Do You Believe in Miracles?

The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude weighed in yesterday.  She tweeted her thoughts on how tawdry the members of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team accessorized their wardrobe for the 40-year anniversary celebration of their defeat of the Russians.  Say what?

María de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien translated from Spanish means “The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude.”   Shortened, she goes by Soledad O’Brien.    Soledad was an NBC, MSNBC, and CNN anchor from 1991 till 2013 winning a Peabody and an Emmy Award along the way.

Since 2016, O’Brien has been the host for Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, a nationally syndicated weekly talk show.   She is also a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors, which is presented by the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Solitude means “the state or situation of being alone.”  Except Soledad is anything but alone.

Sunday she tweeted “Ugh….so disappointed by the @1980MiracleTeam.  I loved watching that game as a kid with my dad.  To see them on a stage, in MAGA hats-kinda crushing I have to say.”

And so America was “lit” as the young uns like to say, or used to like to say.   Tweets on both sides of the aisle set the virtual world on fire.

One side @SJUA08 provided “The USA Hockey team UNITED a nation in 1980.  The same team DIVIDED this nation more by participating in a MAGA rally.  The Miracle Team now is part of our national nightmare.”

The other side @BroodingManatee countered, “If I took other people’s political opinions this seriously, I’d have to disavow all my favorite bands and stop watching movies entirely.”

All of the above freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment.  The faithful First also guarantees freedom of the press.  And, we submit, that is where the worst of all blurred lines have been crossed.    We’re pretty sure Walter Cronkite would look down his nose and over his reader glasses at old solitude Soledad.

The press used to stay out of shaming people for expressing their thoughts through freedom of speech.  In fact, they used to vigorously defend it.  Burn the flag.  Wear a MAGA hat.  It’s all the same.   But, today it isn’t.  Today, you are entitled to your opinion and right to express it only if it aligns with others’ thoughts.

If not, let the condemnation and name-calling begin and never end.   A few that come to mind are bigot, misogynist, racist, homophobe, elitist, and one-percenter.  There’s white privilege.  The war on women has now lasted longer than the 100-years war.  It’s must be all bad.  Don’t believe me?  Ask any member of the press that disagrees with you.

Reporters used to cover protesters yelling in the streets.  Now they are the protesters yelling into the microphone.

It’s their right even though it used to be wrong.  It will take a miracle to reverse this course.

What’s Old is Old

Do you remember the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Show back in the eighties?  His relentless pursuit of money through the guise of religion was so tiresome.  Claims made by him and his minions of miracles answered for contributors to his church were endless and far fetched at best.  But, it was a narrative that kept his lovely wife Tammy Faye in mascara.  Jim eventually served hard time in jail for his sins.

Undeterred, he’s been at it again.  Contacts have replaced thick glasses.  Thin white coiffed hair has replaced thick brown coiffed hair.  Tammy Faye passed away.  He has a new female Fatale beside him as he continues to spread the good word.  Recently he brought on an “expert” who stated that for a small contribution she could send you some medicine that would destroy the coronavirus in just 12 hours.  It’s a miracle!

Find a narrative, swear to God by it, and collect money.

Which brings us to MSNBC.  Lawrence O’Donnell reminds us of the Rev. Jim Bakker.  Find a narrative, swear to God by it, and collect ad money.

Ole Larry made the Putin and Trump connection again.  O’Donnell said, “The president is a Russian operative. That sounds like the description of a bad Hollywood screenplay, but it is real. It is Vladimir Putin’s greatest achievement, decades after America’s victory in the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, the president of the United States is now helping the president of Russia help the president of the United States to get re-elected. So that the president of Russia will have four more years of the president of the United States who he wants in the Oval Office, this is one of those shocking news days if you retain the capacity to be shocked in the Trump era by the Trump regime, which might be better labeled the Trump-Putin regime.”

You know.  Russia bad.  Trump bad.  We’ll be back after these revenue-generating messages.

So what if Putin prefers Trump over, say, a socialist that Bloomberg called a communist?  What would O’Donnell screech if Putin, as crazy as it sounds, came out in support of Crazy Bernie?

What would Lawrence say then?  Would he blame Trump for contacting Putin to get him to do it?  After all, who would want Putin’s endorsement?  Remember Russia bad.  Trump bad.

The narrative is beyond tired.  The collusion and all of its Mueller investigating (and striking out) is as old and tired as Jim Baker and snake oil.

Trumps’s approval numbers have improved over his time in office to a new high this past month.

How much is due to Putin? Not much.   The real question is how much is due to America growing more tired of a tired narrative.  Much.

 

Winners? Losers?

Our society always yearns for clarity.  There are always good guys and bad guys in movies.  In debates, we want to know who won or lost.  One debate does not an election season make.  Regardless, we’ll play along.  To the Nevada Democratic Debate scoreboard we go.

Winner– Donald J. Trump.   There were no “wow” moments from any Democrat that would cause anyone to look at this race for 2020 any differently.  When capitalism v. socialism is being debated you’ve got a problem with the narrative in the bigger picture.

Loser- Michael Bloomberg.  He paid to get on the stage and halfway through he likely wanted to pay to get off of the stage no matter the cost.  Elizabeth Warren stood next to him.  Mini Mike, as Trump calls him, looked small in stature and when Warren traded punches with him on his confidentially settled lawsuits brought by former female employees he looked even smaller.  He was attacked by everyone on stage and had few counter punches of note.  He looked like he could use a standing eight count at one point.

Winner– Mayor Pete.  It is obvious that the moderates (we use that term loosely with this crowd of Mayor Pete, Amy Klobuchar, and Bloomberg) will consolidate down to one at some point.  Mayor Pete has poise and stage presence.  He speaks eloquently but says little.  That actually works in this crowd.  His few but pointed attacks had a plan.  He had Klobuchar rattled more than once.  He has no national record so few attack him.  Others are falling around him.  Is his inexperience his biggest foe?

Loser- Joe Biden.  Joe stood in the middle of the ring and came out of the debate unscathed.  That sounds like a winner, but it’s not.  Why?  Its because no one even bothered to throw a punch at him.  This also makes him a loser as his competition has moved on to fight other fighters.  Long on experience and relationships around the globe, he constantly reminds us, is no longer the winning ticket to get on the nomination train.

Winner– NBC.  The moderators had control for the most part and the questions aimed at most candidates were pointed and debate worthy.  The bar for moderators is very low when CNN is your competition, however.  Bonus points to them for keeping the far-left MSNBC talking heads at home.

Loser– Elizabeth Warren.  Her demeanor was better than her norm.  Her aforementioned exchange with Bloomberg was strong.  Her fingernails on a chalkboard voice was an octave lower than usual.   Sounds like a winner doesn’t it?  The problem is Bernie Sanders is the front runner and he is in her lane taking up all of the oxygen.  It’s too late for her.

Winner– Bernie Sanders.  He admitted that he is a “Democratic Socialist.”  He was called out for a 25 trillion dollar gap in his health care plan costs.  Yet he lost no ground last evening and remains the front runner.  Now he should loudly focus on fixing the Democratic Super Delegate problem that is right in front of him.  Bloomberg has money to burn.  Bernie should burn down the crooked process.

Loser– The Democratic Party.  Having an avowed Socialist leading your process as the capitalistic driven economy rolls along in 2020 is no way to win an election.  For the party that prides itself on inclusiveness, last night was a divisive two hour attack on one another.

See you in South Carolina.

 

Ironing, Washing, and Exercise

Super Bowl viewing isn’t for everyone.   In today’s world alternative suggestions to occupy your time while others soak up every minute are plentiful.  Likewise, the State of the Union (SOTU) addresses aren’t for everyone either.  Several alternatives were suggested before and during the speech last evening.  Rather than recap the SOTU, let’s look at the alternatives suggested, acted upon, and even some others that could have been.

Hillary Clinton suggested that you spend the hour ensuring that your voter registration was up to date and ask two others to do the same.  Patriotic!  She also could have rifled through a ton of old emails and filed the keepers and tossed the rest.  Wait, BBR is being told that she’s up to date.  Well, maybe she could have caught up on some ironing.  You know, so many pantsuits, so little time.

Hillary’s Pinterest friend Monica Lewinsky skipped the address as well.  She decided to catch up on some wash, she said.   Hillary had a suggestion.  Shout®. has the stain-fighting ingredients to break up and remove tough stains—so you can live in the moment, and clean up later.

Alexandria Octavio Cortez had a great seat but boycotted the event.  She said, “None of this is normal and I will not legitimize it.”  Dramatic.  That’s the way to drop the hammer AOC.  AOC suggested that M.C. Hammer had it all wrong many moons ago when he sang “Too Legit. Too Legit to Quit.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D) from Michigan walked out midway through the speech.  She tweeted, “…the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live-it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies.”  She walked straight to her favorite restaurant in such disgust that she could barely sit through the entire meal.  One suggestion going forward is to call food stamps by their proper name.  SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the program formerly known as food stamps.  Saying “food stamps” is beneath the dignity of the office she occupies.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) on Tuesday night brought a Ukrainian flag with him to the address to show that Democrats stood with an “ally he tried to extort.”  During the speech he walked out saying “I can’t stand a liar.”  Perhaps the 83-year-old Pascrell, who no one has ever heard of, should have stayed.  Everyone is famous for 15 minutes.  Why shortchange yourself?

A small group of Dems didn’t stand (Ilhan Omar among them) while all others did three separate times to honor 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee.  Even McGee at 100 stood all three times, and they were honoring him!  Maybe some need to hit the U.S. government provided gym for some much-needed exercise rather than sit in those comfy leather chairs all evening.  Up. Down.

Adam Schiff sat through the entire evening right next to Jerry Nadler.  Kudos to him.  Schiff, eyes bulging, looked like he could barely breathe though.  Understandable.  One suggestion to him might be- don’t sit next to Nadler next time.

Congressman Tim Ryan (D) from Ohio also walked out.  He tweeted, “I’ve had enough.  It’s like watching professional wrestling.  It’s all fake.”  We hope Ryan soldiered on and watched the balance of the address on CNN.

President Trump reaffirmed that America is going to participate in the Trillion Tree Initiative “an ambitious effort to bring together government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world.”  That’s a good thing for the environment and the paper industry.

Paper will be so plentiful it’ll be growing in trees.   Paper is what kept Nancy Pelosi in her seat shuffling hers until the very end.  She seemed torn though.

May we suggest a House led investigation into possible Russian interference in the Iowa Democratic Primary to get her mind off of all of that pesky paperwork?

 

 

 

 

 

Like Him or Not

Nine quick days ago tragedy struck a globally iconic figure-Kobe Bryant.  He was full of life and had much more to live.  Yesterday, another iconic figure, although a far more polarizing one, announced on his now 32 years and running AM radio talk show that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer-Rush Limbaugh.

What do the two have in common?  The answer is very little, save one thing.  Both rose to the very top of their very difficult and highly skilled professions and flourished for an abnormally long time.

In the mid-’80s Rush stopped trying to be what others wanted him to be on air and started being Rush.  By 1988 he was in New York and his conservative talk show entered syndication.  Soon radio stations coast to American coast picked him up and began revamping their station lineups around him.   The number of stations in his mid-’90s zenith was nearly 700.  Today it’s still 590 or so.  His listenership peaked at nearly 20 million per week.   It remains the #1 talk show today with over 16 million.  He single-handedly changed talk radio.

Along the way Rush made many new friends, made many new enemies, and found himself embroiled in more than a few controversies.

In 2003 he was extra busy.   He joined the ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown.  He didn’t last long.  He questioned Donovan McNabb’s ability as a QB.  “Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go,” Limbaugh said. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback does well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb.”

He also was extra busy in 2003 consuming way too many prescribed pain killers.  A court case was settled and one count of obtaining them illegally was dismissed.

His campaign to marginalize Sandra Fluke in 2012 was strongly worded and unrelenting.  It cost him and his show dozens of sponsors.

There is a softer side too.  His work leading charitable causes and his private monetary donations are numerous and generous in the many millions.

But, make no mistake about it, Rush has been Rush and has been great at it for a long time.  His appeal in conservative circles is unmatched.  He’s been at odds with the Republican Party more than once as well.  There’s a difference in being a conservative and a Republican.

His shtick is uncanny and unrelenting.  “Sitting high atop the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Network Broadcast Building with talent on loan from God, it’s Rush Limbaugh at the Golden Mic, the center for advanced conservative studies.  I have half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair.”  And on he pushes.

A colleague called him the Babe Ruth of broadcasting just a few weeks back.  Babe did it his way.  Legend has it that Babe once pointed to where he then hit the next pitch for a home run.  Rush has had a clear vision of the future cultural and political changes that few others could foresee.  Babe hit 714 in all and retired in 1935.  It took until 1974, or 39 years for Hank Aaron to break the home run record.  There is and has been no one on the radio that has come close to Rush’s combination of passion, wit, knowledge, and ability to convey the complex in a simple way for 32 years and counting.  Rush does it his way.

You can argue his political takes, but be prepared for the long game.  His work ethic is unparalleled.  Try being the solo host of a three-hour show, five days a week, and fifty-two weeks a year.  Now do that for 32 years and counting.

His show is his life.  And, now he is in the fight of his life.

 

The Under Card

  1. What’s on everyone’s mind on the national scene these days?  It’s Kobe Bryant and his daughter’s unfortunate passing.  It’s the threat of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S.  It’s the Senate Impeachment Trial.  And, it’s the dwindling field and the jockeying for position in the Democratic race to gain the 2020 party’s nomination.

What’s the goal of the trial?  It’s two-fold.  It’s an attempt to deny Trump a chance to run for reelection.  And, it’s an incessant campaign to weaken his campaign.  And, the goal of the nomination process is to get to the candidate that most from the left feel has the best chance to take back the White House of course.  Opinions vary as to what the ultimate success of any of these plans might be.

But what gets little national play until way closer to the November election is the undercard.  The undercard is comprised of all of the state by state races for the House and the Senate.  The Democrats regained the House in 2018.  They have their eyes on the Senate as well.  Defeat Trump, and voila!  The keys to all three kingdoms are yours.

However, Lee Corso might say, “not so fast my friend!”  A great source tells BBR that they feel quite confident that the GOP has a finely tuned strategic plan of their own.  And, they think regaining the House majority is well within reach.  Wowza.  Round one.  Ding. Ding.

Thirty House Democrats are up for reelection in districts won by Trump in 2016.  Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), is one of the 30.   He voted against both articles of impeachment. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who represents another such Trump-won district, voted for the first article, “Abuse of Power,” but against the second, “Obstruction of Congress.” Another now-former Democrat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, actually quit the Democrat Party and joined the elephants over his opposition to the impeachment push against Trump.

All great plans just need oxygen and money.   The Democrats seem to be providing the oxygen with their nonstop assault of the President inside the halls of Congress.  What about the money?  It sounds like the elephants are charging.

Across his four fundraising entities, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his team raised $52.3 million in 2019. That is over $8 million more than the Republicans did during Paul Ryan’s previous record run up in the first year of President Donald Trump’s administration back in 2017.

Like him or not, Newt Gingrich is a wise political owl.  He likes what he sees.  “Kevin McCarthy’s tireless work ethic has produced a new dynamic, united, and aggressive House Republican Party,” Gingrich told Breitbart News. “Thanks to his efforts, Republicans enter 2020 from a position of strength—with the necessary resources, recruits, and message to win.”

Is it really possible that on their way to the Democrats’ House, Senate, and Presidential victory party a Republican sweep of the three got in the way?  Some folks sound pretty confident.

Where there is a will there is a way.  And, that way is being paved with lots of green cash.

If 2016 didn’t teach us that the impossible is possible, what will?

Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble.

 

Yogurt Milk?

It’s Friday and it’s past time to lighten up a little.  But, BBR cannot just yet.  There’s work to do till the whistle blows (ask the Whistleblower if you can identify him or her).  And, Elizabeth Warren is up for the task at hand no matter how long it takes as well.

She said as much in an interview yesterday.  The esteemed Senator from the great state of Massachusetts is willing to skip the Iowa Democratic Primary in order for our Senate to do its job.  It’s job should be to hold a fair trial she said about the impeachment.  Fair enough.  In order to do so we need to call witnesses from both sides she went on.  Balanced.

Heck, she’s even willing to skip New Hampshire if it drags out that long to do the “right thing.”

The interview by a CNN reporter didn’t inquire into if it might benefit the Democrats to smear the presumptive Republican nominee, President Donald J. Trump, a bit further before he is acquitted of the two articles of impeachment.  But, in fairness, she did hint at it.  The reporter also failed to ask if it would help Warren directly if she were to gain the Democratic nomination and run against Trump as he was weakened by the process.  And, finally, the reporter failed to ask if it might be right for a Senator running for the highest office in all the land to recuse him or herself due to perhaps some obvious prejudice in the matter.

“It’s our duty to uphold the Constitution.” she concluded.

And, if you actually lasted the entire 7:03 of the interview you learned that she’s been enjoying some “yogurt milk that’s like the buttermilk I grew up on” during the endless Schiff and Nadler presentations.   That’s the balanced part of her diet to go along with the balanced interview.

Fair and balanced.

Business as Usual

It seems like business as usual for the great folks that run Washington DC.  In just the last 72 hours a lot of news (perhaps some fake) has emanated from a district some call “The Swamp.”

Donald J Trump was on the stump in Milwaukee, WI on Tuesday night trumpeting his latest accomplishments.  He even spoke to rescinding some of those silly energy efficient laws that his predecessor put into law.  One in particular would provide a greater volume of water pouring out of the shower head to help him wash his hair.  “But how about the shower? I have this beautiful head of hair. I need a lot of work. You go into the shower…drip, drip, drip. I call the guy and ask ‘is there something wrong with this?’ He says ‘no sir, it’s just a restrictor.'”

On another stage just one state over, the Iowa Democratic Presidential Debate droned on for two hours on Tuesday night.  When it was over the group that encourages inclusiveness, acceptance, and tolerance had a little tiff.  CNN mics captured the following exchange.   “What?” Sanders replied.  “I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she said again.  “You know, let’s not do it right now.  If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders responded.  Warren replied: “Anytime.”  That appeared to have irked Sanders who then said: “You called me a liar.  “He added: “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”  This all started after Sanders denied during the debate that he ever told Warren that he didn’t think that a woman could win in 2020.  Could Warren be misremembering the event like her heritage, her firing during pregnancy, or her father’s non janitorial occupation?  Nah.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch Nancy Pelosi and her seven or so of her impeachment managers signed the articles of impeachment last evening.  Before the first witness in the process ever testified she said that she was very prayerful and that this is a very somber time for our country. She also spoke to the urgency due to the threat that our president posed to our country. Last evening, after a four week delay in delivering the articles, she was all smiles and handing out commemorate pens to the signers prior to their orchestrated walk down the halls of Congress for the delayed handoff.

And finally, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called for the recusal of four Democrat presidential candidates from the impeachment process on Wednesday after Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles.  She stated in part, “these four Democrats, Senators Bennet, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren, cannot sit in judgment of the very President they seek to replace. To participate in this trial would be a failure of the oath they took to be an ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’

Her words “failure of the oath they took” ring so loudly and often in Washington DC these days that it’s not surprising that you hear them even while under the thick, dirty, boggy water that fills what is known as “The Swamp.”  At least the president has given us more fresh water out of the shower heads to rinse off.

Carry on.

 

Peace Through Strength

The year was 1980.  The month was November.  The day was the 4th.  That evening Ronald Wilson Reagan defeated sitting president James “Jimmy” Earl Carter to become the 40th President of the United States.  Reagan actually won in an electoral and popular vote landslide.

Some things have changed quite a bit in the last 40 years.  Other things have stayed the same.

Reagan was a Hollywood actor and former union leader turned Republican.  He served the great state of California as a Republican Governor for two terms that ended in 1975.  Carter was a peanut farmer, Georgia Governor, then as the Democratic nominee was elected as the 39th President in 1976.

Can you imagine a Californian Republican Governor today?  Arnold “the Govenator” Schwarzenegger aside there hasn’t been one in 24 years.  Can you imagine a Georgia Democratic Governor today?  There hasn’t been one in 20 years.

Carter was viewed as incompetent and weak in the year leading up to the election.  Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.  During a daring helicopter rescue effort one of the helicopters crashed into another leaving eight Americans dead.  The attempt failed from the go.

Reagan took office on that same January 20th day of 1981 that the hostages were freed.  Coincidence?  Sam Donaldson, ABC White House reporter, famously stuck his microphone between Marines holding their swords high to create the “roof” along the red carpet as the new President and First Lady strode back to the Capitol Building.  “Mr. President, Mr. President, there is a report that the hostages have been freed.   Do you care to comment?”  Reagan cocked his head as he was often want to do and uttered, “Well, God Bless America.”

Perhaps the Iranians knew there was a new sheriff in town.  He often acted in Hollywood movies as the sheriff who corralled the bad guys.  Maybe they wanted no part in a real life documentary with the same script.   Reagan later coined the phrase “Peace Through Strength.”

And, 40 years later Donald Trump the 45th President, and another actor, warned Iran that any loss of American lives would result in appropriate retaliation.  They decided to cross over The Apprentice’s line drawn in the desert sand.  And Trump didn’t say “you’re fired,” rather, he fired.  Soleimani was dead.  Iran was incensed, or so they said.  Just a few days later they retaliated sending several missiles at American bases in Iraq.  Word is they gave advance warning of the missile strikes and the strikes all but missed their targets.  No lives were lost, but inside of Iran face was saved.

Trump addressed America yesterday and all but said that now was a time to strongly consider peace rather than escalation.  He all but said that as if he read the diplomatic tea leaves that Iran wants no more.  He crowed about the 2.5 trillion spent to bolster the U.S. Military.  Peace Through Strength all over again?

Cali won’t vote for Trump in 2020 like they did for Reagan in 1980.  Georgia won’t vote for the Democratic nominee in 2020 like they did for Carter in 1980.  But Iran, 40 years later, understands that when lines drawn in the sand are in ink, not pencil, that it’s time to stand down.

 

Moore or Less.

So, what is far left documentary filmmaker Michael Moore up to these days you ask?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  Turns out that he made what he called an “emergency podcast” late last week.  That sounds very important.

What was it all about?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  It turns out that he was trying to save America from violent retaliation from Iran for the American drone strike killing of their chief of terror Major General Qasem Soleimani.  During his podcast he said  “I am asking you to try what Martin Luther King and Gandhi said requires the most amount of courage which is to respond with non-violence,” he continued. “I am asking you to leave this up to me, give me all of 10 months and I and millions of Americans will remove Trump from the White House.”

He actually said “leave this up to me” before he included millions of Americans in the cause.  Do the words “pompous” or “egotistical” come to mind?  Does the phrase “a deranged, bloated sense of self worth” come to mind?

He followed up on Twitter with “I have just sent the Ayatollah of Iran a personal appeal.”   And he concluded ““I recorded and DM’d him a message on my podcast, ‘RUMBLE.’ You can hear it on any podcast platform like Apple or Spotify for free. We need to prevent war, any war. Now. When the Ayatollah responds, I’ll post his reply.”   We wonder when “when” will be.  We wonder if this “need to prevent war, any war. Now” is more of a need for Moore to get more followers on Twitter and increase the listenership on his podcasts.  The need to stay relevant might be the biggest need of all for him.

What’s confusing about the appeal is that just last month, he predicted that Trump would win reelection for similar reasons that he famously foresaw his victory in 2016.  So, a month ago he wanted to remind you that he called the 2016 victory and that he was calling it again for Trump.  Now he wants the Ayatollah to hold off and “leave th is up to me” and a few million of his friends.

Moore is an avid, even rabid, supporter of “Crazy” Bernie Sanders.  Isn’t that crazy?  It is Moore or less.