by John Walters

Starting Five

Bully Pulpit

Really enjoyed Donald Trump‘s Nuremberg Rally 2.0 speech in Phoenix last night. If only Leni Riefenstahl had been there to film it.

Two of my favorite bon mots (here’s the whole speech):

The wall:

“We will build a great wall along the southern border.

And Mexico will pay for the wall.

One hundred percent. They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for it.”

It’s funny. Earlier in the day Trump met with the president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, but I guess that topic never came up. It’s not as easy to be bold in a roomful of people who are not your minions, apparently.

If Clinton wins:

“The result will be millions more illegal immigrants; thousands of more violent, horrible crimes; and total chaos and lawlessness. That’s what’s going to happen, as sure as you’re standing there.

This election, and I believe this, is our last chance to secure the border, stop illegal immigration and reform our laws to make your life better. I really believe this is it. This is our last time.”

Nobody panic, but if you don’t elect Trump, it’s gonna be like Independence Day III in here.

Here’s Garrison Keillor, one of at least two thousand public figures I can think of who would make a superior president to Trump (who wouldn’t? Justin Bieber and that dude who played the dad on Seventh Heaven who turned out to be a pedophile), on the man who fans the flames of racism.

2. “PAWWWWWWLLLLL!”

Don’t understand why Paul Finebaum needed to apologize for saying “this country doesn’t oppress black people” on his radio show. It’s a complicated issue. You need not be a PC Bromani to appreciate that African-Americans have had a much more difficult path on this soil, but even if you find Finebaum’s comment outright wrong, then find your outlet or forum and say why.

There’s a difference between cops who operate above the law and a systemic, institutionalized acceptance of discrimination (e.g. apartheid, Jim Crow Laws) and those things do not exist here. And for that reason Finebaum’s comment is at the very least debatable.

So, yeah, this is political correctness run amok and it only further galvanizes the base of the man we discussed in our first topic. Oh, by the way and not unrelated, Clay Travis just landed a national three-hour morning radio show on Fox Sports. He’s angling for full Sean Hannity status, don’t you think he’s not.

3. Knee-Deep In The Hoopla!

Kudos to GQ for taking a deep dive on Starship’s “We Built This City,” which was less a song than a pop culture infestation in 1985. In northern Indiana back then, this song played at least once an hour on U93 and absolutely forced me to turn off the radio and start studying.

The tag is that this is the Worst Song of All Time, but it’s so far from that. It may be the most annoying song of all time, but it’s super-catchy and you may be even tapping your foot to it right now. If this song were a person, it would be that someone whom you’d never admit to anyone you made out with, but you have to admit you kind of enjoyed it.

My worst song? Either “Feelings,” “All By Myself,” or anything by Matchbox 20.

4. Cool Kids Table

Yes, you have to love that Florida State wideout Travis Rudolph sat down with an autistic boy, Bo Paske, and ate lunch with him in a Tallahassee lunch room. It’s a scene right out of Freaks and Geeks. On the other hand, how much better is that than having to pose for selfies with a dozen or so gushing tweens? I’m with Rudolph here for all the right and wrong reasons.

Here are two good takeaway quotes from a story by Aaron Torres on Fox Sports:

Rudolph: “I just wanted it to become aware that everyone is the same, and one man can make a difference.”

Bo: “It was kind of like me sitting on a rainbow.”

5. Not Like They Planned It

 

When you fast forward to the 1:10 mark, those aren’t Paul Finebaum’s mentions. That’s a SpaceX rocket that ‘sploded at Cape Canaveral today.

Music 101

Borderline

Before all the big-name producers and major labels and backing tracks, Madonna was just a young lady with a dream and a penchant for missing curfew. This song off her eponymous debut album in 1983 remains, to me, her essential work. There’s an authenticity to it and the song, a lullaby, sends you somewhere far from wherever you happen to be listening to it. It peaked at No. 10, which in retrospect seems absurd.

One more thing: No idea how successful Madonna would’ve been without MTV (she was its original queen), but I can tell you when this song first started receiving play, even though we had no idea who this woman was, it only took an instant to realize that she was somebody.

Remote Patrol

The Usual Suspects

10 p.m. TMC

I’ve always had mixed feelings about this film. Yes, any non-documentary is a make-believe story, but if the entire story you’ve been watching is also made up in the main character’s head, if it’s all an alibi, haven’t you just subjected yourself to 90 or so minutes of cat fishing? Or are we all supposed to feel like Chazz Palminteri as the coffee cup crashes to the floor?