It Was Man vs Squirrel; Not an Epic Battle, but Enough for Me

There sometimes comes a time when a man must battle nature.

Now nature can be a tough thing of course, but I had to do battle. And my battle at first seemed like a mismatch: An oversized human male against a rather small squirrel. And let me tell you, that little sucker nearly won.

Squirrels love my house, a kind of funky place built in the 70s with weird rooflines, a few stained glass windows, not enough insulation and some dicey siding. I love my house, and squirrels love it, too. They chewed their way into the eves in a couple of places and came in and out of my walls. Now that one little sucker made his way down the wall of one of my chimneys, to which a wood-burning stove was attached. I disconnected the stove in the basement since it wasn’t properly installed, and gave it to a neighbor when I first moved in a few years ago..

But that chimney was apparently was a very attractive passageway for what was to become my nemesis. I heard him (I’ll assume it was a him, but I didn’t check) in the living room closet, through which that formerly used chimney ran from the basement up through the roof. A few days ago, about a week after boarding up the three exterior holes around the house, he broke to daylight and made his move to the kitchen. My guess is that he couldn’t find his way out. (At least I’m going with that theory for now.)

Oh that’s not going to work. Not on any level.

I know it gets cold up here in New Hampshire and mice often make their way into houses when the weather changes. But this was a different thing. That little sucker was sneaky, avoiding my old tennis racquet (a Dunlop Maxply for those keeping notes). My forehand sucks when it comes to whacking squirrels and I was a touch fearful of breaking a window when he jumped on the ledge and motored around the sink and then back into the closet.

On to the Amazon account . . . and two days later the two Havahart traps were delivered to my door.

With visions of my albeit small Moby Dick, and my going mad trying to catch it, I set the traps just outside the closet door, baited with my favorite extra-crunchy peanut butter. A perfect strategy, I thought.

But that first night, nothing.

The next night he made a move out of the closet, past the traps and down the hall to my bedroom. Are you kidding me? I stirred around 6, flipped on the light and there he was, happily relaxing on one of the thick beams near a window. I kind of freaked a bit, not a pretty sight for any overweight older guy in his shorts, grabbed a towel and tried to grab him. He escaped, sprinting down the hall and back under the closet door.

I am a patient person, but the thought of him visiting me in my bedroom in the middle of the night wasn’t on top of my want list, so I planned to camp in the living room . . . fewer beams and timber framing there, so he couldn’t get a height advantage and scare the crap out of me. (There’s something disconcerting about a critter, even a small one, wandering around above me while I sleep.)

Relaxing in the recliner and watching ESPN, I heard him in the closet, but resisted the urge to chase him. Traps set, I waited . . .

Suddenly I heard a trap door fall and lock. Perfect. He’d tried to get his peanut butter fix from the trap just outside the door and got busted. I threw a towel over the trap and moved him to the office and closed the door . . . at first light, I relocated him a ways down the road to a beautiful spot overlooking the river.

I know it’s cold out, but he can visit someone else’s house until summer. It could have been worse for him, that old Maxply is still around.

Memories of Christmas Past

Nobody enjoyed Christmas more than my grandmother, Gaga. She was like a kid . . . chomping at the bit to open presents and watch her family open presents. For years she had a big Christmas party at her house on Long Island Sound . . . complete with a motorized Santa who stood off to the side of the entryway, rotating from side to side and wishing everyone a “ho ho ho.”

We spent a lot of Christmas celebrations in Vermont, crowded around the tree in the living room and later over in the playroom. Friends, family and nary a worry in the world. My parents filled the house with decorations, presents, a fresh tree, the smells of cooking and cookies. My musical aunts often used to give me records for Christmas, hiding them in larger boxes so I wouldn’t detect the gifts until that morning. My sister and I used to enjoy sneaking over and shaking boxes and playing “Christmas detective.” Mom and Dad making each Christmas special for all of us.

A trip up the mountain the Chapel of the Snows to sing hymns and Christmas carols and wonder if someone holding a candle would set a fur-wearing worshiper on fire. In a packed chapel filled with fur and parka-clad people, it’s a wonder nobody got burned.

Yearly Christmas and New Year’s parties with friends up there are recorded on yellowing photos . . . did we really wear those colorful pants, shirts and sweaters? Unfortunately, the photo evidence still exists.

And speaking of photos, among the wonderful presents I’ve received over the years, one of the best was a photo album Gaga put together for each of her family members. I still have mine on the shelf in my office. Filled with photos of friends and family, each photo a flashback to an earlier, simpler time . . . when the most important thing we talked about was the skiing. 

A simple gift . . . and a chance to reflect on our lives, our youth and those who have been important in to us through the years. A simple gift from a time when Christmas decorations didn’t go up until after Thanksgiving and we didn’t hear Christmas music in store until the snow started flying. A simple gift from a time when maybe we didn’t know it all or see it all, but a gift that reminds us now that nothing is more important than family and friends.

God bless you all . . . and Merry Christmas.

                     

Forget the Primaries . . . Newt's Running for King

The primary season is over. You can unpack your knives, light the fires and start cooking the feast.

Newt Gingrich is no longer running for President. He is running for King of the United States.

And if you don’t think that’s scary, consider the former Speaker’s off-the-deep-end stand on judges and courts: He’d close courts and arrest judges for decisions he considered outside the mainstream, which one presumes is outside his way of thinking. I’m not sure Newt even knows where the mainstream is, and the thought of the government rounding up judges and holding them to some arbitrary political ideal is scary indeed.

As of now, there is no truth to the rumors he has commissioned plans for constructing a moat around the White House.

Let’s ignore for a moment that our judicial system has all kinds of checks and balances within itself . . . an appeals process . .  a Supreme Court. Certainly the system isn’t perfect, but gosh, it sure beats throwing judges into some kind of judge jail on a whim.

And while Gingrich rails the most about decisions involving school prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance and the like, clearly if he feels a decision goes against his grain, he’d round up the judge. He’d like this judicial oversight to be handled by both himself and the Congress. Yikes.

Now I happen to think that some of these school issues are rather silly. I managed to say the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer every day in school. I think those things can enhance our educations as we grow and I don’t think they turn us into flag-waving, bayonet-wielding zombies. The courts have said that much of this religion/school/flag stuff shouldn’t take place in public schools.

Ok . . . I can pray at home or church and Pledge Allegiance to the flag pretty much anywhere but a school. People are smart and while these things are often divisive in the public court, we often figure out a reasonable way to deal with them. We always have. The key I guess is reasonable . . . some people just aren’t.

So hail to the man who would be King, and kiss the judges goodbye. 

Why Are Republicans Continuing to Help Democrats by Giving Them Political Ammo?

If you were running against a pack of Republicans over the next year, you couldn’t ask for any more political ammo than the GOP is giving you. Hand over fist. From where I sit, the Tea Party (which certainly seemed like a good idea at the start) is leading the legislative logjam, stalling any movement in the House and creating what seems to me to be a slew of political opportunities for the other side.

The most recent ammo giveaway is the House payroll tax inaction. Oh how not surprised am I.

The House position again adds to the perception that Republicans don’t give a hoot about anything other than their political fortunes. Let’s evaluate. By letting the current payroll tax cuts expire the first of the year, Republicans are, in effect, raising taxes for 160 million people. Wow. So take that and add it to the perception that the Republicans only care about the rich (not wanting any tax changes for upper-incomers), and the GOP is solidifying the perception that they don’t give a crap about the middle class.

Call me silly, but that gives tons of ammo to the Democrats going forward.

Republicans need to get off this bus, and need to start coming up with some ideas that the middle class can embrace. Some ideas that are actually ideas, and not just anti-everyone verbiage. Unfortunately, Republicans have embraced the notion that the only thing they’re really interested in is getting President Obama out of office. That may be a political goal, but in trying to do that, Republicans are severely damaging any hope they have of voters actually supporting their positions. Mostly because they really don’t seem to have any. That bus could be headed off a cliff when a Republican challenger to Obama is finally picked.

A woman interviewed on the news the other night put it all in perspective. She said politicians in Washington just didn’t get it. They don’t understand what people are going through when they lose their jobs.

She’s right. Very well paid and with fantastic benefits and perks, members of congress really don’t get it. They’re insulated, protected and out of touch with the country. That, added to the fact they focus on the “me first” instead of “country first” make them spoiled do nothings that we, for some silly reason, pay.

Until they can show me they are actually earning that pay instead of merely pissing on each other, why on earth should I give them the respect they think they deserve? Stop trying to score political points and do something.

(As I post this, there’s word that House Republicans approved a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and that a committee will try to hammer out an agreement between the House and Senate on a longer deal. They’d best work it out, or 160 million people will be more pissed off than they are now.)

Anti-Gay Marriage Pledge a Pledge of Hate, a Pledge to Discriminate

So let me see if I get this right. In today political arena, one actually signs a pledge promising they will continue to discriminate against certain people, and, if they are elected, not only continue to discriminate against them, but appoint judges, amend the constitution and endorse legislation that discriminates against them.

It is a hate pledge.

It is an “I hate gays and they don’t deserve the rights that other people have” pledge.

The most recent signer of the hateful “marriage vow” pledge created by the National Organization for Marriage is Newt Gingrich, who, along with all the other GOPers except Ron Paul has signed a few of these things.

Spin this however you want, but this isn’t something that actually supports marriage between a man and a woman, it’s something that legislates hate and discrimination. Forget for a moment that the government has no business in America’s bedrooms, and that Newt has been married three times (oh the irony). The other irony is that it goes against the conservative grain of less government and less government intrusion. It says not all Americans are equal.

I’m all for a man marrying a woman. Marriage is great. But why on earth would I not want anybody to be happy, in love, and enjoy the same rights I have (like visiting my partner in the hospital, being eligible to share healthcare benefits or retirement benefits like pensions)? I don’t get it. People want to make that commitment, let them make it.

Listen to the arguments carefully. Much of the chatter has nothing to do with gay marriage, and seems to have more to do with some fuzzy philosophical “gay marriage damages traditional marriage and the family” or some such thing. The arguments don’t wash. The fact that a gay couple wants to make a lifetime commitment and enjoy the same benefits (and commitments) a heterosexual couple enjoys is, to me, a complete no brainer.

This single issue could, in the coming years, doom the GOP and its stone-age champions. While some conservatives argue that the candidates must continue to tout “family values” and other so-called conservative beliefs, I’d argue that, in the long run, is wrong-headed and doomed to fail. Their family values, voters will say, are not my family values.

You can bitch at me if you’d like, but clearly the bulk of the voters (both young and old) in America sit in the middle, not at the far right or far left. They are by in large moderates with more commonsense than politicians give them credit for, and want government not to coddle or intrude on them, but to protect the most vulnerable, enact and enforce laws that protect people and the environment, help businesses grow and embrace the diversity that made this country great in the first place. And most of them don’t see gay marriage as an issue.

Unfortunately, our politicians have moved to the dark side: Forget what’s good for the country and instead spend all our time, energy and money getting re-elected and pandering to those on the fringe of the party.

Money, of course (it’s always about the money) is why candidates pander . . . that’s where the big bucks are, especially during the primary wars. But in the end, getting large numbers of voters out in the general election is what counts. And those voters are in the middle. Obama tapped into that, but it remains to be seen if he can draw those voters to the polls after a rather disappointing three years.

Time will tell, but with some 70 percent of voters between the ages of 20 to 30 supporting marriage equality, Republicans are swimming against the tide. That will hurt them and provides another major talking point for Democrats as the election draws near.  

If Republicans continue down this road, they’ll continue to create the perception that they are not only anti-gay, but anti-poor and, ultimately, anti-middle class.  

Food Laws Aren't the Solution to Childhood Obesity

I understand there’s an “obesity crisis,” especially among young people, but are anti-soda, anti-McDonald’s or anti-anything laws and regulations the answer?

Hardly. A lot of people complain about having government intrude into their lives, but seem to embrace these fabulously intrusive federal, state and local regulations. It’s a slippery slope: What’s next  . . . a tax on chocolate, banning orange juice, a penalty for buying salt? 

Isn’t it a parent’s job to steer kids away from those sodas? Not drive through McDonald’s every day, or any other fast-food place, and see that their kids eat better?

Of course it is. But in today’s world, government officials often think they know better, parental responsibilities be damned. Parents need to act like parents and take responsibility for what they feed their children.

While some argue this type of legislation is needed to stem childhood obesity, I disagree. Some states and localities may add taxes onto soda sales and other “bad” foods. These places say they’ll use the income to fund things like healthcare and playgrounds. I doubt it. Once the money starts coming in, politicians will dump it into general funds so they can continue to spend your money how they want.

Remember the billions of dollars states collected from the tobacco industry (about $250 billion over 25 years)? Those dollars were supposed to go into healthcare and smoking cessation programs, but little has . . . less than 2 cents of every dollar.

Trust not a politician, especially when dollar signs are in the air.

There’s a lot more packaged lousy food and fast-food places around today than when I was a kid (ok . . . no saber tooth tiger burger jokes . . .), but the information about packaged food is right there on the label, right there either in the restaurant or on the web, and certainly up front in the media. It takes a little thought and it takes some responsibility, but that’s not the government’s job.

Eating better is an obvious answer to helping to eliminate obesity, but new laws, taxes and penalties aren't. Besides the fact that there no real evidence they work, food penalties are a bad idea and too intrusive.

I have no problem with the government setting guidelines, but let’s not continue to have Big Brother be our legal food guide with misdirected legislation.

Stalin Aside, Graham's Wrong on Wall Street Oversight

Apparently Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, didn’t read my “Five Things.” Either that or he felt comparing policy to Stalin’s wasn’t similar to comparing it to Nazi’s.

Either way, Graham’s throwing the newly formed consumer protection agency, already approved and awaiting confirmation of President Obama’s nominee to head it, into the “something out of the Stalin era” was ill-advised and, as usual in today’s small-minded political arena, off the mark.

Let’s remember if we can, that not all that long ago we suffered a deep and painful financial market collapse. Now I’m not a huge fan of regulation, but it seems rather obvious at this juncture that while there were a number of reasons for it (as it spread through Wall Street, banks and the mortgage industry, wiping out investment portfolios and huge chunks of the housing market), clearly a lack of oversight and regulation played a large roll.

Greed is perhaps a fundamental driving force on Wall Street, but greed in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing if viewed within a context of profit. But greed gone bad makes for bad business because it then becomes the only driving force for a company, or, in this case, companies, creating lousy products and pawning them off on other companies as safe and secure.

Without getting into a drawn out debate about the Glass-Steagall Act (which mandated a separation between a bank’s lending and investment businesses), it’s pretty clear the current system isn’t working. One reason is that Wall Street is always trying to create new products to sell and, thus, grow profits. Now there isn’t a thing wrong with profit, but packaging a bunch of crappy high-risk mortgages made for bad investments, often to firms and investors down the sales line. The whole thing was a house of cards . . .  and it collapsed. And years later the markets are still paying the price..

The fact that these products were created, sold and then purchased shows not only a breakdown in regulatory oversight, but a lack of corporate oversight. And it cost U.S taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out not only government-owed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but a slew of banks and investment houses. Fraud abounds.

Lindsey Graham and others would have Wall Street operate without any real regulations. Did we not learn anything? He complains the new financial oversight committee would operate without congressional control. Well, since Congress doesn’t seem to control itself or do too much, this looks like just more political posturing. Reform is here, Lindsey, whether you want it or not. Regulations are not always bad, often they limit bad behavior.

That has nothing to do with Stalin. It has more to do with people’s distrust of bankers, and politicians caring for nothing about themselves and their re-election. Do we not learn anything from history? . . . Even if that history is just a few short years in our past.

Absent Big Thinkers, We Are Stuck with a Pack of Political Gophers

Where are the big thinkers? The people with vision, vision more than a week out. Vision that took us to the moon, built the Hoover Dam, the Empire State Building, the Panama Canal, helped rebuild Japan and Europe after World War Two and thousands of other creative, grand, inventive and often inspiring “visions.”

Now, instead of thinking big, taking a long-term view of our world and trying to develop ways of moving us down a positive road that benefits all of us, makes our country embrace its greatness and all its people, our politicians continue to dive into their little gopher holes and squeak at each other and at us with no thought about anything but that hole and its narrow tunnel connection to other little gopher-filled holes along the way.

Rise up, gophers, there’s a big world out there.

But in an era when even the slightest so-called misstep can anger the base of each party, politicians avoid being bold because being bold doesn’t get them into the general election. At least that’s the way it seems . . . and nobody has enough money to run without that base support.

Imagine, if you will (you may have to close your eyes and really concentrate), a politician standing up and saying, “I’m a moderate. And I believe in America, the diversity of its people and the bright future we have ahead of us. Now we all need to work to turn this ship around and set course that will make us even greater than we are.”

Yeah, then you woke up, right?

Instead we listen to our politicians push an agenda of throwing 12 million illegal immigrants out of the country (how exactly will we do that), continued attacks on women’s health issues (largely by men who can’t imagine their daughters going to Planned Parenthood for a pap test), complete gridlock on the budget, tax reform, healthcare costs or feeding children. These are all big issues, but alas, our small-thinking politicians can’t embrace any real solutions.

Don’t you want to hear real solutions to real problems . . . how are we going to get a few million people back into the workforce? How are we going to stop government from overspending? How are we going to cut the deficit? How are we going to change the healthcare system so it works for effectively for everyone? How are we going to wind down governmental handouts to farms and other businesses? How do we alter Medicare and Social Security so they work now and are viable in the future? How do we grow American businesses and jobs?

That enough for now? If a congressman was reading this he probably passed out half way through. Hey, they get rid of a lot of governments overseas if they don’t work. And with an approval rating under 10 percent, I’m guessing a lot of people here would just as soon throw these bums out and try another bunch. (That’s part of a good case for limited terms for these folks.)

I’ve said it before . . . if these people worked in the private sector, they’d all be fired. They have proved, time and time again, that they are (those both the Senate and the House) unable to do their jobs. Even pushing their responsibilities on to a so-call Super Committee didn’t work. The committee failed to reach and agreement on how the cut the deficit over the next 10 years. By the way, these folks make pretty good money to suck at not doing their jobs.

I still say I could gather a few friends and family and cut a few trillion dollars in about an hour. Then we could restore Social Security and Medicaid (without hurting current beneficiaries), eliminate some of the roadblocks to more efficient healthcare and, after lunch, figure out a cost-effective way for the government to help feed the food-insecure kids in this country.

We face big issues, but I spy nobody willing or able to deal with them or offer substantive solutions to them. Where are the ideas? Attack Planned Parenthood? Deport millions of illegal immigrants? Strip the EPA of any effective power? Change the Constitution to embrace your idea of family?

We are devoid of leaders. On both sides of the political aisle.

Our greatness will continue to come largely from the private sector in the long run, since it will be private industry that ultimately hires workers, builds products and creates solutions. Bringing American workers back to work helps us all, and helps us rebuild in the ever-changing world our small-thinking politicians are unable to embrace.

Merry Christmas Darn It

Nowadays those two words will bring you all kinds of heat. I have no problem with “Happy Holidays,” but, sheesh, aren’t we taking this whole thing too far? I mean, politicians are so afraid of Merry Christmas they’re now calling those green things with ornaments “Holiday Trees.” Apparently politicians fear even the slightest possible thought that they might be inadvertently insulting some unknown voter, no matter the intent.

Too much for me. You want to cover other religions or beliefs, then make sure the symbols of  those are in evidence as well. But Christmas is Christmas, darn it, and wishing someone Merry Christmas should be taken in the same spirit in which it is delivered . . . it’s freakin’ Christmas, have a great time . . . go to church if you like, sing a few Christmas carols if you like, open a few presents if you like, maybe even enjoy a mug of hot cider . . . My wishing you a Merry Christmas is nothing but positive and joyful.

The problem isn’t my saying it, it’s your twisted “everything’s an insult” Grinchy 21^st Century attitude. Lighten up . . . and Merry Christmas

Trump Lowers the Debate Bar Even More

Suppose they held a political debate and nobody showed? Gosh wouldn’t that be great, and it’s my holiday season wish for this political season (well, after my supreme wish that Rick Santorum’s hair would fall out and he’d be too embarrassed and his ego too bruised to continue his verbal plundering of all that is not his).

The notoriously egomaniacal and thin-skinned Donald Trump, he who lords over his brass-polished hotels and Celebrity Apprentice, is holding court December 27 and has summoned the GOP hopefuls to kneel before him as he moderates their verbalisciousness. Two candidates, Ron Paul and John Huntsman, have declined the offer, which immediately prompted the Trumpster to call them “joke candidates.” For some reason they decline to be a part of what will be a very non-presidential sideshow, with Trump as the carnival ringmaster. Drop the bar any lower and a snake couldn’t get under it.

Calling two candidates jokes doesn’t sound like a debate moderator to me, and added to the fact that Trump has said he may run as an independent all meaningful bets are off. Now you’ll recall that Trump was at one time part of the thundering GOP presidential herd. If you’re like me, you have no clue what his political positions were except that he believed President Obama wasn’t born in the US. That, of course, really isn’t a political issue, it’s a hate issue raised to pander to the most obtuse and narrow-minded of the so-called base. That’s not a base; it’s a group of dopes.

Those people will vote for whoever’s running against Obama. What’s the point in continuing to lather them with the same old saddle soap?

So one of my Christmas wishes this year is that candidates continue to just say “no” to the Trumpster. Might be fun, I’ll admit, watching him rip every critic who pops off about his independent run if he chooses to go that way.

Ahh, that would be too much to hope for, I suppose.

More Pet Peeves Confessions (Better Than a Real Confession)

Well, thousands of you have contacted me and want to know more of my pet peeves . . . not really, but even we hermits have our quirks . . . (oh come on, lighten up . . . you know you have dozens of pet peeves, too).

The telephone seems to be an issue for many people . . . not me, of course . . . but really, don’t you hate it when someone you call says . . . “Oh, hey, stranger, haven’t heard from you in a long time. What’s up?” Frack you . . . you could have called me, no?

And forget about returning a call. Under normal circumstances, I’m saying anything outside of three days and you’re rude and late. Someone better have died, given birth, been deployed, be developing a new Iron Man suit or fantastically frantic for them not to return a call in three days.

Don’t you love all these food shows? Yeah, me, too . . . but doesn’t it bug you when a chef has to explain to some judging panel (why do those judges always look like they’re watching a hanging, by the way?) how to eat his or her dish? “Take some of this or that, dip it in the sauce and then just touch the spoon-smeared reduction on the plate  . . .” I just want to be able to eat how I want. What am I, 5-years-old? Yeah, neither are the judges . . . hang him . . .

I gave my wife a custom-made fly rod as an anniversary gift once, just before we headed out west. Could have been worse . . . how many guys are going to give vacuum cleaners to their female partners this year? Bad idea, but you’d think vacuuming was the most pleasurable chore ever to watch all those vacuum ads. Dancing around the living room with some new-fangled colorful vac or racing over the bedroom floor with a steam vac thingie. (Apparently men don’t vacuum.) Go with a nice scarf as a gift instead.

As kind of a marketing guy, I always wonder whether someone actually watches his or her company’s ads before they’re finalized. There’s a nice looking kitchen design company ad set to music that airs regularly on my sat tv, but with no audio other than the music. If I’m not watching, how the heck do I know what the company is? End the audio with the name of the firm, address and phone number.

And speaking of which, every ad should have the company’s full address (don’t assume I know what town your street is in), phone number and web address. Watch . . . a bunch of them don’t . . . well what the heck . . . your ad is probably hitting regionally . . . I’m in New Hampshire watching my dish and have no idea where in Burlington Vermont or Plattsburgh New York XYZ Street is.

I love football, but don’t you sometimes wonder about where the ball is placed after a play? I mean they eyeball the spot up and down the field and then bring out the chain for an exact fractional measurement when it’s close to a first down. So they could be off by a couple of feet on every play except the one that really counts.

Five Tips for Politicians Who Never Seem to Learn

It seems we need another reminder on what never to say (or act) when running for political office. I say this because apparently the candidates never seem to learn.

First, try not to use the “Nazi” card . . . as in “Those other guys are acting like a Nazis by not voting on this measure I really like.” Just rubs people the wrong way unless you're trying to find a real bad guy for a book or movie.

Second, avoid the “God called on me to run” card. If God called on you, I’m doubting it was to throw your hat into a ring filled with political fools, which now includes you. I’m not sure, but God probably won’t set the bar that low.

Third, if you’re accused of some wrongdoing in your past, don’t act surprised if it comes up now. That’s not a media conspiracy, that the media’s job. Address the issue assertively and clearly and honestly when the story breaks. Don’t keep altering and clarifying it over the next couple of weeks. Then lay off personally attacking whatever or whomever it is accusing you of whatever and tell your lawyer not to threaten anyone (re: Herman Cain’s attorney Lin Wood). Failure to accept this will result in a story growing legs and developing over weeks, kill your campaign (no matter how much you bitch at the press), and in the end won’t stop whatever truth there is from coming out. People will forgive and forget, but not if you fumble, mumble and lie at the outset.

Fourth, don’t wear a coat and tie when campaigning in a country diner. If you dress differently than those around you, you’re the “don’t get it” politician. Fit in you dope. Nobody wears a coat and tie to a diner unless they’re on their way to an office job. Lose the fancy duds, break out an old golf shirt (not a new Izod) and have at those eggs and country-fried steak with homemade biscuits. In the long run you’ll feel much better about yourself and those photos of you fitting in with the locals will live forever.

Fifth, try not to be stupid. We voters aren’t, in the long run, stupid. We may act that way in the beginning, but we’ll eventually figure you out. Try to come up with some useful ideas instead of just pissing on the other guy. And if you’re running attack ads instead of giving us a good idea of where you stand on issues important to us (start with the economy, jobs, Medicare, the deficit people like you created, healthcare and child welfare . . . feel free to add yours). Why should I vote for you, not just why shouldn’t I vote for the other schmuck? I figure you’re not going to keep your pledges when you’re elected, but at least give me something to chew on before I get into the voting booth.

(Note: Don’t worry, I have tons of other tips for these guys. After all, with a year to go, do you really think they have a clue about how to act or not to act?)

Experts? Nah . . . Just Filter the News and Find Your Way Through the Maze of Confusion, Pundits and Boneheaders

I had an editor at a newspaper who told us never the use the word “expert” in a headline “because one man’s expert is another man’s assh***.” That was then and this is now . . . we live in a world filled with "experts."

I was lucky in that first full-time job at a local paper. My first editor told me to forget writing for the sports desk and instead work as a general assignment reporter for a bit, and if I decided to head to sports later, then that was fine, but writing about sports, he said, didn’t make me a news guy, which he felt was the base for any journalistic endeavors later. He was right, as a reporter and feature writer I was able to

The newspaper industry is dying a slow torturous death as we turn to online news sources. The editorial and op-ed pages was where the opinions were printed. Now, people don’t get the difference between news shows and “pundit” shows. Bill O’Reilly is not a news person. Neither is Rachael Maddow. You may like ‘em, but they’re not giving you the news, they are giving you commentary.

The world has changed, we think something, Tweet it and it’s around the world to all our followers in a flash. We share our thoughts and lives on Facebook and all that is out there, where that is, forever. Now even your neighbor is an “expert” on whatever because he saw it on the web. Yikes.

Put on your “news” filters, folks, because if you’re getting your “news” from one place, then you’re probably mis-informed. We used to read at least eight or 10 papers a day. Of course we didn’t have to pay for them and they were all delivered to the news desk, but the point is that we actually read. Not glimpsed or skimmed . . . actually read. That seems to be too much work for people now. We surrounded by more news and media outlets than ever . . . but we still take those one-time internet posts and pass them around from place to place until they seem real and truthful. A while later they circulate again . . . they seem even more real and truthful then.

Let’s remember to take step back filter what you read and then take a few minutes to fact-check. Because along with all those news and media outlets are dozens of easy to access sites that debunk rumors and untruths, or help you give you the cold facts on information you’re digesting.

We vote for a President in a year. It’s worth the small effort to check those claims, charges and statements from those who would be President. You may not get much ink on your fingers in this digital age, but there’s no excuse for not getting the news you want if you want it.

My Pet Peeves . . . I Have a Few (Don't Try to Steal Them . . . They're Mine)

Much as I’d like to say I have no pet peeves, the truth is I actually have a few. Hard to believe, but our pet peeves are our way of pausing and going, “hmmm . . . that’s weird . . . why do they do that?” You know, those little things that kind of make us twitch a bit. Now, since I’m pretty much a hermit up here in New Hampshire I’ve whittled down my pet peeve list a bit.

But a few remain. Most of them, I’ll admit, are a bit silly . . .

What’s with the tomato and lettuce on the bottom of those restaurant burgers? That stuff’s supposed to be on top.

Why can’t a label be honest? “Natural,” for instance means virtually nothing on a food label. I also want to know whether or not my veggies have been genetically engineered or my fish raised in some fish farm somewhere. So tell me.

Why can I get an airplane delivered by Amazon for nothing, but it costs more than the product itself to ship from some places? (Finally Harry and David is offering better or free shipping on some orders . . . and LL Bean’s is nailing it with its new free shipping policy and ad campaign.)

Hair plugs. Really? One of my subconscious work rules was to never work for a guy with hair plugs. If he’s that insecure about his hairline, what the heck else is he going to be insecure about and how does that play with his being a boss? And while we’re at it, why are there still so many guys doing the comb-over thing? If’s you’re covering more than a couple of inches of bare landscape, then cut it and forget it.

Stop trying to make your restaurant’s food fancier than it is. Resist your urge to cover a great piece of fish with an over-wrought sauce. Keep it simple and showcase the food.

Don’t ask me to trust you while you’re sharpening a knife when I’m not around. The workplace has changed . . . look out for yourself and protect yourself. They’ll dump you if they can because they have their own agendas, and you may not know what they are. Be careful about hitching a ride on your boss’ skirt because you never know when they’ll come after him or her and you’ll get caught in the crossfire. Call me a cynic . . . but it happens again and again . . . we all have the work scars to prove it.

I’ll save a few for later . . . I don’t want to seem too pet peevy, after all . . .

Rick Santorum: A Dangerous, Small-Thinking Village Idiot

Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania and current GOP presidential wannabe, has now risen to the top of the “major idiot in the village” heap.

We’re fighting two wars, the economy is completely in the tank, unemployment is over 9 percent, wounded soldiers aren’t getting the care they need and this bozo is standing on his “I’ll die on that hill” in his fight against gay marriage and any federal dollars being spent on any type of contraception.

Oh man, get a clue. The whole argument that gay marriage will shake "the very foundation of our country, the family, what the family structure is going to look like" (his words) is bogus. The family structure isn’t what it used to be now. Sunday dinners at grandma’s are a thing of the past, the black and white picture of the 50s has long since turned into a wider, broader Technicolor world.

Santorum seems to believe it’s this “family structure” that has held the country together and any changes to that dated 50’s black and white screen is what has led to our economy woes and the apparent decline of our nation and probably the world in general. Oy. We evolve . . . sometimes for the better and sometimes not so much. Of course one could argue that things never really were all that great then, but they certainly seem more simple than today as we look back. It’s kind of like he’s living in the colorless world of Pleasantville.

Santorum’s rage against gays is obviously comparable to the rage years ago some people had against blacks and their civil struggle for equal rights. And Santorum’s anti anything “in the sexual realm,” including Planned Parenthood and contraception apparently means that if we don’t talk about it and deal with the issues then they simply don’t exist.  

I guess the larger issue (and Santorum is a small issue guy) is the thought that state-sponsored discrimination is bad. Why shouldn’t committed partners (gay or not), be allowed to visit loved ones in the hospital, buy real estate, apply for health insurance together, and on and on? He’s one of those guys who tries to bully everyone and then complains someone’s bullying him, as he did when Saturday Night Live did a bit poking fun at his anti-gay views.

I’ll admit I just don’t get it. I don’t get the energy spent on these issues and the time spent actively and openly discriminating against people, largely because they are different than what some feel is “normal.” People are different . . . live with it and move on. I do find it interesting, though, that people who preach less government want to change the Constitution to add a gay-marriage ban or alter laws regarding immigrants and their offspring. Government doesn’t belong in the bedroom, or many other places into which it creeps. Our forefathers are rolling in their graves at the small mindedness.

Rick Santorum is dangerous. He may have risen to the top idiot status among this crop of GOP hopefuls, but that not saying all that much. If this is the best we can hope for, then God help us all.

At a time when we need and are looking for leaders, the horizon seems woefully empty.

GOP Pandering to the Far Right Will Only Hurt at Election Time

Republicans are making a big mistake in their right-wing pandering. A mistake that could enable Barack Obama get his feet back under him, get off the ropes, and start to frame the issues that may help him win re-election next fall.

He’s already starting to frame his campaign, and as the Republicans start to flounder as they bang on each other and try to show the Tea Party who has the most tea party “pick me” points, Democrats can start taking the opportunity to show they are the ones who care about the middle class, the environment, the elderly, women and the young.

By continuing to move to the right, Republicans are making themselves even easier to target as the party of “no.” And while some “no” is important, the current Republican stand on taxes, Social Security, Medicare, disaster financing, the environment, women’s health and a host of other issues is starting to turn off even many Republicans.

The problem for the Republicans now is that they apparently need to pander to the far right to nail the primaries. That pushes them too far to the right for the general population, most of whom sit in the moderate/conservative seating section. Obama probably won’t be able to rally the groups of new, young and enthusiastic voters that pushed him into office in the first place, so that, and the critically ill economy outweigh his recent foreign policy points (thanks Hillary) and we’ll see if that’s what sends him home after one term.

The simple truth is that while voters want to cut government spending, they also want the most fragile in our country to be protected and they want the unemployment rate down big time. On top of that, I’m guessing most Americans want their water safe to drink, their food safe to eat and their land to be protected from environmental risk like oil spills and chemical leaks..

Those issues are long-term ones, but important elements to the fabric of our country. Let me put it this way: Remember the disaster in the Gulf? Are you willing to risk another disaster like that by lifting environmental regulations? Me neither. In the long run (and that’s a run about which most politicians have no clue) the regulations (reasonable and sensible) are cheaper and certainly more logical than such having to deal with disasters themselves, given the overall costs, both financial and personal.

But government has embraced the short-sighted vision. They look at the cost of adding food inspectors instead of looking at the cost of food recalls, poisoned people and damaged businesses.

Is hydraulic fracturing (pumping fluid from into deep underground rock fracturing to push out natural gas and oil) safe? Personally, I don’t know, but there is growing evidence it is not. Ground water pollution (and companies aren’t disclosing their fluid formulas) is just one issue. I’d ban it until we had more science on the risks. Of course science is something some politicians rail against. That’s a shame.

Science doesn’t take place over night and by ignoring it now, often simply because our political ambitions differ from scientific findings, is stupid and short sighted. Let’s push the science through faster so we can move on some of these issues faster. Let’s not red-tape stuff to death.

Clean it up, increase efficiency, decrease bureaucracy and begin to make good policy that’s good for the country instead of minor clips and bits that may sound good today, but do nothing in the long run other than to show how limited Washington’s view really is.

A Field of Bigots: Will They Continue to Hijack the GOP?

Unfortunately, it’s easy to be a bigot. We’re all biased in one way or another. Sometimes we fight those feelings and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes our prejudice is silly (would you hire a guy with a huge hair comb-over to be your director of marketing?) . . . and sometimes not so much . . .

The current flock of Republicans is going to find many of them have a bigotry issue that may play to the far right, but won’t play, even in this era of “throw all the bums out,” in the general election . They have a gay issue , , , a woman issue . .  and a poor people issue . . . (and I haven’t even started on things like environmental and regulatory issues , , , don’t worry, I will.) It appears to be a field full of bigots. And they to have hijacked the GOP.

Congressman Rick Santorum has showed his colors time and time again. He doesn’t like gay people . . . doesn’t want them to get married and, I’m guessing, won’t be having any of “them” over for a cookout any time soon. That’s too bad, because maybe if he spent some time talking with gays he’d start to see them as actual people. He continues to rail against the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” saying, "They're in close quarters, they live with people, they obviously shower with people," Santorum said, saying the presence of gay soldiers could have an adverse "effect on retention and recruitment."

It's talk without knowledge. Talk designed to get people hyped up over some base issue.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the current GOP frontrunner, has time and time again said he is opposed to any gays, or any unmarried people living together, holding jobs as teachers.

Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum have signed a pledge saying they will back a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Oh come on. Why is it that those people so intent on waving the constitution every chance they get are so intent to change it to fit their political views? Leave the damn Constitution alone.

And too often the heavy Christian talk of Perry or Michelle Bachman leaves one wondering if they’d throw non “born agains” out of the country. After all, the president lords over all the people, not just those who happen to believe exactly what he or she believes. Creating a message of “I’m superior to you” because I believe this or that is a slippery slope from which it’ll be hard to recover. And while primaries tend to bring out the most fervent believers in both parties, the risk is that the person who remains standing may be unelectable to the larger and more moderate voter pool.

And herein lies a problem for the Republicans. In snuggling up to the far-right, they’re writing off independent voters and the apparently silent and endangered moderate Republicans . . . and even (gasp) moderate and conservative Democrats.

Too bad . . . it may cost them by the time we wade through all the political bull that will be thrown at us over the next year. And it may cost them at a time when Obama is falling out of favor with his base. If he can effectively hammer the Republicans on the perception that their radical conservatism, anti-woman, anti-environment etc. positions are actually anti-middle class positions that have nothing to do with lowering unemployment, fixing the tax code, cutting corporate subsidies, rebuilding infrastructure, improving the mortgage/foreclosure mess and reigning in earmarks, he can start to turn his political ship around.

Thus far he hasn’t done it. People love a good talker who pokes and jabs with his or her opponent (Reagan was a master and Clinton managed to weather all the Republican arrows with his verbal prowess and nimble political footwork). Come election time, the only issue will be whether or not Obama has damaged himself enough to allow the far right to slip into power. I shiver . . .

Keep a keen ear, don’t just suck up the 30-second sound bites, read, read, read, and remember that nothing is spontaneous . . . it’s all part of a politician’s grand plan to get your vote and spend your money.

There Shouldn't Be Drug Shortages in a Good Health Care System

We may hear people bitch and moan about health care, and also bitch and moan about any changes to our current system, especially what we commonly call “socialized medicine.” One of our complaints is that in some countries there may be a wait for certain procedures or tests or for access to equipment like MRIs or CAT scans.

But here, where health care costs continue to rise without so much as a pause, we now have drug shortages and price gauging of drugs that raise some of those costs 50 times above the usual cost to patients. How is that better than those places we complain have socialized medicine? We continue to argue that our system is the best in the world (although survey after survey debunks that myth). Hundreds of hospitals have reported shortages, patients have died because drugs were unavailable and some analysts believe the drug shortages will cost more than $400 million a year in increased costs in buying drugs from third-party companies.

Without federal oversight, and no federal price gauging regulations, what’s to keep this from happening again and again? Here’s a place where regulation and oversight is money well spent. Pass legislation that prevents (with heavy fines and penalties) price gauging, that mandates continued production of drugs and broad notification if production is interrupted so other companies can pick up the slack. And what about legislation that helps these companies produced drugs here instead of overseas?

Setting up manufacture and production facilities is expensive, and some of those drugs, while life-saving, don’t sell normally at huge profit margins, so let’s make sure we can continue to produce them here without fear of shortages, and price gauging by third parties. That would add some stability to a health care issue that shouldn’t be an issue in a good health care system.

You Booed a Gay Soldier? Screw You and Shame on Your Cowardice

You booed. Really? You hateful little people. Booing a gay soldier during last night’s GOP debate was not only “unfortunate,” as a couple of candidates said afterwards, but a hateful example of lynching mentality that drives us deeper into our self-centered me-first little lives. The candidates, no matter whether or not they agree with the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell, should have condemned the booing.

They didn’t. And that’s too bad, because whether or not you agree with a position (don’t ask, don’t tell was ruled unconstitutional after all), you should have condemned the blood-in-the-water reaction from the idiots. Rise above the reaction and at least pretend to be shocked. Because, goodness knows, you’re pretending and posturing on everything else.

And Rick Santorum, the out of touch, I kinda hate everyone former Senator from Pennsylvania weighed in with his feeling that the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell is “social engineering” in the military . . . I’ve never been in the military, so I’m not going to pretend there aren’t issues with this that I may not understand, but, frankly, if the person next to me in the foxhole can shoot, I wouldn’t give a crap whether they were gay or not.

Some of our political policies seem based on the “if we don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist” theory of ignorance. Some of these topics may make us uncomfortable. Some of them may difficult to talk about.

But booing a soldier because he’s gay? Screw you. Get out of your comfy debate-watching seat and ship your sorry ass over to Afghanistan and get shot at, then maybe you won’t be so quick to condemn some kid who puts his life on the line so you can sit there in your comfy chair.

Palestinians Need to Earn Their Statehood

How about this . . . Palestinian leaders declare that they recognize Israel and its right to exist, drop their endorsement of terrorist groups like Hamas' own military wing, condemn terrorist attacks on Israelis and such cowardly acts in general. No, the United Nations absolutely should not create a Palestinian state.

Surrounded by enemies, Israel had certainly stepped over the line many times in dealing with the Palestinians and others, but it remains our only ally in the region and we must continue to be steadfast in out support of Israel. Wavering worsens and makes more difficult any possibility of a peaceful resolution between Israel, Palestinians and other Arab nations.

Hamas needs to reel in its military wing and start to take a negotiated peace with Israel as the only option. What waste of people, money, energy and future these conflicts consume. We have to make it clear that our support of Israel is solid, but that we want to see the region stable. These conflicts, of one type or another, are largely beyond our direct influence (as has been proved in Afghanistan) and have continued for thousands of years in some cases.

The future? Who knows. But the simple truth is that without fundamental changes, the region will continue to suck money and futures, children will have no real hope and extremists will continue to stifle any economic development and growth.

The future is now. Rent a conference room, fill it with all the players and work to solve the problems. Everyone will have to move a bit, but that’s what negotiations are all about. Find common ground that keeps Israel safe, enables the Palestinians to live in a “home land,” rids the region of terrorists living among the general population and grows some type of economy. But I’m only renting the room if everyone agrees to stop blowing up women and children. Time to start earning your place in the world instead of expecting someone just to give it to you.

Time to Get Out

It’s time to get out. Just leave Afghanistan and Iraq. Pack up our bags, take the ball and leave.

Ask yourself if you think these two places will be better in five or 10 years than they are now. Ask yourself if, after 10 years Afghanistan will have a government free of corruption, overseeing a people building their country and their economy, able to move into the 21^st century without the support of the U.S and other countries. Ask yourself if, after 10 years, either country can withstand the old pressures of the Taliban and extremists intent on dragging them back into the abyss of poverty, violence and hopelessness?

It’s time to leave. Time to bring our men and women home. Time to end our illusion that we can change what these countries are and have been, and turn them into democracies where men and women embrace a variety of beliefs, can vote without fear of getting blown up, and can envision a future where their children can travel the world. Time to use our money and people here. Time to rebuild America, educate our children, put out-of-work Americans back to work in new factories and industries, get corporations to bring their money back here for those factories and workers, and stop our decline from great to good but crumbling.

Iraq and Afghanistan will not be better if we continue to throw money and people into them. Rather, our commitment to them has hurt us beyond all reason. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent, thousands of our people killed, thousands of civilians killed, tens of billions of dollars wasted through lack of oversight and corruption. And it continues. And it will continue.

So at what point do we decide our “mission” is complete and we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish? This isn’t World War II, and the Japanese and Germans aren’t surrendering. There’s no cheering crowd as we take Paris or Berlin. We live in a different world. A world with lots of gray and blurred lines of black and white. And yet, throughout the Middle East, people are rising up against their leaders and calling out for changes. Ironically, we’ve had nothing to do with it. No invasions, no bombings (bar Libya) and really no clue that this wave would sweep the region.

Grass root revolutions. Unfortunately not in the vacuums of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bring our people home and let’s start building our country again instead of trying to build those nations that won’t rise up and help themselves.

There's No 'Get it Done' Button in Washington

Remember a few weeks ago, when New Jersey and much of the northeast was washed away by Irene? Well, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got it right.

“Our people are suffering now, and they need support now. And they [Congress] can all go down there and get back to work and figure out budget cuts later,” he said then.

Christie, a Republican, was ticked that Congress appeared to be gearing up for a fight over whether disaster aid needs to be offset by spending cuts. If that fight develops over the next few days and weeks, it will be another example of an out-of-touch government and one unable to deal with the realities the country faces now . . . right now. There’s water in the basement . . . roads and houses were washed away . . . lives ruined . . .What are you going to do now? Play politics?

So now it’s weeks later, people around here are still cleaning up, roads are still washed out and people are wondering if disaster funding will remain stalled in the muskeg that is Washington. Don’t look now, but apparently all those that might lead are squabbling over the jobs act. From one looking-at-the-election issue to another. Since Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell framed the debate some time ago by saying the only thing important to him was to defeat Barack Obama in the upcoming election, one has to take everything tossed into the public political spit bucket is, well, so much spit.

On a good day, Washington moves at glacier-like speed. There seems to be less thought about what people actually need and want than there is about scoring political points on some invisible political points scoreboard. (Hey wait . . . could we get a sponsor for that scoreboard and raise some money . . . maybe for hungry kids . . . how about JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs or some other company not doing much public good?)

Gov. Christie wasn’t, in a rare moment for a politician, speaking as a politician. Good for him. People want to believe in their elected officials. They, believe it or not, want to know politicians care about those folks who got them elected in the first place. So Christie, no jacket or tie, standing wondering what the heck Washington was doing was a bit refreshing.

Meanwhile, in Washington, we waited for someone to lead . . . and waited . . . and waited . . .

Fall of NASA the End of American Greatness?

I know the “end of American greatness” thing bothers some people, and I’m certainly hoping I am wrong about thinking that way when I read through the news of the day and the political paralysis in Washington.

So while we struggle to fix those things like roads and bridges and overcrowded airports and our aging rail system, it strikes me that a fine example of our great decline, if you will, is that fact that if out astronauts are to head into space, they have to do so aboard a Russian rocket.

Wow . .  we have no space program, and the $35 billion NASA is looking to spend on its new rocket program will probably never get through Congress. (One wonders if anything will get through Congress.) It certainly is an end to an era. Can we, in this divisive political environment, develop and complete major national-interest projects that benefit and rebuild the U.S. and put Americans to work?

Bridges and highways across the nation are deteriorating and will fail, our power grid is largely inadequate and fragile, our rail system is fragmented and aging, and our power plants are old and inefficient. Can we not develop a plan of maintenance and construction that keeps our infrastructure new and safe?

Certainly not the entire answer by any means. We need to end incentives and subsidies for corporations moving operations overseas. We need to stop subsidies for bad programs like ethanol production (which add 85 cents to each gallon of ethanol, spike feed costs for cattle), and create enterprise zones in cities that can grow and foster a wide cross-section of businesses.

We need to do all this without trashing fair and reasonable environmental restraint. This seems to be an ongoing theme for Republicans, even though I doubt these regulations actually cost jobs. I like clean water and don’t like toxins scattered across the amber waves of grain. Weakening even current regulations is a major long-term mistake. It sounds good in the 30-second sound bite, but politicians are politicians and what they say isn’t supposed to make sense . . . it’s designed to play to their political base and get them votes. Trashing the environment under the guise that those regulations cost jobs sounds good. But it’s wrong and wrong-headed.

So let’s put it all on the table and figure out how we can start to climb out of this hole. Make it clean and clear, oversee it so we don’t waste the amounts we’ve wasted every time the government spends money on projects. (Corporations seem to be able to do this with their projects, after all.)

It’s time to start thinking about what’s best for the country, not what’s best for Washington and the often brain-dead politicians who fill those majestic buildings.

Bud and Baseball Make Another Bad Call

Did you see that Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig was ticked the Mets went public about the MLB ban on wearing first-responder hats during their Sunday night prime-time game against the Cubs?

Awww  . . . poor Bud.

Hey, the league told the Mets they had to wear their regular caps instead of caps honoring first responders (NY fire and police and others), so either you stand by that decision or not. Bud, who has all kinds of issues with replay that might actually get close calls right, should have been thrown under the PR bus on this one.

Oh, and Joe Torre, now executive vice president of baseball operations should have known better as well. Hey, Joe, forget the normal MLB form . . . here was a chance to do what was right. Baseball has more trouble doing that than any other pro sport.

Torre, who managed the Mets as well as the Yankees (for 12 years and during 9/11 no less), could have sauntered into Bud’s office and let him know a PR nightmare was about to explode. They got it wrong. The Mets should have been able to wear the caps during the game . . . as they did during warm up. And, frankly, in the end, the Mets should have said screw you, we’re wearing them.

Bud reportedly makes over $18 million a year. You’d think someone making that kind of coin could make better decisions.

Basketball Season? Do You Care?

With the basketball lockout, the question is whether or not there will be a season. Frankly, I don't really care too much since the season itself is so endless. I’d be good with a few games and then not go into the playoffs.

I’m a bit of a pain on this. Yep, the season is too long and too many teams make the playoffs . . . hockey suffers the same illness. The baseball season is long, but redeemed by the fact that just a few teams make the playoffs. Football has the best season (we get hyped for a week for each upcoming game and the playoffs are pretty limited team-wise and, hey, fun to watch since they don't drag on. (Hello NBA . . . three and four days and more between playoff games? I get the TV thing, but let's speed up the process.)

Ok . . . so I got sidetracked a bit. (That sometimes happens to old people like me.)

I'm guessing there will be a season of some sort next year. Despite the fact that owners want to break the union and its players, as the year grinds on, expect the owners to split and start fighting among themselves. There has never been anything approaching parody in basketball and there never will be.

New owners paid too much for teams and older owners have paid off the loans . . . players are fabulously overpaid (from a business standpoint) and have guaranteed contracts that saddle teams with declining talent and growing bills . . . additionally, there is no salary cap, so teams can overpay for ok talent. So while I'm guessing not too many fans will back the players on this one, keep in mind that players, like you and me (or any number of employees), are happy to make whatever someone is willing to offer them. That someone (or "someones") is (are) the owners. They made the bed . . . and they’ve been having to sleep in it.

So as the year drags on, are owners willing to eat the full season and watch their talent play elsewhere? Dirk, Kobe etc. etc. are aging . . . Are their owners willing to let a season go by and have them return in 2012 a year older and a potential playoff run or championship missed? We'll see.

Me? Eh, there's football, so I'll be happy through February.

Cut Smart and Plan Long Term

So I read that some firefighters in Texas are having to pay for equipment and even fuel for their trucks because of budget cuts. Yet another example of politicians taking a short view when they cut, and unable, apparently, to see a bigger picture in their fervor now to bring bloated budgets (budgets they bloated) under control.

Now far be it for me to say that no first-responder budgets should be trimmed or that those budgets contain no waste. All budgets need to be carefully analyzed and evaluated and cut where needed. Departments may need to be cut . . . and the bureaucracy that builds and builds at all levels of governments needs to be cut and not allowed to build again. These are leaner times . . . we are, simply, broke and cannot afford to just throw money at every program, idea, pet project, perceived need or even every golden calf nurtured since its inception.

But let’s take extra time before we slash budgets of first responders or front line health and safety personnel.

Remember, these guys in Texas are fighting huge wildfires now. Their lives are risk, unlike some legislator cooling his heels, sipping sarsaparilla and watching his derricks poke through the earth in search of oil.

We may need to budget smarter and think leaner, but let’s remember that at some point old, out-dated equipment and faulty gear will cost someone his or her life. Long-term thinking, not knee-jerk reaction will make budgets that make sense. We need to cut, but let’s cut smart.

Football, Oh Football, We Missed You So

Even with satellite TV, it’s impossible to watch more than a few of the 8 billion college football games each week, and the first weekend of the season seemed even more littered with games than usual.

One thing’s for sure, Notre Dame mega fan Regis Philbin (along with millions of others across the country) must have been screaming at his TV as the Irish showed once again their play doesn’t match the silly-high expectations of their fans as they got spanked by Southern Florida at home. Turnovers and overall sloppy play killed any chance they had, and they’ll fall out of the top 25 . . . Wow, lest we hoped the Oregon Ducks would rebound from losing key starters from last year, LSU smacked that idea. Ducks are down and LSU, despite all its off-field player issues (can’t these kids stay away from bars at least during and leading up to the season?) looked big and tough . . . Boise State will be a pain in everyone’s butt all season. With the best college quarterback not named Andrew Luck (from Stanford), and starting the season ranked fifth, the Broncos may well stir thing up at the end when it comes bowl time . . . While we’re at it, what’s with all these new-age uniforms? Some of them are kinda cool and flashy, I’ll admit, but I just don’t get a few of them. Take Georgia, for instance. I kinda dig the bright red, but the silver helmets with the wide red stripe reminds me of a motorcycle gas tank. And why put “Georgia” on the back of the jerseys? Don’t they know who they are? . . . And Maryland’s new uniforms? Wow . . . players looked sort of like knights in search of a jousting tournament to me.

And since we actually have to watch and listen to these games, I’m sticking with Brent Mussburger and Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews as my top broadcasting team, though I’m finding overall better watchability across the full range of games compared to NFL broadcasts . . .

Now that what many refer to as the “fake” season, the NFL moves from pre-season to real season this week, and we’ll get a real good idea of where the Packers and Saints are when they meet Thursday (yeah, you’ll be able to watch Obama’s speech and then tune into the game . . . if you care). It’ll be interesting to see if the Redskins can get off the ground. Apparently not interested in making any moves for another quarterback in the off-season, coach Mike Shanahan’s tenure in Washington may be in jeopardy if he can’t turn around the Redskins . . . I’ll stick with NBC’s Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth as the NFL’s best booth team (Monday Night Football probably second) . . . Let the games begin.

Dumb and Dumber

I’m not sure which is which, but the latest pissing match between President Barack Obama and House Speaker Boehner about a date for the President’s jobs speech looks even more idiotic given the current state of the nation, and particularly the northeast post-Irene.

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power, posing potential health issues for them and their communities, people are stranded because of destroyed roads, and FEMA is running out of money. And these two bozos are fighting about a date for a speech.

Obama’s people knew there was a Republican debate tonight, but set the speech for that night anyway. Boehner objected . . .and the speech was moved to tomorrow night (the opening night of the NFL season, by the way, with the Packers squaring off with the Saints).

So we sit here watching these guys piss on each other.

Frankly, Obama has to grow a set and schedule his speech whenever the heck he wants. He’s the freaking President for goodness sake. It may have been a political move to schedule it initially for Wednesday, but can you imagine the House speaker telling FDR, L.B. Johnson or Reagan their request for a speech before a joint session of Congress is no good because there’s a political debate planned for the same night? Those presidents would tell the speaker to f-off . . . the speech is on and if they aren’t there, too bad.

By changing the date, Obama caved again. This guy has to get off the ropes and start piling up some points instead of backing down at every opportunity and letting the Republicans continue take the offense. He’s had plenty of chances to take charge of the issues, counter punch and take charge . . . he has yet to do it. Let’s see what he says tonight, and let’s see what the Republicans do in their first debate. Might be fun (I doubt it) . . . and it might show us who is starting to move away from the pack of GOP hopefuls.)

It's the Jobs, Stupid, but Let's Go on Vacation First

If Washington is so concerned about jobs, then why are they leaving on vacation without settling the FAA shutdown, which not only leaves some 4,000 FAA workers unemployed, but also an additional 70,000 construction workers locked out? And let’s not talk about the handful of FAA workers who have been ordered to work without pay until the matter is resolved because their jobs relate directly to air travel safety.

Oh man, the construction workers were working on airport construction jobs . . . renovations, expansions repairs, etc. And while I’m not necessarily a fan of directing all our job-building efforts to construction, closing down the FAA (mostly because politicians were yelping at each other over the debit-limit issue) has turned into a “ahh well, a few more people out of work is no big deal and we’re going on vacation because we don’t have time to vote straight up or down about this” non-issue for them.

Of course there is also political spitting involved as well . . . some Republicans don’t want the government to subsidize flights into 13 rural airports (all of which, not coincidentally are in Democratic regions), and Democrats

And far be it that the airlines are refunding or reducing fares for flyers . . . the extra cash is going to the airlines. Shocking, I know. Meanwhile, the government is losing $30 million a day in uncollected taxes. That will total more than $1.2 billion by the time the senators return to work next month. It’s like piling on after the debacle of the debt fight . . . just another straw . . . And, by the way, the FAA’s long-term operating authority ended in 2007 and the agency has been working under a series of short-term extensions since then. Sound familiar?

If lawmakers continue to harp on the need to create jobs, then they need to be held accountable for their inability to do that. Businesses aren’t going to commit to hiring people unless they have a clear vision of government policy and regulations. And now many businesses have learned they can live with fewer employees, especially if they see another recession on the horizon. In our current no-growth economy, it’s great to stand in front of a microphone and make political points with constituents, but most Americans are fed up with the talk and the reality of more of the same. Government needs to get out of the way, develop policies that encourage domestic job growth instead of inhibiting it. Our economy continues to contract and in an ever-increasing global economy, job growth may be the only way to get this train started again.

Our politicians have put us in a position without much wiggle room and fewer options for federal financial help. Not a bad thing given their ability to screw up even the most simple pieces of legislation, but the drain of two wars, reckless spending, a failure to fix our major entitlement programs, an inability to cut spending and an unwillingness to end tax loopholes for individuals and corporations means our national financial position remains a mess. The question of whether or not the clowns in Washington can move in a positive direction, with the interests of the nation first and foremost, remains, well, unanswered. I’m guessing that hope has faded.