UNDER SIEGE

Earlier today, local time, protesters broke through the heavily guarded compound of the United States Embassy in Baghdad and lit fires inside to express their anger over American airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend.

Those American airstrikes that killed two dozen members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend have now made Washington the focus of public hostility, reducing the heat on Tehran and its proxies, for many in the Middle East.

Iraqi leaders accused the US yesterday of violating Iraq’s sovereignty and expressed fear that increasing tensions between the United States and Iran could escalate into a proxy war on Iraqi soil.

The one thought that kept running through my mind [under the draft deferment couple – Bush in the National Guard, and Cheney with his 5] – back in late ’02 and early ’03 –  was that it would be a morass… NOT worthy of American lives.

That theme has proven to be true in every way possible: politically, militarily, economically, and foreign policy wise.

The airstrikes targeted an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, Kataib Hezbollah, which the United States accused of carrying out a missile attack on an Iraqi military base that killed an American contractor and wounded American and Iraqi service members.

The size of the American response – five strikes in Iraq and Syria that killed two dozen fighters and wounded dozens of others – prompted condemnation from across the political spectrum – world-wide.

One group of today’s protesters ended up separated from United States troops by only a pane of glass, according to a video shared on social media. It was NOT immediately clear how many Americans were inside the compound.

What are we trying to accomplish here?

Donald John Trump‘s ignorance and unwillingness to solicit and take advice from people who actually know something of what they’re talking about is bound to lead to much, much, much, much, worse.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

NEEDED TIME to RECOVER

It’s been a little more than 36 hours now, and I still haven’t caught my breath yet.

My New England Patriots, a 14 point favorite, got beat in the closing minutes by the Miami Dolphins in Foxboro this past Sunday.

NO first round bye!

Once again, they looked distinctly un-Patriot-like.

They’ve lost to good teams, struggled to move the ball and, in the strangest twist, Tom Brady has actually looked like he’s 52, NOT 42.

What this means is when the playoffs begin this weekend there will be an unusual sight: the Patriots having to play on wild-card weekend.

The loss dropped them to the #3 seed in the AFC, setting up a matchup with the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans [who are playing some of the best football in the NFL currently].

To make it to a fourth straight Super Bowl and 10th overall together, the Pats are going to have to buck past precedent.

Keep in mind, the Brady-Belichick Patriots have advanced to the Super Bowl nine times, but they’ve NEVER done it without the benefit of a first-round bye.

NEVER.

If they defeat a very physical Titans team, they’ll have to the 3:10 to Yuma to face a raucous Arrowhead Stadium [loudest stadium in the league] to challenge Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the #2 seed, who NEVER have problems scoring points against the Pats.

Survive that game, and it’s likely off to Baltimore to face presumptive league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

A Long and Winding Road that leads to my door… [sorry about the alteration!]

BOTH the Chiefs and the Ravens defeated the Patriots this season and poked holes in the air of invincibility of New England’s vaunted defense, which set a franchise record for fewest points allowed (225).

The unthinkable looming subtext of my Patriots’ arduous trek to Super Bowl LIV is unavoidable…could it be the end of that incredible long and winding road!???

 

 

RECORDS and DRAMA

The College Football Playoffs offered fans a taste of everything.

Yesterday’s semi-final games went from a first game massacre to a classic nail-bitter in the nightcap.

Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers needed less than a minute to score on their first possession against the Oklahoma Sooners [once again, an abject embarrassment!!!].

Burrow, the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner, had one of the greatest halves ever played in the history of college football.

He finished the first half completing 21 of his 27 pass attempts for 403 yards and seven touchdowns. Big 12 teams don’t understand the word: D-E-F-E-N-S-E.

LSU led 49-14 at halftime and cruised to a 63-28 victory.

But, for me, the Clemson and Ohio State game proved to be one for the ages!

It was an alley fight of a game…

Play was constantly stopped as one player after another was helped off the field…on BOTH sides on the ball.

But, one player above ALL others came to play, and to reveal what a true talent he is.

Trevor Lawrence, quarterback of the Tigers.

Throughout the game, for four quarters, Lawrence took a pounding from the Buckeyes – being hit, it seemed, on almost every offensive play Clemson ran.

Bigger than most other quarterbacks at 6’6″, with a cannon for an arm, he breezed through youth football and became the # 1 recruit in the country.

As a college freshman at Clemson he won every game, tearing apart Notre Dame and Alabama in the College Football Playoff last season. As a sophomore he led the Tigers to 13 more wins without a loss, 12 of them blowouts.

It ALL seemed too easy.

Then came last night…

Big and physical and fast, here came Ohio State, hammering Lawrence and his teammates, taking a 16-0 lead that could easily have been 28-0 if the Buckeyes had finished drives.

Real adversity had made an appearance.

Here came the proof that there was nobody in the Atlantic Coast Conference who remotely prepared Clemson for what it was facing.

And here, at the end, came the most pressurized drive of Lawrence’s nearly stress-free career.

Just three minutes and seven seconds separated the Tigers from defeat.

Backed up on their own 6-yard line and trailing the Buckeyes by two points, Trevor proved he was wearing his “big boy” cleats.

Clemson needed their 20-year-old golden boy to be more than tough. They needed him to be clutch!

I love when the great ones prove they truly are!

Lawrence, who hasn’t lost a college game in his two seasons, promptly marched the Tigers the remaining 94 yards down the field, capped by a 34-yard touchdown pass to Travis Etienne.

Converting on a two-point attempt [Clemson’s first of the year], it made the final score 29-23, as Clemson’s 29-game unbeaten streak survived its toughest test.

Clemson’s golden child ran or passed for ALL 94 of the yards on that final drive.

Save the tape, Dabo.

 

TERROR in MOGADISHU

At least 75 people were killed earlier today, local time, after a massive truck bomb was detonated during morning rush hour in Mogadishu, in one of the deadliest single attacks to take place in Somalia’s decades of civil war and Islamist insurgency.

The international press is just filtering out this developing story.

The precise number of dead and wounded wasn’t immediately clear.

The blast took place shortly before 8 am at a busy junction that connects the capital to southern Somalia and is a tax collection point for the government.

As I type, NO one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb but militants from al-Shabaab, the Somali jihadist group aligned to al Qaeda, have often carried out similar strikes.

The scale and location of the bomb in the capital echoed the October 2017 truck bomb, widely thought to be an al-Shabaab strike, that killed almost 600 people. The Horn of Africa nation has been riven by conflict since 1991.

Al-Shabaab has been listed as a terror organization by the US since 2008.

The militant group – estimated to number between 5,000 and 10,000 – currently hold sway over roughly 20% of Somalia, in mostly rural areas in the south, according to US military assessments.

LIFE is SUBJECTIVE

We ALL confess to being “objective” in our meanderings through the daily journey of survival from the slings and arrows of our fellow man.

You and I BOTH know that statement is a load of crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The College Football Playoff system, now in its sixth year, is the perfect example of subjective v. objective.

The selection process of the College Football playoffs and the role it plays in widening the gap between the sport’s haves and its have-nots, is the perfect expression of my point.

First, let me categorically say I hope I NEVER have to endure the likes of watching Harvard play Yale for the national championship…other than for the cure of cancer.

The Crimson and the Bulldogs have established enough places of import in our culture and society already.

Thus, as the sun rises…

The four best teams in college football will meet later today in the most appealing semifinals since the three-game playoff format debuted after the 2014 season.

The only tough decisions the selection committee had to make this year were how to seed this a group that includes four of the nation’s top offenses, three undefeated teams, two previous playoff champions, and ALL four of the Heisman Trophy finalists.

Here’s what we’ve got to look forward to…

• No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1) vs. No. 1 LSU (13-0); ESPN @ 4 pm ET
• No. 3 Clemson (13-0) vs. No. 2 Ohio State (13-0); ESPN @ 8 pm ET.

I like LSU and Ohio State to advance to the national championship game on Monday, January 13th.

# 1 in the POLLS

Deutsche Welle is Germany’s international broadcaster.

They recently published an interesting poll…

Germans were asked who was more dangerous: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Russian President Vladimir Putin or US President Donald John Trump? 

NOT surprisingly, at least to the old Lobsterman, some 41% of Germans said they thought Trump was the most dangerous out of the five world leaders!!!

Although America has been/is one of Germany’s closest allies, public trust in the US has significantly eroded !!! under the 45th president.

In second place was Kim with 17%, followed by Putin and Khamenei with 8%. Coming in last was China’s Xi with 7%.

The world is finding that we can NO longer be trusted to engage in consultation, deliberation, or dialogue of any kind.

Many of us understand only too well.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

It’s really easy: GET INVOLVED!

Two upstart Republican groups critical of the 45th president are upping the pressure on congressional lawmakers, such as Maine Senator Susan Collins, as the impeachment process heads toward a Senate trial.

In one new ad, released this week by the Republicans for the Rule of Law, it calls for the Senate to allow witnesses to be called during the trial !!! and urges voters to “Call Senator Collins and tell her these witnesses must testify.”

Take a look…

In addition, the newly formed Lincoln Project, which opposes Trump’s re-election, last week called on senators to “defend the American Constitution and to put country over partisanship” when it comes to impeachment…

https://lincolnproject.us/news/lincoln-project-statement-on-trump-impeachment/

Collins, who is running for re-election in what is likely to be the most expensive congressional race in state history, has NOT said how she will vote on impeachment.

“I take seriously the oath I will swear to render ‘impartial justice’ in the impeachment trial. Threats from both the left and the right will have zero influence on my decisions,” Collins has repeatedly said when being asked the question of how she will vote.

The commercial targeting of Collins is one of five senator-specific ads planned. The others will focus on Mitt Romney (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who has said he is NOT seeking re-election.

The fact that some Republicans and Independents have initiated these actions is encouraging.

I’m still waiting for the Bourbon belles and horse folks in the Bluegrass state to start chewing the skin off the bones of Moscow Mitch, and his equally corrupt wife.

A CAMEO ERASED

Our brothers and sisters north of the border received a wonderfully caring gift on Christmas.

If only in America…

Canadians were given a reprieve from watching Donald John Trump’s cameo in the 1992 movie: Home Alone 2.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) confirmed to the world that Trump had been cut from the film [oh, if real life could so-o-o simple!].

But the company said the decision was made “for commercial time,” NOT because it hates Trump [yes, there are times it’s best to be political]. “As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” CBC told the media.

Please, give me a moment to catch my breath…

Thank you.

CBC elaborated saying the elimination of the Orange Whale, along with several other cuts, had been made in 2014.

Ho, ho, ho…

NOW ON DECK…

Chief Justice John Glover Roberts Jr.

The wielder of the gavel in the much anticipated 2020 Impeachment Trial of Donald John Trump.

Roberts will be only the third chief justice to preside at a presidential impeachment trial.

It would also be the first trial of any kind where the lawyer turned appellate judge has been in charge.

Roberts was a law clerk to former Chief Justice William Rehnquist and shares with his predecessor the goal – perhaps only aspirational, however in today’s world of vile/ignorant partisan politics, probably unobtainable – of convincing the public that he and his fellow justices are impartial to outcomes and immune to such aforementioned partisan influence and bias.

Chief Justice Roberts has NOT slept in days, aunts and uncles.

Although the Supreme Court itself has NO formal role in Trump’s impeachment, The Weave has had “sugar plums dancing” in his massive orange head, perhaps wishfully, imagined that it might.

Keep in mind, he’s already asked the court to protect his financial records !!! from prosecutors and members of Congress, separate from impeachment; the justices will review that question in the spring.

Elections have consequences!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, it is the chief justice, usually just one of nine, who by constitutional design plays the lone judicial role in presidential impeachment.

Did I mention that Roberts hasn’t slept…yes, yes, sorry…of course I did.

Roberts, who has chided Trump for suggesting that judges’ views are more political bias than studied reasoning, will be looking to preserve his own reputation !!! in a process that by design is more political than legal.

It’s a reasonable guess that the chief justice will do EVERYTHING in his power to stay out of the way…and practice deep breathing exercises.

Bamboozled by the Circus Master

Eight days ago, moments after the House passed two articles of impeachment against him, Donald John Trump told a campaign rally in a state he won in 2016 that is crucial to his re-election that the House vote was an attempt to “nullify the ballots of tens of millions of patriotic Americans.”

And, that was just the beginning…

Over the next two-plus hours of rambling hate spewed at his Battle Creek, Michigan rally, the 45th president angrily responded to the impeachment he had long been dreading, lashing out at his Democratic accusers…

As I’ve said repeatedly, BE AFRAID, be very, very afraid!

What fascinates me as I watch these tantrums is the barking seals, politically stationed behind the Circus Master, at these rallies.

In ALL too many cases/rallies, they would appear NOT even to be of voting age.

And, the balance of the other seals appear to be NOT of voting maturity, or sophistication.

My point being, it’s time to get active; serious,; and driven.

February is right around the corner…

• February 3rd: Iowa Caucuses
• February 11th: New Hampshire Primary
• February 22nd: Nevada Caucuses
• February 29th: South Carolina Primary 

Time is of the essence as Trump becomes more and more outrageous at these rallies appealing to more and more spectators who eagerly await the next episode of the raucous Circus Master’s roadshow.