Editorial: Short takes on evasion, persuasion, gambling and goring – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By the Editorial Board

Ghosting her competitors

Trudy Busch Valentine may be new to politics, but the Democratic candidate for Missouris open Senate seat apparently has already learned one strategic lesson and not an admirable one. Valentine has been dodging efforts to get her on a debate stage with her top primary opponent, Lucas Kunce. Her campaign hasnt responded to repeated invitations.

This is a standard maneuver for candidates who appear to be leading, as Valentine is, because it allows them to avoid direct questioning in forums they dont control while denying their opponents the chance to engage them. But its unfair to the voters and bad for democracy.

Valentine is an heir to the Busch beer fortune, a factor that has some Democrats excited about her prospects for putting up a realistic financial fight against the eventual Republican nominee in a red state. She has already garnered some big endorsements but that doesnt justify political cowardice.

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The debate was to air this Tuesday on KMOV (Channel 4) and partner stations in Jefferson City and Joplin. Organizers still hope to stage a debate before the Aug. 2 primary.

Scales finally fall from Joe Rogans eyes

Podcaster Joe Rogan gained notoriety for spreading outright wrong information about the coronavirus and vaccines. His right-wing messaging so rankled musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell that they delivered an ultimatum to Spotify: either drop Rogan, or well pull our music from the platform. Spotify opted to keep Rogan, its biggest seller, but did urge him to down down the rhetoric.

Boy, did Rogan tone it down.

He stated this week that he would no longer accept offers by ex-President Donald Trump to appear on the show. Hes such a polarizing figure that so many people felt like they could abandon their own ethics and morals and principles just to attack him and anybody who supports him because he is an existential threat to democracy itself, Rogan said.

It was enough to rankle other pro-Trump personalities like former adviser Steve Bannon, who labeled Rogans listeners as low information voters. Funny, but Rogans audience doesnt seem terribly different from the listeners Trump used to love to talk to.

Tasty for all eternity

The newest trend in gravestones is a delicious one: Some families are honoring loved ones by having their favorite family recipes engraved on their stones. The New York Times reports that in cemeteries across the U.S. and in other countries, family recipes mostly desserts are being immortalized alongside birth and death dates. The trend is driven in part by technology that allows more intricate and detailed engraving on the stones than was possible in the past.

Recipes are such a beautiful way of remembering people, one enthusiast of the practice, Allison C. Meier, of Brooklyn, told the newspaper. Youre still following in their footsteps and putting ingredients together the way they did.

There are some hazards to it, though. One monument containing a family fudge recipe called for too much vanilla due to a mistake by the engraver in 2000. A generation of cemetery visitors presumably made the too-runny fudge before the mistake was corrected almost 20 years later, the Times reported.

Phillips 66 gas and illegal gambling dont mix

Its sad when a global corporation does a better job of supporting Missouri law than Missouri lawmakers do. As legislators continue to allow an unlicensed gaming-machine industry to thumb its nose at state gambling statutes, Phillips 66 has publicly condemned the machines and has declared that its gas stations arent allowed to host them.

The thousands of electronic gaming machines at gas stations and bars around the state take in money from players and pay some of it back to lucky winners. This is the dictionary definition of gambling, but the machines owners refuse to submit to state licensing and oversight. They dont pay anything to the state, while drawing gambling dollars away from legitimate casinos that do.

The owners political muscle has thwarted legislative efforts to crack down. But as the Post-Dispatchs Kurt Erickson reports, Phillips 66 isnt playing their game. We expect the operators of these branded stations to abide by local and state laws, a spokesman said in an email. We do not condone illegal gambling or any other illegal activities. What a novel idea.

Next time, bring a zoom lens

The score so far this summer: sharks-4, bison-3, humans-0. Somethings seriously wrong with Team Human. In the last few weeks, according to various reports, there have been multiple interactions between humans and animals to the detriment of the former. Climate change is warming the waters, bringing sharks closer to the shore, believed to be a factor in many attacks. Human vigilance is the only short-term solution there.

But in the case of bison-versus-human attacks, chalk the casualties up to pure stupidity by humans, who frequently ignore signage and warnings from park rangers to keep respectable distances from the animals.

According to the National Park Service, bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Their thrashing tails can be a forewarning of a pending attack. Too many people ignore the signs, thinking they can pose up close for that perfect photo for everyone to admire online.

Additionally, bison can run up to 35 miles per hour, making escape unlikely. The bison are defending their homes, just as humans would do if an intruder tried to come inside their abode. Bison are not a part of some outdoor photo-op petting zoo.

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Editorial: Short takes on evasion, persuasion, gambling and goring - St. Louis Post-Dispatch