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...

About Donald Trump and the Iran War, not exactly a deal, but an agreement to spend the next 60 days in ceasefire, while negotiators argue about possible long-term peace, nuclear matters, money, Strait of Hormuz and so forth. As I mentioned yesterday, there will be a signing of the memorandum of agreement on Friday in Geneva by Veep JD Vance and Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.   This event is being hosted by Pakistan, with key mediators like Qatar in attendance. Israel will not sign and is therefore not bound by the terms of the MoA.  Thus, the war in Lebanon will be a particularly sensitive matter through the upcoming talks. The Strait of Hormuz will not be completely open from Friday. It will take a month or so for mine clearing operations. Details on shipping insurance will need to be worked out. Will there be a toll?  Trump insists no, but Iran disagrees. The G7 nations leaders are in the France Alps, Evian-les-Bains .   Here is a vi...

But first, some news of the day. The  New York Times  this morning had some nice history of gerrymandering, which is what Democrats in California pulled off on election day this week with Proposition 50. Lawmakers realized in the 19th century that they could increase their party’s political power by redrawing legislative districts. The term of art is   gerrymandering , named after the map for the Massachusetts State Senate drawn under Gov. Elbridge Gerry. (One district looked like a salamander. Get it?) Typically, legislators gerrymander once a decade, after the census. Today, gerrymandering is a weapon of constant political warfare. State legislators, both red and blue, are furiously redrawing congressional maps in a quest to control the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections. The skirmishing began in August, when Trump persuaded Texas lawmakers to redraw congressional districts, which will probably let them send five more Republicans to Congress....