President Vance

J.D. Vance is a very compelling writer, and I feel confident that he will give a very compelling speech at the Republican convention tonight. I imagine a lot of the country is going to be moved by Sen. Vance's speech tonight in a similarly profound way that I and so many others were moved by the following speech in July 2004, and I imagine they are going to make sure their guy is president some day (and maybe some day very soon).

Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:10 AM 
Subject: i'm on the bandwagon 
i know that i'm so ripe for being played by big media; i'm so easy that i cry at the end of almost every "west wing." still -- screw it -- i think/hope this guy is the real deal.

NFL23 Update: Hail to the Chiefs (Again)!

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs! When I searched "Kansas City Chiefs" on Google a second ago, fireworks flew across the screen of my laptop.

And deservedly so! For my money, not I of the previous LVII Super Bowls was any more entertaining than last night's event featuring the Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, Harrison Butker, Chris Jones and the rest of the victor Chiefs; the worthy San Francisco 49ers; Taylor Swift and (hopefully) her future in-laws; Jim Nantz and Tony Romo; Andra Day, Post Malone and Reba McEntire; Dan Marino; Usher and Alicia Keys, and the rest. Starting at about 5 Central, I watched with my family virtually every second of CBS's remaining five hours of TV coverage from Las Vegas, and, my gosh, I felt so thankful to have gotten to experience the thing.

Furthermore, the Chiefs have now won two Super Bowls in a row, played in four since 2019 (winning three) and now are now 4-2 in all-time Super Bowl appearances. All time, that's the sixth-most Super Bowl appearances and fifth-most victories (along with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants) for Kansas City, which also won more AFL championships (three) than any other team. What a franchise!

Did you know that the Chiefs' defense from 1966 through 1971 was apparently nicknamed "The Redwood Forest?" I did not. In fact, I don't think I exactly knew that the Chiefs' offense from 2018 through 2021 was apparently nicknamed "The Legion of Doom." I remember hearing Nantz and others say "The Legion of Doom" when I happened to be watching football games off mute during that time period, but I guess I always figured they were just making something up out of thin air to promote some comic-book movie that was out at the time and never paid much attention. Anyway, I learned both of these notes this morning from the Chiefs' Wikipedia page, which I intend to read over the next several days as I think back over my favorite memories from my very fun Sunday night.

Of course, at my typical HP pace, that will likely take me right through to kickoff of the Miami Dolphins' victory in Super Bowl LIX (Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans). Hail to the Chiefs, and comments flow!

1976

My word, I adore newspapers. If I had lived in Philadelphia today in 1976, there's about a 101-percent chance that this page would've already been taped to my bedroom wall in advance of tonight's game ...

13 Jul 1976, Tue The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

1976

22 Mar 1976, Mon Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

And this concludes my coverage of the satisfying, 1975-76 NCAA men's basketball season. Congratulations to Coach Hall and the NIT-champion University of Kentucky Wildcats!

1976: Why Not the Best?

They didn't know it yet in Burbank, ...

... but Jimmy Carter and President Ford are going to win today 1976's New Hampshire presidential primary.

I just love art like that (from Collier's 1977 Year Book Covering the Year 1976) and this (from this 1976 week's TV Guide).

Comments flow.

Rest In Peace, Kenneth Starr

One time, at the height of the President Clinton/Monica Lewinsky story, I met a liberal in Washington who was a teacher, and one of her students was one of Kenneth Starr’s children. 

The teacher was so angry about that whole investigation, thought it was an unnecessary witch hunt and pretty much lined up with all of the loud left apologists at the time. What really got her goat, though, was that she said Kenneth Starr was the absolute model parent—present for everything he should be present for, dialed in, eager to contribute money or effort to whatever the school was doing, etc. She laughed to me (also a liberal) at herself about how much she really wanted him to be a jerk. 

I remember sitting at the bar at that moment thinking how fortunate I was to live in the United States of America—and, in particular, for a little while, Washington, D.C.

Rest in peace, Kenneth Starr, who was born in 1946 in Vernon, Texas.

D.C. Statehood?

Yea.

Warning: Adult Language.

So I filmed this video today. I shot it in a D.C. neighbourhood as Trump-supporters were leaving downtown after the protests and riots today. Apparently it went viral after I posted in on my Instagram @westhrin So here it is, Twitter! #guyonporch #womanincar pic.twitter.com/bmMUS48Blz

— Veronica Westhrin (@NRKveronica) January 7, 2021

I Think Parler Reads the HP

 "Think you have what it takes to make the internet amazing again?"

If I get on this thing and see that everybody is talking about how great To Tell the Truth is, I'm going to get really spooked.

Oh, Kentucky

Carroll Hubbard--now an R-Murray--is running for the state house.

Fischer for Bloomberg. Bevin at the Trump.

A couple of Leitchfield 18-year-old entrepreneurs plan a Nov. 30 grand opening for their new Foam Fort indoor Nerf arena, which sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.

One of Marion's two groceries is not closing; neither, presumably, is the other one.

Here are your Kentucky wines of the year.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Guthrie, Mayfield and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

NFL72 Update

The Miami News is warning visiting Republicans in town for the GOP convention to not get their hopes up of getting a ticket for the Friday, Aug. 25, 1972, Miami Dolphins exhibition with the Atlanta Falcons in the Orange Bowl. The newspaper recommends Nixonites instead show up for one of the free, open-to-the-public, twice-daily workouts (9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) at Biscayne College.

Garo Yepremian, by the way, is part of a National Guard service-and-supply unit, Task Force 50, that is assigned to riot duty for the convention—just as he was in July when the Democratic National Convention took place in Miami Beach. (How often has it happened that both of the major-party conventions took place in the same town?)

In other news, Miami-area Super X drug stores have half-inch, Dolphins three-ring binders on back-to-school sale for 99 cents apiece (“1.59 value”).

Oh, Kentucky

Here are the stories that made our front page pic.twitter.com/Al3KRVBCbw

— Kentucky New Era (@KentuckyNewEra) May 9, 2018

 

It's always interesting to see when Sen. McConnell chooses to be clear and when he chooses to be not clear. The number of words (4 vs. 134 in this case) is a pretty dependable tell.

A robo cop (not Robo Cop) appears to be coming to Madisonville.

Maker's Mark plans an expansion near Raywick, reports Stevie Lowery in The Lebanon Enterprise.

They're growing tennis players at Springfield's Idle Hours Park, writes Zack Penalva in The Springfield Sun.

Metcalfe County is raising its birds-per-barn ribbon by about 7 percent to better align with trends in today's poultry industry, Gina Kinslow details in the Glasgow Daily Times.

Angela Turner in Corbin's Times-Tribune: "(I)f you buy a bushel of tomatoes or a mound of cucumbers at the Whitley County Farmers’ Market, you just might be buying them from a hometown hero."

Jeff Neal and Janie Slaven deliver an interesting report on a mistake and correction around a burial at Pulaski County's Science Hill Cemetery, and the Somerset Commonwealth Journal article thoroughly answers a question I had never thought to ask: What happens to a person with no money or identifiable next of kin when he or she dies?

Rest in peace, Alvin Luther Randlett, 32-year janitor at Covington's Sixth Street Elementary School and $175,000 giver to the state Child Victims Trust Fund.

MLB Update

But this is OK ...?

LET’S GOOOO 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/VV86jpKO0r

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 9, 2017

Twenty Years

This December will mark 20 years since the horrible shooting at our dear, old Heath High School, and here's an Associated Press item this morning from Rockford, Washington:

Harper, a 15-year-old sophomore, said the suspect had brought notes in the beginning of the school year, saying he was going to do "something stupid" and might get killed or jailed. Some students alerted counselors, the teen told AP, but it wasn't clear what school officials did in response ...

Harper said the shooter had many friends and was not bullied, calling him "nice and funny and weird" and a huge fan of the TV show "Breaking Bad." He also said the suspect was obsessed with other school shootings. 

Students say the shooter was armed with a pistol and rifle and had carried a duffel bag to school.

If you are not for reducing access to guns, would you instead be willing to support new taxes to pay for the same level of security equipment, personnel and processes at our schools that we have implemented at our airports?

Prayers for everyone in and around Rockford.