A few items to gnaw on (not literally, but since I’ve been prepping for my colonoscopy since last night I’m ready to gnaw on just about anything) to kick off a new week:

Spent Saturday and Sunday cleaning the kitchen from ceiling to floor and top to bottom. I’m officially ready for the start of the holiday season. Are you?

We had ~ two dozen visitors for our first trick-or treat since being out here in the Valley of the Sun. Zombies were very popular, a Frankenstein rode up to our door and rode away on his skateboard, and I was amazed at how many parents dressed up along with their kids. Was also amazed at how well behaved and polite all the kids were, saying “trick or treat” and “thank you” almost to a person. My sister-in-law Tam and I took turns handing out the candy, and no one raised a fuss.

This doesn’t sound good for any sighting of Tiger Woods at a PGA event anytime soon. I’d be amazed if he even attempted to come back before the U.S. Open in June. At this point you have to wonder just how much Tiger will be willing, let alone able, to put up with what it’s going to take to get him to where he can compete at the level he’s been accustomed to.

R.I.P. Fred Thompson. He seemed like a genuine fine man, loved him in the Hunt For Red October.

Power Line blog’s John Hinderaker is right: it’s time for Jeb! Bush to go quietly into the night. Just like if Hillary had any other last name but Clinton she’d be nowhere near the Democratic candidate for President, if Jeb’s last name wasn’t Bush he wouldn’t be in the race for the GOP’s nomination. He was just an OK governor in Florida, has no charisma whatsoever, and most importantly, he’s another milquetoast candidate whom the mainstream media would crucify relentlessly without any punching back. He’s just another John McCain and Mitt Romney – establishment candidates who won’t raise a fuss.

Along those same lines, I think it’s time GOP chairman Reince Preibus showed some guys and winnowed the GOP field down to six or seven candidates: Trump, Carson, Cruz, Rubio, Fiorina, Christie, and (if he insists) Bush. It’s simply impossible for the Republicans to show the country the diversity of its field with a bunch of retreads and candidates with absolutely no chance of winning to gum up the works.

Truly concerned that that Muslim refugee crisis enveloping Europe is going to lead to destabilization and some very bad things happening. Both the U.S. and the world are going to look back on Barack Obama’s presidency as the catalyst for some truly bad stuff happening, the likes of which we can’t even imagine.