Before launching into the Philippines, a few stories of the day. How much is this Iran War costing U.S. taxpayers? White House says around $30 billion. New data suggests a price up to $100 billion !  Todd Blanche faced the Senate Judiciary Committee today for his nomination as Attorney General. Nothing unusual transpired. There are now 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the committee.  That is because Lindsey Graham is no longer there.  Will his sister be placed on this committee? John Cornyn (R-Tex) is a member, but not today in the sphere of President Trump.  Yet he most likely will vote to pass on the nomination to the floor.  But what will he do when the final confirmation vote on the floor occurs? A tie vote would mean that Blanche would NOT be passed. However, the Senate has a mechanism for the party in power to bring a nominee to the floor through a discharge motion. Wait and see what happens, for the hearings continue for a second day tomorrow, and the ...

It's been a dismal week for the world.  Enough about wars and politics for today.  Ah, Friday, and I'll only report on the joy of life, more specifically, mine. Well, actually, the first topic is a sad one, with good memories.  One of the icons of American Pop,  Neil Sedaka, passed away .  He was a year older than me.  I recall his performing in Honolulu in 1976 ( watch this 27 minute video ) on New Year's Eve, and again 43 years later in 2019.   Wrote over 1000 songs , helping define the sounds of the 1960's with  Breaking Up is Hard to Do  and  Calendar Girl .  He successfully transitioned into a super star with  Laughter in the Rain , and saw songs like  Love Will Keep Us Together  covered  by others .  According to Google AI:  resilient, melodic and iconic.  Here is a  medley from 42 years ago .  Sedaka had a way for making you happy, which is the theme of today, I've traveled th...

I am into fantasy baseball, but I have no fantasy teams for this World Series.  Usually, I don't care much about these games after the regular season ends because I have no players to follow.  Plus, I'm almost always on a world journey in the Fall.  This year, I just returned from a short trip to California to search for Petite Sirah in Paso Robles, and won't do my end of the year spectacular until November 21, when I embark on what looks to be an incredible adventure through the Orient, where I won't return to Honolulu until January 24.   While I know that my global readers couldn't care less about American baseball, there is something about the World Series this year that has fully captured my interest.   I spent around 8 hours, for example, glued to my TV watching the pre-game, Game 3 and post-game of the 18-inning victory by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Toronto Blue Jays .  I enjoy sports watching, but this was kind of ridiculous. But firs...