Sunday Morning Coming Down

These analogies were used in describing the parties involved the gun control debate.  Sheep, those without guns, wolves, those who commit gun violence, and sheepdogs, those who have guns to protect the sheep. This is an argument that is probably overly simplified and does not explain the Senate's inability to pass more extensive background check legislation. Wolves in sheep's clothes get a free pass too often these days.

Last night at about 7:45 pm I was listening to the Miami Marlins baseball game on the radio and looking at Deadspin on my Kindle.  The color guy might have been doing the same thing as he announced that this was the 30th anniversary of an infamous Lee Elia rant after a Cubs loss that left them 5-14.  Curious, I listened to the link. I never heard the rant 30 years ago.  There may have been more artful use of profanity by a coach or manager, but I was impressed by the sheer volume of his cursing. Back in the day, Cub fans only played day games in Wrigley, I think his bitching about fans, who he thought only attended games because they were unemployed was particularly "inspired".  Needless to say he had to apologize and was ultimately fired in August. The Marlins won last night, beating the Mets 4-3 in 15 innings. Age impaired adults (55 and older) will be admitted free to Marlin home games on Thursdays this season. 

The process of immigration reform is starting in Congress.  I wrote this in 2010 after some pretty brutal exchanges with Internet folks, and a column by Mary Sanchez in the Miami Herald.  Lots of things have happened since then but my feelings have not changed by much.   Reform is more than just the current enforcement of the laws on the books. It will require some changes that make clear what our immigration policy is and some agreement on how that will help build the country and the people who want to come here. Posting a notice on the border to just stay home as suggested by some won't work and they know it. Stepping up efforts to identify and deport everyone here illegally won't work and they know it. More efforts to identify and deport illegal aliens that are involved in serious criminal behavior is needed. Blaming immigrants who cover illegals and legals for the high cost of food stamps, public assistance, exploding medical care and filling our prisons and fa...

Next door to each other on Cable this evening we have the Miami Marlins and the Miami Heat.  I doubt there could be a bigger contrast between sports franchises in a city.  Both teams are playing at home.  I'm positive that there will be more people watching the Heat at the Triple AAA, than there are fans watching the game at Marlin Park. The Heat will be defending their championship in the playoffs and the Marlins will be wandering around in the wilderness trying to attract crowds with fireworks on Fridays, and there will be deals for people who can't afford pricey basketball tickets. I like baseball.  I have plans to attend a few games in person this year.  My expectations for baseball in Miami have never been lower. As a lifelong Cub fan I'm amused that the latest owner thinks that a $500 million improvement plan will all but guarantee a World Series victory.  The owner of the Marlins did not go so far as to guarantee a world s...

The bombing of the finish line at the Boston Marathon was terrible.  The reaction of the caregivers was heroic.  It could have been much worse casualty wise.  I have the impression that while this act of terror happened, the American People, are handling the tragedy better.  The old geezer that got knocked down by the blast, got up, and has probably gone out for a jog since the race.  As a person who finished a marathon, (a long time ago) I guess that there were folks that were relieved to get a DNF(did not finish) and there were others that were down right pissed off that the race was stopped and they were not allowed to finish.  A lot of training goes into preparing to run two, three, or four hours and many marathoners are in their own little worlds while running, and especially at the end of a race like Boston. I doubt that this will be the last act of terrorism we will experience.  When I go to a public event, I will be a li...

For one of the first times in my life I have some sympathy for professional golfers.  During the second round of the Masters, he took a drop that might have benefited him.  Initially this made no difference to the officials, however after a viewer called in.  Tapes were reviewed and Tiger's post round interview was parsed. It was determined that "the drop" was too far away from the original place the ball landed.  Except for the fact the PGA originally found the drop to be OK and Tiger was found to be in violation of the rule only after he explained his actions, he was assessed a two stroke penalty. In the past the PGA might have disqualified Tiger for signing an incorrect card, but the new rule which gives players a reprieve from viewer complaints that may not be acted on until after the players has signed the card and is not aware of the violation. Sometimes there has been drama, when players penalize themselves, or when they take their medicine for signing a...

Two A list entertainers visit Havana and a famous blogger from Havana visits Miami and on a third front a couple kidnaps their own children, hop on a sail boat and go about 320 miles from Florida's west coast to the Hemingway Marina in Cuba. In Miami, these three stories make the front page of the front page of The Miami Herald. Beyonce and J Zee ignite inquiries from local politicians about possibly breaking the trade embargo with Cuba that does not allow most Americans to visit Cuba as tourists.  Cultural, educational, or humanitarian visits are allowed, but in practice unless you are a former Cuban refugee visiting family, the process is complicated and still expensive. While BJZ are visiting the island, Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban dissadent blogger of note with a lot of followers is visiting Miami and visits the Miami Herald editorial board, Miami Dade College and local supporters.  I'm surprised the the Cuban government has allowed her to travel as mu...

Margaret Thatcher died at age 87.  Most of the major news outlets made this a big deal.  I'm sure it is a big deal in Great Britain, but is probably being over done in the US.  She certainly caused a big fuss in London, but all the talk about being a soul mate of President Reagan is over the top. As a matter of culture Annette Funicello, probably had a bigger impact in the US.  I'm sure the mass media will catch up.  I bet the Mouseketeer of my youth will be bigger on Facebook than the Iron Lady.

88,000 jobs created in the U.S. and the unemployment rate drops to 7.6%, was the headline on the jobs front yesterday.  Also in the report, labor market participation has dropped to 63.3%.  It seems clear that there are people that have dropped out of the labor market and that possibly the growth in labor market participation has stopped and there may be a new "normal" statistically. One factor in the growth of labor market participation has been women joining the workforce in numbers that are similar to men.  Two income families are not exceptional these days.  This has not always been the case.  It also seems that younger workers between the ages of 16-24 are entering the labor market at an older age and are more likely to stop looking for work when unemployment rates are high.  Older workers above 55 may continue to work later in life because they can, must, or because of social connections. The reporting regarding labor market participation has some...

Mike Rice was just fired from his job as Rutgers' Men's Basketball Coach.  Videos were taken of him throwing basketballs and verbally taking shots at players.  The guy could have used some anger management classes.  In the arc of things, the coaching method he was observed and photographed using are out of date and ineffective.  Bobby Knight, coaching legend at Indiana was fired for his outbursts and coaching methods which are now viewed as abusive. I wonder how many other coaches out there still act like cavemen and their behavior is excused by the administration because of past success.

I did not see Kevin Ware break his leg.  Just because you don't see something, it doesn't mean you missed it.  I have a twelve year old in my house that saw the replay on the Internet and wanted to show it to anyone that would watch.  She does not watch sports on TV and I had to assert TV ownership to watch the UM play in the NCAA Tournament.  I have avoided watching replays of the break and was surprised that Louisville won after that happened. I appreciate that CBS in retrospect wishes it had not shown the replay. Sporting events can be dangerous and there probably should be protocols followed when accidents and disasters are recorded live.  Watching disasters live and then in slow motion may have a forensic purpose but they should not be a form of entertainment. It's been asserted that fans of NASCAR come to see crashes, maybe but I doubt that they want to see drivers killed or injured.  Similarly, I think football fans like big hits, but...