Tough Losses

Thank Crom It's Friday!

"I had better see plenty of dead animal carcasses roasting over open pits this weekend!"

Lawrence O'Donnell is a Lazy, Partisan Hack

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the MSNBC talking head...

Shameless progressive shill or mendacious crapweasel? You decide.

Now, I'd rather take the kind of beatdown Joe Pesci got at the end of Casino than watch this nimrod, but something from his Twitter account popped up in my feed yesterday, to wit:

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that O'Donnell is simply peddling a meme to his nitwit followers: "Republicans have no ideas on college affordability." He's hoping it becomes widespread enough to tarnish the GOP image. It isn't clear that this is an issue of much importance to voters, but never mind that. It isn't surprising that progressives don't want voters thinking about the usual Big Picture issues in a presidential election, since their party's performance in those areas has been so unpopular.

Unfortunately for Larry, though, his falsehood in this particular instance is childishly easy to refute.

Since Larry's too busy to use Google to at least attempt to do his job properly, I did it for him. What I found (in less than 20 minutes of searching):

• Ben Carson + college affordability yielded 1,250,000 results
• Scott Walker + college affordability yielded 1,060,000 results
• Rand Paul + college affordability yielded 721,000 results
• Carly Fiorina + college affordability yielded 717,000 results
• Chris Christie + college affordability yielded 453,000
• Ted Cruz + college affordability yielded 444,000 results
• Jeb Bush + college affordability yielded 414,000 results
• Marco Rubio + college affordability yielded 285,000 results
• Rick Perry + college affordability yielded 285,000 results
• Bobby Jindal + college affordability yielded 282,000 results
• John Kasich + college affordability yielded 207,000 results
• Mike Huckabee + college affordability yielded 154,000 results

That's the nine actual Republicans from the first prime time debate (asshat Donald Trump is a faux Republican, so I didn't bother to research him), plus the top three performers from the "JV" debate. I'm just guessing, but I suspect you could probably find out what these folks are saying about college affordability by peeking at some of those results. Sorry, Larry...

Of course, I'm just a teacher and conservative blogger in flyover country with an internet connection and 20 minutes to spare, so what do I know, right?

Shame

I am not ashamed of my country, because my country isn't responsible for this. Author David Freddoso put it well:

President Obama seems determined to prostrate himself before as many of America's (and freedom's) enemies as he can before leaving office. Progressives everywhere laud him for this, while the rest of us hang our heads in shame.

I doubt that history will view this appalling capitulation as anything other than a betrayal of the Cuban people, and a validation of Fidel Castro's oppression of them for nearly 60 years (enriching himself in the process).

Things That Make Me Sad: Meltdown Edition

Prior to Wednesday night, my beloved Kansas City Royals had won 111 straight games in which they held the lead after 7 innings. That was the second-longest such streak since 1914, 101 years ago (the '98-99 Yankees won 115 straight). Is that a long time? Well, in 1914 the Boston Braves met the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series, so I think you could say that, yes.

"You were what, five years old that year?"

 Funny.

Anyway, on Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers, starter Edinson Volquez and All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera were touched up for 4 runs in the 8th inning, Chris Young gave up another run in the 9th, and a 4-2 lead turned into a 7-4 defeat.

Last night, in the first of four games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (what a silly name, by the way), the Royals had an even bigger lead, 5-1, after Jeremy Guthrie pitched six innings of two-hit ball. Ryan Madson gave up two hit but no runs in the 7th, and in the 8th inning manager Ned Yost turned to All-Star Wade Davis, who hadn't pitched in a week due to some back issues. Wade was not himself, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits, but the team was still leading 5-3 with just three outs to go.

Closer Greg Holland was dreadful, surrendering 4 runs on 4 hits without retiring a batter. The Royals got a home run in the bottom of the 9th from Eric Hosmer to make it close, but the Angels won 7-6.

In the Big Picture sense, these two losses don't mean a lot. Baseball is a funny game. But 29 years of futility has conditioned Royals fans to see disaster lurking around every corner, so...

Until Next Time...

On August 14, 1988, blues guitarist Roy Buchanan was found dead, hanged by his own shirt, in his cell in the county jail in Fairfax, Virginia. He had been arrested on a charge of public intoxication (Roy struggled with alcoholism most of his life). His death was officially declared a suicide, but that finding was hotly disputed by Roy's family and friends. We'll never know the truth, most likely, but we do know that 27 years ago today the world lost a singular musical talent. He was only 48 years old.

The guitar Roy was most closely associated with was a 1953 Fender Telecaster he called "Nancy." She had a semi-transparent finish called "butterscotch blonde" by Telecaster fans, and a black pickguard. Guitars from the '53 model year with this specific combination are often referred to as "blackguard" Telecasters, and they are highly sought-after by collectors and working musicians alike. One of the things I like about my own Baja Telecaster is its resemblance to those legendary '53s.

As for the music he made with her...well, it isn't easy to explain to someone who doesn't play guitar just how unique and amazing Roy's tone was. Many of the most famous and revered players of that era list Roy as a key influence on their sound and on their playing.

Today's send-off is Roy's legendary rendition of Don Gibson's country ballad "Sweet Dreams."  Enjoy...