Former Cubs manager...

...Don Zimmer died at age 83. His obit in the Times described him as:

...the stubby, Popeye-muscled baseball lifer with the unforgettable jowls whose passion for the game endured through more than 60 years as a player, manager, coach and adviser...

You may think Zim's greatest moment in baseball was the "fight" he got into with Pedro Martinez in 2003 (above).

But I'd have to go with (my emphasis):

On Aug. 16, 1951, while playing for the Dodgers’ farm team at Elmira, N.Y., he married his high school sweetheart, the former Carol Jean Bauerle (known since childhood as Soot), at home plate under a canopy of crossed bats held by his teammates.

The New Yorker cartoon of the day:

In case you haven't...

...been following the U. S. Senate race down in Mississippi (and why on earth would you?), it looks like the Republican primary will now move to a runoff between the incumbent, Sen. Thad Cochran (left), and his tea party challenger, Chris McDaniel (right).

State Sen. McDaniel, like most tea partiers, wants to "reduce federal spending." Unfortunately, Mississippi, like most red states, receives more federal money than it sends to Washington in taxes -- over twice as much. Whoops! (The Magnolia State is one of the biggest beneficiaries of our generosity.) 

Or as Gail Collins said in her column this morning:

...you’re not supposed to remind people that their state is way more dependent on Washington than the average food stamp recipient.

If the Republicans get beat...

...in 2016 as I expect they will (the only thing that can come between Hillary and the Oval Office is another recession), look for someone like Neel Kashkari, above, to become the face of the new GOP.

Who?

You may remember him as the guy who administered the 2008 bank bailout under Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Oh, yeah.

Kashkari finished in second place yesterday behind Gov. Jerry Brown in California's "jungle primary."

From a piece in NationalJournal:

"He's definitely a victory for people who are trying to expand the Republican Party beyond the hard-core base," Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said.

In a state where 60 percent of the population is nonwhite and Republicans make up just 28 percent of registered voters, Kashkari offers a fresh face. The former Goldman Sachs employee voted for President Obama in 2008 and describes himself as a nonpracticing Hindu who's accepting of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He intends to keep his focus squarely on jobs and education.

As members of the tea party die off, new figures like Kashkari should take their place. Only then can the GOP become a competitive national party again.

Just to show you all...

...I'm still alive (although buried under moving boxes), here's a great scene from the series Louie. Can you believe this kid, Ursula Parker, is only ten years old? Check this out:

There’s no Hollywood trickery involved, Ursula has actually been playing the violin extremely well from a very young age.

Ann B. Davis, who played Alice...

...on The Brady Bunch, died at age 88.

Hello Chicago!