mike@mikelilley.com

Here’s what ‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ actually means

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If you’ve heard people chanting “Let’s go, Brandon!” or seen someone with a shirt or hat sporting the seemingly-jovial message lately, you might be wondering who Brandon is and why so many people are rooting for him.

In this case, the phrase isn’t actually supporting a guy named Brandon. Instead, it’s a euphemism that many people in conservative circles are using in place of saying “F*** Joe Biden.”

The origins of the meme go back to Oct. 2, when race car driver Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race and was being interviewed by NBC reporter Kelli Stavast. In the background, some in the crowd can be heard chanting “F*** Joe Biden,” though Stavast says “you can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’ ” in her broadcast.

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Significant solar flare’ prompts G3 Geomagnetic Storm Watch

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The sun emitted a “significant solar flare” on Oct. 28 and because of it, the Earth is under a G3 (strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch until Oct. 31, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The solar flare was categorized as an X1.0-class flare, according to NASA. “X-class denotes the most intense flares, while … Read more

Significant solar flare’ prompts G3 Geomagnetic Storm Watch, NOAA says

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The sun emitted a “significant solar flare” on Oct. 28 and because of it, the Earth is under a G3 (strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch until Oct. 31, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The solar flare was categorized as an X1.0-class flare, according to NASA. “X-class denotes the most intense flares, while … Read more

“Rust” crew member dead after shooting incident involving Alec Baldwin

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A female crew member has died and another injured following an accident involving a prop firearm on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” according to a law enforcement. According to the Santa Fe County Sherrif’s Office, the prop firearm was discharged by actor and producer Alec Baldwin, 68. The female victim was identified … Read more

Super 16 High School matchups in Orlando

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District champions could be crowned and career records broken Friday night in Week 9 of the high school football regular season.

Tavares hosts Eustis in a Class 5A battle of Lake County rivals who have gone nearly two decades without a district title. The Bulldogs can claim the trophy outright for the first time since 2004 with a win.

Eustis, district champs in 2005, likely needs a win Friday and another next week vs. Mount Dora to end its drought. The Eagles won four in a row against Tavares from 2015-18 before the Bulldogs scored a 22-20 win in 2019.

Four district matchups between Sentinel Super 16 teams will help paint the postseason picture moving forward.

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Ocoee allows Chews A Puppy to bypass county pet sale ban

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The city of Ocoee’s reworked pet-sale ordinance was widely panned Tuesday night by more than two dozen animal welfare advocates who tried but failed to persuade city commissioners to stick with a county ordinance that will outlaw the retail sale of puppies, kittens and bunnies beginning next summer.

The hotly debated Ocoee ordinance passed 3-2 with Mayor Rusty Johnson leading the way to benefit a city pet shop.

The new rule allows one store — Chews A Puppy on West Colonial — to keep selling puppies and kittens after the county ban kicks in June 22.

Unless the county rule is overturned in court, Chews A Puppy would be the only pet shop lawfully permitted to sell puppies not only in Ocoee but also in Orange County and throughout most of Central Florida as Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties have adopted similar bans on retail pet sales.

Frustrated animal-welfare advocates, who lobbied for Orange County’s ban, vowed to keep fighting.

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Colin Powell, Who Shaped U.S. National Security, Dies at 84

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A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of state and national security adviser, Mr. Powell died of complications of Covid-19, his family said.

President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony in 1987 announcing that Mr. Powell, right, would succeed Frank Carlucci, second from right, as the administration’s national security adviser. Mr. Carlucci was succeeding Caspar Weinberger, far left, as secretary of defense.

Colin L. Powell, who in four decades of public life served as the nation’s top soldier, diplomat and national security adviser, and whose speech at the United Nations in 2003 helped pave the way for the United States to go to war in Iraq, died on Monday. He was 84.

The cause was complications of Covid-19, his family said in a statement, adding that he had been vaccinated and was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., when he died there.

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