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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 415

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The next weekend concert is approaching. Join us with The Guess Who +. The plus sign means the following artists will be accepted: The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, Chad Allen, Chad Allen and the Expressions, Brave Belt, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (hopefully limited). Concert starts this Saturday at 1:00 AM (Eastern US).

California sadly burns again. Good luck and be safe.

Believe it or not, I have not good trips planned for the rest of 2019.

Our ushering duties allow us to see a wonderful play – The Lifespan of a Fact. Although from from esoteric, it engaged my cerebrum.

Cleaning out the blog closet has been fun … and I still have more to come!

Just heard this one. According to the Kentucky Bourbon Association, current bourbon inventory is at the level of 2 barrels for each Kentucky resident.

Baseball is officially over – congratulations to the Washington Nationals for winning and ending a 95 year draught … and let the record show that the Reds have gone more days without losing than all the teams that made the playoffs.

While wins by the away team are typically uncommon, many were amazed that the away team won all of the World Series games – but they also forget that unusually similar (but not the same) results happened in the most recent playoffs in professional hockey and basketball.

My fantasy football team sits at 6-2: one game out of first and tied for second (#3 seed). The Benevolent Impalers end the first round this weekend in a must-win against the #5 seed – but the team has scoring issues!

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The way Republicans are protecting President Trump is a prime example of a politician’s party-first mantra. Then again, that mantra is not limited to one side of the aisle. I like this recent column by George Will.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) continually comparing the Democratic-led private hearings to what happens in Russia is more than pathetic. Given President Trump’s affinity for Russia, interesting that Rep. Scalise chose those words.

In their way of not defending President Trump, Republicans are relegated to focusing their anti-impeachment argument on the impeachment process that focuses on two key points: 1) their partisan base, and 2) public ignorance.

I continue to believe that people want elected officials to solve problems. While people complain about the collective (but not their representative), only 11% (48 of 435) elected to the House of Representatives are members of the bi-partisan Problem-Solvers Caucus.

To lead you into this week’s satirical headlines, The Onion provides a timely list of the pros and cons of e-cigarettes.

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Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)

ISIS member unsure whom to submit PTO request to
Drama queen waiter completely full of shit about plate being too hot to touch
Heroic Secret Service agent takes bull intended for president
Dad figures funeral just as good a time as any to try out new camera lens
Aggressive flagellate just going around whipping other single-celled organisms
Toddler standing up in shopping cart surveys grocery store like grizzled sea captain on whaling expedition

Interesting Reads

Different kinds of stupid
Thoughts about the next 50 years of digital life
A view of the meaning of life
Yellowstone’s volcano: What if it erupted?
Why dog people live longer
(Graphic) Largest acquisitions by the largest tech companies
(Photos) A collection of street art

To send you into the weekend, here are The Piano Guys because it’s been a long time since I’ve featured them. In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

45 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 415”

  1. Cincy,

    This World Series was unlike any other in professional sports history in that the road team won every single game of a seven game series. Unbelievable. I really thought Houston was going to pull it off after taking a 3-2 back to Houston. Even after having said I thought the Nationals felt destined to win early on. Entertaining series.

    As for the Reds, it’s on to the 2020 pennant now!

    And politics? I took a vacation from it.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Marc,
      Road team winning all the road games in this series is unique. Given what the Blues and Raptors did last year (which wasn’t that, but close), I carefully watched my words. A true oddity to have a road records like that in three different sports in a row.

      Meanwhile, the Reds are streaking, plus acquired a bench player from the Padres. Watch out!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I can’t imagine what the Astros could have done to stop this train. As great a team as they are and my God . . 107 wins during the regular season. But the Nationals did feel destined.

        I know Hinch was criticized for taking out Greinke, but that’s a move that happens every night in the MLB now, as managers have become so insistent on the next man up philosophy when it comes to managing their pens. Turns out, Hinch found the guy who would blow it.

        But I don’t know, I think the Nationals would have broken through anyway, even if Greinke would’ve stayed in there.

        The Reds . . in the words of Al Pacino are . . . On FIIAAAHHH!!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  2. First off… any time you include a video of The Piano Guys, you have gotten my attention.

    Woot! Congrats Expos – um. I mean Nationals!

    Looking forward to the concert. Should be interesting.

    Sad for California, once again.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. A great post full of great things. Nationals – Woot woot! My brother and his family live near DC and they needed this win….badly. So I cheered for the Nationals even though my bro won’t cheer for my NE Patriots.
    I wish I could be like Sorryless and take a vacation from politics. Every time I read/hear the news I get nauseous. But this is OUR country, gosh darn it, and we need to take it back to our Constitution and dare I say, decency and relevancy. So, yay for you, placing these tidbits here.
    Happy November.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Pam,
      Day after day is simply a constant roll of odd news in this country about government. Strangest I’ve ever seen … and the crazy part is that there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight! Cheers to the Nats fans! Happy November!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Three cheers for the Nats who took their season motto to heart–Finish the Fight! Well done, boys. Now let’s move on to a more seasonal sport-hockey but hopefully less broadcast commercials. Sheesh.

    Judging from all the interviews I’ve seen from Kentuckians (I’m call you Rand Paul and Moscow Mitch out specifically), I’d say they already have washed down a couple of barrels of the state liquid. Their logic escapes me.

    See you tomorrow at the concert!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      • The Av’s have started out great-we’ll see how long it lasts. As for the ‘good’ gentlemen from Kentucky, I have a much less diplomatic opinion. The really scary aspect of these two characters is that they have been elected by the citizenry. Eek…those people walk amongst us!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • A race to watch on Tuesday is Kentucky’s governor’s race. KY is very Republican. Their Rep from the KY side of the River here is worse than those two! (I know hard to imagine.) Back to the governor. Gov. Matt Bevin is very much a Trumpian, so the president is running support ads. (Yes, I get to see them.) He was also selected as the least popular governor in the country (however that’s done). Because the state is strong for Trump, I think Bevin wins in a close race.

          Good luck to your Avs.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Yeah, I think so too. Folks from that state seem to be fully on board as true believers-hard as it seems to the rest of us. Sorry your in that media market. Nothing worse at election time to get ads for an adjoining state that you could care less about.

          Like

    • Drew,
      I’m pleased with 6-2 … actually feel lucky to be there. My first and second round picks have greatly under performed, so I’m hoping they have a strong second half. But it’s all for fun, so I’m enjoying it.

      Like

      Reply

  11. The Nationals were my default team the entire season.

    The public’s ignorance of the importance of Ukraine to U.S. national security astounds me.

    I looked up the membership of the Problem-Solvers Caucus. My heart sank . . .
    https://ballotpedia.org/Problem_Solvers_Caucus

    I liked the The Meaning of Life read but I prefer Monty Python’s version.

    “Dad figures funeral just as good a time as any to try out new camera lens” was a splat.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. The read on “The Next 50 Years of Digital Life” caught my eye. It’s a philosophy question, I think, somewhat like asking about the impact of the printing press! Already though, I sense that the internet has profoundly altered politics for the worse. Time was, voters used lengthy political opinion written in newspapers and magazines to form their decisions. The internet invites more impulsive and superficial opinions, it seems to me, not to mention an ability of foreign governments to meddle. But, we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Given the nature of the butterfly effect, next year’s election may well represent the most crucial turning point in human history since WW II, IMO.

    Like

    Reply

  14. Thank you for the Piano Guys. I always enjoy! And our fires here in California have kept me a little more at bay from the political nonsense and tom foolery. I have a lot to say on the way that politics are affecting our fires, but I won’t do it on your space. LOL! You’d have to block me. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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