So there I was, doing my work thing this morning and who do I see slinking his way along the east yard wall?

The cat.

Yep, that cat.

And what did the cat have as an added cat feature? Why, a shiny gold name tag hanging around his furry cat neck! Like some souvenir he might have brought back from a month-long stay in Cabo San Lucas, Tahiti, or the Virgin Islands. I mean, dude looked tanned, rested, and ready to once again raise havoc on the bird and lizard population of the neighborhood. Completely at ease, not a care in the world.

“You sonofabitch!”, I yell, and the cat looks in the direction of my window. He can’t see me, but he could sure hear me.

This afternoon I walk to the mailbox and sure enough, the “MISSING CAT!” poster has been taken down.

The prodigal cat has returned.

I see my neighbor John on the way back to the house and mention all this to him. He says he noticed the other day a brand-new pile in his front yard where the cat used to do his business.

“Doug”, he says, “I thought I was dreaming. But I guess he’s back. That sonofabitch. There is one good thing, tho”, says John with a twinkle in his eye.

“What’s that?”

“That shiny new ID tag makes a damned fine target for someone to shoot at.”

Been sick as a dog these past few days since coming back from Massachusetts – one reason why I hate to travel on planes during the winter, BTW – so I haven’t had a clear enough head to post following Donald Trump’s runaway win in Nevada and the latest in a series on contentious Republican debates which have been nothing but political theater and zero on substance. I’ve been wanting to post a couple of thoughts about the conventional wisdom which has been wrong from the outset and will continue to be wrong throughout this campaign season.

1. The entire mainstream media and GOP establishment have completely lost their collective heads over Donald Trump’s candidacy. They don’t like it, they don’t understand, they can’t even begin to imagine how someone in his position is still standing. You see it every night on FOX (especially Megyn Kelly), CNN, and, to a lesser extent, MSNBC. You see it in conservative blogs I used to admire and frequent such as National Review Online (which has completely lost its collective heads and sense of restraint when it comes to Trump) and Hot Air, whose ownership (Salem Communications) is completely in bed with the GOP establishment in pushing a Marco Rubio candidacy from the start.

2. The problem is that what these folks don’t see is that the people Trump is bringing into the ratings numbers, stadiums, and voting booths are folks who have been left out of the political process, left to feel completely unwanted and unrespected by politicians in both parties equally. Sundance at Conservative Treehouse calls it the UniParty syndrome, where Republicans and Democrats, and to a lesser extent, liberals and conservatives alike are more than willing to let bygones be bygones and play the political game for what it’s worth and for their own livelihoods, self-worth, and well-being. I get it, and were I in their position I probably would too.

3. The conventional wisdom that could never have imagined a Donald Trump candidacy, that predicted on any number of occasions a Trump peak, flameout, ceiling, or whatever it is you want to call it, will gaggle together after tonight’s debate and proclaim Marco Rubio the winner for the way he went after Trump. And expect the same from the mainstream media over the next couple of days. It will all be about how Marco is surging. Don’t buy it.

4. Like he has in every other previous one, Donald Trump won this debate. Which means, in his position, everyone else loses. Actually, I though John Kasich was at least somewhat tolerable, although I’ll slice my throat if he mentions being the son of a mailman one more time. You’re a Republican establishment shill, John – just admit it!

5. Conventional wisdom has been wrong from the outset and will continue to be wrong. What did you learn about Marco Rubio tonight in the way he went after Trump? What did you learn about Ted Cruz tonight in the way he went after Trump? To the political and mainstream media establishment – the same establishment that is still trying to figure out where they went so wrong with Jeb! Bush, and are pushing comments by Mitt Romney (of all people!) about Donald Trump’s taxes! – it will be through the lens of how politics is typically played: this political charge, that political charge, who drew blood and how much – the usual stuff.

6. In this unconventional political year my guess is that most folks outside of the die-hard Rubio and Cruz supporters (which, no doubt, there are sizeable numbers within the Republican party) will see the attacks by Cruz and Rubio unfavorably, leading to declines in poll numbers for both. I tried to keep an open mind for a while but then it got so tiresome hearing the desperate attacks by two shrill Chihuahuas nipping at Trump’s pant leg at every moment. In my mind it would have been far better had one or both of them mixed in a few complements about the folks Trump is bringing into the political process; instead, my feeling is that their performances simply reinforced what people hate about politicians to begin with.

7. Bottom line is I think in the days ahead you will see Trump extend his leads in the Super Tuesday states. I might be wrong, but unlike the mainstream political punditry since the very outset of this process I haven’t been wrong yet. The Trump phenomena – and there is no way to call it anything but – is the result of a powerful and yet not fully understood or respected combination of folks who despise Washington and the political UniParty that rules over the political and media establishment, and the common disaffected folks who Trump speaks to on a personal level that neither Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz could ever aspire to. These folks see things through an entirely different series of lenses to the point where everyone is talking past each other.

8. How it will all turn out remains to be seen, but the next three weeks are going to be bloody for the Republican establishment. You’ve seen it increasingly in the past two debates and it’s only going to get worse. The GOP establishment (of which Cruz and Rubio firmly cast their lots in with tonight) are afraid – deathly afraid – of what Donald Trump’s candidacy stands for, and they know time is running out very quickly for them. Me, I love to see these cockroaches squirm; while I’d love (and fully expect to see) Trump elected President this November, if the GOP establishment is ripped to shreds over it and then burned to the ground and its fields salted like the Romans used to do that would be good enough for me.

Happy National Margarita Day! I think I’ll clear out my schedule enough to have me one.

Jimmy Buffett’s iconic tune that catapulted his career into orbit is an interesting story all in itself.

What a great final round at Riviera that was yesterday. And that after passing a kidney stone, of all things. It would be hard to think winner Bubba Watson shouldn’t be a- if not the – favorite going into Augusta in just a month’s time.

If true (and you never know when it comes to Tiger Woods) this sure doesn’t sound good.

My link to that Mark Steyn video continues to reverberate around the Goodboys Nation weblog universe – I should have offered a warning that once you get “I thought I saw a pussycat” in your head it never stops. BTW, here’s the back story on the video – it’s as intriguing as the video.

Tomorrow it’s back to the Valley of the Sun. Until then, Buenos noches, amigos!

Congratulations to Donald Trump who smoked the opposition in South Carolina. He’s in a great position right now, but the incoming he’s about to receive from the GOP establishment and mainstream media now that they see him as a real danger to win the Republic nomination is going to be nothing short of blistering. I hope he’s ready for it.

Hasta la vista, Jeb Bush. You hear all the mainstream media and establishment folks lamenting his departure from the race saying that this was just not his year, but the fact is he was always a lousy candidate, running a campaign using strategies and tactics that no longer apply in today’s social media world and political landscape. The GOP establishment thought they would shove another limp-wristed, spineless and low-energy candidate like John McCain and Mitt Romney upon the party once again but Donald Trump single-handedly torpedoed that fantasy. GOP voters rejected the very idea of a Bush “dynasty”; sooner or later the country at large will do the same thing to the Clintons.

You can’t find a more intriguing Sunday on the PGA Tour at Riviera with the likes of big-hitters Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, and Dustin Johnson all in the hunt. It ought to be great theater.

One of the great things about my various music collections is that they are continually evolving as new artists and tunes are discovered. Case in point: fellow Goodboy “Doggy Duval” McLaughlin pointing out my latest “Bayou Country” collection would be enhanced by the music of the New Orleans-based band The Radiators. They’re pretty good. In addition, my “Tropical Breezes” collection (I should market to every Mexican and Latin restaurant and metrosexual fern bar out there) continues to be the greatest and most eclectic collection of music ever assembled, so let me tell you a story:

Last Wednesday night I had a dream that I needed to pick up a book on Cuba ahead of my “chew and screw” visit back to Massachusetts. I’m not sure why – I’ve got a bunch of books on Cuba at home. I’m at the airport bookstore on Thursday and find a piece of fiction called Cuba Straits. It’s OK enough – I’m not really a fiction guy, but there on page 90 is something about a singer named Omara Portuando. Hmmm…I say. I go over to her Amazon.com music page and I love her stuff – some of it sounds like music Linda Ronstadt might have used as an influence for her wonderful but unheralded Frenesi album.

A couple of songs for the weekend in the above vein, by Linda and Omara.

As those who follow this blog probably know, even though I’m a Episcopalian turned Roman Catholic I’m no fan of this Pope Francis fella. To me, he’s nothing but a globalist / Marxist / communist wolf in sheep’s clothing. There isn’t one – not one – statement he has made since taking over for my main man Pope Benedict that I agree with. And so, as a fan of Donald Trump and a supporter of his candidacy for the Republican nomination, it gladdened my heart to not only hear the Pope attacking The Donald and his Christian faith (to whatever extent that might be) for his plan to build a wall on our southern border, but Trump not mincing words in his Twitter response to the Pope’s comments. As they say in the news biz, let’s go to film:

First, here is what the Pope said:

“Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ At least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people. And then, a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.

This is not in the Gospel.

As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt”

…and here is Trump’s Twitter response:

If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.

The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story – he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation.

For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.

Ouch. I mean, how good is that? Especially with just days before the South Carolina primary. Never mind the fact that, as a big Evangelical state (only 7% of residents are Roman Catholic), having a spat with the Pope and the Vatican over immigration isn’t exactly going to do him harm – in fact, I’m guessing his poll numbers go up another five points between now and Saturday’s primary.

But let me have a whack at this so-called “religious leader”‘s comments. First of all, Pope Francis, last I checked there were four Gospels, not one. Secondly, wasn’t it Jesus Himself who said, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s”? (Mark 12:17) This Pope is hardly a biblical scholar; he’s much more interested in preaching from his high holy perch the redistribution of wealth among nations. One would think someone in his position would understand that even Jesus recognized the distinction between civil authority and the religious authorities of his time. And I would think a little more highly of what the Pope would say about a “border hawk” if in fact he himself didn’t live inside a walled city. Didn’t Jesus himself say “good walls make good neighbors”? (Of course not, that’s just me being snarky.)

But seriously, folks, one would think Francis has enough on his plate with pedophile gay priests and Christians getting beheaded by Islamic extremists to pick a fight with someone who not only won’t back down to anyone, but someone who has a far greater understanding of the challenges facing the United States’ southern border than someone who lives amidst the security and opulence of the Roman Catholic establishment. He’s a hypocrite of the highest order, and he really stepped in it this time.

One thing you can bet: this guarantees that once again The Donald will be sucking the air out of the room when it comes to press coverage over the next two days.

It’s gonna be a warm one again here in the Valley of the Sun, but a trip back home and to at least a bit of winter isn’t gonna be a bad thing. I know I’ll see some snow, then after a few days I’ll be ready for a return to palm trees and pinot grigio on the late night patio.

Has there ever been a President and First Lady more petulant and void of class than Barack Obama and his taxpayer-mooching wife? Whether it’s Trump or Rubio or Clinton or Sanders or Biden, surely the next President will have at least a heart and some sense of decency. The Obamas are a disgrace, a stain on the history of the country and the Presidency, and the sooner this country is rid of them the better off we’ll all be.

For a president not to attend the funeral of a Supreme Court justice is an act that goes beyond beyond despicable. It certainly makes you wonder what kind of people these two cretins really are. Which should tell the Republicans that the only message to send back to the White House if they try to nominate a Scalia replacement is, “Screw you, %$#@^%!”. Anything less would be unacceptable.

I’m hoping for good things from Hanley Ramirez this year.

I’ve added the tunes from Mark Steyn’s “Feline Groovy: Songs For Swingin’ Cats” to my playlist. It’s a keeper!

If you want to see just one example of why Donald Trump is where he is in the race for the Republican nomination, check this clip out. Can you imagine any other politician doing something like this?

We’re only 50 days from The Masters. I can’t wait!

…which also means that in two weeks time I can guarantee the first Goodboy will show his shadow and start pestering Exec-Comm for the first details of the 2016 Goodboys Invitational weekend. The way this year is already flying by it will be hear before you know it, fellas!

You look at the calendar and one day it’s Tuesday, then you look up gain and a whole week has gone by. With no blogging, even! Well I’m here to let y’all know I’m still around. We had our first 90-degree day today, the earliest in history, thanks to the El Nino year we’re having, and folks around here are already dreading that nice n’ easy slip upwards to the 100s in just a few weeks. That would make the summer here in the Valley of the Sun a very long one, for sure.

As I’m blogging right now Peach the rabbit is snoozing next to me. I’d love to get a picture of him because he sleeps on his side with his eyes kind of rolled up inside his head so that he looks dead. It would be very cool to snap a pic of him, but I don’t want to disturb him.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately on my golf game. I’ve played a bunch of rounds and seem stuck in the 98 to 103 range so my goal of bogey golf is still a bit a ways away. The good news is that the changes I implemented in my short game have finally come around and it is better than ever – right now I’m a scrambling fool! The bad news is that I’ve kinda lost that power draw my swing coach Alex Black and I had so finely cultivated last summer; what once was a thing of beauty turned into an ugly massive hook, and the fix I tried to implement has reintroduced a wimpy, Jeb! Bush-esque fade or, at worse, a shank. So there is still work there to be done to reclaim what has been lost.

One of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever received was the “Master and Commander” series of books by Patrick O’Brian, about the exploits of Captain “Lucky Jack” Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin during the Napoleonic wars. The movie Master and Commander – The far Side of the World was an excellent portrayal of the characters in the series, and while that particular book is something like #7 in the series (I’m presently on #4), some of the scenes they used were taken from earlier books in the series that I’ve already read. It’s truly amazing how O’Brian captures the life and culture of warfare and life during that era. There are actually 20 books in the series, so it will take me some time to get through them.

I’m convinced that Donald Trump is going to trounce the field in South Carolina. After that, he’s going to be hard to stop in getting the Republican nomination for president. Is he feisty? Boisterous? Passionate? Borderline obnoxious? Absolutely. But I believe he’s exactly what this country needs right now. Go Trump!

I used to like Ted Cruz but I’ve come to find him creepy and obnoxious in the way he and those around him ply his religious beliefs as if it his campaign were some kind of crusade. If he had just stuck to conservative principles I think he would have done better; now he’s virtually unelectable.

I’m also convinced Hillary Clinton will not only be indicted, but will drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination at some point due to “health reasons” (meaning, voters and the Party establishment have gotten sick of her). I fully expect Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee, and Mass. senator Elizabeth Warren as their VP choice. And The Donald and his VP choice Marco Rubio will beat them both like a rented mule come November.

Jeb Bush is an embarrassment. And to think this was who the GOP establishment had in mind for the 2016 nomination! The more I listen to Donald Trump, the more I’m happy to see him destroy the clowns that Republicans and conservatives have had to deal with these last three presidential election cyles. As I’ve said before, BURN IT TO THE GROUND!

Glenn Beck is a bat-$hit crazy, pathetic excuse for a whack job.

I’ve been playing my Bayou Country music collection a lot lately. One of my all-time favorite tunes that fits perfectly on it is Emmylou Harris and The Band doing Evangeline.

Now that I’ve got my Hawaiian and Louisiana music collections out of the way it’s time to start putting together my next one together, which will be gospel music from a whole bunch of sources. One of those sources I guarantee will be included will be Elvis, who (at least in my mind) could sing gospel better than anyone, bar none. Here’s just a little taste of how great (and in my mind, how most comfortable) he was singing the music that touched his soul the most.

Along those same lines I came across this concert version of the Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody filmed just weeks before his death. Geez, that guy had so much talent – he was the absolute best. Such a waste.

Those who frequent this blog might remember the battle royale between yours truly and the neighborhood cat that had fouled our back patio sandbox to the point where I ended up having to install a deck over it and around our Tiki bar. While that solution eliminated a favorite spot for the cat to do its duty, it didn’t stop the cat from still making its pathetic, appointed rounds, and I would still see the cat walking on top of the walls between us and our neighbors looking agitated and annoyed in its usual pissed-off state. Every now and then I’d creep up on it on the side yard looking longingly up at the lemon and lime trees for birds to catch and a glass of water at it, forcing it to do panicked 6-foot vertical leap over and into our neighbor Keith’s yard.

A week ago I had been thinking I hadn’t seen the cat lately. And so you can imagine my thinking when I went to the community mailboxes last Thursday and saw a sign taped to the side. And there it was, underneath the large “MISSING CAT” letters, a picture of that cat in full domestic bliss, laying on a couch just like in the pic above, looking all innocent and cuddly on a blanket, a little cat toy next to one of its paws – the same paws that used to scratch its way through our sandbox sand to cover its urine and bury its poop.

I happened to see my neighbor John while walking back to the house:

Me: See the sign on the side of the mailbox? The missing cat flyer?

John: Yeah, how about that? I was just saying to Mary the other day that I hadn’t seen that damned cat in a while and wondered what happened to it.

Me: D’ya think a coyote got it?

John: Maybe. Or just as likely someone finally found a way to do the cat in – there are a lot of gun-owners around here.

Now I know that this unfortunate (and sad – we know what it’s like to lose a cat and go through the hopeless missing flyers bit) set of occurrences and am well aware it isn’t the cat’s fault – the family should never have allowed the cat to roam as freely as it (once) did. Still, you’ll excuse me if I find it kind of hard to gin up tears at the cat-astrophe that appears to have taken place.

And it’s just as well, otherwise I’d probably end up going the full Mark Steyn.

[UPDATED:] In case you’re interested in the genesis of the Mark Steyn video featuring his cat Marvin – a great cat name, BTW- which I have to admit I’m addicted to because it’s so outrageous, I’ve linked to it here. Because I’m a sucker for arrangements I beg of y’all to listen for the guitar work throughout the piece: not only do you get a funky “loony tunes” solo, but there’s some great grunge guitar work throughout. The Police would be proud, I think. And knowing Steyn as a New Hampshire resident, it wouldn’t surprise me if the video wasn’t filmed somewhere around the Manchester airport.

Aaaaannnnnddddd…just in time for end of Mardi Gras and the arrival of Lent I finally finished my new music collection of Louisiana music I’m calling “Bayou Country”. Lately I’ve been Jones-ing for a trip back to New Orleans and I’ve also been slowly but gradually working on getting our entire CD collection uploaded to the PC, so it was this natural confluence of events that led me to just grab all the CDs I’ve collected during past visits to The Big Easy and augment them with music from a bunch of artists I’ve also enjoyed over time.

You think of Louisiana music and its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi, and Texas, and all kinds of influences and genres come to mind: Cajun, zydeco, blues, Dixieland, folk, country, and rock, and cross-overs between each. And, since meandering its way through all of this is the overwhelming presence of the Mighty Mississippi, Louisiana music to me is as much feel and mood as anything else: memories of quiet bayous, the craziness of Bourbon Street, the quaintness of the Vieux Carre, big levees along the Mississippi, trips to antebellum plantations, cane fields swaying in a late afternoon breeze, Grand Isle, a thunderstorm building over Avery Island and the Gulf. Hence, my collection includes a wide variety artists from A (Allen Toussaint, Alison Kraus) to Z (Zydeco Force, Zachary Richard – no relation!) that includes among others:

Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers
Al Rapone
Allen Toussaint
Ambrose Sam
Amede Ardoin
Bo Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
Beausoleil
Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds
Buckwheat Zydeco
C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Chris Ardoin and Double-Clutchin’
Clifton Chenier
D.L. Menard
Dave Ruffner
Dewey Balfa
Dr. John
Emmylou Harris
Eric Tingstad’s “Mississippi”
Geno & John Delafose
Jimmy Buffett
Keith Frank
LaTouche
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Mark Savoy
Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas
Natural Encounters: Songs of the Mississippi
“O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack
Queen Ida and The Bon Temps
Rockin’ Dopsie
Rodney Thibodeaux and Tout les Soir
Rosie Ledet
Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band
Terrence Simien
The Band – selections from “The Last Waltz”
“The Big Easy” soundtrack
Zachary Richard
Zydeco Force

My old blogger pal Rob might also have a couple of artists to toss my way – after all, most of these kinds of collections (like my previous Tropical Breezes, Exotica, Hawaiian Style!, Zen Surf, Ragtime, Mood Indigo, and Palm Springs Lounge Lizard) are continually evolving as new artists are identified, but if you look up the above artists on Amazon or the Internet you’ll get an idea of just how unique the music of Louisiana is and the mood it creates. Why, I can practically taste the beignets at Café du Monde and those sizzling chargrilled oysters at the Acme Oyster House!

“Hey Mister, toss me some beads!”