The Morning Plow

I thought this year's COVID-19 pandemic version of the NFL draft was great.  I didn't watch it all, but I watched enough of it to be impressed with how much I liked it.  I am not sure if that is a result of not being able to watch any live sports for the past 2 months...I don't think that was it because outside of The Master's, I really don't watch much sports in the spring.  I think it may be what it wasn't, not so much of what it was.  It wasn't pandemic, it wasn't Netflix, Hulu or Prime.  Maybe, it was the slight feeling of normalcy and the hope that football will be available in the fall. Maybe it was seeing the coaches, GMs, and players in their homes and around their families or pets.  I can tell you for sure that it wasn't listening to Mel Kiper Jr.  I like the guy, but after three days, his voice, cadence, and vocabulary all begin to annoy. My favorite pick of the draft was the Chief's first round selection of Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of...

I am rooting for Donald Trump.  In fact, I have been rooting for him since he got elected.  Don't mistake rooting for liking.  I don't.  I never have and the reasons are many.  I think Trump is a egomaniac, self-absorbed (redundant, I know but his level is cause for redundancy), immoral, an awful human, a liar, a phony, and almost any other negative adjective (just one side note, I also think the MSM is awful, immoral, lacks integrity, arrogant, etc...).  On top of that, I never viewed him as a conservative and I am not talking about some rigid litmus purity test.  I am just talking about the general ideological broad strokes.  Heck, I am not sure he could articulate a coherent ideology beyond boiler plate platitudes.  The one aspect I find amusing and attractive of Trump is how angry and irrational he makes the Left. But back to my point, I am rooting for Trump.  Not in the wearing a MAGA hat and needing to get my daily rationalization ...

It's been said that five-fourths of all Americans don't understand fractions.  Well, that is true 53% of the time, if you know that 68% of all statistics are made up on the spot.  Enough with the dad jokes!!!  But I digress...But there is truth in the fact that most Americans don't understand numbers all that well ( our nations math scores are often lower than most developed countries ) Specifically, statistical data that is often used in the media to try quantify some aspect of society, the economy, or political phenomena.  Added to this issue is that there is a plethora of statistics out there and often are contradictory, or at the very least conflicting.  "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" as Mark Twain remarked (he was not the originator of the quote), holds some value these days.  Numbers, data, statistics are often used to deliberately present a picture that the author wants you to see.  Often hidden from those numbers are other numbers, or sha...

Bernie Sanders announced this past week that he is officially out of the presidential race. Thank goodness!!! I never been a Bernie fan much like I have never been a Trump supporter, and for similar reasons.  Behind Bernie's socialist facade is a narcissistic and envious man. Whereas Trump tends to be narcissist and greedy. It is worthy to note the difference between envy and greed. Where greed produces and urge collect and selfishly hold onto resources, envy produces the urge to take other's resources to satisfy yourself.   Both of which lead to a life unfulfilled and many other personal and inter personal issues. Back to Bernie. I have always thought his shtick was sophomoric and intellectually immature.  It was essentially "Those people have more stuff than they need, and we need to take it away so we have stuff." Obviously he says a bit more articulate than that, but that is his underlying argument.  Unfortunately, it appeals to a very primal and childish em...

As many of you have experienced, the shelter in place has afforded me the opportunity to do many things I normally would not have done.  I washed the windows, built stuff (literally stuff), and wandered down internet rabbit holes.  I am not sure how it even started, but I think I was looking at music videos on YouTube, which led me to watching these videos made by Rick Beato (If you are into music, I suggest you check it out).  That led me to a Joe Rogan interview with Metallica singer James Hetfield and another interview with Smashing Pumpkins front-man Billy Corrigan.  Eventually, I saw Rogan interview Jordan Peterson .  The next thing I know I had watched five or so hours of Peterson in a variety of different contexts. I was aware of Jordan Peterson and seen some of his more famous clips, the British television interview was one of them , and had read a few articles about him.  I haven't seen the movie about him that also got some headlines and made pr...

As a father of three daughters, two of which play soccer, I have grown to really enjoy the sport and appreciate the style of soccer women play.  During the 2019 World Cup, we watched as a family and rooted for the US team.  I wasn't thrilled with some of the political posturing and comments that occurred, but that didn't hamper me.  However, the other day the discussion about the women's team and their lawsuit over pay came up as a topic of conversation.  I listened as my oldest (15) and my wife discussed it.  It was an interesting interaction and I was not surprised at my daughter's view on the matter.  To her, it seemed totally unfair that women get paid less than me.  My wife countered by providing some explanations as to why it may exist.  After their conversation, I began to look a little deeper into the issue. Megan Rapinoe, soccer's most outspoken star,  and the United States Women National Team have sued the United States Soccer Feder...