Just another day in The Mad Kingdom: Future Republican "leaders" chat about their hatred of Black people, Jews, women and others

In a Telegram chat - HERE - dozens of future Republican leaders referred to Black people as "monkeys" and “the watermelon people,” and they used the N-word hundreds of times. 

Antisemitism flowed easily among these Young Republicans, with one musing about putting political opponents in gas chambers, and another responding: "I love Hitler." 

In their thousands of posts, they talked about raping their enemies or driving them to suicide, and they lauded Republicans whom they believe support slavery. The chat was filled with hatred for women, Hispanics, LGBTQ people, even disabled people. 

If you're not exactly like them, if you don't share their warped value system, they hate you. 

Most of the participants are not college "kids." Most are 30-somethings and 20-somethings. Many have families. One is a state senator. Many of them are professional people, several of whom have been fired by their employers since the chat was made public.

To repeat, these are future Republican "leaders" - the upstanding young men the party is depending on for the decades ahead. 

The repugnant JD Vance, of course, dismissed the whole episode as bad jokes by dopey "kids" - even though the Mad King's right-hand douchenozzle is roughly the same age as many of them. 

Vance and his boss - a convicted felon and adjudicated sexual assaulter who for more than a decade was best friends with a notorious pedophile - want to curtail free speech by anybody they don't like, but they defend this vile hatred. 

They pretend that 19-year-old college students who peacefully protested genocide in Gaza are "antisemitic," while excusing and defending actual antisemitism expressed by the future leaders of their own party. 

Absolutely shameful. But then again, the hate-filled Mad King, his lying veep and his angry acolytes have no shame.

The Deposed Mad King's 7 Stages of Denial

1. I don’t have any government documents at Mar-a-Lago.
2. The FBI ransacked Mar-a-Lago – it’s another witch hunt.
3. The FBI planted evidence.
4. There weren’t any top-secret documents.
5. All those documents marked top-secret? I actually already declassified them.
6. Barack Hussein Obama had 30 million documents at his house.
7. I’m being persecuted. Send money, everybody!

Happy Birthday To Me ... And LOTS of Others You Know and Love (or Loathe)

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Normally, I wouldn't write about my own birthday - not even a milestone BD like this one - but let me tell you ... October 13 is the birthday of the stars! 

My most famous (or infamous) "birthday buddies" include ...

Glenn "Doc" Rivers, my Marquette cohort who went on to make a bit of a name for himself in basketball. Not only is the new Sixers coach one of my all-time favorite people in sports, but he also made my favorite basket ever when his heave from just inside half-court beat evil Notre Dame in 1981 (his freshman year, my junior year). Surprisingly, even though Glenn could jump out of the arena, he really sucked at volleyball in Charlie Nader's Team Sports class.

Jerry Rice, the best wide receiver any of us have ever seen.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose overrated "America's Team" has won all of 4 playoff games since winning Super Bowl XXX 2 1/2 decades ago. 

Borat alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen: "King of the castle!"

Baseball Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Eddie Mathews, Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day, and future basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.

Billy Bush, he of President Pussy-Grabber's Access Hollywood tape fame.

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered in 2018 by the Saudi dictator (with the tacit approval of the U.S. president). Shameful.

Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan: "Why me?" (So unfair. She was a great skater, but she'll be remembered forever as Tonya Harding's victim.)

Tiffany Trump, or, as President Pandemic calls her, "Uh ... Who are you?"

A little bit country, Marie Osmond.

A lot of rock and roll, Paul Simon.

Caleb McGlaughlin -- Lucas of Stranger Things fame.

Kelly Preston, who had a memorable turn as Jerry Maguire's squeeze. (Sadly, she died earlier this year.)

Sammy Hagar, aka The Red Rocker!

The late great Lenny Bruce.

Hero or villain? With Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, it depends upon which side of the aisle one stands. At only 31, AOC has a lot of decades left to be loved and loathed.

But wait! There's more!

Actors Ashanti, Tisha Campbell, Lorraine Day, Melinda Dillon, Nipsey Russell, Kate Walsh, Matt Walsh, Cornel Wilde, Demond Wilson ... athletes/coaches Tim Brewster, Ryan Clark, Norris Cole, Brian Dawkins, George Frazier, Derek Harper, Del Harris, Brian Hoyer, Jermaine O'Neal, Lou Saban, Summer Sanders, Reggie Theus, Rube Waddell, Eddie Yost ... Politics' Ari Fleischer, Margaret Thatcher ... Musician John Ford Coley ... Sportscaster Tom Mees.

WOW!!

And lest I forget, my one-time Chicago sportswriting colleague, golf buddy and all-around great guy Phil Arvia - who loves to remind me that although we have the same birthday, he is WAAAAAAAAY (2 years) younger than I am.

And speaking of people younger than I am ...

That's a pretty large group these days.

Yes, today I turned ...

The Big 6-0!

Take away my aching back, tight hamstrings and bad vision, and I really don't feel that old. I mean, I'm still as immature as ever, and that's kind of a Fountain of Youth, right? I also golf every bit as well as I ever have!

I am the youngest of Rhoda and Jerry Nadel's 4 sons. By FAR the youngest! The baby!! I'll always be able to hold that over the heads of Al, Don and Lee - none of whom is even allowed to sing "When I'm 64" anymore.

I was 13 when I started high school, 17 when I started college and 21 when I entered the workforce in my chosen profession. (Journalism, silly. I only moonlighted as a Chippendale.)

I was a groovy, hip, happenin' dude.

When I was 24, I became the youngest full-time sportswriter in the AP, a distinction I held for about 5 more years. During that time, I was one of a handful of AP scribes dubbed "The Young Turks." (Mysteriously, Howard Ulman, who is 13 years older than I am, also was put in that group. Apparently, bribes work.)

On my 29th birthday, I noticed I was going bald. The Vikings had traded for Herschel Walker the day before and photographers took an overhead shot of the media throng around him. And there my head was: curly hair encircling a surprisingly large patch of skin. Yikes!

I was even young when I was put out to pasture - retired at 48 by the clowns at GateHouse Media, who couldn't afford to keep hundreds of their real employees but amazingly found hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus money for all their pencil-dick managers. (Not that I'm bitter or anything.)

I was a little worried when I got the heave-ho, but retirement has turned out to be pretty darn sweet. 

I learned how to invest, which led to writing about investing, which led to my freelance gigs at Daily Trade Alert and Seeking Alpha and Dividends and Income. (I especially recommend clicking on that last one and looking at some articles to see  amazingly cute photos of my adorable grand-twins, Logan and Jack.)

I coach basketball, I referee, I umpire, I pretty much do whatever I want (within reason). 

Of course, all that is only possible because of my beautiful bride of 37+ years, Robbie. It's great to have a Sugar Mama, and I strongly recommend every man get one (or more).

And now that I've got Ben's littles toddling around - and, exciting, exciting, exciting! - another cutie any day now from Katie, I'll have no choice but to stay young.

You know, I'm already looking forward to the next 60 years. Heck, by the time I turn 120, COVID-19 might even have disappeared "like a miracle."

As my favorite rocker, Roger Clyne, likes to sing: 

Here's to life! 

Wishing health, happiness, peace and love to all of my family, friends ... and, yes, to my birthday buddies everywhere.

^

Trump is more than just human scum; his policies are reprehensible, too

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Y'all probably have noticed that I've gone all rainbows and unicorns for quite some time here on TBT. I've been writing about my adorable grand-twins, my basketball team and other important but fun topics that give me personal enjoyment. There's enough angst and anger and fear out there without me piling on all the time.

But amidst the backdrop of our country burning due to the combined 1-2 punch of the brutal murder of George Floyd by racist Minneapolis cops, and a global pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 Americans and deeply hurt our economy, somebody said something to me today that made me feel I needed to go another direction this time. 

That person justified his support of the impeached Donald F. Trump by saying: "Yeah, he's no saint, but people need to focus on his policies."

OK ... let's.

"When the looting starts, the shooting starts" IS policy. So was tearing kids out of their mothers' arms and locking them in cages. So was stealing money from military families to build a wall that he claimed 1,000 times Mexico would pay for. So was having to start an entirely new welfare program for farmers that he personally hurt with his trade wars. So is having his militia attack peaceful protesters just so he can have a photo-op. I could go on and on with his delightful policies.

Trump uses a bible as prop at the end of his march through Lafayette Square. 
He had just given a Rose Garden speech in which he said he was
"an ally of all peaceful protesters," but he had his militia clear the park
by force so he could have this photo-op. He has been roundly criticized, even
by many who had supported him, and religious clergy have called him
sacrilegious. How bad was it? Even Pat Robertson ripped him! (AFP Photo) 

Telling everybody to take an unvetted, dangerous drug because "what the hell do you have to lose?" IS policy. (The drug, hydroxycloroquine just failed a clinical trial, and the FDA has issued warnings about taking it for COVID-19.) Telling governors they have to re-open their states only hours after issuing guidelines for re-opening that none of those states had met ... that IS policy.

Just yesterday, his own defense secretary, Mark Esper, publicly rebuked President Bone Spur's most recent policy initiative: invoking the Insurrection Act, which would activate the military to use against those protesting systemic racism.

Also just yesterday, his first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, said: "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort."

Making a deliberate effort to divide our great democratic republic IS policy.

Former defense secretary Jim Mattis was praised by Trump
for years, but the Mad King is not very fond of Mattis
after being strongly rebuked by him. While Trump's biggest
sycophants and hate-talk-TV allies ripped into Mattis,
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said, "I was really
thankful. Gen. Mattis' words were true and honest
and necessary and overdue." (brittannica.com Photo)

Everybody knew Trump's character before the election. He is a reprehensible human being with few (if any) redeeming qualities - a pathological liar who has spent decades chiseling contractors, stealing from his own charity, cheating on three wives, swindling college students, treating women only as sex objects, stiffing creditors and making racist statements.

He spent 8 years trying (and failing) to prove that a president who was elected in a landslide and re-elected in another landslide was not a U.S. citizen; it's no coincidence that the subject of Trump's obsessive attacks is black. During the campaign, he viciously attacked his GOP rivals, even going after their families; now, disgustingly and inexplicably, most of them kiss his rump.

I give him credit for signing the First Step Act. I'm not sure how Ivanka, Kanye and Kim Kardashian convinced him to do it, but he did, and it's good policy. Maybe I could find another one or two of his policies to like if I really put on my thinking cap.

Otherwise, as Jim Mattis says, we are seeing the effect of 3+ years of his cruel, inept, corrupt, self-promoting, hateful policies, of his ignoring the Constitution to enrich his ego and his personal wealth.

There is a reason Dems easily re-captured the House in 2018, a reason they made more inroads in state legislatures and governorships in 2019, and a reason Joe Biden - hardly an inspiring candidate - is beating him in most polls, even those taken by right-leaning pollsters like Fox News and Rasmussen.

(realclearpolitics.com)

Yes, it's because Americans abhor the Mad King himself, but it's also because the vast majority of his policies have been awful.

All right, I'll climb back down off my soapbox for now. 

Treat each other with love and respect. Be open-minded. Let's all remind ourselves often how fortunate most of us are while giving those who need assistance a helping hand, a receptive ear and a shoulder to cry on.

We'll get through these difficult times. We can make a difference -- together.

^

The Hypocrite In Chief Profits On Taxpayers' Backs -- And His Sycophants Cheer Him On

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Every time Donald Trump takes a vacation at one of his resorts, it is a major conflict of interest. He brings along hundreds of staffers, and makes them all pay rack rates for lodging and food -- all of which goes right into his pocket.


The self-proclaimed Chosen One now is proposing that his Miami resort be used as the site of next year's G7 summit. If that's where it ends up, and thousands of dignitaries and media and security personnel stay there, it will give him a windfall that will be unprecedented in the history of American politics.

Even his cheerleaders at Fox News say that their hero's own advisers have pointed out the conflict of interest:

Trump has apparently been pushing for months to have his Doral resort host the 2020 G-7 meeting, but his advisers have cautioned against it amid concerns about the ethics of the president personally profiting off an official government event.

It would be an overt, in-your-face cash grab, all at the expense of you, me and every other U.S. taxpayer, with all the profits going right into his pocket. He will laugh at the gullibility of the American public.


The Liar In Chief's easily conned sheeple talk up his willingness to take no salary. What a crock. Nothing more than a campaign stunt. He makes more than a year's worth of salary every time he hosts an official event at one of his golf resorts -- and it's all on the American taxpayers' dime.


President Obama played golf and it was a big issue for some of his critics -- especially Trump, who endlessly ripped him for it. Of course, the Hypocrite In Chief plays more golf than Obama or any other president ever did ... and every time he does, he makes a profit at taxpayer expense.

Can you imagine what Hannity, Ingraham, Limbaugh and the intellectuals at Fox & Friends would have said had Obama personally profited from his golf vacations?


Where are all the small-government types to decry this blatant, corrupt cash grab?

Hey ... I can't write only about the grandkids, you know!
^

Gobble, Gobble! It's Turkey of the Year time again!

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Remember 1998? I sure do. MJ's last championship before the Jerrys broke up the Bulls Dynasty ... the Summer of Steroid Sluggers, featuring Big Mac and Sammy ... Wanny's last stand in Bear Country ... my kids excelling on the basketball court ... my dad passing away after a courageous fight against cancer ... and me starting a new phase of my journalistic career as a sports columnist.

Naturally, a lot has changed since then -- far too much to list here. For one thing, I've been a former columnist for nearly a decade now; for another, my former business has been hurtin' for years. (Those things are related, of course.) 

Anyhoo ... one thing that has endured: the annual Turkey of the Year Countdown.

This is the 20th anniversary of me carving out a list of losers, lunkheads, dopes, druggies, cheaters and chokers -- a process I began back in my first year as Chicago sports columnist for the Copley family of newspapers.

For this edition, it would have been easy to select the abusive Michigan State doctor and his enablers, or the Maryland coach who had a player die on his watch, or the sleazy d-bag who had to sell the Carolina Panthers after getting nabbed in the MeToo movement. And then there's the reality show host masquerading as president, who is such a racist jerk that athletes refuse to visit to the White House after winning championships.

But because I don't want this to be too heavy, I'll go a different direction ...

+++

Before I begin this year’s Turkey Countdown, let’s review the previous “winners” (and by that, I mean losers):

Mike McCaskey (1998); Jerry Krause (1999); Bobby Knight (2000); David Wells and Frank Thomas (2001); Dick Jauron (2002); Sammy Sosa (2003 and 2004); Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker (2005); Aramis Ramirez (2006); Charlie Weis (2007); Choking Cubbies (2008); Milton Bradley (2009); Mark McGwire (2010); Joe Paterno and the Penn State Enablers (2011); U.S. Ryder Cup Team (2012); Alex Rodriguez (2013); Roger Goodell and Ray Rice (2014); Derrick Rose (2015); Pat McCrory (2016); Kyle Shanahan (2017).

Astute readers will note that up until 2010, each of those Turkeys did his gobbling in Chicago and/or the Midwest because that's where I was based. The "award" actually got its start under my Copley predecessor and friend, the late, great Gene Seymour. Since moving to North Carolina, I've expanded my Turkey-choosing horizons. Still, as always, I dedicate this in memory of Gene.

Now let's get to it!

15. LIONEL MESSI. I don't follow soccer, so I'll take the word of my futbol-fanboi friends who say he is one of the greatest players ever. Whatever. This mighty Argentine icon failed to score on a penalty kick as his heavily favored team couldn't even beat Iceland in the World Cup.

14. JON GRUDEN. Only days after the coach-turned-broadcaster-turned-coach traded Khalil Mack to the Bears, he had the gall to say: "Great pass rushers are hard to find." Although Gruden's Raiders have been laughingstocks, you can't say he hasn't quickly built a winner ... in Chicago.

13. PAUL GEORGE. You gotta love a guy who gives himself the nickname "Playoff P" despite pretty much sucking every time his team has played a series-deciding playoff game. This time, George missed 14 of 16 shots and committed 6 turnovers as the OKC Thunder bowed out meekly to Utah in the first round. More like "Playoff P-U!"

12. MARCUS WILLIAMS. The Saints cornerback arguably made the worst defensive play in NFL playoff history when he let Stefon Diggs score on a 61-yard catch and run (mostly run) to give the Vikings a walk-off win over the Saints. Not only did Williams whiff on Diggs, but his flying body also prevented any teammate from making a play. 

11. JAMES HARDEN. Choke much? To paraphrase one of the great sports quotes ever (courtesy of former baseball player Gary Gaetti): "It's hard to shoot the basketball when you have both hands around your throat."

10. SERGIO GARCIA & JORDAN SPIETH. In 2017, Garcia finally got the major title that had eluded him and Spieth was one of the world's great golfers. In 2018, however, they combined to miss the cut in 13 events, including 4 majors. Sergio's defense of his Masters championship ended on the first day, when he infamously dunked five shots in the drink on No. 15 to card a 13. Thirteen!!!

Still, both Garcia and Spieth did perform well in the Ryder Cup, which is more than I can say for ...

9. PHIL MICKELSON. He got benched by U.S. coach Jim Furyk after he failed in Friday foursomes. In Sunday's singles, Phil was routed by Francisco Molinari in the match that clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe. And those results weren't even the worst of it for Mickelson, who during the U.S. Open ran up to his ball while it was still moving on the green and whacked it with his putter for a 2-stroke penalty. I certainly will not be paying $19.99 to watch this washed up hacker "compete" against Tiger Woods on pay-per-view the day after Thanksgiving; heck, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't watch it if Mickelson paid me $19.99.

8. KEN GILES. The Astros reliever blew a save ... and showed his frustration by punching himself in the face. 

The closer for Houston's 2017 championship team, Giles was so bad this year that he was demoted to the minors. Then he was traded to Toronto, and he continued being horrible north of the border, too. I guess Canada shoulda built that wall!

7. JALEN RAMSEY. In a off-season interview with GQ, the Jaguars' cornerback ripped QBs such as Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Jared Goff. Of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, all he would say was they they didn't suck. Fast-forward to this season; Jalen's Jags are 0-6 since a 1-3 start. And just last Sunday, Roethlisberger led the Steelers back from a late 10-point deficit to beat Jacksonville. Maybe now Ramsey will elevate Big Ben, a two-time Super Bowl winning QB, all the way up to "doesn't suck," too.

6. LeVEON BELL. The Steelers running back thought he had all the leverage, so he held out and held out and held out ... until finally deciding to skip the entire season. As it turned out, he didn't have any leverage because his replacement, James Conner, is running as well as Bell ever did for a Pittsburgh team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Bell also gave up $14.5 million ... making me wonder how he hopes to feed Latrell Sprewell's family!

5. VIRGINIA HOOPSTERS. It was bad enough that Virginia found a way to lose to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County -- becoming the first No. 1 seed ever to drop an NCAA basketball tournament game to a No. 16 seed. 

Even worse, the Cavaliers were out-shot, out-rebounded, out-defended, out-coached and out-played from the opening tip to the final horn in losing to UMBC by 20 points. If you didn't know which team was seeded first overall and which was the very lowest seed, you'd have sworn that the mighty Retrievers were the better team. 

4. TY MONTGOMERY. When his Packers played the Rams on Oct. 28, Green Bay return man Montgomery was told to take a knee if he caught the kickoff in the end zone with 2 minutes left and the Packers trailing by 2 points. Instead, he tried to make a "hero" play, fumbled, and Aaron Rodgers was deprived of the opportunity to lead a winning drive. 

Montgomery was said to be upset that he was taken out of the game the previous series, but he denied his mood had anything to do with his insubordination. No matter ... the Packers lost a game they could have won, and they sent Montgomery packing 2 days later.

3. RICK PITINO. It's not all that surprising that the former Louisville coach cheated; he's always seemed like a guy who has lived on the fringe of the rule book. What is surprising is that of all the stink attached to the college game, Pitino is the only one who ended up being flushed down the toilet. He now says he wants to coach again in the NBA, where he already has failed twice.

2. LARRY FEDORA. The North Carolina football coach might merit a spot on this list even if all he did was lead the Tar Heels to a 2-8 record. But he's the runner-up gobbler because of his all-around turkeyness all year long. First, 13 UNC players under his watch were suspended for breaking NCAA rules. Then Fedora said he didn't believe the act of playing football has led young men to suffer degenerative brain disease CTE, despite it being a scientifically proven fact. He doubled-down on his idiocy by saying those who agree with science were "attacking" football -- and America itself. If the sport is weakened, he breathlessly claimed, "our country goes down, too." How does a dim bulb like Fedora keep his job at a prestigious university?

And now ... the 2018 Turkey of the Year ...

J.R. SMITH

The soon-to-be former Cleveland Cavaliers guard pulled off the most boneheaded play of 2018 ... and then compounded his boneheadedness by lying about the circumstances surrounding it.

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals -- which was tied with 4.7 seconds left in regulation thanks to the heroics of LeBron James -- Smith rebounded teammate George Hill's missed free throw. 

Rather than go right back up for what might have been the winning basket against the heavily favored Warriors, Smith inexplicably took off and dribbled rapidly toward midcourt. James frantically called for the ball, then pointed for Smith to pass to Hill in the corner and finally tried to call time out ... but alas, by then the buzzer had sounded.

In interviews after the game, Smith claimed that he knew the score was tied, but television cameras clearly showed him telling LeBron: "I thought we were ahead." (See the 18-second mark of this video.)

Naturally, the Warriors blitzed the downtrodden Cavs in overtime and then crushed them in the next three games to take their third title in four years.

LeBron, who otherwise was amazing all postseason in willing a mediocre team to the NBA Finals, didn't cover himself in glory here, either. He could have been a leader, consoled Smith and vowed to carry the Cavs to victory in OT. Instead, he sat dejectedly on the bench, didn't join the team huddle and ignored his coach's instructions.

Still, this was classic J.R. Smith, whose career has been filled with silliness. He had a miserable 2018 playoffs overall, and he has been horrible so far this season, too. At 33, he is in the twilight of his crazy career.

Smith recently asked for a trade, and it appears he'll get his wish after ripping Cavs management for tanking the season: "I don't think the goal is to win." He actually is probably right about that, but it doesn't make his boneheaded play in Game 1 of the Finals any less boneheaded.

Nor does it make him any less fitting as the choice for Turkey of the Year.
^

Maybe not a blue wave, but definitely a blue swell: Facts & Observations about the 2018 election

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First, lets start with some actual factual facts (as opposed to the alternative facts that Spanky & His sycophants prefer) ...

** Democrats have picked up 30 House seats, and it looks like the final tally (once California is fully counted and a few "too close to call" races get called) will be 34 to 36 added. That means the House will have gone from 235 Republicans and 193 Democrats (with 7 vacancies) to approximately 230 Dems and 205 Republicans.

** Republicans have picked up 1-3 Senate seats. The most likely scenario is 2 (assuming AZ goes to the Dems as it looks now and Fla goes to the GOP as it appears). That means the Senate will have gone from 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats to 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats.

** Democrats flipped 7 governorships, giving them 23. A couple other races might go to recounts/run-offs.

** Dems also have flipped 370-ish statehouse seats in the last year, including 300+ in this election cycle.

Now, a few observations:

++ Dems have made their biggest gains in the House since Watergate. They have a "comfortable majority," so even if a dozen legislators vote with Republicans on a bill, Dems still can play the obstruction game that the GOP perfected during Obama's tenure if they so choose.

++ Democrats also now will chair all the important House committees, including a few that likely will investigate Trump. And not the kind of "investigation" Spanky sycophant Devin Nunes pretended to conduct about Russian meddling in the 2016 election and Trump's role in it.


++ Trump actively campaigned for more than a dozen House Republican incumbents who lost their seats, all in districts Republicans have held for years. Numerous other races saw Republicans barely hold on in districts they have owned for decades. Republicans lost seats in red bastions such as Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and Arizona. Additionally, Conor Lamb showed he was no "flash in the pan" after stunningly winning a special election in 2017 for a Pennsylvania House seat in a red district. Overall, there was an obvious anti-Trump backlash in this House election. He said the election was about him, and he lost the House.

++ In the Senate, Trump personally installed his own candidate in the Nevada race, Dean Heller, and that candidate lost decisively to an unknown named Jacky Rosen. Trump or his surrogates made several trips to Montana to try to oust Jon Tester, who won anyway in a red state. Tiny furiously tried to get Joe Manchin out in West Virgina but failed.

++ Whereas several Democratic senators had to try to protect seats in deep red states that Trump won in 2016, the opposite will be the case in 2020, when many Republicans will be trying to protect seats in states that Clinton won. It will be a challenge for the Dems to regain control of the Senate in 2020 due to the givebacks this cycle. Still, it isn't unrealistic to think that, if Trump's disapproval rating remains high, the Dems can flip the 4-5 seats they'll need.

++ Among the governorships Republicans lost were those in Wisconsin and Michigan. The Dems also flipped two House seats in Michigan and three in Pennsylvania.  And Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf also was re-elected governor in Penn. Why are those states significant? Despite Trump's claims that he won in a "landslide," the fact is that he won by about 78K combined votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania -- three states he might not be able to count on in 2020.

.

++ In addition to the hundreds of statehouse seats that have flipped to Democrats across the nation, several other states that had huge Republican advantages have seen those advantages reduced. For example, in NC, the Republicans had such a large numerical advantage that they could override any veto by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. But those advantages have been significantly reduced, and now the Republicans no longer can override Cooper without also getting votes from Democrats.

++ Also in NC, two proposed amendments to the state constitution designed purely to take authority away from the Democratic governor and give it to the Republican legislature were soundly defeated. It was a power grab, and voters saw through it.

++ The major Dem gains in the U.S. House and in statehouses came despite rampant gerrymandering that resulted in amoeba-shaped districts favoring Republicans across the nation. Courts have struck down many of the districts repeatedly as being racist and/or unfair. There are gerrymandering cases currently before the Supreme Court, and it will be interesting to see the rulings.

++ It has been entertaining to hear Spanky & His Sycophants proclaim that it's actually a good thing for the Republican party that the House has gone from a 42-seat GOP advantage to a 35-seat Democratic advantage. Where's O'Reilly's No-Spin Zone when Republicans need it?!?!

++ Trump thinks that he might actually get more things done because Dems in the House will now have to legislate rather than obstruct. Hmmm ... winning the House in 2010 didn't turn the Republicans into legislators; it just made them more effective obstructors, so we'll see how that goes. 

++ Dems, in general, aren't as good at being obstructionists as Republicans are, and I can see something like a major infrastructure project getting approval in the next year or two. Everybody likes infrastructure projects, and the jobs they bring. The Dems are always willing to spend money, as are the Republicans despite their claims to the contrary. 

++ The election no doubt hurt Mitch McTurtle's plan to pay for the Tax Cuts For Billionaires and Military Industrial Complex spending sprees on the backs of seniors, kids and sick people. It also probably will keep millions and millions of people on health care that McTurtle & Gang would rather throw under the bus.
^

The Fun Before The Election Storm

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With the midterm elections (and their related angst) just a couple of days away, I thought I'd touch on some of the fun stuff that's been going on the last couple of weeks.

+++

BALLIN' AGAIN!

I'm back for my second season as assistant girls basketball coach at Charlotte's Ardrey Kell HS. Practice has started, and we participated in a "Super Scrimmage" yesterday at Providence Day. 

We won 2 of our 3 scrimmage games, but as our great coach, Jeff Busieck pointed out multiple times, the scores really didn't matter in these things. What mattered is that our players' hard work during the offseason obviously is already paying off, as they competed hard and played well together at both ends of the floor. 

I was especially impressed with the individual improvement of several of the girls, many of whom played for AAU teams over the summer and worked tirelessly on their games. Three outstanding players graduated after last season's Elite Eight season -- taking some 75% of our scoring with them -- so we need these ladies to step up their games. We're going to play fast and ferociously, and I like our chances at another conference title.

Here's a photo I snapped of our girls between scrimmage games. Unfortunately, as you can see, it's more than a little fuzzy. I was high up and they were fairly far away. Still, it gives you an idea of how much fun they are.

We have two more weeks of practice to prepare for our season opener on Nov. 20. Can't wait!

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ROBBIE IS BETTER, NOT OLDER

We just spent a sensational weekend celebrating Robbie's birthday. It's not very fair that I keep getting older and she just keeps getting more beautiful.

Her actual birthday was yesterday, so we weren't together during the day. I had my team's scrimmages, while she and Simmie were visiting her dad at the assisted living facility. But in the evening, we went out with another couple for a few beers and a nice dinner.

We semi-celebrated it a week ago, when we went to see Hamilton -- what a great time. And then today we went to the Panthers game.

Wow, what movers and shakers we are!

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AND SPEAKING OF THE PANTHERS ...

Our gallant lads of the gridiron have reached the midway point of the season at 6-2. A few weeks ago, they weren't looking all that great, but then they rallied from a 17-point deficit at Philly to beat the defending champion Eagles, and they have played very well in home victories over the Ravens and Bucs.

They played nearly a perfect first half today against the Bucs, building a 35-7 lead. Cam Newton was wonderful, his linemen blocked superbly, the skill players surrounding Cam had one great play after another -- especially Christian McCaffrey, who leaped clear over a defender on one spectacular play, and Curtis Samuel, who ran more than 100 yards from one side of the field to the other during a 33-yard TD play on a double-reverse. And the defense was in the grill of Bucs QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Photo by Jason Miczek, panthers.com

The Panthers almost always like to make things exciting, though, and they let the Bucs pull back within 35-28 before putting the game away on a pass from Newton to Samuel in the fourth quarter.

There will be no rest for the weary, as the Panthers go to Pittsburgh in just a few days for Thursday Night Football.

Also today in the NFL, the Saints beat the Rams. The Panther fan in me wanted the Saints to lose, because then my boys would have been tied for first place in the division. But the old Dolphins fan in me was glad to see the previously undefeated Rams lose -- meaning another season will have passed without anybody equaling the incredible achievement of the '72 Dolphins.

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TUESDAY'S COMING

I said I wanted to keep this about the fun before the storm, so I won't ramble on about perhaps the most important election of our lifetimes -- a chance to check the power of the most corrupt, dishonest, unstable, incompetent president ever.

So I'll talk about Tuesday night also being the season opener of my Marquette Warrior Eagles.

MU should be a real good team this season. The first AP poll has Marquette second among "others receiving votes," meaning that voters in effect consider us the nation's 27th best team. Also, Big East coaches picked us to finish second behind defending national champion Villanova. Juniors Markus Howard (pictured below) and Sam Hauser are two of the very best shooters in the country, and the supporting cast appears to be solid and deep.

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

My lads will get a chance early on to prove they belong with the big boys, as the non-conference schedule includes games against Kansas, either Tennessee or Louisville (in the preseason NIT), Kansas State, at Indiana, Wisconsin and Buffalo.

Also, Tuesday's opener at Milwaukee's brand spankin' new Fiserv Forum is against Maryland-Baltimore County -- which last March became the first 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament (when UMBC ruined millions of brackets by taking down Virginia).

Yep, Tuesday is going to be a wild night of flipping back and forth between the game and various networks' election coverage.

Here's hoping I have a lot to smile about. 
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