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  Regressives scream each time that this is proof it has to be repealed and is a disaster and unconstitutional and the end of the world.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.