Lost Youth, the Wrong Parts Regained

Somebody once said that Nostalgia was a longing for a time that you didn't think was so great the first time around.

We're going to have an elderly, insane Republican as President, filling his administration with corrupt religious zealots who are completely unqualified for their positions.

The music and the cars are horrible.

And the Yankees can't win the World Series.

They say you can't regain your lost youth. Well, it sounds like my youth, or at least my adolescence of the 1980s, is back in full force, just without so many of the stores I liked, and with higher prices (which, of course, are not the Democrats' fault).

*

I haven't done a countdown in over 6 months. Here goes:

Hours until the next Rutgers University football game: 6, today, at 6:00 PM, away to the University of Maryland. If the Big Ten Conference and the TV networks were as smart as they think they are, they would have these 2 Northeastern outposts/newcomers in the league become big rivals.

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 2, this Monday, 8:00 PM, vs. Jamaica, at Citypark, home of new MLS team St. Louis City. This past Thursday night, they beat Jamaica, 1-0 in Kingston. It was the 1st game under their new manager, former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Days until the next Arsenal match: 7, a week from today, Saturday, at 10:00 AM New York Eastern Time, home to East Midlands team Nottingham Forest.

Days until the next New York Red Bulls match: 7, a week from today, Saturday, at 5:30 PM, vs. New York City FC, at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinal. This is the 1st Hudson River Derby match to be a Playoff match.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: See the previous answer.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: 37, at 1:00 PM on December 23, against the New York Rangers, a 2-days-before-Christmas Monday matinee at Madison Square Garden.

Days until the next North London Derby: 60, on January 15, 2025, at 3:00 PM, at the Emirates Stadium. Exactly 2 months. This past September 15, Arsenal won, 1-0 at Tottenham. It is unusual that the game at Tottenham comes first, but, this time, it did.

Days until the Yankees open the 2025 regular season: 131, on Thursday, March 27, at 3:05 PM, home to the Milwaukee Brewers. A little over 4 months.

Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 195, on Friday night, June 6, 2025, at Yankee Stadium. Under 7 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: Unknown. The 2024 season began earlier, and ended earlier, than ever before, as we went 2-8. If the schedule works out the same way as this season, then the opener will be on Friday night, August 28, 2025. That's 285 days, or a little over 9 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Game: Unknown. If the 2025 schedule is a reverse of the 2024 edition, with the teams flipping to the other's home field, it will be at home on September 26, 2025. That's 314 days, or a little over 10 months.

Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 353, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Just under a year.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: Unknown. With the expansion of the Big Ten Conference for this 2024 season, these 2 schools did not play each other. They are set to play each other in 2025, but a date has not been set. Since Rutgers entered the Big 10 in 2014, the Penn State game has usually been on the 3rd or 4th Saturday in November. If that holds true, then it will be on November 22, 2025, at 12:00 Noon, in Piscataway, at what's currently named SHI Stadium. (The naming rights could be sold to someone else by then.) If that turns out to be when it's played, that's 371 days, or a shade over 1 year.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 447, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Under a year and a half, or under 15 21 months.

Days until the next World Cup opens: 569, on Monday, June 8, 2026. A little over a year and a half, or a little over 18 months. I wonder what team Trump will be rooting for: Ours, or Russia's.

Days until the World Cup Final in New Jersey: 610, on Sunday, July 19, 2026. A little over a year and a half, or a little over 19 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 1,336, on Friday, July 14, 2028, in Los Angeles. A little over 3 1/2 years. What shape America will be in at the time, God only knows.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,452, on Tuesday, November 7, 2028. A little under 4 years. This, of course, presumes that the Trump Administration doesn't suspend the Constitution of the United States and cancel all future Presidential elections.

My Theory About Trump's Whackadoodle Cabinet Picks

Matt Gaetz as Attorney General? Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense? Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health & Human Services?

Suddenly, Marco Rubio as Secretary of State doesn't sound so bad. Even though it is.

Remember: Nobody in the Trump cult is saying that Gaetz is innocent, they're only saying that he has to be supported, because he's Trump's choice.

Why is it that Republicans never do the thing -- or ask others to do the thing -- that will prove them innocent? Or, at the least, provide reasonable doubt as to their guilt? Why don't they ever act like innocent men?

I have a theory: Trump is appointing so many whackadoodles (if you don't mind me using a technical term) to high office that he figures we'll concentrate so much energy on stopping one of them (most likely, Gaetz) that we won't be able to stop the others.

 

Then, he gets the Attorney General he really wants.

Most likely, this was a Stephen Miller idea, or a Steve Bannon idea, or a Roger Stone idea. Dumb Donald is SO dumb (How dumb IS he?), he couldn't have come up with this on his own.

UPDATE: Gaetz withdrew, and Trump replaced her with Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida, and one of his defense lawyers during his 1st Impeachment Trial. She's white and blonde. She probably reminds him of Ivanka.

George vs. Donald

 

Actor Sylvester Stallone, known for playing Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, has compared Donald Trump to George Washington.

All right. Let's do it:

* George Washington: Volunteered to be a solider. Donald Trump: Weaseled his way out of being one.

* George Washington: Very successful in real estate. Donald Trump: Failed at it.

* George Washington: Painful dentures. Donald Trump: Has that in common.

* Donald Trump: Betrayed his country. George Washington: Betrayed by his country, which, at the time, was Great Britain.

* George Washington: Had to flee New York. Donald Trump: Has that in common.

* George Washington: Won battles in New Jersey. Donald Trump: Not so much.

* George Washington: Victorious in Virginia. Donald Trump: No.

* George Washington: Asked to chair the Convention that wrote the Constitution. Donald Trump: Says the Constitution has been unfair to him, and says he wants to suspend it.

* George Washington: Spent a lot of his time as President on his estate, but working as a farmer. Donald Trump: Spent a lot of his time as President on his estate, playing golf.

* Donald Trump: Put his corrupt children and their corrupt significant others in his Administration. George Washington: Had no children.

* George Washington: Rich all his life, never went bankrupt. Donald Trump: Started out rich, now billions of dollars in debt.

* George Washington: His Cabinet included Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Donald Trump: His Cabinet turned on him, so he replaced them with psychopaths.

* George Washington: Believed in America, but knew there were issues, and was told only he could fix them. He did his best. Donald Trump: Says, "The American Dream is dead," and, "I, alone, can fix it," and then proved that he can't fix a damn thing.

I think Sly has taken too many blows to the head.

I Don't Want to Hear It

Donald Trump and Steve Bannon. Two adults for whom

character counts; and experience, the rule of law,

national security and the American Dream matter.

During the Bill Clinton era, January 1992 to January 2001, the Republican Party told us, "Character counts." They have since proven that they don't really believe that, with, among others, Newt Gingrich, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

When they tried to remove Clinton in office over the Monica Lewinsky affair in 1998 and 1999, they argued that they were standing up for "the rule of law." Under Bush and Trump, they proved that they don't care about the rule of law.

When the Republicans ran Bush to succeed Clinton in 2000, and when they ran John McCain to oppose Barack Obama in 2008, they told us, "Experience matters." They have since proven that they don't really believe that, with, among others, Trump.

When the Republicans ran Bush to succeed Clinton in 2000, and when they ran Trump to succeed Obama in 2016, they told us, "The adults are going to be in charge again." They have since proven that they don't really know what an adult is.

From Bush's Inauguration in January 2001 until the conclusion of the McCain campaign in November 2008, the Republicans claimed that only they, not the Democratic Party, cared about "national security." They have long proven that they don't.

And when Trump ran for President in 2015 and 2016, he often told his audiences, "The American Dream is dead." What he didn't say was that people like him killed it.

I don't ever again want to hear a Republican say that character counts. Clearly, it doesn't.

I don't ever again want to hear a Republican say that experience matters. Clearly, it doesn't.

I don't ever again want to hear a Republican say that their people are "the adults." Clearly, they're not.

I don't ever again want to hear a Republican use the words "the rule of law," "national security," or "the American Dream." Clearly, they don't give a damn about any of those things.

As our outgoing President, Joe Biden, would say, "Will you shut up, man!"

It Was About the Hat, Not the Message

The NFL has fined Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers $11,225 for wearing a MAGA hat on the sideline.

The fine wasn't for the message on the hat. I suspect that most of the owners of the 32 NFL teams would be fine with it.

But the NFL has this fetish about conformity. The league will fine you for wearing your socks wrong. When Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts, possibly the greatest quarterback of all time, died in 2002, Peyton Manning, then playing for the Indianapolis version of the Colts, wanted to pay tribute by wearing Unitas' signature item, black high-top cleats, in his next game. The NFL said no, and you'll be fined if you do.

When Pat Tillman, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals, died in combat in Afghanistan in 2004, every player wore a #40 sticker on his helmet for their next game. But when Jake Plummer, his quarterback in college (Arizona State) and the NFL, wanted to continue to wear the sticker for the rest of the season, the NFL refused to allow it.

So much for supporting our troops.

Bosa has a history of garbage: Racist and homophobic tweets, praising Trump's call for violence against protesters; multiple tweets that purport that illegal immigrants and refugees cause crime; and multiple Instagram posts with hashtags that included "the N-word," pro-rape language, and a homophobic slur. He is a bad person.

In the leadup to the 2019 NFL Draft, the outgoing Ohio State defensive end took to Twitter and called former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a "clown" for his protests against police brutality and racial inequality. (They were never teammates.) He said he had to delete that tweet, because "There is a chance I might end up in San Francisco" -- a team based in the American city most identified with liberalism, even more so than New York and Boston. After being drafted by the 49ers in 2019, Bosa apologized for the posts in a press conference.

The NFL had a problem with the hat itself, regardless of message. It had no problem with the specific message of the hat. They should have. It was indicative of a larger problem.

And all this has been relatively early in Bosa's career, so we would be on shaky ground if we blamed CTE.

November 14, 1934: The Battle of Highbury

Left to right: Italy Captain Attilio Ferraris,

referee Otto Olsson, England Captain Eddie Hapgood

November 14, 1934, 90 years ago: The most-hyped soccer game ever to that point is played. And, while the competition lived up to the hype, everything else was horrible.

In 1928, a dispute with the governing body of world soccer, the Fédération internationale de Football Association (FIFA), England left their jurisdiction. The other "home nations" of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland -- followed suit. (To this day, I don't know why they compete as a single united kingdom in the Olympics Games, but, for every other event, the home nations each have their own separate teams.)

This made the home nations ineligible to play in FIFA's signature tournament, the World Cup, which began in 1930, with Uruguay winning on home soil. The 1934 tournament would be the 1st held in Europe, in Italy, then ruled by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. With a team dominated by players from Juventus FC of Turin and FC Internazionale Milano of Milan, Italy won it.

But England, which "invented football" (at the least, it did so in an organized way), still thought it had the best team in the world. So they challenged Italy in a game to decide "the real world championship." Italy accepted. The game would be in England, so Mussolini couldn't use his authority to cheat. But he did offer an incentive: If they won, each player would receive a new Alfa Romeo car and a cash prize which, converted into 2024 U.S. money, was about $7,500, a pretty good figure during the Great Depression.

Italy manager Vittorio Pozzo sent out this lineup (with neither side wearing uniform numbers):

* Goalkeeper: Carlo Ceresoli of Inter. This was a change from the World Cup, where his keeper, and his Captain, was Gianpiero Combi of Juventus.

* Right Back: Eraldo Monzeglio of Bologna FC.

* Left Back: Luigi Allemandi of Inter.

* Right Half: Attilio Ferraris of SS Lazio of Rome, Italy's Captain for this game.

* Center Half: Luis Monti of Juventus.

* Left Half: Luigi Bertolini of Juventus.

* Outside Right: Enrique Guaita of AS Roma of Rome.

* Inside Right: Pietro Serantoni of Juventus.

* Center Forward: Giuseppe Meazza of Inter. He had been the inside right in the World Cup, but was moved to center forward for this game, replacing Angelo Schiavio of Bologna. The Milan stadium used by both Inter and AC Milan, known worldwide as the San Siro for its neighborhood, is officially named for Meazza, as he was the greatest Italian player of his generation.

* Inside Left: Giovanni Ferrari of Juventus.

* Outside Left: Raimundo Orsi of Juventus.

At the time, England did not have a "manager" as we now understand that term. Essentially, the team Captain was the head coach. Rather, a board of directors selected the starting eleven:

* Goalkeeper: Frank Moss of Arsenal FC. Arsenal, of North London, were the dominant team in England in the 1930s, winning 5 Football League titles and 2 FA Cups.

* Right Back: George Male of Arsenal.

* Left Back: Eddie Hapgood of Arsenal. So respected by his peers was Hapgood that he was named Captain of his country before he was named Captain of his club: Arsenal's Captain at the time was the great Scottish forward Alex James.

* Right Half: Cliff Britton of Everton FC, based in Liverpool.

* Center Half: Jack Barker of Derby County FC, in the East Midlands.

* Left Half: Wilf Copping of Arsenal. A purely defensive player, he never scored a goal for Arsenal. But he was the most feared player in the league. Not that he was dirty: Not once was he ever booked for a foul. (This was before Mike Riley, a known Arsenal hater, was in charge of English referees.)

* Outside Right: Stanley Matthews of Stoke City FC. At 19, he was the youngest player on the team. He would eventually become the grand old man of English football, playing for Stoke in Division One at age 50. In between tenures at Stoke, he would play for Lancashire side Blackpool FC. Playing his career for struggling teams, "The Wizard of Dribble" only won 1 trophy in his career, the 1953 FA Cup. In that game, his teammate Stan Mortensen became the 1st, and remains the only, player to score 3 goals in an FA Cup Final. And yet, the game is still called "The Matthews Final," such was his dominance of the game.

* Inside Right: Ray Bowden of Arsenal.

* Center Forward: Ted Drake of Arsenal. Recently acquired from Hampshire team Southampton FC, he became the top scorer in the country. The following year, he would tie the League record by scoring 7 goals against Birmingham team Aston Villa.

* Inside Left: Cliff Bastin of Arsenal. Normally an outside left, he would score 178 goals for "The Gunners," a team record that would last until surpassed by Ian Wright in 1997. He finished with 185, which was surpassed by Thierry Henry with 228.

* Outside Left: Eric Brook of Manchester City FC.

Seven players from Arsenal. It remains the only time 1 team has had 7 players in the England starting XI. So the match was set for Arsenal's home, Arsenal Stadium, known for its neighborhood as "Highbury." Although having little experience at the international level, these players were battle-tested in the toughest league in the world.

The referee was Otto Olsson, of Sweden. The crowd was given as 56,044 people. England wore white shirts and navy blue shorts, while Italy wore sky blue shirts and white shorts.

But when the game began at 3:00 on that Wednesday afternoon -- 10:00 in the morning, U.S. Eastern Time -- it was pouring rain, and the rain continued throughout the game. And the Italians were dirty from the outset. In only the 1st minute of the game, Drake had a one-on-one with Ceresoli, who crashed into him. Olsson awarded a penalty, but it was taken by Brook, who missed it.

Just a minute later, Monti tackled Drake, and broke his own foot in the process. A minute later, Brook headed in a cross from Matthews, and it was one-nil to England. Shortly thereafter, Hapgood took an elbow to the face, breaking his nose. In the 10th minute, Brook fired a free kick that Matthews said was "like a thunderbolt." It was 2-0 England. Just 2 minutes later, Drake made it 3-0. It looked like a wipeout.

By the 15-minute mark, both Monti and Hapgood had to leave the pitch. Both sides were down to 10 men. Pozzo changed tactics, and the Italian defense got tighter. And dirtier: Drake was punched, Brook's arm was broken, and Bowden got his ankle hurt. Olsson booked none of these offenses.

The Italians kept their tactics up in the 2nd half, and the tide of the game turned. Meazza scored twice within 4 minutes on either side of the hour mark. He fought hard for an equalizer, denied by saves from Moss and once hitting the post. When Olsson blew his whistle for full-time, it was still England 3, Italy 2.

England claimed to be the true world champions, their "gentlemen" having defeated the World Cup winners at their dirtiest, in a match that Matthews, whose length and greatness of career can be compared to American baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan and Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe, called it the most violent match in which he had ever played.

But Italy received its players as heroes. Recognizing that they had played under completely unfavorable conditions, they were hailed as "The Lions of Highbury." Mussolini, not bound by his promise because of the defeat, followed through anyway, giving the players the cash prizes and the cars.

Ceresoli lived until 1995, making him the last surviving Italian player from this game. Matthews was the game's last survivor, living until February 23, 2000.

Italy would repeat as World Cup winners in 1938. World War II canceled the World Cup of 1942, and the inability to set up qualifying matches because the European phase of the war didn't come until 1945 forced the cancellation of the 1946 edition. FIFA and the British home nations settled their differences, and England entered the 1950 World Cup, but failed until hosting the tournament in 1966. That remains the only international tournament that England have ever won. Italy have won the World Cup again in 1982 and 2006; and the UEFA European Championships of 1968 and 2020.

My Ranking of the States, 2024 Edition

I previously did this in 2015 and 2020. This time, I'm using different parameters. Or, rather, one parameter: How well did you oppose Fascism in the 2024 election? In other words: What percent of your popular vote went to Kamala Harris, instead of Donald Trump or any other candidate?

The Good

-. District of Columbia: 92.5

1. Vermont: 64.3

2. Maryland: 61.5

3. Massachusetts: 61.3

4. Hawaii: 60.6

5. California: 58.2

6. Washington: 58.0

7. Delaware: 56.6

8. Connecticut: 56.5

9. New York: 55.8

10. Oregon: 55.6

11. Rhode Island: 55.7

12. Colorado: 54.2

13. Illinois: 53.8

14. Maine: 52.2

15. Virginia: 51.8

16. New Mexico: 51.8

17. New Jersey: 51.7

18. Minnesota: 51.1

19. New Hampshire: 50.9

The Bad

20. Wisconsin: 48.9

21. Georgia: 48.5

22. Pennsylvania: 48.5

23. Michigan: 48.3

24. North Carolina: 47.7

25. Nevada: 47.5

26. Arizona: 46.5

Aside from North Carolina, each of those States went for Joe Biden last time, but flipped to Trump this time.

The Ugly

27. Ohio: 43.9

28. Florida: 43.0

29. Iowa: 42.7

30. Texas: 42.4

31. Kansas: 41.0

32. South Carolina: 40.4

33. Alaska: 40.4

34. Missouri: 40.1

35. Indiana: 39.7

36. Nebraska: 38.9

37. Montana: 38.4

38. Utah: 38.3

39. Louisiana: 38.2

40. Mississippi: 37.3

41. Tennessee: 34.5

42. Alabama: 34.2

43. South Dakota: 34.2

44. Kentucky: 33.9

45. Arkansas: 33.5

46. Oklahoma: 31.9

47. North Dakota: 30.8

48. Idaho: 30.4

49. West Virginia: 27.9

50. Wyoming: 26.1 (Gee, thanks, Liz Cheney.)

The last time each State voted for the Democratic Party's candidate for President:

* 2024, Kamala Harris: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.

* 2020, Joe Biden: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.

* 2012, Barack Obama: Florida, Iowa, Ohio.

* 2008, Barack Obama: Indiana, North Carolina.

* 1996, Bill Clinton: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia. Clinton was a Southerner, but that didn't help Al Gore 4 years later. By that point, the South had stopped caring about geography, and cared more about religion, guns, and white supremacy.

* 1976, Jimmy Carter: Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas. Southern States that would have gone Republican if any of that year's major Democratic candidates other than Carter had been nominated.

* 1964, Lyndon Johnson: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. These are Western States with a libertarian streak.