twas a dark day in dallas- november 63

 The day that will live on in infamy

President Kennedy was riding high
A good day to be living and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
Say wait a minute boys, do you know who I am?
Of course we do, we know who you are
Then they blew off his head when he was still in the car (Dylan)

had to open with a reference to the news of the day 59 years ago, as only Mr Dylan could.

turn on your TV any evening or weekend and watch some sports on the tube and some self-righteous windbag announcer will get on his soap box and preach down to the masses.... he will tell you how nobody believed in so and so.....how these heroes overcame hardship or those annoying off the field distractions ( that's code for DUI's, domestic assaults, paternity suits etc etc) how nobody works harder or wants to win more than player A, B, C or whomever is next on the depth chart...superfluous nonsense...they will share these profiles in courage so often that they lose their meaning.

Yesterday in the World of Sports there were some real profiles in Courage....took a few seconds for it to register with me as i was working and watching....but as they played the Iranian National Anthem before the match with England, the Iranian players stood stone faced, emotionless and refused to sing. They remained silent in solidarity with their countrymen and women back home who are protesting nightly against the Regime. They basically signed their own death warrants, it was later reported that the Government run Iranian TV had blocked the anthem from being shown on state TV. (Hopefully somehow word got through to the protesters) I would hate for these actions to go unnoticed by the masses.   As for the players? i suppose they can try to defect, but i doubt they are safe in Quatar...or they can return home to certain persecution, hard labor for life and possibly even death. In case you have not heard a young woman was killed while in police custody this summer for the crime of not wearing a head scarfe. The Nation of Iran has been taking to the streets to protest nightly and the US media has largely ignored it. The Regime of our biggest international threat is on the ropes and our State Dept can't even issue a message of hope to the Freedom protesters....but hey we did nothing for the Canadian Truckers, the Venezuelan uprising and the last time Iran rose up during the Arab spring....apparently the land of the free doesn't have the stomach to support Freedom anymore.....ask Honk Kong or Taiwan if you aren't sure.

but come saturday we'll hear the gut wrenching tale of some defensive lineman who has heroically been able to sack quaterbacks despite being arrested for throwing his pregnant girlfriend down a flight of stairs , ......nobody wants to win more......NOBODY i say.

Air Force One coming in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at two thirty-eight
Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel
It is what it is and it’s murder most foul