Political hypocrisy, ‘mistress’ is now sexist, soon-to-be-familiar observations in the obits

I wrote earlier this week about the misdirected angst over Georgia’s new voting law. Some of you disagreed and said the aim was not election integrity but a political power grab.

And you know what? There is some truth in that.

And you know what else? Democrats and Republicans are always jockeying for power.

Case in point: Despite President Joe Biden saying during the campaign that he was “not a fan” of packing the Supreme Court, the Democrats are trying to strong-arm legislation to add four more SCOTUS seats so they can redirect the view of the highest court in the land.

I wish I were surprised. I also wish the Dems could spot their own hypocrisy.

The only thing that could be more comical than their double talk would be if the new judges were Judge Judy, Judge Wapner, Aaron Judge and Judge Reinhold.

BEE SAFE OUT THERE

Which is scarier for you, bees or spiders?

If you said the former, imagine being the unidentified man who left a grocery store in Las Cruces, New Mexico, last month to discover that roughly 15,000 honeybees had taken over the back seat of a car he borrowed.

The New York Times reported the man called 911, and he was fortunate to get firefighter Jesse Johnson, 37, who was off-duty but responded anyway. And Johnson keeps bees as a hobby.

Johnson arrived with an empty hive box that he had covered with lemongrass oil and lured the swarm out of the car.

“I’ll do anything to keep people from killing bees,” Johnson said.

WHAT’S IN A WORD

Wowser, the word “mistress” is sexist, according to The Associated Press. Seriously.

In fact, upon more review, the AP changed its style last year apparently, but the news agency is trying to make it stick this time around.

The AP suggested on Twitter to “use an alternative like companion, friend or lover on first reference and provide details later.”

OK, if we can’t use mistress for a lying, cheating, adulteress, what is acceptable?

How about dirtbag? Dirtbag is gender neutral, right? NCAA, can I get a ruling here?

OBIT OBSERVATION

Much was made about the Friday burial of Medal of Honor recipient, American hero and Chattanooga legend Charles Coolidge. Rightly and deservedly so.

But today’s observation from the obituary pages is going to be the first of what likely will be many variations of, for a lack of a better phrase, death re-announcements.

About 13 months ago, local real estate agent and a renowned member of the area women’s golf circles, Carol Massey, died. Because of the COVID pandemic, the family was unable to gather.

So, this week, the short announcement in the pages of the TFP read: “We are so grateful to now have the ability to gather with all those dear to Carol Henry Massey. Ms. Massey passed away last year amongst COVID-19 restrictions. We invite you to a celebration of the life she lived to the fullest on Saturday, April 17th at 11:00AM at St. Thaddaeus’ Episcopal Church. Bring your precious stories and memories to share. We will provide refreshments.”

Rest easy, Carol. And for her family and friends, remember her fondly and know it’s never too late to celebrate a loved one’s life.