Posts by Alex Miller

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Ted Cruz: Texas Toast?

Texas Senator Ted Cruz may be in the fight of his life for re-election this November. The one-term Republican Senator who famously shut down the government in 2013 with a filibuster comprised partly of a reading of Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham”, has made few friends and allies on Capitol Hill, having a reputation as uncompromising, caustic, and generally charm-free. Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) once described him as “Lucifer in the flesh.”

 

Polls show he is now neck-and-neck with Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, a former punk rock band member who is currently US Representative for Texas’ 16th District. Cruz is so desperate, he has asked former 2016 GOP presidential nomination rival Donald Trump to stump for him. Trump, who during that campaign tagged him with the moniker “Lyin’ Ted”, insulted his wife as ugly, and accused his father of participating in the JFK assassination, is Cruz’ last best hope of retaining his seat. With friends like these…

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Tennis Tantrum

On September 8th the final round of the Women’s Singles match at the 2018 US Open tennis tournament was disrupted in more ways than one. Naomi Osaka, a 20-year-old player of Haitian and Japanese descent, became the first Asian to win the title. Not only that, but she defeated Serena Williams, one of the sport’s all-time best players, with 23 Grand Slam championship titles already under her belt.

 

And not only that, but Ms. Williams had displayed an astonishing amount of unsportsmanlike behaviors in the match, from yelling at the chair umpire to smashing her racket.

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Donald Trump’s Very Public Private Hell

I seem to recall some perspicacious astrologer recently writing that this would be the year when the shit hit the fan for Donald Trump. Oh, wait … that was me. Well, we’re only a quarter of the way into Trump’s Solar Return year, and things do seem to be shaping up that way, don’t they? I know we keep having to say “Worst. Week. Ever.” when it comes to this White House, but truly, could things get worse than the week of September 2nd, 2018?

 

Actually, yes. They can. And will.

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Aster-Obit: Burt Reynolds

On September 6th, 2018, noted actor Burt Reynolds suffered a heart attack and died at a Florida hospital. Reynolds was best known for his popular action films of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run”, but also received an Oscar nomination for his work in 1997’s “Boogie Nights”. During his heyday, Reynolds’ life was frequent tabloid fodder, with long-term relationships with singer and talk show hostess Dinah Shore, actress Sally Field (his co-star in the “Bandit” films) and TV personality Loni Anderson, whom he eventually married, then divorced.

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Florida Georgia Line (of Scrimmage)

Florida’s primary election on August 28th was a true shocker! Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, who had been polling third in the Democratic field, edged past the leading candidates for a three-point win. This sets up an interesting dynamic for the November General Election, with the Bernie Sanders-backed Gillum facing off against Trump-endorsed Ron DeSantis. Gillum is African American, and would be Florida’s first black governor; with fellow Democrat Stacey Abrams vying to be the first black female governor just across the Georgia line, we can justly wonder if “the New South” is finally becoming a reality.

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Aster-Obit: John McCain

On Saturday, 25 August 2018, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) succumbed to his battle with brain cancer, at his home outside Phoenix, Arizona, just four days before his 82nd birthday. The six-term senator, a former Republican nominee for president, had garnered a reputation as a maverick nonpartisan, a truthful, principled political actor who chastised his fellow Party members as freely as the opposition.

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