The Daily Dose/November 7, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
Not for the first time, Americans took a flier on making substantive changes to the way they are governed in Tuesday’s elections. People are saying this and they are saying that about what happened but let’s not kid ourselves, we marked time this election, doing nothing of substance.
Sure, the status quo was reshuffled somewhat and the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives but this means nothing because if nothing got done with the GOP in control of the White House and Congress even less than nothing will get done with the Democrats in control of the House.
It will remain business as usual. Come January, when everyone takes office, our government will be the same partisan, fractured and bickering mess it is now. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either deluding themselves, trying to delude you or, as likely as not, both because our most pressing issues – our perpetual wars and our endless spending and debt – will not be addressed because we didn’t demand it at the ballot box.
Our loss, too, because if these issues are not addressed America will ultimately be tossed aside the scrap heap of history, perhaps before this half century is out.
Today at the Site
Sparrow loses his Congressional race on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody.
Usually, I’d get some likes and shares and whatnot on Faceplant and Tweeter but this year, no, people were circling the wagons more than ever…The GOP incumbent won and it wasn’t particularly close, either.
Today’s Thought for the Day is an encore from this past summer, writer Dick Francis talking about taking monentous steps.
We can only plan our lives so much and there comes a time when we must, figuratively, leap in the dark to find out what nature and circumstance have in store for us.
The NFL Bottom Ten will move Thursday, a day later than usual. Apologies are issued.
On This Date
In 1940 – The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, only four months after it opened. A complete analysis of the bridge’s construction is, thankfully, beyond the scope of this feature, but designers were not expecting heavy traffic, so the bridge was built rather narrow and shallow, factors which led to its collapse. The only fatality was a dog left in a car that declined rescue, preferring to attempt to bite a rescuer. A new Tacoma Narrows Bridge would open ten years later.
In 1991 – Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers announces he has HIV and retires from the NBA after twelve seasons. Johnson did not stay retired, though, he was elected a starter for the NBA All-Star Game that season, played in the 1992 Olympics, attempted a comeback with the Lakers, and later coached them, and briefly played in Europe.
In 1964 -The Supremes top the Billboard Hot 100 as Baby Love is at #1 for the second of four consecutive weeks. It was the second of five consecutive #1s for the Supremes, tying a record originally established by Elvis Presley and now good for third on the all-time list. The song also made the Supremes the first act from Motown Records to have multiple #1s on the Hot 100 and also went to #1 in New Zealand and Great Britain.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Abraham Lincoln was a Republican in the 1860 election and a member of the National Union Party, which was, to a great extent, a renamed Republican Party, for the 1864 election.
Today’s Stumper
Who holds the Billboard Hot 100 record for most consecutive #1 hits ? – Answer next time!
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