Saturday, December 31, 2022
I broke Blogger
Every time I tried to post anew I got an error message that I had "exceeded one or more limits." I have written this and the last in my recycled drafts.
51-38, 10:02 4Q
On TCU's last long TD run there was a great camera shot of a Michigan couple. He was shaking his head and smiling and his wife was laughing out loud. It is lol, it's so ridiculous. At this point you're in the force field of an extraterrestrial phenomenon. You have no choice but to surrender and roll with it.
Of course. Of course they got the TD. AND the two-point conversion to make it a THREE-POINT game. Of Course.
OF COURSE! They're not crazy, WE'RE crazy.
Are overweight women more prone to laryngitis?
34-22, 1:47 3Q. STILL a two-touchdown game, though near entry to the 4th Q. MICHIGAN HAS TO GET STOPS!
TOUCHDOWN TCU
"Horned Frogs" lead 28-16, 4:28 3Q. 12-point deficit for MI. It was -15 at HT, so in three-quarters of the 3rd MI has only trimmed 3 points off the TCU lead. The Michigan D has been disappointing. You can't trade scores when you start in a 2 TD hole. This was a 75-yard drive. TCU's last TD drive before the half was 83. That was ominous for Michigan's chances. MI HAS to stop TCU.
3rd and 14 MI 44, :15, MI TO
If I were Harbaugh I'd call it a half. Run the ball and let the clock run out. Regroup at the break. 21-3 is still eminently doable.
3rd and 3, TCU 38, :57
If I were TCU's head coach, I would run the ball a third time and punt if I don't make it. Do not try to do too much here.
21-3, 1:38 2Q
Michigan got down to the TCU 37. A false start penalty and a sack had them punting from the 49. The Gods are with the "Frogs."
1st and 10 TCU at their own 49, 7:10
This drive has already gone 32 yards. I am ready to say that if they score a TD here, that they will win. No I'm not.
TCU 1st and 10 MI 11, 4:45 1Q
I have never experienced the swings of emotion that have occurred in the first half of the first quarter of this game.
TCU (3) 7 Michigan 0, 9:22 1Q
And on the first play of their second possession, Michigan (JJ McCarthy) threw a pick-six.
It’s gotten a little bit away from Cluck Klieman…
…as it’s now 45-13. Still 9:27 left and K-State still has timeouts left…
NOW K-State Kicks a FG. 👏 Chip Away Klieman, Its only 35-13!
(i am not ending 2022 on a "kinder, gentler" note)
28-10, 13:54 3Q
Kansas State's intelligent head coach called an onside kick to start the second half. Didn't work. Who is that fool...
21-10, :10 2Q
Coulda been 14-13 but you wanted to prove your had big stones. Good. Thanks K-State. Bye.
Ooh
On 3rd and 11 from the K-State 45 Bama got flagged for a personal foul. Fifteen yards to the Tide 40 and 1st down for the "Wildcats." Nick Saban not going to be happy with that, Hoo Doggie!
Friday, December 30, 2022
Okay, We Can Put the OB Out of Its Misery. 31-14, 3:07 to Play
Clemson was a 4-point favorite and is losing now by 17. That's 21 points off expectations. They embarrass the ACC. North Carolina State (23rd), a 2-point pick to win embarrassed the ACC today losing to Maryland and to add an insult from Deliverance had their announcer of 31 years suspended indefinitely for a gratuitous racist insult. Said Gary Hahn, informing listeners of other games in action, "Amongst all the illegal aliens down in El Paso, it's UCLA 14 and Pittsburgh 6..." What a card that Gary is, huh? He might want to check alternative career options at his local klavern, or MAGA HQ, if different. Pitt delivered by far the best win for the conference today in a true upset of UCLA.
“Heat” (18-18) Wilt Mile High 124-119
No D in Miami now; nor in “Heat”. And they ain’t play none. Nuggetinos shot an embarrassing 59.2% from the floor and a humiliating 60.7% from the Rockies. The “Heat” have just lost their identity.
14-6, 5:52 3Q
The Orange Bowl is a boring game. After the Sun and Gator this is as exciting as artificial insemination.
Rocky Top 14 Howard’s Rock 6, 10:04 3Q
After Clem pulled its 4th-and-Franklin their kicker missed three FG’s before making his next two. Clemson has thoroughly outplayed Tenn. but can’t get in the end zone and obviously can’t kick it there with any great confidence.
Sorry, I can’t help it
A career backup, now Sun Bowl MVP, Nick Patti gets to direct the Pitt band in victory in his last game in blue and gold.
ORANGE!
A real orange game in the Orange Bowl. Tennessee (6) with the early lead over Clemson (7), 7-0.
James Franklin made a guest appearance.
Clemson faked a FG on fourth down at the Clemson 25 in its first possession. It failed, like James’ do.
2022 in Review: Did the Spell Break?
The last six years have been about the darkest time in our history, particularly the last three since February 2020. And our national mood has reflected the times. I have concatenated the anecdotal evidence I, at least, saw previously. But now, quite recently only, just during the holiday season, I feel a different mood about, made up of the following concatenated anecdotes in reverse chronological order.
-Thursday:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
@RepMTG
·
Dec 28
We disagree often, but I’ll be praying for Jamie Raskin. Cancer is a terrible disease. I watched my father die from it, and it broke my heart. It’s good Rep Raskin has hope and his form of cancer is curable with the treatment he will be starting. twitter.com/foxnews/status…
12:37 PM · Dec 29, 2022
@RepMTG
·
Dec 28
We disagree often, but I’ll be praying for Jamie Raskin. Cancer is a terrible disease. I watched my father die from it, and it broke my heart. It’s good Rep Raskin has hope and his form of cancer is curable with the treatment he will be starting. twitter.com/foxnews/status…
12:37 PM · Dec 29, 2022
@RepRaskin
Thank you, Marjorie, for this touching message, which my youngest daughter showed me. I’m grateful for your concern and very sorry to learn that you lost your father to cancer. Wishing you happy holidays with loved ones.
-Tuesday night I went to Publix late, about 8:45. There was one shopping car available and I seized it only to find that its wheels were frozen. I muttered an oath. There was one elderly man in the store foyer, a short, elderly man who had a cane in his shopping car. He had a cart. He saw me looking frustrated and said that the carts were all on the second floor and that most of the store employees had gone for the day. "Okay," I replied in surrender and prepared to enter the store proper. "You can take mine. Here, you can take mine." He said it in a soft, sweet voice like that of a generous child. He had two small bags in the fold-out tray of the shopping cart. But he was elderly and had a cane. "Here, take mine. I'm handicapped." "Are you going to be alright?" I asked, hesitating. "Yes. Here, take it." I bestowed a thousand thanks on him, I really was touched by his offer and his manner and God blessed him a few times with an affectionate pat on the shoulder and accepted the offer.
-Tuesday I also watched a viral video of a group of people, complete strangers to one another, who had nothing more in common than being stranded by Southwest airlines at an airport up north. They were trying to get home to Knoxville, Tennessee. On the spur of the moment at the ticket counter one had the idea to rent a van. "Anybody want to rent a van?" she called to others in line. She got fourteen volunteers and they all crammed into a van and drove twelve hours to Knoxville. They made it in time to go to work.
-Stranded Southwest passengers are saying things to the media like, "It's not their fault." They're trying."
-On Monday University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) basketball coach Bob Golding saw three young men standing absently in the Dallas airport, saw them with Pitt bags, and gave them a "lift" 9 hours to the Sun Bowl game.
-Mark Woodley, the best weatherman in the sports world, delivered some light-hearted relief during the brutal holiday blizzard that enveloped Iowa and beyond. Something I would expect from Ukraine.
-Jaire Alexander. The sheer joy of Jaire brought laughter to even Miami Dolphins fans.
-I experienced the greatest frisson of goodwill in my life by helping make a family whole.
-The Soul of the Ukrainian people.
Are we kinder and gentler? Folks, I think so. Just my opinion, but I believe we are. What did it? I have an opinion on that, too. 2022 got off to the worst start imaginable but as the year wore on and the people responsible for 1/6 increasingly were held accountable, and as Trump faded further into oblivion, I think the spell did break to make us less stressed and less angry.
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Humankind.
😁
Liar-Elect George Santos Trashed His NYC Apartment, Landlord Says
Photos of the cramped apartment show a barely-accessible front door in the kitchen that is mostly blocked by a refrigerator, and a back porch cluttered with junk. While on the campaign trail, Santos boasted about living a posh lifestyle...
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl
@TonyTheTigerSB
That’s the game!
Pitt Football and UCLA Football
6:11 PM · Dec 30, 2022 from Sun Bowl Stadium
What a beautiful shot.
@TonyTheTigerSB
That’s the game!
Pitt Football and UCLA Football
6:11 PM · Dec 30, 2022 from Sun Bowl Stadium
What a beautiful shot.
Are you not entertained?!
Pitt stuns UCLA 37-35 in an epic finish in the 89th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. #KTSM9Sports
Cal-Hi Sports
@CalHiSports
TJ Harden (Inglewood) had what looked like a game-winning TD run for UCLA in the Sun Bowl with 34 seconds left, but Pitt still had time to kick a game-winning FG. Hope the final four games tomorrow are as good as some of these other bowl games have been.
6:11 PM · Dec 30, 2022
Jeff Hathhorn
@jhathhorn
#Pitt Sun Bowl vibes. Nick Patti leads the win, then the band
@937theFan
CATS! FT Pitt 37 UCLA (18TH) 35
UCLA scored to take a 35-34 lead and the "PANTHERS" got the ball back on their 25 with :29 left, drove the field and kicked a FG! Holy shit. Guess that UCLA fan was right, "no defense."
from South El Monte, CA
"PANTHERS" finish the season 9-4, as does UCLA.
LIGHT IT!
34-28, 4:34 4Q
Obviously PLENTY of time for UCLA, especially for a Chip Kelly offense. But is Pitt stops them this would be an extremely embarrassing loss for the “Bruins”, the 18th-rated team in the country and a 8.5 point favorite to an unranked Pitt team playing without their season’s QB (transfer), best running back (NFL), and best defensive player.
Corey Crisan
@cdcrisan
Panthers to the UCLA 6 on a swing pass to Rodney Hammond. First and goal. #Pitt
2:20 PM · Dec 30, 2022
Bruin Report Online
@BruinReport
#UCLA allows another first down on this drive. Pitt is at the UCLA 6.
2:20 PM · Dec 30, 2022
Life is good as a Pitt "Panther"
The basketball team looks like it is going to get an important dub and just now the Sun Bowl kicks off between the two most lit teams in the country, Pitt and UCLA.
Idaho-4 Suspect Arrested
Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested on extradition warrant for first degree murder in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in Moscow, Idaho on November 13.
2022 in Review: Industry Leaders Who Have Ruined Their Brands*
*Updated
1. Russian military (Wars)
2. Vladimir Putin (War Design)
3. Republican Party (Political Alternatives)
4. George Santos (Life)
5. Elon Musk (Management Concepts)
6. Will Smith (Deportment)
7. Donald Trump (Coup d'etat Solutions, Election Strategies
8. Secret Service (Coup d'etat Facilitation)
9. Bob Jordan (Airline Management)
10. Roger Goodell (Sports League Directions, ongoing)
Nominations solicited.
5. Elon Musk (Management Concepts)
6. Will Smith (Deportment)
7. Donald Trump (Coup d'etat Solutions, Election Strategies
8. Secret Service (Coup d'etat Facilitation)
9. Bob Jordan (Airline Management)
10. Roger Goodell (Sports League Directions, ongoing)
Nominations solicited.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Props to Chief WaPo for Crediting The North Shore Leader
A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal, but no one paid attention [In September!]
Santos Filings Now Claim Net Worth of $11 Million
By Maureen Daly
Controversial US congressional candidate George Santos has finally filed his Personal Financial Disclosure Report on September 6th - 20 months late - and he is claiming an inexplicable rise in his alleged net worth to $11 million.. Two years ago, in 2020, Santos' personal financial disclosures claimed that he had no assets over $5,000 - no bank accounts, no stock accounts, no real property. A net worth barely above "zero". And his income was only just over $50,000 for the prior year, derived from a venture fund called "Harbor Hill Capital," that was closed and seized in 2020 by US federal prosecutors as a "Ponzi Scheme." Santos was the New York Director of that "fund." Now, in a filing dated September 6th, 2022, Santos claims his assets are now as much as $11 million, including personal bank accounts of between $1 million and $5 million; a Condo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, of between $500,000 and $1 million; and business interests of between $1 million and $5 million. Santos parents were from Brazil, according to Santos, and he has claimed to be a US-Brazilian dual citizen. Interestingly, Santos shows no US real property in his financial disclosure, although he has repeatedly claimed to own "a mansion in Oyster Bay Cove" on Tiffany Road; and "a mansion in the Hamptons" on Dune Road. He recently told several Republicans that he was selling his "Hamptons mansion" for $10 million, because he rarely uses it.
However an investigation of Santos' alleged "Hamptons mansion" showed the house is owned by someone else having nothing to do with Santos, and.has a market value of less than $2 million.
For a man of such alleged wealth, campaign records show that Santos and his husband live in a rented apartment, in an attached row house in Queens. (See photo)
Santos drives a Nissan, for which he took out a car loan of between $20,000 and $50,000, according to the disclosures.
Candidates for US Congress are required to file a full and truthful Financial Disclosure with the Clerk of the US House of Representatives, under the Ethics in Government Act. The trigger for filing is raising $5,000 in campaign funds, which deadline Santos passed 20 months ago, in January, 2021.
Santos claims to have "loaned" his campaign some $600,000.00 - which was reported in his US Federal Election Commission filings earlier in 2022. However the $600,000 "loan" does not show-up in his newly-filed 2022 personal financial disclosure.
Santos disclosures also state that he earned "nothing" - no income - over the past year.
It is a federal felony to make false filings in federal disclosures.
Under Brazilian Decree-Law No. 394 of April 28, 1938, and under Article V of the Constitution of Brazil, "no Brazilian national may be extradited" to any foreign country for crimes charged in that foreign country.
"Are we are being played as extras in 'The Talented Mr Santos' ?" asked one Republican leader.
shit
Chelsea have fewer goals than Haaland, so whom should they sign?
Chelsea have scored fewer Premier League goals (19) than Man City striker Erling Haaland (20), so whom can they target in the January window?
Anthropoid
Russia launches massive missile barrage across Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital, faced a massive Russian missile attack Thursday, the biggest wave of strikes in weeks targeting power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing weather.
...Ukraine’s military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said preliminary
reports showed Russia fired 69 missiles at energy facilities and
Ukrainian forces shot down 54 of them. ...
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
The lights went out in my bldg for about an hour at around 8:30. Luckily it is a mild night. Uncanny how dark it is without artificial light. Disorienting. I had sex with a woman for the first time in her apartment and the last thing I saw was her taking off her boot. When she cut the lights it was pitch black. I have no idea what her body looked like. It was so weird.
Mimi 105 LAL 98, 2:45 4Q
Mimi led by 17 after 3 but LAL 20-10 in 4th. Looks like they're gonna run out of time, though.
The "Blonde Shark" :)
Love that nickname. Its recipient scored two more goals today at Leeds in the EPL restart. He is the first player in league history to have 20 before Jan. 1.
“Consistencies”
Others are reading the same as I into Mike McDaniel’s elliptical comments today. CNN:
McDaniel on Wednesday said that when he and other coaches reviewed game film on Monday they "had some questions" about Tagovailoa's health, so the head coach urged the quarterback to see team doctors.
Tagovailoa started the game well, throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown in the first half. It was a different story in the second half with Tagovailoa throwing interceptions on three consecutive drives to end the team's 26-20 loss.
"There were some things that caused us to really prod," McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. "
Although neither team doctors nor independent neurological consultants initially flagged Tagovailoa for an evaluation on Sunday, McDaniel had some questions about “consistency of things [he studies] daily on tape” when it came to the third year quarterback, and thus encouraged Tagovailoa to get checked out by doctors. The doctors then placed the player in concussion protocol.
McDaniel on Wednesday said that when he and other coaches reviewed game film on Monday they "had some questions" about Tagovailoa's health, so the head coach urged the quarterback to see team doctors.
Tagovailoa started the game well, throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown in the first half. It was a different story in the second half with Tagovailoa throwing interceptions on three consecutive drives to end the team's 26-20 loss.
"There were some things that caused us to really prod," McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. "
SBNation:
FanNation (Sports Illustrated)
Tagovailoa threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter against Green Bay, after his head made contact with the ground, and McDaniel said Wednesday he noticed some inconsistencies on film the next day in terms of how Tua normally operates.
McDaniel is a very smart man and he obfuscates well but he is not as smart as he thinks he is. He's a bullshit artist is what he is.
AIR FORCE! AIR FORCE!
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball
DALLAS (AP) — Travelers who counted on Southwest Airlines to get them home suffered another wave of canceled flights Wednesday, and pressure grew on the federal government to help customers get reimbursed for unexpected expenses they incurred because of the airline’s meltdown.
... The airline’s CEO said it could be next week before the flight schedule returns to normal.
Mike McDaniel, Head Dissembler, Miami "Dolphins"
The man will not give a direct answer to a direct question if he can surround the answer in gauze.
Q: "Were you able to pinpoint when exactly he sustained that concussion on Sunday."
A: "Uh...yeah well, you know, there's um...the...the day after the game, Muxom (?) Monday, there was some...you know upon reviewing the film, we, we had some questions, um, kinda feel like, you know, we kinda had an idea um that there's, 'Hey did something happen in this portion of the game?', question him, um...once we got really uh, you know, we continued to question him and once we got some information back we're like, 'You need to go see the, see the doctors', so to say with absolute certainty, uh, that it was this, that or otherwise, it was just, there were some things, um, that...caused us to really prod and um, as a result, we felt he needed to see medical professionals."
Now, the stupid pencil has to own this; it was HE who asked the question in a way that even I, veteran of dos viewings of McDaniel dissemblings, knew McDaniel would not, and could not, answer. To McDaniel's credit he goes beyond the stupidity of the question, while still answering it directly, into probabilities rather than certainties: "We kinda had an idea", they asked Tagovailoa, "Did something happen in this portion of the game." Note, McDaniel doesn't say portions plural, he says portion singular. That would be the Michael Williams clip near the end of the first half, but McDaniel, ever the clever, coy wearer of the transparent fig leaf, won't say that directly.
Q: "What were the things that caused you to prod? On the tape or was he behaving in a way on Monday showing any symptoms to you in your meetings with him or with anyone else that caused you to say 'You should see a doctor.'"
A: "It specifically had to do with consistencies of things that I study daily that, um, on tape, which, which, um provoked some uh, uh, you know, some direct questioning, um, with the high degree of concern."
What the fuck is the man talking about? I don't know what the fuck he means by "consistencies". The meaning-leader in the clubhouse for me through all of this smoke is: McDaniel studies tape of Tua all the time and he knows when he sees something aberrational to the "consistencies" he sees all the time in Tua and when he saw those three blind throws in the 4th quarter he went "FUCK! (high degree of concern) 'Tua, did you even know where the fuck you were when you made those throws?" (really prodding). "Um, no, I really didn't." (getting some information back). But, is that what McDissembler meant?
Why was I deferential?
NFL circles the wagons on latest Tua Tagovailoa head injury
This article is by sportswriter Mike Florio and it shames me.
Appearing on NFL Network (i.e., a league-owned outlet that isn’t naturally inclined to pose tough questions to in-house colleagues), NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills defended the handling of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s latest concussion.
Because of course he did.
…
That’s an adroit way of tiptoeing around the reality that the player/patient’s specific history should have compelled a concussion evaluation during the game, after Tua hit his head on the turf.
Of course it should have.
Whether anyone noticed any symptoms during the game is one thing. Whether anyone noticed a blow to the head that should have resulted in a simple sideline examination of Tua for any symptoms whatsoever is another.
Of course those are two different things and Dr. Sills wanted to keep them hermetically sealed from one another AND to treat all blows to the head equally and all players equally—regardless of history. Let’s say a guy has a heart attack. He goes in for heart bypass surgery. He’s cleared by the hospital and released. He goes back home and shovels snow, he lives in Buffalo. He experiences no proximate chest pain. He goes back to his doctor the next day for a check up and tells the doc then he feels a little tightness in his chest. Allows as how he was shoveling snow in Buffalo yesterday. The Disciple of the Temple of Hippocrates would straitjacket that motherfucker and put him in hospital for spite. It is the patient’s history and the risky behavior that would trigger the hospitalization. “You cannot shovel snow in Buffalo ever again, MO-RON!” Likewise Tua Tagovailoa should not play another down in the National Concussion League this season.
Dr. Sills, frankly, is adept at maneuvering his way through the potential land mines that lurk after a situation like this happens. He can, with confidence and authority, say whatever needs to be said to make it sound like everything was handled properly. Even if it wasn’t.
Of course he is. Of course he does.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
NFL CMO Dr. Allen Sills: Tua Tagovailoa showed 'nothing that would have triggered' concussion protocol during game vs. Packers
NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said Tuesday that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa exhibited zero injury behaviors and reported zero symptoms...during Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.
I would like to hear from the NFLPA. Still, I trust Dr. Sills. But. There was a drastic change in Tagovailoa's game play after the blow to the head. Michael Williams, the Twitter spotter, noticed the blow before anyone else it appears and his opinion was confirmed for him by Tagovailoa's play in the second half. As I, and others more NFL-wise than I noted, Tagovailoa's play on the interceptions was so bad it would have been bad if it occurred in a college game. So I understand what Sills is saying: Tagovailoa didn't "fence", he didn't wobble, and I thought initially that Michael Williams' connection of the blow to the int's was a stretch. But I misunderstood that the blow happened at the end of the first half; I misread Willaims' tweet as having occurred in the first quarter. I have two questions: Did Sills' spotters see the blow in real time? Second, is the abrupt change in play not "injury behavior"? I assume without knowing that the answer to #2 is "No." If the answer is "No" then, in Sills' opinion, were the int's unconnected with the blow?
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced Monday that Tagovailoa had been placed in the league's concussion protocol after reporting symptoms that day. McDaniel added that it was uncertain at this point if Tagovailoa had indeed suffered a concussion, but he had exhibited symptoms to warrant placement in the protocol.
Fine, I'll be a lawyer: There is a difference between reporting and exhibiting.
"What our spotters and our unaffiliated neuro doctors are looking for is any blow that transmits force to the head or neck area, followed by that injury behavior...there are many blows to the head that occur during a game. We are always looking for the blow plus the injury behavior and obviously if we see any injury behavior, then there's a call down made to evaluate that player. Also, if a player identifies any symptoms or a teammate, coach, official, anyone else identifies symptoms, that also initiates a protocol. So many people can initiate the protocol and in this game on Sunday, none of those factors were present. There were no visible signs present, even though there was a blow to the head and the player did not report any symptoms, despite being in contact with the medical staff throughout the game. So, there was nothing that would have triggered the protocol in the moment."
Sills added that it is not uncommon for people to present symptoms on a delayed basis, and that Tagovailoa should be commended for reporting his symptoms on Monday.
So the horrendous 4th quarter throws could reasonably be delayed presentation of symptoms?
Could PoJo Not Deploy Military Pilots to Alleviate at Southwest?
"From what I can tell, Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage.”—U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
This is a manpower problem. It is not a plane problem. The planes are sitting there on the runway ready to go!
The airline's computerized personnel management system is antiquated and it can't match pilots and cabin crew with airports.
In the short term--right now--passengers need air crews. Military pilots and staff can alleviate this.
"Tua Tagovailoa shouldn't play any more this season if the NFL is serious about health and safety and concussions.”
That is from ex-NFL’er, now ESPN analyst Booger McFarland. Like sentiment is coming from other former players. “If the NFL is serious” is the operative phrase.
Ju hear about this?
Southwest Airlines meltdown worsens
Of over 2,800 flights canceled today, Southwest had 2,526 of them.
Southwest is the King of efficient. This is a major dent to that reputation. The Transportation Department is looking into this!
Do you remember how Sunset Boulevard ends? Norma Desmond shoots and kills the writer, a fraudster who has fallen under the spell of her charisma, just as he summons the courage to walk away. Her sycophantic butler flips. There are no enablers left to protect her. A final fantasy, a fake movie set, is staged in the mansion’s entryway. The lights go on, and she is lured before the cameras, where the police are waiting to haul her away.
Olivia Nuzzi is an extremely talented, insightful writer.
Trump’s campaign schedule, described to me as “busy,” involved 11 events
over the course of the month. One event was the announcement itself.
Five events took place at Mar-a-Lago. Four events were not events at all
but taped videos that were aired at events where Trump was not
physically present. The endorsements were just as impressive: Kari Lake,
Matt Gaetz, Elise Stefanik, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Max
Miller, the New York Young Republicans, the Texas agriculture
commissioner. The most high-profile Trump-endorsed candidate to win in
the midterms, J. D. Vance, was not on this list. Neither was Trump’s
former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now governor-elect of
Arkansas. I asked her why she hadn’t endorsed him. She didn’t respond.
“I think [the pandemic] really fucked up his head,” the first former White House
official said. “He was already on that path, he was so desensitized and
emboldened, and then during COVID, his interactions with real people
were so cut off. [Like his anal sex partner Putin] During this tragic time where horrible things were
happening, he wasn’t experiencing any of it. It was an ugly cocktail of
the pandemic and race — after George Floyd — these things that activated
his worst features. He lost touch with what was real, whatever limited
ability he had before to connect was just gone.” He was more inclined to
crack than others. “Here’s a person who is so untethered as it is, who
largely escapes accountability, and there were always weird people
around him, but the more the normal people disappeared, and all he’s
surrounded by are the cuckoo birds,” the official trailed off. “His
brain was vulnerable too because I think he was probably whatever his
version of depressed is.”
First, I was told headquarters are — present tense — in the “Palm Beach
area.” That’s according to Steven Cheung, a veteran of the 2016 campaign
and the administration who departed amid a purge of suspected West Wing
leakers and is now communications director of Trump 2024. [Ho ho ho] According to
another campaign official, there are no headquarters. Not yet. The
campaign plans to rent a space in the Palm Beach area. This is the new
Trump campaign, same as the old Trump campaigns, so who knows whom to
trust? For now, campaign business is conducted by phone, over Zoom, in
the lobbies of the Marriotts and Holiday Inns in West Palm Beach, and,
only as it relates to meetings with the candidate himself, at
Mar-a-Lago. The candidate does not provide work space to his staff at
his private club. Unless they have $200,000 to spare.
Before a wall of American flags, each kept in place by a gold screw in the shape of an eagle, Trump was alone. He is sensitive about this, too. He does not like how it looks. “I’m seeing people all the time. I have congressmen outside right now waiting to see me. I have many people from Congress coming to see me, I have senators coming to see me, I have a lot of people. I’m not isolated,” he told me. ...
"When Brick Man — that
freak, Brick Man — is in the VIP seating, we’ve got a problem.” Brick
Man is a man who wears a suit made of fabric with — you guessed it — a
brick pattern. The bricks symbolize the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
He wandered around the ballroom offering interviews to reporters. I have
a high tolerance for this kind of shit, obviously, and I could not. ...
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