Author Archives: Sam Ross Jr.

File this one under the better late than never category.

I realize the World Cup of Soccer has been going on for more than two weeks, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. But, a recent conversation indicates to me that a primer is in order for the people who only are interested in soccer – and Olympic sports in general – about once every four years and forget a lot of finer points during the down time.

Let us begin with the United States team. You might have seen commercials for the U.S. men, playing on the 1980 Miracle On Ice hockey theme. Perhaps you have heard that our coach, Mauricio Pochettino, has an inspirational message he repeats to his team: Why not us?

Then again, Pochettino, is an Argentinian and not an American, so maybe when he asks “why not us?” he is referring to Argentina’s chances to repeat as World Cup champions.

On the surface, things have started well as the U.S. men won their first two games and clinched the top spot in their four-team group even before playing their third game.

Pochettino rested a lot of players for that meaningless third game, lest they get second yellow cards (soccer’s equivalent of a speeding ticket for going 50 mph over the posted limit) and risk a red card keeping them out of the next game.

But, Pochettino insisted the Americans would try to win vs. Turkey (Turkiye) and he did sub in ailing star Christian Pulisic in the second half after Pulisic had missed the previous game and a half.

Afterward, Pochettino was a bit touchy about the loss. Imagine if and when his team is eliminated, which should be in two games.

Despite what you heard from the Fox announcers (cheerleaders, more on this later) Pulisic was not sharp and, in fact stumbled around like a drunken sailor on defense shortly before Turkey scored the winner, in a 3-2 victory.

Understand, Turkey had not scored a single goal in two previous games, could not advance past this game, and likely is headed home as you read this.

Understand, the Americans had led this game 1-0 very early and rallied from a 2-1 deficit to tie things at 2, but showed yet another typical defensive lapse to allow Turkey to win the game.

Understand, our goalie is a pedestrian sort whose next great save will be his first. He’s playing because he’s steady. Some endorsement, right?

Understand, in each of the first two games, both wins, the Americans had an opening goal inadvertently put into the net for them by the opposition, the fabled own goal that is a soccer institution.

Understand, the first American opponent in the knockout round, where a loss eliminates a team, is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which came into this World Cup ranked a lowly No. 65 in the world. The U.S. likely will win, but our team also has every opportunity to fall flat on its collective face because, well, history.

Now, some general things to know as you watch the World Cup moving forward.

This is a World Cup that began with a record 48 entrants, a blatant money grab explained away as exposing more countries to the excitement of a having a team to root for. Those 48 teams were divided into 12 four-team groups, who play a round-robin schedule within the group. The top two from each group, and eight of the best third-place finishers advance to knockout play. So, after all this play to date, only one-third of the teams are eliminated.

Yes, the players are ridiculous, rolling around on the ground like they’ve been shot anytime an opponent breathes on them. Why? Think of the George Carlin joke: “Why does a dog lick its balls? Because it can.” Give these overly dramatic types a red card of disqualification for their efforts and it all would stop.

Yes, the Fox game crew for American games and the studio guys for same should be given pom poms and pleated skirts, for they are cheerleaders. They are blatant homers, over-hyping the American efforts and, during the Turkey loss, both game announcers screamed that Pulisic had scored on a shot wide of the net.

Yes, trying to listen to game announcers when the Americans are not playing, or studio shows of such games, is a lot like going to the Conemaugh ER, or to your local family doctor. Supposedly they are speaking English, but the accents make it hard to tell.

Yes, players celebrate goals as if they’ve won both World Wars and cured cancer. It’s almost as absurd as their injury dramatics.

Yes, fans of the Australia team chanted anti-Donald Trump slogans after their first game. What would you expect from a country founded by the British as a penal colony? By the way, the American men did all the chanting after blanking Australia, 2-0. When the porous U. S. defense holds you scoreless, you are pathetic.

Yes, we’re finally done with the ridiculous ties. Now, if the games end their two 45-minute halves with tie scores, there are two 15-minute halves played in their entirety – no sudden death. If the games still are tied, we move on to five alternating penalty kicks for each team. If it still is tied, then we have sudden death penalty kicks.

Yes, the referee keeps track of wasted time for all the injury histrionics, goal celebrations, and the “hydration” breaks midway through each half and tacks that “added time” onto the end of each half.

Yes, the line of the tournament was uttered by a game announcer before England and Ghana met at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium. Prefacing his remarks with the background that it would be stunning if Ghana could win, he added a but: “As we know, the English historically struggle here in Massachusetts.”

Yes, that game ended in a scoreless draw, or Nil-Nil, as the soccer types prefer. It was nearly 1776 all over again.

Now, you are ready to watch the remainder of the World Cup.

I have a meme fairy, who scours social media and various internet sources while I sleep in order to provide me daily emails each morning teeming with the things. They are at times amusing, but mostly they make me ask questions.

This is just a sample of the questions raised by today’s memes.

Why do I think of Johnstown when I look at a meme depicting a huge funnel overflowing with cash, labeled Money For The Homeless, scan to the bottom to find one small outlet that is trickling cash and is labeled Homeless and another larger outlet gushing cash that is labeled Non-profits?

How can 56.8 percent of any group, as one meme stated, think resigned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was treated too harshly?

Why am I not surprised that a hugely fat woman who would make me look normal sized, and was caught emptying a Knicks-themed trash on the street during the team’s title parade to take it home as a souvenir, since has been fired from her job at a major bank – where she was a DEI officer?

Should I be ashamed that I laughed out loud at a meme displaying a huge revolver and two targets, each of which had a clean headshot through a hooded figure attempting to make off (or out) with a goat?

Why does it not even raise an eyebrow when a meme reports that 40 people were shot over the Juneteenth weekend in Chicago, none by police, but all of them black, and we hear not a peep from the usual suspects, ranging from BLM to left-wing Democrats, to the LameStream media?

Is anyone else not surprised by a map depicting Pennsylvanians among the nation’s leaders, with 15 percent of adults who smoke despite decades of warnings?

What percentage of the population do you think is aware that some Native American tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, fought with the Confederates in our Civil War for reasons that included keeping the slavery that they practiced?

Anyone else think Sparkle is a better name for a stripper than for a foreign-born U.S. judge who would insert herself into the matter of illegal aliens voting by trying to keep it going?

Do you find it hard to argue with a social media post from actor James Woods that Barack Hussein Obama was a one-man Trojan Horse for getting radical Islam a foothold here?

If Japan can count more than 40 million votes in a few hours, as happened in a February election this year, is there any rational explanation (beyond it takes longer to establish a target in order to cheat) for California to take weeks to counts its votes?

Can anyone be surprised that highest rates for HIV among U.S. demographic groups are 25 percent for trans women and 15 percent for gay or bisexual men?

Can you believe Scottish soccer fans are donating money to Providence in thanks for helping them find affordable accommodations for the World Cup of Soccer, and that Japanese fans routinely remain after the games to clean up their trash in the stadiums?

I see your eyes glazing over, so that’s enough questions for today. Class dismissed.

It occurs to me that our domestic Democrats, and various spokesmen for Iran, share a penchant for offering bizarre, erroneous takes on events.

This has come into focus while following soccer’s World Cup, even as Iran and the United States engage in peace talks to end their Middle East hostility.

First, the World Cup, where Iran has managed to draw each of its first two games, including a “scintillating” (just kidding) 0-0 tie with Belgium.

You’d have thought Iran had won, such were the overblown postgame remarks from coaches and players.

Here’s how one of the Iranian peace negotiators would have described the Belgium game: “Our most glorious warriors once again have sent the infidels away in utter defeat. They have shown the superiority of our people and our spirit. Allah willing, we will sweep to ultimate victory and hoist the World Cup Trophy to show the world our greatness.”

Such a World Cup title would require eventually winning a game, something Iran has yet to achieve in two tries in this event. But, why quibble?

No matter. It is not only Iranians who have trouble discerning the “score” when it comes to the armed conflict with the United States. Note their continuing threats to deal with us harshly lest we have the temerity to stand up to them.

Left-wing Democrats and their sycophants in the LameStream media giddily assert that the United States has lost the fight. These people need to learn how to read a scoreboard. When your side loses more leaders, troops and equipment, when it is bottled up in its own territory like the Steelers offense, you’re losing, not winning.

I can only imagine how these Democrats might describe the ongoing success of our World Cup soccer team, which has swept to two wins and already has qualified for advancement from group play to the knockout rounds with one game yet to be played.

Yes, the United States has dispatched Paraguay in historic fashion, and blanked Australia despite playing that game without the best American player, but Democrats might describe their coach as an unhinged type alternating between aggression and passivity, and the results as disappointing.

A typical Dumbocrat might say something like this: “Yes, we’ve won two games by a cumulative 6-1 score, but it should have been at least 10-1. Paraguay scored a goal! It was a stunning setback for our supposedly impenetrable defense. Besides, we’re hosting this thing, along with our glorious neighbors of Canada and Mexico, and it is the epitome of Ugly American, Bad Host behavior to win both our games against noble opposition from South America and Australia. No wonder the rest of the world hates us. Why do we insist on rubbing our success in the faces of morally superior foreigners? I’m so ashamed to be an American!

One common theme of the two events is a belief in miracles. President Trump believes, against all odds, a lasting peace deal can be struck with the delusional Iranians – a miracle of sorts.

And fans of American soccer dream that this team can duplicate our nation’s 1980 Olympic Gold Medal-winning hockey miracle by winning the World Cup.

Admittedly, our odds of winning the World Cup are better than Iran’s, despite what you might have heard from Iran propagandists or Democrats. But, that outcome is about as unlikely as a real peace deal with Iran, no matter what you might have heard.

Today is Father’s Day and I’m feeling slighted.

One day, that’s it?

Were I a gay blade, I’d get the entire month of June to bask in pride, praise and celebration. Alas, I also would not be a father, no matter what the leftists argue with their propaganda claptrap that flies in the face of basic biology.

Were I Black and gay, I’d get two months, May and June – Black Pride and Gay Pride. Make that three months if I were Black, since February is Black History Month.

Martin Luther King had a dream, and has a day, come to think of it. Is he spinning in his grave wondering why he doesn’t get a month?

He can’t claim Juneteenth, I guess.

But, as for fathers and mother, you each get one day and you should not whine. You are not a protected class, and just get over yourselves for doing your part to keep the species going.

We should have T-shirts made up’ “You get months of honor and all I get is a day!”

Fathers and mothers rank right there with donuts, porridge, waffle iron cakes and pudding, all of which have their “day” in the celebration calendar.

The list of foods, events, races, creeds and colors with their “days” — or months — is limitless, sort of like welfare fraud.

Fathers and mothers, one would think, deserve more recognition than canoes, cameras and typewriters, which also are honored with days this month.

Welcome to 2026 and our absurd priorities, where Wokeness dictates, where DEI is the de facto law of the land, and political correctness is the dominant philosophy.

As a white, heterosexual male, I’m lucky to get a day, in view of the indisputable belief that people like me are responsible for the ills of the world.

Despite it all, the compression of celebration into a single day, I soldiered on today and made my annual trip to Windber’s car show, which honors miners, be they fathers or not.

I had thought about breaking out a hobby car later today for the Valley Dairy cruise, but that’s on hold,

The Father’s Day celebration here will be conducted Monday, after the son and two granddaughters are back from a beach vacation and my wife is back from pet-sitting the son’s menagerie in his absence.

I will try to make the most out of my day. Perhaps I could be accused of double-dipping, having today and tomorrow to celebrate.

Makes me feel kind of like a Black gay.

It is Thursday, yet another day of the week whose name ends with a Y, and that means a good day for an installment of News And Views.

NEWS: One of the alleged ringleaders of the failed terror plot on the UFC event at the White House is an illegal immigrant.

VIEW: But, but, we’re a nation of immigrants and all should we welcomed with open arms, even if their intent is not to assimilate, but is to commit fraud, even to murder legal citizens. Isn’t there something to that extent inscribed on the Statue of Liberty? It won’t be long, I suspect, before paid protesters hit the streets to call for the immediate release of this guy. By the way, he’s in the country because of yet another Barack Hussein Obama, initiative, DACA, which plucked the heartstrings of the populace that it just wouldn’t be fair to send back illegals who entered as children. It’s the same sort of sentiment that emboldens all in this country who are not of legal adult age to rape and pillage secure in the knowledge they will be treated with kid (pun intended) gloves. Thank God this UFC terror plot was foiled. And did you get a look at the one 19-year-old suspect? He’s balding and bearded (at 19) and was turned in to authorities by his parents, who knew enough to do the right thing when their spawn was acting crazy, unlike, say, Karmelo Anthony’s parents.

NEWS: Many reports are making the rounds of World Cup Soccer fans loving the United States, which is hosting the event along with Canada and Mexico.

VIEWS: They love our food, our freedom and our free-enterprise way of life. Unlike domestic Democrats, who polls continue to show both figuratively and literally hate the United States, these visitors love the country. Maybe President Trump should pull a Biden and unilaterally open the flood gates to any World Cup fans who wish to remain to live here illegally, partake of our welfare programs, even to vote. I guess they would be guaranteed Republican voters, sort of like Democrats can depend on illegals who came here on the grift and were enabled by Clinton, Obama and Biden.

NEWS: Carolina won the Stanley Cup and the West Virginia baseball team made the College World Series for the first time.

VIEWS: There was a Johnstown connection to both. Carolina’s head athletic trainer, Doug Bennett, is a Johnstown native. Doug graduated from Westmont Hilltop the same year as my son and his father Harry still operates a barber shop just up the street. Coverage of the WVU baseball program’s success this season leaned heavily on praise for it having been saved and elevated to national contention under the coaching of Randy Mazey, who retired in 2024. Mazey was born in Johnstown, but attended United High School. He and his brother, Brian, played in the former Johnstown Junior League and his late father Forrest was long-time, successful manager in the league.

NEWS: Earlier this week Fox News host Bret Baier challenged his guest, Senate majority leader John Thune, on his failure to pass the SAVE America Act which, among other things, includes overwhelmingly popular voter ID. Polls show even half of Democrats support voter ID and 90 percent of Republicans agree.

VIEWS: Thune did his typical verbal tap-dance, alternating between supporting the measure and being unable – or unwilling – to do what it would take to get it passed, up to, and including, ending the Senate filibuster. That is a provision that requires 60 votes for most legislation. Why can’t Thune and his moronic Republican friends in the Senate understand that Democrats will do anything to usurp and hold power? That is why they openly talk about impeaching President Trump and his administration officials as soon as they gain power in the House, while also packing the Supreme Court with liberal justices so there is no brake on their over-reach, and also ending the filibuster themselves in order to allow them to ram though bills any time they have control of the Senate. It’s not a question of the filibuster ending. It’s only a question of whether Thune will do it in time to save the country. I suspect he won’t. With leadership like Thune’s, who needs enemies?

It is Sunday, the traditional day of worship and rest for Christians. Admittedly, as is the case with religions, there is not universal agreement on such and various faiths observe these things on different days of the week.

Of course, leftists, particularly socialists, tend not to be religious, other than to be firm in their belief that every day is a day of rest. Why work when others who do can be compelled by governments to subsidize their worthless existence?

I’m not resting today. Instead, I’m sharing a blog post of random thoughts on the day when it is thought/hoped that Lucy (Iran) finally won’t pull the football away from Charlie Brown (the United States) when it comes to a peace deal.

Now, on to the thoughts:

There is Spencer Pratt-style euphoria among fans of the U.S. men’s soccer team after a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the World Cup opener. Relax, Paraguay won’t get four extra goals after match day and be awarded the win. But, please note the U.S. looked great with Christian Pulisic playing in the first half and not so great when he sat out the second due to a reported injury precaution.

The Americans very easily could lose their next game, vs. Australia, and those predicting our team will win the World Cup are as delusional as Al Gore has been for decades with his predictions that climate change will flood our coast lines and melt Arctic and Antarctic ice.

The political left has its collective knickers in a twist over a Somali referee being refused entry to the U.S. to work the World Cup, despite possessing a “valid” visa. I don’t know whether reports of ties to suspected terrorists are true. What I do know is that in our country, we make the rules, sorry.

Also, all the 911 plane hijackers had come here on valid visas, for what that is worth.

And, it is reported the Somali referee will be paid as though he had performed his job. At least he had been eager to provide services for the money, unlike the Somali fraudsters in Minnesota and beyond.

Two Texas men have been charged with stealing equipment from the English World Cup team. Their names reportedly are Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal. I have yet to read what their citizen status is, which usually is a bit of a red flag suggesting intentional omission of those details. I wonder if they have valid visas?

The Democrats’ embrace of Nazi tattoo guy Graham Platner reminds me of hockey hypocrisy from back in the day, when fights were more common. The other team’s tough guy was a “goon.” Our tough guy was just an “enforcer.”

It is amazing to hear the left lament the wealth of Elon Musk. Ordinarily, they’d be trumpeting the success story of an African-American.

I don’t think it is inherently unfair that Musk is a trillionaire while the world has hungry children. That hunger is a failing of others, including leftist organizations that commit fraud while professing to feed those hungry children. I also don’t believe Musk should provide my Starlink internet service at no charge to me just because he’s rich and I am not.

Race hustlers have latched on to the Karmelo Anthony murder verdict, noting an all-white jury. It was not all-white, with reports of Asians, Hispanics and perhaps a woman of Indian origin on the jury. Also, consider a point made by one TV guest the past week who noted that Oliver North (white) didn’t gripe about racial composition of the jury when he was convicted of three felonies, reportedly by an all-black jury in Washington, D.C.

Did anyone else, upon first hearing of Karmelo Anthony stabbing another youth, think they were referring to former NBA star Carmelo Anthony?

Karmelo Anthony apologists never ask why he brought a knife to a track meet and invaded another team’s tent with aggressive threats. One whined that Karmelo is a young man and the 35-year sentence means he will be old when he has served it. First of all, the reports I have read indicate he’ll likely get half off with good behavior. And the guy he killed, Austin Metcalf, was a 17-year-old who got what amounts to a life sentence. Spare me the tears.

Yesterday was another of those days when I expected that at any minute Rod Serling would emerge from out of view with the lead-in to his latest episode of The Twilight Zone.

Admittedly, the reference is dated, but so am I. Even so, surely through the marvels of modern technology even those who missed the original run from 1959 through 1964 have had the opportunity to view The Twilight Zone and are familiar at least with the concept of this pioneering science-fiction/horror series.

With that in mind, and even though Serling is said to have uttered his signature phrase but a few times on-air, submitted for your approval . . .

Things were going well Thursday into late afternoon. I was scrupulously avoiding investment news, the better to be ignorant of yet further declines in my net worth due to war escalating vs. Iran and gold and silver inexplicably dropping like Iran leadership.

I was watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show, longing to live in a Mayberry-like setting, when a quick scan of news on the old smartphone indicated yet another, perhaps premature, declaration that peace was at hand with Iran. Henry Kissinger must be spinning in his grave.

Gold and silver predictably spiked, as did my precious metals/mining stock portfolio. At last, after a week or so of carnage, some good news.

That was spoiled when the mail arrived and I got two letters, one from Southmont Borough and the other from First National Bank.

I guessed – incorrectly — that Southmont was going to make a demand that I do something to improve my property, while continuing to ignore those who have turned their real estate into either junkyards, or metals salvage operations, among other failings.

But no, Southmont is looking for donations to raise matching funds for a governmental grant. They need $25,000 to get another $25,000. Proposals for that money include a laundry list of things $50,000 would only begin to fund. But they can dream.

Emboldened, I opened the FNB communique, a rather threatening sort of thing that accused me of lacking insurance on my house and, since it was collateral with them, this was totally unacceptable.

Several key issues, such as the threat to buy insurance for me, possibly at “significantly more expensive” rates, and a warning that said coverage might not provide coverage on par with what I might purchase myself, were fittingly in BOLD print.

More than a little ticked, I called the number listed in the letter to get this straightened out and got a hapless sort, who seemed challenged to understand the situation. She did note she was showing a zero balance, but since the account still was active, I needed insurance.

I told her, repeatedly, that I had insurance and since she was quoting a zero balance, I didn’t understand the problem. Also, I get my hackles up when the government or a business starts demanding things of me.

Coming quickly to the realization I would get nowhere with this person, I demanded to speak to a supervisor.

Said supervisor again mentioned a zero balance.

By way of background, about eight years ago, when interest rates were artificially low, it made financial sense to borrow money rather than pull it from my retirement accounts and pay taxes on that money.

I took out a loan, with my house as collateral, and it was repaid earlier this year. I was promised a letter regarding this, that never came. I requested a resend and eventually got that written acknowledgment that the loan had been satisfied.

Also, an FNB type had reminded me to notify my insurance agent to have the bank removed from the title. I did this. Apparently that was not correct.

Somewhere along the way, the house was seen as collateral on a line of credit I have with the bank – also due to what then were low interest rates.

I told this FNB supervisor – and she insisted multiple times in response to my inquiries that she worked for FNB and was not a third-party call center employee – I had double this outstanding balance in my checking account and would walk to my computer and pay it off immediately if they would just get off my back.

Wouldn’t work, she said. Even though I actually then would have the zero balance on this too, the account would remain open and I would need to have insurance, just in case.

She told me I would need to go to a branch and sign paperwork to end the line of credit.

I first called my insurance agent to make sure he was in the office, then raced over to him to get the process of proving my insurance moving. He did so, both online and by sending a traditional mail message. And I got a call back and voice mail message from that supervisor Friday morning saying the insurance information had been received.

When I got home yesterday, I called my local FNB branch, where the assistant manager seemed to be confused by it all.

I recounted my 50-plus years as a customer with her bank as it went from Johnstown Bank and Trust, to Laurel Bank, to Promistar, to FNB and how customer service has descended into the toilet along the way. Regrettably, I just have ordered and paid for a large amount of new checks, or I’d take my checking account elsewhere, too.

I wanted to schedule an appointment for next week to come to that office, pay off the line of credit and just put an end to their bureaucratic idiocy as it involves me. Ah, but she wanted to check some things first. She promised to call me to set up that appointment, once she knew exactly what the problem is.

In view of the fact I’ve been waiting for months for a callback from FNB on another matter, I’m not optimistic. I told her this and she assured me she will call me next week.

And so, I sit and wait. I hope Rod Serling is available next week.

There are so many questions on my mind these days, so I’m taking advantage of being indoors on a rainy day to ask them.

Feel no pressure, dear readers. These questions do not require answers, but are posed merely to promote thought.

Can you believe assorted self-righteous dolt leftists such as New York governor Kathy Hochul (who thinks the New York Knicks last won an NBA title in 1993 – try 1973, Kathy), House minority leader Hakeem (Dime Store Obama) Jeffries, and dial-an-opinion Stephen A. Smith (often wrong, but never in doubt) are blaming the Knicks loss to San Antonio in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on President Trump, because he had the temerity to attend the game?

Are you surprised these people didn’t blame the loss on New York Mayor Mamdani The Commie, who also attended, perhaps with a ticket bought for him by mommy, or daddy, or both, as usual?

Did Trump’s presence also prompt the thug Knicks fans to assault San Antonio fans on New York City streets, as captured by many videos posted online?

Do you have a sudden urge to root very hard for San Antonio?

For those surprised that they kept counting votes, or even submitting them, in Los Angeles until Republican Spencer Pratt was out of the top two, do you also still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, our education system, our judiciary, Congress, etc.?

Next time, shouldn’t someone assure LA mayoral candidate Ramen Noodles in advance that they would at least get her into second, and tell her not to give a tearful speech on election night that many took to be a concession?

Do you find it amazing that runaway immigration in Europe has done the unthinkable, from uniting Protestants and Catholics in Ireland against the invasion, to prompting usually pacifist French and Dutch into fighting back on the streets against the scourge?

Can you believe that online donations (nearing $700,000 reportedly) continue to pour into the Karmelo Anthony coffers even after he was convicted of murder in Texas?

Will the family use the proceeds to continue to rent a mansion, procure vehicles and hire security in view of the fact Anthony applied for, and was granted, the ability to be represented at his trial by a public defender, although eventually he hired private counsel?

If you heard the typical outcry that this verdict was all race-based because Anthony is black, did you read reports that the jury didn’t have any blacks, but did have Hispanics and Asians, or that four of the six witnesses who detailed Anthony’s egregious behavior before the stabbing, were black?

Do you find it ironic that while his family continues to unwind in a gated community, Karmelo might spend the next 17 years or so in a gated community of another sort?

Does anyone else think that Scott Pelley’s recent statements, from likening firing of 60 Minutes staff to a murder of a spouse, to being stunned he was fired after what had been reported as a heated tirade against management, tell us all we need to know about his lack of judgment, which sort of disqualifies one from being a trusted journalist?

Is it true CBS finally decided it had to fire Pelley because his smug arrogance had swelled his head to such a size he no longer could fit it through the doors to the studios?

Earlier today, while walking Virgil the dog my wife adopted and I was promised I never would need to take care of, I did my traditional check for American Flags being flown on military dates of note. The result was disappointing, but not surprising.

Psst. Pass it along. Today is the 82^nd anniversary of D-Day, the June 6, 1944, Allied forces invasion of France that drove back the Germans and signaled the beginning of their Nazi end.

I admit that I didn’t traverse the entire block, but I did note just three American Flags on display, and one house sporting patriotic red, white and blue bunting. This was more than balanced by the usual assortment of Gay Pride flags and generally insipid banners.

This speaks volumes on where we are as a country, and it is not a good place.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was in Normandy to honor the date. Considering how immigrants torch Paris to celebrate a soccer win, how Britons are expected to accept police restraining a man as he bled to death while protecting the rights of the man who stabbed him and justified it with lies about the victim’s supposed racial affronts, how various European countries are descending into examples of subservience to Muslims, one wonders if all that American sacrifice of blood and treasure was worth it.

That doesn’t change the fact that the lives were lost, the money was spent, and it was a turning point in global history that merits continuing recognition on the homefront.

Speaking of the homefront, we dishonor daily the great efforts of our military, both past and present.

On this D-Day anniversary, Democrats are running a guy for Senate in Maine with a covered up Nazi tattoo on his chest, a guy who mocked a Purple Heart recipient on social media, noting the guy deserved to be dead, not just wounded.

Out in California, the desperate search is on for more votes to derail a couple of Republicans from advancing to general elections for governor of the state and mayor of its largest city, Los Angeles.

Paid leftist protesters harass ICE officers doing the work the nation voted for in electing President Donald Trump, that being to send illegal immigrants home.

Idiots in Congress treat cabinet members testifying before them as punching bags. The bad news for those morons is the cabinet members punch back, with facts.

Lamestream media continues to feel licensed to shape the narrative and promulgate propaganda, making the term “journalist” meaningless.

It is a sad picture, locally, nationally and internationally on this D-Day observance. I only wish it were not so.

The movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” debuted in 1968, when I was a teenager, so I have seen speculation about the dangers of runaway artificial intelligence, or AI, for decades.

As an aside, isn’t it odd how we like to tab possibly harmful phenomena with harmless sounding initials, like AI, or AOC?

Now, back to the movie. I won’t spoil it for you, but the basic plot is a sentient computer HAL9000 (another innocuous acronym) on a space flight perceives the accompanying astronauts as threats to the mission and to HAL itself, which prompts attempts to neutralize said astronauts.

All these years later, AI has not been allowed to take control of our lives stealthily — yet. The data centers to breathe life into it are rightly identified as harmful to the health of humans, with their seemingly endless demand for water and electricity, both of which are relatively important to human existence. The citizenry is fighting back.

The money being spent for AI development makes our national budget seem somewhat small in comparison, crowding out funding for alternative industries.

The combination of AI and quantum computing are feared to herald the end of successful encryption (think of your bank accounts and credits cards with their security the equivalent of a wide-open door), as well as allowing the hacking of bitcoin algorithms (rendering those artificial constructs worthless) and a general breakdown of global security (can you say cyberwar?).

But, there is hope. AI, for all the pie-in-the-sky promises, is a bit limited in its accuracy and usefulness.

I say this because, just the other day I was watching a broadcast of a college baseball tournament game and the announcers posed the trivia question that there are just three Division I college baseball teams with the Trojans nickname and all remain active in this year’s event. Name them.

As an alumnus of Johnstown High School, the Trojans, I was interested. I could think of two colleges, Southern California and Troy (Ala.), the latter having no real choice other than Trojans considering ancient Troy gave us Trojans.

The third school’s name escaped me, so I ran to my computer, which just happened to have the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser open. This meant that when I typed in the inquiry “NCAA Division I Baseball Teams Nicknamed Trojans” I was shuttled to Microsoft’s Copilot AI.

Its answer: “The only NCAA Division I college baseball program in the United States currently using the nickname Trojans is Troy University.”

You could have knocked me over with a sledgehammer. Copilot never had heard of Southern California, something of a prominent school using the Trojans nickname. The USC Trojans have won the College Baseball World Series a record 12 times, including in 1968, the release year of the 2001 movie alluded to earlier.

To repeat. Copilot missed USC, but identified Troy. Copilot also missed the third school with a Trojans nickname for its sporting teams, Arkansas Little Rock.

If Copilot and other AI efforts make such rudimentary errors – and we all have read of many such gaffes – I’m not worried about AI taking over, then deciding humans are no more than sand in the gears, and thus looking to eliminate us.

If I’m wrong, I’ll just note that I’m a Trojan and AI will be unable to identify me.