Harry Reid on the Redskins

In the wake of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's swift and severe punishment of L.A. Clippers' owner Donald Sterling's racist rant made in private, politicians rushed to jump in on the Politically Correct civic circus. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) used some of his floor time on the US Senate to rail against Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's intransigence about changing the team name.  

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When Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (D-Sacramento) crowed about "what sports can do", he gloated that President Obama and Vice President Biden expressed support for doing something to rectify the situation.

What form of polity is a government which nudges businesses to order society to their desired goals?  With the myriad of problems which face the Federal government and the Senate's inability to act, the Majority Leader ought to concentrate on legislating rather than dictating sports team nicknames. 

Kevin Johnson on "What Sports Can Do"

Mayor Kevin Johnson (D-Sacramento), a former NBA All Star point guard for Phoenix Suns, endorsed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's lifetime ban of Donald Sterling for taped racist comments made in private to V. Stiviano.

Johnson confidently asserted that the swift and severe reaction to reprehensible comments shows what sports can do.



 However, it is questionable if sports allows people to talk about real issues, as history is instructive.  During the French Revolution, the goal of establishing a "Republic of Virtue" was thwarted by the mob rule from Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety which oversaw the "Reign of Terror"  when those accused of being "enemies of the revolution" were purged and eliminated.

As deplorable  as Sterling's utterances sound, they were made in private and did not correspond to how he conducted affairs as the L.A. Clippers' owner.  Sterling was accorded little to no due process as NBA Commissioner Silver swiftly acted to politically correct calls for action and deprive an "owner" the ability to attend, much less run, his business.

Does this sort of mob rule for political correctness encourage an honest exchange of views?

"We are Boston, we respond, we endure, and we own the finish line."

To mark the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing, Vice President Joe Biden participated in the solemn memorial tribute.  

The Vice President gave a stirring speech which ranged from an emphatic whisper to a defiant proclaimation while speaking before the invitation only crowd of 2,600 people at the Hynes Convention Center, close to the finish line where three people were killed and 260 people were injured in a terrorist attack by two ethnic Chechen Muslims.

Alas, Biden's bloviating had some awkward elements. In commending the Boston Strong ethos epitomized by many in touched by the travesty, the Vice President pronounced "It was worth it."  

To be fair, here is the quote in context:

"Let me say to those quote ‘survivors’ [who spoke previously]. My God you have survived and you have soared. It was worth it, I mean it sincerely, just to hear you speak. You are truly, truly inspiring. I have never heard anything so beautiful.”

Biden is known for his sui generis verbal gymnastics which seem awkward but can still win over the home crowd.  Biden's tribute fused fanfare for the common man, a defiance to terrorism and some sports metaphors.  Not surprising for a 71 year old Democrat preparing for his own race.

Sydney Dean on Basketball

It seems that these two hustlers from the White Men Can't Jump movie have informed  Vice President Joe Biden's bluster on basketball, but it is questionable if lunchbucket Joe really has skills. 

Joe Biden on Basketball

As part of the Obama Administration marking Black History Month, Vice President Joe Biden told a crowd of his hoops prowess.

If Biden wants to step up his game and take on POTUS, he ought to remember Charles Barkley's analysis of Obama's game.   Barkley spoke with President Obama prior to the NBA All Star Game.  In conjunction with the soft ball Oval Office interview, Barkley observed that Obama always goes to the left on the court.   So that's not just Obama's modus operandi in the political field.