PLURAL,  GUCARO  =  COUGAR   —   Giving us:  SEEONPLRAR

Clue/Question:  The sailboat’s newest crew member was inexperienced and needed to – – –

Answer:  LEARN THE ROPES

(A fine stinky pun!  We’ve all been there.  Maybe not on a sailboat, but we’ve all had to go through on the job training at some point in our lives.  Higher education is always valuable, but hands on experience brings it all into focus.  As long as you understand what you are doing, and not just doing what you’re told to do, you grow.  Knowledge and experience go hand in hand.

All four of today’s clue words are old salts.  They’ve had their sea legs for quite some time.  Three of the jumbles appear to be raw recruits, but “noggi” has cruised previous Jumble voyages.  No Gordian knots today though!  The answer letter layout was a trim ten letter jumble.  As mysterious as the sea itself!  The clue/question set it up very nicely, and there were a lot of visual clues in the cartoon.

Great cartoon of the sailing ship, the captain and some of his crew.  There are ropes in the captain’s hands, around and hanging from the mast, and around and hanging from the yardarm.  I liked the one crew member up on the yardarm, and of course the classic sinking sailboat on the horizon.  It’s been a while since Jeff has given us one of those.  Pretty easy Jumble, but fun.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

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Marjorie Taylor Greene is Dangerous

(A little over a month ago MTG stated to a crowd at a Trump PAC Save America rally:  “Democrats want Republicans dead and they have already started the killings.”   It’s bad enough that the level of vitriol is poisoning American civility, but resorting to blatant scare tactics is just playing on man’s basest emotion:  FEAR.  And, unfortunately, it’s not just her.  In New York, Lee Zeldin’s campaign ads state:  “Vote like your life depend on it . . . because it does!”

Zeldin’s scare tactic is geared towards those who the corporate media have convinced that crime has gotten out of hand.  The media, as a whole, is neither “liberal” nor “conservative”.  They are driven by just one thing:  PROFIT.  What generates these profits is ratings, as they all adhere to the old media mantra:  If it bleeds, it leads.  He’s taking advantage of what is largely a misperception of the facts.  Bottom line, some crimes are up, but others are actually down.  But when you turn on the news it can seem like we’re all going to Hell in the proverbial hand-basket!  Unless you are personally experiencing – or witnessing – crime you need to be cognizant of what these news reports are trying to do . . . get your attention, and elicit raw emotions.  Experts have attributed rises in certain crimes to the pandemic, and the resulting economic fallout.  Namely inflation, the downturn in the financial markets, and rising fuel prices.  These are global issues.  They’re NOT just happening in the U.S.  Regardless of whether you want to believe anything that I am pointing out, we should not be guided by fear.  We should be guided by our principles.

But getting back to MTG, and her even more blatant, and divisive assertions, do you really believe that Democrats want Republicans dead???  By now, you must know that I’m a Democrat.  And, not just a Democrat, but an actual liberal Democrat.  I say “actual” because so much of the political rhetoric has it that EVERY Democrat in office is an “extreme liberal”.  This is totally ridiculous, as the vast majority of Democrats in office are actually moderate Democrats.  There is a small group known as “The Squad” who are very liberal, but their influence is minimal.  They’re the exceptions, not the rule.  But I grew up in a highly Republican enclave where Democrats were in the minority.  Probably a good 70% of the people I grew up with are registered Republicans.  Many/most of my friends from work are Republican.  And a good number of my family members are Republicans.  Do you actually think that I would wish death – or any harm – on friends and loved ones?  I have protested the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, I have attended Occupy Wall Street rallies, I continue to support BLM and BDS because I see them as issues to correct glaring injustices.  I’m a friggin’ “tree-hugger”.  A “snowflake”, as some like to call me.  Yes, I am a reflection of all Democrats.  We want what everyone, pretty much everywhere, wants.  Just to get along in a peaceful, civil and just society.

Don’t give in to the ugly hype, folks.  We can all get along, as we have for generations.  We can agree to disagree on certain issues without being disagreeable.  We are all Americans.  We should be guided by the words of Voltaire, as interpreted by Evelyn Beatrice Hall:  “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”  And, also by FDR’s:  “The only thing we have to fear . . . is fear itself.”  Now, go out there and bravely exercise your right – and privilege – as American citizens, and VOTE!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR 

Image courtesy of Google