The Daily Dose/April 3, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

THE LATEST FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF AMERIKA: Witless tariffs that cause the stock market to plunge; legal aliens being deported to untold horrors; equally witless talk of a third term: none of this is a bulletin. We elected a selfish, ignorant megalomaniac and when you do that, these things happen. 

Dry, Technical Matter: This means America is in for another four years of not having competent executive leadership. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: America hasn’t had this since Kennedy said let’s go to the moon. It was a clinic in executive leadership because that is what any CEO does: sets a goal and provides the inspiration to get there. And we met the goal, too, putting two manned missions on the moon before the 1960s were out. 

Fly In The Ointment: Every president since has failed to measure up: Johnson got mired in Vietnam, not recognizing a fruitless endeavor when he saw one. Nixon might well have lived down the ages had he not had personal demons to answer to, which caused him to resign in disgrace. Ford, not elected, did well in circumstances the Son of Man would’ve found challenging. Carter meant well but couldn’t make it work. Reagan was brilliant at cutting an issue down to its most basic terms, but he was the most managed president in history. The first President Bush was another Carter. Clinton did produce our last balanced budget, but it was always something with him. The second President Bush lied to get us into war. Obama talked a good game but left the country much as he found it. Trump I has blood on its hands from an incompetent COVID response. Biden wanted government to be all things to all people. Trump II is even more witless than Trump I. 

The Bottom Line: We are being governed off the top of Donald Trump’s head, which is bad because he believes – among other things – that the moon is part of Mars. He is ignorant because he doesn’t know things and stupid because he doesn’t want to know things. This is not a bulletin; we knew this when we elected him the first time. And as Trump is a man of no substance, this means America is no longer a nation of any particular substance.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow reaches a conclusion. Today’s Diary.

During the blood draw one thing I’ve been suspecting for a while became apparent: ol’ Sparrow’s new boots are the hottest security/cop footwear in town…

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Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1841 – President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, the first president to die in office. His 31-day term remains the shortest in US history and he was the last president born a British subject. He was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler who insisted he was president and not merely an acting president, a battle he would eventually win. Tyler burned some bridges in the Whig Party and was not nominated for reelection. 

In 1974 – Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves ties the all-time major league home run record in a 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Aaron’s first-inning home run was the 714th of his career tying a mark that had stood since Ruth broke the all-time mark with his 139th career home run in 1921. Aaron broke Ruth’s record on April 8 and retired with 755 home runs, a mark now held by Barry Bonds with 762. 

In 1992 – Vanessa Williams is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third of five consecutive weeks with Save the Best For Last. It was the third of seven Top 40 hits for Williams, her second of four Top 10 songs, and remains her only #1. The song also went to #1 in Canada and Australia, peaked at #3 in Great Britain, was in its second of three consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 3rd-biggest song of the year.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The cost of partisanship for partisanship’s sake was, [Edward] Livingstone said, too high a price for a free society to pay.
Jon Meacham
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Kenyon College’s men have won 35 Division III swimming and diving titles, the most of any school in one sport. Thirty-one of those were consecutive, between 1980 and 2010. The major division record is 34, by Oklahoma State wrestling. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Whose career home run record did Babe Ruth break? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/April 3, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off will return. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow works an extra shift at the hospital. Today’s Diary. 

Not only did we get our usual project work done, but some bonus project work got done, too, and the nite was not a whole lot different than had we enjoyed a nite off at home…

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Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1996 – Ted Kaczynski, infamously known as the Unabomber, is arrested at his cabin near Lincoln, Montana on charges stemming from a bombing campaign between 1978 and 1995 that killed three and injured 23 others. In April, Kaczynski pled guilty to assorted charges, was sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole, and hung himself in his prison cell in 2023. Information from his brother, who noticed similarities between a published manifesto and earlier writings, was key in his apprehension. 

 In 1995 – The UCLA Bruins win the NCAA men’s basketball title, defeating the defending national champion Arkansas Razorbacks 89-78 in Seattle. It was the eleventh and most recent national title for the Bruins and remains the only 2nd-place finish for Arkansas, to go along with their only title. It was the last Final Four played in the West until the 2017 edition near Phoenix. 

In 2022 – Glass Animals is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the fourth of five consecutive weeks with Heat Waves. It remains the only chart single for group, making them an ultimate one-hit wonder: an act whose only Hot 100 hit goes to #1. The song also went to #1 in ten other countries, including Suriname and India, peaked at #5 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s #1 song of the year. The song established two Hot 100 records that still stand: most weeks on chart (91), and most weeks on chart before hitting #1 (59). 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Indifference to evil makes evil stronger.
Elie Wiesel

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Mariah Carey is the female solo act with the most #1s on Billboard’s Hot 100 with 19. The Beatles hold the all-time mark with 20. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

What school(s) have won the most NCAA team titles in a single sport? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

Your Daily Dose will return.

Click here to read today’s entry in The Diary of a Nobody. 

Have a good day,

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The Daily Dose/April 1, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

THE LATEST FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF AMERIKA: The nonsense simply does not stop spewing from the Trump Adminstration. This is not a bulletin because Donald Trump is a man of zero intellectual or moral substance. We expect ignorance and blather. From pointless, vindictive tariffs to wanting to take over Canada and Greenland, to the latest, this week’s spewing that Donald Trump is considering a third term. 

WTF?: Trump can no more consider a third term than I can consider sprouting wings and flying. It is as stupid a thing as he’s ever said, and this is from a man who believes the moon is part of Mars and that the Revolution was won by securing British airports. 

Fly In The Ointment: The Constitution is very clear on the matter, a president cannot serve more than two terms. Also, someone not eligible for the presidency cannot be elected vice-president. Donald Trump cannot serve a third term. He might try to set up a Third Reich, but he cannot continue as president past January 20, 2029. It is against the law. 

Dry, Technical Matter: Presidential term limits are found in the 22nd Amendment, which was ratified in 1951 after America got their collective shorts in a knot following Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election to fur terms.   

The Bottom Line: What would have happened to a previous two-term president who had the gall to propose a third term for himself? He would have been laughed out of the building. But Trump does it and BOOM, it’s suddenly on the table. This is because Trump’s ignorance and lies have gotten a free pass since he announced for the GOP nomination in 2015. He found an America that is well-fed, well-entertained, and, collectively, as stupid as he is. No one has mustered the courage to tell him no.  

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow hasn’t had a day off in a while. Today’s Diary. 

We’re starting to feel it, too…Not too bad, really…I mean, we get our sleep and we’re in the gym…We sleep more or less at the same time,and we have blackout curtains, which help…And, all together now, we don’t work all that hard…

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Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1789 – The US House of Representatives achieves its first quorum when representatives from New Jersey and Pennsylvania report for duty. The House, along with the Senate, first met on March 4, the date the new Constitution took effect, and the Senate would achieve its first quorum two days later. The House’s first order of business was to elect Frederick Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister from Pennsylvania, Speaker of the House. The House then appointed a clerk, so they would have someone to present their credentials to. 

In 2000 – Chris Byrd wins the WBO world heavyweight title, defeating champion Vitali Klitschko when Klitschko retired after the ninth round with a shoulder injury in Berlin. It was the first championship fight for Byrd, who filled in on 10-days notice after the original opponent got sick. Byrd would lose the title later in the year to Klitschko’s brother Wladimir and would later win the IBF heavyweight title. Vitali Klitschko later held the WBC heavyweight title for eight years. 

In 1995 – Madonna is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth of seven consecutive weeks with Take a Bow. It was the 28th of 38 Top 10 hits for Madonna and her eleventh of twelve #1 songs – then a record for a female solo act. The song also went to #1 in Italy and Canada, peaked at #16 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 8th-biggest song of the year. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Do not falter in your determination to fulfill your destiny. Don’t follow the destiny outlined in some mystical book: Create your own.
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao 

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The USS Kearsarge (BB-5) was the only US battleship not named after a state. It was named after a 19th-century naval vessel that was named after a mountain in New Hampshire.

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

What female solo act now holds the record for most #1 songs on the Hot 100? – Answer next time! 

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The Daily Dose/March 29, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

QUOTE THAT SUCKER: One of the pleasures of reading is finding quotes that you want to remember, passages that make you think, that provide insights into our human experience. This allows us – if we’re open to it – to learn about ourselves and our fellow humans. It’s what you pay us writers for, and for our money, do this as well as anyone. 

Dry, Technical Matter: We began writing down quotes in 1988 in a motel room in Berkeley, California and it now has over 3,100 entries. The most frequent contributors are Gore Vidal, Will Durant, and Louis L’Amour. 

Back On Message: One of these quotes is particularly relevant right now. It’s from a book by George Carlin, about as funny and relevant a comedian as the trade has produced: 

This species could have been so great, and now everybody just wants a new Salad Shooter or sneakers with lights in them. This is what we’ve settled for.

USA! USA! This is America in a nutshell right now because America has settled. The only country to put humans on the moon – and which should’ve been the first to put them on Mars, too – can’t even put anyone into anything other than low Earth orbit anymore. Both our citizens and our government are partisan, fractured, and bickering messes. Our president is lying, ignorant, sexual predator, a petty and vindictive man who is governing us off the top of his head regardless if whether or not a decree has merit or is even legal. 

Fly In The Ointment: By and large, we’re taking it, too. Few are calling a spade a spade, calling a dictator a dictator, calling nonsense nonsense. Honestly, if Trump were evil, he never would’ve left the White House in 2021. But he’s not evil; he’s merely ignorant. But ignorance is enough to get the 2026 midterm elections canceled, and it’s enough to toss America onto History’s scrap heap along with, among others, the Roman Empire and the Soviet Union.

The Bottom Line: We tend to get what we deserve in this life, whether on the golf course, on TV, or in our government. We elected ignorance and lies. We elected a man of zero moral or intellectual substance, and we are being governed accordingly. We elected it and we deserve it.  

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow narrowly misses some yapping. Today’s Diary. 

We got a break today when Madam Blab left early, about ten minutes after we got there…Good thing, too, because she was primed for some blabbing, sighing and cooing almost constantly, as if the news of the world was bursting inside her…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1992 – The USS Missouri (BB-63) is decommissioned for the second and final time in Long Beach, California. The ship was first commissioned in 1942 and hosted the signing of the Japanese surrender in World War II. It was deactivated after the Korean War and reactivated from 1984-1990, seeing her final action in the Gulf War in 1991. Missiouri is now a museum ship in Pearl Harbor, where her bow faces the sunken USS Arizona, standing watch over sailors still serving inside Arizona’s hull.  

In 1951 – The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs play the last tied NHL playoff game in a 1-1, one-overtime tie in game two of the Stanely Cup semifinals in Toronto. The game was called after the first overtime due to a curfew. Previous tied playoff games had been in two-game total goal series or were games that ended tied after two 10-minute overtime periods. The Maple Leafs would win the series four games to one. 

In 1962 – Patsy Cline is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot C&W Sides chart – for the first of four consecutive weeks with She’s Got You. It was the fourth of six country Top 10s for Cline and her second and final #1. The song also peaked at #14 on the Hot 100, and in 1977, a version by Loretta Lynn also went #1 country. Cline would die the following March at age 30 in a plane crash in Tennessee.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

If you want to be successful in anything, you’ve got to believe in yourself; because no one else is going to do it. If you don’t do it yourself, you can rely on everyone else who’s been unsuccessful and you can sit around the bar together and cry about it. If you’re going to do it, you do it by yourself…it takes some guts to do that.
Glen Sather 

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The closest Russian land to Alaska is Big Diomede Island, which is about 2.4 miles from Alaska’s Little Diomede Island.  The International Date Line runs between the two islands. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

What was the only US battleship not named after a state? – Answer next time! 

Share Gaylon! Go!