The rabid Republican fascist "religious" minority are gleeful to have made law that causes needless suffering and deaths of American women, forced births by 10-year-old little girls and forced births by the victims of rapists. They exhibit the worst immorality imaginable while parading around as "good Christians."
So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the PGA was not detered from joining forces with the Saudi LIV Golf League, even though it is backed by money from a country that sponsored the 9/11 terrorist assassins and a hit team who murdered and dismembered a Saudi journalist and contributing writer for The Washington Post. And even though just one year ago, the PGA alluded directly to the terrible things the Saudis had done to America and was "at war' with LIV. Money and power clearly trampled over morality again.
So tonight, it should not have shocked me that some business experts in public relations and related areas who appeared on Stephanie Ruhl's MSNBC Show, as well as sports writers in a few publications, talked about golfers like Phil Mickelson, who left the PGA Tour last year to make more money from the Saudis, as todays "Winners." They went on to say that golfers like Tiger Woods, who stayed with the PGA Tour this past year instead of taking what amounted to an 800 million dollar bribe to join LIV, were "the Losers." But I was shocked.
Right out of the gate, these business and sports professionals are identifying winners and losers of today's announced merger by who grabbed the most money once the dust settled. Not one of them talked about morality, the Saudi murder of innocents in America, terrorism or the virtue of taking a principled, ethical stand against monsters.
I just want to apologize to the many people who lost loved ones on 9/11, to the former fiance and many friends of Jamal Khashoggi, and to any Americans who have suffered because of the murderous Saudi regime. America deserves much better than this disgusting and disgraceful takeover of an admired American sports institution by a barbaric country seeking to whitewash it's bloody reputation at the expense of the American people and the reputation of America. What the PGA did is shameful and outrageous.
Winning and losing should never be evaluated on money alone. Mickelson may have gotten a lot of money but he lost all of his sponsors and most importantly his endorsements, reputation and many of his fans.
Like me! I tangentially pay attention, my partner loved watching golf on tv which he no longer does because cable isn't worth the money. I long ago decided I like Mickelson, but he lost me last year.
I had the opportunity to meet and work with Mickelson for many years and he is a smart and personable individual but has a serious gambling problem which has cost him millions and his defection to the Saudi’s golf tour was based purely on money and his recognition he is in the twilight of his career and big paydays are a thing of the past.
Thank you, stephen. That is a sad situation for Mickelson that helped give the Saudi's a big foothold into American golf. It reminds me of baseball player Pete Rose, another personable and talented athelete who got in trouble for gambling. And it made me wonder how long Mickelson's $200 million from LIV would last. That huge payday could disappear surprisingly fast if he hasn't made some big changes in his habits.
For the record he never participated in insider trading and was never charged and he did not benefit the way someone with insider trading would. His association with Billy Walters a professional gambler who traded in Dean Foods stock and made a bundle. Mickelson traded in Dean Foods stock also but his information was not insider trading and his association with Walters made him an easy target as well as his reputation as a gambler
But the golf sponsors had the PGA to redirect money for sponsorship. Will those golf sponsors abandon the golf world entirely? I say NO! Money will win that decision.
Not just real estate, but the ability to travel to the U.S. (at will?) and have access to all kinds of individuals unrelated to golf, with a plausible excuse for being here.
We need to also add the 2 billion dollar investment in Kushner businesses to the list of mistakes the Saudis made. Who knows what Kushner did to "earn" that money. I wouldn't put anything past him.
Everything that trump touches dies, the PGA Tour will be no different. As a former competitive college golfer, and long time follower of the Tour, I will happily not tune into future tournament broadcasts. I have never watched an LIV event. If I were a player, like Tiger or Rory, I would pack my sticks and head to play in R&A and European events. Shame on the PGA. Here is to hoping their executive board does the right thing and kills this deal.
The European Tour is part of the deal…sorry. The only tournaments not owned by the Tour are the Opens, the Masters and, yes, the PGA Championship, owned by the PGA, not the PGA Tour.
The players who oppose this despicable deal should enter the tournaments, win them, and use their bully pulpit to speak out against the Saudis, the Tour, the defectors, and Trump until the Tour tries to muzzle them or ban them.
Thank you, Robert, for making the PGA/LIV merger the lead for Today's Edition Newsletter. I wondered whether anyone would care enough to pursue the story. How can people be so heartless/cruel. Two things while I try to keep my emotions in check: Americans need to pursue green energy in earnest. Americans need to vote Democrats in office everywhere.
My old dog no longer can differentiate outdoors from indoors & so he poops on my favorite rug. That’s what the Saudi government did to my favorite sport. its called Capitalism. LIV (Saudis) NRA (U.S.) & it’s the same poop: profits over people.
911 was the turning point of our country’s credibility , when Neo conservatives put their focus on Iraq versus facing the those with the real responsibility. Imagine had we not invaded Iraq but demanded real accountability from Saudi.
See “Against All Enemies”, book by Richard Clarke! Clarke was a top Bush Jr. national security staffer, expert on middle east terrorism, on hand *in the White House* at the time of the 9/11 attacks. He helped a frightened VP Cheney into the WH bunker.
Clarke and the other Middle East national security experts immediately recognized the 9/11 attacks as bearing Al Qaeda’s fingerprints, and had warned of imminent danger *before* 9/11. Clarke immediately fingered Al Qaeda as the attackers and said so forcefully, right away. However, almost as soon as VP Cheney emerged from the White House bunker on 9/11 (Dubya was away on official travel), he declared that Saddam’s Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks. So huge was Cheney’s power and influence in the White House, that his unfounded assertions became official dogma and policy.
And so, abetted by Democratic congressional political cowardice, Republicans steamrolled the US into going to war with Iraq.
P.S. – If you can stomach a brilliant account of the Iraq War and incompetent occupation, read “Fiasco”, by Tom Ricks.
As always, thank you, Robert, for providing news, context, and perspective. Speaking of Saudi Arabia, has anyone ever explained how on 9/11 the bin Laden family was allowed to fly out of the US while all other flights were grounded or not allowed into US air space? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it seems evident that somebody in government knew enough about their family's link to the terrorist attack to let the family flee.
Hey, Laurie. The bin Laden family fled the US three days after air traffic re-opened. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bin-laden-family-evacuated/ But they were placed under FBI protection during the period before they left---so your point stands.
The bin Laden family were friends of the Bushes. "W" saw to their safe exit. If I recall they were investors in Florida real estate and Jeb was the governor. Never underestimate the $ friendships of oily-garchs. IMO, we cannot divest ourselves from fossil fuels soon enough. I always thought it was strange that "W" went to war with Afghanistan to "get" Osama bin Laden, but never did, yet brought destruction to that country and never impugned Saudi Arabia.
Let’s do whatever we can to continue to put pressure on corporations who support this outrageous merger of the PGA and LIV. Thank you, Robert, for leading with this story and exposing Saudi’s murdering mischief.
My memory of the post 9/11 flight of Saudis was that they were royals, that the Bush family had close connections to them because of the oil business. So, Trump wasn’t the only former U.S. President to have ties to that kingdom.
I am simply appalled for young athletes coming up in golf and all those who love the game to see it tainted in this way. I hope someone, somewhere is starting a competing organization.
I must remind people that the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. has had a ginormous acred spread in Northern Virginia for decades. He might as well be American at this point.
I call your readers' attention to the New Yorker: May 8th, The Fugitive Princess: Fleeing Dubai's Royal Family. You will quickly see that when protecting the racing horses or business transactions of United Arab Emirates versus the protection of seriously abused women, business wins every time.
Thanks for featuring a great analysis of the PGA sellout. I missed most of the commentary yesterday because I was working the polls for NJ's primaries (in my retirement, I've become a poll dancer). I was impressed last year when the PGA took its stand against turncoat golfers, and puzzled as some outcasts were seemingly back on tour this year (I don't know that to be the case, but it crossed my mind as I watched a couple of tournaments on TV). PGA's reversal has lost me as an interested bystander, and I won't be watching any more of their self-destruction.
I like your term, "sports-washing," as an apt synonym to "money laundering," which I think I may have heard in passing on MSNBC. It's amazing how sports entertainment and illicit or immoral behavior sometimes seem related in a Sodom and Gomorrah sort of way. Maybe professional golf deserves to suffer the same fate.
This week's comments from Robert's able keyboard (alas, typewriters are now in museums) make it clear that America's corporations will justify anti-American conduct in their Board rooms and shareholder meetings in a hot minute if there is money to be made. And they know which party butters their bread.
Support LGBTQ in the public marketplace but appease the anti-gay political forces with large donations to the worst of them, no matter if they are out to injure the LGBTQ persons who they publicly support.
And those same corporations seem to forget what happened on 9/11 and the murder and dismemberment of an American journalist. If there are profits to be made, the color green covers the blood.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that the laws governing corporations puts the dollar ahead of all else. The notion of shareholder interests created a Frankenstein monster wearing an American flag, a monster whose animation is impossible to see.
A win for the embattled Trump. More riches to flow into the corrupt coffers of Kushner/Trump thanks to fellow gangster leader of Saudi Arabia. Great analysis but you did not mention what the prince had gotten from Trump/Kushner that inspired his generous gifts: Arms and nuclear technology during the Trump regime were reported in the major media at the time. Why isn’t the Senate looking into all of this? Why does a country with 365 days of sun and endless supply of oil need nuclear technology? To build an alternative energy source? I doubt it.
"U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday."
Robert: Your review and commentary on the latest plan in the professional golf world makes me wonder if there are other golfers out there who would be interested in creating a competitive golf association . In particular, why not develop and create the PMGA--i.e.--Professional Miniature Golf Association ? Requires only one club, no carts or caddie, not even any grass! There are hundreds of courses already available, and this could be international (perhaps excluding certain unfavorable countries). I wouldn't necessarily take this as a laughing matter. I have played and enjoyed the game of golf most of my life, and hope I may be able to stay with the sport, but perhaps in a modified form. Just a thought!
Money Trumps every other consideration. Everybody has their price I guess. I've never played golf, but I did n make a putt for Arnold Palmer once using his putter. After a second retirement at 78 I worked as an extra in the movies and TV for something to do in my old age, and occasionally fell into a little acting occasionally, but as an extra they sometimes cast you as a stand-in which I did a vouple of times, once for Ernest Borgnine in his last movie, and in Jerry Lewis's last movie as a stand-in for one of the other actors, anyway, I went to an audition one day as a they were doing an Arnold Palmer commercial for Xarelto and needed someone to stand in for him and as a body double for the long shots. So we did two days in Palm Springs and 3 days at his club at LaTrobe Pennsylvania. He could only work 4 hours a day as he had bad knees and on the last day of the shoot he'd already gone home and they needed one last shot with the camera on the ground filming the ball rolling in the hole. Somebody showed me how to hold the club but after a few arrempts no luck, but then I sunk the ball. However the camera wasn't rolling so a few more attempts, then I did it, about a 15 foot or so putt. In the commercial my blurry image quickly morphs into Arnold. In the long shots I was just driving the golf cart and walking a couple of times. The other players, Kevin Nealon and Brian Vickers (the race car driver) and later Chris Bosh, a basketball star. all were very nice, all had doubles as well. I have a neat photo of all of us. Arnold was really nice, he had a great sense of humor. He used to call me Arnie and once ran his golf cart really close to me and yelled "Get outta the way Arnie" so I yelled back. Hey, watch where you're goin' buddy :) I'm sure he's still playing golf, but in the heavenly realms now. . .
"...[a] constant reminder that American business is for sale at the right price...." Another way, perhaps, of saying limitless amorality, inhumanity, and depravity--?? Compare with Gen. Eisenhower - per Prof. HCR - on eve of Normandy landing in an unsent letter, paraphrased here, that if the invasion failed he bore full responsibility and he alone. Staggering.
On the story about golf (it was Mark Twain who called it a good walk spoiled), the cursory coverage I saw referred to a merger between the PGA and LIV, not a total sell-out. Thanks for clarifying. And I do hope that there will, at least, be some high-profile people walking away and castigating the deal for what it is. (My own relatively brief experience with golf ended when I hit a ball in the fairway and it landed three feet behind me. (A tree was involved.)).
Thanks for this link! I love quotes but only use them with proper attribution.
TLDR:
"In conclusion, the earliest citation was written by “a northern Gael”. The next two citations credited the quip to a “well-known jockey” and “the Allens”. The obscurity of these designations suggests that the provenance remains anonymous. The ascriptions to Mark Twain and William Gladstone are currently unsupported."
OMG, as a young adult my amateur-pro-father treated me to a day of golf. I was beyond clumsy, losing his respect forever. Only years later was I diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder which affects balance and stamina. The irony is it's genetic, so a faulty gene of his was the culprit. But I share your dismay, Jon.
The whole situation with LIV and the PGA Tour saddens me a lot. Coming from someone who is a lifelong golfer and fan, it really makes it harder to watch PGA Tour events now. I genuinely worry where the Saudis will turn to next for their next sportswashing project. This isn’t new for them, about a year ago the PIF tried to buy the Premier League, and the British government had to step in and stop it. Overall, it’s simply driven by greed, and the fact that Trump is involved in it just makes it worse.
I like golf. But I will watch that blood sport no more. It’s consigned to the same bin as CNN, labeled SELL-OUT. (P.S. I’ll keep playing golf, though.)
I'm in the exact same space you are MinnesotaLiberal I'll certainly keep playing a game I love (on public municipal courses) but the PGA is history to me. Fuck off you sell outs.
The rabid Republican fascist "religious" minority are gleeful to have made law that causes needless suffering and deaths of American women, forced births by 10-year-old little girls and forced births by the victims of rapists. They exhibit the worst immorality imaginable while parading around as "good Christians."
So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the PGA was not detered from joining forces with the Saudi LIV Golf League, even though it is backed by money from a country that sponsored the 9/11 terrorist assassins and a hit team who murdered and dismembered a Saudi journalist and contributing writer for The Washington Post. And even though just one year ago, the PGA alluded directly to the terrible things the Saudis had done to America and was "at war' with LIV. Money and power clearly trampled over morality again.
So tonight, it should not have shocked me that some business experts in public relations and related areas who appeared on Stephanie Ruhl's MSNBC Show, as well as sports writers in a few publications, talked about golfers like Phil Mickelson, who left the PGA Tour last year to make more money from the Saudis, as todays "Winners." They went on to say that golfers like Tiger Woods, who stayed with the PGA Tour this past year instead of taking what amounted to an 800 million dollar bribe to join LIV, were "the Losers." But I was shocked.
Right out of the gate, these business and sports professionals are identifying winners and losers of today's announced merger by who grabbed the most money once the dust settled. Not one of them talked about morality, the Saudi murder of innocents in America, terrorism or the virtue of taking a principled, ethical stand against monsters.
I just want to apologize to the many people who lost loved ones on 9/11, to the former fiance and many friends of Jamal Khashoggi, and to any Americans who have suffered because of the murderous Saudi regime. America deserves much better than this disgusting and disgraceful takeover of an admired American sports institution by a barbaric country seeking to whitewash it's bloody reputation at the expense of the American people and the reputation of America. What the PGA did is shameful and outrageous.
Winning and losing should never be evaluated on money alone. Mickelson may have gotten a lot of money but he lost all of his sponsors and most importantly his endorsements, reputation and many of his fans.
Like me! I tangentially pay attention, my partner loved watching golf on tv which he no longer does because cable isn't worth the money. I long ago decided I like Mickelson, but he lost me last year.
I had the opportunity to meet and work with Mickelson for many years and he is a smart and personable individual but has a serious gambling problem which has cost him millions and his defection to the Saudi’s golf tour was based purely on money and his recognition he is in the twilight of his career and big paydays are a thing of the past.
Thank you, stephen. That is a sad situation for Mickelson that helped give the Saudi's a big foothold into American golf. It reminds me of baseball player Pete Rose, another personable and talented athelete who got in trouble for gambling. And it made me wonder how long Mickelson's $200 million from LIV would last. That huge payday could disappear surprisingly fast if he hasn't made some big changes in his habits.
https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2023/06/06/pete-rose-gambled-10000-every-day-while-in-the-mlb/
golf would put me to sleep.
Then watch the poker channel.
Poker would also put me to sleep.
Mickelson lost me years ago when he got caught insider trading and bought his way out of it like all the rich guys do. Justice is for suckers….
For the record he never participated in insider trading and was never charged and he did not benefit the way someone with insider trading would. His association with Billy Walters a professional gambler who traded in Dean Foods stock and made a bundle. Mickelson traded in Dean Foods stock also but his information was not insider trading and his association with Walters made him an easy target as well as his reputation as a gambler
But the golf sponsors had the PGA to redirect money for sponsorship. Will those golf sponsors abandon the golf world entirely? I say NO! Money will win that decision.
They will support it outside of the PGA with other venues.
My Senator Jeff Merkeley condemned the PGA/LIV merger, raising the concern of Saudi Arabia getting access to US real estate.
Not just real estate, but the ability to travel to the U.S. (at will?) and have access to all kinds of individuals unrelated to golf, with a plausible excuse for being here.
Yikes, hadn't thought about the real estate angle. Kinda goes along with Chinese nationals buying up apartments/houses.
We need to also add the 2 billion dollar investment in Kushner businesses to the list of mistakes the Saudis made. Who knows what Kushner did to "earn" that money. I wouldn't put anything past him.
Everything that trump touches dies, the PGA Tour will be no different. As a former competitive college golfer, and long time follower of the Tour, I will happily not tune into future tournament broadcasts. I have never watched an LIV event. If I were a player, like Tiger or Rory, I would pack my sticks and head to play in R&A and European events. Shame on the PGA. Here is to hoping their executive board does the right thing and kills this deal.
The European Tour is part of the deal…sorry. The only tournaments not owned by the Tour are the Opens, the Masters and, yes, the PGA Championship, owned by the PGA, not the PGA Tour.
The players who oppose this despicable deal should enter the tournaments, win them, and use their bully pulpit to speak out against the Saudis, the Tour, the defectors, and Trump until the Tour tries to muzzle them or ban them.
Agreed. Shame on the PGA and the players who will now be playing for the murderous Saudis.
Thank you, Robert, for making the PGA/LIV merger the lead for Today's Edition Newsletter. I wondered whether anyone would care enough to pursue the story. How can people be so heartless/cruel. Two things while I try to keep my emotions in check: Americans need to pursue green energy in earnest. Americans need to vote Democrats in office everywhere.
My old dog no longer can differentiate outdoors from indoors & so he poops on my favorite rug. That’s what the Saudi government did to my favorite sport. its called Capitalism. LIV (Saudis) NRA (U.S.) & it’s the same poop: profits over people.
Pat, thank you for a chuckle while highlighting what I think is the largest chain hanging around America’s neck, CAPITALISM!
I would be more upset at the PGA for placing Saudi money over the drastic and fatal woes that Saudi Arabia has caused this country.
911 was the turning point of our country’s credibility , when Neo conservatives put their focus on Iraq versus facing the those with the real responsibility. Imagine had we not invaded Iraq but demanded real accountability from Saudi.
A challenging thought experiment. Saudi Arabia harbored/ignored/gave safe haven to al Qaeda for years before 9/11.
Yes incredible how this was ignored
See “Against All Enemies”, book by Richard Clarke! Clarke was a top Bush Jr. national security staffer, expert on middle east terrorism, on hand *in the White House* at the time of the 9/11 attacks. He helped a frightened VP Cheney into the WH bunker.
Clarke and the other Middle East national security experts immediately recognized the 9/11 attacks as bearing Al Qaeda’s fingerprints, and had warned of imminent danger *before* 9/11. Clarke immediately fingered Al Qaeda as the attackers and said so forcefully, right away. However, almost as soon as VP Cheney emerged from the White House bunker on 9/11 (Dubya was away on official travel), he declared that Saddam’s Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks. So huge was Cheney’s power and influence in the White House, that his unfounded assertions became official dogma and policy.
And so, abetted by Democratic congressional political cowardice, Republicans steamrolled the US into going to war with Iraq.
P.S. – If you can stomach a brilliant account of the Iraq War and incompetent occupation, read “Fiasco”, by Tom Ricks.
As always, thank you, Robert, for providing news, context, and perspective. Speaking of Saudi Arabia, has anyone ever explained how on 9/11 the bin Laden family was allowed to fly out of the US while all other flights were grounded or not allowed into US air space? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it seems evident that somebody in government knew enough about their family's link to the terrorist attack to let the family flee.
Hey, Laurie. The bin Laden family fled the US three days after air traffic re-opened. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bin-laden-family-evacuated/ But they were placed under FBI protection during the period before they left---so your point stands.
I always learn something new from you, Robert. Thanks for this info. And yes, the question remains: why did that family get FBI protection?
The bin Laden family were friends of the Bushes. "W" saw to their safe exit. If I recall they were investors in Florida real estate and Jeb was the governor. Never underestimate the $ friendships of oily-garchs. IMO, we cannot divest ourselves from fossil fuels soon enough. I always thought it was strange that "W" went to war with Afghanistan to "get" Osama bin Laden, but never did, yet brought destruction to that country and never impugned Saudi Arabia.
Let’s do whatever we can to continue to put pressure on corporations who support this outrageous merger of the PGA and LIV. Thank you, Robert, for leading with this story and exposing Saudi’s murdering mischief.
My memory of the post 9/11 flight of Saudis was that they were royals, that the Bush family had close connections to them because of the oil business. So, Trump wasn’t the only former U.S. President to have ties to that kingdom.
I am simply appalled for young athletes coming up in golf and all those who love the game to see it tainted in this way. I hope someone, somewhere is starting a competing organization.
The game of golf isn’t tainted, but the PGA Tour and its money-grubbing players sure are.
I must remind people that the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. has had a ginormous acred spread in Northern Virginia for decades. He might as well be American at this point.
Exactly! I just wrote the same regarding the Saudi-connection before seeing your comment. (Re: Betty Tong Tomita)
I call your readers' attention to the New Yorker: May 8th, The Fugitive Princess: Fleeing Dubai's Royal Family. You will quickly see that when protecting the racing horses or business transactions of United Arab Emirates versus the protection of seriously abused women, business wins every time.
thanks for the reference to the article. i will check it out.
That article made me ill.
About professional golf's completely conscience-free sell-out and acceptance of Saudi blood money:
While money doesn’t talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony
-- Bob Dylan, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
(with apologies to those who saw the same comment following a WaPo article)
Thanks for featuring a great analysis of the PGA sellout. I missed most of the commentary yesterday because I was working the polls for NJ's primaries (in my retirement, I've become a poll dancer). I was impressed last year when the PGA took its stand against turncoat golfers, and puzzled as some outcasts were seemingly back on tour this year (I don't know that to be the case, but it crossed my mind as I watched a couple of tournaments on TV). PGA's reversal has lost me as an interested bystander, and I won't be watching any more of their self-destruction.
I like your term, "sports-washing," as an apt synonym to "money laundering," which I think I may have heard in passing on MSNBC. It's amazing how sports entertainment and illicit or immoral behavior sometimes seem related in a Sodom and Gomorrah sort of way. Maybe professional golf deserves to suffer the same fate.
This week's comments from Robert's able keyboard (alas, typewriters are now in museums) make it clear that America's corporations will justify anti-American conduct in their Board rooms and shareholder meetings in a hot minute if there is money to be made. And they know which party butters their bread.
Support LGBTQ in the public marketplace but appease the anti-gay political forces with large donations to the worst of them, no matter if they are out to injure the LGBTQ persons who they publicly support.
And those same corporations seem to forget what happened on 9/11 and the murder and dismemberment of an American journalist. If there are profits to be made, the color green covers the blood.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that the laws governing corporations puts the dollar ahead of all else. The notion of shareholder interests created a Frankenstein monster wearing an American flag, a monster whose animation is impossible to see.
America nurtures the greed that injures America. It's a national autoimmune disease. :-)
A win for the embattled Trump. More riches to flow into the corrupt coffers of Kushner/Trump thanks to fellow gangster leader of Saudi Arabia. Great analysis but you did not mention what the prince had gotten from Trump/Kushner that inspired his generous gifts: Arms and nuclear technology during the Trump regime were reported in the major media at the time. Why isn’t the Senate looking into all of this? Why does a country with 365 days of sun and endless supply of oil need nuclear technology? To build an alternative energy source? I doubt it.
Good points. From Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-nuclear-idUSKCN1R82MG
"U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday."
Robert: Your review and commentary on the latest plan in the professional golf world makes me wonder if there are other golfers out there who would be interested in creating a competitive golf association . In particular, why not develop and create the PMGA--i.e.--Professional Miniature Golf Association ? Requires only one club, no carts or caddie, not even any grass! There are hundreds of courses already available, and this could be international (perhaps excluding certain unfavorable countries). I wouldn't necessarily take this as a laughing matter. I have played and enjoyed the game of golf most of my life, and hope I may be able to stay with the sport, but perhaps in a modified form. Just a thought!
Ed Cherlin
Money Trumps every other consideration. Everybody has their price I guess. I've never played golf, but I did n make a putt for Arnold Palmer once using his putter. After a second retirement at 78 I worked as an extra in the movies and TV for something to do in my old age, and occasionally fell into a little acting occasionally, but as an extra they sometimes cast you as a stand-in which I did a vouple of times, once for Ernest Borgnine in his last movie, and in Jerry Lewis's last movie as a stand-in for one of the other actors, anyway, I went to an audition one day as a they were doing an Arnold Palmer commercial for Xarelto and needed someone to stand in for him and as a body double for the long shots. So we did two days in Palm Springs and 3 days at his club at LaTrobe Pennsylvania. He could only work 4 hours a day as he had bad knees and on the last day of the shoot he'd already gone home and they needed one last shot with the camera on the ground filming the ball rolling in the hole. Somebody showed me how to hold the club but after a few arrempts no luck, but then I sunk the ball. However the camera wasn't rolling so a few more attempts, then I did it, about a 15 foot or so putt. In the commercial my blurry image quickly morphs into Arnold. In the long shots I was just driving the golf cart and walking a couple of times. The other players, Kevin Nealon and Brian Vickers (the race car driver) and later Chris Bosh, a basketball star. all were very nice, all had doubles as well. I have a neat photo of all of us. Arnold was really nice, he had a great sense of humor. He used to call me Arnie and once ran his golf cart really close to me and yelled "Get outta the way Arnie" so I yelled back. Hey, watch where you're goin' buddy :) I'm sure he's still playing golf, but in the heavenly realms now. . .
"...[a] constant reminder that American business is for sale at the right price...." Another way, perhaps, of saying limitless amorality, inhumanity, and depravity--?? Compare with Gen. Eisenhower - per Prof. HCR - on eve of Normandy landing in an unsent letter, paraphrased here, that if the invasion failed he bore full responsibility and he alone. Staggering.
First, my money is on an indictment tomorrow.
On the story about golf (it was Mark Twain who called it a good walk spoiled), the cursory coverage I saw referred to a merger between the PGA and LIV, not a total sell-out. Thanks for clarifying. And I do hope that there will, at least, be some high-profile people walking away and castigating the deal for what it is. (My own relatively brief experience with golf ended when I hit a ball in the fairway and it landed three feet behind me. (A tree was involved.)).
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/28/golf-good-walk/
Thanks for this link! I love quotes but only use them with proper attribution.
TLDR:
"In conclusion, the earliest citation was written by “a northern Gael”. The next two citations credited the quip to a “well-known jockey” and “the Allens”. The obscurity of these designations suggests that the provenance remains anonymous. The ascriptions to Mark Twain and William Gladstone are currently unsupported."
Details! Details!
Damned trees! Can't trust 'em on a golf course.
Thanks for that funny story. I needed a laugh today 😊
OMG, as a young adult my amateur-pro-father treated me to a day of golf. I was beyond clumsy, losing his respect forever. Only years later was I diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder which affects balance and stamina. The irony is it's genetic, so a faulty gene of his was the culprit. But I share your dismay, Jon.
The whole situation with LIV and the PGA Tour saddens me a lot. Coming from someone who is a lifelong golfer and fan, it really makes it harder to watch PGA Tour events now. I genuinely worry where the Saudis will turn to next for their next sportswashing project. This isn’t new for them, about a year ago the PIF tried to buy the Premier League, and the British government had to step in and stop it. Overall, it’s simply driven by greed, and the fact that Trump is involved in it just makes it worse.
I like golf. But I will watch that blood sport no more. It’s consigned to the same bin as CNN, labeled SELL-OUT. (P.S. I’ll keep playing golf, though.)
I'm in the exact same space you are MinnesotaLiberal I'll certainly keep playing a game I love (on public municipal courses) but the PGA is history to me. Fuck off you sell outs.