You cannot negotiate with a hostage taker. Zohran Mamdani is that proverbial hostage taker here. This man supported uncommitted over Kamala Harris in last year’s Presidential campaign. He literally said Governor Hochul “justified genocide” for asserting that nations are allowed to respond to being attacked with force. He’s done nothing in Albany as a legislator. He basically beat an extremely flawed candidate in a June primary for local office, and now is demanding that Democrats support him because he has the nomination. A smart Democratic Party would tell him “no thanks.”
Kathy Hochul is not that smart Democratic Party I’m talking about though, apparently.
Ms. Hochul said in her essay that she had been talking to Mr. Mamdani for months and that they had some disagreements.
“But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family,” she wrote. “I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.”
Mr. Mamdani thanked Ms. Hochul for her support and said she had “made affordability the centerpiece of her work.”
“There’s so much work left to do, and our movement is only growing stronger,” he said.
Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani are both focused on addressing the affordability crisis in the state and the city and could each benefit from their new alliance. Ms. Hochul is up for re-election next year, and she is facing a primary challenge from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.
If Mr. Mamdani is elected, he could help protect her left flank, but also prove a liability in the general election, where she could face Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican and a strong supporter of President Trump.
See, here’s the thing about this- Hochul is going to basically gain nothing. Even if Mamdani is elected with a majority, his endorsing Hochul won’t appease the kind of people who think she is a “genocider” in the Democratic Primary for Governor. Then in the general election, his positions on “defunding the police” and “free stuff” will be painted on her. Mandani will be a major liability on Long Island, in Outer Borough Queens, and in the Hudson Valley. She already will struggle upstate.
Both of these two will probably win, because it’s New York. In Hochul, Democrats will have a major state Governor who underperforms in her state though, and she will continue to be used against other Democrats (as she was in 2022). Would Hochul benefit from endorsing Cuomo, Adams, or Sliwa? No, all of them are flawed enough that it’s not worth the headache. Endorsing Mamdani isn’t any better though. Hochul, and really any major Democrat, should simply stay out of this race. New York City is unique, and their mayoral race is unique. It tells us nothing about nothing. Kathy Hochul created problems she didn’t need here.
Tom Brady was everything Peyton Manning was supposed to be. From the moment Manning arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee, the football world was grooming him for the throne. Manning had a problem though. New England had a coach/QB combo that played football right. They controlled the line of scrimmage, didn’t turn the ball over, made clutch plays, and played defense. Brady’s early career stats weren’t in Manning’s stratosphere, yet the part time starter at Michigan kept winning. He ended the St. Louis Rams run of greatness. He beat Andy Reid’s Eagles. Most importantly he beat Peyton Manning. He beat him over and over. And the media, and many fans, hated it. It was boring.
The NFL literally changed the rules about how much a defense could rough up receivers then. Manning got his Super Bowl. He’d get one more “excuse me” title later. Brady figured out the changes and simply became the greatest ever.
Patrick Mahomes doesn’t quite fit either archetype. People thought he had talent coming out of college. Then he far exceeded it. Almost immediately upon showing his abilities though, members of the NFL noise machine decided they wanted to declare him “possibly the greatest ever.” He put up big time stats. He won. The only stubborn detail in their way? A loss to Brady himself in an AFC Championship game, at home, and a blowout loss to Brady in the Super Bowl. Plenty of reporters tried to glaze over all of that though. Mahomes “wowed” them.
Until the Eagles came around.
Let’s be honest, the Eagles basically have beat the breaks off of Mahomes and his Chiefs. Sunday’s loss at home was a two score beating without a totally fictional roughing the passer to help him score late and make it look good. It was the second time in three years the Birds had to go to Arrowhead Stadium, and it was the second time in three years they won kind of clearly. Those two wins sandwich around one of the worst beatings in recent Super Bowls, last season, in which the Birds simply bullied Patrick, Travis, and Andy. Future Hall-of-Famer Chris Jones was left mentally broken, arguing with Jalen Hurts about stats on Sunday- as Hurts kneeled out another victory.
Let’s just be honest, the Chiefs “dynasty” was always a momentary blip on the radar, a mistake, a fraud. Their Super Bowl 57 victory over the Eagles aided by a field that strangely was wet and slippery, hindering the Eagles pass rush, and a defensive holding flag at the end of the game that (while it was a hold) had been allowed all game. Of the four games between these Eagles and these Chiefs, it is the clear outlier, the only game in which Mahomes looked almost as good as Hurts. The whole thing was set up for Mahomes to get his walk off victory, and second ring. Let’s be honest, the NFL wanted to have Super Bowl 59 go the same way. Mahomes get his threepeat, Andy Reid enter the GOAT conversation, and Travis and Taylor gracing our television set on their way to becoming engaged. The Chiefs just weren’t good enough though. The truth is, without questionable officiating and Kyle Shanahan being terrified of the Super Bowl, this team would be lucky to have one. The Chiefs are a very good team that the media and the NFL created a narrative of greatness around. The Eagles have figured it out and are beating the breaks off of it.
… And the media hates it.
Jalen Hurts doesn’t throw for big yardage. In fact, he didn’t have 100 yards passing in a win over the Chiefs last week. His rushing numbers are good, but they aren’t the kind of free wheeling, scrambling yards we used to get from say, Michael Vick. The man simply limits turnovers to nearly zero. His team runs the ball at will. They eat up clock in ways no other team can. His team plays hellacious defense (especially when Jalen Carter doesn’t get ejected) and harasses quarterbacks. It is reminiscent of the early Brady/Belichick Patriots- they play football right. They win the line. They win the turnover battle. They win the time of possession battle. As someone who hated Chip Kelly from the day we hired him, it warms my heart to see a coach win who eschews all of the modern “innovator” nonsense and wins football games the old school, real man way. Even better that these guys are my team.
So yeah, the “tush push.” Let’s be clear, the play itself is legal- if you’re crying about false starts, that’s always been a penalty on every play, so call it then (but what many of you think is lining up offsides or a false start, simply is not.). This play has been legal for a while, not just since 2022. This play is a quarterback sneak, with a push from behind. It’s a play to get one yard. Those complaining about player safety are silly- the Eagles linemen run this play all the time and are remarkably healthy. Tom Brady whining about the Eagles starting at “first and nine” is rich, as every good offensive line plays a much shorter game (especially his Patriots). The truth is, the “tush push” is beautiful football. It is a bigger, stronger offense, particularly the line, imposing it’s will on the defense. The “tush push” is what football actually is supposed to be, not your favorite fantasy football QB. Good football is played by teams that win on the line of scrimmage. Real football fans should love this play. What we are seeing is how far our discourse has been run down by fantasy football and gambling. Many of you are claiming you’d rather not see a football team play the proper way. Let’s be honest though, 100% of the complaining about the “tush push,” right down to Adam Schefter crying that the Chiefs “lost in March” is really about the Eagles winning football games. Some people hate the Eagles. The national press and many fans hate football that isn’t predicated off of a vertical passing game. Honestly, if all of these weak, impotent fan bases don’t want to see the “tush push,” the solution is simple- don’t get in 3-and-1 or 4-and-1 situations. Notice, nobody else can run this play nearly as well as the Eagles. They built their teams wrong.
The Eagles won two Super Bowls in the last eight years, and played in three. They’ve been in two.of the last three. They won last year. I’m still not ready to call this particular group a dynasty (the dynasty is Howie Roseman), but I would probably predict more titles coming. You just can’t project that though, health is a huge factor in it, and eventually some actually good coach and GM will come along and develop a plan that beats them. Right now though, the Eagles have the best formula in football to do what football is all about- win. Jalen Hurts is playing the quarterback position perfectly. This team is built to win. People hate it. They are crying so much they’re actually crying for the Mahomes Chiefs, the team they all complained was being helped by the NFL Officials for the last two years. Listen to yourselves. It’s pathetic. Grow up. Man up. Your team is being pushed around because they’re weak. This Eagles team plays football the right way.
I can’t believe I’m typing this, but in 2016 I was a John Fetterman supporter in the U.S. Senate Primary, initially. He seemed like something different. By 2018 I thought he was an awful idea for Lt. Governor. Then along came the 2022 Senate Primary, and I warned y’all. John Fetterman, like many out of the Bernie-inspired, grifter pool, was a fraud. He wasn’t the progressive champion he told y’all he was. He wasn’t a moderate from Western Pennsylvania. He is literally a trust fund baby, racist, “pick me” kid that wants us all to notice him. He believes in nothing, other than his own greatness.
To be clear, I don’t hate that he’s been more moderate than he ran on. In fact, I like it. What I hate is that he’s an inauthentic liar. He ran as a Bernie progressive, but now he’s willing to cut the health insurance of millions. John Fetterman says (above) that he won’t shut down the government over subsidies for ACA users. This of course means that millions will drop their insurance (not me, I pay full price on purpose), thereby raising the rates of those who do pay. Fetterman might not have any clue about that at this point, but somebody around him does. Of course, they’re trying to create the new Fetterman so they can keep grifting too. Don’t hate the players, hate the game.
Why the hell does any Democrat care about keeping the government open at this point? They are offering you absolutely nothing for your help, the government is doing certifiably shitty things to their own people, and you’re worried about keeping it open? Shut that shit down. Especially if they are going to make health care worse for people. You are under no obligation to help them. Especially if you’re an “every man” like John Fetterman. This isn’t an ideological fight at this point. These people suck, let them eat their shitty actions. You just tell the press, “I don’t agree with the bill. Most of it is bad.” Then you vote no. Don’t argue every point. They’re not offering you a serious proposal. So let them pound sand.
Not John Fetterman though. 2028 can’t come fast enough. That guy can go straight to hell, just like he’s trying to send his constituents to.
Well, the weekend was a mixed bag for my bets, both Saturday and Sunday. Here’s what I’ve got today.
–Marlins money line over the Rockies. This is a safety bet. -140 on Fanduel.It’s -110 on MGM.
-Iowa -2.5 over Rutgers, Michigan -2.5 over Nebraska, Oklahoma -6.5 over Auburn, and Notre Dame -25.5 over Purdue. Let’s just roll the dice here. It’s +1217 on Fanduel. I think they’re all coverable.
–Oklahoma money line over Auburn. I really like the Sooners here. The payout sucks though, it’s -275 on FanDuel.
–Clemson -16.5 over Syracuse. I don’t think the Orange are very good. I think Clemson needs a big win. Again, bad payout though, -120 on FanDuel.
–Pitcher strikeouts- Webb 4+, Yamamoto 6+, Greene 6+, Fried 5+. I’m slightly nervous about Fried, but going 4 tanked the bet. This +130 on FanDuel.
–Bills -11.5 over the Dolphins. The only question left is if McDaniel has a job tomorrow. This is -105 on MGM. Josh Allen is going to play for the kill tonight and I’m not sure the Dolphins fight back.
Well, Jimmy Kimmel is finished. Nexstar Media, who owns his show, announced they are pulling him off of ABC after he made comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The comments?
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Aside from the fact that the murderer came from a right-wing family and was a non-voter, maybe he was wrong about something? I’m still figuring it out. Troll under the bridge that got picked on too much as a kid FCC Chairman Brendan Carr decided to roll out the censorship brigade for this one.
“It’s time for them to step and say this garbage…isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities,” he said.
Carr’s threat should have been toothless. The FCC is prohibited by lawfrom employing “the power of censorship” or interfering “with the right of free speech.” There is a very narrow and rarely used exception for “news distortion,” in which a broadcast news outlet knowingly airs false reports. What Kimmel did — an offhand comment based on weak evidence — is extremely different from creating a news report with the intent to deceive.
Let’s be honest, these special snowflakes and their fee-fee’s hurt by Jimmy picking on them. Where is “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk now? These folks are using the powers of the government to silence liberal comedy. Kimmel is just the latest. Before him? Stephen Colbert. From Google AI:
CBS canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” citing financial reasons, shortly after Colbert accused the network’s parent company, Paramount, of paying a “big fat bribe” to Donald Trump for regulatory approval of a major merger. While CBS insists the decision was purely financial, the timing led to accusations that Trump or his administration pressured CBS to silence Colbert, a prominent critic. Colbert has since fired back at Trump, calling the accusations of a bribe “baffling” and suggesting Trump celebrated the show’s cancelation.
Let’s be honest, Jimmy Fallon and others are probably gone by the end of the year, regardless of what they say. This is a coordinated attempt by Trump to effectively end all comedic criticism of him. Howard Stern will be leaving satellite radio at the end of his contract, Colbert is gone, and now Kimmel. All the conservative soy boys that whined during the Biden years about “cancel culture,” censorship, and silencing comedy are awfully quiet right now. The troll at the FCC is using his power to bully the networks, and the networks are complying. As someone who likes comedy, almost entirely regardless of who it makes fun of and what words it sometimes uses, it’s very disappointing.
There is a bit darker way to look at this though- it’s not just Trump and Carr being a couple of wimpy beta cucks, it’s the entire conservative movement. They simply did “cancel culture” more effectively than the “empathetic Democrats.” They recognized that Colbert and Kimmel not only were making fun of their guy, but largely them as well, and they stopped watching. If Colbert and Kimmel’s ratings were continuously going up and generating more profits, the networks would probably be fighting like hell to keep them on the air. They’re not. These guys have huge contracts and very large operating budgets for their shows. If they were producing the kind of wealth the networks wanted to match that, there would be a fight going on right now. Instead, the networks are somewhat viewing the current Trump-censorship climate as a chance to get out of showing shows they already weren’t sure they loved anymore.
A few years back, the theory was that changing demographics were going to move our society towards a more progressive/liberal future. It turns out that was utter bullshit. Conservative Americans are canceling what they want by not watching their critics. MSNBC and CNN are struggling to keep it up. Liberal comics are being canceled. Most of the NFL is holding moments of silence for Charlie Kirk, a podcaster who never held any public office in our country. Trump dominated the influencer game, getting most of the good ones to support him in 2024. The entertainment and news industry in America have surveyed the world over the last decade and came to the conclusion that their conservative consumers are the future, not the liberals. It is a dark reality to realize, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
This is certainly not a call to acquiesce. I will tell you right here, Donald Trump is a fat, stupid soy boy whose wife certainly prefers the pool boy to his foul stench. Come see me, Brendan Carr. With all of that said, liberals need to consider that they are losing. Given the choice, the entertainment industry is choosing to appease their conservative viewers, because that’s where they see the future going. That’s alarming.
The Northampton County Republican Party and other conservative organizations plan to protest at the courthouse tonight. They are mad at County Councilwoman Kelly Keegan for highly insensitive remarks about Charlie Kirk, namely that he is a monster and that his wife and children are better off with him gone. They want things to stay peaceful at their rally, and I hope they do. One of the first political acts I took was going to a council meeting in protest of former Councilman Ron Angle making insensitive remarks about Black people and Jewish people on the radio. I can’t knock them for doing this.
I’ve always liked Kelly personally, but her statements serve absolutely no purpose. I’ve heard some people defend it with, “but I was right, he believed vile things,” and my response to that is so what? The only people excited by what you say, or agreeing with you, were people who already agree with you. You’re not informing anyone. You’re preaching to the faithful. You have a legal right to do so, but what does that do for anyone? The guy is dead either way, arguing about him is a bad look.
So now I’m sure people at this rally are going to call for her head on a stick. The truth is, absolutely nothing can or should be done now, unless Kelly wants to step back, and I doubt she will. The rest of the council has zero power to remove her. She’s not going to be impeached by the State House, that would be ridiculous. My guess is that the Easton School District cannot fire her from her job legally, so other than trying to make her miserable, they’re powerless. As a citizen, Keegan enjoys an absolute First Amendment protection to make statements like she did without legal repercussions. I’m glad she does too, I believe we are all free from government punishment for saying who we are. I believe Kelly will face zero repercussions for what she said, and I think she should face zero repercussions for what she said. Period. The next time angry citizens can do anything about her is the 2027 election, when her term ends. Let’s see if any of these angry keyboard warriors still care by then. I’m certainly not saying they should go away and give up. I’m saying they will.
Of course I have to take a shot at the Northampton County GOP though to end this, even though I’m totally cool with them rallying- the chairman and his rutabaga he nominated for Executive still are trying to run a campaign against the outgoing Executive, even when they protest someone else. What actions did the Executive take in regards to Keegan? There is no legal action for him. I realize they nominated a turnip who can’t put a sentence together, so maybe he not only doesn’t believe in free speech, but any speech. But really though, did they just throw in “Lamont McClure” out of instinct? The guy has nothing to do with this, but these weirdos just can’t let go the obsession. Also, this is the party that nominated Steve Lynch for Executive, are they really mad about social media ranting?
The first time I got all three of them to sit for a picture together, sometime in early 2015.
It was about a week ago, I was getting in my car. For the first time in 23.5 years, the sound of paws had gone silent. There would be no dog at home waiting for me to arrive. I had said my goodbyes and waited a few minutes after his heart had stopped, but the last of my three pugs, Nugget, had left this world. I had processed what was happening. I had not fully processed it though.
The first time Nugget and I went for a walk again after I lost my leg.
I’ve had a good number of pets in my life. When I was born, we had two cats. Mother Kit was the princess of the house, she had been with my parents since early in their relationship. Her little brother, Dude, used to lay with me in bed, he was my protector. When she passed, he wasn’t far behind. My grandmother took me for a new cat, Milo. Milo was young and wild. Unfortunately Milo wasn’t very happy and left us after a few years. From there was a break with pets during my teenage years. Then on Good Friday of 2002, Lizzie came home. She was our first, original pug. In every way, she trained us in having a dog. She was super smart, and figured out how to communicate with people who were beginner dog people. A few years later, in 2007, I came home from Iowa and met Sweetpea. She was wild. She was fast. She was fiercely independent and wanted what she wanted. Everything was a game for her, and she knew exactly how to play human psychology. Just before Christmas in 2014, my father went out to “get the family gift,” and brought home Nugget. Nugget’s previous owners (I still have no idea who they were) were going to take him back to the pound. Somebody who knew my Dad made the connection. Nugget had a new home. He was wild. He jumped from couch to couch. He ran all over the house, especially when the mailman came to the house. He begged for food like Lizzie did. He even chewed up some of my mother’s furniture. Nugget and his family had some getting used to each other to do. But we did.
Whatever this was.
The tough part about all pets is the reality of time. If they live 15 years, they had a great life. We are supposed to live five times that, at least. About a year and a half after Nugget came home, we said goodbye to Lizzie. He and Sweetpea hadn’t been super close at first, he kind of annoyed her. Suddenly, they were always together. If anything, they were the closest pair in the family, even if they both had their own spaces to occupy. For over six years they patrolled the house together. He calmed as he aged, and he was eventually diagnosed as diabetic. Shortly after that, he lost his eye sight. I remember being almost shocked when I realized she was helping him learn his way around the house and watching over him. I also remember in her final days, I was upstairs and she had a seizure, and blind Nugget came upstairs to tell me to come down. They really did take incredible care of each other. Better than people do.
Baby Nugget.
If you take the right care, you can outperform any expectation, but you eventually can’t outrun fate. When Nugget was diagnosed with diabetes, the prognosis was one to two years to live. He lived about three and a half. It was about three years where he was the lone dog in the house. He had an incredible sense of where everything was, particularly for a blind dog, and he had an amazing sense of routine. He knew what time it was, without a clock. He developed a trust in us, that things would be as they were supposed to be, and they were. I’d like to think that even his senior years were pretty nice. Eventually they had to end, and with his health issues they were going to get more difficult. He was a happy animal though in his life.
Senior Nugget
Over Nugget’s last year, he and I were both facing some health issues. Our daily greeting the first time we saw each other became a ritual. He figured out navigating a room with walkers and wheelchairs. I figured out navigating a room with Nugget. We both learned a lot. He stuck with me though, and much faster than expected we were back out on our daily walks. They were slower and shorter than a decade ago, but we didn’t care that much. Or at least I didn’t.
Christmas.
You can’t find better loyalty than a pet, particularly a dog, anywhere in humanity- it’s literally something that has developed in their DNA over millennia. As I said above, the hard part is knowing that eventually you’ll be parting ways, and moving on with life. Their whole story is their time with you, in your home, for a blip in history. Amazingly, while our time extends beyond their’s, I do think they have a larger impact on the story of us than their years suggest. They teach us, shape us, much more than we initially understand. It’s been about a week on the dot now, and my entire routine is fucked up now. The lack of consideration for what my dog needs feels weird, almost stupid. Like, what’s the point? Certainly some people get this from children and elders they care for, but it’s important to understand that those are humans and eventually will develop a level of separation and independence of you that dogs do not. When wolves and human first began this bond, this dependent relationship, millennia ago, it was a bond of convenience. Dogs were extremely helpful for hunting, people had fire. Now we all literally live inside houses together. Dogs are proof that family is a chosen bond built, not a hereditary title. This way just means so much more.
Nugget rolling around in freshly cut grass. His favorite thing to do, sometimes.
So, it’s been a week. The house is quiet. There are no paws tapping the hardwood floor, no snores from a snoozing pup, no one with me in the kitchen to beg. It’s probably a larger change after 23 years than someone dying. Nugget was a fun boy, he enjoyed his life. I’ll miss petting his head each day. I think he did know it, but he got me through a lot of dark days.
Enjoy some more Nugget shots.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASweetpea and Nugget with my uncle’s dog, Wiley.
On Sunday night, long after their game with the Royals had ended in disappointment, the Phillies clinched a spot in the postseason thanks to other teams losing. This marked the fourth straight season the Phillies had reached Red October, a streak that probably makes the the third best era in Phillies baseball history. The 1976-83 Phillies Group secured five division titles, two National League pennants, and the 1980 World Series. The 2007-2011 Phillies won five consecutive division titles, two National League pennants, and the 2008 World Series. This group now has four consecutive playoff appearances, two National League East titles, and an NL Pennant. Clearly, there’s just one thing left for them to do. They’ll get their chance…
Of course, they still had to win that second division title, and in the early hours of Tuesday on the East Coast they did that by beating the Dodgers 6-5 in extra innings. This feels a lot different than last year. On the one hand, last year was their first division title as a group, and felt like something they needed to do. This year felt like a simple statement. On the other hand, last year they limped into it. This year they roared.
This team faced a lot of challenges. Obviously the loss of Wheeler hurts. Aaron Nola, their longtime #2 starter, missed most of this season. Their game three starter for a couple of these playoff runs, Ranger Suarez, started a month late. Their two offseason bullpen signings both tanked, and their opening day closer got suspended half a season for PED’s. Their franchise player missed significant time in season. Their starting shortstop and third baseman are hurt now. Their left fielder most of the year struggled, their right fielder most of the season went cold in the second half, and it took them months to figure out center field. This was not a bloodless pathway back to October. This team took a lot of shots.
Yet, here we are, 90 wins, a repeat as division champs, a fourth straight trip to the playoffs, and a really good shot at a bye or home field. And, it didn’t even feel like they were amazing doing it. Again, sports are about winning, not being pretty. The Phillies showed that to the world, again. Say whatever you want about Rob Thomson, he’s getting the job done. Now he has a few more steps to take.
Apocalypse Vibes 