Two steep ascents in Shenandoah National Park – Obesity and airline flights – Lauren Boebert receives Biblical instruction – Biden’s low-key administration – Evening statistics
I went with the Vigorous Hikers on an excursion that involved two of the steeper climbs in Shenandoah National Park: Buck’s Ridge and Sam’s Ridge. The first ascends about 1500 feet in a little under 2¾ miles, while the second goes over 1400 feet in 2¼ miles. It should be added that in both cases the steepest part of the ascent occurs in the first mile; afterwards the grade becomes much less taxing. I was apprehensive about the weather, which was forecast to be over 80 degrees; but, happily, temperatures were cooler in higher elevations and extensive shade. The hike contained no overlooks to speak of, but it did provide an abundance of mountain and forest flora, including one area in which several pink lady-slippers grew close together. I have never seen as many lady-slippers as in this season: the group of pink lady-slippers here and that of yellow lady-slippers on the Dickey Ridge Trail a week and a half ago. During the final descent down the Buck Hollow Trail, I jogged as much as I walked; the path’s angle during the first half made running easier than walking. The hike was about 16 miles in all, and perhaps 3800 feet total of elevation gain.
Airlines may begin to weigh passengers before allowing them to board planes. As the obesity rate in the U.S. increases, there is a legitimate concern as to whether planes will be able to accommodate the aggregate poundage of the passengers booked for a flight. This concept is not new. I remember an occasion when I once took a shuttle flight between Reagan National Airport and Atlantic City to work on an FAA project more than twenty years ago, along with a co-worker on the same project. My colleague and I were both light in build, and for that reason we were sent to the rear of the aircraft, which had room for only 15 passengers and, in consequence, was obliged to place as little weight as possible towards the back end of the plane. The new FAA standards are taking into account the steadily increase in bulk of Americans over the years: airlines are instructed to increase the average weight for female passengers and carry-ons from 145 pounds to 179 pounds in the summer and from 150 pounds to 184 pounds in the winter, while the weight for males with carry-ons will go up from 185 pounds to 200 pounds in the summer and from 190 pounds to 205 pounds in the winter.
Representative Lauren Boebert asked her followers on Twitter to cite their favorite quotation from the Bible, and she was not slow in receiving responses. Perhaps the most pertinent was the one who quoted Psalms 101, verse 7: “He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” – a fairly blatant reference to Trump’s repeated claims that the election was stolen from him. Another imaginative responsive came from a user who quoted the Commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” and juxtaposed it with a photo of the fiberglass statue of Trump featured at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference.
There is considerable contrast between Biden’s presidency and those of his immediate predecessors, Republican and Democratic alike. Staff members of Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump were frequently celebrities in their own right. Mike Donilon, Bruce Reed, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon – all of these are among the most important advisors to the President, but they shun press interviews and their names are barely known to the public. Biden had a disillusioning experience in 1988, when he ran a presidential campaign that resulted in utter failure, due in a large part to his reliance on Patrick Caddell, a celebrity political consultant credited with electing Jimmy Carter to the White House. Biden eventually severed relations with Caddell after a disastrous campaign that included accusations of plagiarism and exaggerations of his academic records. “I got mired in personalities,” he told the press afterwards. “Not my opponents’ but my own political operatives. I never solved the guru problem.” His current approach is simple: no one on his staff is a guru. Paul Begala, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton who himself became a well-known figure after appearing in “The War Room” documentary about the 1992 campaign, described Biden’s approach: “There’s a blue-collar sensibility with Biden and his team. You carry your pail to work, you punch the clock. You just show up every day and do your job.” Biden’s presidency to date is the least personality-driven administration in decades. And after the reality-show aura of Trump’s administration, this development is a most welcome change.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 164,873,674; # of deaths worldwide: 3,417,709; # of cases U.S.: 33,773,707; # of deaths; U.S.: 601,308.