What Are We Doing, Democrats?

The Schloss-Blog wants to urge Democrats to do something ...

...aggressive. Impolite. Impassive. 

The American public regards your party with the same approval ratings it gives to Donald Trump, in the 30ish percentile, because you don't have your act together and you've given them nothing to grasp onto, hope for, believe in, et. al.

Yes, you can run on affordability (sure worked in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races in 2025), so stop complaining about everything else, like:

**Weaponizing

**Trade

**Foreign policy

**Need I say more?

Americans are fed up with foreign wars and tariffs that have driven up prices and made the cost of living unbearable, out it on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis and left people unable to afford healthcare, insurance therefor and - as polling now shows consistently - the ability to live the American Dream (to cards, two kids, a dog and house in the suburbs). 

Especially a house. People can't afford to buy a house, they consistently tell pollsters.

Dems, take your cue for speaking points from the late-night, talk-show hosts who blister the Trump administration for the policies that have caused all this.

Stephen Colbert may be going off the air on May 21 (thank you assholes at CBS), but he has regularly skewered Trump and will do so all the way to "Exit, stage left."

John Stewart on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, scolds the administration every Monday night, and Trump in particular, for his out-of-whack policies and weaponization of the DOJ and the FBI. Then he produces a show the rest of the week that does the same, with brilliant hosts and insightful guests who are expert at doing the same and underwrite the skewering the show does.

Jimmy Kimmel, at war with the administration for using its own words against it, has parent Disney's muscle behind him and neither he, not it, will yield to Trump pressure to dump him. In fact, they relish in it.

Over at NBC, the one major network that hasn't capitulated to the administration - yet - Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers always take Trump to task, Meyers especially with "A Closer Look" pieces that shred Trump, using his own words regularly too.

These guys should be your script writers, Democrats. Get with it. Start watching them, adapting their techniques and adopting their methods of attack.

Please!

***

 

Escort? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Escort

The Schloss-Blog wants to know, seeing as it's prom season ... who needs an escort?

Out of the Strait of Hormuz, that is.

***

With a cease-fire still in effect (since April 13), despite the war continuing anyway, as of this writing, who needs an escort to get out of the Strait of Hormuz?

And who doesn't? And how many ships, exactly have gotten through? Depends on who you ask. Varying estimates say somewhere between 15 to 26, total, as of May 9. Very interesting, since, usually, 130-150 ships a day usually go through.

Despite the cease-fire in or cessation of operations in "Operation Epic Fury," (it's over, right?), and since the declaration of a cease-fire (it's still in effect, right?), and because "Project Freedom" began (and since ended), President Trump has his hands tied by the Iranians, who are still not allowing ship traffic in the Strait, and the Saudi Arabians, who objected to the U.S. using American bases in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabian airspace to support the escort service.

Got all that?

Bottom line: only a trickle of the one-fifth of the world's oil that generally transits the Strait is getting through now and President Trump, with his blockade on the other side of the Strait, is determined to keep it that way.

So, hereby, in support of the United States and in tribute to our efforts, I'm only doing one-fifth of my usual activities during the "mini-war." I mean, "excursion." No, wait, little "journey," that the United States is on in the Gulf.

I mean, after all, me, amd many others, are paying $90 to fill up the gas tank now, where we were probably spending about half of that when the "skirmish," "detour," 'excursion," "love tap," "situation," and, officially, "Operation Epic Fury" began in February..

The problem here seems to be that Tramp needs a way out of this war without saying it's a war anymore, so he doesn't have to ask Congress for approval to continue it, and so he doesn't have to admit that ... wait for it ... we lost the war.

OK, the mini-war. But we're f_ckin' losing it, and Tramp knows it. All he has to do is look at the average price of a gallon of gas right now in the United States, which is $4.55 and climbing.

And then look at his approval rating among Americans because of the war and its impact on that price and the economy in general, which is a net 57% disapproval, more than 62% on just the economy alone.

He's lost 21 points on that since the war began. And is sinking more everyday.

Well, he's got his "skirmishes" in Iran and in the Strait. You've got yours at the gas station and at the grocery store.

Having fun?

***

I'd be remiss here if I didn't pay tribute to many people in my life who have been lost, just since the beginning of this year.

Most recently, Len Strazewski passed away. He was a teaching colleague at Columbia College Chicago for the entirety of my 23 years there. He was not just a fellow journalism instructor. He was a giant in the comic-strip industry, He was also a champion of my tenure application.

John Hesterman was the host of "Looking Back at Arizona's Top 40," a weekly show on Radio Free Phoenix, where I've been a DJ now since 2018. He came on board with that show in 2019. His vast knowledge of and familiarity with the rock scene in The Valley made him a perfect and invaluable host. He was a close friend of station creator Andy Olson and was loved by all of us at RFP and by all of his listeners.

Dan Josephs, 94, passed away in April. He was the father of one of my closest friends and was the longtime president of the famed Dominick's grocery-store chain. He and his late, wonderful, loving wife, Judy, had a home in Arizona and we had dinner with them several times. He picked up the check every time. He was a devout Cubs fan and could write their history from rote. 

Those three are just the last few weeks. Previously, this year...

David Kuffner was a beloved colleague of Jocelyn and everyone else at Cannon Design, where he mentored and guided so many. It was a pleasure to see so many of them, who I know so well, at his celebration-of-life event. 

Beth Anderson was one of the head athletic trainers at her alma mater, Wheeling High School, where I spent hours sitting alongside her at the countless basketball games I covered there, sharing laughs and statistics. She was a star athlete there, I only regret that I didn't get to play a round of golf with her, especially since she had retired to Arizona, not too far from my second home. She was very supportive, as I understand it, of what turned out to be my surprising acceptance into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Friend of Athletics." I'm only sorry that I wasn't an even closer friend of hers.

Terry Cole was a fraternity brother at UAlbany (nee, Albany State University), where I earned my Bachelor's Degree. He was a dependable buddy at a bar, at a party, during a conversation or just lounging around, playing Hearts or banging away on the fraternity pinball machine.

And more recently, I was informed that a dear friend's father has received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. He has a year, maybe 18 months.

I wish I had 18 months, and a lot more, with everyone I just mentioned. Thank you for indulging me in the opportunity I just took to express my grief. This is just too much all at once.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Donna Merrill Feary (Happy Birthday).

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

Meanwhile...

The Schloss-Blog takes note that things are just going peachy in the Iran War:

For instance, the blockade of the blockade appears to be working.

And working.

Pete Hegseth remains disgusting. He's also a bad a secretary of defense.

The price of gas is averaging ... wait for it ... $4.30 a gallon.

....no, wait ... it went up overnight to ... $4.41 a gallon.

 Iran still has its enriched uranium...

....even though it was obliberated back in June of 2025.

So we've still been trying to obliberate it throughout most of 2026.

And 13 American soldiers are dead, subsequently...

....plus the hundreds more - at least 300 - who are wounded and/or injured...

...by Iran's - wait for it ... obliberated military capabilities....

...which Hegseth, and Trump, have been saying has been obliberated.

Again. 

And again.

And again.

***

Meanwhile...

We're in the last weeks of Colbert.

I'm in the eighth year of my time at RFP (radiofreephoenix.com). Thank you, Andy, Liz, Sharon, Joe C, David.

Trump is calling for Kimmel's head again...

...even though he publicly validated Kimmel's point about the age difference between himself and Melania.

Trump also says Kimmel is low-rated... 

...as Kimmel notes that it's Trump who's the low-rated one.

***

Meanwhile... ICYMI:

**The NCAA basketball tournament is expanding to 76 teams (from 68). 

This is good - St. Helpless of the Plains deserves a chance to beat North Carolina. And why not? Virginia Commonwealth did it last year.

**Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are out of the NHL playoffs. In the first round. And all-time goal-scoring leader Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals didn't even make it. Which means you no longer have a reason to watch the NHL playoffs.

And all the talentless goons who do nothing but fight during the regular season, can once again fight in the playoffs.

Because no one is watching.

**

Wanna hear a good joke?

James Comey was indicted again.

***

Roadside sign in Atlanta: Rte 140, Hawks 89.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Olivia Rodrigo.

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

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.

Dragged 'In' By Netanyahu ... Dragged 'out' by Epstein?

The Schloss-Blog wants to know: does Donald Trump make his own decisions? Not when Benjamin Netanyahu makes them for him.

Did the Israeli PM, still fighting for his political life, make sure the United States was dragged into war with Iran by convincing Trump that it was in the United States' best interests to join Israel in ravaging Iran?

Probably.

And while the United States is "re-obliberating" what it already had "obliberated" back in June, Iran and the proxy terrorist organizations under its wing (Houthis, Hezbollah) are attacking U.S. bases around the Middle East (and hitting some not U.S. military base targets). Meanwhile, the U.S. is hitting at least one civilian target in Iran, killing school children.

So, did Iran "dis-obliberate" what the United States had already 'obliberated,' according to President Trump?

In any event,, take your pick. And tell us now, what this "war/not a war" is all about:

** Regime change in Iran? 

            *Don't count on it, necessarily.

** 'Obliberating' a 'dis-obliberated' nuclear threat?

            *It was obliberated already, right? Right?

** Freeing the Iranian people to rise up (and be slaughtered again in the streets)?

            *How'd that work out last time they "rose up?"

** Or just protecting our military assets in the Middle East?

            *We had intel that said they were going to attack us if Israel attacked them. 

In other words, Israel dictated our foreign policy and literally dragged us into this war/not-a-war.

Just asking, Donald, just asking. As if you know the answer.

***

She was declared dead.

She had drowned in a backyard pool, in Gilbert, Arizona.

Rushed to a hospital, she was declared dead, an hour after life-saving measures had been performed on-site.

Five hours later - FIVE HOURS - she showed signs of life and the as-yet unidentified child is now expected to survive.

Or, as an ER doctor said: "Dr. Frank LoVecchio told [local Arizona outlet] AZFamily that healthcare workers should remain “overly sensitive” when “pronouncing a child dead."

Ya' think?

***

The Epstein Files are still out there and Trump keeps looking more and more implicated, doesn't he?

***

Kristi Noem is out as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Nominated to replace her, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R - Oklahoma), is a former MMA fighter with little to no experience in border protection and immigration enforcement.

He once picked a fight, during a committee session, right there in the chamber, with witness Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters Union.

He'll be about as effective as Noem, just without the fancy wardrobe and dog-shootings.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Bryce Drew.

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

 

 

I ran and I ran and I ran - and then I skated

The Schloss-Blog is not amused that the United States is once again participating in a war (Iran) that will result in many deaths around the Middle East. We were promised no more wars, we were promised the end of two wars, on "day one." How's that working out?

Also, we're a little ticked that the @WhiteHouse is using the Gold Medal-winning U.S. Men's Hockey Team as political props, promoting their presence at the State of the Union address and giving the goalie, Conner Hellybuyck, the Medal of Honor. Brady Tkachuk isn't happy the the president used his image in a video that appears to show him disparaging Canadians, who @Trump despises.

Bill Maher, the acerbic comic and talk-show host, has said repeatedly that he thinks @Trump despises war, an impression he took away from a dinner with Trump.

He's not so sure about it now.

***

Trump said in June that we had obliberated Iran's nuclear capabilities. Now, with this weekend's attacks on Iran, are we obliberating them again, or attempting to?

Again?

Will this be a long-term campaign? Will Americans die? Will American boots be on the ground in Iran?

Nobody knows, or is saying.

Iran is no peaceful state: slaughtering protesters; financing and arming terrorists in the Middle East; vowing to destroy Israel, and already with many years of American blood on its hands, dating back to the embassy occupancy in 1979.

Trump wants Iranians to rise up against is dictatorial regime. Will they? They were slaughtered in the streets weeks ago. History says they'll be slaughtered again, as in: Hungary 1956; Bay of Pigs, 1961; and Tiananmen Square, 1989.

Yet, the president who professes to be the should've-been and next would-be Nobel Peace Prize winner, has launched eight - EIGHT - military operations in his first 13 months in office so far. 

Nobel Peace Prize, my ass.

***

If the battle persists, if the campaign goes on - days, weeks, months even - impact to oil prices is immeasurable. Estimates are that 20% to 40% of the world's crude oil passes through the Straits of Hormuz and with Irani-sympathetic terrorists prospectively targeting shipments there, impact to crude oil prices could jump as much as 70%, by some estimates, in the result of a protracted conflict.

Or just for revenge by Iranian-sympathetic Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Oh boy!

*** 

Also, back home, America is celebrating the U.S. Gold Medal in Hockey at the Olympics in a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over Canada.

Oh, that's the women's team, the one that won't go the White House because of @Trump's insults and disparagement of women.

The men's team did participate in White House misogyny by showing up at the State of the Union and receiving @Trump's blessing, little knowing that they were being used as political props by @Trump.

Heroic goalie Connor Hellebucyk will receive the Medal of Honor from @Trump for making 41 saves in the historic win over Canada, or about as many saves as wars @Trump claims to have stopped.

More significantly, American Brady Tkachuk, a star player, is miffed over his use in a White House video that appears to show him disparaging Canada.

In other words, he recognized that he and the team are being used as props by @Trump.

Congratulations.

SNL had its take on it as well.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Hilary Knight.

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

The Bitchy Blonde, the Supremes and - Oh Yeah, the Olympics

The Schloss-Blog is just loving that the Supreme Court struck down Trump's authority to impose tariffs (he didn't like it). But at least the Olympics are going our way, right?

***

Been watching the Olympics? They've been fab.

American speed skaters are coming home with a lot of medals, including three for Jordan Stolz of Wisconsin, two of them gold, although most of the fun watching speed skating, especially short track, is seeing all those wipeouts that those skaters cause, undercutting each other, costing each other medals. It's almost like, "If I can't win, you can't either." Almost.

Hockey? Congrats to the U.S. Women and their thrilling, come-from-behind win over Canada for the gold. Take that Canandians. 

No, we love Canadians. We miss them in Arizona, where their visits and tourism overall is down thanks to the tariff man. Last year, there was a group of Canadians we encountered, every Sunday morning in the spring, unwinding right along with us after playing at our fav Encanto 9 golf course, and we got chatty with them every week.

They didn't like Trump and were not understated about it. We saw them every week. This year, we are not seeing them every week and can only surmise they didn't come back. As they had threatened. Either have their countrymen.

Getting the message, Donald? A lot of businesses - hotels, restaurants, hospitality in general, and retailers - are feeling it.

Anyway, more on that soon enough - now back to the Olympics. To me, the best part of the Olympics isn't any one gold medal-winning performance, any one triple salchow in skating or any one record-setting triple twist with four flips in freestyle skiing or boarding.

It's hearing the National Anthem - The Star-Spangled Banner, playing with an American or American teammates on the podium, after receiving their gold medals, the pride showing on their beaming faces, the tears being restrained, or perhaps not (Breezy Johnson). 

Tell me a chill doesn't run up and down your spine when you see this, live. Tell me your don't feel pride. Tell me you don't experience the chill, right along with the athlete or athletes.

You know you do. It's the best part of the Olympics and I can never see it enough times.

***

Tariffs.

They drive up prices at retail. You know why.

Not because foreign countries pay them (as Donald claims), but because American shoppers pay them, at the retail counter, where the American importers who pay them at the docks pass them along to American consumers, at the store.

Somebody please explain this to Donald. Looks he suffers from his own Trump Derangement Syndrome.

There's a reason Americans say the economy sucks. Because prices suck. And prices suck because of Donald's Dumb Tariffs.

Now, with Trump's authority to impose tariffs at his will having been struck down by the Supreme Court, consumers as well as importers are in limbo. Trump says he can find a way to reimpose tariffs, which he says punishes foreign countries and foreign competitors. 

Not to worry  Trump says a provision of the 1974 Trade Act gives him the authority to impose tariffs again, now that the Supreme Court has said he can't. Apparently, he already has imposed them again.

So, are we right back where we started from, with Trump throwing firebombs at foreign countries, or will the Supremes get another crack at this (Trump is throwing firebombs at the justices who voted down his authority, including two he appointed, plus Chief Justice Roberts).

***

It's a week or so after her testimony before Congress. Pam Bondi remains a bitch.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you Kate Kuffner.

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

 

Vance Booed, 'Bored' of Peace, A 'Bitch' Named Bondi, A Prayer For Mary and ... The Differences Between...

The Schloss-Blog, in its ongoing Olympic coverage, noticed that J.D. Vance got his ass booed at the opening ceremonies in Milan. What a swell guy. Maybe, on his way back, he'll get hit by one of those driverless semis being tested on the roads right now.

And, oh yeah, we watched Tony Dokoupil on the CBS Evening News, so you wouldn't have to.

***

But for starters, did anyone catch AG Pam Bondi's lack of testimony before a congressional committee? She an absolute bitch, inside out and backwards.

She refused to answer questions, went on and on about "how great" [Asshole] President Trump is and called congressmen into question for questioning that.

Meanwhile, law enforcement in the United States has become entirely focused on deporting those who are here legally. Even beating and killing them - dare I say murdering them.

The law enforcement that the FBI and the DOJ should be focused upon is going unfocused upon while their attempts at indicting Trump's "political enemies" keep failing, even though they should be able to, as the saying goes, "indict a ham sandwich."

She is a B-I-T-C-H.

If you watch any of South Park's new season episodes, you'll notice the brown stuff materializing on Bondi's nose in the scenes in which she is portrayed.

Guess what it is. D'oh. A reflection of how far her nose is up Trump's ass.

***

The 'Bored' of Peace, Trump's billion-dollar-membership organization which pledges to do anything but uphold peace, has been meeting to discuss opportunities to ... let's face it ... attack Iran.

Israel's all in and Trump, who has pledged to keep us out of war, is close to getting us into one. Another one.

Talk about being 'Bored.'

***

Tony Dokoupil, the anchor of the CBS Evening News on weeknights and the next Walter Cronkite (just ask him), is not doing what he pledged he would do - talk to you people out there.

So, the Schloss-Blog watched a few episodes of the CBS Evening News to find out.

We're still throwing up. Dokoupil promised to be out talking to you people out there, American people, not just "academics and elites," et. al.

And so, during the week of Feb. 9, we watched all of his weeknight broadcasts. He talked to experts, elites and academics for commentary on the leading stories of the day (the economy, Gaza, Ukraine, you name it).

Thanks, Tony, for the transparency. Cronkite just rolled over.

***

It's been two weeks now that Nancy Guthrie, Savannah's mother, has been missing, allegedly taken, for ransom.

She's 84. IMHO, she won't make it to 85.

What do these kidnappers want? Who are they? Why a Guthrie? What did Savannah do to piss somebody off? 

***

The Schloss-Blog, in its ongoing, periodic review of the differences between men and women, has noted that:

Men say I gotta' (rhymes with "kiss"). Women says, I have to "pee."

Men say, "let's have another round." Women say, "Give me the car keys."

When male artists sing about "love," they sing about "sex." When fmale artists sing about "love," they sing about "romance."

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Savannah Guthrie.

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

 

JDM, Phoenix City Council, Councilman Robinson and the Cardinals (And WaPo sports - gone).

The Schloss-Blog wants to say ... Hey, Phoenix City Council, there was never a doubt you were going to approve an architectural misfit sore thumb for the Biltmore neighborhood ... and now Donald Trump wants to rename Penn Station after himself - so, he wants to call it "Asshole" Station? ... and the Washington Post is literally now a shadow of its Pulitzer Prize-winning self ... and, on a high note, congrats to Larry Fitzgerald on being a first-ballot entrant to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A few questions though...

***

...In exchange for releasing the funds for badly needed infrastructure repairs for New York/New Jersey commuter arteries, Donald Trump says he wants either Penn Station in New York or Dulles Airport in D.C. renamed - for him.

Odd, isn't it though, that he wants to rename a major airport or railway hub and have either called, "Asshole Station" or "Dementia Airport?"  

***

Congrats to Larry Fitzgerald on his first-ballot election into the prestigious NFL Hall of Fame. What an honor. He is second all-time in receptions and receiving yards (to you-know-who).

Gotta' wonder though: although he scored on a 64-yard skinny post from Kurt Warner to give the Cardinals a 23-20 lead over the Steelers with 2:37 left in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers used just about every bit of that 2:37 to drive for their winning score.

Cardinals radio announcers Dave Pasch and Ron Wolfley even wondered aloud after that score if there was too much time left for the Steelers to steal it, and they did, on a spectacular drive and subsequent TD play.

But what if ... Fitzgerald had gone down deliberately at the Pittsburgh 1, given himself up there, gave the Cardinals four plays to use up a lot of time and made the Steelers use up what timeouts they had left? The Steelers did have two timeouts left and the two-minute warning. They used 'em all on their subsequent game-winning drive, right down to the wire, so without all that, who knows?

As it was, the Cardinals had 38 second left and two timeouts after Pittsburgh's go-ahead TD, which put the Steelers ahead 27-23. The Cardinals needed a TD. Would've been difficult an it obviously was.

So, what if? Could the Cardinals have won? If Fitzgerald had gone down at the 1, could they have scored on four plays from there against the vaunted Steelers defense, run some time, killed the Steelers timeouts? 

Would've been nice to see 'em try.

***

Don't bother looking for the Washington Post Sports Section anymore. Its sports staff, its international staff, have been decimated by Trump friend and "Melania" documentary underwriter Jeff Bezos.

When you dump $75 million into that loser of a film, something else has to suffer and Bezos had just announced 16,000 layoffs at amazon. In all, 300 of the Post's 800 editorial employees were eliminated.

WaPo was just next in line for "Mr. Melania."

***

... on a personal note ... the Phoenix City Council, which works hard under the direction of Mayor Kate Gallego, already had its minds made up last Wednesday when it unanimously approved developer JDM's SIX-STORY condo structure at the intersection of 24th Street and Arizona Biltmore Circle (ABC for short). 

The six stories alone make it a misfit in the neighborhood, where the 17 various Biltmore subdivisions (and 1,800 units) that make up ABEVA (Arizona Biltmore Estates Village Association) have nary any three-story structures.

Yes, many of those 1,800 have been around since the '80s (like my townhouse along the Biltmore Links Golf Course's 12th hole), but they were reasonably priced upon construction and despite pandemic-and-inflation-driven increases, remain reasonably so.

JDM's self-described "luxury" units will be much more upscale and don't be surprised when institutional buyers gobble them up, rent them out. JDM has been sparse with pricing information for its prospective units, but with almost 200 and two cars per, it ain't going to be easy to make a left out of 'ABC' onto 24th Street.

The saddest part though was the testimony of the Millenials and even Gen X'ers who said these "affordable" units were needed. Most of them could very well have been JDM employees or employees' relatives and friends, from watching them give high fives and back slaps to each other outside the council chambers.

The median price for a condo, any condo, in the Biltmore area, meanwhile, is a reported $425K. These new units will likely be much more expensive.

Of those youngsters who testified in favor, wonder how many of them combined it would take to purchase just one unit in the new development.

There goes the neighborhood.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Andreas Bocelli, for that stirring Olympic Ceremony rendition of "Nessum Dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot." The song's title translates to "None Shall Sleep" and closes with the line, "Vincero" (I shall win).

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

I Don't Always Want To Write About Him, But...

America is a mess. America is in deep, deep trouble. America is losing itself.

The Schloss-Blog is watching America slip away, all its rights disappearing:

**Freedom of speech, fading;

**Journalists arrested, for doing their jobs;

**Healthcare premiums soaring;

**Citizens' rights to protest freely under attack;

**Thugs disguised as ICE/CPB officers, masked, no ID, randomly arresting, beating, killing legitimate citizens;

**Anti-semitism sprouting;

**Gun rights under attack if you're a liberal, preserved if you're a conservative MAGA-head;

We're becoming an autocracy right before our eyes and we're not doing enough about it.

***

Until now, perhaps, but too little, too late?

Americans protesting ICE and CPB actions around the country, especially in what Trump would like to see become war-torn Minnesota, are beating and even killing citizens, with no remorse, in cold blood.

Where's the outrage? Protest in Congress, from public officials, is too mild too often. They run to court and hope. Where's CNN, MSNOW, the NY Times, the Washington Post ... no, wait, especially on the latter.

Where is the media? Suppressed, cowardly, fearing a lawsuit or a visit from DOJ, or perhaps an arrest. Records seized, with DOJ seeking identities of confidential sources, as was the case for Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post, who has covered the administration's attempts to fire so many government workers, a paper published by Trump friend Jeff Bezos.

Bezos is a reporting-restrictive, right-wing story, a blogpost, unto himself. Staff cuts, elimination of endorsements, limitations on opinion columns, have become de rigueur for the once Pulitzer-proud Post, as Bezos seeks Trump's ongoing favor (see documentary, "Melania").

DEI and academia are suffering too, as at Texas A&M, which is ending its women's studies program. Colleges and universities across the country are being forced to choose between fairness and equality or loss of government research grants and the prestige that goes with them.

Oh yes, anti-semitism, is on the rise, per the Anti-Defamation League.: 

• "Post-Oct 7 Surge: The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, acted as a major catalyst, with a 360% increase in incidents in the three months following the attack compared to the same period the previous year.
• Record Highs: The ADL reported 8,873 incidents in 2023, followed by 9,354 in 2024."

Fun, huh?

The United States is not itself anymore, and we're all paying the price for it. NY Times, where are you? Instead of just reporting on the United States becoming a autocracy, you should turn your stellar, journalistic aim at the outrage going on and express it as powerfully as the citizens putting themselves at risk around the country protesting it.

But you're not. You're reporting on it, but not expressing the outrage required to help mitigate against it. An occasional column. But not everyday outrage. When your ability to even report on it is squelched, who can we turn to? Stop being so cautious, just because Trump filed a suit against you for reporting on your surveys with Siena that show Trump's approval ratings in the toilet.

Not the Washington Post though. See documentary, "Melania."

***

**TikTok, having been sold now to Trump allies, is said to be deleting and/or prohibiting posts that are anti-Trump. Wonder how that's gonna' sit with its young audience, once faithfully dedicated to it as a news source (yikes!). Will they abandon it?

**Analytically speaking, if you keep going for it on 4th-and-short instead of kicking the field goal, instead of taking the 3, you lose the F_CKING game, Sean McDermott; you lose the F_CKING game, Sean McVay; you lose the F_CKING game, Sean Payton, and some gamblers lose their F_CKING shirts.

***

Bill Belichick didn't get into the Hall of Fame. Speculation is, out of the 40 votes (of 50) needed to make it, he didn't get 11.

Deflate-GATE, Spy-GATE and "On to Cincinnati" may have had something to do with it.

By the way, Eli didn't make it either. And if Belichick had, Eli would've been the story everyone would've been talking about.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Alex Pretti.

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

Olympics? Or Super Bowl?

With some Retribution Campaigns in Flames, Greenland On Tap

The Schloss-Blog has been tracking Trump's retribution lawsuits and investigations, and they're fizzling out. So Trump ss countering with the once and former invasion-of-turned-negotiation-for Greenland.

Also known as, "Anything to avoid the Epstein Files." Basically, it all comes down to Trump being a dick.

BREAKING NEWS: Another day in Minnesota, another ICE shooting. Get them the f_ck out of there. For GOOD.

***

Dictator Trump has sought investigations and indictments of his supposed political enemies, but they haven't all gone as he would've liked; either being dismissed or subject to lengthy delays.

Two months ago, flimsy indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and current NY Attorney General Leticia James were dismissed.

Charges against Comey were dropped when Judge Cameron Currie ruled the hasty appointment of Lindsay Halligan as head of the Eastern District of Virginia was "invalid." If you've ever seen a picture of Halligan though, you know why Trump appointed her.

Same thing for the charges against Leticia James (mortgage fraud), who had convicted Trump on 34 felony counts in New York.

The list of investigations that Trump would like to see become successful prosecutions is long, but the cases, again, are as flimsy as Lindsay Halligan's credentials as a prosecutor. It includes Sen. Adam Schiff of California for insurance fraud; Congressman Eric Swalwell of California (mortgage fraud - what, again?); Jack Smith, the former Jan. 6 special counsel, whose recent public hearing exposed the GOP lies against him; Miles Taylor, the former DHS Chief of Staff for ... well, we're not sure what for, as it seems totally unspecified; Chris Krebs, the highly respected, former government cybersecurity director who debunked all of Trump's 2020 election claims; and John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor, who disagreed with Trump ... on foreign policy ... and wrote a scathing book about it.

The list goes on to include former Pentagon Chief of Staff Mark Milley, a completely unfounded investigation of Fed Chief Jerome Powell; and of course, Sen. Mark Kelly (Arizona), who has cautioned the U.S. Military that it doesn't have to obey illegal orders. He and five other congressional types and veterans who appeared in a video to that effect, are being threatened, with Kelly's military rank possibly being targeted for demotion and the senator staring at a possible court martial.

For exercising freedom of speech.

There's more, but...the only thing all of this proves is that Trump is a dick.

***

Meanwhile, as to Greenland...

...Trump wants the vast, Denmark-owned island nation, rich in minerals and low on population, to be the 51st state (sorry, Canada).

Denmark doesn't want to bargain on it and Greenlanders are wearing MAGA hats (Make America Go Away). 

Thanks to Trump's posturing on this at Davos, the United States is losing its prestigious position around the world and is generally no longer respected by ... anyone.

Trump's Bored of Peace is attracting few if any, major players from NATO or anywhere else. Most are minor players willing to fork over $1 billion for a seat to be "Bored."

Trump says his "Bored" will work closely with the United Nations (it won't). Actually, it'll likely be an excuse for Trump to launch military strikes and invasions against anyone he doesn't like or more likely whose resources he wants.

And what's the United Nations going to do about it, unless it's a fellow NATO member, except Trump, a coward, has shown with Greenland, he would never do that. He's a TACO coward.

***

But if Trump, through all these fizzled-out lawsuits and attempted indictments, can try to strip all these rights away from his supposed political enemies, imagine what he can do to you or me, people without the resources of the high-profile politicians and officials he's gone after already.

America - you and me, that is - is in trouble.

***

In fact, just about everything Trump says is a lie.

*DOGE never saved us any money: we actually spent more last year, even though we are bringing in "billions" in tariff revenue. 

*Our deficit just crossed the $38 trillion threshold.

*The U.S. murder rate is at its lowest point in years - yet he wants to send troops into every major American (Blue State) city - to control crime.

*While the border is shut down, according to NPR, prices are hardly going down, as promised, and we are paying out of pocket so much more in so many ways: Thanks in large part to tariffs, "The average tax on U.S. imports today is nearly 18%, according to economists at the Budget Lab at Yale — up from 2.4% before Trump returned to the White House. EIGHTEEN PERCENT!

*He's done little to reduce the trade deficit. which he says other countries are using to "take advantage" of us. It's still at an incredibly high $1 trillion.

No wonder people feel the economy sucks - because it does.

And inflation, which is how most people equate the economy, that's still running ahead of last year, at about 2.8%. If you've been to the grocery store, you know what I'm talking about.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you Renee Nicole Good, whose death has officially been ruled a homicide, and to you, Alex Pretti.

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

Republican Cowards: Will Someone Just Call Trump's Number, Please, For GOOD? He's Such A Sack Of Sh_t

The Schloss-Blog has noticed, and so have you, probably, that from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Republicans all through the ranks are cowards.

They refuse to rebuke Trump on anything, especially that which is authoritarian, because they think he'll call them out, maybe primary them.  

If they all came to their senses, admitted to the constitutional violations they see going on all around them and that they are so approving of, they'd see that the 250-year practice of democracy by which we have lived, and governed, is eroding.

All you have to do is watch any news programming (well, not any), to see Trump's violations of American democracy on the one hand and the Republican endorsement of his extreme policies on the other. But even the mainstream media (ABC, CBS) have caved to him with payouts to his frivolous lawsuits, lawsuits that most legal minds said would've been fended off and defeated.

Easily.

Yet, Trump gets away with ... murder ... as of Jan. 3, there had been 35 attacks on ships cruising in the Caribbean and the Pacific, that killed 115 people.

And one dead, one wounded, many gassed and flash-banged in Minnesota.

With no proof that they were smuggling drugs or had any aboard. If the people had been captured, instead of killed, and the cargo taken, instead of sunk, maybe there would be proof - but Trump and his minions would never dare to even make believe to present such proof and undercut themselves.

Because it doesn't exist. Never did.

No more proof, in other words, than the outright lie that he won the 2020 election, which is believed by his idiot, uneducated MAGA followers. In fact, in his speech to the Detroit Economic Club, almost everything to which he referred or claimed was false, including the 2020 election results, the nation's economic recovery and the claim that prices - PRICES - are going down. But he hasn't personally been to the grocery store in -- oh, 79 years.

Yet, Republicans cower.

Hey Democrats, you don't cower, but it's time to do what he does: for instance, he calls them "the Biden Crime family," so, Democrats, call him and his, "the Trump crime family." Say it. Aloud.

He insults every Democrat he can fit into a clumsily crafted sentence and nasty nickname. He can barely speak a semblance of a sentence anymore without appearing to be on drugs. It's time you did the same. Call out his indiscretions, loud and clear - misogynist, racist, bigot, antisemite (he is), greed, emoluments violations (aplenty), convictions, and, likely, his dementia, which appears to likely be progressing into outright Alzheimer's.

Trump is sick. Make him pay the price for it instead of just waiting for him to make mistakes.

The people of the great state of Minnesota wish you would help them get the murderous malignancy known as ICE out of their state.

For GOOD.

*** 

Football notes:

** Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula was complaining about his fans having to possibly pay for various streaming services in order to watch NFL games, especially playoffs. Pegula and other NFL notables expressed criticism regarding the league's push toward exclusive streaming services. Pegula, according to a ChatGPT search, highlighted the frustration of "Bills Mafia" members who are forced to pay for multiple, high-cost streaming services—such as ESPN+, Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Paramount+—just to watch all of their team's games, especially Bills fans outside of Buffalo.

Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti echoed the same sentiments.

** The Green Bay Packers are reportedly trying to extend head coach Matt LaFleur, despite the team playing "not to lose" and going so conservative in the second half of their come-from-ahead playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.

But when you play not to lose, you usually do.

** Seven times this year, including the playoffs, the Bears have come from behind - trailing in the last 2 minutes - to win. Can that trend continue against the Rams? Will it have to?

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Beth Anderson. You'll be missed.

More Sunday night, a lot more, about Minnesota and more, on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.