Author Archives: Sam Ross Jr.

The wife and I went Christmas shopping today (Friday Dec. 22) and how that brought back memories.

That’s an affliction of people my age. We find reminders of the past in the present. Sometimes they are refreshingly pleasant and today was such an example.

It was surprising on a positive note to see the crowds throughout today. I recall a time when people jammed stores virtually nonstop from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

As a child in Johnstown, the retail activity centered on the downtown, with Penn Traffic’s holiday window display much like the one portrayed in the movie “A Christmas Story.” Glosser Bros. department store also was festive back then, as were the many smaller retail outlets that dotted the downtown landscape and – get this – stayed open after five p.m., particularly during the holiday season.

Through the years the action migrated to the Richland area, with the strip of stores along Scalp Avenue and the late Richland Mall, formerly on the site of our current WalMart. During my early days working for the Tribune-Review, I recall needing to find an alternative way home from the Greensburg office during this time of year to miss the traffic tieup on Route 30 associated with Westmoreland Mall shoppers.

Those scenes had waned decidedly in recent years as a combination of online shopping and overhyped viruses had people observing holidays in relative isolation.

A maskhole or two was witnessed today, despite overwhelming evidence the masks do little more than encumber the wearer, both in terms of breathing and also in terms of giving wearers an unrealistically high level of confidence that infection can’t work it’s way through that cheap piece of cloth.

The majority of our fellow shoppers were unmasked and having a good time. My wife even had a mini-reunion with a cousin she had not seen in many years.

The shoppers were courteous for the most part and spending plenty as judging by their jammed shopping cart. Workers, who in past years had been limited to “Happy Holidays” greetings so as not to offend the Woke crowd, are back to saying “Merry Christmas.” A positive there.

The story was the same at Ollie’s along Scalp Avenue, at WalMart and satellite shops around it, and at the Galleria.

The Galleria was especially encouraging, considering that the last several times I’d been there the place had been virtually dead. Now there are smaller shops springing up. The once vacant food court has numerous dining options, and seemingly a good flow of pleased customers

A small train was offering children rides (for $6) in one common area and the engineer sang Christmas carols. I repeat, no canned soundtrack, the guy actually sang – quite well, I might add.

Families with small children stood in line nearby eagerly anticipating a moment with Santa and a photo opportunity.

No Galleria visit is complete without a stop at Boscov’s, which is sort of a combined Penn Traffic/Glosser’s. Again, the memories.

As we left the WalMart area to motor over to the Galleria, there were cars lined up on Theatre Drive. Coming back past that area to meet our son for dinner, the backups were even worse.

There was excitement in the air, the sort you don’t get sitting in front of your computer clicking a mouse to make purchases.

This reminds me of some of the commentary from Ed McMahon, the second banana to The Tonight Show headliner Johnny Carson for about three decades, beginning when I was seven years old. Back then, staying up that late was something that happened for me only this time of the year.

McMahon and Carson loved to chitchat about Christmas shopping. McMahon preferred to wait until the last minute and go dashing around up to and including on Christmas Eve to make his purchases. Carson was more of an early shopper. McMahon simply enjoyed the exciting atmosphere as Christmas neared.

About a week later each year, Carson and McMahon would host a New Year’s Eve show, cutting to Ben Grauer at Times Square for periodic updates and, finally the countdown to a New Year as the ball dropped.

This eventually gave way to over-the-top network celebrations, devoting hours and copious amounts of entertainment to the ringing in of a new year.

Somehow, I preferred the old way, just as I prefer seeing families out shopping in stores and making precious memories.

In this time of caring and sharing, let us extend a warm wish to the Democrats who find themselves increasingly despondent as they continue to fail miserably in their persecution of Donald Trump, toward the end of steering cadaver Joe Biden into another term as president.

Their plan seemed so simple. Even before Trump was elected to his first term, the lamestream media, justice department, and various agencies known by alphabet shorthand united in the attempt to assassinate Trump’s character with made-up indiscretions. Twist the rules, mangle the law if necessary. Just discredit the guy so Shillary could assume her ultimate rightful place as a no-talent rider of her husband’s coattails.

Shillary was writing her victory speech in February, but a funny thing happened come November. Thinking it was a lock, the Democrats did not employ their typical “vote enhancement” techniques and Trump won.

Horrified Democrats wailed, cried and made death vows to get rid of Trump.

Career bureaucrats and those aforementioned alphabet agencies redoubled their efforts, as did lamestream media. Partisan judges were sourced and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives went on a multi-year witchhunt vs. Trump.

Then came the 2020 election. This time Democrats would not be caught with their pants down – even if it did require massive efforts to keep private the list of frequent flyers on Jeffrey Epstein’s Lolita Express.

Heaven and earth were moved to ensure the necessary “vote enhancement” would be achieved. If it took shutting down the economy in reaction to a virus only slightly more dangerous than the common cold, so be it.

If it took sending Republican poll observers home, then running countless ballots through scanners in their absence, so be it.

If it took outright rewriting election laws on the fly to allow mail-in votes to be cast in any questionable form or fashion, hey, we’re just saving democracy by predetermining our guy wins.

Biden claimed the win, but the Dems weren’t done. They would need to continue the persecution of Trump because, deep in their unethical hearts, they feared the public would catch on and no amount of “vote enhancement” could push the troubled Biden to victory again.

That last part is being reflected in polls. Each time the Democrats score what they perceive as a political/legal win vs. Trump, like barring him from Colorado ballots in what legal scholars widely regard as a vast, unconstitutional over-reach, Trump’s poll numbers go skyward.

Not only is Trump clobbering his supposed challengers for the Republican nomination, he’s also pounding on Biden in key battleground states, as well as general head-to-head matchup polls.

And so, we present Hail To The Trump, to be sung to the tune of Joy To The World.

Hail to the Trump, the Dems have found

They just can’t kill the Don

The orange man lives, he just won’t stop

And leftist hearts feel the dread

And leftist hearts feel the dread

And leftists, those leftists, they feel the dread

Oh, God, the polls, they do proclaim

That Trump is on a roll

Despite all our plans, the guy could win

And he’ll be out for blood

And he’ll be out for blood.

And he, and he’ll be out for blood

Karma’s a fate, that we must fear

We’ll pay a heavy price

Trump sure is mad, we can’t be glad

He’ll kick our thieving butts

He’ll kick our thieving butts.

He’ll kick, he’ll kick our thieving butts

There are strange, contradictory utterances emanating from the usual Federal Reserve suspects. We are left to wonder what it all means.

Begin with the big guy himself – not Santa, but Fed Chair Jerome “Jay” Powell. He’s the Mr. Rogers-looking guy trotted out monthly to make a statement, followed up half an hour later by a question-answer session, which ordinarily makes the biggest news.

Powell has positioned himself as a hawk (Fedspeak for someone intent on keeping interest rates high, monetary policy restrictive and generally acting like the guy taking away the punch bowl just when the party was getting started).

Interest rates have been raised from virtually zero to over 5 percent, and mere weeks before last week’s Fed meeting, Powell was talking hawkish about keeping rates high for a longer than expected time frame.

Investment markets have been trading like Powell was fibbing and would blink. The bet is Powell and his cohorts would cut rates early and often, having tamed inflation. Sure, inflation still is running much hotter than the self-identified 2 percent target for an annual rate. But it’s down from 9 percent and, in keeping with the spirit of our times, that’s close enough for government work.

But Powell shocked the investment world and sent stocks, bonds and commodities all racing upward when he indicated the past Wednesday that interest rate cuts were being discussed and might well unfold, many times, in 2024.

The so-called dot plots, the graph showing where Federal Reserve Board members see rates headed, took a marked turn downward with three or more interest rate cuts in the cards. The green lights started flashing in the minds of investors.

Perhaps taken aback by meteoric market rises Wednesday and Thursday last week, a former Fed official was trotted out Friday to pour cold water on it all, saying markets had misunderstood Powell. And so it has gone since then, with many Fed types jawboning markets – unsuccessfully – with talk of continued monetary tightness.

Some deeper thinkers have begun to ponder what exactly Powell and his Fed gang saw to precipitate their rate pivot last week, with easier money all but promised. Sure, they tried to walk that back since, but something changed quite quickly (a few weeks) between firmly targeting 2 percent inflation and vowing to hold the line until that goal was met, to promising rate cuts and 2 percent be damned.

Can they be fearing yet another, larger banking crisis rooted in the dramatic interest rate rise cycle the Fed instituted? Lots of loans need to be rolled over, at much higher rates. Our own Federal government, the world’s biggest borrower, has seen its debt service costs rise geometrically. Credit card borrowers are crying uncle. Would-be home owners are passing on buying with mortgage interest rates tickling 7 percent.

Countries, businesses and individuals cannot borrow themselves into prosperity, but they could maintain that illusion that all was well as long as interest rates were at or near zero. Despite that reality, investment markets are going crazy to the upside and those on the sideline are feeling the need to join the party, acting with their hearts, not minds.

And so we present Jay Powell’s First FOMO, (fear of missing out) to be sung to the tune of The First Noel.

The first FOMO the investors did say

Owed to Fed chief Jay Powell and the things he did say

Those things he did say, they did panic the sheep

And caused them to buy ‘spite being in deep

FOMO. FOMO. FOMO. FOMO

Powell leads us all to fiscal hell

They buy with borrowed funds, unable to pay

Just to be in the game for another day

In the end it all goes bust, that is the truth

But ’til then we party with gin and vermouth

FOMO. FOMO. FOMO. FOMO

How long it can go nobody can tell

As long as it seems that we are doing fine

‘Tis no need to worry ’bout credit lines

But in the end something pops, and the system does fail

Ending with many whimpers, moans and wails

FOMO. FOMO. FOMO. FOMO

We truly are headed to judgment day

This was the weekend the Steelers managed to jump out to a 13-0 lead at Indianapolis, only to surrender 30 unanswered points in absorbing yet another loss. At least this time it was to a team with a winning record.

Shortly after the Steelers had succumbed Saturday, the Penguins lost by a touchdown and PAT to Toronto, which is saying something considering the sport was hockey. It was the worst shutout loss for the Penguins since Sidney Crosby first pulled on the team sweater.

In the wake of yet another lost weekend for fans of pro sports in the ‘Burgh, we are left consider the historically unfamiliar state of affairs.

If the postseason began tomorrow in the NFL and NHL, it would begin without the Steelers or Penguins.

Of course, we almost always can count on the Pirates to miss the postseason. But the Steelers, who missed last season, as did the Penguins, are relative strangers to sustained postseason absences.

If both the Steelers and Penguins miss the postseason again this season, as presumably the Pirates will do once again in 2024, it would be historic hat track of shared futility among Pittsburgh pro franchises in terms of back-to-back seasons outside looking in to the playoffs.

All three franchises simultaneously missing the postseason for consecutive seasons had not happened since 1987 and 1988.

Let that sink in for a moment, For all the ongoing futility of the Pirates, and the periodic failures of the Steelers or Penguins, it’s been more than three decades since fans of Pittsburgh pro sports franchises have had to endure all three mired in back-to-back seasons outside the postseason.

At this point, the Steelers are a mere 7-7, among a gaggle of teams competing for an AFC wild-card spot. But that 7-7 record has been achieved with three consecutive losses and the Steelers clearly are a team on the decline.

Remaining games have the Steelers hosting a resurgent Cincinnati team, then making trips to Seattle and Baltimore. If the Steelers were a stock, you’d be selling.

The Penguins are another .500 team (13-13-3) but only a tad over one-third of the way through their season. They are tied for the third worst record in the Eastern Conference and have displayed both shaky goal tending and a very uncharacteristically unproductive power play.

There still is time for the Penguins to get it together – arguably for the Steelers, too.

But with each loss that time ticks away.

The Great Zelenskyy is making the rounds again, begging for more dollars to pour down the rathole that is Ukraine’s war with Russia.

That we keep forking over billions probably has nothing to do with the fact that Ukraine was and most likely is a hotbed of corruption, and our “Big Guy” has in the past seemed to be in it all up to his armpits.

Increasingly, the American public tires of seeing Zelenskyy show up in a T shirt and military-style clothing, shaking his begging bowl. And why does the guy always seem to be standing in a hole compared to all those who are near him?

Zelenskyy’s height is listed at 5-7, which is as big a stretch as his assertions that Ukraine is holding its own in the battle with Russia. Even Ukrainians are tiring of Zelenskyy’s propaganda on that front.

Zelenskyy looks more like Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famed diminutive who made a name for herself as an unlikely sex therapist. Dr. Ruth’s height is listed as 4-foot, 7-inches. I can personally attest to her lack of stature, having met her at a Super Bowl commissioner’s party once upon a time.

If Zelenskyy is a full foot taller than the good doctor, I’m about 6-10. She also is better dressed and a whole lot more entertaining than Zelenskyy.

We salute Zelenskyy’s constant begging for money with updated lyrics to be sung to the tune of Little Drummer Boy.

Give me money

Pa rum pum pum pum

I have a war to win

Pa rum pum pum pum

This is my thing you see

Pa rum pum pum pum

To spend like I’m a king

Pa rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

So dig deep again

Pa rum pum pum pum

I’m never done

Me Zelenskyy

Pa rum pum pum pum

Ukraine’s my country

Pa rum pum pum pum

We fight a war for you

Pa rum pum pum pum

That we can’t win for you

Pa rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

The Russkies are too good

Pa rum pum pum pum

We’re on the run

Likely you have noticed disenchantment on college campuses regarding Israel.

Stopping just short of proclaiming Kill All Jews, these Hamas supporters as partakers of post-secondary education are pathetically uninformed. But what might one expect when the average college denizen cannot grasp that by definition a student loan is borrowed money that must be repaid?

They chant moronic slogans and wave their signs, many of them stupid in the extreme. These social justice warriors fall into such unlikely categories as Gays for Hamas and Jews for Hamas, neatly ignoring that Hamas would kill either on sight, due to general hatred.

With that in mind, we comment on such idiocy by updating lyrics to the standard We Three Kings of Orient Are.

Idiots on some college quads

Sing the praises of Hamas.

Morons, tools and troglodytes

All cannot see the light.

Why must we endure such crap

When we could just shut their yaps.

Oh, oh, this sad state of education

Bodes not well for our great nation.

Commie reading, leftward leaning

Our youth are just plain dumb.

These elites are so uninformed

Knowing little about the norm.

Backed by many usual suspects

We know now what to expect.

Oh, oh, hold your nose and watch the fools

Being used like useful tools.

Said to be our best and brightest

Instead they are just sad clowns.

When last we discussed the Steelers here, the case was made in passing that this year’s team of limited talent incredibly might win 12 games due to its ridiculously easy schedule.

But, as the Steelers have proved the past two weeks, while you can gift a team with pathetic opposition, you can’t guarantee they will take advantage by winning. And so it was that a pair of current 3-10 teams, Arizona and New England, claimed Steelers scalps amidst their otherwise stumbling, bumbling seasons.

This leaves the Steelers at 7-6 and, astonishingly, still among the teams that would make the AFC playoffs were the season to end today.

Alas, the Steelers have four more games to play and, judging by their production the past two outings, only the optimistic would expect two or more wins over that stretch.

It’s not that the opposition is especially daunting – with the exception of the Baltimore Ravens. And even those Ravens always seem to find a way to keep the Steelers in the game, even lose at times despite a superior record. Also, the Ravens might have their playoff seeding assured by the time they face the Steelers and rest star players.

Despite all this, I’m lumping that Ravens game in the loss category, where it has resided for some time according to my calculus. And we won’t cross that bridge until Jan. 7.

Meanwhile, the Steelers have, in order, games with Indianapolis Saturday, Cincinnati Dec. 23, and Seattle Dec. 31.

The Steelers and Colts are two of no fewer than six AFC teams sporting 7-6 records. The game is at Indianapolis, but I’m not sure that matters considering the Steelers lost their last two home games, against the aforementioned poor competition.

While the Steelers were imploding against Arizona and New England, the Colts found a way to get blown out by Cincinnati, 34-14, after the game was tied 14-14 at the half. That’s Cincinnati, playing without quarterback Joe Burrow.

But one of these lurching outfits, Steelers or Colts, likely will win this meeting, although an overtime tie would somehow be fitting.

Speaking of Cincinnati, the Bengals are yet another of those 7-6 AFC teams. This meeting with the Steelers will be played in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers then finish their season with road games at Seattle (6-7) and Baltimore (10-3).

I didn’t see the back-to-back losses coming to Arizona and New England, even though Bill Belichick owns Mike Tomlin. NBC’s NFL guru Peter King was in a similar position as me, describing himself as “borderline kind of stunned” that the Steelers could lose back-to-back home games to a pair of teams that had arrived with 2-10 records.

King added that the Steelers QB play is “putrid.”

And NBC’s Mike Florio noted that the Steelers made history, becoming the first team in NFL history with a winning record to lose back-to-back games to teams each at least 8 games under .500.

Speaking of history, this looks like yet another season that will be reduced to keeping alive the ability of Tomlin and his backers to boast of the coach never having had a losing season.

Kind of gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn’t it?

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s NFL team, AKA the Kansas City Chiefs, lost a tough one Sunday to the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs had an apparent go-ahead touchdown that was scored late in the fourth quarter get wiped out by an offside call against them.

How could the refs do this to Taylor? And it wasn’t nice for her boyfriend, either.

Let the record show that the bonehead KC wide receiver did line up offside, for no apparent reason. Watching the game on television with my son, I was heard to exclaim, “the idiot in the slot is way offside” or words to that effect.

Usually such exclamations fall on the deaf ears of my wife, who could care less. Yet, having spent most of my 35 years working at newspapers covering sports, I feel moved to make such observations.

When the play seemed to produce a touchdown, I speculated that since it was the Chiefs, the blatant infraction might not get called. Understand, there are those who suspect that the Chiefs get a lot of benefit of the doubt on officiating, and not just because Swift now is their biggest fan.

Just last season, in the AFC title game with Cincinnati, the Chiefs got an extra third down, benefited when they had a key personal foul called on a late hit against their quarterback near game’s end, did not receive a personal foul for a late hit on the Cincinnati quarterback, and got away with a hold or two on key offensive plays.

The Chiefs won by three points, on a last-second field goal.

Predictably, Cincinnati fans were not pleased with how this transpired. They were more than happy to suggest the NFL wanted a KC-Philadelphia Super Bowl, which would pit the KC coach Andy Reid against his former team, Swift’s boyfriend against his brother on Philly who is not Swift’s boyfriend, and feature the ever popular KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who seems to lead the league in commercial endorsements.

Benefiting from the second chance to stop KC’s offense Sunday, the soft and cheesy Bills defense did just that– three times. This produced the sort of out-of-control behavior we don’t get from Mahomes on those syrupy insurance commercials.

Screaming, cursing, slamming his helmet, needing to be held back by teammates, Mahomes was incensed at the officials. The cynics rushed to social media to declare that now he knows how Chiefs opponents feel when they can’t get a call while playing the Chiefs.

The most ridiculous take from Mahomes and his coach was that even though it was a penalty, the refs were at fault for not telling the wide receiver he was offside, or shouldn’t be calling penalties on such pretty plays. Understand, about the first thing kids learn while playing peewee football is how to line up correctly in relation to the line of scrimmage.

Also, officials will give alignment help if asked, and mostly to the widest men in the formation. To repeat, the KC bonehead didn’t ask, and was lined up tight in a bunch formation, far from the sideline where an official might have communicated with him. It’s on the wide receiver. Period.

Mahomes whined in his postgame interview that he doesn’t want officiating calls deciding games. But he was not outraged when the officials handed his team a win last year against the Bengals. Just a tad hypocritical, don’t you think?

The rage of Mahomes should be directed at his underachieving wide receivers, who not only line up incorrectly, but also have a habit of dropping passes hitting them in their hands.

Maybe Mahomes should be mad at management for not providing better receivers. Perhaps management should be mad at Mahomes for making so much money they can’t afford to hire competent wide receivers.

But Mahomes raging because officials called an obvious penalty – in a season during which more such calls are being made as an apparent point of emphasis – is ridiculous.

In the words of the great Taylor Smith: Shake it off.

So, Hunter Biden finally was indicted on some felonies – for income tax evasion.

That’s how the Feds took down Al Capone. Not murders. Not bootlegging. Not prostitution. Not drug running. Just failing to pay taxes on all those ill-gotten gains. I wonder if Hunter is guilty of any of those other Capone things?

Since it’s in the leftist hotbed of California in which Hunter has been indicted, we expect that, even if he is found guilty – and that’s a reach – his punishment will be needing to clean up human excrement on San Francisco streets for a day or two.

And then he’ll be clean, so to speak.

Wake me up when they get around to filing charges against Hunter and The Big Guy for selling the family’s influence to foreign bidders.

Meanwhile, I had cobbled up these fresh lyrics to an old Christmas standard even before Hunter’s indictment was announced. Talk about co-inky-dinks!

To be sung to the tune of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

We wish you a Biden Christmas

We wish you a Biden Christmas

We wish you a Biden Christmas

And a great grifting year.

Glad tidings we bring, from ChiComs and friends

We wish you a Biden Christmas

And a great grifting year.

Oh, bring us a Brandon present

Oh, bring us a Brandon present

Oh, bring us a Brandon present

That’s a box of depends.

Glad tidings we bring, from ChiComs and friends

We wish you a Biden Christmas

And a great grifting year.

He won’t go until he gets some

He won’t go until he gets some

He won’t go until he gets some

So bring Jill right here.

Glad tidings we bring, from ChiComs and friends

We wish you a Biden Christmas

And a great grifting year.

Now Hunter goes to trial

Now Hunter goes to trial

Now Hunter goes to trial

Let’s see how that ends.

Glad tidings we bring, from Chicoms and friends

We wish you a Biden Christmas

And a great grifting year.

The FBI has gone from domestic crime prevention unit to a politically weaponized secret police co-opted to pursue perceived enemies of the public.

Worse, they don’t let the rule of law impede their persecutions.

That’s why it was sad, pathetic and yet amusing when current director Christopher Wray was trying to explain to Congress why his SS unit now is conducting an inquisition of Catholics as terrorists.

In that spirit, we present updated lyrics to be sung to the tune of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”

Following ‘hind the FBI

As they put it to the right

Better be quiet, low-profile

And just keep yourself from sight

They’re on a hunt to bury truth

And to prop the left upright

Laws can be broke, bent and ignored

Just to satisfy the Woke

Yet there is a hopeful feeling when we see

Wray before the Congress kneeling

Spewing pap without much feeling

Old Wray he makes a sad, sad sight

As he tries to dim the light.

Can’t we just fire this wretched soul

And so resolve this plight?

Following ‘hind the FBI

’cause we can’t believe our eyes

Persecuting Catholics, Trump, et al

With a pack of complete lies.