Sorry . . . You have to wade through a Temp Challenge to get to the political drivel.

More Typical "Political Tuesday" News & Commentary That You've Come to Expect Follows, But First . . . 

. . . A Special, Ultra-Comprehensive "Leckband Temp Challenge":  Week of Aug 18-21

According to the NOAA website @ 6/23a, CDT, here is the following data I read & interpreted.

Actual temperature & additional, relevant data & review (Note:  All temps in F!):
1) Sanborn, IA:  61 + flash flood warning [Reminder:  where my niece Christal lives] *
2) Norfolk, NE:  63 [where I live]
3) Eagan, MN:  64 [where my son Nathan lives]
4) Garrison, IA:  68 [where my brother Mark lives]
5) Lincoln, NE:  69 (tie) [where my daughter Sarah lives]
5) Beatrice, NE:  69 (tie) [where my sister Carolyn lives]
* I am omitting spouses, nieces, nephews purely in the interest of saving time & space. Nothing personal. OK?

Avg 4-day predicted high temp:
1) Sanborn:  71.25 (tie)
1) Eagan:  71.25 (tie)
3) Garrison:  74.5
4) Norfolk:  75
5) Beatrice:  79
6) Lincoln:  80.25

Avg 4-day predicted low temp:
1) Garrison:  56
2) Sanborn:  56.5
3)  Norfolk:  57.25
4)  Beatrice:  59.25
5)  Lincoln:  59.5
6)  Eagan:  59.75

Lowest predicted low temp (all on 8/19):
1) Sanborn:  49
2) Garrison:  50 (tie)
2) Norfolk:  50 (tie)
4) Lincoln:  53 (tie)
4) Beatrice:  53 (tie)
6) Eagan:  54

Lowest predicted high temperature (all on 8/19):
1) Eagan:  64 (tie)
1) Sanborn:  64 (tie)
3) Garrison:  66
4) Norfolk:  70
5) Lincoln:  73 (tie)
5) Beatrice:  73 (tie)

Highest predicted high temp, ranked from lowest to highest (all on 8/21):
1) Sanborn:  79
2) Eagan:  80
3) Garrison:  81
4) Norfolk:  83
5) Beatrice:  85
6) Lincoln:  87

Sharpest 1-day predicted loss--low temp (all predicted for 8/18-8/19):
1) Garrison:  -7 **
2) Eagan:  -5
3) Sanborn:  -3
4) Norfolk:  -2
5) Lincoln:  -1 (tie)
5) Beatrice:  -1 (tie)

Sharpest 1-day predicted loss-high temp (all predicted for 8/18-8/19):
1) Garrison:  -10 **
2) Eagan:  -4
3) Sanborn:  -3 (tie)
3) Norfolk:  -3 (tie)
3) Lincoln:  -3 (tie)
3) Beatrice:  -3 (tie)
** Is it possible that Garrison may be headed toward its own "Little Ice Age? 

Finishing #1 or tied for #1:
Sanborn X 4
Garrison x 3
Eagan x 1

Finishing #2 or tied for #2:
Sanborn X 7
Garrison X 4 (tie)
Eagan X 4 (tie)
Norfolk X 1

Finishing #3 or tied for #3:
Sanborn X 8
Garrison X 7
Eagan X 6
Norfolk X 3
Lincoln X 1 (tie)
Beatrice X1 tie)

Ratings ***
Gold medal:  Sanborn
Silver medal:  Garrison
Bronze medal:  Eagan
Tin medal:  Norfolk
Styrofoam medals:  Lincoln & Beatrice
*** I don't see how anyone could challenge my ratings today. Even my crack team of consultants was not as belligerent & argumentative as usual. Besides, as I've pointed out before, it's MY Temp Challenge, & I play by MY OWN rules!

NOTES:

• A legitimate question would be, what was I doing up @ 6:23 a.m.? ANSWER:  Lois had set the alarm for 5:30 this morning, since it was her 1st official day of school, & she felt that there were still things that she needed to accomplish in her classroom before the kiddies arrived.
• Another legitimate question would be, why didn't she let me sleep in? ANSWER:  She offered, but I had planned to get up when she did anyway, because (a) I wanted to make coffee for her *; & (b) someone was coming to pick me up & take me to the Grace Lutheran Men's TUE a.m. Bible study @ 6:45 or so anyway. * That's just the kind of husband I am. Plus, I could make her girly coffee for her, leaving me free to make manly coffee ** for myself later. ** Seattle's Best Dark #5. Glad you asked.
• A 3rd legitimate question could be, why do a Temp Challenge today in the first place? ANSWER:  Lois' theory for years has been that the weather might be fairly temperate in the days or even weeks leading up the first actual week when students report for school; then temperatures will get crazy hot. Traditionally, her theory has generally proven to be true, but if you carefully analyzed my data, you noticed that this year her theory did NOT prove to be true.
• A related legitimate ANSWER:  I wanted to do something to make Jesse & Christal feel extra special. It was the least I could do. Never let it be said that I'm not willing to do the least.
• A final legitimate question might be, is this not evidence of my OCD diagnosis?  ANSWER:  Sure.

For Those of You Who Quickly Scrolled Through or Skipped Completely the Aforementioned Material in Order to Get to Political Commentary, Here You Go!

Taglines from The Drudge Report on TUE 8/18/15, which caught my eye but not enough for me to actually read any further (farther?):

• "New count:  classified emails grow to 305" [This one & the next 2 refer to "she who shall not be named!"]
• "State Dept. finds 17,855 'Missing' [And, no, they're not talking about undocumented "workers"]
• "Campaign 'factcheck' backfires"
• "Claim:  High-frequency Internet use scrambling your brain" [I'm not saying this is political in nature, but it does explain a lot about some people who seem to be on FB . . . A LOT! I'm not naming names. You know who you are.]
• "Muhammad tipped to become top name in Britain" ["I'd like you to meet my sons:  Cecil, Norton, Cavendish, & Muhammad."]
• "California to seize farms for massive water tunnels" [In order to transport badly needed water to . . . wait . . . what?]
• "MYSTERY: Who's wearing dark cloak, dropping raw meat on playgrounds?" [I actually did open the article in order to determine where this was happening, which was some place in NC. I forgot where but had lost enough interest in the meantime to avoid going back to look again.]