Posse Incitatus

Godspeed, Gus Ganakas!

Gus Ganakas, the Michigan State Spartans basketball coach from 1969-1976, passed away a few days ago at 92. Gus is pictured here with current Coach Tom Izzo.

By all accounts, Gus was a gentleman and a class act. He handled himself well when he was fired as coach and replaced by the legendary Jud Heathcote, who passed in July 2017. Rather than be bitter and hope his successor would flop (so as to make it obvious his own firing was a stupid mistake), Ganakas supported Heathcote and helped recruit Lansing Everett star Earvin "Magic" Johnson to play for the Spartans. Magic, along with another local product, Jay Vincent of Lansing Eastern High School and a third key player, Greg Kelser of Detroit, led the Spartans to their first national championship in 1979. All three players had successful NBA careers.

Ganakas was a father and husband, known for his sense of humor and a beloved icon in the MSU sports world. Originally from western New York State, Gus served in the U.S. Marines during World War II, seeing action in the Battle of Okinawa.

When Ganakas' coaching career was over, he definitely was not put out to pasture. He remained an important and well-loved part of the Spartan family, serving as assistant athletic director from 1976-98 and as an aide to Coach Tom Izzo from 1998-2000. He also spent over 30 years as a color commentator for the Spartan Sports Network.

MSU football was mired in mediocrity and a revolving door of coaches for decades prior to Mark Dantonio taking the helm as head coach in early 2007. But MSU hoops has been the opposite when it comes to stability and coaches' longevity. Incredible as it may seem, it was 50 years ago that Ganakas was named head coach, and since his departure seven years later, there have been only two other head coaches: Heathcote and Izzo. Can you imagine? Three head coaches in 50 years? Many colleges go through three head coaches in 6-8 years! This speaks to the character and competency of these three gentlemen.

R.I.P., Gus Ganakas.

BIG BAD JOHN -- Does anyone else remember that 1960s novelty song by Jimmy Dean, "Big Bad John"? The title is an apt descriptor of former Michigan Gov. John Engler, who resigned under pressure today as MSU interim president. The corpulent Engler is definitely big, and he's not just bad, but horrible at being an ambassador for the university. For several months, he has continuously put his foot in his mouth making outrageously cruel and insensitive statements about the victims of serial sex abuser Dr. Larry Nassar, who's now serving a life sentence for his crimes.

Engler never has had an ounce of charisma, but he could get away with being a hard-nosed S.O.B. as governor. But as a university president (he was hired by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees a year ago after President Lou Anna Simon stepped down), it's essential to have some tact, diplomacy and the ability to behave in a civil manner. Engler is the antithesis of a well-mannered and refined gentleman. He's a disgusting, crude, bull-in-a-china-shop. MSU's reputation took a body blow with the heinous crimes of Nassar and the incompetence and criminal behavior that covered it up for 20 years. Even if the Board of Trustees had tried to hire someone to further rub the university's nose in the poop, they couldn't have done better than Big, Bad John. Good riddance!

The new interim president is Dr. Satish Udpa, a well-liked, highly respected man who had been serving as executive vice president for administrative services. He has also served as dean of the College of Engineering. By all accounts, he's a likeable and friendly man who does not seek attention, but instead puts his nose to the grindstone and produces positive results. This is just what the university needs.

Three former university employees, including ex-president Simon, are facing criminal charges for their involvement in the Nassar scandal. Let us hope that the delusional "leaders" of MSU have learned their lesson that being obstinately insular and refusing to promote or hire key people from the outside has been a catastrophic M.O. that has done grave damage to the institution.

 

 

Trump to Pelosi: If you want a junket, fly commercial

Over most of my life, the left has diligently worked to erode the unwritten customs that have sustained the Republic.

Each time they have flouted a long-standing convention, they've been careful to note that no laws were broken, or if they were, the was (as Al Gore put it) "no controlling legal authority."

At the same time, they've constantly harped on how each and every GOP move has violated this or that ancient custom.  With Donald Trump, they went positively bonkers, howling that his very presence in the Oval Office was an offense against everything Americans hold dear.

Of course, they did this all the while running a grossly illegal surveillance operation followed by a blatant coverup disguised as an investigation.

Much of the federal government is currently idle.  This is supposedly a crisis, but not enough of a crisis that Nancy Pelosi and a number of Congressional Democrats would be willing to postpone or cancel their seven-day world tour using US military aircraft. 

As all know by now, Trump put the kibosh on it.

What is noteworthy is that once again, Trump is answering the left's discourtesy with discourtesy of his own.  The GOP Establishment has never dared to do this, instead preferring to play the noble loser.

Their explanation was that someone had to uphold the ancient norms, but of course allowing one side to run over them did the exact opposite.  It is only through reciprocity that both sides have a reason to follow the unwritten rules of courtesy.

Pelosi and the Dems have just learned an important lesson:  Trump is playing for keeps.  He's done trying to be conciliatory and for all that they deride him as the second coming of Hitler, refusing free first-class air travel via the Air Force is hardly Kristallnacht. 

The Effort to Bar Barr

True to form, Senate Judiciary Committee members have been grilling Attorney General nominee Bill Barr with pointed questions (loaded with insinuations and connotations). They're pressuring him to specify what it will take for him to oppose the wishes of President Trump, and attempting to ensure that the Department of Justice is not politicized. The irony escapes them.

Barr, of course, is far too intelligent and savvy to fall for hypothetical questions or get pinned down on specifics. It's the same scenario Supreme Court nominees face during their often torturous confirmation hearings. But this hearing is different than the September horror show involving Brett Kavanaugh in that the Democrats are not acting like out-of-control a**holes. Well, actually one thing remains the same: Leftist kooks like Senators Cory Booker and Mazie Hirono tried to grandstand and made fools out of themselves. What else is new?

The Democrats, it seems, are deathly afraid that Donald Trump wants his own version of Eric Holder -- i.e., a partisan toady who sucks up to his boss (truth & justice be damned), and sweeps scandals and ethical violations under the rug.

The list is long of outrageous, unethical, incompetent and even criminal behavior taking place during the ostensibly "scandal-free" Obama administration: Fast and Furious, the Benghazi lies and coverup, the stonewalling on IRS targeting of political enemies, Hillary violating the Espionage Act and literally destroying evidence (BleachBit for the hard drive, hammers on the smart phones), plus Bill & Hill laundering money through the Clinton Foundation. The Obama administration was rotten to the core, but the delusional slappies who support it continue with their ludicrous proclamations about its integrity.

For the Democrats, it's quite alright to have an AG who toes the party line and covers up wrongdoings as long as it is for a Democrat president. But perish the thought of a Republican AG engaging in similar activities. Bob Barr is a forthright and honest man. There's no doubt in my mind he will be confirmed. Or that Democrats will continue to put their duplicity and mean-spirited behavior on full display.

 

Theresa May's Brexit debacle

It is fascinating to see how many of the allegedly competent establishment politicians are in fact staggeringly incompetent.

Emmanuel Macron has managed to create persistent unrest in France.  Despite his earlier policy surrender, the popular anger shows no signs of abating.

Angela Merkel is Germany's first lame-duck Chancellor.  She's still clinging to office, but her abysmal electoral performance resulted in her resignation as the head of her party.  It's a pretty damning indictment that most of her final term in office will be as a "caretaker."

Then there's the UK.  The British are often the forerunner of popular movements, both good and bad.   Just as Thatcher's rise heralded the Reagan revolution, so Brexit anticipated the Trumpening.

But Theresa May has proven herself one of the most inept politicians in British history.  She inherited a solid majority which she pissed away and a botched snap-election.  She then negotiated a Brexit deal that was voted down by the largest margin in modern British electoral history.

The next step is likely a vote of confidence on her creaky minority government.  The Ulster Unionists who've been propping her up have been getting treated like crap and are likely to tell her to piss off.

This would lead to a bit by Labour to form a government, which will likely fail, bringing on a general election that would certain favor the Reds.

I've long since come to realize that sometimes people can't be saved from themselves.  A Corbin-led government would give the UK as much socialism as it could handle and wreak ruin on the nation, but maybe that's what the Brits need. 

Meanwhile, the fall of May's government would also free President Trump to declassify documents relating to the bogus RUSSIA investigation - a step he backed away from after the British and Aussies begged him to.  With May's government a smoking ruin, there's little reason for him to offer deference at this late date.

Each one of these three leaders - May, Macron, Merkel - were held up as the anti-Trump, the globalist alternative that would save the world from the horror of the deplorables taking control.

And yet, all of them have failed by any objective measure.  The nations now powering ahead are the ones who have heeded the call of their people to stand up for their nation rather than interests of their own elite class.

The political establishment has proven they are unworthy of any deference.  The sooner they are swept away entirely, the better.

Gillette: We don't want to sell razors to men with enough testosterone to actually grow beards

I'd seen some of the buzz about the infamous Gillette commercial and figured "How bad can it be?"

The answer:  Stupid bad.

I've been a steady customer pretty much since my fast-growing beard started coming in my senior year of high school.  I don't go in for anything fancy, just the no-frills disposable model.  Two blades seem to get the job done.

But I guess that's over now.  Gillette's commercial explained to me in clear, unambiguous terms that I'm not wanted as a customer.  The notion of letting children work out things on their own is apparently verboten.  Gillette only wants to sell razors to helicopter dads who want to stunt their sons' development.

Of course, "suicide by wokeness" is nothing new.  We've watched other businesses do it.  I'm just curious as to what kind of jacked-up market analysis persuaded Gillette's management that this was a good idea.

Politically correct men come in two categories:  those without enough T to grow beards, and neckbeard-wearing noodle-arms who obviously don't buy razors.

Not a lot of growth potential in this bunch.

You know who does buy razors?  Military guys.  It's in the regs.  They have to be clean-shaven.  Oddly, they aren't a bunch of limp-wristed eunuchs who buy into feminist-ally self-loathing.

Even if they're trying to win over the Sneaky Fucker abusive-guy-pretending-to-be-a-friend-of-women market segment, Joss Whedon actually sports a beard.  Think about it.

Since I tend to buy in bulk and my stockpile is adequate, the effect of my boycott won't be felt immediately.  But that's okay.  I got plenty of shaving yet to do - without Gillette.

Pondering the Possibilities

It's getting down to crunch time for the government shutdown. I am not sure the media sob stories about federal employees not being able to pay their bills will generate sufficient outrage. The garbage piling up on the streets in Washington, D.C., may also come up short of being the impetus for a compromise.

What could really break the dam, however, is if there is some kind of major security breach at an airport due to a large number of TSA employees not being on the job, or if large numbers of passengers miss their flights. Some kind of food-borne illness blamed on meat inspectors not being on the job could also be a game changer.

What seems more likely than President Trump making a deal with the Democrats is that the president will declare a national emergency. He has the constitutional right to divert military funds to pay for the wall, and sufficient funds are available.

If the Trumpster goes that route, Democrats will certainly contest the move, and there's a good possibility a federal district court would rule against the president. At that point, the administration could seek to fast-track the case to the Supreme Court, but there is no guarantee the highest court in the land would take up the matter. But if it did, Chief Justice John Roberts could disappoint us once again by voting with the liberals.

But even if the Supreme Court upheld the emergency declaration, it may end up being a Pyrrhic victory. Why? Because it would set a bad precedent. A future liberal president could use "National Emergency" in a broad way to foist regulations down our throat on global warming, social justice issues, income inequality, the digital divide, or whatever flavor du jour the leftists dream up.

This may not end well. But the important thing is, I am pretty sure Orange Julius will find a way to fund another crucial part of the wall. Now, I admit there are some serious concerns about eminent domain and the government running roughshod over private property owners. But national security takes precedence. Perhaps those who buy property on the border -- especially those who build on that property, ought to have been aware of the possible dangers and drawbacks. It's no different from people buying and building on oceanfront property in a hurricane zone. Caveat emptor.

We need to continue adding to the wall and beefing up border security in other ways. We probably need more judges and detention centers, too, but the first priority is to put a stop to the border sieve. I believe President Trump will succeed in taking that step, but it's gonna be a messy process.