TGIF 7/24/20

A bunch of random stuff to mull over as the 'work week', however that's defined for you, comes to a close.

The NFL Team Formerly Known as the Washington Redskins will be known, this year anyway, as the Washington Football Team.

Why, you ask? Well, there apparently are some trademark and licensing stuff, plus logos and stuff, plus who knows, maybe generating more interest waiting for the new name to be revealed?

And, speaking of waiting, in case you can't, here's a bone you can gnaw on, if you like, that suggests the new name has been chosen, and perhaps why there might be some legal stuff to deal with.

Let's see, what else do we have?

• Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

• Regular math, not Andrew Yang MATH: did you know that the average maximum weekly unemployment benefit for the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico is less than $500? Or that only nine states pay extra unemployment for someone who has dependents?  Or that only thirteen states pay at least a "living wage" ($600/week, the equivalent of $15/hour for 4o hours) in unemployment (with or without dependents) Or that Kentucky's maximum is higher than New York's? The figures don't include the extra (and effectively expired) COVID-19 pandemic benefit of $600 per week. 

• You can get an MBA for only $12.99 through the Find Something New initiative co-chaired by Ivanka Trump as part of her workforce portfolio.

• The entire assembled teams of the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals took a knee before the National Anthem last night - and the world didn't stop spinning, except for lots of people on social media. And, staying with baseball for one more item, the Toronto Blue Jays will play most of their home games in Buffalo, where they have a Triple-A affiliate. The reason? Concerns about the coronavirus, of course, which prevented them from being able to travel to and from their home stadium. (Not for nothing, there's a ban on travel across the US/Canada border which is preventing people from working, being present for the birth of their children and so on).

• The president may or may not have asked his Ambassador to the UK to ask the Brits to see about holding a British Open at Trump's Turnberry course in Scotland. Both Trump and the ambassador say it didn't happen. Golf Magazine justifies the ask by saying that according to their rankings, Turnberry is #17 on their Top 100 Courses in the World list. If that's true, they can do it when Trump's out of office.

• The FDIC has relaxed regulations related to banks hiring people with minor criminal records, "expanding the pool of potential candidates and leveling the playing field for aspiring bank workers." Going forward, folks with offenses like small dollar theft (less than a grand) or possession of fake identification, can be hired without a waiver; around 100 or so waivers were requested annually.

And, I'll leave you with the funniest thing I saw all week. 

TGIF, everyone.

Wondering on Wednesday (v203)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's going on in wonder-land today? 

Let's take a look, starting in Colorado, where it seems the governor and the state's congressional delegation has been working furiously to get much needed ventilators to help patients with COVID-19 - for weeks. But when they finally got 100 of them, it seems it had nothing to do with anyone other than the state's Republican senator.  Here's the story from Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette, who was not impressed. 

Governor Polis and our Congressional delegation have been working to get more ventilators to Colorado for weeks. In fact, Colorado was set to receive 500 ventilators until FEMA blocked the shipment. Now, President Trump says we will get 100 as a courtesy to Senator Gardner. That means, because the president is playing politics with public health, we're still 400 ventilators short from what we should have received. His mismanagement of this crisis is costing lives and livelihoods.

The governor's press secretary, Conor Cahill, had to take a more conciliatory approach, having seen from the experience of other governors.

The Governor welcomes every piece of equipment that will help save lives in Colorado. He is committed to continuing to work with the federal government, other states, and the private sector to acquire the necessary equipment needed to protect the lives of Coloradans.

So, what's the wondering here? Basically, when will everyone just get the supplies they need, without there being any involvement of the president or anyone outside the distribution wing of the task force? And when will Trump stop requiring people to kiss his ring in order to get what they need for their residents?

In a similar vein, we've got a governor telling a mayor in his state that she has to open the tourist beaches in her city, much to the mayor's dismay. Yep - while there's a state-wide shelter-in-place order for Georgia, Tybee Island is supposed to have their beaches open. Which if you think about it, makes no sense whatsoever, as we saw in Florida and Texas. And again, there's wondering about why there isn't better coordination of these things, and why local officials cannot do what they need to do to protect their residents?

That's what's happening where I live. The state has social-distancing orders in place, supposedly with fines although I'm not sure any have been handed out. But our County Executive, with the support of the mayor of our area's largest city, has added another layer, calling on people to stay at home except on designated days based on whether they were born in an odd or even year. I think it's just fine, and I don't know that I'd want my Sonofa Gov to come in and tell us that we can't do what we need to do here for our own safety. And I'm glad I don't have to wonder what would happen if he did issue a conflicting and less-safe order.

And, of course, the big non-coronavirus news today? That Guy from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has dropped out of the presidential race. There'll be a lot more about that in other posts, but for now, we have to wonder, how well can Papa Joe Biden corral the Sanders fans, and how much of TGFV's message will be adopted by the Democratic Party when they convene in August?

Now -- on to the good news, the cool stuff that's happening around the world as everyone, and everything, adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• I wonder what it must have felt like for this man, running a marathon on his balcony? It took nearly seven hours, with encouragement, water and M&Ms from his girlfriend, and "confusion" from onlookers. 

• The only thing I wonder about this couple, from Naples, is how anyone can thank them enough? Looking back into history, they put in place a century's old idea: they lower a basket from their balcony, with a note attached. I won't spoil it for you, but the reaction is heartwarming. 

• And for those who are missing baseball, and one of its most endearing traditions - the 7th inning stretch, there's this 7th Inning Stretch to keep you company. Josh Kantor, the organist for the Boston Red Sox, streams 30 minutes of requests and stories and live chat and charity every day. Fun stuff for a Sox fan like me, and fun in general if you're missing the sound of organ music. I wonder if other organists are tuning in to his show...

• And finally, even Mother Nature is getting in the swing of things. It seems that, with China's manufacturing shut down for weeks, the air has cleared to such an extent that, for the first time in decades, folks can actually see the Himalayas, even from 125 miles away. For some, it's the first time they've been able to see them - ever.  My wondering here? How long will it last, can it last, before we go back to what we were. 

And finally tonight, another one that's sort of close to my heart - we're cat owners, or I guess cat caretakers would be more appropriate. So when I saw a tweet from someone about a friend losing, and then finding his cat, I was thrilled - and then I laughed and laughed. 

I have to wonder, first of all, how he found the missing cat, and second of all,  I wonder how long it'll take for him to find the owner of the one that's not his, once he figures which one is his?

What's got you wondering tonight?