So, here’s some of what I’m thankful for, not just today, but most of the time.

I’m thankful the Tea Party whacks are taking control of the Republican Party so that a Democratic victory is assured.

I’m thankful for Sheriff David Clarke because he helps keep the Milwaukee entertainment quotient pretty high.

I’m thankful Ryan Braun was finally forced to tell the truth.

I’m thankful that more and more people in the city are calling their alderperson to complain about the horrible condition of our streets. Power to the People.

I’m thankful for such good taste in music that at the recent American Music Awards not only did I not know the winners, but I also knew hardly any of the presenters.

I’m thankful for George Strait, George M. Cohan (dead), George Harrison (posthumously) and George Frideric Handel (also dead).

I’m thankful for the following couples: Jim Pickering and Tami Workentin, Howard Fuller and Deborah McGriff, John and Linsey Sieger, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne (posthumously), Mark Clements and Kelley Faulkner, John McGivern and Steve Brandt.

I’m thankful the owners of Silk Exotic keep trying to put a strip club in Downtown Milwaukee.

I’m thankful I don’t work for the Admirals, Marquette or the Bucks (all of whom oppose the strip club) for being prime examples of what’s wrong with Milwaukee.

I’m thankful the Packers didn’t try to bring Brett Favre back when Aaron Rodgers got hurt.

I am thankful for Channel 6 and Channel 12 who prove that local TV news can really be serious and good and do interesting things without pandering or hiring bargain basement personnel.

I am thankful for women – Candice Swanepoel, Sandra Bullock, Erin Andrews, Joyce Garbaciak, Ashley Banfield, Natalie Gulbis, Venus Williams, Heather Mitts, Alana Blanchard, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Dana Perino, and, of course, Susan Begel.

I am thankful for the young people who help keep me alert and engaged as I approach 70. Some of them are: Charlie Bodendein, Molly Smoko, Molly Snyder, Bobby Tanzilo, Alex Bodendein, Andy Tarnoff, Jim Owczarski, John Steinmiller (both of them), Matt Mueller, Jeff Sherman, those kids in the AT&T ads and Casey Smoko.

I am thankful that Scott Walker and Paul Ryan will probably square off in the race for the Republican presidential nomination because it could spell the end of a career for one of them.

I am actually thankful for the people who read my column and leave comments that use all kinds of derogatory language insulting my heritage, eyebrows, intelligence, judgment, political opinions, appearance, language, biases, age and taste because they prove important things to me about the world in which we live.

I am thankful for online places, like OnMilwaukee.com, where I can find out things that I used to find out in my important local newspaper, which we no longer have.

I am thankful for "Dancing With the Stars," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Voice," "Project Runway," "House of Cards," "Nashville," "American Idol" (waning), "Nova," "The American Experience," "The Bachelor" and almost all televised sporting events (except hockey and Mixed Martial Arts), including, but not limited to, poker, darts, strongest man competitions, women’s college softball, rugby, bowling, horse racing, chess, wheelchair basketball and tennis, arm wrestling and lumberjack stuff.

And, oh yes, I am thankful for all of you who read OnMilwaukee. 

Happy Thanksgiving!