Another domino falls: Pam Bondi dumped as Attorney General

 Frustrated by the inability of the Department of Injustice to prosecute political enemies despite 0 evidence of any crimes, president Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier today.

Reports have Bondi moving into a private sector job after she helps her deputy, Todd "Bleached" Blanche, move into her office, and that she'd already returned home to Florida.

However, there are also reports that have EPA director Lee Zeldin being considered for the AG's job. Unfortunately, Zeldin already has one strike against him, since Trump doesn't like failure of any kind. You'll recall that Zeldin was beaten like a rented goalie nearly 3 1/2 years ago for NY Governor. His work at the EPA has been under the radar while drones like Bondi and former Homeland Insecurity secretary Kristi Gnoem were getting unfavorable headlines.

Blanche has been a personal attorney for Trump before being named to the DOI. As such, Trump wants to wait & see if Blanche can give him what he wants before taking the interim label off. Commentators such as Brian Tyler Cohen are sounding the alarm that House Oversight Committee Chairman Gomer Comer will cancel the deposition for Bondi, scheduled for April 14, to protect the Orange Onion. Democrats on the committee, of course, will force Comer to allow the deposition to take place. That's how scared Republicans are of letting the truth slip free on anything.

The return of South Park can't come fast enough for these clowns.

Already, there are online polls to ask who'd be next to go. Unfortunately, Comer's not on the list, since he'd have to lose his seat via election, but FBI director "Counterfeit" Kash Patel seems to be the frontrunner to be the next scapegoat. We'll probably hear something right around this time next month. 

Stay tuned.

Oh, the blasphemy: A prosperity gospel preacher compares Trump to Jesus

 Donald Trump is not a Christian. Never has been. He pretends to be one to do what he does best, grift his supporters dry.

The last two days have provided us with irrefutable proof, unless you're a MAGA supporter, willfully ignorant of the truth, of this.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Trump is building a "library" in Miami that looks more like a shrine to his overinflated ego, complete with a golden statue in his likeness.

Exodus 32, anyone?

Do the 10 Commandments ring any bells?

The literacy-challenged Trump won't set foot in a church unless he needs to, but he's got enough Christian pastors, mostly the prosperity gospel variety, committing blasphemy by supporting this fraud.

On Wednesday, televangelist Paula White-Cain, wife of Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain, and an advisor to Trump since 2002, compared Orange Judas to Jesus Himself.

If that golden eagle statue doesn't give away Trump's true motives, what does?

Mrs. Cain drew parallels between the legal issues Trump faced in between terms, a pair of assassination attempts in the last couple of years, and the trials Jesus faced in the New Testament.

Yeah, sure, tell another tall tale.

If anything, Trump is the diametric opposite of Jesus. Selfish instead of selfless. He continues to con the evangelicals and the prosperity gospel types, right along with the rest of the marks, and this is even after he's been on the record stating he's not even sure he's actually going to Heaven.

Spoiler alert: unless he actually has an epiphany that prompts him to publicly accept Jesus as his Savior, his afterlife is trending in the opposite direction. This latest dog & pony show is a distraction from everything else.

News flash: God doesn't like being mocked. Trump will discover the reality of that in due course.

Trading places: Joan Rivers hosts Hollywood Squares (1988)

 From season 2 of The New Hollywood Squares:

During the course of this iteration's three year run (1986-9), producer Rick Rosner was looking for a theme for April Fool's Day.

Well, I've spoiled it already. Joan Rivers swaps places with John Davidson for the day, although it seems Shadoe Stevens didn't get the memo.......!

Nearly 40 years later, Shadoe is heard at the end of this video, as he's now the announcer for the Game Show Vault channel.

During the course of the run, Shadoe and Jm J. Bullock each took turns filling in for Davidson, although, in those cases, Davidson was on vacation. Howard Stern filled Shadoe's cubicle the week Stevens filled in.

No joke: Four judges rule against president Trump on four different cases

 While today is April Fool's Day, president Donald John Pinocchio Trump thinks every day is April Fool's Day, since he deceives his base so, so much.

That being said, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the oldest baby in America is whining that he can't build his precious ballroom at the White House after a judge told him he had overstepped his bounds.

Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled Tuesday that Trump had overstepped his authority by destroying the East Wing of the White House last year, just so he could have a ballroom, even though, if memory serves, the East Wing had a ballroom in it, in the first place.

Trump's argument, baseless as usual, is that he doesn't need Congressional approval for any of his vanity projects.

"WAAAHHHHH! I can do whatever I want! WAAAHHHHH!"

No, you can't. He has raised millions of dollars from donors willing to flatter the Orange Ego to get on his good side. He's a professional grifter, you idiots. Judge Leon sided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Now, you know that Trump doesn't like being told, "no", on anything. The White House is not his personal property, unlike the land he owns in New York, Palm Beach, etc.. He had no right to destroy the East Wing, just to satisfy a fever dream of his. He wants Mar-a-Lago North, but watch. Once he's out of office, the ballroom, if it's completed at all, will either be torn down, or reconfigured into the new East Wing, and put to better use.

Judge Timothy Kelly declined a bid from Team Pampers to dismiss a suit which claims resident quack Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Department of Health & Human Services broke the law by declining Freedom of Information Act requests.

"WAAAAH! What we do is on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know until we tell you. WAAHHH!"

The cuts to DHHS happened a year ago, challenged by CREW (Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington). The suit is going forward, meaning more whining from Trump is coming.

Judge Randolph Moss said that Trump could not terminate funding for PBS & National Public Radio, stating that it violates the 1st Amendment. The executive order, signed in May is unconstitutional, and has been permanently blocked. Fans of PBS & NPR are rejoicing.

Finally, Judge Amit Mehta is allowing a suit connected to the 1/6/21 riots to move forward. You'll recall that Trump tried to claim presidential immunity, but, as a beaten incumbent candidate, he has no immunity.

"WAAAHHH! I was screwed! WAAAAH!"

No, you weren't, you pathetic sore loser. Your mishandling of COVID cost you the election. Five years later, we have to tell you again to get over it, but you won't listen. If you'd won, you wouldn't be in Washington right now.

With the onset of old age comes the knowledge that Trump just refuses to read anything. Blame it on his ego, and how he was raised, knowing it will lead to his final downfall.

Musical Interlude: Tie a Yellow Ribbon (1973)

 Tony Orlando & Dawn appeared on the Dick Clark produced Rockin' The Palace in 1973, performing the #1 smash, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon".

Dunce Cap Award: Just Dumb Vance

 Oh, this is just too easy.

Vice President Just Dumb Vance was interviewed by conservative garbage dispenser Benny Johnson on Saturday, and, well, he stamped his idiot card by claiming aliens are demons.

"I don't think they're aliens. I think they're demons, anyway, but that's a longer discussion.", Vance told Johnson. 

According to reports, Vance wants to go to Area 51, but more pressing matters always get in the way. Well, DUH!!

Oh, if only he knew how stupid he really is.

Seems to me that Vance and his boss, President Pampers, have gotten into Dumb Donald II's secret stash, if you know what I mean. The elder Trump claimed last month that he would direct US agencies to start looking into identifying and releasing government files on aliens & extraterrestrials. Oh, please. 

Trying to tie any of this to Christian faith is meant to keep the evangelicals snowblind to reality. It's just another distraction, but if Vance is looking for life on other planets, maybe this helps:

And, then, after this aired in 1987, Miller and its ad agency went back to the well, but without Rodney Dangerfield and friends.

We checked with an expert:

"What we have is proof that our government has forgotten what intelligent life really is."

So true, so you know what Vance is getting:

Considering how many the Trump men have, they can spare one for Vance.

Wartime Mondays: The series premiere of Victory at Sea (1952)

 The delusional old man in the White House thinks the conflict he started in Iran will "end soon". Ever hear of poking the bear, Mr. President? I doubt that very, very seriously.

Allow us, then, to give you a primer, starting with the 1st episode of Victory at Sea, "Design For War", from 1952.

In 2 weeks, the lighter side of war with another episode of McHale's Navy.

The ultimate in trolling: Donald Trump is putting his signature on US currency

 The White House frames it as part of America's 250th birthday celebration. Yeah, right.

Let's just call it for what it is. Donald Trump, in order to feed his ego, is putting his signature on American currency, starting with the $100 bill, in June. It is an ego-driven trolling of the country that, depending on who you talk to, either worships him like he's a false god, or is disgusted by his self-serving megalomania and egomania.

In other words, folks, he's trolling all of us because he wants to take credit for the US turning 250. Because he has surrounded himself with sycophants unwilling to arouse his anger, although he loses his temper on a daily basis by just watching TV, Trump has no resistance, just support from morons like Scott Bessent and Steven Cheung.

Speaking of trolling.....

"He's actually giving trolls like me a bad name."

Irwin Troll is a supporting character from the long running comic strip, Broom-Hilda. He's someone you'd want to have over for dinner. Trump? Not so much. He's bigfooted someone else's funeral so he could air out his imagined grievances. He's addicted to attention as much as he is to junk food.

As usual, Trump is ignoring traditional protocols, as he signed an executive order to put his signature on the bills. In addition, the phoniest Christian on Earth is also have a special coin made with his picture on it, which would be the modern equivalent of a graven image, something God would not accept or endorse.

While these bills will still be in circulation after he leaves office, whomever replaces Trump will ensure there won't be any more. Trust me on that. If you're a Christian, and you voted for this charlatan at least twice or all three times, you may need to repent daily for a while.

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

What a baby!: Donnie Diapers whines to Fox No News when the target of his anger isn't there

 The world's oldest crybaby, Donald Trump, called into Fox No News' The Five on Thursday, but recurring panelist Jessica Tarlov had the day off.

Trump took the time to call for Tarlov's dismissal from the show because he disagreed with her report on his poll numbers. Dirty Watters offered the orange man-child the opportunity to sit next to Tarlov at a later date, trying to influence her thinking. Yeah, good luck with that.

We all know Trump doesn't like women who are smarter than he is. His ego can't deal with it, so he whines.

"WAAHH! Her numbers are wrong! They're fake! WAAAHH!"

The truth hurts, doesn't it? Of course. You're just looking for an excuse to get people to stop demanding transparency on the Epstein files, and the fact that you lied about the situation in Iran, a case where, amazingly, the Iranians are making you look even weaker than usual. You can't even keep your lies straight.

Most of the world is tired of you. Do yourself a favor, and take a vacation this weekend, someplace where there isn't a golf course.

Baseball this 'n' that

 After the hype, such as that was, Netflix got caught flat-footed in their initial MLB broadcast Wednesday night.

The Yankees' Jose Caballero initiated the first regular season ABS ball-strike challenge, and lost. However, Netflix's attention was on first year San Francisco manager Tony Vitello, formerly of the university of Tennessee, and the cameras missed the challenge!!

Like, you can't predict live TV, but......!

Anyway, the Yanks spoiled Vitello's MLB debut with a 7-0 win. The series resumes tomorrow night.

Today, though, brought a number of firsts, all of them for rookies.

Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox hit his first American homer, but the game was already decided in the 9th inning, with Milwaukee blowing away Chicago, 14-2.

The Mets' Carson Benge put New York's home opener vs. Pittsburgh out of reach, or so we thought......

The Mets' Francisco Alvarez followed with a moonshot of his own, and the Mets had to sweat out the 9th inning to win their opener, 11-7.

Meanwhile, JJ Wederholt (St. Louis) & Joey Wiemer (Washington) also went deep in their debuts.

Back to the Mets, who knocked out reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes with a 5 run first inning. Skenes, presumably still feeling the effects of Team USA losing the World Baseball Classic a week ago, just didn't have it. No one saw this coming.

Yankees announcer Michael Kay was not a happy camper in San Francisco on Wednesday.

With the game on Netflix, thanks to MLB's new deal, meaning more greed for MLB, Kay was in the bleachers at Oracle Park, and will call Friday's Yankees-Giants game. He didn't like the idea of the game being on Netflix in the first place, and we'd guess because he wasn't asked to call the game. Salty much?

Universal is trying Murder, She Wrote again, this time on the big screen

 12 years after NBC rejected a proposal to reboot the former CBS series, Murder, She Wrote, with an African-American lead (Octavia Spencer), Universal has decided to take their chances with a feature film release, set for December 2027, right around Christmas time.

This time, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis has been cast as author-turned-sleuth Jessica Fletcher, the role originated by Angela Lansbury in 1984. Reportedly, news of this first came up while Curtis was on a media tour for last year's "Freakier Friday". Given how the original series had a supporting cast to back up Lansbury (i.e. William Windom, Tom Bosley, Ron Masak, and, in at least one or two episodes, Bill Maher), Universal will need to find the right mix of players to back up Curtis.

The original Murder can be found on cable or online streaming. Time to catch up, since we've got more than a year and a half before the movie......

Musical Interlude: When The Night Comes (1989)

 Joe Cocker landed one more big hit with 1989's "When The Night Comes", which introduced Cocker to the MTV generation. Capitol labelmate Bryan Adams co-wrote "Night" with frequent collaborator Jim Vallance and prolific songwriter Diane Warren. Cocker peaked at #11 with "Night":

Wild West Wednesdays: Rango takes a trip In a Little Mexican Town (1967)

 This next item was previously posted at Saturday Morning Archives, albeit with a different copy, years ago.

Less than a year after McHale's Navy ended, Tim Conway was back on ABC, this time in the Western farce, Rango, as a bumbling Texas Ranger. The series lasted 13 weeks at the most, due in large part to the fact that producers Danny Thomas & Aaron Spelling, along with creators Harvey Bullock & Ray Allen, sought to posit Rango as a cross-section of satires, along the lines of F-Troop, & Get Smart (both halfway through their 2nd seasons when Rango launched), and McHale, due to Rango creating constant consternation for his commanding officer, Captain Horton (Norman Alden).

In the episode, "In a Little Mexican Town", Rango and his sidekick, Pink Cloud (Guy Marks) travel south of the border in pursuit of a suspect. Future ABC studio announcer Ernie Anderson, one of Conway's closest friends from his home state of Ohio, appears briefly.

In two weeks: Lancer.

MLB preview 2026, conclusion: The remainder of the National League

 Moving on to the NL Central:

In order for Milwaukee to threepeat as division champions, they have to hope that Brandon Woodruff is all the way back from various ailments that kept him off the field until last summer. Last year's ace, Freddy Peralta, is gone (Mets), and Brandon Sproat, who came to the Brewers in that trade, hasn't really shown what he can do after a September audition produced an 0-2 record in New York.

The Brewers don't have enough space in the infield to accommodate off-season acquisitions Luis Rengifo (LA Angels) & David Hamilton (Boston), which begs to ask what the front office is thinking in the post-David Stearns era.

Chicago starts the season without star outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who was injured during the World Baseball Classic. That means that either Justin Dean (Dodgers) or Kevin Alcantara will join Ian Happ & Pete Crow-Armstrong in the outfield. That takes the shine off heisting Alex Bregman away from Boston (Scott Boras Badenov strikes again). Losing Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers doesn't help.

In St. Louis, the Cardinals may regret trading Willson Contreras to Boston, since the returns on that deal (pitchers Richard Fitts & Hunter Dobbins) are questionable at best. Erratic reliever Ryne Stanek (Mets), speaking of risks, proved last year he's not closer material, but trust Oliver Marmol to put him in to close games anyway. A bad start, and Marmol may be gone-zo.

Pittsburgh has to strengthen its offense to back up their rotation. Paul Skenes gets the ball on Thursday to open the season vs. the Mets, who will see former teammate Gregory Soto coming out of the Pirate pen after he underperformed for them last summer. Pittsburgh is high on rookie pitcher Bubba Chandler, hoping he's another Skenes. Offensively, the Pirates acquired Jake Mangum & Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay) and Ryan O'Hearn (San Diego). Still got a ways to go to contend.

Cincinnati welcomed back Eugenio Suarez (Seattle) with a free agent deal. Problem is, where to put him? Ke'Bryan Hayes, acquired from Pittsburgh last year, was playing third most of the time, and that's Suarez's primary position. However, Suarez still has a short fuse....! Nathaniel Lowe (Boston) will likely share first base with Spencer Steer.

Weak sauce, yo'.

Projected order of finish:

1. Milwaukee, by default.

2. Chicago.

3. Pittsburgh.

4. Cincinnati.

4 (tie). St. Louis.

To the west we go.

Some people still hate the Yankees because they won so much back in the day. After winning back-to-back titles, and spending money like water out of a faucet to add to their already packed roster, Los Angeles is approaching that same level of apathy. In addition to Kyle Tucker (see above), they also lured closer Edwin Diaz away from the Mets, a move made because they still see Roki Sasaki as a starter, even though he was a lights-out closer during the playoffs. Given how Diaz was prone to erratic periods during his time in New York, the Dodgers should hedge their bets.

San Diego is hoping Griffin Canning can find his form after his lone season with the Mets ended due to injury. Just the same, the Padres also picked up German Marquez (Colorado) to further shore up the rotation. A bigger deal was landing Nick Castellanos as a free agent (Philadelphia), though he figures to be a DH in an already crowded outfield. Walker Buehler was invited as a non-roster player after bombing in Boston, but we don't see him pitching in Petco Park unless he's a visiting player.

San Francisco is trying something different. They went to the college ranks, and signed Tony Vitello (Tennessee) as their new skipper, after Bob Melvin bombed out in 2 seasons. The only real free agent signing they made was journeyman outfielder Harrison Bader (Philadelphia), who will platoon, since they also have a surplus in the outfield. Perennial batting champion Luis Arraez comes north from San Diego, strengthening the infield defense.

Offense is also what Arizona is looking for, so they acquired Nolan Arenado (St. Louis) and Carlos Santana (Chicago) to man the corners. Otherwise, the Diamondbacks look about the same as they did last year. Over in Colorado, 2nd year manager Warren Schaeffer is hoping Michael Lorenzen can carry over what he did for Italy in the WBC. Jose Quintana (Milwaukee) has been up & down, which explains why he's always on the move. Outfielder Jake McCarthy came over from Arizona, while Edouard Julien reunites with his former Minnesota teammate, Willi Castro (Chicago), to form a double play combo that can help the Rockies' defense. We'll see. Rookie Kyle Karros is the son of former player and current Fox analyst Eric Karros (Los Angeles, Chicago, Oakland).

Projected order of finish:

1. Los Angeles.

2. San Francisco.

3. San Diego.

3 (tie) Arizona.

5. Colorado.

Of course, I could be wrong.

What Might've Been: Brothers (2009)

 Michael Strahan, in his post-NFL career, is one of the busiest men in television.

Good Morning America. The $100,000 Pyramid. Fox NFL Sunday. You get the idea. During the fall, Strahan is running up frequent flier miles between New York & Los Angeles. In 2009, Fox wanted to capitalize, and gave Strahan his own sitcom.

Unfortunately, Brothers, the 2nd series to bear that name (the 1st was a Showtime series 25 years earlier), couldn't find an audience, as Fox shifted it from Fridays to Sundays before giving it the axe.

Ted Wass (ex-Soap, Blossom) directed all of the episodes of the short-lived series. In addition, Strahan was blessed with a veteran supporting cast, including Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, who also composed the show's theme song, CCH Pounder, & Carl Weathers.

This sampler features special guest star Mike Tyson, appearing as himself.

In case you wonder, Mitchell was actually paralyzed in an accident 8 years prior to the series, but continues to work to this day.

No rating. Just a public service.

MLB 2026 preview, part 4: The rest of the American League

 Let's take a look at the AL Central:

Detroit is building their pitching around Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. To that end, they welcomed back prodigal son Justin Verlander (San Francisco), and signed Framber Valdez (Houston) to fortify the front side of the rotation. They also brought in closer Kenley Jansen (LA Angels) to help the bullpen. Other than that, it's the same crew as last year. In contrast, Cleveland relies heavily on their offense, led by Jose Ramirez. The pitching really isn't the same after Shane Bieber left for Toronto after the 2024 season. Losing closer Emmanuel Clase (legal issues) isn't helping.

In Minnesota, the Twins have similar issues. They signed catcher Victor Caratini (Houston) and infielders Kody Clemens (Philadelphia; he's Roger's son) and Josh Bell (Washington) in the hope of fortifying their offense. The pitching, however, is on the same level as Cleveland's.

You would think Kansas City gained a few more fans in the 518 with Bethlehem product Matt Quatraro as manager, and, maybe they have. They're banking on World Baseball Classic heroes Vinny Pasquantino and Bobby Witt, Jr. to fuel the offense, with Seth Lugo anchoring their pitching rotation. They also acquired veteran Michael Wacha (San Diego). However, it's going to take time for everything to come together.

In Chicago, the White Sox are hoping speedy infielder Luisangel Acuna (Mets) can kickstart the offense. Unfortunately, there's a reason the White Sox have been trapped in the division basement the last few years.

Projected order of finish:

1. Detroit.

2. Kansas City.

3. Cleveland.

4. Minnesota.

5. Chicago.

Now, let's move to the AL West:

Major League Baseball is bent on not merchandising uniforms for Sacramento, choosing to wait until the Athletics move on to Las Vegas in a couple of years. It's this kind of short-sighted thinking that has the A's in the sad state of affairs they've been in. Houston invited Cavan Biggio (Toronto) to camp, thinking that maybe, just maybe, playing in the city where his father became an icon might help his career. As of this writing, however, Cavan hasn't made the opening day roster. With Framber Valdez gone (see above), there's a battle to fill the rotation spot in back of Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers, Jr., and Hunter Brown. The offense is basically the same.

After a magical run to the ALCS last year, Seattle looks poised to win the division again, but teams will be keying on star slugger Cal Raleigh, whose bat was MIA in the WBC. After a year away, Skip Schumacher (Miami) is back in the dugout, this time in Texas, which heisted Brandon Nimmo from the Mets, reuniting Nimmo with pitcher Jacob deGrom. Ex-Met farmhand Sam Haggerty (Seattle) came over last year. The bigger story lies in the rotation, with MacKenzie Gore (Washington) joining deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter, & Kumar Rocker. Los Angeles is praying they can keep Mike Trout healthy for a full year, just to give them a chance at a playoff spot. Non-roster invitee Nick Madrigal was injured a year ago in camp with the Mets, and is a risk.

Projected order of finish:

1. Seattle.

2. Texas.

3. Houston.

4. Los Angeles.

5. Sacramento.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Tomorrow: We close out with the NL Central & West.

Musical Interlude: 'Til I Hear it From You (1995)

 Gin Blossoms scored another hit with 1995's "'Til I Hear it From You", off the soundtrack to "Empire Records". This got a lot of play on adult contemporary channels after it left the top 40.

On The Shelf: Old school crime noir, Dick Tracy celebrates St. Patrick's Day, and a creator passes on

 Rather than do another Valentine's Day special, Mad Cave decided to give Dick Tracy a St. Patrick's Day special as an interlude before the next story arc, launching next month.

88 Keys makes his first appearance in the series, rebooted as an Irish pianist turned serial killer, or, vigilante, depending on how you look at it, as he's going after some smaller crooks. Craig Cermak is the guest artist on this one, and it looks great. Tim Seeley wrote the backup, drawn by Rebekah Isaacs, about a leprechaun causing some trouble. Begorra!!

Rating: A-.

Marvel may be preparing for a new slate of Ultraman adventures, which might explain the misleading title, The Fall of Ultraman, in a 1-shot special. Hopefully, when they do reboot, they'll find better writers.

Rating: C-.

In relaunching Vertigo, DC brings out a modern take on old school crime noir.

The Peril of The Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery is a 6 issue miniseries which introduces Cain to readers. I don't think I'd read that it was originally marketed as a miniseries, but learned a week ago that it has been cut to 6 issues, due to poor pre-orders. Artist Jacob Phillips captures the mood and the aesthetic of Chris Condon's script. Get ready for a wild ride.

Rating: A-.

Zorro has found a new home at IDW, starting in May, with Howard Chaykin writing, but not drawing. Thank goodness, since Chaykin has a particular look for his lead characters (i.e. American Flagg!, Dominic Fortune) that wouldn't work with Zorro.

We have to close on a sad note.

Sam Kieth, co-creator with Neil Gaiman of the acclaimed Sandman series at DC/Vertigo in the late 80's, and creator of The Maxx, later adapted by MTV for a short-lived adult animated series, passed away at 63.

One of Kieth's last works with The Maxx, for IDW.

Originally published at Image in 1994-5, The Maxx was a surrealistic fantasy in a dream world of some sort, as if Kieth was using his work with Gaiman as a template. His style was modeled after Berni Wrightson,  and fell along the same lines as a contemporary, Kelley Jones. He will be missed.

Remember Korkers? (1972)

 In 1972, Nabisco thought they had a snack to rival Bugles, which was a General Mills product.

54 years later, Bugles is still with us. Korkers, Nabisco's corn snack, isn't.

This ad feels like a sketch lifted from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Patti Deutsch & Edward Herrmann are featured. Depending on when this was filmed, Deutsch had either joined Laugh-In or soon would.

Weasel of The Week: Bari Weiss

 She has no broadcasting experience in mainstream media. However, Bari Weiss is overseeing the destruction of CBS News as we know it, in order to please president Trump.

On Friday, Weiss announced that she was slashing 60-70 jobs at CBS News, AND closing down their radio division, effective in May, claiming economics and "changing radio strategies".

BOLLOCKS & BALDERDASH!!

Weiss has tasked herself to clear out any opposition to Donnie Diapers at the network, which prompted Anderson Cooper of CNN, a contributor to 60 Minutes, to leave the network recently, keeping his dignity intact. With CBS & CNN soon to be under the same roof if the merger goes through between Warner Bros Discovery & Paramount-Skydance, Cooper may leave CNN, too.

Locally, CBS radio news briefs on WROW only run for about a minute or so per hour between 5 & 8 am weekdays, and it's been that way since before Weiss came along to ruin things further. Come the end of May, CBS Radio will be no more, and that's a shame.

We know that Trump doesn't like it when he's being criticized. He doesn't understand that constructive criticism is meant to help him, not hurt him, but he can't see it. With the help of ill-prepared types like Weiss, he is ruining this country, bit by bit, because at the end of the day, he is a miserable old man who wants to remold the country as he sees fit, even if his vision is skewed.

Bari Weiss, on the other hand, gets something that Trump has a lot of. A Weasel of The Week award for her contribution to the destruction of American tradition. Deal with it.

Family Fridays: The Bradys expose a scammer (1972)

 From season 3 of The Brady Bunch:

Carol (Florence Henderson) gets into an accident, and is taken to court by the other driver, who is claiming whiplash. Mike (Robert Reed, ex-The Defenders) acts as his wife's attorney. Jackie Coogan (ex-The Addams Family) made his 2nd & final appearance in the series.

This climatic scene exposes the scam before the judge (Robert Emhardt). 

Chuck Norris (1940-2026)

 Martial arts, movie, & TV icon Chuck Norris has passed away at 86.

Norris initially made his fame in martial arts, and made one of his first film appearances with training partner Bruce Lee in 1972's "The Way of The Dragon". Prior to this, Norris had appeared on television shows such as To Tell The Truth and Room 222.

The 80's brought Norris back to movies with films such as "Lone Wolf McQuade" (with David Carradine), "Silent Rage", and the "Delta Force" & "Missing in Action" films. Norris parlayed this into the 90's crime drama, Walker, Texas Ranger, in which he not only had the title role as Ranger Cordell Walker, but he also recorded the theme, "Eyes of a Ranger".

During his Walker days, Norris appeared at a WWF Survivor Series to help the Undertaker thwart a conspiracy concocted by heel managers Mr. Fuji, Jim Cornette, & Ted DiBiase to help Yokozuna. In return, wrestling icons Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, and Sting appeared on Walker (all were in WCW at the time).

Thanks in part to Conan O'Brien, Norris became the subject of a series of exaggerated memes by internet fans. Those memes won't go away with Norris' passing, however.

Rest in peace.

MLB preview 2026, part 3: The AL East

 With less than a week before the regular season begins, we're taking a look at the AL East, which figures to again be one of the more competitive divisions.

Boston may have a little extra swagger after the World Baseball Classic, considering how Wilyer Abreu had a breakout performance in the tournament, and one of the team's biggest offseason acquisitions, Ranger Suarez (Philadelphia), also played a role in Venezuela winning the tournament. Willson Contreras (St. Louis) didn't play as big a role, but he will add some punch to the offense, provided he keeps his temper in check on strikeouts (if you've seen those ejection compilation videos on YouTube, you know what I mean). Contreras & Sonny Gray came over in an offseason trade for pitcher Hunter Dobbins and two minor leaguers. Not that the Red Sox gave up on Dobbins too quickly. No, they just didn't have long term plans for him.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Pittsburgh) returns to the division, having previously played for Toronto & the Yankees after starting his career in Texas. He'll likely spell Trevor Story at shortstop or Nick Sogard at second base. Other than this, the Sox stood pat.

The big news in Baltimore, of course, was heisting Pete Alonso from the Mets, a classic Scott Boras Badenov money grab. Alonso will anchor the infield, and haunt his former club when the Mets & Orioles get together. Reliever Ryan Helsley finished 2025 with the Mets, but was erratic. Alonso will see another familiar face in starter Chris Bassitt (Toronto), who will give the Orioles plenty of innings. Baltimore also acquired another starter in Shane Baz (Tampa Bay), to help Bassitt & Zach Eflin, though Trevor Rogers has already been named the opening day starter. Outfielder Taylor Ward came over from the Angels to help Alonso fortify the offense.

The Yankees now can concentrate on overtaking Toronto to win the division, now that their core players are all back together again after the WBC. Aaron Judge got some undeserved heat after failing to produce vs. Venezuela in the finals, so he'll take it out on AL pitching. Nothing new there. The Yanks get Gerrit Cole back after he missed 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. The problem they face, however, is fan apathy if they don't win the title. Then, the whining will start again, calling for Aaron Boone and/or GM Brian Cashman to be sent packing. However, owner Hal Steinbrenner has shown how he is too loyal to both, and they'd have to miss the playoffs for Boone and/or Cashman to be let go.

Toronto found a diamond in the rough in Trey Yesavage late last season, which explains why Chris Bassitt became expendable. The Blue Jays fortified the rotation by signing Dylan Cease (San Diego) to join Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Kevin Gausman, & Jose Berrios to form a very formidable rotation. Max Scherzer makes it a six pack, and I would not discount the Blue Jays going to a 6 man rotation.

The Jays are counting on Kazuma Okamato to fill the offensive void created by Bo Bichette's departure (Mets). Otherwise, it's business as usual.

Tampa Bay reopens Tropicana Field after playing at the Yankees' minor league home in Tampa last year. Problem is, the team isn't ready to contend. They do have some veteran help in the outfield after acquiring Cedric Mullins, who bombed with the Mets, and Gavin Lux (Cincinnati) in the offseason. Pitcher Steven Matz (Boston) is on his 3rd AL East team, having gone from a rising star with the Mets to a journeyman lefty in 10 years time. The Rays are still a couple of years away from a playoff spot.

Projected order of finish:

1. Toronto.

2. Yankees.

3. Boston.

3 (tie). Baltimore.

5. Tampa Bay.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Monday: The rest of the AL.

Musical Interlude: Pink Shoelaces (1959)

 It wasn't long after Dodie Stevens started climbing the charts (peaking at #3) that "Pink Shoelaces" was covered on The Lawrence Welk Show. Three of the four Lennon Sisters sing backup behind Roberta Shore. Rocky Rockwell gives Dooley his voice.

Roberta Shore would later join the cast of The Virginian for a bit, and I think she did some musical numbers there, too.

MLB preview 2026, part 2: The rest of the National League East

 A week ago, we took a look at the Mets' prospects for 2026. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the rest of the NL East.

After being thwarted in the playoffs the last two seasons, Philadelphia made some moves to try to correct whatever flaws exist. For starters, they pried outfielder and World Series hero Adolis Garcia away from Texas. A combination of Garcia with Brandon Marsh & Johan Rojas, with Kyle Schwarber likely used exclusively as a designated hitter, will cover a lot of ground.

The problem, however, is pitching. Zack Wheeler starts the season on the IL recovering from thorasic outlet surgery, and won't be back until summer at the earliest. The Phillies stupidly let Ranger Suarez walk (Boston), replacing him with Brad Keller (Cubs) as part of a rotation that will be fronted by Jesus Luzardo & Aaron Nola, with Christopher Sanchez and the oft-erratic Taijuan Walker. This means the Phils will have to hope to deliver the one thing Bryce Harper doesn't have--a championship. Yeah, good luck with that.

In Atlanta, the Braves have retooled as well, especially in the infield, where Austin Riley has some new playmates in Mauricio Dubon (Houston), Ha-Seong Kim (Tampa Bay), & Jorge Mateo (Baltimore), plus the returning Ozzie Albies. Jonah Heim came over from Texas to back up Sean Murphy, as Drake Baldwin will continue to learn on the job behind the plate.

New manager Walt Weiss poached a pair of coaches from the Mets in Jeremy Hefner & Antoan Richardson, the latter to help improve the running game, plus reliever Danny Young. Robert Suarez came east from San Diego, likely as the heir apparent to Raisel Iglesias as the closer. Ex-Met Carlos Carrasco was invited to camp, but will he stick? We'll know next week.

Miami surprised a lot of people last year with a 3rd place finish. The biggest name to arrive in the offseason is first baseman-outfielder Christopher Morel, who returns to the National League after spending some time in Tampa Bay. Pete Fairbanks came over in the same deal, and will be in the rotation behind Sandy Alcantara. Other than that, this team of obscurities won't sneak up on anyone again.

Like Atlanta, Washington has a new manager in Blake Butera, and while there's been some buzz over catcher Harry Ford, who represented the UK in the World Baseball Classic, he'll be challenging for playing time behind Keibert Ruiz. There are some changes in the rotation, with Zack Littell, who finished 2025 in Cincinnati, and Miles Mikolas (St. Louis) providing some veteran aid for younger starters Josiah Gray & Jake Irvin. Still, the Nats are a year at best away from contending.

Projected order of finish:

1. Atlanta.

2. Mets.

3. Philadelphia.

4. Washington.

5. Miami.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Tomorrow: The AL East.

Caught in another lie? Dumb Donald claims other presidents support his war with Iran. Or do they?

 In less than three months, Donald John Joseph Isuzu Trump will be 80. Unfortunately, he has no clue as it relates to reality as we know it.

A couple of recent examples suggest that he can no longer be examined by partisan quacks who will ignore the obvious to stay on his good side.

An article on MSN.com, for example, was headlined by the claim that Trump "predicted" the 9/11/01 attacks in New York and elsewhere. Nostradamus, he ain't. Not by a longshot.

Then, he made the ridiculous claim that other presidents support his war on Iran. Whoopi Goldberg and the panel on The View, joined this week by former Trump aide Carly Fiorina, discuss this latest tirade of twaddle.

Trump's memory is failing him at the most inopportune times. His defense mechanisms, such as bullying reporters, are, sadly, still intact. As Whoopi mentioned, reps for the 4 living ex-Presidents (Clinton, GW Bush, Obama, Biden) all deny Trump's claims. Trump makes Ivy Leaguer Bush look like a Rhodes scholar by comparison. Ok, then, if no other American President is behind Trump on this, who is?

Trump knows he screwed up "bigly", to use the word he himself coined. It's way past time he was given a full physical examination by a legitimate, non-partisan staff of doctors, and this includes psychologists. There is something truly wrong with him, and he'll be the last one to know about it.

Classic TV: The Ann Sothern Show (1958)

 Film actress Ann Sothern transitioned to television with Private Secretary, which ran for 5 seasons. Not too long after the series ended, Sothern soon returned with a self-titled sitcom, bringing along co-stars Don Porter (later of Gidget) and Jesse White.

The Ann Sothern Show ran for 3 seasons (1958-61), and until the final season was a part of CBS' formidable Monday night block. In season 3, the series moved to Thursdays opposite The Untouchables, a Desilu stablemate. Game over.

Following is the season 2 opener with special guest star Lucille Ball, reprising as Lucy Ricardo.

It's been a long time since this has aired on cable, as the above print suggests.

No rating. Just a public service.

Pass the Pepto!: It's way past time the NCAA stopped screwing over mid-major schools in the basketball tournament

 Today, millions of wanna-be handicappers are filling out brackets for the NCAA basketball tournaments, both men's & women's. There's always an upset lurking in the first weekend of play, but for mid-major colleges & universities, some of whom you've probably never heard of, first round games against teams from either the Big 10, Big 12, ACC, or SEC, might as well be queued with the theme from Mission: Impossible.

All 4 Power 4 conferences control the top seeds. That's a given, considering some schools, like, for example, Michigan or Duke, are ratings draws in their native areas.

Take, for example, Long Island University-Brooklyn, which is being fed to Arizona in the West Regional. Or Ivy League champion Pennsylvania, coached by former Siena & Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, a #14 seed in the South Regional vs. Illinois from the Big 10. At least it's a team McCaffery is familiar with. Or Siena, which is being sent on a suicide mission to play Duke. The suits in charge of the selection committee don't give a rat's butt about reality in terms of these matchups. The tournament has been bloated for years because the NCAA's media partners (currently CBS/Paramount+ and TNT and their sister channels, plus HBO Max) want to maximize the television ratings by putting the games on as many outlets as humanly possible. They throw bones to the mid-majors every year, but won't let them sit at the big boys' table. Ever.

After all the work that went into reforming college football's postseason, and it still needs a few tweaks, for what it's worth, the NCAA is not willing to change their business model for basketball. There's too much money involved to allow the Sienas and Penns of the world a fair opportunity. They have to make their own luck.

The bottom line is, the mid-majors get dissed every year. Which is why they should have a patron saint around this time of year. Like this guy.......

This is why the only college basketball I even bother to pay attention to is close to home, with Siena & UAlbany. Politics rules the college game, and has for several years. That needs to change, preferably yesterday.

Sports this 'n' that

 The Mets welcomed back shortstop Francisco Lindor today, as he made his preseason debut vs. Toronto.

Lindor reached on an error, and scored in the midst of a 5 run 2nd inning, as the Mets thumped the AL champs, 8-1. The game was stopped after 6 innings due to rain.

There will be a new champion in the World Baseball Classic after Venezuela upended Japan Saturday night in Miami, 8-7. 

Atlanta's Ronald Acuna, Jr. opened the game with a solo home run off the Dodgers' Yoshinobi Yamamoto. In the bottom half of the 1st, Shohei Ohtani answered for Japan to tie the game. 

However, in the 6th, with Japan up, 5-2, going into the inning, Venezuela took back the lead, thanks to Boston's Wilyer Abreu, after trimming the lead to 5-4.

Venezuela will play Italy tomorrow night, while Team USA plays the Dominican Republic tonight, with the winners meeting on Tuesday to end the tournament.

An even worse downside for Japan was outfielder Seiya Suzuki going down with an injury after being thrown out trying to steal 2nd to end the 1st inning. That's the last thing the Cubs needed, but, if it's not serious, Suzuki should be ready for the Cubs' opener next week.

Chalk up another endorsement deal for Caitlin Clark.

The Indiana Fever star is appearing in a new Capital One ad with Charles Barkley & Samuel L. Jackson that will play from now until the end of the NCAA tournaments April 6-7. Barkley's also given the rub to the "Capital One Bank Guy", as has Jackson. Now, all we need is for the dude to be in an ad with Jennifer Garner......!

Most amusing ad of the week comes from WWE, which has LA Knight, Penta, & Stephanie Vaquer appearing in a commercial for TurboTax. Ms. Vaquer is from Chile, while Penta, of course, is from Mexico. I guess tax returns do come with work visas......!

With the NCAA's right around the corner, CBS' Ian Eagle & Bill Raftery are doing a spot for Spectrum Cable. Keep in mind, though, that this is a national ad, not a localized one.

You can't prosecute unless you have evidence. Unfortunately, Dumb Donald never got the memo.........

 We'll start with this installment of The Legal Breakdown with Brian Tyler Cohen & Glenn Kirschner.....

Until she was appointed as US attorney for DC, Jeannine Pirro, like Rudy Giuliani, had long been out of legal practice. She'd been a talking bobblehead on Fox No News. She should've known that Judge Boasberg wasn't accepting her sham of a prosecution. Pirro and the Department of Injustice have 0 evidence against Jerome Powell, just like they had 0 evidence against anyone else Donnie Diapers wanted prosecuted. Hence.....

"NO!! I want Powell to lower interest rates or he's gone!! WAAAAAHHHH!!"

Whatever Dumb Donald learned in school has long since been forgotten, lost in the splinters in the windmills of his tiny mind. Even though he has someone in the pipeline to take over as Federal Reserve Chairman in a couple of months, that's not enough for him.

On top of this, because of the war he started with Iran 2 weeks ago, Donnie Diapers wants the Iranian National Soccer team out of the World Cup this summer. That's not his call to make. If it wasn't for the fact that FIFA would gladly give him what he wants otherwise, it's not his decision. There's a better chance of the World Cup being in the US for the last time due to him.

Fantasy Friday: Horror in The Heights (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, 1974)

 Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) investigates a bizarre series of murders involving a shape-changing demon. Phil Silvers and Naomi Stevens are among the guest stars.

Family Fridays returns next week. Fantasy Fridays returns in October.

Notes from around town

 Very quietly, the El Dorado Restaurant & Bar on 4th Street, between Congress & State, reopened on Wednesday. All that's missing now is the familiar logo on the window. Said logo needs to be repainted after it was damaged following a fire last summer.

The timing, of course, is perfect, with St. Patrick's Day coming on Tuesday.

An era is ending in the 518.

Four years after reopening as part of a merger with St. Ambrose School in Latham, Catholic Central School is downsizing.

Per the Albany County Diocese, Catholic Central will now only have classes for grades K-8, beginning in September.

Photo courtesy Spectrum News 1.

Spectrum News 1 is reporting that the school has only 22 students between grades 8-11, meaning there are no seniors this season. The school paused its men's basketball & bowling programs, the latter for the 2nd consecutive season, and, beginning in September, high school courses will merge with Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons in Schenectady.

Until the merger, Catholic Central High was one of Troy's big 4 high schools, along with Troy, Lansingburgh, & Lasalle.

More on this over at Tri-City SportsBeat tomorrow.

After opening its first 518 restaurant at Albany International Airport, Chick-Fil-A is opening a location at Latham Farms, aiming to open sometime later this year.

Known for its cheeky, often cheesy, advertising campaigns ironically using cows as their mascots to encourage diners to eat chicken, Chick-Fil-A is looking to challenge KFC & Popeye's for supremacy among chicken-centric restaurants.

What Might've Been: Hollywood Teasers (1993)

 In 1993, Merrill Heatter tweaked the concept of his 1985 entry for ABC, All-Star Blitz, and tried selling Hollywood Teasers, which, with the six celebrity grid, also was a reboot of Battlestars, a twice cancelled series for NBC in the 80's. Robb Weller (Entertainment Tonight) was the host.

In the pilot, the panel includes Pamela Anderson (Baywatch), Mayim Bialik (Blossom), Don Rickles, Rita Rudner, Mark Curry (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper), and Ed O'Neill (Married....With Children). Heatter struck a deal with MCA to package the show.

Assuming this was aimed for syndication, it was destined to fail, since Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy! dominated the ratings.

Rating: B.

YouTube Theatre: The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return (1975)

 Three years had passed since "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe" had brought high ratings for ABC. In the interim, Buddy Ebsen had moved on to Barnaby Jones, so the leads, not just Joshua himself, had to be recast in "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return".

Ronne Troup (ex-My Three Sons, Brooke Adams, & Christina Hart step in for Sandra Dee, Lesley Ann Warren, & Karen Valentine, with Dan Dailey (ex-The Governor & JJ, Faraday & Company) as Joshua. Jack Elam didn't return, either, with Western vet Dub Taylor as Cabe's new sidekick.

Fresh off paying off the mortgage on his home for the next year, Cabe runs into a new crisis when the father of one of the girls shows up, and abducts her for ransom. Carl Betz (ex-Judd For The Defense, The Donna Reed Show), Kathleen Freeman, and Randall Carver, three years before Taxi, co-star.

Mind the video quality.

Wild West Wednesdays returns in 2 weeks with Tim Conway as Rango.

MLB 2026 preview, part 1: The Mets

 In two weeks, it all begins for reals.

Now, it really isn't fair to take a look at any baseball forecasts with a week remaining in the World Baseball Classic, but it is time to begin looking ahead, and we'll start with the Mets.

After a 2nd half fade-out in 2025, GM David Stearns began overhauling the team. Popular utilityman Jeff McNeil was shipped off to Sacramento, and Brandon Nimmo was reunited with Jacob deGrom in Texas. Scott Boras Badenov leveraged Pete Alonso out of town, and the "Polar Bear" is sure to haunt the Mets when they meet Baltimore this season. Closer Edwin Diaz chased the money, and went back west to the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who just weren't satisfied that Roki Sasaki, as a temporary closer, was a key component to their World Series win over Toronto. They'd prefer Sasaki to be a starter, hence the need for someone like Diaz. Thus, "Narco", Diaz's theme song, will no longer play at Citi Field.

The Mets got bad news to start the pre-season when shortstop Francisco Lindor went down with a broken hand. However, it appears he is on track to return for the opener vs. Pittsburgh in 2 weeks. The Nimmo trade netted the Mets veteran infielder Marcus Semien, and Vidal Brujan, who finished last season in Atlanta, was brought in for infield insurance. The plan seems to be to find someone to play first until Ryan Clifford is major league ready, and while Mark Vientos has experience at the position, he's also rumored to be trade bait. The Mets signed Jorge Polanco (Seattle), and he's learning how to play first base, as he, like Vientos, is mostly a third baseman. Bo Bichette (Toronto) is being groomed at third, while Brett Baty will continue to shuttle between second & third.

In the outfield, the Mets picked up MJ Melendez (Kansas City) and Luis Robert, Jr. (Chicago White Sox). Robert will be the regular center fielder, with Juan Soto moving to left, where he'd played in Washington & San Diego, and Tyrone Taylor is likely platooning with Melendez in right. Behind the plate, the Mets are 4 deep at the moment, though non-roster invite Austin Barnes (Dodgers) makes it five deep, with returnees Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens, and Hayden Senger now joined by ex-Yankee Ben Rortvedt (Dodgers), who's been passed around waiver wires like a collection plate at church. Depending on how many catchers Carlos Mendoza wants to bring with him to Pittsburgh in 2 weeks, either Rortvedt or Barnes, or both, could be gone-ski, and Senger could start the season in Syracuse.

And, then, there's the pitching.

Clay Holmes & Nolan McLean are pitching for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. McLean was roughed up by Italy on Tuesday, after Holmes pitched three solid innings on Sunday. Stearns brought in a couple of old friends from Milwaukee in Freddy Peralta, who will be the opening day starter vs. the Pirates, and Tobias Myers, who will help the revamped bullpen. The Mets heisted two more pitchers from the Yankees in closer Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. 

The rotation figures to be Peralta, followed by any combination of Holmes, David Peterson, Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, & McLean, provided McLean doesn't get sent to Syracuse. Christian Scott didn't pitch last year due to Tommy John surgery, and could wind up in the rotation.

After a lot of criticism, Eric Chavez was sacked as batting coach, so the Mets brought in Troy Snitker (Houston), son of former Atlanta manager Brian Snitker, with Jeff Albert as his assistant. How much of a difference that makes will remain to be seen in the long term.

While some of the bigger stars (i.e. Soto) are in the WBC, the minor leaguers are doing their part to help during Grapefruit League play. What that says is that the Mets will have plenty of depth to work with in case of injury. What I'm more concerned with is the mix & match infield. Will that work? I have my doubts.

Prediction: 2nd place again.

Wartime Mondays: The Captain's Mission (McHale's Navy, 1962)

 Time to scope the lighter side of war, with this season 1 episode of McHale's Navy:

Series star Ernest Borgnine is reduced to a cameo, as the focus is on Captain Binghamton (Joe Flynn, ex-The Joey Bishop Show), who takes over the PT73 for a mission while McHale is on leave. Via flashbacks, Ensign Parker (Tim Conway) explains to McHale exactly what happened. Seems Binghamton was bored being at his desk.......

Down the line, we'll feature Combat!, and other war-centric programs.

You are supposed to remove your hat at a funeral. Guess who thinks he doesn't have to.........

 This pretty much speaks for itself......

A "dignified transfer" of six slain soldiers turns into a debacle just because President Huckster just had to wear a USA cap he's selling online for $55 a pop. Remember, this is a shallow, insecure old man who once disrespected dead soldiers as "suckers & losers", and mocked the late Senator John McCain, who was a prisoner of war at one time, by stating, "I like people who weren't captured.".

Donald Trump is about one thing, and one thing only, and that is, of course, himself, and how much he can profit off his tenure as president. While Trump and VP JD Vance saluted the soldiers, First Lady Melania Trump held her hand over her heart

Melania gets it. Donald doesn't. Gee, what a surprise. Equally unsurprising is that Donald gets another Dunce Cap.

Celebrity Rock: Fever (1972)

 From season 5 of Here's Lucy:

Jim Bailey guest stars in an episode in which he is asked to step in for Phyllis Diller when the latter comes down with laryngitis.

Here, however, is Jim, as himself, with Kim (Lucie Arnaz) for a duet cover of "Fever", made famous by Peggy Lee.

Best known for his impersonations of Judy Garland (who was his mentor, and he'd later tour with Liza Minelli) and Barbra Streisand, in addition to Diller, Bailey did release a live concert album, which is likely a collector's item. Bailey passed away in 2015.

Insight Sundays: A Slight Change in Plans (1979)

 A salesman (Howard McGillin) experiences an epiphany while on a business trip, and begins to reconsider his career options. Co-starring Andrew Duggan (ex-Lancer).

When Icons Meet: Adam West on The Rifleman (1961)

 From season 3 of The Rifleman:

The ice storm that hit Texas a few winters ago reminds us that the Southwest is not immune to winter weather. In the episode, "Stopover", Lucas (Chuck Connors) welcomes a group of stagecoach passengers seeking shelter in the midst of a snowstorm in North Fork.

Adam West, Bethel Leslie, & Gordon Jones (ex-The Abbott & Costello Show) are among the guest stars. Joe Higgins appears as Scotty, instead of his more familiar role as a blacksmith on the series.

Adam West impressed the show's producers, Arnold Laven, Jules Levy, & Arthur Gardner, such that he joined the cast of their other series, The Detectives, the following fall.

An attorney faces disbarment, a magazine depicts the president getting what he deserves, or, just another day

 Ah, the sad story of Lindsey Halligan just took a turn for the worse.

We're learning that Halligan, fraudulently appointed as a US Attorney in Virginia, is facing disbarment in Florida as the state bar there is looking into allegations of ethics violations against the telegenic Halligan, who was an insurance lawyer before hooking up with president Trump.

Even though Florida is a "deep red" state, meaning heavily leaning Republican, the state bar likely won't turn a blind eye at the end to Halligan's inexperience and incompetence. Trump sent her to Virginia because she is eye candy for him to see on TV. If they do, it'll be because sycophants like Rusty Gaetz and Ron DeStupid will go to bat for Halligan in order to win points with President Pampers.

The meltdown from Washington will be glorious, to be sure.

But, Halligan's troubles are only part of what would trigger a meltdown today.

That's because The Week's latest issue came out, with an artist's depiction of Chief Justice John Roberts giving Trump something he didn't get enough of as a child. Discipline.

This was in response to the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the tariffs Trump imposed on other countries-----even though Americans would feel the effects----were, in fact, illegal. Proving once again to be dumber than a case of hammers, Trump imposed a new set of tariffs, as much as 15 percent as of last weekend, defying the Supreme Court, all because he thinks he can do what he wants without consequence.

At least Beavis & Butt-Head try to learn from their mistakes. Trump? The Archduke of Affluenza? Fuhgeddaboutit!!! His mindset is SO last century.

The crying will come from the White House before the morning is over. 

Update, 6:20 pm (ET): Now, the Florida bar says there's no "investigation", as they made a mistake, and are "monitoring" Halligan. Hmmmmmmm.

The first domino has fallen: Kristi Gnoem out as Director of Homeland Insecurity, but she gets a newly invented job.........

 After getting hammered by a Congressional committee earlier this week, Kristi Gnoem was sacked as Secretary of Homeland Insecurity by president Trump earlier today.

No, she's not a MENSA member.

The former South Dakota Governor was in over her head from the go, and tried to compensate for that by dressing up for field duty, cosplaying, if you will, hence the nickname, "ICE Barbie".

Unfortunately, Gnoem won't be unemployed for too long. Trump is tapping her to be a "special envoy" to the "Shield of The Americas", focusing on matters in the Western Hemisphere, still in pursuit of perceived illegal drug activity.

Replacing Gnoem at Homeland Insecurity is Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, who ain't exactly a brain surgeon himself, given some of his own stunts, such as challenging Teamsters President Sean O'Brien to a fist fight on the Senate floor a couple of years back. It never came to pass, luckily for Mullen.

Once Mullin is confirmed, a special election will take place to fill his seat. Hopefully, the next one will have something to clean the seat.....!

Now, it's a pool to decide which domino falls next. Pete Hegseth? Pam Bondi? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.? Tulsi Gabbard? Your guess is as good as mine.

Yes, Donald, there are Christian Democrats, too

 On Tuesday, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the same man who was banned by CBS from having his interview with Stephen Colbert air last month, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in a primary for the Democratic nomination for Senator. Crockett wanted to move up the ladder, but was denied by the voters. She conceded defeat on Wednesday morning.

In November, Talarico will run against either Senator John Cornyn or Texas' corrupt Attorney General, Ken-L Ration Paxton. The fact that Talarico has already gained national attention prior to the primary has the GOP, particularly, president Trump, SO scared. The GOP primary is in May.

Trump has already branded Talarico as "radical left", which of course is wrong. Unlike Trump, who pretends to be a Christian to deceive his base of marks, Talarico is a legit Christian, who cited his faith in a victory speech on Tuesday. Talarico, per BuzzFeed, via MSN, campaigned on a message of love, compassion, & unity tied to his faith, and has broad appeal with suburban & Latino voters. For the GOP'ers, that's bad news, hence the immediate smear campaign.

Despite conceding, Crockett's camp is alleging GOP interference with polling places, including her home district of Dallas County. What that says is that the GOP was more scared of Crockett moving up than Talarico, a newcomer on the national stage.

For his part, Trump is trying to influence the GOP nomination, saying he'd endorse the winner, even though an endorsement from America's Oldest Baby is usually the kiss of death, despite his claims to the contrary.

People keep asking for fresh voices in Congress. Seems the GOP is unwilling to listen........

That time when Diet Pepsi promoted healthy living (1978)

 This Diet Pepsi ad starts with a young woman jogging. Notice that she wears a shirt promoting a race sponsored by the soft drink similar to the annual Delightful (formerly Freihofer's) Run For Women in the 518. We'll try to look for more information on the Diet Pepsi running campaign.

Narration by Hal Linden (Barney Miller):

Sports this 'n' that

 NBC looked to its previous coverage of the NBA Tuesday night on what was billed as "Throwback Tuesday".

Bob Costas returned to the network to call the game, with analysts Doug Collins & Mike Fratello. Hannah Storm & Jim Gray were on the sidelines. Costas, who'd recently announced his retirement, was in rare form.

If NBC wants the ratings, maybe more of these "Throwbacks" would help.

More NBC: The network has signed Detroit Tigers play-by-play man Jason Benetti away from Fox to call their soon-to-be-revived Game of The Week. Benetti has also called college football & basketball for Fox, and before signing with the Tigers, had succeeded Ken Harrelson as the voice of the Chicago White Sox. Fox agreed to release Benetti from his contract early so he could go to NBC.

Fox, meanwhile, has also lost PBA bowling-----to the CW. Seems Nexstar, CW's owner (which also owns WTEN in the 518), is serious about their sports portfolio, having added NASCAR's O'Reilly series (formerly Xfinity), college basketball & football, the LIV golf tour, and WWE NXT in recent years.

Before the World Baseball Classic opens tomorrow, teams are playing exhibitions against MLB clubs, with mixed results. For example, Team USA blew away San Francisco. In Tampa, the Yankees demolished Panama, 11-1. The A's similarly routed Brazil, 14-4, in Arizona. The exhibitions continue today before tournament play starts tomorrow.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar will miss the 2026 season after testing positive for PED's for the 2nd time.

You'd think by now, players would figure out what to look for to avoid such hazards.

WWE's NXT division crowned a new North American champion last week, and it's really a feel good story.

Myles Borne (real name David Bostian III) is legitimately deaf, the result of having had Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of The Newborn upon his birth. Predictably ridiculed by then-champion Ethan Page, Borne finally earned a title match vs. Page on the February 24 episode, and defeated Page after Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, & Shiloh Hill intercepted an attempt at outside interference from Evolve champ Jackson Drake and his Vanity Project mates, Ricky Smokes & Brad Baylor, while NXT champ Joe Hendry held off Ricky Saints. Borne won an impromptu rematch with Page last night while both were in tearaway civilian clothes. Something tells me they'll meet again in a tuxedo match.

As bodybuilder-turned-actor Lou Ferrigno became a hero to not only the disabled but television viewers everywhere as The Incredible Hulk (1977-82), so, too, has Borne become a hero.

Dumb Donald thinks everyone should give him what he wants. When they say, no, he whines

 "Dumb Donald is really dumb!"--Gene Rayburn, Match Game, 1973-84.

It's clear that president Trump joined up with his pal, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to attack Iran to distract people from the ongoing scandal surrounding his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Unfortunately for Mango Narcissus, he's made the US more of a global pariah, because he has all the professional comportment & courtesy of a toddler. Even fictional bullies get more respect than he does.

He wanted to, ahem, rent the military bases in Spain. The Spanish government said, no. Trump's response, per MSN? He "doesn't want anything to do with Spain".

If you think this guy is tough, you're kidding yourself.

As usual Trump is also upset because the British government shredded him for the attack, saying it was unwarranted.

"WAAAHH! I do what I want! I don't care what you think! WAAAAHHH!"

He's also distracting people from something even more obvious, and that's the presence of a red rash on the right side of his neck, as seen Monday night at a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House.

This man is not 100% healthy.

Trump's personal physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, claims a "common, preventive skin treatment cream" caused the rash, and that it'll remain for a few weeks.

Uh-huh, and in that time, someone will find a cure for cancer. In other words, Dr. Quack, try again. You've claimed your patient has been in excellent health, but that rash says otherwise. Where did you get your license to practice medicine, bub? A cereal box?

Trump just won't admit he's got a problem or three, because it would make him look weaker to his base than he really is. I'm pretty sure there's a better treatment for the rash than Barbabella is letting on.

Which wouldn't surprise anyone.