- So what is a person to do when something they loathe (soccer) comes up against the potential to stick it to a group that they despise (smokers)? I’m conflicted over a plan by the Summit County (Ohio) government to build a new $170 million soccer stadium even though the area has no pro team (thank God) and every team in the area that has existed (Cleveland, Akron, etc.) has folded within a few years at most. So you have the local government wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on something the area doesn’t need, obviously bad……but now comes word that $7 million annually could be raised with a new, additional tax on cigarettes. On the one hand, a gigantic waste of money in a stadium that no one needs. On the other, the chance to screw over smokers. It’s a tough call, because I tend to be bitter against people who drastically increase my chance of lung cancer by foisting their secondhand smoke on me when they light up in places I happen to be. Ultimately, though, I’m going to have to come down on the side of hoping that this stadium doesn’t happen, because the cigarette tax isn't going to cover the entire cost of the stadium and it’s still going to be a colossal waste of money.
- It’s none of your business…..so here’s why I’m gonna tell you about it anyhow. That convoluted line of thinking is brought to you by Lindsay Lohan, who revealed to People magazine that she’s been attending AA meetings for a year but hadn't said anything because “it’s no one’s business.” Great, so why are you telling me about it now? And why should I care? You aren't wrecking production on one of my movies by staying out all night drinking and clubbing, then showing up too hung over to do your scenes. On a side note, what does this say about Alcoholics Anonymous, that Lohan appears to have become more of a lush after attending AA than she was before? The best therapy for Ms. Lohan would seem to be getting fired from a major project because of her drinking and being unable to find any more roles until she cleans up and gets her act together. Seeing her money dry up might be a good incentive to stop boozing.
- The NBA players have spoken, and the league has relented on the use of the new composite basketball in games. As of January 1, the league will bring back the old leather ball in games, heeding the complaints (loud, plentiful and frequent) of scores of players who said the new ball didn’t bounce right, was hard to grip, was cutting their hands, etc. The Players Association went so far as to file a labor grievance over the ball, but Commissioner Stern made the change before the grievance went any further. Oddly, Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, a vociferous critic of the new ball, came out against the mid-season switch, apparently feeling it would have been better to finish the season with the new ball and go back to the old one at the start of next season. Nash needs to do one thing: shut up. You sound like a petulant five-year-old, whining to get your way, then when you get it, complaining that it wasn’t the exact way you wanted it. Shut up, Steve, be thankful you got the old basketball back and deal with the change.
- Updating a previously reported on issue……the federal government is fighting a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge that the federal treasury must redesign currency in order to accommodate the needs of blind people. They cannot differentiate between the different paper monies, which are all the same size, and apparently have rejected some of my insightful, thoughtful suggestions for fixing the problem. Justice Department lawyers filed an appeal to the ruling, claiming that blind people are “not denied meaningful access” to money based on the way the nation’s currency is designed. Part of my thinks they just don’t want the expense of redesigning and issuing new currency, but part of me says good for them, because the complaining, whiny, gimme, politically correct sect has far too much influence in America. This should be a good battle, though, so stay tuned.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently fancies himself some sort of peace broker/mediation/counseling specialist. The commish called Cincinn-Attica Bengals owner Mike Brown to offer his “services” in helping the Bengals organization in dealing with its eight wayward players who have been arrested this season. Either the commissioner is some sort of Zen, behavior correcting sage, or he is putting on a happy face and making the offer while fully intending to bring the hammer down on the Bengals players when he gets face to face with them. He’ll pretend, for the public at least, to be doing it for the greater good of the NFL, but you know he has to be pissed to see the league being dragged through the mud by these cons in Cincy. So Goodell goes there, gets these eight players in a locked room with no windows and administers some Sopranos-style “encouragement” to them. Honestly, nothing else has worked, and since the NFL apparently does not share my goal of seeing at least ¼ of the entire Bengals roster arrested before season’s end, I wish the commissioner well in this ill-fated endeavor.
No comments:
Post a Comment