Today, National Review Online posted my latest article. The subject was New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge.
Tonight, Judge hit a two run home run in the Yankees 8-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the AL Wild Card Game.
Few things polarize conservatives and liberals than judges, but Aaron Judge is a judge both sides can admire.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Monday, October 2, 2017
Family Spokesman Confirms Tom Petty's Death
More sad news on this sad day. Rock legend Tom Petty has in fact died.
There were reports earlier today that he had died of a heart attack, but those reports were later walked back amid additional reports that he was clinging to life and had a chance to pull through. Many people hoped he would not back down. Unfortunately, a family spokesman confirmed Petty's death late on Monday evening from cardiac arrest. Petty was 18 days shy of his 67th birthday.
For more than four decades, Petty was a mainstay in popular music and managed to maintain his place despite changing tastes and trends resonating with generations of audiences on 13 albums with the Heartbreakers, three solo albums and three albums with the Traveling Wilburys. He remained a viable touring act. Only a week before his death, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl.
Under the circumstances, I think it best to play "Mary Jane's Last Dance". R.I.P.
There were reports earlier today that he had died of a heart attack, but those reports were later walked back amid additional reports that he was clinging to life and had a chance to pull through. Many people hoped he would not back down. Unfortunately, a family spokesman confirmed Petty's death late on Monday evening from cardiac arrest. Petty was 18 days shy of his 67th birthday.
For more than four decades, Petty was a mainstay in popular music and managed to maintain his place despite changing tastes and trends resonating with generations of audiences on 13 albums with the Heartbreakers, three solo albums and three albums with the Traveling Wilburys. He remained a viable touring act. Only a week before his death, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl.
Under the circumstances, I think it best to play "Mary Jane's Last Dance". R.I.P.
My 2017 MLB Post-Season Predictions: The 1st Yankees-Dodgers World Series Since 1981
The 2017 MLB post-season begins tomorrow night with the New York Yankees hosting the Minnesota Twins in the AL Wild Card game.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees (Winner: Yankees)
ALDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros (Winner: Astros in four)
ALDS (Best 3 out of 5) - New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians (Winner: Yankees in five)
ALCS (Best 4 out of 7) - New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros (Winner: Yankees in six)
ALCS MVP - Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL Wild Card - Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Winner: D'Backs)
NLDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals (Winner: Nationals in five)
NLDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in five)
NLCS (Best 4 out of 7) - Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in seven).
NLCS MVP - Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 WORLD SERIES (Best 4 out of 7) New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in six).
World Series MVP - Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees (Winner: Yankees)
ALDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros (Winner: Astros in four)
ALDS (Best 3 out of 5) - New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians (Winner: Yankees in five)
ALCS (Best 4 out of 7) - New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros (Winner: Yankees in six)
ALCS MVP - Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL Wild Card - Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Winner: D'Backs)
NLDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals (Winner: Nationals in five)
NLDS (Best 3 out of 5) - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in five)
NLCS (Best 4 out of 7) - Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in seven).
NLCS MVP - Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 WORLD SERIES (Best 4 out of 7) New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in six).
World Series MVP - Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers
Terry Collins Resigns as Mets Manager
After seven seasons at the helm of the New York Mets, Terry Collins has resigned as the club's longest reigning manager. The Mets would endure four straight losing seasons under Collins before shocking baseball by winning the NL pennant in 2015 and reaching the post-season again last year, the New York Mets fell on hard times this year falling to a record of 70-92 in 2017, 27 games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East. Indeed, they finished only four games ahead of the last place Philadelphia Phillies. Collins' resigned after the last game of the season following an 11-0 drubbing at the hands of the Phils who will also have a new manager next season after deciding to kick Pete Mackanin upstairs. Like Mackanin, Collins has accepted a position in the Mets' front office.
Not all of this can be laid at Collins' door. There were injuries to Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Jeurys Familia, Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright not to mention the decline of one time ace Matt Harvey. But someone had to take the fall and Collins' contract was up.
Regardless of who they hire should these aforementioned players be healthy and regain their form next year, the Mets will be right back in the thick of things in 2018.
Not all of this can be laid at Collins' door. There were injuries to Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Jeurys Familia, Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright not to mention the decline of one time ace Matt Harvey. But someone had to take the fall and Collins' contract was up.
Regardless of who they hire should these aforementioned players be healthy and regain their form next year, the Mets will be right back in the thick of things in 2018.
Let's Hope Tom Petty Still Won't Back Down
Well, October has really got off to an awful start beginning with the massacre in Las Vegas which claimed 50 innocent lives at a country music concert. Now comes the news that music legend Tom Petty has died of a heart attack only 18 days shy of his 67th birthday.
However, the LAPD is indicating they cannot confirm this to be true. But according to TMZ, he has just been taken off life support.
Let's hope this isn't true and he somehow pulls through. Under the circumstances, we ought to listen to his signature song "Won't Back Down".
However, the LAPD is indicating they cannot confirm this to be true. But according to TMZ, he has just been taken off life support.
Let's hope this isn't true and he somehow pulls through. Under the circumstances, we ought to listen to his signature song "Won't Back Down".
Is The Mandalay Bay Shooter a Soldier of ISIS or This Generation's Charles Whitman?
When I retired early this morning I knew that the death toll in Las Vegas would exceed two people and so did the rest of the world. Indeed, when I awoke there were 58 dead and more than 500 people injured. It surpassed last year's Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre as the deadliest shooting in American history.
The shooter has been identified as Stephen Paddock. ISIS has claimed he was a recent convert to Islam and that they were responsible for the attack. If this is the case it would render President Trump's Muslim travel ban useless as Paddock is American born and raised. Of course, if this was an ISIS inspired attack it wouldn't stop The Left from demanding more gun control as was the case when CNN collaborated with President Obama on a January 2016 town hall meeting called "Guns in America" following the San Bernardino attacks (the same attacks which prompted Trump to call for his Muslim travel ban). However, at this point, the FBI disputes ISIS' claim.
When I learned about the attack, it reminded me of the November 2015 attack at The Bataclan in Paris and the May 2017 bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester this past May. But if the FBI is correct in its assessment that there is no connection to Islamic terrorism my attention turns to a mass shooting from more than half a century ago. Specifically, I am referring to the August 1966 massacre at the University of Texas in Austin where Charles Whitman shot and killed 16 people including an unborn child as well as injuring 31 other people from the 28th floor from the campus' tower. Paddock killed his victims from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The similarities may or may not end there but Paddock was 64 and would have been in his early teens at the time of the University of Texas massacre. There's a chance he remembered the attack and might have been inspired by it in some way.
Whatever Paddock's motivations we are going to hear a lot more about gun control and background checks in the coming days. But chances are Paddock would have passed any background checks as it appears that he had no criminal record.
When something horrific and vile as this happens there is always a desire to want to either do something to prevent such an attack in the future or point the finger at others for failing to prevent the unforeseen. I am sure there will be plenty of both occurring. Unfortunately, nothing can undo what happened early this morning and there's probably not much more we can do to prevent things like this from happening beyond what we are already doing. That might seem inadequate to many people and it probably is. But we are often an inadequate species.
The shooter has been identified as Stephen Paddock. ISIS has claimed he was a recent convert to Islam and that they were responsible for the attack. If this is the case it would render President Trump's Muslim travel ban useless as Paddock is American born and raised. Of course, if this was an ISIS inspired attack it wouldn't stop The Left from demanding more gun control as was the case when CNN collaborated with President Obama on a January 2016 town hall meeting called "Guns in America" following the San Bernardino attacks (the same attacks which prompted Trump to call for his Muslim travel ban). However, at this point, the FBI disputes ISIS' claim.
When I learned about the attack, it reminded me of the November 2015 attack at The Bataclan in Paris and the May 2017 bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester this past May. But if the FBI is correct in its assessment that there is no connection to Islamic terrorism my attention turns to a mass shooting from more than half a century ago. Specifically, I am referring to the August 1966 massacre at the University of Texas in Austin where Charles Whitman shot and killed 16 people including an unborn child as well as injuring 31 other people from the 28th floor from the campus' tower. Paddock killed his victims from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The similarities may or may not end there but Paddock was 64 and would have been in his early teens at the time of the University of Texas massacre. There's a chance he remembered the attack and might have been inspired by it in some way.
Whatever Paddock's motivations we are going to hear a lot more about gun control and background checks in the coming days. But chances are Paddock would have passed any background checks as it appears that he had no criminal record.
When something horrific and vile as this happens there is always a desire to want to either do something to prevent such an attack in the future or point the finger at others for failing to prevent the unforeseen. I am sure there will be plenty of both occurring. Unfortunately, nothing can undo what happened early this morning and there's probably not much more we can do to prevent things like this from happening beyond what we are already doing. That might seem inadequate to many people and it probably is. But we are often an inadequate species.
The Mandalay Bay Attack Evokes Memories of The Bataclan in Paris & Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester UPDATE
Given the attack occurred during a concert, I immediately thought of the November 2015 attacks at the Bataclan in Paris as well as the bombing attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK this past May.
At this point, MSNBC is characterizing this as "a mass shooting" but only two people are confirmed dead. I suspect those numbers will be significantly higher. Given the aforementioned Islamic terrorist acts one must consider that possibility. Unsurprisingly though MSNBC, CNN and even FNC are not prepared to entertain that thought and perhaps never will even this proves to be the case.
Of course, it is possible that this something other than an act of Islamic terrorism but I believe this to be highly unlikely.
Not sure when I'll be going to bed much less be able to sleep.
UPDATE: I am watching MSNBC and listening to a retired ATF agent named Jack Cavanagh who notes that Las Vegas has long been the desired target of Islamic terrorists because it is a symbol of the decadent West. Given the weaponry involved and the chaos caused I would be very surprised if Islamic terrorists aren't responsible for this act of evil.
UPDATE II: I flipped to CNN and saw anchors Natalie Allen and Rosemary Church discussing the "gun epidemic" in America. Somehow I don't think the person or persons responsible for this attack would have been deterred by tougher background checks. To make matters worse they said they couldn't remember a time when people attending a concert were in this position. How do they not remember the Bataclan? The Manchester Arena bombing occurred just over four months ago. This is utterly annoying. It's just past 4 a.m. EST and I don't think I'll getting more information anytime soon. Time for bed. No doubt things will be worse before they get better when I awake.
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