Third Place Game

France and England despised each other. The gritty British staved off conquest by Napoleon. The French shuddered at the notion of ripping Europe apart through BREXIT. Whenever these once mighty nations had a chance to have a go at each other, they were all in, but with the World Cup today being a fight for third place, they seem not to care. It was a fairly close run thing for the English who stayed competitive with Argentina, and if this were the game for the gold, everyone would be excited, but for the bronze, the bloom is off the rose. 

Safe to Assume?

Republican states with nary a whiff of election scandal gladly cooperated in the Trump administration's probe of voting, and even in these apparently "clean" states, several hundred thousand foreigners and dead folks were found on voter rolls. It does not require widespread fraud to steal an election but only targeted vote rigging in areas where the vote might be close. There a few thousand corpses and aliens casting ballots might well determine the winner. If they had nothing to hide in the DemocRAT machine states, they too would have voluntarily participated in cleaning up voter rolls and helping Federal authorities make sure elections are fair. In the event, they are demonstrating they have plenty to hide by doing just the opposite. You know who does not want free and fair voting? Those stealing elected office by cheating, and it is not Republicans doing that. 

The England Collapse

Once again, when push came to shove, British footballers folded. They could have never quit as Argentina clearly kept fighting, but it was easier for the Three Lions to take a cat nap at the precise moment that they had to stand tall to prevail. The English are skilled no doubt, but at this World Cup, they decided to shrink when they needed to rise, just as they have in every World Cup except 1966. 

The Spanish Steamroller

I will concede that France is the more athletic side, They are faster than Spain, yet the Spanish have dominated them of late. The reason for this is simple. It is discipline. While the French with great elan are sometimes haphazard in their play, Spain rarely makes mistakes, not never, because the Spaniards are of course human, but when they do, Spain has the concerted effort team mindset to overcome whatever error an individual competitor has made. Does that mean Spain will trounce England or Argentina? Not necessarily because a different opponent offers unique challenges, but I would not bet against the Spanish side. 

Mullahs Missed Mark

All the theocratic tyrants that enslave Iran needed to do to survive was be patient and bide their time until Trump left office, and then they likely could have continued their project to make the rest of the globe submit to Shiite Islam, but they apparently can't wait to bring their Twelfth Imam from his hiding place in the well and must immediately foment the world chaos and violence to bring him forth now. They had to have realized that continuing attacks on shipping would place the bullseye on them, yet they are so fanatical that is exactly what they want. To them the seventy-two virgins are real and an incentive to have thousands (if not millions) killed, and Trump is reluctantly accommodating them after offering lifeline after lifeline to spare their lives and even let them keep their oppressive power, but these fanatics would not take "yes" for an answer. So I think Trump has little choice but to wipe them out. 

An Outstanding Actor

Long before the movie "Jurassic Park", I discovered Sam Neill in "Riley, Ace of Spies", then a television series being broadcast on our local PBS station. I though he was a fine actor and saw most of his performances after that. I read the sad story this morning. Of course with AI, we might see new work from Sam beyond the grave. 

A Tragic Passing

America lost a fine leader with the sudden passing of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. While we might not have agreed on everything, Senator Graham was always stalwart in supporting the Jewish State. He was as vocal in backing Israel as any American politician ever, and his advocacy for America's one true ally in the Middle East is irreplaceable and will be missed. G-d bless Senator Graham, who always blessed Israel.