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HERE'S ENTERTAINMENT

I did yesterday say that was the end of my Trump analysis this week.  But, no, turns out I have two more particulars worthy of mention.  

I could use the following as #2, but the following statement by Lancet (a UK general medical journal founded in 1823) can be linked to #1:

Two of the Lancet report's authors published a similar analysis of Trump's health policies in 2018. That report said that Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy, challenges to the Affordable Care Act, and refusal to give adequate aid to Puerto Ricans following Hurricane Maria showed that the administration "favors industry and the wealthy and serves to endanger population and planetary health."

In October, the Lancet also published a commentary describing the administration's handling of the pandemic as "disastrous," urging Americans "to embrace change for the better" in the 2020 election.

The second item has to do with his presidency.
  • U.S. News and World Report only ranked him as our second worst president.  Zachary Taylor was #1, said to be more forgettable than a failure.  He was one reason we had a Civil War, which killed 620,000.
  • U.S. News also determined the 10 worst presidents based on C-SPAN's 2021 Presidential Historians Survey, Siena College's Presidential Expert Poll, and the Presidential Greatness Ranking from the universities of Houston and Boise State.
    • Trump was aced out this time by James Buchanan.  Why?  Buchanan wasn't just incompetent, his beliefs led to failure.
    • There are many other polls, and Trump always comes in close to being our worst president.
  • The Atlantic in January of 2021 (note, this is a year or so after Trump left) said:
President Donald Trump has long exulted in superlatives. The first. The best. The most. The greatest. “No president has ever done what I’ve done,” he boasts. “No president has ever even come close,” he says. But as his four years in office draw to an end, there’s only one title to which he can lay claim: Donald Trump is the worst president America has ever had.

Now to real entertainment.  First, if you missed America's Got Talent this week, here are two of my highlights.  45-year old Roland Abante of the Philippines, a fisherman, has an incredible voice. You'll love 12-year old Alfie Andrews from Manchester, England, who sang Lady Gaga's Hold My Hand, from Top Gun: Maverick.

The U.S. Open continues today.  The Los Angeles Country Club turns out to be the star.  

  • Length, slightly more than 7400 yards long for a par 70.
  • Two short holes, #6, a par-4 of 330 yards, which is the one you want to watch, for some of the golfers attempt to drive the green, and few make it.
  • Hole #15 is only around 120 yards, and there so far have been three holes-in-one, in this tournament.
  • There are a couple of par 4s of 500 yards and 3s of 300 yards, with one par 5 more than 600 yards long.
  • There is a lot of mystery to LACC, for there is no way to really join, but will cost a quarter million dollars if you do, and they turned down Bing Crosby, Hugh Hefner (the Playboy Mansion is off the 13th hole) and Groucho Marx, but Ronald Reagan was a member.  
    • Golf magazine says you need to be invited to join and they have 800 members.
    • Located in the middle of Beverly Hills, close to the UCLA campus.  
    • Will host the U.S. Open again in 2039, after the U.S. Women's Open in 2032.

Late last month I alerted you to the coming of Rose Zhang, who, like Tiger Woods, left Stanford as a junior to become a pro.  She won the Mizuho Americas Open on the second playoff hole over Jennifer Kupcho last week and is the first player to win on a pro LPGA Tour debut in 72 years.  Woods commented, incredible few weeks for Rose Zhang, defends her NCAA title and then wins in her pro debut.  She is not playing in the Meijer LPGA Classic this week.

Switching to NCAA baseball, the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska started this week.  My two college alma maters are playing.  Stanford just lost to Wake Forest, 3-2, and LSU comes on next against Tennessee on ESPN.  Wake Forest is a power this year at #1, and is favored to win the championship.

My home, 15 Craigside, is a seniors' community.  It was soon after I moved in that I posted on COULD 15 CRAIGSIDE BE PURGATORY?  I tend to treat spiritual matters on Sundays.  A resident here sent me information about Ken (Jeopardy) Jennings new book, 100 Places to See After You Die:  A Travel Guide to the Afterlife.  Jennings is Mormon and believes in Heaven.  I've posted on this topic numerous times.  An example was THE MYTH OF AN AFTERLIFE.  I will review his book tomorrow.

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