Recondite word: Prolixity. And NC sports betting...

Prolixity(noun): the quality of being overly "wordy", long-winded or verbose--profuse in usage of words compared to the normal mode.

A prolix(polyglot) person demonstrates his prolixity(verbiage) by speaking on and on, at length on any randomly-given subject.....

A polymath demonstrates his knowledge by speaking knowledgeably on many different subjects....

I was seeing a quote, "not all that is gold shimmers" or something, as opposed to "not all that glitters is gold", while trying to dig-up "not all who wonder are lost"......  such as the old story of the journeyman, who looking for perspective, stopped by the wayside and posed his question to a stranger sitting beneath a tree.  The stranger spoke.  After the stranger finished speaking, and the journeyman had rested a while, he continued on his way, neither understanding what the stranger had said, nor where he himself was going.  And upon further reflection, he discovered he had no idea what his own question meant, anyway.

I was seeing from WBTV that the gaming commission in North Carolina reported some 600M + dollars in bets between March 11, 2024 and March 31, 2024.  200M or so was promotional credits, while 400M + came from the pockets of North Carolina gamblers.

I think of one of my own quotes from an old essay about gambling: "Don't we have a responsibility to take care of the weak-minded?"

The good book says similarly, "the strong ought bear the infirmities of the weak."

Meanwhile, the modern frisson is for the government to generate its tax dollars as it may, with moralists hardly seeming to bump heads with the more libertarian elements of government--especially when enticed by the prospect of so much potential tax revenue.  Similarly, the old story of some churches doing recreational gambling activities for the sake of fund-raising or simply entertaining the crowds, not so far removed from some of today's "growth-oriented" religious institutions.

...a prolix(polyglot) person demonstrates his prolixity(verbiage) by speaking on and on, at length on any randomly-given subject.....

"That blog which makes its point while saying the least, is best to read."  -nobody

We take that long, misbegotten path around the base of the tree, as of the light-hearted cadence of skipping children around the mulberry.....