As Seen on TV

RIP NYC-born TV mainstay Ron Popeil, 86, an American original. His fortune is estimated at $200 million. He had droves of fans who called themselves “the Rontourage.” He was lampooned by Dan Aykroyd on SNL in 1976. The skit had Aykroyd hawking the “Bat-O-Matic.” Popeil appeared on The X-Files, King of the Hill, The Simpsons, Old School and numerous talk shows. Well done, sir. (Various sources)

From Yahoo Sports, edited by yours truly: Buffalo Bills WR Cole Beasley issued a clever statement yesterday: “I’m not anti- or pro-vax — I’m pro-choice…” Kudos.

Headline from foxnews.com: “WH dodges question on why vaccinated must mask up while infected migrants released into towns.”

Here’s another from FN: “U.S. Surgeon General suggests vaccinated people wear masks outdoors as an ‘extra step’ to protect unvaccinated.” Does anyone have any confidence in what government officials are saying about Covid? Or, for that matter, anything else? Sheesh!

According to an article at FN by Sam Dorman, another American city has reached a grim milestone. In Austin, Texas the number of homicides in 2021 had already reached that of 2020. Last year the city council reduced the police department’s budget by one-third.

Yesterday, in an interview with Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly said only 30% of blacks have been vaccinated, a story the mainstream media will not report. He also claims the same percentage of right-wingers haven’t been vaxxed. Today Mark Simone said the number is 22% regarding blacks. NYC pseudo-mayor Bill deBlasio is now offering $100 to those who get the first shot. Quid Pro Joe is calling for the same. I suggest he finance it from the billions he has taken in through influence peddling. He should make Hunter kick in some cash too.

Somehow the rain held off except for the sparsest of sprinkles, allowing a full session of the floating book shop. My thanks to the woman who bought two books in Russian, and to the Latino gentleman who rolled up on his bike and purchased five DVDs.

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