Author: boom booms room staff

One More Go for Tebow

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Why can’t we have one thing without the other?  It’s because today’s society says we can’t.

Any moment that could be viewed as a good one is torn down by the other side because someone a) unfairly benefited, b) has white privilege, c) it’s the good old boys again, etc, etc.

This time as the Jacksonville Jaguars might/probably/will offer Tim Tebow one more shot at his American Dream, we get a barrage of “if Tebow gets a chance so should Kapernick.”  One has everything to do with the other on the obvious level,  but it has nothing to do with the other when you dig into any of the details surrounding Tebow’s latest and likely last attempt at playing NFL ball.

Tebow’s old college coach Urban Meyer is now the Jaguars headman.  They won a championship or two together a decade ago at the U of Florida.  Maybe Meyer loves what Tebow brings to the locker room.  Work ethic and leadership come to mind.  If you just wondered about Kapernick’s work ethic and leadership you just fell into the same trap described above.  They’re mutually exclusive of one another.  But, that’s ok, we’ll play along as well.

Tebow has been asked to try the TE position before but was adamant about playing QB.  He’s gotten as many offers at QB in the last eight years as Kapernick has in the last four.  That would be zero.  So, a new position on a new position gives air to a 34-year-old’s last attempt.

Maybe he won’t make it, maybe he will.  But his willingness to try earns the short-term modest contract and opportunity in an old coaches’ eye.

Meanwhile, last we saw Kaepernick he was supposed to show his skills (after a couple of years away from the sport) to those NFL scouts, coaches, and GMs that decided to make the effort to see him in the much-ballyhooed, arranged by the NFL, tryout.

How did Kapernick do? Well, he showed up late.  He showed up with his own film crew (unannounced prior)  that he was insisting be allowed to record the event.  Then he refused to go through some of the workout as planned by the NFL.

The word that is opposite of willing is unwilling.  Unwilling usually doesn’t get you as far along in a job search as willing might.

Meanwhile, has anyone looked up the personnel breakdown stats in the NFL?  In 2019 59% of the players identified as African American, and in 2020 that percentage had risen to a tick below 70%.  With that as the backdrop, we ask the question, “if any NFL team thought Colin Kaepernick (baggage included) thought that he could help them win on the field, in the locker room, or in their community, wouldn’t they sign him?”

When Antonio Brown signed on mid-season last year with Tampa Bay, why didn’t anyone scream about Kaepernick then?  Or Tebow for that matter?

Malcontents abound in the league.  Your skillset has to more than offset your drama though.

Tim Tebow brings no drama.  He may also bring no skillset at TE either.

In the world of supply and demand, there is little for Tebow (even with all of that white privilege) and less for Kaepernick.  But, that assertation doesn’t work with the narrative of the day.

 

Problem Solved

Posted on by boom booms room staff

People the world over ask BBR daily what is the real purpose of its burgeoning business.  The answer is, and always has been simple.  BBR is in the “solutions” business.

Add in a touch of Rasmussen, who is in the polling business, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) who owns a football factory or fourteen and, voila!  We’ve done it again.

Problem solved.  Which one, you ask?  Eliminating Covid-19 is which one.

Over 105 million, or 31.8% of the US population have been fully vaccinated according to the CDC as of May 3rd.

On Tuesday Rasmussen released poll results surveyed April 29 -May 2 which asked the simple question “Should people who have been vaccinated fully against Covid-19 continue wearing masks in public places?”  Forty-nine percent said yes, while 42 percent said no.  It seems like there is some division along party lines as 67% of Republicans said no, while 75% of Democrats said yes.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask.  That should do it.

But, for how long to ensure that we end the pandemic do we need to vac and mask?  That was question number two.  Thirty-three percent said “six months to a year.”  Thirty percent said “less than six months.”  Risk-takers they are.  Ten percent said “at least eighteen months” while nine percent said “the next couple of years.”

And, finally, six percent want to be uber safe.  They recommended “indefinitely.”  You have to think that at least 60 of every 1000 adults polled don’t know what the word “indefinitely” means, don’t you?  Hopefully.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask for a long time.  That should do it.

But, there is this pesky problem.  Vaccination rates have stalled.  Heck, in the deep south they started slower and seem to have tapered off.  Egads.

The University of Alabama finishes first in football every year.  But, in adult population vaccinations the State of Alabama finishes last.  The CDC says Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia are close behind in 49th through 45th.

Enter Dan Wolken, USA Today Columnist, with a take that should light up the scoreboard.  He recommends that for entry into an SEC stadium near you this fall that you would have to show proof of vaccine.  After all, he writes, what better way to motivate people than to tell them they must show proof to get into an SEC venue like Bryant Denny Stadium this fall?

Is there a better name to write this than Dan (drop the “L”) Woken.  What’s better than “woke?”  Woken.  Or, Wolken.  We digress.

Hopefully, there is no backlash from Title IX supporters that Wolken only speaks to full capacity stadiums for men’s football games.  Shouldn’t this requirement extend to, say, full capacity arenas for women’s basketball?  Nevermind.

And, why only the SEC?  What about, for instance, the PAC 12?  They still play football, don’t they?  Don’t they?  Do they?

What Wolken calls an incentive, others call suppression of their freedom.

So, get fully vaccinated, wear a mask(or two) forever, and we’ll let you sit in a full (at least in the south) stadium to watch a football game.  Deal?

Problem solved we think.

But just in case, should we dock the Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort off of the Gulf Coast this fall?

Only Dr. Fauci knows.

 

Back and Forth

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Question.  Is the political pendulum swinging again?  Answer.  The political pendulum is always swinging.  It’s just a matter of its direction.

Overlooked to some degree in the furor surrounding the defeat of Trump and the Senate runoffs was the ground that the Republicans gained as the 117th Congress (January 2021) took their seats in the House of Representatives.

For the two years prior, the Democrats controlled the House with a 233 to 196 margin after a midterm storm.  As it stands today the majority Democrats outnumber the Republicans by a considerably slimmer 218 to 212 count.

It should be noted that the totals seemingly always are in a slight state of flux due to resignations, seats being vacated, and even deaths.  

“They” say all politics is local.  “They” might be right.  Or, at least they might be leaning right as the race for the House will heat up again and sooner than you might imagine.  Four months of 24 have already passed.

The Census results released last Monday show that seven states will lose seats while six will gain. Texas will add two seats and Florida one. The fast-growing states of Montana and Oregon will each add one seat, as will Colorado and North Carolina.

Montana’s second seat comes after 30 years of having just a single at-large district.  Why suddenly are so many people moving there?  You know why.

At the same time, the big states of the Midwest and Northeast that historically have backed Democrats will lose congressional seats and the electoral votes that come with them. Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose one district. California’s loss of one seat reflects the slowing population growth of the nation’s largest state.

But, staying with the local theme, it may go deeper than the above states plusses or minuses.  It may go all the way down to the much-debated southern border.

South Texas Hispanic females are leading the charge to turn the Democrat stronghold of the Rio Grande Valley red.  How crazy does that sound considering the overheated rhetoric surrounding immigration both legal and otherwise in that region?

In 2016 Hillary Clinton lost elsewhere but captured the region by a whopping 39% points.  In 2020 Joseph Biden won elsewhere but his victory margin in the same district was but 15%.  The local pendulum might be moving against the Democrats in areas they have incessantly appealed (some might say pandered) to.

Chair of the Hidalgo County Republican Party and daughter of a Democratic state legislator Adrienne Pena-Garza is one example. She told the NY Times the Democrat Party has gone too far left on gun control and abortion.

Said Pena-Garza. “If someone’s going to tell you: ‘Oh, you’re brown, you have to be Democrat,’ or ‘Oh, you’re female, you have to be a Democrat’ — well, who are you to tell me who I should vote for and who I shouldn’t?”

Pena-Garza explained to the Times she was a victim of identity politics. “You can’t shame me or bully me into voting for a party just because that’s the way it’s always been,” she said.

The Times also spoke with Jessica Villarreal, a military service member who voted periodically before now pondering a campaign for elected office.

“There are more of us who realize our beliefs are Republican, no matter what we’ve been told in the past,” Villarreal told the Times. “I am a believer in God and the American dream, and I believe the Republican Party represents that.”

The Democratic Party poured big, big bucks into the state in last year’s elections.  The result?  Texas went ten for ten in reelecting sitting Republican Congressmen.  Ouch.  Now add two more seats.

That much bandied about, so-called Texas blue wave might just be a red tide after all.  And, it sounds like the brown community might have its crayons out to help color it that way.

The pendulum never comes to rest.

 

 

 

 

 

Trade Up for a Franchise QB?

Posted on by boom booms room staff

The words “franchise” and “quarterback” go together in the NFL like “hammer” and “nail” do in the construction business.

Every team has a quarterback or three.  But, not every team has what anyone will tell you is the most important piece to success- a franchise quarterback.  A deep playoff run, much less a Super Bowl win, is highly improbable without one.

In this century (if you consider the year 2000 as part of this century) 25 times a team has traded up to be able to say “we got our guy.”  When you use the draft book that all teams use to value every slot in the entire draft, you figure that, on average, a team trading up to get the next Patrick Mahomes gives up an additional 1st round pick to do so.

A first-round pick is gold.  NFL teams’ highest hit rate on success is in round one and with the salary cap that successful pick is under contract for arguably less than half of his worth in free agency.  That’s called value and that’s how you win in the NFL-you have more talent under the same salary cap.

So, to give one up is to give up a lot.  So, how have the 25 trade-ups fared?  You’d think quite well considering all that goes into player personnel research.

The answer is good, ok, and downright ugly.

Good

In 2017 The Kansas City Chiefs sent their first, 2018 first, and a third-rounder to move to number 10 overall to take the aforementioned Patrick Mahomes.  One SB win, another appearance, three Pro Bowls, and one MVP later make this move not only good, but bordering on genius.

In that same draft, the Houston Texans traded two firsts for 15 spots up to nab DeShaun Watson.  Twenty lawsuits off of the field aside (and that’s one big aside when he’s the face of the franchise) his on-field development has been worthy.

Honorable mention for this level goes to the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.

Ok

Joe Flacco only cost the Ravens a swap of ones, a third, and a sixth to move up eight spots to get him 18th overall.  While not elite he was special in their 2012 postseason and SB win with 11 touchdowns and no picks.  Flacco played 11 years with the Ravens and won 96 while losing 67.

The Rams traded multiple picks and got three in return for the first pick of 2016 for Jared Goff.  The price was steep.  The results were ok.  Goff led the Rams to the SB once, made the playoffs in three of the five years he was there, and posted a 42-27 overall mark.  But, Sean McVay fell out of love with Goff and shipped him to the NFL’s version of hell (Detroit) this offseason.

Others considered at this level are Jay Cutler (35k passing yards) and Michael Vick (rushed for over 900 yards in two seasons and went 38-28 as a starter before he got into trouble with the law).

Ugly

Amazingly the list is long at this level and picking the biggest winner (or loser) is tough.  “Lipstick” and “pig” come to mind, not “franchise” and quarterback.”

Johnny “Heisman” Manzel takes first (last) place here.  He appeared in 14 games in two seasons for the Browns.  And, with many off of the field problems he never played another down in the NFL.  Bust is thy name.

Tim Tebow cost Denver a second, third, and fourth-rounder to get into the bottom of round one. in 2010.  Tebow was out of the NFL by 2013.  He started 14 games, though one was a miracle first-round win over Pittsburgh in the 2011 playoffs.

The Browns make the board again with the selection of Brady Quinn in 2007.  He stated and played poorly in 12 games in the NFL.  The price to swap one’s was a high second-rounder.

Others in consideration were Josh Rosen (Cardinals) who could easily be in the above top three, Paxton Lynch (Broncos) with four starts and a league exit in two years, and J.P. Losman (Bills) who defined mediocrity in five mediocre Bills’ seasons from 2004-2008.

 

Five quarterbacks will likely go in the first round on Thursday night.  Teams reach every year to find Mr. Right.

In case you are wondering, Ryan Leaf was drafted in 1998 and therefore wasn’t considered for the above.

Had he been two years younger we would have needed a category below “UGLY.”

One or more of the five Thursday could join him.

Who will that be?  That would require a crystal ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random Leftovers

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Does it frighten you to look into the back of your refrigerator from time to time and grimace at a plastic container of leftovers that you had no idea were still north of the disposal?  We understand.  Sometimes one of our staffers has the same problem with some very random nuggets rolling around in the back of his cranium.  Time to clean it out.

  1.  Next Saturday features “the fastest two minutes in sports.”  It will be Kentucky Derby day.  Can you name today just one horse entered for the prestigious Run for the Roses next Saturday?  No?  Understood.
  2. But isn’t it funny how you will wind up yelling at a flat-screen TV for a jockey and a horse that you won’t remember the name of by water cooler Monday?  Heck, you might even place a bet on the said horse.   Why not?  You still have a few bucks left from your stimulus check, don’t you?
  3. King James stepped in it again yesterday.  In a quickly deleted tweet he called out the police for killing the teen who had the knife in hand in Columbus.  He also decided #ACCOUNTABILITY was a good way to give a bad idea some social media air.  We’re still waiting on accountability from China on many fronts, but we digress.
  4. And, while we are picking on the King, shouldn’t he drop the nickname “King?”  First, it’s gender-specific unless we missed the discussion that now recognizes females as kings as well.  Second, it’s someone who takes from his minions to enhance his lifestyle.
  5. His President, Joe Biden, thinks just the opposite way though.  Biden’s proposed a possible 43.4 percent capital gains tax for wealthy Americans yesterday.  What did Wall Street think?  The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 400 points on Thursday afternoon after Bloomberg reported the details of the plan.  “His view, and the view of our economic team, is that won’t have a negative impact,” said his press secretary Jen Psaki.   Hmm.
  6. And much like the King should reconsider “King,” shouldn’t Biden eliminate the word “secretary” from any and all of the government positions that carry that title?  It seems like a layup and then a victory lap (or nap for him) waiting to happen.
  7. The controversial activist group Black Lives Matter criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday after the speaker thanked George Floyd for “sacrificing” his life for justice, calling her remarks “so damn disrespectful.”  The party from the left was in such lockstep with BLM prior to the election.  Pelosi is political Teflon though.  She’ll be back on Capitol Hill doing the people’s business on Monday thank goodness.
  8. The hype for the NFL Draft next week is in full swing.  Will you watch some of the three-day extravaganza?  No sports organization markets itself like the NFL.  No one.  Punch “NFL Draft” into Google. It’s pretty astonishing that a single event generates 243 million results in 0.22 seconds.
  9. Who’s your team taking in the latest mock draft?  If you don’t like the predicted choice, fret not.  “Experts” as ESPN labels them usually get only about 25% of the first round correct.  If you like the choice you might start fretting, however.  NFL teams’ success rate (offering their choice a second contract after the first has run its course) is only about 53%.
  10. Last year the NFC East Division didn’t have a team with a winning record as the season ended.  Awful.  Worst ever.  Is MLB’s East Divison in the NL going to follow up that ineptness with its own?  Three weeks into the season the Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Marlins, and Braves are a combined five games under .500 and none have a winning record.  Surely the Braves have too much talent to stay below .500.  And, how much longer can they keep the name Braves, as we digress for the last time this week. #stoppedthechop

Happy Weekend.

The System Is (Not) Working

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Derek Chauvin got what he deserved.

He got a fair trial by a jury of his peers overseen by what seemed to be a very even-keeled judge all the while represented by a competent defense attorney.

George Floyd’s family and all of America got what it deserved- a guilty verdict on all three counts brought against a police officer who committed a very serious crime.

In other words, to use an old tried but true phrase, justice was served.  And, after forthcoming sentencing, Chauvin will serve plenty of time for this injustice.

So, as we look back, was all of the looting, burning, rioting, violence, and teargas necessary to get us to this verdict yesterday?  No, of course, it wasn’t.

But, the marching and chanting gone bad wasn’t about getting justice in court, was it?  No, rather it was about the outrage that such a crime, and particularly a crime against a black man by someone who is supposed to protect and serve happened in the first place.  As understandable as the outrage is, lighting the town on fire isn’t the answer.

What is the answer?  Well, for the young and naive, know that society has searched for that answer for centuries.  It matters not what the crime is, and who has done it against whom, we haven’t prevented anyone from doing just about whatever they, unfortunately, choose to do against their fellow man.

Call the previous statement defeatist if you wish.  It’s reality.   It’s much like the war on drugs. How is that coming along?

But, when you mix in a white cop killing a black man, you multiply America’s outrage by a factor of X.  It’s deemed social injustice.

Chauvin isn’t the first bad cop.  And, news flash, he won’t be the last.

So defund the police.  The fine line between civility and incivility would run amok in a matter of minutes.  It’s also reality.

If you look up the aforementioned “young” and/or “naive” in the dictionary you’ll likely see a picture of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) next to it.  Predictably she had a strong point of view.

“It’s not justice. I’ll explain to you why it’s not justice. It’s not justice because justice is George Floyd going home tonight to be with his family.  Justice is when you’re pulled over, there not being a gun that’s part of that interaction because you have a headlight out. Justice is your school system not having or being part of a school-to-prison pipeline.

So, no, this verdict is not justice. Frankly, I don’t even think we call it full accountability, because there are multiple officers that were there. It wasn’t just Derek Chauvin. And I also don’t want this moment to be framed as this system working, because it’s not working.”

When does any murder victim come home to be with his family?  Ever?

George Floyd had his share of run-ins with the legal system.  It in NO WAY justifies his killing, however.  But, remember, amongst nine crimes Floyd committed one was an armed robbery of a couple in their home after he impersonated a police officer to gain entry.  He held a gun to the women’s abdomen while his cohorts in crime took what they wanted.

He was tried, found guilty, and served his time.  What makes that different than the process that Chauvin went through?  Two things make it different.

One, we hold our officers up to a higher standard.  We should.  And, we’ll be disappointed again and again for doing so when one in a hundred goes bad.   Two, it’s different because Chauvin’s crime was white on black while Floyd’s crime was black on white.  If you are an equality purist that shouldn’t matter either.

AOC says that the system is not working.  Did your school have a school-to-prison pipeline by the way?

Depending on your view, it never has.

Or, it always will.

And that goes for the system and the pipeline.

Lemons. Lemonade.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

If there was ever a debate about which amendment in the Bill of Rights was most important the point would be made.

Debating is free speech.  And free speech is the most prominent part of the First Amendment.  Case closed.

But, alas, the case against Minnesota policeman Derick Chauvin isn’t yet closed.  It’s gone to the jury which is also a right guaranteed by our founding fathers.

So, while a jury of his peers speaks freely (we hope) about the merits of the charge he is facing inside, the posturing has been exacerbated and accelerated on the outside around further police interaction with the public that it is supposed to protect and serve.

After 26-year veteran, Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter said she mistook her gun for a Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright after a traffic stop last week she faces second-degree murder charges.  Do you want to talk about bad timing for a bad tragedy?

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib weighed in from her 13th District (west side of Detroit, Mi) two states over.  She posted on her Twitter account Monday in response to the shooting death of Daunte Wright.  She tweeted “It wasn’t an accident, policing in our country is inherently and intentionally racist.” She ended the tweet with “No more policing, incarceration, it can’t be reformed.”

So, forget due process she says, just end policing, and then you won’t have this problem any longer. Voila!  That might cause a few more problems, but we digress.

Rep Maxine Waters decided to travel from her home in California to Minnie.  Then she took to the Brooklyn Center, MN streets this past weekend along with other protesters of Wright’s death.   Waters responded to a reporter’s question that if Chauvin is not convicted of murder, protesters must ratchet up pressure and get “confrontational.”

“We’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active,” Waters said. “We’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure they know we mean business.”

But, that’s when free speech could get expensive.  You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theatre.  And, in this political theatre that’s where old Maxine might have crossed the line.

Forget censure in Congress which is a distinct possibility after it is brought to a vote.  She might have given the Chauvin defense attorneys the oxygen to light an appeals fire.

Presiding Judge Peter Cahill in this George Floyd murder case spoke freely as well.

“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned. I’m aware of the media reports, I’m aware that Congresswoman Waters was talking specifically about this trial, and about the unacceptability of anything less than a murder conviction, talked about being confrontational.   This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law.”

Whoopsie.

CNN host Don Lemon used his free speech pulpit to lecture to the ignorant and set the record straight.  He said that Rep. Waters  “Absolutely” should not have made the comments she did about reacting to the verdict in the Chauvin trial.  But he added  “everyone knows” she is “not calling for violence” and that “she makes a lot of white men uncomfortable.”

There you have it.  Who knew?  Everyone says Lemon.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives you Rashida and Maxine you get lots of chances to make a pitcher or two.

 

Just Checking

Posted on by boom booms room staff

It’s fact-check time.  It’s truth serum time.  It’s an attempt at sanity in these insane times.  And, it starts now.

Are you for or against packing the U.S. Supreme Court?  Currently, nine justices preside.  The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is champing at the bit to pack the court with four new appointees bringing the lucky number of black (can we still say that?) robes to 13.

If you are for it, would you also be for, say, four more to get to 17 if the Republicans retook control of both houses?  And, if that answer is a “yes,” which we doubt, how many would be too many in this race to stupidity?  What’s a good number to call it quits?  21?  27?  35?  51? 101? 1001?

Were you vehemently opposed to the cruel treatment of being placed in “temporary holding facilities,” aka “cages” that illegal minor immigrants that crossed our southern border were subjected to under the Trump Administration?

If you were, are you equally as outraged that the Biden Administration has not only carried on with that practice but seems to be putting more humans in even more cramped quarters?  Are you also disappointed that the temporary housing need has now invaded hotel chains in Texas at a cost to the US taxpayer of nearing a billion dollars and counting?

And, we presume that you are/were aware that the “cages” were built and first used under the Obama Administration.

And, what about that terrible, insensitive, prejudicial wall that Trump was building? Isn’t it great that Biden halted the construction?

If that is indeed a great dose of sanity and humanity we wonder if you were for or against any of the following?

  1.  The first barrier built by the U.S. was between 1909-1911; the first barrier built by Mexico was likely in 1918, and barriers were extended in the 1920s and 1930s.
  2.  President Bill Clinton approved the initial 14 miles of fencing along the San Diego–Tijuana border.   Construction began on this section in early 1993 and was completed by the end of the year.    Further barriers were built from 1994 under the presidency of Bill Clinton as part of three larger operations while he was president.
  3. The Real ID Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 11, 2005, brought the total man-made built miles to 75.
  4. The Secure Fence Act of 2006, signed into law on October 26, 2006, by President George W. Bush authorized and partially funded the potential construction of 700 miles of physical fence/barriers along the Mexican border. The bill passed with supermajorities in both chambers.
  5. Construction continued and in May 2011, President Barack Obama stated that the wall was “basically complete”, with 649 miles of barrier constructed. Of this, vehicle barriers comprised 299 miles and pedestrian fence 350 miles. Obama stated, “We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement.”
  6. And, finally, in 2017, post the Trump win came funding for a wider, taller, and more structurally sound wall.  Trump would say, “a very beautiful wall.”

Joe Biden was in a political office for all of the above, repeat all of the above, except border wall point number one and six.

Would you support the idea of the District of Columbia (Washington, DC) being granted statehood?

If so, would you also support US Territories, such as Puerto Rico coming on board?

Would it be ok if Texas split into five states?  Its state constitution had provisions written in it to facilitate such a move when the Republic thereof was admitted to statehood.  It should be noted that federal law may supersede that one though.  But, stranger things have happened deep in the heart of Texas.

Fifty existing plus DC plus PR plus five in Texas would equal 57 states.  Coincidentally that is the exact same number Obama said he visited during the 2008 election.   What a visionary he was/is.

Did you get a vaccine?  Are you still wearing a mask afterward?  What good is the vaccine if there is any fear that you can still a) catch the damn thing, or, b) spread the damn thing?  Was the mask worthwhile, then, in the first place?  Variants, you say?  Two masks?

Should Americans be forced into showing a vaccine ID card?  Would it suffice at polling places for those damn conservatives that still think you should need a valid ID to vote?

Maybe every time we vote we should get vaccinated for or against what we put in office.

Just checking.

 

Dinner Is Served

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Guess who’s coming to dinner? Well, the answer depends if you are talking about short-term or long-term.

In the short run, it should be your family and close friends.

In the long run, it could be your new neighbors.

Should be, we said, family and friends in the short term.  But, the honorable Dr. Fauci weighed in on Sunday.  “It’s still not OK” to gather indoors. He cited the “level of infection” as “still really disturbingly high.”

“So, if you’re not vaccinated, please get vaccinated as soon as vaccine becomes available to you, and if you are vaccinated, please remember that you still have to be careful and not get involved in crowded situations, particularly indoors where people are not wearing masks,” he stated.

“And for the time being, until we show definitively that a person who’s vaccinated does not get this subclinical infection and can spread to others, you should also continue to wear a mask.”

Who knew?  Now the vaccinations might not work.  All of this free government advice (coercion) comes from a man who just over a year ago said wearing a mask was not necessary.

But if you can wait for the $2.5 trillion infrastructure bill, which has little to do with infrastructure, to pass you could invite your new neighbors over for some indoor mask-wearing chow time.   Neatly tucked inside of the bloated bill is a measly $20 billion designed to turn current single-family dwelling neighborhoods upside down.

You’ve heard of Section 8 housing, haven’t you?  Stated simply, if you don’t have enough income to afford a certain home or apartment for rent, the government will provide the difference based on income or lack thereof qualifications.  The new bill would take that concept into a neighborhood near you.

The infrastructure bill, also known as the American Jobs Act, would remove the zoning that exists for single-family homes across the nation and allow tear-downs of them to build multi-unit apartments next to them or to convert existing single-family homes into multi-family dwellings.  Anywhere, anytime.

What a concept it is.  The government hands out money.  Jobs are created in the construction industry.  Landlords get paid.  Renters get better housing in any neighborhood of their choosing.  Corporations get taxed at a higher rate to pay for some of this plan.    Consumers pay more for what corporations make. Debt continues its climb.  And, you get new neighbors and plenty of them.

Viola!  Easy peasy.  No wonder it’s called the American Jobs Act.

And, now you can have all of the new neighbors that you want, or don’t want, over for dinner.  Hell, throw a block party.

The fact that we don’t choose our neighbors (and now not our neighborhood either) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be good neighbors.

Invite Dr. Fauci too.  But, insist that he wear a mask, dammit.

 

Woke. Toke. Joke.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Over the weekend our friend Woke spoke out against Georgia and its supposed voter suppression laws.  Never mind that the laws in place in the southern state are actually more progressive now than they were during the recent elections.

Major League Baseball was listening.  And learning.  MLB decided that it would move its 2021 mid-summer All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.  Its commissioner Rob Manfred, a member of the exclusive, famed Augusta Country Club so far has declined comment on whether The Masters Golf Tournament should follow suit.

It looks like the big swing from east to the west didn’t travel quite far enough.

Coors Field is named after Joseph Coors former president of Coors Brewing Company.

Coors established the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) a generation ago.  MSLF’s litigation work took a swing at the Voting Rights Act. MSLF filed a brief in the U.S Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required that certain states had to get preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before changing voting laws.  Oops.

If only the balls were juiced enough to have flown all the way to Cali.

There Woke could toke.  Although it would be wise to stay away from any cannabis developed by rapper Xzibit’s company named Napalm Cannabis.  They’ve been hit with an accusation of racism due to it being named after the chemical weapon used in firebombs during the Vietnam War.

A California-based store named The Higher Path found itself in the bullseye.  The Higher Path quickly took the higher path.  It says the product line ended up on its digital shelves in the first place due to ignorance and a lack of diversity on the company’s marketing team.

Customers were offended by the name of the rapper’s company, as well as a product known as “The Grenade,” reports no greater authority than TMZ.

“As an entirely white marketing team that lacks knowledge or trauma surrounding this weapon, we didn’t realize how violent and ignorant it was to promote such a brand/product. That’s on us.”

Woke.  Smoke.  Toke.  Joke.

“The word ‘napalm’ is definitely synonymous with war, and being used as a weapon,” Xzibit said. “And if you know anything about me, and my body of work — I got albums called ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ and ‘Man vs. Machine,’ so on and so forth.

“My intention for naming the cannabis company Napalm was by no means affiliated or a nod to the devastation that it’s had in its past,” Xzibit added.

The rapper said “as a black man,” he understands “discrimination and hatred.”

“So this album here is called ‘Napalm.’ I put this album out in 2012,” he continued.  Apparently, the word wasn’t as offensive from 2012 through early 2021.

Meanwhile back in backwoods Georgia,  apparently, neither is “braves” in the team name Atlanta Braves.  They’ve been in the ATL since 1966.

But the smoke signals from coast to coast signal that the end is near for that nickname.

It will get napalmed and not a moment too soon.

The Potato Head formerly known as Mr. knows this all too well.