Aaron Judge Fastest to 300

All rise! 

Aaron Judge smacked his 300th career dinger tonight while the Yankees made short work of the White Sox. The final score was 10-2 and it was Aaron's 3 run shot that put the game on ice for the Bronx Bombers. 

The Yankee Captain became the fastest MLB player to reach no. 300, doing it in only 954 games. Pirates' slugger Ralph Kiner had been the fastest, reaching that milestone in 1087 games. So Aaron got there in 133 fewer games, a very remarkable achievement for a very remarkable ball player. 

There's not a doubt in my mind that Mr. Judge will garner his 2nd MVP this year. Providing there are no serious injuries waiting in the wings to spoil the party. And he'll go on gathering one award after another and MLB Records galore until he decides to hang up his cleats.

And then--precisely five years after retirement--one of the greatest sluggers in the history of America's Pastime will be welcomed into Cooperstown. 



"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile 

Parallels, Hitler and Trump?

A participant in an on-line forum that I follow closely threw out a question today that I had to respond to. The gist of the question was about whether trump could become America's Hitler if he should get reelected in November. 

I think it's clear that he certainly could. There’s not even a shred of doubt that the sequel to that really shitty movie—trump’s first go-around as president—would be much, much worse.

There are many things that make that abundantly clear. The greatest tell is that he’s still saying the quiet part out loud and letting the whole world know that he will never accept the results of any election—this one, especially—unless he and his party win.

And if he does get back in, his first priority will be to fuck with everyone he hates. And he hates many, many people. Hair Hitler is obsessed with revenge. And his supporters and underlings who will be helping him carry out his campaign(s) of revenge understand that perfectly well and are on-board 100%. He’ll have plenty of help carrying his hateful plans.

He hates anyone who’s ever opposed him or spoken ill of him. And even people who simply haven’t kissed his stinking ass with sufficient enthusiasm.

His plans mirror almost perfectly everything Hitler and the Nazi Party did throughout the 1930’s while they were consolidating their grip on power. The QOP is praising him and enabling him all the way.

It’s not an accident that he enthusiastically, repeatedly and publicly praises every dictator in the recent history of the World and used to keep a copy of Mein Kampf on his nightstand. Yeah, his first wife ratted him out on that.

There is nothing in the life of our Nation more important right now than keeping this hateful, traitorous, putin-humping con man from getting into the Oval Office again.

"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile 

Biden drops out, endorses VP Harris

Huge news for those who follow politics. And all of you, should, in my opinion, but I'm not going to go there right now.

 
But this is a very BIG story; It only broke about half an hour ago. Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the Presidential race. He is endorsing his VP, Kamala Harris.

 
My take: it was a wise move on his part. His odds of defeating trump a second time seemed lately to be poor indeed, and the problem was not likely to improve as we got closer to Election Day.

And although I'm a long-time supporter of Kamala Harris, I doubt whether her chances to win are much better. How many conservatives who are open to going for a Democrat--and there are precious few of those--would pull the lever for Kamala? Few-to-none, I'm thinking.

 
How many Independents would jump on board? I doubt the number would be robust enough to swing the election. And we're at the point where independents and undecideds determine the outcome of every Presidental race. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just pointing out that it's a fact.

So, it's a big deal. I think it was the way to go. But I'm skeptical that the change will help much in our effort to keep a petty, revenge-obsessed and incompetent insurrectionist from getting his hands on the power stick again.

Here's a link to this breaking story from the NY Times.

"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile

What the hell did you expect me to do?

This short piece really caught my attention. Pastor and author Chris Kratzer sums up perfectly why the modern-day Evangelical movement seems so foreign and so fake to millions of us who were raised in it. Please give this a read. It's so well worth the next 3 minutes of your day.

What the hell did you expect me to do?

You told me to love my neighbors, to model the life of Jesus. To be kind and considerate, and to stand up for the bullied.

You told me to love people, consider others as more important than myself. "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight." We sang it together, pressing the volume pedal and leaning our hearts into the chorus.

You told me to love my enemies, to even do good to those who wish for bad things. You told me to never "hate" anyone and to always find ways to encourage people.

You told me it's better to give than receive, to be last instead of first. You told me that money doesn't bring happiness and can even lead to evil, but taking care of the needs of others brings great joy and life to the soul.

You told me that Jesus looks at what I do for the least-of-these as the true depth of my faith. You told me to focus on my own sin instead of trying to police it in others. You told me to be accepting and forgiving.

I paid attention.

I took every lesson.

And I did what you told me.

But now, you call me a libtard. A queer-lover.

You call me "woke." A backslider.

You call me a heretic. A child of the devil.

You call me a false prophet. A reprobate leading people to gates of hell.

You call me soft. A snowflake. A socialist.

What the hell did you expect me to do?

You passed out the "WWJD" bracelets.

I took it to heart.

I thought you were serious, apparently not.

We were once friends. But now, the lines have been drawn. You hate nearly all the people I love. You stand against nearly all the things I stand for. I'm trying to see a way forward, but it's hard when I survey all the hurt, harm, and darkness that comes in the wake of your beliefs and presence.

What the hell did you expect me to do?

I believed it all the way.

I'm still believing it all the way.

Which leaves me wondering, what happened to you?

Grace is Brave. Be Brave

Pastor and Author Chris Kratzer

https://ChrisKratzer.com 

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Why QOP pols lied after the fake Smirnov allegations

One of the huge stories that came out in the last couple of weeks was about the indictment of  Alexander Smirnov for peddling his cock-and-bull story to the FBI about the supposed-corruption of Joe and Hunter Biden while Joe was our VP. All tied in with Hunter's time on the Board-of-Directors of Burisma, blah, blah, blah...

Many folks have been wondering how and why Representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan could have embraced the easily-disproven lies that Smirnov vomited up in his statements to the FBI and then run, so enthusiastically, with them. 

Let me begin by saying that in today’s QOP, a primary objective is to constantly spew disinformation and do it while screaming at the top of your lungs. You may or may not be “right” or have the facts on your side, but it doesn’t matter. It’s easily provable that they’ve been lying frequently but that’s never an issue with them. Well, it hasn’t been an issue at least since the election of Obama and the hateful and mostly-fact free rise of the Tea Party.

They know how to “flood the zone with shit” as Steve Bannon once famously said, and it’s a big help for your point to be fake, to be made up, so as to be as spectacular and attention-grabbing as possible. Being right, having the facts on your side, is optional. It worked for Hitler and the Nazis as they were working to consolidate their power in Germany and it’s working for Rethuglicans today.

Yes, Christopher Wray—a trump appointee—and DOJ staff warned them on more than one occasion that nothing Smirnov told them could be verified, but that didn’t stop them. Not at all. Didn’t even slow them down. They were on those bogus, unsubstantiated allegations like a dog on a bone and then doubled down and said that the charges against Smirnov didn’t change the underlying facts—which were, of course, based on Smirnov's lies from day one—and that Biden was still involved in bribes and corruption in concert with Hunter when he was the Vice President. It’s a stunning example of deceptive, fact-free, circular reasoning and it’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from today’s QOP in the trumpian, post-truth era of our Nation’s history.

They’re not going to stop until we stop them. If we don’t vote out a whole lot of the insurrection-loving, wanna-be Fascists in the 2024 elections, we will slide into Fascism within 2 to 3 years after the last ballot has been counted.

This is no time to sit on the sidelines. It’s no time to say that both major party candidates suck. Democracy is hanging in the balance as we get closer to the November 5th elections.

Make your voice and your ballot count this time. It's democracy's last chance. 

"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile

Ignorance, Bad Grammar and Life

Here's what was going through my mind when I first saw the disgusting and absurd sign you can see in the banner photograph: I hate, loathe and despise people who keep others locked into a life of religious extremism. I have first-hand knowledge and a ton of life experience on that. I'm here to tell you, it's cult stuff.

And I'll confess that I absolutely judge people who seem to have slept through High School grammar class and talk--or write, in this case--on a sixth-grade level. And with sign dude, how about all those unnecessary apostrophes in plural nouns that don't denote possession? In addition to that, there are no missing letters in any of those nouns appearing on that sign, denoting a contraction where an apostrophe would be called for.

The old school slur Homo's might be an exception where the apostrophe could be appropriate, as it's short for homosexuals. I'll ignore for the moment what a pejorative term that is... But as in the case of pros for "professionals", it's so common that the abridged word need not have one.

I know this posting is 100% pedantic, but that stuff really sets me off. And here's why: people who care so little for education that they fracture the English language like that often show complete carelessness and ignorance in practically every area of life.

It can be a tell about a contempt for education in general and the importance of learning and expertise in any/all areas of life. The sign-maker's ignorance and prejudice here are on full display and clearly illustrate what I'm "talking" about in this post.

Here endeth the lesson rant.

"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile

Yes, the Chiefs are an NFL Dynasty

The "D word" came out repeatedly last night after the Kansas City Chiefs bested the 49'er in Super Bowl LVIII. It was an overtime thriller with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs coming away with the 25-22 victory.

Can you say "Dynasty", boys and girls? Is it hyperbole to put that tag on the Reid and Mahomes-led team now that they've got three Super Bowls in the bag? That's 3 out of the last 5, including back-to-back wins for the last two Super contests. 

Well, I think it's not. Not hyperbole. What the Chiefs have done is remarkable. It's more than that. It's extraordinary and it's elevated Mahomes into the Stratosphere of NFL quarterbacks.

There was no shortage of post-game articles and broadcasts where Mr. Mahomes was mentioned along with Brady and Montana. And while it's justified based on what he's been able to do in the last five years, he's going to have to continue to perform at that Herculean level to justify a lot of the talk I've heard in the 24 hours since he tossed that last TD pass to Mecole Hardman to put the Chiefs' third NFL title in the bag. 

It's good to remember in this context that Brady retired with seven Super Bowl wins under his belt and Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw each had four. And Montana was 4 for 4, something I'm 100% sure will never happen again. Yeah, the Dynasty tag surely fit the 49'ers in the Joe Montana-Jerry Rice era.

I think it's worth mentioning another salient fact in the context of this back-to-back and 3 out of 5 talk: the Chiefs played in 4 of the last 5 Super Bowls and the only team to beat them in that remarkable stretch was the Buccaneers. Brady and the Bucs spanked 'em, 31-9 in Super Bowl LV, a feat no other team had been able to pull off against the Chiefs in that illustrious five-year span. And that gave TB 12 his seventh and final Super Bowl ring. 

Mahomes is only 28 and there's no doubt that--barring serious injury--he will continue gathering trophies and accolades as he continues on with his Hall of Fame career. 

And that Dynasty stuff? Yeah, it fits. It's not just hype or happy hour chatter from Chiefs fans. And to what lofty heights will Patrick, Andy Reid and Kansas City's remarkable team ascend as we go forward?

Well, we're about to find out...

"Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2024 Ben Lawrence Basile