A Post With Tremendous Impact

When Congress was battling last year over maintaining reduced tax rates for everyone but wealthiest households, it was my opinion that the proposal on the table was a reasonable offset to all the reductions in services and increases in fees and taxes that everyone else was going to have to endure. It seemed to me that if we were going to slash services for households with low income, as surely we must given our Everest of debt, it's only fair that it be paired with a small sacrifice from those who can most afford it and will be least affected.

Democrats ultimately won that small concession, after which I awaited their plan to begin slashing the deficit without stunting growth. It never came. And so, in my mind, we have a situation reminiscent of a car commercial decrying "or" in favor of "and," as in sweet or sour chicken, cops who serve or protect, and staying in a bed or breakfast.

Similar sentiments accompany discussions among the lords of baseball with respect to the home plate collision. Evidently some higher ups, recalling the devastating crash that wrecked Buster Posey's ankle and leg in 2011 -- so injurious was it that he returned in 2012 and won the NL MVP and the World Series -- are seeking ways to outlaw this violent encounter.

I'm all for it. The human wreck takes place at no other base and is borne of two peculiarities of the play at home: runners can overrun the base without penalty and catchers, emboldened by body armor, physically block the base without the ball.

These two issues are as conjoined as Chang and Eng Bunker. Attempting to eliminate one without the other will result in mayhem, the proverbial one hand clapping. If base runners are prohibited from mowing down catchers then catchers must not be allowed to impede the runners' progress. Like Tennille and The Captain, you can't have one without the oth -- oh, nevermind.
   
The point remains, ban bumper pool at fourth base, but only while enforcing the rule against blocking it without the ball. Impact isn't possible if there's no one there.

Now, if we could just get about reducing our nation's spending...