Defrocked Saints

I like sports.  It's part of the American culture, and at various times in my career, I've worked at a radio station in a sports capacity.

I know people don't usually follow me for sports takes, but I have been taking a lot of grief lately about my thoughts on a specific football story, and I just need to vent.

In the NFC Championship game, the LA Rams beat the New Orleans Saints 26-23 in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl.  It was a hard hitting entertaining game, but the game is only known for one play, the non-pass interference call on the LA Rams which the Saints are convinced was the difference maker in them going to the Super Bowl verses where they are now, staying at home.

It was a blown call.  Pass interference did indeed happen, but my point after the game was it wasn't the blown call which cost the Saints, rather New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton being one of the WORST coaches I've ever seen.  Since then, I've been attacked by rabid Saints fans.  I'm still 100% convinced Payton's stupidity and bravado is what defrocked the Saints.

Let me get three things out of the way.  First off, Sean Payton shouldn't even be a coach in the league, not after the insane Bounty Scandal.  Payton pooled together a slush fund to reward Saints players who injured opponents, hence fulfilling a 'bounty' on the opposing player.  The NFL had irrefutable evidence of this, and even after the league had informed the Saints organization they were being investigating, Payton continued with his on the field head hunting.  In the end, he was suspended for an entire season, but frankly, he should've never been allowed to coach at the pro levels again.

Second, the New Orleans Saints, led by one of the all time greatest quarterbacks in Drew Brees, should have at least three Super Bowl trophies, if not more.  Payton is such a bad coach he's wasted one of the all time great's careers, a guy in Brees who deserves so much more than what he's received with Payton.

Finally, Payton is a grade 'A' jackass.  He just is.  He loves being it.

Let me set the stage for why the Saints should've won against the Rams.  Late in the 4th quarter, the score was 20-20.  Drew Brees threw a 43 yard pass to get the Saints to the LA 13 yard line as the game hit the two minute warning (1:58 to be exact).

LA had only two timeouts, so if the Saints simply ran the ball three times, they would've burned off at least a minute of the remaining time, had a chip shot field goal to give them the lead, and then kicked the ball deep into Rams territory, giving them a minute and no timeouts to get down the field for a field goal to tie the game.

Running the ball three times at this point is not some bizarre strategy.  This is pretty much what EVERY other coach would've done.  That's not what Payton did.

The first down play was an ill advised incomplete pass which stopped the clock after only three seconds had expired (1:55), to which the Saints then took a timeout.  Second down was a run play for no gain, taking another 6 seconds off the clock (1:49).  LA had to burn a timeout at this point. Third down was the pass with the blown pass interference call.  A few things about this pass.  I originally felt the PI call wasn't made because the pass was not really catchable.  Even after watching the review I still think it was likely going to be an incomplete pass, OR the receiver Lewis would've had to step out of bounds to catch it, negating the pass and stopping the clock.  Even if he had caught it without pass interference, it was still a borderline first down, likely short, meaning they'd have to kick the field goal anyway.  Regardless, this 'incomplete pass' stopped the clock again, leaving 1:41 on the clock as the Saints kicked the field goal to take the lead.

Seventeen seconds.  That's all Sean Payton managed to burn off the clock, and even more egregious was him leaving the Rams with one of their timeouts.  That's mind boggling.  A decent coach would've left the Rams in a far tougher situation, but not Payton.

Then Saints fans want to forget how the Rams marched down the field, kicking a 48 yard field goal to tie the game with 15 seconds left.  They want you to forget the Saints won the coin toss for the ball in overtime and four plays later, the Saints offensive line allowed penetration which tipped a Brees pass into the hands of a Rams defender. Five plays later, the Rams kicked their way into the Super Bowl, a final drive the Saints failed to stop.

Sean Payton cost the Saints the Super Bowl, plain and simple.  He screwed up the series after the two minute warning, and then he allowed the Rams to tie the game, and then he watched as his team failed in OT.  The reason the Saints fans are focusing on the blown PI call is because it's easier to blame the officials as opposed to your own head coach for the loss.

To be fair, let me point out an even more boneheaded mistake from the NFL, albeit a team's single mistake as opposed to Payton's career of failure. The Chicago Bears could've rested their starters in week 17 of the regular season, allowing the Vikings to make the playoffs.  They would've destroyed the Vikings at home in the first round of the playoffs, instead of losing to the Philadelphia Eagles.  They then would've destroyed the Rams in the 2nd round, and would've likely beat either the Saints or Cowboys to get to the Super Bowl.  Instead, it was FAR more important for the Bears to make a regular season statement against the Vikings, as opposed to making a far more important statement in the playoffs.

Would've, could've, should've, but I will state (without a doubt) the Saints would be in the Super Bowl if not for the incredible ineptitude of Sean Payton.

The Friday Link for 1/25/19

For this week, I want to go to Cheers.

I was thinking about this show as I was down visiting my dad.  He's having some health issues, so I visited him and my mom in South Carolina.

You start to remember things about your parents when you look back at their lives, especially how you interacted with them.  Back in the 70's and 80's, most nights were my dad coming home, getting a few drinks in him (he had seven kids.  I'd have a few too), reading the evening edition of the Providence Journal, and then starting a slow meal making process as they watched the evening news.  Afterwards they'd put on one of their favorite TV shows.  They loved This Old House, and The Muppet Show.  They also would follow which movies would be airing on the networks, making sure to catch the comedies.

I will never forget my parents laughing hysterically at Cheers.  They loved that show.

For my dad and mom, here are two compilations.





What I loved about Cheers wasn't the show, but how I got to hear my parents laugh.

Have great weekend everyone.

The Brilliance of Clint Watts

Clint Watts is a man who's been setting off alarm bells about Trump for two years.  The former FBI investigator and current distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute has been trying to warn us all Trump is compromised, a puppet of the Russians, and unless we do something about it, our democracy might not survive.

This is a reposting of an insanely epic Twitter thread from Watts, where he basically breaks down all the connections between Trump and the Russians.  He did this off the top if his head (admitting he's probably missed more than a few), displaying a litany of evidence proving Trump's compromised status.

Show these to everyone, especially the Trump apologists.  At any other time in this country's history, Trump would be in jail by now.  Instead, he's surrounded by a legion of zealots ready to fall upon swords.

Face to Face

For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, here's an interview he did on the BBC show Face to Face, from 1961.



Truly one of the greatest men the Lord ever blessed us with.

The Friday Link for 1/18/19

Hi all!

For this Friday, I want to revisit something we talked about on the radio show, Bird Box, the new Sandra Bullock movie on Netflix.  We were talking about it because of the stupidity of some people who are trying to mimic the blind driving scene from the movie.  Driving without watching the road apparently leads people to have accidents.  I KNOW!

Bird Box itself is not the focus of the Link this week, but I will say it's not a bad film.  I liked Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich, and Trevante Rhodes really shines, but the film feels somewhat warmed over.  Multiple other movies have done similar end of times like plots.  A good example of this would be A Quiet Place, a very solid film.  A bad example would be The Happening.

The Happening was kind of the final straw in the previous downfall of M. Night Shymalan, the director who exploded onto the scene with three of the best movies from the turn of the centruy, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs.  He got known as the guy who put a last second twist in a movie full of jump scares, and those three movies deliver.  He then did The Village (not a bad film but you kind of see the 'twist' coming from a mile away) followed by Lady in the Water (an outright dud).  The Happening was his chance at trying to come back, albeit with one major mistake.

If you have not seen The Happening, I recommend you do for one reason.  They made the horrible decision to cast Mark Wahlberg as the lead.  I like Wahlberg, and he can act, but this was NOT the role for him.  Half of his facial expressions seem to be him wondering if he's in the movie or if it's the real world.  It's the facial expression of a guy who's the dumbest guy in math class being asked to answer the toughest problem on the test.  Think I'm lying?  CinemaSins will set you straight!



By the way, it should be mentioned M. Night Shymalan is bouncing back with the third movie from the Unbreakable series, Glass.  It was a smart move for him to go back to an old friend.

For another video, I'm going off to deep pace again, and the 'Nova' program's excellent episode on the New Horizons space craft, the one that went past Pluto, and the challenge for them to see what they could find further out.  I love the frantic look to see if they could find something further past Pluto to focus New Horizons on, and when they finally do find a faint tiny body way out there, how the Earth based telescopes actually got a decent idea of what it looked like from Earth.  Science is amazingly cool.


Have a great weekend everyone, and have a wonderful MLK Day!

The New Confederate Flag

I'm so happy people have finally started to realize the Confederate flag is NOT something which should be displayed in the United States, at least not in a formal capacity.  Part of historical display?  Absolutely, but it's the flag of the ENEMY of the United States, an insurgency funded and fueled by twisted, hate filled men who wanted to keep the ownership of minorities legal.  The Confederacy killed hundreds of thousands of US citizens (beyond their own ranks) and were looking to destroy America.  They felt slavery was more important than preserving this country. The Confederate flag is no better than a Nazi or ISIS flag.

Racists would feebly attempt to hide their true motivations as they chuckled about "southern pride and heritage," as the flag, a symbol of hate, was flown in town squares, on government buildings, and in schools. In the last ten years, we've finally started to wake up from the lie that flag represented.

But now we've been presented with the Confederate flag's replacement, the Trump flag.

There's nothing wrong with a person who wants to fly Trump paraphernalia at their home or on their car because they like the guy.  More power to you! That's Freedom of Speech and that's protected, but like the Confederate flag, racists, bigots and the uneducated are trying to use Freedom of Speech to justify them to rubbing the Trump flag into anti-Trump people's faces, especially the faces of minorities.  That's racist.

The latest example of Trump supporters pushing their Trump love too far took place in the mostly white rural school district of Jordan, Minnesota.  Tuesday night, Jordan hosted Minneapolis Roosevelt, a school from the inner city who has a far larger minority population than Jordan.  At the game, Jordan students were displaying a Trump 2020 flag, clearly aimed at the predominantly minority Minneapolis Roosevelt team, coaching staff and fans.

(photo from Star Tribune)

Let's not mix words; Trump is a racist.  Everything he's done in office has been with a racist skew.  He's embraced racists and bigots, validating their ignorant thought processes, and in return, they've pledged their undying support.  Trump has validated them.  This is why we have an insane amount of racists verbally and physically attacking minorities across the country.  Trump has allowed the cockroaches to feel that it's safe to come out of the shadows.

I've been going to high school sporting events with my family for five years.  In all of the times I've been at a field, arena, ice rink, court, or pool, not once have I seen ANY political flag, sign, or poster.  All the sudden Jordan does it when Minneapolis Roosevelt comes to their town, and we're supposed to take it as harmless fun.

There's a weak out for the flag kids.  If Jordan, for some strange reason, allowed their kids to always bring political banners, signs and flags to all sporting events, then what these kids did isn't necessarily with an ulterior motive.  It does open up to the question of why Jordan Public schools, a tax payer funded institution, would allow such blatant political favoritism to be displayed at official school events, but hey, they want to get sued, bon appetite!

That's not what happened here.  The Jordan kids seem to have brought the flag specifically to the Minneapolis Roosevelt game.  They knew the racial makeup of the opponent, and seemingly displayed the flag as a "you may be from a racial diverse community, BUT YOU'RE IN WHITE TRUMP COUNTRY NOW" pseudo threat to the African American players.  The coach of Roosevelt's team was right to post the photo of the kids and express outrage at what clearly seems to be an attempt at racial intimidation.

Some Jordan parents are insisting the people upset have it all wrong, that this was only a planned theme night, a "USA blackout" night.  The term "blackout" for a sports team's themed night is in reference to the crowd wearing all black, not red, white and blue.  That would be a 'Red, White and Blue night' or a 'USA night.'  The community referring to the evening as a 'blackout' night seems to be a telling omen.

Some people are saying it's just a political flag, and 'shouldn't we be happy the kids are politically active?'  Once again, this was an official event at a taxpayer funded institution.  You can tell us all day how the school didn't coordinate the attire, but they hosted the event.  This wasn't a hat or t-shirt, but rather a flag.  There weren't any Clinton or Obama flags/signs/posters being displayed, hence the argument the kids were only partaking in a glorified 'political experiment' is very reminiscent to the Confederate flag supporters "Southern pride and heritage" argument to justify their intimidation.

Many Jordan residents are saying "these are just kids, without a racist bone in their body."  Yet many of them don't want to acknowledge quite a few people are bothered by these kids actions.  They're ignoring the implied racism and are only screaming about how their little Billy or Susie is innocent.  They've upset a lot of African Americans, and dismissing their frustration is a racially condescending attempt to make a feeble excuse for the kids.

One parent in particular, Bridget Kahn, not only takes the blame for the flag, she also inadvertently seems to admit the truth.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune story quotes her as waving away any criticism the Trump flag is racist, but then Kahn, without provocation, and quite inexplicably, pointed out the Minneapolis Roosevelt team stayed in the locker room during the National Anthem.

Okay...the story was about Jordan kids displaying the Trump flag, not what the Minneapolis Roosevelt kids did in private during the National Anthem, but let's go down Bridget's rabbit hole...

The reason they're in the locker room is because lily white snowflake conservatives are so upset at African American athletes taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial inequities and discrimination in America today.  The Minneapolis Roosevelt team was protesting, but they did so in private, out of sight.   Kahn seems to be bringing up this as a way to vilify the Minneapolis Roosevelt team, when all they were doing was engaging in their right to protest in a non-offensive manner.

Kahn seems to be implying the Trump flag was justified because Minneapolis Roosevelt didn't stand at attention, on the court, during the National Anthem.  For Trump supporters, they feel as if the African American protest of the National Anthem is more of a protest against Trump and the USA.  Why do they think this?  Because Trump told them, in numerous racially tinged tirades.  She might feel as if the flag is an equal counter protest.  This would be flying the Trump flag out of ignorance, but ignorance doesn't erase or validate the racism of the flag.  If the flag was a counter protest against African Americans protesting racial inequity, then it was a racist counter-protest, regardless of what the fools though they were doing.

Kahn seems to have, unintentionally, let the cat out of the bag in regards to the real reason that flag was at the game.  Considering the Jordan High School Athletic Program was aware Minneapolis Roosevelt was going to protest during the National Anthem, the question should be whether the Trump flag counter protest was coordinated and/or organized by the Jordan school or athletic department in any capacity.

The sad truth is the fools who allowed this to happen have now placed a target on the players and coaches for Jordan.  These guys will have to venture out into more racial diverse communities for games.  Because the Jordan parents and teachers failed to educate the kids of Jordan, the boys basketball team is going to bear some unfortunate consequences.  Don't be surprised when they experience jam packed gyms on the road; fans eager to have their home team play 'the racist team from Jordan.'  This stupid stunt will have much bigger ripples than just a Trump themed swipe against the African American kids from Minneapolis Roosevelt.  Let's hope it causes the parents and kids of Jordan to rethink their actions too.

Non-Existent Popularity

Popularity is an odd duck.  Our concepts of what is popular are usually omitting facts which can change a person's perception of what we consider culturally significant.

We consider a movie a huge success if it's the #1 movie in the country, but how popular is that?  For a movie like The Upside, this week's #1 movie, that can mean only 30-40 people are (on average) in any given showing of the film, with a total of around 2.25 million people catching the film on it's opening weekend, in a country of 325,700,000.  That translates to .6% of the population, less than 1%, not exactly overwhelming.  But we still label it a huge success.

Meanwhile the viewer totals for a YouTube channel or for a streaming service can deliver far more viewers.  As I type this, YouTube video 'Is Organic Really Better?' has 1.4 million views, in 12 hours.  Granted people are not paying for a ticket to see it, but regardless it's still wildly popular.   Kurt Russell had the biggest movie of his career on Netflix this Holiday season.  The Christmas Chronicles was watched by 20 million people, IN ONE WEEK! That would translate to around a little less than a 200 million dollar opening week, ranking it as nearly a top 20 opening week of all time (if it had been released in theaters).  6.1% of the US population watched that holiday film, and that IS with a subscription service price attached.

Same thing goes for top TV shows.  Have you heard about the hot new show 'The Masked Singer'? Nearly 9 1/2 million people watched it the week of Dec. 31 to January 6th, only 2.8% of the population, but the way it was talked about in media, both traditional and social, made you think FAR more people caught the show. And even though the music industry doesn't have anything close to the album sales of the past, digital downloads and online streaming service playlists can produce huge audiences.

The main reason I'm pointing all of this out is to make you question what is popular, particularly when it comes to entities whose popularity anoints them with misguided and dangerous false influence and success.

Trump LOVES Fox news and right wing radio hosts.  He loves them so much he takes their advice on many issues.  We're currently in the longest government shutdown in US history because Trump was brow beaten into it by these right wing media celebrities, and Trump is terrified of being labeled a loser by the same entities, meaning he's determined to hold the US government hostage to get what he wants, namely 5 billion in US tax payer dollars to pay for an foolish border wall.

We think many right wing TV and radio hosts are extremely popular, and (when comparing them to others in their industries) they are.  But in reality these people only appeal to a small portion of the population, as a whole. For December 2018 (Talkers Magazine), the number one radio show was Rush Limbaugh, a host Trump regularly listens to for advice on running the country.  Rush had a very impressive 14 million listeners on average in December, a massive number for a radio show, but comparing it to the total population of the US, he's only talking to 4.2% of the nation in any given day, FOUR POINT TWO!  That's it!  That means 95.8% of the US doesn't listen to Rush Limbaugh!  Sean Hannity's radio show is heard by 4.1% of the population, mainly the same people listening to Rush.  Same can be said for Michael Savage (3.3%), Mark Levin (3.0%) and Laura Ingraham (2.4%); small percentages of the population as a whole, and most of the listeners are the same exact group of people, show after show.  This means right wing radio only appeals to 5 to 6 percent of the population, AT BEST.

Yet these people have one very important listener listening to everything they have to say on any given day; Trump.

It's even more stark on Television. Fox News average audience is usually around 1.5 to 1.6 million people, making it a ratings success on cable news, but an arid desert when it comes to appealing to the US population.  Fox News' reach (on average) in any given day is half of 1% of the US population; HALF of 1%!!!  The number one cable News TV show is Hannity with (according to Adweek) 3.3 million viewers, 1% of the total US population.  Tucker Carlson reaches .8%, The Ingraham Angle, .7% and Trump's favorite morning show, Fox & Friends, with their 1.5 million viewers, .4% of the US population. Trump's favorite Fox News Weekend show, and a woman he has actually considered to be Attorney General of the United States, Judge Jeanine Pirro, has 1.3 million viewers for her Saturday show.  Once again, that's great when comparing it to other weekend cable news shows, but should a woman who only appeals to .3% of the population have a direct line to the President?

And the numbers get even lower when you talk about the guests these shows have, the Ann Coulter's, the Newt Gingrich's, the Robert Jeffress'.  They're appealing to a minuscule portion of the US population, yet have an insane amount of control over the policies which effect every single American.

Here's where Trump's right wing media worship becomes a real big problem.  Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the rest of them are not trying to appeal to a majority of the US.  They could care less about most people.  They are all quite happy with only appealing to the same 14 to 20 million people.  These are the absolute worst people to have consulting and influencing Trump!  They do not have the best interest of the American citizen at heart, only their best interest, a self fueling narcissism which is only getting worse as the marginal talents from the fringe (when compared to the population as a whole) are intoxicated by the knowledge they have the loyal ear of the most powerful office on the planet.

And before right wing troll calls me out and says, "far bigger audience than you have, MATT!," you're absolutely correct.  Like I said, when looking at the reach of these media personalities from the industry side, they're very impressive.  My point is should we tolerate people who only have to appeal to 5% or less of the population with being the primary decision makers for all of us?  Most politicians have to appeal to a much larger percentage of their local population to win their seat, usually 45% or higher of the votes cast, and at least 30% of their local population as a whole. Heck, Trump himself (while losing to Hillary Clinton's 48.2%) still garnered 46.1% of the popular votes cast. When factoring all US eligible voters, many of whom did not vote in 2016, he still managed around 27% of the population supporting him, 6.75 times as many people as who listen to Rush Limbaugh.  We should not tolerate Trump turning his focus more myopic, to a small subset of his followers to get most of his input.

Trump is basically Chance the gardener, Peter Seller's great character from the movie Being There. Addicted to television he can't seem to figure out where the TV world ends and the real world begins.  Trump's putting his decision making ability in the hands of people who are perfectly content on only appealing to a small portion of us, people who are trying to use their media celebrity to propel themselves into a real position of power.  Considering this exact same thing (marginal media talents appealing to their country's leaders) is something we've seen happen in the worst regimes the planet has ever produced, it might be a good time to take the remote control away from Trump, or at least change the channel to 'The Masked Singer'.  That way, if Trump appoints one of the masked people to be the Attorney General, or the Director of the FBI, or to run the World Bank, we'll at least see it for the pathetic joke it really is.

The Friday Link for 1/11/19

Happy Friday everyone!

For this Friday Link, I delve into science, astronomy to be precise.

I have two videos which might freak you out.  Seriously, these videos involve such massive expanses of time and massive expanses of space, you might get a little uneasy.  Viewer be warned!

First up is time, and to say time is a long trip is an understatement.  What happens when the stars all burn out?  Well, according to Crash Course Astronomy, technically, that point would only be a beginning.  This is dealing with concepts beyond me, and a timeline beyond comprehension.  Enjoy!



The next video is one of the coolest things the Hubble Space Telescope has done. They pointed it into what they thought was an empty part of space and left it there, absorbing any light coming out of the 'empty space.' What they discovered was an insane amount of new galaxies, but the real neat element of these photos is how the viewer looking at the resulting photos is quite literally looking backwards in time.  The folks at Vox explain it pretty well in the video.



Isn't learning fun! I hope you don't feel too small.  Your individual universe is pretty big.  Have a great weekend everyone!

A Message to All Men Who are Thinking of Sharing a Photo of Their Privates

DON'T!

No seriously, don't do it.

We are living in strange times when people have to tell others that graphic photos of their crotches are not appropriate for dissemination, but here we are.  Let me explain to all the burgeoning at-home models why this is a bad idea.

I've been wanting to write about this for a year, after a friend of mine who's in his 40's asked me to grab a cup of coffee.  I could tell he was bothered by something, but was fairly floored when he asked if I'd ever sent a image of my nether-regions to anyone.  "No...(staring at him)...(he squirms in his seat a little)...(I take a sip of coffee)...(back to looking at the top of his head as he stares down at his cup)...have you?"  

He had.  He was dating a woman and for whatever reason, he sent her a naughty image. I asked if she had asked for one.  He said no, but felt she was hinting at it.  Regardless of what her intent was, the image was not well received, and she promptly broke up with him.  She was now hinting at blackmail, telling my friend she'd go to his job and tell them what he did.  He'd learned his lesson the hard way; some images are not meant to be shared.

I know there are some who will read this and ask 'Matt, what about serious couples, or for those who are married?' Obviously you're somewhat safer in a well established relationship, but two points for those wanting to 'Feel the Adventure.'  First, everything you send via electronic means is out there, regardless of whether you actually hit 'reply all' or not.  Expect others to see the images you are sending.  Keep that in mind if you want to add some digital spice to your relationship.  Also, I'm convinced (eventually) the generations which follow us will be able to access EVERYTHING we've ever done online, kind of a personal, family, internet based, archeological dig.  Every website you visit, every comment section you post on, and every image you share will eventually be part of one large personal database.  "Hey kids, who wants to see a picture of your great grandfather's tackle box?!"  Keep that in mind.

I feel safe in the belief that women (and some men) just don't want to see amateur pictures of men's privates.  Sure there might be a percentage of those who don't mind viewing such images, but considering the copious amounts of pornographic images online, you need to be honest with yourself about how your artistic and modeling ability match up.  Are you in the gym 3 to 4 hours a day, doing extensive exercise and cardio, eating only greens and healthy grains, manicuring your body like a French king's garden, and are blessed with an anatomy women would like to see.  Probably not.  Put it in perspective; the stuttering guy isn't going to win the singing competition, and the best he can hope for is a atta boy sympathetic "thanks for stopping by."

Do any of these adjectives apply to your body? Roll-y, scarred, pudgy, hairy, fold-y, growth-y, bulgy, fat, uneven, furry, blotchy, paste-y, pimply, and (let's be honest) less than impressive?  If any one of these can be applied to your body, leave your clothes on.

Also, stop watching so much freaking porn!  I'm dead serious.  Men who send these images are almost always getting the idea from watching porn.  Porn is not real.  Those women are paid to be fantasy.  For goodness sake, the Fast and Furious movies are more realistic than a porn film.  I get you might think you have an intimate relationship with a porn star, but you shouldn't look at porn as a guidebook on relationships.  Consider this an intervention.

And in case I've buried the lead, it's sexual harassment to send a woman a sexually explicit photo they haven't asked for.  Imagine if it was your mother, sister or spouse (!) getting the image.  Jokes aside, it's disgusting and you need to freaking stop.

I told my friend to delete his ex's number and block her.  I then told him to talk to his boss and HR Department about what had happened.  It worked.  He was embarrassed, but in the end his embarrassment was minimal compared to what it could've been, he kept his job, and learned a valuable lesson. 

Let this be a fair warning.  Don't do it!

The Friday Link for 1/4/19

Happy New Year everyone!

As you probably noticed, I've changed the color of the blog to an indigo blue.  Why?  I heard from multiple people the red background with white lettering was difficult to read for some, and even was triggering migraine symptoms for others.  It's easy enough to fix, so I did.  Enjoy!




Short and sweet this week.  I give it to Bill Corbett and the MST3K crew with a very underrated episode, Boggy Creek II!



Have a great weekend everyone!

How Dumb Are You?

Today on my show, I was talking about how dumb Trump's border wall with Mexico really is.

1)  25 billion will not even come close to covering the cost of building a 2000 mile wall, regardless of what it's made with.
2)  We need to build a road which will run the entirety of the wall, a road whose cost has not been included.
3)  The Trump budget doesn't factor in most of the concrete pilings we'll need to build this wall.
4)  Trump has not factored one dime for the manpower needed to effectively staff this wall.
5)  And Mexico is supposed to pay for it.

AND IT WILL NOT STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! Most illegal immigrants FLEW to the US and overstayed their legal visas.  Also, even at the border, you can go around a wall.  And unless you place guards at regular intervals (1000 yards or so) at an additional annual cost of AT LEAST a billion dollars PER YEAR, all you'll need to do to thwart this wall is get a tall enough ladder and an equally long piece of rope.

This is racist policy, written with the intent of appealing to racists, being pushed with racist gusto.  It will not work, and it will cost us TRILLIONS in taxpayer money.

Truly this is one of the dumbest ideas we've ever had suggested for America, but yet Republicans not only stand by it, they're willing to shut the government down for as long as it takes to get the 25 Billion.  It was mentioned by regular listener Lisa, the same Republicans in Minnesota who scream and bellyache about Minnesota raising the gas tax, money specifically dedicated to improve roads, bridges, transportation infrastructure and mass transit, money you can at least see at work when you point to the improvements, are in full endorsement of this massive waste of taxpayer dollars.

That didn't stop Republican Richard from Brooklyn Center from calling in, and attempting to stand up for the GOP.  He did so in one of the most bizarre ways possible.  He implied the Democrats were only trying to raise the gas tax to give massive taxpayer handouts to the people who were at the homeless encampment off of Hwy. 55 in Minneapolis. A few problems with his stupidity:

1) The gas tax money is dedicated to transit improvements, ONLY.
2) The homeless encampment was actually closed down and moved to temporary shelters a few weeks back.
3) No one has suggested Richard's delusional plan, nor has any right wing media stated the Democrats were for this.

This was an attempt by Richard to challenge me by implying the Republicans are not for wasting taxpayer dollars like the Democrats, albeit in an incredibly weird and dumb way.

He actually made this statement after I spent 20 minutes talking about the MASSIVE tax dollar waste of the Trump wall, a wall the Republicans are intent on wasting massive amounts of taxpayer money on.

Republicans, let me attempt to talk to you in a manner which you might be able to follow.  You know how you label Democrats as 'tax and spend?'  FINE, call us that, but realize when Democrats get taxpayer dollars, you end up getting things like safe roads and bridges, quality schools, affordable health care, clean water, parks; things you can actually benefit from!  When Republicans take your taxpayer dollars, I know you think they just return it to you with an additional $25 thank you, but they don't.  Since the 1980's, the Republicans have been taking YOUR tax dollars and giving them to millionaires and billionaires.  They tell you this will benefit you because they are the 'job creators,' but most of that tax payer money is placed into long term investments, meaning you, the Republican voter, are paying for some billionaires great, great, great, great, great, great grand kid to NEVER have to work a day in their life. The Republicans are so committed to giving the wealthy all of the taxpayer dollars, they've been running up massive deficits, almost exclusively caused by their billionaire welfare.  They'll NEVER give you any money.  Even if they did finally wake up to their senses, they'd still take your taxpayer dollars to pay down the deficit, while NOT raising the tax rate on the wealthiest.

So Republican voters, your options are:

1) Let the Democrats take charge, get taxed at a reasonable, but fair level, and reap the benefits of having a government which creates services you can need and use, making your community better for everyone, or
2) Keep following the Republicans as they take your tax dollars, and give you NOTHING in return.

Phrasing this question a different way, how dumb are you?

I think we already know the answer to that...

2018 Proved How Broken Republicans Are

I was at a holiday party on Sunday and ran into a retired hog lot owner from Iowa.  He was displaying his "you really don't know anything, do you" Iowa charm.

The best way to describe "you really don't know anything, do you" people from Iowa (not all Iowans, just some of them, mostly rural) is how they constantly feel they have to prove they're right and everyone else is wrong, usually with a condescending and demeaning tone, no matter how minuscule and petty the subject. When I worked in Iowa radio, I'd always hear from them every time we got bad weather.  I'd announce "we got 3 inches of snow," and I'd get the call "I don't know what you're looking at, but MY snow gauge has 15 inches in it!"  We'd get 20 mile per hour winds: "I have no idea where you're getting your numbers from, but I have 45 to 50 mile gusts at MY place." It rained 2 inches over two days: " We had 40 inches at MY place!"  Their bragging about living on the precipice of a meteorological hell pit aside, weather issues were not their only jackass inducer.  Politics, day to day life, sports, parenting, and especially city life verses country life were all in their repartee.  Their 'I know EVERYTHING and you know nothing' attitude was unwavering, even when you presented them with irrefutable evidence to prove they were wrong.

After exchanging some polite chit chat, he mentioned how bad the Iowa hog business has been hurt with the trade standoff.  I mentioned the Minnesota soybean producers were also getting hit hard, an ominous sign for the Ag sector.  But then he quickly followed up my comment with this, "the good news is Trump will double our markets eventually, when he get's done with his brilliant trade negotiations."

I spit my eggnog about 20 feet.

Knowing facts, and also knowing exactly how to talk to "you really don't know anything, do you" Iowa guy, I went about systemically destroy every single point he was making about Trump and trade.  He brought up how the Chinese Market will come back, and I pointed out China is signing new Ag contracts with Argentina and Brazil, meaning they'll likely never come back like they once were.  He said Trump completely re-wrote NAFTA, making it a better deal which dramatically opened up Canada to American farmers, and I pointed out that not only was the new NAFTA deal pretty much the same as the last one, the only farmers who got a better deal were dairy farmers, and that was a minimal increase on certain dairy imports, AND to get that single concession, Trump had to allow the Canadians to import a million more Canadian made cars, so we really got screwed over on that deal in the long run.

You get the point.  He made an easy refutable pro-Trump statement, and I immediately destroyed him with facts.

He then said, "Brazil imports a ton of our ethanol."  There was nothing which explained why he said this.  It was a total stand alone statement.  With a puzzled look on my face, I said "okay..." He then made for the door.  It was the retired Iowa hog farmer version of a Batman smoke bomb.  He threw it down, and made his escape!

The remarkable thing about this entire conversation is his own self admission at the very beginning; Trump's unnecessary trade war had already cost him, and many other farmers, their margins, but he eagerly overlooked the red on his own ledger just so he could still believe Trump was right.  That's some Grade A hog $**t.

What I have learned in 2018 is that no matter how bad things get for Republicans, troubles they can directly trace back to Trump himself, they'll always insist Trump was right, and righteous!  They gleefully applaud Trump using themselves and their families as cobblestones for a new Trump highway, ignoring the pain of Trump's heels driving into their backs.  As long as they're convinced Trump's walk is a pleasant one, they'll steadfastly avoid admitting they were wrong.  For them to admit so would be (in their mind) a Democratic victory.  They hate Democrats more than they love their quality of life, health, religion, kids and their country, so they'll take Trump's heels driving into their backsides as long as they can imagine the air up by Trump's nostrils is sweet, and that it might eventually waft down to their noses.

In the last few days, since the Republicans buried the Hillary Clinton and the FBI investigation report which proved neither had done anything wrong, a report released late on the Friday night before the New Year's holiday, delusional Trump fan is coming at me hard on the social media pages. The Republicans, who desperately want to charge Hillary Clinton with anything they can legally justify, found Hillary innocent of all the crimes they've accused her of in their latest report.  They also determined the FBI doesn't seem to have a fundamental bias against Trump, and they stood by the Robert Mueller investigation.  They released this report when no one was watching, not to keep the information away from the Democrats, but rather to hide their findings from their Republican followers.  The GOP wants their voters to continue to think Hillary is guilty of something, that the FBI is all in for the Democrats, and the Robert Mueller investigation is fraudulent, even though they know the complete opposite is true.

I'm not obliging the right.  I have posted the findings of their latest investigation.  The Republicans failed to dig up anything on Hillary this time, just like every other Benghazi, Clinton Foundation, Uranium and E-mail investigation.  Even though the Right has yet to find anything, Trump fans aren't allowing the truth to get in their way.  They've found solace by returning to the classics, namely Vince Foster allegations and...(wait for it)...Pizzagate (you remember, the alleged pizza parlor which housed a child sex ring in it's basement, a sex ring overseen by Hillary and others, a crime so outrageous that a regular citizen came into the pizza place and fired off a gun, demanding the children being held in the basement be released, only to be told there was no basement to the building, leading to numerous pundits who had gleefully pushed that fake scandal to frantically distance themselves from any potential lawsuit by insisting they never said it was true, that they'd only heard about it from a friend?  Yeah, THAT pizza-gate).

The fact the Republicans are running back to ancient scandals as a way to keep their fires of Hillary hatred stoked just proves how incurable they are.  They will forgo proof of Hillary's innocence, and wait for the next Clinton investigation, all while wagging their fingers about how everyone KNOWS she's guilty.

Republicans are truly broken people. The facts don't matter.  Reality doesn't matter.  Their own well being doesn't matter.  I personally think they're a lost cause.  What we learned in Minnesota in 2018 is that you can win without them.  Let the Right stew in their cesspool of delusion they've convinced themselves is a hot tub.  We're better off by letting them wallow int he mud by themselves.

The Speech I Wish Tony Evers Would Make

My Fellow Wisconsinites,

Thank you so much for electing me to be your next Governor.  It will be an honor and a privilege to serve you as the chief executive of the great state of Wisconsin.

As many of you know, since I took office, the Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate decided to throw a pity party temper tantrum, and working with outgoing sore loser Governor Scott Walker, undid the fabric of Wisconsin's Democracy.  They've dramatically pulled back the power of the Executive Branch, and shifted that power to themselves in the Legislative Branch.  What they did can no longer be described as three separate branches of government, with checks and balances to keep all branches honest.  We now have a Legislative Branch more powerful than the other two branches, something the founders of our state (and American Democracy) never intended, as well as a Governor whose power to run the state disappeared with a stroke of a pen.  Through their machinations, the Governor of Wisconsin is pretty much a ceremonial position, with dramatically limited power.

When I was elected to be Governor, the people who voted for me were expecting me to take over the same exact office Scott Walker is vacating.  Now, after Republicans lost total control over Madison, they've disrespected the voters of Wisconsin.  They've negated the election results by taking the path of undermining your mandate, as dictated to them by you, the residents of Wisconsin.

This is why I'm making this solemn, but resolute pledge.  I, as Governor, will not sign one piece of Legislation, including emergency relief for storm damage and natural disasters, until the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate restore the powers of the Governor's office to the levels they themselves were content with under Scott Walker.

I want to apologize first to the people who might be in line for emergency relief funds in the future. With my limited powers remaining, I will direct the state agencies I still control to help you in any way possible through these trying times.  I know this might seem like I'm taking my frustrations with the Wisconsin Republicans out on you, but I take no pleasure in such a serious and far reaching stance.  Let me explain how I came to make this decision.

The Wisconsin Republican Party are a bunch of liars.  If Scott Walker would've won re-election, they would've NEVER muted his powers.  This decision was hyper-partisan, a result of their losing the election and refusing to relinquish the control they've had for eight years.  I've heard the leaders of the Senate and Assembly imply, now that they have neutered the Governor's office as much as they have, they hope I can get past my partisan feelings and work with them to move Wisconsin forward. Their brazen disrespect of me, the voters, and the Democracy of Wisconsin is outrageous.

Since this is Wisconsin, let me explain what they did in football terms.  They decided to do away with kickoffs and punts, and will instead place the football one inch outside of my goal whenever one of us has the ball.  They contend this a 'fair, impartial' starting position.  Then the Republicans insist I'm the bad guy because I'm not willing to move the ball another half inch towards my goal.  I've decided it's in my best interests, and the best interest of the state of Wisconsin, to not even play this incredibly fixed version of the game.

But the real terrifying element of what the Wisconsin Republicans did is how un-American it really is.  This is some third world, evil despot kind of maneuvering.  When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was President of Russia for the first time, he insisted all the power to run the country needed to be filtered through his office.  Then, when he became Prime Minister, he re-wrote the government's rules so everything would then flow through the Prime Minister's office.  Then, when he re-assumed the Presidency, he reverted control of the Government back to that office.  This is the same tactic the Wisconsin Republican Party is employing to maintain power over the state.  If I was to accept this, and then leave office in four years, replaced by a Republican Governor, OF COURSE they would be insisting the powers they stripped from me need to be restored.  What the Wisconsin Republicans are doing is crumbling the Democratic foundation of this state, and this country.

My decision is a line in the sand, a last stand to save the Democracy imagined by the founding father's of the United States, and by the founders of the State of Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin Republicans are mad with power and I will not idly stand by to see them destroy this state for personal gain.

There is no negotiation.  The first bill I will sign as governor will be the bill restoring the Executive Branch to full power.  Give me back the same powers which the voters wanted me to have, which you would've left in place if Walker would've won re-election.  Then, and only then, can we discuss moving Wisconsin forward.

Regardless, I'll continue to work through the court system to undo your illegal actions.  I know the Republicans will label me petty and bitter, but this stance is solely due to the Republicans own pettiness and bitterness; a partisan temper tantrum after the voters of this state told them they no longer wanted the Republicans in the Governor's mansion.

In the end, I'm trying to save Wisconsin, and Democracy itself, from the Wisconsin Republican's Machiavellian, illegal, anti-American power grab.

Republicans, the ball is now in your court.  I await the Executive Branch Restoration bill which I vow to sign immediately.

Oh, and Go Packers!

You're Sincerely,

Tony Evers

The Friday Link for 12/28/18

First off, let me say I've proudly made three non Friday Link posts on Progressive Citizen X! And the good news is I should have two to three more before the year is out!

For a New Years edition of the Link, three great videos, all going back in time.

First off is the great Mr. Bean and a New Year's Eve Celebration episode, one I hadn't seen before.  Rowan Atkinson was so good at live action comedy.



Second up is a bit of a revisiting of last New Year's Friday Link, where I posted the entirety of Charlie Chaplin's classic film, Gold Rush.  That movie has a pivotal scene (and an all time classic movie scene) which takes place over New Years Eve.  Last years post was removed but I did find the particular scene.  Enjoy!



Finally an amazing piece of historic film from 1914.  This is a New Year's Dance in San Francisco.  It's a minute and a half of people dancing the night away.  Unsure if it's New Years from 1913 to 1914, or if it's 1914 to 1915, but needless to say, it's 100+ years old. I imagine no one at that time thought they'd be remembered 100 years later.



Have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve everyone!

The Lemming Parade

With the daily mountain of incompetence coming out of the White House, and a more unhinged Trump clearly needing someone to reign him in, most people are surprised to see Trump with 35% of the US population still loyally approving of him.  This 35% are the ones insisting he's the "best ever," touting his massive list of accomplishments, a list which only they can see.  These are the people I've labeled as 'hating Democrats more than they love their life, their health, their kids, their religion and their country.'  I firmly stand by my description.

What I disagree with is how media experts try to give Trump credit for this 35% by insisting he can 'relate to the common man.' That's bullcrap!  Trump has no knowledge, and no interest in learning about, the regular American.  He knows if he floats veiled racism and bigotry, racists and bigots will show up to his rallies, cheering on their Pope of Hatred like he's a rock star, but he doesn't care about those people, and he never will.

To understand why such utter incompetence has such a loyal following you have to understand a fundamental element of the modern Republican voter; they've been brainwashed. I'm dead serious.  These people have been fed decades of propaganda and it's success shows in their unwavering faith in Trump, even as he's proven to be an unmitigated disaster on a daily basis.

There are four specific moments which have gotten Republican voters to this point.

1. Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America crew.  In the shock of the Bill Clinton victory in 1992, a victory which seemed impossible nine months earlier, a new element of the Republican Party rose.  Led by the definitive evil which is Newt Gingrich, they clung to the idea Republican voters were so desperate to believe they were right, and that the Democrats were wrong, you could use that desire to get the Right's voters to fight against their own betterment.  Gingrich was right.  When Hillary Clinton spearheaded the early campaign for affordable health care, the Republicans screamed about how they would rather pay more.  As Bill Clinton's economy got rolling, they insisted it was really the Republicans who were responsible, even though the Republicans proudly voted against the economic stimulus bill which led to the greatest economy this country has ever seen.  The desire for Republicans to be right trumped their desire to be factual. This was a huge realization for the GOP, and it, along with the rise of Fox News, changed forever in how the Republicans talked to their voters.
2. The Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Even though Reagan's removal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 did far more to damage the quality on-air content (it immediately replaced quality and fair broadcasting with the owner's ideology) it was the loosening of the ownership rules which really got America's far right media going.  Before this change, a right wing owner had no way of reaching a large percentages of the population.  Passed under the promise that it would make media ownership more open, the TA96 was actually designed to do the opposite; solidify the radio, television and newspapers of the nation into the hands of a few dozen people, most of whom had a far right political agenda.  Almost overnight ten or so corporate media juggernauts controlled what the majority of Americans read, saw and heard.  Being in radio, I saw it first hand.  Cities which used to have a diverse broadcasting spectrum now had three right leaning TV stations, one right leaning newspaper, four conservative talk radio stations and (to ensure no other political opinion was able to get a foothold in a market) three to four sports talk stations.  The limited options were FAR worse in small town America, with usually one far right newspaper, and two far right radio stations.  The TA96 allowed for media executives with close ties to the Republicans Party to make sure Republican talking points were all that were heard.  If the Republicans would've been successful at selling of public television and public radio, most of America would've had right wing filtered news as their ONLY option.
3. 9/11.  Even though Republicans were controlling message through the 1990's, it still conformed to a specific guideline: 'promote stories which make Republicans look good/Democrats look bad, and ignore stories which make Republicans look bad/Democrats look good.' That changed on 9/11. The morning on 9/11, after the planes had hit, I watched Reagan's former Chief of Staff James Baker make a disturbing claim on Fox News: "this was all Bill Clinton's fault!" It was astoundingly irresponsible to start laying the blame for this attack at the feet of your political enemy as rescue workers were still trying to pull people from the wreckage, but here we were.  Baker was telling everyone that whomever was the real culprit behind the attacks, you should think of President Bill Clinton in the same light.  At that moment, It didn't matter for Republican voters that W. had insisted he could go on a vacation for the entire month of August in 2001 because his Administration was in full control.  It didn't matter for them Condoleezza Rice, W.'s National Security Advisor at the time, had all the warning signs of the attack on her desk prior to the attack.  It didn't matter for them that W. had a security briefing weeks beforehand which was titled "Bin Laden determined to strike in the US," and the Administration didn't take it seriously.  At that moment, and in the days surrounding the 9/11 attacks, Republicans expertly used the fury, sadness and anger created on that day to focus the blame on their political enemies, the Democrats.  For me, 9/11 was the beginning of realizing, for some people, facts no longer mattered.  They started insisting what they wanted to be true was reality, an opinion gleefully validated by the far right media.  Republicans tested this 'creating reality' with the Iraqi War and it worked.  Even though it was easy to see W. and Cheney were lying their cabooses off, Republican voters didn't care.  I'll never forget going into Fairview Southdale hospital in September of 2004 to visit my newborn daughter and getting yelled at in the parking ramp by a Republican woman who insisted "I hated the troops" because of my "Veteran's for Kerry' bumper sticker (let that sink in for a second).  That's when I knew the wheels of the Republican voter were coming off.
4. The Bush re-election of 2004. Up until this point, you have Republicans pushing a narrative in the news, controlling the media of the country, and the beginnings of re-writing reality to fit their narrative, but to get to the blind loyalty we see around Trump today, we need the final piece; what Vice President Dick Cheney did to ensure a second term in the White House.  Realizing the Republicans policies of the last twenty years had pushed the loyal blue collar workers who voted for Reagan out of the party, Cheney turned to the far right fringes of America to get his loyal foot soldiers.  The extreme Evangelical Christians, the militia nutbags, the anti government conspiracy stooges, and the racists were welcomed into the party, giving the Republicans the foot-soldiers they needed, while at the same time giving validity to these bigots, zealots and kooks. It led to a victory for the Republicans in 2004, but this decision immediately derailed the party.  By 2008, an massively unqualified Sarah Palin was sharing the GOP ticket, racists at Republican events were openly attacking future President Obama with racist rhetoric, and the Republicans devolved into a 'who can grunt loudest' obedience test.  That last point is very important.  These new Republicans installed a far right purity test.  Every non-far right psycho had to either get in line or be labeled as a traitor, forever brandished with a a scarlet 'M.'  Dick Cheney got the Republicans a loyal dog, but it was a dog who constantly went to he bathroom inside their own house, then rolled around in it, all while growling at anyone who didn't agree with their master's far right direction.  One time moderate Republicans, afraid of being called out by the screaming lunatic fringe, stuffed their dignity and honor into the trash, and started marching in unison with the rest of the party.

That's how you get 35% of this country never wavering in their love of Trump.  They've been brainwashed, first with a simple narrative validation, then with repetition, then with reality alteration, then with a unintelligent disgusting hoard mentality driving loyalty pledges to the extreme far right.

I will say Trump himself seems to be testing how far this brainwashed lemming parade will go.  His argument to validate his government shutdown is that he's only not paying Democratic voting government workers, a statement most people, including most Republicans, can see is laughable (44,000 members of the Coast Guard are part of the federal workers not getting paid.  They're ALL Democrats?).  

But that being said, trust me.  More than a few Trump supporters are insisting the only people hurt by this shut down are Republicans, even as they themselves are losing their paycheck.  That's the kind of loyalty you can't buy.  This insanity validates another phrase I've often used in the age of Trump: 'most Republicans could walk into their house and find their spouse in bed with Trump, and the first words out of their mouth will be "damn Democrats!"' 

MSNBC just beat Fox News across the board for the first time in 17 years.  Maybe these delusional fools are starting to wake up.  Then again, W., Nixon, Hoover, Hayes, Johnson, Buchanan and Adams all had their supporters wildly applauding their legacy, even as the reality of what they'd done settled upon the masses.  My guess is Trump will always have at least a 25% approval rating, no matter how bad he makes things for those followers.

Equal Opportunity

As attention starts to turn towards who will run for the Democratic nomination to be President in 2020, I've heard two recurring pleas:

• For God's sake, don't let Hillary Clinton run for President again.  It's because Republicans have been brainwashed into hating her, no matter how irrational, we're in this mess!  Her time was in 2016.  She needs to stay home this time!
• For God's Sake, don't let Bernie Sanders run for President again.  It's because of him, and his dividing of the party, that we ended up with Trump in the first place. His chance was in 2016.  He needs to stay home this time!

To all the people who are posting these pleas, from the bottom of my heart, SHUT UP!!!

We have a process in place to determine who will be the next Democratic nominee.  If the Democratic party (DNC) determines a candidate fits the definition of what makes up a Democrat, then by all means, let them run.  This includes Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  Remember: You build resentment by making people feel as if they were wronged.

Hillary Clinton supporters were aggressive during the 2016 nomination process.  I remember when Vice President Joe Biden was considering a run and Clinton supporters immediately insisted he shouldn't because his mental state had been 'compromised' due to the death of his son.  That was cold.  Clinton supporters just presumed Bernie supporters were going to be on board, and took them for granted.  That was a mistake.  For many Clinton supporters, there's still a lot of anger at what they perceive was a less than open arms endorsement from Sanders.

Trust me, no matter how many times I point out the math shows Bernie's ignoring the southeastern United States' Democratic Primaries early in the Democratic race was the deciding factor which cost him the nomination, many Bernie supporters are still convinced super-delegates were the knife in his back.  They weren't, but part of the reason we're in this Trump mess is because they felt wronged (let's not discount the massive Trump/Russian campaign to drive a wedge into the Democrats, encouraging Bernie supporters to not vote or to vote for Jill Stein).  Even today you have a lot of Bernie supporters who have a chip on their shoulder, looking for a reason to turn on the Democratic Party.

This is why we shouldn't be starting this nomination process by insisting on who CAN'T be the nominee.

If Hillary Clinton wants to run, let her.  I'll be honest; besides creating an extreme uneasiness in most Democrats, all she'll likely do is waste a ton of money.  But that being said, IT'S HER MONEY TO WASTE!  If she wants to run, let her run!

If Bernie Sanders wants to run, let him! Considering he'll turn 80 in his first year in office, his age becomes a legitimate concern when it comes to Democratic voters making a choice.  It's almost as if he'd need to announce his VP selection the same time he announces a run for President.  He still needs to address messaging issues towards moderate Democrats, and he needs a better overall campaign strategy, but if he wants to run, let him run!

It's always hard when a candidate you like loses and withdraws from the race.  What turns that frustration into ballot box jeopardizing resentment is the feeling the process was unfair.  Nothing feels more unfair than starting a nomination process by telling a legitimate nominee they're not welcome.

If you're a Democrat, or if you're closely aligned with the Democrats, and the Democratic Party determines you fall under the umbrella of being a Democrat, then by all means, form an exploratory committee and RUN!  The Democrats are supposed to be the party of equal opportunity.  Let's start acting like it.

Initial Thoughts on 2020

Consider how bad things went for the Republicans in 2018:

Their gerrymandered US House was taken back with authority by the Democrats with historic resound.  The Contract With America year the Republicans had a 7.0% advantage in the polling. In 2010, the year the Republicasn demanded all Democrats sit down and shut up, including President Obama, because they "had a mandate from the American people," Republicans had a 7.2% advantage.  The Democrats in 2018 had a 9.2% advantage.

Trust me, the gerrymandering still did it's job.  If the Republicans didn't have a massive gerrymandered advantage, they would've lost 100 seats, but even so no one is popping champaign bottles on the right.  This is their worst case scenario.  Their brand is pretty much wiped out on the West Coast and in the northeastern US, north of the Mason Dixon Line.  There are signs their tight grip on the southeastern US is starting to falter, and even deep red Texas is looking more and more blue.

Heck in North Carolina, they literally had the Republicans confiscating thousands of absentee ballots, an attempt to steal a congressional seat outright.  And we should be questioning whether or not the vote theft tactic/game plan happened in other sates, like Georgia and Florida.

With the majority of the US seeing Trump as a political Titanic starting to slip under the waves, Republicans are stuck with a base who still worships him.  GOP voters will never believe Trump ever did anything wrong, meaning if the Mueller probe goes the way it's looking, Republican politicians either have to decide to A) stand on the deck of the USS Trump as it sinks, B) wait to see if the 2020 polling shows they're in big trouble (which they will be), and then decide to jump like rats from the sinking ship (I really disagree with Trump even though my record says I fully support him!) or C) jump in a lifeboat early and sail towards retirement.  If they take 'C,' at least they'll get a good view of the carnage before the move on.

Most non-retiring Republicans have proven they won't deviate from Reagan's 11th Commandment, [paraphrasing] "never speak ill will against a fellow Republican," even if that Republican is a petulant, narcissistic man child who's addicted to television and bedtime cheeseburgers, and is subject to a daily temper tantrum.  They're going full steam ahead as they look at 2020, and this means the Democrats need to be ready for the Republican's three prongs of attack.

First prong: a repeat of 2016, drive a wedge into the Democrats by working the progressive side of the party against the more moderate candidates.  Although we already have our eyes wide open for this interference, and even though we already know it will happen, it still will be moderately successful because it attacks a Democrat's weakness; Democrats almost always believe 'if everyone did what I wanted, things would be so much better.'  Fight this attack by being more open minded.  Remember, there's a system in place.  If your candidate is looking like they're not going to win, remind yourself EVERY DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WILL BE FAR BETTER OPTION THAN TRUMP, OR ANY REPUBLICAN!  Stay united, no matter how much you get hurt by your candidate not being THE candidate.

Second prong: They have to get Democrats to stay home.  In Minnesota House races, Republican incumbents got more votes than they ever got before, but it didn't matter.  The Democrats showed up in force.  All Republicans could do is watch the inevitable unfold in front of them.  They can't win if Democrats show up, so they will do everything to get Democrats to stay home.  Ad campaigns to not vote, voting restrictions, disinformation distribution; the Republicans will spend a lot of money trying to get the left to be a no-show.  Fight this by having the same intensity as 2018, IF NOT MORE! Already vow to make sure people are registered to vote and they're going to vote.  Every Democratic Candidate, regardless of incumbent or challenger, needs to be knocking on doors ALREADY.  Don't be afraid.  Be pissed off and looking for bigger margins of victory.  With 2020 being a census year, if there's any hope to undo the right's obscene gerrymandering, we need to sweep every race we can.  That means showing up!

Third prong: outright theft.  Get ready for more attempts like the shenanigans in North Carolina.  Ballots being confiscated, fake ballots being submitted, absentee ballots being stolen and thrown out; the Republicans have already proven they're willing to use these tactics.  Be aware of what's going on, and if anything seems odd, contact the Secretary of State's office immediately.  Then, contact the local media.  Exposure is the biggest threat to these unlawful, anti-American tactics

What all three of these prongs show is something devastating for the Republicans. They're already conceding their candidates can't win fair and square.  Republicans won't appeal to the masses and will be a tough sell in what used to be safe Republicans districts.  Republicans need the Democrats to help them win.  I, for one, am not going to oblige.

The Friday Link for 12/21/18

Ok, I'm a jackass! I haven't had time this week to write, but that's mainly because I used up every bit of free time I had getting the holiday radio shows ready.  On my radio gig, we are airing 8 days of pre-recorded shows, all of them interviews with authors, pundits and even a journalist or two.  It's a ton of work to get that all recorded, but it's always the best option.  A week's worth of 'best of' shows gets boring really fast, and I don't believe in forcing fill in talent to work over the holidays.

Needless to say, it doesn't excuse the near barren existence of this blog.  I promise, with me now having time (when I get finished with my holiday preparations), I'll get something posted.

First a warning about tonight's Friday Links.  If you love Trump and his Administration, don't watch them.  They do not present Trump, or anyone around him, in a positive light, so save yourself the indigestion. These also have some rough language at times, so you've been warned.

For tonight, two insanely good bits from Colbert and his show for the holidays.  Laura Bennati's impression of First Lady Melania Trump is so freaking good.  Here she is showing all off her broadway expertise in a little segment called 'A Christmas Message from the White House.'



Then another holiday special where Santa gets help from Robert Mueller in saving Christmas.  It does have an amazingly accurate version of a Trump Campaign rally audience member.  It's topical, to say the least...



Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating it, and Happy Holidays to everyone else!

I promise I'll post some new blog pieces soon!

The Friday Link for 12/14/18

OKAY, OKAY...the blog has been really light...

I sat down about 11 times this week to write and I either realized I had something more pressing I had to do, OR I was exhausted.  I actually have two blog posts written, but I've not had time to proofread and edit them.  Considering how angry people get at me for typos on the Twitter feed, I dare not publish anything before I've cleaned them up.

That being said, you deserve better than three weeks of a nearly empty blog.  I will get some more posts published in the next week, I promise.

For this week, I've three for you.  First an incredibly satisfying takedown of Fox News' streaming service by Samantha Bee.  She hasn't had her comedic bite since the whole Ivanka dust up, but this was A+ primo comedy. Warning, ROUGH language, but 'Birth of a Fox Nation' is brilliant!



Next up is the best skit so far from Saturday Night Live this season, Them Trumps.  Of course this is what would happen to Trump if he was African American, and most of Trump's current supporters would be cheering this outcome if he was.



And finally for something Holiday, how about some mass marketing! This little skit was only about marketing the movie, and more specifically Lego toys before the holidays, but it's enjoyable.  I choose not to be a Scrooge!  Enjoy!



Have a great weekend everyone!

The Friday Link for 12/7/18

Hey all.

I know, I know.  The blog has been a little light this week.  It's the holidays and with it comes a stress level that's magical. I'll try to get a post out this weekend.

This Friday night I wanted something to put you in the holiday spirit, so I found John Denver and The Muppets Christmas special from 1979.  I remember seeing this on TV as a kid.  It's not the best quality, but it still will make you smile.

I feel John Denver is an under appreciated artist.  Most of us know his songs, but I don't think many people would list him in their top five if asked to name some of the biggest artists of the seventies. His poppy country music was almost it's own genre, mountain pop, where his love of America's rural wilderness balanced with his simple wholesome song lyrics.  He always sang from the heart.

When I was in the Army, stationed in Germany, the pubs and bars were packed with beer and live music.  Of course the Beatles' songs were always the most popular ones sung, but my God, did the crowds love the John Denver songs.  I remember many a Friday night closing down one specific pub where the Germans and Irish would be loudly belting out "Take Me Home, Country Roads."

John Denver died little over 21 years ago in a plane crash in California.

Enjoy John in his holiday best, with the always entertaining Muppets.



Have a great weekend everyone, and I will try to get a post up by Sunday.

The Friday Link for 11/30/18

As the city of Minneapolis tries to digest the ugly story of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department's 4th Precinct putting up a racist themed Christmas tree...

...hold on a quick second...

(((WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU FOOLS THINKING?  A RACIST CHRISTMAS TREE??? HOW MANY PEOPLE WALKED PAST THAT AND DIDN'T RIP IT DOWN?  DID YOU THINK A BURNING CROSS WAS TOO OVER THE TOP? AND THIS WAS AT THE 4TH PRECINCT? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO EASE TENSIONS IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN YOU HAVE IDIOTS PULLING CRAP LIKE THIS?  SERIOUSLY, THIS COULD BE ONE OF THE DUMBEST THINGS I'VE EVER HEARD OF!)))

Any who...

Since they opened the door, let's take us back to when the Minneapolis Police Union and KSTP made international headlines when they tried a political smear campaign agains former Mayor Betsy Hodges with the now infamous #Pointergate!

Since Jon Stewart is back, why not also include his three segment stint interviewing Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.  You forget how good Stewart was at interviewing people, and how he could actually ask tough questions.  This is a fun interview.









Have a great weekend everyone!

Community Pride

This weekend I had a recurring conversation.  A friend who lives in Minnetonka wanted to console me for my hellscape existence in the town I live in, Hopkins.  I informed them there was no need to throw pity my way, as not only is my town doing great, Hopkins is what America should strive to be.

Most of time when I'm correcting false notions about Hopkins it's due to a common problem.  A person moves from Hopkins to a wealthier neighborhood in one of the surrounding communities (Minnetonka, Edina, Eden Prairie or Wayzata) and to validate their decision, they vilify Hopkins, implying their 'escape' from the town was on par with the Millennium Falcon barely getting out of the mouth of that asteroid worm.  It's fantastic you were able to move to a wealthier neighborhood, but just because you did doesn't mean the neighborhood you left was bad.  I've lived in my Hopkins house for almost 20 years.  Not only is my neighborhood sensational, there have only been two crime related police calls in my immediate neighborhood in two decades. TWO!  Not exactly a hellscape.

Part of Hopkins problem is they were a less desirable community for many years.  The glory days of their agricultural roots were a faint memory by the 1980's, when the town was mostly known for cheap housing, dive bars and hair metal motorcycle gangs.  But then Hopkins started to resurrect it's reputation, beginning with the opening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts.  They embraced a new focus, encouraging a more family friendly environment.  AND Hopkins did this while maintaining standards for affordable housing and accessibility.  The city's done a magnificent job.

It doesn't help Hopkins that it is surrounded by some of the wealthiest communities in the state.  Any community would seem subpar when compared with the million dollar McMansions which crop up just across the borders.  While the surrounding wealthy communities have changed, moving away from their upper class working family roots to embrace the trend of buying up smaller houses, tearing them down and then building a 7000 square foot monstrosity replacement house to the property lines, Hopkins has maintained most of their 1950's Americana suburban, single family charm.  This is because Hopkins has very strict zoning laws which prevent a Hopkins McMansion from becoming reality.  The house can only be a certain percentage of the property size.  This rule has been a Godsend for Hopkins, saving it from the wrong kind of development.  It's kept Hopkins unique, and in turn made it more desirable.

Even with preservation rules and affordable housing standards in place, Hopkins is still more upper class than lower class.  The average median housing price in Minnesota is $230,000.  Hopkins is $252,000, placing it squarely in the upper middle class range.

And Hopkins is about to go through a MAJOR renaissance.  The Southwest Light Rail Line is starting to be built, and with it comes three stops in Hopkins.  The light rail lines on University and Hiawatha have dramatically revitalized those communities, bringing in long overdue development and investment.  You should expect the same in Hopkins, as developmental property around the stations will make for a good return on many levels.  Already Hopkins has seen the addition of two brand new apartment complexes, and both were almost immediately full.  Expect the positive development trend to continue.

In my mind, what makes Hopkins truly sensational is how really unique it is; real ethnic diversity in a middle class suburban environment. I graduated Edina in 1986 and that school was almost exclusively white.  While Edina was a fantastic school, it did not prepare me for the real world on that level.  The streets and schools of Hopkins are a cornucopia of racial diversity.  Regardless of the irrational fear of some, this is a representation of the world we're heading towards.  It doesn't mean there aren't still issues, but having a more diverse community brings awareness and conversations which help drive Hopkins in the right direction.

This article is by no means an effort to bad mouth the wealthy suburbs of the southwest metro.  They're fantastic and offer a lot to their residents.  I don't have to bad mouth my neighboring communities to make myself feel better about living in Hopkins.  To paraphrase Prince:  "I like Minnetonka, Edina, Eden Prairie and Wayzata.  I just like Hopkins a little bit better."