I’ve had a bad case of insomnia the past two nights so I’m not sure if I can be as coherent as usual. I can, however, still complain about irksome things. I’m as irked as Dirk Bogarde in the featured image from Harold Pinter’s The Servant. Another day, another pun. Back to irk.

I might as well bite the bullet and use bullet points:

• I’m irked that the same people who complained about Justice Breyer not retiring in the fall of 2021 are complaining about his retiring at the end of this term. Breyer has had a long and distinguished career, which should be celebrated, not kvetched about. NPR’s Nina Totenberg has an excellent retrospective of Breyer’s career.
• I’m irked by those who think Mitch McConnell is some sort of wizard who can thwart a Biden SCOTUS nomination. He’s minority leader, the filibuster does not apply, and both the Sinematic Senator and the Man of La Manchin have voted for every Biden judicial nomination. I’m also irked that I have to mention those two irksome jerks.
• I’m irked that every current Supreme attended either Harvard or Yale law schools. The same is true for all of the Biden short list except for Judge Michelle Childs who went to the University of South Carolina law school. Yale and Harvard aren’t the only two good law schools in the land. How about some legal education diversity?
• I’m irked that only judges are ever considered for SCOTUS. Some of the most distinguished justices had more varied backgrounds. Hell, Robert Jackson didn’t even attend law school and he was one of the greats. I could go on and on but I won’t.
• I’m irked that the moralists among the baseball writers only elected David Ortiz to the Hall of Fame. Big Papi had some PED issues, but they didn’t disqualify him as they did Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
• I’m irked that Joe Manchin is complaining about the White House staff being mean to him. If you can’t take a punch, get out of the ring. Schmuck.
• I’m irked that New Orleans politicians are recycling the same failed methods to deal with an uptick in crime. Try something new, y’all.
• I’m irked at those who think the real world should never intrude on Carnival. It has before and it will again. Shallow people gotta shallow.
• I’m just irked.

Now that I’ve kvetched, I’d like to kvell over two swell articles at The Atlantic. Shorter Adrastos, I recommend both pieces:

The Anti-vaccine Right Literally Brought Human Sacrifice To America by Kurt Andersen. He’s the guy who came up with Separated at Birth, I’m the guy who stole it from him.

America Is Not On The Brink Of Civil War by Fintan O’Toole. He knows from Civil Wars as he lived through The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Whatever we’re having is something else and using the term Civil War is playing into the hands of those on the far right who want one.

My irk is done.

The last word goes to Neil Young who is so irked that Joe Rogan is spreading lies on Spotify that he’s pulled his music from that platform.

Irk on, Neil.