The Iowa Hawkeye and Missouri Tigers football programs finally are getting their Music City matchup Dec. 30, four years after COVID in 2020 derailed their first scheduled faceoff — returning the University of Iowa to Nashville just two years after it shut out Kentucky 21-0 in the 2022 Music City Bowl.



That quick return to Tennessee has travel package sales off to a slower start than previous years, according to Duane Jasper, CEO of the Travel Leaders/Destinations Unlimited agency coordinating Hawkeye bowl game packages.


“We believe that is because we were just in Nashville two years ago,” Jasper said, adding, “We are still taking orders and expect that to continue this week and into next week.”




Similar to the Hawkeyes’ Music City appearance two years ago, Destinations Unlimited this year isn’t offering a chartered fan flight — which had become a decades-old tradition until a crew and pilot shortage in 2022 prevented the travel agency from securing a chartered plane.


The chartered flight tradition resumed last year for the Hawkeyes’ third New Year’s Day appearance in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando. But Jasper said Nashville is closer to Iowa — about a nine-hour drive — making a charter flight less imperative for fan turnout.


“Nashville is within driving distance relative to some other bowl games,” he told The Gazette. “And we learned in 2022 that many fans would drive.”

Hawkeye travel options​

Although Destinations Unlimited isn’t getting a chartered flight to Nashville this year for Hawkeye fans, it still is offering a three-night air package using a “group air” contract for a block of 20 seats on a commercial flight.


That air package sold out in just a few hours, Jasper said.


“But we can still book flights for fans and have space for all other packages.”


Other package options include a three-night round-trip motor coach deal with accommodations in the Omni Nashville, Hawkeye Huddle access, game day transportation, a game ticket, and souvenirs — costing between $599 for a child to $1,799 for a single adult room.





ADVERTISING



A three-night hotel package — without travel to and from Tennessee — costs up to $1,599 for a single adult room.


“The number of motor coaches has not yet been determined,” Jasper said. “But we took two in 2022,” when more than 200 Hawkeye fans joined the travel agency’s group.


UI Athletics said it received a 5,000-ticket allotment for this year’s bowl and began accepting ticket orders from everyone — season ticket holders to the general public — on Monday. Although it will take orders all the way up to the eve of game day, the department will start filling orders Dec. 13 based on priority.


“The athletic department will communicate with those requesting tickets early next week,” UI Athletics spokesman Matthew Weitzel said.


The Hawkeyes have won four of their last six bowl games and boast an 18-17-1 all-time record in bowl appearances. Against Missouri, the Hawkeyes are 6-7 all time — although all but one of those games occurred more than a century ago between 1892 and 1910.


The only recent meeting was a 27-24 Iowa victory.

My league is thinking on starting a new tradition for last place. Any funny stories from your own leagues or ones you know of?

Guyana is revisiting a dark history nearly half a century after U.S. Rev. Jim Jones and more than 900 of his followers died in the rural interior of the South American country.
It was the largest suicide-murder in recent history, and a government-backed tour operator wants to open the former commune now shrouded by lush vegetation to visitors, a proposal that is reopening old wounds, with critics saying it would disrespect victims and dig up a sordid past.
Jordan Vilchez, who grew up in California and was moved into the Peoples Temple commune at age 14, said in a phone interview from the U.S. that she has mixed feelings about the tour.




Jordan Vilchez, who grew up in California and was moved into the Peoples Temple Guyana commune at age 14, is shown in Richmond, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2018. She said recently that Guyana has every right to profit from any plans related to Jonestown, "… but I just feel like any situation where people were manipulated into their deaths should be treated with respect."
Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
She was in Guyana's capital the day Jones ordered hundreds of his followers to drink a poisoned grape-flavored drink that was given to children first. Her two sisters and two nephews were among the victims.

​

"I just missed dying by one day," she said.
Vilchez, 67, said Guyana has every right to profit from any plans related to Jonestown.

"Then on the other hand, I just feel like any situation where people were manipulated into their deaths should be treated with respect," she said.
Vilchez said she hopes the tour operator would provide context and explain why so many people went to Guyana trusting they would find a better life.
The tour would ferry visitors to the far-flung village of Port Kaituma nestled in the lush jungles of northern Guyana. It's a trip possible only by boat, helicopter or plane; rivers instead of roads connect Guyana's interior. Once there, it's another 6 miles via a rough and overgrown dirt trail to the abandoned commune and former agricultural settlement.





The Peoples Temple compound is shown in November 1978 after the bodies of the Rev. Jim Jones and more than 900 of his followers were removed.
Associated Press
Neville Bissember, a law professor at the University of Guyana, questioned the proposed tour, calling it a "ghoulish and bizarre" idea in a recently published letter.

"What part of Guyana's nature and culture is represented in a place where death by mass suicide and other atrocities and human rights violations were perpetuated against a submissive group of American citizens, which had nothing to do with Guyana nor Guyanese?" he wrote.

Despite ongoing criticism, the tour has strong support from the government's Tourism Authority and Guyana's Tourism and Hospitality Association.
Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond said the government is backing the effort at Jonestown but is aware "of some level of push back" from certain sectors of society.






U.S. military personnel place bodies in coffins at the airport in Georgetown, Guyana, after collecting the remains of more than 900 members of the People's Temple who committed suicide in Jonestown, Guyana on Nov. 18, 1978.
Associated Press
She said the government already helped clear the area "to ensure a better product can be marketed," adding that the tour might need Cabinet approval.
"It certainly has my support," she said. "It is possible. After all, we have seen what Rwanda has done with that awful tragedy, as an example."

Rose Sewcharran, director of Wonderlust Adventures, the private tour operator who plans to take visitors to Jonestown, said she was buoyed by the support.
"We think it is about time," she said. "This happens all over the world. We have multiple examples of dark, morbid tourism around the world, including Auschwitz and the Holocaust museum."

Say adios once trump takes office and there is none left except taco johns and Taco Bell.

Wonder if their development is why Leeper and Pascuzzi have entered the portal. Also wonder if the development of our young DL players is why Crawford and the kid from West Branch entered the portal.

Three Eastern Iowans drowned Sunday when strong water currents pulled their fishing boat on the Mississippi River too close to a dam and capsized it, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.



The department identified the three Monday as Mitchell Thomson, 30, of Stanwood; Nicholas Thomson, 40, of Tipton; and Kirk Stout Sr., 61, of Marion.


They had been fishing in a restricted area close to a lock and dam near Jackson County’s Bellevue about 11 a.m. when witnesses saw their 20-feet-long, flat-bottom boat fill with water and overturn.




Some attempted to rescue the men, who were not wearing life jackets.


"Several of them raced up there, but what can you do without putting yourself in some serious danger?" asked Lucas Dever, an Iowa DNR conservation officer who responded to the incident.


The witnesses were able to pull one person from the water who had floated away from the dam, Dever said. Emergency responders retrieved the other two after they floated downstream.


Two of the men were determined to have died in the water. Another was taken by ambulance to a Dubuque hospital, where he died.





ADVERTISING



The Mississippi River has a series of more than two dozen dams that create a staircase of water. At each dam site, there is a lock that acts as an elevator for boat traffic, raising the vessels up a step when traveling north or down a step when going south.


There are safety signs and lights that warn smaller fishing boats from getting too close, and those areas are off-limits for fishing, Dever said.


"Anytime being around the dams, it's important to have your life jackets on and to stay out of the restricted areas, because of the heavy, dangerous currents," he said.

...that piss me off. Me making dinner and then wife complaining how I prepared it before she even knows how I made it.

I may be going outski soon

On Wednesday, Tyler Barnes shared that Iowa "may or may not" add one or two more players to their 2025 recruiting class.

We break down which positions and which prospects the Hawkeyes will likely target before the class is wrapped up.

STORY:

Interesting short video

Login to view embedded media

With Donald Trump set to return to the White House next month, President Joe Biden plans to deliver a speech Tuesday on his own economic legacy. Biden is scheduled to appear at the Brookings Institution in Washington for remarks on his “middle-out, bottom-up economic playbook.” Meanwhile, several of Trump’s picks for key administration posts — including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary — are continuing to make the rounds on Capitol Hill, seeking to shore up support among Republican senators.

What a ****ing idiot. And he is planning to erase 150 years of the 14th amendment with an exec order. But with this Supreme Court who knows even though the constitution says there is only one way to change the constitution.

But most every country in S America and many in Europe have birthright citizenship. His little scary lies dont fool anyone.

Prolly giving them Pepsi to cure... After they try to drink from the public trough,..

Login to view embedded media

My home away from home is Phoenix Tempe area. Big day for the ASU to win a conference championship!! Go Devils! Beat those clowns and suck on their tears.

Best button ever. I never used it for almost a decade. Ah, it brings peace. Om shanti.

Thoughts
Beautifully shot
Shit ton of politics I forgot about
Can definitely see how the story of Lawerence influenced Frank Herbert
Peter O’ Toole was one good looking guy.
That ridiculous nose on Anthony Quinn
The French Ambassador stole a lot of scenes with little dialogue

POS:

A week after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Elon Musk said his political action committee would “play a significant role in primaries.”

The following week, the billionaire responded to a report that he might fund challengers to GOP House members who don’t support Trump’s nominees. “How else? There is no other way,” Musk wrote on X, which he rebranded after purchasing Twitter and moving to boost conservative voices, including his own.

And during his recent visit to Capitol Hill, Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy delivered a warning to Republicans who don’t go along with their plans to slash spending as part of Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency.

“Elon and Vivek talked about having a naughty list and a nice list for members of Congress and senators and how we vote and how we’re spending the American people’s money,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Trump’s second term comes with the specter of the world’s richest man serving as his political enforcer. Within Trump’s team, there is a feeling that Musk not only supports Trump’s agenda and Cabinet appointments, but is intent on seeing them through to the point of pressuring Republicans who may be less devout.

One Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal political dynamics, noted Musk had come to enjoy his role on the campaign and that he clearly had the resources to stay involved.

The adviser and others noted that Musk’s role is still taking shape. And Musk, once a supporter of President Barack Obama before moving to the right in recent years, is famously mercurial.

“I think he was really important for this election. Purchasing Twitter, truly making it a free speech platform, I think, was integral to this election, to the win that Donald Trump had,” said departing Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, the president-elect’s daughter-in-law. “But I don’t know that ultimately he wants to be in politics. I think he considers himself to be someone on the outside.”

During the presidential campaign, Musk contributed roughly $200 million to America PAC, a super PAC aimed at reaching Trump voters online and in person in the seven most competitive states, which Trump swept. He also invested $20 million in a group called RBG PAC, which ran ads arguing Trump would not sign a national abortion ban even as the former president nominated three of the justices who overturned a federally guaranteed right to the procedure.

Musk’s donation to RBG PAC — a name that invokes the initials of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of abortion rights — wasn’t revealed until post-election campaign filings were made public Thursday.

Musk has said he hopes to keep America PAC funded and operating. Beyond that, he has used his X megaphone to suggest he is at least open to challenging less exuberant Trump supporters in Congress.

Another key Trump campaign ally has been more aggressive online. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose group Turning Point Action also worked to turn out voters for Trump, named Republican senators he wants to target.

Sign up for the Spin: Your essential take on local politics.



By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive emails from Chicago Tribune.
“This is not a joke, everybody. The funding is already being put together. Donors are calling like crazy. Primaries are going to be launched,” Kirk said on his podcast, singling out Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Jim Risch of Idaho, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina as potential targets. All four Republican senators’ seats are up in 2026.

For now, Musk has been enjoying the glow of his latest conquest, joining Trump for high-level meetings and galas at the soon-to-be president’s Mar-a-Lago resort home in Palm Beach, Florida. The incoming administration is seeded with Musk allies, including venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks serving as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar” and Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Musk’s SpaceX, named to lead NASA.

Musk could help reinforce Trump’s agenda immediately, some GOP strategists said, by using America PAC to pressure key Republicans. Likewise, Musk could begin targeting moderate Democrats in pivotal states and districts this spring, urging them to break with their party on key issues, Republican strategist Chris Pack said.

“Instead of using his influence to twist GOP arms when you have majorities in both houses, he could start going after Democrats who vote against Trump’s agenda in states where the election was a referendum for Trump,” said Pack, former communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “Otherwise, if you pressure Republicans with a primary, you can end up with a Republican who can’t win, and then a Democrat in that seat.”

still six months away but seems like the best version of what the Walking Dead could have become

Login to view embedded media

One of the tailgates I frequent had a terrible ending on black Friday. His speaker system crapped the bed and I don't think that it is coming back. I told him that I would buy a bigger system for next year but wanted to see if we had any audiophiles in the house.

I am picking up some used Peavey 215s tonight from marketplace and wanted to see what amp/mixer I should pair them with. I would like to get something with BT built in, a connection for a separate powered sub if needed, and enough power to push them how they are supposed to be. The are rated at 700W program with a peak of 1400 and run at 4 ohm. Will need to also buy some stands and cables so any recommendations there would help as well.

Suggestions

It appears that many people think they know how the the defense department works, but they don’t have a clue.

Our biggest industry is defense and weapons.

We don’t give other countries weapons. They buy them.

The US trains the world how to use the weapons at their expense, not ours. It’s been a symbiotic relationship for years. It’s also a trade negotiation, exchange for certain rights in their countries. Military bases for one.

The DOD considers this a win win situation because the buyers are testing our weapons for us at no cost to us, including loss of life.

This has been going on through multiple administrations, both Republican and Democrat.

But now, because Trump has told people other countries are stealing from us and living off of us, everyone that follows him wants to gut the DOD.

That would be the greatest, singular destruction of the economy.

I’m sure that people have heard of favored nation status, etc. to an extent, we also work off a barter system.

Try and wrap your brain around a few things. “In exchange for not charging duty on your products, you let us operate in your country”. And I’m not talking about IBM operating in France in exchange for no duty on French goods.

What will Republicans prioritize when they regain their government trifecta next month? A tax overhaul? Energy production? Border security?
Nope. The GOP’s first order of business: getting rid of math.

Make sense of the latest news and debates with our daily newsletter

The fractious Republican Party can agree on few things these days. But one of them is near-unanimous frustration with the pesky laws of arithmetic. That cutting future taxes would reduce future tax revenue, for instance, perpetually aggrieves them.

A large chunk of the 2017 Trump tax cuts expires next year, and extending these provisions will be extremely expensive. (That’s why Republicans scheduled them to sunset in the first place: to lower the price tag.) The Congressional Budget Office, the legislature’s official scorekeeper, estimates a full extension would add more than $4 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade.



That’s true even after considering any potential growth effects on the U.S. economy. It might also understate the full cost of GOP tax plans, since it doesn’t include Trump’s other pricey promises: slashing corporate taxes; eliminating taxes on Social Security, overtime and tips. Those would add trillions more in red ink — awkward for a party that fancies itself fiscally responsible.

Follow Catherine Rampell
Republicans’ solution: invent a New Math, Cold-War-style.
Incoming Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) says that since tax rates are currently low, extending these expiring rates another decade shouldn’t count as costing anything because it wouldn’t “feel” like a change. Crapo’s tax-writing counterpart in the House, Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Missouri), agrees.

This is like saying even though your car lease is up this month, leasing another car should count as free because you got used to having a car. Alas, that is not how budgets work.


Elsewhere Crapo has said that Republicans haven’t paid for similar tax cuts before, so they sure as heck shouldn’t start now. Indeed, he opposed an earlier, fiscally responsible bipartisan deal to expand the child tax credit and certain business breaks because it was paid for.
The CBO’s current budget-scoring methods don’t support Crapo’s fiscal fantasies. But not to worry: House Republican leadership has also been scrounging around for dirt on the CBO, in an apparent attempt to preemptively discredit their ref.

This is hardly the only recent case of GOP legerdemath.
On “Meet the Press” last Sunday, Trump complained that the United States is allegedly “subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year,” and “subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion.” He appeared to be referring to the size of our bilateral trade deficits with these countries.


Some problems with that: First, paying companies abroad for the products they sell you is not a “subsidy,” in the same way that paying your local supermarket for its bananas is not a “subsidy.” It’s a transaction. Does Trump expect Mexico to just give us avocados, free?
Second is a subtler, more sinister issue: the specific numbers Trump used.

Trump’s figures do not match the official statistics put out by the U.S. Census Bureau or the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative — they are much larger. This is probably because Trump and his MAGA allies have joined forces with some protectionist progressives in trying to change how trade figures are calculated to exaggerate the size of trade deficits. (The short explanation is: They want to stop counting goods that are first imported and then reexported as exports, without making a symmetric change for imports.) This change may sound small and technical but it would massively distort how we measure and understand economic changes — and is symptomatic of Trump’s habit of torturing the data until it confesses.

This country has lost its damn mind.

And I’m here for it.


Login to view embedded media