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Stackhouse Soapbox - Desperate to forgive Jones rule breaking

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been fined closed to $100,000 this season by the Canadian Football League and there are fans who are upset at the image portrayed by Chris Jones, the man in charge of the football operations.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been fined closed to $100,000 this season by the Canadian Football League and there are fans who are upset at the image portrayed by Chris Jones, the man in charge of the football operations. To this, I can only say that people shouldn’t be surprised.

Jones has a reputation of doing whatever is necessary to put a winning product on the field and other people’s feelings, integrity, and other such fair play rules are not items that rank high on his list or priorities.

Jones has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and, therefore, there are some powerful officials out to get him. If he can turn this ship around, the fans will be very forgiving. I’m just not sure he’s going to be successful. How do you blame a coach when your field goal kicker can’t split uprights? How do you blame the coach when the players fail, over and over, to convert short yardage? Yeah, okay. Get better players. Anyone have any ideas where to find them? That’s part of the reason why he’s been fined so much money.  He is leaving no stone unturned looking for guys.

And, it’s not like you can point to some out of work kicker who could have helped this team last week. Some folks claim Jones was too quick to purge the team of veterans. Well, this team won three games last year. Precious few players from last year would help them win this year. And, none of the players Jones got rid of are tearing up the league.  But, two of them that the previous regime deemed expendable (Zach Evans and Keith Shologan) are.

It really needs to be a crime for people who drop off animals to fend for themselves in the wild. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: children and pets put their trust in us to look after them. When we betray that, they don’t have the capability to find another caretaker or parent.

There were more violent protests in the United States over the weekend after a police involved shooting. This time, the officer who did the shooting was black.  So, I’m not sure what plausible reason there would be for looting and vandalism. It’s to the point I don’t even pay much attention to it anymore. The Black Lives Matter people who claim to have good intentions clearly do not. Unless I’m missing something.

We see so many guilty criminals get away with murder because a judge will claim they couldn’t make the conclusion that guilt was proven ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’. Yet, Making A Murderer subjects Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey have been in jail for years despite plenty of doubt. Last week, it was announced Dassey’s release has been ordered by the court within 90-days. Avery should get out too. For those who watched the documentary and are still skeptical because of the slant towards the defense, you have to admit the picture of doubt is still convincing. I am not saying Avery didn’t do it, but there sure is enough there to make me feel someone else could have.  And, for that reason, both Avery and Dassey should be free men.

An employee with the Ottawa Police Service has quit after she rejected a Somali applicant based on his background check. The employee was ordered to overlook the background question marks out of sensitivity to the fact this person is of Somali origin. She refused and has resigned her position instead. Ottawa is a less safe place today. But, that’s okay. It has a more wide cultural representation.

A Texas mother has applied to the local school board to have her child use a female washroom when he/she starts kindergarten in the Fall.  Apparently, the child proclaimed at the age of three that he is really a she. Do any of us really have the mental capacity at the age of three to decide this?

I mean, at the age of three if your child wants to be a Walmart Greeter when they grow up, do you say, “Okay, sounds great. Let’s do everything as a child to prepare you for this career and you can’t change your mind.”  To me, I feel this is where leadership comes into play. If you have a child with questions about sexual orientation, it’s incumbent upon you to provide the tools to help that child be the best possible man or woman later in life. Obviously, if certain issues persist, then by all means be supportive. But, to just back off at the age of three because you think you are empowering the child is ridiculous. If anything, you are confusing the kid even further and I may even make the case you are an unfit parent.

Nice person mentions to: Jack Long, Myles Thorpe, Darren Balaberda, Tracy Turner, and Asad Qazi.