Naval Knowledge

Two essays from 4-years ago that in hindsight were prescient and help explain our political climate heading into the 2020 Presidential Election.

American Spring

American Fall

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The first day of NBA free agency was as exciting and crazy as expected. KD and Kyrie to Brooklyn, Jimmy Butler to Miami, Al Horford to Philly, and Kemba to Boston were the major dominoes to fall. Now the NBA world awaits for Kawhi Leonard's decision,... Reminder - if you are looking for some summer reading here's Naval Ravikant's recommended reading list... "What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, who is out of debt, and has a clear conscience." - Adam Smith... 80% of all insects live in the jungle. Ergo - I will never live in the jungle... Aggressive Prophesies would be a good name for a sports betting site... As far as I'm concerned the big unanswered question from the 2016 election is did John Podesta ever find those discount Viagra pills he was looking for when he fell for the Russian phishing scam?... Frisky Biscuits would be a good name for a band or a fantasy football team... The big surprise for me on the first day of NBA free agency is that neither the Lakers nor Clippers made a major splash. For the past nine months we've been reading about how much NBA players want to play in Los Angeles and then nothing. Despite both teams having at least one max cap slot available... Final reminder - Joe Biden is an anagram for "I need job"...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The smugness of the Hillary supporters just drips from this article.

- Heh heh

- Got to hand it to Dutch humor

- Genius idea!

- Interesting look at the TPP deal from of all places Outside magazine

- Impressive!

Did MSNBC Cost Hillary Clinton the Election?

A breaking conspiracy theory* now says that Rachel Maddow and MSNBC cost Hillary Clinton the election not Jill Stein who is being blamed by some for losing the Democrats states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida. 

What if viewers of MSNBC believed Rachel Maddow and either stayed home (like the cast of Hamilton) because their vote wasn't needed or cast their votes for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson as sort of a mini-protest? In the video above Maddow is so cocky who could blame Bernie Sanders supporters watching at home for making other plans on election day? What has Rachel Maddow done to this country!

* Yeah I just made up this breaking conspiracy theory. But it doesn't make the schadenfreude of the video any less amusing.

The Clinton's Last Hurrah

Are you familiar with The Last Hurrah?  The recent election got me thinking about it.

The movie (and the book) are truly classic but unfortunately the movie (and the book) have started to fade from the public consciousness. The movie was directed by the legendary John Ford and the screenplay was the work of Frank Nugent (who also wrote the screenplay for Ford's The Quiet Man and Forte Apache).

The basic plot of the book is both a thinly veiled biopic of Boston's James Michael Curley and also a tale of the changing of the guard in politics. The tale of the old, machine politics, ward boss, dispenser of favors vs the new, young telegenic politician is very spot on. Does this sound like it could also be a brief synopsis of the election last Tuesday (except that Donald Trump isn't exactly young).

The problem with those old Frank Skeffington / James Michael Curley ways is that A: the ugly side of graft and extortion are glossed over and B: they just wouldn't work today. They wouldn't work today because the spoils system of patronage has been replaced by affirmative action and civil service. At least that's what I used to think.

Bill and Hillary Clinton were much in their own way old school machine politics animals. The pay to play with the Clinton's and the Clinton Foundation though wasn't patronage for jobs - it was millions in exchange for access to power. Maybe the real cause of Hillary's downfall was in the pursuit of global graft they forgot Tip O'Neil's dictum that all politics is local.

Hollywood is always looking for remakes. Why not a remake of The Last Hurrah? But instead of basing it on James Michael Curley - base it on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Like the original movie - the remake could be a thinly veiled biopic and a tale of the changing of the guard in politics.

I'd go to see it.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The best explanation of why Trump won I've seen

- The Trump Election aftershocks!

- Well that's one question from my childhood answered

- Who is today's reigning King of All the Taverns?

- A few thoughts on the cancellation of Bill Simmons' Any Given Wednesday

- ESPN is hemorrhaging viewers

- The best explanation of why the Democrats lost I've seen

Top 5 - Thoughts on President-Elect Trump

Holy Shit! Didn't see that coming - did you? Here's my Top 5 initial thoughts on a Trump Presidency.

1. I know many are going to wake this morning with the feeling that they are now living in a Stephen King novel. But in the real world there was no Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone to save the day. "The missiles are flying. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" I know this new reality is scary for many people but in actuality President Trump is most likely going to have to delegate much of the day-to-day responsibilities both because he has no experience and also because I don't think that stuff interests him. Think a more disinterested Jimmy Carter instead of President Greg Stillson.

2. Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House is in position to become the real power for the next four years. Half the country hates Trump and the people who represent those people in Congress will be willing to reach across the aisle to vote for any measures Speaker Ryan puts forth that are viewed as keeping Trump in check. And if Ryan has eyes on a 2020 run for the White House this could be a very interesting dynamic.

3. Can you pardon yourself? I'm all for President Obama pardoning Hillary Clinton for the email business. That damage is done and even though it sends the wrong message that some people are above the law - it is probably best to move forward without long drawn out court proceedings. But will pardoning Clinton embolden President Trump to pardon himself? Can the President do that? Sorry everyone who went Trump University and everyone else suing him. How funny would it be if that was the real reason Trump ran for President in the first place - to pardon himself.

4. Cutting the cord. The biggest losers in last night's results (besides Hillary and the Clinton Foundation) are the MSM (Main Stream Media). They enabled Trump by giving him free air-time. They rooted Trump on because they thought he would be the easiest candidate for Hillary to beat. They have lost all credibility by slowly losing any veneer of being impartial over the years. They say that the two main reasons cable TV stays relevant is because of news and because of live sports. For many people watching the news just proved to be a gigantic waste of time. Those people in the media didn't know dick. And on top of that I'm guessing that Donald Trump will most likely demand being on TV almost full-time as President which will result in many more deciding they can watch their live sports at a local bar. Cutting the cord will be a much bigger thing in the next couple of years and the media having to then shed jobs will be the karma paid for the MSM shilling for Hillary.

5. It bugged me how much President Obama golfed during his Presidency but if President Trump wants to golf every day for the next four years - that's OK by me. It lessens the opportunities for him to do any damage at his now day job.

We have now gone from a man who served as Governor of a major state and had executive experience to a one-term Senator known for voting "Present" to a man who had never previously been elected to anything. I don't likey this trend.

Gonna Raise Hell - Cheap Trick

This mostly forgotten song would probably make a good theme song for the year 2016 as a whole.

Also seems as fitting a song for election day as any.

 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Bauer ice hockey gear maker files bankruptcy in US and Canada

-  OK - now Congress will absolutely come up with the money to fight Zika

- The Civil War in just 5 minutes

- If Albert Einstein dressed as Doctor Strange for Halloween

- This might be my favorite moment from Election 2016

- I think I'm rooting for the Cubs tonight just for Bob Newhart's sake. The John Belushi story is gold. Bob's the best.

- History might be against the Cubs tonight though.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If dressing as scary clowns is outlawed - will people dressed as Rex Ryan get arrested?... Bills fan throws "marital aid" onto field during Patriots game. I just love that they call it a marital aid instead of a dildo... Every mention of Anthony Weiner should be prefaced with the words "Jon Stewart's former roommate" just to confuse and conflict Millennials... Why is it "Happy as a clam"? Is it because clams have no brains or feelings?... Scary pumpkin for adults... "Remember - with Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility" - Linus... Seems about right... I'm slowly starting to dislike Rich Eisen as much as Roger Goodell. Eisen's act has grown old... Heh heh... Sandy Koufax's career record in 1-0 games was an astonishing 11-3... Now I can't get this question out of my head...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In betting as in investments - past performance is not indicative of future results. Looking at you Notre Dame... Heh heh... The Red Sox are down 2 games to zero to the Indians. I am saddened by the thought that there are children as old as three in New England who have never seen a Red Sox World Series win in their lifetimes... Holy crap!... If I ever met Gwyneth Paltrow - I would tell her how much I enjoyed her in Friends just to try and tick her off... Well that would explain things... Kevin Youkilis, the Greek God of Walks, saw 292 3-0 counts in his career and never swung at the next pitch... On my bucket list is to be the second Vice President to be accused of murder. A man can dream right!... Shameful confession - the first text I ever send was to place a football bet... Heh heh... I am proposing a new physics theorem - Schrodinger's Keno where your Keno numbers never appear when observed as they come up on the screen... Still amazed that John Kruk was able to turn exactly 100 MLB HR and being a slob into an ESPN announcing gig for so long...

Donald Trump

Now there's no denying exactly what sort of person Donald Trump is and how unfit he is to be President. Bill Maher seems to have summed up the situation when he observed "The GOP now finds itself handcuffed to a dead hooker." Just a few weeks ago the bumper sticker "Trump/Pence 2016 - No Fat Chicks" would have clearly been seen as a joke - now?

Now? Now you know there will be more than one jackass who dresses as Donald Trump for Halloween and later gets arrested for grabbing random women by the pussy.

Good thing that Republicans (and Democrats) have an alternative.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh - this election is going cray-cray

- His Majesty is the best!

- IoT (Internet of Things) is going to leave many devices open to being hacked - like this TV a Munich pharmacy was using for ads but was hacked to show porn

- Definitely going to hell for laughing at this

- Heh heh

- Fentanyl and heroin are scary and now deaths from overdose are higher in rural areas than in cities

- This was funny - the one about Scar's real name was the best

Hillary Clinton and the Elephant Man

John Merrick : There's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time now.
Dr. Frederick Treves : What's that?
John Merrick : Can you cure me?
Dr. Frederick Treves : No. We can care for you, but we can't cure you. 

Hillary Clinton: There's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time now. 
Huma Abedin: What's that? 
Hillary Clinton: Can you get me elected? 
Huma Abedin: No. We can care for you, but we can't get you elected. 

John Merrick : I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man. 

Hillary Clinton: I am not a criminal. I'm not Donald Trump. I am a woman! 

Trump 2016 - No Sorry 1999

An actual Doonesbury strip from 1999. Now I have to go back and see if Doonesbury made a Super Bowl prediction for this year too.

Campaign 2016

I found this exchange between James Baker III and the Miller Center at the University of Virginia interesting. For background the Miller Center does oral histories of Presidencies and Baker was being interviewed regarding his role running the 1988 campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush:

Baker - He [George H.W. Bush] wants to cut regulations. He’s not going to increase taxes. He’s going to continue to maintain America’s military strength. He’s going to continue to see to it that we are respected by our allies and feared by our adversaries. I mean, it’s the same old stuff that you’re going to see—

Those were the issues the 1988 campaign wanted to stress. Same old stuff? Now we are devolved to speaking about building walls and if a candidate is a felon guilty of perjury. As Donald Trump would say, "Sad!"

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Game of Thrones Season 6 blooper reel.

- Vera Rubin really should be a name that every high school science student in the US has to know before being allowed to graduate.

- You really should update your Apple device now to prevent hackers from stealing all your personal info.

- If only this election was up to just active-duty military personnel.

- Speaking of the 2016 Presidential election

- Heh heh - Pokemon Go is forcing millions of Americans to learn the Metric System

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing.

- The most dangerous stretch of water in the world? Looking so innocent helps make it so dangerous.

- 46-years ago today

- Very cool - Quebec teen find ancient Mayan city via astral calculations

- Heh heh - awesome!

- Heh heh - the 2016 Presidential election in a nutshell

- Bryce Harper does a nice thing

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio lost Florida yesterday and dropped out of the Presidential race last night. That leaves pretty much a Presidential final four of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. The American political landscape is a vast empty wasteland.

I'm not a Republican, I'm a registered Independent who truly believes in voting for the person and not the party but I have supported Republicans for President since Ronald Reagan's re-election. This year I most likely will be checking the box next to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson (if he's even on the ballot in Massachusetts).

To be honest - I'm pretty disheartened politically this morning.

2016 Election Parallels 1968

Hill-Err-Ray, Hill-Err-Ray - How many emails did you release today?

Maybe not as dramatic or as serious a charge (maybe) as;

L-B-J, L-B-J - How many kids did you kill today?

But I keep thinking that 2016 feels a lot like 1968 as far as the Democratic Presidential nominating process is concerned. Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic Party Candidate but as the scandal of her unsecured private email server (among other things) continues a drip drip of bad news she is looking very vulnerable. Bernie Sanders is gaining ground and proving much more popular to the Party's hard left.

In 1968 it was Eugene McCarthy that was the darling of the far left and who eventually forced sitting President Lyndon Johnson from the race. Will Hillary eventually also decide that discretion in dropping out is the better part of valor like Lyndon Baines Johnson decided 47-years ago? In 1968 it was sitting Vice President Hubert Humphrey who eventually carried the Party Standard in the November election but not until after a lot of contentious primaries. Will Joe Biden likewise take on the role of Hubert Humphrey in 2016?

Only half-kidding but who will be the Republican Richard Nixon in 2016?

No matter what happens it will be great theater but my only hope nobody has to play the role of Robert Kennedy.