Quick Hits, August 2012 edition

Folks, I don’t have much time today, so let’s get to the top stories that I’m keeping an eye on:

First, the shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, WI, obviously concerns me.  (Here’s a link to a comprehensive story by the Christian Science Monitor by way of Yahoo News, in case you haven’t heard about this — even if you have, this is possibly the best story I’ve seen thus far.)  The guy who shot and killed six people while wounding three others, Wade Michael Page, was a white supremacist; that he, too, was eventually shot and killed by the police doesn’t seem like nearly enough of a punishment.

See, the Sikhs are a nonviolent, monotheistic religion.  But people like Page don’t seem to understand more than two things — most Sikhs aren’t white.  And most Sikhs wear turbans, something few white people do as a matter of course.  Those two things outweigh the fact that the Sikhs aren’t looking to cause trouble for anyone, at least in the mind of a white supremacist . . . and it’s sad beyond belief that the latter two things outweighed everything else in Page’s mind.

Otherwise, the Milwaukee Brewers have waived shortstop Cesar Izturis — Izturis has already been claimed by the Washington Nationals, so it doesn’t seem like Izturis is really going to lose out on the deal — and have called up Jean Segura from AA Huntsville.  Segura was hitting over .400 there in eight games, and had stolen four bases; apparently that’s all the Brewers wanted to see before calling Segura up.

It’s clear that the Brewers are in heavy rebuilding mode, which has to be incredibly frustrating for other, long-term Brewers like Corey Hart and Yovani Gallardo.  But maybe admitting that they’re rebuilding will loosen up the 2012 edition of the Brewers; goodness knows, nothing else has worked.

Aside from that, I’m going over AN ELFY ABROAD (the direct sequel to ELFY) and trying to stay cool as the heat really hasn’t lifted in over two solid months.  (Along with the detritus of daily life, which really isn’t any fun to have to deal with, so why write about it?)

That’s about it . . . perhaps tomorrow will bring a full blog subject or two.  (Here’s hoping.)