There was a short list of decisions to look for the US Supreme Court to make before the end of June. Earlier this week they decided the New York law making concealed carry permits virtually impossible to obtain was unconstitutional. This does not mean that all New Yorkers and their guests can now carry firearms. It does mean they will have to draft legislation and put a policy in place that allows the license process to be fair moving forward. Forbidding anyone to carry is a violation of 2nd amendment rights but it doesn’t throw the door open to everyone being armed in public. The decision came down just yesterday that overturns Roe v. Wade. Both sides need to consider what that decision really means. The Supreme Court has not outlawed abortion, nor can they do so. Their decision is based on an interpretation of the Constitution that does not believe abortion is a protected right for all Americans. It removes the federal government from the issue and makes abortion a state’s rights issue. About half the nation (in terms of the number of states) have laws in place that will almost immediately restrict or eliminate abortion. Those 24 states are where you would expect them to be, in the central and southern parts of the country. States like California and New York will continue to have the most liberal abortion laws in the nation, just as they have for the past 50 years. While I agree that both of these decisions are the right ones, I’ve already heard voices from both sides that exaggerate the implications. The timing is unfortunate on these issues as well, considering how divided our nation is politically at this time. When I wrote Where’s the Middle back in 2008, I was so hopeful things might get better than I couldn’t imagine how much worse they would get instead. Again, to be clear, these are decisions that I believe are right but honestly never expected the Court to make. And if you are celebrating victory please realize that it’s about to get ugly. Hunker down, because far from over the real fight is just about to start.

In other news, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is changing its name to Kraft Mac & Cheese. Look for new package designs by the end of July. More Americans may be shopping for groceries and eating out less in response to the rise in food prices. I know things at the grocery store cost more than just a few months ago but those cost are also being reflected in menu prices, meaning it’s still cheaper to eat at home. Plus a trip to the store allows you to stock up for a few days while eating out is going to mean driving around on 4, 5 or $6 gas. And before anyone says Uber Eats or Doordash, inflation will affect their rates as well. Some have said a whole generation is about to learn why families had backyard gardens and Grandma washed her aluminum foil. It may get first term Ronald Reagan bad but I don’t see it getting 1930’s Great Depression era bad. But a vegetable garden wouldn’t be a bad idea in either case.

Happy Monday strives to be uplifting and encouraging while this picture tells it like it is. Dropping the federal gas tax and opening the reserves may affect the price but only in ways that help keep demand high. What we all need to do is find ways to use less and decrease demand. Families that have been stuck at home for two years appear determined to take that summer vacation or make that raod trip no matter what. Being content with less is just not the American way.

Remember the ’61 Ferrari that Ferris Bueller and friends cavorted around Chicago in? Would you believe it was fake? What you saw in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were actually three 1985 Modena GT Spyder Californias. The cars were built as replica vintage Ferraris in the first place and rebadged for the movie with Ferrari emblems.

Imagine calling 10 applicants in for interviews and only four of them showing up. Now imagine all four candidates that showed up for the interview only to have two of them not even show up on the first day. That the situation in the workplace across the country described in this Wall Street Journal article. (You can read as a guest if you create an account.) Calling out on one’s first day or simply not showing up after the first day or two did not used to be a thing. Employers now are getting used to it. The generation of 18 to 24 year olds entering the labor market for the first time grew up with dating apps that just swipe left or right and they are applying those lessons to the real world. Just a couple of years ago many were asking for a living wage. Now companies literally cannot pay people enough just to come to work.

This is a nene, also known as the Hawaiian goose. Endemic to Hawaii it is also the official state bird. Once facing extinction there are now believed to be as many as 500 living on three of the largest islands.

I clicked my tongue, I clicked my pen, I tried tapping on the link with my fingertip. Nothing worked.

Here’s your optical illusion for the week. While I sometimes refer to my fat sausages not being able to reach into tight places or manipulate tiny objects it was only a figure of speech.

Let’s wrap it up, shall we? No I don’t mean with foil, I mean I think that’s about it for this post. I may have been the last man in America to see Top Gun: Maverick but we did get there on Sunday evening for my Father’s Day outing. Speaking of wrapping up, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a wrap on Disney+. We enjoyed it very much, as well as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds which is still in its first season run on Paramount +. The Atlanta Braves ended their win streak at 14, just like their streak back in 2013. They were able to turn right around though and win 3 out of 4 against San Francisco. I’m on my way to a men’s prayer breakfast shortly so let me leave you with this: