Newest Nattering Nabobs?

I've been seeing more and more nonsense from Tucker Carlson, a guy whose FoxNews show I watched fairly regularly.  Since he left, I've only caught the occasional episode of his podcast...or whatever it is...and two of them I watched compelled by comments showing up on certain forums regarding the guests he was interviewing...such as Nick Fuentes.  While I agreed with complaints that he didn't push back against some of most radical opinions expressed, I had felt that his purpose was simply to provide a forum to express those opinions in full for all to see, by which all could decide for themselves what to think about the guest in question.  

But as time went on, I kept hearing more nonsensical things coming from him regarding Trump and his actions regarding Iran.  So there's no confusion, I'm totally in support of Trump's actions to damage the ability of the Iranian regime to be a world-class, world wide pain in the ass and major threat to our nation and our strongest Middle Eastern ally, Israel.  To suggest that prior to our initial strike they were not a real "clear and present" danger to our existence is to be a total ostrich, except with one's head up one's own ass.  Forty-seven years of referring to us as the Great Satan and chants of "Death to America" should tell people something.  

Trump has long insisted that Iran should never have a nuke...particularly Iran as it now exists with truly evil people running that country.  Only a true moron would think we can ignore the threat they pose and expect that somewhere down the line they won't unleash a nuclear attack upon us or Israel...or anyone else they believe has it coming according to their twisted fake religious beliefs.  And so, Trump chose to make sure that their threats would be as empty as possible.  To that end he aligned with Bibe Netanyahu to strike them where it hurts, and as we did in Japan in the 1940s, he did it twice so they know he means business.  Now, aside from desperate actions to appear as if they're still the great danger they had been, Trump has pretty much neutered them and their nuclear capabilities are almost non-existent...and certainly nothing which threatens entire nations.

But some, like Carlson, have problems with destroying bad guys, apparently.  He even goes so far as to pretend he's doing Bibi's bidding and not acting on his own volition and understanding of the threat Iran poses.  (Which is it?  Is Trump Putin's pupper or Bibi's?  I need a score card!)  But anyone who doesn't think Trump's his own man is a buffoon and there's really no case to be made to the contrary.  He's even gone so far as to say that he's leaving the GOP over it, and claims if he's leaving others will as well over this.  But here's the thing, despite this claim that Trump's now an "America Last" president...a position held also by sour grapes Marjorie Taylor Greene, I once again insist that Trump's got it right as regards the need to make the mullahs heel, hopefully to the point that the people of Iran can take control and oust the bastards altogether.  The scum won't go away, but for the Iranians to do what they should've done forty years ago might require our continued efforts to keep whatever leadership the regime has left at bay.  

The worst part is hearing how Trump's righteous efforts might lead to many Republican voters to stay home in November.  This is "progressive" level stupid.  How many times does Trump have to prove he knows what he's doing before people will understand he's deserving of a degree of trust?  As with so many problems Trump has and is in the process of resolving, this Iranian thing is a mess of previous administrations' making and this can simply cannot be kicked down the road any longer.  

So some think Carlson is a total Jew-hater and paid stooge of Qatar and such.  I don't know and I don't care.  I do care that anyone will give him more attention than he has coming.  He doesn't know what Trump knows about dealing with either Israel OR Iran, and while he's free to speak his mind...such as it's become...he should be taken with a grain of salt until he can prove his recent wackiness isn't wackiness at all.  I still put my money on Trump.  He's given no reason for me to put it anywhere else, and those like Tucker haven't provided any.

I'm Really Bummed Out. R.I.P. Stacey King

Last night I learned of the passing of Chicago Bulls analyst Stacey King, who has been a fixture on the telecasts for something like twenty years.  He came off the bench for the Bulls during every year of their first "3-Peat", beginning with the 1990 season (King was drafted by the Bulls in the 1st round of the '89 draft---I believe I have these years correct).  

His knowledge of the game was beyond question, he was what's known as a "homer" and his banter between himself and regular play-by-play man, Adam Amin is legendary, as it was with prior long-time play-by-play man, Neil Funk.  What a joy to experience!  Even in recent years while the team has been total crap, he made watching the game "Must See TV", because of his wit and charm.  He would make me laugh my ass off and did so routinely.  

He was also known for the nicknames he gave Bulls players (Derrick Rose was the "Windy City Assassin"), as well as for the many catch phrases he coined.  One became the name of his podcast, the "Gimme The Hot Sauce" podcast..."the podcast the podcasters loved!"  Here's a small taste:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_LQmvFpwbU

The Nationwide Insurance bit was with Neil Funk, and continued throughout his time on the broadcast with Adam Amin.  His relationships with both were palpably tight.  The love is evident.

Here's a longer tribute from the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on Chicago's ESPN affiliate (one of the two all sports stations on the radio, and one of the few shows I hated to miss (but often did because of my job):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gokajJyGLuw

In the above, Silvy (Marc Silverman) mentioned King in relation to other great Chicago sports broadcasters, like Jack Brickhouse, Harry Carey and others, rightly saying King belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of Chicago sports broadcasters.  I agree.

This one is an interview with Neil Funk on "The Mully and Haugh Show" on the Score, the other Chicago sports radio station:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyq2xQ9U65Y

I feel like posting more interviews with others who worked with him and likely will later.  But for now I'll leave it there.  This post is more for me than for any readers who aren't from the Chicago area.  What is another sad aspect of this sad news is that the Bulls have made big changes in management, a new coach will be selected soon, and they have the 4th and 15th pick in upcoming draft lottery.  I don't follow college sports as some do, but this is said to be an incredibly talent rich pool of selections, with the two likely picks at #4 likely to be a franchise-making player who can do much to turn this team around from the lowly scum they've been over the past five years.  Stacey King won't be around to witness it, and that hurts to know.  I'm gonna miss him.  Everyone the least bit familiar with him will.  

What follows is the last link I'll post, from CHSN, which broadcasts Bulls/White Sox/Blackhawk games.  It's lengthy and includes more examples of Stacey King's personality, which was the draw.  As was mentioned, even though the team was horrible over the last five years or so, King's color commentary and analysis, along with his wit and humor, made watching mediocrity "Must See TV".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oyrfQk7jQA

This post was mostly for myself.  After all, a "blog" is a "web log" and a log is like a diary, wherein one expresses that which matters to he/she who avail themselves of the log.  And given not everyone is a Bulls fan, or a basketball fan, it might be difficult to imagine how this guy could be embraced so warmly by all those had the least contact with him, including just watching him on TV or his podcasts or whatever.  But I do have a more personal situation in a sense.  There's some service which allows someone to purchase a greeting from a celebrity (I don't know if it's only sports, a Chicago thing or is more nationwide...I know of a hockey fan who received this specific gift from a hockey player).  My wife's brother bought one of these for his son who was away at college and it was a greeting from Stacey King.  He previewed it for us at his house, playing it on his TV and if I recall, it was to be a birthday gift.  There on the screen was Stacey King with a personal message to our nephew, Maximus,  It was about five (more like ten, I believe) minutes of encouragement and patented Stacey King humor which had us all in stitches.  He was truly treating Max like he knew him and from what all who worked with him attest, that's how he treated everyone.  

Stacey King.  One of God's best.  Rest In His Eternal Peace.

Campaign Season Concerns

 Here in S. Carolina, we're quickly approaching Election Day for the GOP primary.  The moronic early voting period is underway, but I remain convicted in my position that only one day should be allowed for voting, in person, unless a legitimate reason for an absentee ballot can be provided.  

This is state is considered by many to be the bluest red state in the nation.  All branches of the state government are Republican majorities.  We choosing a new governor, whether or not to replace Lindsey Graham (I hope we succeed) and in my 1st Congressional District, someone to replace Nancy Mace who is seeking to become our new governor (I'll not be voting for her).  I've been shamefully lax in keeping abreast of all that goes on in SC state government...the ins and outs, the who's who...though I am on the mailing lists of Mace, Graham and my other senator, Tim Scott (I like him generally, but overall, "the jury's still out").  

I've tried to find sources for info regarding GOP and/or conservative politicians and issues, and am not satisfied with what I've found thus far, with but one or two exceptions.  One source is one from whom I've received regular emails, but never got around to perusing them until just the other day.  I was impressed with what they do and will be looking more deeply into their info in the next few days (Election Day being fast approaching ---  June 9).  Others seem to be PACS or perhaps organizations supporting one guy against others, as they're basically attacking specific people.  For example, I'm hearing a lot about a candidate for the state AG who has been a Dem most of his life.  But he has a decent record for exposing corruption in the state legislature, getting indictments on five members who I believe are all Republicans.  That's fine, and given that's the party in the majority, it seems reasonable that GOP members might be scrutinized more intently than members of the party which has no real voice.  

Anyway, the organization who is attacking this guy doesn't attack either of the other two opponents.  Nor do they seem to say anything nice about them.  It's just attacking this one guy.  I heard the man speak at a meeting introducing him and a candidate for Comptroller and I like what he said well enough.  But to attack him for being a Dem most of his career with regard to this office doesn't strike me the same as a member of Congress or a presidential candidate flipping parties.  His main explanation was that he couldn't get into the gig without being in the Dem party.  Sounds fishy.  But then he also reminded that Reagan was a Dem and so was Trump.  Tulsi Gabbard was as well, and it seems perhaps RFK Jr no longer is a Dem these days.  

But the real issue and point of this post is the attack ads.  AND the promotional ads.  They're all worthless for one seeking to find the best option for these various offices.  It's not hard to accept that attack ads are less than accurate, they're misleading and are a shameful thing to do for a politician or his supporters who run the ad in lieu of legitimate reasons to support the guy doing the attacking.  Lindsey Graham likes to brag about the money he brought to the state.  But with what strings attached?  There are always strings attached.  

And when we look at promotion campaign ads, what I'm seeing with regards to this primary is that each candidate speaks of themselves in the same way the others do about themselves, with little difference between them.  They're all the conservative we want, need and deserve.  But finding details about their records (if they're already in government) or how they'll attempt to accomplish what they claim they will is next to impossible.  This latter point is especially important as I'm leaning toward those who are newcomers to politics.  But even there, the differences are slight, such as some promoting term limits while not all do.  (Such a position eliminates the candidate from my consideration.)

Then, when one goes to their websites (should they have one), one sees the exact same things as their campaign ads and brochures do.  Now, one exception to that is the guy for whom I'm currently most likely to vote for governor of SC...an outsider named Rom Reddy.  I went to his site and there's an AI option which will supply an answer to most any question based upon a collation of everything he's said about the subject.  That's pretty novel and I'm not sure how many have added such a thing to their own sites.  Overall, he's been far more informative about what he intends to do...and how he'll try to do it...than any other candidate I've ever seen for any office.  "I'll fight for your rights!" just doesn't tell me anything.

I do agree that this coming November election will be the most important, as over the last ten to twenty years, that claim...in my mind...becomes truer with every cycle.  I'm really interested in seeing Trump followed by another Republican (such as Vance, Rubio or DeSantis) who can and will keep the trend going in the right (no pun intended) direction.  This trend has seen Dems leaving that party of perversion and death.  Alan Desrshowitz is the latest example, as has been Tulsi Gabbard.  A very recent report states that support for SSM has been decreasing over the last five years.  Things like this are great to see and I think one can argue that the trend is picking up steam.  On every level of government, I wish to do what I can to support that trend continuing.  I need to see candidates step up and state boldly their intentions...their goals and how they plan to achieve them...and if they've been in office or some other level of government, I want to see their track record in its totality.  

Too much is at stake and I owe my children and grandchildren a safer, more prosperous and most importantly, a more moral nation.