These are too many words to describe a gut feeling, but you should never ignore your gut:

I’ve moved back to Seattle, where I grew up, where my family is, so I knew there would be more invitations to social events, which I hate. Expected I’d usually say no, and expected they’d insist, and that’s what’s been happening. Overall, it’s working out OK.

The big surprise is baseball. It’s always been fun to sit in the cheap seats and watch a ball game, and back in the old days I attended Mariners games with friends, with my brothers, sometimes by myself.

When I came back to Seattle this spring, I thought I’d be going to baseball games again, But while I was gone, they tore down the shitty old stadium (Kingdome) and spent many millions of taxpayer dollars replacing it with two new stadiums, one for baseball and one for football. I’ve been to the new baseball place twice, and maybe it’s an improvement, but it sure is expensive, and it sure is loud, and security has been tightened, a lot.

Walking several blocks from the bus stop to the ball park, you can hear a recording of the stadium’s security rules, broadcast over the public address. It’s a long list of rules, all read without a sense of humor, about the many things you’re not allowed to bring and not allowed to do. It’s not quite the warden’s speech for new inmates in a prison movie, but it’s a long ways from “Take Me Out to the Ball Park.”

After the list comes a few minutes of (relative) quiet time — ads and rock’n’roll over the public address system — and then the announcement repeats. And I’m still not actually at the ball park. Both games I’ve gone to, the “You’re not allowed” announcements gave me a headache before I got to the stadium. I pity the fools who live or work near the park, and hear that announcement on a loop before every game.

When you reach the gates, you’re met with airport-level security. You’re going to walk through a metal detector, and they’re going to wand you or pat you down if they feel like it. If you brought a bag, it’s required to be smaller than such-and-such dimensions, and it’s required to be transparent, so the guards can see everything inside. If you’re not feeling intimidated enough, the guards are talking with their superiors on walkie-talkies, a lot.

I like baseball, but I like freedom more, and believe people should be left free to mind their own matters whenever plausible, so all the security dampens my mood. Telling an old lady that her purse is too big, that she must take the purse back to her car, doesn’t make the ball park safer. It only makes the ball park frustrating, for that old lady… and for me.

All this security is necessary, because mass murder with automatic weapons is America’s most cherished value, so someday soon an NRA nut will open fire at a pro baseball game. Major League Baseball is smart to have its security procedures, and intellectually, I don’t object.

But the security saps about 1/3 of the pleasure out of going to a game, so I’ve decided there’ll be no more baseball for me.

And now, the news you need, whether you know it or not… 

♦ ♦ ♦  

US Supreme Court rules against EPA and hobbles government power to limit harmful emissions 

Idiotic.

♦ ♦ ♦   

What happened at the Stonewall riots? A timeline of the 1969 uprising 

♦ ♦ ♦  

Corporations that helped overturn Roe v. Wade include Coca-Cola, General Motors, Comcast, Walmart and Amazon 

♦ ♦ ♦   

The Gospel of Bull Durham, according to Ron Shelton 

♦ ♦ ♦  

Are little creatures in cat poop controlling our minds? 

♦ ♦ ♦   

Wisconsin: Republican Supreme Court says Republican can remain in office long after his term in office expired 

♦ ♦ ♦   

1950s warrant for the arrest of Emmett Till’s false accuser found 

♦ ♦ ♦   

U.S. companies don’t much want to talk about abortion data collection and protection 

♦ ♦ ♦   

One-word newscast, because it’s the same news every time…
• climate • climate
• cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops
• Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans

♦ ♦ ♦

The End

• Margaret Keane
• Dom Phillips
• Clela Rorex 

6/30/2022

Cranky Old Fart is annoyed and complains and very occasionally offers a kindness, along with anything off the internet that’s made me smile or
snarl. All opinions fresh from my ass. Top illustration by Jeff Meyer. Click any image to enlarge. Comments & conversations invited.

Tip ‘o the hat to Linden Arden, ye olde AVA, BoingBoing, Breakfast at Ralf’s, Captain Hampockets, CaptCreate’s Log, John the Basket, LiarTownUSA, Meme City, National Zero, Ran Prieur, Voenix Rising, and anyone else whose work I’ve stolen without saying thanks.

Extra special thanks to Becky Jo, Name Withheld, Dave S, Wynn Bruce, and always Stephanie…

Cranky Old Fart

itsdougholland.com
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