The Republican Party is Dead

Well - Not really. But that is what many in the main-stream media proclaimed no less than a few months ago.

"The Death of the Republican Party"
-- David Brooks, New York Times July 2016

"The Republican Party is Dead"
-- Max Boot, Los Angelas Times Op-Ed piece May 2016

"GOP Convention: The Party is Dead, Long Love the King"
-- John Zogby,  Forbes Magazine July 2016

How can I become an expert in the media, get many things of importance wrong and still keep my job? What a gig!

It is fitting is that we hold elections in the month of November. The month’s original name in Old English was Blōtmōnað, which literally means "blood-month" I.E. The month when animal sacrifices were made to stock up on meats for the coming winter months. There certainly was plenty of bloodshed during this election year. "You're a liar...you're dishonest... you're corrupt... you're all a bunch of deplorables... you're sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic" and on and on and on. Whew!!! Somebody help me I am out of breath. But, it's over. The election is history. It's done. It's in the past, nothing but a fading memory. The insults, the offensive comments, the lies, half truths, the patronizing, the false promises, the deception, it's all over...well, not exactly but at least it is for the moment. We have a winner and we have a loser and we still have our democracy intact.

As for the precious little snowflakes who need therapy dogs to get through the crisis of democracy working, you all have time-out...permanently. This is what happens to little children who misbehave. You will be sitting alongside eight-year-olds who refused to share the M&M's.

I once heard someone say, "if you accept the outcome when your guy wins but not when the other guy wins than you really don't believe in democracy".

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Last fall, on the recommendation of my daughter Carly, I purchased tickets to see Hamilton. This was months before the Tony awards when Hamilton cleaned up and tickets were near impossible to get but at a reasonable price; unlike today where tickets are still near impossible to get but for a small fortune.

Hamilton, created by Lin-Manual Miranda, is a Broadway musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton; an orphan, immigrant, lawyer, soldier, statesman, and born in the West Indies. The original cast had all left the play following the Tony awards but the true star of the play is history itself. The play was nothing short of brilliant, giving me such a better understanding and appreciation of our Founding Fathers. I left the play wanting to know more about how America came to be. No other Broadway play has ever moved me to discover history more. People have mentioned, with consternation , the Rap/Hip-Hop elements of the play but, fear not, it all works perfectly. Lin-Manual Miranda has suggested, Rap is perfect for this story because Hamilton was always bursting with ideas and with Rap, you get more words per measure than any other musical form. This guy Miranda really knows what he is doing.

Go see Hamilton!!! You will thank me.

Some of Alexander Hamilton's accomplishments:

• Served as the first Treasury Secretary of the United States Created the financial system of the United States.
• Was the major author of the Federalist Papers that led to the ratification of the Constitution.
• Founded the U.S. Coast Guard
• Introduced a bill to establish West Point Military Academy
• Created the Bank of America, the 1st bank in America
• Created the New York Stock Exchange

Certainly, not a day goes by without Alexander Hamilton touching the lives of every American.
Hamilton is a must see!

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#SecureThePorch - Accomplished 7:45 AM

We had a smaller showing today. There is a rumor of a BK Club forming down in Bonita Springs, Florida. Just don't meet on Saturdays and we're all good.

Brother Rick, Happy Birthday!

Thanks Jim for your philanthropic work with the Wreaths Across America. You set the bar very high for the rest of us.