The August of My Discontent

Boy, August of 2022 really stunk. And I've spent most of the month telling everyone who would listen just how bad it was. 

My father passed away on the very first day of the month. It's not that it was unexpected. We knew it was coming. I was just still very bitter about the manner in which he went out. Considering Dad was such a loyal Christian soldier, dementia is a brutal way to go out, both for him and for the family. My daughter flew home to be with us after the funeral on the 10th. She brought COVID with her and tested positive on the 12th. Then my wife on the 15th, then my other daughter on the 17th. So I knew what was coming next. Despite us isolating as much as possible, I finally tested positive on the morning of the 18th, a couple of hours after I took my oldest to the airport. Thankfully, we're all vaxxed and boosted and none of us really got a bad case. But my cold symptoms have lingered for several weeks. On Monday the 22nd, my wife called me in the afternoon. After her first day back from school she was involved in a car wreck in which both cars were totaled. Ultimately, she was OK but there was bruising and soreness. Our wedding anniversary was on the 24th and we were both too exhausted to do anything. On top of that, we now have to buy a new car - which is something that both of us absolutely HATE. They don't make the model of her old car, so it's not like we can just replace it. Lower on the list, but still a problem was that our air conditioner went out and we had no air for just over a week. 

As you can imagine I welcomed September with open arms. But then I watch a few news segments and I'm reminded of how fortunate I am. 

No one is trying to take away the decision process of what I do to my body. No one is trying to make laws that forcefully oppress who I am as a person or who I choose to love. I'm not an author, so no one is trying to ban anything I wrote that can help possibly confused kids learn about their place in society (seriously, it's 2022...book banning?). I'm also fortunate enough to have been educated in a way that allows me to think for myself. I know better than to blindly follow former terrible presidents regardless of what illegal things they've done. I have drinking water. My cost for five years of college was less than what we paid for my daughter's freshman year. Odd are, I'm not going to get shot in the back if I run from the police. It's painful to realize that's a thing AND that people deny it's a problem. 

So in the grand scheme of things, yes, August is gone and I'm glad. But as depressing as it is to watch or read the news, it does put things in perspective for me. 

And for that, I'm thankful. 

What Will It Take?

 Last night, I watched the hearing of the January 6th Capitol Riots. I had been following along closely, so I didn't expect to really hear anything new. Through news stories, newsletters and several blogs, I had a pretty good idea of who the main culprits were and what had transpired. 

What I didn't expect was the rage I felt when I saw it all in one collection. It was jarring. 

Dating back to when Trump first started running for office, I took note of all the stupid things he said and did. And every day, I told myself, "even hard core right wingers won't let this guy get anywhere near the primary, they don't hate America that much". And every day, I was disappointed. When he was elected and (gulp) celebrated, it occurred to me that this is how a large portion of Americans felt. The absolute sewage that was spewing out of his mouth, they were buying. 

So for the 2020 election, I think a fair percentage realized maybe this wasn't a good idea. I mean sure, they hated Hilary (though I bet if she had a pair of testicles that wouldn't be the case), so they HAD to vote for Trump. But there's a better option now, and I haven't been to a restaurant in a year and a half. So I'm going in the opposite direction. 

Then there's that contingent of everyday folks who, for whatever reason, just won't give up. No, no, no, Trump is being persecuted for what he's saying. He's right about voter fraud. (Turns out he WAS right about voter fraud - like from his own Chief of Staff). He's right that election was rigged. Biden sux, Hunter's laptop, Benghazi, blah blah blah. I'll give old Donald this - he knows how to appeal to a crowd. HIS crowd. 

But if you watched last night's hearing and didn't come away with what many of us have known all along - that Donald J Trump is a con man and one of the most narcissistic humans currently on the planet, then I have to ask you. WHAT WILL IT TAKE? What else has to happen before you begin to question that this man only has his best interests at heart? Is it admitting that you were wrong? Is it just that hard to do in today's society because you enter the made up cancel culture wing of humanity? I have news for you, WE WILL FORGIVE YOU. You thought he would drain the swamp but instead added more vermin. WE'RE NOT HOLDING A GRUDGE. I mean, what really happened other than the loss of freedoms to individuals everywhere and a world wide pandemic that could have been severely restricted? WE WILL TAKE YOU BACK!

Now, for the rest of you, who STILL think DJT got railroaded and he has burned it in to your brain that this is (checks notes) "the greatest political witch hunt in history", if you think, after watching the videos of  rioters at the capitol, were (reviews tweets and video) taking in a tour, if you think, after seeing Bill Barr refer to the rigged election claims as "bullshit", that Dominion was changing red votes to blue ones and that AOC and Nancy Pelosi were mandating that anyone crossing the border to register to vote RIGHT THEN AND THERE, then I can't help you. You, my friend, are left to side with the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. That's some set of peers you have there. My guess is you are extremely pissed off about the BLM honcho who filtered money to buy a house, but you don't understand what the fuss is about storming the capitol on the day they are supposed to certify an election. 

So tell me. What will it take for you to admit that THIS MAN DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. It has been evident for some time that he got pissed off when President Obama made fun of him at the correspondent's dinner and he wouldn't let it go. He ran for president because it was fun. It was so much fun that he continued to campaign throughout his presidency, playing to crowds, badmouthing his adversaries, and leaving the day to day work to his handpicked cronies, who were some of the worst White House officials in history. He played golf more than any president history. He steered business to his own privately held interests by design.

You know it, I know it, and the rest of the world knows it. He should be in jail for several things. 

What else are you waiting on? 

I'm Sick of #metoo (let me explain)

Before you get your pitchforks and cattle prods, I have to detail why. It's not for the reason you think. I'm not a cro magnon cave man. Or a Tim Allen fan. 

Here lately, I've gotten pretty tired of hearing the phrase #metoo. In the past week, I've been hearing it a whole lot more. Why? because of the Urban Meyer story at Ohio State. Meyer kept someone on staff who (wink wink) may or may not have beaten his wife on a regular basis, and Meyer knew about it. He also lied about it at a press conference. (side note: I could have told you what a piece of cow dung I think Meyer is over a decade ago when he was a Florida, but no one asked). 

Naturally, because this is the biggest college football story happening a couple of weeks before the season starts, EVERYONE is talking about it. And make no mistake, that is a good thing. I hope someone somewhere is saying, "wait, I don't have to put up with this? I'm leaving him". What bothers me is the context in which many in the media are using the term #metoo. 

• There's heightened sensitivity to the Zach Smith case because of the #metoo movement
• Did Meyer do all he was supposed to? It would seem that in the #metoo age, he could have done more
• You can't bury these types of transgressions, especially in the current #metoo climate

So let me get this straight, we should pay MORE attention to this victim because of the current client? If Harvey Weinstein had never happened, would Courtney Smith be branded a gold-digging money grabber? It's almost as if I could imagine someone saying, "Don't worry, all this #metoo nonsense will pass and we can go back to the good old days of keeping your women in line. But this damn #metoo movement means we actually have to deal with an entire coaching staff (and their wives) knowing that someone is being abused and OK, gosh I guess we should do something about it, but I really need to keep this guy on staff because his grandfather was a legend at the school". 

If you're prefacing your dialogue about the Urban Meyer story with "with the #metoo movement", you are still missing the point. You're almost saying it used to be OK, but it's not anymore. Newsflash, it was NEVER OK. 

Trumpers......what else will it take?

I'm guessing that there are people who voted for Donald Trump because emails and Benghazi RAWR RAWR RAWR. Fine, you didn't like her, even though she was qualified. You were SURE that Secretary Clinton was dirty. And every time someone blasted Trump through the first year and a half of his presidency, you cried, "OBAMA STARTED IT". Whatever.

But I'm having a hard time today understanding why it would be so hard to say, "You know what we tried something new and it didn't work." Is it just about admitting you're wrong? Hell, you're not an adult until you can admit that you were wrong. It's a rite of passage for everyone except our commander in chief. I'm having a hard time understanding how, despite what literally every country in the world is saying, you want to defend this man. Ronald Reagan didn't even warrant this much loyalty.

I'm genuinely curious what it would take for any Trump supporter to reverse course and say, "I can't support this man any more". The only groups who benefit from a Trump presidency are friends of the Donald and comedians. If a man flying to Finland to meet with someone who engineered the greatest assault on democracy in recent history and then pulling down your pants to moon the very country who "elected" you doesn't turn your stomach, I'm going to have to assume at this point you are a racist, sexist, blowhard who doesn't give a shit about anyone but white protestant males.

The Beginning of Football Season

You can argue that college football starts the weekend before Labor Day, the first days of fall practice, or when rivalry games start. Me, I say it starts with Media Days. Which is tomorrow for the SEC. You know. The only conference that matters (of course I'm kidding).

Coaches of each team bring three representatives from the team to answer a myriad of questions. The good, the bad and the ugly. And even though all of these coaches and players have probably answered 75% of these questions before, they'll bite their tongue and answer them again with a smile. Before you ever poo-poo any of these coaches and players, follow them around for a full week and then ask yourself if you could show the same restraint.

Anyway, the Bulldogs are certainly in a better place this year than they were last year. You won't find many people who don't think the Dawgs will win the East, and that's even with the East getting better in the off season with coaching. I can't help but think we are in a good position to get back to playoffs, so let me reiterate what I tweeted out in January. Especially after reading this article.

Granted, I wrote this still feeling bummed about being a play or two away from the championship, but reading about the officiating in that game only made it worse. Normally, I always feel like you should play the game so that the referees can't affect the outcome of the game, but that officiating hurt us at key times, all in the second half.

So I go into the 2018 season full of hope despite all the key personnel losses. I think losing Roquan Smith will hurt the most. But talent is just gushing into Athens right now and Kirby is probably a better coach that we gave him credit for in 2016. As is Mel Tucker, Jim Chaney, etc.

Yep, everything is going according to plan.......

Go Dawgs!