Weekly Comments Archive
Archived Issue
Sunday, April 4, 2021
ISSUE #1057
Infrastructure, Border, Baseball, and Basketball

During Infrastructure Week, President Biden introduced a 600-Billion-dollar Infrastructure bill. It earned praise from both Democrats and Republicans until someone discovered that $1.7 TRILLION in non-infrastructure spending had been snuck in. It’s hidden under the roads, bridges, airports, and railroads.

If I gave you a list of 25 items in the bill, I bet you could accurately separate the “infrastructure” items from the “non-infrastructure” expenses. Now, those other expenses may be popular and desirable, but they ought to be debated in a separate bill. (See Will’s first quote below)

Last week I hinted that VP Kamala Harris should refuse President Biden’s request to take control of the border calamity. And she did! A reporter asked when she would go visit the border, and she just laughed. (She does that frequently.) That leaves President Biden in a bind. He promised to visit the border but he likely can’t find any prominent Democrats willing to go with him. Everybody in Congress is afraid the President would require them to accept 100,000 new undocumented immigrants into their district or state. Right there, re-election goes out the window.

Five weeks ago, I suggested that students in places like Chicago, where the teachers refuse to teach in the classroom, go to the border and pretend to be illegal immigrants. Well, San Diego students can do it. Teachers who still refuse to teach their own students in-person because of Covid, volunteered to teach immigrant children. Yes, in-person, with no testing for Covid.

Major League Baseball (MLB) announced they are moving the All-Star game out of Atlanta because they don’t like the new election law in Georgia. That law is hotly debated because it was written by Republicans, and Democrats say it is still too restrictive. But the MLB announcement is raising a ruckus across the country. The Milwaukee Brewers said, “We’ll host it.” Then someone pointed out that Wisconsin already has the same photo ID requirements as Georgia. Senator Schumer jumped in, “Let New York host it in Yankee Stadium.” Hold on; NY has fewer days to vote and it’s tougher to get an absentee ballot than in Georgia.

So here’s my suggestion. To stop any further embarrassing revelations about your state’s elections, none of the teams should offer to host it. Let ‘em play the All-Star game in a location where the players and owners prefer to be loved, making millions of dollars, attracting new fans, and there is no question about election rules, racist or otherwise. Yes, the perfect location is Beijing, China.

In the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four semifinals last night, Baylor won the championship of Texas by beating Houston. And Gonzaga won the West Coast division by beating UCLA on a tie-breaking shot you will see replayed hundreds of times. It’s kinda refreshing that tomorrow the two teams that almost everyone agrees are the best in the country will play for the championship.

This is Easter, a day when Christians around the world celebrate the Risen Savior. It was meaningful even with masks or staying in the parking lot. I watched two services on my home computer: one from my Methodist Church in Columbus, and the other from Claremore, Oklahoma, across the road from the Will Rogers Museum.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Did you see where already there has been over 1,000 Bills introduced in (a special session of Congress). Now it was supposed to just be for Farm Relief, but they got ’em in there for everything from Birth Control to Mass Production…to stop War… to stabilize money…and to make the Star-Spangled Banner the National Anthem.” WA #331, Apr. 29, 1929

“I heard (‘Easter Bonnet’) on the radio. It’s pretty. It’s my favorite tune, with it being Easter.” Radio, Apr. 21, 2935

“I bet any Sunday could be made as popular at church as Easter is if you made ’em fashion shows too… We will do anything, if you just in some way turn it into a show.” DT #2718, Apr. 22, 1935

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