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Bob Costas, Half Time Preaching Segments, and the Narrative

Not too long ago, Kansas City Chiefs Player, Javon Belcher, shot his girlfriend, and then drove to the Chiefs practice facility and shot himself.  It was a breathtaking tragedy.  A 22 year-old woman was shot.  An amazing athlete is dead.  Everyone expected this would be discussed, at length during football Sunday and even Monday.   What I didn't expect is that Bob Costas would use half time to expound upon the evils of guns, and use a pretty lame anti-gun column by Jason Whitlock to do it. First, Mr. Whitlock is a sports writer.  He should stick to that.  Am I being unfair?  Maybe.  But one look at Keith Olbermann explains to you why sports guys should stick to sports.  Mr. Whitlock's column was hilarious, except it was also sad.  He believes that Kasandra Perkins and Javon Belcher would still be alive if we didn't have a gun culture.  He's welcome to believe what he wants, but his assertion fails the smell test when we simply look at O.J. Simpson.  No gun involv

Too Late

Today, I've become pretty good at pissing off people who would normally agree with me.  Maybe I should explain. I've seen a lot of people, in the last 2 weeks, post things across social media starting with this phrase, "I kept my mouth shut during the election, but....", and then they proceed to speak out about some thing they suddenly realize is bad. Unemployment?  Bad before the election Food Stamp and Welfare increased participation? Bad before the election Benghazi?  Bad before the election. The current healthcare bill requiring religious people to do things against their belief?  That was bad and happening before the election. Truth?  Speaking about it now is too little too late.  Now?  You are much less likely to change it.  Maybe 3 weeks ago, you could have helped change someone's mind. Now?  You are complaining and protesting, but for the next 2 years there is precious little anyone can really do. So many people think there is something wrong wi

Now I Get to Make Everyone Mad

Really, this is where I excel.  I generally don't made just one side mad, I get to both. I've come to the conclusion in the last few weeks, that I'm a libertarian.  I really am of the mindset that the government should get out of my life and stay out of my life.  I believe our country was founded on strong state power and limited federal government power.  That philosophy got me thinking. Are Republicans, in general, any different from Democrats?  Yes, they are.  In some respects they are.  However, most Republicans pay lip service to we the people.  Let's face it.  Nothing in the last twelve years proves that, if given true power, the Republicans wouldn't spend money just like Democrats.  They'd just spend it on different things.  They might not legislate healthcare or carbon taxes, but they darn well would try to legislate abortion and marriage.  I began to wonder if it's really just that some Americans don't want smaller government, but government

Get Over It

So this is what we've come to.  If I post anything marginally political, I'm going to be told "he won, get over it". My candidate of choice lost the election.  It crossed my mind to post all kinds of things to my facebook page.  For instance "Please don't come complain to me when your taxes go up, you can't pay back your student loans, and you can't find a job".  Considering a full 50% of recent college graduates can't find a good paying job, or even a job at all, that's a distinct possibility.  But I didn't say it, because it would have been sour grapes. I was treated to a multitude of posts from my President Obama supporting friends.  Some of them were just rejoicing.  Some of them were downright rude.  The posts have continued.  They just can't get enough of rubbing the other sides faces it in.  I let them have their moment.   Pointing out that they sound like our local high school teenage girls after this year's Powder

Questions

I have a few questions.  I realize that some people will read this blog and freak out on me, but honestly, I just want to know what the thought process is. Yesterday the country re-elected Barack Obama to the Presidency.   To all Black Americans: Why do you consistently vote for a party that has spent more than 30 years telling you that you aren't smart enough, ambitious enough, or good enough to accomplish anything on your own?  They constantly tell you that without their help, you can't achieve your dreams.   In essence the Democrats have told Black Americans that you need them and their promises and their legislation in order to have any chance in this society.  Do you not find that demeaning? It's been said, that upon signing the Civil Rights Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson said "we'll have them n****** voting democrat for 40 years." He was right.  But by God, just that sentence leaves me shaking my head.  In my world, the color of your skin doesn

It's time to get a new media....

A few weeks ago, something terrible happened to our country.  It didn't happen here, and maybe that's why there aren't as many outraged people as there should be.  On September 11, 2012, a group of people stormed the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  They are killed our ambassador, Chris Stevens, and 3 others.  They paraded his body through the streets and took pictures.  Some people have alleged he was raped.   The day after the attacks, White House Spokesman, Jay Carney, told reporters it was a spontaneous attack, related to a 14 minute movie clip on youtube.  It was not organized.  It had nothing to do with our current middle east policy.  (Please forget if you somehow managed to see the videos of Egyptians, who stormed our embassy there, shouting "Obama, Obama we are all Osama".  Move along.) 5 days after the attack, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, appeared on all 5 major Sunday news shows to reiterate this fact.  Totally spontaneous, no p

Dear Mr. President:

Why do I feel like I was just treated to a rerun of 2008?  Why do I feel like I've heard this all before?  Why do I feel like I just heard 38 minutes of empty promises?  Dear Mr. President, why do I have such a problem with you? I'm no policy wonk, but I do pay attention. You did say "you didn't build that", and if you were referring to roads and bridges, I ask, where exactly did government get the money to pay for those things?  I think it might have been from the same people you accused of not building that.... You did say, "The private sector is doing fine".  You did say that it was the public sector...state and local government workers were the issue.  The thing is Mr. President, public sector employment is the same as it was 6 years ago.  Private sector employment is negative 3 million jobs. You told reporters that the reason you couldn't forge relationships with the other party is because you wanted to spend time with your family.  Mr.

Here We Go Again

So I watched Chris Matthews turn into a foaming-at-the-mouth, rabid dog, screaming racism, because Republicans have referred to President Obama as the "Food Stamp President".  And because Republicans have mentioned that maybe, President Obama has weakened the bi-partisan victory of welfare reform.  I'm still scratching my head. I don't understand how you accuse someone of racism, when they never injected race.  It wasn't Republicans who said "they're gonna put y'all back in chains".  They stated a fact.  Under this President more people are on food stamps than have ever been on food stamps in the history of the country.  He is, by all facts, the Food Stamp President.  What does that have to do with race? The only answer I can come up with, is that Chris Matthews believes that most of the food stamp recipients are.... black.  This isn't something the Republicans have said.  It's not something that President has said.  it's somethin

Fed Up

I saw a picture this morning on my facebook that put me over the edge.  It compared defense spending to universal healthcare.  It actually implied that funding our military is a form of imperialistic militarism, but that universal healthcare was not the government taking over our lives. The two are not comparable.  Funding the military is one of the very few things the constitution gives the federal government the right to do.  You know, as opposed to education, arts, green energy, etc etc etc.  The comments made me even more angry.  A lot of conservatives actually support cuts to defense spending, since the government is known for unnecessary spending in EVERY aspect of the budget.  I have no problem with cutting defense spending.  I do have a problem when those cuts come to the benefits of the men and women who risk their lives so people can make dumb comments on a facebook picture. Telling me I have to purchase insurance, and that it has to conform to the standards set out by

In Which I Am Informed I Am Probably A Bigot

I'm so tired of that word.  It's become a catch all word to describe anyone who doesn't agree with a certain viewpoint.  But it's even better when someone assumes that because you eat a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A you are probably a bigot.   Dare to criticize the President of the United States?  Bigot.   Dare to stand up for your value system?  Bigot. Dare to actually believe in something that disagrees with the left?  Bigot. The word begins to lose meaning the more we use it.  You know it's true.  We've been saying it about love for years.  The charge of racism and bigotry is tossed out so frequently, that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to take it seriously.   I never imagined after this country elected a black man to the highest office, that any disagreement with him would mean we must all be closet racists.  That's what our society is being turned into.  And people are less careful every day about who they attach the term &q

No, I'm Sorry, We Didn't Lose

Someone asked the owner of a business what his stance was on Gay Marriage.    The owner of this restaurant is clearly an Evangelical Christian and everyone knows it.  He answered the question.  All hell broke loose.  Mayors in certain cities across the country, threatened to deny this business permits to build new branches, because he was asked and answered a question.  He didn't bring it up, he only answered, honestly.   A News Talk Show host suggested a "Support this business" day.  That day was Wednesday, August 1. By now, I'm sure you know I'm talking about Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A, and the Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.  I went to Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday.  I posted a facebook status.  Yesterday, a friend wrote a post that made me delete him on facebook because it was so highly offensive.  He told us that whether we supported or protested we all lost.  Why?  Because in the time we were protesting or supporting we could have been doing something better with o

The Coverup or the Crime?

In what Attorney General Eric Holder called the possibility of a "constitutional crisis", the House or Representatives Government Oversight Committee ruled that the Attorney General was in Contempt of Congress.  They claim he failed to provide documents they issued a subpoena to obtain.  After 7 months of back and forth over this, President Obama claimed Executive Privilege over those documents.   Mostly, the media has either failed to mention this at all, or if they have mentioned it, it's been to mention it's an entirely partisan issue.  Some talking heads, like Al Sharpton, believe it's proof of racism against Eric Holder. This is what I know, from what little reporting has been done. (And that by the alternative media.) Operation Fast and Furious was designed to allow guns to be bought by Mexican Drug Cartels.  Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is dead.  300 Mexican citizens are dead.  And, unless I'm missing some vital piece of information, I'm no

Real Feminism?

What is real feminism?  I've been pondering this question since I read an article by Elizabeth Wurtzel, best known as the author of Prozac Nation .  The original feminists were the women who campaigned for suffrage, that is, the woman's right to vote.  They campaigned on women having equal status as citizens of the United States.  Equal status.  As women began to leave home and join the workforce, it became necessary for them to campaign for equal pay.   I believe women can do anything they put their minds to.  I believe they should be paid the same as their male counterparts.  But more, I believe that women should be treated as equals, with ability to make their own choices in life, and be respected for those choices. Ms. Wurtzel doesn't feel the same way.  You see, she just wrote an article telling people that being a stay at home mother is not a job.  She inferred that women who stay at home are dumb, and if they aren't, then she believes they should get off thei

Healthcare anyone?

Rather than bloviate I'm just going to give you a few statistics about healthcare in countries that provide universal healthcare. We'll start in the U.S in the great state of Mass. After implementing their statewide Universal care, emergency visits rose by 7% and costs by 18% France:  The workers pay 19% in taxes for their "universal" healthcare, and yet 90% choose to pay extra for supplemental private insurance.   Italy: The average wait time for a mammogram?  70 days. Uk: Wait times in emergency rooms?  4 hours.  Wait times in the ambulance?  Up to 5 hours.  Total time?  9 hours. Some hospitals encouraging "turning over bed sheets" to save money. Half of the dentists in the UK will not accept people on the government health program. Wait time for surgery?  Six months. NICE gets to decide if your life is worth living.  For instance, the cancer drug, Tykerb, which delays the progression of breast cancer is deemed "too expensive".  Aro

We Have A Revenue Problem

Or so we keep hearing.  Even people who have never commented politically, are appearing on my facebook timeline, telling me the country doesn't have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem. So, do we really have a revenue problem? My argument is no, we don't.  John F. Kennedy cut taxes.  Revenue increased.  Ronald Reagan cut taxes, Revenue Increased.  George W. Bush cut taxes, revenue increased.  Don't believe me?  Instead of just listening to the hype on the news, go look.  The numbers are available.  Do some research.  It's there to see.  Why is this the case?  Because when you tax corporations and rich people, they can afford fancy lawyers who can find every loophole necessary to protect their money.  So they pay less taxes.  Of course Warren Buffet doesn't mind if taxes are raised for rich people, because he knows he can afford 40 tax lawyers that will make sure he never has be pay an extra cent.  He knows that by peddling class warfare, he can help som

The Results of Affirmative Action

There are posts all over the internet about Elizabeth Warren and her claim to Cherokee heritage.  I hear a lot of talk about how she lied, and how that lie may end up costing her an election.  It may, it may not.  Politicians lie, everyone knows it, and they still elect them. What I don't hear people talking about, is why someone would falsify a claim to minority status. I have your answer, and I'm very surprised more people aren't talking about it.  The Answer: Affirmative Action (no no, it's not 42). Affirmative Action may have had it's place, but the only thing it does now is single out certain races/genders/religions, and hands them special benefits.  Not the same benefits, special benefits.  All while assuring these Affirmative Action candidates that, without this policy, they couldn't possibly be on an equal playing field.  Maybe the left is right.  Maybe racism IS alive and well, and it's best representation is Affirmative Action.  Why would Ms. Warre

Tolerance Anyone?

Tolerance (n):  a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race , religion , nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry. That's a dictionary definition of the word. Fair, Objective, Permissive attitude.  What is missing from that definition is the word: acceptance.   Acceptance (n): favorable reception; approval; favor When you look up those two words in the thesaurus, they are not synonomous. For those who need a small grammar lesson, synonyms are words that mean the same thing.  Tolerance is not equal to acceptance. Why the small lesson in the English Language?  It's important to understand that over the course of time, our news media, our politicians and our activists have changed the meaning of the word tolerance.  To them, tolerance means acceptance.  Tolerance means we don't only have to allow people to live the way we choose, we have to tell them it's fine