More Monday Musings
Universal has had a great year at the box office, but it now owns a new record for flops. Jem and the Holograms was pulled from most theaters after only two weeks. The stinker brought in just over $2 million during those two weeks. Fortunately, with a budget of $5 million for production and less for marketing it won't be a lot of red ink in their 2015 financials.
Reporter's note: I knew that movie was going to fail from the moment I heard it was being made.
* * *
The new Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out and there are 15 new names on it. A few of them are prominent enough to look at but only one is a lock. Ken Griffey, Jr., hit 630 home runs in a career where he also won 10 Gold Glove awards.
After that, I doubt any of the newcomers will be voted in this year, or ever.
Jim Edmonds. He had nine or ten great seasons in a 17 year career. But his career numbers of 393 home runs, 1199 RBIs and a lifetime batting average of .284 just don't rise to the level of a Hall of Famer.
Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner were great relievers in their respective careers. Hoffman is #2 on the all-time saves list. But neither was up to the task of closing a game when it really, really mattered. In six career post-season save opportunities, Hoffman blew two saves and lost a third game.
Mike Piazza came up just 28 votes shy last year but I don't expect him to make it over the 75% requirement this year either.
* * *
Tim Wolfe has resigned as president of the University of Missouri system (which include the main University of Missouri and three other campuses) after protests alleging he was doing nothing to address issues involving racism on campus.
Reporter's note: The question is, how did he get that job in the first place? He was a career businessman, having worked in the computer industry following his graduation from the University of Missouri in 1980.
* * *
Will Russian athletes be banned from next year's Summer Olympic Games in Brazil? That's a possibility in the wake of a report prepared for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by its former president, Dick Pound. The report claims that Russia created a "deeply rooted culture of cheating at all levels." The report also says that a Moscow laboratory deliberately destroyed over 1,400 doping samples that WADA had asked them to preserve for them.
Reporter's note: Until the collapse of East Germany, both they and the Russians were past masters at blood doping and every form of cheating in international athletic competition. There is nothing to suggest anything has changed. As some pro athletes have been known to say "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying your best." Doesn't make it right, but it does recognize the reality.
* * *
42 year old Veronica Castillo went into the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA and put $100 into a slot machine. She thought she'd hit a jackpot worth $8.5 million. It sure looked like an $8.5 million jackpot on the video display of the machine.
But the casino told her that the machine had malfunctioned. They gave her a payout slip for $80.00 although they claim she actually won only $10.50. She's saying it is cheating, fraudulent and she's looking for an attorney.
The casino has released a statement that says it is simply not possible for this particular machine to pay out a jackpot of that size.
"It is absolutely clear that the gaming machine played by Ms. Castillo experienced a display malfunction:
* * *
To tell this next item accurately and properly I have to give props to Kris Jenner for being a savvy businesswoman. For having the good sense to employ experts in how she runs her various businesses. I say this because I'm going to make an assumption about something, based on the fact that it wouldn't be a good business move for her to have done this particular thing in any other manner.
One of the reasons Khloe mentioned when she pulled the plug on her divorce with Lamar Odom was so that he could remain on her health insurance plan. If we assume that Kris Jenner and her brood employ more than 20 people in total (counting themselves), then that claim is bogus. Why? Because of COBRA.
COBRA is the acronym we use to label the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. That law means that even if the divorce had gone through, they could have purchased COBRA continuation coverage for Lamar by paying the premiums they were already paying. It might have been slightly more expensive. There is always the chance that his medical expenses will go on for more than three years. But it just doesn't make sense to me that they stopped the divorce so he wouldn't lose his insurance benefits.
* * *
The saga of Chelsea Manning has taken another strange turn. She is pursuing a lawsuit against the Army and the Federal government because she has been forced to cut her hair to the same two-inch length that the male inmates must comply with. She's also seeking to overturn her conviction on charges of espionage by claiming she was a whistle blower. It is worth noting that she is the only female inmate at the Army's U. S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Reporter's note: It makes no sense at all to make Chelsea Manning comply with any of the male grooming standards. The Army is providing her with hormone treatments as well as women's undergarments. Why make a fuss about her hair? Now there is a claim she had unauthorized reading materials (including a copy of the Vanity Fair issue with Kris Jenner on the cover) and if true, that would merit appropriate discipline. But forcing her to cut her hair is not an appropriate punishment.
* * *
Would you want your son or daughter to find this under the Christmas tree?
* * *
This just in, a three judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Obama overstepped the limits of his constitutional authority by taking executive action on immigration. The ruling, a 2-1 decision, clears the way for the deportation of as many as five million illegal immigrants (you can think undocumented individuals if it makes you feel better) to be deported.
Immigration advocates are hoping the U. S. Supreme Court will overturn this decision.
Reporter's note: It can't be repeated enough that our nation needs comprehensive reform of our immigration laws. In the dissent to the above decision it was quite correctly noted that while there are over 11 million people in the U. S. who are here in violation of our immigration laws and who could be deported; the Congress continues to provide insufficient funding to the Department of Homeland Security to do so. Current funding levels allow DHS to deport just over 400,000 illegals annually. Further it is wrong to separate parents from children by allow the kids to remain but sending the parents back to wherever they came from.
* * *
Reporter's note: I knew that movie was going to fail from the moment I heard it was being made.
* * *
The new Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out and there are 15 new names on it. A few of them are prominent enough to look at but only one is a lock. Ken Griffey, Jr., hit 630 home runs in a career where he also won 10 Gold Glove awards.
After that, I doubt any of the newcomers will be voted in this year, or ever.
Jim Edmonds. He had nine or ten great seasons in a 17 year career. But his career numbers of 393 home runs, 1199 RBIs and a lifetime batting average of .284 just don't rise to the level of a Hall of Famer.
Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner were great relievers in their respective careers. Hoffman is #2 on the all-time saves list. But neither was up to the task of closing a game when it really, really mattered. In six career post-season save opportunities, Hoffman blew two saves and lost a third game.
Mike Piazza came up just 28 votes shy last year but I don't expect him to make it over the 75% requirement this year either.
* * *
Tim Wolfe has resigned as president of the University of Missouri system (which include the main University of Missouri and three other campuses) after protests alleging he was doing nothing to address issues involving racism on campus.
Reporter's note: The question is, how did he get that job in the first place? He was a career businessman, having worked in the computer industry following his graduation from the University of Missouri in 1980.
* * *
Will Russian athletes be banned from next year's Summer Olympic Games in Brazil? That's a possibility in the wake of a report prepared for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by its former president, Dick Pound. The report claims that Russia created a "deeply rooted culture of cheating at all levels." The report also says that a Moscow laboratory deliberately destroyed over 1,400 doping samples that WADA had asked them to preserve for them.
Reporter's note: Until the collapse of East Germany, both they and the Russians were past masters at blood doping and every form of cheating in international athletic competition. There is nothing to suggest anything has changed. As some pro athletes have been known to say "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying your best." Doesn't make it right, but it does recognize the reality.
* * *
42 year old Veronica Castillo went into the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA and put $100 into a slot machine. She thought she'd hit a jackpot worth $8.5 million. It sure looked like an $8.5 million jackpot on the video display of the machine.
But the casino told her that the machine had malfunctioned. They gave her a payout slip for $80.00 although they claim she actually won only $10.50. She's saying it is cheating, fraudulent and she's looking for an attorney.
The casino has released a statement that says it is simply not possible for this particular machine to pay out a jackpot of that size.
"It is absolutely clear that the gaming machine played by Ms. Castillo experienced a display malfunction:
- This machine offers a maximum jackpot of $20,000 if a maximum bet is placed on all lines (this information is available to the player on the machine);
- The maximum jackpot that Ms. Castillo could have won based on the number of lines and credits she was betting is $6,000 (this information is available to the player on the machine); “Image A”, attached, shows the image that would have been displayed if Ms. Castillo had won this jackpot;
- The “Jurassic Riches” game display on Ms. Castillo’s win was consistent with a win of $10.50 based on the number of lines and credits that she bet (see attached screen shot) and the prize table available to the player on this machine; “Image B”, attached, shows the image that was displayed on Ms. Castillo’s bet."
* * *
To tell this next item accurately and properly I have to give props to Kris Jenner for being a savvy businesswoman. For having the good sense to employ experts in how she runs her various businesses. I say this because I'm going to make an assumption about something, based on the fact that it wouldn't be a good business move for her to have done this particular thing in any other manner.
One of the reasons Khloe mentioned when she pulled the plug on her divorce with Lamar Odom was so that he could remain on her health insurance plan. If we assume that Kris Jenner and her brood employ more than 20 people in total (counting themselves), then that claim is bogus. Why? Because of COBRA.
COBRA is the acronym we use to label the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. That law means that even if the divorce had gone through, they could have purchased COBRA continuation coverage for Lamar by paying the premiums they were already paying. It might have been slightly more expensive. There is always the chance that his medical expenses will go on for more than three years. But it just doesn't make sense to me that they stopped the divorce so he wouldn't lose his insurance benefits.
* * *
The saga of Chelsea Manning has taken another strange turn. She is pursuing a lawsuit against the Army and the Federal government because she has been forced to cut her hair to the same two-inch length that the male inmates must comply with. She's also seeking to overturn her conviction on charges of espionage by claiming she was a whistle blower. It is worth noting that she is the only female inmate at the Army's U. S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Reporter's note: It makes no sense at all to make Chelsea Manning comply with any of the male grooming standards. The Army is providing her with hormone treatments as well as women's undergarments. Why make a fuss about her hair? Now there is a claim she had unauthorized reading materials (including a copy of the Vanity Fair issue with Kris Jenner on the cover) and if true, that would merit appropriate discipline. But forcing her to cut her hair is not an appropriate punishment.
* * *
Would you want your son or daughter to find this under the Christmas tree?
* * *
This just in, a three judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Obama overstepped the limits of his constitutional authority by taking executive action on immigration. The ruling, a 2-1 decision, clears the way for the deportation of as many as five million illegal immigrants (you can think undocumented individuals if it makes you feel better) to be deported.
Immigration advocates are hoping the U. S. Supreme Court will overturn this decision.
Reporter's note: It can't be repeated enough that our nation needs comprehensive reform of our immigration laws. In the dissent to the above decision it was quite correctly noted that while there are over 11 million people in the U. S. who are here in violation of our immigration laws and who could be deported; the Congress continues to provide insufficient funding to the Department of Homeland Security to do so. Current funding levels allow DHS to deport just over 400,000 illegals annually. Further it is wrong to separate parents from children by allow the kids to remain but sending the parents back to wherever they came from.
* * *
posted by me at 7:41 PM
<< Home