THE CURRENT STATE OF REGIONAL CFB
University of Kentucky-Is the five year “STOOPER” finally over???? University of Louisville-Life without Lamar and Bobby Petrino’s pathetic play calling are proving very difficult indeed!! Indiana University-Sorry Hoosier fans (are there ANY on this side of the river???), but nobody here in Kentucky really gives a damn!!! Ohio State University-The best team in the BIG ONE CONFERENCE!! University of Tennessee-My how the mighty have fallen!! A real shame……..Old Rocky Top is no longer relevant. The big Orange have become a big LEMON!!! West Virginia University-Donald Trump’s home away from home state is rolling along undefeated! It’s a good thing too, because the people of West Virginia have absolutely NOTHING else going for them!!!! University of Missouri-How in the world did the SEC allow these guys into the conference?!? This school hasn’t been competitive in ANY sport since Norm Stewart’s days. Let’s focus on the schools that matter to most of us. The Wildcats are undefeated for the first time since Bear Bryant coached there, but let’s face it, the tough part of the schedule is in front of them! This week they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M, always a formidable opponent on their home turf. Then comes actually a decent Mizzou team on the road, followed in two weeks with THE big game against Georgia in Lexington. We’ll see if the Mark Stoops era really is beginning to yield tangible results instead of mediocrity!!! The Cards have fallen on tough times with the departure of their Heismann trophy winning QB, who has moved on to the NFL. It doesn’t help when your head coach, needing only to run out the clock against a very average FSU team, calls for a pass, which gets picked off and ends up costing them the game. Coach P then said it was “all on me”…..no sh*t!!! It doesn’t get any easier in the weeks ahead with Georgia Tech, Boston College, Clemson, Syracuse, NC State and Kentucky looming! It looks like mediocrity has left Lexington and arrived in Louisville. As for the rest of the teams listed, like I said earlier-WHO CARES?!? Nobody, including the Buckeyes, is going to beat Nick Saben and the Crimson Tide who just keep rolling along! Enjoy the rest of the season!!!
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WELCOME TO THE ROUTER CUP!!
Definition of rout 1 : a state of wild confusion or disorderly retreat 2a : a disastrous defeat : debacle b : a precipitate flight So I just turned off the Ryder Cup following the morning sessions of day two, and the American team looks like they wish they were somewhere, anywhere else!! Wait, now the second day has concluded, and the USA trails the EUROS by 10 points to 6 points. In order to retain the Cup, the Yanks have to have a total of fourteen points, the Euros 14 ½ points to take the Cup back. In other words, heading into Sunday’s singles matches, team USA needs a total of eight points, while the Europeans need only 4 ½ points to win. There are a total of twelve matches on Sunday, which realistically means the Euros need only win or tie in less than half the matches to win back the Cup. It also means team USA will need to win eight out of twelve matches tomorrow to retain the Cup. The way they have played to this point, I’d say the chances of that happening are “faible et aucun”, as they say in Paris-or, translated slim and none!! Also, only twice before has a team trailing by a 10-6 margin heading into Sunday come back to win. Team USA simply cannot win on European soil, for whatever reason. The last USA victory over there was way back in 1993-TWENTY FIVE years ago!!! It doesn’t appear that streak is in any jeopardy of being broken this year, which means it will be four more years until we have the opportunity to do so. Granted, with the backing of the pro home team crowd on either European or American soil, it’s difficult for the visiting team to win. The golf courses are set up by the home team, and in this case, the Europeans chose and set up the golf course with the understanding that hitting the ball into the stratosphere takes a back seat to hitting fairways and greens, and boy, has that strategy paid dividends! Today, for example, it didn’t appear ANY USA player was able to find a fairway all day long, and it cost them dearly. Trying to play second shots out of the thick rough makes it almost impossible to put the ball in any position for a birdie. And now to the team. Jim Furyk as captain?!? He’s about as exciting as left over corned beef hash, and I can’t imagine him motivating a guy like Justin Thomas or Jordan Speith. Phil Mickelson? Why is he even on the team??? Tiger’s Ryder Cup record is abysmal, yet Furyk keeps trotting him out at the expense of starting one of his younger players. Patrick reed, one of the stars of the previous Ryder Cup won on home soil by the USA in 2016, has stunk up the golf course both days. The only pairing that has shown any promise at all has been Speith and Thomas, with a record of 3-1, half of team USA’s victory total. Where is the rest of the team??? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow, very early in the morning over here. My prediction for the final outcome is Team Europe16 ½ points vs Team USA 11 ½ points, a total ROUT!! And oh, by the way, get ready for a whole lot of “OLE, OLE, OLE, OLE!!!! You’re gonna hear it a lot tomorrow!!! As far as Team USA goes, next time pick a team based on guys who can put the ball into play, not guys who want to hit driver/wedge on every hole like they can get away with on the tame golf courses the PGA of America sets up for them every week!!! Until 2020…… AUTUMNAL CORNUCOPIA OF SPORTS
cornucopia[kawr-nuh-koh-pee-uh, -nyuh-] noun
Let’s take a bird’s eye view of each of the above. The NFL today represents a sport in transition, with the backlash from the head injuries and subsequent trauma significantly changing both the game itself and the number of participants. Youth football enrollment is way down. And why wouldn’t it be?!? With what we know about the severity of the risk of serious head injury, what parent in their right mind would allow their son to play this game? If it weren’t for Fantasy Football I probably wouldn’t even watch anymore, but the game caters to the young testosterone laden male, and there are plenty of them out there! College football? I have one word for you, though I hate to say it because I really don’t like Nick Saben-ALABAMA! Nobody else even comes close. Louisville in the post Lamar Jackson era is dreadful. Bob Stoops at Kentucky (Stupes?), after talking about it for five years, may finally have a team that can compete in the brutal SEC. We’ll have to wait and see about that! Baseball playoffs start next week, and it looks like the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs should be early favorites to reach the fall classic. After the incredible grind of 162 games (too many, in my opinion!), it’s finally time to get serious about baseball!! The NBA season is also too long with the 82 game schedule. It should be an interesting year with King James taking his talents west to La La land in search of another “Magic” title, though the reigning champion Golden State Warriors might have something to say about that!! The NHL? Sorry, folks, I live in Kentucky, not Minnesota. I just don’t care! But way to go Ovechkin and the Washington Caps!!! Finally. Soccer? Biggest sport in the world, whether we Americans like it or not! (How about that World Cup?!?) My grandson plays high school soccer, and has been playing since he was very young, so I’ve learned a lot about the game over the years from watching him progress. Great game! If I had a youngster who wanted to participate in sports, I would steer him in this direction. Last but not least, the golfing landscape. How about the Tiger comeback, being completed with his incredible victory at East Lake last weekend?? And for sheer drama, just tune in on the weekend to catch the Ryder Cup from Paris, pitting the best USA players against their European counterparts-it’s incredible the pressure these athletes are put under in a sport that almost exclusively rewards individual effort over team. So sit back and enjoy the show(s)!!! Take your mind off of the political turmoil and the twenty four hour news cycle for just a while and watch some of the greatest athletes in the world do their thing!!! And enjoy the fall, with the cooler temps, shorter days and beautiful foliage-we all know winters coming soon enough…… NEW DAY, NEW BLOG, NEW OUTLOOK!!
I published my final political post just the other day, signing off on “THE WAR ON COLE” for the last time. I have concluded that there was way too much negative energy being expended trying to keep pace with the insanity in Washington. However, my joy for the written word remains unabated, and I have therefore decided to devote some of my communication skills to the world of sport. I love sports. I’ve loved baseball, basketball, football and golf since I was a very small child. I have followed many different professional teams with great passion, teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds. I was an avid Big Blue fan for decades and experienced several national championships. I participated in Little League baseball, and parochial league basketball in grade school, and Babe Ruth baseball in high school. I have been playing golf for over fifty years. I have played Fantasy Football for over ten years, with a number of championship trophies in my collection. In short, why not write about something that I truly love that usually (but not always!) has a more positive tone to it than our current political sh*t storm?!? I have named the Blog after one of my all time icons, the legendary sports broadcaster Howard (“SPEAKING OF SPORTS”) Cosell. Sure he went out in disgrace after describing a black pro football player as a “little monkey” on MNF, but, hey, who among us hasn’t f*d up at least a few times?? His commentary in a daily radio broadcast on sports was a wide ranging and sometimes hard hitting, but he always got the story right. So there you have it. A new day dawns and with it a new opportunity to have some fun with sports and share my thoughts and opinions with fellow enthusiasts, as well as to expend more POSITIVE ENERGY. I look forward to it!!! THE COLE SEAM HAS RUN DRY!!
As autumn begins, the “WAR ON COLE” comes to an end (again!) The country has never been more polarized, the political stakes have never been higher and the mid term elections which could determine the fate of our democracy are only a month or so away. So why would I walk away from the fray at this moment in time? It’s been over a year since I started this blog in earnest, a year and a half since I made my first post. I have commented on every issue that I felt was important to both myself and my fellow citizens in order to encourage a constructive dialog about our nations’ direction. That has proven to be wishful thinking, to say the least. If anything, the vitriol on both sides has grown even more intense. Just look at today’s current events-Rod Rosenstein probably on the way out because he spoke truth to power, Brett Kavanaugh about to be confirmed to the highest court in the land despite two separate sexual harassment allegations against him, Iran about to explode with Trump’s idiot of a lawyer (or is he Secretary of State now?) “RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” Rudy Giuliani proclaiming it was time for a “regime change in Tehran!?!) following a horrific terrorist attack that killed dozens and wounded many more, a disastrous trade war with China, soaring healthcare premiums for those that can least afford them and on and on, like Steven Bishop sang. Nothing has gotten better-it’s all much worse today than a year ago!! If you don’t believe that, I commend you for your optimism. I’m giving up writing this blog because it has become a constant stream of negative energy, much like our political discourse. That wasn’t by choice, but mandated by the daily insanity which has overtaken us from day one of the administration of Donald J. Trump. The norms of civility, governance and institutions are being ripped asunder by this man, and yet our impotent Congress stands by and does nothing to check his lust for power. The money to reelect these same tired politicians on both sides of the aisle continues to pour in from corporate Amerika, especially after the REPUBLIKAN gift of the century in the form of the fraudulent so called “middle class tax cut”. Term limits for all political offices should be scrutinized to insure in the future we don’t have members of Congress that have been there so long they forgot who send them there or what they are there for!! Everyone knows where I stand on the issues. I’m a liberal and proud of it. I love my country just as much as the guy wearing the “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat at the latest Trump “rally”. It saddens me to see the depths to which we’ve allowed ourselves to sink, and am hopeful that the elections in November will straighten things out. I’m hopeful Democrats, particularly women, will turn out in “BLUE WAVES” to reverse the disastrous course which “CRYIN” Paul Ryan, “RICH” Mitch McConnell and Donald J. “CHUMP” and their fellow REPUBLIKANS have charted for America. I hope at least one of my posts over the last two hundred and twenty five or so has changed somebody’s mind about one of these issues. It will all have been worthwhile if even one voter was persuaded to vote their conscience instead of their tribe. So, with that, I sign off of Twitter and ride off into the sunset (actually, it’s been raining here for three days! (climate change, what climate change?!) and wish everybody who has shared their views with me, pro or con, peace and goodwill. AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!! IT REALLY IS TIME TO “DITCH MITCH!!! The remarks made by Senate Majority leader “RICH” Mitch McConnell yesterday, in front of a group of Evangelicals (of course!) regarding the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court are further proof that he must be removed from power, first by flipping the Senate in the November mid term elections and then by voting him out of office when he is up for reelection in 2020. Here is what the Washington Post has to say about the matter. “A big reason Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s accuser says she doesn’t want to testify in the Senate without first having her claims investigated by the FBI is she doesn’t think she’ll be treated objectively and fairly by politicians. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) just thoroughly justified Christine Blasey Ford’s concerns. In comments Friday, he laid plain his intention to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, apparently no matter what Ford has to share. “Here’s what I want to tell you,” McConnell said Friday morning at a summit for social conservatives. “In the very near future, Judge Kavanaugh will be on the U.S. Supreme Court. So, my friends keep the faith. Don’t get rattled by all this. We’re going to plow right through it and do our job.” There is no other way to read McConnell’s comment other than that the Ford allegation doesn’t matter to him, at least not when he’s so close to fulfilling his goal of firming up the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 conservative majority weeks before an election. Put another way: A woman accused a Supreme Court nominee of drunkenly pinning her to a bed, groping her and covering her mouth when she screamed when they were in high school decades ago. She provided therapist notes from well before Kavanaugh was such a public figure. She took a polygraph test. She is willing to undergo an FBI investigation and testify under oath before the Senate. These are all moves that outside experts say make her story credible, and yet here is the most powerful politician in the Senate appearing to brush all of that aside because he wants to “do [his] job.” Not that this is a surprise -- we’ve been questioning whether Republicans were taking Ford’s accusations seriously since they came out. It’s just a surprise to hear it put so plainly by the politician with the most control over the process.” I have been sounding the alarm about the damage this man has been doing to our democratic process for YEARS, starting with his repeal of campaign finance laws, the bogus tax reform bill that was rammed through Congress, the refusal to even bring the nomination of Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland to a vote on the Senate floor until “after the election” and now his steadfast refusal to even acknowledge the fact that a woman claims to have been sexually abused by Brett Kavanaugh or consider it an issue in getting his rushed confirmation through the Senate BEFORE the elections!! The man spent eight long years trying to frustrate every legislative move and judicial appointment Barrack Obama made, and now he wants to cry foul when the Democrats take a page from his playbook and use it against him!! The mid term elections offer voters in other states the opportunity to flip both Houses of Congress. We here in Kentucky will have to wait a couple more years to run him totally out of D.C. when he is up for reelection in 2020. Hopefully, the Democratic Party will have by then come up with a viable candidate with a legitimate shot of taking this seat, which McConnell himself has held for over THIRTY YEARS. He is another prime example of the good old (white) boys club which has dominated Washington politics for so long and is perfectly evidenced in the make up of the REPUBLIKAN majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will incredibly sit in judgment (or not) of a woman who has put literally EVERYTHING on the line to tell her story. If McConnell had his way, we wouldn’t even get to hear her story, because he could care less. His only concern is counting votes and money from the many corporate sponsors who bankroll his right wing agenda! Be it women’s rights, the judiciary or taking money from the middle class to pay for his massive corporate giveaway tax cuts, everything this evil man does it geared toward one thing and one thing only-the promulgation of his right wing conservative agenda! He doesn’t care what Donald Trump does or says, doesn’t care what the rest of the country does or says and doesn’t care what his constituents back home, like me, do or say. He is so despised here in Louisville he can’t even go out for dinner without being tracked down and harassed by various protest groups (keep up the good work!) decrying his elitist policies and those of his REPUBLIKAN colleagues. I T’S DEFINITELY TIME TO “DITCH MITCH”-first as Senate Majority Leader than as United States Senator from Kentucky-his time has come and gone!! BRETT KAVAN(O) SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF FROM SCOTA APPOINTMENT!
You’d think we would have learned thirty years ago from the Clarence Thomas vs. Anita Hill circus starring a bunch of white men who chose not to believe her very credible accusations of sexual harassment from Clarence Thomas. Well, guess what? We didn’t, and the reason is some of those very men who sat in judgment of Anita Hill are still sitting on the same committee over THIRTY years later!!! My post the other day entitled “MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN” detailed how the eleven white male members who comprise the REPUBLIKAN House Judiciary Committee had been in D.C. a total of ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY SIX YEARS!!! Does anybody seriously believe that Orrin Hatch or Chuck Grassley’s medieval views on women and their rights have changed in the thirty plus years they have dined on the taxpayers’ dollar?!? In light of the fact the FBI will not be conducting further investigation into this matter because the Trump White House will not give them the green light (what was the last count of women who have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment by CROOKED DONALD-a dozen?!?), and the fact that the REPUBLIKAN controlled committee will not require other witnesses to come forward to shed further light on the entire episode, the entire matter will boil down to “he said, she said”, and will be an all out brawl and spectacle from a political standpoint, totally partisan, including the two female REPUBLIKAN Senators who frankly don’t have the stones to go against the party line, despite the fact they know that with Kavanaugh’s appointment the likelihood of the overturn of Roe v Wade becomes almost a certainty. As for the accuser, I myself also wonder what she could possibly have to gain from coming forward with this story other than a life of notoriety. Why would she be the one insisting on an FBI investigation, knowing full well that lying to the FBI is a federal crime? Why would she be willing to subject herself to questioning from this panel of old white men who will then sit in judgment? I can’t come up with any other good reason other than she is telling the truth, as a previous lie detector test also indicated. It really frosts me to hear so called "conservatives" like Joe Scarborough decry the Democrats for playing dirty in trying to scuttle this nomination. Did he and “RICH” Mitch, who called the tactic “unfair” (are you f*n kidding me? Does the name Merrick Garland ring any bells?!?) think that the Democratic minority and the millions of women they represent were just going to hand the lifetime appointment of a man who has written in a legal opinion that a sitting President cannot be indicted in light of the upcoming culmination of the Mueller probe? That almost certainly will vote to overturn the law giving them the right to make their own choices? Perhaps they and others should read the book “ADVISE and CONSENT” which details another fractious political battle over a Presidential appointment for Secretary of State-different positions but similar political environment. Where does this leave us? I say that right or wrong, the tarnish is already on the silver. It really doesn’t matter at this point; tribal allegiances are already in place with respect to a potential vote. But do we really want a man sitting for LIFE on the highest court in the land with this type of cloud forever hanging over his head? Frankly, every time I see Clarence Thomas I am reminded of the toxic culture which gave him a lifetime appointment and how he pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes with his cries of racism and persecution. He should never have been appointed either. The only real solution is Brett Kavanaugh should withdraw his name from consideration. And he should do it BEFORE next week, to avoid the spectacle of a Senate inquisition, which will undoubtedly further the deteriorating mid term political prospects for the REPUBLIKAN majority. Of course, this raises the possibility that there will be NO appointment before the mid terms, which is precisely what the Democrats want and what Mitch McConnell (thought you had this one sewed up, didn’t you?!?) dreads the most in his grandiose scheme to stack our courts from SCOTUS on down with right leaning judges who will carry forth his conservative agenda. And I say to that-NOW WE”RE EVEN!!! Let’s get to work after the elections and find a moderate nominee who will help balance out the court as was intended by our founding fathers and uphold our democratic values instead of selling out to a political ideology!!! TIME TO GO, BRETT KAVANO!!! BLACKBEARD vs BESHEAR ROUND TWO
Today is the day that the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Andy Beshear contesting the pension Reform Bill, which was dubiously passed by the Kentucky Republikan controlled legislature during its final hours in session in the spring. The bill, which was attached to a completely unrelated water bill and rushed through in less than twenty four hours with no public hearings, has been strongly opposed by teachers and state employees. Here is essentially what is at stake: Speaking for the bill will be Steve Pitt, Bevin's general counsel. Pitt has said the law – Senate Bill 151 – is constitutionally sound and badly needed to assure the solvency of state pension funds. Arguing against the bill will be Beshear, who says Republicans illegally zipped the bill through the legislative process and that it violates contract rights of thousands of public employees. The main impact of the new law affects future teachers. It would put them in a 401(k)-like “cash balance” pension plan rather than the traditional plan with defined benefits. And it requires new teachers to work longer to qualify for full benefits. For current teachers, meanwhile, the law caps the use of sick leave in calculating benefits to the amount accrued as of Dec. 31, 2018. It also makes several changes to benefits of state and local government employees, including a requirement that those employed between June 30, 2003 but before Sept. 1, 2008 begin paying 1 percent of their pay for retiree health care. I saw “Mad” Matt on the local news this morning threatening that the entire pension fund would be in jeopardy if the legislation was not upheld by the Court. Sound familiar? A chief executive trying to bully or threaten the judicial branch?!? Bevin is just like his hero, CROOKED DONALD. He has been a proponent from the very beginning of his administration to dismantling social programs such as Medicaid and the healthcare exchange established through Obamacare. He has consistently attempted to trample on both women’s rights and unions. He has favored big business with tax incentives at the expense of social programs across the board. And now he has grown himself a beard!! He looks ridiculous, quite frankly. I said from the very beginning the man cannot be trusted-just look at those beady little eyes!!! Now he wants to look like Black Beard the pirate, I guess. He looks more like he should be working in that aluminum mill in Ashland that he paid to move into the state instead of running our government!! Without being a name dropper, I can tell everyone that I am on a personal basis with one of our Supreme Court Justices, who is an incredibly well educated, experienced and grounded individual. I have every faith that the Justices will see this entire piece of legislation for what is really is-an attempt by Bevin to further weaken the teacher’s and their union and to enhance his own political position with his redneck base. The outcome will more than likely shape the 2020 gubernatorial race in the Commonwealth, with these two legal opponents Bevin and Beshear squaring off in what should be a real doozy of a race. These two individuals have been at it from the beginning of Bevin’s term with his shutting down of abortion clinics throughout the state, and absolutely despise each other. Stay tuned for the next installment of “BLACKBEARD vs BESHEAR!!” It should be a lot of fun!!! MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN!!
In reality, this is what the new and improved Donald J. Trump headgear should say!! As John McCain’s daughter, Meghan, said so eloquently at his funeral service, “the America of John McCain has no need to be made great again, because America was always great'. The previous hats worn by Trump loyalists read “Make America Great Again”, but what they would really read if the truth were known is “MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN”!!. I was watching one of the news programs this morning and saw a photographic line up of the Senate Judiciary Committee REPUBLIKANS, who will be tasked with the responsibility of attempting to ascertain the validity of the sexual assault allegation made against Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court Justice nominee. There are exactly eleven old white men that comprise this group, including a clown like Orrin Hatch, who’s been around so long he was on the same committee for the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings some THIRTY years ago (therein lies one of our biggest problems-a guy like this with a lifelong contract to dictate our nation’s policies!); at least on the Democratic side there were three women Senators. It would also appear that these old white men have already decided that Christine Blasey Ford’s story is without merit before they even hear her testimony! The fact of the matter is these men and all of the Trump supporters who comprise the so called “base” are terrified of the changing demographics of not just our country but the rest of the world, and have decided to side with the devil himself to hold on to power as long as they possibly can. We have discussed the basis for these problems many times before in this blog-the influx of huge amounts of corporate dollars from special interests which fund the continued perpetuation of these lifetime politicians which were allowed to free flow into REPUBLIKAN war chests as a result of the repeal of Campaign Finance Laws accomplished by “RICH” Mitch McConnell and his cronies; the non existence of term limits on these offices, which allow these Senators to remain in Congress for the amount of time indicated beside their names:
The REPUBLIKANS have tried every trick in the book to hold onto their majority positions in Congress, from gerrymandering House districts in their own favor to legislating restrictive voter registration laws in a number of states. Take a look at the disgraceful immigration policies being instituted-let’s keep out anybody who doesn’t look like us or act like us and do it in the name of “border security!? Let's build a ridiculous wall to keep them out! ! Let’s separate mothers and fathers from their children for months in our zeal to “Make America Great Again”. Let’s issue a blanket ban on Muslims entering the country! Let’s give ICE unlimited powers to subjugate the innocent as well as those who choose to cross our border illegally in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and their families. These policies are racially and ethnically motivated. Period. This is just the political side of the equation. The so called base, the thirty per cent or so who would support Trump irregardless of ANY outrageous act or lie, is also comprised mostly of aging white males, for the most part with high school level educations. The 2016 presidential election was not only influenced by Russian interference, it was also fueled to a great extent within this group as a racist backlash against Barrack Obama’s eight years in the White House. Nobody wants to talk about that aspect of the support given to CROOKED DONALD by his supporters, but it is obvious from his statements and actions, as well as those of his supporters, following the race riot in Charlottesville last year that racism and bigotry factored into their votes for Trump. Then there is the #metoo movement. After literally decades of having to endure sexual harassment and outright abuse in many cases at the hands of men like Harvey Weinstein and a trove of other white males (and Bill Cosby!), women finally said enough is enough!! Their collective voices and subsequent actions have been heard around the world, but the REPUBLIKANS on the Senate Judiciary Committee aren’t buying it now any more than they did when Anita Hill brought forth her allegations against Clarence Thomas, who they confirmed anyway!! The comments made by Orrin Hatch, for example, are nearly identical to the remarks he made thirty years ago!!! All I can say is to enjoy your final days and weeks basking in your lily white glow, my friends. There is a blue wave coming in November that is going to color your world, and I’ll be the first one in my district lined up to cast my ballot to show you and your cohorts the door!!! VOTE IN NOVEMBER!! Let’s change the demographics and the dynamic of our political composition and move forward, not backward!!!! CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSING CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES!!
I was commenting to some friends last week during a football game that it seemed to me that the thunderstorms and rainstorms we have experienced of late seem to be much more destructive and widespread than they used to be. This was before Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut ravaged the United States east coast and the Phillipines, Hong Kong and China respectively over the weekend!! What exactly is going on to cause such a cataclysmic change in our weather? Well, here we go in trying to explain, especially to all of the “non believers” out there who, like Donald Trump and the REPUBLIKAN majority, have chosen to literally sell their souls to corporate Amerika (coal, oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, etc.) at the expense of the calculated and deliberate destruction of our environment and natural resources. Change will continue through this century and beyond Temperatures will continue to rise Changes in precipitation patterns More droughts and heat waves Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense Sea level will rise 1-4 feet by 2100 Arctic likely to become ice-free So, you ask, what does this have to do with me? Here’s a more localized breakdown of the effects of global warming on the United States: Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning. Northwest. Changes in the timing of stream flow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off. Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts. Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes. Southwest. Increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concern. That, in a very concise form, is what climate change is all about. Now, let’s look at what the Trump administration has done to not only abandon our global commitment to reducing emissions as part of the Paris Climate Accord, but is actively partnering with the very agencies that are supposed to be protecting our resources (Environmental Protection Agency, Interior Department) to roll back existing regulations that have been in place for years in some cases. All of this is being done in the name of pure greed and economics, on the part of the REPUBLIKAN politicians who continue to pander to those special interest groups with the biggest check books in order to perpetuate their own power and parochial agendas. Overturned
And what about the human toll? According to a study by the group DARA International, which was commissioned by some twenty different governments, the number of worldwide deaths directly attributable to climate change to be approximately 400,000; when the report looked at the added health consequences from burning fossil fuels—aside from climate change—the number of deaths jumps from 400,000 to almost 5 million per year. Carbon-intensive economies see deaths linked to outdoor air pollution, indoor smoke from poor ventilation, occupational hazards, and skin cancer. We all remember good ole boy Scott (I DIDN’T DO IT!) Pruitt and his tenure at EPA-his replacement appears to be just as hell bent on implementing his boss’s destructive policies as he was; and then we have Eric Zenke, our Secretary of the Interior who is so busy selling off our protected wildlife reserves and sanctuaries to the oil and gas industry he barely has time to worry about small matters like assisting the devastated island of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria last year! These are the buffoons CROOKED DONALD entrusted with OUR natural resources and OUR environment. Under his watch, both are being auctioned off to the highest bidder. This insanity will not only impact our children and grandchildren, but theirs as well. The only way to turn things around, once again, is at the ballot box in November for mid term elections. The candidate’s position on the environment should be just as big an issue as gun regulation, woman’s rights or any other. The future of our planet depends on our reversing this insane backward looking policy that has proven so destructive to the environment. |
About Mike ColeBorn in Hamilton, OH but a proud Kentuckian since age two. One brother and three sisters. Suburban, Catholic middle-class upbringing. Attended Jefferson Community College and Pasadena Community College. Proud father of four and grandfather to seven, and most of all, a concerned American citizen! Are you??? Categories |