World Cup Quarter Finals to the Final

Quarter-Finals

July 9th

France-2 Morocco-0

July 10th

Spain-2 Belgium-1

July 11th

Norway-1 England-2 (AET)

Argentina-3 vs Switzerland-1 (AET)

I was really rooting for Morocco but France leads 2-0 in the 73rd minute.

Well, Spain beat Belgium 2-1 but at least someone scored a goal against Spain. That France vs Spain semi-final is going to be one hell of an interesting match.

Alas, farewell Norway as England advances.

Argentina gets past the Swiss with two late goals in ET.

Semi-Finals

July 14th

France-0 Spain-2

July 15th

England-1 Argentina-2

Spain takes a 1-0 lead over France on a penalty kick. Honestly, given the rarity of goals in this sport, I found that penalty a little iffy but, what do I know? The more I think about it, the more that penalty bothers me. The Spanish player basically ran into the line of the French player's kick. Yes, the ball hit the Spanish player first, and yes, he did get kicked. But, given that goals are as rare as hen's teeth at this level, it strikes me as a chicken-shit way to get a goal. Spain has scored again, so it's now 2-0 in the 60th minute. Whoa, an offside saved a 3rd goal so it's still 2-0. That's how it ends, Spain-2, France-0.

Boy, no scoring but lots of fouls in the first 25 minutes of the England vs Argentina game. England up 1-0 in the 56th minute. Goal for Argentina in the 86th minute. It's now 1-1. In the 92nd minute it's Argentina 2-1. It will be Spain vs Argentina. Mamacity, what a game.

Third Place Play-off

July 18th

France-4 England-6

I didn't see any of this match because I was off doing stuff but, given the score, it sounds like it was one big "I don't give a shit" fest.

***Final***

July 19th

Spain-1 Argentina-0 (AET)

Geez, they should give these guys boxing gloves. I've seen NFL football games that were more polite. Spain dominated the 1st half but it's still 0-0, so we shall see. It's a great day in the Meadowlands for a match.

Hey, the halftime show was pretty good, simple but pleasant. I could have done without Justin Bieber though. Yeesh, what a downer song. You guys think they have enough state troopers there?

The Argentine keeper is earning his keep today with seven saves so far at 78 minutes. Make that eight saves at 80 minutes. Now it's nine at 92 minutes and we have a red card (2nd yellow card) against Argentina's Enzo Fernandez. Free kick for Spain, save number ten, and we go to extra time.

Spanish goal, but, a foul is going to erase it. That's the end of the first half of extra time.

Goal Spain at 106. It will take a miracle for Argentina to pull this one out. Well, it's over Spain-1, Argentina-0. This was a great tournament.

Is Voter ID Racist?

Trump and Republicans keep pushing for requiring a government issued voter ID in order to vote. This could be, for example, a driver's license or a passport.

Brain dead Democrats keep saying voter ID is racist.

No, voter ID is not racist. But I have three problems with voter ID.

The first problem with voter ID is that it is a solution looking for a problem. There is no evidence that voter ID would solve any existing issue. There is an old engineering maxim that says "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it." Voting ain't broke, so there's no reason to fix it. 

The second problem with voter ID is that proponents are claiming that it is needed or at least would be neutral. Epistemology places the burden of proof on those making the claim. Yet proponents of voter ID never provide any evidence supporting their claim. It's "easy" to obtain an ID is not a sufficient reason. Even if a voter ID requirement excludes ONE person that is eligible to vote, then it does more harm that good and proponents can't demonstrate that it won't exclude anyone. 

But what about people voting that shouldn't you ask? Well, like I said, there is no evidence that this is a real issue and no evidence that, even if it were, that voter ID would solve it. Besides, I'd rather allow 1,000 ineligible voters to vote than deny one eligible voter their right.

The third problem is once you add a voter ID requirement, what is there to prevent narrowing the list of documents that are acceptable? There is a small, but real, potential problem of a slippery slope here. A driver's license doesn't REALLY prove that you're a citizen so let's restrict it to a passport or military ID. Yeah, I don't like this possibility.

Besides...we all know that Republicans wouldn't be pushing this if they didn't think it was going to suppress Democrat votes. Do you people think we all stupid?

Non-citizens Registered to Vote

Trump claimed that DHS found 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote. I looked at the DHS data and that's not what it says.

What the report says is:

"In the short time that the enhanced SAVE system has been available to states, 10 have states processed their full voter lists. As of June 22, 2026, a total of 25 different states processed more than 68 million registration records through the SAVE system. DHS has enabled those states to identify over 400,000 deceased registrants and over 28,000 non-citizens who illegally registered to vote."

It doesn't say HOW they identified the non-citizens or if there is any evidence that any pf these people have actually ever voted. As for the 400,000 deceased registrants. Deceased voters are supposed to be removed from the rolls within a day or two but we clearly have cases where this doesn't happen. But, again, there is no evidence that any votes were cast by theses deceased voters.

Now let's look at the numbers. They checked 68 million records and found 400,000 deceased and 28,000 non-citizens. That's 0.5% deceased and 0.04% non-citizens with ZERO evidence that any votes have been cast under these names.

By the way, all of these problem registrations came from red states and over 25% of the deceased voters, 111,573, were on the rolls in Texas.

Color me unimpressed.

If the rest of Trump's evidence is as "impressive" as this, then it's a joke.

Trump's Speech July 16th, 2026

 As expected the speech focused on election security and Trump thumping his chest. He made a lot of claims and promised the release of classified documents backing up his claims.

OK, I will check out the documents, but I find it more than a little suspicious that this information is being released only four months before the Midterms.

According to Trump China has hacked into voter roles. I'm not sure what that means. He also claimed that DHS has discovered 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections. I wonder if this is like the million ineligible people on Social Security that Musk "discovered."

He also essentially accused the US intelligence agencies of hiding the information of voter fraud and election manipulation.

I suspect the motive here is to set up disputing midterm results because states "didn't do enough" to correct the vulnerabilities that he's claiming.

Color me skeptical but, he claims he has evidence, so we shall see what we shall see.

He also claimed to have eliminated taxes on Social Security but, I guarantee you, that I, and everyone else, is still paying taxes on Social Security.

Trump to Speak and the Trump Coin

Donald Trump is scheduled to speak tonight at 9 PM EDT. The rumor is that he's going to focus on "election integrity" which could mean almost anything.

I really hate listening to this idiot but I don't have anything better to do tonight so perhaps I'll tune in. 

Oh, one more thing, the US Mint is apparently going to start mining $1 Trump Coins in honor of the US 250th Anniversary.

Federal law prohibits U.S. currency from featuring living people, but the Treasury said it worked around that restriction by classifying the coins as collectibles that commemorate America’s 250th birthday. 

So, we're not talking about a coin that will be in circulation. Honestly, I want me a couple of these but they're not available yet on the US Mint website. 

Iran Ceasefire Appears to Fall Apart

And things are going to hell in the Middle East again. Apparently Iran fired at some ship in the Strait of Hormuz and CENTCOM is trying to  "further degrade [Iran's] ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I suspect that Iran's Command & Control structure is fractured so it's going to be really hard to get stuff under control. It doesn't take much to fire at a ship the strait.

Predictably, the Stock Market didn't take this news well. I'll suppose we'll have to wait and see what happens.

World Cup Round of 16

 Well, it's on to the Round of 16.

July 4th

Canada-0 Morocco-3

Paraguay-0 France-1

July 5th

Brazil-1 Norway-2

Mexico-2 England-3

July 6th

Portugal-0 Spain-1

USA-1 Belgium-4

July 7th

Argentina-3 Egypt-2

Switzerland-0(4) Columbia-0(3)

Notes

Norway taking Brazil was a shock, but a nice shock. 

With Canada gone, and Mexico trailing at the 70' mark, there's a very real danger that we could lose all three host countries in this round. Mexico has now lost 3-2 after England fought off 20 minutes of assaults while a man down.

Spain has moved past Portugal with a late goal.

Belgium has jumped ahead of the US 1-0 early in the match. I suppose the Belgians are pissed that Balogun's red card was overturned. I don't blame them. I'd be pissed too. Honestly I'd rather lose without Balogun than win with him. Belgium has taken out the US, so all three hosts exit in the Round of 16. I guarantee that won't happen in 2030.

I came upstairs from working out and discovered that Egypt is on the verge of eliminating Argentina. They're up 2-0 in the 75th minute. Now this is going to be a really big deal. Of course the odds still give Argentina a 4% of winning and a 13% chance of it going to Extra Time. In the 79th minute Argentina has scored o make it 2-1 so here we go. Argentina tied it in the 83rd minute. Lionel Messi tied it up. Talk about insane. Argentina took the lead in the 94th minute 3-2. Argentina wins 3-2. Now that was a tough loss for Egypt. I feel for them.

Again, I was watching the Switzerland v. Columbia game and had to go eat dinner with the penalties at 1-1. Congrats to the Swiss winning it 4-3.

World Cup 2026 - Round of 32

June 28th

South Africa-0 Canada-1

June 29th

Brazil-2 Japan-1

Germany-1(3) Paraguay-1(4)

Netherlands-1(2) Morocco-1(3)

June 30th

Ivory Coast-1 Norway-2

France-3 Sweden-0

Mexico-2 vs Ecuador-0

July 1st

England-2 vs DR Congo-1

Belgium-3 Senegal-2 (AET)

USA-2 vs Bosnia & Herz-0

July 2nd

Spain-3 Austria-0

Portugal-2 Croatia-1

Switzerland-2 Algeria-0

July 3rd

Australia-1(2) Egypt-1(4)

Argentina-3 Cabo Verde-2 (AET)

Columbia-1 vs Ghana-0

Republicans vs Democrats

I think people need to stop assuming that everyone that voted for Trump did so simply because they were racist. I hear this claim a lot and I think it oversimplifies the situation. There are some fundamental differences in the outlook of the two parties. For example (I've put where I stand in parens):

Abortion: Democrats want less restrictions than Republicans. (D)

Religion: Republicans want to chip away at the Separation of Church and State while the Democrats want to preserve it. (D)

Immigration: Republicans want to restrict immigration while Democrats appear to be OK with increasing it. (R)

Illegal Immigrants: Republicans want to deport them and prevent more from entering the country while Democrats would prefer providing a path to citizenship and are not as concerned about additional illegals entering the country. (R)

DEI: Democrats are in favor of it while Republicans are opposed to it. (R)

Healthcare: Democrats are concerned about the cost of healthcare while Republicans don't seem to be concerned about it. (D)

Gay Rights: Democrats are more sympathetic than Republicans. (D)

Transrights: Democrats seem to be more OK with transrights, including allowing transwomen to compete in women's sports, than Republicans. (R)

Defense Spending: Republicans want to increase it while Democrats want to reduce it. (D)

Tax Policy: Democrats want a more progressive tax structure while Republicans continue to cut taxes for the rich. (D)

Social Safety Net: Democrats want to strengthen the Social Safety Net while Republicans want to weaken it. (D)

It's OK for people to line up on different sides on these issues. I'm with the Democrats on 7 of the 11  So I voted for Clinton, Biden and Harris. 

I'm not opposed to immigration, legal or illegal, because I'm racist but because I think an influx of immigrants is driving some aspects of inflation. I think this is especially an issue when it comes to housing. We already have too many people chasing too few rentals. Let's not make it worse.

SCOTUS Decisions

The whole world doesn't stop for the World Cup and the Supreme Court has issued a number of very important decision. Some were good and some not so good.

(1) Trump's Executive Order restricting Birthright Citizenship has been struck down.

At least the court can still read. People were getting a little nervous about this given some of the other recent court decisions regarding Temporary Protective Status but sanity has apparently prevailed.

(2) Trump CANNOT arbitrarily fire members of the Federal reserve.

This preserve's the Feds independence and is clearly a good decision. Giving a sitting President control over the Federal Reserve would have been a disaster.

(3) States CAN restrict participation in sports based upon biological sex.

This one just makes common sense. I always though participation was segregated by sex and I never understood the concept of allowing participation based upon self-identified gender.

(4) Coordinated spending between a political party and a candidate CANNOT be limited.

OK, so three out of four isn't bad. Again the court doesn't seem to have a problem with allowing money to influence the electoral process. Why not just hold an auction and give the office to the highest bidder?

Iran Agreement 14 Points

 The 14 core points of the initial agreement include:

1. End of Military Operations: An immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
2. Mutual Non-Aggression: A commitment to refrain from the threat or use of force against one another.
3. Respect for Sovereignty: An undertaking to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, specifically ensuring the sovereignty of Lebanon.
4. 60-Day Negotiation Window: A commitment to negotiate and achieve a finalized deal within a maximum of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.
5. Lift Naval Blockade: The U.S. will begin immediately lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports and will completely end it within 30 days.
6. Strait of Hormuz: Iran will use its best efforts to arrange for the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, free of charge for 60 days.
7. Reconstruction Plan: The U.S. and regional partners will undertake a plan of at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran.
8. End of Sanctions: The U.S. commits to terminating all types of sanctions against Iran, contingent on nuclear compliance.
9. No Nuclear Weapons: Iran reaffirms its commitment that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons.
10. Disposition of Stockpiled Material: The U.S. and Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of Iran's stockpiled enriched nuclear material.
11. Nuclear Status Quo: Pending the final deal, both sides will maintain the status quo of Iran's nuclear program; the U.S. will not impose new sanctions or deploy additional forces.
12. Oil Export Waivers: The U.S. Treasury Department will issue waivers allowing the immediate, unhindered export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and all associated banking and transportation services.
13. Dispute Mechanism: Provisions for resolving disputes that may arise during the 60-day interim phase before the final agreement is signed.
14. Final Deal Integration: A stipulation that the final deal will permanently confirm the termination of the war and codify the lasting provisions of the interim agreement.

Honestly, the treaty Obama had in place was much better. Trump is an idiot. That being said, I'm glad the killing has stopped and I hope that it will stay stopped.

World Cup 2026 III

OK, I'm getting organized. I'll do a round at a time.

Group A                      MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts       

• Mexico                    3     3   0    0   6     0     6    9
• South Africa          3     1    1   1    2      3     -2   4
• South Korea          3     1    0    2    2    3     -1    3
• Czechia                   3    0    1    2    2     6     -4   1

Group B                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Switzerland           3     2   1    0   7      3      4     7
• Canada                   3     1    1    1   8      3      5     4
• Bos and Herz        3     1    1    1   5      6      -1    4
• Qatar                      3     0   1   2    2    10     -9     1

Group C                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Brazil                     3     2    1   0    7     1       6     7
• Morocco                3     2    1   0    6    3       3     7
• Scotland                3     1    0   2    1     4     -3     3
• Haiti                       3    0    0   3   2     8     -6     0

Group D                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• United States       3     2   0   1   8     4      4      6
• Australia               3     1   1   1    2     2      0      4
• Paraguay               3     1   1   1    2     4     -2     4
• Turkiye                  3    1   0   2   3      5     -2     3
• 
  

Group E                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Germany              3      2   0   1   10     4     6     6
• Ivory Coast          3      2    0   1   4     2      0     6
• Ecuador                3     1    1   1    2      2     0      4
• Curacao                3     0   1   2    1      9     -8     1

Group F                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Netherlands        3      2   1   0   10    4      6      7
• Japan                   3      1   2   0     7     3      4      5
• Sweden                3      1   1    1     7     7      0      4
• Tunisia                3      0   0  3     2    12   -10     0

Group G                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Belgium               3      1   2    0   6      2      4     5
• Egypt                    3      1   2    0   5      3      2     5
• Iran                       3     0   3    0   1      3      0     3
• New Zealand       3     0   1    2   4     10    -6     1

Group H                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Spain                      3     2    1   0    5     0      5     7
• Capo Verde           3     0    3   0    2     2      0    3
• Uruguay                 3    0    2    1    3     4     -1    2
• Saudi Arabia         3     0    2   1     1     5    -4     2

Group I                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• France                  3      3   0   0  10      2     8    9
• Norway                3      2   0   1    8       7     1     6
• Senegal                3      1   0   2    8       6    2     3
• Iraq                      3      0   0   3    1     12  -11     0

Group J                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Argentina            3      3   0   0   8     1      7      9
• Austria                 3      1   1   1    6      6     0      4
• Algeria                 3      1   1   1    5     7      -2     4
• Jordan                 3      0   0  3   3      8     -5     0

Group K                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• Colombia             3       2   1    0   4     1      3    7
• Portugal               3       1   2    0   6     1      5    5
• DR Congo            3       1   1    1   4      3     1     4
• Uzbekistan          3       0   0   3   2    11    -9    0

Group L                    MP  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts

• England                3     2   1   0   6     2      4      7
• Croatia                  3     2   0   1   5     5      0     6
• Ghana                   3     1    1   1    2     2      0     4
• Panama                3     0   0   3   0    4     -4     0
• 
  

June 18th Games

Czechia-1 South Africa-1

Switzerland-4 Bos & Herz-1

Canada-6 Qatar-0

Mexico-1 South Korea-0

June 19th Games

USA-2 Australia-0

Scotland-0 Morocco-1

Brazil-3 Haiti-0

Turkiye-0 Paraguay-1

June 20th Games

Netherlands-5 Sweden-1

Germany-2 Ivory Coast-1

Ecuador-0 Curacao-0

June 21st

Tunisia-0 Japan-4

Spain-4 Saudi Arabia-0

Belgium-0 Iran-0

Uruguay-2 Cabo Verde-2

New Zealand-1 Egypt-3

June 22nd

Argentina-2 Austria-0

France-3 Iraq-0

Norway-3 Senegal-2

Jordan-1 Algeria-2

June 23rd

Portugal-5 Uzbekistan-0

England-0 Ghana-0

Panama-0 Croatia-1

Columbia-1 DR Congo-0

June 24th

Switzerland-2 Canada-1

Bos & Herz-3 Qatar-1

Morocco-4 Haiti-2

Scotland-0 Brazil-3

South Africa-1 South Korea-0

Czechia-0 Mexico-3

June 25th

Curacao-0 Ivory Coast-2

Ecuador-2 Germany-1

Tunisia-1 Netherlands-3

Japan-1 vs Sweden-1

Turkiye-3 USA-2

Paraguay-0 Australia-0

June 26th

Norway-1 France-4

Senegal-5 Iraq-0

Cabo Verde-0 Saudi Arabia-0

Uruguay-0 Spain-1

New Zealand-1 Belgium-5

Egypt-1 Iran-1

June 27th

Panama-0 England-2

Croatia-2 Ghana-1

Columbia-0 Portugal-0

DR Congo-3 Uzbekistan-1

Algeria-3 Austria-3

Jordan-1 Argentina-3

The Iranian Deal

According to Trump, he has made a deal to end the fighting in the Middle East. Unfortunately, no one has seen the text of the deal and we're hearing contradictory things from Trump and JD Vance.

The best I can make of it is:

(1) The Strait of Hormuz gets opened but it's unclear if there will be tolls or not.

(2) If Iran doesn't rebuild its nuclear capability then it get access to money? I'm reading between the lines here.

(3) If it does rebuild its nuclear capability then it doesn't get access?

(4) The Gulf States and the US, according to JD Vance, are putting together a $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iranian infrastructure. I assume this is the money they get access to plus the $100 billion currently frozen but I'm not sure. Trump has denied that such a fund exists.

(5) If the Israelis keep attacking Lebanon then the deal is off, and the Israelis haven't agreed to stop doing so because they're not signatories to the deal.

As you can see from the above, I don't really know a whole hell of a lot and apparently neither do the Israelis who claim they haven't seen the deal either.

More to follow when more information is available.