Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Why do politicians act like civil servants don't know about the four seasons?

The SDLP's Mark H Durkan issued a statement letting all and sundry know that he has "contacted Transport NI asking them to make the necessary preparations now to avoid traffic chaos in the event of adverse weather."

I'm not sure I could have summed up my political philosophy so neatly as Durkan has summarized the opposite of my view here. If the offices of the state need to be told something as obvious as winter is coming and that sometimes that can mean bad weather, then I want those people to have as little influence over my life as possible.

But, if the people who work for the state are fully aware that winter is coming and with it bad weather and they don't need a reminder from an elected official then, it's worth wondering why anyone should pay so much money to a person who thinks that the governing officials need to be reminded that winter follows autumn.

I don't live in Durkan's constituency. Indeed, I don't pay taxes in that jurisdiction, but he's not alone. If he was the only one, I wouldn't care, but it seems endemic among the political class. On an almost daily basis they come up with new ways to insinuate government in our lives,  but then they turn around and tell us that those who draw a salary on the taxpayer's dime are too dim to know that night follows day. Maybe they're right that those people are that stupid or maybe the elected officials have so little do that that they think this is a justifiable use of our time (and our money).

I have to admit I can't imagine that Northern Ireland's transportation department is unaware that winter follows autumn in which case Mark H Durkan clearly has too much time on his hands. Either he should be given more to do or he should have his salary cut.

Regardless, it's damning of the political creed that demands that we cede more and more of our rights and responsibilities to government and officialdom.

Tuesday, October 06, 2015

#MLB doesn't care about children or families or the future of the game

At first I was annoyed that the Mets playoff game on Friday doesn't start until 9:45, but then I thought about it: why should I be annoyed. The fact that MLB hates kids & families is not new.

The late start time for this week's Mets game is only annoying because it's been so long since the Mets were last in the Playoffs. They've played equally late games before. In fact, I think they played a game in Arizona back in 1999 that started around 11pm. That's not just hating kids; it's hating all employed East Coast fans. So we shouldn't act like this is anything new.

MLB hasn't cared about children for a long time. And you know what? It's starting to show. There's a correlation between indifference to young fans shown by MLB over the years and the lack of interest in baseball among those who were young children in the late 90s and are now in their 20s. Yup, the young adults simply don't care about baseball, as will be reflected in the pathetically low ratings baseball will garner this month, the most exciting month in the baseball calendar. The chickens have come home to roost.

These days baseball has doubled down in its indifference to children/families. The number of ads for ED products during baseball games is a scandal. I was talking to a father – and a big baseball fan – not long ago who told me that he simply stopped watching baseball with his kids. In fact, he hardly ever watches himself now because those ads have taken away his enjoyment - watching with his family.

Even though my kids are older, I know what he means. I was watching a game recently with my daughter when I finally snapped. I got so angry when another Cialis ad came on that I just shouted, "That's it. I can't watch this any more." I was uncomfortable because my daughter was watching too. And you know what? She was also uncomfortable too and, even though she loves sports, she told me she was glad I took it off.

But the people running MLB don't care. So long as they have their sexually frustrated, middle-aged male audience today, what do they care if they've alienated a generation (and a gender) who should be tomorrow's fans? The obviously couldn't care less.

As much as I love baseball, I long for the end of MLB.

Plastic bag chaos seems ... unlikely

I don't know anyone who was more opposed to the plastic bag charge when it was brought in. I complained about it on this blog a few times. It still annoys me.

So I'm a little surprised at the stories in the British press this morning about how all hell is about to break loose thanks to the 5p a bag charge introduced by the British government. I suspect that, just as in Ireland, within a very short time people will have adapted: carrying their reusable bags into the store with them.

I sincerely doubt tens of thousands of shopping baskets are going to go missing. I would guess that there'll be a few annoyed people today, tomorrow, but by the weekend everyone be used to it.