Monday, March 20, 2017

Quick Hits: Volume CXLVI

- President Donald J. Trump released his Federal Budget proposal recently. It's pretty much D.O.A. with Congress, but then again Presidential budget proposals often are.

That said, the chanting point which most caught my ear came from the secular left in their lecturing of Christian Trump supporters on how certain budget cuts are "anti-Christian." Erick Erickson, one of the premier Christian conservative writers out there (and certainly no Trump apologist), caught on to this as well.

I suppose it is natural to think this sort of thing with government is your god. Cutting the budget is cutting god.

For those of you who still cannot fathom it, the government cutting social welfare spending is perfectly reconcilable with Christianity. Christians believe they and the church have the obligation and we help take care of the poor through our tithes, offerings, and volunteering. In fact, I dare say the church and local community take care of the poor and elderly better than the federal government and we would probably see a vast improvement in the situation if the federal government got out of the way.

The reality is that the church has largely abdicated responsibility to the government and should take it back.

Amen.

OK, Venn Diagram time. The people who believe Trump's budget is anti-Christian and the people who believe that de-funding Planned Parenthood due to its abortion practices is abhorrent.


- In the immortal words of President Gerald R. Ford, "Our long, national nightmare is over.

Tom Brady's stolen jersey from this year's Super Bowl has been recovered after being found in the possession of a member of the international media, according to the NFL.

The league announced Monday that the New England Patriots quarterback's game-worn jerseys from Super Bowl LI and another, missing from Super Bowl XLIX, were retrieved after an investigation led by the FBI.

The jerseys were found in Mexico and currently are being authenticated by authorities, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

The Mexican Editorial Organization (OEM), a major newspaper publishing company, has identified the man allegedly involved in the case as Martin Mauricio Ortega, who was a director of one of its newspapers, Diario La Prensa, until he resigned last Tuesday.

Given all the factors involved (Patriots, media, Mexican reporter), I'm almost 100% certain that I was not the only person to immediately go to President Trump's Twitter feed to see if he had any reaction.


- A Spike Lee (got his nose outta) joint.

"The New York J-E-T-S Need A Quarterback," wrote Lee, who said he spoke with (Colin) Kaepernick over brunch. "Who Is The J-E-T-S Quarterback? Is My Man Joe Willie Namath Coming Back? Crazy Times We Live In."

Lee used his post to rail against the NFL for excluding Kaepernick, who ignited a firestorm last fall because he refused to stand for the national anthem as a way to protest social and racial issues.

Lee said it "Smells MAD Fishy To Me, Stinks To The High Heavens" that Kaepernick, who opted out of his San Francisco 49ers contract, still doesn't have a job.

Of course the connection was made that Jets owner Woody Johnson is a prominent GOP donor who supported Donald Trump for President.

I will admit, I'm a bit surprised that Kaepernick is still unsigned in what is a down year for free agent quarterbacks. When Kaepernick had the opportunity to play last season, he showed some flashes of the young QB who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. As such, some folks (though not me) will cite the controversy he generated during pre-game National Anthems as the reason for teams not wanting to sign him. I don't believe it's that simplistic, but to say it has zero bearing is naive.

At the end of the day, NFL teams run as much a public relations business as they do forming a collection of players who can be competitive on the field. If NFL front offices choose to forgo signing the 29-year old Kaepernick due to distractions that may occur, that's they're right as an employer. In no way are his First Amendment rights being violated, since that applies to government inhibiting one's right to speak freely.

If the NFL is not a viable option for Kap, word is that the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL may be in the market for a QB.

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