Views from Point Breeze

Today was a pivotal day for the players in the ever evolving Trump collusion with Russia saga.  Paul Manafort and Rick Gates pleaded guilty to acting as unregistered foreign agents against the United States.  Also, George Papadopoulos, a campaign advisor, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI.  Papadopoulos has been cooperating with the FBI since July and is the second member of Trump's team to admit trying to find dirt on Hillary Clinton during the bruising presidential race. President Trump made a statement recently that he created the term 'fake news'.  I would surmise that if a Google search was done it would reveal that he has said this term more than one thousand times.  Literally.  The problem is that the people who are being charged now were members of his team.  Paul Manafort was his campaign manager for about four months.  His previous life included representing the interests of a Putin backed strong man in the volatile ...

As a political observer I am perplexed by the recent actions of Steve Bannon.  Steve Bannon has returned to Breitbart News as the Chairman in August.  This was after he was fired by Donald Trump. He was the White House Chief Strategist for about six months.  He also was part of National Security Council meetings.  He had no previous experience in this area but that seems to be par for the course with the Trump Administration.  It seems strange that one can get fired by an administration and then become that administration's biggest cheerleader.  Corey Lewandowski would love to get a job back.  He was fired by Trump and then hired by CNN as a talking head for Trump. The Republicans are in an enviable position right now.  The control the White House, the Senate and Congress.  They were able to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and are eyeing a few more positions in some justices retire.  They have been unable to secure the legis...

This year has been a tough year for the NFL.  There was a study published in which 99% of the brains of the players studied showed the ravages of CTE.  Many of the players who played during my younger years and who are my age are suffering.  Some have passed away already.  Andre Waters, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau were warriors in their playing days.  They were not equipped to deal with the devastating effects of football on their bodies.  It was stated that Andre Waters had the brain of a 65 year old man.  An autopsy on the brain of Aaron Hernandez showed advance levels of CTE.  I don't think it justifies his murderous behavior but the hits have consequences. Colin Kaepernik has become the poster child for many activists who are now boycotting NFL games this year.  There was a decrease in ratings last year.  People have so many viewing choices with cable and various streaming apps.  Also, the NFL has oversaturated the market....

I was surprised to hear that Jemele Hill was suspended by ESPN for two weeks today.  On her Twitter feed she was advocating for a boycott of advertisers for Jerry Jones.  Jerry Jones is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and one of the richest men in America.  He has stated that anyone kneeling for the National Anthem will be punished.  It is a very delicate time for the NFL right now.  Vice President Mike Pence left a game yesterday in Indianapolis in which the jersey of Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning was to be retired.  He was told by President Trump to leave the game if any players knelt during the national anthem. Jemele initially was reprimanded by her bosses at ESPN for calling Donald Trump a white supremacist.  She did not air these comments during her segment with Michael Smith.  She said it on her Twitter feed.  Jemele Hill has 781,000 followers on Twitter.  Besides her very informed opinion on all things sports, she has quite a ...

I watched with horror the staccato sounds of gunfire raining down on the 22,000 people who attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival concert.  Jason Aldean was performing when a deranged gunman began mowing down innocent fans of country music.  Many of the revelers thought that the sounds were fireworks.  Mr. Aldean was not aware of the fact that Stephen Paddock had declared war on anyone in the murderous path of the bullets that he fired.  It is heartbreaking to read the stories of the victims.  Who woke up Sunday thinking that it might be their last day walking on this earthly plane. I attended Mass at the Church of the Redeemer on Sunday.  Pastor Hughes preached out of the Book of Joshua and the message was 'The Show Must Go On'.  I think he has been preaching in reference to himself recently.  He is leaving soon and his messages have related to surviving the storm and other maladies.  He did not reach his 4th pastoral anniversary before th...