John Pappano

There have been two days in NBA history, spanning 80 years, where at least nine games were played with an average margin of victory being at least 24 points. Only two such days. In 80 years. One was yesterday. The other was Sunday.

Sorry Jonah. I actually sat in the room for the first half of the movie. For 24 polite years, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama diplomatically asked NATO members to increase defense spending. For 24 years, it was one excuse after another, all focused in Western Europe on how they wish they could spend more, but their social welfare spending priorities wouldn’t let them. In other words, you the US will spend on defense and protect us. Along comes rude Donald Trump. Finally, someone made clear that if Europe kept freeloading the US was done. It took a bill in the China shop to move Europe. Diplomacy failed. Trump prevailed. That’s reality whether you or I like it. NATO self-withered after 75 years. If Spain, England, Italy and France won’t spend what’s necessary to have a real military, it’s time for something new.

When this is over, the western part of NATO will never be the same. Spain, England, France and Italy have sold us out, as they too often have a history of doing. Eastern European nations are the heart of NATO. They spend money on defense, know how to fight and love the US. France particularly deserves fault and blame. From supporting China and Russia at the UN to denying Americans overflight rights, they’re doing what they’ve always done - showing weakness, while cutting deals with terrorists. (The reason the US has a Marine Corps and Navy is unlike France, we refused to pay a ransom to the Barbary Pirates. France is always happy to cut a deal.) Wars have unintended consequences as nations show their true colors. NATO will never be the same, and Western European weakness and acquiescence is the cause.

It’s an instant classic.

$1.5 trillion for bombs, but nothing for health care.

Trump didn’t announce a withdrawal from NATO in his national address

I share the president’s frustrations with certain European countries — and their unwillingness to support America against common enemies —but a U.S. withdrawal from NATO would be a catastrophic mistake.

“I don’t care about what the law says, it’s mean”

Trump: “We’ll be leaving very soon… what happens in [Hormuz] we’ll have nothing to do with” Other countries can “fend for themselves” if they want gas or oil from the Persian Gulf.

BREAKING Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US "is going to have to reexamine" its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran has concluded

FCC Chair: Trump is winning. Look at the results—PBS and NPR defunded. Joy Reid, Sleepy-Eyed Chuck Todd, Jim Acosta, John Dickerson are gone. Colbert is leaving. CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough CNN will have new ownership as well.

I still can’t believe the Washington Post ran a story all-but-accusing the US of dropping land mines from the air into random locations in Iran, based on reporting from the “Reason2Resist” podcast and Iran’s state news agency. Extraordinarily irresponsible.

Zelensky toured the Gulf, visiting Qatar and the UAE, and signed a 10-year defense cooperation deal in Doha.