Former president Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Saturday. I watched the trial and the videos and I found myself wondering who could ignore what was being portrayed. I knew how thick partisan politics runs in our country, but if there were a moment for our government to have a conscience, this was the time.
The Senate has never convicted an impeached president; this is the most bi-partisan vote in the history of impeachments.
What is irksome is Mitch McConnell saying one thing and voting another. His statements had some thick partisan politics spread all over it. Sorry not sorry.
I am concerned about how our government spent four years not holding Trump accountable for his actions. I am concerned about the video of the guys saying “next time we’ll bring our guns”.
2. WEEKLY REPARATIONS UPDATE
The Virginia House passes a bill for colleges to make reparations for their role in slavery.
This week the US House of Representatives will vote on exploring reparations.
3. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE APOLOGIZES…FINALLY
The #FreeBritneySpears movement has made its way to Justin Timberlake’s door. Almost twenty years later, Justin apologized for using Britney to propel his solo career. He also decided to apologize to Janet Jackson as well for the whole Super Bowl incident.
After eighteen years, these sorts of apologies always overflow with insincerity. Very Mitch McConnell.
4. MUSEUM OF DREAMS
I made a trip to the Museum of Dreams in Beverly Hills with my family. The museum is a small installation of three rooms which were breathtaking to see. It would have been nice to have a bench here and there to sit and take everything in. I feel like the trip was a missed opportunity. There were too many people there and the museum is pure bait for people who are looking for something cool to put on Instagram. There were a lot of people taking pics; which takes away from taking things in. There was also one woman who refused to keep her mask on. I understand she wants her pics, but we are all in rooms with more people than she should and this one lady will not keep her mask on.
5. ART OF THE WEEK
Michael Jackson Tears by Dr. WASH blew my mind. It made me wonder who would be in my tears.
6. JUSTIN TURNER WITH THE DODGERS
The Dodgers have made their moves and, with Justin Turner back, they are ready to defend their World Series title. It took a long time with a lot of back and forth for Turner and the Dodger to find the right amount of time on his contract. The Dodgers had all the cards in this game. The loss of Joc Pederson and Kike Hernandez, Turner add the chemistry piece needed for a championship team.
7. BEST THING I READ THIS WEEK
One of the coolest things I read this week was an article about a lake that turns living things to stone.
8. REPUBLICANS TURN ON REASONABLE SENATORS
Last week I was outraged about Wyoming Republicans censuring Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Donald Trump. This week Republicans are censuring Bobby Cassidy of Louisiana for voting to convict Donald Trump of incitement. Thick with partisanship.
9. NBA TRADE DEADLINE BUZZ
I haven’t been able to be all in on the NBA season so far. One of my favorite times of the year is the trade deadline. There is still a month to go until the big day; but there is already buzz. Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin are going to sit out until they are traded.
10. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75.” ― Benjamin Franklin
It was a very dark day for our country. After a rally where they were incited by President Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani that they should “never concede” and this is a ”trial by combat”.
All I really want to say about Wednesday’s events are:
Things would have gone completely different if a Black Lives Matter group stormed the Capitol.
Please stop calling this a “protest”. There is way too many similarities between what happened on Wednesday and attempting to overthrow a government than a protest.
2. JACOB BLAKE DECISION
This was not a good week for the nation. Perhaps, what amplified Wednesday’s events, was the announcement that officer Rusty Sheskey, who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times would not be prosecuted. Officer Sheskey claimed he feared for his life, so he shot Mr. Blake in the back. That was reasonable to the district attorney. Shooting a person in the back seven times doesn’t seem all that reasonable to me.
3. 4,000 PEOPLE DIED OF COVID ON THURSDAY
Amidst all the drama taking place in politics, it is easy to forget there is a pandemic going on. I was pulled away from the distractions when I saw that 4,000 people died of COVID on Thursday. The vaccine is being administered but the surge is still surging. A couple of weeks ago, I talked about COVID confusion and it seems to get more confusing.
4. R.I.P. TOMMY LASORDA
A fixture of my childhood was sitting at Dodger Stadium and watching Tommy Lasorda waddle out from the dugout to yell at the home plate umpire about a disputable call. In those days, a manager taking a trip to home plate was the greatest theater. The whipped cream on the Lasorda Sundae was my dad yelling “Tommy tell him what you had for lunch!” More recently I would see Tommy sitting in his seat by the Dodgers’ on-deck circle nodding off to a nice evening nap at the stadium.
Tommy passed away on Friday and I was happy he got to see the Boys in Blue win the Series one last time. He will be missed.
5. DR. DRE SUFFERS AN ANEURYSM
Last week, after MF Doom died, I said hip-hop was behind the other genres when it came to grieving. Then I heard Dr. Dre suffered an aneurysm last week. It sounds like he will pull through, but I feel like this is another sign I am becoming an old man.
6. NFL WILDCARD WEEKEND
Wildcard Weekend went as expected. The only surprise for me was Cleveland putting a beat down Pittsburgh. Last week Cleveland barely beat the Pittsburgh second-stringers. I figured they didn’t have much of a chance against the starters. I didn’t figure Pittsburgh would turn the ball over and spot the Browns 28 points in the first quarter.
7. A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING
My housekeeper was exposed to someone with COVID so my family has been on their own to clean our home for the last two weeks. Many years ago, my wife and made a decision that if we were going to work as hard we do during the week, we didn’t want to spend the weekends. We also have two standards of “clean” and the difference in standards was going to lead to some serious marriage troubles.
Two weeks ago, it was cute to clean the house. This past week, I felt like cleaning the house dominated my weekend. I am grateful it was Wild Card Weekend to keep me distracted from my wife’s conflicting standard of “clean”. I am holding my breath until my housekeeper comes back. I know….First World Problems.
8. REPARATIONS FOR SOUTH KOREANS
A South Korean court order the nation of Japan to pay reparations for sex-slavery instituted during World War II. The women were snatched from their homes and forced to work in brothels near the frontlines of the war. They were called “comfort women”. The judge said they needed to compensated for their suffering.
It is common sense for “comfort women”. However, reparations always become complicated when it comes to America.
9. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The quote of the week comes from Lucille Clifton – “You might as well answer the door, my child, the truth is furiously knocking.
10. ART FOR THE WEEK
The Art for the Week comes from Shawn Perkins and is called “Red Carpet Treatment”. I don’t have to say much else.
In my house, I have a tradition of being a zombie on Christmas Day. This happens because we open our presents at the strike of midnight. There is a lot of unwrapping, eating, and playing with toys. I am usually up until 2 am at the earliest.
The lack of sleep makes me the walking dead on Christmas Day. Each year I say I am going to do something different next year. However, I wake up on Christmas morning wanting to eat brains.
2. X-MAS DAY MOVIES
The X-mas presents from Warner Bros and Pixar were the offerings of WW84 and Soul. Wonder Woman has a quirky plot and great action. The antagonist in this movie was The Cheetah. My wife pointed out to me the woman empowerment aspect of Wonder Woman took a hit when you have two women, one of them as a cat figure, fighting.
It got me thinking, is it sexist for a male superhero to fight and defeat a female villain? Soul was the winner of Christmas Day. It didn’t have as many sexist attacks on the female agenda.
3. X-MAS DAY BASKETBALL
There was a full slate of NBA games on Christmas. The games were all blowouts. Giannis does not look like the Greek Freak yet. Steph Curry is slowly getting his shot back. The Lakers look like they are ready to repeat. Kawhi got a broken nose.
There is a long season ahead.
4. TRUMP FINALLY SIGNS THE STIMULUS PACKAGE
After sitting on the bill for a week, President Trump signed the stimulus package. He spent days complaining about the bill and acting like he wants the entire country to burn. Some might say he was using strategy. I think he realized he was going to be blamed for millions of Americans losing their unemployment benefits.
5. PLAN FOR HOMELESS IN REDONDO BEACH
My city of Redondo Beach has a proactive plan to battle homelessness. The city has purchased some Pallet homes for those who are homeless to get them off the street. The house is 8×8 and is a temporary step forward before there is a real problem with homelessness.
6. NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE
The NFL playoff picture is looking clearer and clearer with each game played. Tom Brady has lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the playoffs. Cam Newton was not able to do the same for the Patriots. There is a chance there will be a rematch between Brady and Russell Wilson after the Seahawks clinched the NFC West division. Ultimately, it looks like the NFC is going to have to go through Green Bay.
7. RAIDERS FLOP AND DON’T REGRET IT
The Raiders wasted away their 1% chance to make the playoffs when they snatched defeat out of the jaw of victory.
Three weeks ago when they lost to the Chiefs, they scored and left too much time on the clock. They did it again against the Chargers and almost did against the Jets.
I guess they tried to remedy the situation by running as much time off the clock as possible. With their history and defense, it is hard to argue with the call to fall down on the one-yard line. However, scoring a touchdown means the Dolphins have to drive 99 yards to beat you instead of driving 55 to 65 to get in field goal range.
8. STAR TREK’S SCOTTY’S ASHES MAKE IT TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
It was revealed this week that the ashes of the original Scotty from Star Trek have been on the International Space Station since 2008. James Doohan died in 2005. He wished to travel to the ISS. His family made numerous requests that were denied. In 2008, a private citizen brought Doohan’s ashes aboard.
This ashes in space story is only topped by Eugene Shoemaker who consulted with NASA and had his ashes buried on the moon.
9. 15 THINGS SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DO BEFORE BED.
With 2021 around the corner, some may be contemplating some resolutions. This article could be a good place to start. I am leaning towards making a to-do for the next day.
10. GRAYSON ALLEN IS TRIPPING AGAIN
Grayson Allen and his very poor Christian Laettner imitation got him in trouble when he was at Duke. He got in trouble for intentionally tripping opposing players. The problem with that kind of crime is you no longer get the benefit of the doubt on close calls. Trae Young called out Grayson Allen for a close call that was more meaningful because Grayson Allen is involved.
This week, the United States witnessed a day with the most deaths from COVID. Nine months after, this pandemic was in full effect, it feels like we have not learned much. There was always talk that November and December was going to be bad. I am not sure if anyone knew it was going to be this bad. There is good news about vaccines being distributed, but as I am way down the list when it comes to getting the vaccine, I think there is a long way to go.
2. LSU SELF-IMPOSED BOWL BAN
The LSU football program self-imposed a bowl ban this year for improper gifts from boosters last year. This is the right year for a self-imposed bowl ban. The team is 4-5 and are a shell of the team that won the national championship. Any invite they would get for a bowl this year would not measure to the College Football Playoff. Another good reason to go with the bowl ban this year is they look like they may be a contender next year after defeating the #6 Florida Gators.
3. REACTIONS TO WARNER BROS 2021 MOVIE MOVE
Last week, I gave Warner Bros props for releasing their 2021 slate of movies in theaters and streaming on HBOMax simultaneously. As a movie lover who didn’t go to the movies during this pandemic and will not return until late 2021, I was stoked by the announcement. There were a lot of people who were not that excited.
AMC Theaters was definitely not happy about the announcement. Warner Bros mega-director, Christopher Nolan, voiced his displeasure with the announcement.
I feel for the movie industry. I think the government should loan the movie studios and theaters money to get through this. 2019 was the best year for that industry ever. They would be able to pay back whatever loaned in the next two to three years.
4. DISNEY’S MARVEL AND STAR WARS ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 2021 AND BEYOND
Disney’s annual meeting was a reveal for what they plan to release in 2021. It felt like a repeat of the annual meeting for 2020.
The Marvel and Star Wars offerings look very cool. I have been waiting for the Falcon and the Winter Soldier since Avengers Endgame ended.
The Loki series looked pretty interesting as well. I had forgotten about his escape in Endgame.
5. TEXAS ELECTION LAWSUIT
In what has to be the stupidest lawsuit in American Jurisprudence, the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, sued the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia for violation of each state’s election rules. Anybody with a legal brain knew this lawsuit was dead upon arrival.
Then insanity began to sprinkle itself on this mess. 107 members of Congress and the attorney generals for seventeen other states joined the lawsuit. The only logical reason for such insanity is to keep the favor of those people who really truly believe the election was stolen from Trump. This sort of insanity is frightening to me because the urgency of getting Amy Coney-Barrett on the bench was for insane times like these.
I exhaled and my faith in democracy was restored when the SCOTUS dismissed the case.
6. PAUL GEORGE EXTENSION
The Clippers and Paul George agreed to a 5 year, $190 million contract extension. They wanted to make sure that he retired as a Clipper.
This would have made sense if the Clippers were coming off winning their first NBA championship or even making their first trip to the conference finals. I mean that is Anthony Davis money.
Instead they are giving the money to Playoff P who has a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth and not showing up in the postseason.
Clippers gonna Clip!
7. ELECTION PROTESTS ARE GETTING VIOLENT
While I have a hard time explaining the insanity that supported the Texas election lawsuit, the one thing that makes sense is the fear of violence. There have been so many threats of violence in protest of the election.
Dozens of Trump supporters, some armed, went to the home of Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state, and began shouting obscenities.
“People on Twitter have posted photographs of my house,” said Ann Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, who alerted her neighbors and the police about the constant threats. She said another message mentioned her children and said, “I’ve heard you’ll have quite a crowd of patriots showing up at your door.”
In Vermont, officials received a voice message threatening them with “execution by firing squad.”
A Georgia poll worker went into hiding after a viral video falsely claimed he had discarded ballots.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, and his wife have received death threats, including by text message, and caravans have circled their house.
There are sinister forces trying to turn this election with fear and violence.
8. REPARATIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA
Orange County, North Carolina passed a resolution apologizing for the county’s past contribution to the disenfranchisement of black people and a commitment to racial equality. There have been no concrete promises made. However an apology for disenfranchisement is pretty significant.
9. RIP TONY ‘TINY’ LISTER
Tony ‘Tiny’ Lister passed away this week. My first memory of Tiny is as ‘Zeus’ in the Hulk Hogan movie No Holds Barred. The role where he left his mark on the general public is as Deebo in the movie Friday. I loved his small role in The Dark Knight.
10. WAITING FOR SANTA IN REDONDO BEACH
Saturday night my family and I got to see Santa Claus come through the neighborhood. The Redondo Beach Police Officer Association didn’t let COVID stop from spreading some holiday cheer.
As the election began losing steam, the eyes of the nation turned to Georgia. The January 5th run-off election will determine who will lead the Senate and at what pace things are going to change. The presidential election turned on the number of mail-in ballots. There were 970,000 mail-in ballots in the November election. There have been over one million applications for mail-in ballots for the January 5th run-off election.
President Trump used a weekend rally to mention the run-off election while he complained of being robbed of the election.
The whole process feels like a coin toss right now.
2. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday afternoon in a game I would have to call the COVID Bowl. After being rescheduled twice, the Ravens actually voted not to play this game but they were persuaded to go forward with the game by the NFLPA.
The game was exactly what I had expected for a game played at 12:40 pm on Wednesday afternoon….UGLY. There were a lot of missed tackles, turnovers, and dropped passes. With Lamar Jackson out, there was a Robert Griffith III sighting. I forgot he was still in the NFL. He didn’t play well, but he kept his team in the game.
3. RUSSELL WESTBROOK FOR JOHN WALL TRADE
The blockbuster trade of the week in the NBA was Russell Westbrook joining Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards. In exchange for Westbrook, the Houston Rockets get John Wall. This was the only logical trade based on the massive sizes of both of their contracts.
At first glance, the winner looks like a no-brainer for the Wizards. They now have a top five back court and they have a quality supporting cast around those guys. Scott Brooks coached Russ in OKC and knows how to get through to him. They have a solid chance of making the playoffs.
Houston just makes me curious. John Wall is not who I would imagine playing with James Harden. They have pieces but I don’t know how they will fit together. This trade would not have bothered me a year ago when the Rockets had Darryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni pulling strings. D’Antoni has a gift for getting the best out of people offensively.
I feel like another trade is on the way.
4. WARNER BROS 2021 MOVIES WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS AND STREAMING SIMULTANEOUSLY
Warner Media’s announcement for 2021was refreshing after watching Disney push back all their 2020 movies to an unknown void in 2021. Very excited about my HBOMax subscription.
I have not been excited by the way Disney has handled their movies; especially with Marvel and Star Wars.
I read an interesting article about evolutionary questions about the Earth. A lot of it comes down to how you define an organism; or rather, can a system be an organism.
6. PAUL GEORGE THROWS DOC RIVERS UNDER THE BUS
Paul George has a career of putting his foot in his mouth. He decided to throw Doc Rivers under the bus for their collapse and loss of a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets. He has Top 10 talent but has not shown up in the playoffs since the Indiana Pacers lost to Lebron James and the Miami Heat in seven games. Since then, he was part of a Pacers team that lost in the first round, and he was part of the OKC Thunder who were booted out of the first round twice. It took the greatness of Kawahi Leonard to drag a struggling George to the second round of the playoffs.
Instead of being accountable for not being able to show up in the playoffs and throwing three pointers against the side of the backboard, Playoff P went after Doc Rivers. He is the opposite of Playoff Rondo.
7. COVID CONFUSION
I am very confused thinking about COVID at the present time. There have been 1,000,000 new cases this week; even Rudy Guiliani got it. My state, California, has hospitals at 85% capacity. The NFL has been plagued by COVID. Games have been rescheduled and teams have played with no quarterback. However schools are opening, vaccines are being used in the UK and the NBA is coming back.
The uncertainty continues.
8. MICROWAVE ATTACKS ON US EMBASSIES ABROAD
I have seen quite a few articles about these incidents and there were suspicions of some weapon. Now things are becoming more concrete. I feel bad for people serving our country abroad.
9. THE RAIDERS SNATCH VICTORY OUT OF THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
The Raiders were on their way to losing to the 0-11 New York Jets when the unthinkable happened. Henry Ruggs III had fumbled away the game earlier. It was fourth down and impossible. The Jets did what 0-11 teams do and left the Ruggs, the fastest man on the field in man coverage while blitzing everyone. Ruggs was wide open for a touchdown to end the game.
While spending a majority of his time declaring victory and making claims the election was stolen from him, President Trump authorized the transition of power to President-elect Biden. Biden began picking a very interesting Cabinet. Outside of having no answers for COVID, the president has never conceded anything to anyone in his adult life. He likes to say he got the most votes of a sitting president. How could he concede having the most votes against him.
2. WHAT’S THE RUSH WITH FIRING SQUADS
The Justice Department has been moving very quickly to bring the firing squads for federal executions back. President Trump wants to get them instituted to by the time he leaves office. Is this the president trying to keep some kind of twisted campaign promise? Is there a wing of the conservative movement that thinks firing squads are a major issue.
3. LEWIS HAMILTON TO BE KNIGHTED
This spring, when I was really missing sports, I started watching Drive to Survive on Netflix. While he was never on the camera during Season 1, Lewis Hamilton’s presence was everywhere. His season was not dramatic enough because he was winning just about every race.
It was announced that Lewis Hamilton will be knighted.
If there is anyone who reminds me of Tiger Woods, it is this guy.
4. THE TED CRUZ GUARANTEE
Why does this guy believe he has any chance to be president in 2024?
If you have had some curiosity about income disparity or why progressive ideas to level the playing field, this article by James Clear explains a lot. It is a great read!
6. AN ALL BLACK REFEREE CREW WORKS MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
This is far too long in the making.
7. SCOTUS AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP IN NEW YORK
The Supreme Court of the United States has drawn the line that the First Amendment right to worship is more important than keeping people safe in a pandemic. The Court determined that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on the capacity of house of worship to 10-25 people was unconstitutional.
8. ROBLOX LIVE EVENTS
The lack of meeting in person and in large groups has forced most of us to virtual events. We all have our Zoom meetings. I have been an exhibitor at a virtual trade show. Now entertainers are putting on virtual events in Roblox.
Roblox is a video game my seven year old plays where he creates his character and plays in many different worlds. I am disappointed that we both missed out on the Lil Nas X concert.
9. TRUE IDENTITIES OF POP CULTURE ICONS REVEALED
Alex Solis is a master artist who has done some brilliant reveals of the true identities of pop icons. They are super fun and put a smile on my face.
10. KLAY THOMPSON
Last week when I wrote about the craziest week in NBA history, I didn’t mention Klay Thompson was at the center of things. Thompson injured his Achilles tendon on the day of the draft. There was a definite thought, which was later confirmed, Klay was going to be out for the entire 2020-21 basketball season.
I am not sure if it affected the Warriors picking James Wiseman with the Number 2 pick. However, the acquisition of Kelly Oubre, Jr. and Ken Bazemore showed there was a hole in the roster that needed to be addressed. It could also be insinuated by the moves of the other Western Conference teams that it was time to strike while the Warriors were down a star.
Losing Klay is a big deal but there is still a lot of talent on that team. I think that people are sleeping on Steve Kerr as a coach as well.
Two and a half weeks after the election, it appears that Donald Trump and his hopes for a second term as president is OVER. The state of Georgia certified Joe Biden as the winner of the state’s electoral votes; despite Lindsey Graham’s attempts to influence things. President Trump tried to start a coup in the state of Michigan which fell short. Just about all Trump’s frivolous lawsuits have been dismissed due to lack of evidence.
The events that convinced me the presidential election was finally over when people started turning on Ivanka. Ivanka had one job during this administration. She was supposed to be the only influential person in the president’s circle with a conscience. She failed. Now that the ship is sinking, nasty stories about Ivanka have been surfacing.
The events that convinced me the presidential election was finally over when people started turning on Ivanka.
2. TRUMP PETTINESS CONTINUES
Last week, I talked about Trump firing Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper. It was an unnecessary move for a president who was about to lose an election. Trump had probably wanted to do it since June when Esper publicly contradicted the president.
The pettiness continued this week when Trump fired Christopher Krebs who was the head of cybersecurity for the presidential election after he declared the 2020 election was “the most secure election in American history.” Once again, another petty move.
3. NBA TRADES
The highlight of the week has to be the NBA trades made before, during and after the NBA Draft. The Oklahoma City Thunder were at the center of the trades. The week started off with Dennis Schroeder being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Los Angeles Lakers for Danny Green. By everyone’s understanding, this is an upgrade for a team that just won the NBA championship. It felt like the rich getting richer.
Oklahoma City then traded Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns. Paul had a renaissance season with OKC last year. There is an excitement that comes from hoping he has the same kind of season with a Suns team that went undefeated in the NBA Bubble.
The Al Horford experiment in Philadelphia ended after one season when he was traded to Oklahoma City.
All these trades make me curious who are going to be on the roster for Oklahoma City next season.
4. NBA DRAFT
The NBA Draft was fun for the first ten picks. Then there was all the minutiae of what kind of skills people were bringing to the table. Anthony Edwards was the first pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves. I think the pick may have been influenced by the relationship between Timberwolves star D’Angelo Russell and the Ball Family. I am happy for Edwards who had to overcome some serious blows losing family members.
LaMelo was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets which is a good place for him. Personally I appreciated the quiet of having Lonzo in New Orleans. It would be really nice if LaMelo was super quiet and humble.
My highlight of the draft was Obi Toppin going full crybaby after being drafted by the New York Knicks. I am rooting for this dude to be the guy to help turn the franchise around.
5. NBA FREE AGENCY
The beginning of NBA free agency started off with Gordon Hayward leaving Brad Stevens and Boston Celtics to join the Charlotte Hornets. It doesn’t feel like a move that puts him in better contention to win the title, but time will tell.
Rajon Rondo used a brilliant performance in the Finals to get some money from the Atlanta Hawks.
I think the Miami Heat are going to miss Jae Crowder and Marc Gasol going to the Lakers is another example of the rich getting richer.
6. PATRIOTIC EDUCATION
Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, has set aside $3 million for the Patriotic Education Fund. The funding would go to schools that don’t engage in what Reeves calls “revisionist history” that is “poisoning a generation.” He claims its a far-left agenda to make sure students learn about all the complete history of our country instead of just the achievements. It’s ironic the governor of the state that hosted the most public lynchings would not like to talk about them and would rather focus on a man on the moon.
It’s ironic the governor of the state that hosted the most public lynchings would not like to talk about them and would rather focus on a man on the moon
7. PITTSBURGH STEELERS ARE 10-0
The 1972 Miami Dolphins have not cracked their annual bottle of champagne when the final undefeated team loses their first game. The Pittsburgh Steelers at 10-0 are the current challenger to the perfect season. Pittsburgh’s defense is straight nasty. T.J. Watt is now the best Watt brother in the NFL. Big Ben looks like having a year off has made him a better quarterback. It doesn’t hurt to have JuJu Smith Schuster and Chase Claypool to throw the ball to. They seem to be the most complete team in the NFL.
8. USC IS 3-0
USC is 3-0 after dominating the Utah Utes. This game has determined the PAC-12 South champion the last couple of years; so USC is in the driver’s seat. Utah’s lack of a quarterback and the USC pressure led to too many turnovers.
The USC receiving corps is so talented. They have five guys who could be “the guy”; it really depends on what game it is.
9 THE BEATS “YOU LOVE ME” COMMERCIAL
No words necessary.
10. WONDER WOMAN 1984
After being frustrated by Disney/Marvel’s continual delay of the next wave of the MCU, DC has announced that Wonder Woman will be released on HBOMax at the same time it is released in theaters. I understand that these movies are a business and money-makers but we all need a good superhero movie after all the crazy stuff we have been through in 2020.
The week started off with President Trump firing Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Esper had disagreed publicly with Trump about sending troops to control protests in American cities back in June. Maybe he refused to send troops to enforce Trump’s imaginary win.
2. DOJ VOTER FRAUD OFFICIAL RESIGNS
The Justice Department’s election crimes chief resigned this week when Attorney General, Bill Barr, changed the department’s policy allowing US attorneys to probe alleged election fraud prior to the results being certified. John Pilger, who was awarded the DOJ’s John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism, could not be involved in the baseless challenges to the election results.
This seems like another attempt by Bill Barr to take Rudy Guiliani’s place as President Trump’s personal attorney.
3. FIGHTING POLL TAXES
In the state of Florida, a convicted felon cannot vote once he has served his time in prison until they pay whatever fines they owe the state. Earlier the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that this rule was constitutional.
With the help of Michael Jordan, Lebron James and Michael Bloomberg, 13,000 for the 40,000 felons unable to vote in Florida had their fees paid. That was a great investment and it is good to see these guys step-up to make a difference in the election.
4. N.L. MVP
Freddie Freeman was named the National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday. Mookie Betts was second in voting. Freeman was deserving of the award. However playoffs have a way of making everyone question the results. When Charles Barkley or Karl Malone won the MVP, they faced Michael Jordan and the Bulls; where Jordan always looked like the MVP. Lebron James had done the same thing to Stephen Curry. Curry and the Warriors got to do the same thing to James Harden.
This happened again in the National League Championship Series where Freeman played well, but Betts did the things and made the plays that won the series for the Dodgers. In the words of Kevin Durant “you the real MVP”.
5. CORI BUSH AND BREONNA TAYLOR
Cori Bush, from Ferguson, Missouri and BLM activist, was elected to Congress last week. She showed up to her first day at work wearing a mask with Breonna Taylor’s name on it. Many of her Republican colleagues believed her name was Breonna Taylor. This may be an innocent mistake with some other name, but a public official does not know who Breonna Taylor is.
6. ISAIAH THOMAS AND THE GOAT
Isaiah Thomas has always been a hater of Michael Jordan. He has taken his hateration to a new level. He claimed that Jordan was the fifth toughest player he ever faced. His list was
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Julius Erving
Michael Jordan
All those guys were great competitors but it seems like Isaiah went out of his way to make sure Jordan was not #1 on the list. The funny thing about the list is Thomas never had to guard these guys. His qualification of “tough” may be different than what I think of tough.
7. THE WEEKEND FOR THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW
The Weekend has been tapped to perform during halftime of the Super Bowl. I like his music but I am not sure he is ready for that kind of show. One of my favorite halftime shows was Bruno Mars. I wouldn’t even mind if he performed the same show. The thing about men performing is we don’t gawk about their appearance.
8. RICHARD MARX IS PROTESTING THE ELECTION
With all the drama surrounding the presidential election, I decided to put some comic relief up. Richard Marx was totally robbed by Michael Bolton.
9. USC v. UofA
USC pulled out another late game victory again. They were not impressive until the last seven minutes of the game. Most fans are frustrated …I am just glad they keep winning.
On Thursday, the FBI charged six men with conspiracy to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer’s strong response to COVID caught the ire of the conservative militias. I read an article about this militia movement and it made me consider the possibility of a civil war for the first time. These militias believe that such a war is inevitable and I am feeling like I am behind.
2. COVID HITS THE NFL
This past week, the NFL announced sixteen players who had tested positive for COVID. The biggest names were Cam Newton and Stephen Gilmore of the New England Patriots. Games have been postponed and rescheduled. I am a fan of Tuesday night football and I think it is good there have been no fatalities from the illness.
The positive tests seemed almost inevitable when you considered the NFL was not going to play in a bubble like the NBA and the MLB playoffs.
The NFL is a $3 billion industry so it will take multiple deaths to put an end to the season. Especially when they can postpone.
3. VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
When I think of the VP debate on Wednesday, I think I want to answer questions by answering something totally different. I wonder if you can do that in real life. All you have to do is say “that’s a great question” and then you can talk about whatever you want to talk about.
That would have been ok if Vice President Pence didn’t make a scene by constantly speaking over his time limit.
I didn’t think either person won the debate. It was not an event that was going to change peoples’ minds.
4. BIZARRE TRIBE
As a fan of A Tribe Called Quest and the Pharcyde, I had to put this song as one of the best things I heard this week. It is a mash-up of two of my favorite songs of all time.
5. LAKERS WIN THEIR 18TH CHAMPIONSHIP
Afters years of frustration and futility, the Lakers are back on top. Lebron James and Anthony Davis brought the star power. Rajon Rondo, KCP and Adam Caruso came up with the timely plays to seal the deal. This series was a war until Game 6. Hats off to the Heat for a valiant effort. They are going to be battling for titles for the next couple of years.
The Lakers got back on top the Laker way, they brought in the best free agent who can lift the team to the top. They tried it with the draft and player development but that is not the Laker way. It was good to have all that young talent to trade away for Anthony Davis.
6. DODGERS IN THE NLCS…AGAIN
I am excited for the Dodgers as they are back in the National League Championship Series. The Padres tried to give them a battle, but it was a dominant win. The hitting and the starting pitching are top line. The fact they don’t have a lights out closer is a little scary. They are the best team on paper and I worry the pressure is on them to win it all.
7. THE BEST THING I READ THIS WEEK
Violets, by Bud Smith, is a great story about the ups and downs of marriage and the spark that changes everything.
8. COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS
It is hard for me to take the college football ranking seriously when half the teams haven’t played yet or are not playing at all. It is hard for me to believe Cincinnati is ranked eleventh in the country.
9. COVID SURGE
The rate of COVID cases has surged back up to almost 50,000 new cases a day. Explain it any way you want.
10. RAFAEL NADAL
Congrats to Rafael Nadal who won his 10th Grand Slam Title by winning the French Open. Nadal is truly a legend. He is also not the cookie-cutter tennis player. He was a rival of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. While there are no great American players, this is a great era of tennis.
If Donald Trump has ever had a worse week than this week, I cannot imagine what would make it worse. The week started off with the New York Time releasing Trump’s mysterious tax returns that could not be released because they were being “audited” by the IRS.
The detail of the tax returns that stuck with everyone is that Trump paid $750 in federal taxes in 2016. My family and I are doing well and we still don’t make as much income as the president did in 2016. However we paid almost ten times as much in taxes.
There are those who say that the tax law is the true problem. The problem by applying that to the president is that he got himself over-leveraged by applying for loans and telling banks he had several high-value assets as collateral. Then he filed tax returns that he claimed losses of more than $150 million. One of those statements cannot be true and makes the president guilty of committing a crime.
2. KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RELEASE THE GRAND JURY RECORDINGS IN THE BREONNA TAYLOR CASE.
After one of the jurors of the grand jury in the Breonna Taylor complained about the proceedings resulting in no charges against the police officers who shot Ms Taylor, Daniel Cameron, the attorney general of Kentucky, said he would release the recordings from the grand jury.
One of the jurors disclosed Cameron never put the question of wrongful death charge to the jurors. Wasn’t that the most important question to take to the grand jury.
3. THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
President Trump’s worst week continued when he came out too strong at the debate on Tuesday. It was hard to call Tuesday’s event a debate. There was no debating. If there were two black candidates, I would have called it the dozens. I couldn’t understand Biden’s policies because Trump was constantly interrupting him. I couldn’t understand Trump’s policies because he spent the whole event insulting Joe Biden.
4. TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID
It looks like Trumps wear a mask “when appropriate” came back to bite him. It bit his wife in the butt. There are also nine other people who have tested positive connected to the president’s diagnosis.
Things have come full circle for the president who called the virus a hoax and then said it would miraculously disappear.
5. FOX GUTS ITS FACT CHECKING DEPARTMENT
COVID has even affected Fox News who laid off some 70 people. 30 of those people came from the fact-checking department. I didn’t even know they had a fact checking department.
6. MLB PLAYOFFS
The MLB Playoffs have moved to the Divisional Series round. This round is feeling very personal. Everyone seems to be playing their division rival. For the Astros, the remainder of the playoffs will be personal if they play the Yankees and the Dodgers.
7. WEIRD OREO FLAVORS
On the somewhat weird front, I read an article ranking strange Oreo flavors. I think watermelon made me puke in my mouth just thinking about it.
8. LAKERS ARE UP 2-1 IN THE NBA FINALS
The Lakers are on in front of the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Miami lost two of its best players to injury in Game 1. This should allow the Lakers to march to an 18th NBA championship. The question is whether they are tough enough to put Miami away. Jimmy Butler will make sure they do not go quietly.
9. THE BEST THING I READ THIS WEEK
This week, the best thing I read was an article about how social bots and humans spread fake news like wild fire. This is because of the novelty hypothesis.
This week, the United States witnessed a day with the most deaths from COVID. Nine months after, this pandemic was in full effect, it feels like we have not learned much. There was always talk that November and December was going to be bad. I am not sure if anyone knew it was going to be this bad. There is good news about vaccines being distributed, but as I am way down the list when it comes to getting the vaccine, I think there is a long way to go.
Disney’s annual meeting was a reveal for what they plan to release in 2021. It felt like a repeat of the annual meeting for 2020. 
In what has to be the stupidest lawsuit in American Jurisprudence, the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, sued the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia for violation of each state’s election rules. Anybody with a legal brain knew this lawsuit was dead upon arrival. 
Tony ‘Tiny’ Lister passed away this week. My first memory of Tiny is as ‘Zeus’ in the Hulk Hogan movie No Holds Barred. The role where he left his mark on the general public is as Deebo in the movie Friday. I loved his small role in The Dark Knight. 
USC pulled out another late game victory again. They were not impressive until the last seven minutes of the game. Most fans are frustrated …I am just glad they keep winning.
10 Thoughts with Craig D. Aron 