Shoot To Thrill

Mixed Bag

Ted and Carly at yesterday's rally in Miami

As I noted in yesterday's entry, the voting results from Tuesday night were deeply upsetting, and I spent much of yesterday stewing over them. Things improved slightly as the day wore on, but only slightly.



Carly Fiorina (to whose campaign I contributed several times this cycle, and for whom
I caucused back on February 1) appeared yesterday at a Ted Cruz campaign rally in Miami. It was good to see her back in the fray, and I am hopeful that her support will help Ted's efforts (to which I have also contributed this cycle) to stop asshat Donald Trump from hijacking the Republican party's nomination.

Meanwhile, in the wake of his disappointing showings in Tuesday's contests, Marco Rubio (to whose campaign I have made several contributions this cycle) is under intense pressure to withdraw from the race, but is working hard to win Florida's 99 convention delegates in next Tuesday's winner-take-all primary election.


As with Senator Cruz, Senator Rubio's best hope for the nomination now is probably a contested convention, something that hasn't happened for more than 60 years. If he is not successful, Rubio will be out of politics in less than a year (when his Senate term expires). I do not believe that Jeb Bush and the Florida GOP establishment will permit him to run for governor, so it is difficult to see the road ahead for the man whose youthful energy and superb skills as a communicator are what the Republican Party desperately needs. I will regard his departure from the scene as a tragic waste, an unforced error from which the GOP may not recover.

As a conservative, my prayers are with Senators Cruz and Rubio, and my heart is gladdened that Carly is back and ready to help, but the odds are the numbskulls and nitwits mindlessly pushing Trump on the rest of us will get their wish. That will be followed shortly by a complete electoral debacle, thanks to Trump's massive unpopularity with everyone other than his thralls. And thanks to the progressive mainstream media the historic defeat will be pinned on conservatism as an ideology even though Trump is a lifelong progressive. He is every MSM caricature of conservatives brought to life, and they definitely won't waste an opportunity to set the conservative movement back a generation or more...

"I think you should try to calm down. It isn't as bad as all that."

It is every bit as bad as all that, and stop telling me to calm down...this stuff matters...

Double Dip

"BOOM!"

One of the interesting aspects of the spring training routine is the "split squad," which allows teams the chance to see more players by dividing their rosters and playing two different opponents in just one day.


In one such split squad game yesterday, All-Star and Gold Glove RF Alex Gordon hit a home run and had three other hits as the Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-5.

The same score occurred in the day's other game, against the Seattle Mariners, but despite a home run by reserve catcher Drew Butera my beloved Royals were on the losing end.

"Will they be splitting the squad again today?"

No, they don't have another split-squad day scheduled until March 18...

Housekeeping

Just one of my periodic reminders that your enjoyment of this blog's content will be enhanced if you click on live links (like this one) at least once in awhile. And comments are always welcome. Agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you!

"So would I!"

Every Politician's Nightmare

From the late Jeff MacNelly's classic comic strip Shoe, now being produced by Gary Brookins and Jeff's wife Suzie. You should read it often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

As I mentioned yesterday, when my mood turns dark I often find heavy metal music
to be an excellent tonic. One of the things I like about Marco Rubio is his use of one of my favorite metal bands, the Australian group AC/DC, at his rallies. That's just cool.

I have been a fan of the group since the mid-70s, and quite a few of their songs get regular play in various of my iTunes playlists. The two-disc "Collector's Edition" of their 1992 AC/DC Live album is one of my favorite live recordings ever.

On March 10, 2003 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It has been many years since AC/DC has released an album that caught my fancy, but like many fans I often listen to their early output with great pleasure.

My personal favorite is their 1980 album Back In Black, the band's first release following the death of their original lead singer Bon Scott. New singer and lyricist Brian Johnson proved to be a capable replacement, and the band has been going strong with him for more than 30 years.


The album includes many of the band's biggest hits, including "Hell's Bells," "You Shook Me All Night Long," and the ironic title track. It also includes the band's concert staple "Shoot To Thrill," which was featured in the film Iron Man 2 in 2010.

In order to help promote the film a few months before its release, a music video was produced in January 2010 featuring exclusive footage from the upcoming movie paired with the band's performance of "Shoot To Thrill" before an enthusiastic crowd in Buenos Aires the previous December.

Today's send-off is that promotional video, and it features a typical high-energy AC/DC performance, to which the audience reaction is also typical. Enjoy...