What's Next?

On the Warpath

Fauxcahontas heap mad, make big stinkum, you betcha!

Despite the entirely predictable caterwauling from Democrats and their pals in the progressive mainstream media (but I repeat myself), reformer Betsy DeVos was confirmed today as the new Secretary of Education.





Now that she has been confirmed, I don't expect the baseless caterwauling to cease, either. To the extent that she succeeds in reforming the department and positively affecting K-12 education in this country, she'll have to do it with progressives dragging their feet, kicking and screaming, every step of the way.

"She doesn't seem to be daunted by the opposition, so that should help, right?"

We'll see how long that attitude lasts, but at least she's starting out without being in the pocket of the defenders of status quo...

Hot Stove League

My beloved Kansas City Royals finally made
a move to address the hole in their starting rotation created by the tragic death of young star RHP Yordano Ventura two weeks ago. The team offered a two-year deal to Chicago Cubs veteran RHP Jason Hammel, pending only the results
of a team physical.

I would rather the team had given a shot to one of their minor league prospects, and I'm not too optimistic that a 34-year-old who until last season (playing for the best team in baseball and the eventual World Series champions) had never won more than 10 games in a season will somehow turn out to be a net positive.

"It's the Royals, you never consider anything a 'net positive.'"

I resent that baseless accusation...

Everyone Needs a Hobby

From the delightfully off-kilter webcomic xkcd, by Randall Munroe, which you should read every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Until Next Time...

On February 7, 1962 Troyal Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although
his parents encouraged Garth (and his siblings) to sing and play musical instruments,
it wasn't until after he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in advertising that he took a serious interest in music.

After a few years of playing and singing in clubs and honky-tonks in Stillwater, Brooks recorded his eponymous debut album right around the time I was preparing to wed my second wife, releasing it in early 1989 just a few months after our nuptials. Having married someone who was a huge country music fan, of course I heard quite a bit of Brooks's stuff. I enjoyed it in no small part because he was able to deftly blend country with his rock and roll influences.

It turned out to be a wildly successful blend, as Brooks went on to become the best- selling artist in the history of popular music. He is the only artist ever to have earned RIAA diamond certifications for seven different albums. He has won just about every award there is in the music business, and in 2012 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Original 1989 45 rpm single

Garth Brooks was a commercial success, reaching No. 2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200, the latter a rare feat for any country artist in those days, let alone one making his debut.

The album produced four charting singles, including two that hit No. 1 and went on to become signature songs for Brooks.





He has said that "The Dance," the second of the two chart-toppers, is his personal favorite. For me, though, "If Tomorrow Never Comes," his first No. 1 single, will always be my favorite. To this day I try to keep the song's message close to my heart...

Today's send-off is the original album track, paired with a slide-show made by a fan featuring the lyrics. Enjoy...