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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: A Hunter on the Chisholm Trail

We'll have more scavenger hunt material soon; there just wasn't time to do that AND put all of this other material together.

Anyhow, for the headline theme last week, we gave the hint: "[T]here may appear to be a couple of misspellings or typos in the headlines. In fact, there are not." Then, on Saturday, we added "If we had used the theme for this upcoming Friday (the 23rd), we would have done everything possible to fit Santos (well, actually, 'Santos') into a headline. However, we couldn't do it this week, because it would not have been accurate to the theme." And now, the key, courtesy of reader B.S. in Ottawa, ON, Canada:

It appears each headline references an American political figure who was convicted of a crime:

Dueling Banjos: Trump and Harris Each Hold Public Events—Ahem, Donald Trump.

Debates: Coming to Your TV This Fall (Probably!)—Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall was the only person convicted for the Teapot Dome scandal. It feels like I hear about the Teapot Dome scandal every few months on Electoral-Vote.com and never anywhere else. Fall was definitely the one that made me sure I was on the correct path.

Trump Campaign: Lewandowski Is Back; Can Manafort Be Far Behind?—Convicted felon Paul Manafort was Trump's campaign manager in 2016.

Another Walz Mini-Scandal: Initial DWI Story Looks to Have Been a Snow Job—Rep. Donald Snow (R-ME) was imprisoned in Maine for embezzling from estates where he was executor, but was later pardoned.

Which Side Are You On?: Kennedy Tries, Fails to Make Nice with Harris Campaign—Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury without making himself known, thanks to his actions at Chappaquiddick.

The Media: What's with the DeLay in Publishing the Purloined Documents?—Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) was convicted of money laundering with his campaign, but had that overturned by friendly courts.

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: 10 Cloverfield Lane—Rep. Thomas J. Lane (D-MA) got re-elected to the House after spending time in prison for tax evasion, which doesn't really give me confidence in the upcoming election.

This Week in Schadenfreude: Musk Is in over His Head, No Ifs, Ands, or Butz about It—Earl Butz was Secretary of Agriculture under Tricky Dick and Jerry Ford with some choice words about Black Americans that went public. He was later sent to prison for tax evasion.

This Week in Freudenfreude: Here's to the "Great White North"—Oliver North, he of Iran-Contra fame, who was convicted of three felonies, and then got the convictions vacated.

We could not use "Santos" last week because "George Santos" was not formally convicted until Monday of this week. As to today's headline, Duncan Hunter was convicted of misusing campaign funds (but did not have to serve his prison term thanks to a Trump pardon).

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

T.F. in Craftsbury Common, VT
M.B. in Albany, NY
D.L. in Springfield, IL
L.D. in Bedford, MA
G.K. in Blue Island, IL
B.S. in Ottawa
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
S.F. in Pemberton Borough, NJ
J.H. in Sturbridge, MA
J.B. in Waukee, IA
J.S. in Germantown, OH
M.L. in West Hartford, CT
E.K. in Skaneateles, NY
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
J.S. in Columbia, MO
A.P. in Kitchener, ON, Canada
I.G. in Manhattan, NY
M.S. in New York City, NY
P.A. in Redwood City, CA
C.S. in Tampa, FL
D.M. in Oakland, CA
M.B. in Melrose, MA
J.W. in Newton, MA
J.S. in Pittsburgh, PA
A.C. in Burlington, VT

M.W. in Newington, CT
A.L. in Jackson Heights, NY
F.Y. in Ann Arbor, MI
C.L. in Boulder, CO
E.H. in Calgary, AB, Canada
M.H. im Ottawa, ON, Canada
T.M. in New York City, NY
M.M. in Manahawkin, NJ
D.L. in Uslar, Germany
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
D.M. in Austin, TX
D.D.R. in Portland, OR
M.W. in Frederick, MD
E.G. in Rosemount, MN
J.S. in Long Beach, CA
J.A. in Redwood City, CA
L.B. in Veldhoven, the Netherlands
M.M. in Wylie, TX
R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY
R.S. in Milan, OH
D.W. in Manhattan, MT
W.H. in San Jose, CA
S.S. in West Hollywood, CA
F.B. in Santa Monica, CA
E.Z. in Charleston, SC

As long as answers were in the right general vicinity, we allowed them.

For this week's theme, it relies on just one word per headline, and the abortion item is not part of it. The Trivial Pursuit category is either History or People and Places (either is about equally justifiable). As to a hint, we are feeling very blau that we could not find a way to get Braun into a headline.

If you have a guess, send it to us at comments@electoral-vote.com, ideally with subject line "August 23 Headlines." (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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