Author Archives: Sam Ross Jr.

Veterans Day 2025 dawned cold and windy in these parts, as the usual suspects enjoyed yet another day off work or school, without necessarily knowing or appreciating why.

Patriotism is on the wane in this country. A quick census of my block found precious few American Flags flying to honor the day. My house is among the notable exceptions.

The way we honor veterans is a curious thing. Consider the NFL, which had coaching staffs outfitted in camo variations the past weekend. Pregame flyovers from military aircraft are an NFL staple. This from the Woke league that gives us ridiculous on-field messaging and annual Super Bowl halftimes that are more leftist orgies of self-congratulation than odes to this nation.

This year we have anti-ice poster child/rapper Ill-Mannered Hare, or some such made-up name, holding court.

Many have protested the halftime choice. The NFL, whose product has been reduced to hours-long lean sessions such as Monday night’s Philadelphia-Green Bay snorefest, responded to critics with a metaphorical middle finger. Tough luck, traditional Americans. You’ll watch it and like it!

Ah, but what about the camo? Perhaps just an attempt to peddle more merchandise and appear interested?

Many conflate Veterans Day with Memorial Day, ignorance that exists in part because schools no longer bother to teach the nation’s history, unless it is to bastardize it with a leftist rewrite.

Memorial Day honors the veterans no longer with us, including those who died on the job. Veterans Day sprang up out of the end of World War I and celebrates veterans in general.

Fortunately, it is one holiday that has not been shifted to a Monday in order to give people not happy with a single day off, the opportunity to enjoy three-day weekends.

This is similar to how Thanksgiving, a one-day holiday in my youth, has expanded to many getting an entire week away from their jobs.

I guess they give thanks for all the time off, but beyond that, doubtful.

I never served in the armed forces, coming of age at the end of the Vietnam War. But I come from a family of veterans, most of them dead (not in conflict) who served in World Wars I and II, along with Korea and Vietnam.

Having never done research of the family tree, I can only speculate whether we had fighters in the Civil War or other, earlier conflicts.

Memorial Day and Veterans Day were big deals in our family when I was younger.

Two granddaughters are over today, having no school, and I just might give them a chance to roll their eyes as I explain the meaning of the day.

Likely, it won’t make much of an impression on them, but maybe it will. Someone needs to make sure the Flag is flying when I’m gone.

Ancient Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is proving you can’t fool Mother Nature.

There’s a reason pro sports leagues are not full of 40-plus-year-old athletes. Admittedly, Joe Flacco, at the ripe old age of 40, is putting up some good numbers as a quarterback, but even that has not been enough to win multiple games for the Cincinnati Bengals, his latest team.

Flacco’s production more than likely will diminish, too, as the season progresses. Mother Nature rules.

That brings us back to Rodgers, the soon-to-be-42-year-old who has begun to struggle. He threw two interceptions, was sacked three times, and generally looked rattled as the Steelers succumbed to
the LA Chargers by a 25-10 score Sunday night.

Afterward, Rodgers took full responsibility. It was his best call of the night.

On that front, I give Rodgers credit. Perhaps it is because Rodgers has won big in his younger days, realizes that his performance of late has been sub-standard, and is secure enough based on that past success that he is willing to admit to struggles now.

The Steelers and Rodgers have been called out in this space months back as a mirage of a team, likely to have a good record mostly owing to a weak schedule, but not having good prospects in the playoffs. That opinion hasn’t changed and has actually been fortified by play in two of the three most recent games.

In some ways it reminds me of the 1983 Steelers season, another memorable mirage effort by the black and gold.

Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, missed the first 14 games of the 1983 season due to an elbow injury and unproven Cliff Stoudt, almost miraculously, was behind center as the Steelers were 9-2 after 11 games.

It was fool’s gold. The Steelers then went on a three-game losing streak, including being humbled 45-3 in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.

That 9-2 record had slipped to 9-5 and all of a sudden the playoffs were looking like less than a certainty.

Stoudt was not holding up well under the pressure, either, blaming others, including his wide receivers, for his failures that included an inability to throw touchdown passes.

Enter the 36-year-old Bradshaw as the Steelers traveled to play the New York Jets in the Jets’ final home game ever at Shea Stadium.

Head coach Chuck Noll decided that Bradshaw, with an ailing right arm, was a better option than Stoudt.

It was magic as Bradshaw, in just over a quarter of play, threw two touchdown passes – one each to Gregg Garrity and Calwin Sweeney – and the Steelers went on to win, 34-7.

Alas, Bradshaw heard a pop in his elbow on the Sweeney pass and his season and career were finished.

The Steelers lost the next game, their regular-season finale vs. Cleveland, but still made the playoffs. Once there, Stoudt continued to struggle and the Los Angeles Raiders won easily, 38-10, to end the Steelers’ campaign.

The Steelers’ struggles this season cannot be blamed entirely on Rodgers. That defense hasn’t played up to its billing, either.

Rodgers is, however, the guy upon whose shoulders will fall the responsibility of invigorating a spotty offense. Just as with Stoudt, the odds are against Rodgers being up to the challenge.

Jose “Joe” Ceballos is a name you should remember.

Jose “Joe” is mayor of a small Kansas town, who currently is being charged with voter infractions because even though Jose “Joe” has been voting and holding office, he is not an American citizen.

No, Jose “Joe” is a Mexican citizen who, like so many others of his ilk, prefers to live in the U.S. At least he’s reported to be a legal resident here, but not a citizen and that is an important distinction when it comes to voting.

Media reaction has been predictable, rushing to the defense of Jose “Joe” and painting those attempting to enforce THE LAW, as vindictive meanies.

I read numerous stories online about Jose “Joe” and nowhere did I find a mention of his political party affiliation. I’m betting it’s Democrat. I could be wrong. Probably not.

But, in those same stories, it often is noted that those who found out about Jose “Joe” and are looking to prosecute him are, gasp, Republicans.

It’s no surprise that the LameStream media, most of which takes its marching orders from the political left, would attempt to spin this as anything other than a man alleged to have broken election law, both by voting and holding office.

Ah, but the stories are full of people defending Jose “Joe,” from his daughter suggesting he just didn’t know, to others saying what a fine guy he is and we should just look the other way that regarding these technicalities of legality.

This is all part of a sickening trend being perpetrated on this country by the left in their efforts to derail a once-great nation.

Think about it, if the black-and-white issues of what is legal and what is not can be blurred, blended and smeared, then it’s an open invitation for more wrongdoing.

In a bit of typical hypocrisy, the political left thinks their opposition should be drawn and quartered for jaywalking or sent into prison for years for spitting on the street.

If a Republican mirrored old Jose “Joe” and voted repeatedly while not being qualified to do so, if he held political office, his fate would be extensive prison time.

Just look at the record regarding Tina Peters, the Colorado election official serving NINE YEARS in prison for allowing an unauthorized individual to access voting machines to check for fraud.

NINE YEARS! Yes, Tina Peters is a Republican, which means when she is convicted of breaking the law, she does hard time.

From the so-called J-6 people, to high-profile sorts such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, Republicans routinely find themselves doing time for offenses that don’t even merit a wrist slap when the offenders are Democrats.

And we’re supposed to accept this, just as we are expected to look the other way regarding Jose “Joe.” He’s just one guy, the left argues. But there are thousands if not millions like him, I reply.

That’s why the left is pushing back so hard with corrupt politicians, questionable judges and convenient idiots on the streets, to stop President Trump from deporting illegals and attempting to restore validity to the election rolls.

Also, my friends, this Jose “Joe” example is just another brick in the wall regarding why this country is headed to Civil War.

Another election has come and gone and what have we learned?

Somehow, people with campaign signs for losers were very efficient at clearing those signs, doing so almost as quickly as the results were known, likely in the attempt not to suffer any longer than necessary the stench of losing.

People who had yard signs for winners have been a little slower to pull down their signs, perhaps basking in vicarious glory.

I’m wondering if I deserved hazardous duty pay voting at the Southmont Borough Building, amidst strands of red warning tape and cautionary signs regarding asbestos danger there?

It was nice to see some local election results, with social justice warriors and YouTube heroes failing to win.

It was not so nice to see it reinforced that the electorates in New York City, California, Virginia and New Jersey are just as insane as they have been for decades. Give them proven liars, cheats, purveyors of social media threats, and other miscreants and they will vote for them as long as they are Democrats.

It was predictable to see Democrats engage in orgies of self-congratulation over winning in these blue, or deep-purple jurisdictions. Should Republicans crow so loudly when they prevail in Texas and Florida? How about when a guy named Trump sweeps seven supposedly toss-up swing states, as he did in 2024?

As written here previously, I had come to hope Mandami “The Commie” would become mayor of New York City, just so he could face the daunting challenge of coming through with all the freebies he promised in order to get elected.

New York City voters are going to find out that you pay the piper for bad voting choices. This is nothing new. Think post-World War I Germany, for example.

Johnstown is screwed, and has been screwed for some time due to generations of mismanagement and political corruption. A new mayor won’t cure that, and as often seems to be the case, might just add to the misery.

If, as some pundits have said, the government shutdown hurt the Republicans, that’s just further proof the average voter operates on a mental level a bit short of the typical five-year-old.

Also, along that line, we had the usual crap spewed yet again before the election urging people to perform their civic duty and vote. That conveniently omits the need to educate oneself before voting, so as to make informed decisions and not just vote for the D or R, or for a candidate’s name.

Forgive me for sounding like a flip-flopping politician when I say my position on the World Series evolved from benign neglect to rabidly rooting home the victorious Los Angeles Dodgers.

That’s why, in the wake of the 5-4 Los Angeles triumph Saturday night/Sunday morning in an 11-inning Game 7, I’m here to rub salt in open Canadian wounds.

I’m not alone. A quick scan of social media began with the X page of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Barker) and it did not disappoint.

Like too many hosers from the Great White North (a climate, not racial characterization) Carney Barker has attempted to leverage sporting success into national pride.

A so-called Carney curse has been detected since he has showed up just in time to sink hopes of the Edmonton Oilers, the Canadian men’s soccer team and now, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Carney Barker took to his X account in the immediate aftermath of this latest setback and used a fractured heart emoji to characterize it as a heartbreaking result. He went on to praise the Jays in coming up short, but trying hard and in the process making Canada so proud.

Responses were priceless. Here are a few examples.

“Carney, you are Prime Minister, do something about this.”

“Now you know how Canadians feel watching you strike out on trade deals.”

“No one understands didn’t get it done quite like Carney.”

“This is an interesting take given that only one of the 26 players on the Jays WS roster were born in Canada, and IDK if Vlad Jr. identifies as more Canadian or more Dominican.”

“As a Canadian, I’m glad they lost just so you wouldn’t be able to brag about it. Let’s consider this another American triumph over Canada!”

Elsewhere, headlines screamed of mourning, very sad Blue Jays fans and a crushing loss. Imagine how sad these Jays fans will be if they start losing thousands of jobs due to tariff problems. Trade accounts for about two-thirds of Canada’s GDP and most of that is with the United States.

Back to the World Series, it began with some tepid, uninteresting games. But, along the way, it gathered momentum and produced some epic contests.

I tuned in to Game 3 in the 7^th inning of a 5-5 game. The game ran for 18 innings, equaling a World Series record. It had Dodger Shohei Ohtani reach base on all nine plate appearances, clubbing two homers and two doubles before the Jays walked him five times, four of those intentional.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a walkoff homerun, for a record second time in his World Series career, to end the marathon game.

That win gave the Dodgers a 2-1 series lead, but they coughed it up with losses in Game 4 and Game 5, sending them back to Toronto needing to win twice to secure back-to-back championships.

Blue Jays fans were planning their victory celebrations, but the Dodgers won both games, sending the home fans into the Toronto night to ponder yet another failure to finish the deal. Recall, this is a city whose NHL franchise has not won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

Game 7 was a classic, again requiring extra innings, this time 11. It saw the Blue Jays drop leads of 3-0 and 4-2. The Dodgers entered the 9^th trailing 4-3 and got an unlikely homerun from Miguel Rojas, just his second of the season off right-handed pitching, to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, second baseman Rojas threw out the potential winning run at home.

Eventual Series MVP, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, got the win, his third of the Series, after Dodgers catcher Will Smith lashed a homer in the top of the 11^th. Yamamoto had pitched a complete game in Game 2, 96 pitches in Game 6 and then tossed the final 2 2/3 innings to close Game 7 a night later. Incredible, particularly in an era when starting pitchers think making it through five innings is a quality effort.

Let’s not forget the fourth-inning tiff that revived memories of the 4-Nations Face-Off between the U.S. and Canada. While some headlines screamed “brawl” it was more a meet-and-greet after a No. 9 Blue Jays hitter with delusions of grandeur based on his unexpected batting prowess in this Series, somehow thought he had been hit intentionally by a Dodgers pitcher with no one on base and the top of the batting order up next.

I had written previously that both teams losing would be a fitting result, but I came to understand it was better to keep the title in these United States.

Yes, Los Angeles is a leftist city where illegals get prime consideration and English is a second language. But, the Dodgers won the World Series in quintessential American fashion. They showed grit and determination, and spent a whole lot of money to get it done.

Along the way, they reminded Canada of the international pecking order, including in sports. And they just might have given pause to the prominent American socialists like Bernie, AOC and Mamdani.

Free enterprise still prevails.

Holy Sputnik, Elon Musk seems to have solved my internet access woes.

Readers will recall me lamenting (whining) about my problems with providers of internet connections. It continued to amaze me that, sitting here in the Johnstown suburb of Southmont Borough late in 2025, providers were inconsistent, nonexistent for me, or combinations of both.

It reminded me of a time years back when my brother and mother lived in Lorain Borough and any time it rained, got windy, or was sunny, their electrical service was about an even bet to fail.

Said my brother at time, it was like living in Baghdad.

My problems getting a reliable way to connect my computers to the internet gave me similar emotions.

As a quick recap, Breezeline for years had provided me a slow speed of broadband that both sales and tech people alike were amazed still was available. And, that slow service was intermittent at best. I had signed up to get text alerts about outages and let me say the old cell phone got a workout from those.

My most agonizing problem was the time in mid-September when I was preparing to buy 1,000 shares of OPEN stock, but got a text from Breezeline about outages in my area. Although my internet still was working, my wife alerted me to a Breezeline truck parked directly across the street in front of our house.

This was late in the trading session, shortly before 4 p.m. I wanted to babysit the trade, monitoring it closely both at the end of the regular session and into the extended hours, which runs from 4:05 until 8.

Side note: One can often get great executions in extended market trading because, while volume is low, some people put in market orders instead of limit orders, and so can buy at inflated ask prices.

Investors know that if you put in a hard stop-loss order at any time, others on higher levels of stock information can see that, target the stop to blow out your position, then allow the stock to run under their new ownership.

I passed on the OPEN buy due to the internet access uncertainty. Shortly after the regular session ended and extended trading began, it was announced a former CEO of OPEN was returning and the stock rocketed up more than $4 a share. So, in about 20 minutes I missed the opportunity to make a quick $4,000.

Color me miffed, and incentivized to do something.

T-Mobile was available for $75 a month and I tried, only to find after the fact the $75 rate was NOT available in my area, but, magically, $165 or so was. I returned my T-Mobile equipment during the 14-day free trial and now am attempting to get them to stop billing me for $165 or so.

I canceled Breezeline Sept. 29, but their policy is to prolong things a month. I still am getting angry texts from them about owing money. I do not, other than the $8 or so I was quoted as a pro-rated amount.

AT&T wireless is not available to me, nor is Blade, or other services.

A cousin, whose options are few due to living in a rural area, had contemplated Musk’s Starlink satellite option, based on internet research and word-of-mouth endorsements. He ended up getting it. His early reports were positive in the extreme, so I took the plunge.

Allow me to warn you Starlink customer service is virtually nonexistent, and you need to be tech savvy, or have a tech savvy source (my son), to help with the details.

But, bless Musk and his fleet of nearly 8,000 Starlink low-orbit satellites, a number supplemented by 29 in a late October rocket launch (celebrating my arrival as a customer?), I’ve been a user for about half a week now and I’m impressed.

Musk is the quintessential entrepreneur – identify a need and act to fill it.

Thank you, Elon, for being an intelligent and efficient free-marketeer.

And so, after my son and I ( mostly my son) spent time mounting the satellite receiving antenna with a clear view of the sky, and orienting it properly using a cell phone app, running the cable into the house to connect to the modem, and attending to other miscellaneous tasks, which included me buying a much-needed new desktop computer, I’m a Starlink fan.

Plus, using a short-term promotion, there was no upfront equipment cost and my monthly rate is $59 for the first year, moving up to $80 after that.

Allow me to reiterate, I’m more than happy with the service so far. If you are reading this, know that this post was made using Starlink.

With any luck, Starlink will keep performing until my death, which I hope occurs sometime past when the $59 introductory rate period ends.

We need another Art Linkletter, the late, great TV host who in the 1960s gave us the delightful segments of Kids Say The Darndest Things.

Were he alive today, Linkletter could use same format, but switch it over to the verbal efforts from the political left: Dems Say The Darndest Things.

With the children, they had the excuse of youthful innocence to explain their curious observations. I’m struggling to understand, or explain, where Democrats’ minds are when dispensing their bon mots of late.

Begin with Zohran Mamdani (The Commie), presumptive next mayor of New York City.

Zohran says a lot of inexplicable things, like promising free everything to city residents and proposing higher taxes on businesses throughout the state to pay the freight. Likely he expects a lot of federal money, too, to fund his free bus rides and grocery stores.

But Zohran sees the polls tightening a bit, so he’s playing the victim card and even that’s a reach for those thinking beyond kindergarten level.

Zohran tearfully recounted an “aunt” afraid to wear her hijab on the subway in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks due to Islamophobia.

Where do we start with this pile of goat crap?

First, might the greater victims be the thousands of Americans who died on that day, not Zohran’s “aunt “ being uncomfortable riding the subway in the aftermath.

It gets worse. The “aunt” actually is a cousin of Zohran’s father. She also is deceased and so not available to back up any of this talk.

No matter, argued Zohran, the real point is Islamaphobia and he’s a victim, too.

There must be something about being a rich kid that produces difficulty with the facts.

Gavin Newsom, he of the oiled hair and tall tales, loves to spread whoppers. He slept with his best friend’s wife and incorrectly claimed to have gone to alcohol rehab to cure himself.

He closed California during COVID, but allowed himself to go out to supposedly shut-down fancy restaurants.

Gavin denies statistics that show California to be a crime-infested mess and losing population, even despite throwing out the welcome mat for illegals.

Between oil changes on his hair, Gavin showed up on a podcast claiming childhood poverty, subsisting on Wonder Bread and mac and cheese. But Gavin also had a wine shop while in his early 20s and ran with a crowd including heirs to the massive Getty oil fortune.

Then there is Dem up and comer Jasmine Crock Of It, who paints herself as a child of the ghetto, and adapts an appropriate speaking style, despite having attended a $35,000-a-year private school.

The Crock Of It now is being asked to explain reports that she had quite the investment portfolio she failed to report to Congress, including investments in big pharma, fossil fuel, marijuana and car firms.

It reminds of Bernie Sanders, the supposed anti-oligarch who just happens to have three expensive houses. That’s my kind of socialist.

Then there’s would-be Virginia attorney general Jay Jones and his texts about shooting a political opponent.

Senator Dick Durbin raced to the microphone in the halls of Congress this week to liken ICE arrest and deporatation of illegals to the internment of Japanese here during World War II, neatly forgetting that the Japanese internment was ordered by Democrat Franklin Roosevelt and that the Japanese were citizens here legally.

Other than that, nice try, Dick.

And, finally, we have Eric Swalwell, investigated for liaisons with an alleged Chinese spy, named U Bang Mi, or something like that.

These days, Swalwell has come up with a litmus test to run for president as a Democrat. That would be vowing to tear down the White House ballroom Donald Trump is currently constructing, to the consternation of leftists who fail to realize past presidents have done some remodeling of their own.

Yes, kids — and immature Democrats — do say the darndest things.

The World Series has turned into yet another U.S.-Canada passion play. Spare me.

Canadians, suffering their eternal inferiority complex when it comes to the United States, are frothing at the mouth and hyperventilating over Toronto being in the World Series, with a chance to restore national honor and humble the Americans by winning against Los Angeles.

Take that, Donald Trump!

Toronto won the opener Friday, in one-sided fashion, and might just win Game 2 tonight. Yippee.

I will confess that, in my youth, I used to get caught up in this sort of thing. I rooted mightily for the U.S. in the Olympics vs. the Soviets, for example.

Eventually, we defeated the Soviet Union on the world power stage, not because our hockey team won the Miracle On Ice game, but because Ronald Reagan upped the defense stakes and forced the Soviet Union into economic collapse.

That’s why we now have Russia and a lot of independent former Soviet countries.

If Toronto wins the World Series, that won’t change the reality that Canada is an afterthought in the world, despite the ravings of their Carney Barker prime minister.

Canada is a cultural slave to the United States, largely relying on our movies and music. And economically, there’s an old saying that if the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches pneumonia.

Trump’s trolling of Canada as our potential 51^st state isn’t that far off from economic reality. Did you know that if U.S. states California, Texas or New York were separate countries, each would have a higher gross domestic product (GDP) than economic lightweight Canada?

Florida almost matches Canada, too.

During the height of sporting tensions amidst hockey’s 4 Nations Face-off, overwrought Canadians were online suggesting Canada just might take military action vs. us. Good luck with that. I researched at the time and just double-checked again – Canada has 89 fighter jets – total – and each U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier has 90!

Good luck to what some online types call the Snow Mexicans.

Recently, Canada irked Trump by running an ad on their TV mis-representing Reagan on the subject of tariffs.

Trump greeted that by canceling trade talks with Canada. For all the pontificating about how this will hurt the U.S., stay tuned to see who blinks in the end.

Toronto is Canada’s New York City, a land of leftists intent on supporting illegals and denying history and traditions.

But how can I root for Los Angeles? The City of Angels has morphed into the City of Illegals. My late father used to tell me as a child that our country was tilted to the west and all the assorted loose nuts rolled to California.

How correct he was.

The World Series will drone on, with Toronto being painted as a team of avenging underdogs, despite the fact that the Blue Jays ranked No. 5 in payrolls at the start of the season, according to USA Today, at $239.6 million.

Los Angeles was No. 2 at $321.2 million.

This series is being contested between two of MLB’s elite spenders and one just happens to be from Canada.

Beyond that, it’s merely baseball and not of a particularly interesting variety.

The result that would please me most would be if both possibly could lose.

Democrats, assorted leftists and their propagandists in LameStream media have the vapors over Donald Trump adding a grand ballroom to the White House.

From the beached whales on The View, to the motley crew of Democrats in Congress, to various news outlets preaching to a choir of declining viewership, they weep and gnash their teeth in histrionic outrage.

It reminds me of the way my two granddaughters prefer to greet “crises” such as misplacing a toy or a stuffed animal, with their exaggerated emotional displays. Forgive them, those girls are 8 and 6 years of age, respectively. They know no better.

Contrast this to the supposed adults who have latched onto the Trump White House renovation like drowning people desperately grabbing a life preserver. They so desperately need a distraction from their ongoing idiocy. Faux outrage over history repeating provides an opportunity to take the spotlight off their failings.

More than one Republican has noted it is curious how the party that is so in favor of destroying history, from pulling down statues to attempting to rewrite the nation’s past by tampering with textbooks on the subject, can’t cope with a White House renovation.

Perhaps it is the cruel reality that it is not being funded on the taxpayers’ credit card, but instead from private donors, including Trump, that so bothers these habitual freeloaders.

Beyond that, the White House is not the same building as originally built. Leftists, please note, the place was burned by the British during the War of 1812.

A bit of internet research produced posts on whitehousehistory.org referring to a marker in the floor of the White House Entrance Hall, commemorating past such renovations, most recently the complete gutting and rebuilding of the place in 1952, under Harry S. Truman.

Compared to Truman’s work, Trump’s demolition of the East Wing in preparation of building a ballroom is small potatoes. By the way, the East Wing has been part of the building only since 1942, not 1792.

Trump supporters point out that, along with those other building projects, past White House residents have changed things, including Nixon’s bowling alley, Obama’s basketball court and various swimming pools that have come and gone under assorted presidents.

But, should these ballroom critics move on from this topic, they might have to admit to very real current problems they have created.

The government shutdown, brought to you by establishment Democrats cowering in the face of their party’s left-wing lunatics, would be a nice place to start. Since when is guaranteeing free healthcare to illegals a priority?

Similarly, the ongoing violence in the streets, said to be funded by the typical left-wing billionaires, is a problem that needs to be addressed. By the way, why does Bernie Sanders love “oligarchs” when they are funding leftist causes?

A socialist/communist about to be coronated as New York City’s mayor is another topic the left wants to avoid addressing.

And so it goes.

Trump’s White House ballroom plans are but an issue for the left to glom onto, hoping to distract from their mounting failures on other, more substantive matters.

It allows these hypocrites to run around screaming the catchphrase from the old Under Armour commercials, “We Must Protect This House.”

The irony is that, due to leftist policies, citizens are finding they too often must protect their houses, businesses, children and vehicles – literally — from the criminals and illegals the Democrats support so vigorously.

“Big Game James” Franklin, the recently fired Penn State football coach, re-emerged on ESPN GameDay Saturday and gave his best Kamala Harris impression.

It’s like they were separated at birth. Throw a Maxine Waters wig on Franklin’s bald dome and he could go trick-or-treating this Halloween as Kamala. He does now have the free time.

The parallels are many between Big Game James and Kamala.

Both are walking, talking, failing examples of the Peter Principle, the management theory birthed in the late 1960s that people tend to rise to their level of incompetence, being promoted based on past success (or other factors), but eventually getting to the point where it is painfully obvious that they can’t do the job at the higher level.

Think of Kamala working her way up the political chain as the DEI candidate, even being added to the Joe Biden ticket to counteract that he was just another old, white guy, and one with an advancing case of dementia to boot.

Joe tried to give Kamala a larger role than that of most previous VPs, such as policing the border, and she dropped the ball – repeatedly.

Some suggest that Joe took his time dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, then coronated Kamala immediately, just to stick it up the butts of Democrat hierarchy that had come for him with their metaphorical knives.

Even mentally impaired Joe knew Kamala would lose. He got one thing right.

Kamala was gifted with a campaign war chest reported at $1.5 billion and blew it all in a losing effort. It sounds a lot like Penn State going all-in financially on this year, from Franklin’s huge salary, to $3.5 million in name, image and likeness (NIL) money for now injured quarterback Drew Allar, to the $3.1 million salary for defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Big Game James boasted, as is his wont, that this was his best total team. Beating three inferior opponents early didn’t exactly prove anything. Then Penn State, with so many things going for it, managed to blow a home game against Oregon, and the collapse had begun.

Big Game James took his team west and inexplicably lost a game with UCLA, a previously winless team that was about a 25-point underdog. Penn State backed that up with a homecoming loss to Northwestern, another 20-plus point underdog.

Big Game James had made history with the back-to-back mammoth losses and soon was shown the door.

Where Kamala gave us word salad responses to questions, Big Game James gave us word salad gameplans.

Fast-forward to Saturday and Big Game James was flashing his best Kamala look on that ESPN pregame show.

Big Game James painted himself as the victim in all this, showing the denial and delusion we’ve come to expect from him.

He said he had a “great run” at Penn State. We’d counter that it was good, not great.

Big Game James can’t wait to coach again and indicated he still would win a national championship, just at some outpost besides Penn State.

If Big Game James is so confident on that point, let him donate his future coaching salaries to charity, as President Donald Trump has done with his presidential paychecks. Big Game James does have that $50 million or so coming from Penn State to pay the grocery bills.

We might now expect Big Game James to continue with his Kamala impression.

Perhaps he will write a book, blaming everyone else for his failures.

Then he can go on a book tour, dropping bon mots such as “people” tell him he was the most qualified coach ever.

Big Games James could minimize his 5-21 record at Penn State vs. Top 10 competition, just as Kamala seems to have forgotten she went 0-7 in swing states vs. Trump.

Big Game James came from Vanderbilt and would fit in well coaching at a similar school, where winning records and some appearances in minor bowls would satisfy the fan base.

Big Game James did that at Vanderbilt. Most ignored that in 2013, Big Game James’ final season at Vanderbilt, four players were arrested on rape charges and Franklin had conflicting stories about whether or not he had viewed videotape of the alleged crime.

I would speculate that if Big Game James gets a job coaching at a Vanderbilt-like school, he will have modest success. If he somehow is hired at a big-time program, he will continue to lose the big ones.

It will be a fitting repeating loop for a guy who was born on Groundhog Day.