Took last week off to attend the grammar school graduation party of my good friend Liam McGarvey at the Grandstand in Maspeth. Always fun being back in the hood, catching up with my crew. Also nice not having to trek into the Manhattan, got to spend Saturday night with Tara and Tim.
Anyway let’s get right to it....
POLITICS: The Immigration Battle
Immigration Officer #2: Where'd you learn to speak the English, Tony?
Tony Montana: Uh, in a school. And my father, he was, uh, from the United States. Just like you, ya know? He was a Yankee. Uh, he used to take me a lot to the movies. I learn. I watch the guys like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney. They, they teach me to talk. I like those guys.
(IMDB)
My reasons for posting the above scene from Scarface are twofold. 1) I believe that like Tony Montana, President Trump has based a lot of his policies on the movies that he's seen. For example, after Robert DeNiro dropped an f-bomb in the direction of him at the Tony Awards, Trump figured DeNiro had been suffering from blows he took filming Raging Bull, not factoring in that perhaps that was a stunt double.
Also I believe that having probably watched the opening scenes of Scarface, I'm guessing Trump is picturing the folks crossing the Rio Grande as thousands of Tony Montanas, looking to come into the US to deal cocaine, not pay taxes and marry Michele Pheiffer. My friends, I'm not being insensitive or facetious. I truly believe this is how his mind operates.
All that having been said, what we saw down on the US/Mexico border last week was heartbreaking. And look, anybody who knows me well, knows I'm a hawk on immigration. I know there are awful things going on in other countries, and I still believe we are a beacon of hope in the world. I still believe if you want to come here, you need to do so in a way that you can be documented.
But there had to be a better way to accomplish this than what was going on last week.
I tried to listen to all the arguments on all sides. Who passed the original law? Aren't you separated from your kids is you break the law anyway? Is it breaking the law if you are seeking asylum? It's Trump's fault, it's Obama's fault, it's Bill/Hillary Clinton's fault.
I'm not a legal expert. And again, I'm to the right on immigration issues.
But this couldn't be allowed to happen.
If it's fake news, if kids aren't being separated from their parents and put in cages, show us the proof. I watch CBS This Morning (and not Fox and Friends like many of you think I do) when I get a few minutes in the morning, and I saw Gayle King describe what she saw and it wasn't good. You think she's making it up because she is an Obama supporter? Then prove her wrong, go in there and get photos of kids playing like they are at Disney World.
I don't think you are going to.
I don't have the answers, nor do I pretend that I do, but I know what went on down there last week? That certainly wasn't the answer.
That was a disgrace.
BTW.... Those of you who predicted Trump would be kicked out of office within 12-18 months? This past Wednesday marked 17 months complete. Tick tock....
BASEBALL: Thor vs. Utley revisited.
I'm a couple weeks late on this...
From Weekly Mail's 2016 Year in Review Part I
May 28- WTF just happened? Please someone tell me Thor didn't just get run for that pitch to Utley?
I love my buddy Dan (No Shot) Unverzagt, but I don't care what he says, Thor shouldn't have been thrown out.
Background, Mets pitcher Noan Syndergaad was thrown out of the Mets game against the Dodgers for throwing behind Chase Utley. My stance was and still is, if Thor wanted to nail Utley, he would have.
One thing you know about me, when it's time to fess up and admit I was wrong, I'll do so. I argued day and night that with Noah Syndergaard's control, if he wanted to nail Chase Utley, he would have, so there is no way he was really throwing at him right?
Terry Collins, of all people, said I was wrong.
Caution-Strong Language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkJgN7N6WJo
So Thor starts off by basically saying what I said when it happened... It was a pitch that got away. "Are you f-cking kidding me? I'm just throwing a fastball," he says to the crew chief Tom Hallion. "No way. That aint gonna happen", Hallion responds.
Neal Walker then asks Hallion "Shouldn't there just be a warning?" Hallion tries to explain that because of the history, that no warning was necessary. (I call bull$h-t on that, but whatever). As he's explaining this to Walker by saying, "our a$$es are in a jackpot if we don't do anything," the crowd, already wild, raises it up a few notches, as Collins is obviously going bat$hit on home plate umpire Adam Hamari.
Hallion sprints over and tells the other umpires to "take him take him" (I assume he means make sure Thor leaves the field) and yells at Collins whose calling Hamari "a c-cks-cker" among other things, to "get a handle" and "talk to me"
Collins: Tommy that's f-cking bullshit and you know it! You gotta give us a shot. You gotta give us a shot Tom..
Hallion: Listen to me and hear what I'm saying OK? You get your shot. You had your shot right there in the situation. You know the situation Terry. You know the situation Terry.
Collins: I know it. Why can't we get a shot Tommy?
Hallion: Because that makes it worse.
Collins: Bullshit!
Hallion: Terry! That makes it f-cking worse
Collins: But MLB did nothing to that guy! Nothing!
Hallion: Ok, that that.. I can't control that Terry, I can't control that. You know as well as I do Terry, you know where I stand on the whole f-cking situation.
Collins: But you're better than that Tommy, you know that.
Hallion: Terry listen I'm telling you, our a$$ is in the jackpot now, OK? I'm just telling you.
Collins: That f-cking motherf-cker
Hallion: You know what? You got it. You got everything out?
Now watching that pitch again sail at least three feet behind Utley, I still have a hard time fathoming that Syndergaard should have been tossed. But instead of Collins screaming that the pitch was nowhere close to Utley, he's arguing that since MLB did nothing to Utley, that Collins left it up to Thor to take care of it. Sort of like Col. Jessup ordering the Code Red in A Few Good Men. (See I can make movie references too)
My question is, would Hallion have tossed Thor? Was he sticking up for his umpire? Or did he really feel that he should have been run? I guess we'll never really know that.
All I know is, two years later, I have to admit I was wrong.
SOCCER; The FIFA World Cup.
The biggest sporting event in the world, bigger than the Super Bowl, bigger than the Olympics. The older I get, the more I appreciate the enormity of it.
This version of the World Cup hasn't captured my imagination quite as much. For one thing, I have no real interest in any of the teams in it. The US spit the bit and didn't qualify, and neither did Ireland. Who the hell am I going to root for?
Actually, with Mexico having beaten Germany and South Korea, they could be a fun team to watch.
The other issue is that the tournament is being held is Russia. Which means 1) some of the games are early in the morning, and 2) They are sure to be corrupt. So maybe it's a blessing my two teams didn't qualify.
Anyhoo, here is a little Bar Room B.S re: the World Cup
http://barroombs.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-world-cup.html
It was a rough week. Know what always cheers me up? The Beatles.
If you didn't get to see it, please watch James Corden's carpool karaoke through Liverpool with Paul McCartney. I won't spoil it for you, but what could be cooler than going into a barber shop on Penny Lane to get a haircut? That is now on my bucket list.
ALSO, I stumbled upon this on Youtube last week. After the Beatles breakup, George Harrison put out his classic triple album All Things Must Pass. Included on that was probably my favorite Harrison song What is Life?.
So a couple years back, George's widow Olivia and son Dhani, held a contest for someone to produce a video for What is Life.
The winner was someone named Brandon Moore, who showed two dancers from the San Francisco ballet..
We were totally surprised and delighted by this video and it was a clear favourite for both of us. The dancer really expressed unbounded joy, and managed to capture the spirit of “What is Life” through movement, which the director captured beautifully. Thank you to each and every filmmaker for all of their time, effort and care, and above all their love for George and his music which is evident in all of these videos – it has been a real pleasure to watch them!”
Olivia & Dhani Harrison
Anyway here is the video. Again, if this doesn't at least make you feel a little bit better, well, what can I do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiH9edd25Bc
Enjoy the long sunsets
and Have a Great Week!
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