A Sigh of Relief in France -- For Now

There is a collective sigh of relief in France, the EU and rest of the civilized world with Emmanuel Macron's decisive victory over Marine Le Pen in today's presidential election. Macron defeated Le Pen by nearly a 2 to 1 margin (65.8% to 34.2%).

While's Macron's margin of victory is impressive it is not as impressive as Jacques Chirac's 82-17 shellacking of Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2002. The National Front has come a long way in 15 years more than doubling their vote. They are a fringe force no more.

And let's make no mistake about it. Macron is up against it. A mere lad of 39, Macron has never held elected office. If he fails as spectacularly as his predecessor Francois Hollande and if neither the Republicans nor Socialists can pick up the slack then Marine Le Pen could be elected President of France in 2022.

Bonne chance, Monsieur Macron!!!

Would The Mets Have Suspended Matt Harvey If They Were Winning? UPDATE

The New York Mets have suspended pitcher Matt Harvey without pay for 3 games. The club did not disclose the reason for his suspension although it is believed a sex toy into catcher Kevin Pawecki's locker might have been the cause. This image was accidentally tweeted out on Friday night following the Mets' comeback win.

Harvey was scheduled to pitch today. Instead, journeyman Adam Wilk is toeing the rubber. Giancarlo Stanton took him deep for a three run home run in the 1st. Stanton just added a second home run in the 3rd. Now the Mets are down 4-0.

Whatever Harvey's transgression, I can't help but think this wouldn't be happening if Harvey's ERA weren't 5.14 and if the Mets weren't six and a half games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East. I wonder if the Mets are taking a harder line on Harvey due to Noah Syndergaard's refusal to have a MRI. Syndergaard is now on the 60-Day DL with a torn lat.

It will be interesting to see if this lights a fire under the Mets or if it triggers a collapse. The Mets won the NL pennant in 2015 and won the NL East in 2016.

UPDATE: Make that 5-0 Marlins. Adeiny Hechavarria just took Wilk deep. It is the third home run he has allowed in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

UPDATE II: The Mets lost 7-0 and for what? For his part, Harvey claims he notified the Mets he would not be coming to the ballpark due to a migraine and only found out about the suspension upon his arrival at Citi Field this morning. Harvey has filed a grievance.

It is worth noting that Harvey is eligible for arbitration in 2018. I've a funny feeling that if the Mets are out of it by the end of June they will try to unload him. The challenge might be finding takers. After being one of the premier pitchers in MLB in 2014 and 2015, Harvey struggled in 2016 going 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA. Combine his ineffectiveness with his partying ways and this latest incident, 2017 might be a very long year for Harvey and the Mets.

Perhaps Jeremy Corbyn Should Begin Writing His Resignation Speech Following Massive Losses in UK Local Elections

In less than five weeks, the UK votes in a general election. But today much of the country voted in annual local elections and if today's results are any indication then Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn should begin writing his resignation speech forthwith.


The Labour Party lost 382 local councilors and control of seven town councils across the country. By contrast, the Tories gained 563 council seats and control of eleven town councils. The Tories control thrice as many town councils as Labour (28 to 9).


The only bright spot of the evening for Labour was Andy Burnham becoming the first elected of Greater Manchester. Burnham finished runner up to Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership race. Not wanting to be part of a sinking ship, Burnham opted for local politics after being an MP for more than 15 years. Burnham is going to have a lot more power as the mayor of a metropolitan county of nearly 3 million people than as an opposition backbench MP. When Corbyn travelled to Manchester to speak at a rally following the election, Burnham was not there citing other engagements. The way things are going for Corbyn, Burnham would probably rather be seen with Marine Le Pen.


On a personal note, I worked with Burnham when I was a parliamentary intern for Tessa Jowell in the winter of 1995. It wasn't a pleasant experience. But I digress.


Virtually every party not named the Tories had losses (with the exception of Plaid Cymru in Wales). The UKIP was virtually wiped out of existence losing 145 out of 146 council seats it had across the country. In a manner of speaking, the UKIP was a victim of its own success. After the Brexit vote, the UKIP lost its raison d'être.


Honestly, I had feared that British PM Theresa May's decision to call an early election would anger voters. It has done the opposite. The Tories made gains in both Scotland and to a lesser extent in Wales. The fact that Tory is no longer a dirty word in Scotland and Wales tells you how far Labour has fallen. Barring something really stupid or deadly, it looks like May's gamble will pay off and Labour will labor to search for a new leader.

I Give Adam Jones The Benefit of The Doubt

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has all but called Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones a liar concerning the racial incident which occurred at Fenway Park earlier this week. Schilling bases his assertion on a blog which claims Jones made up the story due to the heated rivalry between the Sox and Orioles.


No doubt there is bad blood between the two clubs which began last month over Manny Machado sliding into and spiking Dustin Pedroia last month and Matt Barnes subsequent suspension for trying to bean Machado. On Monday, Orioles starter plunked Mookie Betts. Indeed, only minutes after Fenway fans gave Jones a standing ovation, Red Sox ace Chris Sale threw behind Machado's knees. Then last night home plate umpire Sam Holbrook ejected Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman for throwing a breaking ball that hit Xander Bogaerts. There is one more game between the Sox and Orioles this evening so the sparks could ignite further.


But if Jones is lying then what about Red Sox pitcher David Price who says he's been subject to racial taunts from the Fenway faithful? Or Red Sox outfielder Chris Young? Or Yankees lefty C.C. Sabathia? Does Schilling think they are lying as well?


At this point, I give Jones the benefit of the doubt. I didn't agree with Jones when he said last September that baseball was "a white man's game." But that doesn't mean he isn't telling the truth. Jones has had 12-years of big league service and hasn't been one to casually cast aspersions upon people. He's been a solid citizen and deserves to be treated as such.


As for Schilling, I don't think this will help his chances of getting inducted into Cooperstown. Of course, I don't think his statements about Jones much less his support for Trump should disqualify him. He should be judged by his performance on the field. Although in this particular case I believe Schilling is as wrong in claiming Jones is a liar as Jones was for claiming baseball is a white man's sport.

Trump Must Exert As Much Pressure on Abbas As Obama Exerted on Netanyahu

Yesterday, President Trump received Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. While praising the PA security cooperation efforts with Israel, Trump did take the PA to task with regard to inciting violence against Israel:


But there cannot be lasting peace unless the Palestinian leaders speak in a unified voice against incitement to violate -- and violence and hate.  There's such hatred.  But hopefully there won't be such hatred for very long.  All children of God must be taught to value and respect human life, and condemn all of those who target the innocent.


This is a good start. It is certainly an improvement over President Obama who didn't have boo to say about Palestinian incitement when he visited with Abbas in the PA in March 2013.


But Trump is going to have to exert a great deal more pressure on Abbas. In fact, he will need exert as much pressure on Abbas as President Obama exerted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Trump will need to call upon Congress to withhold funding from the PA. Trump should also question Abbas' very legitimacy. After all, his four year term expired in 2009. The Obama Administration was too busy vilifying Israel to care. But that doesn't mean the Trump Administration should continue to recognize Abbas as President of the Palestinian Authority.


Of course, the risk in questioning Abbas legitimacy is if there is any potential successor who seeks accommodation with Israel. Such a leader is likely to be labeled a collaborator and not destined to have a long life.


But this is a fight worth having. In this case, Trump is right. There cannot be a lasting peace so long as Palestinian media, mosques, schools and civil society at large extol violence against Israel. The question is if Trump will see this through.

Kris Kristofferson's Story Hasn't Ended (And If It Did I Wouldn't Tell You)

Country music isn't my normal musical fare. But there are certain country musicians who have made an indelible imprint to American culture and warrant our tribute while they still travel from town to town. 

With this in mind, I decided to go see Kris Kristofferson play at the Wilbur Theater in Boston this evening. Given that Kristofferson turns 81 next month Lord knows when the chance to see him might come around again. It wasn't so long that Kristofferson was suffering from memory loss. It was feared he was afflicted with Alzheimer's or dementia much like his contemporary Glen Campbell. Fortunately, it was only Lyme disease. While Lyme disease is certainly debilitating, it isn't terminal.

Much to my surprise, the evening was an acoustic solo set. The only other accompaniment Kristofferson had was a harmonica. His voice is leathered and weathered, yet there is a richness of depth with frequent flashes of defiance such as when he shouted, "God Almighty Here I Am" on his 2012 song "Feeling Mortal." There were also moments of tenderness as demonstrated in his 2009 song "From Here to Forever". Dedicated to his children, the verse "I'll love you from here to forever and be there wherever you go" is as good as any he has written over the past half-century. 

But the vast majority of his material was set in the early 1970's. Indeed, Kristofferson played 10 of the 12 songs that appeared on his eponymous 1970 debut album. Many of those songs contain lyrics which are a part of the American songbook as attested by the audience which sang along with him on "Me & Bobby McGee", "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". During the latter song, Kristofferson quipped the audience back up vocals "sounded like church."

Kristofferson kept the banter to a minimum although it was clear he was enjoying himself on stage. He did beam with pride that Bob Dylan had recorded "They Killed Him" with a children's choir on his 1986 album Knocked Out Loaded. During "The Silver Tongued Devil & I", Kristofferson interrupted the song to tell the audience his 5-year old son didn't like the song because he never accepted responsibility for his actions. Kristofferson added, "These days we're pretty tight," suggesting that his son had learned a lot about life or perhaps unlearned it. 

Country music at its essence is devoted to the consumption of alcohol and this was reflected in the audience which had consumed a great deal of alcohol during the evening. Fortunately, these were happy drunks particularly the female portion of the audience who were becoming more and more attracted to Kristofferson as the evening wore on. A full head of hair certainly does him no harm. 

Fittingly, Kristofferson ended the evening with his 1974 hit "Please Don't Tell Me How This Story Ends". Although it became a big hit for Ronnie Milsap, Kristofferson first sang it with Rita Coolidge before their marriage ended in divorce:

This could be our last goodnight together
We may never pass this way again
Just let me enjoy 'till its over
Or forever
Please don't tell me how the story ends

For now, Kris Kristofferson's story hasn't ended. So if he happens to pass your way you might want to enjoy it until its over.

I Don't Like It, But The American People Freely Chose Donald Trump To Be Our President (Or Why Hillary Should Exit Gracefully)

Hillary Clinton can blame James Comey, Russia and sexism for her defeat last November all she wants.


It doesn't change the fact the American people freely voted for Donald Trump to be our 45th President.


Frankly, I don't like the fact that Trump is in the Oval Office.


But the Democratic Party needs to move forward and would be wise to jettison the Hillary albatross which is hanging around their necks. Her time has come and gone. She would be wise to exit public life with grace while she can. Because the more Hillary Clinton complains the more she draws attention to how horrible candidate she was as a candidate. She comes off as if she is entitled to the presidency by virtue of her name and gender. Bitterness breeds neither affection nor loyalty.


Like it or not, we have to deal with a Trump presidency and all that it entails. As such, Democrats would to concentrate their energies on 2018 and 2020 instead of 2016.