Trump’s Rubicon Moment In Iraq

"Will his visit bolster him at home, while causing anger in Iraq among pro-Iranian factions who want to use it to remove US forces?"

Tectonic Shifts In Attitudes Toward Israel

"Full-scale Arab state warfare versus Israel lasted a mere 25 years (1948-73) and ended 45 long years ago; and that Turkey and Iran have since picked up the anti-Zionist torch."

The Vacuum From US Pullout In Syria

'What Turkey is going to do is unleash holy hell on the Kurds. In the eyes of Turkey, they're more of a threat than ISIS. So this decision is a disaster.' — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

Playoff Push Getting Pushed For Week 16

And suddenly the 2018 NFL season isn't what we thought it would be.

The first sign of Upset Weekend was San Diego's upset of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chargers'  first win over the Chiefs since 2013, and coming when San Diego at almost no point of the game seemed capable of a comeback, especially after Philip Rivers' atrocious INT in the endzone in the second quarter.

Easily the worst loss for a division leader was New England's horrific effort at Pittsburgh.   The Steelers gagged up two more INTs and managed just 17 points, but Tom Brady's overreliance on a binky in Julian Edelman cost his team again with the INT, then the fourth down failure where Cordarrelle Patterson (three catches) was open entering the endzone yet Brady ignored him for the binky - an atrocious myopia especially considering Brady's unprecedented career success yet disturbingly repeated over Brady's career at inopportune times, notably 2014 at Kansas City and earlier this season at Tennessee - worth remembering is that in 2005 Belichick began riding Brady to get away from Deion Branch (his first binky); also it should be remembered that when Belichick has challenged Brady on the receiving corps - 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014 - Brady responded.

Indianapolis and Tennessee are now in a three-way fight wth Baltimore for the last AFC playoff spot with shutout wins over NFC East teams.  Derrick Henry's eruption continued with 33 runs and 170 yards and two scores.

Dallas' loss aided the Eagles, who had to change quarterbacks again and suddenly Nick Foles may not be just a backup going forward even beyond 2018, as he led the Eagles to a 30-23 win at LA.

The Bears cinched the NFC North by putting the Packers out of everyone's misery, yet another Aaron Rodgers loss down two scores.


So now the last two weeks beckon and some teams better hurry up and clinch something -






Titans over Redskins -   Tennessee keeps on keeping on and the Redskins clawed out the win at Jacksonville but overall once again don't have it for a playoff effort.


Chargers over Ravens - The Ravens are getting the wins with Lamar Jackson, but a pedestrian 82 passer rating (lower than that of Joe Flacco, now certain to be gone from the Ravens by season's end) and now being the team's leading rusher (566 yards and five yards per carry; Gus Edwards is second at 550 yards, also 5 YPC) simply are not sustainable results for success; at some point Jackson has to become a better passer - and ratings of 100 and 91 his last two games are an encouraging beginning there.   And a Chargers team that now has the AFC West and a playoff bye to play for won't roll over for the Ravens, whose own division chances were harmed by Pittsburgh's upset win.


Browns over Bengals -   The Browns have motivation to keep winning, and Gregg Williams may have played his way into the full-time coaching job, while the Bengals' season is shot.  Jeff Driskel got a needed win against the Raiders yet was awful in doing so at a worthless 51.3 in passer rating.


Vikings over Lions -  The recent history has turned against the Lions in this rivalry with two straight losses to a Vikings team that showed shocking rejuvenation after changing offensive coordinators, a doubly bad sign given the Lions season became irrelevant weeks back and is a poor beginning for Matt Patricia.   It's also time to reconsider Matthew Stafford, finishing his tenth season with his fifth losing record and just two seasons above nine wins. 


Packers over NY Jets  - The lack of hustle at the very end of the Jets' loss to Houston says everything about the Jets and Sam Darnold, this as they welcome a Packers squad that itself is arguably in worse shape with a locker-room-cancer of a quarterback and a lame-duck interim coach.


Eagles over Texans - Superbowl hero Nick Foles is back and the Eagles look like a stronger team with him.   What to do with him and Carson Wentz are issues for another time; right now the Eagles' playoff lives are at stake and they have a 10-0 lifetime record against Houston NFL teams.   Given the fight of the Texans this year, though, expect a competitive game.


Falcons over Panthers -  The Panthers are now irrelevant with six straight losses.   Cam Newton's arm is shot.   The Falcons finally showed real firepower last week.   Forget it, Carolina.


Colts over NY Giants -   The Colts are surging and the Giants are 1-2 against AFC South teams after their late-season surge got steamrolled by Derrick Henry last week.   Forgotten in this whole thing is the Colts started 1-5 and have all but clinched a winning record for the year.


Cowboys over Buccaneers -  Remember when this used to be a rivalry?  That was all of one or two games.   The Bucs despite 4,677 yards and 31 touchdowns from their quarterbacks are just 5-9 with a 92.85 passer rating and 25 interceptions.   The Cowboys got embarrassed last week and this is the kind of opponent needed to regain momentum.


Dolphins over Jaguars -  Surprisingly, Doug Marrone may stay on as Jaguars coach despite the utter collapse of their season, 30th in scoring and minus-12 in turnover differential vs. Miami's plus-9. 


Patriots over Bills - No doubt disgusted over losing to a Steelers team they own, the Patriots return home with a 3-5 road record and their worst season since 2009.   No pattern has emerged to explain the Patriots' road struggles and the importance of winning the last two games has only grown.   They get in Josh Allen a quarterback unable to reach 55% completion and stuck at 65 in passer rating.


Bears over 49ers -   Nick Mullens has played well with passer ratings above 102 the last two games, but the surging Bears want to keep up momentum for their first playoff run since 2010.


Rams over Cardinals -  Losing to the Eagles was a double blow to the Rams, whose chance at the top NFC seed is now gone, and since their bye week they've scored just 20 points a game with nine turnovers.  Jared Goff ironically broke out of a recent slump against the Eagles, going from 48


Saints over Steelers -   The Steelers somehow escaped with a win, and now they go to a banged-up Saints team averaging just seventeen points per game their last three contests.   We think, though, the Saints will grind out the win as they've been doing lately.


Chiefs over Seahawks -  As strong as the Seahawks have been the loss at San Francisco takes some starch out of them as the Chiefs, who've begun to win ugly with some more frequency lately, want to bounce back from losing to the Chargers.


Broncos over Raiders -  Not much here with the Raiders at 3-10 and the Broncos now out of the playoffs at 6-8.



So it goes into Week 16.

The New Censorship Of Truth About Islam

Taking a truthful view of Islam and Israel is under attack more and more.

Strasbourg Attack And Criminal-Terror Nexus in Europe

"The problem appears to be the gap between surveillance of members of the criminal-terrorist extremist nexus, and prosecuting perpetrators for crimes such as acquiring illegal firearms."

Playoff Runners Look To Avoid Lateral Damage In Week 15

The Boston Herald had the perfect headline for this game - Lateral Damage.   The Upset Of The Year left everyone shocked as a pass play turned into a hook and double-lateral play that worked.   The win keeps the Dolphins eighth in the AFC playoff race.

Oakland's fourth win in the last six meetings with the Steelers doesn't qualify as an upset because the Steelers had been exposed as frauds entering this game and now the Steelers are sliding - perhaps sliding out of the playoffs a la 1998.   

Tennessee stayed in the playoff run with a 30-9 rout of the Jaguars.   Derrick Henry erupted with 238 rushing yards and four scores, for a season-average of an eye-popping 4.9 yards per carry.   Marcus Mariota thus wasn't asked to do a lot but did complete 75% of his passes, yet low yardage, a pick, and a sack left his passer rating at a disappointing 75.   The loss for the Jaguars has led to buzz that GM Tom Coughlin will take over as head coach in 2019.



Chiefs over Chargers -  Until we see it, we can't pick the Chargers over the Chiefs with a nine-game winning streak for Kansas City in this rivalry.   The Chargers nonetheless are playing playoff-caliber ball and look a playoff lock.    One, though, should keep an eye on Patrick Mahomes as for all his brilliance has shown disconcerting signs of sloppiness.


Texans over NY Jets -  The surprising loss to the Colts last week should not be repeated against the punchless Jets as Bill O'Brien is this close to a seasonal record for wins in his coaching career, while Deshaun Watson's comeback season should have MVP buzz circulating.


Broncos over Browns -  The poor performance at the punchless 49ers last week was disconcerting and the Broncos get an improving Browns team.   Baker Mayfield's rookie season has generated more attention than anything the Browns have seen in decades but we still think the Broncos - 23-5 lifetime vs. the Browns and on a win streak dating to 1990 - will pull off the win.


Falcons over Cardinals - One of the "Toilet Bowl" games common to the final month of a season, this showdown between two teams a combined 7-19 doesn't promise much between a dismal rookie season for Josh Rosen and a regression in Matt Ryan.


Ravens over Buccaneers -  The Ravens stumbled against the Chiefs as Lamar Jackson managed two touchdowns but only completed 13 of 24 passes, was sacked three times, and coughed up the game-deciding fumble at the end.   The Ravens get the struggling Bucs coming off blowing it against the Saints.


Titans over NY Giants -  The Giants aren't the pushovers they were earlier this season with four wins in their last five games and 147 points scored in that five-game span.   Yet the Giants have won just twice at home as they host a Titans team playing for a playoff berth and which already has manhandled two of New York's division rivals.


Dolphins over Vikings -   A public controversy erupted between Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and OC John DeFilippo with public criticism of the offense's play-calling - and the result was DeFilippo got canned after the loss at Seattle.   This illustrates a playoff pitch falling away as the Vikings host the surging Dolphins.


Redskins over Jaguars - Both teams are a mess; pick the one that's still 6-7 in this one.


Cowboys over Colts - 7-6 vs. 8-5.  Suddenly this matchup has the makings of a very competitive game with the Cowboys now facing the division title in their grasp and the Colts fighting for very realistic playoff life.   This is only Andrew Luck's second career start against the Cowboys.


Raiders over Bengals -  Collapse for the Bengals has been absolute and Jeff Driskel's unplanned rookie season has been winless in two starts.   The Raiders come in off a liberating win over the hated Steelers.


Bears over Packers -   The fitting image from the Bears' sloppy but effective defeat of the Rams is the fan wearing a Bears jersey # 46 - not for a player, but for the most famous copy of a defense ever seen - the Bears' 46 Defense was just their copy of Jerry Glanville's Gritz Blitz from the Falcons yet it caught everyone's attention in their magical 1985 title season.   The Bears are surging and get a mediocre Packers team they want to smack around after blowing it in Week One.


Lions over Bills - Here is what you need to know -  Brian Daboll is a failure as an OC and Josh Allen has been worthless in his rookie season.   Pick the struggling Lions.


Seahawks over 49ers -  The Seahawks looked in trouble earlier this season, that's not the case now, especially with a five-season winning streak over the punchless Niners.


Patriots over Steelers -  New England's shocker of a loss at Miami will doubly motivate them to crush a collapsing Steelers team that's been in freefall the last four games and which has proven it cannot beat the Patriots for anything.


Rams over Eagles -  Both teams are coming off losses, yet the Rams remain the easy favorite for the NFC's top seeds and the Eagles' playoff chances are all but gone even if they win out.   The caveat here is the Eagles have won their last five meetings with the Rams.


Saints over Panthers -  The Saints rebounded from the loss in Dallas by beating the other team that had beaten them this season, and now they get a faltering Panthers team that has lost five straight and four of its last five meetings with the Saints.



Take the season laterally as it winds down.

The Economics Of Discrimination

"Thomas Sowell's latest book, 'Discrimination and Disparities,' takes a look at the high cost of misguided policies aimed at achieving social justice."

Packer It In With Three To Go

Adam Thielen - held to just 28 yards with a score - blows up at Bill Belichick

The final three weeks of the NFL season see the playoff race getting clearer - yet also murkier.

The first shocker of the weekend may well be Upset Of The Season as the Cowboys clamped down - hard - on the New Orleans Saints.   Limited to ten points the Saints had no answer for a Cowboys defense that was timing its attack on Saints receivers perfectly.   This game and the games that followed over Week 13 served as rebuttal to the striking commentary following the 54-51 Rams win over the Chiefs, commentary that portrayed 90-plus-point games as the new normal to where low-scoring defensive struggles were somehow legislated out of the game - and even conveyed a sense that high-scoring football somehow is bad for the game.   Defense and offense cycle around and always will.

Titans over Jaguars  - Tennessee got back into contention with another comeback win, this one down 16 to the Jets who'd given the Patriots a tough time the week before.    Marcus Mariota now has ten comeback wins in this, his fourth season, and he has eight comebacks from down at least two scores (in contrast to Aaron Rodgers with just seven comebacks down two-plus scores in eleven seasons even taking into account seasons truncated by injury). Even so, it's clear how much the Titans miss Delanie Walker and his explosiveness, and one certainly hopes when he comes back in 2019 that firepower is still there.

The Jaguars have lost four of the last five meetings with the Titans but are coming off an impressive grinder of a win - their first since the end of September - over the surging Indianapolis Colts.   They also have in Cody Kessler a quarterback who is just 1-8 as a starter but always showed genuine promise in his 2016 season with the hapless Browns.



Patriots over Dolphins - By now it's clear the Dolphins are a better team with Ryan Tannehill than without him.   The Dolphins have also largely held their own at home vs the Patriots - but an 8-8 split the last sixteen visits to Davie, FL isn't any trend to worry the Patriots, though the condition of the turf has at times irked Bill Belichick.   The Patriots are racing for a playoff bye and also to better flesh out their overall game; expect a competition matchup here.



Bills over NY Jets -   The Jets' debut season for Sam Darnold has gone the all-too-common path of a rough initiation for the rookie, expected to start after missing three games with a foot injury.   The Bills' quarterback situation, though, is also troubling as Josh Allen continues to struggle with two more picks at Miami.




Browns over Panthers  - By firing two assistant coaches the Panthers have signalled the season is lost at 6-6, and four more INTs by Cam Newton showcase how the Panthers have faltered with four straight losses and a turnover differential of just plus-one vs. Cleveland's eye-popping plus-ten.   Baker Mayfield's Brett Favre imitation vs. the Houston Texans was the ugly side of the rookie.

Buccaneers over Saints - Believe it or not the Bucs are 5-7 despite all their quarterbacking issues and Jameis Winston, the presumptive starter, has had success against Drew Brees.  New Orleans' loss at Dallas punctured the myth of invincibility and this is also a rematch of the 48-40 shootout, the only other loss for the Saints so far.





Lions over Cardinals -   The Lions' season is just playing out the string and it's obvious Matt Patricia now needs to start developing a successor to Matthew Stafford.   The Cardinals' rookie, though, has not played better than the veteran and the two teams are a combined minus-nine in turnover differential. 



Eagles over Cowboys -  The Cowboys are now solidly in the playoff hunt, but the Eagles aren't out of it yet, and proved that by grinding out the win over the injury-shot Redskins.  The Eagles no doubt remember losing at Lincoln Financial Field so shocking the Cowboys in their own building is added motivation for the defending Superbowl champs. 

Falcons over Packers  - The firing of Mike McCarthy wasn't unexpected; the timing though is.   For the longest time McCarthy has been the punching bag and he certainly has never been an especially gifted coach.   But attacks on him have served to hide the uncoachability of Aaron Rodgers, whose poisonous influence on the Packers has now gotten worse - with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels rumored a strong candidate for the job it's instructive to remember Green Bay's loss at Foxboro where Rodgers sat alone and made no effort to seek out coaches, while McDaniels and Brian Hoyer were always with Tom Brady on the bench exchanging information. 

The dysfunction of the Packers gives the slumping Falcons some opportunity, but they too are a team with coaching issues, line issues, and quarterbacking issues with Matt Ryan in his eleventh season.

Texans over Colts - The last time these two met the game was a mind-blowing overtime affair.   Frank Reich's fourth-down call in overtime we doubt will be repeated, but then the Texans have gotten a lot better since then as well and are 5-1 at home vs the Colts at 2-4 on the road.   Andrew Luck's career has feasted on division opponents - 22 wins vs 27 against the rest of the league - but he's struggled against the Texans with three straight losses.



Chiefs over Ravens -  The Chiefs' firepower speaks for itself, while the Ravens have quietly clawed into the playoffs and rookie Lamar Jackson has won three straight starts, but in his three games he's already second in team rushing at 404 yards vs Alex Collins' team-leading 414.  His passing game in three games is averaging 180 yards per game - at seven yards per pass - with three INTs to two scores.   Even with that the Ravens are 13th in scoring heading to Arrowhead Stadium.   This is only the second meeting between the two since Andy Reid became Chiefs coach.

NY Giants over Redskins-  Odell Beckham showed anew with his perfunctory effort at an onside kick vs the Bears why despite his undeniable athletic prowess he's not an especially competent or reliable player, and the enabling the Giants appear to have always given him helps explain why they've faltered as badly as they have.   But here they have to face Mark Sanchez, signed to the Skins a few weeks back with Alex Smith and now Colt McCoy both out for the year.   The supreme irony involved is Sanchez reenacted his buttfumble of 2012 but this time recovered his own fumble.



Chargers over Bengals -   The rumbling that Marvin Lewis is done after this season continues and the bizarre story that con-artist coach Hue Jackson will take over is something no one involved should want. 

Jackson's incompetence as a coach was even further illustrated first on Hard Knocks and his belligerent hands-off approach to discipline and player preparation, and then by his post-firing media tour where he refused to be accountable for his struggles.   San Diego is now almost assured a playoff spot and picking off the faltering Bengals is another step.



Broncos over Forty-Niners -  Denver's resurgence is now on a three-game win streak and is seeing the emergence of running back Phillip Lindsey.   Although Case Keenum's completion percentage remains below 60% in that streak he's nonetheless posted passer rating at 95 and 99 in the last two games.   The Broncos late-season playoff contention gets a Niners team that looks like it has given up.

Raiders over Steelers -   This has mismatch written all over it - 7-4-1 vs 2-10.   But the mismatch is deceiving, for the Raiders have won three of the last five meetings with the Steelers and exploded to 35 points (and erased a 14-point gap in the fourth quarter) in this 2015 shootout.    The Raiders are also better at turnover differential than the Steelers, though it's not much to sing about at minus-5 to Pittsburgh's minus-8.   The big picture heading into this game is the Steelers are 0-for-the-season against the AFC West and the me-first culture of the team is starting to show up again with three straight poor performances, and combined with the Ravens' recent surge the Steelers now face their 1998 season collapse twenty years later.



Seahawks over Vikings -  The Seahawks, largely unnoticed, have won three straight, stand with a plus-11 turnover differential, and stand as the NFC's number five seed, and they get a Vikings squad that has lost three of its last five and showed to be weaker than advertised, and which has yet to beat Pete Carroll since he joined the Seahawks. Of course Kirk Cousins was bound to bring this result, as despite over 3,400 yards and twenty-three touchdowns this year he showed with the Redskins he isn't that good, and passer rating below 77 in two of his last three games - not to mention two other games where he didn't reach 90 in passer rating - merely illustrates further his bombastic mediocrity.

Contrast this with Russell Wilson, who has stormed past 110 in passer rating eight times this season and is above twelve average yards per pass in his last two games.



Thus is the stretch run on.