猛暑真夏日

Readers of these pages will recall that I hail from the greatest country ever. That's right: USA, USA, USA. Born in the "Don't mess with" state of Texas, USA. Hooray. As Japan is gripped in a heatwave- who isn't this summer- construction firms and other companies in the country are introducing mitigating measures: shortened working hours, earlier starts, longer breaks. You know, to ensure worker health, safety. Because it's the right thing to do. For business And morally speaking. They're NOT CHRISTIANS here, by the by. But they are in Texas, as those folks love to remind us. Ten Commandments in the classrooms. The point? That benighted state- CHRISTIAN, barbaric, unregenerate (and we won't address LGBT Q)- presided over by a fella with an impairment, and not just moral- (sorry for the lengthy parentheses)- has rolled back protections (as in mandated water breaks)- for those who work on construction sites, etc. Brown people, and Whites who don't matter. Tale of two countries. Tale of CHRISTIAN and non-christian cultures. To paraphrase Baldwin, "If your religion doesn't ennoble... Ditch it."