Donald Trump.

The news article shown says that "Sarah Huckabee Sanders will reportedly receive additional Secret Service protection at her home.". In journalism speak it is normal to use the word 'reportedly' to mean uncorroborated. So whether she is getting extra security is, possibly, debateable and who is she 'reportedly' getting the security against? Is she being physically attacked by the media?

Also, Trump's tweet is interesting. He says that the restaurant that refused to serve her (which is their right to do so) "should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders".

This brings up a number of questions in my mind. When did Trump go to this tiny restaurant in this very small historic town (population well under 10,000)? Did he really go there and remark upon the canopies, doors, windows and paintwork? Or is he just making it up? I would guess that he has never been there and would, almost certainly, never have driven past it. If, by some miracle, he had driven passed it I can't see him having even looked at it or been able to see the condition of it. Therefore he is just running a smear campaign for political gain.

I have little confidence in the veracity of his tweets because they have so often been shown to be false and to contradict what we have seen and heard him say during his speeches.

Has anyone bothered to look at the restaurant? The press obviously haven't and, in my opinion, neither has Trump. Both are at fault here. If I was running a newspaper I would have immediately sent someone to photograph the outside of the restaurant to check on his statement before just quoting him. Fortunately, Google have already done so and their photos, taken last year, show his comments to be a total fabrication. The outside of the place is clean and is well painted.

Journalism is going to the dogs nowadays! One of the major things we were taught in journalism courses was to 'check your facts and then check them again'. There is no report that I can find of anyone having done so.

 

Plastic - Grrr!!! I dislike the indiscriminate use of it but we can't get away from it.

Straws:- do we really need them? I can't remember the last time I used a straw (over 60 years ago). If people want to drink through a type of pipe then they should carry their own - as most people in Argentina and Uruguay do for drinking their 'yerba mate' (herbal tea used socially as a drink when first meeting - alcohol comes later ). They now use mainly stainless steel


I agree that it seems highly unlikely that California will prosecute anyone for using a plastic straw but it's certainly brought the topic into the news - which can only be a good thing.

We've done well, so far, with reducing the use of plastic bags but it really needs to be extended to packaging.

 

Quite profound.

 

That's amazing @Jiffy, you put me to shame - I don't know how you can recycle so much.

 

Is this happening in the UK @Kandy? I've never noticed it. Got to say it does seem pretty pointless. What I don't understand is all the joggers carrying a plastic water bottle, can't they last a few minutes without a drink?

 

.. and why do people buy bottled water anyway ? Another waste of money and bad for the environment with the plastic packaging.

 

Although I agree with you there is another dimension here. The water that comes out of our taps at home is so highly chlorinated that you can not only smell it but taste it. We've (neighbours etc.) have had the water authorities in a number of times over the years to test the water. Each time it has tested to the limit of chlorine that's allowed. The person doing the testing said that although it's within legal limits he wouldn't drink the water straight from the tap.

There are a number of solutions to this, apart from reducing the chlorine, and we have what we think is the best. We have twin filter taps. One is a charcoal filter that filters out the chemicals and the chlorine. The other is a resin filter that filters the hard water for use in cooking and kettles. It's just a twin tap system on our kitchen sink and is just a matter of turning the right (or left ) tap. The filters need changing about every six months and together cost about £30.

Another method is a jug filter but it doesn't filter for hard water.

The third method is to just put some water into open bottles or containers (the wider the surface area, the better). The chlorine gas will gradually dissipate but there's no need to let it stand for ages. It can take up to 24 hours to dissipate but you're only after letting the excess dissipate. So a couple of hours should be sufficient.

Boiling also removes the chlorine.

Chlorinated water is not harmful to plants. Fluoride in water doesn't dissipate if left in the open.

 

We must be lucky here as our tap water is lovely - straight from the Thames I think