Iowa! Starting with the Rs, turnout was very strong, and that may be the big takeaway from Cornville. Republicans showed up, and they showed up in a voting system which makes showing up difficult. No mail-in ballots, or a quick stop at the neighborhood school on the way to work. Amy Davidson provided a fine set of thoughts for the New Yorker in Ted Cruz Wins Iowa, Trump Loses – For Now. From BBC News, here’s Donald Trump Wants Iowa Rematch, Accusing Cruz of “Fraud”. Nothing about the Donald is dull, although Ryan Lizza’s piece for the New Yorker, Ted Cruz’s Iowa Mailer’s Are More Fraudulent Than Everyone Thinks, should remind everyone that Senator Ted Cruz is one piece of evil on two feet.)
For the Ds, John Cassidy—also for the New Yorker—offers up Bernie Sanders Just Changed the Democratic Party. I don’t think so, but I take his point, and the point made by Frank Bruni for the New York Times in Hillary Clinton’s Dutiful Slog. Bernie talks about the future, and to young people, looking for a future brighter than the reality they see every day. Hillary and the future pass like ships in the night. Talking about your own experiences—hers are exceptional, and do make her the most qualified candidate, by far—speaks to the past, inherently, and that plodding, pedantic, irritating style helps her not at all.
Not that it will matter much to anyone in a place—America—where the best among us are too responsible for climate change, but there’s a developing climate change disaster in Zambia / Zimbabwe. Details and more are found in One of Africa’s Biggest Dams Is Falling Apart by Jacques Leslie for the New Yorker.
On Tuesday I caught parts of David Linden: Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR. Fascinating stuff. Listen or, just reach out and touch someone. Good for you, and for them, if done properly.
Lately I’ve been enjoying the food at Harvest, a Tucson restaurant which moved into recently vacated space at River and Craycroft. Here’s my tuna salad and fries.
Also fine for a salad and fries—with sweet potato fries available—are Pastiche and Trident. [Note: Each establishment makes a fine martini.]