THE SHOW NOTES: Israel Invades, Biden's Strike Problem & Iran's Imminent Strike on Israel.

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HEADLINE: Harris silent on private prisons after past calls to close them - Axios

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HISTORY: The Detroit Lions quarterback had a history-making game last night. - CNN

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Being me and what I do can sometimes be taxing. It would be far easier to just go with the flow, pick a side and tribe, and cater to it. But that’s not me so I get blown up by Trump supporters for insufficient loyalty, by readers here for daring to point out the flaws in both sides, and by the left for daring to defend or even sometimes praise Donald Trump. But the data is the data.

I found I’m the number one mid-day radio show in Atlanta for three straight months — the summer book, which is hard to do in talk radio and harder when the Braves are on a roll. I’m not just the most listened to show mid-day, but the most listened to for the key 25-54 demographic, not just with men. The moral of the story is that in the seventh largest radio market in the United States, a guy with a face for radio and a voice for print, can sustain a diverse audience just by saying what he thinks without the need to adhere to tribal loyalty.  And the thanks goes to many of you who listen regularly. Perhaps the powers that be in talk radio nationally will note that one need not go all MAGA for success. 

Israel Invades

Israel has begun a targeted invasion of Lebanon as it sets out to eliminate infrastructure that is critical to Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel’s northern cities. For the first time since 2006, an Israeli military division with about 10,000 members crossed its northern border and ordered civilians to evacuate dozens of southern Lebanese towns.

US officials have differing views as to whether this will be the limited operation that Israel suggests or if the IDF will continue its push into Lebanon. Biden gave a perplexing answer when asked about Israel’s operation stating, "I'm more aware than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now." What?

While Israel has more battle-tested soldiers than ever in its history, invading Lebanon poses a significantly different set of challenges than they faced in Gaza. While Gaza is pancake flat, Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is marked with rugged terrain that Israel has not set foot in since 2006. Despite Hezbollah’s depleted military resources, the Iran-backed group has a “massive arsenal of rockets, drones, and antitank missiles” according to The Wall Street Journal (paywall).

BREAKING: US intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile at Israel. A senior White House official told CNN, “We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”

Strike

Nearly 50,000 dockworkers have gone on strike at key ports across the United States for the first time in 50 years. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association left their posts at 14 ports as talks stalled before their labor contract expired on Monday night.

The union rejected USMX’s offer which raised pay by 50%, increased healthcare options, and tripped the employer’s contribution to pension plans.

The strike will first impact time-sensitive imports like food but could quickly halt one-third of all exports and imports costing the US economy 4.5 billion per week. If the strike is not resolved, more than 100,000 people could find themselves out of work according to Oxford Economics.

The Biden administration has a problem. The pro-union President could enact an 80-day cooling-off period which would force everyone back to work but would risk alienating members of the Democrats’ labor coalition less than 45 days before an election. But apparently, the Biden team is “not very focused on that” according to their Commerce Secretary.

Contrastingly, the union boss has been focused on that…

Tweet of the year?

WSJ: Is a Super League Coming for College Football?

On Tuesday, a group of disruptive sports executives unveiled their radical pitch for a reimagined top tier of Division I football. And it’s less a series of subtle tweaks than a full-scale factory reset. 

The group, spearheaded by Len Perna, the chief executive of executive search firm TurnkeyZRG, and former Major League Soccer deputy commissioner Mark Abbott, calls itself “College Sports Tomorrow.” And their plan is to unify the more than 130 teams that compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision into one nationwide competition.

The College Student Football League would be split into two tiers, with different divisions based on geography. The top 72 programs would be split into 12 six-team divisions, with the remaining 64 spread across eight divisions in a lower tier. Teams in the top tier would play 13 games, with the best performers in one season receiving the toughest opponents the next. 

Historic rivalries would be given preference for non-divisional games. (Perna, a Michigan alum, ensured that the Wolverines would still play Ohio State annually even though the schools would be in different divisions.) There would be no true promotion or relegation, though the top teams in the lower tier would compete for two berths in the 24-team playoff and receive additional funds. 

Full story at The Wall Street Journal (paywall).

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