Republican embarrassment 101, part 2

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would safely allow for a peaceful transition of power should former Vice President Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump on November 3.

Unfortunately, five Republican morons voted against the measure, their brains having already been sold off in exchange for loyalty to America's Oldest Baby. Courtesy of Yahoo!, these idiots are:

Florida’s Matt Gaetz, Texas’s Louie Gohmert, Louisiana’s Clay Higgins, Iowa’s Steve King and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie.

All five of these clowns have bought into the misguided belief that the Democrats would contest the result. No, they wouldn't. Trump has claimed he would if he doesn't win, because by nature, he's a child-like sore loser. Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated via Electoral College in 2016, was a gracious loser, accepting the final decision, and one would expect the same from Biden, a career politician with nearly half a century of experience.

We know Gohmert & Gaetz, in particular, have embarrassed themselves before by saying or doing stupid things. Massie must be close buds with Senator Pruneface (Mitch McConnell) to follow the "party line", although McConnell has promised a peaceful transition of power.

The Republicans & Democrats used to work together to keep this country safe. A friend claimed the other day that the divisions in government started with President Obama. No, they didn't. The country was divided over George W. Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq. His intentions were noble, avenging the 9/11/01 attacks, but people were more concerned about innocent lives both here and abroad being put at risk.

Obama tried to settle things down, but a certain spoiled brat senior citizen now in the White House played rabble rouser during his 8 years in office.

Folks, it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

Republican embarrassment 101

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking a page from President Trump's playbook by trying to mislead his constituents in Kentucky.

There's been sniping on both sides, really, after McConnell claimed that his Democratic opponent, Amy McGrath, isn't willing to debate him. In reality (unsurprisingly), Senator Pruneface is the one who's resisting. He doesn't want a female moderator overseeing the debate between him and Ms. McGrath.

There have been debates where there's not just a moderator, but also a panel of reporters and pundits, which wasn't the case last night in Cleveland (more on that shortly) when Trump debated Joe Biden. For some reason, Senator Pruneface thinks that a female moderator---say, for example, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts (Good Morning, America), or even Oprah Winfrey (!)---would be slanted against him. That's not how it works, and he knows it. Bear in mind, this yokel beat actress Ashley Judd to start his Senate career several years ago.

McConnell is due to fall, and hard.

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the first Presidential debate was anything but civil, which would make the likes of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and John F. Kennedy turn over in their graves.

President Trump squandered another chance to redeem himself before the American people, opting instead to stick to his strategy of lying, bullying, and avoiding truth as much as possible, such that the organizers are planning on making changes ahead of the next debate on October 15. By comparison, the Vice Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris should be more on the order of a traditional debate. If the goal was trying to make Biden look bad, Trump didn't exactly succeed. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News lost control of the debate fairly quickly because the Oldest Spoiled Brat in America flat out refused to be civil, pushing oft-debunked lies instead of confronting facts, refusing to denounce white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys, instead advising them to "stand back & stand by", which was quickly marketed by the group.

In order to avoid more of the same on October 15, expect Trump to have his mic cut off if he can't rein himself in. All of America is watching him implode, and he only has himself to blame.

Music suffers a double whammy: Mac Davis & Helen Reddy (1942-2020)

 They were two of the most listened to artists of the early 70's, staples of AM radio, and, by extension in the modern era, oldies radio. Within hours of each other, they passed away Tuesday.

Texas-born singer-songwriter-actor Mac Davis passed away due to complications from recent heart surgery. Davis wrote "In The Ghetto", "A Little Less Conversation", and "Memories", all of which became hits for Elvis Presley, with "Ghetto" peaking at #2. Other artists, as diverse as Vicki Carr and Glen Campbell, also recorded Davis' songs, but in the early 70's, Davis branched out to record his own material, including "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me", which topped the pop & country charts.

Davis' popularity was such that he landed his own variety show on NBC, which aired between 1974-76. After that, he branched out into acting, winning acclaim for his film debut opposite Nick Nolte in 1979's "North Dallas Forty".

Helen Reddy emigrated from Australia, and scored one of her earliest hits with Davis' "I Believe in Music". But it was her female empowerment anthem, "I Am Woman", which took her to the top of the charts in 1972. Like Davis, Ms. Reddy landed a variety show, also for NBC, in the mid-70's, and dabbled in acting, playing a guitar-playing nun in "Airport '75", for example. She also had hits with "Delta Dawn", which was also a hit for country singer Tanya Tucker, "You & Me Against The World", and the spooky "Angie Baby", about a young girl who somehow turns the tables on a would-be rapist, presumably with magic.

In recent times, Helen was diagnosed with Addison's Disease and dementia. Her five year struggle ended with her passing Tuesday night.

Rest in peace.

Dunce Cap Award: Rudy Giuliani

Once upon a time, he was a champion of New York City.

Today, Rudolph Giuliani is a babbling, out of touch idiot.

I'm pretty sure even some Republicans cringe whenever the 76 year old former mayor of NYC appears on television, as he did on Fox & Friends, frightening even the show's three anchors with baseless claims that Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden has dementia. It is not helping that Giuliani, along with former New Jersey governor Chris "Jersey Fats" Christie, have reportedly been coaching President Trump for tonight's debate in Cleveland. And Christie looks the most healthy of the three!

Trump, who is two years Giuliani's junior, and three years younger than Biden, has traded on the claims that Biden has had some cognitive issues. Trump & Giuliani should be looking in the mirror before going public with such claims again, because, well, neither one of them can pass themselves off as a Rhodes scholar any more than they think Biden could.

Deflection much?

Bear in mind that tonight's moderator is Fox's Chris Wallace, a second generation investigative reporter who will not put up with Trump's garbage, as we've already seen, but he won't give Biden a pass, either. 

Every time Giuliani appears somewhere on cable, be it Fox Shmooze, CNN, or ABC, change the channel before you go insane!

That having been said, after seeing the once vigilant "America's Mayor" reduced to a gibbering dolt, it's no wonder we bestow upon him a Dunce Cap.

They say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Apparently, Team Trump ignores that philosophy, too.....

What Might've Been: Speak Up America (1980)

George Schlatter thought his career had been reborn after Real People became a hit for NBC. However, a 2nd series in the same vein as People proved him wrong.

Speak Up America had a pair of pilot specials in the first half of 1980, which led to a short-lived series that fall, airing on Friday nights. Evangelist-turned-actor Marjoe Gortner and Jayne Kennedy (ex-The NFL Today) were the headliners, joined by comedienne-actress Rhonda Bates (ex-Blansky's Beauties, Rollergirls). Gortner upset critics with his fire & brimstone approach to things, and the network had promised to tone things down. Promise broken within minutes into the series opener.

The competition on Fridays didn't help. Speak Up had to deal with CBS' powerhouse lineup, and I think Incredible Hulk or Dukes of Hazzard filled the 9 pm (ET) hour on Fridays for CBS. Game over.

Unfortunately, no actual series footage exists. My folks were into Hulk and Dukes, so, no rating.

Sports this 'n' that

We would be remiss if we tarried any longer to acknowledge the passing of NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, who passed away a few days ago. Sayers starred for the Chicago Bears in the 60's, and brought his faith to the forefront in his autobiography, I Am Third, in which he put God first, his family, friends, & teammates second, and himself third, hence the title. God has called him home. Rest in peace.

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Today's Bears sit in first place in the NFC North after coming from behind to beat Atlanta on Sunday. Yes, the Falcons committed another 4th quarter choke job for the 2nd straight week. If I'm coach Dan Quinn, I'd worry about finishing the season. Nick Foles took over at QB for an ineffective Mitchell Trubisky, and led the Bears on their 4th quarter comeback. Up next is a matchup with Tom Brady & Tampa Bay, which won its 2nd straight after beating Denver.

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The NBA finals are now set to start on Wednesday night after Miami eliminated Boston Sunday night, setting up what will be an over-scrutinized final round matchup with the Lakers and LeBron James, who won his first NBA title with Miami 14 years ago. Unfortunately, ABC insists on the opening tip being around 9 pm (ET) to maximize ratings. They don't get that there are kids who won't get to see the ending live because of school the next day.

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For the Giants & Jests, maybe it's a good thing there are no fans at the Meadowlands this season. Both teams are 0-3 after a pair of stinkers on Sunday, where each team gave up 36 points, and combined for 16. Indianapolis blew away the Jests, 36-7, while San Francisco completed a 2 game Meadowlands sweep, 36-9.

The 49ers, now 2-1, have tightened up the NFC West, as Arizona & the Los Angeles Rams each suffered their first loss, creating a 3-way log jam in 2nd behind undefeated Seattle.

Buffalo is all alone atop the AFC East, a game up on New England, after beating the Rams, while the Patriots had their way with the Raiders.

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Baseball's revamped playoffs start tomorrow:

With the exception of Tampa Bay-Toronto, all the matchups are fresh since the teams played a regional schedule. The first round is best of three, and while fans of the AL East champion Rays may think it'll be a walkover, it really won't be. The opening rounds are played as normal, with the higher seeds being at home. However, the later rounds will be in bubbles. The NL playoffs will be in Arlington (home of the Rangers), while the AL playoffs will be at Petco Park in San Diego.

The picks:

AL:

Tampa over Toronto in 3.

Yankees over Cleveland in 3.

Oakland over Chicago in 2.

Minnesota over Houston in 3.

NL:

Los Angeles over Milwaukee in 3.

San Diego over St. Louis in 3.

Chicago over Miami in 3.

Atlanta over Cincinnati in 3.

Of course, I could be wrong.

The President makes his choice for Supreme Court, but she doesn't deserve either the haterizing or exploitation

President Donald Trump kept his word Saturday, and nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a district court judge, as a successor to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Upon Mrs. Barrett's confirmation, which the GOP wants to rush before the election, the GOP will have a 6-3 advantage on the Supreme Court.

That, in effect, is really enough. No, really, it is.

But try telling that to a Senate fundraising committee that is thumbing its nose at Ginsburg, nicknamed, "The Notorious RBG" as a play on the late rapper, The Notorious B. I. G. (Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls), by having some merch already prepared.

Like, seriously?

These shirts were ready to hit the market before Trump made his announcement. That's how sure they were. Naturally, the critics had a collective cow, accusing the Republicans of exploiting Ginsburg's passing to make a few bucks. At the same time, these idiots are also disrespecting the incoming justice.

Mrs. Barrett has 7 children, two of whom were adopted from Haiti, is a practicing Catholic, just like Democratic candidate Joe Biden, and is also involved with a Christian organization. Solid citizen, you know. She doesn't deserve to be exploited like this.

Nor does she deserve to have someone like Grammy winning songwriter Diane Warren coming up with an analogy just as idiotic as the shirt. Warren suggested via Twitter that Mrs. Barrett was a mash-up of a character from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and one of the Stepford Wives.

Speaking of morons, that brings us to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is the brains behind the bull rush to confirm Mrs. Barrett for no other reason than to tarnish the legacy of Ginsburg. It is McConnell, more than Trump, who should take the heat. You know the Democrats will use the best weapon available to them, filibustering, to delay the confirmation as long as they can, perhaps well past election day, to turn the heat on Trump & McConnell. Coincidentally, four years ago, with much more lead time to election day than there is now, then-President Obama had nominated Merrick Garland for the supreme court, but guess who torpedoed that? Yep, McConnell, the real-life Pruneface for you Dick Tracy fans. Hypocrisy, anyone?

We wish Mrs. Barrett a long and productive career. She just doesn't need the unnecessary drama.