Not Real, But Still Outstanding

 

Hoop Nightmares

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Although my team didn't make it to the WNBA finals—my team never left the cellar, actually—I've been faithfully watching these exciting finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries.

This morning I checked the newspaper listings for which channel today's game would be on. The contest was slated to run on USA . . . and Syfy.

I know we're in the Halloween season, but it seems like a lot to ask of the players that while dribbling downcourt they suddenly sprout tentacles.

This Week's Quote

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I couldn't tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.

Dolores Huerta (1930-2026)

Source:  Brainy Quote

Hey, Kids, Let's Put on a Show!

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Now I get it.

I've been mystified by Donald Trump's insistence on barnstorming the country prior to the midterms, only to spend time talking to his audiences about such compelling national concerns as the rumps of Jon Husted and Nicki Minaj.

Last night the political experts on the "PBS News Hour" clarified things for me. Trump is a showman, said Tamara Keith. "This is a two-hour weave-filled show that is part comedy routine, part body humor, part campaign message."

"This is not designed to win over swing voters, these rallies," explained Amy Walter. "They are for the people who are in the audience and designed to get the response that they got."

She noted that normally a president with a 38 percent approval rating would be hiding out in the White House john, avoiding the campaign trail, but that's not Trump.

So he's a hambone and an impresario, the modern P.T. Barnum. Makes me wonder what kind of a butt Barnum had.

Going Low in the Heartland

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Well, there is a bottom. Who'd have thought it? 

After years and years of Donald Trump dragging political discourse somewhere south of the gutter, it seems a fellow Republican actually went too far. Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against his Democratic opponent Amy Acton is backfiring.

The ad features Acton's mother calling Acton a serial liar. The ad doesn't mention that Acton and her mother have been estranged since 1978 when Acton, aged 12, was removed from her mother's custody after her stepfather was charged with raping her.

Acton's mother remained married to that man till the day he died. It's hard to understand why some women always stand by their man, even when the man is clearly a lying sack of offal.

Anyway, the ad has divided Ohio Republicans and turned off some voters. Ramaswamy has doubled down on it.

Guess who supports the ad? That's right: Trump and JD Vance, Machiavelli-dee and Machiavelli-dum. Vance said he was "a little bit disgusted" with Republicans "whining" about the ad rather than kvetching about what Democrats will do to the country.

Again, how can Usha Vance tolerate being married to a man as conniving as Emperor Palpatine, but without the charm?

If this disgusting attack ad helps defeat Ramaswamy, hurray. He sure brought it on himself. But I don't believe this is the beginning of a cleaner brand of politics.

And what's more distressing is I think if Trump had run an ad this slimy, he'd have been unscathed. Ramaswamy can try one of Trump's diversionary tactics. But he isn't actually the governor of Ohio, so declaring war on Michigan is out of the question.

The Horror

 

This Week's Quote

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Ahhh... it's time for my favorite autumn tradition.

Rightwing outlets screaming about migration caravans traveling up from Mexico just two weeks before an election.

Charlotte Clymer

Source:  X