There Are No More Borders -- John Kerry -- May 8, 2016; Soccer Madness -- Nothing About The Bakken

Updates

Later, 11:26 p.m. Central Time:  now that there no more borders we can do away with passports and passport control at JFK, LAX, DFW, and ISN, I suppose. For 36 other dumbest things ever said, click here.
 

Original Post

 

I would imagine that John Kerry's argument that in the future there will be no walls and using technology as an analogy, we should dispense with "userid" and "passwords."

A "physical wall" paid for by Mexico on "our" southern border may or may not be the answer but certainly a country that does not have an interest in controlling its borders is probably asking for a bit of trouble.

The Washingon Examiner is reporting John Kerry's remarks.

The bigger question is when John Kerry will suggest that US airports with arriving international flights plan on eliminating "passport control."

The fact that "we" still require passports at international airports here in the US suggests that the flood of immigrants coming from Mexico is much less than the number of folks who would simply fly in if there were no passport controls. It would be fun to see the numbers, but to be honest, I'm not exactly sure why we even bother with passport checks any more. It reminds me of the gun issue. If we outlaw handguns only criminals will have handguns. The analogy doesn't work perfectly but the gun issue still reminds me of the passport issue now that John Kerry argues there are no more borders.

It also reminds me of the time my (then) eight-year-old younger daughter once asked me why there are locks on Wal-Mart doors when the sign says "open 24/7."

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Cinderella Finishing Her Chores

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Soccer Madness

I've mentioned numerous times that "they" really take sports seriously here in Texas. I thought I had seen it all until I saw "soccer madness" yesterday. There is so much to say but I will say little.

Suffice it to say that yesterday, our club hosted a 4v4 "Soccer Madness" tournament. This is something I had never seen before. It's sort of like "arena football."

All teams play on a small field, the size fields that toddlers play on, and players are as old as 18 years of age. The teams play with four players on the field. There appear to be three forwards and one defensive player. There is no goalie. The goal is the same size as the goal used by toddlers.

Each half is 12.5 minutes long. Once the ball is inside the arc in front of the goal the ball cannot be touched, and no player can play inside the arc in front of the goal.

Yesterday, in Richardton, north Dallas, at the University of Texas Dallas three hundred (300) local soccer teams came to play 4v4. Each team played three games. At the end of preliminary play, which ended about 5:00 p.m., teams were seeded for the championship round which began at 6:00 p.m.

Our granddaughter's team did not advance but that did not bother her enthusiasm at all. Regardless, she had an "end-of-season" soccer party to go to as part of yet another league as soon as the last game at "Soccer Madness" was over. It never ends.

Outside the play area -- some 20 fields, I suppose, the 300 teams congregated under their individual tents.

The first video is of "tent city" to give you an idea of what the area looked like.



It was a day of family fun. The games did not "count toward" any season standings [update: my daughter tells me the games DO count toward season standings, and the top 4v4 teams will be invited for the 3v3 tournament]. In addition to the games, there would be a jersey competition. Teams were encouraged to come in specially-designed outfits for the game. The second video shows an example:



This is a short clip of the second game. You can probably guess which is our granddaughter -- in specially designed "camo" tops:



This is a brief glimpse of our daughter and granddaughter in their "camo" outfits and under the tent:



And finally, some other entertainment for those waiting for their next game: