Jockey Pat Day announced his retirement today. Since his lack of joy is a direct message from God, he will spend his time spreading the gospel to backside immigrant workers who can’t leave the racetrack to attend church on Sunday, instead of riding horses. When asked if his career in the racing industry wasn’t in conflict with his born-again Christian beliefs, he quickly said no, because he didn’t gamble. I don’t suppose it ever occurred to him that if it was riding horses he enjoyed, Churchill Downs wasn’t his only option. He could have ridden them anyolewhere he wanted without involving any gambling. 

I have a hard time understanding how his making a bazillion dollars off other gamblers is any different, but then this whole religion thing is strange to me so who am I to question that illogical conclusion? By the same rationale, are drug dealers who only sell to others but don’t partake of what they sell also excused by Mr. Day’s lord and savior?

            Also in the news today, while city officials continue to argue the rights of non-smoking employees to be free of second-hand smoke over the rights of business owners to run their business they way they want continues, yet the same officials supported the approval of the sale of alcohol on Sundays. I’m sure by someone’s logic it seems reasonable to be more concerned over the slight possibility of a second-hand smoke illness than to waste intelligence or logic worrying about the much greater likelihood of instant death by second-hand alcohol in the body of a drunk driver or gun-toting hot head who’s had one too many. No doubt, studies document a much higher incidence of violence in smoking co-workers than drunken spouses and parents, and somewhere, there must be a log of all those emergency room visits for cigarette burns that puts the alcohol-related accident reports to shame.

            And just in time to boost the pride we’ve been ordered to feel for the No Child Left Behind program’s contribution to what our children “is” learning (to quote our fearless leader), we have new laws against junk food in school. I expect any day we might just wage an all out war on junk food, if we can stop corporations from making zillions of dollars from them. I’m not so sure I’m thrilled that our children “is” learning that they are not personally responsible for anything. They don’t need to learn the ten commandments or right from wrong, we’ll make laws and rules and expect others to be responsible for catching them before anything they do is considered wrong. But then, couldn’t they just visit the racetrack on Sunday, get saved or reborn by a non-gambling bazillionairre who happens to be in the savior’s good graces, give thanks for the smaller government their parents have bought for them and solve the whole problem anyway?

            The news sure does get confusing.