Freddy Mercury was a beautiful, extremely talented soul.

We were lucky that he shared his art and talent with us. We are all little better off because of it. Thank you Freddy. May you rest in peace. Your art will live on.

Listen to Rachel Maddow's podcast, "Bag Men". Really interesting.

The story should have been made into a movie. Where's Barry Levinson?

Some advice for the UK and Brexit: Apply the Larry David rule.

In his early career, Larry David was a writer on SNL. Frustrated that his ideas weren't making it on the show, he loudly quit and stormed out of the building on a Friday. On the following Monday, he showed up for work and acted like nothing happened. This later became an episode of Seinfeld.

So, UK, just apply the Larry David rule. Act like you never voted for Brexit. Act like it never happened. When pressed, just say it was a vote about a breakfast treat or something.

Is the music of today worse than it was 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years ago? Or am I just old?

Fine. I'm old. Show me today's equivalent to Stevie Wonder, to Earth Wind & Fire, etc.

And get off my lawn. I'm cold.

How cars keep you poor

So, I started watching Handmaid's Tale

Watched three episodes. Wow, is it dark. Real dark. It's a little toooo much for me.

Will the Rams have more wins than all other NFC West teams combined

As of right now, they're tied. Rams have 8 wins. The combined wins total of the Seahawks, Cardinals, and 49ers is also 8.

Anyone see that TV ad for the app that filters out fake news?

If so, what is that app named?

Good thing those Caravan people aint here killing Americans in Synagogues, Yoga Studios, and Bars.

That's an American's job.



--Note--
The point of my post is to point out the irony of raising fear and concern about the Caravan when Americans are mass killing other Americans on a fairly regular basis. We over-react to a remote potential threat because the people are of a different race, but we under-react to actual existential threats because the perpetrators tend to be White males.

The successful Democratic electoral strategy: Inside, Middle, and Outside

For Democrats to win key swing states in 2020, the formula is this:

1. Inside Tier: Maximize turnout of their base of support that's centered in large urban population centers, Miami, Atlanta, Raleigh, etc. Get the base pumped up and excited.

2. Middle Tier: Win solid majorities in the suburban regions just outside of these urban areas. Aim for double digit majorities. Here's where Trump helps us the most. He's too vulgar for America's suburbs. These are parents raising children and want their president to be more of a role model.

3. Outside Tier: Peel off support in the exurban and rural areas. This is where Trump's base lives. Democrats cannot win here. However, they don't need to if they win points 1 and 2. What they need is to peel off just enough support to put them over the top. The entire focus should be on the young voters in this region. Appeal to them and write off anyone over the age of 35. Micro-target the young out here. Use social media to reach out to them.

One criticism that I heard about Beto was that he spread himself a bit too thin. Spent a little too much time in areas where he had zero chance of peeling off enough support. If he had spent more time in the Inner and Middle tiers, maybe he could have pulled it off.

That's the strategy in a nutshell. The question for 2020 is which candidate is best at executing this strategy.