Have not been able to get on the internet last few days so not been able to write.  I think I have pointed out before that we live in an area that is served by one internet provider.  So I don't think they care about the service.  Even when the internet is working, it is very slow.  My nephew pointed out that our speed is 1.5 whereas another uncle of his in SF has internet speed of 400.  I don't know what these numbers mean but it seems like a big difference.  I also can see the difference between here and Hong Kong where I was recently.  By the way, our provider is Frontier.  It makes me feel like we are living in the frontier that I heard of in American history.

Having gone through above rant, I don't feel like any more rants.  But  "collusion is not a crime" defense?  Just add to the "president cannot obstruct justice" defense.  Add to "sitting president cannot be compelled to testify" defense.  Add to "my justice department is biased against me" defense.  Giuliani is doing a great job of confusing and muddying.  But I think any one of these defenses would be sufficed for Trump's base.  I don't think adding all of them together will make any difference to other people. 

Trump threatens to shut down the government if he doesn't get his wall.  Again, why doesn't he ask the Mexican to pay for it?

My wife knew a Buddhist monk from Japan who was running a meditation retreat in a near by city.  She wanted me to meet him so we took him out to lunch.  While at lunch I had an interesting exchange with the monk.  This is the short version of the exchange.

Me:  you seem so serene, do you ever get angry?

Monk:  Yes, I do

Me:  What makes you angry?

Monk:  Drum.

Me: Drum?

Monk:  Yes, drum.

Me:  Too loud?

Monk:  Yes, too loud.

Me:  So you hate drum?

Monk:  No, I don't hate anyone.  Drum is a gift.

Me:  A gift?  Somebody gave you a drum and you are angry?

Monk:  I don't understand.  How does one give you drum?

Me:  Are we talking about the instrument drum?

Monk:  No, president.

Me:  Oh, I got it. You mean Trump?

Monk:   Yes, drum.

Me: How is Trump a gift. 

Monk:  Drum is a gift to me and all parents and teachers so that we can tell our students or kids how not to act  and what not to say!

Me:  I can conclude that I can never be a monk and that I can be a gift to all the world!

We will take a break from all the bad news, particularly from the political front, to talk about soccer today.

The best news recently has been the rescue of the 12 Thai soccer boys and their coach last week.  It is a great human story marred only by the death of one of the rescuers.  This rescue effort shows what can happen when countries come together to help each other. 

The soccer boys are from a poor area of Thailand on the Myanmar border.  Some of them are stateless, meaning they have no Thai or Burmese citizenship.  The head coach (not the one in the cave) was at one time studying to be a Buddhist monk.  He formed this team to give opportunity for boys who are turned away from school teams.  They had always lost till winning a tournament in May.  Basically they are like unwanted immigrants or refugees.  I think the hardship they had experienced help them to survive this crisis.  Also helpful was the meditation they had learned from the former monk student.

France defeated Croatia to win the World cup today.  Of the 23 French players, 16 are from recent immigrant families.  Belgium and England also had many immigrants on the their teams.  Many of the Croatia players experienced the civil war from 1991 to 1995 that gained Croatia independence from the former Yugoslavia.  As a result of the war, many of the players were refugees at one time.  So again even in the biggest stage of soccer, the contributions of immigrants and refugees are obvious among the strongest countries.  Even our own U.S. team is full of players from immigrant families.

I think the pattern is clear.  Success in soccer, as in many aspect of life, is accomplished frequently by those who had gone through hardship.  Immigrants and refugees are among those who face the most hardships.  So as we celebrate the rescue of the Thai boys and one of the best World Cup in history, we should remember that the game of soccer showcases those who are often shunned by people in the country they represent.  I believe that we should embrace rather than shun more of these immigrants and refugees.

As expected Trump nominated one of the 4 finalists to be the next Supreme court justice.  Brett Kavanaugh will be pushed through the confirmation process by the GOP majority in the senate.  The Democrats will be trying to delay the process till after the November midterm election.  I don't think they will be successful.  Unlike Obama's last nomination, the GOP will get Kavanaugh a vote.  The chance of the Democrats stopping the confirmation is low.  There are only two GOP senators who are on the fence:  Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.   With John McCain not available to vote, if one of the two vote no and all the democrats vote no, then Kavanaugh loses 50-49. But there are three Democrats in red states who are vulnerable in November so it is not sure the Democrats can hold rank.  If two of the three vote yes, then it is impossible to stop Kavanaugh.  So I think he will ultimately be confirmed.

Trump claims that he would not ask the nominee of his views on overturning Roe vs Wade.  But since all the finalists were given to him by the Federalist Society, it can be sure that Kavanaugh, just like the other finalists, are abortion foes.  It is like if the NAACP does the vetting for Obama, I don't think you will get someone against affirmative action.  Kavanaugh is not going to be the next David Souter, who was nominated by George H.W. Bush but turned out to be a liberal.  So Trump does not have to ask Kavanaugh about abortion.  But I think he might have asked him about things that are more important to Trump personally.  Like what is his view of a special counsel forcing a sitting president to testify.  Or if a sitting president can be charged and prosecuted.  Or can a president pardon himself.  Those are the questions that I think Trump might have asked Kavanaugh.

Seeing the peaceful protests all over the country yesterday about Trump's immigration policies, I am thinking that things are not as bad as compare to say 50 plus years ago.  During the civil rights protests in the 60s, the marchers were often attacked by the police.  It was basically happening in the south, not many people in other parts of the country were marching then compared with today.  Eventually the marchers of the 60s won the sympathy of the majority of the nation, but the sympathy of the majority of the nation toward the plight of the refugees and the children is immediate today.  Going further back, nobody marched to stop the Chinese Exclusion Act.  Hardly anyone marched against the Japanese American internment camps.  So despite the action of the Trump government today, I think the country as a whole is more civilized.  That doesn't make the pain of those separated from the family any better, but gives hope that the country is still evolving for the better.

The same thing can be said about white Americans who complain that things were better in the good old days.  If you were Italian, Irish or Jewish back in the "good old days", you were considered inferior.  If you are Catholic, you may remember that when Kennedy was running to be the first Catholic president, there were many who still thought that Catholics were not good Americans because they would be loyal to the pope rather than the U.S.  There were drills in schools for atom bomb threats from the USSR.  Many thousands of men were dying in Vietnam, a war we would lose. There were riots in the streets of Watts, Detroit and others that made white people feel unsafe.  So I think there should be some reality check when you think about the "good old days".