Dec. 30, 2010 - Loser of the Week - Bill Richardson

This week's Loser of the Week is Bill Richardson.

Richardson was actually deliberating if he should grant a pardon to Billy The Kid.

In front of a national audience on ABC's "Good Morning America," the Democratic governor, on his last day in office, said that the legendary outlaw would not be posthumously pardoned. He said he had thought about it for the last 8 years.

REALLY?

No concerns about Illegal Immigration, not a thought about trade, never focusing more on your sexual assault charges?

Richardson is not alone. The outgoing Florida Governor just pardoned the deceased Jim Morrison on public indecency charges from 1969.

I'm stunned beyond belief that today's politicians have a deaf ear to the REAL issues: unemployment, taxes, infrastructure

Barrack Obama, for all his failings, got this one right when he threw Richardson under the bus.





Bill Richardson, you are my LOSER OF THE WEEK.




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Dec. 27, 2010 - PPM -NCAA (in-)Justice

This week's Pet Peeve Monday (PPM) is the NCAA.

Last week the NCAA suspended five Ohio State University for selling their own stuff in order to pay their bills.

IT WAS THEIR STUFF.

They were given the trophies and awards for their performance on the field.

How can Cam Newton's Dad basically pimp out his son for $185K and there is no punishment?

So if Terrell Pryor's Dad had sold his son's stuff, it would have been OK?

At what point does their stuff, become their stuff? Because if isn't their stuff then don't give it to them until IT IS THEIR STUFF!

This is the reason I didn't play college football. OK, that and a lack of talent.

In addition to the 5 game suspension, the players have to pay back the $1000 or $2000. Wait a minute, they sold THEIR STUFF because they needed money for food, rent, clothes, and yes, tatoo's. Now they must find a way to make more money, without selling any of THEIR STUFF in order to pay the NCAA.

This is the same NCAA that makes millions off of the games these players play in, and millions off of the licensing fees for games for XBOX and other video game.

Sounds fair.


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Dec. 25, 2010 - Ghost of Christmas Past

Merry Christmas!

In 1985, I played Santa to some folks at an independent living facility in my hometown.

The residents eyes lit up like children as everyone got a present. I only wish that every senior citizen hadn't sat on my lap that day.


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Dec. 20, 2010 – PPM – Phones on the Beach – Really?

This week's PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is a left over from last summer.

We decided to take a relaxing trip to the East Coast. Every day was spent on the beach, relaxing, reading book, playing with the kids, or just watching them play in the surf.

However, one PEEVE was when someone would come up, prop themselves in the middle of your sight line of the beach AND your kids, and then take out their cell phone.Sure, I've had problems in the past with cell phone use in stores, restaurants, and in the car.
But COME ON PEOPLE!!!!

I've now trained my kids to identify rudeness and point it out.

You are on the beach, let it go.

The conversation goes on and on. I know this because they always talk extremely loud.

"Yeah I'm here on the beach, it's so peaceful and nice. Yousa should come here."

There is no limit to the level of rudeness that people display. You want to say something but it is just easier to send your kids their way with a frisbee or a ball. I only wish I still had my lawn jarts.

Dec. 16, 2010 - Today's Music

This is what happens to your kids when you leave them alone for 2 hours with their IPods and a $25 Itunes gift card.

Who are M&M and Husher anyway?




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Dec. 13, 2010 - PPM - Buyer's Discourse

This week's PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is about the state of our nation's finances.

You can't read a daily paper without hearing about budget shortfalls.

The City of Cincinnati has a projected $60 Million budget shortage in 2011.

Hamilton County is also projecting a record shortfall next year.

The state of Ohio has to find $8 Billion somewhere.

I won't even get into the federal disaster.

I have accounting and finance degrees, but it really isn't that hard to figure out.

You have X in revenues, then you can only spend X in expenses. If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

Every government, business, and individual should have a BALANCED BUDGET.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

If you a government, you must find a way to deliver only those services that you can pay for.

The pending deal between Obama and Congress is an egregious example of government gone wrong.

Taxes/ Revenues will remain flat, yet spending will increase. How is that possible?

It doesn't take a Nobel laureate economist to tell you that if you extend unemployment benefits for another 13 months, that people will not be searching for jobs in January. Unemployment will remain above 9.5% for the foreseeable future.

Credit cards give people the wrong sense of entitlement. They buy today what they want, but can not necessarily afford or need. Our governments have adopted the same mentality.

Credit cards should be eliminated and you should only be able to use debit cards that are backed with hard cash.

Of course, I would make an exception for home mortgages. However, there used be a thing called PMI that would penalize you if you didn't put down 20% for your house. During the mortgage crisis disaster that preceded and caused this recession, people were able to borrow 110% value of their house.

WHY and WTF?

These home buyers(?) were under water from day 1.

The foreclosure tsunami was predicated on bad loans, with poor decisions by lenders and buyers alike.

Home ownership may be a dream, but it is not a right.

Bottom line: If you can't afford it, don't buy it.



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Dec. 6, 2010 – PPM – Arctic National Park

This week's PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is about the coming debate about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

President Obama is being urged to bestow national monument status on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for its 50th anniversary in what some say would finally put the refuge's coastal plain beyond the reach of oil companies.

National monument status could put an estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil beyond the grasp of oil companies forever.

Here's my PEEVE. If we are not going to extract the oil, let's sell the property. I'm sure the Russians, the Chinese, or even the Arabs would like to buy this oil-rich area.

Whenever a company is in debt, they sell assets to retire that debt. Sometimes they sell plants, they sell product lines, or they sell property or property rights. Microsoft was based on a PURCHASED intellectual property from another company. Bill Gates did not invent DOS, he bought it.

The United States is in a HUGE DEBT HOLE. The hole is probably deeper than most oil wells.

We don't have to sell ALL of Alaska, just the part where NO ONE lives, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

For thirty years people have been debating the issue. People were saying in 1996 that any drilling in the ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Preserve) area would be pointless because it would take 10 years before we would have any additional domestic oil production. Well it is now 14 years later and we are in a worse position due to increased demand and reduced supply.

It's time to disband the Department of Energy (DOE). It was formed in 1977 under President Carter as a response to the OPEC oil prices. The DOW budget in 2009 was $36 Billion. Gas is over $3 a gallon in most places. The DOE was supposed to find alternative fuel sources. How is that going?

How about we disband the DOE and save $30+ Billion? This deficit reduction isn't so hard when you use COMMON SENSE.

Next. What is the annual budget for the NEA?

Dec. 5, 2010 - Another Anniversary

Today marks my 18th wedding anniversary.

When I asked Heidi about what was the secret to the longevity of our relationship when so many others fail. She replied, “Low Expectations.”

In all seriousness, she has been a great partner, wife, and mother.

Someone once asked me what it was like to be married to the perfect spouse. I replied, “I don’t know, ask my wife.”

Here we are at our sunny, outdoor, Sacramento wedding, December 5, 1992.



Today it is 25 degrees, there is snow on the ground, we live in Ohio, and I wouldn't change a thing.


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Dec. 4, 2010 – Loser of the Week – Julian Assange

This week's Loser of the Week is Julian Assange. I'm not sure which is worse: a terrorist or a rapist. Looks like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has both bases covered.

Actually the REAL LOSER is probably the US State Department.

Assange released many sensitive and "Top Secret" documents through his Wikileaks web site. The Obama Administration says it can't be treason since he isn't an American. He is actually Australian.

But the plot also is thickening around Mr. Assange. He is currently wanted on rape charges in Sweden. He appears to be a man without a country, although Ecuador has offered him "safe haven." Personally, jail in a civilized country would probably beat Ecuador.

Assange has done nothing but put American lives in jeopardy, encourage terrorism, and disrupt possible diplomatic solutions.

In the old days, this release of secret, proprietary documents would not have happened. I'm reminded of some funny lines from the movie, "Dave."

Bob Alexander: I'm going to kill him.
Alan Reed: You can't kill a President.
Bob Alexander: He's not a President. He's an ordinary person. I can kill an ordinary person.
Alan Reed: Bob!
Bob Alexander: I can kill a hundred ordinary people!

The point is that the CIA (of old) would have booked Mr. Assange for on a one way ticket.

It was only 4 years ago that Russia took out Alexander Litvinenko on Britain soil. I wonder what would happen if Assange went after Putin?

Ironically, Assange looks a lot like another anti-American loser Bill Maher.Maybe there will be a case of mistaken identity, or maybe not.

Dec. 3, 2010 - Friday Funny - Glenn Beck is Right!!!

This week's FRIDAY FUNNY was what I saw while driving around Cincinnati. This guy didn't bother with a bumper sticker. he just wrote it on his back window.

Appropriately, the van WAS driving in the FAR RIGHT lane.