But first:  The U.S. and Iran gave conflicting informatio n about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open, as strikes escalated over the weekend.  Could be worse.   The USA has not yet invaded Kharg Island . Brent crude oil climbed nearly 10% to $83.30/barrel. WTI petroleum jumped slightly more. According to the official site, the Strait of Hormuz is CLOSED . No FIFA World Cup match today. The only really interesting event of this Major League Baseball All-Star week ( regular season games return on Thursday ) is the Home Run Derby, which will only stream on Netflix from 8PM EDT. So on to my posting of today.  The FIFA World Cup seemed to be full of players faking injuries, something tolerated in the game.   Shouldn't this be morally reprehensible, and deserving of a penalty? Well, volleyball players lie all the time.  They almost never voluntarily admit fault, like in touching balls that go out of bounds. Volleyball players literally have to lie ...

The world has reached a lull period. Iran war continues with the Strait of Hormuz closed and little in battleground activity.   Invasion of Kharg Island? Maybe tomorrow? The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham was a shock.  Now what? He was the Republican to face Democrat Annie Andrews on November 3. Republicans now need to go through essentially the same ( but different ) process as Democrats in Maine to find a replacement. There are 114 days until November 3, so both parties have enough time. Fritz Hollings was the last Democratic Senator from South Carolina.  That was 20 years ago.  The other senator from this state is Tim Scott. Prediction markets in January of this year gave Democrats less than a 10% chance to beat Graham.  However, last month that percentage had jumped to 21%.  On November 3 with no Graham on the ballot, who knows for sure? The FIFA World Cup is taking a 2-day break. Semifinal 1: France vs. Spain – July 14 at 8 PM ED T (AT...