Modern Communication

http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-04-05

Upper Marlboro Man

What.  A.  Game.  Last night's men's college basketball championship was a welcome respite from all the political shrieking and spinning, and it was a reminder of what compels so many of us watch sports -- it's the best kind of reality TV.  The only kind, really.

Paige for the tie . . .

To the very end, it was a tight contest.  Favored North Carolina took a small lead, then slight underdog Villanova rallied to grab the lead for themselves, and it looked like they were in control and on the way to victory.  But North Carolina clawed back into it and with under ten seconds left, Carolina's Marcus Paige launched an ugly, improbable, double-clutch, splay-legged three-point prayer . . . and made it to tie the game!

. . .  Jenkins for the win!

With less than 5 seconds remaining, overtime was extremely likely.  But Villanova inbounded and raced madly up the court.  The ball-handler drove into the key and flipped the ball back to Kris Jenkins, who cooly sank a nothing-but-net three-pointer to win the national championship as time expired.  Bedlam ensued.  Final score Villanova 77-North Carolina 74.  Without a doubt, one of the best college finals ever!






The hero of the game, Kris Jenkins, hails from Upper Marlboro, MD.  Teammates Daniel Ochefu and Josh Hart are from Baltimore and Silver Spring, MD respectively.  It just so happens that Buster has family roots and relations in those places.  And since the Buckeyes were nowhere near championship caliber this year, I found myself pulling for the Villanova Wildcats of Philadelphia . . . and Upper Marlboro!

Great game!

Sorry, Mike.

Creepy Ted Cruz Has Creepy Friends

N.C. Gov. McCrory's Potty Protection Program

Yes, Buster's back.  April Fool's Day is over, but now every day is Fool's Day in North Carolina!

Thanks, Obama

(Inspired by a NY Times article by Jackie Calmes, 4/3/16.)
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Obama and Neufeldt in 2009

Elkhart, Indiana calls itself the "recreational vehicle manufacturing capital of the world."  In 2009, at the peak of the Great Recession, with the town's unemployment rate at 20%, President Obama came to Elkhart to give a speech highlighting the government's rescue of the auto and financial industries and the federal stimulus program, which included a big grant specific to Elkhart.  A 62 year-old supporter, Ed Neufeldt, an unemployed RV worker, was chosen to introduce the president prior to his speech.

Elkhart received a lot of government help back then, and it sure seems like it worked.  Today in 2016, Elkhart's unemployment rate stands at a low 3.8%, the RV business is booming again, and real estate values are up.  Neufeldt is now 69 and works part-time.  He's proud that his daughter and three sons-in-law have good full-time jobs in the RV industry.

So who's Ed Neufeldt supporting for president in 2016?  You guessed it.  Donald Trump.  Says Ed, "I like the way he just won't take nothin' off of nobody."  (Ooh!  Triple negative!)

So what's Ed's problem with Obama?  It's . . . wait for it . . . abortion.  Seriously.  WTF?!!  And of course, there's Obama's lingering blackness.

Poor Ed!  He illustrates a problem in politics and in life often cited in these pages:

Ignorance can be fixed, but stupid is forever.

Mitch McConnell Speaks The Awful Truth

"I can't imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame duck session, a Supreme Court nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association."
                                             -- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Buster's Final Post

This may be something of a shock to faithful readers, but this is the final post of Buster's Blog as you've come to know it. (OK, all you haters, hold your applause.) 

You see, I've been doing some thinking -- soul searching, you might call it -- and I've had an epiphany: I've been wrong about everything, and I'm gonna try to make things right. 

I reject all my past liberal, progressive proclamations. I was just showing off. In my heart, I'm deeply conservative. I see now that Fox News and the Tea Party had it right all along, and I realize that Obama is truly the anti-Christ (even if he is my distant cousin). I apologize for my many anti-religion comments. I will embrace the church and become Roman Catholic. No, that's not enough -- I'll be an Evangelical Baptist. I now believe that all right-thinking Americans should join me and vote for Donald Trump, and together we'll enjoy dominion over everything. And I sincerely regret all the profanity and sexual references which have regularly appeared in this space. 

Buster is a changed, contrite man. I'll never go down the wrong path again, and I come to you now hat in hand, begging forgiveness for all my past derelictions. Mea culpa. 














(If, for some reason, you believe any of the foregoing bullshit, check the date of this post.)