College Football Madness and Trump’s Dangerous Weapon

Our college football playoffs are upon us once again and parity rules supreme across the pigskin landscape.  No team…with the possible exception of Ohio State…has demonstrated a clear competitive separation from its rivals.  This is a good thing for the sport, but a terrific challenge for its administrators.  The swirling combination of conference expansions, NIL, transfer portal free agency, the coaching carousel, and the continuing foolish influence of subjective injections into the playoff selection process has brought this season to a tumultuous conclusion … and it shows no sign of abatement.

 

I do not…and doubt that anyone else does…have a failsafe solution to this runaway train that is college football.  It is a whirling dervish of moving parts that is constantly morphing from one crisis to another.  The effort required to keep the lid on it at the moment makes it nigh on impossible to prudently plan for the future.  But…that must be done.  Somebody has to make a call.  Clearly, given the parity we are seeing and the lack of consistent dominance by any small group of teams, the future playoff invitations need to be reconsidered.  How that is accomplished is the million dollar question.

 

I want to throw out rules and reason and think outside the box about a new college football configuration.  Our conferences have become far too scattered and we need to return to a fundamental, regional conference setup composed of six major conferences.  The foolishness of seeing BIG 10 schools flying coast-to-coast…crossing multiple time zones…for weekly games is simply stupid.  The mere fact that the ACC faces the possibility of not having its league champion in the playoffs is a clear result of having diluted talent and a too-complex tie-breaking formula.  I say let’s go back to the PAC 10 to represent the West Coast; the Big 12 to represent the Southwest; the BIG 10 to represent the Midwest; the SEC to represent the Southeast; the ACC to represent the East Coast; and a conference to be named later that can represent the Northeast.  That’s six conferences that are easily defined by region and cover the nation.  Ideally, all the conferences would have the same number of teams…at least, close to the same number.

 

I will go one step further and advocate for a new FBS Division I championship that includes only these major conferences.  Any current Group of Five team or FCS team that wants to up its game and competitive challenge could also be included by joining one of the six FBS conferences.  These teams would have 85 scholarships each; the current number allowed. A starting point for the championship could be a 12-game season with 9 conference games and 3 out-of-conference games with other DI schools.  That would provide some valid conference-to-conference comparisons.  There would be no conference championship game with the top two teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs, and playoff game matchups and bracketing would be decided by national rankings and committee seeding.  All twelve teams get a plate at the table, but their performance will determine where they sit.

 

Then we would have an FCS Division II domain that would encompass the remaining Group of Five teams, along with any existing current FCS teams that did not move up to one of those six FBS conferences.  The conference structure would evolve to cope with the teams leaving and the teams remaining in DII.  These teams would have 50 scholarships; that is 14 above the current level of 36.  The current FCS playoff system can serve as the foundation for this division’s playoff factoring in the conference realignments.  If this idea were to play out, there is an excellent chance that the talent and competitive level in DII will be raised dramatically and its playoffs could rival the DI folks for excitement.

 

The final Division III grouping would include the current DIII, academic-centric schools along with any of the current FCS schools that did not want to step up to the newly-formed DII level.  This division would offer no scholarships.  This would include those schools that are simply looking for a way to continue a football program without breaking the bank.  The current NAIA and NJCAA divisions would be unaffected by this new restructuring.

 

In my humble opinion, this would reinvigorate schools by reestablishing the regional concept, preserving regional rivalries, and by making college football administration far more affordable and manageable.  It would also make the DI championship tournament more meaningful and easier to administer in an equitable fashion.  Current middle-tier schools (Group of Five and FCS) could decide whether to increase their investment in their football program to join DI or pull back a bit and go with DII or DIII.  The exploding increase in the expense to fund a current college football program will make this a welcome option for many schools, with a few likely moving down to DIII,

 

Now let’s talk about the latest Trump indictment.  No…there is not a rogue state Attorney General in some blue state that has conjured up a new case against the President.  What has indicted him this time is his own mouth.  Donald Trump has always been…and will always be…ridiculously irresponsible with his rhetoric.  Many of us suffer from having no filter between our instincts and our mouths; but Donald Trump is the poster child for this affliction.

 

The reckless language that many Democrats have been tossing around over the last several months regarding resistance to the Trump Administration has been increasing at an alarming rate…both in volume and in tone.  There is simply no excuse for much of the uncivil, irresponsible, and ethically-criminal language that many Democrats are tossing about on a daily basis.  Not only is it wrong, it should be embarrassing.  Donald Trump has every right to be furious at these words.

 

Bearing the mantle of the opposition party has always translated into vigorous disagreement with the majority party.  But when that opposition takes the form of careless, baseless, and incendiary remarks that clearly provide cover for violence of varying degrees…it is time to shut the hell up, fall back a bit, and reconsider your approach to the issues.  To any objective observer, the Democrat Party, from the top down, has demonstrated a lack of self-awareness by its obsessive Trump Derangement Syndrome and has allowed itself to ratchet out of control.

 

But as bad as the Democrat behavior has been, Trump has somehow managed to meet it blow for blow.  More and more, the crudeness and venom that is reflected in his response to the Democrats’ rhetorical onslaught has done nothing but inflame the verbal explosion.  Schumer, Jefferies, AOC, Swalwell, Omar, Pritzker, Johnson, Newsom, Mamdani, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post…all of these sources have been undisciplined loose cannons as far as reasonable political discourse is concerned.  But entitled as he is to respond to ridiculous attacks on his person and Administration, President Trump is not justified to respond in equal measure when that measure is so inflammatory.  The simple fact is that our nation has one President and he is that.  Schumer, Jefferies, and the rest of the heel-nipping pack do not distinguish themselves by their words and actions; but they are much smaller pieces in the machinery than our President. Their actions and words simply make them more irrelevant. 

 

Donald Trump has essentially three years left in his final term as president to accomplish his policy goals.  Every time he leaps down into the mud to wrestle with Democrat flamethrowers, he is wasting the precious time that has been allocated for him to serve this nation.  The plain and simple fact is that Donald Trump is all too often his own worst enemy.  He is a wise man…a strong man…with good instincts.  But he is also an undisciplined egomaniac with an atrocious lack of self-control whose entitled life has been ruled by a “shoot first and think later” philosophy.  America deserves better from our president and Trump is capable of being so much more than what he is.  He could be historic

 

Now on to the news of the day….

 

Priority One: Restore the integrity of our National Education system…

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/26/public-schools-are-failing-and-parents-are-bailing/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-pernicious-effects-of-grade-inflation/

 

Why is national education so critical?  Just consider what the results have been…

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/27/can-the-lost-generation-be-found/

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/why-we-actually-should-worry-about-gen-z/ar-AA1RbJUx

 

The Russia-Ukraine war continues its tragic harvest of death and destruction.  There are no good answers, but one must be found…

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/12/01/the-war-in-ukraine-lots-of-questions-and-a-few-answers/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/11/lets-hope-the-russia-ukraine-peace-proposal-improves/

 

https://freebeacon.com/columns/why-the-ukraine-peace-plan-may-be-pointless/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2025/11/24/former-zelensky-spox-ukraine-must-sign-peace-deal-to-avoid-even-greater-losses/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/darin-gaub-deception-vladimir-putin/2025/11/28/id/1236341/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/remember-vladimir-putins-promises-are-worthless/

 

Everything is “legalnomics” these days.  Do you ever get the impression that our nation is led by the judges and not by our elected officials?

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/justice-alito-issues-stay-in-texas-redistricting-case/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2025/11/21/exclusive-lawsuit-claims-leftist-benson-is-breaking-michigan-election-law/

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/11/22/the-eleventh-circuit-finds-that-covid-beach-closures-constituted-unconstitutional-takings/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/24/obergefell-will-be-overturned-we-can-wait/

 

The mainstream media continues to struggle internally with its own conscience…seeking to regain some credibility, integrity, and respect…

 

https://jewishworldreview.com/jonathan/rosenblum112425.php

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/geographic-reveal-exposes-fakes.php

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/28/is-cnn-about-to-turn-red/

 

We can only hope and pray for our President’s success when he pursues good, common sense policies…both domestic and foreign…

 

https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/sunus-comptroller-who-spent-decades-trying-shrink-government

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/30/the-two-calls-to-the-pacific-president-trump-unravels-the-myth-of-a-special-us-china-relationship/

 

 

 

AI is NOT a Gun, a Wrench, or a Pencil

From the moment primitive man discovered fire, it was used for good and bad purposes.  The one who wields an instrument typically has control of the benefits…or the harm…resulting from that use.  It is pointless for man to try and bottle up creativity, innovation, and evolution; they are all inevitable.  The real challenge is attempting to institute ethics, morals, and legal restrictions on how those advancements might be incorporated into the world around us.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is clearly smack dab in the middle of this reality.

 

But there is a rather unique aspect of AI that should concern us all.  That is the fact that someone must install the fundamental assumptions and premises into AI that will ultimately be used to determine the responsive conclusions and answers we receive from AI.  As the old saying goes…Garbage in, Garbage out.  In the case of AI, the consequences of the initial logic download into the application will be equally as important as the application of the technology…and the consequences will be dramatic.  Elevating the potential abusive and irresponsible use of AI is the fact that the initial logic download, the parameters and data that will ultimately craft the AI responses, will be largely hidden, ignored, or might be intentionally deceptive.  “Who” will imprint the brain behind the AI application and will we even know that information?  Perhaps a larger question is… “Will we even care?”

 

The advent of computers hinged upon the binary system…a simple yes or no…a zero or a one.  If we compare AI to initial computer technology, the expansive capabilities and broad applications that we are about to experience with AI will be as trigonometry is to simple arithmetic; they will be far more complex and subjective.   No doubt, Dr. Victor Frankenstein pondered whether the brain he placed in the cranium of his creature was evil or good.  How thoughtful, transparent, and ethical will the people be who install the driving forces behind AI applications?  Will they adhere to accepted and universal truths and facts, an objective view of the world…or… will they be tilted or biased in a subjective fashion in an effort to influence the ultimate application?

 

Consider the gun, the wrench, and the pencil…the ultimate verdict on their use is largely in the hands of those who possess the instrument.  But in the matter of AI, there will be a hidden dimension to this equation …an additional creative layer…whereby the creator of the AI application has the ability to not only predict and control its logic, but to also affect who might use it, how it might be used, and the impact of that usage.  How will it be marketed?  How will it be applied?  How will it be evaluated? 

 

It is not unreasonable to expect that there will be different versions of AI applications that do the same tasks, but simply do them utilizing different approaches…different fundamental points of view.  People might choose a simple, basic, to-the-point version that provides fundamental utilities…such as yes/no or right/wrong.  Others might choose a multi-layered, complex version that not only addresses a wider range of tasks, but might also offer a unique and surprising method of logic. We might see AI versions for kids, AI versions for young adults, or AI versions for the elderly.  It would not be surprising to have a liberal AI version or a conservative AI version.  People might choose AI applications that align with their religious beliefs.  No doubt, there will be AI applications that encompass new concepts in sexuality, morals, and ethics. In other words, much as a person might go online and find validation for their own ideas and opinions within the cyber universe…they might also find that same validation by choosing an AI application that thinks like they do.  That is, of course…assuming we are advised as to the AI’s thinking.

 

Raising children has always been a monumental challenge for parents.  I have often remarked to my son and daughter that the challenge of raising their offspring will be markedly more difficult than it was for me and their mother.  Oh sure, many of the fundamental life lessons dealing with right and wrong, good and evil, morality, ethics, love, compassion…they remain constant and eternally essential. But the plain and simple fact is that today’s youth are faced with many more options to go down the wrong paths in this world.   Even though new technology has always brought with it moral, ethical, legal, and practical questions surrounding its usage; the inescapable reality is that new technology is advancing at remarkable rates and its application concerns and complexities are multiples of what new ideas presented us with decades ago. 

 

AI is large and it is in our face.  It is not going away.  We can only hope that our culture, our society, our government, our nation, and our world are ready for the remarkable possibilities…both good and bad…that are part and parcel of this new technological wonder.  As long as we as a collective remain cognizant of the fact that AI is a product that reflects its creator’s intent…then it will be nothing more or nothing less than the most recent technological innovation in our rapidly evolving world.  Let’s move on to the news of the day.

 

One of the myriad…and most impactful…applications of AI technology will be in the field of education.  Our national, state, and local educational systems continue to evolve and struggle in their quest to not only define their fundamental missions, but to successfully accomplish those fundamental missions.

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/a-college-student-speaks.php

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/11/17/how-to-reverse-the-dumbing-down-of-american-higher-education/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/harvards-disappointing-grade-inflation-report/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/20/college-finance-congress-should-call-a-spade-a-spade-and-see-schools-for-the-bad-actors-they-are/

 

The new buzz word in today’s media is AFFORDABILITY.  There are two ways (at least) to look at this issue.  The first one is the undeniable fact that Donald Trump left America at the end of his first Administration with a robust economy that was on the verge of explosive performance.  That potential was snuffed out by the total incompetence, economic and otherwise, of the subsequent Biden Administration.  The second point is also undeniable and clearly supported by indisputable data; that being that the Biden Administration left our national economy in a colossal mess at the end of his term.

 

It is patently unfair for the Trump Administration to be held accountable for the crippled economy it inherited from the Biden Administration.  It is simply not reasonable to turn a ship as large and complicated as the national economy around in one year when it has been steaming full force in the opposite direction for four years. 

 

However, it is perfectly reasonable to state the reality that the Republican Party, led by President Donald Trump, now controls (though marginally) both Congress and the White House.  While we should not hold them to the impossible task of turning things around inside of a year, we should clearly hold them responsible for the steps they take and the progress they make towards that effort.  That clock is ticking.

 

No single issue will have more impact on the upcoming mid-term elections than our national economy.  It appears that Trump and the Republicans understand that, but they had best keep it foremost in their thoughts and efforts if they entertain any dreams of remaining in control of our government. 

 

https://newcriterion.com/dispatch/blame-biden-for-the-affordability-crisis/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/the-affordability-crisis-who-is-to-blame.php

 

I personally find President Trump’s approach to foreign policy to be fundamentally pragmatic, reasonable, equitable, and appropriate in balancing all the considerations that go into that proposition.  While not perfect in all aspects, he has instilled a refreshing return to competence, consistency, and strong leadership into that function of the Executive Branch.  Here are some of the balls he is trying to juggle…

 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/11/14/brits-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/bolivian-clock-no-longer-striking-thirteen/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/21/the-trump-mbs-summit-another-huge-trump-foreign-policy-win/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/the-green-chinese-communists.php

 

And while China continues to practice rank hypocrisy in their energy and environmental pursuits, our nation has established what I believe to be a common sense approach to its energy sector that not only bodes well for our future energy demands, but will also dramatically spur our economy and bolster our national security.

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/17/reality-caught-up-to-climate-change/

 

https://freebeacon.com/energy/qa-with-interior-secretary-doug-burgum-on-energy-dominance-and-gavin-newsoms-shrinking-california/

 

I am always amused by the limitless egos possessed by our members of Congress, especially our multi-term U.S. Senators.  They continually refuse to be held accountable for their actions and remarks, they treat their constituents as if they were fools, and they are always far too anxious to apply rules to the citizenry that do not apply to themselves.  Here is a good example and how they repeatedly refuse to see past the ends of their noses when making laws and regulations.

 

https://reason.com/2025/11/19/lindsey-graham-is-outraged-about-federal-surveillance-powers-that-lindsey-graham-helped-create-and-expand/

 

In my past career, I was fortunate to be marginally involved in my employee organization’s lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.  I will venture to say that the closest thing we have to governing royalty in America is a multi-termed United States Senator.  This fact is not only evident in the behavior of these elected officials, but also in the design and furnishings of their Senate offices and buildings. When you walk through the halls of the Senate, everything seems like it was built to a larger scale…like it was super-sized.  Perhaps that was to accommodate the super-sized egos (most, not all) of the people who dwell therein.

 

Most, not all, of our Senators are convinced that they are far more qualified to run this country than whoever the person is residing in the White House.  Here is my tribute to our vainglorious (most, not all) United States Senators…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHEfSzUbh3s

 

 

Fall has Fell…and the Seasons are not the only Things Changing

Welcome to November in Kentucky.  Less than a week ago, I lost a newborn calf to an arctic night, a frigid wind, and a thickly-frosted morning.  Today, I hung a gate and was wearing a short sleeve tee-shirt…and sweating.  Like the world about us, our weather patterns are full of contradictions, surprises, and absurdities. 

 

All things considered, we have had a wonderful fall thus far in my home state.  The temperatures have been fairly normal, notwithstanding the occasional wide disparities previously mentioned, and the rainfall has been quite adequate without being gully-washing aggressive.  All of our grain farmers have had plentiful opportunities to harvest their corn and soybean crops and there have even been several that took one last cutting of hay off some of the better fields.  Soybean prices are pretty good, corn prices could be a lot better, and cattle prices still remain at embarrassingly-high levels.  No apology for the cattle prices…these high years simply offset many of the low years we have experienced over the last decade or so.  It all evens out in the wash.  All things considered…the Lord has been mighty good to us all.

 

As we head into winter and the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we can all find things to be thankful for and…to complain about.  If I might, I will humbly pray the following for everyone…

 

Father…Thank you for the lives we have and the blessings we receive.  As we move through our journeys on this earth, please help us to think more about the welfare of others and less about the state of ourselves.  Lord, help us all to talk less and listen more.  And finally…please help us to focus on all that we have in this world and stop worrying so much about the things we seek and desire.  When we fall short of what we ought to be…when we stumble and fall…please Lord, put your hand on our shoulders and help us to rise back up.  May we learn from our mistakes and manage somehow to live a live worthy of all that we have received.  In the name of Jesus I pray….Amen.

 

I believe in God and I am proud to be a Christian.  Typically, I do not wear my faith on my sleeves…perhaps I should do that more often.  I am not in the habit of throwing my religion up in peoples’ faces.  But in many ways, this world of ours is in rough shape.  A little prayer can do no harm.  And besides….the world needs the prayer and I need the practice.

 

Rather than focus too much on one or two news stories this time around, I want to take a shotgun approach and hit some varied subjects.  Some of them typically take a backseat to the more popular media coverage…the kind that inundates our lives. 

 

The revival of the oil/gas industry and a return to a common sense national energy policy is refreshing and invigorating.  It creates jobs, stimulates commerce, and bolsters America’s national security.  So many of the idealistic and naïve Green New Deal initiatives were nothing but scams, get rich schemes, and corrupt abuse of federal funding.  It is always good to see some type of governmental pivot…no matter how slight…towards good reason and practicality.

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/on-climate-follow-the-money.php

 

https://www.ciphernews.com/articles/fossil-fuels-are-already-booming/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/13/america-at-250-needs-energy-overhaul-arc-is-the-place-to-start/

 

Our Congress has become a carnival of fools and is essentially dysfunctional in regards to its primary functions and responsibilities under our Constitution.  This decay and devolution is a bipartisan effort with both national parties taking turns being the idiot of the moment.

 

 https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/14/congress-has-forgotten-how-to-legislate/

 

The recent government shutdown engineered by Senate Minority Leader Schumer and his merry band of Congressional Democrats was a sad and clear display of how poisonous the legislative environment has become in Congress.  As our federal debt has ballooned at an astounding rate, both national parties continue to criticize the other for spendthrift practices…while proudly advocating those same spendthrift practices for themselves.  The only real fiscal difference between the two is precisely what they spend their money on. The ongoing explosion in federal spending is not sustainable and must be slowed down and reversed. 

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/dems-finally-fold-in-pointless-shutdown-fight/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/11/democrats-caved-on-the-shutdown/

 

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/12/key-facts-about-the-us-national-debt/

 

Obamacare was a mistake from its inception and everyone who voted for it knew that; it was sold on a false basis and was never sustainable.  If you liked your plan, you did not get to keep your plan.  If you liked your doctor, you did not get to keep your doctor.  Americans did not save hundreds of dollars each year on healthcare expenses.  It was Frankenstein Monster legislation that was thrown together in different parts from different interests. As they said…the Democrats had to pass it to find out what was in it.  NO REPUBLICAN VOTED FOR IT.  It was quite simply a government give-away program that has destroyed our national health care industry and added rocket fuel to our national spending.  It must be dismantled and reconstructed in a transparent, bipartisan, fiscally-responsible, and common sense fashion.  National healthcare legislation is essential.  Hard choices must be made.

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/15/obamacare-is-a-disaster-just-as-expected/

 

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/obamacare-secret-heart-shutdown-insurers-got-rich-taxpayer-expense

 

The force of the liberal/progressive/Democrat “Trump Resistance Movement” has been largely mitigated in WDC due to the Republican control of the White House and Congress; but it has strategically moved its base of operations to the myriad benches of rogue federal judges scattered all across America.  Somehow…some way…the Supreme Court and Congress must restore some semblance of order and balance to our third branch of government known as the Judicial.   This blatant disregard for constitutional law that is nourished by lifetime appointments must come to an end.

 

https://americanmind.org/salvo/a-constitutional-turning-point/

 

In an attempt to form a balanced and equitable government, our Constitution was designed in such a way as to place the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.  When executed by noble, responsible, and honest people of integrity…this design works splendidly.  When it is populated by corruptible, power hungry, career politicians…it is an insidious cancer on our democracy.  Like Obamacare, the DOJ needs to be torn down and reconstructed.

 

https://americanmind.org/salvo/enemies-of-the-state/

 

https://justthenews.com/government/security/j6-shocker-fbi-informants-warned-armed-violence-antifa-presence-riot-lawmaker

 

It appears that the significant degree of Democrat Party success in the recent elections has refocused some…perhaps not yet the top man…in the Trump Administration on the need to put extreme emphasis on America’s economy.  It is hard to see any way that it will not be the primary driver in the success or failure of either national party’s efforts in next year’s midterm elections.

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/10/the-race-for-the-trump-economy/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2025/11/13/trump-should-learn-from-j-d-vance-when-it-comes-to-talking-about-prices-and-affordability/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/14/republicans-will-continue-to-lose-elections-if-they-dont-have-a-compelling-economic-message/

 

The mainstream media, both American and international, appears to be moving in fits and starts towards the center of the political spectrum.  Although these indications are not explosive and momentous, they are there nonetheless if you pay attention.  CNN seems to be subtly moving to a more balanced approach while CBS News is having its major stars’ minds blown by the prospect of the Bari Weiss objective approach to journalism.  NBC has divorced itself from its biased sibling MSNBC and even print journalists such as the New York Times and the Washington Post are showing signs of realizing they have gone too far to the left in their biased operations.  This can only be a positive occurrence for our country and we should all hope that the evolution continues towards a new standard of objectivity and integrity in the Fourth Estate.  Alas…change can be so difficult to implement sometimes…

                                                                         

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/11/08/bbc-finds-presenter-in-violation-of-network-standards-in-correcting-pregnant-people-reference-on-air/

 

 

 

History Repeats Itself....Idiocy Persists

The plain and simple lunacy of the ongoing government shutdown is rife with angles and blame and causes and effects and politics and media blare and….unfortunately, costly and tragic consequences.

 

Both of our national political parties should be ashamed to show their faces to a camera, an interviewer, or a voter.  Their pathetic record of failure to timely pass appropriation bills, spendthrift spending that resembles the fiscal habits of drunken sailors, and their juvenile sandbox debates about exactly who is to blame….all of this is just sad.

 

Digging through the archives, I was reminded of a time not too long ago.  There is an old saying that goes…If we do not learn from our mistakes; we are condemned to repeat them.  Another one that springs to mind regarding this issue is…History repeats itself.  Our government…especially our Congress…has become an ongoing circus where the only changes are the clowns inside the tent; the tent remains the same.  Consider this….

 

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history occurred from December 2018 to January 2019, lasting 35 days. It was a partial shutdown, caused by a dispute over funding for a border wall, and ended on January 25, 2019. 

·         Duration: 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019.

·         Cause: A disagreement between President Trump and Congress over funding for the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

·         Resolution: President Trump signed a temporary spending bill that reopened the government without providing full funding for the wall.

·         Impact: The shutdown caused significant disruptions, including the suspension of routine inspections by the FDA, the closure of some national parks, and a delay in thousands of immigration court hearings. The Congressional Budget Office estimated it cost the U.S. economy about $11 billion. 

 

And to close this tribute to the comedy show that is WDC, and the season that we are rapidly approaching, consider this blast from the past…

 

https://centerlineright.blogspot.com/search?q=christmas+card+2019