A Jury of His Peers

#MeToo has hit critical mass.

As if there weren't enough questions about Brett Kavanaugh's character, it is very likely that he is also a rapist. The Supreme Court nominee's path to confirmation has become the Clarence Thomas hearings on steroids. In a more socially conscious era in regard to sexual misconduct, Kavanaugh has become the face of the flawed "boys will be boys" mindset.

The worst part is, the GOP bigwigs were reluctant to hear Ford out. Some outright refused. Kavanaugh has become less of a jewel in Trump's crown as he has become both a partisan football and a measuring stick for what is morally just in 2018. You can gripe about the timing all you want, but that aspect is irrelevant. Regardless of whether Dr. Ford said something in 2012 or last week, the accusation is still legitimate. Her testimony on Thursday was both brave and authentic, in contrast to Kavanaugh's barely contained fury. The committee's own reluctance to ask direct questions was a bad look, to say the least. In turn, the Democrats' presentation was an awkward data dump.

Now the vote rests in the hands of the U.S. Senate. One hopes that enough members of the GOP will vote with their conscience.

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Standing Forward, Looking Backward

For this milestone post, I thought I would take this opportunity to reminisce a little bit. I can't anyone reading this to go back and read 13 years' worth of blog entries, especially if you just found my blog. Emmy predictions, baseball and football haiku aside, please enjoy this personal top ten, in chronological order by post date:

A really bad weekend from Summer 2009.

My favorite year for music in the past decade.

How my desire to work in the radio industry came to an ignoble end.

Pondering my mortality.

The high point of my high school career.

How I ruined an old friendship.

My craziest temp job experience.

The beginning of my toxic college relationship (a four-part story).

Musing on David Letterman, which links to a more extensive tribute to Dave.

My eulogy to my mother.

Enjoy!

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32 Teams, 32 Haiku: My 2018 NFL Preview

I meant to post this before the Falcons-Iggles game tonight, so I apologize for the delay:

Another NFL season is upon us. Much like the Western Conference in the NBA, its clear the NFC has an overall edge on the AFC. Where the NFC North and West expect to be extremely competitive, the AFC North and South are a motley crew of uninspiring, so-so squads. Even with the Eagles boasting two elite, proven quarterbacks the competition in their own conference took a step up. The AFC has the Pats, Steelers, Texans, maybe the Bolts... and everyone else.

With that said, here is my 2018 NFL forecast, 17 syllables at a time:

NOTE: asterisks indicate wild cards

NFC North
1. Vikings. (10-6) Yum, a healthy Cook/makes rushing game savory/balance is the key.
2. Packers*. (10-6) Rodgers, China doll/weak O-line fails at their job/a legend is cheesed.
3. Bears. (7-9) The Monsters are back/D upgrades overshadow/raw, feral offense.
4. Lions. (7-9) Time for "Patty Ball"/Stafford finally has help/young D still growing.

NFC East
1. Eagles. (11-5) Foles the folk hero/must not lay an egg; repeat/depends on tough sked.
2. Giants. (9-7) Saquon, savior/finally, a rushing game/but no scoring D.
3. Cowboys. (8-8) O-line injuries/flattens the Dak; all eyes on/young secondary.
4. Redskins. (4-12) Their play-action game/doesn't fit Smith; on defense/more taters than Hogs.

NFC South
1. Saints. (11-5) Williams' gaffe aside/a team with this much bench depth/should be canonized.
2. Falcons*. (10-6) 28 to 3/still lingers; Ridley can run/believe it or not!
3. Panthers. (7-9) Beyond Cam, the O/is more kitten than cat; watch/the superb D-line.
4. Bucs. (5-11) A pure zone D can/only do so much; Jameis/needs to mature, stat!

NFC West
1. Rams. (12-4) Simply dynamic/don't scoff at Goff's weapons/One flaw? LB depth.
2. 49ers. (9-7) High-end defense picks/must earn their paychecks; Jimmy/G. can't do it all.
3. Seahawks. (7-9) Drama, now rebuild/Wilson needs a running back/new guys must produce.
4. Cardinals. (6-10) Suspect new head coach/inherits rare QB depth/birds fly if healthy.

AFC North
1. Steelers. (11-5) Big Ben clangs along/young edge rushers carry D/makes high-scoring thrills.
2. Ravens. (8-8) The "Wolf Pack" is back/a healthy Flacco still rolls/my playoff sleeper.
3. Bengals. (7-9) New O-line, who dey?/that Burfict situation/leaves hole at LB.
4. Browns. (4-12) A slow crawl back up/no new Hue, they're still orange/but upgrades intrigue.

AFC East
1. Patriots. (11-5) Brady, immortal?/Don't let yards allowed fool you/the machine rolls on.
2. Bills. (7-9) After fluke playoff/run, lack of receivers send/bison back to earth.
3. Dolphins. (6-10) Murphy's Law season/has passed; head coach must prove his/Gase or be fired.
4. Jets. (4-12) No clear-cut QB/top notch D wasted by green/faces on offense.

AFC South
1. Texans. (10-6) Bounce-back quite likely/a (healthy) dear Watson is/elementary.
2. Titans*. (9-7) Everything weighs/on Mariota's health; good/depth is not enough.
3. Jaguars. (8-8) This defense has claws/underappreciated/Bortles runs the ball.
4. Colts. (5-11) Luck is running out/Hilton aside, the whole South/has passed these ponies.

AFC West
1. Chargers. (10-6) The sacks keep coming/and underrated Rivers/keeps offense floating.
2. Chiefs*. (9-7) Young Mahomes has toys/but porous D persists; will/the hotshot grow up?
3. Broncos. (6-10) No horsing around/at QB, a puzzling Case/fans might get a Chubb.
4. Raiders. (5-11) Davis and Chucky/wheel and deal without mercy/Vegas move distracts.

NFL MVP: Todd Gurley, Rams
Offensive ROY: Saquon Barkley, Giants
Defensive ROY: Roquan Smith, Bears
First Head Coach Fired: Hue Jackson, Browns
Super Bowl LIII: Patriots 25, Rams 20

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Our Man in Arizona

John McCain was a flawed human. As far as I'm concerned, let the nutjobs and Trump lemmings that have hijacked the GOP --to the say the least of some picky progressives-- piss on McCain's grave. I didn't see to eye with his politics, but McCain was a patriot and warrior. My respect was unwavering, even though I only voted for him once (as a write-in for president in the 2004 primary). As a POW, his bravery under astonishing duress cannot be questioned.

When McCain said something potentially offensive, he apologized (with one possible exception). The fact of the matter is, all politicians have done something regrettable.  If he came off as brash and arrogant upon first impression, he sat down and listened soon after. He was the last of a dying breed, a Republican that believed in bipartisanship for the sake of the nation, and a maverick before it became Tea Party cliche. With McCain's death, the rift widens further.

Next Week: my 2018 NFL preview.

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Through a Freshman's Eyes... 15 Years Ago

Every May, with the onset of high school graduation, I post my own personal version of Beloit College's famed "mindset list." However, I just celebrated my birthday, and this month also marks 15 years since I started college.

With that said, if you graduated from high school in 2003...

+ ...the Middle East has always been on equal footing with Russia as a threat to the United States.
+ ...it has always been acceptable for a women to run for (at the very least) Vice President of the United States.
+ ...there has only been one version of the game show "Jeopardy!" and it has always been hosted by Alex Trebek.
+ ...it has always been legal to record TV shows.
+ ...gas has always been unleaded.
+ ...Lean Cuisine has always been available in a supermarket near you.
+ ...the Detroit Tigers have never won a World Series.
+ ...Pete Rose has always been the all-time hit king and associated with gambling.
+ ...they have never seen a USFL game.
+ ...Richard Burton, Truman Capote, Ricky Nelson, Samantha Smith, Laura Ashley, Orson Welles, Nicholas "Coach" Colasanto, Karen Ann Quinlin, Benigno Aquino, and Ruth Gordon have always been dead.
+ ...there has always been a screening test for AIDS.

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Fighting Words

My personal three-posts-a-month quota is killing me, so I'll keep this one short.

Omarosa, you done messed up. Your efforts were noble, I get that. In an attempt to blow the lid on President Trump, and with more credibility than "Fire & Fury," you still wrote several hundred pages of unsubstantiated gossip-mongering. Its more salacious than revealing. The most noteworthy accusation, where Omarosa Marigault-Newman (Stallworth?) hears Trump say the N-word and has audio proof, stops short of explaining why she hasn't released the recording. Video has also failed to turn up.

The Trump administration is toxic to the extent that even the whistle-blowers can't help but trip over themselves. They are excised, they are labeled pathetic by Trump and his staff, and when they offer their side of the story (like Steve Bannon via Michael Wolff) they veer into heresy and self-serving. Even Sean Spicer's omission-riddled memoir, far more glad-handing than the works of Wolff or Omarosa, was scoffed at.

Two more years of this nonsense.

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