by John Walters
Starting Five
Tax Man
Lower taxes for everybody? Yay!
Seriously lower taxes for corporations, billionaires, private-jet owners and inheritors of large estates? Woo-hoo!!!
The MH staff, not unlike the Democrats who actually had to vote on it, hasn’t had time to read over the tax bill (as if we’d understand it, anyway). We did find it funny when Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) said, “If we can’t sell this to the American people, we need to get in another line of work” followed by a Monmouth University poll that said 47% of Americans disapprove of tax reform and only 26% support it.
Your move, Mitch.
2. Errin’ Judge
Missed this from last week, but you have to wonder why Matthew Petersen was ever nominated by The Worst Wing for a federal judgeship. Watch this. At a certain point I was hoping Senator John Kennedy to turn his line of questioning to, “Have you ever even read a John Grisham novel? Seen My Cousin Vinny? Can you tell me who Aaron Judge is? Anything?
Kennedy, who is a Republican, actually later told a TV station, “Just because you’ve seen My Cousin Vinny doesn’t qualify you to be a federal judge.” Not even if you’re a ute.
3. Bravo, Geno!
Using only six players most of the game, Geno Auriemma secured his 1,00th career victory (all of them at UConn) last night with an 88-64 defeat of Oklahoma. The Huskies play all their most interesting games before Christmas because they now belong to a suck-ass hoops conference, but that’s just me quibbling.
Also last night, North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell, in her 43rd season, secured her 1,000th career win (most of them at North Caolina, where she has coached for 32 years.
How do Geno’s 1,000 wins stack up against the other four college coaches from major programs who’ve passed this milestone?
Pat Summitt (Tennessee): 1,098-208 (.841) EIGHT national championships
Mike Krzyzewski (Army, Duke): 1,082-331 (.766) FIVE national championships
Jim Boeheim (Syracuse): 1,014-358 (.739) ONE national championship
Not the hair! Not the hair! Kia and Katie Lou have a little fun with their coach
Tara VanDerveer (Stanford): 1,018-235 (.812) TWO national championships
Geno Auriemma (UConn): 1,000-135 (.881) ELEVEN national championships
Sylvia Hatchell (Frances Marion, UNC): 1,000-376 (.727) ONE national championship
Highest win percentage, most national championships. Not bad. Someone should write a book about him.
By the way, you had to scroll down pretty far on ESPN’s home page to read news of Geno’s feat. Perhaps if UConn were located closer to the WWL headquarters, or if more UConn alums worked there, or maybe if Geno were good with the media and the sound bytes, occasionally. I dunno…
4. Every Vote Counts
In Virginia, Democratic state senate candidate Shelly Simonds defeats Republican incumbent David Yancey by a count of 11,608-11,607. That win gives the Dems a 50-50 tie in the state Senate house. I’m just wondering if the election official pulled out an index card to see whether Simonds had made it or not.
5. Notre Dame’s Early Signing Day Haul (a.k.a. “Houston, Hello!”)
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Jack Lamb—the “ert” is invisible— is from Temecula, so you know he knows how to fight
We like the idea of the Early Signing Day for two reasons: 1) it allows schools and high school seniors who don’t believe in shenanigans (“FARVA!”) to save themselves six weeks of such and 2) because Nick Saban doesn’t like it.
A third reason? For those who don’t sign, they can take a good look at who has signed where and get a better idea of where they’ll fit in or what they want to be a part of. Makes total sense.
Trevor Lawrence, the nation’s No. 1 rated player and a QB, is headed to Clemson….as soon as he goes to buy Aerosmith tickets with Wooderson
For a school like Notre Dame, which doesn’t go full-Harbaugh at recruits but hopes the academics, the facilities and the gridiron tradition sell themselves, early signing day is a boon. That may be why the Fighting Irish are killing it today. As we write this 10 of Notre Dame’s 20 slotted commitments have signed and the other 10 are expected to do so. Experts are calling this the school’s best defensive signing class since 1990 (keep your eyes on safeties Houston Griffith and Derrik Allen and linebackers Bo Bauer, Shayne Simon and Jack Lamb). Also, wide receiver Kevin Austin, who is very good at catching El Pasos.
Also, Bonzie Colson scored a career-high 37 points last night as the Irish (9-3) outlasted Dartmouth, 97-87. I still haven’t forgiven him for missing the bunny with the Irish up high last Saturday and the other thing is that it’s worrisome that Bonzie needed to go for 37 versus a middling Ivy team. Don’t fall in love with this team. Right now, at least, it’s a two-man squad.
Reserves
Dutch Treat
It doesn’t actually snow in Amsterdam all that much, so last weekend’s white out was welcome in the lovely city in the Netherlands. If you’ve never been, you should visit.
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So cool that Kendrick Lamar is performing for the pros at the Super Bowl! Oh, wait. It’s college football, so he’s “supporting amateur athletics,” and it’s “all about education.” My bad. https://t.co/G1IPyMKvGH
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) December 20, 2017
Excuse us, Jay, but don’t you earn a comfortable living by speaking into a microphone at live collegiate sporting events?
Music 101
The Christmas Song (a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire” a.k.a. “Merry Christmas To You”)
Is there a better Christmas caroler than jolly old Nat King Cole? We don’t think so. He was born for the gig. The most played Christmas song of all was written in the midst of a “blistering hot summer” in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Torme, a.k.a. “The Velvet Fog.” Wells had written down a few phrases as cool thoughts (e.g. “folks dressed up like Eskimos”) and within an hour the pair had an unforgettable holiday song.
Remote Patrol
Pitch Perfect
8 p.m. NBC
Stop. We’re done. No need to scroll down any further on the TV Guide machine. If you’ve never seen this flick, you’re in for a tremendous treat. Time for a riff-off! (Look closely: Ben Platt, the Tony Award-winning star of Dear Evan Hansen has a minor role; they hid him from us for most of the film).
What happens when a school signs the majority of their class in December and then has their coach leave for an NFL job in January?
I guess we’ll find out when that happens. Is Frost already leaving Lincoln? He just got there.
Frost owns Lincoln. I think his statue is already going up next to Osborne’s.
Have you seen this? https://twitter.com/HuskerFBNation/status/942210794061627392
Smoke! He hasn’t even had his first practice yet…
Also, Susie B., I’m currently 100% out of Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related stocks. We’ll check in again in a week. Rolled a lot of profits into BA.
I’m HAPPY for you & relieved! Did you sell before today’s drop? And you’re now invested in Boeing? I didn’t see that coming. You know, with all this moola that you’re racking up, pretty soon YOU will be one of the “superrich” that actually WILL see a tax reduction! 😉
Question – what will YOU do when you “become a BILLIONAIRE”? Do you “wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah & the Queen”? … “Will you be be playing basketball with the EX-President
Dunking on his delegates
Then compliment him on his political etiquette
Toss a couple milli in the air just for the heck of it
But keep the fives, twenties, tens and bens completely separate
And yeah you’ll be in a whole new tax bracket” 🙂
As for the “Fighting Sweet Peas” ( 🙂 ) playing the Supervillains on Xmas day – at least the latter will be without Steph so we have a chance! But, just like last year, whoever makes up the damn NBA schedule is partial to the SV & dislikes LBJ &/or the Cavs : the Cavs play tomorrow night at home & then the Supervillains on Xmas Day as the 1st of a 3-game Western road trip. THEN they come back home for ONE game on 1/2 before immediately flying out to Boston to play them the VERY NEXT NIGHT & which is the 1st of a 5-game EASTERN road trip. WTF?! Meanwhile, the Supervillains have a 7, count’em SEVEN game HOME stretch between 12/20 & 12/30. The Cavs will not even have a 6-game home stretch at any time this year! Humpfh!
The great tragedy of the McConnell-Ryan tax bill (and this is their doing, not Trump’s, regardless of the accolades he will shower on himself in the next few days) is not the substance of the bill itself. It may boost the economy; it may lead us into recession; it may be modified substantially by the next Congress. Who knows.
The tragedy was in the process. The $1.5 trillion bill, hailed by its own authors as the biggest tax bill since 1986, was ram-rodded through without hearings, vetting of issues, or even meaningful discussion despite nationwide unpopularity. Those that voted for it admitted they were unclear as to many of its details, which was not surprising since the bill was nearly 500 pages long and was being amended right up to the vote. There were allegations of particular provisions being inserted just to benefit certain legislators or donors, but the Congressional leadership forced a vote before those things could be examined, even with one Senator ill and unable to vote and another duly elected but not yet seated.
Mitch McConnell was the person most responsible for the most significant abdication of legislative responsibility in the last 50 years when he refused to even hold a vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee over the last 10 months of Obama’s term. Now he has this on his record. The damage he has done to the legislative process itself is stunning.
I agree Wally that PART of the tragedy was the process. However, the most MASSIVE & long term tragedy will be felt when the GOP NAZIs start gutting Medicare & Social Security. These HEINOUS sons of bitches are truly attempting to create a real-life Elysium. Hopefully these a-holes slept thru European history & don’t know what happens when the downtrodden & abused have FINALLY HAD ENOUGH – bring on the guillotines!