We're All Little People Now

As I've thought about the political landscape and my previous writing on sports, I now wonder if we're all "little people" now. You know, the little people who just aren't important.

Consider that politicians don't return phone calls or answer questions. They vote on bills they don't read and even when constituents raise objections, they vote what they think benefits them within the realm of the political elite. Consider that professional football teams (and probably other sports teams as well) pull top athletes from play long before they've secured a win (even to the extent they're willing to lose), just to avoid what "might" happen.

Sports teams aren't concerned about the paying customer. Politicians aren't interested in doing what's right for the people, their state or the country.

I have heard people say they don't voice their opinion because they don't think it'll make a difference. Thank God the people who fought for our independence more than 235 years ago didn't think that way.

Sports Thoughts

Over the Christmas weekend some interesting things happened regarding college and NFL football. Coach Urban Meyer (Florida Gators) quit, then changed his mind and decided to take an indefinite leave of absence, and the undefeated Indianapolis Colts decided to pull most of their marquee starting players (including QB Peyton Manning) and proceeded to lose the game. Both of these occurrences got me thinking about the priorities in sports.

In the case of the Indianapolis Colts, the talking heads on TV were debating whether the team (who didn't need another win to go to the playoffs) should be focused on continuing toward an undefeated season or taking out the starters to prevent possible injury. One of the commentators actually said that the team has an obligation to win a Superbowl (thinking "big picture"). Pardon me, but shouldn't the priority be to win the game that the tens of thousands of fans in the stands paid to see?

In the case of the Urban Meyer situation at Florida, speculation was all over the place and much of it focused on fatigue or stress from a workaholic style. If it is truly a health issue, I understand, but don't cry the blues to me about how stressful it is to manage a football program that pays millions of dollars.

This also comes after the Head Football coach of the University of Cincinnati left the team after the end of the regular season, but before the team's bowl game, so he could take a position as head coach of Notre Dame. Shouldn't he have stayed for the players that helped elevate his career?

It should now be clear to everyone that when it comes to sports, the paying customer is the least important factor. When it comes to college sports, the kids no longer come first.

Do They Really Care About Us?

I have recently heard friends and acquaintances mention that politicians are honest, hard-working people who somehow change once they get elected. While I respect these opinions, I find them hard to accept.

I know the problems we face didn't start within the last year. I also know it is unrealistic to expect the current president to solve all problems in less than a year. What I think IS reasonable, is to expect that the elected representatives and our president be honest. The president told us when he campaigned, that all legislation should be available to the public (via the internet, I think) for at least 72 hours before congress votes on it. Yet every piece of major legislation since his inauguration has been so important and necessary that we're told it MUST be passed immediately with NO discussion. In some cases, the legislators haven't even read the bills they are voting on.

What happened to all the "shovel-ready" projects that required the passage of the stimulus package earlier this year? Funny how they didn't materialize. Now they've passed another "stimulus" package.

I think there is enough evidence now, to make it obvious that many of our elected "leaders" are pathological liars and only care to further their own agenda. Consider that when the U.S. Constitution was written, those men committed their lives and their fortunes. Today our elected representatives not only don't pledge their fortunes, they pass laws to increase their own fortunes at the expense of your mere pittance of a paycheck.

More Stimulus?

Have we become such a stupid society that we really believe anything our elected politicians tell us?

We now have the President of the United States telling us that a bunch of bank bailout money that was not used, can now be put to work to stimulate the economy by providing incentives to employers to hire people. Mr. President, wasn't that what the $787billion "stimulus" package was supposed to do? And wasn't that passed (and signed by you) earlier this year?

Are the American people so stupid as to believe that if you provide a tax incentive, employers will just go out and hire people? Wouldn't employers want to see a NEED for employees before hiring, regardless of the incentive offered? In other words, people gotta be buying stuff which requires employers to make more stuff and need more employees to make the stuff. Duh! And I've never even seen Harvard.

Bus Employees' Union Wants to Strike

Well, well, well. Happy Holidays from the operators of the Pensacola area bus workers, and give us a 4.5% raise or we go on strike. Huh? Economy? We don't care about no stinkin' economy! We have a contract that says we'd get 4% pay raise last year and 4.5% this year. Give it up or we're outa here.

Okay, so whomever (on the corporate side) negotiated a guaranteed 8.5% pay raise over two years didn't exactly have their future-predicting-hat on that day. But seriously folks, These people pay bus washers $10+ per hour to start (no experience necessary). We are now supposed to feel sorry for them?

My question is; why wouldn't a negotiator make sure there was a clause in the contract to prevent them from having to pay the raise if the revenue isn't there to support it? I am not a lawyer, nor a state approved arbitrator. Oh, and our county leaders actually wanted us to consider adding a gasoline tax to support the financially ailing Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT).

I'm all for helping people out who have no other means of transportation, but when you pay the lowest position $3.25 above minimum wage you get no sympathy from an employer who has trouble getting people to drag their butts out of bed for $8 per hour.

Let's Give 'em A Fair Trial

So we're gonna bring the GTMO detainees to New York for trial. Another brilliant move by our government. Okay, let's review some details;

1. Khalid Sheik Mohammad confessed to planning the attack on 9/11/01. What's that you say? It was under duress and we "waterboarded" him? Hmm. He hasn't since denied it has he?

2. Let's try to find a jury of his peers. Oh, that'll be fun. Do ya think his peers will convict him?

3. Let's just say for the sake of argument, he is found not guilty. Then what? You say there are other charges? What can be more heinous than masterminding the attack on innocent civilians that causes 3,000 deaths and numerous more injuries?

4. How much of your hard-earned tax dollars are going to be wasted on a prosecution and defense that is unnecessary?

We are under attack from enemies both foreign and domestic. While I know I risk sounding like some lunatic living in seclusion, it is true. Growing up in the sixties and seventies I would have never believed it if someone had told me things happening today would be my future.

Did you grow up believing that people from other countries could come and bomb us and instead of ripping their heads off, we'd give them a trial in the U.S. Court system? Were you taught in Social Studies that foreign combatants had the right to a fair and speedy trial?

Speak out, stand up and be proud! We must take America back!

The Wonder of a Child

The next time you see a child, watch their movements. See how they look at the world. Isn't it amazing the things they see and find interesting? Wouldn't it be nice to keep that same sense of wonder as we grow through the years? Just a thought.

Brilliant Statement

Today I heard the President say that given the current economic climate, employers are "reluctant to hire." This is part of the reason he is having a "jobs summit" in December. The supposed goal is to see what private industry and government can do together to "get people back to work."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!! Employers aren't reluctant to hire, they're unable to hire. The work isn't there because people aren't buying goods and services. There are some basic things that would work immediately; like less taxes on businesses and less government regulation. You could immediately call on congress to pass the Fair Tax (it is an already researched, written and proposed bill). Then get government out of the way and watch the economy grow.

God save us from the morons that are running (and ruining) this country.

Healthcare Questions

Well, the brilliant minds in Washington, DC have passed a healthcare bill to send onto the Senate. So, we're supposed to suddenly realize that the politicians are smarter than so many of us that question the constitutionality of what is being done.

Okay, did you know that the taxes to pay for the new program will start next year, but the benefits won't start until 2013? Makes sense that they'll start collecting the money to pay for the program ahead of time and thus (supposedly) keep the program from being underfunded. Only one question; where will all that money be housed? Think about this folks; the government that supposedly was putting our social security deposits into a "lockbox" or "trust fund" and then raided it and put those funds into the General Fund, is now telling us to trust them. Yeah, right.

Here's another question; if you don't buy health insurance and the government fines you (as they are proposing) is the fine used to provide you with health insurance or will you be required to purchase insurance in addition to paying the fine?

When being questioned on the legitimacy of a fine for not buying health insurance Mr. President keeps saying that it is similar to the requirement for auto insurance. One problem with this philosophy is that we don't buy car insurance for routine maintenance, yet that is exactly why we buy health insurance. If we were to follow Mr. President's auto insurance analogy, we would allow health clinics to compete similar to oil change shops, relatively free from so much government intrusion and legal malpractice lawsuits (God forbid).

Please call your Senator and ask them where the money will be housed? Can they guarantee the "trust fund" won't be raided by congress? Where in the U.S. Constitution does it state that the government shall impose fines and penalties on the people who choose not to carry health insurance?

Don't be surprised at the instant silence.

Are Taxes Fair?

The single biggest thing our federal government could to improve the U.S. economy is the one thing they won't do; pass the Fair Tax. If you are unfamiliar with this plan, you really should read the two books on it.

This plan would encourage companies to locate here instead of abroad, by eliminating many of the deterrents (taxes) businesses currently have to pay. This would create jobs.

Let's face it, life is not fair and so we often don't care if the taxes unfairly take from those more fortunate than ourselves. But do you ever notice that the truly wealthy, those who seem to do okay no matter what the economic situation for the rest of us, never seem to be hurting all that bad? That's because we keep getting told that those EARNING really high salaries need to pay more taxes. The people who never seem to hurt are the ones who have so much money that they don't rely on earnings. They rely on investments, dividends or trust accounts, sources of income that do not rely on them trading their time for money. Most of us don't have that luxury.

I don't care if you are earning $25,000 or $250,000 per year, you earned that money. Our government should have no more right to a higher percentage just because you earned more. Think about it; if both of the above incomes paid 15% in income taxes, the lower salary would pay $3,750 and the higher would pay $37,500. Why should we tell the person already paying higher taxes that they need to pay even more?

If you notice, the federal government is the entity that never seems to do with less. They tell us they are, but they don't. They just borrow more or print more money.

I strongly encourage you to read the Fair Tax book and then contact your senators and congressmen, encouraging them to get onboard with this plan.

Right, Left or Wrong

I hear much of the bantering back and forth about Republican vs. Democrat, right vs. left, liberal vs. conservative and never hear many people from what I would call the middle. Here's where I stand on a few of the biggies;

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - I believe the lack of personal responsibility is more damaging to the United States than any other one thing.

GUN CONTROL - I believe in the constitutional right to bear arms, but I don't believe every person out there should be carrying the most advanced automatic weapons.

ABORTION - I would never want my family or friends to have an abortion, but I don't think it is my place to decide that for another person. I just don't want my tax dollars paying for it. I am absolutely disgusted with the "right-to-lifers" who stand on the public street with a 3'x4' poster of a dead fetus. Which leads us to...

FREE SPEECH - I'm all for it, but it doesn't mean anyone has to listen. Therefore, if you are an idiot don't be surprised if no one listens and don't try to legislate the requirement for others to do so.

GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE - There are arguments on both sides of this from qualified scientists. Many years ago there were reports of a global cooling. The hysteria created by the politicians and news media is self-serving.

HEALTH CARE REFORM - There is no constitutional foundation for the government to get into this. 60 Minutes recently did a story on the BILLIONS of dollars in Medicare fraud. If our government can't get a hold on that, how will they manage a bigger program?

China vs. Unites States

Having spent two weeks in China recently I found some things profoundly different than I expected. Our two weeks were spent in Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou.

If you expect China to have lots of people wearing uniforms, riding bicycles and no cars, you would be disappointed. There are an increasing number of cars (especially Buicks), lots of motorized scooters and buses. You might also be surprised to see the large numbers of people riding their scooters with no helmets, many without working lights and forget the child safety seat, little kids are tied onto the back in a milk crate and sometimes asleep. Imagine the scene of an entire family of four riding through the busy intersection on one scooter and none wearing a helmet. Here in America we're worried that two tie-downs on the child safety seat aren't enough.

China didn't seem to have the great abundance of refrigeration that we enjoy here in America either. Therefore, many foods were delivered fresh to the store each day. I don't know that this made them any better, just an observation. It was also very common to see fancy new highrises where the clothes were hung on the balcony to dry. Don't try that here, lest the condo association have you hung from the balcony. The amount of western architecture starting to pop up there was a big surprise; whole condo communities that looked like they could have been in any U.S. city on a river.

Just as anywhere else in the world, there were trashy places and pristine ones.

While there is a great deal of polution in China, I couldn't help but wonder if China were becoming more like America used to be and America more like China used to be. Consider that we have so many government regulations and impositions that we're afraid to punish our children for fear that some do-gooder will take them away. We don't take responsibility for our actions; any accident must have a responsible party (other than ourselves) and we certainly don't want to manufacture anything in America; the only jobs worthy of our time must be high paying and not require us to break a sweat. Even if we were willing to manufacture a product here, the government dissuades businesses from operating here.

Do NOT misunderstand me, I love America and believe we are the greatest nation on earth. We feed more people, protect and defend more people and rescue more populations than any other country on the planet. I just believe the time has come for us to resume our greatness.

This blog may take a while to get running smoothly, but please be patient as I'm new to this.

I work a full-time job running my own small business and have a family. If you are anything like me, you are fed up with much of what we hear everyday and wonder what has happened to our country, our families and our time. Remember how computers would make our lives simpler? Remember how we were moving to a paperless society?

I will do my best to bring some simple and very obvious things to this blog that seem to get overlooked in the day-to-day rat race.

I hope you'll enjoy this and provide feedback when you are so moved.

Have a great day!