Trump: "“I will be the greatest president for many, many years to come.” "
< Tim stops reading "Morning Shots" >
And I will be the smartest, most handsomest electrical engineer of all time. FFS, we need to come up with a stronger word for this sort of delusional narcissism.
Apparently, he also has a PhD in fireworks. Seriously, did NO ONE tell him what damage his h-u-u-u-u-ge fireworks would cause. Not to mention, all those munitions did was make the display nigh on invisible to viewers.
Reading Donald's words sent me back to the old James Thurber story, The Greatest Man In The World (if you haven't read it, it's a short read and readily available online).
The recent FIFA acquiesence to the demands of Donald Trump was about as predictable as you could imagine. Both the president and the sporting association are incarnations of the same grasping, corrupt urges, and they understand each other perfectly.
Contemptuous of rules and regulations, they will work together when they can - as long as neither of them gets in the way of the other's true game, which is profit through domination and control.
It is important to acknowledge how much of "the good show" goes into a relationship like this. They each play to their audience and assure themselves they are just giving their followers what they want: FIFA apparently has upended player penalties in the past in order to ensure the fans get an exciting game going forward, and Trump's drive is always designed to project the strength and power his base demands.
It's bread and circuses - as long as it's understood that FIFA and Trump get most of the bread.
FIFA did something very similar with Cristiano Ronaldo who received a red card last year and banned for three matches. He missed one game and then the rest was rescinded and a one year probation same as Balogun. Had FIFA not rescinded the ban Ronaldo would have missed this World Cup’s opening couple of games. UEFA knows this and it is pure posturing on their part. Of course Trump should have stayed out of it, but it isn’t like FIFA has done similar things based on article 27 in the past. Both the US and Belgium should just go out and play the game and we’ll see which team comes out ahead.
I'm convinced that Trump's "intellectual" defenders see his contempt for rules as an asset. Their rationale, apparently, is that the rules were made by bad people, and therefore defying them is righteous.
Kind of. I think they’re following a paraphrased Wilhoit Rule: “There must be an out group whom the law binds but does not protect, and an in group that the law protects but does not bind.”
In other words, the MAGAs don't believe in that “everyone is created equal” stuff: they’re more interested in asserting the “natural”hierarchy of men over women, straights over gays, whites over Blacks, native born over immigrants, etc.
When their Dear Leader Trump breaks the law, MAGAslaugh it off. After all, he’s their King, and the King IS the law, so they don't care if he breaks it as long as he’s putting those pesky women, Blacks, immigrants, Communists, etc. back in their place.
"We’ll have to hope that Trump doesn’t do too much more damage to NATO or further embarrass the United States on the world stage."
LOL. Of course, citizens of other nations around the world have gone beyond laughing at President Bozo the Pervert Clown. Now they laugh at the Americans who voted him into office, twice. We deserve to be laughed at. To be clear, they are laughing at us, not with us.
I'm guessing there will be a lot less ass kissing at this NATO summit. The rest of the world has figured him out, developed their exit strategy and it's now time to put it in motion.
There was an article this weekend that delved into just how developed these European leaders' characters (in the theatrical sense) are when it comes to kissing his ass. I think they practice in front of the mirror how to manipulate him. And neither he nor anybody in his administration is smart enough to realize it.
“To be clear, they are laughing at us, not with us.”
Very true, but unfortunately, MAGA never got the memo. On the bright side, I was told Trump is still very popular in Europe—after all, didn’t PM Meloni insist on getting her picture taken with Trump?….:)
I'm pretty sure Bill was being sarcastic when he wrote that sentence. OF COURSE TRUMP WILL DO MORE DAMAGE AND FURTHER EMBARRASS THE US ON THE WORLD STAGE!!
Would ending the cap of $184,000 on Social Security taxes save the program? By itself, probably not, but for God's sake, if it's going to remain solvent, one thinks that would at least be part of the solution. That cap leaves a whole lot of money on the table and if you make that much money, you can afford to pay the tax on all of your income.
"We laughed, collectively, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino bestowed upon Donald Trump the first ever peace prize issued by the soccer federation. But we’re crying with joy (though, let’s be honest, we’re all just a bit aghast) now that Trump has put his well-earned FIFA credentials to good use."
No tears of joy from this American. This is just more corruption from the most corrupt organization in organized sports, which is why Trump and Infantino get along so well. Fair and consistent application of the rules is fundamental to the integrity of any sport, and this is a blatant violation of that principle. When we celebrate our benefit, we ignore the unfair penalization of Belgium, who is rightly quite pissed at this insider dealing. Let's go Belgium.
If a larger fraction of the population is retired over time, then it's entirely reasonable for retirement taxes/saving to be higher since a larger fraction of GDP will be going to retired people, and therefore less to people still in employment.
Let the GOP make the case for increased retirement ages and/or other cuts. The problem with this is that people have health issues or may find it hard to get new jobs in their 60s.
Even perfectly healthy people find it very difficult to find jobs once they are north of 55. We do have to figure out how to address the issue that while Medicare and SS kick in when a worker hits their mid '60's, the labor market is done with them a decade earlier, either because of ageism or because a worker's physical health starts to decline--especially those who do physical labor.
Not just the soccer team, but the whole nation. I had been seeing many reports about how visitors from various countries were impressed by the friendliness of the Americans they encountered, and it was changing some negative opinions they had held. But once again, Trump has soiled America's reputation in the world.
NPR's Throughline podcast recently did an excellent episode on the history of the World Cup, which was dreamt up in the trenches of WWI as an instrument of peace. But corruption quickly tainted the games, as the 2nd World Cup was held in Mussolini's Italy. There were accusations at the time that Mussolini pressured referees to make calls favorable to Italy, who ended up winning. The FIFA president at the time (the man who conceived the idea while in the trenches) presented Italy with a modest gold trophy, but Mussolini had already had his own trophy built, which was six times larger. Oh, how the fascists love their trophies!
Love the turn of phrase. But, there is no way the US is winning the WC this year. They are a competent team but even Il Duce could not drag them across that finish line. And I’m a US fan who was lucky enough to go to all three US group games this year.
Did you happen to see Il Douchebag's press conference from the Oval this morning? He said he didn't ask FIFA to change the call. He only asked them to review it. Typical mob boss. "Your Honor, I didn't tell them to kill the guy. I told them to take care of him."
While the tram has improved, and the first half against Paraguay startling sublime, the rest have been somewhat inconsistent. We will see which team shows up for Belgium. Pochettino has done a good job of putting the pieces together more creatively than previous coaches, but still a work in progress.
"Trump’s voiceover on the video claimed, “I will be the greatest president for many, many years to come.” The president did protest too much, methinks."
Trump is undoubtedly both the WORST and the SECOND WORST President of ALL TIME. And that takes some doing. James Buchanon. John Tyler. Benjamin Harrison. Millard Filmore. Andrew Johnson. Warren Harding. Herbert Hoover. Calvin Coolidge. Richard Nixon. Trump underdid them all, by far, being much much worse than any of these loser Presidents.
We Americans are pretty much what we always were. It's our politicians who have been transformed, very much for the worse, by the explosion of dark money and the tyranny of the consultant class and also by the creation of a massive, toxic propaganda apparatus.
You can't overestimate the cultural and political harm done when Ronald Reagan's people fast-tracked Rupert Murdoch for US citizenship, so that Old Rupe could get around our tough federal laws against foreign ownership of multiple media outlets and dump his highly effective brand of political poison into the American civic well.
At around the same time Rupe was unleashed upon us, the talk radio industry began to heat up. Half a century later, between Fox, Limbaughism, and the horrors of the algorithm and social media, and here we all are.
I confess to a fascination with Nixon -- not least because he was actually smart. Often in a Machiavellian way, but brilliant nonetheless. But he's a Shakespearean tragic figure, in the classic sense of tragedy: "What if he wasn't undermined by his flaws or the fates?"
Trump is a buffoon, a demigod of chaos if that -- simply heedless to his destruction, with no sense of anything but himself. He is malaria, heartworm, the kind of parasite that gladly kills its host as long as it gets to procreate.
In college, I had a class called the making of the presidential character. The class was based on The Presidential Character by James David Barber. Our discussions about Nixon were some of my favorite. When I learned that, prior to dating to Pat, Nixon would act as her chauffeur when she had dates with other men, I felt both belated embarassment on his behalf and sympathy for this odd, complex little man. I've never thought of him as tragic, but you are right, perhaps deserving our sympathy more than our contempt.
Trump, on the other hand, is exactly as you have described him; a buffoon. Though I prefer to think of him as an imp of chaos instead of a demigod.
I had a pretty quiet 4th, locked down at home with work, but my mostly-MAGA little town put on a pretty impressive fireworks display in the evening, which I watched from my back deck. Neighbors on either side of me were doing their own freelance fireworks shows, which almost rivaled the official version. (Fireworks are legal here, and this happens every year. It's noisy.)
But what was different this year was that some house nearby — I've no idea which one — started blasting out Tejano music loud enough to be heard over the booms. So that was my soundtrack for this Independence Day, which could not have been more appropriate, as far as I'm concerned. The bigots and haters can do their damage, but they will never crush this rich, lively mess of a country.
I went looking on the Fourth of July in Seville for a little Memphis (my hometown) and something maybe halfway meaningful regarding the US. Found an Elvis at Sun Studio t-shirt at one record store, and a Springsteen Born in the USA t-shirt.
Figured that was mission accomplished and went back to my normal day in Spain.
Given the micro burst at Mt Rushmore, the heat and thunderstorms in DC, and of course the revenge of the algae, I don't think Mother Nature approves of Trump either.
You’re “crying with joy” that the President of the United States put his thumb on the scales of an international sports tournament? If we win it will be forever tainted. No joy in that.
I think perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Trump’s coalition is their belief that he’s somehow the first human being in recorded human history incapable of wrongdoing.
You forget that they not only believe that of trump, but also that he is God's "imperfect" vessel - can't go wrong if you believe both at the same time!
The US team could prove they are more honorable than the two mob bosses if they bench our red carded player. IMO it was a yellow card. That said, let's say something about who we are instead of who the bosses are.
It's not the player's fault that Trump got involved. I highly doubt that many of them are Trumpers anyways. Soccer in the US is typically not a sport for those types of families.
That's like saying that we shouldn't be proud of the US flag because Trump and MAGA have appropriated it for their own use.
The game had been due to be held at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago in November 1973, two months after Pinochet’s military coup. In the weeks that followed, thousands of political prisoners were housed at the stadium. Many were tortured, and up to three hundred killed. With a disregard for human rights of which modern Fifa would approve, its fact-finding report observed: ‘The people in there are not prisoners but only detainees whose identity is yet to be established,’ adding that, more pertinently, ‘the grass on the pitch is in perfect condition.’ The Soviet football federation telegrammed Fifa to affirm that its sportsmen would not play at a ‘stadium stained with the blood of Chilean patriots’, but the Fifa president, Stanley Rous, insisted on the game’s location.
We watch despite FIFA’s corruption because the tournament produces priceless moments like Argentina vs. Cabo Verde which was 120 + minutes of pure, soccer glory and not the sort of thing FIFA and their corruption could imagine.
NPR had an excellent podcast in June going over the beginnings of world cup competition. The 1934 cup in Italy gave mussolini and European fascists the world stage. Italy won over Czechoslovakia 2-1.Quite fascinating. I had no idea. Just remember the Olympics have also played WITH and been played BY fascist dictators. Now 2 mob bosses make a deal. Disgusting.
For my part I declared my own independence from our current Chief Executive, at least for a day, by going for a long bike ride along a wonderful nature trail and otherwise unplugging from technology that constantly reminds us of his obsession with The Magnitude of Me. What a refreshing change of pace. I may just have to do this more often. As in, regularly.
It is too easy to get lost down the rabbit holes he constantly digs for us, wrapped up in controversy as if oppressive and relentless summer heat and humidity. May you, too, find your place of inner peace and harmony as he pushes the envelope still further toward chaos and confusion. Don't let him take from you your most precious gift, of finding your own pleasure and communing with the people and things that bring you true happiness. He is not worth it. You are.
For me, one of the lovely, lovely moments that Donald couldn't stain or take away was the spectacle of the USCG Eagle sailing in as the tall ships made their appearance to celebrate the Real Fourth, not the Donaldian Fourth.
The Eagle had also sailed with the tall ships for the Bicentennial.
This has special meaning for me because my dear brother, who struggled with ill health for much of his life and died far too soon, had once served on the Eagle. His years as a Coastie gave him great joy and great pride. I think he was happier then than ever before or after.
Trump tried his best to destroy the Fourth of July and he did do some damage, but I was really impressed with Sail 250 and the tall ships from around the world here in the US.
I wish I'd been able to attend in person. I've been watching news coverage and YouTube videos of these visits. They've looked wonderful, particularly Baltimore's celebration. Boston's coming up and it looks fantastic.
That's America, not the ass kicking contest on the White House lawn.
< Tim starts reading "Morning Shots" >
Trump: "“I will be the greatest president for many, many years to come.” "
< Tim stops reading "Morning Shots" >
And I will be the smartest, most handsomest electrical engineer of all time. FFS, we need to come up with a stronger word for this sort of delusional narcissism.
Glad you specified which type of engineer. My wastewater engineer crown is safe!
That's what you think! Trump knows more about wastewater engineering than all the great wastewater engineers! The man has a Ph.D. in sewage!
Apparently, he also has a PhD in fireworks. Seriously, did NO ONE tell him what damage his h-u-u-u-u-ge fireworks would cause. Not to mention, all those munitions did was make the display nigh on invisible to viewers.
If I had known there were crowns, my career path might have been different.
How about “delusions of grandeur”?
Definitely "delusions of grandeur" when you consider Trump's position in the panoply of American Presidents: Dead last, by orders of magnitude!
Trump is so much like the caricature* of a crazy person who believes he's Napoleon that it's ridiculous.
Reading Donald's words sent me back to the old James Thurber story, The Greatest Man In The World (if you haven't read it, it's a short read and readily available online).
Donald is a Jack Smurch for our time.
The Bulwark should do a weekly Thurber Thursday piece.
I think TDS will do
The recent FIFA acquiesence to the demands of Donald Trump was about as predictable as you could imagine. Both the president and the sporting association are incarnations of the same grasping, corrupt urges, and they understand each other perfectly.
Contemptuous of rules and regulations, they will work together when they can - as long as neither of them gets in the way of the other's true game, which is profit through domination and control.
It is important to acknowledge how much of "the good show" goes into a relationship like this. They each play to their audience and assure themselves they are just giving their followers what they want: FIFA apparently has upended player penalties in the past in order to ensure the fans get an exciting game going forward, and Trump's drive is always designed to project the strength and power his base demands.
It's bread and circuses - as long as it's understood that FIFA and Trump get most of the bread.
Trump and FIFA are tailor made for one another.
FIFA did something very similar with Cristiano Ronaldo who received a red card last year and banned for three matches. He missed one game and then the rest was rescinded and a one year probation same as Balogun. Had FIFA not rescinded the ban Ronaldo would have missed this World Cup’s opening couple of games. UEFA knows this and it is pure posturing on their part. Of course Trump should have stayed out of it, but it isn’t like FIFA has done similar things based on article 27 in the past. Both the US and Belgium should just go out and play the game and we’ll see which team comes out ahead.
I'm convinced that Trump's "intellectual" defenders see his contempt for rules as an asset. Their rationale, apparently, is that the rules were made by bad people, and therefore defying them is righteous.
Kind of. I think they’re following a paraphrased Wilhoit Rule: “There must be an out group whom the law binds but does not protect, and an in group that the law protects but does not bind.”
In other words, the MAGAs don't believe in that “everyone is created equal” stuff: they’re more interested in asserting the “natural”hierarchy of men over women, straights over gays, whites over Blacks, native born over immigrants, etc.
When their Dear Leader Trump breaks the law, MAGAslaugh it off. After all, he’s their King, and the King IS the law, so they don't care if he breaks it as long as he’s putting those pesky women, Blacks, immigrants, Communists, etc. back in their place.
"We’ll have to hope that Trump doesn’t do too much more damage to NATO or further embarrass the United States on the world stage."
LOL. Of course, citizens of other nations around the world have gone beyond laughing at President Bozo the Pervert Clown. Now they laugh at the Americans who voted him into office, twice. We deserve to be laughed at. To be clear, they are laughing at us, not with us.
Mr. Kristol, please define for us the meaning of "too much more damage".
This thug is a sitting wrecking ball.
I'm guessing there will be a lot less ass kissing at this NATO summit. The rest of the world has figured him out, developed their exit strategy and it's now time to put it in motion.
There was an article this weekend that delved into just how developed these European leaders' characters (in the theatrical sense) are when it comes to kissing his ass. I think they practice in front of the mirror how to manipulate him. And neither he nor anybody in his administration is smart enough to realize it.
At this point they kiss his behind so that he doesn't bomb them back to the stone age. (If we had any bombs left.)
“To be clear, they are laughing at us, not with us.”
Very true, but unfortunately, MAGA never got the memo. On the bright side, I was told Trump is still very popular in Europe—after all, didn’t PM Meloni insist on getting her picture taken with Trump?….:)
I'm pretty sure Bill was being sarcastic when he wrote that sentence. OF COURSE TRUMP WILL DO MORE DAMAGE AND FURTHER EMBARRASS THE US ON THE WORLD STAGE!!
Would ending the cap of $184,000 on Social Security taxes save the program? By itself, probably not, but for God's sake, if it's going to remain solvent, one thinks that would at least be part of the solution. That cap leaves a whole lot of money on the table and if you make that much money, you can afford to pay the tax on all of your income.
"We laughed, collectively, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino bestowed upon Donald Trump the first ever peace prize issued by the soccer federation. But we’re crying with joy (though, let’s be honest, we’re all just a bit aghast) now that Trump has put his well-earned FIFA credentials to good use."
No tears of joy from this American. This is just more corruption from the most corrupt organization in organized sports, which is why Trump and Infantino get along so well. Fair and consistent application of the rules is fundamental to the integrity of any sport, and this is a blatant violation of that principle. When we celebrate our benefit, we ignore the unfair penalization of Belgium, who is rightly quite pissed at this insider dealing. Let's go Belgium.
If a larger fraction of the population is retired over time, then it's entirely reasonable for retirement taxes/saving to be higher since a larger fraction of GDP will be going to retired people, and therefore less to people still in employment.
Let the GOP make the case for increased retirement ages and/or other cuts. The problem with this is that people have health issues or may find it hard to get new jobs in their 60s.
Even perfectly healthy people find it very difficult to find jobs once they are north of 55. We do have to figure out how to address the issue that while Medicare and SS kick in when a worker hits their mid '60's, the labor market is done with them a decade earlier, either because of ageism or because a worker's physical health starts to decline--especially those who do physical labor.
Trump ruins everything. Now the men’s soccer team is tainted.
Well, the World Cup-winning women's team is certainly not going to get Trump's tender care.
Not just the soccer team, but the whole nation. I had been seeing many reports about how visitors from various countries were impressed by the friendliness of the Americans they encountered, and it was changing some negative opinions they had held. But once again, Trump has soiled America's reputation in the world.
And the team seems to be a great team. I’m sure all have worked so hard and now there’s a✳️
NPR's Throughline podcast recently did an excellent episode on the history of the World Cup, which was dreamt up in the trenches of WWI as an instrument of peace. But corruption quickly tainted the games, as the 2nd World Cup was held in Mussolini's Italy. There were accusations at the time that Mussolini pressured referees to make calls favorable to Italy, who ended up winning. The FIFA president at the time (the man who conceived the idea while in the trenches) presented Italy with a modest gold trophy, but Mussolini had already had his own trophy built, which was six times larger. Oh, how the fascists love their trophies!
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5845050/the-world-cup-was-supposed-to-bring-world-peace
How fascinating! Thanks for the link to a great story.
Italy won two World Cups in a row thanks to Il Duce. Now the U.S. might win a World Cup thanks to Il Douchebag!
Love the turn of phrase. But, there is no way the US is winning the WC this year. They are a competent team but even Il Duce could not drag them across that finish line. And I’m a US fan who was lucky enough to go to all three US group games this year.
Did you happen to see Il Douchebag's press conference from the Oval this morning? He said he didn't ask FIFA to change the call. He only asked them to review it. Typical mob boss. "Your Honor, I didn't tell them to kill the guy. I told them to take care of him."
While the tram has improved, and the first half against Paraguay startling sublime, the rest have been somewhat inconsistent. We will see which team shows up for Belgium. Pochettino has done a good job of putting the pieces together more creatively than previous coaches, but still a work in progress.
"Trump’s voiceover on the video claimed, “I will be the greatest president for many, many years to come.” The president did protest too much, methinks."
Trump is undoubtedly both the WORST and the SECOND WORST President of ALL TIME. And that takes some doing. James Buchanon. John Tyler. Benjamin Harrison. Millard Filmore. Andrew Johnson. Warren Harding. Herbert Hoover. Calvin Coolidge. Richard Nixon. Trump underdid them all, by far, being much much worse than any of these loser Presidents.
Trump is 1000x worse than Nixon. I think the difference between then and now is that Americans are significantly dumber now.
We Americans are pretty much what we always were. It's our politicians who have been transformed, very much for the worse, by the explosion of dark money and the tyranny of the consultant class and also by the creation of a massive, toxic propaganda apparatus.
You can't overestimate the cultural and political harm done when Ronald Reagan's people fast-tracked Rupert Murdoch for US citizenship, so that Old Rupe could get around our tough federal laws against foreign ownership of multiple media outlets and dump his highly effective brand of political poison into the American civic well.
At around the same time Rupe was unleashed upon us, the talk radio industry began to heat up. Half a century later, between Fox, Limbaughism, and the horrors of the algorithm and social media, and here we all are.
I confess to a fascination with Nixon -- not least because he was actually smart. Often in a Machiavellian way, but brilliant nonetheless. But he's a Shakespearean tragic figure, in the classic sense of tragedy: "What if he wasn't undermined by his flaws or the fates?"
Trump is a buffoon, a demigod of chaos if that -- simply heedless to his destruction, with no sense of anything but himself. He is malaria, heartworm, the kind of parasite that gladly kills its host as long as it gets to procreate.
In college, I had a class called the making of the presidential character. The class was based on The Presidential Character by James David Barber. Our discussions about Nixon were some of my favorite. When I learned that, prior to dating to Pat, Nixon would act as her chauffeur when she had dates with other men, I felt both belated embarassment on his behalf and sympathy for this odd, complex little man. I've never thought of him as tragic, but you are right, perhaps deserving our sympathy more than our contempt.
Trump, on the other hand, is exactly as you have described him; a buffoon. Though I prefer to think of him as an imp of chaos instead of a demigod.
I had a pretty quiet 4th, locked down at home with work, but my mostly-MAGA little town put on a pretty impressive fireworks display in the evening, which I watched from my back deck. Neighbors on either side of me were doing their own freelance fireworks shows, which almost rivaled the official version. (Fireworks are legal here, and this happens every year. It's noisy.)
But what was different this year was that some house nearby — I've no idea which one — started blasting out Tejano music loud enough to be heard over the booms. So that was my soundtrack for this Independence Day, which could not have been more appropriate, as far as I'm concerned. The bigots and haters can do their damage, but they will never crush this rich, lively mess of a country.
That sounds absolutely delightful!
I went looking on the Fourth of July in Seville for a little Memphis (my hometown) and something maybe halfway meaningful regarding the US. Found an Elvis at Sun Studio t-shirt at one record store, and a Springsteen Born in the USA t-shirt.
Figured that was mission accomplished and went back to my normal day in Spain.
I'll take a party with Tejano over John Phillip Sousa any day of the week!
Absolutely!
Given the micro burst at Mt Rushmore, the heat and thunderstorms in DC, and of course the revenge of the algae, I don't think Mother Nature approves of Trump either.
Mother Nature - "No means NO!!!"
Thunderstorms in early July are absolutely normal in DC. The record heat obviously isn't, but low to mid 90s with humidity is.
As if DJT has not nudged himself into our lives enough, he has now done it in the world soccer cup to.
Since ETTD, maybe this will lead to FIFA being gutted and rebuilt, just like the U.S. and A. will require.
You’re “crying with joy” that the President of the United States put his thumb on the scales of an international sports tournament? If we win it will be forever tainted. No joy in that.
I think perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Trump’s coalition is their belief that he’s somehow the first human being in recorded human history incapable of wrongdoing.
You forget that they not only believe that of trump, but also that he is God's "imperfect" vessel - can't go wrong if you believe both at the same time!
Pocchetino should sit Balogun. And now I'm rooting for Belgium.
The US team could prove they are more honorable than the two mob bosses if they bench our red carded player. IMO it was a yellow card. That said, let's say something about who we are instead of who the bosses are.
The red card was arguable; I agree with you. FIFA's corruption is not. I like Balogun, and he conducted himself decently after the penalty.
You don't really expect (asking rhetorically) USMNT to have more "civil courage" than CBS, the Ivy League, huge wealthy law firms, et al.?
I thought _Zivilcourage_ was a German term, but thus speaks Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_courage
It's not the player's fault that Trump got involved. I highly doubt that many of them are Trumpers anyways. Soccer in the US is typically not a sport for those types of families.
That's like saying that we shouldn't be proud of the US flag because Trump and MAGA have appropriated it for their own use.
You're right, of course. But I wish the orange one would stop smearing his stank all over everything that is good about being an American.
Whatever is going on it is always about orange mussolini.
You wanna read a dense, 8-page review of a 600-page history of the World Cup, not leaving out any of a FIFA’s dirty deals with dictators? I did, and yet I watch. Let me know if I need to send you a gift link: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n11/simon-skinner/i-wouldn-t-pay-it-either
The game had been due to be held at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago in November 1973, two months after Pinochet’s military coup. In the weeks that followed, thousands of political prisoners were housed at the stadium. Many were tortured, and up to three hundred killed. With a disregard for human rights of which modern Fifa would approve, its fact-finding report observed: ‘The people in there are not prisoners but only detainees whose identity is yet to be established,’ adding that, more pertinently, ‘the grass on the pitch is in perfect condition.’ The Soviet football federation telegrammed Fifa to affirm that its sportsmen would not play at a ‘stadium stained with the blood of Chilean patriots’, but the Fifa president, Stanley Rous, insisted on the game’s location.
We watch despite FIFA’s corruption because the tournament produces priceless moments like Argentina vs. Cabo Verde which was 120 + minutes of pure, soccer glory and not the sort of thing FIFA and their corruption could imagine.
I loved that game.
NPR had an excellent podcast in June going over the beginnings of world cup competition. The 1934 cup in Italy gave mussolini and European fascists the world stage. Italy won over Czechoslovakia 2-1.Quite fascinating. I had no idea. Just remember the Olympics have also played WITH and been played BY fascist dictators. Now 2 mob bosses make a deal. Disgusting.
It is an iron law of politics and nature: Everything Trump touches turns to shit.
It's tough to parse the equities here, but
(a) mom was seldom wrong and 2 wrongs don't make a right; and
(b) the whole situation would be a lot more bearable if Trump had stayed out of it.
For my part I declared my own independence from our current Chief Executive, at least for a day, by going for a long bike ride along a wonderful nature trail and otherwise unplugging from technology that constantly reminds us of his obsession with The Magnitude of Me. What a refreshing change of pace. I may just have to do this more often. As in, regularly.
It is too easy to get lost down the rabbit holes he constantly digs for us, wrapped up in controversy as if oppressive and relentless summer heat and humidity. May you, too, find your place of inner peace and harmony as he pushes the envelope still further toward chaos and confusion. Don't let him take from you your most precious gift, of finding your own pleasure and communing with the people and things that bring you true happiness. He is not worth it. You are.
For me, one of the lovely, lovely moments that Donald couldn't stain or take away was the spectacle of the USCG Eagle sailing in as the tall ships made their appearance to celebrate the Real Fourth, not the Donaldian Fourth.
The Eagle had also sailed with the tall ships for the Bicentennial.
This has special meaning for me because my dear brother, who struggled with ill health for much of his life and died far too soon, had once served on the Eagle. His years as a Coastie gave him great joy and great pride. I think he was happier then than ever before or after.
Trump tried his best to destroy the Fourth of July and he did do some damage, but I was really impressed with Sail 250 and the tall ships from around the world here in the US.
I wish I'd been able to attend in person. I've been watching news coverage and YouTube videos of these visits. They've looked wonderful, particularly Baltimore's celebration. Boston's coming up and it looks fantastic.
That's America, not the ass kicking contest on the White House lawn.