Oh goodie! The shutdown has been averted - for a month and a half. Then it starts again.

Why is it that whenever a government shutdown looms, closing national parks is one of the awful things that is always mentioned? Like having to forego a vacation trip to Yellowstone is up there with not getting a paycheck?

#RyderCup The reason we keep losing to the Europeans in this biannual golf tournament: they make putts and we don’t. I don’t know why that is, but it’s obvious.

What rationale can there be for paying the members of Congress their salaries when the government shuts down? Congress, at least the House, is responsible for the shutdown. And Congress can’t work during the shutdown because, well, everything will be shut down, including their staffs’ salaries. Congress barely works as it is, but now they’ll get paid for doing absolutely nothing!

Yup.

Pro-life. Gotta hand it to Republicans. They sure can come up with catchy terms perfect for bumper stickers. Pro-life sounds good, right? Who can be against life? But actually, those Republicans are just Pro-Birth. After the delivery, they’re not interested in protecting the life or welfare of the baby or the mother. And they’re Pro-Death Penalty. Wait, how is that Pro-Life? And they’re Anti-Vaccination. But vaccinations save lives, right? Oh, those Republicans, bless their hearts.

When will the media stop saying “X, formerly know as Twitter” instead of X? Do they say Meta now instead of Facebook?

#politics When Trump enthusiasts were asked why they were going to vote for him in 2016 despite all the things he’d said that would have derailed a candidate in pre-Trump times, they would often say, “Because he’s a great businessman, and we need someone like that to run the country.”

But if the lying and cheating is what all crafty businessmen do and is the excuse now, there’s one problem. A truly successful businessman doesn’t get caught doing it!

“No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” (H.L. Mencken) This seems to be the Republicans’ credo. Concerned about government spending only when there’s a Democrat in the White House, thinking the public won’t remember the debt incurred under Republican administrations. And thinking they can blame Democrats when they shut down the government. And guess what? They’re probably right!

#football Will the Dallas Cowboys overtake the Boston Red Sox as the most disappointing team with the largest fan base?

#football If you’re like me, you turn on the TV or switch channels to get the NFL game and, no surprise, you get a commercial. That goes on and on and on … Well, the reason for this is simple math. NFL games last, on average, 210 minutes. But the actual game time is only 60 minutes. So you have less than a one in four chance of actually tuning into a game in progress.

College basketball is a bit better. You have a one in three chance of getting the game when you tune in.

Looks like they got Menendez this time.That, and the never-ending Hunter Biden story will be distractions giving Trump some cover. Jeez.

#politics As we creep toward a civil war, at least politically, I have a modest proposal: Have a referendum in all states for splitting apart the union into red and blue states, forming separate countries. And have the results (overwhelming support, I predict) be the basis of a constitutional amendment - the last such in our current Constitution - making it so.

Lots of food for thought regarding pros and cons of this division. Abe would be turning over in his grave. Or maybe not.

#politics Despite what Trump did in his four years as president, and has done since, most Republicans want to elect him again. Unbelievable! What has happened to the party that used to be for the military, vets, and law enforcement and was a strong bulwark against Russian aggression? Trump happened. It boggles my mind how so many millions of Americans have bought into the man whose only vision for the country is chaos and retribution against those who have opposed him.

Most experts who have opined say that the charges against Hunter Biden only go to a criminal trial if the gun was used in a crime. Hunter never even used it for anything. And the Supreme Court has ruled against making a gun charge such as the one facing Hunter a prison-time offense. Let’s face it, Weiss and the DOJ buckled under pressure from right-wing Republicans looking to sully his father with the association.Glad to see Hunter taking the offense.

#football It might be impractical to do, but why can’t a QB’s passing-yard stats reflect only the yards thrown for completions, instead of the total yards gained? I mean, the QB throws a ten-yard pass to a back who then runs for sixty yards before being tackled. In my view, the QB should be credited with ten yards only, since it was the running back who got the extra sixty yards.

What say you?

A good sports weekend for me! Michigan, Dallas Cowboys, and Red Sox win. Michigan and Cowboys look like contenders. The Red Sox? They better have a good off-season trade year! Stick a fork in them. They’re done this season.

Score one for accountability: the rejection of Meadows’ request to move his case to federal court in Atlanta. That would have resulted in a different jury pool, pulling in jurors from MAGA country and increasing the chance of, if not jury nullification, then a hung jury. Now we’ll see what will happen to Trump’s request for same.