The Daily Dose/May 20, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden recently made a speech that featured a message of shunning the anger that has taken over American life. He urged Democrats to choose:
…hope over fear, truth over lies and, yes, unity over fear.
Good luck with that, Sir. We mean that, too, because America could use some hope, truth, and unity right now instead of the rancor and vitriol that currently permeates every aspect of our collective lives. It was hardly the Upset of the Year that Biden’s message was met with anger because that is what Democrats want right now.
Of course, civilized discourse has never been our strong suit and this dates back to before the Revolution. From town criers to broadsheets to newspapers to radio to TV to the Internet, we’ve always argued with each other. There used to be, though, a middle ground where we could find, if not consensus, at least a safe haven for rational discourse, where citizens could talk and disagree without taking it to DefCon 1.
Goodbye to that because there is no middle ground in America anymore. It is my way or the highway, if-you’re-not-with-me-you’re-against-me now. We saw it last year campaigning for the United States House: everybody, Republicans, Democrats, independents, Libertarians, were all circling the wagons. I got one percent of the vote, less than even my usual low totals, which means only my fellow Libertarians voted for me.
Friends, we deserve better than the anger, rancor, and bitterness that currently attends every aspect of American life, but like better government, we are not going to get it until we start demanding it.
The future of our country demands that we do this, too. A nation perpetually at war, perpetually in debt and perpetually bickering with itself simply will not survive. We have, I think, until this half-century is out before we implode, but let’s not wait that long. The America we want is there for the taking, but we must start demanding better, of ourselves and our government, right now.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow is back in the gym and he makes a really gross sauce for his burger patty as Read Free Week continues. Today’s Diary.
While it was cooking I completely lost my mind and combined some ketchup, mayo and Worcestershire sauce to make a sauce to accent the patty’s flavor….It tasted good but boy, it looked disgusting…The color was sort of a light brownish deal and something in the Worcestershire sauce made everything clump up so it looked, frankly, like puke…In fact, looked so bad the cat wouldn’t get within five feet up, preferring to lap up some nearby dish soap that was lying on the counter.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.
The drivel simply does not stop: please click on the button to read The Diary of a Nobody. $5.99 includes all entries, past, present, and future.
Click here to read excerpts and a sample chapter.
On This Date
In 1570 – The world’s first modern atlas is published in Antwerp, Belgium. Written by Abraham Ortelius, it was called Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the World) and consisted of 53 maps previously reckoned by others. Taking everything into consideration, it’s pretty accurate. South America looks more like an oven mitt than a continent, but other than that Earth’s land masses are easily recognizable.
In 2018 – The Vegas Golden Knights become the first expansion team in 50 years to earn the right to play in the Stanley Cup Finals, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference Final. The previous team to do it was the St Louis Blues in 1968, when they were in the Western Division with the other five NHL expansion teams. The Knights would lose the Finals to the Washington Capitals in five games.
In 1989 – Paula Abdul is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with Forever Your Girl. It was Abdul’s second of three #1 songs for the year, following Straight Up and preceding Cold Hearted and all told Abdul spent six weeks at the top in 1989. The song also went to #1 in Canada but, interestingly, did not crack the Top 10 in any other country or on any other Billboard chart. Forever Your Girl was one of 32 #1 songs in 1989, tied for the most #1s in the Hot 100 era.
Quotebook
Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of gold?
Francis Bacon
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
In addition to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Oakland Seals joined the NHL in 1967. The Seals eventually moved to Cleveland and would later merge with the North Stars and are now the Dallas Stars.
Today’s Stumper
What other year produced 32 #1 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100? – Answer next time!
