A Disastrous Governor

What a disaster Susana Martinez has been!

Recent investigative journalism suggests that some of her apparent “pay-for-play” conduct involved law-breaking, at least by the folks who paid her to disregard our interest to serve theirs; and her Education Department has released new anti-science rules for teaching science. 

She wrongfully destroyed mental health facilities to clear the field for Arizona companies that had contributed to her campaign. 

According to The International Business Times, investment firms that gave Martinez and her supporters $1.2 million saw huge amounts of public money (in educational retirement funds and state investment funds) move from safer investments to those firms, with nice management fees. Those deals may have broken federal securities laws. State Rep. Bill McCamley has asked AG Hector Balderas to investigate whether they broke state campaign laws. Martinez chairs the State Investment Council, which oversees about $20 billion in state funds. Will those funds go the way of our mental health facilities?

Meanwhile, her Education Department wants to weaken the teaching of science by avoiding evolution, ignoring the scientific consensus that the Earth is nearly 4.6 billion years old, and hiding our heads in the sand about global warming. A national team of scientists and teachers developed a plan for science teaching; but either Susana knows better or it's politically inconvenient to teach science honestly.

Will teachers tell students that heavy things may fall toward Earth when they're dropped, because God has a heavy hand? Lion cubs may result from adult lions mating. The seas may be rising because God is blowing them up like a balloon. 

 

I'm all for healthy skepticism about scientific conclusions. Leeches and shock treatments were once standard treatments. Eggs are healthy or unhealthy, depending on the decade.

But science is right more often than it's wrong. It reaches conclusions by the method best calculated to approach Truth: the scientific method, stessing experiments and evidence, not the pronuncements of some seer, potentate, or astrologist. Test everything – then test it again.

I loathe what Susana and her minions are trying to do because I like honesty, candor, and evidence-based arguments. I dislike greedy politicians telling artists what they can create or scientists what their experiments should and shouldn't discover. I respect people's religions and ideas, and fight for their rights to express them; but I'd appreciate the same courtesy. Let our government govern, not waste time trying to protect religious beliefs. It's no coincidence that just when New Mexico is “adjusting” science to religion, Turkey's government is doing the same. No one religion or nationality has a corner on the arrogance market. There are stupid leaders everywhere.

Everyone from unemployed workers to the Chamber of Commerce says we need business development. All the experts say an educated work-force is one major quality companies look for. 

Many are tech companies, whose products are based on science.

For businesses to function in this modern world, a solid knowledge of science is essential. Imagine trying to build ships to navigate the universe if we still taught that the flat Earth was its center. If Earth is a few thousand years old, as some religious extremists say, were fossils and petroleum inserted into rocks by mischievous atheists? 

 

Republicans would offer us Steve Pearce as our next act. Someone who thinks women should obey their husbands; and whose political success depends on pretending global warming is a myth, oil and gas never pollute wells and streams, and solar energy is impractical.

Political corruption knows no party. Like science, democracy is a process. We need to be skeptical of all political candidates. Test them. And monitor results closely.

                                                        -30-

[The column above appeared this morning, Sunday, 24 September 2017, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website.  An abbreviated version will air during the week on KRWG Radio and KTAL-LP 101.5 FM.]

[Unbeknownst to me, while I was writing this column Algernon D'Amassa was writing column on the "post-truth political assault on science and liberty."]

[Meanwhile the big sports news this weekend is political: Donald Trump has dumbly involved himself in unnecessary bickering with popular athletes.  Insignificant in themselves, the recent controversies embody Trump's inability to control his mouth, his defensiveness and bullying, and his willingness to divide the country along ethnic lines.

One involves the aftermath of the Colin Kaepernick situation I wrote about a couple of months ago.  He's a qualified football quarterback without a job.  Most believe he's without a job because last season he started kneeling during the pre-game national anthem, as a protest.  People overreacted.  Trump overreacted, saying no team should hire him.  More and more players, even recently some white players, have begun emulating Kaepernick's form of protest.  A sane and sensible U.S. President would ignore this.  Theoretically he has weightier matters on his mind.  Trump has called them "sons of bitches" (to which Kaepernick's mom, though not really a fan of his protest, said "I guess that makes me a proud bitch") and said they should all be fired or suspended.  Playing to his base.  Predictably, that has increased the enthusiasm of players for the protest movement.  It's a way to protest Trump now.  A little less predictably, not only the owner of the San Francisco 49ers but several owners, such as the NY Giants' Mara, Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), and Shad Khan (Jacksonville Jaguars) have criticized Trump.  Kraft is a long-time pal of Trump's, and all three contributed money to his campaign and/or his inauguration.  The NFL contributed $100,000 to the inauguration, I think.  (Khan gave $1,000,000 to the Inauguration!)  In short, to garner a few raucous cheers from his base, Trump has further estranged himself not only to players and some of their fans, but to NFL owners.  

Meanwhile it looked likely the Golden State Warriors would decline an invitation to the White House to honor the NBA Championship they won earlier this year.  Star Steph Curry said he'd vote "No!"  Coach Steve Kerr, whose father was killed by terrorists in Beirut and who sees that Trump's conduct and policies exacerbate ethnic divisions and potential terrorism, was not personally in favor of going to the White House, but would let the players decide.  Trump took the decision out of their hands by rescinding the invitation.  Too thin-skinned to bear their likely rejection of him, he called more attention to it.  As Curry said, this is beneath Trump -- or beneath his current position -- and "isn't what a leader does."

Obama would likely have said that while he didn't agree with a lot of Kaepernick's views, our democracy depends on our tolerance, diversity, and freedom of expression.   The Warriors would have visited him, as they did two years ago, so that problem wouldn't exist.

A sensible Republican president with a sense of our country's values - John McCain , say -- would have ignored the football business, demonstrating he had more important concerns.  Such a Republican president would likely host the Warriors without incident, since he wouldn't have engaged in Trump's hateful rhetoric about minorities and immigrants; but if a team had talked about ducking a White House visit, he'd ignore it, express polite regret, or maybe -- given Kaepernick's having played with the 49ers -- just made some joke about California sports teams and California's governor being a little odd.  

All trivial.  Except that a fatal flaw in Mr. Trump is that in every situation, the highest priority is to look good.  Not to accomplish a goal that serves the national interest.  To look good.  Given a chance to forego looking like the star but get some concession that would help the country, Obama or McCain or Reagan would have been secure enough to forego for a moment appearing to be the smartest man in the room, if it would help some negotiation succeed.  Not the Donald.

An example of the reaction Trump inspired, from a story on The Hill.com by Brandon Carter: 

Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan blasted President Trump for his criticism of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, saying on Sunday that he is “appalled” at Trump’s comments.

“I’m pissed off, I’ll be honest with you,” Ryan said on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “I supported Donald Trump. When he asked me to introduce him at a rally in Buffalo, I did that. But I’m reading these comments and it’s appalling to me and I’m sure it’s appalling to any citizen in our country.”

“Calling our players SOBs and all that kind of stuff? That’s not the men that I know,” Ryan, who's  now an analyst, continued. “The men I know in the locker room, I’m proud of, I’m proud to be associated with those people.”

Now even surmising that owners and commentators (as Ryan now is) have some motive not to become anathema to players, these are strong.]

[Later in the day, I red this Dan Wetzel story]on how unifying and inspiring it was that Khan, in the NFL's first game this season in London, showed such support for his players against Trump's insults that he linked arms with them at the start of the game.   It's worth a read, even to a non-football-fan.  Too, the Jaguars did go out and wax Baltimore 44-7.]

[Still later, it was clear that the issue was widespread.  About 24 players from the two teams playing in the Wembley Stadium Game took a knee; the Jaguars who didn't mostly or all locked arms to show their solidarity, and the team's owner joined them.  With one exception, a player who'd served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, the Pittsburgh Steelers all avoided the divisive decision by staying in the locker room until the anthem was over. 
Meanwhile, basketball players criticized Trump's conduct toward the Golden State Warriors.  Perhaps one of the best statements I ran across was from Steve Kerr, the Warriors' coach, as quoted on-line:

Kerr still has a message for the commander in chief.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to meet President Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, and Obama," Kerr told The Crossover's Chris Ballard. "I didn’t agree with all of them, but it was easy to set politics aside because each possessed an inherent respect for the office, as well as the humility that comes with being a public servant in an incredible position of power, representing 300 million people.

"And that’s the problem now. In his tweet to Steph [Curry], Trump talked about honoring the White House but, really, isn’t it you who must honor the White House, Mr. President? And the way to do that is through compassion and dignity and being above the fray. Not causing the fray."  ]

.

 

Adios, Football

If no one hires Colin Kaepernick, I won't watch professional football this year.

Some readers are now angry at me. Many others may wonder what a Kaepernick is.

Colin Kaepernick is a quarterback. He did some marvelous things as a San Francisco 49er. Then the team committed suicide by getting rid of a great coach, Jim Harbaugh. Kaepernick got injured. He recovered and played fairly well on a terrible team. No one knows whether, on a decent team, he could now revive the greatness he showed during the 'Niners' Super Bowl season.

Last year, Kaepernick (who looks to be of mixed race, and was adopted and raised by a white couple) took a knee during the pre-game national anthem. 

He did so to affirm, “Black Lives Matter.” They do. All lives matter, and we shouldn't need to be reminded of that; but saying it, specifically about black lives, also matters, because our society hasn't always thought so -- and still sometimes seems to find them less significant than white lives. 

No one needs to say “White Lives Matter.” “Blue lives matter” too. Black lifes have often seemed to matter least. Blue lives have always gotten plenty of lip service from politicians but are too easily dismissed; and if you say black lives matter, you should also note that blue lives do. 

Many have said that Kaepernick, making a professional football player's salary, should donate money to nonprofits working to improve things. He does.

After last season, San Francisco parted ways with Kaepernick. Teams with excellent, proven quarterbacks have a good football reason to ignore him. 

But given his skills as a quarterback, the game's key position, at least half the teams in the NFL should be quite interested in hiring him, as starter or backup. This summer teams have hired or retained many QB's far below Kaepernick in ability, accomplishments, and winning probability. 

The reason he's still available is painfully obvious. Even Donald Trump has told the NFL not to hire Kaepernick. One owner admitted that Kaepernick's politics were the problem, while another owner (whose coach, Jim Harbaugh's brother, John, wanted to hire Kaepernick), asked the public to “pray for us” then vetoed the hiring.

Teams say the kneeling “is a distraction.” But coaches from San Francisco say it wasn't a distraction there. A couple of players kneeled with Kaepernick instead of standing for the national anthem. Most players didn't. Coaches confirm that there was no locker room distraction. And Kap has said that if he gets a job this fall he won't be kneeling during the anthem.

I enjoy watching pro football, though less than when I was younger. But it is sort of militaristic, and has been somewhat racist. All teams other than Green Bay are owned by obscenely wealthy individuals or by corporations. I don't agree with all the league's policies. Yet I've kept watching.

In sports, athletes' skills and competitive drive should matter most. Unless a player's laziness, undependability, or selfishness impacts the team's spirit and cohesion, put the best on the field. Whatever color or religion or nationiality they are. Whatever their beliefs. Particularly when the NFL has a history of ignoring wife-beating and drunken driving and battery offenses when committed by successful or promising players. If punishing a freethinker or thoughtful dissenter is more important than playing the best football you can, count me out. 

I know I'm pretty insignificant. I know the NFL ain't gonna miss one old guy in southern New Mexico with his back steadfastly turned to the TV Sunday mornings. But it's my turn to take a knee.

                                               -30-

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 6 August 2017, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and on KRWG's website.  A spoken version will air periodically during the week on KRWG Radio (and on KTAL-LP, 101.5 FM.]

[The last few days have brought additional copy on Kaepernick, including a piece on the Baltimore debacle and a job opportunity Kap still might get.

After I wrote the column, NBCA Bay Area publichsed Report: Multiple NFL Owners Have Blocked Their Team Signing Kap  From that article:

"Colin Kaepernick is widely considered to be worthy of an NFL contract, but the former 49ers quarterback and social activist is still unemployed.

"With Joe Flacco injured, the Baltimore Ravens are in need of a quarterback. But they won't sign Kaepernick, and it's not a football decision.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome would like to sign Kaepernick, "but have met resistance from owner Steve Bisciotti," according to Dianna Russini, who also reports that this is not the first time that an NFL team has wanted to add Kaepernick only to be blocked by the owner.

"It's the first official report of the league black-balling Kapernick after he protested the National Anthem last year in San Francisco.

"Instead of following the wishes of the team's head coach and GM, the Ravens opted instead for former arena quarterback David Olson, whom they released after just three days. The Ravens then signed Josh Woodrum, who went undrafted out of Liberty in 2016.

"Behind Flacco, Baltimore has quarterback Ryan Mallet -- who has struggled early in training camp -- Woodrum and Dustin Vaughan on their roster."

Richard Sherman

Seattle Seahawks' wide-receiver Malcolm Baldwin:

"My original position was I thought that the situation last year with him taking a knee didn't have anything to do with it," Baldwin said. "After viewing what's going on, I've got to take that back. I definitely think that the league, the owners are trying to send a message of, 'Stay in between the lines.' It's frustrating because you want to have guys who are willing to speak out about things that they believe in, whether you agree with it or not. But I think that's definitely playing a role now moreso than I thought it was going to."

The Seahawks remain the only team that even brought Kaepernick in for a free-agent visit, but the team elected not to sign him.

Baldwin said Kaepernick's play is worthy of a job in the NFL.

"If you take a step back and you look at the overall picture, there's a lot of teams in this league that could use a quarterback of Colin Kaepernick's ability," Baldwin said. "And why he doesn't have a job, it's very telling to me. He's a very capable player. There's a lot of teams out there that need quarterbacks -- whether they're a starting quarterback or a backup-caliber quarterback. The fact that he hasn't been brought into camp yet is questionable."

That sure didn't sit well with some law-enforcement officers I know; and while there's more than a grain of historical truth to the spirit of that tweet, it's probably not helpful in trying to solve the problem.  It could help inflame some dangerous minds; but then again it could help someone think about how things look from the perspective of some black folks.   Whether you agree or disagree with Kaepernick, though, in my mind ill-judged tweets shouldn't make him unemployable.  After all, it's not as if he were looking for a job as U.S. President!

You can read Whitlock on Kaepernick at any of the Internet sites for which links are listed here. ]

[note added 10August:]  My wife says NPR's football commentator said much the same as I've said here; and a late-July pice by Jarrett Bell of USA Today notes that Dan Orlovsky had become the 24th QB, mostly backups, signed by an NFL team this offseason.   As he notes, Kaepernick quarterbacked a team to a Super Bowl, while Orlovsky was a QB on the Detroit Lions the year they went 0-16.  He notes too that last year, on that lousy San Francisco team, Kaepernick had 90.7 rating as a passer and a 16 to 4 TD to touchdown to interception ratio.  The 90.7 is nothing stellar; but on a poor team, which means he's not getting the best pass protection or receivers with the surest hands, it's not bad, not is the touchdown to interception ratio.  Other mediocre QB's signed this offseason include Ryan Fitzpatrick (69.6 rating, lowest in the league, on the Jest last year), Blaine Gabbert (whom the 49ers benched last season to play Kaepernick), and Austin Davis, whose such a nonentity as QB that I don't even remember who the hell he is!]