I don’t usually struggle to come up with titles. I frequently write posts because I have a good title. This morning, I drew a blank before consulting with Mr. Google. I learned that today is World Rabies Day. It was declared in 2007 to raise awareness about rabies. I had my title.

The featured image is a publicity shot for the 1941 Universal horror classic The Wolf Man. Were Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. rabid? You never can tell with a werewolf. They don’t let you get close enough to check. One thing I know for sure is that if a werewolf bites you, a rabies shot is in order.

The Dubious Debate: Speaking of rabid, Fox staged a Republican Vice Presidential debate last night. It’s technically a presidential debate but the frontrunner didn’t show up. He was in Detroit pretending to be pro-union. That event took place at a non-union parts plant. That’s part of the Indicted Impeached Insult Comedian’s plan to lie his way back inro the White House. Trumpers are low information voters, so they’ll buy it. They believe the BIG LIE, after all.

I’m a bad pundit. I’ve only watched one or two GOP  primary debates since becoming an internet writer in 2005. The last one was in 2012 and included Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. I swore off GOP debates on the spot and have never looked back. I value my sanity.

Not watching is better for my blood pressure, which spikes every time I see Nikki Haley and Tim Scott pretend they’re not auditioning for Veep.

The Fetterman Rule: In the face of a government shutdown crisis, Senators rose up in revulsion against John Fetterman’s shorts and hoodie look. The main sponsors were The Man of La Manchin and Willard Mittbot Romney.

These stuffed shirts want decorum restored to the Senate. If that’s the case, why do they put up with JD Vance? Perhaps it’s because Vance is a hillbilly, not a hippie. The Senate has had many hillbillies, Fetterman is its first hippie.

The best line about the Fetterman Rule came from the tallest Senator himself:

“I just don’t want the world to burn down,” he told a reporter when asked why he didn’t enter the chamber. “The Republicans think I’m going to burst in through the doors and start break-dancing on the floor.”

Hippies do the darndest things. Just ask Neil Young:

MSNBC Host Blues: There are changes afoot at MSNBC. Former White House and State Department press secretary Jen Psaki is taking over Chris Hayes’ Monday night slot. I’m not an Inner, so I’m not sure if this is a demotion for Hayes or just a promotion for Jen. As my late father Lou would have said of her: Jen Psaki is Greek. She’s doing very well, you know.

Until recently, I had no idea that Nicolle Wallace married the NYT’s Michael Schmidt last year. I’m a semi-regular viewer of Deadline White House and don’t recall her ever mentioning the marriage. For someone who is always banging on about transparency, this strikes me as opaque, which along with bombshell is one of Wallace’s favorite words.

Schmidt is a semi-regular guest so Wallace should mention that they’re married on a semi-regular basis. I’m so disgusted that I’m not doing the Lou “She’s Greek” thing for Wallace. Instead, we’ll turn to the 5th Dimension:

There’s another MSNBC host on the spot: Alicia Menendez, That’s right, she’s the Garden State Grifter’s daughter. As long as she stays off that story, I have no problem with her staying on the air. Hopefully, MSNBC won’t find itself in a Chris Cuomo situation with Ms. Menendez whose brother rode their padre’s coattails to Congress.

My motto as a blogger is: there’s a Kinks song for every occasion. I have one for Chris and Bob Jr. It begins with this line, “The world’s going crazy and nobody gives a damn anymore.”

The Whistleblower Twins: While we’re on the subject of MSNBC, I’ve watched Cassidy Hutchinson interviewed by Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, and the aforementioned Mrs. Schmidt. My ex-cable news wife (Maddow) has never been a good interviewer: her questions tend to be declarative sentences that end in a period, not a question mark. The best interview was conducted by Lawrence for whom Cassidy has a soft spot because of this:

The man on the left is Watergate whistleblower, Alexander Butterfield. He’s the guy who told the Ervin committee that the Oval Office was bugged.

After her testimony before the J6 committee, Cassidy Hutchinson saw Butterfield on The Last Word praising her for her courage and poise as a witness. Her people got in touch with Alex who doesn’t have people. There’s a seventy year age gap between the two but they’ve become friends. Whistleblowers of a feather flock together.

Here’s a clip of the Butterfield portion of the interview:

Let’s circle back to the post title and the featured image: Happy World Rabies Day. The last word goes to The Kinks with Ray Davies’ werewolf song: