What Were You Doing During The Shooting, Mommy?

The Schloss-Blog will start, will condemn American law enforcement, right here: the security reaction last night to the events at the White House Correspondents Dinner looked like outright PANDEMONIUM, to take an all-caps page out of President Trump's playbook.

They didn't look like they could - if you'll excuse the anachronism - guard their own lunches, let alone the president of the United States. 

WTF were these people doing? Running around with guns, ready to shoot the next journalist who moved (Trump has called them "enemy of the people," after all). Who knows who those seeming agent-idiots running amok would've shot at?

Dinner attendees were in more danger of being shot by a Secret Service agent or another law-enforcement deputy than by the guy who was arrested as the suspect in the case.

The one guy. Against a hoard of security, who probably, maybe, couldn't identify each other and might've shot at someone, anyone they thought was dangerous (hello, "enemy of the people")

Like each other. American law enforcement is disorganized under President Trump - and it showed last night. 

But right now ...

The Schloss-Blog wants to know, "What were you doing while shots rang out at the Washington Hilton?" as the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) was getting underway?

Perhaps watching the Knicks finish off the Hawks and even up their NBA playoff series? Or perhaps watching "Diners, Diver-Ins and Dives" on Food Network?

Me, I was watching the casual conversation on the dais involving wimpy White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang (at least her opening remarks were wimpy), the guy who says he's president, the First Lady and the special guest entertainer, mentalist Oz Pearlman, who is truly remarkable. 

Then shots rang out, everyone froze, trying to assess, and the president and first lady were whisked off stage. 

It is believed Pearlman's assignment at the rescheduled event, the first attended by Trump as president, will be to solve WTF happened.

If you've ever seen his act (I have, on TV), he sort of does it by working backwards and getting his audience target to confess to the answer to the question he asked you to begin the whole thing, an answer he already knew.

This has otherwise dissolved, literally, into reporters describing the logistics of the facility and the responsibilities of the officials in attendance.

Much of which is chaos.

***

Remember, this is being framed by an overactive press as a disastrous attempt on the president's life, or at last we think so. Seven of the eight people in line for the presidency were in attendance.

SEVEN of the top EIGHT.

WTF! What an opportunity for a prospective assassin. 

Me, I tuned in originally to watch Trump's "most-inappropriate speech ever made," as he phrased it, and the room's reaction thereto, coverage thereof.

Instead, I heard CBS' Weijia Jiang make remarks and a greeting that made her practically acknowledge, virtually approve of the "piggy, piggy" insults fired at journalists, female journalists especially, by the president aboard Air Force 1.

Then, viewing on MSNBC - uh, MSNOW - I saw pandemonium. Literally. So many men with guns, most in formal attire, running, guns drawn, toward the ballroom, where journalists and guests huddled in relative safety, poking their heads up to see WTF was going on. 

One congressman, Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), on his way into the ballroom, saw the chaos and said he heard agents say, aloud, "Watch out for crossfire."

In other words, you, the attendee, are in danger of being shot, no matter who you are. 

It appeared to be a mix of Secret Service agents, plainclothes Capitol Police, in-house security, FBI agents (perhaps), at least not the ones chasing down the sources of the Atlantic's Sarah Fitzgerald, who clued her in on Patel's alleged, often-drunken status, instead of managing the nation's foremost law-enforcement agency. 

***

If you were expecting me to say how disgusted I am with the events and law enforcement's failure at preventing any of it - ANY OF IT - is an absolute, outright disaster - YOU ARE RIGHT.

Trump got rid of all the good, talented, competent people running our security and intelligence agencies and installed cronies who take a knee.

Just as CBS now has. Just as CNN is about to. 

Are you as disgusted as I am about what happened? Are you as disgusted as I am at the failures of law enforcement to prevent this?  

"Watch out for the crossfire," now rings out in my head every time I get on public transportation, let alone at every sporting event I attend, or cover, at every airport terminal I regularly walk though, at every grocery store I shop at. At every public school and every university on which I set foot.

I'm not paranoid. But I am aware. You should be too, because American law enforcement, especially the federal agencies, are coming up short. 

Which means you're coming up shorter.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, White House correspondents. Instead of taking a knee though, grow a backbone. You need one more than ever.

What Happens When You Stop 10 Wars? Yeah, 10!!!!!

The Schloss-Blog has noticed that Donald Trump claims to have "stopped" 10 wars.

Ten!

Of course, he started nine of 'em and one is still in progress. And he promised to stop the ones in Ukraine and Gaza, respectively, on DAY ONE of his presidential term.

DAY ONE!

He said something to the effect of, Putin would do this for me, because of Trump's close, personal relationship with the Russian president.

How's that working out?

Meanwhile, because of his close, personal relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, the war with Iran drags on, the Strait of Hormuz has gone from open to closed to open to closed but blockaded. And ships being fired upon by Iran while trying to pass through are having to turn back.

Right now, there are some 50,000 (FIFTY THOUSAND)  American troops, awaiting land deployment, who eport being nearly starved, getting one meal a day (that sucks) and getting bored waiting on warships for their orders to go fight. 

Trump always said the military was a bunch of losers and suckers.

Now, he's proving it, personally, through his role as clumsy commander-in-chief.

Thank you, Donald, for your lack of attention to this matter.

***

Yet, there is a cadre of Trump voters, MAGA believers, who will vote for Trump even if he does shoot someone in cold blood on 5th Avenue.

He says it's rigged, and they believe it. He says send anyone who doesn't look "Americans" to the worst prison in ... anywhere, and they support it. He says they're eating the dogs, and they believe it.

He says prices are going to come down, and they believe it. He says tariffs are paid by the countries upon whose goods are levied, and they believe it (they're paid by the importing company, which passes along the cost to the American consumer, but hey - the money has to come from some MAGA idiot.

MAGA believers are among the stupidest on the planet; they are the losers and suckers that Trump has classified most of our military as.

If you enjoy being a loser or a sucker, you are MAGA. Congratulations.

***

But the Democrats, what are they doing with all this?

If they're waiting for Trump to lose this midterm election, to lose the 2028 presidential election, for whoever the candidate is, they're waiting too long.

Americans should be hearing about the higher prices over and over again, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the auto dealer...

But I am not hearing those ads. They should be searing into the ears of MAGA voters, of independent voters, in every swing state, 24/7, from now to Election Day.

But they're not.

What are you waiting for, Democrats, what? Trump is going to declare a national emergency just before the elections to forestall the inevitable - Republicans losing the House and the Senate.

What are you doing?

Whatever it is, get to it.

***

This has been tough since Jan. 1. One of Jocelyn's former coworkers died, an invaluable colleague and a dear friend. 

My best friend's father died - a man who picked up every check every time I ate out with him, no matter what. We arranged out flights home to be there for the funeral. We're skipping long-awaited visits with family to go directly to this. But it's worth it.

Among those who died this year, my fraternity brother, a trusted, trusted friend, gone way too soon.

An illness hit my family, hard. It will linger. We'll be patient. We don't have a choice.

Several friends and relative have been inexplicably alienated because of most of the latter, but we'll do our darndest to win them back.

And we will.

Love them all. Love will win.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Erin Rachel.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show. And thanks, Andy, for the Satchvai concert tickets. By the way, Joe Satriani and Stevie Vai - two immortal guitar pickers.

 

Resort Developers, Not Political, Seasoned Negotiators

The Schloss-Blog noticed that Iran sent experienced political negotiators with nuclear insight and expertise to Pakistan to talk new 'JCPOA." The United States sent two real estate developers and a political idiot - no, wait, Marco Rubio didn't go. Iran sent its parliamentary speaker and its chief foreign minister, experienced political diplomats with insight into what they really want to see in a new version of a "JCPOA" and to protect the international sovereignty of their country.

The United States sent three, well, not-so-wise men.

***

The promised Trump economy, as I saw in an MSNOW report (as opposed to MSLATER), is in shambles.

**Inflation ... rampant

**Gas prices ... going up and up, fueled by war

...that we started

**Grocery prices ... well, you know...

**GDP? Far below what was promised.

**No more foreign wars ... greetings from Tehran.

The Trump economy is a flop. We'll see where it goes from here. But don't worry, he's going to put another two-week delay on its prospective recovery.

***

This is year seven of my time at Radio Free Phoenix. My Sunday night rock 'n' roll show is broadcast around the world from radiofreephoenix.com and I've gotten to go to some great concerts (like the Satchvai Band, featuring guitar ace Joe Satriani, this past weekend in Mesa).

Marshall Tucker Band, Al Stewart, Chicago, and Tommy James & the Shondells have been among the Danny Zelisko show headliners at the Celebrity Theater we've been fortunate to see. 

Thank you, Sharon Kelley for recruiting me, Liz Boyle for training me and Andy Olson for anything and everything else. Always nice to see you and Cheryl at a show, sit and have a drink and chat. Cherished memories. And thanks for promoting my talented friends, country-rockers BB & The Billies (Betsy and Toby Petrie). A link to their Radio Freedom show is now on the website, available on demand.

And thanks to the whole staff - David, Joe, Paul, Anthony, John, et. al. - for all the support; radio pros who took in a sportswriter and made him a DJ.

Wait and see what happens during the next seven years, folks. Keep on listening.

***

My longtime role as a sportswriter has left me in a unique position to evaluate - the f_ckin' NY Knicks, who will not win this year's NBA title, or next year's, until they add what they really need - the next version of Anthony Mason or Charles Oakley, in other words, their next tough-guy forward.

The @Knicks need a player everyone else but Knicks' fans hate because he's tough, dosn't get pushed around, does push everyone else around and can guard guys bigger and taller - because he's ... tougher!

That's all they're missing now. The missing element, the missing ingredient. Because replacing coach Thibs with coach Brown has been ... a wash.

Go get the next Mason or Oakley - trade, free agency, draft - but find him and sign him.

And beat up everyone else. Got enough finesse, sharpshooting. Go get some toughness.

And some championships.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Just What Have You Accomplished, Mr. President (no, not you, Stephen Miller)

The Schloss-Blog has noted that ...

Nuclear disarmament, uranium enrichment capture, destruction ... not accomplished;

Iran's military capabilities destroyed ... not accomplished;

Regime change ... not accomplished;

Strait of Hormuz reopened ... not accomplished.

So tell us, Donald, just what was accomplished in this war you started.

***

Meanwhole, domestically ...

White House ballroom construction ... halted.

Ouster of Jerome Powell at the Fed ... denied.

National Guard deployment in LA, Portland, Chicago ... sidelined.

Inflation ... on runaway status.

Gas prices ... soaring.

Stocks ... skidding.

ICE, derailed;

Birthright citizenship privileges ... likely to hold strong (or else Marco Rubio would be deported)

What's next, "SAVE" the vote - bah, humbug,

So tell us, Donald, just what have you accomplished in your second term, just 15 months in?

***

There are other stories going on:

The Chicago Bears are threatening to move to Hammond, Indiana. "Bear down, Indiana Bears..." has a certain ring to it. 

On second thought...

...They just want the best financial deal they can get from either Hammond or Arlington Heights, IL, where they own the Arlington Park Race Track property. That is supposed to be converted into a retail/commercial/residential hub in Chicago's northwest suburbs, anchored by a domed stadium that could ostensibly host a Super Bowl, concerts, special shows, et. al. 

The betting line here says they won't leave Illinois, no matter how enticing the Indiana deal is.

***

Good thing, as the President said, that we have completely obliberated Iran's military capabilities, or else the Iranians would not have been able to shoot down one of our F-15 fighters.

In other news, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed, no matter what else we bomb, obliberate and/or completely decimate.

To pay for the war, Trump is asking Congress for ... wait for it ... $1.5 trillion. This for a war, remember, which he says we've already won.

Meanwhile, he wants to divert money from entitlements like Medicaid, Medicare, child care,  healthcare insurance and general help for people in the greatest need.

Thank you, Donald "America First" Trump.

***

Ye is back, playing to a reported 68K in a jam-packed SoFi Stadium in LA.

They still love him. For some reason which we can't fathom.

EV sales, meanwhile, are up, as the price of gas continues to soar, with no end in sight, especially in Europe. Enjoy your Teslas.

Meanwhile, Trump keeps losing in court and that's all that's protecting democracy right now. Well, that and his plummeting approval ratings.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show. Hope you listened in to the Radio Freedom special with Toby and Betsy Petrie this weekend. BB & the Billes, now they are special.  

Trump's Folly ... and Women Are Doing What?

The Schloss-Blog has noticed that where Alaska was Steward's Folly, Iran is fast becoming Trump's Folly. Of course, Alaska would go on to become our 49th state and Sarah Palin's outpost against Russia.

Iran, on the other hand, is becoming the war Trump has won without winning, the oil Trump has said he has stolen without acquiring it and the waterway, Strait of Hormuz, he says he has reopened without reopening it, except, perhaps, at the cost of American military lives.

***

But first, in our ongoing perspective on the differences between men and women, well, I've been watching both the men's and women's NCAA tournament games, and I'm sorry, ladies, but your game is slipping.

Used to love watching women's hoops: they boxed out; they played defense; they made the extra pass; found the open 'man;' took high-percentage shots; played clean.

Not anymore.

The women's game, and at the WNBA level too, has become a hacker's paradise. Too much defense played by reaching instead of moving your feet, too much over-the-back attempts at rebounding and way too much grousing at the refs.

The coaching sucks too, or has at least taken a step down, from the days of the great Pat Summit. Only Geno Auriemma of UConn seems to uphold the standard she set with his teams' quality and style of play and accompanying winning percentage and championships.

Where have you gone Tamika Catchings, Candice Parker and Chamique Holdsclaw? At least we've got Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.

The men, meanwhile, still take too many off-balance shots, still chuck up way too many 3-pointers,  especially under duress, and play stand-and-wave defense until the NBA playoffs or NCAA Tournament starts, or the game hits crunch time.

You want to disagree with me, be my guest; but this is what I see and I've been seeing a lot. Even been to a few ASU and GCU varsity games in person. Defense is something they heard about.

Glad to see the women get paid in their new agreement with the WNBA. Now, raise your games, please, ladies, to that pay scale.

Thank you.

*** 

Now then, why haven't we ended the war with Iran in a successful manner, or at least in whatever Trump would describe as successful? 

Well, for one thing this is what happens when you send two real estate developers - Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff - to negotiate a nuclear arms arrangement, where Obama sent experienced diplomatic envoys and nuclear scientists.

In the end - and the war will end - but this time around at a negotiating table - where all wars end - in an agreement that won't be too much different than the one Trump tore up in his first term. All the bluster, all the flexing of military might and all the prior obliberation of Iran's nuclear capabilities - just eight months ago - has left us trying to obliberate it - again.

Nice job, Donald.

***

Note to college basketball players - men and women - stop chucking up so many 3-pointers and start working the ball in for higher-percentage shots. It's amazing what'll do for your scoring, your percentage of successful possessions and your efficiency on offense.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Kamala Harris (you were right - Trump is doing everything you predicted he'd do).

More Sunda night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

And listen in this Saturday at 2 p.m. AZ time and Sunday at noon AZ times for a Radio Freedom broadcast in which Andy Olson interviews Betsy and Toby Petrie of BB and the Billies about the 15 songs they would play if they were in charge of RFP for an hour and their history as a musical force in Illinois music. 

Fighting Terrorism in the Middle East - Or Are We?

The Schloss-Blog remembers when 'W' declared war on terrorism, after 9/11. "You're with us or you're with the terrorists," he said, or some reasonable facsimile thereof.

Twenty-five years later, Trump is reining terror down on American citizens through masked ICE and CPB agents in unmarked cars and without warrants while American soldiers die in the desert.

And to get his hands on the enriched uranium he already obliberated, he's going to need a large, land-based force and scientific experts to capture and remove it, respectively, which is going to cost lives, time and lots of money.

But let me get this "strait," the war's over, right?

***

How's your NCAA bracket doing? I had 26 of 32 right in the first round, not too shabby. At or near the top of my two entries, on CBS Sports and ESPN, respectively.

VCU, unbelievable, right? Not only beating North Carolina but maybe ending former Knick Hubie Smith's time there as coach.

Maybe.

Four double-digit seeds won in the first round, and I missed all four. Wisconsin, out, hurt a lot of people. High Point, really?

And Kentucky is only alive by the grace of God. Why didn't Santa Clara foul before that last desperation heave that forced overtime?

My Final Four remains intact though and the qualifying seeds add up to less than 10, which is how it should be if you want to win your pool.

***

The "SAVE Act," Trump's near last-gasp attempt to keep Congress from falling to the Democrats (because it will), is not going to pass because the Republicans in the Senate don't have the votes and Leader John Thune (Wyoming) won't suspend the filibuster rules because he's afraid they'll eventually be used against him.

Trump, however, is getting desperate. Expect him, in the wake of this bill's failure, to eventually declare a nonexistent national emergency and/or to announce an executive order to the same effect, requiring overbearing I.D. requirements to vote, although without Congressional action, it won't stand in court (except with Alito and Thomas).

***

Trump's director of the National Counter Terrorism Center stepped down after he couldn't in good conscience, stand by the administration's decision to invade an Iran which, he said, posed "no imminent threat" to the United States.

He was also a 2020 election denier and an otherwise big-time MAGA typical loser.

***

Want erotica?

ChatGPT, Grok and other AI are ready to bring it to you, are, in fact, already bringing it to you.

Enjoy.

16 and under, no worries? Have fun.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mark Steace.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

War! What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing' ...

The Schloss-Blog wants to hear from someone, anyone who know what the war with Iran is about. No, wait, the "excursion."

***

 Back to the "excursion" momentarily, but first...

**We lost to Italy and didn't know it could've knocked us out of the WBC. That's alright because we came back and beat Canada (again?) in the quarterfinals.

**Bam Adebayo dropped 83. EIGHTY-THREE! -- OK, it was against the Wizards, but...

**The White House made a video interspersing NFL highlights with its war highlights. Ethics? We don't need no stinkin;' ethics, says the Trump White House.

**They followed it up with a similar video depicting war highlights and explosions with video-game explosions. 

**Next, they're going to make a highlight film of Trump's golf's game. No, wait...

***

The war - ahem, excursion into Iran is deadly. U.S. bombing killed some 175 civilians, many of them schoolchildren, but we don't care because, as Pete Hegseth says, we don't need no stinkin' rules of engagement and we show no quarter.

Polling consistently shows that U.S. citizens don't want this war and don't want U.S soldiers at risk of their lives.

But we press on.

Country Joe McDonald died this week. He sang loud and proud against U.S. participation in the Vietnam War, with these lyrics:

...and it's 1, 2, 3, what're we fighting for?
don't ask me, I don't give a damn
next stop is vietnam
and it's 5, 6, 7, open up the pearly gates
well there ain't no time to wonder why
whoopee! we're all gonna die...

...well c'mon mothers throughout this land
pack your boys off to Vietnam
c'mon pops, don't hesitate
send ‘em off before it's too late
be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box

and it's 1, 2, 3, what're we fighting for?
don't ask me, I don't give a damn.

Yeah, that's about Vietnam, sang it at Woodstock. But is it so far removed from what we're going through now with Trump's repeated forays into forever wars?

***

A synagogue in Michigan, the largest in the country. The assailant is dead, no serious injuries otherwise. 

Except for psychologically, maybe.

A university in Virginia. Old Dominion. An ROTC instructor dead. 

Anti-semitism and Islamophobia, respectively.

The war in Iran is sparking violence domestically. It will spark more.

Enjoying this, Donald, enjoying this?

***

Team USA is somehow barreling forward to the championship game of the World Baseball Classic, despite itself.

Now, if it can only defeat Japan.

And it's own coaching.

***

If you need proof that Trump treats war like a game, just watch the videos that he had posted mixing sports "bomb" highlights and video-game explosions with actual war bombings.

NFL and MLB athletes are not amused.

Either are the parents of the soldiers killed in our Iran War so far.

Trump is an immature child and treats American lives that way. Just another game.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Nora O'Donnell.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.