Wednesday Musings

I will continue on my theological journey with John Calvin, but I wanted to ‘muse’ today.

Brett Favre has decided to stay retired. It is so fitting and awesome that he will not be quarterbacking the Vikings against the Packers in Green Bay. My fear was that he would tarnish the love Packer fans have had for him over the years. He has taken a massive amount of punishment as an NFL quarterback and it is better to leave, now, while he still can leave with some semblance of health.

I am wondering about Dr. Conrad Murray and if he should be charged with a crime administering the drugs to Michael Jackson. I can make all sorts of ethical arguments and professional arguments on why he should not have, but I’m not sure there are many legal arguments against this. He was paid by a patient who requested a legal drug be administered for a medical problem. Lord knows that more than one physician has administered a drug to a patient who then died from that drug. It is often impossible to know how drugs are going to interact with people and when powerful medication enters the scene, things can happen. Unless Dr. Murray intentionally administered a dose with the intention of killing Michael Jackson, I do not see a crime here. There may be malpractice or something like this, but criminal, I doubt it. It also can create a dreadful precedent. Physicians vulnerable to criminal prosecution in the case of drug interactions.

A couple of thoughts on two sports figures.

The first controversy is that Michael Vick is going to be allowed to play this coming season. Some people are outraged, but I think this is a good thing. What Vick did was heinous, without a doubt. He has spent time in prison however, and this conviction, loss of playing time, loss of endorsements, has cost him an estimated $100,000,000.00. The man has paid for his crime and from my perspective, grace needs to be shown him and him given an opportunity to play again.

On the other hand, they are thinking of removing the lifetime ban on Pete Rose. Pete Rose bet on baseball while he as a manager. Unlike Vick, whose crime had nothing to do with football, Rose was gambling on baseball while actively part of the game. He was a great player, without a doubt, and had he not done something to disgrace himself while IN the game he was part of, he should be in the Hall of Fame. He, in my opinion, excluded himself from baseball forever. Unlike Vick, whose livelihood is on the line, and who has to prove himself on the field of play, all there is for Rose is an opportunity to be honored. It is an honor he does not deserve.

Colin Powell had the best line about the story of the police officer and the Harvard professor. “Adult supervision” was needed. That is the case so very often, isn’t it? I suspect that we have been guilty of needing adult supervision from time to time. I know I have. It is a reminder that losing one’s temper generally has consequences.

A 24 year old woman in Mississippi car-jacked a car and drove to an RV dealership to hold them up telling the people in the RV dealership that she had a gun. She told employees she had a gun and demanded money. The employees did not believe the claim and restrained her until officers arrived. As she was dressed only in a bikini that left little to the imagination it was obvious that she was not carrying a concealed weapon. Police said the suspect appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She is in the current lead for dumbest criminal of the year award. This kind of brilliance does need to be recognized.