Mariners End 21-Year Playoff Drought; Join Jays & Rays as AL Wild Cards

After narrowly missing the post-season in 2021, the Seattle Mariners ended their 21-year playoff drought on the last day of September defeating the Oakland A's 2-1 to clinch an AL Wild Card berth on a walk off pinch hit HR by Cal Raleigh.

The last time the Mariners played October baseball was in 2001 when the team tied a MLB record 116 wins only to fall to the New York Yankees in the ALCS. This was the rookie season of one Ichiro Suzuki. In 2022, it was the rookie campaign of Julio Rodriguez which put the Mariners over the top. 

Things did not look promising for the Mariners in mid-June. On June 19th, the team was 29-39. But Seattle would win 22 of its next 25 games leading up to the All-Star Break. While it was enough to challenge the Houston Astros for the division, they firmly placed themselves into the AL Wild Card race. Since the Mariners first took the field in 1977, it is only the fourth time in franchise history they have made the post-season. Prior to 2001, the Mariners made the playoffs in 1995 and in 1997. 

The Mariners join the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays in earning AL Wild Card berths. Unlike the Mariners who had to wait more than two decades for playoff baseball, the Rays earned their fourth straight post-season appearance earlier on Friday with a 7-3 win over the AL West champion Astros. The Blue Jays had the night off on Thursday, but secured their second post-season appearance in the last three years when the Baltimore Orioles fell 6-3 to the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays were in the post-season picture nearly the entire season. Notwithstanding their contender status, the Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo in favor of bench coach John Schneider shortly before the All-Star Break.

Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto will be in the mix in the AL Wild Card round with the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians while the Astros and New York Yankees have earned first round byes. The Jays currently lead the Mariners and Rays in the AL Wild Card standings. Should these standings hold then the Guardians would host the Rays while the Jays would host the Mariners in their respective matchups.

This strikes me as being particularly unfair to Mariners fans. After waiting 21 seasons to see their team in the playoffs, Mariners fans might not be able to see them play post-season baseball if the Mariners are eliminated north of the border. Still, Seattle fans are better off than Baltimore Orioles fans. After seeing their team unexpectedly surge only to trade top player Trey Mancini to the Astros and closer Jorge Lopez to the Minnesota Twins can only wonder what would have happened had the Angelos family let things be. 

Unlike the AL, things are still unsettled in both the NL East and NL Wild Card races. The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves will make the post-season. The question is who will win the NL East title and who will be the top seed in the NL Wild Card as the Mets and Braves are currently tied atop the division. The San Diego Padres, who faded down the stretch in 2021, have the second NL Wild Card berth with the Philadelphia Phillies narrowly leading the Milwaukee Brewers by a half game for the third NL Wild Card berth. 

Cardinals Beat Brewers to Win NL Central

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 tonight to win the NL Central. Although the Redbirds will play October baseball for the fourth straight year, this is the first division title since 2019. 

In 2021, the Cardinals surged to a NL Wild Card berth on the strength of a 17-game winning streak last September (the end of which came at the hands of the Brewers). But after being eliminated in the NL Wild Card game by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cardinals shockingly fired manager Mike Shildt. 

The team replaced Shildt with bench coach Oliver Marmol who had been on the big league coaching staff since 2017. At 36, Marmol is the youngest manager in MLB. Marmol would pilot a team that contended all season. While the Brewers led the NL Central for most of the season the Cardinals were never more than 4.5 games back and spent a few days in first in mid-June. The Cardinals took charge of the division on August 6th and gradually pulled away from the Brew Crew. They clinch with an 8.5 game lead over Milwaukee.

The Cardinals will have stiff competition against the likes of the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. But the Cardinals will be sentimental favorites with Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright retiring after the season. Throw NL MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado and no team should take the Redbirds lightly.

As for the Brewers, they still have a chance to reach the post-season as they are only 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the third NL Wild Card berth. The Cardinals might have overtaken the Brewers in the NL Central, but the Brewers could overtake the Cardinals in a potential post-season matchup. 

The only division in MLB which has yet to be settled is the NL East where the Mets and Braves are now tied. This race will likely to go down to the last day of the regular season.

Bronx Bombers Clinch AL East Title But That Won't Be Enough for Yankees Fans

The New York Yankees clinched the AL East tonight with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto. 

The Yankees have been in first place in the division since April 27th. At the All-Star Break, the Bronx Bombers led by Aaron Judge (who is 2 HRs away from surpassing Roger Maris' 61-year old AL record of 61 HRs in a single season) led the AL East by 13 games.

But when the Yankees went on a 4-14 stretch at the beginning of August, Yankees fans were openly chanting, "Fire Boone!!!" in reference to much maligned manager Aaron Boone. To the surprise of many, the Yankees gave Boone a three year extension with an option for 2025 after the team was eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. 

Despite the derision of the Yankees faithless, the team was never in any danger of relinquishing first place. Their smallest lead was 3.5 games on September 9th. Since then, the Yankees have gone 12-3 and have picked up five games on the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays who will likely join them in the post-season as two of the three AL Wild Card berths along with the Seattle Mariners. 

As with the Houston Astros, the Yankees earn a bye in the first round of the post-season. It remains to be seen if this kind of layoff will do top seeded teams more harm than good. But they have earned it just the same. Still, I   Yankees fans will be satisfied with anything short of a World Series title.

Who Will Marlins Reel In To Be Their New Manager With Mattingly Departure?

After seven seasons at the helm of the Miami Marlins, Don Mattingly will part ways with the organization at the conclusion of the 2022 MLB campaign. 

Although Mattingly is the winningest manager in Marlins history, the team only had one winning season during his tenure. That was during the COVID shortened 2020 season when posting a 31-29 record the Marlins made the post-season for the first time since their World Series title in 2003. However, they would be swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. 

As for 2022, the Marlins got off to a decent 12-8 start in April but fell off in May and allowed both the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies to get competitive with the New York Mets while the Marlins struggled to get back to .500. Since the All-Star Break, the Marlins are 20-42 and have been beset with injuries with the likes of Jazz Chisholm, Jr., Joey Wendle, Avisail Garcia going on the IL. The only reason the Marlins are ahead of the Washington Nationals is due to ace Sandy Alcantara who leads the NL in starts (31), innings pitched (220.2) and complete games (5). There is a good chance Alcantara could earn the NL Cy Young Award. Alcantara, 27, is signed with the Marlins through the 2026 season with a team option for 2027. 

The question now is who will Marlins GM Kim Ng choose to succeed Mattingly in the dugout. Will she promote from within the Marlins organization (i.e. Daren Brown who manages at Triple-AAA Jacksonville) or will she choose an outsider. If she chooses an outsider will that candidate have previous big league managerial experience a la Joe Maddon or Joe Girardi (who managed the Marlins in 2006 when Jeffrey Loria owned the team). Could she lure Joe Torre from the MLB Commissioner's office back into the dugout? Remember that Ng knew Torre well when she was an Assistant GM for the New York Yankees and also worked under Torre's supervision when he was Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations. Or will she give a chance to an outsider who has been awaiting his chance to manage a big league team like Detroit Tigers first base coach Gary Jones.

Whoever Ng chooses to replace Mattingly will have a tall order as the NL East is stacked with the Mets, Braves and Phillies. Marlins fans might have to wait a couple of years before they reel in another post-season appearance. 

As for Mattingly, will he get to rest in Evansville, Indiana for the 2023 after 12 seasons managing both the Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers previously. Or should the New York Yankees fail to win a World Series, could Donnie Baseball find himself wearing pinstripes next year?    

Biden Administration Should Halt Nuclear Negotiations with Iran Amid Protests

For a little over a week, there have been protests in Iran following the death of a young woman named Mahsa Amini. 

During a visit to Tehran with her family, she had been detained by Iran's morality police for not wearing her hijab in accordance with their standards. While in police custody, Amini died under suspicious circumstances and witnesses have indicated Amini was physically tortured and this treatment led to her death. For their part, Iranian authorities claim the 22-year old Amini suffered a heart attack. Amini's father does not believe the Iranian regime. Nor do millions of Iranians who have taken to the streets to protest. Unlike previous protests against the Iranian regime, many of these protests have been organized by women. Many of these women are burning their hijabs and cutting their hair. 

During his address to the UN General Assembly last week, President Biden said, "And today, we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights." This is a marked improvement over the stance of former President Obama. When there were public protests in Iran following the controversial 2009 "elections", Obama pointedly refused to stand with the protesters because he did not want the United States to be seen as "meddling" in Iranian affairs. Obama was also desperate the attain a nuclear agreement with Iran and would do so in 2015. Defeated former President Trump would withdraw from that agreement in 2018. 

The Biden Administration wants to re-enter a nuclear agreement with Iran. I thought the Iran nuclear agreement was a bad idea a decade ago and I think it is a bad idea now. The reality though is the Biden Administration is pursuing it. During an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation this morning, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden Administration would continue to pursue a nuclear agreement with Iran:

We’re talking about diplomacy to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. If we can succeed in that effort, and we are determined to succeed in that effort, the world, America and our allies will be safer. And that will not stop us in any way from pushing back and speaking out on Iran’s brutal repression of its citizens and its women. We can and will do both.

As I seem to recall, American diplomacy with North Korea did not prevent that regime from developing a nuclear weapon. So I dispute Sullivan's thesis that another Iran nuclear agreement will make us safer. But the fact the Biden Administration is continuing to pursue a nuclear agreement with Iran at a time when Iran is publicly suppressing dissent effectively rewards the regime's behavior. 

I say this with the understanding that the Iranian regime has been behaving like this since it took power in 1979 and there are probably tens of thousands of Mahsa Amini's in graves all over the country. But with this uprising there is a chance the Iranian regime could fall. Continuing to pursue the agreement only prolongs its legitimacy. Should there be more public bloodshed at the hands of the Iranian regime continuing negotiations would be untenable.

Under the present circumstances, the time has come for the Biden Administration to halt negotiations with Iran. 

Cleveland Guardians Clinch AL Central Exceeding All Expectations

The Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central today with a 10-4 victory over the Texas Rangers. It was the Guardians' 7th consecutive win. Since Labor Day on September 5th, the Guardians have gone 18-3. During this period, the Guardians went from a 1 game lead to a 10 game lead in the division.

With a largely young club, 2022 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Guardians. Like many others, I picked them to finish at the bottom of the AL Central. Cleveland started out slow, but would go over the .500 mark on June 9th and were even atop the division on June 22nd although the Minnesota Twins soon returned to first place while the Guardians struggled to stay above .500 through mid-July. 

Cleveland found its form after the All-Star Break would be in first place or have a share of it from August 9th onward. The Twins would eventually fade while the heavily favored Chicago White Sox had too much on-field and off-field drama to play with any kind of consistency. 

Aside from the steady hand of longtime manager Terry Francona and star player Jose Ramirez, the Guardians saw breakout seasons from rookies Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez while Amad Rosario established himself as an everyday player. What the Guardians lacked in power was made up for in speed and defense. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie form a solid rotation accompanied by Emmanuel Clase who has established himself as MLB's premier closer. 

Whether it will be enough to overcome the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees or any of the AL Wild Card teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners remains to be seen. But Cleveland does have a chance to win its first World Series title in 74 years and if they do in their inaugural season as the Guardians their fans will soon forget they were ever called Indians. 

When Bill Blaikie Spoke About My Future

I was saddened to learn about the passing of Bill Blaikie, who served as a Member of Parliament from Winnipeg under the NDP banner for nearly 30 years. Blaikie succumbed to kidney cancer on Saturday at the age of 71. 

A Unitarian Minister by vocation, Blaikie was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1979 and would be re-elected eight times until retiring in 2008. In 2003, Blaikie sought the NDP leadership but was defeated by Jack Layton. During his last years in the Commons, Blaikie served as Deputy Speaker. He also served a single term as a NDP member of the Manitoba legislature from 2009 to 2011 before retiring from politics for good. His son Daniel is currently a MP from the same area while his daughter Rebecca served as President of the NDP for a number of years. 

When I lived in Ottawa attending Carleton University during the early 1990's, I served as a parliamentary intern for several NDP MPs. Although I did not intern for Blaikie, I came across him regularly. He was a large bear of a man who could come across as gruff. But he also possessed a dry sense of humor. 

When I interned for Nelson Riis in the fall of 1994, I did some research into corporate taxation and had found the Royal Bank of Canada had not paid any corporate tax at all which the NDP saw fit to use. Blaikie congratulated me during a NDP caucus meeting stating, "Aaron, you have a bright future ahead of you, but it won't be with the Royal Bank."

I don't know if he remembered uttering it nor can I say how bright my future turned out to be, but it is one of the nicest things anyone has said about me. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher, R.I.P.

Actress Louise Fletcher, best known for her Oscar winning performance as the evil Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest opposite Jack Nicholson, passed away on Friday at her home in France. No cause of death was released. She was 88. 

Fletcher appeared on TV in the late 1950's and early 1960's in TV shows like Playhouse 90, Bat Masterson, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Untouchables, Wagon Train and Perry Mason before she took a 12-year hiatus to raise a family. Fletcher would attract some attention with her performance in the 1974 Robert Altman film Thieves Like Us which he co-produced with her husband Jerry Bick. She was due to appear in Altman's next film Nashville, but lost the role which went to Lily Tomlin when Altman had a falling out with Bick. Altman's loss was Milos Forman's gain. The Czech director would soon cast her as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

It has been years since I've seen One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Nurse Ratched is such a wretched creature for whom one feels nothing but contempt. In addition to winning an Oscar, Fletcher won the BAFTA and Golden Globe Best Actress awards for the same role. Of course, Fletcher in real life was nothing like Nurse Ratched. When Fletcher won the Best Actress Oscar, she would give one of the most memorable speeches in Academy Award history. After drawing laughter about how much she loved being hated, she concluded her remarks movingly by using sign language to honor and thank her parents both of whom were deaf. 

Fletcher would never repeat the same level of big screen success. However, she did have a career which would span another 40 years playing supporting roles often cast as Ratched like villains most notably on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Winn Adami and would also earn Emmy nominations for guest appearances on Picket Fences and Joan of Arcadia. 

I leave you with Fletcher in her finest hour during her Oscars acceptance speech. R.I.P.

Two Cheers for Albert Pujols' 700th Career Home Run

On Friday night, Albert Pujols became only the fourth player in MLB history to record 700 career home runs. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger joined Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds in this exclusive club when he took Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford in the fourth inning much to the delight of the crowd at Chavez Ravine. Of course, Pujols wore a Dodgers uniform during a portion of last season. It was actually Pujols' 2nd HR of the night along with 5 RBI in an 11-0 rout of the Dodgers. The win puts the Cardinals' magic number to clinch the NL Central to 4. 

Pujols, 42, is having a remarkable final act in his return to St. Louis. In 287 at bats this season, Pujols has hit 21 HR and 58 RBI. While Pujols might not eclipse The Bambino's 714 HRs, he does have a chance to pass Ruth for second place on the all-time RBI list. Pujols has 2208 RBI and needs only 7 more RBIs to go ahead of The Babe. Hank Aaron is MLB's all-time RBI leader with 2297. For good measure, Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright have a chance for a third World Series ring together before their impending retirement. The trio won World Series rings with the Redbirds in 2006 and 2011. I was excited about Pujols return to St. Louis when he signed a one year deal back in March and he has exceeded all expectations.

Well, almost all expectations.

The reason I am only giving Pujols two cheers is because back in April he announced divorce proceedings from his wife of 22-years only days after she had surgery to remove a brain tumor. There might have been a myriad of reasons why the marriage of Albert and Deidre Pujols has come to an end. But to initiate divorce proceedings in the immediate aftermath of a life and death medical situation strikes me as incredibly cruel and makes me view the future Hall of Famer in a different light.

Yes, Albert Pujols deserves to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame come 2028. He is among the greatest of the greatest players to ever wear a baseball uniform. But being among the greatest baseball players doesn't make you among the greatest human beings much less a good person. 

I am more than happy to acknowledge Pujols' on-field achievements. But I am not prepared to turn a blind eye to this act of indecency at home.

Is The COVID Pandemic Over as U.S. Passes 96 Million Cases?

The United States has surpassed 96 million COVID cases. According to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, there have been 96,056,075 COVID cases resulting in 1,056,373 deaths representing a mortality rate of 1.1%. Hospitalizations have continued to decline falling below 25,000 (24,920) as of September 21st according to Our World in Data. 

There is the lingering question of whether the pandemic is over. President Biden raised some eyebrows when he indicated the pandemic was over in his 60 Minutes interview which aired this past Sunday:

The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lotta work on it. It's-- but the pandemic is over. if you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.

In the final sentence, President Biden is referring to his and Scott Pelley's presence at the Detroit Auto Show - the first in three years. I think his second sentence as is important as the first. Saying the pandemic is over doesn't mean COVID doesn't pose a public health risk. However, community spread has been mitigated by therapeutics, vaccines and gradually declining hospitalization rates. Unfortunately, some people don't read past the first sentence and many of those do so in bad faith.

In my personal experience, I still wear a mask on the MBTA and when I go on long bus trips whether it's to New York or when I went to Western Massachusetts a week ago to celebrate my 50th birthday. These days I would say it's about 50-50 between mask wearing and no mask wearing in these settings.

Of course, I always wear a mask if I'm at a medical facility and there are certain public venues in the area which still require one such as The Brattle Theatre here in Cambridge. I also recently had to wear a mask at work and also had to get tested when my colleague with whom I share an office tested positive and had to miss some time from work. Aside from that I don't wear a mask nearly as much although I keep one close at hand out of an abundance of caution. Many Americans exercise no such caution and have put COVID in a rearview mirror. While that in of itself doesn't mean the pandemic is over because of the aforementioned tools now in our possession the lack of such restraint is less fatal than it was a year ago.

Still, whether the pandemic is over is a matter of public debate. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disagrees with President Biden's view. While Ghebreyesus says "we are beginning to glimpse the light at the end of tunnel" he adds the end of the tunnel is still "a long way off." Of course, they could both be right as President Biden is speaking of the pandemic in America whereas Ghebreyesus is speaking of the pandemic throughout the world. 

Despite America's progress in combating COVID, President Biden may have been imprudent in declaring the pandemic to be over. But when you consider his Republican opposition especially defeated, former President Trump prudence is hardly the first thing which comes to mind particularly when it comes to COVID.

Former DNC Chair Calls Tlaib Anti-Semitic For Claiming Progressives Cannot Support Israel

In an online seminar sponsored by Palestinian groups which took place this past Tuesday, Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib declared:

I want you all to know that among progressives, it has become clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values, yet back Israel’s apartheid government. We will continue to push back and not accept this idea that you are progressive, except for ‘Palestine,’ any longer.

A number of Tlaib's Democratic congressional colleagues were unamused with Tlaib's comments beginning with former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz who took to Twitter to characterize Tlaib's commentary as anti-Semitic:

The outrageous progressive litmus test on Israel by @RashidaTlaib is nothing short of antisemitic. Proud progressives do support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. Suggesting otherwise is shameful and dangerous. Divisive rhetoric does not lead to peace.

Meanwhile, several other Democratic members of Congress such as Jerry Nadler, Ritchie Torres, Grace Meng, Brad Sherman and Brad Schneider were also critical of Tlaib's litmus test though they emphasized that supporting Israel is a progressive value as opposed to accusing her of anti-Semitism. I wish they had echoed Wasserman-Schultz in declaring Tlaib to be anti-Semitic. The more Democrats air this view the greater the chance Tlaib and others like her are to be marginalized in the party.

Of course, I would prefer the likes of Tlaib not be welcome among Democrats at all. But the more Democrats who come and out say that Tlaib and other squad members like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley do not speak for them the better. 

My Impressions of Ken Burns' The U.S. & The Holocaust

Last week, I went to Symphony Hall and saw some excerpts from the documentary film The U.S. & The Holocaust which was produced by Ken Burns, Lynne Novick and Sarah Botstein. A short time ago, I finished watching the third and final installment of The U.S. & The Holocaust and would like to share my impressions of it.

First and foremost, human nature is unchanging. Most of us will go where the wind blows and we choose to block out the foul stench. A few of us will stick out our necks to help those in need even at the risk of their own lives, but some of those few will also resent others who try to do the same. Americans were OK with a few Jews, but not that many while many other Americans wished they were never here at all. Americans were aware of what was happening to Jews in Europe, but did not wish to believe it and even when they did come to believe it that didn't mean they were any more welcoming to Jews than before. We can look to the past and say never again, but too many among us do not think this could happen to us. With this in mind, the conclusion of tonight's installment showed images of the Mother Emmanuel Church killer, Trump bragging about building a big beautiful wall, Charlottesville, the Tree of Life Synagogue mass killing and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and how these seeds could be harbingers of things to come. 

While it is important to keep a look out for the warning signs, there is a crucial piece of the discussion which the film misses - how Americans misappropriate the meaning of The Holocaust. A significant example which comes to mind are anti-vaxxers who wear a yellow Star of David in opposition to vaccine mandates. Unlike the anti-vaxxers in this country, no Jew in Europe willingly wore a yellow Star of David nor could they remove it of their own free will unless they wished to be shot on site. But when the Arizona chapter of the ADL objected to a Republican State Senator likening vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, the GOP State Senator told the ADL to "learn their history." This country is all too aware of the Holocaust, but a critical mass among us learn the wrong lessons.

The film is, of course, subject to reasonable criticism where it concerns Burns' favorable disposition towards the Roosevelts. Historian Rafael Medoff, who has written extensively both about the Roosevelts and the Holocaust, accuses Burns of limiting FDR's culpability by placing blame on the American public and also disputes Burns' statement that the U.S. took in more Jewish refugees than any other country in the world. At no point in the documentary does Burn mention how FDR told his Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr., “You know this is a Protestant country, and the Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance.” Nor does he mention how Eleanor Roosevelt stated after Kristallnacht, “I think it is important in this country that the Jews as Jews remain unaggressive and stress the fact they are Americans first and above everything else.” 

No doubt Medoff would also cast a skeptical eye on Burns' sympathetic treatment of Rabbi Stephen Wise who in wanting to have FDR's ear wanted the American Jewish community to keep quiet about what was happening to their families in Europe as well as whether FDR should have bombed Auschwitz. In this regard, I do have some sympathy for FDR's dilemma. As with Harry Truman and Hiroshima, our Presidents aren't presented with good options and bad options but what will be the least of the bad options. 

I don't wish to leave you with the impression this isn't an important film. It most certainly is as it brings us the personal stories of those who escaped Hitler's wrath and accounts from the descendants of those who did not survive. This is worthy of our undivided attention.

Unfortunately, I suspect most people who watched The U.S. and The Holocaust are those who are already interested in our history - good, bad and ugly. Somehow I doubt it will reach the people who need to see it the most and if they do see it then there's a very good chance they'll show up at a city council or school board meeting wearing a yellow Star of David because they oppose vaccine mandates or don't want their children reading The Diary of Anne Frank.

If there is any solace in all of this is that Ken Burns won't have the last word on The Holocaust. So long as The Holocaust and what led to it and how we can prevent another one remains in the public domain then there is hope for us however faint and fleeting.

Maury Wills, R.I.P.

Maury Wills, the first player in MLB history to steal 100 bases in a single season, passed away on Monday. No cause of death has been released. Wills was 89. 

A native of Washington, D.C., Wills signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951. The Dodgers twice traded away Wills as a minor leaguer first to the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1956 and the Detroit Tigers in 1958 only to reacquire him. 

Wills would finally make his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 1959. By this the Dodgers were in Los Angeles and that year would win their first World Series title on the West Coast. The following year Wills would become the team's everyday shortstop and would lead the NL in stolen bases for six consecutive seasons. 

Wills would have a season for the ages in 1962 when he became the first player to record 100 stolen bases in a season when he swiped 104 bases. For this, Wills would be named the NL MVP though the Dodgers would fall short of a NL pennant to the San Francisco Giants. However, Wills would win two more World Series titles with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965. During the '65 campaign, Wills would steal 94 bases finishing third in NL MVP balloting behind teammate Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays, the man he bested for the award three years earlier.

Following the 1967 season, the Dodgers traded Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal for Bob Bailey. Wills lasted two seasons in Pittsburgh before he was selected in the expansion by the Montreal Expos in 1969. But Wills' stay in Montreal was short-lived as he would return to the Dodgers in mid-season along with Manny Mota for Ron Fairly. Wills remained with the Dodgers through the 1972 season after which he retired. In 14 big league seasons, Wills collected 2,134 hits for a .281 lifetime batting average with 20 HR and 458 RBI along with 586 stolen bases which ranks him 20th on MLB's all-time list, was named to 7 NL All-Star Teams, earned three World Series rings and bestowed with two Gold Gloves. Between 1978 and 1992, Wills appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot but never earned more than 40% of the vote. The Golden Era Committee considered Wills' candidacy for Cooperstown in 2015 and again this year but did not induct him. 

After Wills hung up his cleats, he spent several years as a color commentator for NBC while managing in the Mexican League. During the 1980 season, Wills became the third African-American to manage a big league club when he replaced Darrell Johnson to skipper the Seattle Mariners. However, the Mariners would dismiss Wills early in the 1981 season and he would never manage again. During this time, Wills' son Bump played in the major leagues with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs and would later play in Japan.

Wills was also an accomplished guitar and banjo player. While Wills was never enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame, his banjo has a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I leave you with Wills playing guitar and singing the folk standard "Wayfaring Stranger". R.I.P.

Astros Clinch Fifth AL West Title in Six Seasons

For the fifth time in the past six years, the Houston Astros have won the AL West division. The Astros clinched the title with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. 

After some initial competition from the Los Angeles Angels in the early part of the season, the Astros took over first place on May 17th and have had a double digit lead in the division since coming back from the All-Star Break on July 21st. Houston is 13-4 thus far in September having won 8 of their last 9 games. At 97-51, the Astros have a plausible shot at eclipsing their franchise record 107 wins set in 2019 when they won the AL pennant.

Not surprisingly, the Astros currently own the best record in the Junior Circuit. Even if the New York Yankees should eclipse them, they will get a bye in the first round of the post-season. Whether that time off works against them remains to be seen. But as with the Dodgers in the NL, the Astros will go into the post-season as heavy favorites to win their fourth AL pennant since 2017. 

On Turning 50

Yesterday, on Friday, September 16th, I reached the age of 50. I'm going to reflect on this milestone in two parts. Part I is Celebration at the Magical Queendom and Part II is Acceptance.

Part I - Celebration at the Magical Queendom

I first gave serious thought to what I would be doing on my 50th birthday when I turned 45. Having gone to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York for my 40th birthday, I wanted to do some equally special if not more so. My initial thoughts were to travel to Northern California to see the Redwood Forest. I wanted to have a birthday that was serene yet grand and few things are grander than Redwoods. 

Then the chaos came. Within a year I would move from Boston to New York City. Eighteen months after I had moved to New York, the pandemic ensued. Seven months after that I was off to Atlanta. By the time I had come to Atlanta my 50th birthday wish had changed to coming back to Boston as a visitor. I missed Boston terribly. My wish to return to Boston would come far sooner than I had expected. As much as I was delighted with this development there remained the question with how I would spend my 50th birthday.

The seeds to that answer were planted in June 2020 from the moment I clicked on the YouTube video of Fanny's live version of "Ain't That Peculiar". Although all four members of the classic Fanny lineup were a force of nature, it was lead guitarist June Millington to whom I was most drawn. Over time, I began communicating with her online as well as her longtime partner Ann Hackler particularly through Facebook and her Livestream broadcasts. Although her cancer diagnosis would curtail those Livestreams, it did not curtail our communication. Then along came several opportunities to meet in June in person at several showings of the documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock in Boston and in New York. 

When I saw June in New York over Memorial Day Weekend, I broached the idea of spending my 50th birthday at the Institute for Musical Arts (IMA) in Goshen, Massachusetts which is about two hours west of Boston. June was receptive to the idea and in time arrangements were made with Ann to make it happen. 

Aside from the relatively close proximity to Boston there was the desire to immerse myself within the Magical Queendom even if only for 24 hours. While I have seen pictures, video and film of the grounds at IMA I knew that I needed to experience it for myself.  I also cannot remember the last time I had a home cooked meal.

To get there, I took a Peter Pan bus on the circuitous route from Boston to Hartford, Connecticut and then back into Massachusetts to Springfield and then to Northampton where I was picked up by Ann. From there, it was a 30 minute drive to Goshen. Driving through Western Massachusetts is a site to behold.

When I entered the front door of the Magical Queendom, I heard June playing guitar. She was practicing for a forthcoming Fanny gig next month in Kansas City. After June concluded her practice, she took me on a walk through their 25 acres of land including the barn which houses their two studios and performance area. In an instant, I was enthralled with the atmosphere which certainly had the feel of an artists' colony. I can see and hear why musicians, particularly young girls and women, are drawn to this space. In separate conversations with June and Ann, I told them how blessed they are to have this view almost everyday. 

Ann prepared a lovely, home cooked dinner consisting of grilled fish, grilled veggies, grilled mushrooms, grilled pineapple and salad. The birthday boy got the added bonus of blueberry pie topped with cashew based ice cream with a single candle. This was most satiating. 

Several other people joined us for dinner including Mia Huggs who will be playing bass with Fanny in Kansas City. She first came to IMA in her teens seven years ago. While Mia expressed concern about learning Jean Millington's bass parts with the show less than three weeks away, I asked her if she envisioned playing with Fanny when she started with IMA all those years ago and she had to say that did not cross her mind. Having heard Mia's bass playing on a LiveStream, I'm sure she will do Jean justice in Kansas City.

I ended up spending the night in a yurt which included a wood stove. It tends to be cooler at night in Goshen so Ann started a fire for me. The fire combined with several layers of blankets included a wool blanket knitted by Jean Millington kept me warm through the night. 

June is generally a late riser so I did not see her this morning. Knowing this I had made a point of saying my farewells to June before I retired for the evening. I spent the morning with Ann walking the grounds of The Magic Queendom before she drove me back to Northampton. On the way to Northampton, we briefly stopped at DAR State Forest and at Smith College. 

Ann said I was welcome to come back to the Magical Queendom. While I do hope there will be other opportunities to return to the Magical Queendom, I shall remember my time there on my 50th birthday with great fondness.

Part II - Acceptance

As I begin my 50s, I can state definitively that my life as it is more positive than negative. I have not always been able to say this with confidence but I can now. 

Returning to Boston has helped this considerably as I find myself in my best employment situation in a decade. Although my living space isn't as vast as it was in Atlanta, I am in a location near numerous amenities and that my life is a comfortable one. In this respect, I can only hope for continued good health and for the strength to deal with any bad news which does come my way.

Over these years, I have come to accept certain things. For starters, I have accepted that I'm a Records Clerk. I tried to go beyond this in the paralegal field but I am simply best suited to being a Records Clerk. It is a job at which I excel. I might as well stick to my strengths. 

I have accepted that beyond this personal blog, my writing opportunities will be few and far between. Very few people are interested in what I have to say. It won't stop me from trying if I think I have a good idea. But I know the likelihood of those ideas seeing the light of day beyond this blog are slim to none. 

While I like to think that I would have been a good husband and father, I have accepted that women do not view me as such and it is highly unlikely that will change. Some people are better suited to being alone and I am among those people. While such a future does not fill me with unbridled joy I am not heartbroken over it and have made my peace with this state of affairs. 

In making my peace, I have also accepted that prefer to keep my own counsel and to stay out of people's way as much as possible. Spending time at IMA as I did yesterday is quite unusual for me these days. Frankly, when I seek the company of other people, regardless of gender, I feel like I'm in the way and taking up their space. This is the last thing that I want. As such I have accepted that less is more and that in group settings to keep my appearances to a minimum so as to not wear out my welcome.

Although I might not get what I want, I have accepted that in the grand scheme of things that I am very fortunate. While I might desire more for myself I know full well I could be in a far more precarious position. I could be a Ukrainian displaced from my home not knowing where I will stay, where to find my next meal while on the lookout for Russian soldiers. 

While I do fear for the future of America and the world beyond particularly where it concerns defeated, former President Trump and Trumpism at large, I have accepted there is not a great deal that I can do about it. I won't hesitate to raise my voice I know full well very few people hear it or want to hear it. To maximize the limits of my effectiveness, I can pick my spots and choose my battles. I say all this with the realization that where there are people that problems are sure to follow. 

Naturally I do not know what the future holds for me. While it might be easier to forecast the next seven days than the next seven years, I am all too aware how things can change in an instant and that there little or nothing that can be done to undo it. The best I can do is to maintain the positive outlook that I currently have regardless of any challenges which will invariably come my way.

If I am fortunate then I can eventually to start to think what I am going to do on my 60th birthday come Thursday, September 16, 2032. 

John Stearns, R.I.P.

Former New York Mets catcher John Stearns passed away on Thursday after a long battle with the cancer at the age of 71. Stearns had made his final public appearance less than a month ago during Old Timers' Day at Citi Field where he appeared noticeably frail and thin.

It was a far cry from his aggressive disposition which earned him the nickname "Bad Dude" following home plate collisions with Dave Parker and Gary Carter. A two sports star at the University of Colorado, the Philadelphia Phillies made Stearns the second overall pick in the country in the 1973 MLB Draft just behind David Clyde of the Texas Rangers and ahead of future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Dave Winfield.

After playing a single game with the Phillies in 1974, Stearns would be sent to the Mets in a deal which included reliever Tug McGraw. Stearns would play for the Mets for the next 10 seasons earning four NL All-Star Team selections between 1977 and 1982. His best overall season came in 1978 when he hit a career high 15 HR and 73 RBI along with 25 stolen bases which set a NL record for catchers which stood broken in 1998 by Jason Kendall of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stearns' playing career came to an end in 1984 at the age of 33. In 810 big league games, Stearns collected 696 hits for a lifetime batting average of .260 with 46 HR and 312 RBI along with 91 stolen bases. 

Stearns would spend the better part of the next 30 seasons employed as a coach, minor league manager and scout with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners and New York Mets organizations before health problems forced him to bow out of baseball in 2014. 

I leave you with Stearns recounting his collision with Parker which resulted in broken jaw for The Cobra and a Mets win. R.I.P.

Dodgers Win 9th NL West Crown in 10 Years

The Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the Arizona Diamondback 6-0 to clinch the NL West earning their 9th division title in 10 years. Clayton Kershaw tossed 7 shutout innings while Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Joey Gallo each homered.

The Dodgers have an astounding 20.5 game lead over the San Diego Padres who will likely clinch one of the three NL Wild Card berths. On June 22nd, the Dodgers and Padres were tied for the division lead. Since then, the Dodgers have gone 56-18 while the Padres have gone 34-37 over the same period.

At 98-43, the Dodgers are very likely to eclipse their franchise record of 106 wins set in 2019 and matched in 2021. Despite those 106 wins last year, the Dodgers had to settle for a NL Wild Card berth as the San Francisco Giants unexpectedly won 107 games. The Dodgers also have an outside shot at eclipsing the single season record for wins. The 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners each won 116 games though notably neither team went on to win the World Series.

Under MLB's new playoff format, the Dodgers will automatically get a bye in the first round. They will have six days off from the end of the regular season to the beginning of the NLDS. That is the one thing that could put the Dodgers at a disadvantage especially if they end up facing a team on a hot streak. Otherwise, the Dodgers are going to be heavy favorites to win their second World Series title in three years. 

Katie Hobbs Must Debate Kari Lake in Arizona Governors Race

Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs is refusing to debate her Republican opponent Kari Lake. Hobbs' campaign manager Nicole DeMont said that debating Lake would "just create another spectacle" and that "you can’t debate a conspiracy theorist". 

This is exactly the reason that Hobbs should debate Lake. Like it or not, elections are part spectacle and public debates are a part of the democratic discourse. A candidate for office should defend her ideas against all comers. If Lake does play conspiracy theorist on the debate stage it would give Hobbs a golden opportunity to prove her point all the while drawing more voters to her side. Lake would make Hobbs look like the reasonable, sane candidate. 

But by refusing to debate Lake, Hobbs will invariably create the impression that she is afraid of her. In which case, Hobbs' refusal to debate will become the issue rather than Lake's espousal of 2020 election conspiracy theories and COVID misinformation. 

This reminds me of when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly called on Joe Biden not to debate Donald Trump. When I heard about Pelosi's intervention I argued that Biden should ignore her and debate Trump. Mind you I don't think Biden gave Pelosi's proposal a moment's consideration. As it turned out, Trump did himself more harm than good in debating Biden. Based on this recent history, I cannot fathom why Hobbs would find it advantageous to duck a debate with Lake.

In the space of a month, Hobbs has gone from a 7 point lead over Lake to a 2.4% lead. I can't see how refusing to debate Lake will help her cause. If Lake does prevail in November it will be because Hobbs wasn't willing to go one on one with her, call out her bullshit, defend democracy and let Lake drown herself. 

I can only hope Katie Hobbs will have the good sense to reverse her position and debate Lake. 

Ramsey Lewis, R.I.P.

Shortly after leaving Symphony Hall this evening, I learned of the passing of jazz piano legend Ramsey Lewis at the age of 87. 

Lewis is among the few jazz performers who had crossover success on the pop charts most notably with his instrumental cover of Dobie Gray's "The In Crowd" in 1965 and in early 1970's with "Sun Goddess", a collaboration with Earth, Wind and Fire. I had the pleasure of hearing Lewis perform at Scullers Jazz Club here in Boston in May 2014 and then again in January 2015 at New York City's Blue Note Jazz Club with my Dad. 

It was my Dad who introduced me to Lewis' music in the early 1980's when he bought an eight track cassette of his 1976 album Salongo which featured Earth, Wind & Fire member Maurice White and their producer Charles Stepney shortly before his sudden death. I remember playing it quite a bit when my parents spent the summer of 1983 in Europe. My maternal grandparents who were looking after my siblings and I could not make head nor tail of Ramsey Lewis' music. But I could. It was through his music that I began to appreciate African beats and Latin rhythm in a perfect marriage between jazz and funk on songs like "Brazilica", "Slick" and "Aafu Oodu". 

My favorite song on Salongo was the album's only ballad "Nicole". Needless to say, this was the first song I played upon learning of Ramsey Lewis' passing. R.I.P.

A Sneak Preview of Ken Burns' The U.S. and The Holocaust

This evening, I went to Symphony Hall to see a preview of Ken Burns' The U.S. and The Holocaust as well as a discussion with Burns and his collaborators Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein with Pam Johnston, the general manager and news director of GBH, the PBS affiliate here in Boston which sponsored the event. The U.S. and The Holocaust premiers on PBS stations beginning on Sunday night and will air two more installments on successive evenings. 

My seat was in the second row, stage right. While I was up, close and personal I was also something of a thoroughfare as dozen of people had to pass by me to give from Point A to B and back to A. Though given the subject matter whatever momentary inconvenience that I experienced is an amusing triviality. If anything I had the perfect view of not only the film excerpts but of the music which was performed live by violinist Johnny Gandelsman and guitarist Kyle Sanna. 

The U.S. and the Holocaust centers on the question as to why this country did not do more to admit Jewish refugees from Europe. It is not an unfamiliar question to me. Growing up in Canada, one of the most influential books of the past 40 years is None is Too Many by Harold Troper and Irving Abella (who passed away in July) which documented how the Canadian government led by Prime Minister MacKenzie King and his civil service moved Heaven and Earth to prevent the admission of Jewish refugees into Canada. Compared with the United States which admitted an estimated 200,000 Jewish refugees, Canada only admitted 5,000 during the same period. This book has profoundly influenced the way Canada treats refugees most notably those from Vietnam and most recently from Syria.

As for the United States' Jewish refugee policy, I am familiar with the story of the efforts of Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau who served under both FDR and briefly under Truman to admit Jewish refugees into this country as well documented in Michael Beschloss' 2002 book The Conquerors. Until the establishment of the War Refugee Board in 1944, the U.S. was slow to accept Jewish refugees. I do wish there had been a question and answer period permitted so that I could have raised these subjects. No doubt others in attendance had questions of their own.

In the excerpts of the film shown, the emphasis is not only on the lackluster efforts of the U.S government to admit Jewish refugees but the broad public opposition within U.S. civil society as demonstrated by the American Legion, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the German American Bund.

Burns embarked upon the film beginning in 2015 not long after the release of The Roosevelts. Given his affection for the Roosevelts, particularly Eleanor Roosevelt, it will be interesting to see if the film ultimately minimizes their opposition to the settlement of Jewish refugees. 

What Burns did make clear was that The U.S. and the Holocaust was "not to be enjoyed" but rather "appreciated". Notwithstanding this directive, the last excerpt shown by Burns was that of a brother and sister who managed to flee to America through the tireless efforts of their father. Warm laughter ensued when the sister spoke of the joys of Wonder Bread and chewing gum. Even nearly 80 years after escaping Europe, the joy they felt in coming to America is as if they arrived here only today. 

The question very much remains if we are any more welcoming to refugees now than we were during WWII. While not part of the sneak preview, we were told the last three minutes of the film focuses on what has been happening in America since they began working on this film in 2015 - the same year Donald Trump descended the escalator and many among us have continued to descend to our darkest depths whether in Charlottesville, the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and the ongoing effort to undermine free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power all of which has led to the ascension of anti-Semitism in America.

Although it is important to question why America didn't do enough where it concerned Jewish refugees during the Second World War it is also important to remember that hindsight is 20-20. When presented with a tough choice or asked to sacrifice our material comfort most of us take the easy way out.

As for The U.S. and The Holocaust, I have seen 37 minutes of it. Now I need to see the remaining six hours.

Why I Believe Trump Supporters Will Commit a 9/11 Inspired Attack Against Their Fellow Americans

It was 21 years ago today that 19 al Qaeda operatives carried out Osama bin Laden's fatwa to kill as many Americans as possible and succeeded in killing nearly 3,000. 

A majority of those casualties came as a result of the two airplanes which were navigated through the North and South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. There were other deaths at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Passengers aboard United Flight 93 had thwarted the hijackers' goal of navigating that flight into the U.S. Capitol.

In the years that followed there would be other attacks perpetrated on U.S. soil by radical Islamic terrorists albeit on a smaller scale - the Boston Marathon Bombing in April 2013, the San Bernardino attack in December 2015 and the Orlando Nightclub Shooting in June 2016. The threat of radical Islamic terrorism against U.S. civilians has receded over the past several years I suspect this is a matter of buying time. After all, it was only last month when author Salman Rushdie was attacked on U.S. soil by a man carrying out a fatwa issued by the government of Iran ten years before he was born. There will come a time when radical Islamic terrorists will again attack U.S. soil and that of our allies.

However, I believe the next 9/11 inspired attack on American soil won't be committed by radical Islamic terrorists, but rather by supporters of defeated former President Donald Trump. Before I go further I do believe that most people who wear MAGA hats will manage to go through life without taking another as is the case with most Muslims. But there is a critical mass in both groups who are willing to kill innocent people in the name of a false idol, ideology and grievances mostly imagined or greatly exaggerated. 

On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorists failed to breach the U.S. Capitol. On January 6, 2021, supporters of defeated, former President Trump succeeded in breaching the U.S. Capitol at the behest of the defeated, former President in the name of preventing the peaceful transfer of power. I believe this is only a harbinger of things to come in the not too distant future.

Prior to the 2020 election, I feared Trump supporters would commit violence at the polls. When this did not come to pass, I let my guard down and thus underestimated the events that would follow on January 6th. I will not do so again. 

As such I do believe there is a distinct possibility of Trump supporters deliberately murdering people at the polls either in the 2022 midterms and more likely during the 2024 presidential election. I can envision simultaneous attacks at polls in Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix and perhaps other cities. If Trump supporters feel comfortable asking, "When do we get to use the guns? How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?," then how long will it be before they give us an answer?

Let us also keep in mind how Trump supporters view Kyle Rittenhouse, a man whose only claim to fame is killing two people and getting away with it. Trump supporters treat him as a hero and give him standing ovations. Don't be surprised if he is received with another standing ovation at the 2024 Republican National Convention. If Trump returns to office what is to stop him from giving Rittenhouse a Presidential Medal of Freedom?

Trump supporters do not view the men Rittenhouse killed as fellow Americans, let alone human beings. Given that adulation Rittenhouse receives there is a powerful incentive among Trump supporters to go even further. And why stop at election violence? Supposedly "woke" companies such as Disney could be targets. In which case, it is not inconceivable there could be an attack at Disneyland or Disney World.

Then let us also consider the FBI. Last month, a Trump supporter tried to shoot up the FBI's Cincinnati office. Keep in mind that radical Islamic terrorists tried to destroy the World Trade Center in 1993. Who can say another set of Trump supporters won't try again and next time succeed?

Naturally, I hope none of this comes to pass. But given the rage with which Trump and apologists have driven his base with conspiracies and lies I have a very bad feeling we have only seen the beginning. January 6, 2021 joined September 11, 2001 as a day of infamy and more infamous days will soon follow.

Canada's Tories Embrace Trumpism By Picking Poilievre as New Leader

As widely expected, Canada's Conservative Party has chosen Pierre Poilievre to be its new leader. Poilievre earned more than two thirds of the vote on the first ballot (68.15%) earning more than four times the vote of his closest rival former Tory leader and Quebec Premier Jean Charest who earned just over 16% of the vote. 

Poilievre came to national prominence earlier this year with his full embrace of the so-called trucker convoy which paralyzed the City of Ottawa and shutdown the Canada-U.S. border between Windsor and Detroit. While the trucker convoy wanted to force Justin Trudeau's Liberal government out of office, they would claim the scalp of Tory leader Erin O'Toole. Poilievre was heavily favored to win the race as soon as he entered it and the endorsement of former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper sealed the deal. 

In selecting Poilievre, the Tories have embraced Trumpism. Poilievre hasn't met a conspiracy theory he doesn't love whether it be concerning vaccines, globalism (he wants to fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada and forbid attendance by government ministers at the World Economic Forum and other international gatherings) and embracing cryptocurrencies wanting Canada to become the blockchain capital of the world. 

America has seen first hand how electing a man who embraces conspiracy theories to the White House work. Why would Canada wish to follow suit? Not that Poilievre believes what he actually says. Poilievre claims to be a populist when he has known no other line of work other than politics having been an MP since 2004 when he was elected at the age of 25. But like Trump, Poilievre has people eating poison out of his hand and wanting more so he will feed them more.

Canada will not likely go to the polls until 2025 so long as Jagmeet Singh's NDP props up Justin Trudeau's Liberals. But by that time, Trudeau will have resided at 24 Sussex Drive for a decade and Canadians might be in the mood to evict him and punish Singh while they are at it and give Poilievre a massive majority. 

While Trudeau's government has made more than its shares of blunders most recently in being slow in the cutting funding to an anti-racism group whose leader thinks Jews are "bags of feces" and why such a group received this funding in the first place. But let us not forget that Poilievre openly embraced a trucker convoy whose leader is a Holocaust denier. So long as Poilievre embraces Holocaust deniers with his party following suit whatever criticisms the Tories have for the Trudeau government's mistakes in funding an anti-Semite ring hollow. 

When Trudeau and Singh formalized their agreement in March, I argued they ran the risk of bringing about a majority Tory government. However, if Poilievre persists in his rhetoric then I suspect Canadians will likely give Trudeau a third consecutive minority government. 

In past elections, had I lived in Canada, I would have voted Tory. But if I were living in Canda now, depending on where I lived, I would vote Liberal or NDP. I'm not a big fan of either Trudeau or Singh but they are trying to govern and make Canada work for as many people as possible. Poilievre, taking a page from Trump's book, seeks perpetual grievance instead of progress by spreading conspiracies instead of good will.

When Queen Elizabeth II Visited Thunder Bay

I have some thoughts on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96.

For most living people, she was the only monarch they knew. As Canada is a member of the Commonwealth, she was our Queen too. During her reign, there were 12 Canadian Prime Ministers, 14 US. Presidents and 15 British Prime Ministers including Liz Truss who she swore into office only two days ago in what proved to be her final public appearance. Indeed, her physical appearance alarmed many observers. When the Royal Family was summoned to Balmoral one had the sense the end was near. 

The closest I ever came to being in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II was at Hyde Park in London on on the 50th anniversary of V-E Day in May 1995. From a distance, I could see the Queen, Prince Philip, the Queen Mum, Prince Charles and Princess Diana along with William and Harry who were young boys. Other luminaries included British Prime Minister John Major, Labour Party leader Tony Blair, Vice-President Al Gore and wife Tipper, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin only six months before his assassination. 

Under the circumstances, I choose to remember a lighter moment which happened when the Queen and Prince Philip visited my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario in July 1973 - the year after I was born. Legend has it that the Queen's posterior was touched by Thunder Bay's Mayor, the aptly named Walter Assef. The City of Thunder Bay's official website notes that Assef "made news when photographs appeared to show him exercising a certain familiarity with Queen Elizabeth during her visit in 1973". 

If this breach of protocol did occur, it did not prevent Prince Philip from referring to Assef as "that jolly mayor in Thunder Bay". Perhaps Prince Philip was amused because Assef introduced the couple as "his Royal Highness and his lovely wife." The same could probably not be said for the Queen who never did return to my old neck of the woods in Northwestern Ontario.

However, the Queen and Prince Philip did visit the area in 1959 when Thunder Bay was known as Fort William and Port Arthur. The occasion was the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Royal Couple would have lunch at the Royal Edward Hotel as described in this local news report broadcast in 1980. 

In the final analysis, I must agree with John Lennon. Her Majesty was a pretty nice girl even if she didn't have a lot to say. R.I.P.

No One Has Ever Told DeSantis That Florida is Like West Berlin

During a press conference yesterday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed visitors to his state tell him, “This must be what it was like going from East Berlin to West Berlin.” DeSantis made these remarks in the context of his administration's looser policies when it comes to COVID.

I call shenanigans. Somehow I doubt tourists who happen to bump into Governor DeSantis liken Boca Raton to Berlin. Indeed, back in May 2021, DeSantis himself dubbed Florida "America's West Berlin" claiming people were escaping the "repressive" policies of Democratic states. His claim that people are telling him that Florida is "West Berlin" is a figment of his imagination sprinkled with fertilizer.

Now there were certainly people who relocated from New York to Florida but their pilgrimage can hardly be described as going from East Berlin to West Berlin. After all, no one was stopping these people from leaving New York nor anywhere else. Those who wished to flee East Berlin to West Berlin faced near certain death from the bullets of East German guards.

Of course, DeSantis knows this full well. But so long as Trump doesn't let facts get in the way of an argument then DeSantis certainly won't either. That is unless Florida voters decide to dump DeSantis in favor of Charlie Crist in November.

U.S. Passes 95 Million COVID Cases as Biden Admin Proposes Annual Boosters

The United States has now passed 95 million COVID cases. According to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, there have been 95,017,148 cases of COVID-19 resulting in 1,048,941 deaths representing a mortality rate of 1.1%. Hospitalizations continue to decline. After topping 40,000 hospitalizations in late July, the most recent figure is just over 30,000 (30,162) according to Our World in Data. 

Yesterday, the Biden Administration proposed moving towards annual booster shots as is currently done with the flu. White House COVID Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said during a press briefing, "Barring any new variant curve balls, for a large majority of Americans we are moving to a point where a single, annual COVID shot should provide a high degree of protection against serious illness all year." 

While 68.02% of Americans are fully vaccinated, this puts us 65th in the world just behind India and just ahead of Sri Lanka. As of month ago, half of those fully vaccinated who are eligible for a booster had not seen fit to get one. Then there is the lingering issue of unvaccinated Americans which comprise a third of the population. At this point, this group will have to learn the hard way if they learn at all.

Nevertheless, COVID is far more manageable now than it was 20 months ago. Hopefully annual booster shots will help keep it manageable.

Can Truss Gain The Trust of UK Voters?

As widely expected, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss defeated former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to win Britain's Tory Party leadership succeeding Boris Johnson who resigned amid scandal this summer. Tomorrow, Truss will be sworn in as Prime Minister and will take up residence at Number 10 Downing Street.

The question is can Truss gain the trust of UK voters? Truss does have time on her side as an election does not legally need to be held until January 28, 2025. Assuming this comes to pass, the Tories will have been in power for nearly 15 years and Truss is the fourth Prime Minister during this reign. 

Truss has a tall task ahead of her. Aside from the stench of scandal left by Johnson for his pandemic parties, Truss will face high energy prices compounded by double digit inflation and a wave of strikes. This could make the Winter of Discontent faced by the Labour government of James Callaghan in 1978 and 1979 look like a Sunday school picnic by comparison. 

When British voters do get the chance, Truss will not have the luxury of facing the inept Jeremy Corbyn. She will have to face the far more formidable Keir Starmer. Granted, Starmer's Labour Party might need help from the Liberal Democrats to form a governing coalition, but this was the case with David Cameron when the Tories returned to power in 2010. 

The only other thing which could benefit Truss other than time is if she exceeds expectations. Of course, Johnson set the bar so low that Truss might be able to overcome it. However, one should not underestimate the Tories' tendency towards cruelty and scandal. When it comes to Liz Truss, the jury is out on her for the forseeable future.

10 People Stabbed to Death in Saskatchewan

While at dinner with my Dad last night in New York City, I learned of the horror in Saskatchewan where 10 people were stabbed to death at multiple locations mainly on the James Smith Cree Nation while 18 other people were injured. The suspects were a pair of brothers one of whom was found deceased today while the other is still at large. It is unclear at this point if the perpetrators were members of the James Smith Cree Nation. Most of the victims have yet to be identified as of this writing.

What is clear is there is a community and a province that will be traumatized by this violence for years to come. As many people died yesterday as are typically murdered in Regina and Saskatoon in an average year. This is the first mass murder to have taken place in Saskatchewan since 1969. While no community is immune from violence some places experience less violence than others. 

On a personal note, the last time I was in Saskatchewan was 25 years ago when I went to Regina for the Federal NDP Convention. The people with whom I stayed in Regina did not lock their doors at night and told me this was fairly common in the area. I don't know if that has changed over the past quarter century, but if it hasn't I strongly suspect those habits will change now. 

Earnie Shavers, R.I.P.

Boxing legend Earnie Shavers passed away on September 1st, the day after his 78th birthday. No cause of death was released.

Although Shavers never won a title during his lengthy career in the ring, he was regarded as the hardest puncher in the sport by the likes of both Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes. While Ali successfully defended his title against Shavers in 1977, Ali said of Shavers, "Earnie hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk in Africa." Shavers would twice come out on the short end against Holmes, but in their second fight in 1979 for the WBC Heavyweight Title Shavers actually knocked Holmes down. Although Holmes quickly got up he has stated that he had never been hit so hard in the ring. Shavers would earn that second fight against Holmes as a result of a first round knockout of former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton six months earlier. Shavers was nearly cast as Clubber Lang in Rocky III but Sylvester Stallone thought better of it after a sparring session with Shavers which he would later remark brought him close to death. 

Shavers may have never won a championship, but he certainly made an impact and an imprint with his fists. He was one tough hombre.

President Biden: Extremism of Trump & MAGA Republicans Threatens Liberty of Our Republic

Speaking in front of Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, President Biden declared that defeated former President Donald Trump and "MAGA Republicans" represent a threat to the liberty of our Republic.

During the course of his half hour speech, President Biden explained that Trump and MAGA Republicans threaten the Republic's liberty because they do not believe in the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the results of free and fair elections and the willingness to use violence as a political tool.

President Biden was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Trump hecklers, but carried on with his remarks. He defined politics as "a mediation of our differences" with room for disagreement, debate and dissent. But such a mediation is impossible when one side only accepts election results when they win while making claims of cheating if they lose. This has been Trump's stock and trade since November 7, 2020 and has passed down to the likes of Sarah Palin who along with other Republicans cried foul objecting to Alaska's newly implemented ranked choice voting after losing her Congressional race to Democrat Mary Peltola last night.

One can make the case that President Biden ought to have made this speech months ago. But now is the perfect time with the 2022 midterm elections only two months away along with the expected resumption of the January 6th Committee hearings. Democracy is on the ballot and the President of the United States should be leading the charge in favor of it. 

The question remains if we will choose wisely especially for those of us who live in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. If these states elect MAGA Republicans to oversee those elections then we can expect those officials not to abide by the will of people if it contravenes their own. 

Should this come to pass then the United States will have turned to authoritarianism. Once that turn is made it will be almost impossible to turn back. 

Worse still other democracies such as Canada, Britain, France, Italy and Australia could be soon to follow. The decisions we make at the polls in 2022 and 2024 not only will have profound implications for the future of democracy in America, but for its very future wherever it exists in our world.

In other words, President Biden probably gave the most important speech he's ever given in 50 years of public service.

MLB Notes for August: Is This The Greatest Dodgers Team Ever?

The 2022 edition of the Los Angeles Dodgers could be the greatest ever. If not for the passing of Vin Scully last month this year could have been perfect.. After a 22-6 August, the Dodgers enter September with 90 wins and an 18.5 game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West. Their magic number to clinch their 9^th division title in 10 years is 14. The Dodgers play the Padres six times between September 2^nd and September 13^th and could very well wrap up the division by then. Then again the Padres are no pushovers. Although Josh Hader proved to be ineffective as the team’s closer after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Milwaukee Brewers, the Friars have won 7 of their last 10 games and have a 2.5 game lead over the Brew Crew for the third NL Wild Card berth.

 

The Dodgers only need to go 17-16 in September to eclipse their franchise record of 106 wins which they set in both 2019 and 2021. Of course, 106 wins last year wasn’t enough to win the division after the San Francisco Giants’ franchise record 107 wins. In 2022, the Giants are a shell of their former selves. They haven’t had a winning month since April and finished August with 7 straight losses with losses in 8 of their last 10 games. They are now tied for third in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks who last year lost 110 games. A year ago, the D’Backs finished 55 games back of the Giants. This year, the D’Backs and Giants are both 29 games back of the Dodgers. Baseball is indeed a funny game. Perhaps not so funny to the last place Colorado Rockies, but barring a complete disaster in September they will very likely avoid losing 100 games.

 

The NL East has remained remarkably stable. A month ago, the New York Mets led the Atlanta Braves by 3 games and the Philadelphia Phillies by 9.5 games. Entering, today the Mets lead over the Braves is still 3 games while their lead over the Phillies is now at 10 games. The Mets have led the division the entire season, but the Braves remain ensconced in the first and second NL Wild Card berths. Unfortunately, things have got worse for both the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. Entering August, they were 17.5 games and 30 games back of the Mets. Now they are 27.5 games and 38 games back of the division lead. The Marlins went 8-20 in August and might very well have fared worse if not for likely NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara who had 3 of their 8 wins last month. Meanwhile, the Nats, less than three years removed from winning the World Series, own MLB’s worst record.

 

The biggest swing in MLB has occurred in the NL Central. Entering August, the Milwaukee Brewers held a 3 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. Entering September, the Redbirds now lead the Brew Crew by 6 games. As mentioned previously, the Brew Crew have a greater chance at a NL Wild Card berth. If the Brewers fail to reach the post-season for the first time since 2017 will Brewers manager Craig Counsell be on the hot seat. His contract expires after next season. Unlike the Brewers, however, the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates have no chance for post-season in 2022. The Cubs actually have a winning record since the All-Star Break (21-18) while the Reds have escaped the fate of eclipsing the 1962 New York Mets. The Pirates, however, have the worst record in MLB since the All-Star Break with a 10-27 record. The Bucs were annoyed when Boston Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley referred to the team as “a hodgepodge of nothingness”. While they might not have enjoyed hearing that they have not demonstrated otherwise.

 

While the New York Yankees remain atop the AL East their lead has shrunk considerably. Their 10-18 record in August was nearly as bad as that of the 9-19 “hodgepodge of nothingness” known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the Yankees have managed to win 6 of their last 10 games their lead now stands at 6 games. A month ago, it was 11.5 games and it is enough for Yankees fans to want Aaron Boone fired immediately. The Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays have exchanged spots in the division but both currently own two of the three AL Wild Card berths while the Baltimore Orioles are only 2 games back of the Jays for the third AL Wild Card berth. Despite trading away Trey Mancini and closer Jorge Lopez, the O’s proved their 16-9 July was no fluke by going 17-10 in August. However, if they don’t make the post-season how much of a factor will those trades have made? But at least the Orioles still have September. The Boston Red Sox, while in little danger of losing 100 games, are already looking to 2023.

 

Over the past month, the division lead has switched in the AL Central. At the beginning of August, the Minnesota Twins led the Cleveland Guardians by a game. Now the Guardians lead the Twins by 1.5 games. A month ago, it was a three team race. Now the jury is very much out on the Chicago White Sox who have lost 10 of their last 13 games going from 1 game back of the division to 5 games off the pace. Now manager Tony La Russa is out indefinitely with health problems with bench coach Miguel Cairo taking the helm. Will the Chisox have a September surge under Cairo? Or is the White Sox organization in denial? However, the Chisox have a chance. The same cannot be said of either the Kansas City Royals or the Detroit Tigers, the latter of whom is only marginally better than the Oakland A’s who own the worst record in the AL.

 

The A’s find themselves 35 games back of the Houston Astros who will invariably clinch their sixth AL West title in seven seasons. The Astros are 11.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. But barring a complete sinking, the Mariners will end their 21-year post-season drought. The Texas Rangers are an organization in transition having fired both manager Chris Woodward and longtime GM Jon Daniels last month. So too are the Los Angeles Angels amid news last week that owner Arte Moreno is planning to sell the team.  As for the A’s, their team is such that there is more action going on in the stands than on the field.

 

So what will come of September and early October? Will the Dodgers break the MLB record for games won in a single season? Can the Padres hold off the Brewers for the last NL Wild Card berth? Can the Braves catch the Mets in the NL East? If they do will it matter to the Phillies? Or for that matter to the Cardinals? Will Yankees fans still call for Aaron Boone’s head if they regain a double digit lead for the AL East? Can the Orioles earn an AL Wild Card berth? If they do will it be at the expense of AL East rival Jays or Rays or will they prolong the Mariners post-season drought? Can the Chisox get back into the AL Central race with the Guardians and Twins? We shall see come Game 162.