THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
· I went to my first auction today. Okay, so maybe not my first, but I sure don’t remember when the last one was. So here I am thinking this will be a nice way to spend three hours or so with the wife and my dad and stepmom. And who knows, maybe I will find a hidden gem or two. SEVEN hours later and I am exhausted. WOW. Who knew it would take so long? And of course the things I am remotely interested in they save for last. I did manage to get a couple of really good deals, and if you know what you are doing I am sure you can make some money. But could we find a way to like triple speed up the process?
· I am still in mourning today. I miss Corey Haim. I have missed him for almost 20 years. He was never my favorite Corey, but if you grew up in the 80s how can you not feel sad at his passing. He could be the poster child for how not to handle being a teen star. His demons are well chronicled. And I have to admit I was a closet watcher of ‘My Two Corey’s. And if you watched that you knew this day was coming. Still, I hope he has found peace now. And may one of ‘The Lost Boys’ live forever…
RANT OF THE WEEK
· This week the big news in Congress is going to finally ban earmarks. You know those appropriations that never see the light of day and every single member of Congress is complicit in, even if they haven’t proposed one themselves. The Democrats, desperate to stem the tide of public backlash that is currently going on, came up with a brilliant idea. Let’s ban Earmarks for ONE WHOLE YEAR! Yeah! But let’s read the fine print. The ban only applies to for-profit companies. This would reduce earmarks by at least 1,000. But it does not affect thousands of earmarks in aurthorization, tax, tariff and transportations measures. According to the Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) in all fiscal 2010 measures there were 9,500 earmarks worth $15.9 Billion. Most of these earmarks go to state or local agencies that spend that money on….for profit companies. What I don’t understand is if these earmarks are so important, why aren’t they brought up in committee and voted on, debated like everything else. What is wrong with that? If the committee includes them and it’s passed great. It went through the legislative process. But the current earmark process, I firmly believe, is not what the founders of our system of government intended. And it is definitely not open, or transparent, so that most U.S. citizens have no idea what is going on.
SPORTS NEWS OF THE WEEK
· Evidently I haven’t been paying attention. The NCAA is seriously considering expanding the NCAA basketball tournament from 65 teams to 96. And may do so as early as next year. Of all of the half baked, stupid, money grubbing ideas the NCAA has come up with over the last few decades, this is the worst. And it isn’t even close. Right now, the NCAA basketball tournament is close to the perfect sporting event. Who doesn’t fill out a bracket? Who doesn’t watch at least one game? What other sport gets an entire month almost exclusively to themselves? Every team in NCAA Division 1 has a chance. Every team plays in a conference tournament. And the NCAA selection process is about as fair as can be. But NOOO, the NCAA can squeeze a few more hundred millions out of CBS. So let’s add 31 teams. Give the top 32 teams a bye. Extend play by a week. And it will be great. NO IT WON’T!! How many casual fans will take the time to fill out a bracket? And who will care about conference tournaments? And why should the 10th place team in the Big XII, ACC, Pac-10 with a 5-12 league record go to the tournament? Just SAY NO NCAA. But remember, the NCAA is who is responsible for the BCS…
COOL PERSON OF THE WEEK
WASPs – This week Congress honored 1,102 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) who served during World War II. Many of you know my great love of anything surrounding World War II and what our country was able to accomplish and overcome. The WASPs are a group I did not know much about. The WASPs were created in 1942 to recruit and train female pilots to fly at home to allow men to fly combat missions on both war fronts. They flew fighter craft, they ferried planes from factory sights to training stations. They became the first women ever trained to fly military aircraft in the history of our nation. Some of them died for our country. These women are all heroines. Thank you, all 1,102 of you, for serving our country.
DOUCHE OF THE WEEK
Sean Penn. There are a lot of reasons why I don’t like Sean Penn. And there are reasons why I have boycotted most of his films. Thankfully we live in a country where he can make movies and I can boycott them. But one wonders if Sean Penn truly understands what kind of country we live in. Now Sean Penn and Hugo Chavez are good friends. Have been for years. Fine. Whatever. But now Sean has taken this friendship to a new level. Sean thinks that Hugo Chavez is a model democrat and that those who call him a dictator should be jailed. To use his words “Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it. And this is mainstream media. There should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies.’ Really? You want the press to go to jail for reporting on the news? Do you think if Sean lived in Venezuela and thought this about a rival Presidential candidate that Hugo would let that go unpublished? I have an idea Sean. Move to Venezuela. Disagree with Hugo Chavez on one thing publicly. Just one. See what happens. Douche.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Wedding, Olympics and Charlie Rangel
THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
Well my dear and faithful readers since last we talked, I have gotten married in Ireland, had a wedding reception, completely moved into our new house, and seen my boss of over fifteen years resign and leave office on the day I get back from Ireland. Needless to say things have been a little crazy. That is an awful lot to digest in one month’s time. I am hoping that the next month will be slightly less busy. That being said, getting married in Ireland was unbelievable. At some point there will be pictures on here or FB. It was one of the few times that reality turned out to be much better than anything I could have imagined. My wife did such an incredible job in planning and making everything perfect. It has truly been magical.
RANT OF THE WEEK
I wanted to take note today that Iraq conducted parliament elections today. I do not know how they turned out, and frankly am not all that concerned about who wins or anything like that. What does concern me is this. At last count 38 Iraqis have died and over 80 have been wounded just so they could participate. And yet vote is exactly what Iraqi citizens have done. What will it take for Americans to take the right to vote that seriously? Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, big government, little government, EVERY person has a vested interest in what their elected officials are doing. Voting has never been easier or more convenient for the average citizen than it is now. What will it take for Americans to be engaged? Does anyone care?
SPORTS NEWS OF THE WEEK
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Wednesday night Sherron Collins played his last home game in Allen Fieldhouse for the Kansas University Jayhawks. Collins has been one of my favorite players since his arrival. To me, he is the perfect Bill Self player. He is tough. He doesn’t back down. And he WINS. He hasn’t been the prettiest, the easiest, or the most eloquent player. But he leaves Kansas as the winningest player EVER to have played. Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Lovellette, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich, and a thousand others have not won as many games in a Kansas uniform as Sherron Collins has. Think about that. And he isn’t done yet.
COOL PERSON OF THE WEEK
This is a tad late, but my cool person of the week is every Olympian who participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics. I think the Olympics are one of my favorite things to watch. It is moving to me watching people from different countries reach for their dreams. Whether it be Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ono, Joannie Rochette, Shaun White, Evan Lysaceck, Nodar Kumaritashvili, Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, Sven Kramer, Bill Demong, Ryan Miller or any member of a curling team (Why do I love curling so much?). The Olympians represent what you can do with perserverance, hard work, determination, and a little luck.
DOUCHE OF THE WEEK
Charlie Rangel (Democrat) New York – former chair of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. Now it is somewhat unfair to pick on a member of Congress from either party. I mean, come on. They don’t play by the same rules the rest of us play by. God forbid they actually follow the same rules, ethics, and personal responsibility the rest of us do. But Charlie Rangel has particularly irritated me this week. He FINALLY ‘temporarily’ stepped down as Chairman of the most powerful committee in the house The Ways and Means Committee. Rangel thinks this move is only temporary and that he is ‘innocent’. What is he ‘innocent’ of? Well he has been investigated for taking two trips to the Caribbean that violated House rules because they were corporately funded, failure to report rental income from a Dominican beach house, leasing three rent controlled apartments in New York in his district, his use of House parking facilities for long term personal storage, personal assets he failed to report on financial disclosure forms, and fundraising efforts for a City College of New York facility that bears his name. Now Charlie Rangel has been in Congress for a long time and has a long and distinguished career as a legislator. But are you really telling me you haven’t done ANYTHING wrong and you deserve to be the chair of the most powerful committee. I don’t believe you! Douche!
Well my dear and faithful readers since last we talked, I have gotten married in Ireland, had a wedding reception, completely moved into our new house, and seen my boss of over fifteen years resign and leave office on the day I get back from Ireland. Needless to say things have been a little crazy. That is an awful lot to digest in one month’s time. I am hoping that the next month will be slightly less busy. That being said, getting married in Ireland was unbelievable. At some point there will be pictures on here or FB. It was one of the few times that reality turned out to be much better than anything I could have imagined. My wife did such an incredible job in planning and making everything perfect. It has truly been magical.
RANT OF THE WEEK
I wanted to take note today that Iraq conducted parliament elections today. I do not know how they turned out, and frankly am not all that concerned about who wins or anything like that. What does concern me is this. At last count 38 Iraqis have died and over 80 have been wounded just so they could participate. And yet vote is exactly what Iraqi citizens have done. What will it take for Americans to take the right to vote that seriously? Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, big government, little government, EVERY person has a vested interest in what their elected officials are doing. Voting has never been easier or more convenient for the average citizen than it is now. What will it take for Americans to be engaged? Does anyone care?
SPORTS NEWS OF THE WEEK
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Wednesday night Sherron Collins played his last home game in Allen Fieldhouse for the Kansas University Jayhawks. Collins has been one of my favorite players since his arrival. To me, he is the perfect Bill Self player. He is tough. He doesn’t back down. And he WINS. He hasn’t been the prettiest, the easiest, or the most eloquent player. But he leaves Kansas as the winningest player EVER to have played. Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Lovellette, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich, and a thousand others have not won as many games in a Kansas uniform as Sherron Collins has. Think about that. And he isn’t done yet.
COOL PERSON OF THE WEEK
This is a tad late, but my cool person of the week is every Olympian who participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics. I think the Olympics are one of my favorite things to watch. It is moving to me watching people from different countries reach for their dreams. Whether it be Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ono, Joannie Rochette, Shaun White, Evan Lysaceck, Nodar Kumaritashvili, Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, Sven Kramer, Bill Demong, Ryan Miller or any member of a curling team (Why do I love curling so much?). The Olympians represent what you can do with perserverance, hard work, determination, and a little luck.
DOUCHE OF THE WEEK
Charlie Rangel (Democrat) New York – former chair of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. Now it is somewhat unfair to pick on a member of Congress from either party. I mean, come on. They don’t play by the same rules the rest of us play by. God forbid they actually follow the same rules, ethics, and personal responsibility the rest of us do. But Charlie Rangel has particularly irritated me this week. He FINALLY ‘temporarily’ stepped down as Chairman of the most powerful committee in the house The Ways and Means Committee. Rangel thinks this move is only temporary and that he is ‘innocent’. What is he ‘innocent’ of? Well he has been investigated for taking two trips to the Caribbean that violated House rules because they were corporately funded, failure to report rental income from a Dominican beach house, leasing three rent controlled apartments in New York in his district, his use of House parking facilities for long term personal storage, personal assets he failed to report on financial disclosure forms, and fundraising efforts for a City College of New York facility that bears his name. Now Charlie Rangel has been in Congress for a long time and has a long and distinguished career as a legislator. But are you really telling me you haven’t done ANYTHING wrong and you deserve to be the chair of the most powerful committee. I don’t believe you! Douche!
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