Sunday Morning Coming Down

He's won the election, he's really rich, has a big house and he has had a trophy wife x three.

In high school I played golf on the high school team.  I wasn't very talented but I liked the game back then.  I worked at a golf course near my house.  The money I made helped pay for a part of my college education.  I washed dishes, sold hot dogs, cooked hamburgers, learned how to cook eggs, stocked the bar, cleaned toilets, made sure golf carts were charged, shined shoes, and did other tasks.  I got to play golf for free.  Eventually, I got a letter for playing golf, it took me four years, I got it for being a member of the team, not because I was any good.  I learned a lot at the golf course This afternoon I read a story in the Washington Post, in which Rory McIlroy attempted to defend playing a round of golf with President Trump.  I have some sympathy for his plight.  If I had been invited to play a round of golf with President Trump, I would have asked how much it was going to cost me, including the cart.  I would have bought som...

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami was the site of a faux town hall meeting with Senator Marco Rubio R-FL.  The "church/sanctuary" was rented by a third party that needed a place to have their event.  If you looked at Facebook notices you might have thought that Senator Rubio was going to attend this town hall.  Lots of folks were interested in attending the meeting, fewer were actually going but as a dues paying (pledging) member of the congregation I know that the average Sunday attendance would be dwarfed by the number of folks attending the Thursday  night meeting. By all reports the group was well behave and the meeting found its way to the 11:00 PM news.  The group filled the Church/ Sanctuary which was rated to hold 180 souls safely.  The overflow crowd spilled outside and the doors were opened so that nobody would miss what happened inside.  An estimated 300 people showed up.  I think a lot of folks probably drove by, and p...

There has been a lot reported about raucous town hall meetings after the election of President Trump.  Similarly, there were raucous town hall meetings after the election of President Obama. I don't really think there is a lot of similarity between the Tea Party in 2009 and a lot of the folks protesting in 2017. This is about politics for sure but on another level it is an attempt to remind those that serve in elected political office that they work for and represent everybody statewide or in their district. Sometimes folks that haven't voted for a while will come out and vote and we all know how that can turn out.  It could also temper party discipline in a way that may be good for the system. 

The new Secretary of Education is Betsy DeVos.  She has given out lots of money supporting various politicians and political campaigns.  Senator Marco Rubio, Senate Republican from Florida  has received about $98,000 from the DeVos Family for his campaign(s). “I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence,” DeVos told Roll Call back in the late '90s . “Now I simply concede the point. They are right... We expect a return on our investment.” The vote on her confirmation needed Vice President Pence to confirm her, 51-50.

I listened to the President's Press Conference yesterday.  President Trump's selection of R. Alexander Acosta to become the next Secretary of Labor will most likely turn out to be a good one.  He has done a good job at F.I.U. as Dean of the Law School.  He also went after medicare fraud in Miami which is, was and is still a big issue done here.  The folks that represent South Florida in Congress and the Miami Herald Editorial Board are enthusiastic about this promotion. The Department of Labor's website says the following: Our Mission To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. I hope there are no serious chiggers in the wood pile with this nominee.  I would seem that his previous work history and vetting would make confirm...

The major leagues in Miami are represented by the Dolphins, the Heat, the Marlins, and the Panthers.  It has been rumored for a while that the Marlins have been for sale for a while and there are recent reports that there is a "handshake deal" that will be formally announced to sell the team after the 2017 All Star Game which will be held in Miami. The Panthers are estimated to be worth $239 million, the Marlins $675 million, the Heat $1.3 billion, and the Dolphins $3.1 billion.  The values are estimated by Forbes Magazine. Living in Miami I follow all three teams but have only bought tickets to the Marlins the last few years.  I am a TV fan of the Dolphins, Heat, and Panthers and the Marlins. It is rumored that the Marlins will be sold for about $1.6 billion.  The new owner, should he pay that much will have over paid a great deal for the franchise, but according to most people he will have a sweetheart deal on a domed stadium near Little Havana. The value o...

Michael Flynn is President Trump's National Security Advisor.  It has been reported that former general Flynn has had serious relationships with the Putin/Russian government.  It has been reported by multiple sources that Flynn and the Russian Ambassador have met and discussed the sanctions placed on the Russian Government by President Obama who was still the President. The current Press Secretary and Vice President both seem to have been mislead by by Flynn and his initial statements that the meeting with the Russian Ambassador was only about post inaugaration logistics. There have been allegations about the Russian trying to influence the 2016 election.  There has been calls for congressional investigations of Russian activities.  To those investigations, a full scale review of Mr. Flynn's activities just prior to being named National Security Advisor should be added. This is a no brainer and you might think the President would be a little more on top of th...

I watched the game at the West Dade Moose Lodge.  Hot Dogs, brats, meatballs, and lots of other bar foods.  The crowd was good and most everybody wanted Atlanta to beat the New England Patriots.  Another Miami benefit was being able to sit outside close to a keg that would be paid for from the proceeds of the usual 50/50 raffle which accompanied most large lodge events. Atlanta started out strong, New England has no running game and Brady threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. As the scores changed the names of the folks who were alive in the $1, $2, and $5 pools where you could by a square and hope the score at the end of each quarter would land on your numbers and there would be an envelope with your name on it at the end of the game. At the half the Falcons lead 21-3.  It was really their game to lose.  I figured the Pats would rally and make a game of it but they would run out of time.  I started wondering about "One beer Al" and...

Icelandic/Syrian citizen Meisam Rafiei who was not allowed to travel to the United States for a taekwondo tournament in Las Vegas.  This Icelandic athlete has traveled to world championships many times in the last few years.  Even with a valid Icelandic passport he was refused entry to the country because he was born in Syria. One can see how arbitrary the executive order might be viewed.  There are many folks from all over the world who would have otherwise been admitted to travel to this country but for the travel ban.  College professors, college students, family members visiting other family members and folks with business interests have good reasons to travel to the United States.  Unless they can be objectively viewed as threat to the United States security, they should be allowed to travel to the United States. Meisam Rafiei is obviously a very suspicious name or is it a new Icelandic name.  What happens if federal judges think they are under...

Filling the current vacant position on the Supreme Court isn't going to be easy: The Republicans screwed around  with Garland for a year already. Why should the Democrats be required to take medicine for a disease in Congress that is the direct result of the current Senate Majority Leader. And I'm not a believer in the the filibuster either. Maybe eight is enough! The President's comments about Fredrick Douglass are strange.