TOWSON, Maryland, Thursday, July 27, 2017 - This whole political situation would be a big nightmare if it weren't such a real nightmare and, to boot, a bigger one in the making.
All around these United States evil is fomenting. In North Korea, a pot-bellied maniac is in control of nuclear weapons. The "Supreme Leader" since 2011 is breaking his nation's neck trying to develop a missile that could carry a nuclear weapon to these United States.
In Iran, they are breaking their collective necks trying to develop their own nuclear bomb, which they have promised to detonate in either Israel or These United States, or, if everything goes their way, in both nations.
In Russia, the virulent leader watches as one of the two political parties in These United States pours on every imaginable insult about their leader, Vladimir Putin, which they think they need to do to rid themselves of the duly elected President of These United States.
Of course, there is no legitimate reason to get rid of USA President Donald Trump, but that is no impediment at all to the Ultra Far Left leaders of the Democrat Party. The only thing in the world that matters to these half-baked and ultra narcissistic Democrats is power.
Power! Here. Now. And at once. They want power. If they have to antagonize a nuclear power to get it, so be it.
Not that Trump is acting with complete logic, either. I have approved of everything he has done and every initiative he has taken. But this nonsense with Senator Sessions is just that, nonsense.
Senator Sessions or Attorney General Sessions, whichever name you like, came right out and admitted during his Senate Confirmation Hearings that he was going to recuse himself from the Russian thing. Instead of being prepared for such a development, Trump and his operatives did nothing. Everybody was stunned when he went and did it. Of course, the Attorney General owed a duty to the President to make sure he was prepared for the recusal. Sessions apparently didn't exactly make clear to Trump that he was going to recuse without warning. It was a very bad thing to do because it allowed control of the narrative to completely evade the new administration and leave the hideous Ultra Leftists running the Anti-Russian Show. I get sick every time Schumer and Pelosi stumble before a camera. And with this Russian nonsense, it is everyday.
And the whole thing is nonsense. Obama does everything in his power to screw the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He didn't even keep it a secret. But when the Russians tinker with our election, the Democrats, for their own sordid reasons, act like a holy crime has occurred. And the media, well, don't get me started.
The Attorney General's Recusal is now water over the damn and the last thing Trump needs is the charade he is playing with the very decent Mr. Sessions. There was a terrible mistake. But such a mistake should not ruin a good man. Move on, Mr. President. Get a Russian "Czar," if the pun can be pardoned, and take it to the dirty Ultra Leftists. Think seriously about firing Mueller unless he can assure you that he isn't ONLY going after the GOP.
Mr. President, only you know how much you can swallow if he is into your career as a developer. If he crosses the line, act. Being raked over the coals by Chuckie Schumer is a survivable event. Just ask President Bush.
Were the current situation dumped into my lap, I'd fire Mueller in a heartbeat. Every single attorney he has hired is a huge Democratic operative. I am willing to bet that that crew won't even consider looking at the Democrats. Mueller and company want to come out of this being heroes to somebody in Washington. If he screws both parties, everybody will hate him. He can't have that. You are Mueller's target, Mr. President. The longer you wait, the louder will the screaming be.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Update: Senators Collins, Murkowski, Portman and Capito Say They Oppose Scrapping Obamacare, but All Four Voted To Officially Scrap Obamacare in 2015
TOWSON, Maryland, Thursday, July 27, 2017 - I must state that I have absolutely no interest in hearing any excuses from the Republican United States Senators and those United States Senators who file as Republicans while virtually never voting as Republicans, for their abject failure to pass a law that they have promised the American people they would pass. These Senators have, to a man and to a woman, promised this for seven consecutive years; that is, ever since a previous Democratically-controlled Congress enacted the Obamashame health bill, commonly known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. This blog has mostly called the legislation 'Obamashame' because of the shame it heaps upon its primary mover, the former President. This 'Affordable Care Act,' was, in reality, anything but. Everybody knows of a neighbor, co-worker, or even the person in the mirror, who has received bills generated pursuant to this law which more than double from one year to the next. Others testify that they pay more per month for Obamashame than they do for their monthly mortgage premium. And an untold number of Americans have deductibles that are so high that they dare not ever hope to utilize the coverage. The 'Affordable' Care Act will burden a working family with premiums of over $1,000 per month while at the same time fixing the deductible at over $10,000.
And all of this 'beyond the pale' outrageousness is after the bald-faced lies told to Americans to get the damn thing passed in the first place. We all remember, "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and "if you like you policy you can keep your policy." It was later shown that even as he told the American People this, Obama knew it was untrue. Yet people still say that he is a "good person."
He is not.
The Supreme Court had the most golden of opportunities to throw this terror out, but led by the ever-spineless Chief Justice, John Roberts, it somehow improperly and outrageously survived Judicial Scrutiny on a 5-4 vote. Several justices were so incensed by what Roberts did that they reportedly refused to talk to him for months. Roberts, it turns out, told President Bush anything he wanted to hear. Then he slithered onto the Court and started making America sick. Another one who wants to be remembered as a good person. He is not a good person.
All four of the United States Senators who have announced that they will not vote in favor of a current bill which would merely but completely eliminate Obamashame from the Code of United States Laws did exactly the opposite in 2015.
In 2015, Senators Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Portman of Ohio and Capito of West Virginia voted in favor of the same law, the law to end Obamashame*.
You read that correctly. All four of these clowns voted to eliminate Obamashame in 2015. Now, they announce they will vote against a vill to get rid of this heinous legislation.
Experts say that Obamashame will implode itself out of existence sometime next year. Assuming that Congress does absolutely nothing between now and then, this event will leave many Americans without health insurance even when they are prepared to pay for it.
I do not care what ridiculous excuse these four are offering for their unforced about-face. When they last ran for election or re-election, they promised to get rid of Obamashame. Now, when they have a golden opportunity to do just that, they won't. All four deserve to be put out to pasture as fast as possible.
A Non-Profit group surveyed the voting patterns of various United States Senators and have recently announced the results of that survey. The one I recall from hearing the results on the radio concerned Senator Collins of Maine. In only 12% of all votes taken in the United States Senate did Senator Collins vote with the Republicans. This person is not a Republican, and should not be permitted to hold herself out as one. She should be reprimanded by the Congress for deceiving her constituents. She must go. Her current term, sadly, doesn't end until 2021. Four more years? Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has an even more sordid history. She lost her last GOP primary election to a member of the Tea Party. Defeated, she ran in the general election as a write-in candidate. In such an election, Democrats and Ultra Leftists were free to vote for her. They did. She won. The members of her party in Alaska wanted nothing to do with her so she jived the rules and won. Terrific. This is what America gets. This is what Alaska got for such sordid voting laws.
If you've been off the planet, you need to be reminded of the events which took place when this awful thing was first enacted. Obama was in his first years in office and this law was his first big legislative effort. Until this law surfaced, he could do no wrong. His approval ratings were so high that many were afraid to oppose him. Then came this Affordable Care thing. The Democrats were doing all they could to discourage actually reading the law. Because when people read it, they gagged. There were death panels for old folk. Obama and his minions denied this, but the panels are in the law in black and white. During a day of education about the law that Obama held at the White House, one woman raised her hand and was called upon by Obama. She wanted to be in favor of the law.
She wanted to be.
She said that her mother was in her upper eighties, was in excellent health, was robust and lively and a joy to be with. If her doctor saw that her mother needed a heart by-pass, and was willing to perform the operation because of her overall health and in spite of her age, would the Affordable thing prevent it. Obama, acting as if this was entirely logical, said no, she would not get the operation under the law because someone younger should get the operation. Instead, doctors would give her mother pain killers. All over America, eyes were opened. Obama saw nothing wrong with the law as written. Obama's approval rating boarded the old downbound train.
There was an incident in Texas where the AARP sponsored a forum on the law. Many seniors came to the meeting because they didn't like the law and wanted it either changed or scuttled. The AARP moderator said neither of those options would be pursued. She tried to talk up the law but the audience wouldn't have it. Disgusted, she tried to pack up the room and leave, but the seniors weren't budging. They wanted to stay and talk among themselves about the law. The AARP woman pitched a fit and tried to have the room cleared. Failing this, she stormed out. Then there was our friend Ben Cardin, the United States Senator from Maryland. There were people utterly concerned about the parts of the law they knew about at one of his forums on 'Affordable Care.' The crowd grew hostile. But old Ben, he said that the problems with the law made him more determined than ever to have it passed. Huh?
What is worse? Promising voters you will do one thing, than doing something else, like Senator Collins and Murkowski, or not even giving your constituents a second thought when the party wanted you to do something else, like Senator Ben.
Obama and his minions forced the law through the House of Representatives in spite of Nancy Pelosi's famous saying, "We'll have to pass the law to find out what is in it." The Senate, however, was another matter. There were hardly enough Democrats to pass the law on the best day, but this law made every day the worst day. First, Obama changed the rules of the Senate - OK, actually Harry Reed changed the rules at Obama's behest - and then he began bribing individual Senators with this pork pot and that new grant. It became a national laughing stock, but in the end, the law was enacted. And it is still in force now despite Trump's promise to get rid of it.
The law has always been nothing short of awful. But the weak-kneed GOP is afraid that someone covered under the Affordable thing would not be covered under whatever replacement legislation the GOP comes up with. It will happen that way. There is no way to avoid it. But a national legislative body is supposed to do what is best for the nation as a whole, then leave it to social welfare agencies to clean up little messes along the way. But not dear old Senator Collins and Senator Murkowski etc. Let everybody get stiffed so the media won't whine.
For the last six years of Obama's Predatory Presidency the GOP swelled its ranks because they always promised to get rid of Obamashame if they ever got the chance. First the voters gave the House back to the GOP. That happened in 2010. In 2014 the voters gave the Senate back to the Republicans. And then, in 2016 the voters kept both houses in the GOP's control and topped it all off by giving the GOP the oval office even though all of the national polls said it wouldn't happen.
All of the excuses are gone. Now the GOP has to put up or shut up. Sadly - as many observers had feared - many so-called Republicans are really liberals in sheep's clothing. No matter what kind of legislation is proposed to replace the Obamashame, enough GOP legislators to kill the effort always pop up. Even the latest proposal - to merely scrap the Affordable thing and worry about replacing it later - has had four Senators (the four identified above: Collins, Portman, Murkowski and Capito of West Virginia) come forward and say they won't be in favor of mere scrapping of Obamashame.
Voters everywhere are hanging their heads in disgust. How can people who promised to do something go back on the promise after the voters gave them what they said they needed. All four of the deadbeats who say they will kill the last chance voted in favor of doing the exact same thing in 2015. For those four, dumping them in an election year is the American way, but in this case it really seems like it isn't enough. All four should be prohibited from ever holding public office again and expelled from the party. And the Democrats? They won't vote for anything that eliminates the Affordable Care Act because it is Obama's legacy. Benedict Arnold also has a legacy. I wonder what the Dems would do to preserve that?
And all of this 'beyond the pale' outrageousness is after the bald-faced lies told to Americans to get the damn thing passed in the first place. We all remember, "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and "if you like you policy you can keep your policy." It was later shown that even as he told the American People this, Obama knew it was untrue. Yet people still say that he is a "good person."
He is not.
The Supreme Court had the most golden of opportunities to throw this terror out, but led by the ever-spineless Chief Justice, John Roberts, it somehow improperly and outrageously survived Judicial Scrutiny on a 5-4 vote. Several justices were so incensed by what Roberts did that they reportedly refused to talk to him for months. Roberts, it turns out, told President Bush anything he wanted to hear. Then he slithered onto the Court and started making America sick. Another one who wants to be remembered as a good person. He is not a good person.
All four of the United States Senators who have announced that they will not vote in favor of a current bill which would merely but completely eliminate Obamashame from the Code of United States Laws did exactly the opposite in 2015.
In 2015, Senators Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Portman of Ohio and Capito of West Virginia voted in favor of the same law, the law to end Obamashame*.
You read that correctly. All four of these clowns voted to eliminate Obamashame in 2015. Now, they announce they will vote against a vill to get rid of this heinous legislation.
Experts say that Obamashame will implode itself out of existence sometime next year. Assuming that Congress does absolutely nothing between now and then, this event will leave many Americans without health insurance even when they are prepared to pay for it.
I do not care what ridiculous excuse these four are offering for their unforced about-face. When they last ran for election or re-election, they promised to get rid of Obamashame. Now, when they have a golden opportunity to do just that, they won't. All four deserve to be put out to pasture as fast as possible.
A Non-Profit group surveyed the voting patterns of various United States Senators and have recently announced the results of that survey. The one I recall from hearing the results on the radio concerned Senator Collins of Maine. In only 12% of all votes taken in the United States Senate did Senator Collins vote with the Republicans. This person is not a Republican, and should not be permitted to hold herself out as one. She should be reprimanded by the Congress for deceiving her constituents. She must go. Her current term, sadly, doesn't end until 2021. Four more years? Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has an even more sordid history. She lost her last GOP primary election to a member of the Tea Party. Defeated, she ran in the general election as a write-in candidate. In such an election, Democrats and Ultra Leftists were free to vote for her. They did. She won. The members of her party in Alaska wanted nothing to do with her so she jived the rules and won. Terrific. This is what America gets. This is what Alaska got for such sordid voting laws.
If you've been off the planet, you need to be reminded of the events which took place when this awful thing was first enacted. Obama was in his first years in office and this law was his first big legislative effort. Until this law surfaced, he could do no wrong. His approval ratings were so high that many were afraid to oppose him. Then came this Affordable Care thing. The Democrats were doing all they could to discourage actually reading the law. Because when people read it, they gagged. There were death panels for old folk. Obama and his minions denied this, but the panels are in the law in black and white. During a day of education about the law that Obama held at the White House, one woman raised her hand and was called upon by Obama. She wanted to be in favor of the law.
She wanted to be.
She said that her mother was in her upper eighties, was in excellent health, was robust and lively and a joy to be with. If her doctor saw that her mother needed a heart by-pass, and was willing to perform the operation because of her overall health and in spite of her age, would the Affordable thing prevent it. Obama, acting as if this was entirely logical, said no, she would not get the operation under the law because someone younger should get the operation. Instead, doctors would give her mother pain killers. All over America, eyes were opened. Obama saw nothing wrong with the law as written. Obama's approval rating boarded the old downbound train.
There was an incident in Texas where the AARP sponsored a forum on the law. Many seniors came to the meeting because they didn't like the law and wanted it either changed or scuttled. The AARP moderator said neither of those options would be pursued. She tried to talk up the law but the audience wouldn't have it. Disgusted, she tried to pack up the room and leave, but the seniors weren't budging. They wanted to stay and talk among themselves about the law. The AARP woman pitched a fit and tried to have the room cleared. Failing this, she stormed out. Then there was our friend Ben Cardin, the United States Senator from Maryland. There were people utterly concerned about the parts of the law they knew about at one of his forums on 'Affordable Care.' The crowd grew hostile. But old Ben, he said that the problems with the law made him more determined than ever to have it passed. Huh?
What is worse? Promising voters you will do one thing, than doing something else, like Senator Collins and Murkowski, or not even giving your constituents a second thought when the party wanted you to do something else, like Senator Ben.
Obama and his minions forced the law through the House of Representatives in spite of Nancy Pelosi's famous saying, "We'll have to pass the law to find out what is in it." The Senate, however, was another matter. There were hardly enough Democrats to pass the law on the best day, but this law made every day the worst day. First, Obama changed the rules of the Senate - OK, actually Harry Reed changed the rules at Obama's behest - and then he began bribing individual Senators with this pork pot and that new grant. It became a national laughing stock, but in the end, the law was enacted. And it is still in force now despite Trump's promise to get rid of it.
The law has always been nothing short of awful. But the weak-kneed GOP is afraid that someone covered under the Affordable thing would not be covered under whatever replacement legislation the GOP comes up with. It will happen that way. There is no way to avoid it. But a national legislative body is supposed to do what is best for the nation as a whole, then leave it to social welfare agencies to clean up little messes along the way. But not dear old Senator Collins and Senator Murkowski etc. Let everybody get stiffed so the media won't whine.
For the last six years of Obama's Predatory Presidency the GOP swelled its ranks because they always promised to get rid of Obamashame if they ever got the chance. First the voters gave the House back to the GOP. That happened in 2010. In 2014 the voters gave the Senate back to the Republicans. And then, in 2016 the voters kept both houses in the GOP's control and topped it all off by giving the GOP the oval office even though all of the national polls said it wouldn't happen.
All of the excuses are gone. Now the GOP has to put up or shut up. Sadly - as many observers had feared - many so-called Republicans are really liberals in sheep's clothing. No matter what kind of legislation is proposed to replace the Obamashame, enough GOP legislators to kill the effort always pop up. Even the latest proposal - to merely scrap the Affordable thing and worry about replacing it later - has had four Senators (the four identified above: Collins, Portman, Murkowski and Capito of West Virginia) come forward and say they won't be in favor of mere scrapping of Obamashame.
Voters everywhere are hanging their heads in disgust. How can people who promised to do something go back on the promise after the voters gave them what they said they needed. All four of the deadbeats who say they will kill the last chance voted in favor of doing the exact same thing in 2015. For those four, dumping them in an election year is the American way, but in this case it really seems like it isn't enough. All four should be prohibited from ever holding public office again and expelled from the party. And the Democrats? They won't vote for anything that eliminates the Affordable Care Act because it is Obama's legacy. Benedict Arnold also has a legacy. I wonder what the Dems would do to preserve that?
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Poland Believes It Can Win the 2018 World Cup
TOWSON, Maryland, Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - Only one outcome prevents Poland from taking a perfect record into the finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Only one. And it came against the most unlikely of opponents. On September 4, 2016 the Kazakhstan National Soccer Team, which failed to win even one match in Group Play, managed to draw with Poland in front of over 19,000 fans at the ultra-modern Astana Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan. In the match, Poland exploded to the lead in the ninth minute and increased the lead to 2-0 at the half. The lead held in the opening minutes of the second half before Kazakhstan's Sergei Khizhnichenko scored twice in a seven minute span to earn the home team a draw. As it was, Kazakhstan had only this and one other draw to go with four defeats in group play. Poland had only this match to blemish a perfect record. Of course, the Poles still have three matches left to play.
The magical White Eagles have almost already qualified for the World Cup Finals in Russia. There are three matches remaining for each of the European Teams (UEFA Teams) in this first round of World Cup Qualifying. Barring a complete collapse by the Poles - something nobody predicts - Poland will march into Moscow as one of the pre-tournament favorites. Poland's remaining matches include a game at Denmark on September 1, a home match - to be played at Warsaw - with Kazakhstan on September 4, and another home match, also at Warsaw, with Montenegro on October 8.
Poland (5 wins, 0 defeats, 1 draw) leads its Division with 16 points, followed by two teams, Denmark (3 wins, 2 defeats, 1 draw) and Montenegro (3 wins, 2 defeats, 1 draw), each with 10 points. Poland will win the division if they can win two of their remaining matches, or win one match and tie one match. They will also win their division, no matter how well or poorly they play, if Denmark and Montenegro fail to win at least two of their remaining matches.
They have played that well. The second place team in the Group will play a home and home with another UEFA Division's Runner-Up to determine if it, too, can qualify to travel and compete in the Russia-based 2018 World Cup. Robert Lewandowski, who scored the second goal in the match at Kazakhstan, on a penalty shot, leads all scorers in Group Play. Lewandowski has scored an incredible 11 goals in six qualifying matches. His closest runner-up has but 6. In all of Europe, the best any other player could do was score barely over half of the number of goals scored by the incredible Lewandowski.
The way the World Cup works the qualifying in the UEFA Divisions is to send all nine division winners on to the finals. Four other UEFA teams will also qualify. Eight of the nine runner-ups in their respective divisions will play
Poland has never won a World Cup. It has earned a berth in the final round, however, on several occasions. Twice, Poland finished third: in 1974 and again in 1982. This is Poland's best side since those years. FIFA ranks them No. 6 in the World.
Poland's magical run actually began in the first game they played after the end of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. West Germany won that World Cup, and almost the exact same team that won the Cup took the pitch in Warsaw for a friendly against Poland in September. Poland won.
The Poles carried that momentum into EURO 2016. But after easily qualifying for the final round, they lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals - on penalty kicks. The magical team in that tournament was Wales, which, ironically, is in deep trouble in their division in the World Cup Qualifying Round. The Welsh stand in third place in Group D, four points behind Ireland (3 wins, 0 defeats, 3 draws) and Serbia (3 wins, 0 defeats, 3 draws). Austria (2 wins, 2 defeats, 2 draws) also has 8 points in Group D, but Wales (1 win, 0 defeats, 5 draws) is the 'actual' third place team at the moment, based on Goal Differential (4 to 1). All four of those nations have three matches left to play. A match of tremendous importance takes place on September 2 at Cardiff, Wales, where the Welsh host Austria.
Also on September 2, Ireland visits Georgia (0 wins, 3 defeats, 3 draws) and Moldova (0 wins, 2 draws, 4 defeats) visits Serbia. With the gutty and determined Welsh trailing the two division leaders by four points, they are almost in a win or else situation. The good news about their situation is that they only need to beat out one of the two to qualify for Moscow (providing that they do not finish with the ninth best record among runner-ups). Another bit of good news - or is it bad news - is that the Welsh no longer have Ireland or Serbia on their schedule. Since they need a better overall result than at least one of the two teams ahead of it. Serbia does have to play Ireland. If Wales wins its remaining three matches and picks up 9 points, it will still need either Serbia or Ireland to lose or draw two of its remaining three matches. One of those 'non-wins' will happen for one of the two teams ahead of Wales when Ireland plays Serbia. But Wales will need at least a tie for that loser in one of the two remaining matches. It is complicated.
Before losing that heartbreaker to Portugal, Poland had recorded a win over Germany (and a loss and a tie), The win and the loss were in Group Play, the tie was in Group Play in the final round, where Poland was grouped with Germany, Ukraine and Ireland. Having nearly qualified for the finals, Poland drew powerful Switzerland in the first round of the 16-team final round. The match ended in a draw and Poland and the Swiss advanced to a shootout. Poland won. In the quarter finals (the round of 8), the Poles took eventual Tournament Champ Portugal to the bitter end. The match, including overtime, ended in a draw and both teams then advanced to a shootout. Portugal has some of the most dynamic offensive players in the world and it provided the difference in a one goal shootout win.
The Poles do not believe they can lose again.
88 Years Ago, The Lord Smiled Sweetly, and He Wrapped That Smile Around a Sweet Child Then Being Born
TOWSON, Maryland, Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - On a day not unlike today, but 88 years back, a stoic, wary young couple living not far from where I am composing this piece, celebrated the birth of a healthy young baby girl. The healthy part was the important part for this couple - both of whom were raised on small working family farms in Northern Baltimore County - because their first child, also a girl, had died after spending a scant ten months alive on this Earth. This child - the one born on July 18, 1929 - would not perish in infancy but would instead live the better part of 88 years on this Earth. All of the folk who came to know her during those nearly 88 years were far better off for it.
I know that personally. I am one the lucky ones.
The baby girl - whose name was Elenore - grew and was educated, then worked, then married and gave birth to two of her own children, raised them, worked a whole lot more, took very good care of her family (which included the two parents, her husband, those two children, a passel full of grandchildren and great grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. At the end of her Earthly story, sadly, came the inevitable: as humans are wont to do, in her old age she took sick and died. The death was foreseeable for her family because she had been sick for a couple of years, but it was devastating nonetheless. Today would have been that 88th birthday. It is a sad day.
There are those out there who would argue that it should be a day of celebration, a day when all of her accomplishments would be talked about and treasured in the way that families do such things. But that would be to deny reality. In the real world, when someone you love dies, remembering them hurts. It hurts surely and deeply, and it hurts a lot.
Shortly, I will drive my father to the little cemetery up on the hill on Dance Mill Road, where tears will well up and be freely shed. Not even the presence of a great grand child will keep that from taking place. Because, no matter how beautifully we remember that dear departed, she will not be here with us.
As a Christian, the thing that keeps me and us going is the sweet hope of a reunion with her in heaven. The Lord, however, is a bit disgusted when we phrase it that way. There is no hoping about this; it is an assurance that the Lord gave us. It is an assurance from the Lord God Almighty. He doesn't go back on such things. And so I say, as a Christian, the thing that keeps me and us going is the sweet and certain assurance of a reunion with my dear mother in heaven.
I will see you then, mom.
I know that personally. I am one the lucky ones.
The baby girl - whose name was Elenore - grew and was educated, then worked, then married and gave birth to two of her own children, raised them, worked a whole lot more, took very good care of her family (which included the two parents, her husband, those two children, a passel full of grandchildren and great grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. At the end of her Earthly story, sadly, came the inevitable: as humans are wont to do, in her old age she took sick and died. The death was foreseeable for her family because she had been sick for a couple of years, but it was devastating nonetheless. Today would have been that 88th birthday. It is a sad day.
There are those out there who would argue that it should be a day of celebration, a day when all of her accomplishments would be talked about and treasured in the way that families do such things. But that would be to deny reality. In the real world, when someone you love dies, remembering them hurts. It hurts surely and deeply, and it hurts a lot.
Shortly, I will drive my father to the little cemetery up on the hill on Dance Mill Road, where tears will well up and be freely shed. Not even the presence of a great grand child will keep that from taking place. Because, no matter how beautifully we remember that dear departed, she will not be here with us.
As a Christian, the thing that keeps me and us going is the sweet hope of a reunion with her in heaven. The Lord, however, is a bit disgusted when we phrase it that way. There is no hoping about this; it is an assurance that the Lord gave us. It is an assurance from the Lord God Almighty. He doesn't go back on such things. And so I say, as a Christian, the thing that keeps me and us going is the sweet and certain assurance of a reunion with my dear mother in heaven.
I will see you then, mom.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
St. John's Profound Explanation of This Universe and Our Place In It; A Precocious Cold Front Sneaks In; Maryland Reveals 2017 Soccer Schedule
TOWSON, Maryland, Sunday, July 16, 2017 - We are not told why Saint John (the Apostle) was "special" to Christ. We are only told that he was. John wrote one of the four Gospels. Three of the four Gospels are said to be Synoptic Gospels. Matthew is a Synoptic Gospel. Mark is a Synoptic Gospel. Luke is a Synoptic Gospel. But John is a Gospel but not a Synoptic Gospel According to Wikipedia, "the term synoptic (Latin: synopticus; Greek: συνοπτικός, translit. synoptikós) comes via Latin from the Greek σύνοψις, synopsis, i.e. "(a) seeing all together, synopsis"; the sense of the word in English, the one specifically applied to these three gospels, of "giving an account of the events from the same point of view or under the same general aspect" is a modern one. But John's Gospel, says Wikipedia and countless of Biblical commentators, offers a "distinct" lesson or pronouncement about the way things are.
The very first paragraph of St. John's Gospel is so utterly profound that it haunts us, not in some horrible way, but in the way that it reaches into our hearts and minds and compels our attention. Verse 1: "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 2: The same was in the beginning with God. Verse 3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Verse 4: In him was life; and the life was the light of men. Verse 5: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
And yet we wonder why the Biblical Authors write that St. John the Apostle was special to Christ. As he hung on the cross he looked down and saw his mother near the base of the cross. With her stood St. John. Upon noticing this, Christ told Mary that henceforth she would consider John her son, and he told John that henceforth Mary was his mother. John immediately took Mary into his home.
At the web site known as Bible Hub, this commentary is offered on the subject of why John was "special" to Christ:
"It was for the qualities of the heart, rather than the head, that John was distinguished; and the secret of the Lord's peculiar delight in him is perhaps found in this: "I love them that love Me, and they who seek Me early shall find Me." John was a man of warmer, fervid temperament, as appears from the Lord calling him and his brother Boanages (sons of thunder); and this ardent heart was given wholly and abidingly to Christ. He came young to Christ, as appears from the long period that he outlived his Master. He came also early; for he was one of the two who, in consequence of John Baptist's words, followed Jesus to His dwelling, and became His disciples. His deep, fervent love, unconsciously breaks forth in many ways. His love to Christ, as well as Christ's to him, appears in his place at the table — the nearest to Jesus. His love made him follow his Master to the judgment hall; made him linger at the cross when the others were gone; made him foremost in the race to the tomb, and first to believe the story told by the forsaken but orderly grave clothes. It was his love, quick sighted, that made him the first to recognize his Beloved on the shores of Tiberias, in the grey twilight of the dawning day. It was admiring love that made him close his gospel with the glowing words (John 21:25). It was panting, longing love that made him close his Apocalypse with the fervid prayer (Revelation 22:20). John's very faults show his love to Christ...But further, John had a deeper, truer insight than the others into the Divine glory of Christ's person, and the spiritual nature of His work."
The Bible itself does not answer the question. It probably is not a question that demands an answer. It is, however, a most worthy subject to contemplate.
The Peculiar Nature of Mid-Atlantic Weather
To me, it is absolutely amazing to ride just a few miles up the road and find that the weather has changed so dramatically. The weather folk had spoken of a "cold" front moving just south of Baltimore overnight on Friday, allowing for a change in the awful suffocating heat wave that has gripped the Baltimore vicinity for over one week. But these people were incorrect. The so-called cold front did not pass through my City. I cut the lawn here in Towson later on Saturday afternoon; actually, I should say that I started to cut the lawn. After about 30 minutes my clothes were drenched in sweat. About one hour later my wife, my father and me headed up Interstate 83 to have dinner just over the Maryland line in York County, Pennsylvania. When we got out of the car at the restaurant we were stunned. It was like a new season of the year. Instead of hot and steamy, the air was dryer and cooler. We couldn't believe it. The cold front had passed through this neck of the woods!
Maryland Opens Soccer Schedule With Trip to Santa Clara, Followed by Home Matches Against Hofstra, UCLA, Cal Poly, Indiana and Rutgers
It is only mid-July, but the 2017 NCAA Soccer Campaign is right around the corner. There is no announced Pre-Season games this fall, so when the Terps take the pitch, it will be for a "real" game. Terp Coach Sasho Cirovski - beginning his 25th Season in College Park - has again put together a back-breaking slate of games for his young Terps. The first match is on August 25 at Santa Clara, California against Santa Clara College. The Broncs have come to College Park in the past, but this will be Maryland's first trip to their pitch. Kick off will be at 7 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Three nights
later Maryland will open its home schedule with a match against always tough and tenacious Hofstra. four nights after that, on Friday, September 1, the Terps host UCLA. On September 4 the Terps will host Cal Poly.
The Big Ten Season begins early this year and Maryland will have to be ready. On Friday, September 8 the Indiana Hoosiers come to call at College Park, and on September 12 it will be Rutgers coming to Ludwig Field.
The way that Maryland ended the 2016 season will be on every Terrapins' mind, including their coach. The loss in the second round pf the NCAA Tournament to Providence was a sports horror story. Maryland was up by four goals with less than 15 minutes left when they literally collapsed and lost in regulation. After the game, Cirovski was literally at a loss for words, telling a student reporter that he was unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed. He wasn't the only one. In a school press release with the new schedule, Cirovski said, “With the way our season ended last year, we can't wait to get started with 2017 campaign.”
The very first paragraph of St. John's Gospel is so utterly profound that it haunts us, not in some horrible way, but in the way that it reaches into our hearts and minds and compels our attention. Verse 1: "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 2: The same was in the beginning with God. Verse 3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Verse 4: In him was life; and the life was the light of men. Verse 5: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
And yet we wonder why the Biblical Authors write that St. John the Apostle was special to Christ. As he hung on the cross he looked down and saw his mother near the base of the cross. With her stood St. John. Upon noticing this, Christ told Mary that henceforth she would consider John her son, and he told John that henceforth Mary was his mother. John immediately took Mary into his home.
At the web site known as Bible Hub, this commentary is offered on the subject of why John was "special" to Christ:
"It was for the qualities of the heart, rather than the head, that John was distinguished; and the secret of the Lord's peculiar delight in him is perhaps found in this: "I love them that love Me, and they who seek Me early shall find Me." John was a man of warmer, fervid temperament, as appears from the Lord calling him and his brother Boanages (sons of thunder); and this ardent heart was given wholly and abidingly to Christ. He came young to Christ, as appears from the long period that he outlived his Master. He came also early; for he was one of the two who, in consequence of John Baptist's words, followed Jesus to His dwelling, and became His disciples. His deep, fervent love, unconsciously breaks forth in many ways. His love to Christ, as well as Christ's to him, appears in his place at the table — the nearest to Jesus. His love made him follow his Master to the judgment hall; made him linger at the cross when the others were gone; made him foremost in the race to the tomb, and first to believe the story told by the forsaken but orderly grave clothes. It was his love, quick sighted, that made him the first to recognize his Beloved on the shores of Tiberias, in the grey twilight of the dawning day. It was admiring love that made him close his gospel with the glowing words (John 21:25). It was panting, longing love that made him close his Apocalypse with the fervid prayer (Revelation 22:20). John's very faults show his love to Christ...But further, John had a deeper, truer insight than the others into the Divine glory of Christ's person, and the spiritual nature of His work."
The Bible itself does not answer the question. It probably is not a question that demands an answer. It is, however, a most worthy subject to contemplate.
The Peculiar Nature of Mid-Atlantic Weather
To me, it is absolutely amazing to ride just a few miles up the road and find that the weather has changed so dramatically. The weather folk had spoken of a "cold" front moving just south of Baltimore overnight on Friday, allowing for a change in the awful suffocating heat wave that has gripped the Baltimore vicinity for over one week. But these people were incorrect. The so-called cold front did not pass through my City. I cut the lawn here in Towson later on Saturday afternoon; actually, I should say that I started to cut the lawn. After about 30 minutes my clothes were drenched in sweat. About one hour later my wife, my father and me headed up Interstate 83 to have dinner just over the Maryland line in York County, Pennsylvania. When we got out of the car at the restaurant we were stunned. It was like a new season of the year. Instead of hot and steamy, the air was dryer and cooler. We couldn't believe it. The cold front had passed through this neck of the woods!
Maryland Opens Soccer Schedule With Trip to Santa Clara, Followed by Home Matches Against Hofstra, UCLA, Cal Poly, Indiana and Rutgers
It is only mid-July, but the 2017 NCAA Soccer Campaign is right around the corner. There is no announced Pre-Season games this fall, so when the Terps take the pitch, it will be for a "real" game. Terp Coach Sasho Cirovski - beginning his 25th Season in College Park - has again put together a back-breaking slate of games for his young Terps. The first match is on August 25 at Santa Clara, California against Santa Clara College. The Broncs have come to College Park in the past, but this will be Maryland's first trip to their pitch. Kick off will be at 7 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Three nights
later Maryland will open its home schedule with a match against always tough and tenacious Hofstra. four nights after that, on Friday, September 1, the Terps host UCLA. On September 4 the Terps will host Cal Poly.
The Big Ten Season begins early this year and Maryland will have to be ready. On Friday, September 8 the Indiana Hoosiers come to call at College Park, and on September 12 it will be Rutgers coming to Ludwig Field.
The way that Maryland ended the 2016 season will be on every Terrapins' mind, including their coach. The loss in the second round pf the NCAA Tournament to Providence was a sports horror story. Maryland was up by four goals with less than 15 minutes left when they literally collapsed and lost in regulation. After the game, Cirovski was literally at a loss for words, telling a student reporter that he was unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed. He wasn't the only one. In a school press release with the new schedule, Cirovski said, “With the way our season ended last year, we can't wait to get started with 2017 campaign.”
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Orioles Blow Stunning Comeback and Lose to Cubs, 9-8, Quite Possibly Ending Talk of Dealing Zach Britton; Burnley Opens Preseason With 4-0 Blanking of Irish Side, the Shamrock Rovers; Tough Preseason Schedule Looms for Claret
TOWSON, Maryland, Saturday, July 15, 2017 - There were almost stunning discussions earlier this week which actually suggested that the Baltimore Orioles were entertaining offers for their feared closer Zach Britton. The thinking was that the Orioles would soon be declared a non-factor in this year's pennant chases and could obtain a much-needed infusion of young talent if they were willing to part with the incredibly talented Britton, who had missed most of the early part of the season with arm injuries.
All of that was before last night.
After an ominous one-hour thunderstorm delayed the beginning of the game, the Orioles, who were beginning a ten-game homestand, promptly fell behind the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs, 8-0. All was not lost, however, at least not yet. The Baltimore Nine stormed back and finally forged an 8-8 tie entering the ninth inning. Mark Trumbo capped the Baltimore Comeback with a monstrous two-run homerun to gain the late tie. Britton had been summonsed from the bullpen by Oriole Manager Buck Showalter in the top half of the 8th, and retired the Cubs without incident, providing Trumbo and company the opportunity to complete their comeback. Baltimore had entered the 8th inning trailing Chicago, 8-6.
In the ninth, with the two teams now tied, Showalter brought in Brad Brach - who has filled in at closer in Britton's absence - and Brach immediately surrendered a home run to Addison Russell. It proved to be the winning run. Suddenly, any thought of dealing away the beloved Britton went up in smoke.
We hope.
The Orioles have done crazier things, but that was during a 14-year succession of losing seasons before the arrival of current GM Dan Duquette. Duquette has changed the Oriole reputation for bone-headed player moves and replaced it with shrewdness and foresight,
But the Birds have stumbled this season despite a veteran line-up and a record of success. It was hoped that the return of Britton and Chris Davis would be enough to right the ship. Just before the All Star break the Orioles had celebrated the return of Chris Tillman and Darren O'Day. Now, Britton was back and all-but-ready to reclaim his closer's role.
Then came last night. The Cubs and Orioles play again tonight at 7 pm and Sunday at 1:30 pm.
Across the Ocean in Dublin, Ireland, the news was much much better for the lads from Burnley, who traveled here for their preseason opener against the Irish Side, the Shamrock Rovers. The Claret scored early and often in a 4-0 whitewash of the green and white clad Rovers. New signees Jon Walters and Robbie Brady - both from Ireland - scored a goal apiece, and Sam Vokes and Ashley Barnes also scored in the relatively easy Burnley win. A large crowd at Dublin's Tallaght Stadium, including a huge number of Burnley's travelling fans, saw Walters open the scoring after taking a beautiful pass from another new Claret player, Jack Cork. The 1-0 Burnley lead held through the half, but in the second half the Claret poured it on, getting goals from Brady, Vokes and Barnes to seal their host's fate.
Burnley had been working out a a facility in Dublin and only needed a proverbial walk to the corner to arrive for the game. Their fans came from much further, but they loved every minute of it.
Burnley is off now until July 22, when they play a split squad affair with both matches taking place on the road and starting at the same exact time, Burnley will be at Alfreton Town and Kidderminster and both matches will get underway at 3 pm. The Alfreton Town match will be at The Impact Arena while the Kidderminster affair will be at Aggborough.
The active preseason fixture list also includes a match at Preston North End three days later The match begins at 7:45 pm at the host's stadium, Deepdale. On July 29, Burnley will take on Nottingham Forest at 3 pm at The City Ground.
In August, Burnley will play two more matches before the start of the Premier League Season. Both of these matches will be at "Fortress Turf Moor." On August 1, Burnley collides with venerable Spanish Side, Celta Vigo, at 7:45 pm. Celta Vigo competes in the extremely formidable La Liga association. On August 5, at 3 pm, the Claret wind up the Preseason Schedule with a match against Hannover 96, the legendary German Side which is about to rejoin the top flight of the Bundesliga after several seasons in the second tier.
Suffice to say, Burnley Boss Sean Dyche will have ample chances to view his side under extremely tough conditions as he prepares them for their second consecutive season in the Premier.
All of that was before last night.
After an ominous one-hour thunderstorm delayed the beginning of the game, the Orioles, who were beginning a ten-game homestand, promptly fell behind the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs, 8-0. All was not lost, however, at least not yet. The Baltimore Nine stormed back and finally forged an 8-8 tie entering the ninth inning. Mark Trumbo capped the Baltimore Comeback with a monstrous two-run homerun to gain the late tie. Britton had been summonsed from the bullpen by Oriole Manager Buck Showalter in the top half of the 8th, and retired the Cubs without incident, providing Trumbo and company the opportunity to complete their comeback. Baltimore had entered the 8th inning trailing Chicago, 8-6.
In the ninth, with the two teams now tied, Showalter brought in Brad Brach - who has filled in at closer in Britton's absence - and Brach immediately surrendered a home run to Addison Russell. It proved to be the winning run. Suddenly, any thought of dealing away the beloved Britton went up in smoke.
We hope.
The Orioles have done crazier things, but that was during a 14-year succession of losing seasons before the arrival of current GM Dan Duquette. Duquette has changed the Oriole reputation for bone-headed player moves and replaced it with shrewdness and foresight,
But the Birds have stumbled this season despite a veteran line-up and a record of success. It was hoped that the return of Britton and Chris Davis would be enough to right the ship. Just before the All Star break the Orioles had celebrated the return of Chris Tillman and Darren O'Day. Now, Britton was back and all-but-ready to reclaim his closer's role.
Then came last night. The Cubs and Orioles play again tonight at 7 pm and Sunday at 1:30 pm.
Across the Ocean in Dublin, Ireland, the news was much much better for the lads from Burnley, who traveled here for their preseason opener against the Irish Side, the Shamrock Rovers. The Claret scored early and often in a 4-0 whitewash of the green and white clad Rovers. New signees Jon Walters and Robbie Brady - both from Ireland - scored a goal apiece, and Sam Vokes and Ashley Barnes also scored in the relatively easy Burnley win. A large crowd at Dublin's Tallaght Stadium, including a huge number of Burnley's travelling fans, saw Walters open the scoring after taking a beautiful pass from another new Claret player, Jack Cork. The 1-0 Burnley lead held through the half, but in the second half the Claret poured it on, getting goals from Brady, Vokes and Barnes to seal their host's fate.
Burnley had been working out a a facility in Dublin and only needed a proverbial walk to the corner to arrive for the game. Their fans came from much further, but they loved every minute of it.
Burnley is off now until July 22, when they play a split squad affair with both matches taking place on the road and starting at the same exact time, Burnley will be at Alfreton Town and Kidderminster and both matches will get underway at 3 pm. The Alfreton Town match will be at The Impact Arena while the Kidderminster affair will be at Aggborough.
The active preseason fixture list also includes a match at Preston North End three days later The match begins at 7:45 pm at the host's stadium, Deepdale. On July 29, Burnley will take on Nottingham Forest at 3 pm at The City Ground.
In August, Burnley will play two more matches before the start of the Premier League Season. Both of these matches will be at "Fortress Turf Moor." On August 1, Burnley collides with venerable Spanish Side, Celta Vigo, at 7:45 pm. Celta Vigo competes in the extremely formidable La Liga association. On August 5, at 3 pm, the Claret wind up the Preseason Schedule with a match against Hannover 96, the legendary German Side which is about to rejoin the top flight of the Bundesliga after several seasons in the second tier.
Suffice to say, Burnley Boss Sean Dyche will have ample chances to view his side under extremely tough conditions as he prepares them for their second consecutive season in the Premier.
Friday, July 14, 2017
World and National Notes: Trump Dines at Eiffel Tower; Money Keeping Hapless GOP From Passing Health Care Reform; USA Will Have to Act Against North Korean Nut; GOP Hardly Helps Trump At All, Which Will Work Against Them at the Polls
TOWSON, Maryland, Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14, 2017: On a day when the President of the United States and his wife had dinner with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, with the meal being served at a restaurant on the second "floor" of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the American DNC writers found it snarky and hip to write about President Trump's compliment of Mrs. Macron. Before I tell you what our President said, I should tell you that Mrs. Macron is twice the age (give or take) of her husband. She was his teacher or professor or something of that nature, and one thing led to another and voila, matrimony. And so, while the French Leader is uncommonly young, his wife is not. So Mr. Trump merely noted how beautiful she continues to be. The DNC and their snarky hipsters did not like it.
Meanwhile, back in the Congress, the GOP rolled out a new health care bill. It wasn't a whole lot better than the old one. The people pulling the strings in the GOP - who, sadly, are not elected - don't want Obamashame repealed. The voters do and by wide margins. Almost every senator and congressman in the GOP promised (PROMISED!!!) to at least repeal the lousy thing. But the string-pullers don't want anything of it. A whole lot of GOP losers are about to capitulate.
None of this, of course, even compares to the terror which may arise from the sociopath who runs North Korea, and the evil he apparently is willing to rain down on the rest of the world. If I lived in Seoul, South Korea, which is just across the North Korean border, I would pack my family up and leave. At some point the west - probably led by these United States - will have to move militarily against the North, because the North is moving swiftly and with a purpose to develop weapons it can use against the West and, in particular, the USA. Some experts say the most recent test launch of an IBM proved that theNorth can already reach Alaska. This is terrible. To prevent the North from attacking the USA or other Western locations, the Americans will have to take this nut out. Sadly, the odds are that he will be able to launch an attack against the South Koreans no matter how successful a USA attack on the North is.
Here in the USA, the Ultra Left is so blind in its anti-Trump campaign that it is not uniting with the duly elected American administration to move against the North and rally the rest of the world to join the cause.
I believe that the GOP incumbents who are not backing the Republican President, Mr. Trump, will pay a heavy price at the polls for their choice. It was the American People who elected Mr. Trump, and it is those same voters who are seething in their anger against GOP insiders who are letting Trump dangle in the wind while the Ultra Left circles him like vultures.
One race to follow is the one in Alabama, where veteran GOP House Member Mo Brooks (R - Huntsville) is running for the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. His opponent is the choice of Senate President Mitch McConnell. Brooks is a Tea Party regular and a member of the tightly knit and conservative Freedom Alliance in the House. McConnell doesn't like the Tea Party and wants nothing to do with the Freedom Alliance in the Senate. He is pouring money into the campaign of Luther Strange, an attorney who was chosen by the Alabama Governor, Robert Julian Bentley (born February 3, 1943) to serve as Senator until a Special Election on December 12 of this year. Bentley also backs Strange.
Brooks has picked up an endorsement from Mark Levin, the powerful and Essential Conservative Leader who has a talk show heard nationwide, including on many powerful Alabama radio stations. Levin is also the author of a number of New York Times Best Sellers, including one which is currently number one on the Times Non-Fiction Best Seller Compilation.
Credible and Incisive also endorses Brooks, for whatever that might be worth,
Meanwhile, back in the Congress, the GOP rolled out a new health care bill. It wasn't a whole lot better than the old one. The people pulling the strings in the GOP - who, sadly, are not elected - don't want Obamashame repealed. The voters do and by wide margins. Almost every senator and congressman in the GOP promised (PROMISED!!!) to at least repeal the lousy thing. But the string-pullers don't want anything of it. A whole lot of GOP losers are about to capitulate.
None of this, of course, even compares to the terror which may arise from the sociopath who runs North Korea, and the evil he apparently is willing to rain down on the rest of the world. If I lived in Seoul, South Korea, which is just across the North Korean border, I would pack my family up and leave. At some point the west - probably led by these United States - will have to move militarily against the North, because the North is moving swiftly and with a purpose to develop weapons it can use against the West and, in particular, the USA. Some experts say the most recent test launch of an IBM proved that theNorth can already reach Alaska. This is terrible. To prevent the North from attacking the USA or other Western locations, the Americans will have to take this nut out. Sadly, the odds are that he will be able to launch an attack against the South Koreans no matter how successful a USA attack on the North is.
Here in the USA, the Ultra Left is so blind in its anti-Trump campaign that it is not uniting with the duly elected American administration to move against the North and rally the rest of the world to join the cause.
I believe that the GOP incumbents who are not backing the Republican President, Mr. Trump, will pay a heavy price at the polls for their choice. It was the American People who elected Mr. Trump, and it is those same voters who are seething in their anger against GOP insiders who are letting Trump dangle in the wind while the Ultra Left circles him like vultures.
One race to follow is the one in Alabama, where veteran GOP House Member Mo Brooks (R - Huntsville) is running for the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. His opponent is the choice of Senate President Mitch McConnell. Brooks is a Tea Party regular and a member of the tightly knit and conservative Freedom Alliance in the House. McConnell doesn't like the Tea Party and wants nothing to do with the Freedom Alliance in the Senate. He is pouring money into the campaign of Luther Strange, an attorney who was chosen by the Alabama Governor, Robert Julian Bentley (born February 3, 1943) to serve as Senator until a Special Election on December 12 of this year. Bentley also backs Strange.
Brooks has picked up an endorsement from Mark Levin, the powerful and Essential Conservative Leader who has a talk show heard nationwide, including on many powerful Alabama radio stations. Levin is also the author of a number of New York Times Best Sellers, including one which is currently number one on the Times Non-Fiction Best Seller Compilation.
Credible and Incisive also endorses Brooks, for whatever that might be worth,
Thursday, July 13, 2017
AL East and Wild Card Races are Red Hot, But Wild Card Playoff Format is for the Birds
TOWSON, Maryland, Sunday, July 9, 2017 - Major League Baseball has come to its annual All-Star Break, and the standings in the always interesting American League East are as jumbled as ever. The Yankees are on a down-bound train with no stops planned. The Bronx Bombers have lost 18 of their last 25 games. The Orioles, who at one point near the middle of May had the best record in all of the Big Leagues, went on a streak of poor play that nearly equaled that of the Yanks. Almost. A big difference, however, is that the Birds won their last two games in Minnesota behind the dependable bats of Jonathon Scope, Mark Trumbo and rookie Trey Mancinni. The Orioles' outstanding radio play-by-play man, Joe Angel, noted that in a year that comes after he blew up several Orioles home run records and set the pace in all of the Major Leagues, Trumbo has put up less spectacular power numbers but replaced them with leadership stats in a number of meaningful categories. Trumbo has not gone into any slumps. He has continued to knock in runs, including clutch runs. And he takes his position dailey come hell or high water. If the Birds are to make a run in the second half - and here is one pundit who believes strongly that they will, it will be anchored by Trumbo and the emerging Jonathan Schoop, the Orioles' second baseman. Schoop does lead the Orioles in homers and was the only Oriole named to the American League All Star Team. In the All Star game, he doubled and scored the AL's only run in the first nine innings. Without Schoop's heroics, there would have been no top of the tenth to host the late power of Seattle's Robinson Cano.
All this being said, here are the American League East Standings heading back into regular season play tomorrow:
1. Boston Red Sox: 50 wins, 39 losses, .562 pct.
2. New York Yankees: 45 wins, 41 losses, .523 pct., 3.5 GB
3. Tampa Bay Rays: 47 wins, 43 losses, .522 pct., 3.5 GB
4. Baltimore Orioles: 42 wins, 46 losses, .477 pct., 7.5 GB
5. Toronto Blue Jays: 41 wins, 47 losses, .466 pct., 8.5 GB
And here are the American League Wild Card Standings. Remember, the top two teams qualify for the American League Playoffs. The two Wild Card Teams play each other in a winner-take-all one game playoff, with the winner advancing to the best-of-five divisional series against the American League Divisional Winner with the best overall record. In the standings below, the three current divisional leaders are not listed. If any of the three fall out of their divisional lead, the team that replaces them will no longer be in the Wild Card Standings, but the team losing the top spot in their division will be.
American League Wild Card Current Standings (7-14-2017)
1. New York Yankees: 45 wins, 41 losses, .523 pct.
2. Tampa Bay Rays: 47 wins, 43 losses, .522 pct.
_______________________________________________
3. Minnesota Twins: 45 wins, 43 losses, .511 pct., 1 GB
4. Kansas City Royals: 44 wins, 43 losses., .506 pct., 1.5 GB
5. Los Angeles Angels: 45 wins, 47 losses., .489 pct., 3 GB
6. Texas Rangers: 43 wins, 45 losses, .489 pct., 3 GB
7. Seattle Mariners: 43 wins, 47 losses, .478 pct., 4 GB
8. Baltimore Orioles: 42 wins, 46 losses, .477 pct., 4 GB
9. Toronto Blue Jays: 41 wins, 47 losses, .466 pct., 5 GB
10. Detroit Tigers: 39 wins, 48 losses, .448 pct., 6.5 GB
11. Oakland Athletics: 39 wins, 50 losses, .438 pct., 7.5 GB
12. Chicago White Sox: 38 wins, 49 losses, .437 pct., 7.5 GB
It is quite amazing, when you give it some thought: no fewer than nine major league teams bunched within five games of each other in the Wild Card Standings.
And this, inevitably, leads me to my pet peeve with the Wild Card format. You have this amazing race shaping up for the last three months of the season. And when it is all said and done, the winners will get a one game playoff. One measly game. The second Wild Card team won't even get a home game. Last season the Orioles and Toronto prevailed in an epic Wild Card chase. They ended up tied in the race, but Toronto got the one game playoff at home for some off-the-field reason. Oriole fans vividly recall that the one game went into extra innings before Toronto won. Three months of being glued to the tv and radio, and it all ended in a few hours. There is no reason at all why the series cannot go three games. Don't feed me any nonsense about TV schedules. Where there is a will, there is a way.
All this being said, here are the American League East Standings heading back into regular season play tomorrow:
1. Boston Red Sox: 50 wins, 39 losses, .562 pct.
2. New York Yankees: 45 wins, 41 losses, .523 pct., 3.5 GB
3. Tampa Bay Rays: 47 wins, 43 losses, .522 pct., 3.5 GB
4. Baltimore Orioles: 42 wins, 46 losses, .477 pct., 7.5 GB
5. Toronto Blue Jays: 41 wins, 47 losses, .466 pct., 8.5 GB
And here are the American League Wild Card Standings. Remember, the top two teams qualify for the American League Playoffs. The two Wild Card Teams play each other in a winner-take-all one game playoff, with the winner advancing to the best-of-five divisional series against the American League Divisional Winner with the best overall record. In the standings below, the three current divisional leaders are not listed. If any of the three fall out of their divisional lead, the team that replaces them will no longer be in the Wild Card Standings, but the team losing the top spot in their division will be.
American League Wild Card Current Standings (7-14-2017)
1. New York Yankees: 45 wins, 41 losses, .523 pct.
2. Tampa Bay Rays: 47 wins, 43 losses, .522 pct.
_______________________________________________
3. Minnesota Twins: 45 wins, 43 losses, .511 pct., 1 GB
4. Kansas City Royals: 44 wins, 43 losses., .506 pct., 1.5 GB
5. Los Angeles Angels: 45 wins, 47 losses., .489 pct., 3 GB
6. Texas Rangers: 43 wins, 45 losses, .489 pct., 3 GB
7. Seattle Mariners: 43 wins, 47 losses, .478 pct., 4 GB
8. Baltimore Orioles: 42 wins, 46 losses, .477 pct., 4 GB
9. Toronto Blue Jays: 41 wins, 47 losses, .466 pct., 5 GB
10. Detroit Tigers: 39 wins, 48 losses, .448 pct., 6.5 GB
11. Oakland Athletics: 39 wins, 50 losses, .438 pct., 7.5 GB
12. Chicago White Sox: 38 wins, 49 losses, .437 pct., 7.5 GB
It is quite amazing, when you give it some thought: no fewer than nine major league teams bunched within five games of each other in the Wild Card Standings.
And this, inevitably, leads me to my pet peeve with the Wild Card format. You have this amazing race shaping up for the last three months of the season. And when it is all said and done, the winners will get a one game playoff. One measly game. The second Wild Card team won't even get a home game. Last season the Orioles and Toronto prevailed in an epic Wild Card chase. They ended up tied in the race, but Toronto got the one game playoff at home for some off-the-field reason. Oriole fans vividly recall that the one game went into extra innings before Toronto won. Three months of being glued to the tv and radio, and it all ended in a few hours. There is no reason at all why the series cannot go three games. Don't feed me any nonsense about TV schedules. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
With Missile Launch on the Fourth of July, North Korea May Have Provoked USA Into Military Response
Towson, Maryland, Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - It may be that a necessary military conflagration in North Korea is now imminent.
On the 4th of July, the mentally unstable egomaniac who rules that God-forsaken Asian Nation - his name is Kim Jong-un - ordered the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that went down in the Sea of Japan. But military analysts are reasonably sure that the missile was capable of going much further and of carrying a payload that would include a nuclear warhead. These same analysts said that Alaska - but not the lower 48 states - is within the range of the latest North Korean weapon.
During a joint USA-South Korean military exercise, the two nations staged their own military missile launch. These precision launches were pronounced a success by military analysts.
There is no question that North Korea is armed to the hilt. Unless the USA and its allies are capable of a massive, precise attack on North Korea that will disable the many weapons now aimed at USA forces on the border between the two Koreas, and at the capital of South Korea, Seoul, located just over the border, the sinister North Korean dictator will be able to inflict massive casualties before he is brought to heel.
Yet, with each passing day, it becomes more and more apparent that a massive attack on North Korea may be the only choice available to the USA and its allies. President Trump had appealed to China to aid the West in curtailing the provocative North Korean Leader before all hell breaks loose. In meetings with the Chinese leader in January in the United States, the President was optimistic that China would, in fact, offer such assistance for the sake of world stability and international commerce. But President Trump revealed today that trade between North Korea and China had actually spiked upward in recent months, effectively telling the West that China would not do anything to control its idiotic ally.
The North Korean Dictator is of the impression that the West, led by the USA, will invade North Korea or take other dramatic steps if he doesn't threaten attack against America, or actually take the step that will leave tens of thousands of people dead. In addition, the North Korean has told bald-faced lies to the West in the past during negotiations aimed at bringing peace to the region.
For months, North Korea has staged missile launches and nuclear weapons tests in open defiance of UN demands. Because the announced aim of North Korea is to develop weapons capable of inflicting massive harm to the United States' mainland, President Trump has made it clear that the United States tolerance for these launches and tests is very limited.
That limit, now, has apparently been reached. And if it has not actually been reached with the launch on the fourth of July, it is, at the very least, very imminent.
On the 4th of July, the mentally unstable egomaniac who rules that God-forsaken Asian Nation - his name is Kim Jong-un - ordered the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that went down in the Sea of Japan. But military analysts are reasonably sure that the missile was capable of going much further and of carrying a payload that would include a nuclear warhead. These same analysts said that Alaska - but not the lower 48 states - is within the range of the latest North Korean weapon.
During a joint USA-South Korean military exercise, the two nations staged their own military missile launch. These precision launches were pronounced a success by military analysts.
There is no question that North Korea is armed to the hilt. Unless the USA and its allies are capable of a massive, precise attack on North Korea that will disable the many weapons now aimed at USA forces on the border between the two Koreas, and at the capital of South Korea, Seoul, located just over the border, the sinister North Korean dictator will be able to inflict massive casualties before he is brought to heel.
Yet, with each passing day, it becomes more and more apparent that a massive attack on North Korea may be the only choice available to the USA and its allies. President Trump had appealed to China to aid the West in curtailing the provocative North Korean Leader before all hell breaks loose. In meetings with the Chinese leader in January in the United States, the President was optimistic that China would, in fact, offer such assistance for the sake of world stability and international commerce. But President Trump revealed today that trade between North Korea and China had actually spiked upward in recent months, effectively telling the West that China would not do anything to control its idiotic ally.
The North Korean Dictator is of the impression that the West, led by the USA, will invade North Korea or take other dramatic steps if he doesn't threaten attack against America, or actually take the step that will leave tens of thousands of people dead. In addition, the North Korean has told bald-faced lies to the West in the past during negotiations aimed at bringing peace to the region.
For months, North Korea has staged missile launches and nuclear weapons tests in open defiance of UN demands. Because the announced aim of North Korea is to develop weapons capable of inflicting massive harm to the United States' mainland, President Trump has made it clear that the United States tolerance for these launches and tests is very limited.
That limit, now, has apparently been reached. And if it has not actually been reached with the launch on the fourth of July, it is, at the very least, very imminent.
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