The Vikings, Trump and Perspective

In case you missed it, the last two weeks of Minnesota Vikings football have been exciting.  Two weeks ago, after critics of the team and the team's quarterback, Kirk Cousins, complained about their inability to win a road game against a winning opponent, they won a nationally televised game at Dallas.  The next week, after being criticized for their inability to come from behind and win, they did just that, scoring on EVERY 2nd half possession to tally 27 points, and steal a win from Denver at home.

Many of the same people (both locally and nationally) who complained about Cousins ability didn't admit they were wrong in regards to the two victories.  Instead they criticized both wins as weak, claiming since both the games were on the line until the last play it showed another major fault.  It was no longer Cousins' inability to win against a good team on the road, or lead the Vikings to a comeback victory, it was 'Cousins is a failure because he didn't win both games by 50 points.'

Many of the same critics would have a VERY different interpretation of those two wins if Green Bay Packer Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had pulled them off.  They'd be gushing about how you have to admire Rodger's tenacity, and his ability to steal victories from the jaws of defeat. It's perspective.  Rodgers is a great quarterback (not top 25 of all time, but good, and he does have a Super Bowl ring he pretty much won himself, nearly ten years ago).  The love affair certain members of the media have with him allow them to over inflate everything he does, while many of the same media who dislike Cousins dismiss his victories even when they contradict the narrative they themselves have pushed.

Perspective drives the narrative of how an individual wants to see the world, and happens everywhere.  That being said, it doesn't make it any less obnoxious when the media does it to our faces.

In September of 2016, then Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton had pneumonia.  She was undeniably weakened, but because much of our politics is based on appearances, she trudged through the campaign season.  On one occasion, she stumbled heading to her car after a 9/11 commemoration, and the media in this country went nuts!  They called her out for being seriously ill, having to be carried from event to event, accused of having a much more serious illness, and even accused of having extensive brain damage.  All from one stumble after an event.

Meanwhile Donald Trump, the man who inhabits the White House, had to be rushed to Walter Reed Medical Center under mysterious circumstances over the weekend. The White House has a full medial facility, top notch, staffed and ready to go, so for a President, on the weekend, unannounced, to have to be rushed to Walter Reed is a bit of a concern.

The White House said this was scheduled, but it never appeared on Trump's itinerary, an itinerary which was immediately scrapped, unexpectedly, when Trump was rushed to the hospital.  The White House is floating the story that Trump had a day off with nothing on the agenda (???) and decided to get a head start on 2020's annual physical.  That's not how annual physicals work.

None of that makes any sense, but the same media who constantly barraged Hillary with questions about her health is relegating their desire for truth to the back burner and acting as if all of this is normal.  It's not, and Trump should inform the American people if he, a 70+ year old man who hardly exercises, watches TV religiously, avoids vegetables and eats fast food constantly, is having a health problem.

(via The Onion)

I want Trump out of the White House, but not due to a serious health problem.  There's a responsibility by the media to at least demand the answer of what is going on.  They don't have to be as tenacious as they were with Hillary, but I would think "is the President healthy" is a basic question the news media shouldn't shrug their shoulders at.

The Friday Link for 11/15/19

I've become addicted to Bon Appétit's YouTube Channel.  I've watched probably 10 hours of it, and for me to watch 10 hours of anything in a single week is a rarity.  That's Doctor Who, Mystery Science Theater 3000 territory for me (NERD!!!).

In particular, I've LOVED Gourmet Makes.  In this series, Pastry Chef Claire Saffitz takes a common, gas station food (for lack of a better term) and tries to make a gourmet version of it.

The appeal of this series is all on Claire.  Her chef talent is in rarefied air.  The ability she has to taste something and almost immediately come up with the science behind the food, and in turn figure out a gourmet version of said item is amazing.  You get emotionally tied up in her triumphs and failures; Claire herself the perfect symbol of a modern hard work and professionalism.  She takes it seriously, and in turn you get addicted.  Plus, she is kind of adorable!

And these things she tackles are not easy to make!  One fun element of the show is the realization that something like Pringles, with its unique shape, is almost impossible to replicate in a home kitchen.  Could you make a Skittle?  I sure as heck couldn't.

And all this while giving you a view in what might be the coolest work environment on the planet.  Seriously, you'll dream of having coworkers and a workspace as cool as these people (Bon Appétit, please hire me!).  By the way, these videos get big viewing numbers, so I'm not alone in my love.

Three episodes this week (they're long!) but you'll love them.  Hot Pockets, Starbursts and Sour Patch Kids!  Enjoy!







Have a great weekend everyone!

One More Time, With Spirit! For the Veterans...

I've said before: the thing conservatives challenge me on most has nothing to do with politics.  They challenge me on my military service.  I was in the US Army from 1988 to 1992...

That is indeed a young pre-bridge troll version of me, your front line of defense!  I'm very proud of my military service, and the lessons I learned during my four year tour have helped make me a better father, husband and radio broadcaster.

But the idea of me, a Democrat, being a proud veteran triggers a lot of conservatives.  I've been challenged numerous times in the last ten years; some snarky jackass thinks he'll score alt-right points by exposing me as a fraud.  The Republican challenges always have the same feel, their counterpoint hung loosely on some very fragile argument like 'that wasn't the BDU's soldiers wore at that time in my buddies unit,' or 'I never heard of that training and I've read EVERY manual ever released by the military.' Nothing I can do or say will change their mind.

The challenger (almost always) didn't serve in the US Armed Forces themselves.

I usually end up bringing in my friends I served with, veterans who are scattered across the country who'll always come to my defense if some jerk decides to question my military service, just as I would defend them.  The Righto will then start stumbling, insisting they never said I wasn't in the military, just pointing out an inconsistency they assure me NOW has been settled.  They then run away like cowards.

At no point do these 'patriotic Americans' apologize for smearing my military service.  NOT ONCE has a Righto admitted they were wrong and said "I'm sorry.'

It's Veterans Day again, and it's time for me to reset the four things I feel the US Government should do for Veterans and their families.  But before I get there, let me make a comment about what it means to support the troops.

Throughout the weekend, when I watched TV or went out shopping, I was inundated with military salutes, directed at the current military, those who had served, those who we've lost, and the families of these brave men and women.  That's great!  Thanks, but there's a problem with these displays.  It makes people feel like they've done something to help the soldiers when they really haven't done that much.

There's a difference between acknowledging the troops and supporting the troops.

Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to have people say thanks.  Some places have specialized parking spots reserved for Veterans and some stores offer military discounts for those who've served.  Many businesses have a special fund where they offer a certain military family plane tickets and a nice vacation.  That's also great, and appreciated, but let me try to explain a few points.

It's nice to save 3 cents on a pack of light bulbs, but for many veterans, active duty and military families, it's doesn't really fill the voids which every veteran, soldier and military family member deal with every day.  But because it's a benefit some people can't get, it's perceived by many as doing far more than it actually does.  It's like the parking spot.  Sure its great to be able to park five spots closer to the door, but the next Veteran in after me doesn't get that benefit.  And did my day really became better for the 20 feet I didn't have to walk?  Meanwhile the store feels like they've covered a major failure in the gaps of military care today by allowing a veteran to park a few spots closer.

Let's not disguise a primary benefactor for these token gestures, the people/businesses who promote them.  This weekend, those organizations would be the NFL and major sports leagues, the sports broadcast networks who use the military as props in their broadcasts, the beer and alcohol companies who drape their cans/labels with the American flag, and many retailers with their Veteran's Day ads, especially the major home repairs and appliance box stores who gets to paint themselves as super patriotic because they give that 3 cent discount on light bulbs.  Don't ignore the self-serving benefits for the businesses who use Veterans to promote themselves.

Even the special funds/groups who give you those tear-jerker moments (the young kids are surprised by mom or dad returning from a deployment overseas, with TV cameras to capture the raw emotion of the reunion) are getting an unspoken benefit.  It's nice they reunite these families, but they also get the benefits of the ratings/social media gold a made for TV event like that generates, pulling at the heart strings for an emotional moment, a reunion which could've just as easily taken place in private, followed by an introduction of the family afterward.  The reunification is a prop used by TV shows, sports teams and businesses to pat themselves on the back.  It's a very nice gesture, but it's still a prop, captured on video and broadcast on every platform possible, a prop which makes people feel like they have actually done something to 'support the troops' by 'liking' a video clip on Instagram.

And even when those military first groups do send a military family on a nice vacation, or get a soldier plane tickets home, that's only a small portion of military families who could use a vacation, and a small portion of the soldiers who can't afford the flight home.

This isn't saying there isn't a nice element to this.  Of course there is, but it's a very limited benefit, mostly for a handful of soldiers/veterans.  And it hides the true needs of soldiers and veterans in this day and age.  There is A LOT more we can actually do!

If you REALLY want to make a difference, then call your political representation and ask for them to sponsor ALL 4 of the following pro-veteran initiatives:

1. Any soldier/veteran/military family member can get 'US Government paid for' medical treatment at ANY medical facility in the country.  Make it part of the medical licensing process.  That way soldiers and veterans are not forced to have to travel 9 hours for medical care they could EASILY receive a mile from their home.  Make sure full psychological and dental coverage are included.  It it the LEAST we can do!
2. Any soldier/veteran can go to a pubic university in the United States and get a college degree for free.  I'm not saying this would cover room and board, but the GI Bill would allow them to pay for those expenses.  The soldier would still have to qualify for college, but this would be a free college education for soldiers and veterans who served in combat or pulled a four year tour.  It is the LEAST we can do!
3. Free job placement for any soldier/veteran when they return from active duty.  And (with no disrespect to certain jobs) I'm not talking flipping burgers, working delivery, or sweeping floors.  I'm talking job placement into good jobs which have a minimum 40K starting salary.  It is the Least we can do!
4. If a soldier comes back from their service time wounded, or if a combat veteran is aging, or if the family of a soldier who died in combat needs the Government benefits THEY HAVE EARNED WITH THEIR OWN BLOOD, they by God make that happen!  Do not make them jump through hoops, or make them have to deal with copious red tape.  They've earned those benefits, so let's make sure they get them.  IT IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO!!!

To those who immediately scream 'that will cost a lot of money,' yes it will, but this is what we should do.  We had enough money to give millionaires and billionaires a MASSIVE tax cut two years ago.  Either spend more money on the Veterans, or cancel the wealthy's tax breaks.  Whatever is easiest.

And to all those people who say 'thank you Veteran's,' thanks.  It is appreciated, but if you really want to show how much you support the troops, call every political representative you've got and ask for the above policy changes.  Trust me, if you did that for the returning soldiers, veterans, and military family members, you wouldn't need to give a veteran a 3 cent discount on light bulbs ever again.  They'd appreciate the discount, but their outlook would be a lot brighter without them.

Just Super

Below is the product review form entry I left from my stay last weekend at the Super 8 In Eau Claire Wisconsin.  If you can't tell, this one was a beaut!

The problems started the day before, when I called to ask if my reservations were set.  The woman who answered the phone spoke no English.  I am all for immigration, but even when...I...talked...like...this...asking...if (you get the idea) they had my reservation, she said "thank you" and hung up without ever answering.

When we got there to check in, they gave us key cards that wouldn't work in the slot on the room door.  The front desk guy said they have this happen all the time because they don't change the batteries in the doors.  He then gave us a different room.  We were able to get into this one.  The room was freezing, appeared clean but there seemed to be a lot of structural damage to the walls, woodwork, ect.  It was then we discovered the toilet wasn't working.

I brought this to the attention of the guy working the counter, and he said "oops!"  He then said there is nothing we can do about it, and gave us another room.  This final room was a lot like the previous one.  Ice cold, clean but with a lot of structure damage (one particularly nasty carpet stain).  The toilet in this room worked, but there was only the final bit of toilet paper on the roll and the rest of the toilet paper was stacked by the sink.  I joke you not, the room had the hardest bed I've ever slept on.  I swear I thought it was actually a wooden plank with a thin layer of cloth over it. The heater/AC unit also seemed damaged.  'Low heat' had the temp in the room at 85, and 'low cool' had the room down to 40.  There were a lot of people making noise in the hallway, so between that and the rock hard bed, I didn't sleep very well.

Considering everything else, we didn't risk the breakfast.  When we went to check out, at 6:30 in the morning, the counter person was no where to be found.  After waiting a few minutes, shocked the counter person was not there for the Saturday morning checkout, I picked up the call phone.  The phone rang, fairly loudly, in the room right next to the counter.  The counter person was in the office right next to the counter, clearly could hear us, and at no point came out to check us out.

I understand a Super 8 isn't the Ritz Carlton, so my expectations aren't exactly high, but it's spectacular how bad of a hotel the Eau Claire Super 8 was.  An all time worst top three for me.

Traveler be warned!

The Friday Link for 11/8/19

This week, how about someone doesn't try to scare you!

One of the things I hate about modern nature shows which talk about cataclysmic events (volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis) is how they all present their 'research' in a fear based narrative.  It's always "this area is LONG overdue for a monster earthquake," or "is the next tidal wave heading for you!?!"  My favorite was the guys who 1) made up a fake asteroid, 2) implied it was destined to strike the earth, and 3) insisted all life was doomed.  Providing zero evidence of their 'science,' their final warning to the viewer was "it could happen!"  Could it?

That's why I was pleasantly surprised with the SciShow's rational and less hyperbolic explanation on why it's pretty unlikely a super volcano is waiting around the corner to mug you.  Seriously, I love this video.  It's rational, intelligent, chock full of science stuff and reasonable.  I can only wish all science didn't feel they had to 'cable TV' themselves up just to try to get people's attention.



Speaking of fact based reality, let's also go with Robert Reich explaining that indeed the Founding Father's of the United States would absolutely be in favor of throwing Trump's caboose out via impeachment.



Have a great weekend everyone!  Stay warm! Go Gophers!

The Undertow of Stupid

Over the last month, I've had to deal with strange behavior emitting from those around me.  The behavior manifests itself in the following two ways:

1) Irrational anger
2) A sense of hopelessness

My main experience with the irrational anger came from my wife.  For the last few weeks, I could tell something was bugging her, in the way only a 25 year partner can look at a person and see something isn't right.  I'd ask about it and she'd say "it's nothing."  It was something, and I could tell my wife was only getting angrier.  Yes it did cross my mind a few times it might just be her being married to me.

Finally, after a wildly foolish argument, I made her try to put her finger on what was going on.  My wife is not like me, a person who soaks up the news for a good chunk of the day.  She gets her news daily, but in more reasonable bite sized morsels.  She listens and reads good journalism, not Fox News and anything further and gleefully right of them.  She's smart (smarter than me) and well informed.  She knew the details of the last few scandals in the Trump Administration; the fumbling of our country's trade policy, the embracing and encouragement of racism, the horrors at Trump's border concentration camps, the Kavanaugh scandal, the Mueller Report.  She's watched as scandal after scandal has rocked this White House, and she keeps asking the logical educated question, "Why hasn't Trump been removed from office?"

It's a very legitimate question.  The same politicians who impeached Clinton over lying about an extra marital affair and who conducted 8 Benghazi investigations were now intentionally placing their heads in the sand, ignoring behavior which at any other point in our country's history would've led to the removal of the President.  Instead, it's almost as if a slide whistle sound effect is all that happens and we move onto the next scandal.

For me, I didn't sleep a wink the night Trump was elected.  I stayed up staring at the ceiling asking over and over "what have these idiots done?"  And not just the idiots who voted for Trump.  I was also referring to the idiots who were convinced their vote didn't matter, that Trump and Hillary Clinton would be the same.  Those idiots sat out the election with smugness.  The one hundred and ten million registered voters who didn't vote are just as much to blame for Trump as the most rabid redneck screaming "MAGA!"  My wife on the other had was much more of a slow burn.  She was sad after Election Night 2016, but she shrugged her shoulders and hoped for the best.  I knew where Trump would end up, but she has watched as bad thing after bad thing has happened, with no repercussions for Trump's bad behavior.

Now we have Trump himself admitting quid pro quo with Ukraine; holding up approved military aid in a blackmail attempt to get the Ukraine to manufacture political dirt against his primary political rival heading into 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden. Not only has Trump admitted to it, the 'transcript' of the phone call he made to the Ukrainians admitted it, his Chief of Staff admitted it on camera, a whistleblower filed a formal complaint over the disgusting behavior, and pretty much every witness who has testified about the call has backed up the allegation.  Trump was selling access to US taxpayer dollars in return for dirt on Biden.

Most reasonable people (and patriotic Americans) would've said "that's it," but not Trump fans.  This seems to be the origins of the irrational anger.  A few weeks back, Trump rallied in Minneapolis, and with him came the undertow of stupid who show up at all of his events.  Although there were at least as many protestors outside of Target Center and were inside, it was shocking to see the Trump people, people who look at this country, and the man in charge of it, and are viewing a different reality.  They only see the unicorns and rainbows version of Trump.

This is what's causing the irrational anger in my wife and others.  People are frustrated at how such bad leadership and bad behavior could go on not only unchecked, but cheerfully encouraged.  The anger is realizing we live in a country where a shocking amount of people are willfully and intentionally ignorant (both politician and voter), refusing to stop, or even acknowledge, the train wreck happening in front of us all.

Not only are these purposeful imbeciles causing educated and intelligent people to get upset, they're also the source of the second behavior I've noticed lately, hopelessness.

It's hard when you see someone you respect and look up to breakdown and start making irrational statements.  Such was the case when a friend of mine, out of the blue, suddenly said "What's the point?  Trump is going to win next year and Republicans will win control of everything.  Why should we even try?"

This was not the first time I've heard this mentality.  I've gotten it on my radio show and on my social media pages.  I've had friends at get-togethers make similar comments.  I've no idea where it's coming from.  I wonder if this is some sort of new social media influence campaign, similar to the 2016 campaign which got Democrats screaming of how Hillary Clinton would be no better than Trump; talking points which originated in Russia.

I can understand where the hopelessness comes from.  After unforgivable Trump scandal after unforgivable Trump scandal, to see the Republican Party, in the face of undeniable evidence of wrongdoing, do nothing (EIGHT Benghazi investigations!), and to see people who's lives are FAR worse off than they were in 2016 continue to praise Trump for hurting them (thank you sir, may I have another!), the feeling of dread is understandable.  But as hopeless as it might seem, the fight is NOT over!  This is not something we should use to justify the end of Democracy.

Let me help by putting a few things in perspective.

The steering wheel driving the modern Republican Party down the road is thus:  they HATE Democrats more than they love their religion, their kids, their jobs, their health and their country.  I've often said a Republican could walk into their bedroom and find Trump sleeping with their spouse and the first words out of their mouth would be "Damn Democrats."  These people are pathological in their insistence the Democrats can never be right about anything, hence they have adopted a purposeful ignorance which allows them to re-write reality to fit their narrative.  They will never admit they were wrong.  THEY'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE, SO STOP EXPECTING THEM TO DO THE RIGHT THING!

Whether or not this country survives past 2020 comes down to one specific thing, the 110 million registered voters who did not vote in 2016.  The vast majority of those voters are Democrats.  The Republicans victory model is dependent on those people staying at home.  If you get 30 million of those people to the polls, especially in the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada, everything changes overnight.  30 million more people voting would get the Democrats a veto proof majority in the House, and a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.  And of course the White House, most state Governorships and most state legislatures.  GET REGISTERED TO VOTE!  MAKE SURE EVERYONE YOU KNOW IS REGISTERED TO VOTE! THEN COMMIT TO A GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN IN YOUR COMMUNITY!  COMMIT TO MAKING SURE AS MANY REGISTERED VOTERS AS POSSIBLE VOTE IN 2020!!!

Last night, 25 minutes after the cable news networks said Republican Matt Bevin lost the Kentucky Governor's race by over 5000 votes, a delusional nut bag appointee of his, Alyssa Dara McDowell went up on the stage at the Bevin headquarters and with no proof whatsoever announced Bevin had actually won the election.  She then pranced back and forth on the stage as people frantically checked their phones for news of the reversal. She was eventually pulled off the stage as the crowd booed her.

This is what we're dealing with.  Ignore them. They're not worth your time or energy, and if you start getting irrationally angry, or if you start feeling hopeless, you're allowing the undertow of stupid to drag you down.

Let's go win in 2020!

The Friday Link for 11/1/19

Halloween last night, my wife and I took different approaches.  I treat the night as a chance to see the neighborhood kids in costume and hand out candy.  My wife looks at it as an opportunity to make sure 10 year olds never sleep soundly again.

There's a certain amount of people who like to scare others.  Mind you, the enjoyment of the person being scared is irrelevant to them, as the 'scarer' is mainly in it to see the bare, raw visceral emotion of a person they've scared to death.  I think a lot of it comes from the kind of Halloween you grew up with.  It sounds like my wife's family set up real scares and a spooky experience to force a 9 year old child to nearly wet themselves for the ultimate goal of a fun size Milky Way.

But to be fair, Halloween used to be more about scares than it is today.  When I was young, there were some neighbors who would go all out, but not in the modern Target purchased accessories way.  They would hide a family member in the bushes, or set up a floating ghost which would come right at the kids, or they would have a really creepy presence at the door which would cause some kids, including myself, to say "no thanks!"  And there were kids who held onto some sort of Halloween 'code of honor' back then.  If a person didn't have candy, or didn't answer the door, egg splotches would soon adorn their siding and toilet paper would be in their trees.

But somewhere things changed.  In the mid-1970's, there was a woman who gave out KING size Hersey bars in our neighborhood with no scares attached.  Everyone loved her.  As Halloweens progressed, it seems the rest of the neighborhood realized being the house everyone feared didn't compare to the house everyone adored.

I'm lucky.  Of my wife and her two sisters, I have the one who tries to scare the kids the least.  Her one sister puts on a Halloween showcase at her house north of Portland, Oregon which would cause Freddy Krueger to say 'whoa, tone it down a little!'  Her other sister has the reputation from some of the neighborhood kids of being the 'scary lady.'  My wife tried to scare a few kids.  The first kid she confronted was clearly terrified of her in her creepy mask, but because the kid stood still, she kept ramping it up until I interceded.  She thought he was being stubborn when I could see the kid was frozen in fear.  I gave the kid extra candy.

For tonights Friday Link, let me give you one of the top ten things in television every year.  Ellen Degeneres sends her producer Andy to haunted houses.  Andy would definitely be on the "not scaring" side of the Halloween debate, much to his chagrin.  This year, he got to go through two haunted houses, one with Tiffany Haddish, and one with my super secret girlfriend Lizzo.  Warning there is a lot of bad language on these, which even bleeped out is still pretty in your face.  Enjoy!





Have a great beginning of November everyone!

The Ugliness

It is Halloween, but right now I'm focused on a different holiday, Veteran's Day.  Less than two weeks from today we'll take a day to recognize and support the troops, active duty and veteran, alive and deceased, as well as their families.  It is the least we can do, but for some Republicans, they'll salute the troops only as long as they don't run afoul of the Republican's political agenda.

I remember in 2004, when John Kerry was running for President.  Among the many things which dotted his resume was some extraordinary bravery while he served in the Navy.  In Vietnam, in 1969, Kerry led an attack on the enemy as he commanded a Swift Boat and pretty much single handedly took on an enemy position and won, getting injured along the way.  For his bravery, he was awarded a Silver Star.  This was one of the many brave things Kerry did while serving.

In total Rove-ian politics, his military record of bravery became a weapon to use against him.  The Republicans recruited so called "veterans" to challenge Kerry and the US Navy's description of what happened.  They called him a coward and a liar, striking deep at his military record.  Right wing media jumped in, accusing Kerry of being a traitor to the country.  Some even said he should be prosecuted for falsely attaining a medal they felt he hadn't earned.

After the 2004 election, the same Republicans who spit on Kerry put on their fake earnest faces and insisted they never once questioned his bravery and honor.  They insisted they only questioned Kerry's record because of the "veterans" who had baselessly attacked him; they ALL saluted his bravery.  An interview conducted with some of the "veterans" after the election called them out for not actually being a witness to what happened in 1969, or even serving with Kerry in his unit.  The closest any of these "veterans" had actually gotten to Kerry was one guy served in the motor pool and occasionally saw Kerry.  They all lied.  They insisted they were innocent, that the Republicans orchestrated the attack on Kerry.  One was upset because the local military organization he was part of had expelled him for purposely lying.  Boo freaking-Hoo.

As a Veteran myself, the Republicans and so called "veterans" who attacked John Kerry can burn in hell.  That was the last election I voted for anyone Republican.

We all remember Benghazi, and the 8 investigations into the tragic deaths of four people at a US diplomatic mission in 2012.  Even after the first two investigations found no wrong doing by President Obama and then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Republicans conducted SIX MORE, all screaming they still had questions.  After all of them, they STILL found NOTHING, but they were already planning on two more investigations (9 and 10) if Hillary Clinton had won in 2016.

This due diligence doesn't exist with Trump in the White House.  In 2017, four US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger.  Trump took 12 days to even acknowledge the sacrifice of the brave soldiers.  Trump then got wildly disrespectful to the mother of one of the dead, and when the details of that conversation came to light, the Republicans machine went to war with the soldier's mother.  [Paraphrasing] 'How dare she not take Trump's crap ass condolences as the greatest moment in her pathetic life.'

There were A LOT of unanswered questions revolving around the ambush in Niger, and what exactly was the Administration's culpability (they clearly were guilty on certain levels), but not one Republican who demanded 8 Benghazi investigations asked for ONE investigation in what happened in Niger.  It seems when brave Americans die due to bad policy and lackluster leadership from a Republican White House, then "the soldiers knew what they signed up for!"

The latest outrage from the Right toward our military comes in the form of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.  The Lieutenant Colonel, the Director for European Affairs for the US National Security Council, was called to testify in the Impeachment probe of Trump.  He was actually listening in on the call between Trump and the Ukrainians and was concerned about Trump's demanding political dirt on the Biden's in exchange for already approved US aid.  Not only did he corroborate the stories of others, he exposed the Trump Administration had omitted crucial elements from the transcript they'd released.

The response from the right?  Numerous Republican mouth pieces, including former Deputy Assistant AG John Yoo, former Rep. Sean Duffy, right wing talk host Laura Ingraham and Trump offspring Donald Jr., attacked Vindman, without any proof, calling him a traitor, a spy more concerned about Ukraine over the United States.  The only "evidence" they had against a HIGHLY decorated 20+ year Army career was that Vindman was born in the Ukraine and moved to America when he was 3.   That's it!

By the next day, after being brutally savaged for their misguided attack, the people who had called him a traitor were trying to walk back their allegations, implying they'd never questioned his patriotism.  Of course they did.

The Republicans, the same people who used to bash people over the head bellowing "Support the Troops," do not care about the active duty military, veterans, military deceased and the family members of service members unless they agree with their political point of view.  That is NOT supporting the troops!

Veterans and active duty military, the Republicans only suck up to you so they can use you as a prop.

This Veteran's Day, Republicans are going to eagerly get in front of soldiers, insisting they support them.  Considering the decreased quality of services and the lack of quality care Veterans and their families receive under the Republican's leadership, and considering the Republican party will CLEARLY turn on the soldiers in a heartbeat, maybe it's time for the Veterans to say "thanks, but no thanks."

Operation Orange Shield

It became fairly clear by mid 2017, halfway through his first year in office, Donald Trump wasn't going to benefit from populism.  His poll numbers spiked briefly after the Inauguration, but the easily provable lies and Trump's pettiness over the Inauguration crowd size quickly turned any willingness to give Trump the benefit of the doubt sour.  He has consistently had 52-58% of the population disapprove of him, and his best days in office were when his approval numbers were less than 10 points underwater.

The herculean response to prevent Trump from ever having to face his floundering support has been amazing.  The Republican Party and the Administration have effectively shielded Trump from most criticism, something which is remarkable in this day and age.  Occasionally someone leaves his TV on CNN or MSNBC, prompting a Twitter lashing at whatever unflattering story the other news networks covered.  Occasionally his legal team has had to come to him with negative news about legal issues, also prompting his social media ridicule.  But outside the occasional bad news comet roaming into his solar system, Trump seems to be securely insulated from the negative world.

Trump's vacations/weekends off (can anyone tell the difference) are almost exclusively at his own properties, surrounded by not only paying rubes who want to rub elbows, but employees who look at him as their boss.  His international trips are usually with people who are kissing his butt, loving the validity their despotic regimes are given by having the USA's leader kiss their ring of power.  And even when Trump ventures out into the country, his actual interactions with the masses are a coordinated event, designed to make sure he never sees anything negative.

He leaves the White House, goes to the airport, gets onto Air Force One, flies to what ever city is hosting him, is greeted at a secure spot at the incoming airport, is whisked away to the underground parking garage under the arena he's appearing at, an arena which has been vetted and screened to ensure 99.9% of the crowd worship Trump, get's told to go on stage, speaks to the adoring masses, then goes back to his car to be shuttled back to Washington DC.  He doesn't interact with the masses like any of his predecessors.  His handlers know if he was to take a wrong turn, he would find himself face to face with REAL Americans who HATE his guts.  His fragile ego couldn't take it.

This is why what happened on Sunday night was a real head scratcher.  Trump decided to go to Game 5 of the World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros.  I have no idea if anyone tried to talk him out of it, but for whatever the reason he decided to go WAY off script.  Trump went to a 45,000 person filled stadium, filled with people who hadn't been screened for their loyalty.

I think the Trump team felt the news from earlier in the day, the death of ISIS leader Baghdadi, would give him a bump.  They felt there'd be some boos, but most of the crowd would cheer.  There were plenty of HUGE red flags the Trump team seemed to ignore.

The National's ballpark can seat far more people than who attend his rallies, and at his rallies, many in attendance travel show to show like he's the Grateful Dead (my guess from the Minneapolis rally which had 19,000 Trump fans in attendance would be at least 50% of the crowd was transient).  Those loyal Trump followers would not be able to get a World Series seat, even if they had the $500 needed for a bad seat.  This was in Washington DC, a Democratic stronghold.  It was at an arena where beer had been getting poured for a few hours prior to the introduction.  It was a crowd who had not been screened, but knew Trump would be attending.  And it's a city where most of the people are employed by the Federal Government and are getting a front row seat for the damage this Administration is doing.  What could possibly go wrong?!?



Trump's facial expression at not being greeted as the hero was actually kind of sad.  For a second I felt sorry for him, but then I thought about all the crap he's done to people he doesn't like, and I realized he's only getting a small taste of what he's eagerly handed out.  He got a peek behind the curtain to see the real world, something he's completely unaware exists.  Plus, he didn't take Barron, his own son, to a World Series game.  That's really sucky parenting.

As much as Trump supporters try to argue this was a fluke, that somehow only anti-Trump Antifa zealots had gotten tickets to a World Series game, just in case Trump attended, the reality is this destroys the idea Trump is the popular one, and the polls which he insists are rigged, are actually telling the truth.

It's hard for Trump to speak at the UN without most of the UN turning on him, so this wading into unfamiliar waters must have been refreshing for the people in attendance at the game.  It's a shame it costs you hundreds of dollars to be able to boo Trump to his face, but it seems worth every cent for those in attendance.

Expect the Trump team to dramatically limit any future appearances where Trump might actually have to come face to face with the people he actually is in charge of.

The Friday Link for 10/25/19

Considering next Friday will officially be November, I have to do my Halloween post tonight.  So be it!

Three completely unrelated videos.  First off, from the same people who bring you CinemaSins, it's TVSins.  Same concept, smaller screen.  This week its Everything Wrong with It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!  Warning, the TV special is kid friendly, but the commentary along with this video is quite adult.  You've been warned!



Next up; I cannot stand when a 'best of list' ignores classic films and only front loads the list with things from the last 20 years.  I was pleasantly surprised with the 60 plus year spread for the movies featured in WatchMojo's Top 10 Scariest Giant Movie Bugs list.  There are some scares and gore in the clips featured here so viewer be warned.



Finally, it's the scariest thing I could find!  Rudy Giuliani!  Well not actually Rudy, but the best damn impression of him I have seen, courtesy of John Lithgow, and The Late Show.  "I'm not falling into that 'Proof Trap'" could be one of the funniest lines I've heard in a long time.  I needed it after this week.



Have a great weekend everyone!

The Franconia Sculpture Park

For the last two years I'd been hearing of a sculpture park in the nether regions of Minnesota.  It's out there; located in Franconia, 10 miles from the end of the metro area (and I'm being generous), but the rave reviews had peaked my interest.  Minneapolis is blessed with great sculpture.  Multiple Sculpture gardens, random top notch statues and even satellite sculpture gardens (at places like the arboretum) are scattered around the Twin Cities, so when multiple art friends of mine start raving, I get interested.

With MEA Weekend in Minnesota (teachers conference) last weekend, we decided to hit the state park in Taylor's Falls and make the stop to see what people are talking about.

The Franconia Sculpture Park is on the corner of US 8 and Highway 95.  It's free, expansive and worth the trip.  Here are some of the photos I took but these do not do it justice.  Go see for yourself, and it is very kid friendly!

Being Proven Right and Seeing the Future

This blog post was actually a letter I wrote and had published in MinnPost back in 2008, eleven years ago.  Considering the college football hacks are already saying an undefeated Minnesota will not be worthy of being in the BCS Championship regardless of how the rest of the season goes, I felt it was time to revisit the stupidity of NCAA Division 1-A football.

They need to fix college football.

Fumble, How College Football has Destroyed Itself

            The people who run Division 1-A college football, primarily the folks behind the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), have come to believe something bizarre; a loss is better than a win.  They even think, in certain cases, two losses are better than two wins.  Why is this?  It allows them to forgo unbeaten, but less glitzy teams in order to try to get a super-mega college football championship game for the television network, bowl game organizers and sponsors who seem to have complete control of their sport.

            Division 1-A college football is the only sport where this insane concept is accepted.  None of the other football leagues, the NFL, CFL, and Division 1-AA, Division 2, and Division 3 college football consider a loss better than a win, and, to no surprise, all of those leagues have a playoff system where the championship is determined on the field and not in some board room, television studio or programmed computer hard drive.  Division 1-A college football is scared to death of a playoff.  They think unless the two teams playing to determine the national champion are from 20 or so premiere teams, the sponsors and viewers would not show up.  So to make sure the “right” teams are in the big game, a loss has to become better than a win.

            Imagine the Vikings win the NFC North, but the NFL informs them that since they played a winless Detroit Lions twice, their strength of schedule has been deflated so the Dallas Cowboys, who coincidently have a larger fan base, will go to the playoffs instead.  Crazy.  And forget the fringe colleges who make a run at it (Boise St., Utah, Ball State), if the Minnesota Gophers went 12-0, there is no way they would play in the national championship game either.  Their crime would be they are not popular enough college football school, as opposed to Ohio State, Texas, or Florida.  The funniest part would be the college football “expert” screaming how “Minnesota is not worthy of the BCS Championship Game because they play in a Big Ten Conference having a down year,” only to follow it up 30 seconds later by saying “an 11-1 Ohio State team does deserve the chance to play in the game because they play in the tough Big Ten.”

            What has this led too?  A handful of colleges have seen their fan base rise dramatically.  Just head over to the Mall of America and look into the numerous hat and jersey shops.  Along side all the pro sports teams, are the same 20 or so college teams in every store.  But the NCAA’s cost for this popularity is the apathy for college football with the fans of other 90 plus teams.  Sure they might get good crowds for the rivalry game, but that’s it.  It’s reminiscent of the NFL when the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49’s were the only two teams with a real chance every year.  The NFL realized having only two teams in your sport matter was killing their league.  With the changes they made, the NFL now is unpredictable and the most popular league in the country.  Since we should never go back to the old bowl system, I propose two solutions.  

            The first is what I think the people behind this mess really want.  Take the 20 or so teams currently in the running for the title each year and put them into a “Super Division.”  This allows the BCS people to get weekly must see games, ending in a monster championship game.  You can then give the bowl games back to the regular Division 1-A and forget the whole loss/win fiasco.  There are two downsides to this.  You’d have to realign the conferences, probably eliminating two, and in the regular 1-A, the bowl games would revert back to their imperfect solution, but this would be over looked by the Super Division’s lineup.

            The second solution begins by making every team play 12 regular season games, eliminating any conference championships.  At the end of the season, take the top 16 teams, including any undefeated teams, and slot them into a playoff bracket by record, where 1 plays 16, 2 plays 15 and so on, with the higher ranked team hosting.  The weekend leading up to Christmas you play the eight-first round games, the weekend leading up to New Year’s, you play the four-second round games, and the first weekend of January you play the semifinals.  Then the weekend between the NFL’s conference championship games and the Super Bowl, you have a must see, true national championship with an undisputed winner.  And for those who need the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls, those games would go to teams not in the playoff bracket, and they would be played on New Year’s Day.

            Until they solve this debacle, let me salute the Boise St.-Utah Championship game that will not happen.  I hope you both win your bowl games and force these idiots into pretending (1) two undefeated teams are not as good as the one loss winner of their BCS game, and (2) their system, as broken and flawed as ever, doesn’t need to be fixed.  Let this be a lesson to all sports leagues:  when you put people who are more interested in money rather then the betterment of your sport in charge of it, don’t be surprised when you hear asinine arguments to justify your sole-less product.

The Friday Link for 10/18/19

For this week, I'm sharing what has become one of my favorite shows, The Good Place.

What I like most about The Good Place is how well it's written, and how well those lines are delivered.  This is one of those shows where there are so many jokes, some episodes you need to rewatch to catch everything.

The cast is exceptional starting with America's sweetheart Kristen Bell, but at any point, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, Ted Danson or D'Arcy Carden steals a scene or an episode.  A special shout out to Danson who's doing his best TV since Cheers and the unbelievably talented Carden whose Janet is such a pivotal character on the show.

Also the gags are relentless and hilarious.  The references to how people are tortured in The Bad Place, the mocking of Jacksonville and Florida as a whole, and the occasional deep cut ethics and philosophy references/puns are great.  There's a moment in Season One where demons are forcing Ted Danson's character to dance while they karaoke the Nixon Tapes (you read that right).  It's freaking brilliant!

For this week, here are the blooper reels for Seasons 1, 2, and 3. Of course there's some naughtier language, so you've been warned!







Catch the first three season of The Good Place on Netflix and the final season is currently airing on NBC.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Autumn Flowers

I took some good shots of Autumn flowers at the Minnesota Arboretum last weekend.  Enjoy!

What We Learned on Thursday

On Thursday, Trump came rambling into Minneapolis trying to fire up his base by having a rally in the 'belly of the beast;' the House district of Representative Ilhan Omar.  The idea was to show the country Trump's appeal (even in a Democratic stronghold like Minneapolis) was far stronger than Democrats want to believe.  On the contrary, what we learned on Thursday is Trump's no longer unconditionally loved by some of his own supporters, as they realize they've been dancing with the Devil.

Don't get me wrong.  A lot of people (shockingly) still love Trump, a good 25-30% of the country, but there are signs Trump's supposed undying support is starting to cough and run a fever.  After the Thursday rally in Minneapolis, I'd be VERY concerned about the eroding of Trump's popularity within his own base.

Let's start with the obvious: Trump didn't fill up Target Center!  He just didn't!  It seats 20,000 for an event like Trump's rally, and the GOP's own online pre-game live stream showed the entire upper ring empty 15 minutes before the speakers started.  Numerous other photographs, as well as the Minnesota GOP's own video, showed most of the upper deck empty minutes before the program began.

This was apparently a mistake by the organizers.  For some reason Trump's people thought 12,000 to 16,000 people would make Target Center look full.  It doesn't.  I heard a story that when it became obvious there were numerous empty seats in the upper deck, the Trump people frantically went outside to the exterior viewing area where a few thousand Trump fans were, and shuffled as many of them in as quickly as possible.  This makes sense as the upper deck was mostly filled prior to Trump's keynote, and it also explains why the outside video viewing area was so sparsely attended, with what seemed like less than 500 people.

But back to Target Center.  It was 'mostly' filled!  The upper three to four rows in the upper deck were pretty much empty. That means it was closer to 19,000 people.  I understand there are a lot of suburbanites who LOVE Trump, but who are terrified of coming into the downtown.  They reside on the outer limits of the metro area, insisting their mostly caucasian communities infested with chain restaurants and stores is the 'nitty gritty city.'  When faced with going into the actual downtown for the evening, even to see Trump, they'll give a hard pass.

Still the Twin Cities metro area is 3.6 million people.  The population estimate for the state is 5.6 million, plus there is western Wisconsin and the insane amount of people who follow Trump around like he's the Grateful Dead.  Putting it all together, the Republicans couldn't muster more than 21,000 people (at most!) in the 16th largest metro area in the country.

Then came the speech.  I'm not going to post any direct quotes (City Pages has the ten most bizarre:  http://www.citypages.com/news/10-things-donald-trump-actually-said-at-his-batshit-minneapolis-rally/562817381) but to say Trump's ONE HOUR AND FORTY MINUTE (!!!) speech was an unintelligent garbled word salad doesn't do it justice.  He bounced around from unrelated subject to unrelated subject like a Minion after drinking four pots of coffee and a dozen Red Bulls riding a paint can shaker in an earthquake.  No one is saving the tape for posterity.

And it wasn't just liberals who got bored with Trump's speech.  Media people on the floor of Target Center started noticing the pro-Trump Republican crowd starting to fade as the speech went into the second hour.  The photographs taken by MPR photographer Evan Frost don't paint a flattering picture of the crowd's receptiveness to what Trump was saying.  This has led to Trump supporters, frantically trying to cover up their clear lack of enthusiasm, insisting the photographs were taken before the event started, posted later to make Tump look bad.  They weren't.  Even Trump's biggest supporters were having a hard time digesting his ramblings.

After the speech was done, a new Republican tradition was played out.  To make themselves into the victims, Trump supporters, as they leave the venue, must paint the scene as some sort of mad scramble for their lives!  Them walking out the venue, out to the parking lot, getting into their car and quietly leaving Target Center morphs into a deleted scene from Mad Max:Fury Road.  "I barely escaped the clutches of Ilhan Omar, as she lead a battalion of Antifa thugs armed with spiked bats and jars of urine on a rampage against anyone who was white!  WE BARELY SURVIVED!!!"

For the record, even though multiple Republican "news" outlets reported Rep. Omar was on the front lines with Antifa in Minneapolis,  Ilhan was actually overseas on an official trip at the time of the Trump rally.

On Thursday evening, there was one arrest and one citation handed out in regards to the protest.  That was it.  Sure there was a burning of Trump merchandise, but it wasn't stuff ripped off Trump supporters.  Police did get a little over the top with pepper spray at times, and there was one case where a Nazi came down to scream at the 'libtards,' only to get slapped, then run off by the crowd.  The apocalypse crowd Trump fans insist was threatening them just wasn't there.  What was there was about 20,000 (or possibly more) protestors who engaged in their Constitutional right to protest, which they did peacefully.

So even the the right's final attempt at portraying themselves as being on the moral high ground, the vilification of protestors into something far worse than what they really were, ended up being nothing substantial.

Afterwards, there was a 'canary in the coal mine' in regards to Trump's supporters and their possible wavering support for him.  I posted on Facebook one of the photos from Evan Frost.  Someone picked it up.  So far 345,000 people have seen the one post.  It was a post of this image:

You're welcome America!  This photo of bored Trump fans at the 85th minute of Trump's speech has become a meme upon itself.  My only comment about the photo was how it 1) clearly showed a bored, less than enthused Trump crowd, and 2) how it shows most Trump's fans are old and white.  

Since then, I've found myself inundated with demands for 'civility' from people on the political right.  The same people who spent eight years watching President Obama repeatedly get hung in effigy and were either silent or endorsed the disgusting displays, the same people who watched Trump mock a disabled man, the same people who heard the Access Hollywood tape, the same people who ignored Trump paying off a porn star he had an affair with at the same time his wife gave birth to his kid, the same people who watched Trump attack John McCain's service record, the same people who witnessed Trump attack military families, the same people who see Trump lock children up in cages in concentration camps on the border, the same people who cheer on Trump's never ending Twitter attacks and incompetent leadership are furious at the picture I posted, calling it uncivilized.  THESE people are now demanding civility in political conversations.  Please...

It does lead one to ask why they're making such a foolish request.  Are they starting to ween off of Trump, terrified of the 'told you so's they know they'll endure if they admit they were wrong to back such an incompetent jackass, hence a preemptive call for 'civility?'  Their biggest fear is having to admit the Democrats might've been right.  Are they pleading for civility to avoid embarrassment? 

Here's how I've tackled this.  I'll put up a picture of Trump mocking the disabled man.  This photo:  

Ask the Republican calling for civility what they have to say about this photo.  If their response is "He never did that!  He's innocent!  That's just libtards trying to make him look bad," then F- them! They're trying to get Democrats to honor a civility standard they themselves have no intention of inhabiting.

But if they state (like one woman I challenged) "I wish I'd condemned that more back then.  I was very uncomfortable with that and should've realized Trump has some issues," then go easy on them.  If they're willing to take that first step, even if it is a baby step, let them know there's a path where they don't have to genuflect too much.

We learned on Thursday some Trump supporters are starting to wake up, but much like rabid followers of all authoritarian regimes, it has to get really bad for people to realize the crap sandwich they've been eating is not a filet mignon.  

The Friday Link for 10/11/19

Not a lot here this week as I've been dealing with this:

That's right, the Trump rally came to Minneapolis and I've been a touch busy.  I promise a recap on the blog this weekend.  Photo: Evan Frost MPR.

For this week, I will hand it over to John Oliver.  Two cuts from him tonight, starting with his outstanding takedown of compounding pharmacies.  The best part of his show is how he finds HUGE problems in America that no one seems to know anything about. Compounding Pharmacies are a 'mix to use' pharmacy, and of course they have been overrun with unscrupulous people who'll kill to make a buck. 

The second cut from Oliver is a weird salute to recently passed away Rip Taylor.  Taylor featured uniquely in a really strange segment from 2015 where John Oliver points out Thailand's extremely weird and disturbing fascination with Hitler.  Yes, THAT Hitler.



WEIRD!  Have a great weekend everyone!

The Friday Link for 10/4/19

On today's Friday Link, I'm featuring Omeleto, kind of a Netflix for short films.

They feature quite a few, from pretty much every genre you can imagine, many featuring major celebrities and recognizable stars.  Here are three short films from Omeleto I enjoyed, but a warning, adult themes and rough language are pretty common on these films, as well as some really weird twists and turns.

First up, what happens when a giant alien comes to earth but doesn't seem to want to annihilate us, or help us.  It's 'The Narrow World.'



Next up, a self absorbed man completely misses the end of the world.  Super creepy at the end of 'Lasiurus.'



Finally a heartbreaking story about trying to use a time loop to stave off death.  I actually teared up at the end of this one. 'Exit Strategy.'



There is another short film about time travel which gets REALLY weird and pretty inappropriate at times.  I will not post it but it's called 'I'm You, _____.'  Don't ever let idiots attempt time travel.

Have a good weekend everyone!