Some thoughts and items in the middle of what promises to be the hottest week of the year here in the Valley of the Sun:

I’ve always respected Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for his wealth of knowledge and experience, but in this case he’s speaking the language of the neocons. If we were talking about Chinatown and not China, well, yeah, but Hong Kong is England’s business, not ours. Unfortunately, Newt is like all the neocons that have infested our government and State Departments for the last half-century and gotten us into conflicts we had no business going into in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. While, sure, we can “support” the people of Hong Kong with our encouragement and vocal support, I’m not willing to go any further than that to defend them.

…and the same holds true with regards to Taiwan.

The Yorktown and the Battle of Midway. A great story reminding us that there was a time when men were men.

Why not Trump Greenland?

Barron’s reports that one Danish bank is offering negative interest rate mortgages for home purchases in Greenland. In other words, a bank will pay you to borrow money. I agree with Barron’s: Trump could borrow from a Danish bank to finance the purchase, and plunk down a Trump tower and casino, both easily reached at Greenland’s international airport! (By the way, Barron’s notes that we’re up to $16 trillion in negative interest rate debt in the world right now. This is a world I do not understand.) Could be a fun meeting Trump has in Copenhagen next month.

I’m guessing Hayward is just yanking chains with his post, but with Donald Trump, you just never know, do you?

…Personally, I would try to trade New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut to Canada in return for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. 🙂

Analysis: TRUE, to a point. In fact, one could make a genuine argument that rum has actually had a bigger impact on the history of America (for better and for worse) than slavery has.

Abbey Road turns 50 this week. Mark Steyn has a cool post about what most folks regard as the album’s stand-out track, George Harrison’s Something. I’m sure there will be other tributes during the week since the album truly is a classic. (It’s #5 on my personal list of top ten greatest albums of all time, BTW, behind the Beatles’ Revolver, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, and Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.

I’m shocked…SHOCKED, I tell ya.

The Red Sox sure caught a break with this news. Everyone knows the guy hasn’t really been himself this year. He’s had some great outings against some inferior teams, but all in all it will go down as a disappointing year for both Sale and the Red Sox. I’m not going to be as hard on them and GM Dave Dombrowski as others have. They gave us a great World Series championship season last year, and I’m not one to get greedy. Let the guy rest and come back roaring like a lion next year.

Cancelled my subscription to Golf Digest today. I’ve been willing to put up with its obvious attempts to reach out to millennials this past year, but this month’s issue glorifying LGBTQ participation in golf (featuring, no less, some transgender dude – or is it dudette? – decked out in psychedelic stiletto heels) was one straw too many. It’s bad enough I have to have LGBTQ activism shoved down my throat on virtually every website and social media venue I visit, but to have it in my golf magazine, well, enough is enough. Look, I have no problem with gays and lesbians and folks who want to swing both ways. Equally, I have no problem with the idea of growing golf as a sport and making it more inclusive and easier for all kinds of people to participate in.

…but I’m sorry, the Golf Digest writer involved was clearly more interested in pushing an agenda as much (if not more) than growing the game of golf. Considering that no one was pictured hitting a golf ball, it was all about glorifying the LGBTQ lifestyle and transgender activism. To show a guy dressed like some two-bit floozy in stilettos – I’m sorry, you’re celebrating someone who has deep-rooted sexual and mental issues. This kind of activism shouldn’t be glorified by anyone, let alone a golf magazine; these folks are living in total denial and are headed for some very sad and tragic lives.

Now this is the kind of decisive action I would be looking for in a President! Bring. It. On!