It's Semiquincentennial Time!

 

When I was a kid, we went to visit my father's side of the family in NYC over the 4th of July weekend in 1976.  It was the Bicentennial, a huge national celebration.  I remember the Tall Ships were in the harbor, a very hyped parade of old style schooners that actually was impressive in person.  I remember it being hot in New York, that smell of asphalt, hot dogs and faint whiff of urine that is distinctly NYC.  All the stores had red, white, and blue banners and Bicentennial sales events regardless of how illogical the connection was between crap like shag carpeting and American Independence.  Everybody wanted in on it.  "Come on in to Volk's AMC Autoworld where for $17.76 down you can drive a new AMC Hornet today!"  I was a kid, so it sorta seemed like a second Christmas with all the decorations and expectations of fireworks ramped up for the special year.

This 250th celebration is a little hard to get jacked up about.  In 1976, the country was still recovering from tough economic times and the turbulence of the 1960s.  There did seem to be an uneasy unity though, sort of an idea of we were going to at least TRY to make it better for all of us.  Hey, we all have our own points of view, but we are all Americans and we are proud of our country.  I mean, I'm sure that there were still radicals trying to keep The Weathermen going that wanted to bring total anarchy, but for the most part it was Captain & Tennille, KISS, mood rings and shag haircuts.  When I think of 1976, I think of smells like sun baked pleather auto seats, old cigarette smoke soaked into rooms, industrial cleaning products, and Old Spice.  It was probably a simpler time, but we all had a basic understanding of right/wrong and a basic system of shared values.

I look at this Trump shanghai of the 250th thing, and I don't see any sense that I'm invited to this party.  Now it's important to note that I'm also not interested in hanging out with Grift Dorks, Techno Fascists, sexually repressed Trad Moms, ass kissing sycophants, religious deviants, monster truck drivers or opportunistic social media influencers either, so that's a match.  However it's a shame that we can't move past this divisive old man that has poisoned our culture so pervasively.  These are not my people.  Is there anyone running the country right now that you think, "I'd like to hang out with them?".  It's all people you make that "ugh" noise when you see them.  It might not be so bad if they showed a shred of competence, but fucking A...  These guys turn everything they touch into dogshit.  I guess if you are in on the grift, then it's a Golden Age.  Well, assuming there are no televised trials after forensic accounting has taken place...  

It just sucks that we can't have the idea of "America" back where a quarter of the population isn't propaganda fueled white nationalist hillbilly monsters.  Why the hell are those dipshits dictating what "America" is?  I get a douche chill every time I see our flag waving now.  Let's get back to what made 4th of July weekends great.  It would be nice to feel good about tossing some firecrackers under your grandma's lawn chair or tossing back a couple 16oz Stroh's without wondering if you had to get involved into a debate about what is or not reality.  (Spoiler alert, the USA lost a war to Iran and we sent JD Vance and two real estate guys to try and handle negotiations on an out clause while the Corrupt Clown King worries about his $400M ballroom and deflecting blame on that reflecting pool fiasco his cartoon villain buddy fucked up.  Regardless of what Fox News or your algorithm says, that's what happened this month.). It really just sucks to worry about being mistaken for a member of the developmentally challenged Freigemeinschaft von Mar-a-Lago if you even stand close to a flag.  It's hard to get excited about "America" when you don't feel connected to the place beyond previously shared ideals and faded family photos.  That shitty party the Trump dorks are throwing isn't something I was invited to or want to attend.  Fuck those guys.  I'm out.  I'll probably hoist my St. Pauli FC flag instead.  There's a better sense of community and inclusion there.

The good news is we are at the half way point of the MLB season and Pittsburgh is still a game above .500.  I'm going to need them to go 34-47 the rest of the way.  I feel VERY good about that, though I had hoped to see them slip into the playoffs and that seems like a longshot.  My "Giants more wins than Cleveland" bet is a catastrophe as SF might totally clean house over there.  Devers is a bust, the manager looks like a big mistake, and "the plan" isn't working.  Cleveland is up 9 games, and even if they continue to slide, it doesn't look like the Giants could catch them.  That's going to be a loser.  The other small bet was on the Rockies to win over 52 games.  They're at 32 right now, so I just need 21 more wins.  That looks VERY good.  Overall, besides the continued spiral of the country, the summer is going pretty well.  It's all about World Cup for the next few weeks.  Sending good vibes to the US team, but I'm all in on Les Bleus as soon as the States gets eliminated.