The Biggest Political Lie that You Believe

As the Government Shutdown Grinds on and Federal Employees Continue to not Receive Paychecks......

Well, not your Congressional Representatives and Senators, THEY continue to get paid, the media continues to allow one of the biggest political whoppers, typically uttered by sub-par Congressional members, to continue apace.....

“It would be very strange for the American people to have weighed in, in support of Democrats standing up and fighting for them, and within days for us to surrender without having achieved any of the things that we’ve been fighting for,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. (Emphasis mine)

They're not "fighting". Full stop. No politician "fights". They bloviate, they sit together and eat caviar and drink sparkling wine, they go to fundraisers masked as dinner parties, they stroll around D.C. laughing with their families and friends, but they don't 'fight'.

The myth of the brave, fighting Pol is one of straight fantasy. And it leads us to poor government and even poorer representation. It draws focus from statesmanship and quality leadership to silly things like red tennis shoes. And the creaking, aging media eats it right the eff up. Honestly, they love this shit. It gives them the vapors.

But the uneducated, useful idiot loves it. From further down in the article....

“Moderate Senate Democrats who are looking for an off-ramp right now are completely missing the moment,” said Katie Bethell, political director of MoveOn, a progressive group. “Voters have sent a resounding message: We want leaders who fight for us, and we want solutions that make life more affordable.” (Again, Emphasis mine)

Of COURSE you do Ms. Bethell.  Because you're stupid, shallow and don't understand that they're not "fighting" for you, they're working to increase their power base, regain control of the Houses of Congress and maybe score some choice committee positions that will help them attain their true goal of rewarding their political patronage.

Yes, you want "solutions" that will make life more affordable. Yet you probably supported the pandemic subsidies that (in part, not in whole) led us into this mess in the first place. You want affordability without having a basic understanding of how things work. You want Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, filibustering so hard that he passes out on the Senate floor. What you get instead is Chris Murphy, with his hairdo and make-up applied for the camera, regurgitating words that some staffer gave him to say.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: We get the government that we ask for, and we get it good and hard. In this case we get it without lubrication.

I've no doubt that, eventually, this government shut-down is going to end. The end will not come, however, as the result of some brave "fight" put up by a milquetoast. It will come when both sides start to feel the wrath of an electorate that's had enough and then one side or the other will choose to just stop "fighting" (read: showboating for the cameras) and will be forced to capitulate.

The other side will then claim victory and will cast their "opponents" (read: co-conspirators) as weaklings who lacked the strength of courage to continue keeping on. They will then all congratulate themselves on a job well done and retire to wherever it is that they meet up to smoke cigars and sip Brandy.

Of course the media will eat this up and the cycle will continue.

News Round-up (11/06/2025)

 Kind of a hodge-podge in my return to this thing......

ESPN Bet is no more. DraftKings and FanDuel continue to take over the sports betting world.  Look, ESPN Bet was a bad, really bad book.  But DraftKings and FanDuel are the worst. Losing competition in the space is going to be bad for bettors as the "Bankrupt or Ban" method of bookmaking becomes commonplace.  If you're a serious bettor you should continue to keep rooting for, and patronizing Circa.

I feel for the TSA agents, I really do. I also feel for the flight controllers. But this mess is just another reason to go ahead and grit your teeth and sign up with Clear. (It's also an argument for privatizing airport security.)

Supermoons are cool. I do wonder this however: If crime rises during a full moon, does it rise even more during a Supermoon?

Beware the tendency to read too much into low-turnout elections. Outdated institutions that should be shuttered LOVE to do this.

I'm not sure how much of this is legitimate "analysis" and how much of it is wishful thinking. One thing I do know, Tomlinson is another resource the Chron should jettison and replace with news reporting resources.

Wild Goings on at Couchatta. Greed, shots fired (and, tragically, a minor's life put in jeopardy) and a whole bunch of shenanigans. Damn.

Sound cameras? As with any proposal to try and fix a societal ill through "simple" technology I find that the proposed solution is neither simple, nor is it a grand slam that it will be effective.

Menefee makes the CD 18 run-off despite having the WORST political ad in recorded history. What was he burning in that grill? Legal briefings?

Nancy Pelosi announces she's (finally) done. Well......bye.  The problem is that now the historical revisionism will commence and she'll eventually have some obscure airport in California named after her.

Tomorrow starts Flightmageddon. Supposedly both Houston airports will be affected, as will most of the major hubs in the US.  If you don't have to fly right now, probably a good idea to not. On the bright side it appears most major airlines will offer refunds.

And finally....

Jordon Bennington trying to hide the puck from Ovechkin's 900th goal is the funniest thing you'll see today.

The Chron self owns on the heels of yesterday's election. (Sad trombone)

 Why did so few Houstonians vote yesterday?

According to this Chron article it's because they couldn't find much about the election on the social medias.

Ouch.

Not that the Chronicle did not provide enough coverage (although, I would still argue that it didn't, at least not quality coverage) or that the Editorial Board did not endorse (they did, on some of the races). Nope, the reason (primarily younger) voters decided to skip this election is that they overwhelmingly did not feel educated enough on the issues at hand.

Granted, that's not why I did not bother to go vote. I haven't voted in years. I've lost full confidence in our political system and believe that voting is one of the more useless rights we currently retain. It doesn't matter who you vote for, you're going to get the same level of suck, just in different areas. There are far more important places to put your focus and energy these days than America's late-stage Republic.

But this article should be worrisome for the Chron, part of a failing institution that's wheezing along like a car with 200,000 miles whose check engine light came on at 120,000. Because this article clearly shows that younger people no longer care about what's printed in the pages, or online for the Chronicle and, in fact, they're not even looking at it.

I've long stated that the value and importance of the Chronicle Editorial Board is long past it's shelf life. The expiration date for that wheezing institution has long passed. It's past time to shutter the relic and redeploy those resources to actual news gathering functions, and (gasp!) maybe an expanded social media team.

The fact is, a fact that's lost on Newspapers FWIW, young people (and even most older people to be totally honest) don't give a crap what the opinions of some life-long J-school graduates are on any issue. They have no practical experience in the fields or issues on which they are opining, just I have no practical experience in journalism.

Which is why I believe the Chron should focus on where they actually might have (a little) experience. Reporting news. Print it online (I would actually get rid of the hard copy paper since it's irrelevant these days) and then have your social media teams go to work. Broadcast actual journalism on the socials, and start to train a new generation on coming to your website to read the long-form should it peak their interest and they wish.

Of course, the second part of this is that your journalism should be factual and as free from bias as is possible given human limitations.  It is impossible to eliminate all bias of course. We all have certain filters through which we view the World, and that's not really a terrible thing. However, that doesn't mean that you cannot work around that by acknowledging, and openly admitting your bias so that people can understand the viewpoint that you are writing from.

For example: I am an Oil and Gas professional in my mid-50s who is fairly fiscally conservative who believes in a smaller government that focuses on shoring up the things people NEED (roads, public works, etc.) rather than spending money on things politicians WANT (stadiums, light-rail, etc.). I believe in reducing the regulatory burden while ensuring that the regulations that are in place clear, concise and that they actually ensure businesses are operating within the law. I believe in Conservation not Environmentalism, and I believe in a legal system that is fair to all, but which also serves (primarily) to protect the public.

See, it's not that hard. Obviously I have other beliefs but that little paragraph above pretty much sums up my political philosophy from an economic viewpoint. Social matters are a different issue of course, and much more nuanced.  But, for most reporters just a simple acknowledgement of their party affiliation would let readers know from where they are coming. I will admit that I'm a little bit harder to pin down because I no longer have a political affiliation. (At one time, I was Republican, but that was a LOOOOONG time ago.)

If anything, the linked article below illustrates just how bad things are getting for newspapers these days. It also shows the lack of self-awareness that current exists in the media that they run this article without understanding what it means for them and their future.

Which is why I don't think they are ever going to turn things around.

News Round-Up (03/18/2025)

It's been a while.......

Southwest Airlines has become just like every other airline. Except without a true Business Class, terrible perks and an awful route structure.  Not a huge fan of theirs anyway, but they did sometimes fill a need. Something they no longer do.  No reason to fly them now.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally coming home. I've been watching the SpaceX launches on YouTube, good for them. While some people are wondering about their mental state they are happy they got to spend more time in Space.  They are not wired like the rest of us and that's a good thing.

Arctic Scientists Gone Wild.

Hey Alexa, Can you NOT share all of my data with your parent company? No? Seriously? Well, OK then.

Harris County is a mess. There is sure to be a lot of finger pointing but it's pretty easy to track the decline, and who was in charge when it accelerated.

Letting a politician ruin your life is a special kind of stupid. We get the governments we deserve.

More and more people are fleeing Harris County. Which is a smart idea.

Al Green spent the majority of his political career doing nothing. Then he did something silly and people are treating him like some kind of hero.  The bar is on the floor.

Brief, interesting, science aside. 

Do better people. Ruining shit, especially the shit of others, is not winning hearts and minds. Bad humanity all around.

And finally......

It takes a special kind of stupid to lose money owning a casino.  The corporations on the Las Vegas Strip seem to be trying to find bottom.

News Round-up (02/4/2025)

Love is (Not) in the air........

They say that the only way to make money in a casino is to own the casino.  The current large corporate owners of Las Vegas Casinos are on the verge of proving this wrong. From a myriad of fees to declining resort quality to a race-to-the-bottom customer service culture the current owners of Las Vegas Casino Resorts are sucking the value out of the City and, increasingly, turning people off from visiting.  Amazing.

Two of Lina Hidalgo's buddies are getting their criminal charges dismissed. What this means is open to some debate.  It's certainly good for them, and possibly good for Ms. Hidalgo but who knows really?  Paxton always seems to dance to the beat of his own drummer.

It's probably past time for the increasingly politicized "Doomsday Clock" to go the way of the Dodo. The Media loves them some of this though, like they love several other silly things.

The Return of the "Resistance" *sigh* Time is a flat circle.

Reminder:  Food Halls are just Food Courts with better marketing.  and this one is just a glorified strip mall.

Don't expect DEI to go quietly into that good night. There are a LOT of people who have a LOT of money on the line through kick-backs and consulting fees. They have a lot to lose.

Congrats to Beyoncé for finally grabbing Album of the Year at the Grammys.

The political sniping over the price of eggs ignores the fact that viruses have no party preference. It's neither Biden, nor Trump's fault, despite what the talking heads are saying.

There are several things that you can disagree with Republicans on, but DOGE should not be one of them. Reducing the size of our leviathan governments should be a priority for all. If the rent is too damn high, then the governments are too damn big.

Punxsutawney Phil don't know shit.

Always remember to take these stories from non-profit, "activist" news sites with a grain of salt. If their mission statement is to 'influence policy' then they are not a "news" organization, they are an activist site.  That doesn't mean they are wrong, but they do have an agenda.  From another perspective however, at least they, unlike legacy media, admit said agenda so there's that.

This is a bad idea. While I'm sympathetic to (some) of the arguments against mail-in ballots and other recent schemes to make voting easier (and easier to defraud the system) this is overreach and will do nothing but make it harder for many people to vote.

And finally.....

THE 2025 BIG XII FOOTBALL SHEDULE IS OUT!!!!!  First thoughts: Kansas' schedule is good, for them, as they get a lot of their big games at home. For the entire conference however the out of conference schedule closely resembles a cupcake factory.  Still, it's college football stuff in February. Yay!!!

Happy (Belated) New Year (Random Thoughts)

Welcome to 2025.

I hope your 2024 was OK, and that you and yours are doing well.  Obviously, I've been a little silent here for the last couple of months. And yes, there is an explanation for that other than just being lazy. The wife had a medical procedure and I've been working from home and doubling as caregiver. A full time job both.

Since we last wrote a LOT of sportsy stuff has happened.

1. The First (expanded) College Football Playoff has been, as expected, somewhat of a dud. Fans of the SEC have argued that the reason for this is the exclusion of 9-3 SEC teams from the playoffs in favor of teams from other conferences with better overall records.  This argument totally ignores the fact that almost all of the semi-final games of the 4-team CFP were also crap. There were years that the SEC was arguably the most dominant conference in College Football. That has not been the case these last two years and the CFP Committee did a pretty good job IMO.  Altering the formula to include more SEC teams going forward (which is the SEC's goal, not getting the "best" teams) will only weaken the CFP going forward.  We're getting closer and closer to the B1G and SEC leaving all of the other conferences behind anyway, so this is probably all a moot point. 

On another note: It could help to decouple the CFP from ESPN and spread the games around between ESPN, Fox and CBS.  Not going to happen for a while due to contracts, but the CFP should consider it.

2. Strangely, the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs also was, largely, a dud. Clearly the answer is that they should have invited more SEC teams....

I kid here but the real problem, for the NFL, is that they have a very evident top tier of teams, and then some good teams, and then everyone else. Kansas City, Detroit, Buffalo, Baltimore are clearly the top tier. Houston and LA have proven themselves as the cream of the 2nd tier, with the remaining playoff teams falling in line.  Then you have Cincinnati and Miami(?) along with a handful of other teams that could compete if they shore up some things.  Then everyone else.

Regardless, in today's NFL you need a coach and a quarterback or you have nothing. Granted, you have to put together other pieces to be really great, but if you don't have those two things in place (and, possibly, a top flight-running back) then you are not going to be very successful.

3. Golf is back. (good) So is Tomorrow's Golf League (pending). I watched the premier of the TGL and was a little unenthused. Maybe Tiger playing tonight will add some buzz? Having a competitive matchup might help as well.  That said, watching the green undulate and change is only going to go so far, as are the weird-assed hole designs that they created.

In the end, exciting golf (I know, it sounds like an oxymoron but it's not) is about shot making. Great shots make for great golf. Another thing they're going to be missing is Mother Nature herself. Bad lies, wind, rain, the elements, all make for challenging golf courses which is something the TGL is never going to be able to replicate.  From what I can see, there will be no awful lies in the TGL and that's a problem for them.

4. College Basketball is much better than NBA basketball right now and it's not close.  The Association has a problem. I'm not going to say much about this right now but might have more to say later. Let's just leave it at this: NBA basketball is a slog right now with a few notable exceptions. TV ratings are backing this up.

5. In the debate over "junk fees" it appears that the resorts are winning. Politicians have made some noise about them, but most of the ones who got riled up lost the last election cycle.

6. Speaking of 'junk'. I saw an ad last night, running in Texas, calling for an election related to "allowing destination resorts in Texas." It shows just how bad things are for casino resorts that they cannot even call themselves what they are. Even worse, Texas already has "destination resorts" in the form of the Gaylord, Great Wolf Lodge and Kahlahari. What Texas does not have, and I don't believe they're going to get as long as the current leadership is in place, are "Casino Resorts". That said it's not going to do any favors to the casinos to continue to try and hide what they are. Normalizing the debate around this means that, first, you must admit what you are. The continued subterfuge just adds credibility to the naysayers arguments that the casinos cannot be trusted.

7. I would be remiss if I did not add a note of condolence and encouragement to the people of LA who are currently living out a real-time Dante's Inferno. From the horrific images to the tragic loss of life to the first responders who are doing everything they can despite being hamstrung by prior public policy decisions.  Y'all hang in there and we'll be praying that you get some dying winds and sustained rain soon.

8. RIP to Jimmy Carter. He was a devoted husband and father by all accounts. Here's wishing his loved ones peace and comfort.

9. After watching the NFL Wild Card games I noticed a few items that went unaddressed by the pundits on TV.  First, the Houston Texans defense was much improved, probably, because of the return to active play of Al-Shaair. That seemed to be a bigger issue than people thought.  Second, NFL officiating has been just about as bad as it's ever been all year long. It got worse in the playoffs.  Something needs to be done to address this. Third, if we're going to really make use of reviews the decisions need to be removed from the officials on the field. Have the command center make the final decisions.

With that, we will end this. I wish all of you, or the few of you still reading this, good health, wealth and happiness during this new year.