A Koch Brothers lobbyist named Matt Schlapp who is married to Trump assistant Mercedes Schlapp, is trying to float the narrative that it's not the job of journalists to tell us when our leaders are lying. It's his belief that reporters and journalists should just repeat whatever the President or his minions say without vetting it for truthfulness. He says this with a straight face. That's how autocrats become tyrants. What's one of the the first things a tin-pot dictator does when he tries to overthrow a government? Take over the radio and tv stations and jail any reporters he can find that don't toe his party-line. I have even read a suggestion from some members of Congress that reporters should be jailed if they report news that is embarrassing to the President or themselves. This is what we have come to. This president and his enablers in the right-wing squawk machine have brought our society close to a crisis that will take generations to recover from. Of course Hannity, Limbaugh and the other serial liars on talk-radio don't want their bs examined too closely. Of course Trump and his mouthpieces don't want their daily lies called out. Although at this point I don't think Trump much cares. As his rally in Michigan this week showed his followers aren't interested in whats really happening anyway. They want red-meat to nourish their prejudices. If we didn't have journalists who are interested in cutting through the lies we would never have known about The Pentagon Papers….or Watergate…or Iran-Contra… we would still believe that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction”….or that President Obama was a secret Muslim who was born in Kenya….and on and on it goes. A bunch of journalists were killed this week in Afghanistan. The working press was confronted by foaming at the mouth Trump supporter at the rally in Michigan calling them scum. When the press in this country and around the world stops seeking truth and starts lapping up the lies of the rich and powerful we are done. Thats why our founders made a free press such an important part of our sacred documents. They knew what unchecked power could do and where it would lead. Todays Republican Party wants us to take that path…and there is nothing more un-American than that.
We have been seeing many old baseball “trueisms” being retired these days. The bunt and the steal have become a thing of the past. Stats like pitcher “wins” and “saves” get savaged every day by the sabermetric guys. And yet there are still some throwback anomalies that stand out in this young season. One of them can be found in Milwaukee where manager Craig Counsell is using relief pitcher Josh Hader in ways we havent seen for decades. Not since the hey-day of Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage have we seen a relief pitcher used for multiple inning saves. The last few years have seen a “closer” become someone brought into a high leverage moment regardless of inning. Terry Francona started it with his use of Andrew Miller a few years ago with Cleveland. Now some other managers have embraced the concept. Why save your best reliever for the 9th inning just to pad “save” stats when the game may be decided in the 7th or 8th. Hader is putting up incredible stats including last nights 2 2/3 inning save where he struck out 8! Hader has been almost unhittable. He has recorded 54 outs this season…39 have been strikeouts. Last night was the first 8 out save with 8 strikeouts in major league baseball history. The only possibel negative might be overuse issues going forward but so far the Brewer experiment is working and Hader is a beast.
Other Hader stats per Mike Vassallo…11g 1.00 era…4 saves (all 2plus innings) 18ip, 4hits, 2er, 39 k, 5 bb, Opponents batted .070 (4-57 against him) and the Brewers are 11-0 when he pitches.
I'm heading to Onalaska today…weather permitting for some high school baseball on the radio. Wausau East playing on the road today. The first game of their twin bill will air on a delayed basis following the DC Everest at Wausau West game which airs at 5pm. The Evergeens and Warriors have started the season well and this whousl be a good matchup. The two teams will play at Everest on Thursday.
Elections have consequences….If you would like to see this week's example of Republican hypocrisy in action I present Tennessee Congressman Scott Dejarlais. He was caught on tape asking his mistress to get an abortion. Also, in his divorce proceedings, he revealed he and his former wife have had two abortions. Oh, and then he announced that “God had forgiven him” and voted in Congress to ban abortions for other Americans……..Scott Walker said yesterday he would welcome Donald Trump campaigning here for his re-election bid this year. I would imagine Walkers opponent would like that too……………….
Quotes Of The Day
“If reporters would just call Sarah Sanders a liar to her face, comedians wouldnt have to.”-Laurie Kilmartin
“Perhaps the most dangerous piece of the Michelle Wolf backlash is that there are serious people in the media who believe it's not the job of journalists to differentiate between truth and lies. That's the whole ballgame, folks. If that takes hold, kiss American democracy goodbye.”-Nathan Rubin
“White supremacist propaganda loving Tucker Carlson guest Mark Steyn wanted to hear jokes about “the caravan” at the WHCD. Because what's funnier than a group of refugees fleeing violence seeking asylum?”- Andrew Lawrence
“I bet we can get Trump to resign with an offer to re-boot The Apprentice.”-Conan O'Brien
“Sitting at a fancy dinner while a comedian calls you out on your bullshit isn't hardship. You know what is? Being shot at in school. Being deported because of your skin color. Getting profiled for your religion. Trump puts Americans through these real hardships every day.”-Mikel Jollet
Songs Of The Day…a couple of tracks from James Taylor's LP “Gorilla”which was released on this date in 1975. It featured the cream of LA session musicians including The Section. Crosby and Nash add the lovely harmonies to Lighthouse
