Left Jabs

  I had intended to take Thanksgiving week off, then I realized I had to have a piece ready for the World Cup Draw, which, you may have noticed, turned out to be just as embarrassing and horrifying as I predicted last week. Being right comforts me no more than it does you. Regardless, I’m taking this week off instead. But rather than rerun one of my oldies, I thought I’d direct you to what I consider a must-read article , coming to us from a Canadian, Andrew Coyne, who has a knack for saying what the entire mainstream media of this country refuses to say. I apologize in advance that this piece is behind the paywall of the Globe & Mail, so some of you might be frustrated. But I urge you to find it, however you can ( Apple News is one way). The article is titled “ Donald Trump – and American democracy – is getting exponentially worse.”  Here’s an excerpt, with a brief commentary afterward, then I promise to shut up until at least next week: …On a m...

Let me start by saying I will be watching the FIFA World Cup, no matter how politically disgraceful it ends up being. I’m used to it. I watched the one in Qatar in 2022, and the one in Russia back in 2018. So yes, I’m morally compromised. Yes, I’ve been thoroughly sportswashed. Yes, I’m watching anyway. That said, “politically disgraceful” is a more-than-apt description for how the tournament is already shaping up. But first, let’s review for Americans who still don’t get it. The World Cup soccer tournament — a month-long event — is landing in cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next June, whether we like it or not. And we might not. There are all sorts of storylines one could follow between now and then, none of them having to do with the actual game of soccer. One of my favorites is the bromance of Trump and Gianni Infantino, the president — some say king — of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body. There’s a reason I bring this up now, because t...