What's Up, Doc?

There has been a lot of hot air recently about Jill Biden wanting to be called "doctor". Evidently she has a PhD in Education. It takes a fair amount of effort, dedication and intelligence to earn a PhD. Most people I know outside of academia use those initials after their name and don't want to be confused with a medical doctor. I have known lots of folks with doctorate degrees and most of them don't make a big deal about it. Those that do usually have an ego problem or a Napoleon Complex. So lets think about what she and Joe meant with this directive.

What they meant was that they are better than you and me - much better and we should only address them with awe and reverence using the proper title. This, to me, is typical of the Dems. They believe they are smarter than us, they know what we should do and we should follow their orders without question.

I cannot recall a First Lady with this kind of superiority issue. 

Chinese Infiltration?

 About 10 or 15 years ago I noted an increase in the number of Japanese restaurants. The funny thing was that the owners of these restaurants were Chinese. (and they didn't speak any Japanese) I found that odd but thought that a good way to get a large number of Chinese into the US was to teach a bunch of guys to do the knife tricks you see in a Japanese grill and them claim they need a visa for them as those skills could not be hired locally. It seemed a good way to get a bunch of deep cover agents into the country.

I dismissed my own thoughts as being extreme conspiracy theories but with the recent news about Chinese infiltrations of US politicians, I'm not so sure.

Tax Proposals Fail

 We had an election here last Saturday. Besides a DA runoff, we had 5 millage proposals on the ballot. They were for recreation, levees, medical center, mosquito control and senior services. None of them passed! Faced with future tolls from an unwanted bridge being built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and a recent user fee for mosquito control, the people had had enough of a spendthrift parish council and rejected their taxes.

Across the river, tax proposals in New Orleans also failed. These were for renewals of millages that were due to expire but were re-packaged to cover different stuff. This is what the politicians call "no new taxes" but people aren't that stupid and understand that renewing an expiring tax is still "new". Also, there was a sales tax for the French Quarter that failed. There was controversy about how the money was to be spent. The residents wanted it to go to the police but the mayor wanted half of it to go to an unarmed force of  "quality of life" code enforcers. People rejected it by 67% ! 

Head Count

 Five months and no heads separated by the KSA. Year to date still stands at 15. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? 

Glendronach 12 Year Old

 This was one of my favorite whiskeys over 25 years ago but it is difficult to find and almost impossible to get in a restaurant. I just happened to find a bottle when I went into the ABC store in the Red Neck Riviera. Color me shocked.

The distillery was opened in 1826 and underwent several ownership changes over the years. It was  mothballed in 1996, which probably led to my inability to find it. Luckily for us, they started back up again in 2002. 

Glendronach is a Highland whiskey that is matured in sherry casks. It has a pleasing golden amber color and a sweet nose. As you would expect from the sherry casks, the palate is smooth and velvety. The finish is long and warming.

I highly recommend this little known whiskey. It will be worth the trouble to find.

Deanston 30 Year Old

 This is another case where I received a special whiskey and put it aside for an occasion. By the time I opened it, the cork was dried out and I had to push it into the bottle. So now I strain cork pieces from my drink and I had to find a substitute cork to prevent the angels from getting more than their share.

Deanston is a Highland Whiskey from a distillery that started life as a cotton mill in 1785. For those concerned about energy, in 1949 the mill installed water turbines and now all their electricity is generated by these turbine generators. In 1965, the mill closed its doors but by 1974, it was converted to a distillery.

The 30 year old has a pleasant medium amber color. It is slightly phenolic but that soon dissipates and you are left with a smooth and velvety texture on your palate. The finish is warm and welcoming. 

My advice? Enjoy your whiskey before the cork dries out.

Head Count

 Four months and still no beheadings in the Kingdom of Saud.