This Is What a Hero Looks Like

Some tremendous people and others not so much

2 Years After

The contrast could not be any starker. On the 2 year anniversary of one of the darkest days in our nation’s history, approximately 20 or so adolescents continued to hold their collective week long temper tantrum, threatening to take their ball and go home unless they got their way. While this was going on, President Biden awarded 14 people the Presidential Citizens Medal for their work to protect democracy. Some were at the Capitol on January 6, others worked to preserve election integrity, but they all shared one thing in common. When the stakes were highest, they came through big time. Most of them have become familiar figures to people who either watch cable news or followed the January 6 hearings, but the sad connection that most of the recipients share is that they’re mostly ordinary people who were simply doing their jobs and wound up being swallowed by larger events. A Capitol police officer or a Georgia election worker should not have had to become public figures, but history had other ideas.

All were deserving, but the honoree who stands out to me the most is clearly Eugene Goodman. Footage of his actions was immediately omnipresent; camera shots showed him distracting a group of insurrectionists and leading them to chase him up a stairwell. It wasn’t until observers took a closer look the following day and recognized that he was drawing them away from a corridor that would have placed them only a few feet away from Mike Pence and other VIPs. We were so incredibly fortunate to avoid a mass killing of government officials. If it were not for his quick thinking and selfless bravery, someone may have actually hung Mike Pence. Eugene Goodman is the best of us, and the nation can never fully repay him.

We also should not ignore the Senate aides who guarded the ballots. “You had one job!” has become an easy joke in recent years, but here was a clear case of 2 young woman who had one important responsibility and made sure they fulfilled their duties. They both woke up that morning knowing it was up to them to perform a routine, albeit important duty. It’s possible they read the tea leaves and anticipated that the day might become unexpectedly dangerous, but they pushed forward and displayed a hell of a lot more bravery that day than Josh Hawley did. It’s impossible to know what would have happened if any of the rioters had somehow seized that case, but thank goodness we never had to find out.

If You Kids Don’t Pipe Down I’m Turning This Car Around

After all that, the “Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House” t-shirts and assorted paraphernalia will be put to use after all and not shipped to villages that usually receive Buffalo Bills Super Bowl championship gear. Yes, the Speaker election was an unnecessarily drawn out process but at least it was conducted with the proper levels of seriousness and dignity befitting prominent elected officials.

Or not.

I admit to having mixed emotions whilst watching this s***show. On one hand, it was joyous watching McCarthy debase himself as he sought every crucial vote he needed to attain a thankless job. Believe me, he’ll need to do some serious cat herding to keep that particular coalition together. On the other hand, to get those votes he needed to make concessions to some of the worst people imaginable, and he has made himself the weakest Speaker in memory. Is there really anything on the agenda of the Freedom Caucus members that will improve the lives of the average American? Nope, they want to spend the next 2 years airing grievances and smiting their enemies. Investigate Fauci? Impeach Biden? “I don’t like you” is neither a high crime nor a misdemeanor. They are going to waste our collective time on frivolity. We can only hope that we don’t face a major crisis that will require a serious response from a coalition that has shown no ability to do so.

Not With a 10 Foot Pole

At this moment, several fan bases are feeling quite anxious. In a few days a new pitcher, one with a recent Cy Young Award, will become a free agent. Furthermore, the team that’s about to cut him loose is responsible for his contract so any new team would only be liable to pay the minimum salary. Sounds like a bargain, right? Nope. In this case one would hope that most fans aren’t all that eager to see their team acquire this particular potential difference maker. They instead should prefer to stay far far away and wish that their favorite team spend its couch cushion money on Joe Shlabotnik instead.

To be clear, the simple law of averages means that whichever team you root for likely has multiple idiots on the squad. There’s a huge difference, however, from being a standard a-hole to committing the litany of sins that this specific guy - whom I will not dignify by mentioning his name - has tallied up.

There’s nothing new about these feelings. I’m a lifelong devoted Mets fan, and when he hit free agency two offseasons ago, it really looked like he was going to be Steve Cohen’s initial splash. The Mets & the Dodgers were the last 2 finalists for his services, and up until the moment he ultimately chose L.A. I spent a lot of time worrying about how I could rationalize that potential addition. “I’m gonna have to root for THIS guy?” I was never so relieved that my team finished second in a free agency battle.

His negatives were already fairly well known. He had a long history of harassing women on social media, often encouraging his followers to join in on the piling on. He also consistently burned bridges in his own clubhouses, his teammates practically beginning to be rid of him. I don’t care how good he is, there’s only so much you’d want to put up with. But then, in the 2021 season it went beyond general jerkiness and moved onto credible allegations of heinous criminal behavior. Although he is not currently facing any charges, MLB a found the allegations serious enough and believable enough to warrant the longest penalty ever imposed under the domestic violence policy.

I honestly have no idea if any team is going to take a flyer on him. The Dodgers sure took their sweet time to make a decision. They drew it out until the last possible moment until it came time for a late Friday news dump. Is there a team willing to trade a few potential wins for the absolute PR nightmare they would have to face? What would any introductory press conference look like? As the Deshaun Watson saga proves there is always going to be a franchise willing to sell its soul to the devil if they think a player is good enough. If there is a team that thinks it’s worth it to sign this jackwagon, I sure hope it’s not mine.

Recommended Read

Dr. Celine Gounder wrote a New York Times op-ed concerning vaccine disinformation, particularly as how it pertains to the shocking death of her husband Grant Wahl as he was covering the World Cup in Qatar. We’ve all had to go through the heartache of mourning loved ones. Gounder has not only had to do it in public, but also while fighting off trolls. I would say that anyone who forces another person to have to go through all this should be ashamed of themselves, but we’ve certainly learned that these people are incapable of feeling shame or empathy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/opinion/grant-wahl-celine-gounder-vaccine.html?smid=url-share

Sundry

Hope you’re all enjoying what you’ve seen so far. I have a few ideas in the back of my mind regarding ongoing features that I want to include in these posts, but things depend on the level of interest you good people show. Don’t hesitate to provide feedback and remember that sharing is caring. Please forward to your heart’s content.