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.