Descent Politicians, and Politicians Descent

George McGovern left us on this day in 2012.

"Politics is an act of faith; you have to show some kind of confidence in the intellectual and moral capacity of the public." 

That's the kind of faith that gets you 38% of the popular vote against Nixon! (Also, it doesn't help your cause when Nixon has your headquarters raided.)

He voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution but then gave us a chance to end the Vietnam War that we didn't take. First campaign to include gay rights and equal pay for women. One of the few decent people to ever run for president.

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Nate Silver is giving the Republicans a one-in-seven chance of keeping the House. That's about the chance he gave Trump 2 years ago at this time. They could pull it off. Democrats have a 20% chance of getting the Senate. They could pull it off too. Stay motivated.

October 21, 2020

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To the president's credit, and by his own admission, he didn't know what he was signing up for.

October 21, 2017

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If Trump loses, it will be at least the second time he blew a billion dollars in a year.

October 21, 2016

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I keep thinking about Hillary's elementary school classmate who recounted her class thinking she was really special, and they voted her 'most likely to marry a senator.'

October 21, 2016

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I waited one day too long before cutting my fingernails and ended up a hand model at work.

October 21, 2016

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The greatest American of all-time? Trump! He single-handedly kept a lunatic from becoming president.

October 21, 2016

Postscript- I've been known to have to much belief in the American population

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Trump's ahead in three national polls, but don't let that fool you- Nate Silver still only gives him a 13% chance of winning. Besides Trump has rigged the election against himself. By telling his supporters it's rigged, they have to figure they don't need to bother voting.

October 21, 2016

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Thomas Edison applied for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb understand 1879. Imagine a world without light bulbs.

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Warren G. Harding delivered the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South on this day in 1921. Terrible presidents can still do good things.

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Bryce Harper stole home in a NLCS game on this day in 2023.

James H. Austin- "Chance favors those in motion."

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The British author, Paul Brunton, joined us on this day in 1898.

"Solitude is strength; to depend on the presence of the crowd is weakness. The man who needs a mob to nerve him is much more alone than he imagines."

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Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls was published on this day in 1940.

"I had an inheritance from my father,

It was the moon and the sun.

And though I roam all over the world,

The spending of it’s never done."

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Ursula K. Le Guin was born on this day in 1929.

What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?"

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Carrie Fisher was born on this day, 27 years later.

"I feel I'm very sane about how crazy I am."

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Zack Greinke joined us on this day in 1983. A great baseball guy! Here's a smattering of quotes and stories:

"Sometimes my arm wants to throw a hard fastball, but my brain doesn't want to throw it that hard."

(What is he, an Octopus with a brain in each arm?)

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"I've only kept one award in my whole life, and it's the coolest thing ever. Mizuno gave me a samurai sword for winning the Cy Young. It's awesome."

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"I don't mind people looking at me. That's never bothered me. I don't want them looking at me in my house; now that would bother me."

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Brad Keller, pitcher: I was like, “I’m not getting righties out as well as I want to. I feel like I’ve been getting lefties out more.” That night, he went home and I get a text message at like 2 a.m. He’s sending me all the data points. He’s like, “This is what I saw. These are the things I gather.” Out of the blue. 

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"There definitely will be flying cars, but whether there'll be flying cars for most people to use, it'll probably take a long time to straighten everything out, all the rules and hassles. It'll take a while to figure out how to keep people from crashing into each other."

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Merrifield: In Houston, they have this golf simulator in the hotel lobby. There were like 10 of us down there, messing around. Zack was down there, then his family showed up and he abruptly got up and said, “I gotta go. Family is here.” Forty-five minutes later, he comes strolling back down…We’re like, “Zack! Didn’t expect to see you back.” He’s like, “Yeah. I saw the kids, figured I’d rather come hit golf balls.” Just barefoot. Walking through the lobby of the Four Seasons. Like it’s his kitchen.

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"To talk to people, I have to spend energy talking to them. If I expend my energy on talking to people and making friends, it takes away from the energy I could focus on getting ready to pitch."

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Teammate Nicky Lopez: I was on the bench with him and we were facing someone who really liked cats. I was like: “You can’t trust anyone who likes cats.” He goes: “Yeah, man, you really can’t.” I go: “I like dogs. You got any, Zack?” He goes: “Nah, I would never get dogs. I’ve got a cat, though.”

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Collin Snider, pitcher: We’re in Texas and a couple of guys were playing cards before the game. They were talking about guys collecting stuff. (Dylan) Coleman asked if Greinke collects anything cool. And he was just like: “Got a bunch of houses.”

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"I like the guacamole. Now, I don't really love the guacamole. So I get it when I feel like it. They changed their guacamole from $1.50 to $1.80. I mean, $1.50 is already pretty darn high. So they changed it to $1.80, and I'll never again get guacamole."

Later he added, "It's not about the guacamole itself. I just don't want to let them win."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theathletic.com/3619646/2022/09/26/zack-greinke-royals-stories-2022/%3famp=1

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Author and playwright, Arthur Schnitzler, left us on this day in 1931. Eyes Wide Shut with adapted from his novel, Traumnovelle.

"Oh, we do not understand death, we never understand it; creatures are only truly dead when everyone else has died who knew them."

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We lost Jack Kerouac on this day in 1969 at the age of 47.

“The one thing that we yearn for in our living days, that makes us sigh and groan and undergo sweet nauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death.”

Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsburg at his grave in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1975.

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François Truffaut left us on this day in 1984.

"Three films a day, three books a week and records of great music would be enough to make me happy to the day I die."

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Kathy Young was born on this day in 1945. She sang this otherworldly song at the age of 15.

1000 STARS IN THE SKY

A thousand stars in the sky like the stars in your eyes

They say to me that there'll never be

No other love like you-oo for me-e-e

A thousand stars in the sky make me realize

You are the one love that I'll adore

Tell me you love me

Tell me you're mine once more (once more, once mo-o-ore)

Each night I count the stars in the sky

Hoping that you aren't telling me lies

You're with me tonight, I'm captured by your charms

Oh, pretty baby, won't you hold me in your arms?

A thousand stars in the sky make me realize

You are the one love that I'll adore

Tell me you love me

Tell me you're mine once more (once more, once mo-o-ore)

Each night I count the stars in the sky

Hoping that you aren't telling me lies

You're with me tonight, I'm captured by your charms

Oh, pretty baby, won't you hold me in your arms?

A thousand stars in the sky make me realize

You are the one love that I'll adore

Tell me you love me

Tell me you're mine once mo-o-re (I-I-I'm yours)

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Other notable birthdays- Alfred Nobel (1833), Whitey Ford (1928)

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Another notable deathday- Elliott Smith (2003)

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The Phillies clinched their first World Series on this day in 1980. They clinched the NLCS on this day in 2008, later going on to win the World Series. Tonight they are tied 1-1 in the NLCS against the Padres.

Some of the greatest moments of my life have been catching things that were bobbled by myself or others, and every time I remember this moment. I attempt to live my life in a constant state of being able to react to a bobble.

*Fun fact... If Rose hadn't caught the ball Bob Boone bobbled, and the Phils went on to lose, Bob Boone would have forever been known as Bobble Boone.

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Well I'm sold! "American Journal of Epidemiology found that among 4,000 faculty members at five Spanish universities, those who drank more than 14 weekly glasses of wine for a year were 40% less likely to come down with a common cold."

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/photos/8-reasons-love-red-wine

October 21, 2012

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Friends, I know of nothing else that could entertain you more in the next 6 seconds than this video. Forgo it, and unfortunately you deserve the next 6 laugh-free seconds of your life. 

My favorite Vine- Mrs. Sanders was afraid of frogs.

https://youtu.be/FGvazjyinPY

October 21, 2013

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Zowie, Shin Hati

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The Onion Politics- Report: Peaceful Transfer Of Power Makes Last-Minute Push To Become Most Pressing Issue Of 2016 Election

Not even satire. Even if he loses in 2020 by a landslide, his most ardent supporters can't think he'd just leave. He'd be a loser, bad for his brand. More importantly, impossible for his brain. Certainly appeasing his ego supercedes the will of the people.

http://politics.theonion.com/report-peaceful-transfer-of-power-makes-last-minute-pu-1819579368

October 21, 2017

Postscript- Never was telling the future with pinpoint accuracy more simple.

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CNN- The two-word phrase President Trump relies on most

http://cnn.it/2oudbuc

"Believe me." Almost as if he's pleading.

October 21, 2017

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I despise this picture!

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The Onion- Study: 83% Of Gamblers Quit Right Before They Would Have Hit The Big One

“What gamblers as a whole need to realize is that, statistically speaking, their fear of going bust is ludicrous and absurd, and they really need to just go for it, and go for it hard—I’m talking all in here,” said Gordon, adding that gamblers could maintain control over their destiny and hit the big one much faster by increasing the frequency and monetary value of wagers. “Because the payoff is just tremendous. Hell, our research shows they’re walking away from the table right when they stand to make millions. Don’t they want to be rich?”

http://www.theonion.com/study-83-of-gamblers-quit-right-before-they-would-hav-1819575092

October 21, 2017

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Obama channeling Chris Rock. "Can you imagine if I had a secret Chinese bank account? They would have called me Beijing Barry."

https://youtu.be/jM-2J3_z5HU

October 21, 2020

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Truffaut- "Film lovers are sick people."

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Kerouac, Selected Letters- "Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you're already in heaven now."

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Lucretius- "To fear death, then, is foolish, since death is the final and complete annihilation of personal identity, the ultimate release from anxiety and pain."

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Nietzsche- "I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time."

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Oscar Wilde- "I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there."

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Norm MacDonald- “I went to a hypnotist. He put me under a spell, and every time I had a craving for a cigarette, I would throw up. It’s very embarrassing right after sex. I find it pretty hard to get that second date after that. Girls get all snobby after you barf on them.”

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Addendum 

Myspace Blog 

October 21, 2006

The Dogliness of Tomorrow's Yesterday

Ignore my last bulletin if you're just seeing it. The "tomorrow" it refers to is yesterday's tomorrow, or "today," as we say.

Anyway, "yesterday's tomorrow" we played a fun game of baseball. After several months, my pitching arm was in top form even if my swinging arms were a bit rusty. The lowlight was when Leon's dog, Clouseau, while trying to retrieve the ball Brad threw to me, jumped and punched me in the privates, toppling me to the mud at third base. And sure I got lambasted for sliding and briefly-catching-but-ultimately-missing a soft fly over the ghost-shortstop's head. I accept responsibility, but it's possible the dog's huffing distracted me. At least I had some dirt to wash off. It's too bad you didn't come. I'll bet you're clean as a whistle. (And no, Moe, I wouldn't like to blow you, but Billy Wagner might. He's free tonight, I think.) I took home another souvenir besides mud- Zerbe drilled me in the calf with a pitched ball leaving a red mark, complete with a white stitching imprint. It's the size of a pog... an ultra-rare bright red yin yang Pepsi logo pog. I'll cherish it always, until I completely forget that it ever existed.

But the most memorable thing that happened today was not me laying breathless at third base or hobbling around home plate for several minutes using a bat as a crutch. It was Leon's dog, taking a popup off the noggin. He has a tendency to run into the line of fire of our infield line-drives so we try to keep him in the outfield where it's safer. (Where have I heard that before? It's not "safe," but it's "safer." Oh yeah, the leader talking to the frightened electorate.) So I threw him a popup as high and far as I could to keep him, you know, out of the infield, safe. The trouble is that he's speedy, so he caught up to it and waited, waited, waited, and BONK!!! It didn't glance off, it was a direct shot to the top of the skull. I'll bet it bounced 10 feet up in the air. I don't know what I expected to follow, but what happened shocked me. He looked for the ball, ran over, picked it up, and brought it back to me. I wasn't thinking he'd grab his head and run around on two paws going "owowowowowowow." I certainly didn't think he'd do the slow walk to the sideline where he'd sit, quietly crying for the next several minutes. I didn't expect to see one of those bald cartoon lumps. Leon suggested that one might make an appearance. No, it was business as usual for him. How do dog's show no emotion? Do their pointy ears reveal their Vulcan ancestory? I really don't know.

As humans, do we associate pain with someone or something's intention against us? Or some God's intention, in that He had the power to stop it? We seem to be emotionally involved with the pain we feel. Is that one way we're different from animals? I know I was emotionally involved with my pain at third base. And at home plate. I didn't spend too much time at first and second. (Just like Moe. HIGH FIVE! For those of you following at home, yes, crude sexual innuendos also separate us from the animals. High fives too.) But this dog couldn't have cared less. He was as emotionless as the All-Star Game's Target billboard. Is that too Dennis Millerian?

(Is the term Dennis Millerian too Dennis Millerian? By "Dennis Millerian" I mean making a joke with an obscure reference that one-in-20 will "get", thus feeling that the joke was custom-crafted for them. When Dennis makes 100 of those jokes, everyone gets to feel like he made a bunch of weird jokes, BUT 5 special ones, just for them. Just to reinforce, by "Dennis Millerian", I did NOT mean that it was a mean-spirited joke about thousands of Iraqi civilians dying there so we don't have to fight them here.)

I have to think that if I was one foot away blasting balls off Clouseau's head he'd get angry. I also think I could have thrown skull-crushing popups all day without him thinking the slightest negative thought toward me. But how would he know my intent? Does he somehow understand that I couldn't possibly have the skill to bounce balls off his head repeatedly from 100 feet away. (I'm warning you Moe, I have plenty more ammo.) And what if I'm laughing and joking around as I crack ball after ball off his head from a few feet away? Will it angry up his blood even though my intent would seem devoid of malice? If so, where's the crossover distance between where a dog doesn't care and where he gets mad? This is an important distance for us humans to discover. Just ask Emma. She knows all about my "dealings" with dogs at a distance. God-willing, we will find this distance.

And speaking of God, isn't that just dog spelled backwards? I think Kerouac might have said that. But then he also said that "the groundhog is a silent roadside sentinel" and if he didn't renounce Buddhism and drink himself to death, he'd probably tell you today that comparing dogs to God in any sense is against the teachings of the Catholic church.

But wait, did you know that "Do geese see God?" spelled backwards is... "Do geese see God?" And today while looking heavenward lining up a baseball, I saw a bird, took my eye off the ball, missed it, and the dog got it. So what does that tell you? Nothing? Good. Just know that cleanliness is not dogliness, because later Clousseau sat in a mud puddle and lapped away. But who am I to judge? I'm a grown man jumping and sliding around in the outfield trying to catch baseballs. So I have a little dogliness in me too. I can accept that. Hell, I can celebrate it. And the only difference between me and Jesus (in terms of outfield ability) is that he would have kept hold of the ball after he slid. Dog-willing.

So, what I should learn from Jesus (in terms of outfield ability) is that faith will lead you to your goals, and what I should learn from a dog (in terms of "right livelihood", take that Kerouac) is to turn the other cheek, keep emotions in check, and if you sacrifice a little freedom for a little safety you deserve neither.

It was nice to have to wash up after months of cleanliness. The dog may or may not agree.