Hey:
Tim and I went for haircuts on Friday afternoon. Used to be you could just walk in, grab a seat and wait for the barber. Now, you have to make an appointment. I'm not complaining, believe me, I'm just grateful to be able to get my hair cut. It's just another thing we have to add to the "new normal" I suppose.
Anyway, onto the news...
POLITICS: Sticks and Stones
I'm going to take the unusual step of defending two women I don't particularly care for.
Both Rep. Alexandra Ocosio-Cortez (D-NY) and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany were allegedly called bitches this week. AOC was confronted on the steps of the Capitol by Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL). Yoho complained about the Queens rep's contention that the spike in NYC crime is due to poverty and unemployment as opposed to the mayor cutting funding for the cops. When she blasted him for his rudeness, he stormed away, calling her a "f-cking bitch"
Earlier it had been reported, (as it turns out falsely) that after McEnany refused to take another question from Al-Jazeera reporter Kimberly Halkett, Halkett said "OK she's a lying bitch. What was actually said, even according to the White House Transcript, was "OK she doesn't want to engage" The two had been sparing over whether President Trump was doing enough to combat outside interference in the upcoming elections. When Halkett went to ask another question about Chinese vaccine research, McEnany shut her down and took a question from a different reporter.
So I want to make this crystal clear here. There is no place in either of these situations where calling any woman that word is acceptable. Just because the President is a loudmouth obnoxious blowhard doesn't give the rest of us the right to use that kind of language.
In the case of McEnany, calling her a bitch is way out of bounds and even calling her liar is not appropriate in the setting of the White House Press Briefing room, but liar isn't an incorrect notion, especially how we reported last week that she said we shouldn't let science dictate whether or not we open the schools. (and I was thinking about how my 9th grade biology teacher would have reacted to me having an attitude like that. Let's just say it would have been quite ugly-but I digress). I don't know if those reporting that Halkett called her the name really misheard her, or if they are right wing loudmouths trying to stir up stuff (see Hannity, Sean and Carlson,Tucker) But I do think it's a good time to remind people that decorum should still be in style.
And no one needs that reminder more urgently than this dope from Florida.
Even before he swore at her he was out of line. Could this conversation not have taken place on the floor of the House? And what was he getting all bent out of shape about? He doesn't think poverty and unemployment contribute to crime? Sure they do. No one is saying that everyone who is poor and or unemployed are criminals, but despair sometimes leads one to do something they normally wouldn't do. She's right about that. If his point was that defunding the NYPD is what's causing the crime spike, well I agree with him too. But there's a right and a wrong way to act. He acted like a complete a$$hole.
Now my main beef with AOC, aside from some of her policies, is that I feel like she's an attention hog. She's never met a camera or a notepad she doesn't talk to.
But even that's not totally her fault. If the aforementioned Hannity's and Carlson's of the world are going to broadcast her every utterance, why shouldn't she take advantage?
And that's all this putz from Florida did here, give AOC more face time, while exposing himself as a foul mouthed bully. Great job moron!
SPORTS: New Names
Seattle NHL Team- I seriously thought someone was playing a gag on me when I heard that the new name for Seattle's hockey team was the Seattle Kraken.
During the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals between the Rangers and Vancouver, my then 10 year old sister got a kick out of some dude at MSG holding up a sign asking "What the F-ck is a Canuck?" Alas, I had the same question when I heard about the Seattle Kraken? What the hell is that?
Turns out Kraken is mythical sea monster that may or may not have been based in the Pacific. I know I'm sometimes a bit behind the times, but I cant be the only one who had no idea about this. I guess this is what happens when you have lots of rain and drink a lot of coffee, you come up with spaced out ideas like this.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the new team name of the football team in Washington.
Before Super Bowl 38, the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction Super Bowl, David Letterman sent Biff Henderson down to Houston to interview the fans and the locals. Biff asked the owner of a Houston sports apparel store what the name of Houston's new NFL team was, and when the owner answered the Texans, Biff replied. "Wow you must have really busted your ass to come up with that"
Well that was downright creative compared to what they came up with in Washington DC.
The new name of Washington DC's football team is wait for it, Washington Football Team. I kid you not.
Seattle had an excuse, they were awarded their team a couple of years ago. People have been clamoring for years for the 'Skins to change their name. They really had nothing sitting in the hopper?
And again, I also realize that with the slew of misconduct allegations that were levied on the franchise late last week, this might not be on the top of the priority list, but how freakin hard is this? I say, since FedEx is the main reason you finally came around to dropping that insensitive team name, how about the Feds, or the Express? It's not rocket science here guys.
BASEBALL: Blue Jays without a home
At least the Kraken and the Football Team have a place to play. The Toronto Blue Jays have been bandied about like the friend no one wants to take in.
First of all, how is it that Toronto has room for 12 NHL teams but not room for two baseball teams? If you are playing in an empty stadium, what difference does it make?
It had looked like the Jays would play their home games in Buffalo, but then PNC Park in Pittsburgh offered to take them in. When that fell through, it was looking like Camden Yards which made no sense to me at all. (Detroit or Cleveland made more sense geographically)
But now it looks like they will shuffle off to Buffalo after all. I understand the stadium is not major league compliant, but for 30 games it will do. And if they make the playoffs? Well, like I said with the Mets, lets figure that out if it happens.
Speaking of the baseball playoffs, they expanded it from 10 to 16 teams at the last minute.
Had this format been in place last year, the Mets would have qualified. More disturbing, the Texas Rangers would have qualified with a record of 72-90.
To be honest, they can do what they want with this season. Universal DH, runner on 2nd to start extra innings, over 1/2 the league making the playoffs, it's fine. I know there has to be some outside the box thinking in times like these. I'm just hoping none of these measures become permanent.
*********************************************************************************
It was announced Saturday afternoon that the Jets folded like a cheap suit and traded away disgruntled safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks.
I realize they got back a bunch of picks and a serviceable safety in Bradley McDougald. But that's not the point here. The point is they could have held onto Adams for at least the next two years and quite possibly a third. Somewhere along the line they could have worked out a deal.
Draft picks mean nothing to me anymore. Do you have any faith that anyone in the Jets organization will do anything with the picks they got from Seattle? Or are you like me and figure they will either draft a) busts or b) a legitimate Pro-Bowler who will just become disillusioned with the team and talk his way out of town.
I read Adams account of what went down in Friday's Daily News, but all that did was show me that there were no true winners here. If the Jets promised Adams they would discuss a long term deal with him, and then left him twisting in the wind, well that's not right. But I still contend that demanding a new contract for tens of millions of dollars in the middle of a pandemic with millions of Americans out of work is just plain stupid and insensitive.
And the real kicker to all this is that I have no doubt that defensive guru Pete Carroll, the Seahawks head coach, will punch Adams ticket to Canton for him and win a couple of Super Bowls. All while us Jets fans are supposed to treat NFL Draft night as our Super Bowl.
Pathetic.
OK, I guess that's enough ummm, complaining and moaning for tonight.
Thank you for reading
and Have a Great Week
No comments:
Post a Comment