Author: Rich Wilkins

Charlie Kirk, Kelly Keegan, the Northampton County GOP, and Free Speech

/ Rich Wilkins / 1 Comment

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?

Everyone who goes, have fun at the circus.

Goodbye Nugget, The Last of His Pack

/ Rich Wilkins / Leave a comment
My first picture of my three dogs sitting together, in 2015, at the landing of my steps.
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.
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.

Nugget decided to get tangled in the Christmas lights.
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 stands in front of the fire place with his toys.
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.

Nugget in his older age, sitting in the sunset.
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.

The three family dogs surrounding my mother as she opens a Christmas gift.
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.
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.

Nugget begging in the living room with me, at Christmas time.
Nugget wearing his New Year's hat as his sister looks on.
Nugget chewing on his bone, laying across Lizzie's back, while Sweetpea looks disgusted.
Nugget and Sweetpea on a winter walk.
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Sweetpea and Nugget with my uncle's dog, Wiley.
Sweetpea and Nugget with my uncle’s dog, Wiley.
Nugget sitting on my bed, posing.
Nugget in his favorite room, the living room.

Steps 1 & 2 Down- Red October Secured, the NL East Defended

/ Rich Wilkins / Leave a comment
Screenshot

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.

NFL Power Rankings, 9/16

/ Rich Wilkins / 17 Comments

Two weeks are in the books. In week one, it is probably too early to rank them. I did it anyway. Even though teams had a win or a loss, so much of the rankings was still based on the last time we had seen them, or last year. This week made sure to let us know that some teams that we thought sucked really do. Teams that looked reasonably decent in week one, like the Cowboys and Jets, showed us against a second team that most of what we saw was fake. Other teams that we thought were good, well they’re good. No shock. So this week, all teams now fit into one of three buckets: 2-0, 1-1, and 0-2. There’s still some biases from last year reflected, but you can’t be considered elite at 0-2. Also, you have teams like Dallas that won, but still suffer for how they won.

Here we go…

  1. Philadelphia Eagles
  2. Buffalo Bills
  3. Los Angeles Rams
  4. Los Angeles Chargers
  5. Green Bay Packers
  6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  7. Cincinnati Bengals
  8. Indianapolis Colts
  9. San Francisco 49’ers
  10. Arizona Cardinals
  11. Baltimore Ravens
  12. Detroit Lions
  13. Washington Commanders
  14. Seattle Seahawks
  15. Atlanta Falcons
  16. Denver Broncos
  17. Jacksonville Jaguars
  18. Minnesota Vikings
  19. Pittsburgh Steelers
  20. Las Vegas Raiders
  21. Dallas Cowboys
  22. New England Patriots
  23. Kansas City Chiefs
  24. Houston Texans
  25. Tennessee Titans
  26. New Orleans Saints
  27. Carolina Panthers
  28. Chicago Bears
  29. New York Jets
  30. Cleveland Browns
  31. New York Giants
  32. Miami Dolphins

What Does Bob “Crooksy” Brooks Think About Political Violence? Well, Let’s Look at His Past…

/ Rich Wilkins / 11 Comments

By now if you read this site, you are probably of Bob “Crooksy” Brooks running for Congress. I am too. The idea this guy thinks he can win, or that he’s a Democrat, is completely insane. This is basically Steve Lynch with John Fetterman’s handlers. The guy stiffed his ex-mother-in-law out of $55k. He appealed it, and lost. Then, instead of paying up, he walked away. Maybe that was just being lazy, not crooked though. Of course he was endorsed by Democrat-hating lunatic Bernie Sanders. Of course he was, just like his hero, John Fetterman. Much like Crooksy’s hero Fetterman, he also has some way out of line views on race too. I really hoped this guy wouldn’t drag his friends through a campaign that will end in defeat, a matter of when, not if. He’s insisted though.

As I wrote about this guy, multiple sources sent me things to know about Crooksy and his past. Above, you see a social media post that I chronicled at length. In reposting that meme, Crooksy makes clear that he believes in prayer in schools, and guns in any lunatic’s hand that can grip them. It’s bad enough that Crooksy is a right-wing militant, he doesn’t belong in a Democratic Primary, but the meme was put out by the 3% militia men. He’s basically sending out January 6th’ers stuff on his social media.

On August 19th, a woman that I will identify as Karen sent me over a full memo of additional materials and context on Brooks. Karen does not appear on any other campaign’s payroll, which doesn’t mean she isn’t, but I certainly don’t know her. As she shed more light on who Crooksy is, it’s become clear he’s totally unacceptable.

When Crooksy posted the meme above is significant. Just days after an armed nutbag went into an El Paso, TX Walmart and killed people, there was Crooksy posting pro-gun material. One could say that it isn’t proof of support for the killer, but the fact that it’s material from radicalized right-wing fanatics who do. support killing Latinos and lots of other people, and that didn’t dawn on him at the time as a bad thing is significant. Crooksy posted this in 2019, years before a Congressional run, and frankly before he was even a major labor figure, so while now John Fetterman’s handlers have their hands on him to tell him not to say anything this crazy, this 2019 post by Crooksy is a better representation of who he is. When he didn’t think everyone was looking, he was in favor of right-wing radical propaganda and beliefs. Now that he wants to be your Congressman, you are getting a cleaned up version. Reality is though, he’s a right-wing gun nut.

A bunch of people in Washington and Harrisburg want to sell you a vision of some working class hero that will go “fight for you” in DC. It’s astroturf. God knows who he’ll take from and what he’ll actually believe if you give him a chance to go there. Crooksy is just Fetterman 2.0.

Real Talk About Charlie Kirk

/ Rich Wilkins / 1 Comment

I waited a few days to write about Charlie Kirk for a number of reasons. The first thing is, I didn’t watch his show while he was alive, so I had no strong, informed opinion about him. I knew I didn’t agree with him much, but that was about it. Second, the rhetoric got so toxic between a lot of people last week that stupid things got said. Some on the left said stupid things, like the world is better off with him dead. Some on the right decided to call for Civil War, as though these keyboard warriors were suddenly revolutionaries. Frankly the entire internet debate was toxic. I didn’t need to write about it until putting some thought into it.

As I said, I just wasn’t really a fan. I also really didn’t think about him much, let alone hate him. The best thing I ever did for my mental health after 2020 was to stop watching 24/7 political news and punditry. Charlie Kirk had his views, I didn’t particularly love them, but he had a right to say them. He also had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, certainly free from fear of violence. American society failed to provide him that. Any time any person anywhere is killed by another person, that is a bad thing. It is a sad thing. Any time anyone, anywhere is killed over politics, that’s a bad thing, period, full stop. Yes, there are deaths in most revolutions, including our American Revolution, but most revolutions are not fought over differing opinions. The King of England was denying Americans their inalienable rights. Charlie Kirk was saying things you didn’t like on a podcast. Anyone actually involved in politics should be calling for a harsh punishment for the murderer, not trying to twist themselves in a knot to defend it. Political violence is simply always bad. A 33 year old father being shot in front of a live audience because the shooter didn’t like what he said is bad. It’s really that simple and that’s as far as it has to go. No further. I’m not going to make Charlie Kirk more in death to me than he was in life. I’m not going to change my mind about his message. I’m simply going to state unequivocally that Charlie Kirk deserved to be alive. I don’t really care what he said, that doesn’t change.

Now, a little reality for the American Right though- Paul Pelosi got beat with a hammer, over politics; Former Minnesota State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and State Senator John Hoffman, as well as their spouses and one of their dogs, were killed over politics; Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, and five others were killed in Tucson, over politics; Senior Pastor and State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney and eight churchgoers in Charleston were killed, over politics. I could actually go on here, but won’t. The point is that while Trump supporters and Republicans are blaming Democrats and the American left for Charlie Kirk’s shooting, conservatives produce plenty of insane murderers, if not a few more statistically, as well. Hate, violence, and crazy people are not confined to one political side or there other. The kind of nuthouse jackass who will take a gun and try to kill Donald Trump is not much different at all than the nuthouse jackass that drove up to Washington, D.C. to try and stop the fictional “Pizzagate” scandal (update- police killed this lunatic during a traffic stop down in North Carolina).

A little more reality for the American Right- we didn’t kill Charlie Kirk. This kid grew up in conservative, red-state Utah, with Trump loving parents who were very religious. Utah Valley University isn’t exactly in some liberal bastion. Reports are that this kid had a “transexual lover,” but even those reports are murky and don’t really give much context. Some reports say he lived with this person, but records contradict that. Regardless of who this kid loved, there is zero sign at all that he ever became a Democrat, or that he had any intention of helping Democrats through this insane act. The murderer is a scumbag and should pay, the overwhelming majority of Democrats agree with you, regardless of what we think of Kirk. Trying to turn this into some sort of rallying cry to start a civil war is connecting dots that don’t exist.

And now for the left- you don’t have to say much. You are under no obligation to mourn Charlie Kirk. You don’t have to build him a monument. You don’t have to say much of anything at all. You also don’t have to say anything negative about the dead, as has unfortunately happened. There is no virtue in it, whether you’re factually “correct” or not. The people who are cheering negative comments about a dead person they didn’t like politically are not new converts drawn to your intellectually “correct” position, they are people who already agreed with you and voted like you. You are speaking in an echo chamber, and frankly it’s an echo chamber that has not faired well for Democrats. Obviously there are many who disagree with your position that the world is better off with Charlie Kirk dead. There are many, many more who simply roll their eyes at this kind of talk- at best for you, they don’t care, at worst they’re just sick and tired of anyone saying it and are put off by it. It does not matter if you are “right” or not here. The vast majority of the public doesn’t want to hear this kind of talk. They don’t think better of you because you “said it how it is” on Charlie Kirk. Really.

Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die, what happened is awful. I wonder how many people will consider why we’re here though. We have 24/7 political cable news. There are “twitter personalities,” streamers, and other pundits out there putting content into the world. Most of them make their money by appealing to the most zealous of people that agree with them. As a result, they pump out talking points and rhetoric calling their opponents traitors, predators, criminals, and bums. Are there people who are deadbeat bums in our politics? Yes. Have we over used all of this inflammatory rhetoric at this point? Also yes. Constantly telling those who will listen that we are in crisis and the opposition is dangerous, well that eventually has consequences. There is always someone not nearly as stable as you reading the words, and they may decide to act. If you’re going to call someone a deadbeat, make sure it’s justified. Shootings like this are becoming more common, not less.

MLB Power Rankings, 9/15

/ Rich Wilkins / 6 Comments

The Brewers and Phillies not only have the best records in baseball, they’re the first teams to clinch playoff berths. As this week goes, other teams are going to join them. As they do, these rankings will get easier and easier to do. At some point, your record is who you are.

But, none of that will matter in two weeks. Records will mean nothing. If you’re in, and you’re playing well, you’ll keep winning. Right now will matter more than who you are. But not quite yet.

As for how to read this… The top two can start thinking October. The next four are going to make it, so don’t stress. From seven to eleven control their own destiny, and all could possibly even still win their divisions. From 12-20 I basically ranked them from some combination of record and proximity to the playoffs, as all have a shot right now, but look like something between a long shot and just not really wanting to win. After that it’s all teams that are heading to the Cancun Series in two weeks. Some have some talent, some really don’t right now.

  1. The Milwaukee Brewers
  2. The Philadelphia Phillies
  3. The Toronto Blue Jays
  4. The Detroit Tigers
  5. The Chicago Cubs
  6. The Los Angeles Dodgers
  7. The New York Yankees
  8. The San Diego Padres
  9. The Boston Red Sox
  10. The Seattle Mariners
  11. The Houston Astros
  12. The Texas Rangers
  13. The Cleveland Guardians
  14. The New York Mets
  15. The San Francisco Giants
  16. The Arizona Diamondbacks
  17. The Cincinnati Reds
  18. The Kansas City Royals
  19. The St. Louis Cardinals
  20. The Tampa Bay Rays
  21. The Oakland Athletics
  22. The Miami Marlins
  23. The Baltimore Orioles
  24. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  25. The Atlanta Braves
  26. The Minnesota Twins
  27. The Pittsburgh Pirates
  28. The Washington Nationals
  29. The Chicago White Sox
  30. The Colorado Rockies

A Long, Long Week.

/ Rich Wilkins / Leave a comment

This past week was long. There’s plenty happening in the world that is wearing on people, but in the course of one week, I had three viewings and four deaths to attend. And there was worse, which I’ll talk about here early this week.

In the picture above, you’ll see a woman holding a shirt from my Dad’s former band. Her name was Janet. She was friends with my parents, and a regular at my Dad’s shows. I knew her best from our Friday afternoon Happy Hours at Colonial Pizza in Easton. She was about as nice of a lady as you could meet. She left this world on September 5th. I had her viewing on Thursday night. I’ll miss shooting the shit with her on Friday’s.

On Tuesday night I joined what basically seemed like the entire Lehigh Valley at Tyler Weidner’s viewing. The line was ten minutes shy of three hours, and I didn’t get there until there was supposed to be 30 minutes left. Tyler’s family live up the street from us and he was a close friend of my cousin’s. The Easton fire fighter was a great guy in all the time I knew him, and his family are awesome people. He’ll be missed.

Everyone in the Easton area knew Zeke Bellis. If you didn’t like him, it’s because you didn’t get to know him well enough. He was a Palmer Township Supervisor, a youth football coach, and most importantly (weirdly), the beer man. Zeke could piss you off sometimes, but if you knew him, you knew he always meant for the best. Our community is worse off without him.

I wrote about the personal connection I had to former Moravian President and Air Force General Erv Rokke. The world lost him too. This guy lead an extraordinary life that took him to places like Moscow to represent America- as in he did some real shit. His service at Moravian quietly impacted things around the entire Lehigh Valley region though, and his voice was respected and heard on many, many matters in the Bethlehem community during his nine years as President.

This week was also 9/11, and we should never forget that. For those of us that lived through that day and were old enough to understand it, no other day compares in it’s impact on the world. We remember all of the lives lost that day, including Easton resident and Notre Dame High School Grad Colleen Supinski.

I’ll address one more death that hit me personally hard this week, and the Charlie Kirk murder. I just wanted to put out there that this was a long, long week not only for me, but for many of the people that I know to read this site. God is with you.