Monday, February 17, 2014

A MUSING'S...

 ...At least one anonymous NFL executive told ESPN his locker-room was not ready for an openly gay Michael Sam to be a part of that environment.  He didn't see how he could fit in or mix with the other players.  A New Orleans Saints player worried about showering next to a gay teammate.  If you substitute African American for gay you would think this a trip in the Wayback machine to 75 years ago in baseball and football front offices.  Do we never learn?

     ...Am I the only one to notice the Winter Olympics is not the most ethnically diverse athletic contest?  Does it matter?

     ...It appears Congress is going to pass a "clean" bill raising the debt ceiling.  This is on the heals of a bi-partisan budget agreement at the end of last year.  Experts say raising the debt ceiling without any drama, or threats of default, will go a long way to calming financial markets and the American economy.  Who should get the credit?

     ...It seems every other week there is another tweak to the Affordable Care Act.  Regressives scream each time that this is proof it has to be repealed and is a disaster and unconstitutional and the end of the world.  It is amazing how poorly it was written considering all the input lobbyists for the health insurance industry, the chamber of commerce etc were given into its construction.  (perhaps it would have been easier to just eliminate the insurance market completely)  It might be of note to remember when George Bush rolled out his Medicare prescription drug benefit, millions of seniors were immediately dropped by their pharmacies and could not get access to the medicine they needed.  Democrats in Congress immediately passed a number of fixes, including paying pharmacies to issue drugs to seniors, simply acknowledging it was a need that had to be met.  Can you see regressives doing the same thing?

     ...I like the sport of curling.  It seems to me to be shuffleboard, or bocce ball, on ice and while it should be as interesting as watching paint dry, I found it fascinating and like watching the skills involved.  (just once Id love to see one of them throw what is called in here a "hater" stone which is thrown as hard as possible with the purpose of just slamming into anything and everything in its way)

     ...Taking shots at Justin Beiber is like shooting fish in a barrel.  What would you have done if you were given millions of dollars when you were 16 or 17 with no parental supervision?  Come on...admit it...you would be just as obnoxious and out of control.  No excuse for his behavior, of course, especially driving while impaired, but don't lump him in with Miley Cyrus.  I suspect Dolly Parton is right when she observes everything Cyrus has done has been calculated to gain attention, press, and to expand her brand while Beiber hurts his by being a train wreck and not a wrecking ball.

     ...I'm still depressed by the 49ers loss to Seattle.  I think Seattle coach, and Marin County native, Pete Carrol is a coach who broke every rule he could to win some national championships at USC and was rewarded with a job in the NFL and left just in time to miss the sanctions and punishments his actions resulted in from the NCAA.  However, this is three chances for Jim Harbaugh and he is 0 for 3 and maybe it's time to stop the adulation and start asking some serious questions about his performance in big games.

     ...Have you watched the Crazy Ones with Robin Williams on CBS?  It is getting better and better and funnier and is my favorite new comedy, along with Mom, for the year.

     ...I want to highly recommend Doris Kerns Goodwin's new book about Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.  Even though it takes place more than 100 years ago, it could easily be describing the economic conditions in America today particularly the growing gap between the 1% and everyone else.  Then, Americans rose up, voted out the corporate stooges and benefitted from a Congress, and president, committed to advancing the cause of working folks and growing the middle class...a Congress which created the 8 hour day, 40 hour week, overtime pay, outlawed child labor, regulated safe working conditions, set aside national parks, broke up monopolies, created union friendly labor law and set the scene for 70 years of prosperity and the expansion of the middle class. (it's called progress and they were called Progressives)  So why can't the same thing happen again today?

     ...I know this is heresy among the morning news cognoscenti, but the CBS Morning News is the most watchable of the morning news shows.  I can't take the smile and smarm of George Steppinalloverit or Matt Lauer or the faux camaraderie orchestrated by ABC or NBC.  For at least the first forty-five minutes, CBS gives a straightforward, comprehensive presentation of the news.

     ...The founder of the Home Depot says he might not donate some of his millions to refurbish St. Patrick's cathedral in NYC because he is offended by Pope Francis I criticism of trickle down economics and his call for the Church to have a fundamental commitment to helping the poor and disenfranchised among us.  Ken Langone goes on to say he knows other wealthy Catholics who share his distaste with a Pope who condemns the powerful for exploiting the powerless.  Somehow I don't think Mr. Langone owns a WWJD bracelet do you?

     ...Average, working class folks are finding it harder and harder to afford to live in San Francisco.  If you could, how would you address this growing gap between those who live in the city and those who are paid to maintain it for all the rest but are excluded from the privilege of living within its boundaries?


     ...I'm being asked what job I should seek when I am no longer a guest of the federal government.  I would be interested in any ideas or tips you may have.

9 comments:

  1. How about a speaking engagement in Omaha? Bill Clinton was cancelled because he couldn't sell enough tickets at $500.00 a piece for a seat or $49.00 for standing only.

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  2. We need to hear your voice, I say you should do a show on XM, they really need you.

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  3. Ummm....Talk show host on bay area radio?

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  4. Hi, Bernie. I've returned to the Bay Area from Colorado, and the lack of liberal talk radio here--not to mention anyone coming close to 'The Lion of the Left'--has driven me to listen to podcasts almost exclusively. There is no reason any longer to be tied to AM; it seems it is a dying medium. That said, have a look at the Mike Malloy/Thom Hartmann/Ring of Fire/Norman Goldman model. Put me down right now for a 60/year subscription to your talk show. I'm sure there are many more like me hungering to hear your humane, progressive voice again. There are ways to get your show out there--think Progressive Voices or other liberal media groups that promote on-line broadcasts.

    I know I speak for many that we await the day we can hear your voice again.

    Be well, and know you are cherished by so many of us out here.

    -Chuck

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  5. Start a podcast, create a blog, write a book, take up gardening, become an artist, become a caregiver for an elderly person,--just let us know where and what. You have tremendous knowledge and a voice, I hope you use it well.

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  6. Everything Chuck said (and I like the idea of a book as well...).

    Think of you often!

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  7. Bernie: I think that you could try to get back on a radio talk show (they probably wouldn't let you use Internet unsupervised, even if you posed no threat, but that condition wouldn't be too difficult overall). Or, you could lecture at a college or university (depending on the academic prerequisites required at a particular school; even if you don'[t have a Ph.D, you seem well-educated). Or, perhaps you could write a book about your ordeals with the law and the prison system, or about what you would personally do to improve America if you were President. It would be nice to hear you on the radio again though.

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  8. Hey Bernie, If Liddy (with his heinous past) could do it (see below), you, who have far more talent and integrity, can also fashion a comeback. The 99% are awaiting your talents in their behalf! Welcome back into a new era. Between podcasts, YouTube, internet radio, and many combinations of these. you'll have many choices.
    "In 1980, Liddy published an autobiography, titled Will, which sold more than a million copies and was made into a television movie. In it he states that he once made plans with Hunt to kill journalist Jack Anderson, based on a literal interpretation of a Nixon White House statement "we need to get rid of this Anderson guy".[12][13] In the mid-1980s Liddy went on the lecture circuit and was listed as the top speaker in the college circuit in 1982 by The Wall Street Journal. He later joined with LSD proponent Timothy Leary on a series of debates which were popular on the college circuit as well; Leary had once been labeled by Liddy's ex-employer Richard Nixon as "the most dangerous man in America." Liddy remained in the public eye with two guest appearances on the 1984-89 television series Miami Vice, playing the role of "Capt. Real Estate," a character loosely based on himself. He appeared in the 1993 Golden Book Video release of Encyclopedia Brown: The Case of the Burgled Baseball Cards as Corky Lodato. In Miami Vice, he acted with John Diehl. (from Wikipedia)"
    Venceremos, Jose

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  9. Hey Bernie -
    I'd be real curious as what you intend to do when you first get sprung? Steak Dinner with Missus? long drive on the open road? Sleep on 100 thread sheets? I can't imagine what you've missed in the can.

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