Update

Hello! I can’t believe you’re still reading this rubbish, but since you are I would like to offer you a heartfelt thanks. Please feel free in replying to any of my blogs (old or new) and letting me know whether you agree or disagree with the truth as I know it. I would also be willing to hear any suggestions you may have for a specific topic you’d like me to cover in a future post. I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging these past three months, even more so than I had envisioned, and I thought now would be a good time to update my readers of any new information regarding prior blogs. Let’s ease into this, before tackling the more complex issues, by freely admitting I still haven’t ridden my bicycle nor do I plan to anytime soon. I am still not at all fond of cheap beer, snakes, or death, but not necessarily in that order.

Likewise, I am still not a fan of Pit bull-type dogs. However, I am willing to concede there have been some cases where Pit bulls have made excellent family pets and lived their entire lives without ever attacking a soul. I am aware once in awhile a breed of dog, other than that of the Pit bull variety, will attack a human being for no apparent reason, but I also know since writing about them in March there have been at least two more Pit bull attacks in Arizona’s Valley alone. The fact is the majority of dog attacks in the United States can be traced back to the Pit bull-type canine more often than any other breed. I did recently learn they do not have the mythical “locking jaw” that so many people perceive them to have, but they do possess a wide mouth, strong jaw, and an uncanny stubborn tendency for not easily letting go of its prey. I have yet to hear of an owner with that type of dog say they expected their family pet to viciously maul their child one day. Common sense dictates Pit bull attacks in the past predicts the probability of Pit bull attacks in the future, so I don’t understand why anyone, especially with small children, would ever take the risk.

The St. Louis Rams of the National Football League, however, did take a risk by drafting Michael Sam. The first openly gay NFL Prospect was chosen in the 7th and final round as the 249th overall pick. Mr. Sam was only eight picks away from not being drafted at all, and I imagine that would have caused even greater speculation as to how much his sexuality figured into this year’s NFL Draft mix. There is no possible way to know for sure if Michael Sam was snubbed, chosen out of pity, or drafted exactly where he should have been. We only have the infinite number of opinions given by sportscasters, columnists, so-called experts, blowhards, those with a personal agenda, and myself who simply tells the truth as I know it.

I would offer that Michael Sam’s initial entrance into the League with the St. Louis Rams does give him the best opportunity for success, at the professional level, because he purportedly already has Missouri’s fan support. The young man was supposedly embraced by the “Show Me State” while playing college football for the Missouri Tigers. Only time will tell how successful Mr. Sam may be in the NFL, but the media shamefully seems much more fixated on the video footage, of him kissing his boyfriend after receiving the anticipated news of being drafted, than anything else. Maybe I was stopping on the wrong networks, when flipping through the channels recently, but the consensus appears to be that most talk show hosts on television thought Sam’s on-air affection was a beautiful thing, and anyone who didn’t agree with that sentiment must be a homophobic. Let me assure you I am neither afraid of nor hateful towards homosexuals, but as a male heterosexual I will continue to be at least a little disturbed every time I see two males engaged in a passionate kiss.

Donald Sterling, a person nobody probably wants to kiss at the moment, is hardly worth mentioning again, but I will. The L.A. Clippers’ Owner, of the National Basketball Association, hasn’t lost his ownership yet, but his chances are increasingly not looking very promising. He made headline news once again by making insensitive remarks, during an interview with Anderson Cooper, about Magic Johnson’s human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which the NBA Star contracted over two decades ago. This time Mr. Sterling knew he was being recorded while making public and deliberate comments. Sterling’s granted interview was surely intended as an attempt at public relations damage control, but the embattled Clippers’ Owner’s ensuing rant most likely made matters much worse for him. I still don’t think anyone should ever be fired for their private thoughts, but maybe a “three strikes” rule for a person’s conduct wouldn’t be such a bad idea. An individual who is deemed as detrimental to any league, organization, or business, on at least three separate occasions, could then be justifiably terminated due to their actions. I think if a policy like that would have already been in place then Donald Sterling would’ve lost his NBA ownership position long ago when considering his past behavior.

In contrast, the behavior of Arizona’s Governor, Jan Brewer, has been surprisingly refreshing as she eventually vetoed Senate Bill 1062. The bill would have allowed for refusing business or service to anyone based on “religious freedom.” I continue to believe a law like that would only encourage discrimination and would be too chaotic to enforce. Governor Brewer also rightfully vetoed some bills in our state’s Legislature that would have increased gun-ownership rights in the Valley Of The Sun. She once again was willing to go against her own political party’s wishes and in doing so probably unseats Senator John McCain as the “Maverick” of the Grand Canyon State. My national campaign for placing all shopping carts into one of the many store provided cart corrals after their use appears to have fallen on deaf ears, or quite possibly my three readers just weren’t enough to make a difference. Maybe one day every shopping cart will have a proper home, and hopefully someday I will finally acquire a fourth reader, but until then I can only dream.