Obama's Step in the Right Direction

Monday, June 2nd, 2014, the United States government announced a proposed regulation taking a tremendous step in the right direction towards combating human-driven climate change. President Obama proposes a new Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring power plants to reduce carbon emissions 30% by the year 2030. While this rule is a little too long-term for my liking, it is finally a meaningful step for the United States signalling our acknowledgment of climate change around the globe and our commitment to change the destructive path we are heading down. While Europe is well ahead of the United States in terms of clean energy programs, I can only hope this regulation (and ideally many more to follow) will make a statement to other major polluting nations such as China and India that the time to act is now in curbing our reliance on fossil fuels for energy requirements. I also hope that this sends a message to developing nations that clean energy programs are the way of the future, and that energy infrastructure development should be built for sun and wind, not coal and oil. The United States has been "talking the talk" for years, it is well overdue we begin "walking the walk" on climate change.

However, it is disappointing this regulation is to be enacted through executive authority and not by the powers of Congress. But I can hardly blame the President for utilizing his authority knowing full well the actions to be taken would be sequestered and shot down on Capitol Hill. It is still mind boggling to think there are still some responsible for leading this nation that deny the science of climate change, widely accepted throughout the academic community as valid. One must only ask residents of the southwest United States if they are already feeling the pinch of climate change (anybody thirsty?). A key aspect of the regulation that these lawmakers are not giving attention to is the White House is not simply imposing a mandated approach to reducing carbon emissions. That power is being left to the states, as each power plant will have its own nuances for carbon emission reduction. It is not the intent of the regulation to unduly impact individual states, but allow them to develop the best approach towards meeting a common, and increasingly necessary, goal.

Some also argue the move will be detrimental to the economy. According to the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research, "All the major legislative and regulatory proposals to combat global warming kill jobs and disproportionately hurt lower income people and minorities." I would love to see the research that lead to this conclusion, but what world are you living in? The proposed regulation is not job destruction, it is job replacement. The same energy sector opportunities will exist, just in a new form. Photovoltaic cells and wind turbines require maintenance, and the energy grid will still exist in a similar form it does now. I would be hard pressed to find someone who much prefers spending their 9 to 5 deep underground mining black rocks to the job opportunities a clean energy sector will create. Just as every other living being has had to deal with the destructive virus known as human development, we will have to adapt. Learn new skills, new ways of earning an income to compete in an ever changing world. We did so during the Industrial Revolution, we must do so now during a much needed "energy revolution."

But why are energy sector jobs in fossil fuel procurement and usage so protected and fought over, while most Americans easily acknowledge they're directly related to climate change? Easy, big dollars are at stake. You do not hear national news made when a school district downsizes due to budget cuts and teachers are laid off (who directly contribute to the education necessary for the aforementioned energy revolution to take place, as well as the education necessary for America to remain competitive on a global scale), but when a coal plant shuts down or must change its way of conducting business so that we may leave a healthier planet for those to come after us, people are up in arms. Am I the only one that finds that entirely backwards?

I personally admire the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, which have been ravaged for coal deposits. I thoroughly enjoy the biodiversity of the world's oceans, which are being decimated by off-shore drilling, pollution, and warmer waters. I also love the feeling of escaping from the big city to the aura of the Adirondacks, and taking a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. However, these will long be things of the past if we do not act now to curb fossil fuel reliance. The science is out there, it is well past time we all started jumping on the climate change bandwagon. Thank you President Obama for taking it into your own hands to take that first step forward. I also believes he acknowledges it is not nearly enough, and hope for further regulation in the near future.

The Kiss Seen 'Round the Draft

And so it has happened. After 249 picks in the NFL Draft this past weekend, the NFL now has its first openly gay player in the league. Congratulations to Michael Sam on what was no doubt an arduous journey to this point in his life, and big hopes for his continued strength during what I hope is a long, successful NFL career. One must only take a glimpse into Sam's life to see just how incredible an accomplishment his selection in the NFL draft is, gay or not. Separated parents, witnessing an older brother's murder, an older sister dying at a young age, another brother gone missing in 1998 are just a few of the hardships this incredible young man has endured in 24 years of life. "Telling the world I am gay is nothing compared to that," Sam is quoted as saying.

I think being drafted by the St. Louis Rams represents the best case scenario for Sam on multiple fronts. First and most obvious, the Rams' facilities are located just two hours away from the University of Missouri, his alma mater. The Rams essentially represent Sam's hometown team (Sam is from Texas but does not have strong ties to his family there). He had a large fan base among the Mizzou Tiger family and I am sure they will be well represented at Rams home games this upcoming season. Secondly, he is coming into a strong organization that has seen vast improvements over the last few seasons. Jeff Fisher is one of the best and most respected coaches in the league, by players and management alike, and put together a season last year that saw the Rams go 7-9 in the tough NFC West, beating the likes of Indianapolis, Chicago, and New Orleans. Sam will join the likes of Robert Quinn and Chris Long as a DE on a Rams defensive line ranked second in the NFL by profootballrosters.com. He will be able to develop as a situational pass rusher under the leadership of a couple savvy veterans, in an organization that has not exhibited the same juvenile behavior as say, the Miami Dolphins.

I also think the St. Louis Rams deserve some commendation for seeing through the publicity and the distractions to the core of the matter, Sam can flat out play football. He recorded 11.5 sacks last year at Mizzou and won a SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year award. Jeff Fisher runs a tight ship, and I don't expect there to be any concerns in that locker room once they see the ability and effort Michael Sam brings to every single down.

But then there was the kiss. On national television, Michael Sam planted a smooch on boyfriend Vito Cammisano after being overwhelmed by emotion on learning of his selection by the Rams. An innocent enough kiss, a one second touch of the lips, but what it represented had some people up in arms. Don Jones, of the aforementioned Miami Dolphins, took to twitter to express his resentment, tweeting out "horrible" and "OMG". Derrick Ward, former New York Giant, tweeted "I'm sorry but Michael Sam is no bueno for doing that on national TV" and "Man U got little kids lookin at the draft. I can't believe ESPN allowed that to happen" (Not going to touch upon the idiocy of that second statement by Derrick Ward). It also begs the question how many players weren't brash enough to take to social media to express similar sentiments? How many teams passed on the talent Michael Sam represents because of the "baggage" he unfairly carries with him?

The jury is still out on the treatment Sam will be subjected to on the field, where it is well documented the language exchanged between competitors is less than pleasant, and there are often subtle exchanges of "cheap shots" after a play is over. Taunts will emanate from the stands as ignorance rears its ugly head when Sam and the Rams visit opposing stadiums. While I remain optimistic, there is still the possibility the presence of Michael Sam on an NFL roster will cause team chemistry problems in the locker room. I am also curious to see the response of league officials to Sam's potential negative treatment as the season progresses. Roger Goodell has an openly gay brother and is well-versed in the plight of the LGBT community. FIFA will have to address the continued racism exhibited by fans upon soccer players of race (bananas thrown onto the pitch and monkey noises made by fans), and I will not be surprised if the NFL brass is drawn into a similar predicament regarding Sam.

 The hours and hours of coverage have already begun, trying to answer the question is the NFL realm ready to take this step? Thankfully, the answer is irrelevant because the "problem" has already arrived. Michael Sam uses the same bull rush technique and the same swim move as the Reggie Whites, Jared Allens, Clay Matthews, JJ Watts of the world. A sack is still a sack, regardless of the sexuality of the player getting to the quarterback. I hope the eyes of the NFL world will be quickly opened to that fact once he steps into Edward Jones Dome. And I like to think that Sam's kiss was a subtle jab at all the doubters he has endured over the last few months, telling them he has arrived in spite of it all. Now all he has to do is let his play on the field do the talking.

Why the Donald Sterling Episode is Only Scratching the Surface

While I do not think the Donald Sterling saga is anywhere close to over (he has a history of fighting these racism/discrimination allegations and denying wrong-doing), there just is no place for him in the NBA at this point, regardless of the means by which his racist nature came to light. I commend new NBA commissioner Adam Silver for levying virtually the maximum possible punishment on Sterling after just a few short months in office. I think it is a testament to the type of commissioner the NBA has inherited after the departure of David Stern. And while it may have have been a self-preserving PR move to save face of the "old, rich white men" club that is NBA ownership today, I commend other NBA owners such as Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander for issuing powerful statements on public record condemning the actions of fellow owner Donald Sterling instead of the usual slew of no comments or "the league will handle it." While we admire the players on the court night in and night out, it takes a message from the people running the show and signing the checks to really exhibit the stance the league is going to take on the issue.

However, the comments made by Donald Sterling should come as no surprise to anyone. As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pointed out on the Rachel Maddow Show, Sterling has been accused of racist antics in the city of Los Angeles for years and the NBA did nothing to address it (legally, may not have had grounds to as Sterling settled each case without admitting wrong-doing). But it took a direct jab at a NBA legend in Magic Johnson to sound the sirens on this guy and give him the boot from the league. Nobody was concerned with the countless number of low to mid-income families denied housing in Sterling's residences because of their ethnicity or the color of their skin. Sterling was accused of saying African-American tenants "smell" and "attract vermin" but business continued as usual for the L.A. Clippers and the rest of the NBA world.

It also saddens me to say that Sterling is far from alone in his bigoted beliefs. As mentioned in the audio, he hears from "friends" about V. Stiviano associating with African-Americans all over social media. Might some of those friends just be owners of other NBA franchises? While we love to glorify the realm of sports as a venue that transcends race relations, we have seen time and again that in reality it does not. For some, they still see black and white versus Packer green and gold or Knick Blue and Orange. Many may remember Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnatti Reds who has been quoted as saying Hitler was good for Germany and that she would rather have a trained monkey working in her office than an African-American. Or Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder whose successful broadcast career came to an abrupt halt after making comments on film alluding to the "superiority" of the black athlete.

And some might say that these people were old, stubborn, and set in their ways, raised during a different generation. They are far from the only perpetrators. Just this past week Brazilian footballer Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him during a match in Spain. The same has happened to Philadelphia Flyer Wayne Simmonds, an African-American hockey player. There is still only one black majority owner in the NBA (Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats) in a league that is 76% African-American. The NFL felt the need to implement the Rooney Rule, requiring minorities to be interviewed for head coaching and front office positions. Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints Tight End, scored a 48 on the wonderlic test during the NFL combine, one of the best scores ever. However, most people only heard about the 6 that Vince Young posted or the 4 that Morris Claiborne scored, each of them African American players. Just a few years ago, while I was playing a baseball game in upstate New York, a mixed-race teammate of mine was called a racial slur by a fan while hustling out a ground ball to first base. This was a Junior Varsity baseball game, 16 year old kids, in small town New York encountering racism in sports first hand.

But I fear that racism will soon take a back seat in bigotry to the sports world's next hot topic - homophobia. As more courageous individuals like the NBA's Jason Collins, former Missouri football player Michael Sam, the WNBA's Brittany Griner, and UMASS basketball player Derrick Gordon reveal themselves to the world, we will see a whole new form of intolerance and small-mindedness rear its ugly head. Jason Collins has already acknowledged he has been called this and that while taking the floor during NBA games. Brittany Griner has said that she was "silenced" while at Baylor, a Christian University, regarding her sexuality for recruiting purposes. ESPN spent the better part of an entire week analyzing how Michael Sam's coming out was going to negatively affect his draft stock. Not because of any lack of talent, simply because he is gay.

I would like to think that after all of the hard work and courage that the likes of Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, and others did to break down racial/gender barriers in sports that we would be better prepared to handle the "coming-out" party we are and will continue to witness in major sports today. Early indications are I am sorrily mistaken. What will it take for people to realize a win is a win, a loss is a loss regardless of the gender, race, ethnicity, or sexuality of the players involved? At the end of the day, isn't what the scoreboard reads after the clock strikes zero what really matters?

Pointless Banter about Gay Marriage

It is about time our country moved towards getting something right with gay marriage and the Supreme Court's Ruling on DOMA. After the obscene amount of money spent and media coverage over the judicial proceedings, I was left with only one question: Why did we care in the first place? I can't remember the last time I saw a more pointless argument ensue. I can't come up with any logical argument to say two human beings on this planet cannot be joined in marriage, whether its homosexual or heterosexual.

We live in a secular nation, meaning there is a seperation of church and state. While the lines are often blurred, this means no religious bias should have any right to be of influence in this nation's court of law. Your religious affiliation holds no weight in my mind in deciding if it is someone's right as a human to solidify a lifetime bond with another human being they hold dearly. Homosexual couples pay taxes, have jobs and mind their own business as much as the next couple. Please explain to me how the homosexual couple down the street living happily in their cozy, split-level home has any impact on your own marriage and the "sanctity" of the bond you share with your spouse. It may be against your religious views, but those are your views and not everyone else's. They also have no place in this country's judicial system. I am not saying you should not be in disagreement and you certainly can be, but that does not mean we can strip contributing citizens of a basic human right of companionship on the grounds of homosexuality. They are not seeking your approval, just their equal share of human rights.

Also, for those defending the "sanctity" of marriage, please read an article or two about the divorce rate in this country. While the urban myth of a 50% divorce rate is grossly inaccurate, we are looking at about 3.6 divorces versus 6.2 marriages for every 1,000 citizens in the US. Those numbers to me do not give the indication of a sacred, lifetime commitment to another. Between the proliferation of extramarital affairs promulgated by TV and the internet and the obscene battles ensuing in divorce court over petty, materialistic items, I can hardly say heterosexual couples have succeeded in defending that "sanctity."

As I finish the last chapters of the book That Used to Be Us by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, I can not help but wholeheartedly agree with the general theme underlying the entire book, America has lost its way. There is no sense of collective spirit anymore in the American people, no sense of sacrifice for the greater good. And more often than not we are concerned with our well-being in the here and now and do not employ a forward-looking attitude to examine the ramifications of our decisions down the road for those to come after us. Instead of a sense of a communal pride seeking the betterment of those around us as well as ourselves, we are plagued by feelings of self-entitlement and materialism that break down any sense of community that helped shape the nation we enjoy today. There is no drive in the American people to better ourselves as well as those around us. We run under the assumption that we will always be the model other countries in the world aspire to be, but this is grossly incorrect. If anything, the American system has become the poster child for what a sense of complacency and stubbornness can do to ravage a once great nation. I believe this attitude is a result of our country's "tone at the top." The political figures running this country set an example for the American people that is dangerous for the nation as a whole to follow.

As elected leaders meant to serve the interests of the American people, I would expect these politicians to be the shining example of what it means to be an American. This could be no further from the truth, as our elected leaders represent some of the most despised, cowardly people this nation has to offer. To say the vast majority of politicians serve anything but their own self-interests is an understatement that is a testament to the self-defeating nature of our political system today. The nature of American politics has evolved for the worst since the days of our founding fathers. America's roots were born in a collective struggle to gain our independence from a tyrannical leader for the right to govern ourselves as we see fit. Today, this "political" system that so many before us have died to preserve has become an exercise in "how can I make people have a favorable opinion of me so that I may be reelected next term?" There are very few politicians in contemporary America with the moral courage to take a stand for what is right even if that means taking a knock in the polls. This lack of courage particularly presents itself in the area of taxation.

The government's main source of revenue to serve and protect this nation's people, taxes, has become a taboo subject amongst its politicians. There are few leaders in this country willing to stand up and say one must sacrifice an additional dollar today so that we may have a better tomorrow. Too many Americans are ignorant to the subject of taxation, only realizing that their weekly paycheck may be slightly smaller than the last. They are uninformed as to the impact any tax raises may have, such as reducing the insurmountable amount of debt this country has accumulated, because none of our country's leaders are willing to inform them. Not all of us are financially literate (I myself work in the financial services industry, which is a whole different matter for another day's discussion) and therefore must be informed by those in position to enact these taxes. However, the political leaders of today have proliferated this attitude that taxes are a negative, a subject to be tread upon lightly. We fought British rule under the guise "No taxation without representation," not "No taxation." If taxes are to be looked upon as an evil (which is grossly inaccurate), then it is the most necessary evil in America today. We cannot survive with a balance sheet showing trillions of dollars of debt as we continue to try and eliminate taxes (just look at Greece). Anyone can understand the concept that more money leaving our pockets while less is coming in is a losing situation. We need leaders to inform the American people that a dollar spent today means better infrastructure, better schools, and a cleaner environment tomorrow so that our children don't inherit the poor decisions we made in our time.

And perhaps the biggest folly of today's political leaders is their inability to effectively address climate change. To the Republicans that deny its existence, it's time to find a new job. The sheer ignorance of any such thinking is unfathomable to me, the audacity to deny the credibility of 97% of the science community, the experts on the matter I might add, is an injustice to the American people the likes of which we have not seen. And to the Democrats that acknowledge something must be done about climate change but have not had the determination to stand up to oil and gas special purpose entities, shame on you. I am not sure what is worse, denying the existence of global warming or failing to act upon an increasingly glaring problem at the sake of your own reelection. At this point we are not talking about money or politics, we are talking about the sustainability of the planet we inhabit. We have been presented with a golden opportunity to be the leaders in the next great global industry, clean energy, and have failed to take advantage as we continue our reliance upon fossil fuels. Our political leaders have let the "pull" of gas and oil interest sway their decision making upon Capitol Hill, instead of the future prosperity of the American people. Climate change is the first battle since the Cold War that can evoke the collective sense of American identity among this country's people necessary to propel America back into a position of prominence.

The American political system has lost the moral fortitude necessary to lead this country effectively. We, the American people, sit and watch as our political leaders let our social, financial, geopolitical and environmental condition deteriorate for the sake of their "four more years." There are few out there willing to take a stand on a matter that may not win them a popularity contest, but that will serve to better the American condition. As a child, I did not always agree with or enjoy the "tough love" I received from my parents, but as I have aged I now see the benefits I reaped from them having the strength to take a stand for what was right. We need more leaders in this country to take this same stand and move America in a direction we have not been since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. As a young American, it is frustrating to sit idly by as we watch the countries around the world we helped shape surpass us in education, research and development, infrastructural development, financial stability, etc. and emerge as the new poster child for what it means to be a great nation. I do not believe our forefathers envisioned a nation where a select few sacrificed progress of the American people for their own agendas. It is time we got back to our roots, and rediscovered the drive that once made America the greatest country in the world.