October 24, 2026 - The Week in Review
Posts from the week of October 17 thorugh October 24, 2026
We are racing towards the November 3rd election, and I really can't even any more. This is just from memory:
- Trump is reprising the hits, by not filling ever smaller venues in ruby red precincts and states (the latest in South Carolina to support Darline Graham), while he is increasingly glitching on stage.
- The flap about the Amy Acton ad run by the Ramawamy campaign in Ohio that is splitting the coherence of the Republican party, with some of the old guard pushing back, but the rising MAGA faction pumping their fists and going "hell yeah"
- The reports in the NY Times that the administration is aggressively planning a major operation in Iran with factions arguing that a few days of strikes will be enough to finally bin the Iranian leadership, and this feels like a desperation to not have to admit defeat.
- The clusterfuck of the fuckery of Starlink/Starshield impairing Ukraine's ability to defend and respond to the attacks by Russia.
- The complete capitulation of Trump to Russia, not even a fig leaf of separation, just a full throated endorsement of Russia and the obvious playing of Witkoff and Kushner by Russia with the dangling of billions of dollars of deals and then the disregard of any interests of Ukrainians
- The shameful corruption, this time two beats with the Parking Garage lawyer Alina Habba, first the spat between her (new) husband who claims Ric Grennel took essentially a $6M bribe intended for the Kennedy Center and redirected it, and then the billionaire who funelled a $50M contract to Habba for a clean pardon.
And really that is barely scratching the surface.
So, this week, I still have my posts on Reagan scheduled to drip out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but I am interleaving them with music posts, my own sanity ritual...
Sunday, October 18: A music post. Unless you are a guitar nerd, you probably don't know the name Guthrie Govan, but he is probably the most versatile guitar god you never heard of. His long time trio, The Aristocrats, drops new albums every few years, and they are always worth the listen.
Geoff Anderson
Monday, October 19: In 1976, as his time as California Governor was winding down, and Gerry Ford was running to keep the presidency for Republicans, Reagan decided to mount a primary challenge to Ford. It didn't go well, but it did provide a lot of valuable learning for his successful run in 1980.
Geoff Anderson
Tuesday, October 20: I was this years old when learned that the song every budding guitar player in the 1980's cut their teeth on, Hideaway, from the 1966 album John Mayall's Blues Breakers wasn't an original. The song was first recorded by Freddie King, and I learned this whilst listening to an instrumental blues playlist. And frankly, I like the Freddie King version. In this post, both versions are embedded, listen and choose for your self:
Geoff Anderson
Wednesday, October 21: Back to Reagan. Having his ass handed to him in '76, he went about assembling a coalition, and he was successful in fusing business interests, the christians who wanted their segregation but the realization that Abortion was the issue that could galvanize the faction. This episode lays out how Reagan and his handlers put together the winning bid.
Geoff Anderson
Friday, October 23: The closing argument, one for the ages, "Are you better off..." was effective. But also a confluence of world events, and the Iranian hostage crisis were tailor made to sabotage Carter. Add to that the economic doldrums (largely rooted in decisions by Nixon, and exacerbated during Ford) and the tough medicine that FED chair Paul Volker started dishing out, and the stage was set for the fuddy-duddy.
Geoff Anderson
From the Shitpost Dude, he takes in a classic bowling match whilst his crew argues in the the room:
Jeffery Lebowski
