“These are weird times, politically,” I say in my Impromptus today. That’s hard to deny. My comment was occasioned by the Libertarian Party’s invitation to Donald Trump to address its national convention. So, I have politics in my column — plus policing, Mount Fuji, the Paris Olympics, and many another thing. Try it out, here.

Some mail? My column on Wednesday was headed “The joy of hate, &c.” A reader writes,

A very long time ago my mother told me that she didn’t think I was very good hater. I have always cherished that comment.

He further says,

In 1966, Mad magazine staged a musical called “The Mad Show.” I saw it and purchased the soundtrack. One of the numbers is called “Hate Song”: here.

Very clever. (The composers on this show were Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. The show had several lyricists, including, of course, Sondheim. Mary Rodgers was the daughter of Richard.)

Another reader writes,

You reminded me of a saying that a dear friend taught my family as we all played games together — usually board games or card games. It would come up when someone had the choice of doing something to benefit himself or hurt an opponent.

Our friend has passed away, but we continue to use the saying: “I’d rather be miserable than see you happy.”

And, yes, I usually choose to be miserable . . .

Have a blessed day!

Couple of weeks ago, I had a post titled “Mum’s the Word.” Both parties — almost all political actors — are silent on the national debt, the federal budget deficit, entitlements: our fiscal house in general. And this is an issue of screaming importance.

A reader writes,

I have a very brainy acquaintance who believes this is a made-up issue because we can always print more money. Sounded nuts to me, but apparently this view has a following and a name: “Modern Monetary Theory.” Have you heard of it? Here is a summation from Investopedia:

“Modern Monetary Theory is a macroeconomic model positing that countries that issue their own currencies, such as the U.S., are not constrained in their spending. Proponents of MMT argue that such countries can’t default on the securities they issue, as they can simply print or issue more currency.”

Last month, I had the pleasure of talking with Vernon Smith, the economist, and subsequently writing about him. (That piece is here.) Said Smith, “It is a great temptation to a government to pay its bills by printing money” — a fatal temptation.

There was a headline that was maybe — well, not optimally worded: “Tennessee lawmakers send bill to ban first-cousin marriages to governor.” I noted it in an Impromptus, here.

A reader writes,

I have to share a family joke. My father is the third of three boys. My oldest uncle had one boy, two years older than I. He was my first crush, sort of. We thought he was the best. My other uncle had three girls and one boy and we rarely saw them since they lived halfway across the country, but one memorable year we all got together. All the cousins slept at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, even the local ones.

A year or so later my aunt shared a humorous story about her middle girl who was showing no interest in boys at the ancient age of twelve. When asked about it, this girl said, “Oh, I’m just going to marry [my older uncle’s son].” We laughed about that for years.

You have to be careful about these family jokes. They got married in 1980 (yes, it was legal) and have raised three kids.

Thank you, everyone. (And, again, for my Impromptus today, go here.)