Randy Minchew

@laettnerbball Well played, Christian.

#GoDuke 👍🏻

@jtuckermartin Tucker, welcome to our Blue Devil family.

When you definitively prove to everyone you live in an absolute bubble

@BenSasse Senator, Mr. President, Your strong, concise, and inspirational words are more moving than anything I have read for years. We need true exemplars in the World and you are one. Decades from now, fathers will tell their sons, “I want you to grow up to be like Ben Sasse was”.

Friends- This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die. Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do. I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all. Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can’t begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we’d temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer — and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she’s off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she’s a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we’ve been driving off-book for six years — but now we’ve got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints. There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come. Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say “hope” when what we mean is “optimism.” To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son. A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears. Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet. Remembering Isaiah’s prophecies of what’s to come doesn’t dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity’s perspective: “When we've been there 10,000 years…We've no less days to sing God's praise.” I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape. But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned….For to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9). With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices, Ben — and the Sasses

If the ACC was a proper conference the refs would know exactly what to do here. You think the B1G or SEC would mess around with a Playoff spot? Make the call here head office. Duke is a direct threat.

Thank you, Representative Wexton. It was an honor to testify in support of your H.R. 6210 on behalf of the George C. Marshall International Center before the Federal Lands Subcommittee. We very much appreciate your leadership on this legislation.

@RepWexton @NRDems @NatlParkService Thank you, Representative Wexton. It was an honor to testify in support of your H.R. 6210 on behalf of the George C. Marshall International Center before the Federal Lands Subcommittee. We very much appreciate your leadership on this legislation.

Today @NRDems subcommittee advanced my bill to designate Dodona Manor in Lessburg as a @NatlParkService affiliated area! This is a big step to honor the legacy of an American hero, Gen. George C. Marshall, & support the important educational work the site does in our community.

@gcmarshall_org Seen in Downtown Leesburg. I strongly support this initiative. Now, we have to figure out the appropriate technology to get the job done.

@FeinsteinBooks_ Dear John, I enjoyed your article on the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament. But before we leave the ACC Tournament, I thought I would share this interesting statistic with you.

Wishing all of you safe, joyous, and Happy Holidays with your families. . .

@GregHabeeb I think they call that “asking for it”.

Common General Assembly freshman “mistake” I’m seeing a lot this year. “Mr Chairman, this bill passed unanimously in the other body and I hope you’ll do the same.”

Congratulations, Coach @jcorriga on your great work in guiding the Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball Team to an ACC Tournament Championship.

@jtuckermartin ACC Statement: “Upon review of the final play of regulation during the Duke at Virginia men’s basketball game, there was an incorrect adjudication of the playing rules. The play should have resulted in two free throws for Duke at the end of regulation.”

18 hours later I’m here: UVa played Duke in yet another incredibly close, dramatic game between the rivals. At end of regulation there was a stunning (to some) no call/bad call that benefited one of the teams. The team? UVa. Really? Yes. And I’m remarkably at peace with that.

Crossover at the GA always gave us the chance to socialize with colleagues. Among the best were the opportunities to cruise over the JPJ Arena with “Mr. UVA”, Jimmie Massie for Duke-UVA games, I would have loved to have been there with him yesterday (despite the bad call!).

Dear @AugensteinWTOP, your resolve to beat this is every bit as strong as your great reporting. With you.

Congratulations to Leesburg’s own Jeremy Roach being named Captain of Duke University’s Men’s Basketball Team for the 2022-23 year.@DukeMBB @TownofLeesburg goduke.com/news/2022/10/6…

Tonight, we attended the @JacksonBrowne concert at @Wolf_Trap , but I could not stop thinking about Sid @TheDewberryWay Dewberry. In 1982, the Filene Center suffered a devastating fire and some doubted the NPS would rebuild. Sid had a different idea. tinyurl.com/2p9etvpz

By vote of 100-0 in the Senate and 420-3 in the House of Representatives, Congress revoked Russia’s Most Favored Nation Status yesterday. We now know which three members of the House constitute the Kremlin Kaucus. clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022124

Love it! The road in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, was given an unofficial new name: President Zelensky Way.

Dear Russian Federation Canadian Embassy @RussianEmbassyC, You have suffered a significant security breach. Apparently, a demented huckster has gained control of your Twitter account. #FreeUkraine.

Ovi, you have been a superb member of our Washington, DC sports community, but last night you had a great opportunity to speak out about the atrocity in Ukraine and blew it. @ovi8 #Ukraine espn.com/nhl/story/_/id…

While driving home after the outstanding @GlennYoungkin Inauguration, I stopped by Amy’s Cafe in Falmouth for breakfast because it reminded me of my many meetings there with my friend and mentor @SpeakerHowell whose leadership of @VaHouse and @vahousegop will never be forgotten.