Tories to Refuse to Ask EU for Brexit Extension + NFL Week 1

The Brexit news this morning is that parliament will be suspended this evening after the "no crash out" bill becomes law and Johnson's second attempt at snap elections is defeated. Parliament will not return until October 14. The press is now floating the idea that Johnson will refuse to ask the European Union for an extension as the new law mandates, or that he will formally make the request but attach a side letter outlining the government's rejection of that request.

Yves Smith, without any acknowledgement that she underestimated the potency of the opposition and the canniness of Jeremy Corbyn, still thinks, that Boris Johnson is in the driver's seat: "So while the Brexiteers have made lots of own goals, and Johnson is entirely capable of scoring more, it is too soon to write them off for dead." This despite continuing defections from his cabinet and internal polling that shows the Tories headed for another poor election performance.

At this point I think Johnson's only hope is an assist from Emmanuel Macron and a French refusal to allow for another Brexit extension. It's a possibility but a remote one.

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The first week of the National Foot League's centennial season began on Thursday with a horrible game in Chicago between the Bears and the Packers. Green Bay upset Chicago. I watched maybe a quarter of the game, switching back and forth between it and Amazon Prime's "The Boys." Mitch Trubisky did not look good.

Having an injured a calf muscle that made walking to and from the kitchen difficult, a Sunday of immobility in front of the television was about all I was capable of. That's what the NFL is really all about -- pacification, consumption. At least in the first game, Rams vs. Carolina, another lackluster match-up, I learned that Cam Newton has gone vegan; too bad it didn't improve his play, which, like Trubisky's, was flat. Los Angeles won more easily than the score would reflect.

The afternoon game was another spiritless affair, with the hometown Seahawks receiving a gift from the gods in the form of a one-point win over the improved Cincinnati Bengals. Seattle looked terrible.

I didn't waste much time with the Sunday night game, a blowout of the Pittsburgh Steelers by the defending Super Bowl champ New England Patriots. I saw one Patriots offensive series -- Brady making short passes which gashed the Steelers defense -- and that's all I needed.

Last year NFL ratings rebounded after a two-year precipitous decline. My prediction for the 2019 season? Television viewership will resume its descent.