We Got Him!!?

 The government shutdown is over due to the cowardice of 8 Democratic Senators. None of whom are up for re-election in 2026. This is so smelly from a political view that you can't help but think the feckless Chuck Schumer sold out behind the scenes in exchange for cover. Fuck Chuck Schumer and the rest of the pussy Democrats who kowtowed to a monster and his goons like Grindr Mike Johnson. I am fed up with comfortable people folding and then claiming they care about you. Spoiler alert. They don't.

Then came the emails. The Epstein emails. 3 days after the Democrats surrendered, the emails come out. They say the following in a nutshell.

1) Trump was fucking young girls

2) Trump was compromised on Russia

3) Trump is an incompetent boob

4) Trump is going to tank the world economy

5) Epstein had the goods on Trump and a sick fuck like Epstein thought Trump was dirty

6) 2 months after Epstein said he had the ability to "take him down" he was dead

Do we have him? So many things would have taken down ANYBODY else that's it's hard to believe this piece of shit will ever go away until the Grim Reaper comes and sends his ass to hell. But this?

Despite Lyin Karolyn Leavitt and her constant defense of a guy who would molest her child given the chance, the defense put forward by the X ho, Megyn Kelly that 15-year-olds aren't children and thus could be banged by a 79-year-old man without consequences I guess, and the Jesse Watters Greg Gutfeld team of dunces stating it's all a hoax parroting their master, this fucking pig Trump is definitely in danger. Once Tiny Mike swore in Adelita Grijalva, the winner of an Arizona special election, there were 218 votes to release the Epstein files.

The Pervert in Chief sprang into action. Calling in Colorado rep and hand job artiste', Lauren Boebert to a meeting in the White House situation room along with crooked Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI grifter Kash Patel and shyster lawyer Todd Blanche, he put the screws to Boebert. Don't give Thomas Massie a win he pleaded, be my friend and I'll pardon your rotten kid, and as long as you're here. give me a handie. All of that was possible said. But as far as I know, the dope Boebert held steady. Meanwhile, Nutty Nancy Mace failed to pick up her phone, perhaps the smartest thing she's ever done. So as of this moment it appears the Rapist in chief may be cooked.

However, I do know that the GOP led Senate would probably kill the bill, but I just wanna see Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer (our esteemed toadies) vote to protect a pedophile. That would be epic to know that Nebraska's elected Senators are a pederast's pet rocks. We know they already are but that would be proof.

Other scenarios involve a resignation, and then a JD Vance pardon. Or perhaps because Americans are notoriously dense, it all blows over.

But my favorite scenario involves a bunker and a smoking gun,

California Day 5! Mazel Tov Beach!

 The final day. The beach at Santa Monica. The Annenberg house (former home of Marion Davies, a real stretch of a relative) and the beach. The ocean is not something us flatlanders see often. Today at the beach, I discovered the power of mother nature as I stood in the ocean too far out, and damn near got knocked down by the waves and tide. I knew after that, had I decided to swim in the ocean, I'd be dead in 2 minutes. Either from the tide or the bacteria as this particular beach is close to the Santa Monica sewer runoff. JFC I hope I had cuts on my feet. 

People sit on the beach and contemplate life. Another place I could sit for hours thinking about shit. Or at least until the fog lifts and the sun begins to kill me.

All of a sudden, a gaggle of high school and younger kids were all over. And they all had yarmulkes, school uniforms, and slices of kosher pizza in their hands. It was a "just because" day for the local Hebrew school. They had boxes of pizza, boxes of snacks and chaperones making sure they were behaving and probably safe. They were all well behaved, commenting on Max's brother's Halloween orange hair and Max's Dad's Hassidic like side curls. Shalom.

The Warner Brothers Studio tour was next. We went on the TCM classic movies tour. This involved a tour of the back lots, lots of cool stories, a knowledgeable guide and a walk thru of the props department. You saw props on hold for future TV shows and movies. Chandeliers, pianos, clothes, you name it they had it. 

Houses made famous in various movies, the New York street you've seen many times and for moderns, the actual school used in Abbott Elementary. The Friends fountain, the houses and storefronts used in so many different films. It really was a movie geeks heaven.

The museum had the Central Perks set from Friends, the Big Bang Theory set, the DC universe and Harry Potter Experience. Lots of Batmans and Supermans, lots of Harry Potter and the actual trench coat from Casablanca along with the suit worn by Ingrid Bergman. For the moderns, the uniform worn by Chadwick Boseman in 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic. The suit worn by Lex Luthor in the latest Superman movie, the Christopher Reeve Superman suit, the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman suit. It was glorious.

Finally a meal at a restaurant called Portos which had some of the tastiest looking desserts I've ever seen. And then it was over.

I was exhausted.

California Day 4!

The thing about November is despite being autumn and damn near winter in the Midwest (it was 34 in Omaha) the desert still exists. Palm Springs is the desert and its freakin hot.

Palm Springs Pride Parade wasn't really any different than the Pride Parade in Omaha. Lots of love, lots of allies, lots of drag and lots of horses. Lots of doggos, lots of stories and lots of older men and women who remember when a parade such as this would have been impossible without cops breaking it up and arresting everybody. It was long and featured so many talented dancers, bands and regular folks and businesses who wanted the LGBTQ community as customers. In this day and age of fascism and MAGA it's really phenomenal to watch. It was fun to watch until the heat and sun would drive you into the shade.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was next. Taking you on a tram packed with people from 85 degrees to the top of a mountain and 58 degrees was such a relief. I hate heat, sun and sweating. I love cool temps and scenery. This was a revelation of beauty. The view from the top is breathtaking. I could stand there for hours taking in the beauty. I may be one of the few people who think beaches and heat pale in comparison to a mountain and the cold. But that is what I feel.

The traffic in So Cal is just awful. Sunday night with everyone coming back from whatever the hell they did during the weekend was bumper to bumper. On a freakin Sunday night. But Max's brother, a wily veteran of So Cal traffic, knows what he's doing. I would have been still stuck there saying bad words to this day.

I was exhausted again.

California Day 3! The Rose Bowl!

 The Huskers in the Rose Bowl. Well actually it's UCLA's home field so it's inevitable Nebraska plays there.

But first we go to San Bernadino to see the world's first McDonalds. Well, its a museum so no Big Macs were for sale. It's got it all. Ronald McDonald, the arches, the Scooby Doo bus, wait what? Seems the owner collects anything he can get his hands on. You have statues of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, the Hamburglar, you loved it as a kid? It is here. The museum is full of  old McDonalds uniforms , matches, ash trays, 1984 Olympic contest tabs, the cast of the Founder, a movie that proved Roy Kroc as a moral challenged vulture capitalist. It was well worth it but don't touch anything outside or you'll leave skin as a souvenir (its fucking hot).

The Rose Bowl is in Pasadena. Being from Nebraska I have no idea where that is. So we took the Matro Rail, LA's version of the Chicago L or the NYC subway system. It's a train (sort of) that moves quickly through the shitty neighborhoods a lot of cities. After 45 minutes or so you get off at Memorial Park in Pasadena. You follow the crowd about a half mile to the shuttle buses which will take you to the Rose Bowl, another couple miles or so. You get off and the Rose Bowl looks tiny. Max informed us it's built into the ground. Max knows it all.

The staff at the Rose Bowl was so damn nice. It put Nebraska Nice to shame and since Minnesota Nice doesn't exist (see previous post), it was pleasant surprise to hear "Welcome to the Rose Bowl" numerous times. Being in Max's 15 jersey, I was subjected to a good natured "Hey Raiola you'd better get out there" instead of the ""Hey Raiola, how many tampons you got in" after Minnesota kicked our ass.

The Bowl itself is older than dirt. The steps up are HUGE (thank gawd its in the ground so to get to row 61 was only 20 or so rows) and the climb is exhausting for decrepit old Nebraskans. But we made it and again once I reached our seats I wasn't moving.

The spectacle at the Rose Bowl was great. The sight of the mountains in the background was every bit as great as described. The place is gargantuan, but they tarp off the end zones to make it look less empty. There were 20,000 Nebraskans there making it a faux home game. The UCLA fans live in Los Angeles where there's stuff to do so when they lost it was like, hey great game huh? Had Nebraska lost it would have been the walking dead back to the train.

The train. Oh that train. It didn't work. So we sat there for a good 45 minutes waiting for something that wasn't coming. Being entertained by a rich looking nice man who wouldn't shut up about how fucked up Los Angeles government was, along with San Francisco and New York. His "Ya know Trump is right" lost me and Max as Max's Mom continued to listen. Thank goodness we found a bus to go to the next station, or the guy might have started in why Social Security was communism or something. The bus took us to the Lake Street station, located outside between the freeways so you had to watch LA traffic wizz by on both sides while freezing your ass off,

But the train came and we rode back with Husker fans and the homeless to Pomona.

I was exhausted.

California Day 2!

 The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is someplace in Los Angeles. I have no idea where because once there I can't tell what's west east north or south so it could have been in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for all I know.

The museum is a movie nerd's wet dream. And to boot, the Jaws 50th anniversary exhibition is currently showing. Along the way is the famous Brady Bunch house which to me is iconic. But, in all reality, it's just a house. And unlike the crazy person who owns Walter White's house in the ABQ, who put up a fence, a monitoring system AND stands outside videoing you  looking at it, this is really just a house. I was actually more fascinated by the television set of some HBO show filming in the neighborhood called I Love LA. I have no idea what that is, but it said it on the equipment. 

The museum is multiple floors and even with the Jaws exhibition, it had a tribute to women in the movies. Called from Anna Karenina to Barbie, it featured a Barbie car which you could pose in, driving it like Fred Flintstone. Though it was fascinating, what I remember is that I need to see Anna Karenina.

The Jaws exhibition is the greatest. If you idolize that movie like I do, to see the Orca (or what's left of it), the pictures of the stars, the backstage stories, the actual set where the USS Indianapolis story was told (yes Robert Shaw was shitfaced) , the barrels, the ability to do your own zoom in shot like when Roy Scheider saw the blood in the water, the actual buoy that Chrissie grabbed onto before being devoured, and the only remaining Bruce the shark hanging from the ceiling. Just epic!

Theres also the actual office desk from the Godfather, which you can sit behind trying to look like Marlon Brando (no cat provided). The Godfather AND Jaws in one place? I could barely stop from screeching in delight.

You have lots of other stuff in there also. Captain America's shield, the Donnie Darko rabbit, a C3PO, and a history of why Jewish folks started movie studios. How did they transform Dr Jekyll into Mr. Hyde in 1931? They will show you. And the actual piano used in Casablanca.

OK, Jaws, The Godfather AND Casablanca.....Now I'm screeching!

Finally, a nighttime trip through LA. The El Coyote featured in Once About a Time in Hollywood and then the Grove mall. The classic Dupars restaurant where a stack of pancakes will keep you full for a week. 

I was exhausted yet again.

California Day One! The Price Is Right!

 Being in southern California to watch the Huskers at the Rose Bowl is the goal. But what to do in the meantime? Go to a TV show! A game show! The Price is Right!

First of all, tickets are easy to get. You sign up online and you get a ticket. That's it. They were taping multiple shows on Thursday. We arrived at 10am after a harrowing ride thru LA traffic (my brother drives like a psycho because in LA you have to or you get killed). Parking is easy. You show them your ticket, and they check you in, give you a number to put on your shirt. Then you go and sit in folding chairs in rows with your number before they call you up, row by row, to fill out the standard forms saying you wont sue if some lunatic mows you over coming on down. And trust me there are loony birds galore sitting with you in their custom t shirts and crazy clothing just about ready to explode. 

Off you go to the "studio" which is nothing more than a Korean church leased to the Price is Right. They check your ID, then take your picture without glasses I assume to do facial rec to keep the violent crazies out. You sit in a conference room watching the current taping and participating with the people trying really hard to get on the show by acting up and yelling at the screen like you are there. Some lady in pink made us do the wave which we did. At some point you and your row are taken into a room where producer Jason will interview you and that's when the lunacy starts. People screeching and answering his questions with vigor and insanity. I simply told Jason I did as little as possible for a living and since he was wearing a NY Yankees cap, I spent the rest of my time hating the Yankees. The loonies laughed and he said he had no idea what the Yankees hat meant, he just liked New York. Ok then. my chances were blown (as if I had a chance anyway).

Eventually you make a long walk outside, in numerical order, to the studio, where they take your phone, your watch and your dignity. You are seated by a stagehand, I assume to put the unwashed in places they cannot be seen. That's us. Or so I thought. The studio is pretty big, bigger than I thought. You sit there as a gaggle of stagehands get you all hyped up constantly, Yeah, I got into it to the amazement of the family. Whooping and screaming. Look there was no chance I got picked. Zero. Zilch. But theres always a chance they want a 69-year-old fat guy with crazy hair and a Letterman beard to come on down. I had a routine in my head. It involved a fake cartwheel and a crazy haired reaction. Alas. 

The show began. Drew Carey came out to thunderous applause and bantered with the crowd. The announcer (I have no idea what his name is cuz I don't watch) got everybody piped up ,the stagehands threw their arms in the air and the show begam with 4 come on downs. Not us. The blonde gals we talked with from Texas and the most Texas looking blonde gals ever, had one picked, some older black dude, a black gal with a tiara and someone else I can't remember. They bid on something, and the black gal won. Dancing onstage playing the role expertly. She won her prize, and they sat her down in a row two up from us, where they forced her to sign her life away, I think. Meanwhile the audience screams and stands and tries to get noticed. Hey folks, they've known for two hours prior who they were picking. 

The rest of the show was nuts. They picked a fat 30 something guy so I was out. I fatty per show I assume. They picked a lady two rows in front of us and a woman behind us. They picked a guy literally right in front of us me. They picked a flight attendant we had spoken with earlier. Hey, I felt like we knew them and rooted for them sincerely.

During commercial breaks Drew would banter with the crowd, mostly the front row. How long ya been married, where ya from that sort of thing. He seemed like a very nice man. There were Husker fans there but because of the timing please don't mention you were there for a football game on November 8.

They fucked up. They reshot. They had technical glitches. But it's such a polished product it was great to see the imperfections.

Once the show part, the bids and the contest to win further prizes like higher and lower and guess the price were finished, they did the spin the wheel twice. The first three spun and the fat guy won. He seemed like a very nice guy, so I'll call him the big guy. Then the next three spun and Andy, the guy right in front of me won. I'm right behind his wife so look for the other fat guy, err big guy behind him.

They set up the showcases and here we go. Big guy passed his to Andy. Andy made a bid way too low in my opinion, Then the big dude bid, way too low in my opinion (two cars and he went with $35K).  Andy, my bud, was $7 something thousand low. I thought he won. Then the big dude was $7 thousand short also but less than Andy. The big dude won with much celebrating. Andy's wife was crushed because part of his showcase was a boat, which they have apparently. 

They asked us to stay because the next taping wasn't full. I was exhausted physically and especially mentally. My energy to act like a nutcase was done for. I am not like that at all, but I was acting like it there. Everybody had a blast. They do give you your phones, watches and self-esteem back and you go bye bye.

Notes:

The studio is right next to the Let's Make a Deal studio where the certifiably insane dressed like the Statue of Liberty go. 

The studio is cold.

The tickets are easy to get, Just go there and they'd probably let you in.

Often when the 3 doors are used the prizes are shown behind you for trips to Seoul and Cape Cod so you have to turn around to see the models.

Yes, the announcer said hi to his mommy and revealed he door dashed her breakfast everyday. 

The contestants who do not get onstage each receive $300. 

After the show they do one more come on down for a random number from the start who gets $100. They chose 78, we were 69 70 71 and 72, Oh Kevin was so close. 

It's a fun time I must admit. We were so glad we went. We got tickets literally the day before taping so go for it.

Our show airs 3/23/26. Whaaaaaaaaaat?

Sandwich Guy!

 

In one of the most idiotic trials ever, the sammy guy was acquitted of assault on a federal officer for making him smell onions and getting mustard on his vest.

Simply another distraction from the sight of Trump taking rights away and acting like a mob boss. 

Dude's a hero.

Tuesday Rants!

 As Americans were losing their food stamps on Saturday, Friday night the Marie Antionette in Chief held a Great Gatsby Party at Mar A Dumpo proving that Trump has never read a book in his life. Dancing girls, 1970s Playboy Mansion shit like chicks writhing around in martini glasses and flappers (check out the wino Pirro) walking around as the Tin Eared Jackass in Chief sat there with that stupid grin on his face holding court with the elites. Never mind about the total shitshow at Bedbug A Lago, ignoring the shutdown and the fact the poors are about to starve, this is EXACTLY why this creep is spending $350 million on a ballroom financed by bribes  contributions from giant corporations looking to cash in at Bribe Central. Let them eat cake, I guess. But let's face it, the current GOP actually has continued the age-old bullshit that there are black men inner city youth playing taxpayer funded X Box games on taxpayer funded Wi Fi and wont get a job. Anyone who buys this shit is a racist and plain dumb. But alas. 39% of people on SNAP are children and the rest are working two jobs and STILL can't make it. Keep going to those Wal Mart food stamp meetings where they teach you how to get SNAP because they refuse to pay a living wage. 

Dick Cheney has entered hell. The former Veep and current war criminal lived way too long. His joy at killing the browns in wars funded by taxpayers while his Haliburton made billions selling Ramen noodles to troops and guns to the military. Haliburton was the Wal Mart of war crimes. Cheney is a Nebraska native, making Charlie Starkweather only the 2nd worst Nebraskan of all time. Cheney moved to Wyoming as a kid where he began his reign of terror. He flunked out of Yale, making him the 2nd worst Yalie behind J D Vance. Back in Laramie, he staggered his way through the University of Wyoming, making him the worst Cowboy of all time with nobody in 2nd place. He drank and got DUI's in the 60's before he shape shifted to DC where he bullied his way into the Ford Administration and expressed his view that Nixon was the dictator we all needed and Tricky Dick got screwed. Then Wyoming elected him to Congress where he opposed the MLK holiday, loved apartheid and opposed the release of Nelson Mandela. Then he weaseled his way into the HW Bush regime as Secretary of Defense War. Then came the dumber Bush who made him President  Veep. 9/11 came and Cheney saw dollar signs and oil. Thus, the Iraq War where thousands of Americans died and were maimed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died. Ya know, he was a war criminal. Even his later revelation that Trump was a bigger dick than he was (not sure if he was just jealous) and should not be in office doesn't redeem his murderous life.

Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of America's largest city, and this scares the shit out of political boomers who are on their way out soon to join Dick Cheney wherever the fuck he is. The Democratic establishment is frightened that Mamdani's movement of people under 40 will render them useless, which of course they are. The Republicans, who call anyone to the left of Attila the Hun a communist, are terrified mostly of those under 40's waking the fuck up and dragging them out of their mansions and being guillotined (be still my heart). Small town rubes in states a thousand miles away are scared that NYC exists where murders are 24/7 and Namdammy will come to their hamlets and say mean things about their fealty to the Republicans. Be strong NYC and reject the old man Cuomo and the beret wearing old man trying to be a teen, Sliwa. It will be a great day for Gen Z when Zohran Mamdani wins in a landslide.

Trump's 60 minutes interview. I didn't see it because watching Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Orchestra makes me happy and Trump makes me sick. Apparently, the Moron in Chief, after screeching about Joe Biden's autopen and how if you don't know who you are pardoning should make the pardon null and void (that means not real MAGA) has no idea who CZ, a crypto crook, is. Oh yeah, Trump pardoned him for crimes he pleaded guilty to related to the scam that is crypto. But he said not once, but twice, he has no idea who he is. Jesus on a Cracker, this muthafuka is so blatant in his lying he doesn't even care what anybody thinks. Obvious untruths, lies, are just inconveniences to the Magat's because he's so funnyyyyyyy. He entertains them, like the country's emcee. Fuck that autopen bullshit forever. Somehow, I don't think that will be the case.

Secretary of Fox and Friends Defense  War, the drunken sex fiend Pete Hegseth continues to do what Stephen Miller tells him to do and order the killing of anybody in a fucking boat anywhere near Venezuela. Ya know, in honor of Dick Cheney, Trump wants the oil. Lying about drugs is the way to get it. Blow up a few brown folks in motorboats, lie about their intentions, and get ready for invasion. It's the oldest trick in the book and unfortunately it works. Mexican War, Spanish American War, Vietnam, Iraq, Gaza, it's all there. But the blind "patriots" all buy in, loving the bullying and bluster because their terrible lot in life is made "better" by killing a few furriners. Look, fentanyl doesn't come from Venezuela, it comes into America because Americans bring it in. And Americans use it, often to deadly results. It's called supply and demand. The very basis of capitalism. You know if Trump could make money off fentanyl, he would in a minute. This is why it's so infuriating. The moral leper, and his minions, couldn't care less about dead kids. It's a means to an end. Absolute power.

Ok I'm done.

No wait, Fuck ICE!!!

Viking Sunday!

Vikings-Eagles Sunday at noon. In the family, one Vikings fan, one Eagles fan and one pseudo-Eagles fan who is actually a Bears fan but willing to wear the Barkley jersey to support Max in hostile territory. But hey Minnesota Nice right?

The light rail was packed like sardines. It was hot, it was claustrophobic and someplace around Lake Street the goddamned thing broke down. The power went out, the air went out, the lights went out and you were stuck in the weird position you were crammed into. 20 Minutes later they announced a new train was coming on the southbound track, which must have been thrilling for the people on it who now were forced to go back to the stadium while the football freaks crammed in. The whiplash on the train as it stopped and started about sent Max's Mom flying. My neck hurts.

Finally, we got to the stadium. you must walk up steps, lots of steps to get over the street then back down to get to the lines to enter. Then once you get past security, it's into this glass enclosed wonder of a stadium. Escalators to the top of the stadium with the rest of the steerage. Then up to the 2nd to the last row. Jesus, I was done. I am not moving from this seat until this damn thing is over. But there's really not a bad seat in the house. Surrounded by both Eagles and Vikings fans, we did the Skol Vikings chant, the singing of the Viking song (which I memorized by quarter 2), Skol Vikings lets win this game Skol Vikings honor your name...., Fight Fight Fight V I K I N G S Lets go. And I was in an Eagles jersey.

The Eagles looked like the Super bowl champs and won the game 28-22. It was an entertaining game; unlike Friday nights blow out. We had long TD passes, pick sixes and long ass Field Goals. You forget how good these players are, compared to college.

After the game we stood waiting for Max's Mom bathroom break. Some Vikings fan was drunk, angry and a real bro. As Eagles fans finished the E A G L E S chant, this bro said it was the gayest thing he's ever seen (yeah like Skol Vikings is so manly), and said he was gonna go beat up some "fags". I don't like that word any more than I like the N bomb and I glared at him to which the bro said "Don't look at me fag" and I realized de-escalation was probably a good idea, rather than an old man getting throttled by a guy 40 years younger. I ignored him. He went away. Back to his MAGA basement closet. 

Then came Bro #2. He reached his hand out and then did the combing his hair Fonzie deal. Then we got the double bird. Ya got us dude. Happy Days!

Fans are nuts but as Max pointed out, it was two guys out of 60,000. Yes, but why do we have to meet them every time? 

The degeneration of fan behavior I have noticed over the last few years, 9 years maybe, is getting worse. Nebraska fans are becoming the same as all. They boo teams they will beat 59-0, they boo other teams bands, they act worse and worse. We used to applaud the other team leaving the field, win or lose. That's over. Now its people screaming at the other teams, win or lose. Maybe it's a good thing to lose season tickets and watch it from a 50-yard line seat in your living room. 

Hmmm wonder what happened about 9 years ago that would cause this incivility to become commonplace. Minnesota Nice and the so-called Greatest Fans in the World has much less gravitas. 

It's a shame. Well at least nobody dropped poop on us from a fighter plane.

Driving Miss Minneapolis!

Saturday is a drive around day in Minneapolis, St Paul and every suburb known to man. The No Kings protest was huge in Minneapolis but when we got there, it was breaking up, and people were walking home. So off we went.

Driving thru Minneapolis and there, with a line of people was Matt's Bar, home of the Juicy Lucy, a hamburger full of cheese. It's famous, it's a wait of 1-2 hours and the line had nothing but Philadelphia Eagles fans looking for their cheese wiz and beef. Down the block is 38th Street and the George Floyd Memorial. Now you may think Floyd was a criminal, a counterfeiter, a druggie, a domestic abuser or anything else, but the fact remains, being murdered by a sworn Minneapolis cop is not the sentence for any of that. It is interesting to see the scene of the crime. Floyd was a lot of things, but a murderer like Derek Chauvin he was not.

The U of M campus is on both sides of the Mississippi. Rowers were out and so were protestors. Give em a quick shout out, a honk and a thumbs up and we were on our way. The campus is very nice and clean. I wonder if the frat boys had gotten over their hangovers.

St Paul is the capitol of the state. the capitol building is typical. A big white capitol that looks like this.

Back to the Mall to find the plaques that identify where certain things were at the old Met. Metropolitan Stadium was on the site of the former home of the Twins and the Vikings. It took a while and that Mall was still hotter than hell but Max found them.

I went to the Met once in 1967. I found it so cool. Being a child, anything would be cool. I'm sure the Met turned into a dump, but nonetheless, the Met could never have been as big of a shithole as that Metrodome turned out to be. A gigantic cement tomb. It is also gone. US Bank Stadium is there now, home of the Vikings. Tomorrow.  

Gooooo Gophers!

 Off to Minneapolis with the entire fam damily to watch the Huskers beat Minnesota (oops). The drive is between 5-6 hours from Omaha to the cities and seems like 5 of it is Iowa. 

The Mall of America is a giant hell hole. It's levels high, it's huge, it's full of people of all stripes, and it's hot as hell. But man, do you get your steps in. We killed off time before the hotel would let us check in without charging us $40 for being early. 

The game was at the Huntingdon Bank stadium on the campus of the U of M. The light rail (gawd I wish we had one here) is a quick and easy way to get around the cities. The stadium is newer, it does have steps, but it also has seat backs. Lots of Husker fans were there to watch our victory and bowl eligibility game. Whoops! Minnesota dominated the game from beginning to end. The Huskers got slapped around and it was pathetic to watch but Go Big Red always.

Notes from Game

There was an older Minnesota fan sitting across the aisle and whether he was all there or not is debatable. Every single play he would exclaim in the most Fargo like accent...."Gooooo Goooophers!  Yes, every play. I guess they heard him.

After the debacle was over, leaving the venue, here comes the drunken frat boys, decked out on Gopher hoodies and chanting "Fuck Nebraska"! Ok boys, but you've beat us 6 years in a row so act like ya been there. You're a better program than us and have been for years. But the frat boys needed to be de-escalated because they looked like they were lookin for a fight. High fiving the winners seems to work as they changed from "Fuck Nebraska" to "I like your sweatshirt" with a fist bump. Another band of drunks decided to give Max shit for wearing an old 15 jersey. "Hey man its Raiola, how many tampons you got in?" Max responded 8 (which at the time was the number of sacks he endured) and said "I can barely walk". Playing along and taking your lumps is always the best strategy. Not like me in 1976 when Iowa State fans got into it with us and we went to jail for a few hours. Those days are over.

The stadium has the greatest popcorn ever at a sporting event. It's movie theater like in many ways. Both in taste and price. 

Minnesota's band is solid. They have a top 5 fight song, the Rouser, and they have a great mascot, Goldy Gopher. I could easily become a Minnesota fan if I lived there. It's a fun atmosphere.  

Watch Out ICE! It's a Frog!

 As Portland "burns", invaded by T Rex's and frogs and unicorns and cats and wiener dogs, Trump the Impaler blowhards himself into a alleged "peace deal" that's really nothing more than a ceasefire and the completion of a real estate deal between Jared Kushner, Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump. Gaza is destroyed by choice. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are dead, including children, buildings are in rubble, and the opportunity is there for real estate worms to move in and develop. Develop of course means catering to the rich at the expense of the poor. So excuse me if I don't get all fuzzy inside because the murder has stopped for a day or two. And by murder, I mean October 7th AND the utter destruction of Gaza. One was a planned attack on innocents by a gang of terrorists, and the other was a planned attack on innocents by a US supplied war machine led by a crooked politician desperate to stay out of jail. Sound familiar? 1200 died on Oct 7 and tens of thousands died in the revenge, 99% of whom had nothing to do with the Oct 7 murders. Sounds fair (eye roll). 

ICE, some with swastika tattoos, continue to keep their stuffed into locker in middle school revenge tour by smashing into cars, provoking people dressed as mascots, chasing down people who've been her 30 years, arresting guys who spent 45 years in prison wrongfully convicted, and being general assholes. Theres not a doubt in my mind that these thugs were hired by Secretary Ice Barbie to crack heads and further the J6 coup by violence with a badge. Noem is an asshole for sure, but her photo ops prove it. She is truly performing for that audience of one, Stephen Miller, to impress upon him her hatred of all that is not white. She's been banned from South Dakota Lakota reservation for chrissakes because she's such a bigot. So fuck ICE and fuck Kristi Noem.

Deranged ass kisser, Grindr Mike Johnson, has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 along with some Knesset Kiss Ass/ Christ, Grindr Mike it's a two-day old "ceasefire" that has a slim to none chance of holding. Now some of us know that Joe Biden started this ball rolling, freeing 105 hostages in 2023, and when this one fails, they'll blame Biden somehow. Johnson is absolutely the worst Speaker of the House ever, in fact he's not even Speaker, he's just Trump's bag man who does whatever he's told by President Miller. Grindr Mike, a man of many secrets, refuses to swear in the newest member of the House, an Arizona Democrat named Adelita Grijalva recently elected, because she would be the 218th House member to demand the vote on the Epstein list. And being a pedo protector, Johnson continues to do the devils work on his road to Hades.

Finally, J D Vance. A fast-talking con artist without a principle in his body. He went on various shows this last Sunday to further fascism and lying about everything else. Asked by George Stephanopoulos if Tom Homan, the human migraine, accepted $50K in a fast-food bag days before the election for influence peddling. Vance, who lies just as easily as Trump, wouldn't answer and launched into the biased press bullshit. But George wouldn't let him get away with it, asking him 2 more times until as Vance lied and bobbed and weaved yet again. As the third dodge began, George S cut him off and said well he's not answering the question and cut the feed leaving Vance to go on other shows and face less dangerous opponents who refuse to stand up to these guys. 

Vance, who called Trump "Hitler" in 2016 and was way ahead of us, is as unlikable of a lunkhead than maybe any politician alive. Well, anyone with an average IQ that is. Vance who answers questions like he's selling you siding or gutters, ya know throws your first name into every sentence to show how much he cares about you, is just so full of shit he should have been a window salesman, he could have taken every penny from those hillbillies he allegedly grew up with. But what Vance doesnt get is Peter Thiels money can't keep him from himself. A dishonest empty soul who can shape shift to whatever he needs to be. So despite being Thiel's bitch, Vance cannot survive being the top of the mountain. He's appalling to most people who recognize con men when they see one. And when on top, EVERYONE sees you, not just gullible Ohioans. 

Legally Bondi!

Oh my. Pamzilla appeared before the Senate Oversight Committee armed to the teeth with oppo research on every Democratic Senator who had the audacity to ask questions. She rolled her eyes, insulted them, made up shit they'd done, made up contributions to Democrats by donors related to Epstein, stayed silent, defended her boss and did everything BUT answer questions. Pam Bondi would be the worst lawyer in any other regime, but isn't the worst because of the existence of Alina Habba Do and Lindsey Halligan, not to mention Todd Blanche. She isn't anything other than a mob lawyer keeping the wolves at bay from her mob boss employer. She is the Attorney General for all the people. Stop while I guffaw. Bondi is a dumpster fire, and nobody is going to put her out. As long as she's in office, existing as a street tough doing the mobsters revenge, she's a joke. She accepted a $25000 bribe  campaign contribution from Trump while serving as AG in Floriduh to keep her from indicting the fraud Trump over his fraud Trump University. We all know what she is and are just haggling over price now.

Meanwhile the beauty queen lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, appointed as US Attorney for Virginia because the Godfather thinks she's hot, and willing to do whatever he wants, justified or not, has indicted former FBI head James Comey for something. She's an idiot insurance lawyer who has never tried a case and boy does it show. She was castigated by a judge for being so incompetent she couldn't even file paperwork correctly for the indictment of Comey. Comey, who has the best lawyers in DC, should have no problem beating this rap. Halligan is so dumb she filed a court document setting the trial date for Jan 5, 2025, 9 months ago. This is the real men in women's sports argument. She's about to be crushed.

The Godfather Don, who just has to have a roundtable every week in which his cabinet kisses his ass, leaving their self-respect at the door, is just sitting there glowing in the praise, hitting on any hot chick he lets in the door. Yesterday it was table full of "independent journalists" also known as right wing grifters paid to further the regimes bullshit. Total frauds like Andy Ngo (Trump fell asleep listening to this dullard), Jack Posobiec and some Seattle grifter who claimed Trump had turned her views around right before he told her how attractive she was. Others like Savanah Hernandez from TPUSA and Katie Daviscourt, a blonde Post Millennial "reporter" who dressed like she had been hired as an escort for an orange businessman. And Nick Sortor, a grifter who followed Secretary Swizzle Stick Noem all over hell documenting her idiocy, insisting there is actually an Antifa, dressed as a frog perhaps? Pathetic

Finally, ICE continues on their revenge tour of Chicago and Portland and LA. Thugs, untrained clowns, right wing whackjobs and horribly nasty men who'd been stuffed into lockers in middle school are the ICE base. Cheered on by bigots and assholes but fortunately met with resistance by the people, these jokers are failing miserably at Stephen Millers 3500 people a day bounty. 10, 11 or 12 of them at a time chasing grandfathers into coffee shops to earn their bounty, shooting people who get in the way, and pepper balling priests yet they claim to be under assault. Oh yeah, they are ICE, a bunch of incompetent snowflakes who soon will learn "I was just following orders" aint gonna work as a defense. 

This country is being run by a bald little worm named Stephen Miller. This Miller is perhaps the most powerful Nazi to ever be that close to the Presidency. The day he goes to prison cannot come soon enough.

Herb Alpert!

 If you are a child of the 60's you couldn't get away from radio hits by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. And you liked them. The poppy trumpet and the rest of the Brass. Now of course we know that there never really was a Tijuana Brass as he used session musicians yet who cared?

Alpert brought his latest version of the Brass to Omaha last night to perform in front of a full house. The crowd was lively, shouted out questions, stood and applauded way too much for a guy with a bad knee and loved every second of it.

Alpert is 90 years old, looks great, plays great, moves great and tells stories like a fun Grandpa. Beginning with The Lonely Bull , Alpert went right into action Above the band was a giant screen that showed old tapes of 1960s shows in which Herb Alpert appeared on, commercials that featured Alpert's music (Tea Berry gum), old music videos of the brass playing in bullrings, racetracks, on the beach, and onstage. It was a fascinating watch from the aspect of a kid from the 60's. Johnny Carson, the Dating Game, Rowan and Martin among others.

All the hits were played, many of which I'd forgotten about. Whipped Cream (Alpert has a great story about that album cover which apparently got some loudmouth in the crowd "through puberty") Spanish Flea, Love Potion #9, This Guys In Love With You (another great story) Rise, Smile, Tijuana Taxi, Mexican Shuffle. The songs are all there.

As an added bonus, the former lead singer of Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, Lani Hall, was brought out to sing short snippets of their hits. Oh yeah, she is also Herb Alperts wife of 52 years. Another great story of how they met, how he ordered the Brass to stay away from Brasil 66's women singers during a tour so he could have Lani to himself. He's so great at weaving a story together unlike other old men we are subjected to.

This legend is 90 years old. If you get a chance, this concert is a must. You'll be smiling for 90 minutes.

The Week That Was!

The invasion of America has hit a new concern. Portland, Memphis, Chicago, Los Angeles and every Home Depot in this nation has been invaded by Trumps goons, ICE. The Mango Mussolini has doubled down by sending National Guard troops into American cities that didn't vote for this fragile Ego'd little bitch. The results are predictable. Since there is no attack on ICE in any of these places, lets manufacture one by unleashing these J6ers, Proud Boys and just plain thugs onto the normal people who say no more of this fascist shit. They march out like little goosestepping pretend soldiers, adorned in gas masks, slapping their night sticks into their hands, and flak jackets and when nothing happens, they attack the protesters. This results in videos of goons beating up hippies, appealing to the Archie Bunkers still alive, and thus, the hey what's the context questions. They show old WW II footage to the Idiot in Chief, tell him its (fill in the blank) city, he buys it and then Stephen Miller takes a break from eating mice, and orders the baboons in cool uniforms to wherever to bust heads. Then Miller takes a break from jacking off to Holocaust videos to manufacture a new "crisis". The day these pieces of dung go before a court and get life will be a great day.

Meanwhile, Pete the Drunken Dingleberry Hegseth takes a break from homoerotic speeches to Generals to bring out videos of American fighter pilots killing Venezuelan fishermen or leisure boaters by blowing them out of the water. Many of them were heading for port, not to the US to force fentanyl down your poor kid's throat. These are war crimes of course, as the evidence that these people were drug runners is nonexistent. But Hegseth just keeps showing them, which I'm sure makes him think of hairless buff shirtless men that definitely are not gay (SNL credit), and gets his Christian nationalist crank all hard. The day this guy goes before a court will be a great day.

Kash Patel, the Twitter troll, and head of the FBI has become even more incompetent as his reign of error continues. Patel was hired, along with his fellow podcasting prick, Dan Bingo Bongo, to get into bum fights with Democratic Congresspeople for maximum Fox and Newsmax exposure to appease the base of monkeys. Patel has recently ended FBI cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center because of woke or some such shit. This means when one of those organizations comes to the FBI with credible threats from racists, anti-semites, or your general psychotic loser, Patel and Bingo will ignore it. Thus, I assume the FBI will also not take seriously what White People Are Superior groups tell them about phony Antifa and BLM activities. Yeah sure. Patel's job is to protect white nationalists aka the MAGA base. 

Meanwhile, the Tiffany Network, home of Murrow and Cronkite and Friendly, under the orders of Skydance Paramount Plus pussies, have hired Bari Weiss, a disgruntled New York Times reject, to run its editorial department. Weiss is one of those frauds that suddenly realized that grifting MAGA is lucrative and ranted about cancel culture and woke. Oh the golden oldies never fail with dummies. Weiss caught the eye of the Ellisons, David and Larry, as they buy up American media to further the conservative con job. And now this right wing grifter will be stuffing the billionaire me me me culture into CBS News. Pretty soon we will be seeing anchors like Beanie Boy Tim Pool and "reporters" like Andy Ngo and Benny Johnson spewing the regime bullshit. I guess it's good the only people who watch network news any longer are old and on their way out. Like Larry Ellison.

The shutdown continues with the GOP going full Goebbels by telling a lie often enough that people start believing it. Not since the Volkischer Beobachter has a government spewed more bullshit. The Democrats want to spend a trillion dollars on illegals health care. Put forth by every GOP weasel still shilling for this Goon in Chief, this is utter garbage. They know it but outright lying, not the usual spinning, is the new GOP way. Up is down, in is out, Antifa is fascist, and a Nazi salute is a "Roman salute". Some of them when confronted with their lies go back to spinning. Illegals go to ER, have no money, and the taxpayers get stuck with the bill. Not exactly a trillion, and not even true, but the let em bleed out on the street or die of disease argument really isn't a winner. Well at least with normal people with a heart. Those kind of folks don't death threat any politician who strays from the cruelty platform.

Finally whooping cough, measles, typhoid, tuberculosis and soon smallpox I'm sure are back. As parents listen to their internet kook "research" and that gravel eating RFK Jr, about the "herd immunity" trash we've heard for years, back then from hippie weirdos, and now from dumb Magats AND hippie weirdos, back off from vaccines for their runny nosed kids. The spread of dead diseases, long thought gone, one of humanity's greatest achievements, is back. Red States like Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Missouri and Louisiana have outbreaks of these diseases. Congrats rubes. It's almost back to when America was great. 

We are fucked.

The Outsiders!

 The touring company of the Outsiders has come to Omaha before launching nationally next week. They call this a "try out" stay where the kinks and any other problems are dealt with before going national. You'd never know judging from this musical performance tonight.

Based on the S E Hinton novel and the 1983 movie, the story involves 1967 Tulsa where the city is divided by East, where the greasers live, and the West where the "soc's" or rich kids live. Whenever they catch the other on their side of town, fights ensue.

The main characters include Pony Boy (a fantastic Nolan White), his love struck kinda dumb brother Soda Pop (Corbin Drew Ross as a great straight man) and the oldest brother Darell (the glue of the play Travis Roy Rogers), Pony Boy's best friend Johnny Cade (Bonale Fambrini in a great understated role), the New York bred Dallas Winston (Tyler Jordan Wesley in another great performance) and Cherry Valance, the soc with a brain and a heart (a wonderful Emma Hearn).

The story is familiar. The greasers, the poor kids made fun of by the soc's, just want to be left alone to go to movies and malls on the west side but cannot because they get attacked if they are found. Johnny Cade is beaten to a pulp and seems to know his days are numbered. Pony Boy tries to keep him together while at the same time making an attempt to keep his brothers supportive. But Pony Boy is wracked with guilt over his parents' deaths he feels he could have prevented. The play involves this guilt turning to rage and the killing of the main soc, a brutal rich kid, by Johnny. The run from the law, the turning the kids into heroes saving children from a fire, resulting in the death of Johnny. There is no redemption here as in the opening song states, this is the way its always gonna be.

The music is good but there is a lot of copying from other musicals here. I heard Hamilton, Hadestown and Grease type music which does come together. The songs are good, the lyrics are great, and the stage presence is phenomenal. There is a scene of a rumble in a park, done in slow motion with rain pouring down, with bright lights signifying what's it like being knocked out. Its superb choreography, maybe the best I've seen in years. Another scene when the soc's try and drown Pony Boy, complete with sound effects and the sense of drowning onstage is also so great. 

But the truly great moment in the Tony Award winning musical is the goodbye song of Dallas Winston. Tyler Wesley knocks this moment out of the park. But it's ended and Pony Boy's narration takes over, denying Wesley of any applause. That was awkward but he got his due during the curtain call.

The first act is very good. The second act is great. A solid two hours of fun, sadness and wonder. This cast of young up and comers, many making their touring debuts, have no weak spots. They all act and sing like wily veterans. 

On the negative side. Not much, but when Pony Boy bleaches his hair blonde and they tell him he looks like Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry, sorry but as Max's Mom pointed out, he looks more like Beavis. Thats all the bad I got.

In conclusion, if you get the chance by all means attend this awesome musical. I expected not much and got more than I expected. That is the definition of a great experience.

Bravo! And stay gold Pony Boy.

Rewriting History By Pete Kegseth!

 Another week another whack job shoots off his mouth. December 19.1890 is not the finest hour of the United States Military when troops opened fire and killed 300 or so Lakota and buried them in a mass grave at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. If you've ever been there, you know the ghosts are there. It's an eerie place, much like The Little Bighorn. 19 soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for this "battle" of Wounded Knee. Throughout American history of the last 134 years this massacre is right up there with My Lai and Sandy Creek and the Haymarket Riots as far as disgraces go. 

But not anymore. Sec of Defense Pete Hegseth opened his yap and did the performance theater of talking with his hands and justifying this "battle" and the medals awarded for the "bravery" of the US Army. Right in line with this putrid administration, history is being re-written by a gang of white supremacists. Jan 6 was FBI, 2020 election "stollen", everything Trump says was not said, Kirk was "assassinated" by a leftist, the left are the violent ones, Israel is just defensing itself and now a genocidal massacre was a "battle". The cowards who initiated this event at Wounded Knee were "brave". Like hunting down fleeing women and children up to 3 miles away and killing them. You get a Medal of Honor and you get a Medal of Honor. Hegseth, a Christian nationalist bag of tattoos, fresh off a grueling stint as 3rd banana on a Fox weekend show, has assumed his role and begun justifying every shitty action he can find. American history is nothing but eagles and guns and conquering heroes. It's like these people live in the 1930s. Oh wait.

Of all the shit said during the last 8 months, THIS is the worst. And I KNOW it won't even be bottom justifying a massacre of women and children. Just wait till the Trail of Tears is rewritten as a nice jog in the park, The Civil War was northern aggression on a peaceful people, slavery was just full employment for blacks, slave ships were cruise ships, Vietnam was a noble victory, the invasion of Iraq was about WMD's, and Nixon was hounded out of office by Jimmy Kimmel.

Justifying a massacre as "brave", even for accused rapist (oh those pesky NDAs) and thrice married Hegseth. I assume he was sober as he gave his little talk about medals and bravery. Yeah man, it's all woke and shit to think killing nonwhites is bad. But the sight of white trash beating cops and shitting in waste backets, chanting "Hang Mike Pence", sing songy staking Nancy Pelosi, and acting like cocaine fueled monkeys was instigated not by a fat orange buffoon, but by the FBI. Ya know, the FBI under the rule of Donald Trump. 

Its Trumps America. Invasion of American cities, the beating of anyone not white by armed thugs posing as federal agents, disappearing American citizens for weeks at a time, renaming shit that doesn't matter (War department, Gulf of America), building $200 million ballrooms financed by bribes from corporations, and the embarrassment this regime brings upon Americans every single day is being met by a giant yawn by the majority. We are a docile people and it's time to stop that.

Or it's all going to be gone, 250 years destroyed in 8 fucking months.

Kimmel, Kirk and Kooks!

 

Well lets get started. Every week is a novel in itself but unfortunately, it's a novel based on real events that skews to the MAGA. 

Jimmy Kimmel, after being banned after threats from the latest MAGA thug, Brendan Carr (we can do dis da hard way or da easy way.( such a funny joke per J D Bowman) returned to the airwaves after Disney was bombarded with cancellations of their Disney Plus Marvel streaming service and their Hulu, the watch twice as many ads as regular network TV streaming service. Oh yeah and ESPN too. Disney did not suddenly become a courageous resistance standing up to Trump and Carr, but a corporation with ALL the money who wants to keep it. Kimmel kept hammering Trump and his thugs. There was no apology to the "offended" Kirkophiles, no financial bribe money paid to TPUSA, the college grifter organization started by Charlie Kirk, or a softening of Kimmel's attacks on Trump. Good for you Jimmy, you have the courage most of America lacks.

Some wayward 29-year-old white male, no hope seen for his future, took out his gun, laid on a roof across from an ICE camp in Dallas, and fired away at the building. He killed a detainee and wounded two other detainees. No ICE people were harmed in this shooting. The young white male then whacked himself cuz that's what "left wing radicals" do. The dust had barely settled before the usual suspects like Kristi Noem, Kash Patel and Donald Trump played the blame game. Though only detainees were harmed and the two critically wounded will be deported as soon as they can stagger onto a plane, this was an attack on ICE. The poor ICE thugs  agents are under attack. These poor ICE people are just family types trying to make a living "protecting" all of us from that guy over at Home Depot looking for a day job and of course raping your white wife. Patel even released a picture of a bullet with "Anti ICE" written in blue sharpie. This I take with a giant grain of salt since virtually nothing coming out of this dishonest regime is truth. 

Escalatorgate. Trump and Melania arrived at the United Nations and after their videographer hit the stop button, the escalator stopped and horror of horrors they both had to walk upstairs. Then during Trumps whacko speech, which featured all the greatest hits, his teleprompter went out. Forget that on the campaign trail Trump constantly pissed and moaned about his lousy mike, his teleprompter failing, lights being too bright like the whiny lil bitch he is, this was sabotage. Fox News and Newsmax sprang into action. This was some sort of attempt to kill Trump or make him look like a fool (spoiler he is a fool). Escalatorgate will be the Fox narrative all week. 

The Kirk "memorial service". A whole lot of crazy from the likes of Jack Posobiac, Stephen Miller, a bunch of charlatan preachers, and then eventually the King of Bullshit himself. Kirk's widow, a dry crier if I ever saw one, "forgave" her husband's murderer and called for peace. Whether that was true or not I don't know. Then came the creepy Uncle Trump. Hugging Erika Kirk like a trench coat wearing perv, Trump then launched into how much he hates his opponents (just another hilarious joke per Megyn Kelly). There were "hundreds of thousands" of attendees in a 63,000-seat stadium to honor the podcaster who has become the modern-day Jesus H Christ. Unfortunately, he did not rise after 3 days but one Jimmy Kimmel did. Just stop with the canonization of this loudmouth shit stirrer. I condemn his killing, but I also condemn his nonsense.

The indictment of James Comey. An indictment that should not even get out of arraignment. Since Trump openly told Pam Bondi, a modern-day mob lawyer, to start indicting people and that he's mad about MAGAts demanding action when nothing gets done. This stupid man later deleted his blatant call to arrest his opponents cuz it was supposed to be an email or a text or whatever. Nuremberg cannot come soon enough for these goons.

 

And finally, Oklahoma's own Superintendent of Public Indoctrination   Education, Ryan Walters has decided to move on from buying Trump Bibles and watching porn at work, to some phony organization that doesn't condemn porn at work. Walters famously bought $60 Trump bibles for all classrooms in Oklahoma schools (which also contains the Constitution but NOT amendments 11-27 because women's rights and banning slavery and civil rights and 18-year-olds voting and the 25th amendment are all "woke") and lastly advocated for a mandatory Charlie Kirk statue at every college campus, and a mandatory TPUSA chapter at all Oklahoma schools. Walters is as dumb as they come. Also, Walters is as phony as they come. Good riddance.

This is our 2025 country. Sheesh.

AJ Croce!

 On September 21, 1973, singer songwriter Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash while touring. Croce in his short life had so many hits it's hard to remember them all. His son, AJ, or Adrian James Croce as he reveals, is keeping his father's music alive along with his own on tour. Backed by a tight band, background singers, and stories that keep one's attention, Croce plays a two-hour set of hits and deep cuts that seems like much less time.

Opening with You Don't Mess Around with Jim had the crowd at the Scott Recital Hall singing the chorus as enthusiastically as AJ asked for. Oh yeah, he asks you to sing along, he takes requests, he communicates with his band almost telepathically when the set list changes due to requests from the crowd. All the while as the songs go on, we see clips from the early 1970s on a big screen, almost like videos created for each song. All of us old hippies were in heaven hearing the music from that time and even earlier. Croce has a soft spot for the old bluesmen and for people like Ray Charles and honors them with tales and music.

At the end of the two hours, we get the huge hits, Bad Bad Leroy Brown, I've Got a Name (my personal favorite) and Time in a Bottle, which featured old home movies of Jim, his wife and AJs mom Ingrid (still alive at 77) and a two-year-old AJ cavorting at their home in Pennsylvania. I was a really sweet moment as Jim sung the song and then AJ took over halfway through. 

Jim Croce died at 30 years old. AJ Croce is 53 years old now and keeping this classic music alive. Power to him.

If you get a chance, go see him, it's worth it.

Free Speech? Ha!

 This is MAGA right now. Defiant and forever the victims. The murder of Charlie Kirk has unleashed what MAGA has always wanted. A crackdown on free speech, a gutting of the First Amendment and total control of the country by one man child and his puppet masters at Project 2025.

We have Kirk's widow, Erika, giving a speech of not sadness and mourning and unity, but of revenge. Glaring at the camera like a possessed hateful blonde demon, she carried on about keeping Charlie's garbage alive, not because of her grief, but because like her husband, it's all a grift. She sent out fund raising emails before he was even buried, she posted videos of her dead husband's body, Christ it's all so ugly. At least her head didn't spin around and tell the left their mothers suck cocks in hell. 

Stephen Miller, now HE is truly America's Hitler, with his on brand promise to crack down on "leftist organizations". Miller, who looks like a true Nosferatu (some say Naziferatu) who hangs from his ceiling at night, glares into whatever camera is cursed to show his mug, and pontificates about forcing America's children to endure white supremacist versions of history, that "radical" leftists (anybody to his left which is everyone) are dangerous and need to be prosecuted and jailed, and various other wild eyed "theories" about white people being the true oppressed ones. Miller hates nonwhites, that's clear, and what that reason is could be he is still hurting from a rejection from a girl, probably a nonwhite one or that he truly is an evil Nazi and a half Jewish one at that.

Then there's J D Bowman, errr, Hamel, errr, Vance, the Vice President of the entire United States. Interviewing the cruel and bitter Miller, Vance, again the Vice President of the entire United States jumped right in to agree with the scowling Miller about establishing a right-wing authoritarian society where free speech is suppressed and certain political views are criminal. Vance is truly an unlikable buffoon with a gift for gab that grows weary after about 10 seconds. He's slick, a real billboard lawyer type. Vance is the sitting Vice President of the United Red States only. Much like his boss, Peter Thiel.

Kash Patel, a shit stirring podcaster like Kirk, somehow was made head of the FBI along with fellow podcaster and creepy thug Dan Bongino. His incompetence is evident. He has no fucking idea what he's doing. But what he does know is how to get into pissing matches with anyone he doesn't like. Yelling and rolling his bug eyes like a character from Bugs, Patel, performing for his audience of one, hollered at any Democrat who asked him a question. He knows why he's there. Because a low IQ President loves theater. Patel is the main character in Trump: The Musical.

Then there's the Attorney General of the entire United States, a truly sycophantic idiot named Pam Bondi. She is going to "go after" what she perceives to be "leftist" organizations. Appearing on a podcast hosted by Eva Braun Katie Miller, partner of America's Hitler Stephen Miller, Bondi proved once again she isn't Attorney General, but simply one man's lawyer and bound to carry out his retribution. Bondi took a $25K bribe to ignore her client's fraud back in Florida and thus established what she truly is. 

How did we get here? Because MAGA is a perennial victim of something. It's how they work. Use tragedy to exploit their true agenda. The fascist agenda. It's enough for me, a sober thinking person, that the murder of Kirk was not a random act. Of course, we shall never know that. They have their patsy, a young man they have branded as a gay transgender leftist with fake texts and bullshit manifestos that the dog ate I guess. Much like the Soviets, this Russia based administration is making it up as they go along. Disagree with us, you're evil, or mentally ill, or just annoying enough to be arrested.

Scary times and these gutless wonder useful idiots in Congress will do nothing. Much like the Democrats, still believing in guard rails and shit like that. 

I am truly not sure who is worse. 

The Kirk Hangover!

We've had a weekend to sober up and look at the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk from a realistic, sober and fact-based view. JK, this is America where anything makes one go on social media and say hey look at me! The Tik Tok and the deep dark internet videos of screeching right wing nuts looking for attention by calling for permission from King Trump to start killin the libtards. Yeah, some of them are over the top and are nothing but performance theatrics, but some are not. You can tell the serious ones from the middle school level audition for the tough guy role. The serious ones are kind of scary. The ones where the person speaking is not holding a gun, not screaming, not wearing any type of right-wing gear yet very calmly announces that war has been declared. Either creepily dangerous OR the best actors on the planet. 

The MAGAt snowflakes have their marching orders. Blame the transgenders, the left and whatever else they can throw against the wall hoping it sticks to dummies. We have a Governor of Utah, almost sort of unifying and eerily strange, suddenly changed course over the weekend and began blaming the left and the transgenders. It's almost like he had a little talking to by a googly eyed incompetent. The crazies all started taking like the killer being part of the "trans agenda" was as fact based as the stolen 2020 election. These people are pros. They know how to stir the shit and they also realized that ignorant people are so easy to manipulate. Much like Kirk knew.

Meanwhile the grieving widow, Erika Kirk, with a filter that made her look even more insane, took to social media to deliver a bitter, spiteful, threatening speech that did zero unifying. But then why would it? Erika Kirk is every bit the grifter her husband was. She crassly posted on Instagram for chrissakes video of her hovering over the casket of her dead husband, kissing his fingers, kissing his face all the while whispering her love. Also, all the while being professionally taped. Talk about performance art! Later on the emails began to circulate. Erika will carry on his work. Please give me money. The guy isn't even buried, and she's gotten back on the grifting horse. She's a con artist, a grifter, a charlatan just as Charlie was. It's all about the cash, baby, send me some. Say wait, wouldn't Charlie have wanted a man to take over since women are for makin white babies and stayin out of sight?

I am so sick of all of this. The right, full of gun nuts and guys who have waited their whole lives to join the modern day equivalent of the KKK and start lynchings again. The left, full of everything relates to Gaza and immaturity gloating over a guy bleeding out on a stage in front of hundreds cuz he said something they didnt like. The crazies, full of antisemites blaming the Mossad cuz Charlie was going to abandon Israel, or the whackos saying it was an inside job and the stage security killed him, or the jibrones saying it was a false flag. I'm SICK of it! Maybe some bad joke at the Emmys will outrage the MAGAt snowflakes into a new outrage. I sure hope so.

Meanwhile on Saturday night, Omaha's own Terence Bud Crawford won yet another boxing title in Las Vegas. I love to watch Crawford box. He is as methodical as an Ali, a Greg Maddux, an Ichiro, a Marv Levy, a Greg Popovich, a Brady, a Gene Tunney (google him kids). Methodical is boring to some. The people who worship legalized assault like UFC or MMA or the theatrics of WWE. They just want action. Brawling. Total chaos. Then there's the rest of us. Admiring the thought process of a man who knows his every move and showing Mike Tyson's theory that all your plans go out of the window when you get punched in the face is only 99% true. Crawford gets socked in the grill and acts like yep thats part of the plan. What Crawford has done is unprecedented. He has won multiple titles from 135 lbs to 168 lbs. Thats remarkable. Nobody is too big to take down for Bud. I say the two loudest indoor spontaneous reactions I've ever heard were the moment in Omaha when a Husker volleyball  killshot beat Texas for the national title AND the moment Bud Crawford one punch knocked out Julius Indongo  in Lincoln. Well done beating a bigger guy yet again.

Charlie Kirk!

 The above image is all anybody should concentrate on right now. A father, a mother and their young kids. They are forever scarred by the murder of their husband and father. Gunned down while speaking conservative talking points. Graphic footage is just horrifying. I am sorry I saw it. So, for now, all we should focus on is Charlie Kirk's family. The grief is real. But the grift is over. I condemn this hit. Cuz it WAS a hit.

Now the BUT.

I had my problems with Charlie Kirk. I attacked him on twitter constantly because it was so easy. He said some of the stupidest shit ever on video and audio. He pretended to hate minorities, women, gays, and anybody else on the other side of the spectrum. He famously went from Release the Epstein files to I don't care about the Epstein Files in one day because he knew the man keeping his grift alive was in those files. It WAS a grift. Charlie Kirk, much like Sean Hannity and Kaleigh McEnaney, knew great television. They didn't believe what they said until they saw their bank accounts, contracts and adoration from mutton heads grow. Then their brains suddenly shifted. Man, are these people easy to grift. And the grift became gospel. They'd convinced themselves that cash is right and to truly earn that cash they must actually buy into what they say.

Meanwhile, the pearl clutching by the right is almost laughable. Without knowing a goddamn thing about the shooter or the motive they assigned motive immediately. The left, the Democrats, the gays whatever. Hey, we do know what motivated the MAGA Minneapolis assassin of Melissa Hortman and her husband. We DO know the motive of the Tree of Life murderer. We DO know the motive behind the mass murder in Arizona that severely wounded Gabby Giffords. We DO know the motive of the El Paso Walmart mass killer, the Buffalo supermarket killer, the King Soopers mass murderer, the Pulse nightclub killer, the killer of the black churchgoers in South Carolina, the killer at the Club Q in Colorado Springs, The Burnette Chapel mass murderer, the Knoxville Unitarian Church assassin. All of it was based in hatred of people unlike themselves. Yet the right, with no clue as usual, is quick to place blame. The Divider in Chief assigned blame without knowing anything as usual. Hey Donnie, Putin bombed Poland, didya hear?

Christ, assassinations and attempted assassinations are as American as apple pie in the words of H Rap Brown. Kennedy, Malcom, Evers, Kennedy 2, MLK Jr, Wallace, Lowenstein, Reagan, Giffords, Lincoln, McKinley, Roosevelt, Long, Hortman, Trump, the list is endless. For chrissakes, American history began with the killing of Alexander Hamilton by the freakin Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, perhaps you've heard of it.

So, to hell with this political bullshit outrage. I guess it all depends on whose side you're on before you actually become human and actually condemn this violence. Not a fucking word about Hortman from the Republicans, in fact, Trump said it would be a "waste of time" to reach out to the victims' families. To hell with all of it.

If you cheer this killing of Charlie Kirk, fuck you. If you cheer the killing of Melissa Hortman, fuck you too. If you cheer any murder, fuck you also.

I am sick of it. Sick of the backwards hatted tough guys on Tik Tok threatening revenge on libs. Sick of leftists cheering for Luigi Mangione. Sick of grifters and con artists pretending they care while raising money. Sick of people calling anything they don't like "genocide". 

In conclusion, I feel sorry for Kirk's family. I condemn his murder. May he rest in peace if you buy into that stuff. But remember, grifting can be dangerous, and your words sometimes have consequences. Mostly just being ostracized, but in some cases a nut wants you dead. 

And sometimes somebody puts out a hit on you. 

Football Notes!

 Moving the Husker Cincinnati game to Arrowhead in Kansas City was a brilliant move on Cincinnati's part. Yeah, they were outnumbered by 100-1 in fans but the $$$ had to be good. I mean can Nippert Stadium in Cincy handle the influx of Husker fan? Could the Lucas Oil Dome in Indianapolis handle it? Arrowhead has done it before and came through.

The drive to KC on Thursday was a fucking nightmare. Start stop start stop road construction, the 3-hour trip became 5 hours and add on another hour to park. So, if you leave at one, you get to the stadium at 7. Jesus, it was exhausting. 

The parking lot was full of red clad drinkers getting oiled up for the game. The port a potties had lines, the people tailgating took up 3 parking spots which probably led to the parking lot nightmare. 

The stadium was the loudest place I may have ever been, and I've seen Nine Inch Nails in a confined space. Sitting under the overhang in the end zone may have contributed to my ears ringing. It was hot. Being out in the open air may have been better but I was a sweaty mess.

The concessions are crazy priced. They have a captive crowd and man do they exploit it. $46 for some chicken tenders, fries and a Coke Zero. But as Max said, they were allegedly "gourmet" chicken tenders thus the price. Were they gourmet? Yeah sure. My choice was a brisket sandwich and a water (I don't drink beer at anything but baseball games cuz it's the law). It cost me $35. Yum.

The game itself was insane. The crowd was younger, drunker, and had the energy to keep it up for the entire 3 hours. I couldn't do that cuz I'm old and I'd stood for an entire Alice Cooper show the night before. I'm sure next week in Lincoln will be back to the old "Siddown I can't see" vibe. Unless the newly available beer causes some sort of conversion (It wont). 

Hey Husker fans, booing the other team's band and its dancers is low class. It's Mizzou/Colorado type shit. For thinking you're the best fan base in College Football acting like drunken buffoons isn't cool. Besides, who the hell boos Cincinnati?

Dylan Raiola is good. Emmitt Johnson is good. The defense is ok. Archie Wilson, the new punter straight from Australian Rules Football, is the MVP. His rugby punts (with either leg by the way) were the reason Nebraska won the game by pinning Cincy deep every time. Great job mate.

Raiola makes $3 million per sources. Thats $250k per game win or lose. Going to the NFL would be a pay cut. Is he worth it? We shall see.

Husker fans permeated KC on Friday. I assume most were sticking around to see the Royals that night on Nebraska night where they got a free Husker sweater or something. They were all over downtown KC. They were all over the Negro Leagues Museum which is a great place to visit. My question was do Nebraskans own any clothing other than red Husker stuff? I had on a Montreal Expos shirt which caused 4 discussions with museum visitors about the Expos. All 4 had red on.

Friday night we went to Lawrence Kansas to see the Jayhawks meet Staten Island's own Wagner U, an FCS team. They have a new, or remodeled stadium, which is modern as hell. It looks good even though our side is the same old bench seats and steep steps.

The Westboro Baptist freaks were there "protesting" outside the stadium. With their vulgar anti-gay shirts on and their judgmental bullshit I couldn't resist engaging with them. They did not engage back. I didn't swear at them but eventually told them they were THE most horrible human beings on Earth and huffed off. They don't care, they're crazy. 

The Kansas fans are decent. Of course, a game against Wagner isn't exactly knuckle biting and they sell beer. Their band is good (better than ours) and their concession prices are more in line with sanity.

A young man in a Trump hat was going up and down the steps constantly and I wondered aloud that what female would not run from this lout. A drunk young lady was taken out by EMT's down the steps where she fell into people three times until they eventually strapped her to a rolling chair. Wonder what she felt like Saturday morning.

Ubering to games seems to be the way to go. Two Uber rides in Lawrence cost less than it would have to park at the campus. Plus, it helped me avoid that climbing up Mount Everest or whatever they call that gigantic hill on campus.

The road back on Saturday was yet another Husker caravan. Some stop and start due to construction but for chrissakes, a Caseys in Mound City had a snake like line to buy pop and snacks that went from the front counter to the bathroom. Yes, it was all us Husker fans. In red.

A great weekend. Go Big Red! But I stand by my preseason prediction of 7-5 tops.