Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

Harrison Butker: A Kansas City Star, That’s What He Are*

The left’s pointy little heads began exploding following Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s commencement speech at Catholic Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, about two weeks ago.

In his talk the NFL footballer embraced his Catholic faith as he criticized President Joe Biden for supporting abortion, as well as “the people pushing gender ideologies onto the youth of America.” The left attacked the Georgia Tech alumni for praising stay-at-home moms and their decision to run a household and raise children.

In a nutshell Butker applauded mom, the flag, and apple pie. That’s the left’s issue. It despises that all-American trio. They’re as repelled by it as vampires are by a crucifix.

Based on the hysterical reaction from the far-left whackos following his talk, folks would have thought the college had invited Texas singer, author, and satirist,  Kinky Freidman, to perform his signature song: “Get Your Biscuits In the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed” at the commencement.

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Freidman’s song lyrics following are a couple of  refrains. (WARNING: Attention leftists, Democrats, campus protestors, those with Trump Derangement Syndrome, drag queens who read books to small children, Ivy League students and faculty, and men wearing dresses who drink Bud Light, reader discretion is advised as you may find the following content disturbing).

 

Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
That’s what I to my baby said,
Women’s liberation is a-going to your head,
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
You uppity women I don’t understand
Why you gotta go and try to act like a man,
But before you make your weekly visit to the shrink
You’d better occupy the kitchen, liberate the sink.

Any attempt to write a parody about the silly people criticizing the Christian kicker’s talk would be more difficult to compose than what they are currently doing to themselves.

The left’s reaction to Butker’s talk.

Following his commencement talk and the leftist meltdown, the outspoken kicker made his first public remarks on Friday, May 24. He stated that the “shocking level of hate” will not deter him from being “unapologetic” about his faith in the future.

“If it wasn’t clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now,” Butker said about a week later at an event called Courage Under Fire in Nashville, in support of a Catholic charity. “Over the past few days, my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe.

“In my seven years in the NFL, I’ve become familiar with positive and negative comments. But the majority of them revolve around my performance on the field,” he added. “But, as to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most, my Catholic faith, the more polarizing I’ve become. It’s a decision I’ve consciously made, and one I do not regret at all.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion kicker for the Chiefs even came under fire from the NFL front office. Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president, chief diversity, and inclusion officer (What else?) weighed in saying as the league scrambled to distance itself from what Butker had said. “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane told People magazine in a written statement that had to be cleared by his superiors. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.” It was a stupid statement, spoken by a stupid man directed toward stupid people.

Larry Thornberry

My wise Tampa friend, journalist Larry Thornberry, who writes for the American Spectator, shared his  feelings with me on the brouhaha saying:  “I have another long-time friend who is quite intelligent, and sound in most ways, but has been infected with feminist orthodoxy.”

Larry bluntly laid the facts out for her after she besieged him with a load of feminist boilerplate about the kicker’s comments. “Butker’s full remarks are available on line and if you consult them you’ll see that he didn’t suggest that women can only keep house,” he explained to her.

“The cultural left in their response to him, as usual, distorted what he said,” Larry continued. “He would like to see women who choose to be homemakers and mothers rather than partners in law firms or company CEOs not be denigrated, as is too often the case now. Alas, anytime anyone, particularly a man, suggests this, the old ‘barefoot and pregnant’ line gets trotted out. The women’s groups only seem to be hot for choice when it means abortion.”

Mr. Thornberry didn’t hold back on his criticism of the dim bulbs in the NFL front office adding: “The NFL’s corporate leadership goes to DEFCON1 every time a player violates progressive orthodoxy. If Butker had made comments about how abortion should be allowed up until the moment of birth, or about how Israel engages in genocide, or how black Americans are brutalized by white supremacy, the silence from the NFL offices would have been deafening.”

Larry opted quite right that the opinions of athletes and other celebrities on politics or religion or cultural controversies should be of no consequence to the general public. “Nor should the comments of the various sports league front offices,” he emphasized. “Alas, they are to the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the MLB’s Rob Manfred, and the NBA’s Adam Silver, who consistently annoy a large percentage of their fan base by their virtue signaling. Their business is ball games. They should stick to them.”

However, as clamorous as the left-wing condemnation of Butker has been, support for the outspokenly Christian kicker has been equally loud if not louder and far more civil and reasoned.

Though his comments were vehemently criticized by a few lefty KC locals –  a Change.org petition even called for the Chiefs to dismiss him for his remarks that it deemed “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion, and racist” — he’s been enthusiastically embraced by teammates and the general public. The veteran NFL player has won public support from his head coach Andy Reid, as well as star teammates Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones.

Butker’s jersey sales also skyrocketed following his commencement address as people rushed to the NFL Shop, making Butker’s jersey one of the most popular in the entire league. But here’s the kicker for the kicker — though the media showcased anger from women, his jersey actually sold out in women’s sizes. As the late Roger Miller sang in 1965….

*Kansas City star, that’s what I areYodel-deedle ay-hee, you oughta see my carI drive a big old Cadillac with wire wheels, got rhinestones on the spokesI got credit down at the grocery storeAnd my barber tells me jokes

(An abridged version of the above column appears on the national Biz Pac Review site at  https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/06/04/harrison-butker-kansas-city-star-thats-what-he-are-1463569/).

***

Meanwhile In The City Of Brotherly Love: A mob of pro-Hamas checkered keffiyeh scarf-wearers clashed with colorfully-clad celebrants at a Philadelphia Pride March Sunday, June 2, in a kerfuffle that one observer described as rabid dogs barking at themselves in a mirror. Another said he experienced mixed emotions watching “the terrorists battle the groomers.”

***

“Trump is a #&%$*&…….”

Spittle-Flecked Hysteria: Skimming through the Fernandina News-Leader and pausing to read columnist Chuck Oliva’s spittle-flecked tantrum is like slowing down to look at a terrible car accident, to see just how awful it is.

The columnist, photographed gazing downward like a guy caught lying to his wife, doesn’t disappoint those with a morbid curiosity. He’s consistently awful.

Last Friday, May 31, (Trump family’s tone-deaf Memorial Day post disrespects true sacrifice) he proclaimed his moral superiority exclaiming how he put his American flag up on Memorial Day and does so every other day as well, while excoriating Donald Trump for never serving in the military. He also repeated a litany of old debunked Democrat talking points about why Trump is anything but a patriot and denigrates the military. His continuous rantings have no horizon. What fun!

While preaching his “I’m better than you are” blather to lead readers out of their backwardness, he did everything but call Trump a Russian agent. Oh, wait, that’s already been done. Remember the Hunter Biden laptop programmed and planted by Putin?

I found it odd that while blasting Trump for never serving in the military he didn’t mention Biden’s lack of service. Nor did he mentioned that Biden has been on the government payroll all his life and became incredibly wealthy while Trump’s government service left him poorer. As president he donated his entire salary to charity.

Throughout his hysterical screed Oliva also failed to mention if he had ever served this country in the military like many News-Leader readers including myself. I’m betting he didn’t, otherwise wouldn’t he have said so?

***

Shuckers cheeseburger

Shuckers Burger A Shocker Says Fat Man: Hungry for a juicy cheese burger a Fat Man from space landed at Shuckers, southwest of Shave Bridge  a few day ago. He beamed himself back up with a bad taste in his mouth.

“You know going in you are going to have a cheeseburger at a seafood place. This would not be my typical choice at a seafood joint and for good reason. That being said, I did have high hopes because I have eaten from the seafood side of the menu, and it has always been great. Plus the view of the river and marsh are quite amazing. It really is a beautiful spot. But on to the burger review

“There was no waiting for a table and the service was very good. I ordered the burger medium and added cheddar cheese for a $.50 charge and a side of fries. The outdoor seating was great, the weather was great, the view was great then the burger came out and it went downhill from there. I’ve got to start with the fries. In a word, not good at all. If I weren’t starving I would not have finished them. It’s a shame they sell those with the rest of their menu items. The burger looked pretty good. It came with fresh lettuce, tomato, and red onion. It’s a thicker pub-style burger but it was dry. Not only dry, but it also didn’t have much flavor. I added ketchup and some mayo just to make it a little more enjoyable. I did order it medium, but it was over cooked which would explain the burger being on the dry side. I’m so glad the view and the weather were amazing because this burger wasn’t. I will go back for the view and some seafood but not the burger. Shuckers Burger w/fries $15, add cheddar cheese $.50, total: $15.50.”

  • Comment (11)
  • Butker is no different than most Catholics who cherry-pick which Catholic values to embrace and which to oppose or ignore. The majority of those who identify as Catholic support abortion. The majority of Catholics also support LGBTQ rights despite the Church’s official stance against it. So let’s talk immigration. The Catholic Church advocates immigration policies based on Christian teaching rooted in human rights and the dignity of every human being. Catholic charities are the single largest financial supporter of refugees and asylum seekers in this country. Or as conservatives like to say, ” illegals”. So while Butker and conservatives are virtue-signaling and calling upon their Catholic values to justify their proselytizing, their silence or vocal opposition to immigrants crossing the border exposes their hypocrisy.

    • The “Catholic Charities” or NGO’s are receiving BILLIONS of dollars of taxpayer money for their so called charity work. Anyone crossing our border without going through the proper channels is ILLEGAL. Borders have been recognized for over 5,000 years.

  • I like the redesigned web page, especially the comments section. (Not necessarily the individual comments.) The comments always presented well on my large-screen computer, but now they seem to be a lot more readable on my 11″ laptop. (Time will tell.)
    Thanks!

  • The moral majority hides behind an u known moniker. I would give more creedence to his wacky rants if he would provide his real name.

  • The person using the moral majority hides behind an unknown moniker. I would give more creedence to his wacky rants if he would provide his real name.

  • The person using the moral majority hides behind an unknown moniker. I would give more creedence to his rants if he would provide his real name.

  • Dave, I want to know why more people aren’t highlighting the part of the speech where Butker decries priests who dress the same as their dogs. This topic needs illumination. And pictures.

    • Tara, I have no idea what you are talking about. I read a transcript of the speech he made and couldn’t find anything in it mocking the way priests dress.

      The Catholic diocese in Kansas City publicly lauded the talk. The students and faculty at Benedictine College gave it a standing ovation and the Catholic Times printed an editorial praising it. The bishop and priest at Butker’s church lauded it as did former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. Several other Prominent Catholics voiced their support for Butker’s talk.
      He was critical of some stances the Catholic Church takes but overall the talk received acclaim from Catholics everywhere. Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said that “Harrison Butker’s passion for his Catholic faith and his family are beautiful and well known. And like most people, he also has strong opinions on where we are as a Church and as a nation.”

      Even leftists Bill Maher and Whoopie Goldberg noted disagreement with the extreme criticism of Butker’s remarks. “Listen, I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college. He’s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to them,” said Goldberg. “I don’t have to believe them. I don’t have to accept them.”

      On his HBO “Real Time” show, agnostic Bill Maher said he couldn’t understand why Butker is “now history’s greatest monster.” Millions of Americans,” he added, “agree with the superstar kicker.”

      Did you actually read the speech Tara? It appears you heard snippets and took them out of context or interrupted them in a way that fits whatever your narrative is

        • Ms. Hutchinson I rarely comment on others remarks here but I’m making an exception in your case. Some readers posting juvenile silliness here use profanity and fake names. I commend you for not resorting to vulgarities and using what I presume is your real name to publicly embarrass yourself. I look forward to more of your deep thinking, thought-provoking commentary. A little early in the morning to start drinking isn’t it?

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