It’s Sunday night.

Today was Superbowl Sunday. For those of you that never heard of that, there’s a sport in Ameriaa called “Football”, which you do not play with you feet much, but tonight was the championship.

My Chiefs were in the championship.

And that means tonight, I am currently removing the expression “Long-suffering Chiefs fan” from social media profiles.

My team won. It’s been 49 years since the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings in Superbowl IV.

The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49’ers, 31-20.

The Chiefs, once again, came back from being down by double digits, and then came back to win by more than 10 points.

I am awestruck by this team.

I’ve waited for this for a long time, and there were any number of times I never thought it would happen. My fanaticism goes back to the days of Len Dawson, Buck Buchanon, Willie Lanier, and Bobby Bell. I’ve seen a lot of games, even went through a period of time as a season ticket holder.

And there were many seasons where the playoffs were a dream, let alone playoff wins.

The Chiefs won the Superbowl.

I want to keep it humble, be a good neighbor, and try not to come across like an arrogant dick.

Today was a good day.

The world treated me better than I deserved.

Peace y’all.

starting to think that I need to back away from certain social media platforms, or, at a minimum, be much more selective about the topics I choose to post on. Things are getting real dicey, and that is exactly what Putin wants. He wants division, he wants dissention, he wants Americans fighting with Americans. He wants us at each others throats so we’re so distracted by the grip around our trachea that we ignore the whispers and the backroom deals that are the hallmark of Putin’s style of corruption with his oligarchs.

People are drinking that Koo-Aid like it’s holy water. Then they ignore the obvious acts of corruption under the guise of party loyalty. All some folks seem to care about is that today’s GOP stands up and hates the same people they do.

I am all about inclusion, equality, and diversity. I believe we are stronger when there are more of us with different experiences and perspectives. I was born in the midwest, and I’ll likely die here. I am fortunate to work for a company that recognizes that gifts and contributions towards the best solutions come from anywhere and everywhere.

A lot of folks have a problem with that concept. They see people that look different from them, speak different from them, worship different from them, and they get scared.

They live in fear of that which is different.

They need to snap out of that mindset. We can’t advance as a society without diversity.

Ask any geneticist – in-breeding isn’t good.

Peace y’all.

It’s the last day of the month of January, and I’m wondering when I’m going to be sent to a re-education camp for my opposition to this administration.

I’m not happy.

Looks like the GOP is going to give Trump unchecked power by denying any the addition of any corroborating evidence. No additional documents, no additional witnesses. It’s a full blown coverup to insure that the GOP remains in control through November, and they’re most likely going to take additional steps to secure their power between now and then.

Congratulations to Vladimir Putin, your plan to destroy America is working beyond your wildest dreams. You engineered the election of a pawn, and turned the United States into an impotent player on the world stage where we used to lead by example. Now we’re a laughingstock.

I am ashamed of the US Senators from Kansas. There was a time I looked at them as men of integrity, and now I see them for what they really are. An absolute disgrace.

It’s nothing but a formality now. The GOP will take a vote later today to ignore the mounting evidence, and Trump will be out on the White House lawn claiming total vindication. And he’ll insult and belittle anybody that dares to stand up to him. He is such a petty, impotent, little man. I’m sure there will be plenty of his supporters out there following his lead and playing the part of the middle school bully.

They can stick their little insults right up their ass.

I am furious and that’s not likely to change in the next couple of days. We’ll have to see.

In the meantime, I hope the world treats you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

I know, I haven’t been writing much lately. Lots of stuff going on, and I’ve been pretty busy with work stuff, day and night. Reality is, I have some more work I need to get done tonight in support of a presentation I have next week, an internal delivery for the mothership.

The impeachment of Trump continues, and there have been some notable pieces of new information. Depending on what happens in the coming days, the name “John Bolton” may be rather prominent in the history books relating to this impeachment trial.

Mr. Bolton used to be an advisor to the Trump administration, but after leaving, he’s been a somewhat vocal critic. Granted, he hasn’t been as vocal as he could be – he stated pretty clearly that he would resist a subpoena from the House to testify (where the Democrats control), but that he would be open to testifying in the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, also referred to as the GOP (Grand Ol’ Party).

Thing is… Bolton has a book coming out, and it seems like he is gumming up the works for Trump a bit, with these well-timed little nuggets of news dropping, little excerpts from his book, and these excerpts aren’t casting Trump in a very favorable light.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader of the Senate has been resisting and resisting allowing any additional testimony from witnesses, and he certainly hasn’t gone after any of the documents requested by the House that Trump and Company have resisted, claiming “executive privilege” on everything from road maps to used Kleenex.

It’s all going to come to a head in the next couple of days, and it’s not going to be pretty. If McConnell can herd up the votes, the coverup will continue, and Trump will have carte blanche to continue treating the US like his own little empire, and things will just get worse with him.

If witnesses are called, Trump will be in quite a bit of trouble. An old high school friend posted a picture of an iceberg, and the part sticking out of the water as “The Trump supporters you see in the media”, and the larger portion of the iceberg resting underwater as “The rest of the Trump supporters”.

An iceberg makes for an interesting analogy. Problem is, Trump is in quite a bit of hot water.

Icebergs don’t hold up well in hot water. And the temperature is rising.

I’m going to get back to work. I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

A Saturday afternoon, and I figure I owe the world somewhere about six hundred words.

For the sake of posterity, here’s a transcript of Adam Schiff’s closing of the Trump impeachment closing. It’s long, but it was pretty darn eloquent, one of the best speeches I’ve heard in a few years.

Adam Schiff’s Closing Statement, January 24, 2020

When we’re done, we believe that we will have made the case overwhelmingly of the President’s guilt. That is, he’s done what he’s charged with. He withheld the money. He withheld the meeting. He used it to coerce Ukraine to do these political investigations. He covered it up. He obstructed us. He’s trying to obstruct you and he’s violated the Constitution. But I want to address one other thing tonight. Okay. He’s guilty. Okay. He’s guilty. Does he really need to be removed? Does he really need to be removed? We have an election coming up. Does he really need to be removed? He’s guilty. Is there really any doubt about this?

Do we really have any doubt about the facts here? Does anybody really question whether the President is capable of what he’s charged with? No one is really making the argument, Donald Trump would never do such a thing, because of course we know that he would, and of course we know that he did. It’s a somewhat different question though to ask, okay, it’s pretty obvious whether we can say it publicly or we can’t say it publicly. We all know what we’re dealing here with this President, but does he really need to be removed? And this is why he needs to be removed. Donald Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence agencies. He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own FBI Director. He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own National Security Advisors. When all of them were telling him this Ukraine 2016 stuff is kooky, crazy Russian propaganda. He chose not to believe them. He chose to believe Rudy Giuliani. That makes him dangerous to us, to our country. That was Donald Trump’s choice. Now, why would Donald Trump believe a man like Rudy Giuliani over a man like Christopher Wray? Okay. Why would anyone in their right mind believe Rudy Giuliani over Christopher Wray?

Because he wanted to and because what Rudy was offering him was something that would help him personally. And what Christopher Wray was offering him was merely the truth. What Christopher Wray was offering him was merely the information he needed to protect his country and its elections, but that’s not good enough. What’s in it for him? What’s in it for Donald Trump? This is why he needs to be removed. Now, you may be asking how much damage can he really do in the next several months until the election? A lot. A lot of damage. Now, we just saw last week, report that Russia tried to hack or maybe did hack Burisma. Okay. I don’t know if they got in. I’m trying to find out. My colleagues on the Intel committee, House and Senate, we’re trying to find out, did the Russians get in? What are the Russian plans and intentions? Well, let’s say they got in and let’s say they start dumping documents to interfere at the next election.

Let’s say they start dumping some real things they hack from Burisma. Let’s say they start dumping some fake things they didn’t hack from Burisma, but they want you to believe they did. Let’s say they start blatantly interfering in our election again to help Donald Trump. Can you have the least bit of confidence that Donald Trump will stand up to them and protect our national interest over his own personal interest? You know you can’t, which makes him dangerous to this country. You know you can’t. You know you can’t count on him. None of us can. None of us can. What happens if China got the message? Now you can say, he’s just joking of course. He didn’t really mean China should investigate the Bidens. You know that’s no joke.

Now maybe you could have argued three years ago when he said, “Hey Russia, if you’re listening, hack Hillary’s emails.” Maybe you could give him a freebie and say he was joking, but now we know better. Hours after he did that Russia did, in fact, try to hack Hillary’s emails. There’s no Mulligan here when it comes to our national security. So what if China does overtly or covertly start to help the Trump campaign? You think he’s going to call them out on it or you think he’s going to give them a better trade deal on it? Can any of us really have the confidence that Donald Trump will put his personal interests ahead of the national interests? Is there really any evidence in this presidency that should give us the ironclad confidence that he would do so?

You know you can’t count on him to do that. That’s the sad truth. You know you can’t count on him to do that. The American people deserve a President they can count on to put their interests first, to put their interests first. Colonel Vindman said, “Here, right matters. Here, right matters.” Well, let me tell you something, if right doesn’t matter, if right doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter how good the Constitution is. It doesn’t matter how brilliant the framers were. Doesn’t matter how good or bad our advocacy in this trial is. Doesn’t matter how well written the Oath of Impartiality is. If right doesn’t matter, we’re lost.

If the truth doesn’t matter, we’re lost. The framers couldn’t protect us from ourselves, if right and truth don’t matter. And you know that what he did was not right. That’s what they do in the old country, that Colonel Vindman’s father came from. Or the old country that my great grandfather came from, or the old countries that your ancestors came from, or maybe you came from. But here, right is supposed to matter. It’s what’s made us the greatest nation on earth. No constitution can protect us, right doesn’t matter any more. And you know you can’t trust this President to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump. He’ll do it now. He’s done it before. He’ll do it for the next several months. He’ll do it in the election if he’s allowed to. This is why if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters and the truth matters. Otherwise, we are lost.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Otherwise, we are lost.

Peace y’all.

It’s Wednesday night, and I’ve got stuff to get done yet tonight, and a few other things I need to get squared away in good time tomorrow. Feels like my mind is just racing, and there is so much stuff going on in the world it just drives me to a quiet fury.

I’m not happy with certain parts of my world today. The impeachment trial in the Senate is turning into a coverup, with the GOP doing everything they can to keep documents and witnesses from testifying.

It’s embarrassing.

I’m also a Kansas basketball fan, and a couple of the players on the KU team have been suspended for a number of games. Silvio De Sousa issued an apology. No word yet about an apology for the K-State player that threw the first punch.

Time for me to unwind and wrap my head around the events of the next day, make sure I get my stuff squared before I get to work tomorrow.

I really need to clear my head.

It will help me sleep.

Peace y’all.

It’s a Tuesday night, and I am weary. I don’t know how much if it is just the joy of knowing that for the first time in 50 years the Chiefs are going back to the Superbowl, or if it is something else altogether.

Sure as heck wasn’t what I saw at the end of the KU-KState basketball game. That was a mess. A nice little fight broke … no, it wasn’t nice. Looks like there will be a number of suspensions on he KU side. Primary instigator on the K-State side was already on the bench with an injury, so that probably won’t hurt him much, getting held out of games he likely wouldn’t have played in anyway.

But Silvio… ugh. That was bad. Grabbing a chair and act like you’re going to clobber somebody with it? That was a pure idiot move. Yeah, you were defending yourself to a point, but damn, dude. A chair? Some little stool? That sent the wrong message.

There was other stuff in the news today, and I’m not going to digress. The country got a little worse today with the way the Senate is going to cover up this mess.

I’ve had about enough tonight, just can’t get into it.

There’s a coverup going on, and it stinks to high heaven.

Peace y’all.

It’s a pretty special day among those that call themselves fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. For the first time since the 1969 football season, the Chiefs are headed to the Superbowl.

It’s been 50 years. I’ve been a faithful Chiefs fan ever since I discovered football.

The Chiefs are going to the Superbowl.

One team will be the champions, and another will go home.

Everybody remembers the winner, and they ponder a moment to try an remember the other team, the one that came in second.

This Superbowl should be a good one. But, tonight, I’m not going to stop and reflect on what has happened. I’m going to just enjoy this moment for the next two weeks. From my perspective, it’s an abject joy just to be part of the conversation.

I’m at a bit of a loss otherwise. I’ve got a lot going on, and I’m a bit of a goof over all of it. I had my emotional spell a while back when the truth of the experience got to me and I broke down (broke up?) just a little bit.

I’ll get my excitement under control, and I’ll try to keep from being an asshole, but I’m excited. It’s time. The old Chiefs fans, like me, have waited a long time for this moment. Let’s hope we can rise to the opportunity, and get a break or two come game day.

Game day.

The day the Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers for the championship of professional football.

Superbowl Champs.

Somebody will claim the mantel on the 2nd of February.

Maybe, just maybe, it will be the Chiefs

Peace y’all. .

Today is one of those days that I could be writing a long, protracted, agonizing rant about the negative side of business travel, but, as most frequent travelers will attest, “Shit happens”

Yesterday morning, a Delta flight slid off the runway at the Kansas City airport, and that led to an eventual closure of the airport, and numerous flight delays. I get why you have weather-related delays. I remember one Christmas, heading off on the Kansas Turnpike, and watching some poor guy pinball off the guard rail and into the opposite ditch beyond the shoulder. It was about that time we collectively made the decision that the roads were two icy for Christmas that year, and we headed home, and made it up on a later day. There were at least two other occassions that we either stayed home or should have stayed home due to inclement weather.

So, I’m in an airport. The flight I was originally supposed to be on went from an 8:30 PM departure last night to a 7:30 AM departure this morning, and following a bolt-sheering while backing away from the gate, we’re now all waiting on another plane, and have another delay, now until 12:53. That’s better than a 16 hour delay.

I’m not happy, obviously, but I have to accept that this sort of thing is out of my control. As the line from the song says, “just roll with it, baby”.

I’ll get home this afternoon yet, and I’ll have games to watch on the DVR, finally getting to the game last weekend that I turned off after the first quarter. I’ll also watch the Kansas-Texas basketball game as well. Might have to get some barbecue to snack on through the afternoon and into the evening.

I’ll still get two nights of rack time in my own bed, and I’m not going to be upset about that. These days, 3 consecutive nights in my own bed is a luxury. I don’t always sleep well away from home.

In the meantime, I’ll get this signed, sealed, and delivered, and wish you all the best. I need to do a little more writing, get caught up on the pledge. I haven’t come up short on a month yet, and January is not going to be the month that breaks the streak.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve. Go out there and be nice to people.

Peace y’all.

I’m solidly monolingual. Unilingual? OK, I only speak on language. I’ll probably never learn another language unless it’s a programming language, and even that is pretty iffy.

I didn’t write yesterday. I was worried about a couple of things relating to work today and hit the sack a few minutes early rather than stay up and write my blog.

Not that there wasn’t anything to write about. When my grandkids and other descendants look back on this time in history, this brief week is going to stand out as far as historical events relating to the current administration in the White House.

The thing is, I now know that what has occurred this past week has a historical context. The crazy thing is that I recognize quite easily that this weeks events may be further overshadowed by events in the next week, the week after that, and down the road. This week might end up being little more than a footnote.

OK. I am tired tonight, and I know I need to get caught up, and I’m a full post behind. I’ll get caught up here in the next day or two. It’s been rather surprising how quickly I can crank out a couple hundred words when I’m motivated.

Tomorrow is another day. Heaven only knows what it will bring.

Peace y’all.