Quote for the Day…

Be yourself. People don’t have to like you, and you don’t have to care. -Unknown

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

• Common Sense Prevails
• White Flag?
• Baseball Hall of Fame
• The Western Word Poll

COMMON SENSE PREVAILS:

It was great to read in the Daily Montanan that the Billings Public School Board, the largest in the state of Montana, decided on Monday night unanimously to keep two controversial titles found in high school libraries, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison.

Applause to the school board for using common sense. Sadly, I doubt this is the last time we’ll hear about this.

You can read the full article from the Daily Montanan HERE.

WHITE FLAG?

The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the Biden administration has officially withdrawn a rule that would have required workers at big companies to get vaccinated or face regular COVID testing requirements. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed the withdrawal Tuesday. But the agency said it still strongly encourages workers to get vaccinated.

Companies can still require vaccines for their employees.

I’ve seen some people calling for a boycott of Carhartt, which is requiring their employees to be vaccinated (Source). Customers are not affected by this decision, although I like the idea of shopping in a business where employees are vaccinated. Some of the nutjobs on the right seem to misunderstand this.

As one person said the other day, if you are going to protest Carhartt, please give your Carhartt clothing to homeless shelters. It’s wintertime.

Nonetheless, it appears that some on the left are putting up the white flag on the masking and vaccine issues. I don’t think this is the time to quit as we are hitting all-time highs with COVID.

BASEBALL HALL OF FAME:

About the only baseball I watch these days is when the playoffs roll around. I’ve been disappointed in Major League Baseball for years and my viewing habits show this.

On Tuesday it was announced via ESPN that David Ortiz was the lone player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) this year, while players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were shut out.

In my opinion, Bonds and Clemens should be in the HOF. Even Ortiz was suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Bonds and Clemens were also “suspected” of using PEDs. “Suspected” should not be enough to keep them out.

This is America. Shame on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

By the way, Pete Rose should be in the HOF, too.

Read the article from ESPN HERE.

THE WESTERN WORD POLL:

The final four teams in the NFL playoffs are set. They are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals from the AFC, and the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers from the NFC.

This week’s poll question asks, “Which two teams will meet in the Super Bowl?”

The results will be posted Thursday.

## BE A PATRIOT – WEAR A MASK INDOORS IN PUBLIC PLACES ##