Sunday Morning Coming Down

One of the bigger issues related to asymmetric population growth is migration.  Political unrest, war, natural disasters, lack of opportunity, environmental degradation, discrimination and poverty can send folks looking for a better life elsewhere.  And meanwhile it is also clear that some folks like things the way they are or are stuck and have difficulty going where they might be needed. Europe has experienced migration of peoples from Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. North America has experienced migration from the Caribbean, Central, and South America. It is clear that a lot off this migration is for economic and political reasons and there has been push back because change is difficult for some if not many people.  Brexit and other forms of Nationalism have sprung up all over the world and as of this moment new strategies must be developed to maintain freedom.

There is going to be a service auction at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami sometime soon.  A while ago I bought a sermon title for a few bucks hoping that the minister would use the title for a sermon.  $50 got me the rights to 1Corinthians 13:13.  Look the verse up if you care. Today, I thought about song titles that might make good sermon titles: 1) Don't Stop Believing 2) Hello In There 3) Hallelujah 4) God Is Great, Beer Is Good, People Are Crazy 5) Sunday Morning Coming Down 6) Mercedes Benz 7) A Matter Of Trust 8) We Are Family 9) Need You Now 10)Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore 11) We Got To Get Out of This Place

Paul and Ann Ehrlich wrote the "Population Bomb" in 1968.   It forecast that agricultural production would not be able to keep up with a rapidly growing worldwide explosion in population.  As part of the "baby boom" and starting college in 1969 this was one of the issues that for better or worse colored my view of things locally and on a global scale.  It was required reading for an ecology class I took at the University of Miami in 1971. Fifty years later the effects of population growth are everywhere while the prediction of world wide famine has been wrong.  Famine exists, but it is more the result of political breakdowns rather than a shortage of food. Yemen being a good example. Africa is still growing rapidly compared to the rest of the world.  Europe isn't growing and in some countries natural birth rate does not reach replacement levels. North America isn't growing as fast as Asia, Latin America, or world wide growth rate of 1.2%. I remember th...

The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin' I still love that picture of us walkin' Just like that ol' house we thought was haunted Summer's end came faster than we wanted   Come on home Come on home No you don't have to Be alone Come on home Come on home You don’t have to Be alone Just come on home     John Prine and Roger Cook wrote these lyrics and the song is a real good one.   The song is about age creeping up in my mind.

As an almost life long Unitarian Universalist I watched yesterday's funeral for POTUS 41.  I was struck by what a big production it was.  Obviously, this was a result of having more than a little amount of time to prepare for former President Bush's passing.  It was high church, military, political, and family.  More a real celebration of a life than a grief stricken, heart wrenching good bye. There have now been two "state funerals", the other being for Senator John McCain of Arizona recently. I guess they both needed to be a little bit larger than life.  It's been a while since John Adams and John Quincy Adams were around. Theologically, I'm not concerned about the reports of who spoke or didn't speak The Apostle's Creed.  What the last five presidents and their wives did or didn't do will be judged on the celestial level if at all. Personally, I doubt anyone would like to be on camera while at a church service. My Church is my family and...

Could you get them to agree except to disagree?

While working at the Miami Herald in 1971 I came across a bunch of obituaries that had already been written for famous folks.  The type had already been set and was ready to be put in the paper.  The current Pope, several former presidents, sports celebrities, and a few of Miami's more infamous characters were just waiting their turn to be part of the newspaper when their time came. Last night/early morning I woke to hear about the death of George H.W. Bush on MSNBC, POTUS #41.  Aged 94, after the passing of his wife, Barbara, and at least one other health scare that kept him hospitalized for thirteen days. The Saturday Morning Miami Herald had no notice of #41's death in any version including the "dynamic" electronic version.  The Herald relayed the news via an AP story which they posted on Facebook.  I guess even the "morgue" was dead last night. The "news" business has changed for sure.  As I watched a shortened version of his life on the ...

The elections are over and the results are in.  We now have divided governance.  I wish more time was spent on solving problems that are big, complicated and now much more pressing.  The idea that leaving the Paris Climate Accords will help achieve greenhouse gas reductions is a problem.  Not leading when by default this country is a leader makes very little sense. Questioning what the scientific community agrees is a problem while the Camp Fire burns, hurricanes are getting stronger and the inland floods aren't five hundred year events and droughts are getting worse worldwide and the sea levels are rising isn't good public policy. The existential nature of the problem affects how we will live and where we will live.  It is certainly a matter for politics but it goes way beyond "where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit".  This is something that will require a strong consensus, money, and sacrifice.  The details are in many ways maddenin...

The United States Senate should do whatever is necessary to recover the power to advice and consent for Cabinet Officers. The President has appointed someone to the position of Attorney General who may not believe in the Supreme Court's power to review laws passed by Congress as in  Marbury vs. Madison.  The Department of Justice already has a process for temporary appointments to fill vacancies for high level positions that occur.  It should not be ignored. To ask for the Attorney General to resign without a legitimate cause is suspect.  To reach down into the bureaucracy to appoint someone to a position that would normally require Senate approval is to disrespect a process that has served this country well. And finally the appointee's resume and actions as a lawyer and commentator need a serious review by the Senate.  The process that got his name to the President needs a serious investigation.

Elliot Richardson wrote the following: I am a moderate – a radical moderate. I believe profoundly in the ultimate value of human dignity and equality. I therefore believe as well in such essential contributions to these ends as fairness, tolerance, and mutual respect. In seeking to be fair, tolerant, and respectful I need to call upon all the empathy, understanding, rationality, skepticism, balance, and objectivity I can muster.

I'm going to give the Pensacola News Journal credit for their editorial on November 3, 2018.  Pensacola is about as far away from Miami as you can get and still be in Florida culturally and geographically and still be in Florida.  Why the good folks in the Florida Legislature haven't already taken care of this issue is beyond me. ►" Amendment 4 is the most significant of the measures, civically and morally. This is the voting rights restoration amendment. The League of Women Voters non-partisan voting guide aptly summarizes Amendment 4 as “restoring the voting rights of ex-felons after they’ve completed their sentences, except for those convicted of murder or felony sex offenses.” The League notes that, “Currently, ex-felons who complete their sentences must seek permission to vote from the Florida Cabinet, which rarely agrees.” That’s true. And it is embarrassing. Most states in the country have processes for automatic rights restoration once someone ha...

Oprah Winfrey spoke about voting this afternoon.  “For anybody here who has an ancestor who didn’t have the right to vote, and you are choosing not to vote — wherever you are in this state, in this country, you are dishonoring your family,” said Ms. Winfrey, who, like Ms. Abrams, is a black woman born in Mississippi. “You are disrespecting and disregarding their legacy, their suffering and their dreams when you don’t vote.” Voting is vital in a democracy.  If you think voting is inconvenient or doesn't matter, ask Hillary Clinton or Al Gore where just a relatively small number of votes might have changed history. I have lived through eight years of Rick Scott as the governor of Florida and after refusing to expand Medicaid as governor.  I've made it to the age where Medicare has kicked in.  I'm blessed and I've voted for Andrew Gilum who say he will work to expand Medicaid and Bill Nelson who has also promised to promised to support medicare and the ACA whi...

World Wars, Politicians, Singers, Sports Heroes, Television, the Bomb, Terrorism, and more than a few other subjects are covered in the Billy Joel hit song "We Didn't Start Fire". This weekend could have been a sequel but sadly it's just a continuation.  "It's always burning, since the world's been turning. 1989 seems like a long time ago for some and maybe just yesterday for some others.

There is already a lot of gambling done in Florida.  And how the players shake out in this State Constitutional Amendment is any body's guess in the long run.  Those who already have a gambling permit are against the amendment because it will restrict the way they have been able to control their operations and possibly expand them. The amendment would give the right to expand gambling to the voters of Florida on a statewide basis. I believe the way slot machines have been approved and their coupling with dog racing, horse racing, and jai alai has  been problematic from the beginning.  The state wants tax revenue and for the most part the lottery, parimutuals, slot machines and whatever the next type of gambling that may be approved will be sold as a provider of jobs and badly needed revenue and a voluntary tax to replace some other tax cut for some other group.  The story that this will adversely affect education is way overblown. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Trump said eventually. “We won.” It doesn’t matter. Nothing really matters. Is this, finally, the Trump Doctrine? Most presidents have governed from the standpoint of things mattering. Individuals matter. Words matter. Life matters. “Show up,” Barack Obama said during his farewell address. “Dive in. Persevere.” “Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself,” George W. Bush said during his second inaugural address. For about the last ten years or so politics hasn't been about compromises or working across the aisle or much of anything like debating the issues like taxes, issues of war and peace, health care, rebuilding roads, bridges, airports, international cooperation, immigration policies, climate change, agricultural policy, trade policies and any number of other issues.  It's been about getting to the barest of majorities necessary to pass legislation and do a number on your political opponent. The...

There is a yard sign near my place that has a check mark next to water.  This isn't a republican or democratic issue but the people that live in Florida need some action to limit algae blooms that are becoming more frequent and more intense.

The day the music died Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big  Bopper died they were not on a plane called American Pie in spite of what the daily quiz you might have said this morning.  And so it goes with the meaning of its lyrics as well.  The  lyrics are open to interpretation at more than a few levels. This afternoon I will be playing some songs that have American or USA in the title on a juke box. Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Grand Funk Rail Road, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bruce Springsteen and maybe some others will be featured.

Methodologies for choosing judges is at best problematic.  I'm not sure if electing judges gets you a better judge and having a governor pick a judge after reviewing resumes from a group like the bar association isn't foolproof either. Experience as a lawyer is vital, and court room experience is also very important.  I wonder, even after saying that, if there might be other characteristics like impartiality that might also be important. Socrates said a judge must listen courteously, answer wisely, consider soberly and decide impartially. Easier said than done but overall there seems to be an awful lot of politics in the selection of judges and the parties have brought this on themselves as just another battleground where it doesn't belong. 

This post is about our current president.  I am disappointed for the millions of folks that voted for our president thinking he was a great business man.  According to the New York Times much of his wealth was accumulated by avoiding taxes and loans from his father and some creative bookkeeping. My father was a CPA and a person who voted for republicans because they favored lower taxes and smaller government. I'm almost positive my father would have liked to see the president's tax returns so that he could judge both the income and deductions that was reported and taken to see if they were reasonable and why they did not raise any red flags that would trigger an audit. I'm reminded of Leona Helmsley and some testimony during her trial for tax evasion: " During the trial, a former housekeeper testified that she had heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes," which identified her the rest of her life. Incredible!

Bryan Stevenson wrote Just Mercy in 2014. Too many people get sent to jail wrongly and for the wrong reasons.  In 1972 there were about 300,000 incarcerated and today there are about 2.3 million folks.  Yes, the population has increased but there are now sentencing guidelines which make going to jail increasingly likely because of poverty and a breakdown in the justice system where folks are not adequately represented and policies criminalizing related to drug usage and mental illness. Just Mercy story is mostly about issues related to the misapplication of the death penalty but the criminal justice meanders and its application isn't always just.

The Miami New Times ran a story about Bud Conlin and Tom Kennedy who were banned from visiting detainees at the Krome Detention Center.  Bud has worked with immigration detainees as part of FOMDD.org or the Friends of Miami Dade Detainees for several years. His visiting privileges were most likely restricted because of his arrest at the I.C.E. Office in Miramar, Florida.  He and others were arrested while protesting current immigration policies. The bureaucracy in their mind probably thought they were acting reasonably and I doubt that they got any flack from officials that manage the Krome Detention Center.  According to an ICE Detention document:   "Only an officer with the rank of supervisor or above may deny or cancel a visit. In those cases, the officer shall document his or her action in a memorandum sent through official channels to the facility administrator. The visiting room officer, with concurrence from the shift supervisor, may terminate visi...

September 10th is historically the height of the hurricane season and after a seeming lull in storms Florence, Helene, Issac and two other areas of disturbed weather are steaming around the Atlantic Ocean. The seemingly drifting nature of the forecast for Florence as it reaches land is worrisome.  A quick moving major hurricane is one thing.  A slower moving major hurricane is something else, and a stalled hurricane be it strong or even a category 1 storm or tropical storm is going to be a big problem for those that live in low lying areas as flooding occurs. It looks like almost the entire coastal areas of North Carolina and a great deal of South Carolina are under storm surge warnings or watches and with projected rain fall of 10 or more inches for areas where the storm will make landfall, the amount of flooding possible is hard to imagine.  Evacuation orders have been given.  How many will actually evacuate is the really big question.  A shelter is the la...

This morning news  on NPR  had a story about why folks don't vote.  Sometimes they think their vote won't matter,  sometimes they want to vote but can't.  Demographically younger adults vote  less than older adults.  Maybe they don't like or know about the candidates and don't vote.  Sometimes they are or feel like they are ignored and don't vote.  Sometimes it's not a big part of your culture so you don't vote.  This may be strange to say but I think all reasons for not voting are just another way of being apathetic or too busy or even more sadly poor. The votes cast by more reliable/regular voters weigh heavier on the scale because they listen and are listened to.  No excuses, it does take effort and time to vote locally, statewide, and nationally.  Not voting doesn't mean you don't care but it does give officeholders license to ignore you individually and as part of a voting bloc you belong to whether you realize it or not...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

If you had an state issued birth certificate and an application for a U.S. Passport was denied by the U.S. Department of State, you might be asked for more information and hopefully it will be accepted. (A long time ago), on a weekend trip to the Bahamas with friends I was told my voter's registration card was enough proof to return to the United States.  A passport cost money, the Bahamas didn't care because I had a return ticket, no problem.  Immigration and Customs checked us in the Bahamas.  The U.S. Immigration Official looked at my voter's registration card and then asked if I had my birth certificate.  "No I don't" was my response.  He then asked if I knew how easy it was to get a voter's registration card in Miami. " I said yes. (As a county employee I was a trained to register people to vote.)  The official then asked where I was born? " I said Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois." He accepted this answer and I got on the plan...

I guy that used to be on the Bill Cosby Show (Geoffrey Owens) was "job shamed" because he had a job at Trader Joe's and I think that is crazy.  Some jobs pay more than others and require different skills.  Some jobs are more permanent than others.  Employment is a lot of things and it can be self employment or working for somebody.  Actors often have side jobs or acting may be the side job, lots of actors are unemployed or financially challenged sometimes or regularly.  They can be laid off or maybe the reruns stopped and the rent is due.  There are jobs and working at a grocery store isn't the worst job in the world.

Sometimes elections are aspirational, and some times they are about the lesser of evils.  The Florida voting system used to include a runoff system where the party candidate of primarily the Democrat had to get 50% of the vote or face a second runoff election  to determine the parties candidate for statewide positions.  Fringe candidates were eliminated.  The State suspended the two election primary system in 2001 before eliminating it in 2005. The "two primary system" was expensive and burdensome.  It was a throwback to a time when Florida was a one party state.  It did however produce some very good  candidates and eventual winners in statewide or congressional races like Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles, and Ruben Askew. The times are changing again.  Both major political parties are struggling to nominate candidates that have a broad appeal that will attract independents or encourage moderate candidates to run for office. Gwen Graham and Philli...

This morning I read about shootings at high school football games in Palm Beach County and Duval County.  Neither got much press coverage in Miami. School has just started.  The President taking pot shots at NFL Players who express their concerns does little to unite this country to solve the complex issues we face.

A nephew of mine asked who likes spending wisely?  The question wasn't personal, it was a political question.  This morning I read an article in the Miami Herald that points to state budget surpluses in Ohio and other States while many towns and other governmental agencies have unmet needs and are having to cut back to balance their budgets.  And not to cut too fine a point on things the Federal Government is able to slash income taxes, increase spending, and increase the Federal Debt.  According to the article even West Virginia has a rainy day fund. Friday Afternoon, as I experience my comfortable retirement in a modest apartment, sparsely furnished I tried to finish watching a PBS documentary on the coal mining wars in Southern West Virginia in 1900-1920.  The mine owners and the coal miners were always fighting.  Profit versus survival of the miners. Strikes versus strike breakers.  Mother Jones and the UMW versus the Mine Owners. Thursday,...

Carlos Curbelo  has proposed a tax on carbon emissions. He believes it will slow climate change by adding some market based incentives to reduce carbon emissions. Not surprisingly the American Energy Alliance says this tax will be a drag on the economy by raising the cost of energy and displace workers in the energy fields.  They are running ads that oppose his modest proposal to limit carbon emissions.  And so say most all Republicans. The free market is supposed to take care of these issues but for the fact that the free market moves slowly and does not affect everyone equally.  Actually the energy market isn't very free at all because of subsidies, external and social costs. There is a reason Congressman Curbelo has proposed the Market Choice Carbon Tax.  He represents a part of South Florida that is and will continue to be affected by climate change.  Rising sea levels are projected to make living in South Florida more difficult and more costly. ...

Freedom of the press isn't free.  It takes money to do research and write stories.  The money comes from subscribers and advertisers. Television, radio, newspapers and the internet provide the information we need as citizens. It's the news.  Understanding the news requires requires an element of critical thinking.  What are the facts, what is the data, and what is the evidence.  One of the main functions of the free press is to ask questions of those in power. You may not get all the answers you want in a form that leads to easy analysis and simple answers. Who, what, when, where, and why are typical journalistic questions.  How good is the information, how good the source of the information.  I'm convinced that too often we substitute opinion and unspoken beliefs for hard evidence and we continue to believe what is familiar and reinforced by the same sources.  This is not very scientific and one reason it is so hard to change.  We may ...

This is being written as a cousin of mine was told to evacuate his house as the Carr Wildfire spreading near Redding, California. It is hard to explain but being told to evacuate isn't easy.  You almost never make adequate plans for even a minor disaster let alone something huge like losing your home and almost all your belongings.  Twice I've left my home as hurricanes approached in Miami.  This seems simple compared to an uncontrolled fire. You almost always think it will happen to someone else and you can and will escape with little or or damage.  Even a near miss can rattle one's self confidence.

Abolishing ICE is not an answer.  The country needs people to enforce the immigration laws, control the borders, and administer other laws related to customs and duties.  The popular pleas to abolish ICE is obviously a demand for reform of the laws that are on the books and a protest about the ways the laws are being enforced. The misuse of language in political debate might fire up some but you can't be sure who it fires up more.

California has a population of of almost 40 million people and it has only two United State Senators.  Wyoming has a population of about 579,000 people and it has the same number of United State Senators as California. Texas has a population of about 28 million people and it has the same number of United State Senators as California, Wyoming and Vermont. Florida has a population of almost 21 million people... The idea of the President of the United States being elected by a minority of the population as a matter of course is almost unavoidable. Maybe it is time to look closely at the Electoral College and the power it gives small states.

Now we are a country of 350 million people in a world 7.6 billion. Distraction, division, distort, lies, conspiracies, accusations may work for some but it is not a good strategy for the long term.  The current President of this country has the world in a state of flux. President Trump in his travels overseas was strongly critical of NATO members for not paying their fair share of GDP for defense.  And then the President goes to meet Vladimir Putin and then questions the existence of Russian meddling in our election of 2016.  The President of the United States questions the opinion of our own intelligence agencies. The State Department, the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and various economic agencies have had to do damage control as the President careens between immigration issues, Korean issues, trade wars and now a denial of the threat that Russia poses to the United States and the rest of the free world. Russia is still an adversary. This is not a p...

I'm a fan of more and better immigration from other countries.  I wish there was a policy other than separating families from their children and branding people asking for political asylum as law breakers.  Borders that are next to impossible to cross and walls do not always make for good neighbors. If you live near a border the immigration issues are a more local and sometimes personal because of experience. You may be much more likely to cross the border often.  In land away from the border the immigration issue seems more abstract, more cut and dried.  And if this seems a little bit jumbled I can understand folks that live in border towns bitching about the unintended consequences of where they might live. The politics of immigration don't often lead to a grand bargain. There are racial, ethnic and language issues that are unspoken but real.  There are economic issues about jobs, wages, housing, health care and education.  No country is perfect in th...

Friday evening, June 29, 2018 will be the last time you will see the dog racing at Flagler in Miami.  I've lived in Miami for almost fifty years and have been going to the dog races for almost fifty years first with my father and then by myself.  Gambling on dog racing in those fifty years hasn't changed that much, however the number of folks following has plummeted.  While there were several dog tracks in South Florida in the 1970's it doesn't look like there will be live dog racing in South Florida after the last race at Flagler. The Dining Area was full.  There was a special meal.  The servers and lead outs wore tuxedos and the races were run.  Natural State won the 8th and final race, paid $9.00 to win.  Handle was about $100,000.

I watched the replay of  Phil Mickelson swat at a putt that he made that was still moving in the U.S. Open yesterday.  The golf game that was televised on Saturday was not particularly good television and the golf tournament that is the most major of the majors in North America has a serious blemish after three days. Lefty took a two stroke penalty for hitting the ball while it was still moving.  He might have been trying to make sure didn't roll further.  What he did wasn't the most professional I've ever seen on a golf course but it is hardly a hanging offense given the rest of stuff that has taken place all week.  He might have been disqualified if his name wasn't Mickelson, but that is for another day. Even the USGA is going to try to slow the greens for the Sunday Round.  Golf is supposed to be fair but what happened to golfer that had later tee times wasn't fair to them when compared to the scores of players that had early tee times. I don't hav...

I've lived through some natural disasters and now what looks like another on a list of immigration disasters.  Hurricanes and immigration disasters have caused serious dislocations in Miami that have had folks living in tents for extended periods of time. The Mariel Boat Lift resulted in long term tent encampments.  The relocation of these Cuban refugees was difficult.  "Under the new resettlement agreement, volunteer agencies are responsible for housing, feeding, clothing, training and finding jobs for the refugees for three months. The Tent City residents, most of them young males, were found homeless, jobless and hungry in the streets of Miami this summer. Officials said many had been abandoned by the sponsors who got them out of the military-base camps that were the first home of the more-than 120,000 Cubans who came to the United States on the refugee sealift. Miami first opened the Orange Bowl as a temporary refuge, but set up the tents under Interst...

The  Belmont Stakes will be run on Saturday.  Justify has a chance to be the second Triple Crown winner since American Pharoah in 2015.  Bob Baffert might have scared off some horses, but there are nine other entries in the race. Baffert seems confident.   "All my horsesI brought up here floated over the track, and he just looked like he was just getting over it really well. He was a little aggressive, a little fresh today, but he couldn't have looked any better today coming around there. I was very happy that he looks like a horse who is flourishing and doing very well. It was nothing for him."  This quote is from the Blood Horse Daily. Hofburg and Bravazo may challenge Justify late.  Who knows?

Being part of the Class of "69" was big, but not huge.  I was able to go to college and avoid being drafted and that was large.  I always thought my draft number was different from what it actually was.  It would be interesting to see all my classmates but it will also be a production to travel to Besenville for the weekend.  If I still lived in the Mid-West my attitude would be different. Trains, planes, automobiles and timing are considerations in this decision and there is a lot of time to change my mind.

 Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the University of Pennsylvania about coal mining and black lung disease along with football and CTE.  The title of Gladwell's talk was about the "Burden of Proof.  It is part of his podcast Revisionist History. Black lung disease is CWP or Coal Worker's pneumoconiosis which come from repeated long term exposure to coal dust and is similar to the long term effects of smoking tobacco.    " Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ( CTE ) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE , a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ( CTE ) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE , a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells." Both C...

Justify is unbeaten in five races and needs only to win the Belmont Stakes to be second Triple Crown winner in four years.  Reading Chad Brown's account of the race it was clear he only wanted Good Magic to be off the pace and they try to run down Justify in the stretch.  Instead it was more like a replay of Affirmed and Alydar and those match races with company in 1978.  Those two just duked it out and Justify won in a hard fought race. All week folks have been asking me who I liked in the Preakness.  Two weeks after the Derby it was clear in my mind that Justify was the horse to beat and I said so.  It would only be question who would finish for the "minor awards". And then I went a step further.  I asked Dan if he wanted some action on the Belmont.  Dan likes action, he will bet on golfers making putts, pitchers throwing strikes, batters swinging etc.  He says it makes things more interesting.  I gave Dan the field in the Preakness an...

Randy Newman sang: "It's a Jungle Out There".  Private for profit vocational schools need to be watched to make sure that they provide what they promise.  It's in the best interest of all because tax money is used and it should be used to get the most bang for the money spent. And the dance goes like this.  Schools recruit students and they put together a package that includes Pell Grants and loans to pay for books and tuition.  The students are on the hook for the loans that are needed to pay the schools. Sometimes the students are unable to complete the course work for any variety of issues.  The school has its money but the student does not have the promised training.  This is a crying shame.  It might be poor screening of students at best, but too often the screeners are motivated by filling slots as very little money is held back if the student does not complete the course.  Results at the end of training like placements are often lacking...

The second jewel in the 2018 Triple Crow will be run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday.  There once was a horse named Preakness and the first Preakness was run in 1873. Good Magic will take another shot at Justify who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago.  The field will be much smaller with a total off eight going to the post.  Lone Sailor and Bravazo are the only other holdovers from the Kentucky Derby.  The rest are new shooters. Justify will be the favorite in the smallest Preakness field since 2000.  Smaller fields haven ot always been kind to the Derby winner. I guess that Justify will win again at a small price setting up another potential Triple Crown winner and the 2nd  since American Pharoah did it in 2015. I retrospect I wish the Kentucky Derby had a smaller field.  The start of the race and certain post positions almost guarantee poor results with bad racing luck as a result of a bad post or getting slammed a...

Sunday Night I watched an Anthony Bourdain trip to Southern West Virginia.  The discussion about West Virginia being Coal Country hasn't changed much since I went to graduate school there in 1975.  Coal miners had good jobs back then and in some ways had the best of both worlds being able to live a rural lifestyle with an almost city paycheck. While I was in graduate school if you could get a job "in the mines" it was a good thing but it was not even universally accepted then as a great thing.  Environmentally there were concerns about "acid rain" from sulfur dioxide released into the air from burning coal or electricity or heat.  Mountain top mining was less dangerous and more profitable than underground mining but had ruinous effects on watersheds along with being ugly. And in the background is Don Blankenship who was a former coal mining executive who was convicted in charges related to violating mine safety rules related to the Upper Big Branch Mining Di...

There are a lot of reasons for attendance at professional sporting events to be down.  It's expensive in terms of money and time.  Fighting traffic and paying for parking doesn't help the cause when the game is on TV almost all the time.  And there are other competitors for scarce entertainment dollars. The attendance in New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, and Baltimore has been affected by weather in April which has been less than Spring like. The term fair weather fan is more than a cliche when the season is long and drawn out.  Things will improve as the weather becomes more seasonal. Unfortunately some teams are not competitive and it takes some real effort to be enthused when it is a real possibility the home team will lose 100 or more games in the year. AL Central teams:  Detroit, Chicago, and Kansas City are in a bad way when it comes to talent. Going through the motions and not fielding a competitive team in the name of rebuilding isn't fair to ...

Twenty really good horses will run for the roses on May 5, 2018.  Post position, early pace, and the ability and conditioning to go the mile and a quarter will decide who will win. Another thing that isn't overlooked but often discounted is how well the horse likes Churchill Downs and the racing surface. The following horses have enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby.  Installed Regard and Snapper Sinclair may be added if there are any last minute scratches.  Magnum Moon, Good Magic, Audible,  Noble Indy, Vino Rosso, Bolt d'Oro, Enticed, Mendelssohn, Justify, Flameaway, Solomini, Bravazo, My Boy Jack, Promises Fulfilled, Free Drop Billy, Lone Sailor, Hofburg, Firenze Fire, Combatant, Instilled Regard, Snapper Sinclair AE. I'm leaning towards Mendessohn as my Derby choice based on his performance in the UAE Derby.  My only concern is travel.  It seems the horse travels well but the mile and the crowd may make a difference

It's Sunday and some Unitarians are arguing about religion.  This isn't surprising but it isn't very productive.  I listened to Michelle Wolf roast Sarah Huckabee Sanders, again this wasn't surprising, but it also wasn't very productive.  The comedian might have taken a different tack because even though the press secretary might have done a lot of stuff the press corp doesn't agree with, you must understand who she works for.

While waiting for a phone call to be returned I entered a horse racing handicapping contest.  For $5.75 you had a chance to win some money if your picks kept hitting the board finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky.  I have entered contests like this often.  I have won several of these contests.  It fits my handicapping style and doesn't require you to pick long shots.  Just keep plugging along. At times it is a fools errand.  Your choice runs out of the money in the first race and you are sent to the showers or back to the barn.  Sometimes the contest allows to have more than one entry and sometimes you can't change you picks once you have submitted them.  More entries does not always win more often, success is based the quality of your handicapping, the size of the fields, and the number of entries in the contest and in my experience the quality of the races being. On Wednesday I had what might be called so...

I was a true believer when George McGovern ran for president in 1972.  Time when I might have been studying or working I spent at the McGovern headquarters while he ran in the Florida Primary.  Stuffing envelopes, taking folks to the airport, manning a table, or answering the phone was exciting. For my efforts I got a ticket to a fund raiser that would have cost about $25.00 back then.  The speaker wasn't the candidate, he was busy in Wisconsin.  Frank Mankiewicz was the speaker and he spoke warmly of George McGovern and gave the audience a red meat speech as he spoke about other Democratic candidates and Richard Nixon. Before he spoke he visited each table and thanked folks for their money, time, and efforts.  It was an uphill battle all the way as George Wallace won the Florida Primary. Frank went on to head NPR.

A five line poem using my zip code. Beach weather soon Pool water warming Sunscreen Poolside cerveza bien fria Cooler than AC

I noticed the passing of Art Bell who was on the overnight radio for more than a few years.  I listened to him because sometimes it was difficult to sleep or stay asleep.  He wasn't particularly entertaining most of the time because he seemed to drift in to subject matter that was at best borderline crazy. Sometimes I listen to George Noury these days.  All that being said it seems that over night radio hosts had their fans and in a lot of ways fit where they were on the radio.  Larry King had some really good interviews, and my local favorite was Bill Calder.

The last two derby prep races will be run on Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and Keeneland in Kentucky. The Arkansas Derby is a $1,000,000 race ad winning it will give you enough points to enter the Kentucky Derby. Many really good horses have run and won the Arkansas Derby, and gone on to win the Kentucky Derby.  The first Arkansas Derby was run in 1936.  Two of the biggest names in horse racing ran in the Arkansas Derby and deserve special mention : American Pharoah who went on the be the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years and Curlin who was a two time Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008 after winning the Preakness Stakes, the Breeder's Cup Classic in 2007 and the Dubai World Cup in 2008. The 2018 Arkansas Derby will feature the top three finishers in the Rebel Stakes: Magnum Moon, Solomini, and Combatant and the winner of the Tampa Bay Derby Quip.  The winner will most likely come out of that group. The Lexington Stakes is a $200,000 race worth 20 point...

The Wood Memorial, the Santa Anita Derby, and the Bluegrass Stakes will be run Saturday and if all goes well Good Magic will win the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland, Bolt d'Oro will win the Santa Anita Derby on the West Coast, and Enticed will win the Wood Memorial which is run at Aqueduct in New York. The Arkansas Derby will be run next Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and the probable favorite in that race will be Solomini. The Wood Memorial is named after Eugene Wood, the President of Jamaica Raceway where the race was originally run.  Irish War Cry won the 2017 Wood Memorial.  The race is worth $1,000,000. The race at a 1 1/8 mile will have nine contenders and the other potential winners along with Enticed are Fireneze Fire and Vino Rosso. The Bluegrass Stakes will have a full field of 14 hoping to get enough points to get to the Kentucky Derby.  The winner of the 2017 Bluegrass was Irap and it has been a while since a horse won the Bluegrass and the Kentuck...

There has been some reports about the Sinclair Broadcast Group and the "script" many of its broadcast stations read.  From the Washington Post: "Interest in Sinclair picked up recently after reports exposed a seemingly Trump-friendly script the company ordered its anchors around the country to read, lambasting “irresponsible, one-sided,” and “fake” news stories. The one-minute-long script, which appeared to echo Trump’s efforts to attack the reporting he has disagreed with as “fake news,” brought to the fore longstanding critiques about what many see as the company’s rightward tilt." Publishers publish, broadcasters broadcast but the idea that all "news" that you disagree with or find painful is "fake news" is a dangerous trend in journalism. There are almost always two or more sides to every story and journalists need to be aware of this.  Unfortunately, for a number of reasons responsible journalism has taken a hit and opin...

The Florida Derby and the UAE Derby will be run on Saturday at Gulfstream Park and Meyden Race Course in Dubai.  Runner in both of these races have come from previous wins at other tracks and are looking for big races.  Some of these are name horses horses that were mentioned prominently in Future Book betting.  Others may be looking for that bolt of lightening to move them forward. The Florida Derby has produced fifteen Kentucky Derby winners, including the 2017 winner: Always Dreaming.  The race also produced Swale and Alydar.  The race is run at 1mile and 1/8 at is worth $1,000,000. The field is deep featuring Strike Power, Promises Fulfilled, Catholic Boy, Audible, and Mississippi.  The winner will most likely come from this group. Todd Pletcher trains the favorite Audible.  I'm hoping for a big race from Mississippi. The UAE Derby from Dubai is an interesting race to watch.  The accents are particularly British and there are two favorit...

I didn't watch much of the coverage of the March to Save Our Lives.  I did not go out to any of the local events either.  I went to a yard sale, I watched Loyola play basketball, and ate baked ziti cooked at Moose Lodge 1874.   I watched the Louisiana Derby on my computer. I read a newspaper column written by a high school friend complaining of  "Trump Fatigue".  He hasn't written about gun control, I don't think he is a big gun owner, but he does live in rural Missouri and his silence is understandable. Later that evening I listened to my little sister recount the day as she saw it in Washington DC.  She was moved by the experience. This morning, (Monday) I read a column written by Fabiola Santiago that mixed Emma Gonzalez, the Castro Revolution, sensible gun control, the optics of olive green fatigues and how it pisses off certain members of the Miami(mostly Cuban) community.  She is in favor of the the student activism. Laura Ingraham l...

From "Growing Up In Bensenville" Not Sure what the old Church was called but the new one is called the "True Jesus Church". In one of my travel videos, someone asked me if there was still a church on the southwest corner of Church Rd and Third Ave. There is. It is now called “True Jesus Church”. WWAST What would Albert Schweitzer think? 

My little sister went to Washington D.C. this weekend to visit family and as luck would have it participate in the "March For Our Lives".  I can think of a lot of two for ones that work out but this one seems very important.  Spring Break is happening and this is something positive that can happen on a "Spring Break".  The stated goal of the march is demand specific actions on gun control and related issues on school safety. I am not a gun owner intentionally.  I can understand folks that may choose to own guns for personal safety or hunting.  I am one of the 78% of the population that does not own a gun. It about time that folks without guns, gun owners, and the high school student organizers stand up for better gun control laws and background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands and to deal with loopholes that allow good laws to be evaded. Lives will be saved.

There are two major prep races for the Kentucky Derby this weekend.  The Sunland Park Derby will be contested on Sunday and the Louisiana Derby will take place on Saturday.  Sunland Park is located near El Paso, Texas while the Louisiana Derby will be held at the Fair Grounds which is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sunland Park's derby is an $800,000, 1 1/8 mile affair.  Mine That Bird is probably the most notorious horse to have run at Sunland Park.  In the days before points Mine that Bird finished 4th in Sunland Derby and 2nd in the Borderland Derby in 2009.  He went on to win the Kentucky Derby, finish 2nd in the Preakness, and 3rd in the Belmont. The 2018 Sunland Derby is a very very wide open race. The comment from Horse Racing Nation say it all:   "All Out Blitz and Hollywood Star look like the logical top win contenders here, with either of them ready to prove themselves Kentucky Derby-ready. The former has shown consistency and should ...

There are more than a few that doubt this is a good way to improve our relationship with Russia. Senator McCain of Arizona was correct when he called out President Trump for a congratulating Vladimir Putin on his reelection.  “An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free election." A cursory look at the various conflicts around the world between the United States and the Soviet Union and now Russia would suggest that caution be taken in dealing with Russia on every level. Whether in proxy wars, espionage, or elections or just about any other endeavor we adversaries and not allies.  A congratulatory phone call to guy that seems more like a dictator is a very weak response if we are to continue as the leader of the free world.  It is almost impossible to understand why he would i...

If you live in Miami you can't escape the story of the collapse of the pedestrian bridge across the Tamiami Trail to FIU.  You can watch the bridge collapse from the perspective of the cars that approached the bridge that had been just placed over the road about a week ago.  It's called accelerated bridge construction.  What follows is a description of the benefits of accelerated bridge construction according to a report by CNN. "Unlike traditional methods of construction, ABC streamlines the building process so that bridge projects can be completed quicker and more cost-effectively. By employing ABC technology, State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) can refurbish or construct new bridges within 48 to 72 hours, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). The accelerated time reduces traffic delays and road closures that frustrate commuters and can increase construction expenses. Oth...

There are probably more than two good things about walking out of class this morning but I'll highlight my biggest issues. THE PROBLEM IS BIG In 2015 there were about 13,000 people killed in gun violence in the United States.  It is also estimated that more folks were killed by guns at home on the homefront in the USA between 1968 and 2011 than during wartime from the War of Independence and the Iraq War.  There were about 1.17 million folks killed in all our wars.  According to the CDC and Politifact there were about 1.3 million gun related deaths during the period mentioned.  You may not like the numbers or question them but it seems clear there are way too many gun related deaths and there are ways to reduce those numbers without the scare tactics, slippery slope arguments used by the NRA to stop reforms. A serious public health study of the issues related to gun ownership is better than ignoring the issue as has been done previously. CITIZENSHIP REQUIRES AC...

The Rebel Stakes is the 2nd of three  big Kentucky Derby Prep Races run at Oaklawn Park this year.  The race run at  a 1 1/16 mile, the purse is $900,000, grade ll and the race is worth 50 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby.  It is also the final prep race for the Grade l Arkansas Derby. American Pharoah won the 2015 Rebel on the way to the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown.  Curlin and Smarty Jones have also won the Rebel which was established in 1961. Bob Baffert trains the likely favorite Solomini.  Baffert has won six of the last eight Rebel Stakes.  Trainers Todd Pletcher, D. Wayne Lucas, and Steve Asmussen will challenge Bob Baffert. The results in the Rebel will do much to clarify the Derby picture, the field is deep and the winner should be very worthy. 

Turfway Park used to be called Latonia Race Course and The Jeff Ruby Steaks used to be called the Spiral Stakes that lead to the Keeneland Blue Grass Stakes.  The race is worth forty points to the winner and that may be enough to earn a ticket to Churchill Downs. Fast and Accurate won last year's race and went to the Kentucky Derby where he finished 17th. March 17, 2018 will be a big day at Turfway Park.  The Jeff Ruby Steaks is a mile and 1 and 1/8 and the purse is $200,000.  There are six stakes races scheduled for the day.  Dale Roman and Todd Pletcher both have probable entries for the race better known as the Spiral Stakes. Big name trainers have owners that spent big bucks and have dreams of running in the Kentucky Derby.  At this point there doesn't seem to be a clear cut favorite and for that reason you might check out the Spiral Stakes for another contender.

The Loyola Ramblers will play the University of Miami Hurricanes on Thursday, in the opening round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  My mind spun back to when the Ramblers won the NCAA championship in 1963 beating Cincinati in overtime, 60-58 on a tip in by Vic Rouse.  I remember three other starters Les Hunter, Jerry Harkness, and John Egan.  The NCAA Basketball Championship Team was coached by was George Ireland. Loyola beat Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference last Sunday. This year UM, WVU and now Loyola(of Chicago) will get some attention as I finally watch college basketball with some serious interest as I monitor how good my bracket goes or doesn't go.

As the time changed this morning I had the stellar opportunity to listen to a sports commentator wax on and on about the "comeback" of Tiger Woods.  The comeback consists of being 2nd behind Corey Connor in the Valspar with the final round this afternoon.  If Tiger Woods wins this afternoon or plays well it will set him up for his next try at the Masters in three weeks.  A nice story for golf fans but still very much a work in progress.

There are three major prep races for the 2018 Kentucky derby on March 10, 2018 at Tampa Bay Downs, Aqueduct, and Santa Anita.   Last week’s winner of the Fountain of Youth, at Gulfstream, Promises Fulfilled lit up the tote board winning wire to wire paying $38.40 to win.   Good Magic, the short money favorite finished 3 rd and probably needed the race. The Gotham is understandably run at the Big A (Aqueduct) in New York.   The race has produced several Kentucky Winners and the winner will most likely go to the Kentucky Derby.   Secretariat won the Gotham in 1973.   The race has been run since 1953, the purse is $400,000 and the favorite is Firenze Fire, trained by Jason Servis but there will be other contenders for the 100 points and the ticket to Louisville. The Lambsholm Tampa Bay Derby, Florida’s second derby and a grade II race since 2011 is run at Tampa Bay Downs, the purse is $350,000.   The field is a wide open with trainers Pletcher, M...