10 Thoughts for February 26, 2014

1. I wouldn't want my team(s) to draft Johnny Manziel.  He's everything opposite of what Russell Wilson stands for and does.  Whereas Manziel taunts other players, parties and throws tantrums, Wilson prepares, remains humble, and stays focused on getting better.  If you look at the league right now, Wilson is in the same camp as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
2. Having said that, I won't exclude the possibility that Manziel grows up and changes himself.  But that's really hard to do.  It's easier to flame out than to be humbled and realize that you need to radically change.  See: Todd Marinovich, Ryan Leaf, etc.  For these types of people, redemption comes much later in life, long after they flame out of their NFL careers.
3. About that Republican bill to remake the ACA: The CBO and JCT have concluded that, by getting rid of some of the mandates of the ACA, Republicans would end up adding $75B in federal debt over 10 years, while boosting the number of people forced to participate in Medicaid and SCHIP.  So I guess we're all wondering now, how will Republicans spin this message in the 2014 election cycle?  My guess is that they'll just ignore it.
4. Speaking of the ACA, a new poll from Kaiser Family Foundation shows the pulse of America over the ACA.  56% - 31% Americans are in favor of keeping or improving the ACA.
5. Here's your forewarning: Conservatives will take the growing negative opinion of uninsured Americans, to suggest that the ACA's mandate is increasingly unpopular.  However, this will have been taken out of its proper context.  Understand, that as we get closer to the March 31 deadline, the remaining uninsured folks are increasingly representative of those who are dogmatically opposed to the ACA, while those who support the ACA have already signed up or are planning to do so, before the deadline.
6. The funny thing about Bitcoin, is that contrary to its Libertarian appeal, the only means of building confidence behind the system is for it to be regulated, and half of its backers are pushing for such regulation.  The Foundation speaks of a second wave of investors getting into Bitcoins as pushing its legitimacy.  I don't see that to be the case; I see it as greedy people trying to make money by getting in on a purely speculative deal, with nothing to insure against losses.
7. Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer did the only thing she could do, and vetoed SB1062.  MLB, the NFL, Marriott, the recently merged US Airways - American Airlines company, the ready-to-move-in Apple and a whole host of other big names came out against the bill, implying all sorts of consequences were she to fail to do the right thing.  It was a reckoning moment for conservatives: Stick with your dogma, or be pragmatic.  But if you ask me, I think everyone should have remained quiet (no pressure on the governor) on the issue until after she signed it, then raised hell.  Why?  Because it would force Republicans to go back to the legislative process and undo what had been done or face the untenable position of losing a string of court battles which would have culminated in the clear establishment of limits to "religious freedoms", and nothing is more loathsome to Libertarians, than to be told that freedoms come with limits.
8. Russia's military forces are holding "drills" near its border with Ukraine.  I wonder what Putin would say, if NATO were to hold concurrent "drills" in fellow NATO countries of Estonia, Latvia and Romania? Therein lies the folly of Russia holding "drills" near Ukraine.
9. Target reported a 46% drop in profits, following its disclosure of a massive security breach.  A big chunk of that comes from the fact that they hadn't yet figured out how the breach occurred, and therefore there was a lack of confidence that Target's problems were resolved.
10. Aside from Target, we know there were many other retailers who were breached as well, but they haven't as of yet, come out.  One can understand why, but I would be willing to trust Target in the future going forward a lot more than these other companies who remain in the shadows.  Of course this just goes to show that when things aren't regulated, companies will quietly do whatever they want to do.