The Devil's Right Hand

Get a Grip, Progressives

This is not rocket science, folks.

So asshat Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Friday, and in the meantime progressives everywhere continue to demonstrate their collective asininity over the shocking prospect that someone they oppose can be President.




From the vile types whose death threats resulted in Andrea Bocelli and Jennifer Holliday deciding not to perform at the inaugural ceremonies to the typical witless Hollywood hand-wringers to the self-absorbed peabrains planning protests of the ceremonies, progressives want the rest of us to understand that Trump's being inaugurated as our 45th President is The Worst Thing That Has Ever Happened™️.

And, of course, they haven't yet gotten tired of the "Not My President" bit of nonsense, either. To the complete surprise of absolutely no one who pays attention, the progressive mainstream media (but I repeat myself) will not call these people out for expressing such an un-American notion.

At any rate, with regard to the progressives' precious feelings about these political developments...

"So, those people still haven't figured out why they lost on November 8? AYFKM?"

Believe it or not, they're convinced that if they continue vilifying everyone who disagrees with them on political issues they will eventually persuade us to join them...

Feast Day

The Temptation of St. Anthony, by Tintoretto

Today we celebrate the feast day of 
St. Anthony the Great, also know as
St. Anthony the Abbott, among many other appellations.

Anthony was a devout Egyptian monk who played a significant role in the spread of monasticism, to the extent that he is referred to as "The Father of Monks."
He was a key member of a group of devout Christians who came to be called the Desert Fathers of the Church.

Stories about St. Anthony's rejection of supernatural temptations while traveling in the Egyptian desert became popular enough that western artists have often used them as a theme for great works
of art and literature.


Anthony is the patron of those who suffer from infectious diseases, especially diseases affecting the skin.

Hot Stove League

Things have been quiet for my beloved Kansas City Royals on the player acquisition front since the team announced the Jarrod Dyson trade back on January 6. There have been a couple of significant news items recently regarding contract negotiations with players already part of the team, though...

Last Friday the team announced that
it had reached an agreement with All-Star 1B Eric Hosmer on a one-year contract extension that allows both sides to avoid the unpleasant salary arbitration process.

Hosmer, just coming into his prime
at age 27, will most likely be lost to free agency after the 2017 season anyway, but he's in the fold for one more year, and that's not nothing...




Yesterday the team announced that starting pitcher Danny Duffy had been signed to a five-year contract which will postpone his eligibility
for free agency until after the 2021 season has concluded.

Duffy, like Hosmer just 27 years old, had his best season as a starter last season, going 12-3 with a 3.51 ERA and winning 10 straight decisions during one stretch.

"Those are a couple of pretty big signings, aren't they?"

They certainly help, yes...there's still a lot left to do, but the team is having a decent off-season so far...

How Parents of Teenagers Have Fun

From the droll comic strip Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On January 17, 1955 Stephen Fain Earle was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia. His family moved to Texas before his second birthday, and much as I did in my youth he moved around quite a bit during his childhood, spending most of that time living in and around the San Antonio area.

After dropping out of high school at 16, Steve bounced back and forth between Houston and Nashville chasing his dream of being a singer-songwriter. As often happens, it took several years for those dreams of success to be realized. Earle's excellent debut album, Guitar Town, wasn't released until 1986, when he was already 31 years old. It was well- received, earning him a pair of Grammy nominations, and it was eventually selected for Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Much as I enjoyed that recording, my fondness for Earle's music was solidified into fandom by his third LP, 1988's Copperhead Road. I liked that album so much I wore out
a couple of cassette copies of it in my car's tape deck

Part of the appeal for me was that Steve was one of those rare artists whose music my second wife also enjoyed (we married on July 16
of that year).



That is a non-trivial consideration when you live in Wyoming and often have to drive great distances with your significant other in the vehicle.

The album was Earle's first big commercial success, earning three platinum certifications from RIAA. It remained his highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 until 2009's Grammy Award-winning Townes.

Copperhead Road is one of those rare albums where I enjoy every song, but my favorite is "The Devil's Right Hand," a country-rocker about a man's lifelong infatuation with handguns. It quickly became one of Earle's signature songs, and was covered by the legendary Johnny Cash, among others.

Today's send-off is the original album track, from Steve's YouTube channel. Enjoy...