Left Coast Sports Babe

Baseball fan are used to seeing the notation “TBD” for a team’s starting pitcher on a given day.

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But watching the insanity with Panthers, Saints, Falcons, and the on and off retirement of Tom Brady, with the Bucs, “TBD” may well be a regular notation for 2022 starting QB’s in NFC South.

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Lots of busted brackets after the first weekend of March Madness. But thinking even those who have long since shredded their pick sheets at least have to have enjoyed watching games that mean something, as opposed to what feels like an 82 game NBA pre-season.

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Meanwhile, Atlanta Falcons just traded Matt Ryan, their best QB ever, to the Colts for a 2022 third-round pick? Amazed they didn’t ask Indianapolis to throw in a bag of peanuts too.

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Charlie Kirk is quite simply his own best argument against the ideal of White Male Supremacy.

29 people shot at Arkansas car show, including children & one has died. Even Fox News should be covering it, right? Nah, their headline is about “weekend shootings in major Dem-run-city up 383% from 2021” Because 29 total people were also shot & wounded in all of New York City.

Ted Cruz seems especially cranky today. Almost as if he missed his flight back to DC yesterday and got belligerent enough that the police were called.

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And how thrilled is Amy Klobuchar now in SCOTUS judiciary hearings that since Democrats are majority party now she doesn’t have to follow Ted Cruz?

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Chuck Grassley in Ketanji Brown Jackson SCOTUS hearing says he’s emphasizing need for “thorough respectful process.” And repeats, “thorough, extensive process…” Grassley has just used word “thorough” more than his GOP colleagues did during entire Amy Comey Barrett hearings.

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John Cornyn talking about how the Founders established three separate branches of government. Can he remind Senator Tuberville, who after his election said they were “The House, the Senate, and the executive…?

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Not sure anyone knows the answer to Putin’s evil Ukraine invasion. And certainly Biden’s efforts with NATO must be kept somewhat secret so not to “give Putin a road map,” in Klobuchar’s words. But isn’t it nice to have a President working on solutions instead of rant tweeting?

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Dear Media: We understand SCOTUS confirmation hearings are political theater.

But you are going to show Senators questioning Ketanji Brown Jackson, please give as much time to Democrats being positive as to Republicans trying to tear her down. Sincerely, a tired country.

Halftime score at Maples Pavilion in women’s basketball 2nd round game tonight: 33-31 Stanford over Kansas .

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Final score: 91-65 Stanford. How much do we all want to know what Cardinal coach Tara Vanderveer said at halftime. And can we bottle it?

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Dear Warriors fans: As a San Antonio Spurs fan in the San Francisco Bay Area after a 110-108 win on a rebounded missed free throw.

1. Yeah, there was one questionable foul at end against Golden State, but another ticky tack call in the last minute against San Antonio. And if it’s that close against the VERY young 2022 Spurs?

2. Popovich’s kids are close to knocking Lakers out of play-in game. Enjoy it.

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Might be just possible Coach K was brushing away a tear after his last game against Tom Izzo. Well as Tom Brady and Brett Favre say, the first retirement is the hardest. #MarchMadness

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Analysts say with demand up, airlines are confident they can quickly pass “100% of higher fuel costs” onto consumers. Uh, as a travel agent, my prediction, they will quickly pass MORE than 100% of higher fuel costs onto consumers.

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So Ted Cruz apparently missed flight in Bozeman, MT & was videoed berating airline employee, with police having been called. Sigh, if this means he has to take a redeye to get to DC, Ted’s going to be especially charming at Monday’s judiciary hearing for Ketanji Brown Jackson….

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More on Ted Cruz missing flight today in Bozeman: I have clients there. Planes are often full & this is Sunday of spring break week… Best Ted could have hoped for, if he didn’t get stuck on redeye, probably middle seat in coach. Schadenfreude is bad, right? Anyone got pictures?

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So now the “People’s Convoy” says they want the “Black Lives Matter” yellow letters removed from “Black Lives Matter” Plaza. Very white of them.

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If GOP takes back the Senate, Ron Johnson wants to investigate Hunter Biden & his business dealings. Number of times Ron Johnson talked about investigating Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric’s business dealings? Zero

Do better, Wisconsin. Please vote Moscow Ron OUT.

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Mitch McConnell today said the GOP’s pro-Putin wing is purely a few “lonely voices” in the House. So is he calling Velveeta Voldemort a “lonely voice?”

So Clarence Thomas reportedly does not have COVID, and should be released from the hospital in “a day or two.” He is, however, 73. Perhaps this might be a wake-up call to retire from SCOTUS and spend more time plotting coups with his family?

Yeah, there’s a lot of bad stuff going on in the world. But making a 2am decision Thursday morning to pick North Carolina over Baylor has put a smile on my face this morning.

(Okay, that smile got a little nervous more than once…. but no style points in basketball wins.)

Got to feel bit sorry for Murray State. Small university in southwestern Kentucky, normally could be perfect March Madness Cinderella story. Especially tonight expecting to play Kentucky And instead they play team most Americans are now rooting for – Saint Peters. #Peacocks

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After the Peacocks’ second upset (of Murray State) puts them into the Sweet Sixteen, Saint Peters’ coach Shaheen Holloway about playing big games: “Practice is tough, this is easy.” Of course, if you practice hard enough, maybe that’s how it should be.

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No doubt many of my brackets will crash to the ground by the time most people read this… but “with a little bit of luck…”

Tonight seeing complaints from Republicans about President Biden spending the weekend in Delaware. Wonder how much he’s making Secret Service spend for hotel rooms at his resort. Oh right, Joe doesn’t HAVE a resort… Never mind.

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CNN headline “The future looks bleak for America’s largest department store chain.” Was less shocked that a department store chain is in trouble than that the largest department store chain in the country is now …..Kohl’s??!!

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Since many in GOP claim their top focus on ending abortions, instead of just punishing women who might get pregnant once a year, why not law to punish men who have unprotected sex with women not their wives?

One man can cause a LOT of unwanted pregnancies.

Fox News & other conservative media love to talk about California gas prices on an ongoing basis. Wonder if they’re so concerned on costs for drivers that they never talk about the state with the toll roads in the country? Florida.

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So some in media seem focused on how Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley will try in the Senate Judiciary committee to attack Ketanji Brown Jackson? How about a bit of time spent on, for starters, what Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar will say in Ketanji’s praise and defense?

Maybe all those who expect their politicians to be perfect should take a look tonight at their NCAA brackets.

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Not a typo. After the first quarter of the first round game in Women’s NCAA basketball tournament, the score was Stanford 20, Montana State, 0.

Stanford women are good at basketball. #MarchMadness

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Don’t care how good a QB he is. As a Saints fan I am intensely relieved that a man accused of sexual assault by 22(!) women is not coming to New Orleans. #WhoDat

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Trevor Bauer congratulated Deshaun Watson on his new contract with the Browns. Well of course he did.

(Barf emoji)

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I’m old enough to remember Billy Carter. Hunter Biden is as relevant to what his father is doing as President as Billy was to what his brother Jimmy was doing as President. Which was zero

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CNN covering story of WH & NSC upset at Axios story based on fabricated letter purportedly written by Ukraine’s top national security official – .”Lot of disinformation about Ukraine right now. This is moment where taking extra time to verify reporting is even more essential than usual.”

I was taught in journalism classes it was ALWAYS that moment.

Do better, media.

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RIP Alaska Rep, Don Young, 88. He actually was involved with impeachment hearings for THREE Presidents – Nixon in 1974, Clinton in 1998, and both impeachments for the Former Guy.

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Kyle Rittenhouse posted pictures of his supposed crying on witness stand over killing people as a joking meme about gas prices. All you need to know about how awful & tone deaf it was – the clip is being shared and reported on not by Fox News etc but by liberal media.

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Hearing one of Putin’s reported “conditions” for ending his evil invasion is that Ukraine would have to agree to go through “de-Nazification.” makes me wish I could say, in Russian, “Vladimir, go f*ck yourself.”

One thing I love about Barack Obama is he’s not afraid to put himself out there & risk being wrong. At 736p fundraising email for Obama Foundation had his March Madness picks. With Kentucky in Final Four.. (Mr. President, hope you’re wrong on Stanford women losing to South Carolina too.)

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Okay, how many people even know where St. Peter’s University IS, let alone had them picked to upset Kentucky? (I had to look it up.)

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The website for Saint Peters university crashed earlier tonight. Along with a whole lot of brackets. https://saintpeters.edu

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Well so much for that Duke-Kentucky Coach K potential final rematch in the Final Four.

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Dodgers pay $162 million for Freddie Freeman. Rockies pay $182 million for Kris Bryant. Yeah, I can see why MLB needed to lockout players because the owners couldn’t afford to stay in business otherwise.

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Some are shocked Papa John’s is still in Russia. Remember when Papa John’s then CEO John Schnatter blamed sluggish pizza sales on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem?

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We seem shocked, even with “State TV,” that many Russians seem to believe Putin’s lies about invading Ukraine, While we seem to have accepted, despite pictures & videos shown on even conservative US networks, that many MAGAs believe January 6 was “legitimate political discourse”.

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Plenty of time for this later and not that we’re likely to get those apologies. But sure would be nice to hear those GOP Senators who voted not to impeach Velveeta Voldemort for extorting Ukraine to get fake dirt to use against Joe Biden to say “We made a mistake.”

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All snark aside, have to wonder why the media doesn’t unite in mocking those who are anti-booster shots. Even my cats need updates to the vaccines they got as kittens!

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All you need to know about today’s GOP is that House leader Kevin McCarthy stripped power from Liz Cheney because she wants to find the truth about January 6. While shrugging off Marjorie Three Names’ lies on a regular basis.

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Florida Senator Rick Scott proposes cutting the IRS budget in half. Well, heck, why doesn’t Scott propose just putting his rich donors on the honor system? Or is that coming next?

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Hunter Biden wasn’t elected to anything Hunter Biden was not named a White House Special Advisor to anything. Hunter Biden’s father isn’t extorting other countries on his behalf. Can we be done now?

Russell Wilson, 33, now introduced as the new Denver Broncos QB. My goal is to play 10 or 12 more years.

So he wants to retire at the same time eventually as Tom Brady?.

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After a long and at time bitter lockout where owners claimed they couldn’t afford all kinds of things like underpaid minor league staff, the Rockies and Dodgers have just paid about $350 million for contracts for two players only – (Kris Bryant and Freddie Freeman.)

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So does Sarah Palin have any insights on the current situation with Putin – since she’s presumably been keeping an eye on Russia from her house?

If Velveeta Voldemort had hotels in Russia you know he’d be keeping them open now.

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President Zelenskyy is standing up against a tyrant who is trying to have him killed. Many Republicans are afraid to stand up against a wannabe tyrant who might endorse a GOP primary opponent.

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Flipping through hotel TV channels and randomly found a commercial (on Fox) for Mike Huckabee “former Presidential Candidate” for “Relaxium” sleep aid. Can a Mr. Pillow ad be far behind?

Was on a plane for five hours without Wi-Fi. Miss the days when you could joke about “hope the world doesn’t come to an end while I’m off-line.”

Scary to watch how unhinged Putin is now and wondering just how bad Velveeta Voldemort might have been had he won re-election.

Sometimes worlds overlap in lovely unexpected ways. Just called Delta Airlines 24-7 sales support, for travel client w/ very complicated problem. Agent said she was in Minneapolis, told her I’m fan of her senator. Turns out she loves Amy Klobuchar & fixed the problem. No joke.

Not that any of the organizers care. But would be interesting if the March Madness pools required that to pick a team in one of your brackets, you needed to be able to name the coach and/or at least one player on that team.

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Veteran Packers WR Davante Adams, 29, has informed the team that he will not play under the franchise tag in 2022,  Translation – he saw the deal Aaron Rodgers got? Or Davante wants to be a youthful target for Tom Brady in Tampa?

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As Idaho passes an anti-abortion bill almost as draconian as Texas’s, remember, this bill doesn’t stop Idaho women from getting abortions, only those who can’t afford to travel to a blue state for the weekend. So wives, girlfriends & daughters of GOP politicians aren’t affected.

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All you need to know about Fox News is that that with most of the free world united behind Ukraine, they are standing behind Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson.

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For all those horrified at what Putin is doing to anyone in Russia, including media, who dares criticize him… remember in 2017, for the same reason, the Former Guy threatened to shut down NBC..’-

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As much as I cannot stand Moscow Mitch McConnell I know he delivers a lot of pork and prestige for his state. But seriously, Kentucky, what the h*ll were you thinking electing Rand Paul?

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Anyone thinking oil companies will quickly lower prices now oil is below $100 a barrel- travel agents remember when airlines put 1st fuel surcharges on for intl travel in 2004. Kept them when prices fell & now they’re called carrier surcharges. Can be over $1000 for international tickets.

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And while most American politicians, though they disagree on solutions, are concerned about the horrors going on in Ukraine, Velveeta Voldemort is sending several fundraising emails A DAY without mentioning Putin, Ukraine, or anything but his own grievances & need for money.

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Meanwhile GOP Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn are bitching about higher gas prices. So when can we expect them to urge their Senate colleagues to support Amy Klobuchar’s antitrust-competition bills to stop oil company price gouging?

I know today is Selection Sunday. But maybe with everything going on in Ukraine, this might be a good year to find a temporary NCAA tournament name other than “March Madness.”

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So this year the NCAA, besides picking 68 teams for the tournament, listed their “First Four Out.” – the teams that just missed out – Dayton, SMU, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Not surprisingly, fans of those four schools are furious.

Have we heard yet from the schools who are equally angry because they believe they should be in the top 72?

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Tom Brady is un-retiring and says he will play for the Buccaneers next year. Translation, Gisele is already tired of having him around the house?

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So is Tom Brady enough of a narcissist he didn’t really intend to retire but just wanted to grab some headlines from a Super Bowl he wasn’t going to be playing in?

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Maybe Brady didn’t announce his temporary retirement just after NFC/AFC championships to take attention from Super Bowl. And he’d never unretire deliberately on Selection Sunday, NCAA basketball’s biggest day…

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RIP William Hurt. Way too young at 71. While he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for it, the Big Chill, while parts of it haven’t aged well (like all of us) remains one of my favorite movies. With one of the best soundtracks ever.

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Four Senators, Amy Klobuchar, Roger Wicker, Richard Blumenthal and Rob Portman flew over to Poland, 15 miles from where Russia bombed Ukraine, today to meet with military and other leaders.

And how many other Senators, especially Republicans, bravely took to Twitter to complain about President Biden response to Putin’s invasion?

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After 4 years of US President who told police not to be “too nice” to protesters, referred to other nations as sh*thole countries, to immigrants as “animals,” & to journalists as enemies of the people…. Is anyone really shocked his puppetmaster is being so evil in Ukraine?

Criminal grand jury in Texas declined to indict Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson, despite 22 civil lawsuits filed by women accusing him of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. They decided it’s just a He Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said……situation?

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Reports that Joe Buck will leave Fox Sports and join ESPN to become voice of ‘Monday Night Football.’ Does this mean Buck won’t be calling the World Series anymore? Doesn’t make up for the obscenity of the DH in NL? But #smallmercies

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Heard from a friend – with the lockout, MLB punished fans harder than they punished the Houston Astros.

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Why doesn’t the media spend as much time covering what Hillary Clinton says as what Velveeta Voldemort says? 1. She cares about the country instead of just herself. 2. She’s been right all along.

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Many Americans are wondering how Russians could possibly fall for propaganda claiming Putin is telling nothing but the truth. Many of those same Americans believe every word Velveeta Voldemort says.

My head hurts..

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Apparently Putin put head of foreign intelligence branch under house arrest because he’s furious security services didn’t warn Ukraine could fiercely resist invasion. Because nothing is ever Vlad’s fault. Where have we heard that before?

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Speaking last night, Clarence Thomas attacked Democrats who talk about changing the Supreme Court “At some point the institution is going to be compromised.” And he said it with a straight face.

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Wisconsin crime lab destroyed rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used to fatally shoot 2 people in Kenosha. Kyle had asked for it back claiming he would destroy the gun himself “so that no one would profit off the weapon.” Uh, does ANYONE believe that? Maybe no one profit off it but him.

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Joe Manchin annoyed at Chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over perceived stalled natural gas pipeline permits & told him to “do your damn job.” Exactly the 4 words millions of Democrats & many of his fellow Senators want to tell Manchin on voting rights.

Baseball is back. Now how many players will be injured after a shortened spring training? And how many Arizona businesses won’t make it after losing a month of their busiest time of year? Still mad at MLB owners.

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So after saying less than 24 hours ago that weeks of the season were canceled, the owners agreed to have a full season when players went against MLBPA players executive commitee recommendations and agreed to a deal.

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Of course, now that owners twice in a week claimed it was players’ last chance why should players have any reason to mistrust the deal they just agreed to?

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And here we go…while COVID restrictions are loosening in many parts of the world, had a client about to make his first international business trip. Which may be canceled because the biggest meeting is scheduled in Poland.

F*ck Putin.

So on top of all the nasty out-of-touch crap Velveeta Voldemort is spewing while Ukraine is being bombed, he’s sending regular emails today about a cash “blitz.” #tonedeaf as well as despicable.

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The only good thing about the Former Guy begging for money on a non-stop basis, have heard stories that it’s making it harder for other GOP candidates to fundraise.

#smallmercies

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Madison Cawthorn just called Zelensky a THUG. The GOP race to the bottom continues.

Ron DeSantis to sign law against “any corporate training making employees feel discomfort or distress by suggesting they’re responsible for actions “committed in past by other members of same race, color, sex…” Translation: Homophobes, racists, misogynists -welcome to Florida.

And Florida also has the #DontSayGay bill which prohibits school instruction on “sexual orientation or gender identity in manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.” Supporters say vague language is “innocuous.”

If it was, GOP wouldn’t have passed law. #SayGay

MLB just canceled the second week of the regular season. So did owners decide as long as Russian invasion of Ukraine is going on Americans don’t have the bandwidth to be outraged?

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At this point MLB opening day at the earliest will be Jackie Robinson Day.

Your reminder, most MLB owners didn’t want Jackie Robinson to play ball either.

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Noticed MLB has followed MLBPA in creating fund for spring training stadium workers who will lose money due to lockout. What about restaurants, bars & other small businesses who count on Feb & March for a substantial part of their revenue? After COVID losses in 2020 & 2021.

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Stephen Colbert points out no one knows what “Z” which is being used as symbol supporting Russian invasion of Ukraine, means. Z doesn’t exist in Cyrillic Russian alphabet. Well, with sanctions maybe Z was the only letter left at Russian ruble equivalent of Dollar store?

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Although maybe “Z” is the Russian “Q?” And is JFK Jr somehow involved?

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Russian oil accounts for only about 8 percent of U.S. oil imports. So why are gas prices skyrocketing? (Take a look at oil company stocks, for starters.)

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Apparently Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott are still operating locations in Russia. Uh, with all the sanctions, planes grounded, banks closed, etc, uh, for exactly what kind of travel these days?

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Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who has not condemned Florida’s #DontSayGay bill, said he called Governor Ron DeSantis today to convey the company’s “disappointment and concern.” “Disappointment and concern?” So when Chapek retires will he run for the Senate in Maine?

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Governor Ron DeSantis’s Florida now is telling children not to get vaccinated for COVID, and new state guidance says 16 & 17 year old children may face more risk from the vaccine than from the virus… I miss the days when Florida man was only a danger to himself.

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Former Velveeta Voldemort Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham was on “The View” yesterday. Uh, if she couldn’t be bothered to have a press conference when it was her job, why should anyone watch her now. Asking for a country tired of this BS.

Atlanta WR Calvin Ridley suspended at least a year by NFL for betting on games. He apparently placed parlay bets involving 3, 5 & 8 games while on injured list -all including Falcons to win. The Falcons to win? Wonder if Ridley asked for clemency by reason of insanity? #whodat

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How pathetic is MLB right now? The owners’ second or third self-imposed deadline for ending their lockout & keeping a full season came and went tonight, and it’s not even on the top page of ESPN’s sports’ headlines.

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Well, not that they’ve been shamed into doing the right thing for fans, but at least MLB were shamed into helping workers – they launched a $1 million fund today day to support spring training workers impacted by canceled games, matching what players did last week.

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Per a telephone survey, about 58% of Russians approve of the invasion of Ukraine, while 23 % oppose it. But have to wonder, how many people polled by phone in Russia think their phones are tapped?

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Higher fuel prices hurt, & they especially hurt lower & middle-income Americans. So let’s make it simple for all those GOP who think gas prices are most significant issue facing USA now. Repeal Trump tax cuts & use money for tax credits or to subsidize gas prices. You’re welcome.

Weekend before USA shutdown in March 2020, was in Washington DC & bought a copy of “The Splendid and the Vile” about Churchill during the London Blitz. Great book. But never expected anyone to come before UK Parliament now for a 21st Century version.

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Susan Collins met with Ketanji Brown Jackson for nearly two hours today “It’s clear that her credentials & the breadth of her experience are impressive.” I WANT to believe Senator Collins is a yes. Or will she come up with a “very troubling” reason to vote no?

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January 1977, my senior year of high school in Florida,, Dade County Commission passed gay-rights ordinance, Anita Bryant launched dishonest ‘Save Our Children” campaign & Voters repealed gay rights in June 1977 Until DeathSantis this seemed like Florida dark ages.

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Gawd we are a nation of snowflakes Not making this up, went into bank to cash check & get some small bills for tips for travel. Woman in front of me in line asked teller if Wells Fargo would notify them if Ukraine war meant “we won’t be able to get our money out of the bank.”

Congrats to Gregg Popovich for tying Don Nelson’s NBA record of career coaching wins. San Antonio Spurs beat the Lakers tonight 117 to 110. 1,335 total wins. And at least that many reporters who regret asking Pop stupid questions.

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Not a single MLB owner will miss a meal or rent payment because spring training & regular season games are canceled. Not a single MLB owner will miss a dream spring training or opening day trip. & these are millionaires/billionaires some politicians tell us still need a tax cut?

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It’s about time: Senate just PASSED the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, cosponsored by Cory Booker and Tim Scott, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime by unanimous consent. Didn’t think Senate could get unanimous consent on the color of the sky.

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Putin has been suppressing votes by every means necessary for years in Russian elections. Now, it is basically impossible for him to be voted out of office. While we support democracy in Ukraine we need to remember to support democracy at home. And pass a new Voting Rights act.

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We’re all in awe of Zelenskyy – “I’m staying in Kyiv. In my office. I’m not hiding. I’m not afraid of anyone.” Remember now Jan. 20, 2021? Many Americans thought inaugural committee led by Klobuchar & Blunt, along w/ Biden, were nuts just to keep Joe’s inauguration outside.

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Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announces the state is going to be the first to recommend against the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy kids. What’s next, Florida telling parents their kids don’t need to bother getting vaccinated against mumps, measles and polio?

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New Florida motto – come for the sun, stay for the deadly diseases?

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Russia constitution says a President can only serve two terms. With various machinations, Putin has been in power since 2000,, and just changed rules, again, to allow him to stay in power theoretically until 2036. Think Velveeta Voldemort wouldn’t have tried to do the same here?

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CNN reports how Russian ambassador to UN says “We are NOT bombing civilians.” And blames “Ukraine Nationalists.”

If you wonder where the Former Guy & his cult got the idea to blame “Antifa” for everything…

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Since we need all the moments of positivity we can get these days. I love everything about this picture: Queen Elizabeth Meets with Justin Trudeau for First In-Person Engagement Since COVID..

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Apparently women’s basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia now for about 3 weeks. Makes me wonder, did Putin order Griner held indefinitely, while he planned to invade Ukraine, as a possible hostage?

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Apparently MLBPA has agreed to ban shifts. So they’re conceding that major league hitters can’t learn how to hit to the opposite field. Or to bunt?

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When with about 20 games – about 25% – left in NBA season & for all but about 3-4 teams on the bubble – it just comes down to postseason seeding, you’ve created a sport where the regular season doesn’t matter. And MLB wants to move in that direction

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As some in GOP peddle the statement that Putin didn’t invade Ukraine on Velveeta Voldemort’s watch? Well of course not, in what Vlad thought would be Former Guy’s first term the Russian dictator was too busy consolidating his efforts to take over America.

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So now that the #PeoplesConvoy has experienced the joys of being stuck in DC beltway traffic, protesting COVID restrictions that have largely been lifted, what’s next? Another convoy to protest gas prices after the truckers all wasted so much of it idling in stopped traffic?

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So if the truckers’ #PeoplesConvoy insists they are protesting COVID restrictions would it be churlish to suggest they try driving to the only state remaining with seriously tight statewide restrictions? That would be Hawaii.

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Got my fingernails done yesterday and amazed how touching it was to see high school girls excitedly getting mani-pedis for a formal dance tonight. A small thing maybe, but we need all the joy we can get these days.

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SNL Cold Open last Saturday has Kate McKinnon as Laura Ingraham and Alex Moffat as Tucker Carlson… raising money for those who Fox News believes are the real victims of Putin invading Ukraine – Russian oligarchs. Would be funnier if less accurate.

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This may end up forgotten and hoping the Ukrainian President literally dodged a bullet. But Saturday morning, Zelenskyy gave updates to U.S. Senators and member of Congress on a Zoom chat.

The Ukrainian ambassador requested that nobody share anything on social media during the meeting, because Russians could use it to pinpoint Zelinkskyy’s location. Sens. Rubio and Daines posted screenshots from the Zoom anyway, putting Zelenskyy’s life at risk.

Bad enough some in former adminstration put book sales over country. But twitter impressions over a world leader’s life?

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Feb 12, 2021 Nikki Haley on Velveeta Voldemort “We shouldn’t have listened to him. We can’t let that ever happen again.”

April 13, 2021. Nikki Haley says she’ll support & not challenge Trump if he runs in 2024

Why the f**k does ANYONE care what Haley says now about Ukraine?

Not that it would make a difference with most of the serious problems in the world right now. But it sure would be nice to have MLB spring training games as a distraction now.

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Of course, the NBA plays 82 games, about half the teams make the playoffs. and much of the season is meaningless. So maybe that’s MLB owners’ goal?

MLBPA apparently preparing a written response to MLB’s owners last offer. Wonder if the response contains any words that might get you suspended from Twitter or Facebook?

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34 House Republicans voted with ALL House Democrats for bill to dramatically boost health care services & disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq & Afghanistan. 174 voted no. So about 16% of GOP house members actually give a d*mn about our troops.

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Noticing a lot of people saying they don’t care about Ketanji Brown Jackson’s LSAT scores. I don’t care either, she’s a brilliant judge and was an editor of Law Review. But pretty sure her test scores were higher than average for SCOTUS & certainly higher than F*ckwit Carlson.

So with Facebook and Twitter now banned in Russia wonder if Vladimir Putin will allow Russians to use Truth Social?

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Vladimir Putin has signed bill with new prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading information going against Russian government’s position on war in Ukraine. How close did we come to Velveeta Voldemort trying to do something similar by executive order in a 2nd term?

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Vladimir Putin called Friday for the “normalization” of relations with other states, saying Moscow has “absolutely no ill intentions with regard to our neighbors.” Amazed Vlad didn’t say the invasion was “legitimate political discourse.”

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Reports that Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks. With all the sanctions what is Putin going to pay them with

Would never accuse MLB owners & commissioner Rob Manfred of being glad Russia has invaded Ukraine. I’m sure that all decent people are appalled. But it has been good timing that Putin keeps Manfred for being one of the most universally hated people in America.

#PlayBall

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Meanwhile, if you didn’t already love former SF Giants pitcher and current announcer Mike Krukow, Thursday he compared Manfred to a Batman villain.

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Uh, so now Bill Barr, who covered up Velveeta Voldemort’s abuses of power and sat on important evidence of his criminal behavior, has a big interview on NBC News with Lester Hold as part of his rehabilitation book tour. Hard pass. #ChangeTheChannel

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The gerrymandered GOP Florida Senate passed a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks.

Governor Deathsantis will sign the bill. A Democratic governor would have vetoed to. Ron DeSantis won election in 2018 by fewer than 32,500 votes out of over EIGHT MILLION.

Don’t anyone ever tell you your vote doesn’t matter.

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As Senate votes on resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency declaration passed 48-47. Now, Senator Dianne Feinstein was absent after the death this week of her husband, but California Senator Alex Padilla was also not able to vote – because he just tested positive for COVID-19.

You cannot make this “stuff” up.

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Some in media still want to report what the Former Guy says about Ukraine. Uh, If we hear from any recent Presidential candidate it should be Hillary Clinton – she’s been right about everything.

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In a 4-3 decision, Wisconsin Supreme Court chose Gov. Tony Evers’ “least change” legislative maps proposal keeping Wisconsin GOP from truly horrific gerrymandering. Remember this in April, 2020? Jill Karofsky was elected this day. Elections matter. Our votes matter.

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Spring training games don’t matter that much in the the grand scheme of things. – unless your business depends on people attending those games. But they are a great distraction. And a lot more fun than headlines about the latest Lebron James or Aaron Rodgers drama.

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Not sure how many games will be canceled for MLB, though one of the things being debated is how many teams will end up in the playoffs. Right now looks like minimum could be 12. Owners want 14.

So as MLB loses fans to other professional sports leagues, somehow I don’t think fans are flocking to NBA over baseball because the regular season matters less?

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Ebay has auctions for charity. Are they going to have a new category just for seized Russian assets that benefit Ukraine?

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A nice story for a change today – CNN reports AirBnb is offering free temporary housing for Ukrainan refugees.

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I’m not going to use the name of the rude piece of garbage who interrupted President Biden talking about his late son Beau. IMHO, we need to stop giving her attention.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has an immuno-compromised wife battling breast cancer and he still tries to score political points by bullying students wearing masks. There is no bottom.

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Velveeta Voldemort is ranting in a fundraising email about “MY State of the Union Address when Crazy Nancy Pelosi RIPPED UP my speech on LIVE TELEVISION?” So it would have been better if Madame Speaker acted Presidential, took the speech home and flushed it?

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Stephen Colbert tonight points out how the DC Trucker rally, which put the city on high alert, was expected to number over 3,000. But when SOTU started “only 12 rally-goers had actually assembled.” Waiting for Sean Spicer to tell us how it was the largest rally crowd ever.

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President Biden asked by a reporter today “As a Catholic, why do you support abortion, defying church teachings?” His response. “I don’t want to get in a debate with you on theology, but I’m not going to make a judgment for other people.” Nailed it.

Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst says he’s not getting a lot of teams calling to inquire about Aaron Rodgers’ availability via trade.

What, you mean most NFL teams aren’t interested in a high-priced almost 39 year old who lied to his team and the NFL last year over his vaccine status and then may have distracted the team by continually publicly doubling down on the controversy?

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MLB Opening Day being canceled is trivial in comparison to Ukraine right now. But if President Biden gets a few minutes, he could probably score a lot of bipartisan points by an executive order simply locking MLB owners in a room until they agreed to a deal with players unions.

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But if Joe really wants Democratic votes, maybe Biden could just remind baseball fans – under the previous administration, all the MLB owners got tax cuts!

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Senator Marco Rubio thinks it’s “theater” to take COVID test before SOTU because he’s says he’s not sick. But many cases of COVID are asymptomatic Average age in Senate is 62.9 years, in House, 57.6, with many of Octogenarians. “Theater,” sir, is risking their lives to avoid a 5 minute test.

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And Rubio skipped SOTU because “he didn’t have time.” for the test. But he had time to tweet during Biden’s speech. A rapid COVID test takes less time than composing a tweet.

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President Biden in his SOTU will say “When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos.” Joe will be talking about Vladimir Putin, but he might as well be talking about Velveeta Voldemort leading a fatal coup attempt on January 6.

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“Light will win over darkness” President Biden quoting Ukranian President Zelensky!🕯️

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Since Russian aircraft can no longer enter US airspace that may put a serious crimp in attendance at events at Mar-A-Lago.

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Democratic House Member Cori Bush is still saying tonight “defund the police.” While I’m for police reform, I can say as a fellow Democrat, I believe she is wrong. Hey, GOP, see how easy that is? You don’t HAVE to be a lockstep mindless cult.

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Even GOP have to privately be glad about some social distancing at tonight’s #SOTU
Means none of them had to risk drawing the short straw to sit next to Ted Cruz.

In all seriousness can we imagine the SOTU speech Velveeta Voldemort would have given tonight?

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When did Andrea Mitchell decide she wanted to be Chuck Todd?

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At time of writing, MLB and players’ union have paused negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement after a 16-hour day of meetings that stretched into 2a Tuesday.

MLB has extended its deadline for reaching a deal to 5 p.m. on Tuesday in order to salvage a March 31 opening day.

Okay, now what about the businesses, especially in Arizona,, who have already lost more than two weeks of revenue from Spring Training?

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A 12 team MLB playoff is only a win compared to the idea of a 14 or more team playoff. Baseball has been last major sport where all the games in the regular season actually mattered.–

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Among many reasons I love Rachel Maddow, instead of giving ANY airtime to Velveeta Voldemort’s lies about Ukraine, she went to the woman who warned us. And who should have been elected President in 2016. #HillaryClinton

We thought Putin chose a useful idiot who turned out to be insane. But maybe the puppet master was always as insane as his puppet?

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Senator Susan Collins, who claims to be pro-choice, voted against opening debate on Women’s Health Protection Act. Wonder how “troubled” was she by her decision?

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Senate couldn’t get close to 60 votes today to even open debagte on Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill aimed at codifying the right to an abortion. Would take some of these anti-abortion GOP Senators, who CLAIM to care about children, more seriously if they also hadn’t voted against the child tax credit.

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While what is going on in the Ukraine is awful, the courage and resistance of the Ukrainian people is truly inspiring. And I can’t be the only person who feels comfort in having Rachel Maddow temporarily back on air covering things!

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Rachel Maddow “If this is David versus Goliath we are wired as humans to cheer for David and to believe in David.” “But David is going to need help.” Once again, Rachel nails it

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Stephen Colbert – the late night newscaster we didn’t know we needed now – “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a humanitarian crisis, but also a triumph of humanity. Because despite all Russia’s military prowess the ordinary people of Ukraine will not back down or bow down.”

Meanwhile, while many people are convinced COVID is over… deaths were UP again last week. And the US is on pace to reach 1 MILLION deaths in March. Imagine if Velveeta Voldemort had just pushed vaccines as hard as he is pushing the Big Lie.

Ukrainian athletes are urging IOC to sanction Russian and Belarusian Olympic, Paralympic Committees. Guessing the IOC MIGHT in time enough get enough backbone to make Russia change their team name again.

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So with MLB owners and players far apart, more spring training games have been canceled. At a time when many businesses, especially in Arizona that depend on Spring Training, are hurting. Leaving aside COVID vaccines, MLB owners need a vaccine for greed & stupidity.

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Amy Klobuchar points out on CNN with Jim Acosta that not only is Ketanji Brown Jackson the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court she has more judicial experience than four of the justices currently serving.

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If you needed reminder sometimes there is no bottom, some conservative media & GOP members of Congress attacking President Biden for not being in DC this weekend. Uh, Joe was in Delaware, where they have phones & computers, attending his late son Beau’s mother-in-law’s funeral.

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Understand about a business deciding to stay out of politics. But a white nationalist conference? Would the Orlando Marriott World Center have been okay if a group titled themselves National Socialist German Workers’ Party supporters?

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Putin is finding it’s going to be harder to install a puppet government leader in Ukraine than it was in the United States.

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SNL Weekend Update starting out with more truth than humor: Russian President Putin launched the Ukraine attack with support from allies like Belarus and Tucker Carlson.

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So at this point the only new international golf courses and resorts Velveeta Voldemort will be able to build will be in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Belarus?

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Stephen Colbert Friday night on anti-mask mandate trucker convoy heading towards DC. As 49 states are dropping mask mandates, so “If you really believe in what you’re protesting, you better drive to Hawaii.” (Actually as travel agent I HAVE had folks ask about driving between the islands.)

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As we approach 8 months until midterm elections, imagine what world would be right now if Russia invaded Ukraine with Velveeta Voldemort in charge and Qevin McCarthy as House Speaker. Then remind yourself as my late great stepmother said “We’re not perfect but they’re nuts.”