Baseball-Presidential History

Team                            Last WS Appearance      President           

Angels                           2002                                  GW Bush             

Astros/Colt 45’s             2005                                 GW Bush            

Athletics                        1990                                  GHW Bush          

Blue Jays                       1993                                  Clinton 

Braves                           1999                                   Clinton                  

Brewers/Pilots               1982                                   Reagan                

Cardinals                       2014                                   Obama                 

Cubs                              1945                                   Truman                

Diamondbacks              2001                                   GW Bush             

Dodgers                        1988                                    Reagan                 

Giants                           2014                                    Obama                 

Indians                          1997                                    Clinton                  

Marlins                          2003                                   GW Bush             

Mets                              2015                                    Obama                 

Orioles                          1983                                     Reagan                 

Padres                           1998                                     Clinton                 

Phillies                          2009                                     Obama                 

Pirates                           1979                                     Carter                   

Rangers/Senators          2011                                     Obama                 

Rays                              2008                                     GW Bush             

Red Sox                        2013                                     Obama                 

Reds                              1990                                     GHW Bush          

Rockies                         2007                                     GW Bush           

Royals                           2015                                     Obama                 

Tigers                            2012                                     Obama                 

Twins                             1991                                    GHW Bush          

White Sox                     2005                                     GW Bush             

Yankees                          2009                                    Obama                 

 Team                           Last WS Winner                 President

Angels                          2002                                      GW Bush

Astros/Colt 45’s           None (since 1961)

Athletics                       1989                                      GHW Bush

Blue Jays                      1993                                      Clinton

Braves                          1995                                       Clinton

Brewers/Pilots              None (since 1969)

Cardinals                      2011                                       Obama

Cubs                             1908                                       T Roosevelt

Diamondbacks              2001                                      GW Bush

Dodgers                        1988                                       Reagan

Giants                           2014                                       Obama

Indians                          1948                                       Truman

Marlins                          2003                                      GW Bush

Mets                              1986                                       Reagan

Orioles                          1983                                       Reagan

Padres                           None (since 1969)

Phillies                          2008                                       GW Bush

Pirates                           1979                                       Carter

Rangers/Senators          1924                                       Coolidge

Rays                               None (since 1998)

Red Sox                         2013                                       Obama

Reds                               1990                                       GHW Bush

Rockies                          None (since 1993)

Royals                            2015                                       Obama

Tigers                             1984                                       Reagan

Twins                             1991                                       GHW Bush

White Sox                      2005                                       GW Bush

Yankees                          2009                                       Obama

Is Libertarianism A Practical Alternative?

As the 2016 Presidential election draws even closer, and as we seemingly each day hear of reasons why the candidates of both the Democrats and the Republicans do not deserve our votes, a number of people are looking at third-party alternatives.  One of those alternatives is the Libertarian Party.  So, what is Libertarianism all about?

It is generally wonderful--in a philosophical-sort of way. But practically-speaking it becomes problematic. The general tenet of libertarianism is to allow people the freedom to do what they want as long as the exercise of that freedom does not harm others. That's a GREAT philosophy, but becomes basically impossible to implement because people have varying opinions of what constitutes "causing harm" to another person. For instance, libertarian philosophy generally says that a woman should have the right to terminate a pregnancy, because she is free to do what she wants with her own body. However, there is true disagreement as to whether the pre-born child is actually a human being, and therefore disagreement as to whether terminating the pregnancy causes harm to another person.

Or take the issue of drugs and alcohol. The prevailing libertarian argument is that it should be legal for most people to use certain drugs (such as marijuana) and alcohol if they choose to do so. But at what point is the use of these things considered to be causing "harm" to other people? Is it when a person using these things spends money on them instead of providing a certain standard of living for their children? Who defines what that standard of living should be? What about when someone becomes addicted to one or more substances, and loses his/her employment because of it--negatively affecting his or her family, and possibly creating a situation where the person either has to be dependent on public welfare or even turns to crime (such as theft) to support his/her habit (or even to get food and/or shelter)?

I could go on, but hopefully I've presented the gist of my point with those two examples.

Does Going By The Rules Matter?

Is winning so important that it's OK to cheat in order to ensure a winning outcome?

I saw a movie one time where Gary Sinese played a golfer who admitted that he had won a golf tournament years earlier because he failed to penalize himself for committing a rules infraction.  One of the great things about golf is that it's self-policing; competitors are supposed to call penalties on themselves.  Oftentimes, this is the only way a penalty can be assessed, because only the golfer has seen or noticed the infraction.  In the movie, the character played by Gary Sinese revealed that he was troubled for years by his dishonesty, and in the end, he finally endeavored to make amends and let the rightful winner of the tournament be acknowledged.

In competition, does following the rules matter, or is it more important to win, even if it means breaking the rules?

How about in politics?

Is it important that election rules (and laws) be followed, or is it more important for a person's preferred candidate or position on an issue to win?

I am reminded of a time a couple of decades ago when there was a school levy on the ballot in a certain school district.  In that school district was a nursing home, in which resided a number of people who had lost their decision-making capabilities.  Yet according to the law at the time, people were allowed to go to assist the nursing home residents in voting, and it was reported that people on one side of the issue were offering to residents the opportunity to vote from their rooms via absentee ballot, and that these people would help these residents vote.  The adult daughter of one resident reported her resident-parent (who was incapable of decision-making) was recorded as having cast an absentee ballot in the school levy election (that was the only issue on that ballot that election), even though this daughter (who had Power of Attorney) never requested a ballot for her parent.

Regardless of a person's position on whether or not that school levy should have passed, was having someone cast a vote for that person legal (or if legal, was it ethical)?  Is it more important to play by the rules/laws, or is it more important that a person's preferred outcome on an issue or candidate be realized, no matter what it takes to win?

What about when candidates for national office break the rules to get votes?

Living In The Real World

I really DO understand the desire of people who want to bring about a society of love and peace. They want things such as Healthcare for everyone, income equality, peace at home and abroad, and a pristine environment.

I have a confession to make:

I want those things too.


So why is there such a divide on the issues?  It's because the desire we have is not achievable in this imperfect world.  And that's where the difference lies.  Many on the political left seem to think that we can legislate and dictate things into perfection (well, perhaps not into perfection, but something close to it).

But the problem is that this world isn't perfect, and people aren't perfect.  Therefore, there will always be things that throw the figurative wrench into the works. It's part of the world's condition.  More important, it's part of the human condition.

We human beings aren't perfect.  The fact is, every one of us is born selfish--wanting what we want. If there's a disagreement between what two people want, at least one of the people is going to be disappointed in the outcome.  The disappointment is then dealt with in each individual's life in different ways.  Some people are gracious and simply accept disappointment. Others go off and run tyrannical regimes that will forcefully put down anyone who gets in the way.  And there are many, many ways of dealing with disappointment in between those two extremes.

Ideally (and I stress the word ideally, because I know that I am prone to imperfection and may not act in an ideal way), if I am taken advantage of and no one else is in any way harmed by my being taken advantage of, then I can simply exhibit grace and let that situation occur. But then my question is this: What's my responsibility when I see another person being taken advantage of?  Am I to sit passively by and watch another person be harmed if I might possibly have the chance to prevent that person from being harmed?

My answer is that I should do what is within my capacity to prevent the person from being harmed.  And therefore, while I do truly desire that everyone get along, I realize that is only wishful thinking, and that I have to live in the real world. 

I have no problem with the desires of the people who want this world to be as much of a utopia as it can be.  Again, I have the same desires.  But that's impractical.  This world is imperfect, the people in this world are imperfect, and no human being or worldy government is going to change that.

P.S. There is One to whom we can submit ourselves and this world's issues, but unless and until everyone does that, this world will continue to be imperfect...

 

An Election Year Quandary

I am concerned that we are fast approaching a "no win" situation. 

For those of us (such as myself) who simply disagree philosophically with most positions to which the Democrats generally hold (i.e., larger government, abortion on demand, "spreading the wealth", political correctness, just to name a few), the November elections--should Mr. Trump be the Republican nominee (which at this point seems more and more likely)--will provide us with no choice at all. For those of us (such as myself) who would normally vote for the Republican nominee in the general election, voting for the Democrat candidate would be a vote against the governmental principles which I support. A vote for Mr. Trump would be pretty much as bad. A vote for a third party candidate (for a person such as myself, who would generally otherwise vote for the Republican nominee) would in essence be akin to casting 1/2 a vote for the Democrat nominee, since it will almost certainly be the case that either the Democrat or the Republican nominee will win the general election. Simply not voting would have the same "1/2 vote effect" as voting third party.

This is a difficult ethical position in which I find myself.  If I withhold a vote from Mr. Trump, it is in essence helping the Democrat, with whose philosophies I highly disagree.

Sometimes I wonder if people recall that before Mr. Trump announced his candidacy, he contacted the Clintons to discuss the situation with them.  Could this have been what they wanted all along?  Let's face it: Mr. Trump's political history is such that he has been on both conservative and liberal sides of many issues.  He (in theory) could have run for the nomination of either the Democrats or the Republicans.  And before Democrats start the "There's no way I would ever vote for Trump" objections, let me draw from history.  

Prior to the 1952 election, both the Democrats and the Republicans were courting the same person to be their nominee in the 1952 Presidential elections.  The person had no political history, but had great name recognition (for reasons other than those of Mr. Trump).  No less than the then-President of the United States, Harry S Truman, tried to recruit this person to run for President on the Democrat ticket.  President Truman was very supportive of this potential candidate--until the candidate chose to run as a Republican.  It was only after that point that President Truman had basically only negative things to say about that person, General Dwight Eisenhower--who indeed was elected President as a Republican, and served in that position honorably.

As for the 2016 election, what if Mr. Trump had decided to run as a Democrat?  It is my opinion that his candidacy for the nomination would likely have been much more of a threat to the candidacy of Secretary Clinton than has been the candidacy of Senator Sanders.  In fact, had all three of these people been running for the Democrat nomination, a similar splintering of the primary votes as is currently happening in the Republican field would likely have happened in the Democrat field.  As it is, Secretary Clinton seems poised to far outdistance Senator Sanders for the Democrat nomination.

And it currently appears as though Mr. Trump is headed for the Republican nomination.

Maybe this is what the Clintons hoped for all along.  After all, to this point, Mr. Trump hasn't ever topped 50% of Republican support.  If only half of the Republicans support the Republican candidate, things heavily favor the Democrat candidate in the general election.

And for people such as myself, if Mr. Trump indeed does secure the Republican nomination, we will be faced with an election year quandary as to how--or if--to vote in the general election.

Reluctantly Accepting the Aging Process

I write this as I am looking out of the window of my home office, watching someone shovel snow off of my driveway and sidewalks. I have an ongoing agreement with this person that when it snows enough to require snow removal, he will do it--for a price.  Just two years ago, I would have personally done the shoveling hours earlier--possibly even last night--before anyone had to get out of the garage and driveway this morning.  But that changed on a summer day about a year and a half ago.  That was the day I was pitching a Whiffle ball to my then 4-year-old grandson in his back yard.  He hit a pop fly over my head, and as I turned around to track and catch it, keeping my eye on the ball, I did catch it--about one step before my foot caught the side of a stone/brick fire pit.  I fell, landing on my right arm, and felt two distinct pops in my shoulder.  At that point I could no longer lift my arm to my head without considerable pain.  Doctor's appointments, X-rays, physical therapy, and regular shoulder exercises ensued.  My goal was to be able to swing a golf club and play golf by the Spring of 2015, and I was successful in my goal.

The problem was that the shoulder was never "normal" again.  I could not throw a ball overhand without pain.  But the truth is that I rarely needed to do that, so it really wasn't that big of a deal.  I was able to play golf virtually  shoulder-pain free when my schedule permitted me to do so throughout 2015.

But as the the winter of 2015 set in and became 2016, the pain in my shoulder became more consistent, to the point where even reaching for something on a shelf had become painful.  So it was back to the doctor, who gave me the news that it appears to be a shoulder impingement--combined with arthritis.  He said he could give me a shot if my shoulder is really painful, but I think I'd rather deal with the shoulder pain than a needle.  For the record, I hate needles when they are to be stuck into me.  The doctor told me to keep taking the arthritis-formula acetaminophen daily.  I also hate taking pills, but since I hate needles more (and hate the thought of surgery even more than the thought of needles), I have continued to take the acetaminophen daily--along with several other vitamins and minerals the doctor has suggested I take.

The pain is still there, but it's more of a nuisance than anything disabling.  I just have to be careful not to try to do certain things that might really aggravate the situation and make the pain much worse--such as throwing a ball.  I miss that.

But then I look out the window and see that in the time it's taken me to write this, the snow has been shoveled off my sidewalks and driveway--and I didn't have to leave the inside where it's warm and dry.  And I am thinking that the $12 charged to me by the person who shovels the snow for me is worth it--especially because shoveling snow would almost certainly aggravate my shoulder. 

At the same time, there is a part of me that has to admit that because I hate being in the snow and cold so much, even if my shoulder was "normal," I might be tempted to hire this person to clear the snow from my driveway and sidewalks and consider the $12 fee well spent.  But then I would deal with my conscience questioning if I should save the $12 and just not be so lazy.

The truth is that, while I would rather have a "normal" shoulder and deal with the struggle between saving the money to have someone remove the snow and saving the money by removing the snow myself, there is indeed a part of me that is glad I don't have to feel guilty about not shoveling the snow myself.  I guess that the development of the arthritis in my shoulder that keeps me from being able to shovel the snow is just part of my reluctantly accepting the aging process.