Politicians and the Media: It ain't a Love Fest

What’s with politicians and the media?

Palin says all press is evil. Obama thinks Fox is destroying the free world. You’ve got to love it, don’t you? I mean, in essence, the press delivers news to us. Ok, sometimes there’s spin and dodging and weaving and the line between news and opinion is so blurred you can’t tell it’s a line. But the media, in all its 24-hour news cycle forms, is, at least , a necessary evil, especially for politicians.

After all, suppose they gave a press conference and nobody came?

That’d be kind of cool, and would, of course, point out the obvious hypocrisy of any politician’s stand on the issue. They need the media. What they don’t like is people asking tough questions, like those killer Katie Couric questions about Palin’s reading habits. . . let’s review, shall we?

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

Couric: What, specifically?

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.

Couric: Can you name a few?

Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

Oh I know, it’s not fair to pick on her. And in a fair fight she’d probably drop me like a moose on opening day, or at least have her husband Todd try. But don’t you think she could have come up with an answer? You could have, and you weren’t running on a presidential ticket. 

Obama said, "Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition -- it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It's a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.”

Fox is destroying the world? Oh my.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton went even further. "If you're on the left, if you're somebody like [MSNBC's] Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow or one of the folks who helps to keep our government honest, and pushes and prods to make sure that folks are true to progressive values, then [the president] thinks that those folks provide an invaluable service."

Keith Olbermann “keeps the government honest?” Hardly. He’s consumed so much Kool Aid he’s turning green. And why should the press “make sure that folks are true to progressive values?” I guess that’s important if you’re a progressive. I’m not.

As I’ve said before, these aren’t news people, they’re commentators. And politicians embrace those commentators who agree with their point of view. Of course. Always have and always will.

We need an active media that looks at and covers issues from all angles. We need commentators who express their points of view. We need both sides. You don’t like what someone is saying, turn the channel, read another paper, find another site.

Gather the information from everywhere and make up your own mind. Palin’s disdain for the media will eventually cost her. But that is her right, and really, the press probably overuses the old “right to know” argument. The struggle for some comes as they become celebrities, and Palin certainly is that. By the same token, bitch all you want about Couric’s interview with her (the end result being that we saw that Palin knew little about anything), but I’ll bet she could answer that “what do you read” question now anyway. Whether her defensive prickliness will carry her forward we'll see. Personally, I find it one-dimensional and tiresome.

Politicians, whether they like it or not, need at least a working relationship with the press. It’s a mutual need. And, frankly, I want to know what these people are saying, even in that modern, 24-hour news cycle 30-second sound bite world in which we live. So suck it up, nobody forced you into the public spotlight.

After all, what if they held a press conference and nobody came? I still think that would be kind of cool.

Politics . . . as usual

So the Great Leader called all his chiefs to his house and they met. And talked about the future and how they should rule this great land. And, as usual, nothing got done.

We're getting a bit far away to blame Bush for all the evils of the world, but in this age of "it's not my problem," New Orleans still doesn't have the equipment on site in the event of another major hurricane, there's no more emergency equipment in the Gulf then there was before the Deepwater Horizon blew up, people seem to get poisoned from hamburgers, eggs and greens more than ever before and our freakin' government spends money faster than frisky frat boys at a Nevada cat house. What the heck are they doing in Washington?

Democrats took a beating, but don't hold your breath for the Republicans or Tea Partiers who replaced them to do much better. After all, Republicans held office for years and managed only to bloat the budget, grow government, pass pet projects, undermine minimal oversight and pretty much piss everyone off. Only in the movies, though, does the bully eventually get his ass kicked by some good guy who rides off into the proverbial "life is wonderful now" sunset with the babe.

Eh . . . it's politics, after all, that Washington-based sport where none of the participants seem to understand anything except the desperation they feel when re-election is near. They can't make any real tough decisions because then they won't get re-elected. They can't say anything but the standard 3-second sound bite mush because then they won't get re-elected. They can't really try and change the way things are done because then they won't get picked for any important committees . . . and then won't get re-elected.

Come on, these people get headlines when they tell the press they aren’t going to fly in military jets any more? They shouldn’t have been flying in them in the first place. Get on a damn commercial flight you people. Pay for your own healthcare, freeze your pay, do your own taxes, anything else that might give you a sense of how people are really living. Trust me, if we voters had a chance to lay off a bunch of you we’d do it in a heartbeat. And if any private big business person performed as badly as you have you’d be calling for his head. So you shouldn’t be shocked people are calling for yours.

Clearly the system is broken. . . ok, completely dysfunctional . . . and it has nothing to do with Fox News or MSNBC or anything other than the flaccid impotence of our politicians, who can't even agree on what to disagree. They need a reality check and maybe the elections shook up the status quo a bit. Now I’m a cynic, so I’m not holding my breath, and we may be looking at the modern version of the fall of the Roman Empire.

What’s clear is that half the cars in the convoy have gone off the cliff . . . now we’ll have to see if the others go off as well.

Slip sliding away

Why is it that every year, come the first snowfall, everyone who doesn't know how to drive hits the roads? No, really. Do these people forget how to drive in snow over the course of a year? Please, stay at home . . . practice driving in an empty parking lot . . . read a book instead.

Unfortunately, many of these people drive all-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive type vehicles. They won't help you if you don't know how to drive. Seems to me the first guy I see in a ditch is driving a Jeep Cherokee or a really, really expensive Audi. Nope, you still have to actually steer and brake . . . and sometimes all those wheels spinning won't help, especially the braking part. But that four-wheel-drive will plow you right into a snow bank if you’re going too fast, so actually learning how to drive in the snow might be something to consider.

We used to go up to the parking lot at Stratton at night and spin our cars in the parking lot trying to see who could come closest to the huge snow banks. That old Dodge Dart slid just right. And I suppose growing up in New England helped us to get used to bad weather and bad roads. But, come on, I’m in New Hampshire and so are all these other people. I don’t know, maybe all the wackos moved from New Jersey . . . I’m assuming nobody moved from Florida.  It’s just driving. That said I’ll probably be the idiot who slides past his driveway and ends up in the ditch.

I also love the guy that can't figure out why his Honda got stuck. "I have all-season tires, and my car is front-wheel drive." Good luck with that set-up around here when the weather gets bad. All-season tires aren't. They suck in the snow because they mostly made to get good wear and mileage. And all these new cars have all kinds of electric drive control safety features, yet it seems that those babies are the first one off the road.

Now I realize this is something of a pet peeve of mine, but snow tires are made to handle bad weather, and you might want to consider them if you live around here, or any other place that routinely gets bunches of the white stuff. Beats having to call someone to yank your really, really expensive Audi out of a ditch because your Dunlop Sport high-performance all-season radials went slip sliding away and took you with them, splashing your extra large DD coffee all over that nice leather interior. Bummer, dude.

McDonald's Doesn't Make Us Fat . . .

 . . . It just makes it easier. And taking the toys out of Happy Meals won’t do much to prevent kids from getting fat. I suppose it’s a nice gesture in this world of government intrusion, but really, when most school lunches don’t meet the standards politicians have used to target McDonald’s why do they continue to intrude into private business?

The easy answer is that McDonald’s and other fast-food chains are, well, easy targets. Changing the way our children eat, however, is not an easy task. With school lunches, if you change one thing you have to change another . . . do this or that and it costs tons of money, runs into piles of silly government regulations or, in the case of removing vending machines from schools (another popular topic), costs schools revenue.

The San Francisco ordinance says restaurants will only be allowed to offer free toys or other fun stuff with meals containing fewer than 600 calories, fewer than 640 milligrams of sodium, less than 35 percent of calories from fat, and less than 10 percent saturated fat. The meal must also include at least a half-cup of fruits or veggies, and can’t come with fatty or sugary drinks.

What surprises me is how many people have embraced this Happy Meal toy tactic.

“McDonald’s is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children,” said Stephen Gardner, litigation director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit health research and advocacy group based out of Washington, DC. In June, CSPI threatened to sue McDonald’s if they didn’t stop using toys to woo children. “McDonald’s use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children’s developmental immaturity – all this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It’s a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction.”

CSPI has done a lot of good things (though they do come across at times as anti-food terrorists), but as one can see, they have no hesitation to plop themselves in the middle of a family, tell parents they aren’t doing their jobs and then give them a set of rules to follow. Doesn’t work for me. First, government has no place telling parents how to raise their kids, and second, government has no place telling businesses how they should be run (excluding general safety rules etc.).

I  think having CSPI tell me how to raise my kids is creepy. And “undercuts parental authority?” Wow, there's a statement, especially since this type of legislation does exactly that. Ahh, but the difference, of course, is that politicians and organizations like CSPI see themselves as white knights slaying the beasts that are evil and bad. Oops . . . does that mean parents, too.

Fast food places work because they are easy and cheap. And I’m guessing that busy parents with a mini-van full of kids will still pull through the drive-up and buy a bunch of Happy Meals even without the toys.
The responsibility does and should rest with parents. Don't take the kids there all the time. Simple. And if your kids are screaming they want Happy Meals, then it's your responsibility to say no. Sheesh.

Give them the tools they need (nutritional information and education) and start teaching kids how to eat good, not just easy, stuff. And parents and schools need to educate kids on a greater scale that crap food may be ok every once in a while, but certainly not as a steady diet. The good food should be at home, and that’s a parental responsibility, too.

Ok. It's the Characters, Stupid

There’s a lot to be said about TV . . . it provides us news, entertainment, sports, stupidity. Oops. Stupidity in spades, of course. Fortunately, I have a dish and a billion channels, as well as a DVR and can largely avoid most of the stupidity. Well, that is if I care to avoid the stupidity. Now, one has to realize there are levels and degrees of stupidity. Lots of reality shows are stupid no matter how you look at them . . . I don’t really care about the Jersey Shore much, or the Kardashians . . . or Kate . . . or the Housewives (do these ladies really have friends?) . . . and some are stupid because the characters do stupid things. For instance, Billy the Exterminator and Swamp People don’t have stupid people in them, but holy catfish . . . is hooking a 12-foot alligator and dragging it to your (very) small boat a wise thing? Not for this oversized New England guy, but these folks make their living hunting alligators. Hell no. Both are shows are kind of addicting.

Other realities? Obviously they’re popular and cheaper to make (though those damn alligators would raise my rates if I was filming them). Hollywood Treasures, Auction Hunters and Auction Kings     work for me. Mostly because I love “stuff,” as anyone who has visited will attest. They find it, talk about it and sell it. Kinda cool. (DVR them to fill in those times when other stupid stuff gets to be too much on live TV.) American Pickers and Pawn Stars are the slightly older kids on the bock and they, especially Pickers, continue to work. (I need more junk.) Top Chef Desserts and The Next Iron Chef work for me, but Bitchin Kitchen is killing me. Great idea, appeals to a younger crowd, good food, but what’s with the over-the-top, tough girl Brooklyn-Jersey accent talk? Kill it and let her work. Almost unwatchable. Fortunately the Cooking Channel also offers up Foodcrafters, Unique Eats and Cook Like an Iron Chef.

On big-time TV, new series are dropping like wasps sprayed by Billy and his brother. Outlaw with Jimmy Smits . . . dead. Undercovers, despite J. J. Abrams, a basically decent plot line and likeable actors, has no real edge, lapses into boring writing and suffers at times from a kind of 70s look . . . dead. On the plus side, Hawaii Five-0 is working for me, thanks to the characters, writing, location and stories. Jim Bulushi and Jerry O’Connell make the banter and varied cases very watchable on The Defenders.  CSI is still creepy and good, and with the addition of Katte Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica as a wisecracking grumpy cop continues to pop. Best line . . . “I’ll take point, don’t shoot me in the ass.” Criminal Minds is more creepy and stays creepily captivating every week. (But how do they get those shiny black Chevy Suburbans at every location?) CSI NY added Sela Ward, and she’ll be fine, though I miss Melina Kanakaredes. . (But let’s be careful about getting too soapy with the daughter getting used to New York.) NCIS remains one of my favorites. Don’t you just want to have them all over for pizza? I like NCIS Los Angeles, but it needs to continue to work the new characters into the thick of it. Brava Linda Hunt. Quirky, mysterious and knows everything.

Nice. It’s the cast of characters that makes most of these things work.

Football Follies

The NFL this season is beginning to look like a big salad that gets tossed every week after someone throws in a new ingredient. This or that team looks great then gets bashed the following week. This or that team looks terrible then beats up on what looked like a good team. Of course the big exception is Dallas, which has looked bad every week. Poor Jerry. At least he’ll have free tickets to the Super Bowl. Six best in the NFL? Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Patriots, Giants, Colts. Ok, that’s this morning. Green Bay, the Saints and Atlanta are close. The Patriots getting thumped by the Browns didn’t help them much, but tonight’s game against the Steelers should be filled with kicked and kicking butt. The Raiders? Really? Someone must have CPR’d the worst team in years into thinking they could actually play. And, frankly, that’s a good thing. Crazy wild fans rejoice. Pity my poor friends and family in Colorado, having to deal with all that snow and those Rocky Mountain storms and then heading inside to watch the Broncos. What the heck happened there? And poor old Brett. At least the $16-plus million he’ll pocket for the season will buy a couple of new tractors for him to ride around on next summer. I was shocked . . . shocked I say . . . when I heard him say he wasn’t coming back next season. Whew. I was deeply concerned. He’ll be even more worn out next preseason, though, because it looks like he’ll be sleeping on the couch for at least the next year. Flashes of greatness as always, but the soap opera that is the Vikings continues. All rightie . . . throw in some walnuts and dried cranberries, give it a toss and let’s see what happens today. (And if you're in Dallas or Denver, well, grab a beer or two.)

Hey, let's talk. Nah . . .

Too bad we don't talk any more. Oh we Twitter . . . and Facebook . . . text message . . .and any number of other character-limited, computer-space things, but we really don't talk any more. Or read. Our minds are turning into little mushy flashes of bites and bits with little substance.

I grew up in a home where we talked all the time. We debated politics, sometimes sports and sometimes business. People don’t seem to do that any more and it’s making us dumber. Yep, stupid. When was the last time you read a newspaper? A magazine? No, really actually truly read something. Thirty-second sound bites on network news shows don’t count. Neither does getting your news from cable tv commentators. They’re commentators, stupid. And some commentators are stupid, too. Sometimes commentators, and certainly politicians count on us being stupid.

In the old days before most of this, we learned that there were newspapers and we learned that the news was carefully separated from the editorials. And that the page opposite the editorial page was the op-ed page (wow, that seems simple). Those two pages (at least in theory) held the commentaries. Now, people scream and yell at Fox about Glen and Bill. Or complain about Rachel and Keith on MSNBC. Hey, folks, those aren’t newspeople, they’re commentators. And if they are the only source of your “news,” then you’re stupid. Likewise, if the New York Times or the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal are your only sources for news, then you need to expand your horizons. Hey, read them all. Different editorial leanings and different op-ed angles.

Now, we think we communicate, but it really has no depth or thought to it. Emails, tweets and Facebook comments. We’re really learning how not to communicate. Sit down and talk politics for a couple of hours? Are you kidding me? What if we don’t agree? Holy crap, that’s the point. You actually sit down and discuss the issues. Well, of course, since you don’t read anything, that makes it tough for you to do. You know, actually understand and be able to debate the issue from different sides. And that means defending your position. Darn, that means you need to understand your position. Not just have one. And it means you’ll better understand other sides of an issue when you disagree with someone. Unless you’re a politician, in which case you’ll probably continue think everyone but you is stupid, that it’s your job to nanny us, believe anyone with an opposing point of view needs a scolding and write a lot of words in legislation nobody will read or understand.

Try it sometime. It’ll be tough at first. After all, you’re not used to this type of thing. But spread your reading around. Pick up the phone and converse with friends about serious stuff, not just how your café on Facebook is going. Really . . . what do you think about immigration, the Tea Party, congress, taxes, pro football . . . I don’t care. Pick something. Learn it and walk around it with your buddies. That’ll make all of us smarter. Maybe even the stupid commentators and politicians.

They may be cool, but electric cars aren't ready for prime time

All right, let's just pop one of these big fat all-over-the-news balloons: Electric cars suck. And will until they are priced in the mainstream of gas-based vehicles.

Oh, nice, spoken like some old guy who drives a 10-year-old, tank-like SUV. That’s me.

The idea of having a car you can plug in at night then unplug and drive off to work the next morning is a kind of cool idea. But really, are you going to pay $40,000 for a kind of cool idea? Especially when that charge will last for maybe 100 miles, requires a 220-volt plug somewhere other than to your dryer, and will require you to change the batteries after maybe 7 years (at a cost of $7,500 to $10,000 or, in the Nissan Leaf $18,000)? Ouch.

Anyone ever have a problem with a battery-powered device? Can you imagine if EV batteries have as many problems as laptop or cell phone batteries? Suddenly “warming up the car” takes on a whole new meaning. (And I haven’t even touched on the cost absurdity of Tesla’s $140,000 two-seat EV sports car. Buy a damn Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, get about 24 miles to the gallon, bank the $70,000 difference, load up the family and still blow the doors off most vehicles on the road.)

All right, let’s say you have a pile of money, have no friends or family farther away than 100 miles, and want to make a major environmental statement. You buy the EV, get $7,500 off thanks to the government, spend the $500 to $2,000 to get the 220-volt plug, maybe pay another $1,000 or so if your EV needs a special charger. So you’re in for maybe $35,000 or so. Don’t forget there will be maintenance costs as you go along, and then that big battery hit a few years down the road.

On the good side, the car doesn’t produce any bad exhaust stuff (though power plants that make electricity do . . . and I still smoke so I’m screwed one way or another), costs little to charge (depending on rates 50 cents to a couple of bucks per charge), and doesn’t use costly and politically unpopular gas. (We go to wars over that stuff.) So that’s good.

Doesn’t make a bit of economic sense for most people, but apparently studies show EVs are viable for tons of people who commute within that 100-mile out and back window. Of course, a hybrid has a longer range because it has a gas as well as electric motor. In time, states will mandate (as California has) a certain minimum number of EV sales, prices will come down, we’ll get a better handle on reliability and “plug and play” will become a whole new reality.

But until then, I can go out and buy some reasonably comfortable small car for $20,000, pay the fuel costs, etc. and save at least $20,000 over 7 years or so? The old-time “commuter car” suddenly looks like a pile of found money.

Now I’m no math wiz (as my parents will attest), but until they make economic sense for the masses (who don't need it to haul the family to a vacation spot), electric cars will remain an expensive luxury for urban dwellers with too much money lying around. The EV flock about to descend upon us may be kind of a cool start, but it’ll be a while until they’re ready for prime time with most of us.

Sunday Stuff . . . brain injuries, ties and the Jets suck

We’re not sure yet what the key tipping points will be next spring and summer when the NFL owners square off against their players, but one should rise above the number of games, revenue sharing and roster size . . . health care.

Football is a brutal game played by extraordinarily large, strong and fast men. And from what we’re learning about brain injuries (much of it just in the past couple of years), many these modern-day gladiators, who play before us for fame and fortune, could be facing a middle age filled with dementia, chronic pain, physical and mental disabilities and even early death. Recent studies are showing that frequent and continued head injuries, not just hard “concussion inducing” single blows, can have a devastating effect on even young players. Apparently, according to scientists, the repetitive blows during practice and games can lead to brain damage in players in their teens. Yikes.

The NFL’s record of taking care of their older players is, at best, dismal. Players make millions . . . owners make millions . . . TV makes millions. It’s time some of that revenue stream goes back into taking care of the gladiators who make all that possible. Better monitoring of injuries, especially head injuries, continued revision of rules designed to limit head injuries, lifetime medical care for former NFL players, including regular brain testing.

I love football, but I’d also love knowing the NFL and the players take care of their own instead of treating them like so much cannon fodder. Yep, let’s figure out the potential for an 18-game season, cut the revenue pie however and add players to the roster or practice squads if needed, but first and foremost, think longer term and improve the care of the player who all too often sacrifice themselves in a short career for a life of misery and despair at a time when they should be enjoying the rewards of their labors.

***

Ok . . . I get wearing a coat and tie to business meetings. I really do . . . but why the hell are football announcers dressed like they’re going to a board meeting. Come on. It’s a football game. You’re the only guys in the building (ok, maybe an owner and his pals in the luxury booth . . . but I don’t get that either) dressed for junior exec success. Give ‘em a nice golf shirt with the network’s logo on it, for the love of all that is comfortable. Do I really care that Pats owner Robert Kraft is wearing a tie? Is Troy Aikman a better TV guy in a tie? Sheesh. Ditch ‘em.

***

The season’s early and it looks like the Jets will suck for most of it. Boo hoo. Loving Tim Tebow. A superstar quarterback? I have no idea and don’t really care right now . . . Compare him to mopey Matt Leinart and who would you want on your team. Amen. Jerry Jones is going to be really pissed when there are 100,000-plus fans in his stadium watching two teams that don’t hail from Dallas. Boo hoo. There are a lot of people in football I’d love to meet, but not in pads on a field. Put Ray Lewis at the top of that list. Fifteen years in a brutal position and this guy is still fast, hitting people like a Hellfire missile and blowing them up.

 ***

Sorry about Texas Tech this weekend. Thought they had it . . . and since by way of Elder Child’s marriage I am now a Texas Tech fan, they remain on my hot list. Exciting team. I have no idea how those guys down there play 60 minutes in temps resembling a cast iron skillet.

Muslims have a public relations issue (to say the least)

It seems fairly obvious that Muslims, as a group, have a rather large public relations problem that goes well beyond building the so-call Ground Zero mosque.

A mosque. . . a mosque . . . build it or not. Or rather, renovate the building or not. Certainly a divisive issue right now if we’re talking in the area of Ground Zero. And a very slippery slope. Personally and emotionally I don’t think there should be a mosque there, but not allowing it to be there I’m afraid isn’t right. We’re lucky in the country to have the religious freedoms we have, and that, for better or worse, means we have to sometimes accept that we don’t like. It really isn’t a political issue, though politicians are having a field day batting this one around.

It’s a rights issue. And, if legally permitted, people have a right to build a mosque (or temple, or church, or synagogue) wherever they wish. I’m also guessing that no matter where a group of Muslims wanted to build a mosque right now there would be all kinds of emotionally charged protests and diatribes.

Now unfortunately we’re talking here about a religious group (widely defined) that seems to contain a fair share of people who want to blow up other people. Of course not all Muslims are the same, and I’ll assume that not all Muslims enjoy blowing up themselves and other people. Just like some Christians see themselves as rather elitist by calling themselves Christians and classifying others as “not a Christian” because while they may hold many of the same values, they aren’t really members of the same caste, if you like. History is filled with religious conflicts and wars. We tend to forget that at convenient times.

So the pr issue becomes clearer . . . not all Muslims are the same, either in their beliefs or actions . . . but they manage to be lumped in the same pot. Not fair, perhaps, but where are the moderates condemning the radicals?

Mistake one was calling the proposed building a mosque. Hey, it’s all perception, folks. Call it a community center. Open to all. A pool . . . continued ed . . . day care center etc. Ok . . . with a mosque and prayer rooms inside. The fact that nobody would have any issues if the Catholics wanted to build a religious center there (despite the church’s ongoing pedophilia issues) . . . or if there were to be a Jewish center there . . . or a Buddhist education center. We’re prejudiced . . . in part because we don’t see the violence in many other religions here.

Mistake two was not saying “You know, you’re right, we really hadn’t fully understood the proximity to Ground Zero issues and we’d be happy to build our center somewhere else nearby.” That made it seem like confrontation with the issue was more important than building the center itself. So now people look at it and say not only “why there,” but “why still there?”

As someone who was in the World Trade Center during the bombing of 1993, I can honestly say I’m just not a big fan of blowing up buildings or people. But as has been pointed out, the area of the proposed mosque isn’t actually at Ground Zero . . . it’s a few blocks away. Farther than the Pussycat Lounge where, I will confess, I enjoyed two rather strong and especially delicious gin and tonics after climbing down 72 flights of smoke-filled stairways in 1993. I guess the place has changed a bit since then, but there were a ton of people hitting the bar before making the trip to mid-town for the train. And not one raised any fuss about the place on religious grounds. Amen.

Muslims, of course, have a right to pray where they wish, but the center near Ground Zero will probably never be built. In part because it was handled badly from the beginning. In part because it’s become a political football. And in part because most of us just don’t understand the need for people to blow other people up.

Until we see an obvious break of some type within the large pot of Islamic beliefs, with moderates casting out and condemning the jihadists, there will be open conflict. And that doesn’t help anyone.

Sports shorts . . .some things are clear (I think)

Clearly . . .

. . . there’s more diva in Brett Favre than all Bravo’s housewives combined (minus the silicon, of course), but ya gotta love the way this guy plays. One gets the feeling, though, it isn’t going to end well for him this year. Vikings miss the playoffs . . . Green Bay takes the division.

. . . football’s worst sideline reporter is Fox’s Tony Siragusa. This guy may have filled the defensive interior line for the Colts and Ravens in years past, but he’s nothing but nails on a chalkboard now. Thank goodness Pam Oliver is on the field for Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnson are saddled with Siragusa for Fox’s other football games. Throw the flag, he adds nothing to the broadcast. Can we clone Pam so she can do both Fox games?

. . . it’s time for baseball to decide whether it’s more important to get the call right or not care about it. So far, they don’t care, clinging instead to some old fable about the integrity of the game yadda yadda. What integrity? You get the call wrong how is that dripping with wholesome honest integrity? Get the calls right. Expand replay . . . Getting the call right doesn’t hurt the game, it helps it. Is football worse for replay? Nope. Even Little League Baseball has it and handles it. When a guy doesn’t get a perfect game because of a bad call, that’s not good for anyone.

. . . I don’t get it . . . a guy is suspended for six football games for whatever reason and he can still play in the preseason? What? If he’s suspended, suspend him. Seems to me even the NFL thinks the preseason is a joke.

. . . I’m not a Jets fan, but you have to love the way Rex Ryan has changed the New York attitude about the Jets. But he’s put a huge target on the backs of the Jets. Now it’s time to put up . . . they won’t be as good as last year.

. . . God bless the guy who came up with the recall button on the remote . . . baseball (click). . .football . . . football game one (click) . . . football game two . . . genius. Sometimes it’s the little things in life.

. . . it’s easy being negative, but what the hell . . . I’ve switched my basketball from “anyone but the Lakers” to “anyone but the Heat.” Talk about setting the bar. Dream team? If they don’t win it all, big failure . . . here’s hoping.

Healthcare reformed? Hardly.

Should the government have used $700,000 of your tax dollars to advertise the new healthcare plan? I suppose in the grand scheme of government spending, this is a drop in the bucket, but come on, when was the last time the government had to advertise to promote and push a bill?


If you assume, as I do, that the government does little well. . . or even kinda well. . . then the whole thing's going to suck. Of course we need healthcare reform . . .unchecked price increases, dropping customers when they get sick, high drug costs, etc. etc. all add up to a "program" out of control. But . . . let's remember that the government is in charge of Medicare and VA healthcare. Anyone remember the reports about Walter Reid Hospital (peeling paint, lousy care, long waits for care, denied care . . . and on and on)? Our vets should be receiving the best medical care available. They don't.


The system often seems stacked against them. Lose a leg in a IED attack? That'll be a year or so before we can fit you for a new one. Come on. Republicans, of course, haven't offered any decent options. . .and Democrats, who seem to feel we are little children unable to determine for ourselves what is good for us, have managed to create a huge program that few people think will actually work. To truly reform something, the entire program has to be on the table. You missed some of the obvious, folks. . . limit malpractice awards and mandate tort reform (if lawyers are involved the costs increase ten-fold and true victims get less money), allow insurance companies to operate in every state instead of limiting the number state by state, reward wellness programs and cut red tape.


The government has already said Medicare will be cut under the new program . . . there will be plenty of other shoes dropping as well over the next couple of years.

Short Shots

Well, I drive around my neighborhood and I feel kinda out of place. I don’t have any old rusty crap sitting in my front yard. Now I’ll admit I have plenty of crap laying around inside my house, but nothing really outstanding outside. No old tractors . . . no old cars . . . not even a falling down shed. I mean, I live right across from a junk yard, so you’d think I’d be able to score an old wreck and have them transplant it in my yard. Admittedly, that’d drive my parents nuts when they come to visit . . .they hate junk in all its forms. Ahh . . . what to get . . .I’ll have to ponder this . . . an antique John Deere tractor? . . . maybe a classic car? . . . Oh the mind swirls . . .

Ok kid, that $800 machined aluminum spoiler you have tacked on to your beat-up Honda Civic looks stupid. First, it’s a Civic. Second, at anywhere near high speed, that rear downforce will lift your front wheels nearly off the road (and they’re your drive wheels, bud). Third, you aren’t racing an Aston Martin DBR9 at Le Mans . . . you’re driving a Civic down Rt. 103 in Newport, N.H. A Civic.

Why is it that Dunkin Donuts can offer a coffee with a top that doesn’t leak even if you throw it across the street, while McDonald’s can’t come up with a top that doesn’t leak out of every vent and hole if you look at it hard?

Wow, this is a bad news-good news story: Beer prices are going to rise (shortage of hops), but marijuana prices are expected to fall (increase in legal supply). Nuff said.

I’m supposed to eat more salad, so I went to pick up a couple of bags of greens and found out they were recalled because they were tainted with e coli . . .so I said, let’s get a nice healthy fruit smoothie . . . but it turned out that might give me typhoid . . What the hell? In the not too distant past, all we had to worry about was bad beef from huge factory processors . .

Gay marriage . . . let's move on

Ok. . . this whole gay marriage thing is driving me nuts.
First, I could care less if two gay people get married . . . has no impact on my life. . . Why not? Why should gays be specifically targeted for discrimination? . . . equal rights under all laws, folks. Besides, the whole hetro marriage thing hasn't necessarily been all that great either . . . half of us end up divorced. So where does the whole "ruin the institution of marriage" thing come from? Fear and homophobia I guess. Maybe some people get wigged out when they see two guys or two girls together. Time to let this one go and move on to important issues . . . like, why are there people starving in this country?

Hey, people want to get married. . .get married. . .be happy. . .commit to each other and raise great children. Climb down off your high horses (upon which you probably shouldn't sit anyway because I'm guessing there are all kinds of skeletons in your closet) and let live. Life's too damn short to be cobbled by haters who hate because they are mostly ignorant.

Michelle's Trip . . . Nice place, but bad move

All right, if you were the First Lady (play along guys), would you be so dumb as to travel to an exclusive resort in Spain? Oh, I think that might have been a loaded question. Well, think about it: Our economy is in the crapper, unemployment is (at least) 10 percent, the Gulf region has been slathered in BP oil and your husband, the President, is flying around the country trying to convince everyone we're doing great.
Oh yes, and remember that a couple of weeks ago you went to the Gulf and urged people to visit there. The pro-trip argument is that she's a private citizen and can travel wherever she wishes . . .Nice argument, but the First Lady really isn't a private citizen, is she?
Ugh. Apparently Michelle et al are surprised by the flak now heading their way over this trip. Personally, I think travel is a wonderful thing, but this time I would have advised her to stay closer to home. It doesn't create a perception of understanding when you're spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to lolly gag in a resort overseas. (And, yes, we're paying all expenses except Michelle's "personal" expenses . . . that means the jet $150,000-plus. . .security $100,000-plus . . .staff. . .yadda yadda) . . . I would have advised her to head back to the Gulf, or maybe a U.S. resort. . .or even Canada . . . out of touch.