Wondering on Wednesday (v77)

What's on tap for tonight?

First, I was wondering if I was crazy last night when I thought I noticed that the Trump Boys on camera during the announcement of Neil Gorsuch as the pick for the Merrick Garland seat on the Supreme Court. I mean, I thought they were supposed to be out of the mix on the governmental stuff and very busy running the business, so the couldn't possibly be front and center there, right?

I could have been confused, but the boys both tweeted pictures of the announcement ceremony, so it must be true. So, now I'm wondering, will they be at every announcement at the White House? And if they're not able to stay away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, will their Dad be able to stay away from Trump Tower? Time will tell, I guess.

Anyone remember Kim Davis, the clerk in Kentucky who not only refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, but ordered her staff to do the same? Davis was sent to jail for her outright refusal to obey the law and provide the required services to the taxpaying constituency she served.

Now, I wonder, where were those conscientious Republicans when Trump fired  Acting Attorney General Sally Yates when she indicated she would not send Justice Department attorneys to defend the Executive Order approving cherry-picking of refugees based on their religious beliefs, or refusing entry to people who had risked their lives helping America fight terrorists, or stopping legal residents of the United States at the gate?  Something seems wrong about that, doesn't it?

Switching gears...

With Super Bowl IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII just around the corner, I wonder how many people will be rooting for one of the two teams, how many for the commercials, how many for the half-time show, and how many for their board numbers?  

And speaking of the Super Bowl, the commercials are already being 'previewed' on the news - both online and TV - well in advance of the game. I know about two of them so far -- one, for GNC, was refused by the NFL. Why?

Well, according to this report,

GNC is listed under 'prohibited companies' on a memo from the NFL and its players union, It warns players not to endorse or have a business relationship with GNC because it has been "associated with the production, manufacture or distribution of NFL banned substances."

It stinks, as GNC rightly notes, that they were rejected less than a week before the game, long after they had made their investment and more than a month after it was made known they planned an ad. I wonder if there's a supplement they can take for that?

The other ad we're seeing a lot about is the almost Clydesdale-less Budweiser ad, featuring the story of how Adolphus Busch ended up in St. Louis, where he meets the patriarch of the Anheuser clan. And the rest, as they say, is history. It's a great ad, on which development started early last year - and the timing couldn't be better under the circumstances.

But what I'm wondering is, will there be a backlash from Trump supporters, thinking that the ad is a commentary on his recent executive order? If Trump decides to tweet about this, similar to how he rallied his forces against Macy's, what will happen to the Bud brand?

I'm also thinking about the Super Bowl ad that isn't -- the one that Kraft Heinz could have done, would have done, except that instead, they gave all of their salaried employees the day off. Not just because they're a kind and generous company, but because they support having Super Bowl Monday be a national holiday.  The company is even backing a petition for it.

It is, after all, a huge day of wasted productivity, and a huge day of sick-calling-in, which of course the salaried KH employees won't have to worry about.  Their factory brethren? Yeah, they don't have the day off.  I wonder, is this just another example of the haves wielding it over the have nots?

And finally - on the whole day off thing: I wonder, does it make sense for America to have Super Bowl Monday an official holiday?

Or, maybe, could we think about having Election Day be our next holiday?

Just wondering.