The Update Desk: 4/13/13

Updates and random thoughts:

First,  We Deserve a Vote, and we're going to get one.

On Thursday, the Senate voted to go ahead and begin considering new gun control legislation.  The vote that killed a possible filibuster was 68 -31, with 29 Republicans and 2 Democrats voting against the measure, and sixteen Republicans, 50 Dems, and 2 Independents voting in favor.

There's absolutely no guarantee that any legislation will pass (including a bipartisan take on background checks) once they start considering the actual proposed laws -- and that's perfectly OK.  The point is that the Senate will at least allow the measures to be considered, and that they will put their decisions on the record.  We all win when that happens.

Meanwhile, back in NY, I just found online that Preet Bharara, the US Attorney who's working on cleaning up Albany one dirty politician at a time, made the Time magazine list of the World's Most Influential People for 2012.  According to the article, written by Georgetown law professor and Bharara friend Viet Dinh, he's quite the guy:

What sets Preet, 43, apart is his ability to see the next battleground — witness the takedown of members of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacker networks. What sets him above is the patience honed by principle. For years, as others clamored for scalps after the global financial crisis, Preet resisted the temptation of a sloppy kill and instead waited for the facts. His 58-0 record for insider-trading cases bodes ill for the bankers whom his office has charged with reckless lending practices or inflating mortgage values.

And finally, here in Syracuse, we learned that SU sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams is entering the NBA draft. While not surprising, it's disheartening. I naively hope that the kids will realize that very few players actually make it in the NBA; SU in particular doesn't have that great a track record turning kids in to pros. Most of them would have been better off staying in school, getting a degree and having something to do for the rest of their life.

Almost immediately after SU's loss to Michigan in the semi-finals, reporters started asking MCW what his intentions were for the future, whether he'd take his 12 points and 7 assists per game to the next level; left unsaid of course was the part about him giving up on getting an education. Initially he said he wasn't thinking about that, but very quickly made the decision to go, where he's projected to be a lottery pick, depending on who else decides to declare for the draft.

I know the reporters think they are doing their jobs when they throw the NBA question to underclassmen at the end of the season; but boy, what I wouldn't give for someone to ask not the obvious question, but something along the lines of this:

The first game of the season was months ago, back on November 1st.  You had a great run, but tell me -- aren't you looking forward to being able to get back to your studies full time, now that the season is over?

Ah well, maybe someday.