The Daily Dose/January 13, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off: A Look in the Mirror
The longest government shutdown in American history is now in its fourth week. The results really aren’t that drastic unless, of course, you’re one of the 800,000 federal workers who are working for free until this is settled. Then it is drastic because you have food, clothing and shelter to pay for and you do not have the money you’ve earned to pay for it.
(Congress and the president are getting paid, of course, don’t you worry about that. The shutdown only affects non-essential government services and Congress and the president, of course, are essential because without them we wouldn’t have this shutdown. It should be noted that President Trump has declined his salary since Day 1.)
The usual people are saying the usual things: Republicans are blaming Democrats, Democrats are blaming Republicans while the media dutifully chronicles all this as if it were legitimate news and not the blowhard ramblings of elected officials merely looking to further increase and consolidate wealth and power. You and me, we the people, are frustrated and angry.
But, really, is any of this a surprise? No, of course, it isn’t. Collectively you and me – we the people – are to blame for this. We took a flier on making substantive, any, changes this past November to the way we are governed: a partisan, fractured and bickering electorate reelected a partisan, fractured and bickering government. As long as we keep re-electing the status quo, as long as we reelect incumbents at 80-90 percent rates, as long as we keep tolerating and enabling this, we will continue to have a substandard, partisan and bickering government.
We deserve better, of course, but we are not going to get better until we start demanding better on Election Day.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow explains how sometimes you might find another person in your assigned hotel room, plus The Wife makes another good dinner, while also measuring the level of impurities in both their tap and filtered water.
The beef, of course, came from cows that were read bedtime stories and fed only grains that were fertilized by the waste of fasting, Tibetan monks and cost $93.37 a pound.
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On This Date
In 2012 – The Italian cruise ship Contra Costa runs aground and capsizes off the coast of Tuscany in northwest Italy. 32 people died and Contra Costa Captain Francesco Schettino was found negligent and convicted of manslaughter and is currently serving his 16-year sentence. Schettino actually fled his ship before it capsized, explaining that he slipped and just happened to fall into a lifeboat. The ship was ultimately towed to its homeport of Genoa, where it was scrapped.
In 1974 – The Miami Dolphins defeat the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in Houston, becoming only second team win consecutive Super Bowl titles. It was the first Super Bowl played in a stadium that did not regularly host an NFL team and the last to be played with goal posts at the goal line. For the Vikings, it was the second of four Super Bowl losses. The game was broadcast by CBS, with Ray Scott, Pat Summerall and Bart Starr announcing, Charley Pride sang the national anthem and the University of Texas Longhorn Band entertained at halftime.
In 1973 – Carly Simon is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of three weeks with You’re So Vain. The song also went to #1 in Australia, New Zealand and Canada and was Billboard’s ninth biggest hit of 1973. Exactly who the song is referring to remains a matter of some speculation. For her part, Simon has long said it refers to three men, one of whom is actor Warren Beatty. You’re So Vain remains Simon’s only #1 song on the Hot 100.
Quotebook
Older voters who had lived through the Depression and two world wars fretted that America had somehow lost its grit and will to sacrifice.
Evan Thomas
Ike’s Bluff
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia was the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. Appointed in October 1922 following the death of Thomas Watson, Felton served one day in November 1922, after the Senate reconvened and was replaced the following day by Walter George, who had won the special election to fill Watson’s unexpired term.
Today’s Stumper
Which was the first team to win consecutive Super Bowl titles? –Answer next time!
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