Guilty, or Not Guilty? Yes. And No.

The president of Ukraine is guilty of being a pawn of Donald Trump.

He entertained Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pompeo and let them influence him into lying about his phone call with Trump (I refuse to call him president - hasn't earned it).

Trump is guilty but Mitch McConnell and his Moscow Choir will not find him guilty but that's OK, because Trump will have to run for reelection as an impeached candidate, something that will enrage, disgust and distract him from the real job of running the country, but he doesn't do that anyway, so ...

Moscow Mitch is running it, into the ground, by denying the American people opportunities at legislation, passed by the House, that would address our immigration, infrastructure, health care, prescription-drug pricing and voting-rights situations, among many others.

So if someone tells you the Democrats are not doing the people's business, don't believe it. The Do-Nothing chief executive is even pissed off at Fox News for not agreeing with him en totale.

Speaking of en totale, which Cubs will not be back next year? Theo Epstein says he's coming back, but is Joe Maddon, or will he take the fall for the failure and then look good in a Phillies, Pirates or Giants uniform next season, either back in his native Pennsylvania or replacing Hall of Fame-bound, multiple-time World Series champ Bruce Bochy, who is retiring.

Meanwhile, I'm coming back, to Chicagoland, around Thanksgiving, to cover basketball for the Daily Herald, as promised to my editor, John Radtke. In the meantime, I was honored to be interviewed by Eric Walters and his lovely assistant Christine about the disappearance of Keith Reinhard, my friend and colleague, dating back to my days at the genesis what is now Pioneer Press' Buffalo Grove newspaper. Eric, in conjunction with the Reinhard family, is producing Dark Side of the Mountain, a documentary that will explore the disappearance of Keith from tiny Silver Plume, Colorado. I spent part of a sabbatical semester in Silver Plume, talking to his friends and law enforcement and trying to generate other information that might lead to a conclusion as to what happened (OK, I went to a Rockies game too while I was there).

Is he dead? Did he run off and disappear? Was he murdered? Was he too close to a secret someone didn't want him to find? Will we ever answer any of those questions?

I only know I lost a friend and colleague who helped me launch my career, even though I was working for a competitor, as we grew close covering the same beat for 13 years before he disappeared. His Beatles parties are legendary.

There are split opinions over what happened to him and likely always be unless and until what happened is actually uncovered. If ever.

For his family, for all of us who knew and cared about him, I hope so.

Tonight, Sunday the 29th, at Flicka's in Scottsdale, I'm taking part in the Radio Free Phoenix Reunion and 15th-anniversary party, featuring bands we've featured on RFP as part of our playlists and special events over the years. Plus my shout-outs for most of the usual suspects on my shows (4-6 p.m., sitting in for Sharon Lynn Kelley, and my regular shift, 9 p.m. -12 a.m., all Arizona time).

Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash. Shanah Tovah.

Money, Power, Politics (with all due respect, Stephanie Ruhle)

This week, the Schloss-Blog is harping over money.

And power.

And politics.

Like, did you see how much MONEY some pro football players (and a wall) got this week and how much more powerful the already-powerful got?

Again.

Jared Goff, for instance, got a record contract, period. He's getting Aaron Rodgers money. He's getting Drew Brees money. He's getting Matt Ryan money.

Well, at least Rodgers and Brees have won a Super Bowl. Goff is getting $134 million over 4 years, including - are you ready(?) - $110 million guaranteed. That's more than Rodgers is getting guaranteed and twice as much as Brees is getting for two years, period.

Yo, Jared, call me when you win a Super Bowl. Defenses are starting to smarten up to you and your team's quick-paced, high-scoring procedures (see Bowl, Super, 13-3 loss to Patriots). You better win a Super Bowl soon.

Like this year.

Meanwhile, Ryan's favorite receiver, Julio Jones, got a record wide receiver contract, $66 million for three years while Ezekiel Elliott, who just wanted to hang in Cabo and skip training camp and preseason games, got $90 million. They probably deserve it. NFL owners make a lot of money, even through losing seasons (see, Cardinals, Arizona and 49ers, San Francisco), so the amount of money being thrown around should not be a surprise. The players - some very rich players - are the game. The owners are a bunch of rich guys - well, even richer guys.

But the POWER play here was by the Patriots. They didn't get Antonio Brown by accident. Brown requested his release from the Raiders.

On Instagram.

He wants a ring and the Patriots figure to help get him one. Except he's ineligible to play this week against the Steelers, where he started this calendar year, making this his third team this year. The Patriots only signed for one year after he forfeited some $30 million from the Raiders with his release.

But that ought to tell you how important it was to him to play for Belichick and with Brady.

What the POWERFUL want, the POWERFUL get in the NFL. Unless you under-inflate a football, that is.

The POLITICS of it all can make you sick. I mean, where's the money for the Bahamas? For the Carolinas? For the military bases that need childcare facilities for military families?

It's being transferred to build-the-wall accounts by our ignoble president.

Time to impeach the SOB.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Listen to my show on Sunday (4-6 p.m. filling in and 9 p.m.-12 a.m., my regular shift, both Arizona time) and hear your name called for "liking" the announcement of my being official herein on radiofreephoenix.com.