Past His Prime?

King James remains a mighty good forward but even he can't defeat Father Time. LeBron is not as quick as he once was, but he is likely more savvy than he ever was, as he has accumulated more on-court experience than any other player. Does Philadelphia automatically become a championship contender because the King has arrived? I would say not necessarily, but if Embiid can stay healthy the entire season, he and James make a formidable tandem, surrounded by what should be a very solid team. 

The Winning Hand

Let us assume that figures touted by Muslims are correct or nearly so. Two billion Muslims can't be wrong or stopped or even resisted very long. The true face of Islam is not that bend over backwards cab driver who helped you navigate New York City (but also gladly voted for his fellow Muslim to be Mayor). The face of Islam is the terrorist who strangled the Bibas baby. The face is the Iranian prison guard who participated in raping the nineteen year old street demonstrator he is going to hang from a crane in the morning, because he believes he is taking away her chance to enter heaven by robbing her of virginity before he takes her life. Islam is no "religion of peace" but a death and murder cult that is trying to capture the entire world and seems to be winning in that effort. 

Three Years Hence

On this anniversary marking three years since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel, the alleged power in the region, has NOT been able to vanquish Hamas or take full control of Gaza, even though the Jewish State is backed by the superpower of the world, the United States. Sure, the IDF has martyred many terrorists, but for each the Jews kill, ten rise up to resist in the name of the shahid. There was no question at the end of 1945 who had won the war in Europe with German cities flattened, the country divided in occupation, and every woman who was not hideous to look at in the Soviet Zone raped by Russian soldiers. Payback for the crimes of Nazism bore a heavy price. Revenge on Hamas for their atrocities has not ended their ruthless rule and control over much of Gaza. Israel has undeniably failed. 

The Good France

Students and schools are only a pretext for the rioting rending France. Yes, some school age people are indeed participating in the violence, but for every schoolchild, there are young Muslim men, and then there are Africans who are primarily though not necessarily Muslims, and finally there are whites, largely in their twenties who are Communists and/or ANTIFA, or anarchists. Some "kids" are indeed a part of it, but the vast majority of thugs on the street are not protesting for better education and environments to learn in, but to bring down France. 

Not Quite There

My hometown Tennessee Titans made a game of it in the end on the scoreboard at least, but still chalked up another loss. Our defense did manage to knock Lamar Jackson, one of the most dynamic quarterbacks, out of the game, but his backup went eight for nine passes against the Titan defense that seemed especially porous throughout the contest.  Zay Flowers, who is a solid receiver, looked like an all-time great with the Titans allowing catch after catch, and face it, Zay is a feisty competitor who plays his heart out despite being undersized, but he should not be able to put up Randy Moss numbers against an NFL opponent. Baltimore is a contender for the playoffs, while our boys seem now to be a lock to earn a very early draft pick. 

My Titans Take

Tennessee will be pecked to death by the Ravens today. Lamar Jackson is better than Cam Ward, more athletic and with vast experience. Tony Pollard is a solid NFL starting running back, but Derrick Henry is arguably the best at that position in a generation, well above the ability that the Titan rusher possesses. I would say the only place in the starting offense or defense where Tennessee has the edge is Jeffery Simmons will be the best lineman on the field on either side of the ball for either team, but that will not stop Baltimore from a dominant victory over my hometown pro football franchise, that is sadly among the worst in the League.  

Our Evil Tinkerbell

It would be hard to argue that at points in her life Christa Pike was not bad beyond redemption, as when she participated in the murder of another young woman also in her late teens, and when she and a fellow inmate tried to kill another offender imprisoned with them. That being said, I do not think the moral compass of my home state should be guided by vengeance alone, but also must be tempered with mercy. I think Governor Lee, if he has any decency at all, should now commute Pike's sentence to spare her any future second attempt at execution. If she survives the effects of the two lethal doses she was administered (that in my mind became cruel and unusual punishment), she should be left to live out the course of her natural life without fear of further torture. Pike, if she lives through this at all, will likely face profound and lifelong damage and disability from what was already done to her, with cognitive and motor impairment almost certain. She has been made to suffer too much already, and our term-limited Governor must take this into account and not keep a sword of Damocles over her head, if she somehow emerges alive from hospitalization and rehabilitation from the State's clumsy attempt at killing her.