Friday musings
in the middle with you: Proposition 14 is testing the theory that there is
a mythical middle out there that is just yearning to be free. California
voted for the proposition, which gets rid of partisan primaries, basically
allowing anybody to vote for anybody they want on primary day. I have
written here before that perhaps the best way to get more centrist political
leaders is to end partisan primaries. Many pundits don’t think it will
work, but then again many of them have a vested interest in keeping the
primary system the way it is.
had plenty of time to talk Irish politics over more than a few pints of
stout. The ruling Irish government is making some mighty tough decisions
to deal with the debt crisis. They have radically cut back on spending,
including government pensions, while keeping taxes relatively low. The
theory is that this will keep Ireland competitive for foreign investment
while keeping the government solvent. It is a huge gamble, because the
cuts are painful, and unless the economy recovers, the Fianna Fail government
will get killed in the next election. In fact, they are polling at about
17 percent right now, so they are in big trouble. Luckily for them,
though, they control the timing of the next election, and it probably
won’t be for a couple of years before they face the voters.
Cup. When I was growing up, I was a huge Hawks fan. Chico Mackey, Stan
Mikita, Bobby Hull and, when I was a little older, Denis Savard, were all
heroes. But then the Wirtz family basically ran the organization into the
ground, I moved away from Chicago, and I lost interest in hockey. When
they made it to the Stanley Cup finals, I became a shameless fair weather
fan, watching every game, to the complete bewilderment of my wife. Hockey
is on the rebound as a sport. D.C. is now a huge hockey town, with Ovechkin
and company inspiring fans from the whole region. Looks like I will have
to get back on the hockey bandwagon next year.
World Cup begins: I watched some of the opening ceremonies for the World
Cup this morning. It will be interesting to see how South Africa handles
it all. I am not much of soccer fan, to be quite candid. I usually root for
the Irish team and the American team. The Irish didn’t qualify this time
around, principally because they got screwed by the handball of a
Frenchman. All the Irish I have talked to are now rooting for the Yanks,
especially against the English. They all tell me it is a good value bet to
take the Americans in the opening round game, and I vaguely remember
giving one of my Irish friends some money to bet it for me. It is nice to
see America back in the underdog position again. I hope they win.
Visit www.thefeeherytheory.com.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Log Reg
NOW PLAYING
