R.I.P. Jim Seals of Seals & Crofts

Jim Seals, one half of the 1970's pop duo Seals & Crofts, passed away yesterday. No cause of death has been released. However, he did suffer a stroke in 2017. Some accounts state Seals was 79 while others say 80.

A native of Texas, Seals played saxophone, guitar and violin. Seals and his childhood friend Dash Crofts would become members of The Champs best known for its instrumental hit "Tequila" while still teenagers. Seals and Crofts would also briefly collaborate with Glen Campbell in the band Glen Campbell and The GCs. 

While both men were members of a band called The Dawnbreakers they were introduced to the Baha'i faith. The two struck out on their own in 1969 taking a decidedly softer, more introspective approach to music. Seals and Crofts would attain international stardom in 1972 when the title track of their fourth album Summer Breeze became a breakout hit. They would be equally successful the following year with the title track of their fifth album Diamond Girl. Other hits include "We May Never Pass This Way Again", "Closer to You" and, my personal favorite, "Hummingbird".

The duo broke up in 1980. They would reunite briefly for some concerts in 1991 and again in 2004 when they released their final album Traces. Seals would also collaborate with his younger brother Dan Seals who had success in a duo of his own called England Dan and John Ford Coley. During the 2000's, Seals and Seals would occasionally tour before the younger Seals was diagnosed with lymphoma which would take his life in 2009 at the age of 61. And now Jim Seals has flown away too.

I leave you with Seals and Crofts playing some music during a 1974 TV appearance with Geraldo Rivera on Good Night America in which they also discuss their Baha'i faith. R.I.P.

DeSantis Seems Like The Sort of Guy Who Would Threaten to Fine The Special Olympics

If Florida Governor Ron DeSantis seems like the sort of guy who would threaten to fine the Special Olympics $27.5 million it is because he is.

Days before the games were to commence in Orlando, DeSantis' administration threatened to fine the Special Olympics $27.5 million if they kept their vaccine mandate which is contrary to Florida state law. The Special Olympics caved and, in so doing, put their athletes (many of whom are autoimmune compromised) at risk. 

But when it comes to Republicans be it DeSantis or Trump or anyone else, the cruelty is the point and it doesn't get more cruel than picking on people with disabilities. 

Some Police Officers Don't Get The "To Serve and Protect" Part of Their Job

While I believe most police officers are committed public servants there are clearly some (far too many for my comfort) who have abandoned the credo, "to serve and protect".

This was evident with police officers in Uvalde, Texas being unwilling to go into an elementary school to stop a man from killing children despite pleas from children calling 911 to no avail. 

And now we learn of police in Tempe, Arizona standing idly by and letting a man drown. 

It's bad enough that some police feel they have a license to kill. But now a critical mass of police seems to believe they are under no obligation to serve and protect the public.

Under these conditions public confidence in law enforcement will only continue to erode. The erosion will only stop if the public demands accountability by means of punishment to those who in law enforcement who reckless disregard human life while rewarding those who go above and beyond the call of duty as well as increasing standards through better training.

Public safety and keeping the peace will always be an essential function of maintaining a civilized society. Police officers must do their part in fulfilling that essential function. Failure to do results in dead schoolchildren and drowned adults.

Will Boris Johnson Still Reside at 10 Downing Street By The End of 2022?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote by members of the Tory caucus. However, he did so by a margin less than that of Theresa May did in December 2018. Within six months, following a poor showing in the European elections, May was gone. 

Will Johnson still be residing at Number 10 Downing Street by the end of 2022?

During May's troubles, Johnson was always lurking in the wings. Johnson has no such obvious rival. It's not for a lack of ambition among Conservative MPs, but who is prepared to throw down the gauntlet.

But then there is this to consider. There are two by-elections scheduled in the constituencies of Wakefield plus Tiverton and Honiton for June 23rd. These were prompted by the resignations of two Tory MPs who were disgraced in sex scandals. The former is a traditionally Labour seat which the Tories gained in the 2019 election while the latter seat has been a Tory stronghold since its inception in 1997. The vote of confidence can't help be helpful to the Tories in these races. Should the Tories lose both contests calls for Johnson to go will only intensify. 

If, as the late British Prime Minister Harold Wilson used to say, "A week in politics is a lifetime," then three weeks is an eternity.

Can The Phillies Turn Around Their Fortunes After Firing Joe Girardi?

Somehow I missed the news the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday after less than two and a half seasons. Perhaps my mind was focused on the Don McLean concert.

Well, for Girardi it was the day the baseball died. Girardi was dismissed after a 22-29 start and 12.5 games back of the NL East leading New York Mets. The Phillies named bench coach Rob Thomson as interim manager. The Phillies have won two straight games under Thomson albeit against the now struggling Los Angeles Angels who have lost 10 straight games. One wonders if Joe Maddon, in his third season, at the helm of the Halos, will also be shown the door.

As for the Phillies the question remains if the team can turn around their fortunes in 2022. The general consensus is that the Phillies' problems run much deeper than a mid-season managerial change can properly address. Their starting pitching led by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler but their offense, defense and bullpen have been underperforming. 

But who knows? Perhaps Thomson can be to the Phillies what Joe Morgan was to the Boston Red Sox during the 1988 season and win 19 out of 20 games. Of course, this assumes Phillies President Dave Dombrowski is sold on Thomson. 

Whatever happens, two thirds of the 2022 season have yet to be played. The Phillies are down but they are not out especially in a playoff format which allows for three wild card teams. If the Phillies somehow make the post-season for the first time since 2011 they will truly be a wild card.

DeSantis Denies Tampa Bay Rays Financing Due to Pro-Gun Control Views

First, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis targeted Disney for their opposition to the state's "Don't Say Gay Bill" by taking away their special governing status. 

Now DeSantis has taken aim at the Tampa Bay Rays. Last week, following the massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas as well as the mass murder of African-American shoppers in Buffalo, the Rays along with the New York Yankees used their social media platforms to discuss gun violence while the Rays also made a $50,000 donation to Everytown for Gun Safety.

Yesterday, DeSantis issued a line item veto to allocate $35 million to the team to build a player development facility in Pasco County. At a press conference DeSantis stated it would be "inappropriate to subsidize political activism of a private corporation." DeSantis also added, "I don't support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums."

Let's be clear. Had the Rays saw fit to praise the Second Amendment on their social media accounts or donated to DeSantis' re-election campaign, the money would be on its way to the Rays. If the Rays held these views then DeSantis would be more than happy to subsidize them.

It will be interesting to see if DeSantis also goes after the Yankees which have a spring training facility in Tampa Bay as well as their Single-A affiliate the Tampa Bay Tarpons. 

DeSantis' move also makes me question the Rays future in Tampa Bay. The Rays lease at Tropicana Field expires after the 2027 season. If DeSantis is still in office or a DeSantis acolyte is Governor by then I suspect the team will be headed elsewhere most likely Montreal. If DeSantis isn't prepared to allocate funds to the Rays to build a player development facility then he sure as hell won't provide any funding for a new ballpark.

Again, one can certainly argue against public funding for sports teams and companies valued at a billion dollars. But the only reason the Rays now find themselves in this situation is because Ron DeSantis would rather see children murdered than for the Rays to espouse views contrary to his own.

 

No, President Biden Proposing Tougher Gun Laws Isn't "an Impeachable Offense"

In response to President Biden's gun control speech on Thursday night, Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist, told Fox News viewers that his remarks constituted "an impeachable offense.":

I think it’s comforting for simple-minded people to think that restricting the natural right to keep and bear arms would solve all of our problems, that destroying the Constitution would solve our problems. We have a natural right of self-defense and to guard against tyranny in the Second Amendment, this is something that makes us American.

And Joe Biden showed that he does not respect the Constitution. He does not support this natural right. That really is an impeachable offense to talk this way against something so foundational to the country.

For starters, discussing public policy is not and never has been an impeachable offense. President Biden's proposals, if implemented, might prove ineffective. But ineffective policy isn't the same as impeachable conduct.

Indeed, I find it laughable that Hemingway would claim that President Biden "does not respect the Constitution" for merely discussing the Second Amendment. Hemingway, of course, is a well-known apologist for defeated former President Donald Trump, a man who will not exactly be remembered for his fidelity to the Constitution. 

In discussing the Second Amendment, Biden invoked the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia stating, “Like most rights, the right…” — Second Amendment — the rights granted by the Second Amendment are “not unlimited.”

To be precise, Biden was referring to Justice Scalia's majority opinion in the 2008 case D.C. v. Heller. Although that ruling deemed Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban to be unconstitutional, Scalia did make a point of stating:

Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose (italics mine): For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

Based on the above, one must ask if Hemingway if it was an impeachable offense for Scalia to talk in this way. 

This isn't to say that President Biden's proposals are necessarily workable and some will undoubtedly raise constitutional questions. Biden made a point of proposing a requirement that gun owners lock up their weapons with trigger locks something the D.C. v. Heller ruling deemed unconstitutional. 

Nearly all American Presidents have implemented policy measures which the courts have deemed unconstitutional. These are the checks and balances which has made the American system of governance renowned all over the world. 

However, there is world of difference between President Biden merely quoting a Supreme Court justice's opinion of the Second Amendment and defeated former President Trump withholding congressionally approved military aid unless that country opens an investigation into his political opponent and subsequently inciting a riot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. These are impeachable offenses. Talking about Second Amendment isn't.