Schloss-Blog: Strait Closed; Trump Slammed in Court; 2 Americans Dead; and the WNBA Suddenly Sucks

The Schloss-Blog is watching the U.S. presence in the Middle East go to Hell. The Strait of Hormuz is closed; The Strait Bab el-Mandeb (from the Red Sea) may be next; and Trump got body-slammed in federal court.

Two American soldiers were killed in Jordan when Iran, retaliating for strikes on essential civilian targets, hit the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a coalition base used by both U.S. and Jordanian forces. Another U.S. soldier was reported missing and four others were evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, per NPR.

In other words, Trump is going to be pissed, but he brought this on himself by striking civilian targets, killing Iranian citizens and falling back on his insistence that Iran had surrendered and lost the war, way back in ... dare we say, February.

In further retaliation, Iran has reportedly told the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who they support and supply, to be ready to close down another key waterway carrying oil, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. In other words, driving up oil and gas prices and further throwing the world economy into fits. 

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

America, hold on to your wallets.

***

In the meantime, Trump got slammed in federal court when U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Trump's lawsuit, filed on behalf of Trump against Trump's own IRS, was a sham designed to allow Trump to set up his "anti-weaponization fund" and reward himself and his sons with protection against auditing by the IRS going forward.

Now the fund is going away and so is the "protection" Trump thought he was getting out of the lawsuit he filed against himself.

***

My question, going forward, is what are you Democrats doing about all this? Why aren't you taking the ball and running with it, letting America know, over and over again, about not just Trump's cheating ways but adding on his never "thinking about Americans' financial situations" and belief that "nobody gives a sh_t about housing."

Democrats appear to be settling in, letting Trump trip all over himself, continue to make errors in judgement that cause prices to keep on rising, let an unpopular war continue, which is now costing more American lives, and watching his ongoing focus on vanity projects to celebrate himself take priority over trying to provide relief for Americans and their pocketbooks in the face of Iran winning the war that Trump started.

Yes, let Trump continue to suffer in 37% or lower approval ratings (YouGov). But run with that messsage instead of just laying around. He's going to try to steal the midterms in which you Democrats should romp. 

Make sure America knows. Or Democracy dies.

***

Must say, been a WNBA fan since its inception.

Great athletes, great basketball players. Great shooters. They play defense. They share the ball. They box out on the boards. They hit the open "man." 

All the time.

Until now, that is.

Watching games this season has been depressing. They resemble WWE Wrestle Mania events. Fouls are plentiful and fierce, even dangerous. Just watch Alyssa Thomas lean into Caitlin Clark's vocal cords. 

Some women try to do their best Michael Jordan imitation, attemtping to dribble through the defense in its entirety and score on a LeBron-or-MJ-like move.

It's disgraceful and announcers on ESPN and ION cover up for them, praise such efforts and neglect to mention there was a) no box out, b) no hustle on defense, and/or c) no effort.

Because that's what it looks like. And the fans see it.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Jordan Grinnell.

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

The Best Don't Play Soocer; Mellencamp Sticks It to the Hoosier/MAGA Crowd

Wow, the Schloss-Blog goes to see John Mellencamp in concert (what a show, more to come on the politics of that), but the world goes to pot while we're at the show.

**Lindsay Graham dies (more to come);

**Trump launches attacks again on Iran (the cease-fire is over);

**The Strait of Hormuz is closed (again).

More to come on all that...

***

But first, the Schloss-Blog wants to know ... why don't the best athletes in the United States play soccer?

The structure of the sport leaves soccer seeking out the best athletes instead of the best athletes seeking out soccer. 

That embarrassing loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 proves it: we were outclassed, outsmarted and outplayed in the entirety of that game by a team that flexed its veteran muscles and played angry about Folarin Balogun being eligible for the game in a mysterious, unethical decision by FIFA and its president, Ginnai Infantino, and the pressure he succumbed to from Donald J. Trump. 

Nothing personal, Fo, but you shouldn't have played and Belgium knew it and was ticked off that Infantino caved to Trump and allowed him to play, reverseingthe suspension that automatically accompanies a Red Card.

***  

Why is the Schloss-Blog writing somewhat at length here about John Mellencamp's phenomenal performance Saturday night at the Credit 1 Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL? 

No. 1, it was truly phenomenal. The Indiana man is 74 and kills it out there (still smokes - even snuck one in on stage). Has a book of hit songs that goes on forever. And performs them with perfection, backed by a truly marvelous band.

Beyond that, it was 20 miles from the Indiana border and it showed. The sold-out crowd  of 28,000 definitely included a sizeable number of Hoosiers who love Mellencamp's music but are not in love with Mellencamp's liberal leanings. And it showed.

In his opening song, "Lawless Times," a pop-tune throwback to the '50s, he disparages ICE and its illicit efforts.

MAGA attendees got up and left. Just left. Large pockets of empty seats suddenly showed up in the pavilion after he blended a lyric about ICE into the 2014 cult hit. It was his first song. Tickets in the pavilion were pricey. These people didn't care - they just left.

Mellencamp wasn't done. 

In an extended version of "Pink Houses," he belted out "... go to work is some high rise and vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico."

He paused. Looked out at the audience, the band holding the rhythm behind him ... and he asked, "You OK with the Gulf of Mexico?"

A smattering of boos in a crowd that was predominantly in favor of calling it that, rather than Trump's "Gulf of America." More MAGA loyalists got up and left.

From organizing "Farm Aid" with Neil Young and Willie Nelson, to the Gulf of Mexico (not America), Mellencamp has never been shy about expressing his liberal ways. Even ran a video during the show, a duet he did with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, a song called "Wasted Days," a duet with one of Trump's biggest critics, who's not shy about expressing such on stage.

Take that MAGA.

***

As we enjoyed Mellencamp's performance, the Gulf (not Mexico, but Persian) was exploding again, with the accompanying gas and grocery price spikes that go with it

The US fired on some 140 Iranian targets in supposed response to Iran firing at a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and having subsequently closed the Strait.

And it leaves us with oil tankers stranded. Gas prices spiking. An already sensitive world economy fracturing even further.

Welcome to Trump's ongoing War with Iran, the one that emphasizes his not thinking about Americans' financial situations and his feeling that "Nobody gives a sh_t about housing."

What a guy.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, John Mellencamp.

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

The Schloss-Blog: I've Got A Problem With Amazon, Facebook and the New York Times (Among Other Things)

Are you as ticked off as the Schloss-Blog is about ... amazon and/or Facebook and/or the New York Times?

The Schloss-Blog is ticked off, although I am basically a very happy (go lucky) guy.

But amazon has been slow with deliveries - have they been for you too, especially if you live in a Blue State, like me? Stuff that used to come the same day, now, regularly, comes in two days, sometime three. What's up with that?

***

And Meta (i.e., Facebook) has been a pain in the ass. To sign in, Facebook makes you jump through hoops, as you squirm to try to identify three fire hydrants, or buses, or bridges, or ... whatever, in extremely grainy, fuzzy pics, splattered across an array of nine. You do it again. And again. And again, before Facebook finally lets you sign on. Hey Facebook, hey Zuckerberg, if your buddy Trump doesn't give a sh_t about housing or people's financial situations, then nobody gives a sh_t about three fire hydrants either.

Apparently, Zuckerberg is working so hard on developing AI that he has forgotten about, well, everything else.

***

Do you have an electronic subscription to the NY Times, like I do? The Times, apparently, they are a changing, and unnecessarily too. They're making me (and you?) jump through hoops just to sign on. After entering I.D. and password, do you get the same f_ckin' a pop-up I do, redirecting you to yet another email that has a "code," and after retrieving it, you have to go back to where you came from and enter the f_ckin' code. 

Apparently though, what they want you to do is add people to your subscription. Such a bargain. Hey New York Times, who gives a sh_t? Just let me read what I just punched up.

***

Anyway, been watching Wimbledon? Why do tennis players, with an easy overhead awaiting a smash, hit directly at their opponents instead of into the open court?

Watched Tiafoe do it. And  Keys. And Anisimova. Hey, just put the ball away; why extend the point and give your opponent a hint of a chance?

Is it some psychological thing, showing you can overpower your opponent? Maybe. Doesn't work though.

***

Oh Davey Hearn, you've been a bad boy.

The 67-year-old former Olympic kayaker made a big mistake: he was hanging out at the damaged, algae-filled body of water we formerly called Washington, D.C.'s Reflecting Pool, where he picked up a small strip - hand-sized strip, of the painted-America Blue floor of the pool, a floor that came loose after Asshole Trump's motorcade drove over the whole f_ckin' thing, which no doubt caused the flooring to suffer a - wait for it - 350-foot, ultra-damaging gash.

And now he's been indicted for doing such. His lawyers have not only insisted upon his innocence (and that of several others who were arrested on similar charges) , but they've called out the administration for being completely devoid of evidence in an attempt to cover up the botched job it did in renovating the pool.

With the Iran negotiations going nowhere in the incapable hands of Jared Kushner and Steve Wit-less-koff, with Americans expressing no confidence in the president's ability to get a handle on an economy for which pricing and cost-of-living are out of control, with ICE picking up anybody who doesn't look like - wait for it -Vanilla Ice - Trump is focused on the damage he did to the Reflecting Pool and who he can blame it on.

***

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

Hope you had a Happy 4th and Happy 250th America.

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

The Schloss-Blog: "Nobody Give A Shit About Housing."

The Schloss-Blog is noting that for every lower court ruling that goes against Trump, the Supreme Court comes along and hands him a reversal. 

Immigration? Lower courts ruled that TPS (Temporary Protected Status) could stand for migrants from Haiti, Syria and other countries. But the Supreme Court reversed it and that means Trump and his acolytes can deport whoever they want to from among 350,000 Haitians and 6,500 Syrians who are here under that status.

In other words, if you're not white, you're not wanted here. Getting Congress back in the midterms will slow it down. Getting the presidency back in 2028 will end it.

We are a racist country. Trump and the Republicans in Congress are proud of that.

***

Trump took what would've been a bill that would've hopefully made it easier to buy a house and said he ain't signing it - an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill - unless his restrict-the-vote SAVE ACT passes (which it won't). 

Trump has relentlessly bombed Republican senators for not passing the SAVE bill. Only Iran has suffered more from bombings and Trump is giving them a half-billion dollars to heal from that.

Trump's true heart is seen in his own words: "Nobody gives a sh_t about housing," which he supposedly told House Speaker Mike Johnson in a private meeting.

Right now though, the bipartisan housing bill sits on Trump's desk, awaiting his signature that is apparently never coming.

***

Are Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Hareem Jeffries (D-NY) doing enough to get the Democrats over the finish line in the upcoming midterm elections? Are they out of touch with progressives in their party?

Maybe and probably, respectively.

With Trump continually sliding in polling about his job performance, why haven't the Democratic leaders stepped up, condemned him in the strongest possible terms and made sure the rest of the party picked up the cry?

The Schloss-Blog has spoken out about this before: the Democrats have been too sedate, too sedentary to get voters riled up. They have a golden opportunity to do so, but their messaging and communication has been flaccid.

They seem to be just waiting on Trump to screw up (he has) and hoping that carries them across the midterm-election finish line.

Will it be enough? We'll see.

***

The United States is engaged in tripartite messaging about Iran: 

**Marco Rubio is telling the Gulf states we haven't sold them out with the MOU with Iran (yes, we did);

**Idiot Trump is telling everyone Iran has surrendered unconditionally (they haven't, but the U.S. has); 

**and J.D. Vance is telling everyone that the negotiations with Iran are going well (they're not and we're still shooting at each other, aren't we?).

***

Good night, Mra. Calabash. Here's to you, Jordan Grinnell.

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

The Schloss-Blog: MOU Is A Giant F_ck You to America. And Who Is David Carter Hearn?

Who is David Carter Hearn?

The 67-year old from Bethesda, Maryland, has been arrested for allegedly contaminating the Reflecting Pool in D.C., which has turned algae green and has it "American Flag Blue" paint peeling off, because the contractor who painted it fu_cked up.

Can't wait to see the Trump administration try to make these charges stick.

***

Meanwhile, the Schloss-Blog is reading the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran and the U,S. (i.e., Donald Trump) is giving away the farm.

Why'd we start the war anyway, back in February?

Before the war, Iran was able to freely export its oil. Now, it still can.

Before the war, Iran did not have acceSS to so much of its frozen, sanctioned assets. Now it doe$.

Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was wide open, vessels passing freely. Now, they can again, at Iran's pleasure, which said it was closing it down.

Before the war, Iran could collect a "toll" at the Strait if it wanted to. Now, it can again, if it wants to.

Before the war, Iran's radical regime was intact. Now, it is again.

Before the war, Iran had its enriched uranium. Now, it still does.

Trump went to war, only to give it all back, as the MOU details.

Trump went to war, dragged in by Israel. Now, he has essentially abandoned them. Israel is not party to this "deal."

Trump sucks.

***

Oh yeah, Trump always criticized Biden for using an electronic pen.

Now, he just used one on the MOU.

*** 

Speaking of the New York Knicks and the star guarsd who gave up so much to accomplish .. everything, the Schloss-Blog is just wondering, in the wake of that, in the wake of Jalen Brunson giving up $100 million+ to help piece the team together, wondering...

...what Steph Curry thinks;

...what LeBron James thinks;

...what Devin Booker thinks;

...what Kevin Durant thinks;

...what Joel Embiid thinks;

...what Paul George thinks;

...what Russell Westbrook thinks;

...what Nicola Jokic thinks;

...what Pat Riley thinks;

...what Thom Thibodeau thinks;

...what HoF coach Pat Ambrose thinks;

...what Steve Kerr thinks;

...what Draymond Green thinks;

***

Agai though, the war is over, right? Or is it?

Israel is still fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, which could be a dealbreaker.

In any event, a deal to make a deal is all this memorandum is about. None of the US/Israeli goals were accomplished. 

Just to reiterate:

**Iran still has its missiles;

**Iran's terrorist proxies are still its terrorist proxies;

**There was regime change in Iran. The hardline Republican Guard is still in charge;

** Iran's navy was partially destroyed. Partially;

**Nuclear enrichment: Iran still has its enriched uranium and doesn't appear ready to give it up.

Meanwhile, Iran is going to get billions in relief with the unfreezing of many of its sanctioned assets; It will also be able to sell oil without having to try to sneak through the US Navy blockade, which has now been lifted.

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

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, David Carter Hearn.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll radio show (at radio free phoenix dot com).

Just Wondering...

The Schloss-Blog is just wondering, in the wake of the Knicks title, in the wake of Jalen Brunson giving up $100 million+ to help piece the team together, wondering...

...what Steph Curry thinks;

...what LeBron James thinks;

...what Devin Booker thinks;

...what Kevin Durant thinks;

...what Joel Embiid thinks;

...what Paul George thinks;

...what Russell Westbrook thinks;

...what Nicola Jokic thinks;

...what Pat Riley thinks;

...what Thom Thibodeau thinks;

...what HoF coach Pat Ambrose thinks;

...what Steve Kerr thinks;

...what Draymond Green thinks;

***

The war is over. Or is it?

Israel is still fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, which could be a dealbreaker.

In any event, a deal to make a deal is all this memorandum is about. None of the US/Israeli goals were accomplished:

**Iran still has its missiles;

**Iran's terrorist proxies are still its terrorist proxies;

**There was regime change in Iran. The hardline Republican Guard is still in charge;

** Iran's navy was partially destroyed. Partially;

**Nuclear enrichment: Iran still has its enriched uranium and doesn't appear ready to give it up.

Meanwhile, Iran is going to get billions in relief with the unfreezing of many of its sanctioned assets; It will also be able to sell oil without having to try to sneak through the US Navy blockade, which has now been lifted.

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

***

This Is The End

This is the end, the Schloss-Blog notes, beautiful friend, this is the end,, my only friend, the end,

The Doors nailed it, didn't they. 

Meant to signify "...an epic, stream-of-consciousness, exploration of death, the loss of innocence, and the subconscious," the song aptly sums up where the United States is, where Donald Trump is, in his incessant reciting that the Iran War is almost over, virtually over, close to being over.

But it's not. It's supposed to be over today, but is it?

Hello Election Day, 2026, and Republicans running to hold Congress will find out if sticking with Trump or parting with him on this war, this slush fund and/or the ballroom will be rewarded by the voting public or whether they'll be sacked and will yield control of Congress to the do-nothing Democrats..

*** 

As an aside, as of June 9th, per CNN, Trump has claimed, 38 times, that the war with Iran is over and an agreement has been reached that will have Iran yield its weaponry, its support for terrorist proxies, its enriched uranium and will reopen the Strait.

THIRTY-EIGHT times. Has obviously added a couple since then. Blames those "tricky, dishonest" Iranians when it doesn't happen.

Iran is denying this and appears it will never surrender outright, as seen in its shooting down of a U.S. military helicopter, without any overt retaliation from Trump and the United States, because Trump WANTS OUT OF THE WAR and can't find a way to get there while he maintains his blockade of the Strait and Israel maintains its war with Hezbollah.

He keeps insisting on what will be a complete surrender from Iran, and it ain't gonna' happen.

***

Democrats, Trump and the Republicans have handed you gold for campaign material. What are you doing with it? Here's the rundown:

Trump "loves the inflation" that is crippling so many American households.

Trump "doesn't think about Americans financial situations," as they live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to pay for gas, groceries, medications, healthcare, et. al.

Trump said, campaigned on, "Prices will come down." How's that working out? Inflation hit 4.2% last month, its highest mark in years.

Trump blames Biden for everything. Everything. But Trump's been president - again - for almost a year-and-a-half. He owns this. He knows it. The American people know it.

***

Elon Musk is a trillionaire. A freakin' trillionaire. 

Won't be watching the freakin' UFC cage matches at the White House. Disgraceful.

*** 

I'd be remiss if I didn't say how proud we are of our daughter and how lucky we are to have such great friends and relatives who repeatedly told us of the faith they have in her.

With that, good night Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Erin.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show. Maybe the war will be over by then. Yeah, right.