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.

The Schloss-Blog: It's $1.776 (Billion) All Over Again

Schloss-Blog looking at $1.776 billion in slush-fund money that the Trump says it will not seek.

To spend on junkies and losers who attacked the Capital on that infamous Jan. 6 day.

Only in America, Trump's America, do convicted criminals get a windfall, slush-fund fortune. And while the administration is saying the fund is dead - for now - the president is being more sneaky about it, more undeniably deniable.

Trump is saying, "I'd have to ask the lawyers, I don't know," when it comes to the fund.

In other words, it ain't dead yet. Like zombies, it's still around. For now.

And when it gets paid out, the Democrats will gripe, they'll complain, they'll declare the injustice of it all.

And then watch it get paid out, unable to stop it, while their appeals possibly wither in court.

***

Congrats, Golden Tempo.

The Kentucky Derby winner outdueled Commandment and Renegade down the stretch at Saratoga, coming from way behind, to win the Belmont Stakes.

Didn't make for much of a quinella or Trifecta, if you're a betting person, but it made for an exciting race at a sold-out Saratoga, hosting the race for a final time, in all likelihood, as Belmont itself completes renovation. 

***

Beyond the firing the Scott Pelley at CBS' "60 Minutes," the network's top brass is apparently worried about its image and the damage done to it by the work of Bari Weiss, who's now running the news operation at the so-called Tiffany network. 

Is her job in jeopardy, for doing what the owner Ellisons likely wanted? Which is take down the credibility of  a program that Donald Trump hates so much that he sued the network over it and got them to cough up $16 million to settle it.

***

The last Baby Boomer will turn 65 in 2030.

Yes, the dominant generation for so long is now watching as Millennials and Gen Z take over, with their mandate to feel that everything would be handed to them and they don't have to work that hard.

Is the nation subsequently in trouble?

Well, yeah, Trump is president, right?

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Jessica Beverly (feel better).

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

Throwing a Dart, But Things Could Be Worse

The Schloss-Blog wants to know, what were you thinking about, Jaxson Dart?

Introducing Donald Trump. At his rally.

This is Nu Yawk, baybee, not Mississippi.

You clearly ruffled some feathers among your teammates, in the Giants front office and likely in league offices too.

So, here's a tip: with many Giants fans publicly announcing they are canceling season-ticket orders, if you want to be popular with your teammates and the fans, no going gaga over an unpopular political figure.

Like Trump.

His approval ratings are at all-time lows and yours will be too, unless ... 

...Unless you light up the opposition and deliver a playoff-worthy season for the Giants.

This is Nu Yawk, baybee. Behave like it. On and off the field.

***

Seven days ago, May 24, Trump said the deal with Iran was "largely negotiated."

Here we are seven days later, it is still "largely negotiated." The Strait is still closed, the blockade is still on and the U.S. and Iran are still trading potshots across the Persian Gulf. The U.S, is hitting, or says it is hitting Iranian missile bunkers. Iran is hitting U.S. bases in the area, actually wounding Americans.

Trump says he doesn't care and that the U.S. has plenty of time. Guess who doesn't: Americans who need food and healthcare, (Obamacare), funding for which has been drastically cut.

And is being spent on the billions needed to wear down U.S, missile stores.

Brilliant, Donald, brilliant. Just keep taking your time. You're only interested in influencing the stock market with false news (i.e., fake news) that the war may be ending.

***

Hey Kendrick Lamar, Vanessa Williams, pay attention: Drake is No. 1 all-time in No. 1 hit songs by a male artist, surpassing ... Michael Jackson.

***

There is not going to be a Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Judge Christopher Cooper pronounced that only Congress, by law, can change the name.

Everything else Trump has said about the name change is a lie, as performing artists, among the world's best, have cancelled appearance after appearance.

***

Trump's slush fund has been halted for the moment, the one he was going to use to pay the criminals he had already pardoned in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

The weaponization fund was ruled by Judge Leonie Brinkema to be, basically, essentially, what plaintiff Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called a "Jaw-dropping act of presidential corruption."

Let's see if Trump continues anyway. He just might defy the court order anyway.

***

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

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

 

Silence of Iran ... and Bye Bye Barney Frank

Trump has grown so frustrated, the Schloss-Blog has observed, that he keeps threatening but then goes TACO on bombing Iran back to the Stone Age.

He wants a total surrender from Iran that he apparently will never get. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, on both ends, and gas prices at the pump in the U.S. remain hovering just under $5 on this holiday weekend.

What a celebration!

***

WAIT: News Flash: Trump, Iran hint at a peace deal in the works. But, is it long last? Does it open the Strait, end uranium enrichment, kill the regime and guaranty anything that Trump wants?

Still waiting on all of that.

*** 

OK< back to reality.

The one place where Trump has gotten a surrender is from his MAGA base. They believe in him, believe every lies he tell, no matter what, and would do whatever he tells them to do, no matter what (see 6, January).   

And the other place would be from Democrats, who simply believe in complaining about Trump's grift and policies and are counting on Trump's gross unpopularity with the American public to carry the day for them in the midterm elections this November.

That better work for them, because their own unpopularity with the American public is just as problematic. Americans don't trust them nor know what they stand for any more than they do Trump and the lying, scheming 'Trumpettes' in Congress and in Trump's Cabinet.

You would think. But after Trump told the media, "I don't think about Americans' financial situations," at a time when Americans' financial situations are perilous and they're struggling to make ends meet, you would think Democrats would pick up that fumble and run it over the goal line in the form of ad after ad after ad all the way to November. Yes, Trump puts outright winning the war with Iran and directing all funds and resources toward that ahead of finances and healthcare for the American people.

Now, the Dems say they are prepping ads to leverage this and further destroy Trump's credibility, especially in toss-up states, in toss-up midterm races and to influence those especially independent voters they may have lost in 2024. That's true in a state like Arizona, where the governor's seat is on the docket and both houses of the state legislature are held by the Republicans. And by whisper-thin margins. 

Or in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff is battling to maintain his Senate seat and even a Republican-turned-Democrat, Geoff Duncan, disgusted with Trump and his party, is seeking the governor's chair. 

And in Ohio, where Democrat Sherrod Brown is running to grab a Senate seat after losing his there in 2024.

And even though Trump-backed candidates have done well in some primaries, especially against perceived Trump opponents, it's the general elections in November that will test them.

Especially in Texas, where Trump is backing scandal-ridden AG Ken Paxton instead of incumbent John Cornyn, to the dismay  and disbelief or Cornyn's Senate colleagues, who feel that if Paxton gets the nod, the seat becomes even more vulnerable. And if nothing else, Republicans will have to spend, spend and spend some more in bright red Texas to win that race, pouring in resources that they could spend in races in other states.

Where they're badly needed.

So, what's the real cost of this war, for Trump, for Americans? For starters. whatever the dollar cost, it depicts Trump's insensitivity toward Americans' finances and their healthcare needs while spending it all on his "little skirmish" with Iran, supposedly $29 billion and counting, the Pentagon tells us. However, the Brown University Costs of War Project is keeping a "running" estimate," which it says is based on the Pentagon's own reported figures.

Which just might put it at ... wait for it ... $90 billion, and counting.

However you cut it, real financial impact to Americans is estimated at about $350 per household, and climbing, or some $45 billion additional in fuel costs alone.

***

So, how are you feeling about the war and meeting the objectives of regime change?

No, I mean, restricting Iran's nuclear enrichment program, leading towards ... a nuclear bomb (OMG), which we're told, the Iranians will put on a plane and drop on the U.S.

No, wait, we mean reopening the Strait of Hormuz. It was open when the 'war' that is not a 'war' began. In February. 

These floating objectives keep shifting in primacy for the Trump administration.

Maybe that's why, as we said at the top, he keeps going #TACO on bombing Iran back to the Stone Age. The only age he's bombing at is how own (79), and the American people are highly disapproving.

***

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

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

Let's go Knicks.

And R.I.P., Barney Frank.

Schloss-Blog: Who Won In Beijing? Not the U.S., Not Trump.

While the Schloss-Blog notes that President Trump says we're still on a cease-fire in Iran, we're wondering who won the "peace-fire" in Beijing?

The cease-fire in Iran is laughable: The U.S. and Iranian forces regularly exchange missile fire and the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded on both ends. 

Same thing with Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon - the cease-fire that isn't. But that doesn't affect the price of gas you put in your car, right?

Or does it?

The only thing you know is that inflation is at ... wait for it ...3.8% right now and inflation, to you, is the economy. Even though the U.S, economy is doing well by most standard measures (consumer spending, employment), you measure the economy by your wallet - how much money do I have left after I pay my bills?

Because when it comes to money, the U.S. consumer has said distinctly since the pandemic, I wanna' spend it! Two years of being holed up thanks to the pandemic has put Americans on a nonstop spending spree that shows little sign of slowing down.

But we're paying for it. Consumer credit-card debt was $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of this year, or $6,500 per cardholder.

How are you doing carrying $6,500 of credit-card debt apiece? No wonder those "consolidation" services advertise so much - most of us need them (wait until you see their terms though).

However, not to worry - it's the households that cumulatively make up the top 10% of earners that account for almost half (49%) of all that spending. 

That's not you, right? Right? Except for the debt part, right?

***

Meanwhile, Trump says the cease-fire with Iran is on "life support," but so is the murder conviction of James Murdaugh, the high-profile Soutb Carolina attorney who was convicted in 2023 of killing his wife and son.

He says a stranger walked in and did it. The South Carolina Supreme Court said never mind about that - the SC Supremes said that the county clerk improperly tampered with the jury by making inappropriate, anti-Murdaugh statements, directed at them.

Bingo, new trial, and prosecutors say they will bring the charges again.

And will gag the county clerk.

***

Closing notes:

As the ongoing war with Iran continues to impact Americans' wallets, especially because of its impact on the price of gas and inflation in general, don't worry, Trump is on it.

"I don't think about Americans' financial situations," he told a gaggle of reporters before leaving for China ... wait for it ... to accomplish absolutely nothing.

I guess on the list of goals for this war we started, impact to Americans' wallets come in last. behind regime change, freedom for the Iranian people, the end of uranium enrichment and THEN, the wallets of everyday Americans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced that. In his dual role as National Security Advisor, he told the media that the goal of the war with Iran is now to restore it "back to the way it was" before Trump started the war.

In other words, we started the war just to start a war and now we would like to please go back to how it was before we started the war.

So far, it's only cost 13 American lives and 170 or so Iranian children's lives.

Please!

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Betsy Petrie.

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

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.