Posse Incitatus

Denial of Service

In today's cancel culture, we have witnessed the widespread demonization of conservatives, traditional values, America's founding fathers, and -- above all -- supporters of Donald Trump.

It used to be that liberals criticized and despised corporations ("Corporations are NOT people!" was the angry meme after the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling regarding free speech and political campaign contributions). These days, however, more and more corporations are buying into the leftist talking points about supposed "systemic racism" and "existential" threats -- climate change, white supremacy, nationalism, Christianity -- pick your leftist bogeyman. The COVID-19 pandemic is another issue that has been blown way out of proportion to enable control over our lives.

Pro sports, the deep state, academia, the media and Big Tech are all on board with the delusional alternative realities the totalitarians have concocted and continue to shove down our throats 24/7. Alarmingly, just in the past few years, the U.S. military also seems to be buying into the B.S. Recall the downhearted LBJ's observation to an aide regarding CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite's opposition to the Vietnam War: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost America." Today's paraphrase could be: "If we've lost the military, we've lost the country."

Truth and facts don't matter to the delusional. How is it possible that the United States elected and re-elected a black president, and now has a black vice president, if this nation is racist to the core? Why are human-caused CO2 emissions the culprit when planetary warming and cooling spells have been occurring for millions of years, while the internal combustion engine and industrial revolution are only two centuries old?

Have the scientists forgotten about the glaciers encroaching on today's Midwest 10,000 years ago? That the Vikings farmed on Iceland 1,000 years ago for a couple of centuries until the climate grew far too cold and they had to abandon the island? That thousands of under-ocean volcanic eruptions, plus sunspots and solar flares, greatly affect climate change?

Never mind. Just keep hammering home the propaganda points nonstop -- in K-12, higher ed, church, public service announcements, government policies and pronouncements, corporate credos. At some point, like Goebbels' Big Lie, this bunk will sink in. It will become accepted truth. We've already seen that in recent years, with gay marriage, transgender policies, so-called "green" energy, and the default position that if you're white and conservative, and especially if you voted for Donald Trump, you're an irredeemable bigot, racist and neanderthal.

It was nice back in the good old days when the left and right could simply snipe at each other on Internet chat forums, social media or at the office water cooler, without facing serious consequences. But we are  now entering an era where independent thinking -- the kind of free and inquiring thought process that our founding fathers embedded in our constitution -- is becoming dangerous to those who don't want to be fired, publicly ostracized or denied service. Groupthink is often demanded; check your brains, common sense and critical thinking at the door.

My headline today is "denial of service," and that's the aspect of our increasingly Orwellian nightmare that I think has the potential to wreak havoc -- on everybody, not just conservatives. Two members of Congress recently wrote letters to major communications companies including AT&T, Comcast, Dish Network and Verizon to stop carrying conservative news networks Fox, Newsmax and One American News Network. A House subcommittee held hearings last week. The Democrats think that any news that doesn't fall in line with the left-wing narratives of CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and Washington Post is "disinformation and extremism." The left-wing McCarthyism will only get worse.

If the left succeeds in snuffing out conservative news networks, expect an avalanche of leftist polices discriminating against conservatives. Banks and credit card companies may blacklist certain customers; hotels may deny reservations; Internet service companies may cut people off or ramp up the surveillance. Employers will feel free to not hire or not even consider conservative activists or former Republican lawmakers.

Ah, but two can play this game. Many of the people who perform essential services that benefit people of ALL political persuasions are conservatives. What if a large number of electricians, plumbers, HVAC repairmen, truck drivers and auto mechanics began withholding their services from liberals? What if truckers said they would no longer deliver groceries to blue states? What if heavy equipment manufacturers, farmers, meat producers, steel mills and producers of natural gas decided to dramatically slow down production to hurt those outside the heartland?

Not gonna happen, you say. How will these people make a living? How could they risk going broke when they've got families to support and mortgages to pay? Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. It's possible conservatives may set up a bartering economy. Wealthy conservatives may even decide to help the blue collar workforce financially. In the spirit of "Go Fund Me," sympathetic supporters could contribute to those who want to push back against the leftist fascists.

I'm not saying I hope this happens, or that it is likely to happen. I am only pointing out that the 51 percent cannot keep treating the 49 percent like poop and not expect to suffer some consequences. There will be pushback; guaranteed. It's just a question of how harsh it needs to be, and how long it must last. The self-centered and childish left is used to people kissing their asses. But they'd better not get too comfortable.

The Sounds of Silence

A hat tip to Simon & Garfunkel for today's headline. What silence am I talking about? Why, the silence of supposed feminists who often speak out against sexual harassment yet have chosen to remain mute regarding the despicable sexual predator Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan is the latest woman to come forward and accuse the Guv with sexually harassing her. His alleged offenses include inappropriate touching, innuendos, suggesting they play strip poker, and kissing her on the lips without her consent. She claims he showed her a box of cigars and made references to Bill & Monica. Disgusting. Many other women who work or have worked for Cuomo have complained about the toxic atmosphere.

But the supposed champions of women have shown cowardice and partisanship in refraining from denouncing Cuomo. You know who they are -- the usual suspects including Hillary Clinton, AOC, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Selective indignation and double standards are to be expected from the Democrats, so this comes as no surprise. Remember during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings when Christine Blasey Ford made flimsy accusations against Kavanaugh and "believe all women" was the left's favorite meme?

Propaganda purveyor CNN is also part of the double standard, as their silence toward Cuomo is deafening. CNN's joke of a reporter Chris Cuomo is simply an Andy fanboy whose shameless reporting on his brother is beyond parody. Utterly lacking in self-awareness, he cannot be taken seriously when it come to his reporting on Gov. Cuomo and what goes on in New York State. Don't expect CNN to show an ounce of integrity; they don't have it in them.

The left can get away with a LOT of stupidity, hypocrisy and destructive policies, in part because so many of their supporters have been relentlessly dumbed down by K-12 schools, academia and left-wing media. But eventually, even the leftist indoctrination, reinforced by Big Tech, isn't enough to cover up the ugly truth. The millions of parents who are fed up with obstinate teachers' unions and the idiocy of long-term virtual "learning" for their kids is just one example.

So is the disgust and betrayal so many small business owners feel toward the governors, mayors, lawmakers, city and county officials and health officials who are relishing COVID-19 as a green light to impose ruthless and endless totalitarian policies that are destroying livelihoods, lives and finances.

So is the shaming and ostracizing of conventional liberals such as Bari Weiss, who resigned from the New York Times because she adamantly disagreed with the intolerant, hard-left editorial staff on several issues, and because those staffers repeatedly harassed her. Let's be clear: Weiss is no conservative or moderate. She's a lesbian and hates Trump; a died-in-the-wool liberal, but not a Nazi like so many on the left. She has harshly blasted the left's brazen censorship and intolerance toward alternative viewpoints. There are many others like her.

And mark my words: Huge numbers of people who thought they were liberals and gladly voted for Biden to get rid of Trump are going to be disillusioned, disheartened and disgusted about the Biden administration's kowtow to the loony notion of transgendered males "identifying" as females, then competing with females in sports, plus using the same restrooms and locker rooms. This is a warped, sickening development that will have dire consequences.

The insanity can only go so far before it is the floodwaters overspilling the leftist propaganda dam. That heinous dam cannot be breached soon enough.

Fiasco in Texas -- Assigning Blame

The state of Texas takes a lot of pride in its independent streak, some serious attitude toward the rest of the union, and a track record for both good governance and economic prosperity. There's a joke among Texans that they're not a U.S. state, but a separate country.

Last week, the reputation and image of Texas took a major hit when a rare Arctic freeze gripped the Lone Star State and massive power outages left millions without heat, lights and water. So this begs the question: Who or what is to blame?

Well, let me front-load my "fairness" comment: I'm usually a partisan for Republican governors and lawmakers (not that they're that great; it's just that the alternative is usually horrendous). But in this case, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his Republican Legislature have to take some of the blame. After all, it happened on their watch.

Yes, they were dealt a bad hand (more on that shortly), but when you're the one in charge, you need to make sure you've taken care of everything in the "CYA" department. Some backup power plans should have been in place (Emergency Management 101). Granted, the prolonged deep freeze in Texas was an extremely rare event (maybe a once-in-a-century occurrence). But just because an event is unlikely to happen doesn't mean you don't prepare for it when millions of lives could be affected and you're dealing with something as essential as utilities.

Think of the millions of dollars commercial airline manufacturers spend on redundant safety measures for their planes. Why? Because you simply cannot be too careful when you're transporting several hundred people at 600 mph, 7 miles above the earth, and when racing down the runway at 150 mph during takeoffs and landings.

Unlike other states, Texas has an independent power grid. Independent from other states rather than interconnected. So if Texas' system goes down, they're on their own. The bitter cold temperatures froze wind turbines, caused downed power lines, and reduced availability of natural gas for power generation. (The state's policy is that heating homes and businesses is the priority for natural gas even if the natural gas is needed to generate electricity.) Even some nuclear and coal-fired plants were hampered by the bitter cold (for example, frozen water pipes delayed operation of nuclear plants, as the water is needed for the heat exchange process in reactor cores).

Coal-fired and natural gas generators were ramped up to alleviate the suffering, but it's simply bad policy to leave them sitting idle for months at a time, especially when Texas is rich in natural gas, a very clean fossil fuel that it seems the green weenies should love but do not.

The fact is, generous federal subsidies for wind and solar power generating equipment have distorted the electrical market in Texas. Many companies found it to be more profitable to invest heavily in so-called "green" energy than to maintain and operate coal, natural gas and nuclear power generators. It's not unlike the subsidies for electric vehicles and the sham system of fuel economy credits that enable American auto companies to produce millions of gas guzzling pickups and SUVs.

The wind doesn't always blow; the sun doesn't always shine; storing and transporting electricity can be very costly. And on top of all of that, the mining of lithium and other metals and minerals -- lead, cobalt, nickel, cadmium, et al -- used in batteries is not environmentally friendly and causes emission of greenhouse gases.

Fabricating solar panels requires caustic chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid, and the process uses water as well as electricity, the production of which emits greenhouse gases. 

As usual, the green pipe dream comes with many strings attached. While the liberals are blaming fossil fuels for the Texas fiasco, they're actually playing the role of the execrable Andrew Cuomo: finger point, deflect, and project. Shocking.

Oh, and speaking of taking potshots at Texas, while it was admittedly a boneheaded thing for Sen. Ted Cruz to flee to Mexico with his family for a quick vacation in the warmth and sunshine during this crisis, it is despicable that the cretin Senate Majority Leader Chuckie Schumer chose to go on national television and bash Texas rather than trying to help them. He couldn't help but gloat, because he loves seeing people in red states suffer. He's what's known on the chat forums or in text shorthand as a "POS."

But when it comes to the thousands of deaths and the needless suffering going on in his home state, Upchuck Schumer wouldn't DREAM of criticizing Cuomo. Ooh, NO! Not in a million years.

But back to Texas. As I said at the beginning, the Republicans in charge have made a deal with the devil over the past decade, falling for the promises of the green weenies and failing to conduct due diligence. The Texas Legislature and governor definitely need to rethink their energy strategy and make damned sure this type of fiasco doesn't happen again.

And that starts by having a jaundiced eye whenever the green dreamers come calling.

The Odious Andrew Cuomo

Lord knows, there are way too many horrible politicians in the world. I won't bother reciting the laundry list, but of late it has become apparent that the execrable Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York takes the cake.

Let me preface my remarks by stating I've had major doubts about his arrogance, condescension and in-your-face nihilism for several years. One of his most despicable acts took place in 2019. He signed barbaric legislation legalizing extreme late-term abortion -- let's just call it infanticide -- and, after the jackals of the state Legislature gave themselves a standing ovation, he lit up the pink spire of One World Trade Center in celebration. This goes way beyond ego and narcissism; it is downright satanic.

Now let's talk about COVID-19 and the havoc it wreaked in New York City and throughout the state. Cuomo started out by whining about not having enough ventilators and needing over 100,000 more hospital beds. The Trump administration delivered thousands of ventilators (many of which went unused), sent the Navy ship USNS Comfort to New York Harbor, and constructed a military field hospital at the Javits Center in Manhattan. Both temporary hospitals stayed largely vacant, and the Comfort departed after three weeks. Meanwhile, the Big Apple's hospital intensive care wards were bursting at the seams, and healthcare workers were grossly overworked.

Cuomo used his daily televised news conferences to repeatedly badger and criticize Trump, and basked in the adulation of an obsequious, cheerleader press. The governor's arrogance and self-aggrandizement were galling to those who were not members of his cult.

But then came the nadir of Cuomo's shameful actions: Last spring, he ordered nursing homes to accept thousands of recovering COVID-19 patients. Estimates varied, but the nursing home deaths resulting from this policy were believed to have been in the 5,000 to 8,000 range six or eight months ago. Then, in late January, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that an investigation led by her office found that nursing home deaths from Coronavirus were undercounted by about 4,000. This was because the previous figures did not count nursing home residents infected by the influx of COVID-19-positive patients and then transferred to hospitals where they died.

When questioned about the new revelation, a depraved, callused Cuomo first called it a politically motivated attack (Ms. James apparently plans to challenge the governor in the Democrat primary), then proclaimed, "Who cares -- 33, 28 (percent) died in the hospital, died in a nursing home? They died." Lots of people care deeply, Mr. Governor.

Compounding matters, Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa admitted earlier this month that the New York Department of Health withheld figures on nursing home deaths from New York legislators for fear the Trump administration would ramp up its investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of the crisis. Aw, poor babies. Trump's mean tweets hurt their feelings and had them cowering in the corner.

Meanwhile, in the midst of this tragedy, in the middle of the incompetence, lies and condescension, the self-absorbed Cuomo wrote a book glorifying his hard work, wisdom and leadership in guiding the Empire State through the pandemic. Harper Collins reportedly paid Cuomo a $783,000 advance to publish his ridiculous victory lap. This is disgusting, and I pity the poor fools who will actually pay money to read this piece of excrement.

Predictably, Cuomo points fingers at others (especially Trump) and deflects blame. He repeatedly doubles down on arrogance and mendacity. In an interview with MSNBC, he said, unironically, "Incompetent government kills people." You should know, Andrew.

It takes a lot for Democrats to turn on each other. Normally, they'll dig in their heels and support their reprobates -- Ilhan Omar's anti-semitism, Eric Swalwell's sleeping with the devil, Bill Clinton's perjury before a Grand Jury, Barney Frank's gay brothel, et al... But now, New York's mafia-like king is beginning to incur major broadsides from other Democrats. (If he really were a mafioso, a Sicilian necktie would undoubtedly be in his future.)

It started with the AG's blistering report. Now, even New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, himself an incompetent and failed leader, is criticizing Cuomo for bullying and making threats. The bullying, says de Blasio, is "nothing new." I can't help but recall that snarky line from the Rolling Stones' 1978 song "Shattered," when Mick Jagger sings, "Go ahead - bite the Big Apple. Don't mind the maggots!" (In Mick's case, the vermin referred to drug dealers, winos, gang bangers, pedophiles, pornographers, junkies and untold other miscreants. In 2021, the infestation is an apt metaphor for the political class.)

Nine Democrat members of the New York State Assembly are charging Hizzoner with obstruction of justice and threatening to revoke his COVID-19 emergency powers. There's even talk of impeachment.

Not only are fellow Democrats turning up the heat, but the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice (that's JOE BIDEN'S FBI & DOJ!) have opened investigations into Cuomo's handling of the pandemic and his policies regarding sending COVID-19 patients to nursing homes. When it rains, it pours.

I am not sure if the opinion polls stating Cuomo still has the support of more than 50 percent of New York residents are accurate, or just more B.S. spin. But I am encouraged to see that the stench and rot emanating from his disgraceful administration are finally breaking down the Democrat walls of protection. He may be gone before Gavin Newsom. One can only hope. 

R.I.P., Rush Limbaugh

Longtime conservative talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh succumbed to lung cancer today at age 70, a little more than a year after he made public his terminal diagnosis.

Despite his death sentence, Rush worked hard to be on the air as often as he could this past year, and often when he signed off at the end of a program, he would say, "See you next time," because he was never certain how long it would be until he had the strength and felt well enough to return.

Rush was one of those people who did not have a college degree, but intellectually could run circles around 95 percent of those who do. Not only was he highly intelligent, a voracious reader, analytical and often prescient, he was a kind and generous man, and an individual with a keen sense of humor. Some of his satirical comments, invented phrases and nicknames, and comedy schticks will go down in talk radio history.

I never could understand the idiots of the left who claimed he was mean-spirited and full of hate speech. They couldn't have been more wrong. The truth is, he was always a gentlemen to callers -- even those who disagreed with him.

I'm a big fan of the caustic talk radio host Michael Savage (in part because I like his sense of humor and I regard him as a highly entertaining renaissance man). But I'll admit: Savage can be downright nasty to some callers, and he was a bit cruel with his remarks about Rush a few months ago. Rush never went down that road.

Rush donated plenty of time, energy and money to charities over the years, and frequently gave away iPhones and iPads to listeners. A techno-geek enthusiast, he was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Apple products, the company frequently sent him early versions of its new products so he could test them out, provide feedback, and also discuss the products on his radio show.

Perhaps what was most important about Rush Limbaugh was that he was an unabashed supporter of capitalism, free markets, and individual liberty. He understood human nature, and could spot a phony from a mile away. He had a deep love and respect for the United States and its traditions. He frequently lauded the founding fathers for their wisdom and practicality -- they had the smarts to install checks and balances to prevent the disaster of too much power being centralized into the hands of a few people. This kind of rationality and logic is sadly missing from the opinions and thinking of millions of our so-called "leaders," many of whom are feted by equally inane TV talking heads.

When Rush started his radio talk show in 1988, it was a novelty. Although there were a few local conservative talk shows at the time, no one had the widespread appeal of Rush. Many in those early days did not believe his program would last. How wrong they were. Not only did it last and become hugely successful, with an estimated 20 million followers, it opened the door to a boatload of other popular talk radio hosts. These include Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Lars Larson, Hugh Hewitt, and many others.

Think about it: The most popular cable TV news programs -- offerings like Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow -- only pull in 3 or 4 million people on a good night. This illustrates the power of conservative talk radio, and it is why many fear that the Biden administration FCC will go after it with a vengeance, calling it "hate speech." If the administration does try to shut down conservative talk radio, I predict the backlash will be enormous.

Rush spoke the truth as he believed it to be -- mockery and bitter criticism be damned. In that sense, he had tremendous courage and fortitude. For the sake of our nation, for the sake of liberty and maintaining a civilization that remains a beacon of hope for the downtrodden and persecuted of the world -- a "shining city on a hill," in Reagan's words -- each of us must aspire to such courage and determination.

Rest in Peace, Rush. You've earned it.

Celebrate History -- Including Black History

I know, there are probably some Posse readers who object to the whole idea of Black History Month. They may see it as one of the earliest indicators that our nation was gravitating toward 24/7 wokeness; another example of pandering to blacks.

But I would disagree. I have long maintained that history teaches us valuable lessons about human nature and the harsh realities of the world. History is a great antidote for naiveté and idealism; it's a sledgehammer on revisionist bullshit (of which there's a lot these days).

And I would be remiss not to recognize the hardships and indignities blacks endured for so long in this nation, as well as the many important contributions blacks have made to American culture, science, arts and literature, to cite a few examples. Positive thoughts and pride about one's heritage are vital to those blacks who, through no fault of their own, were born into bad circumstances — poverty, wretched schools, gangs, crime, and broken homes.

I'm going to avoid citing the most famous blacks deserving of recognition -- MLK, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Medgar Evers, Jackie Robinson, Sojourner Truth, Nat King Cole, Louie Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and many others. Instead, I would like to cite several black individuals and organizations that do not receive the recognition they are due, largely because of our K-12 schools' appalling neglect and ineptitude when it comes to teaching history.

It is my sincere hope that all Americans — not just blacks — will learn about the courageous and proud Tuskegee Airmen,  whose valiant efforts played a key role in support of the Allies in World War II, and the Black Warriors of the U.S. Army, 92nd Division, America’s first all-black infantry unit, who fought triumphantly against the Germans and Italians in the closing days of World War II.  Think about it: These courageous service men fought for a country that denied their full rights as human beings.  It would be 20 long years until the civil rights movement would start being codified into law.

Rather than devour the latest tabloid trash about some nefarious rapper or NBA star, I wish young African Americans would learn about men like Benjamin Banneker, the first black astronomer, who taught himself astronomy and advanced mathematics.  He became so accomplished, he was able to accurately predict solar and lunar eclipses.  Thomas Jefferson was so impressed by Banneker’s mechanical and mathematical abilities, he recommended Banneker for the surveying team that laid out Washington, D.C.

Or how about Dr. Charles Richard Drew, who set up the first blood bank and performed important research in blood transfusions and blood storage.  And then there’s Otis Boykin, who invented one of the earliest resisters for use in the circuitry of computers, televisions, and radios.

Oh, and here's a good movie recommendation: "Hidden Figures," which came out in 2017 and is based on a true story.

The story involves three African American female mathematicians -- Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan -- who worked for NASA in the early 1960s during the space race. Early in the movie, one of the women is shown as a young child demonstrating her mathematical proficiency on a chalkboard. As her parents looked on, she proved she was more than worthy to be admitted to an advanced school for gifted children. Let's put it this way: The calculus (Or was it trigonometry, or physics? Beats me!) was far more complex than 99.9 percent of ADULTS could comprehend, in my estimation.

In an era of slide rules and blackboards, their mathematical abilities proved crucial to early space missions. Working at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the women faced a double-whammy: They were women in a male-dominated field in the early 1960s, and they were black women in a southern state.

In today's angry, bitter society, when demagogues seek to stoke racial enmities and pit the races against each other, positive and inspirational movies such as "Hidden Figures" are what's needed to help young black people take great pride in their race and what they are capable of.

It does them no good to fan the flames of anger and dwell on the very real and horrible events of the past. We certainly should never ignore slavery, Jim Crow laws, the KKK and lynchings, among the many atrocities that have taken place in this nation, but nor should we seek to immerse our young people in them 24/7. That is not conducive to long-term healing and racial harmony. And it also presents a distorted history -- i.e., that all white people are oppressors, rather than that many whites of the 1800s were abolitionists and politicians who fought hard to end slavery, and hundreds of thousands of whites gave their lives fighting against the Confederacy in the Civil War.

So bring on the history lessons. We all benefit from gaining greater perspective on the important people and events that helped make this the world's greatest nation.

When it Rains, it Pours & Misery Loves Company

I've been around long enough to know that things go in cycles. It doesn't pay to get too high when everything's working out and the future seems like gold. (Remember the corny song title "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"?).

Nor is it wise to be totally gloom-n-doom when things are turning to shit -- when you can't get out of the pessimism rut. The Doors song from the "L.A. Woman" album, "Been Down So Long," includes this depressing lyric: "Well, I've been down so Goddamn long that it looks like up to me..."

So no, I'm not feeling depressed about the MSU Spartans getting blown out by 30 points at home, just a couple weeks after losing for the first time ever to Rutgers -- also by 30 points. The Iowa Hawkeyes trounced MSU, 88-58 at the Breslin Center -- Tom Izzo's worst home loss in his 26 years as head coach. And so it goes.

When you've been spoiled rotten with 22 straight years of making the NCAA Basketball Tournament, multiple Big Ten Titles, and eight Final Four appearances since 1999,  it's damned tough to deal with a mediocre-at-best team that won't make the post-season tournament and is bad enough to be humiliated on its home court.

But in the "misery loves company" department, several other traditional powerhouse programs -- namely Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina -- also are struggling and may not make the post-season tournament. Let's put it this way: Duke, despite its typical lineup of five-star recruits, lost at home to the Spartans back in December. That's telling.

The Blue Devils are one of only two teams (the other being Kansas) with longer NCAA Tournament streaks than MSU, having gone dancing 24 straight years. Duke is 8-8 and buried in ninth place in the ACC Conference, yet is ranked a respectable 35th in Jeff Sagarin's rankings published by USA Today. They still have a reasonable chance of making the tournament.

North Carolina is also scratching and clawing to make the cut. The Tar Heels have won three national championships since 2005 but are currently in fifth place in the ACC with a 12-7 record.

Meanwhile, over in the SEC Conference, longtime blue blood Kentucky is suffering through one of its worst seasons in decades. The Wildcats' woeful 6-13 overall record sees them looking up at a bevy of teams as they languish in eight place. It's pretty much certain they won't make the NCAA Tournament.

The blue blood that still has an excellent chance to participate in the Big Dance is Kansas. The Jayhawks have the longest tournament streak -- 30 years. They are 15-7 overall and in third place in the Big 12. Surprisingly, they're not ranked in the Top 25. (Nor are  NC, Duke, MSU and Kentucky).

To give you an idea how ludicrous preseason rankings are, check out the AP's preseason college rankings. Kansas was ranked 6, followed a few slots down by Duke (9), Kentucky (10), MSU (13) and North Carolina (16).

The erratic scheduling and unpredictability of the COVID pandemic is partly to blame for these powerhouse teams underperforming. But I think it goes way beyond players missing games and practices as they self-quarantine, and teams being out of sync because they've practiced and played with incomplete and inconsistent lineups. I think it's also partly a psychological malaise caused by lockdowns and lack of contact with friends and family.

In the case of the Spartans, their two best players last year, point guard Cassius Winston and forward Xavier Tillman, are both in the NBA. Many of the players on the roster were four-star recruits, but some of them are taking longer than expected to develop. Others who are veterans are underperforming. 

It's a shame the 2020 tournament was cancelled, because last year's Spartans were super talented, red hot and peaking at the right time. They had a legitimate shot to win it all, or at least make it to the Final Four. This year, it's Murphy's Law: Everything that can go wrong will go wrong -- and at the worst possible moment.

But as I've mentioned before, with what's going on in our nation, a disappointing performance by my alma mater's sports team isn't something that's going to spoil my day. Life's too short. Bread-n-circuses are a diversion, not the be all and end all.

The Evil Triumvirate

Today's millennials may have never heard of Larry Flynt, who died Wednesday at the age of 78. He was the founder of one of the most grotesquely graphic porn magazines of all time, Hustler. In 1978, he was paralyzed in an assassination attempt, and he struggled with alcohol and drug dependency over the years.

Back in the 1970s, Flynt was one of the three major porn purveyors in the magazine age -- prior to the VHS & DVD era, and way before the Internet and streaming video. The other two porn kingpins were Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who died in 2017, and Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione, who died in 2010. The damage these three dirtbags did to millions of people with their exploitive endeavors is incalculable.

All three of them eventually moved into video products and ancillary ventures such as casinos, hotels, strip clubs and boutiques to further monetize their smut. What it boils down to is they got rich by objectifying and exploiting women. 

Playboy tried to portray itself as having a little class and substance, occasionally featuring well-known writers such as Gore Vidal, John Updike, and David Halberstam. There was a hackneyed 1970s joke about how "I just read it for the articles." Penthouse was more graphic, but Hustler was obscenely vulgar -- reflecting the depraved nature of its publisher. Penthouse attempted to raise its literary profile by delving into investigative reporting, but Hustler never bothered to pretend it was anything but a blatant smut magazine.

Flynt was, as you would expect, a progressive (i.e., a libertine hedonist). He hated Donald Trump, and just before the 2016 election offered  up to $1 million for video or audio recordings of Trump engaging in illegal or “sexually demeaning or derogatory” activity. In 2019, Larry Flynt Publications sent a Christmas card to several Republican congressmen showing Trump dead, lying in a pool of blood. This was one sick puppy.

There were and are plenty of other smut publications -- Gallery, Oui, Screw, Club, Genesis and dozens of others. But the two "P's" and Hustler seemed to be king of the hill back in the day. The publishers, with their left-of-center political beliefs and support of abortion, may have portrayed themselves as friends of women. But the truth is, they and their enterprises were misogynistic to the extreme.

Studies have repeatedly shown that debasing and degrading women with porn contributes to disrespect for and mistreatment of women. Many women who are involved in the porn industry or prostitution have drug problems and low self-esteem, and this sordid field only worsens things. Untold numbers of men have destroyed their marriages by indulging in porn that interferes with their respect for and relationship with their spouse or significant other. And regrettably, porn continues to get more violent, more lewd and warped, as time goes by. It destroys souls, lives, families and communities.

The world is a better place now that Larry Flynt is no longer with us. One must wonder what it's like to have led such a life, pass away from the temporal world, and stand before the architect of the universe for a life review.

The Real Collusion

A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned to me that he thought Democrats and liberals were so arrogant, so full of themselves, that some of them would not be able to resist gloating about how they rigged the 2020 election to oust Donald Trump from office. They would, in effect, verify that Trump was right when he questioned the election's outcome and alleged the deck was stacked against him.

I pictured such a boast as having to do with the nitty gritty specifics of rigged voting machines, dead voters, ballot harvesting and mysterious pallets of ballots being shipped across state lines in the wee hours. While some of that undoubtedly went on, it appears a well-coordinated full-court press by many segments of American society was effective in boosting Biden's support and depressing / demoralizing Trump's support.

For all the hyperventilating about Russian Collusion by the blowhard Democrats and garbage media, Russian collusion was a phony sham that was actually part of the larger collusion -- by a series of individuals and organizations who despise Donald Trump -- to delegitimize his presidency and make damned sure he did not win re-election in 2020.

This movement included frothing-at-the-mouth Never Trumpers, 90 percent negative news coverage, and widespread demonization of people working in the Trump administration as well as Trump supporters. Ah, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Time magazine has published a piece by Molly Ball titled, "The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election."  Ms. Ball spoke of "an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans."

Her piece fully admits that a motley crew of Trump haters and/or Biden lovers ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to unions to Black Lives Matter to nonprofits to Big Tech and academia worked together seamlessly to promote pro-Biden and anti-Trump messaging and propaganda.

And it's not as if the propaganda had to be heavy-handed or risk wandering into absurdity territory (see Baghdad Bob). No, quite the contrary: It just needed to be nonstop -- a steady drip, drip, drip, 24/7 for months and months. What did Nazi propagandist Goebbels say: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Only in this case, change the singular words from "lie" and "it" to "lies" and "them."

But beyond the propaganda, I must give credit to the left for efficiently mobilizing its militant lawyers and social justice warriors who happen to be secretaries of state, attorneys general, judges, governors or state lawmakers. Methinks they were well aware that many Republicans at the state and federal levels are spineless and would mount little or no opposition. ("Know thine enemy.")

The Biden coalition got states to change voting systems and laws and helped secure hundreds of millions in public and private funding. They recruited armies of poll workers and got millions of people to vote by mail for the first time. They successfully pressured social media companies to take a harder line against what they claimed was disinformation and used data-driven strategies to fight viral smears.

The late, great Charles Krauthammer was correct when he said, ..."You can have the most advanced and efflorescent cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away." It happened to Germany 90 years ago, and it is happening here, too.

While there are a few hard-nosed Republicans who are more than willing to lock horns with the Democrats, they are few and far between. There are way too many milquetoast Republicans who buy into the false notion that we can "come together" and sing Kumbaya 'round the campfire. They love the adulation of the mainstream media, and regard the cocktail parties of Georgetown and Chevy Chase with as much awe as disco dancers revered New York's Studio 54 in 1979. Recognition and acceptance to these unprincipled hacks are like heroin to the junkie.

There are ample good reasons why someone once referred to the Dems and GOP as "The evil party and the stupid party."

Thoughts on the Super Bowl

I don't pay as much attention to sports as I used to, for two reasons: Our nation is in crisis, and I am deeply concerned about the future. I must make an effort every day to focus more on my own self-improvement and helping others rather than grousing about politics. The second reason is that sports, which used to be an escape from the toxicity and stupidity of politics, now marinates in politics. 

It was great news when I read that viewership for the 2020 NBA Finals was only about 35 percent what it was in 2019, and the regular season ratings have suffered, too. Millions of people are fed up with the Black Lives Matter pandering and excessive PC. (Not to mention, many are repulsed by the NBA's cozy relationship with Communist China.) Ratings are also down for football, baseball and hockey.

But today is Super Bowl Sunday, and as everyone knows, the Super Bowl is more of a cultural phenomenon than a championship game. Millions of non-football fans or lukewarm fans will watch part of all of the game and be highly interested in the vaunted commercials, which in my opinion often are downright stupid and grossly overrated. In the past, Super Bowl parties were commonplace, but in the COVID era, I'm not so sure they will proliferate.

The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are favored by 3 points. I heard a sports talk radio dude say the other day that Vegas was reporting something like 70 percent of the bets were on the Chiefs. (If that's the case, why hasn't the point spread increased. Guess I don't know enough about gambling to figure this one out.)

This will be the first time ever that a team (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) will play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. But due to COVID restrictions on crowd sizes (social distancing is necessary in stadiums, of course), the crowd for Tampa Bay will be much smaller than the stadium's capacity. The dorky cardboard cutout fans will populate the seats, though (what an idiotic idea; who came up with it?)

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Tom Brady will win his seventh Super Bowl in a close, exciting game. Let's make it 37-35 Bucs. Brady was able to win two playoff games against excellent teams on the road (New Orleans and Green Bay), defeating top-notch quarterbacks Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. He has excellent running backs and receivers (including another former New England Patriot, the great tight end Rob Gronkowski). 

But I am picking Tampa Bay for the same reason I went against the grain and picked the New York Giants over New England in Super Bowl 46 (Feb. 5, 2012) and the Philadelphia Eagles over New England in Super Bowl 52 (Feb. 4, 2018): An excellent defensive line.

Make no mistake, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is fantastic and dynamic. A strong arm, great accuracy, and he's a super fast runner whenever he wants to take off. He's also a great guy; never appears arrogant or full of himself. He's one of my all-time favorite players. Given time, he will pick apart Tampa Bay's secondary. But I think the Buccaneers' defensive line can rush and harass him frequently.

Defensive end Ndamukong Suh, first drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2010, remains one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time. Either double-team this wrecking ball, or pay a heavy price. Jason Pierre-Paul, the other defensive end, is also a well-respected veteran and was a part of that 2012 Giants Super Bowl team. And then there's former MSU Spartan William Gholston, who is enjoying a successful NFL career. 

Two of Kansas City's stellar offensive tackles, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, are injured and won't play. This is a bad time to be without two starting offensive linemen. On a personal note, there's a starting O-lineman for the Chiefs who went to my high school: Midland High School in Midland, Mich.: Andrew Wylie. Matter of fact, I worked with someone (he's now retired) who is close friends with Andrew's father!

I don't know much about Tampa Bay's head coach, but I like Andy Reid, the Chief's head coach. He's a good guy who spent a dozen years as a successful coach in Philadelphia before joining the Chiefs a few  years ago. I've always felt some empathy for him because his son died of a heroin overdose in 2012, and that's a crushing loss that would destroy most people. It's a testimony to Reid's strong Mormon faith and the loving support of his family -- his wife, two daughters and two sons -- that Reid has continued to prosper.

If this game is as entertaining as the conference championship games (especially Tampa Bay at Green Bay) two weeks ago, it will be thoroughly enjoyable. I won't pay close attention; I'll probably be chatting on the phone with a friend, reading a few things online, swilling some brews and enjoying Jet's Pizza. Couldn't do this regularly or I'd weight 300 lbs., but once a year won't kill me.

May the best team win, and may Bread 'n' circuses remain with us to the end of days...