Memo to the lawyer for the NBA Players’ Association who compared his clients’ situation to life on the plantation: Find a new metaphor. The people you really disrespected were the slaves. How could anyone compare multimillionaires who play a game for a living and get long summer vacations to slaves suffering on the plantation? I’m glad the lawyer apologized, but, wow, did he NOT serve his clients’ best interests.
Memo to the lawyer for Herman Cain’s latest accuser: Find a new tone. You really shouldn’t make a joke with sexual overtones when you are trying to make the argument that your client has suffered the pain and humiliation of unwanted sexual advances. Such an approach doesn’t prove Mr. Cain’s innocence, but it does undermine your case.
Memo to Newt Gingrich and his people: Talk about health care. A lot. I have been quite critical of Mr. Gingrich in the past, but I recently saw a clip of his answer on health care in a Republican debate and I was impressed. Honestly? He sounded kind of brilliant. The clip was framed as a testy exchange between Gingrich and his questioner, but to me the bigger issue was that he had a great command of the facts and he had insight on this issue. Whoever wins the election in 2012, Newt Gingrich deserves to be heard on health care.
Memo to Harold G. Koenig: Nice book. The author has written The Healing Power of Faith, which is all about just what the title says. The author cites lots of studies and shares many individuals’ accounts of how religious faith benefits people. It helps them overcome addiction, hold marriages together, combat stress, recover from sickness, and so much more. Koenig effectively argues that faith can be a lot more than just fire insurance for the next life; it can make this one much better. This is not the entire picture of the benefits of faith in God, but it is a nice part of the tapestry.