Play With Fire And You Get Burned! Play With Bull And Well That’s Another Story!

I particularly enjoy the idiot towards the end who decides to try to remove the bull by pulling on his tail.  Looks like no one got seriously hurt, but leaving aside the issue of how cruel the “sport” of bullfighting is, at the very least, the tail puller deserved whatever he got!

Good for you, bull!

Damn You, Geno Auriemma! My Terrifying Commute From Hell!

This morning I left for work never realizing I’d soon be in hell….

For ten minutes straight the two sports talk stations in town (ESPN & The Fan) were talking Connecticut woman’s basketball at exactly the same time.  Seriously ten minutes.  How is that even possible?  And it was timed perfectly so I was stuck in traffic to boot.

Damn you, Geno Auriemma!

There’s only so much time in my life and I already spend too much of it on sports.  There’s no way I’m getting interested in women’s college basketball.

There are two exceptions to this.  Either, A, my daughter will go on to play college basketball, in which case I will become the game’s biggest fan.  (PS – I see her as a heady point guard, tougher than she looks, usually more concerned about getting her teammates involved, but not afraid to take the big shot)

Or, B, I’m offered a head coaching job at a division one woman’s basketball program.  Two words on that.  Not. Likely.

Hey Idiot Democrats! Don’t Let Abortion Kill Health Care For All!

I believe that abortion should be legal.  I also believe everyone should have access to decent health care.   But now, there are some abortion rights supporters in the House of Representatives who are willing to see health care reform go down the tubes if the reform legislation bans federal dollars from paying for abortions.  Not making it illegal just not paying for it, mind you.

These are people who are willing to keep 30 or so million people shut out of access to healthcare unless it covers abortions.

Is abortion really the issue to get stuck on?

As I said, I believe in the right of a woman to abort her pregnancy and don’t want to see women have to resort to back alley abortionists.  But, honestly why should 30 million people suffer if the federal government isn’t willing to cover what was ultimately a personal mistake made by two people that they after the fact want to undo.

I’m not judging here.  Mistakes happen.  I get it and I’m no saint.  But, for the 30 million not covered by health insurance right now, the mistake isn’t theirs so much as a function of our broken health care system and values.

What we’ve lost both between our two major parties and EVEN WORSE within each party itself, is the art of compromise.  This will never be a perfect bill.  No one is going to be 100% happy with it.  That’s just the fact if it stands any chance of being passed.

So, for the idiot House Democrats threatening to vote no over abortion coverage I suggest this or a lobotomy. 

Why not pass the bill which benefits all of us ultimately by giving 30 million access and getting rid of pre-existing condition bans now and continue the debate of abortion coverage after health care reform is enacted? 

After all, something is better than nothing here and it’s always easier to tweak something once it’s law than starting all over.  Anyone for another year of health care debate?  Nah?  Didn’t think so.

A lot of Democrats are nervous about their election prospects in November should health care reform become law.  The political truth is that it’s a lot easier to go before the voters as a winner versus a “politician who tried to engineer a government takeover of healthcare but lost“, which will be the Republican spin.

If on the other hand Democrats go to the polls as winners in the health care battle, the Republicans will have to take a moment to explain how they fought against eliminating pre-existing condition bans.   Good luck on that one, GOP!

When Barak Obama was elected he talked a lot about bringing people together.   We assumed he was talking about Democrats & Republicans. 

The reality now is that he must unite Democrats.  He must turn them into winner even if the victory isn’t perfect.  And even the ones who are idiots and are willing to squander the opportunity to achieve something of historic benefit in the name of a objections based on a narrow interest group.

Let common sense  and compromise prevail!

How To Become Parent Of The Year In 5 Easy Steps! (Must read if you love your children!!)

This is a true story.   Welcome concerned parents.

Here’s how you become a parent of the year candidate.

1 – Rob a convenience story with your husband, wife, partner, etc

2 – Keeping ever mindful of the learning opportunities of a “bring your son or daughter to work day”.  Bring your child with you.

3 – Make a clean get away.

4 – Take a moment to celebrate with aforementioned son or daughter along with spouse

5 – Come to the shocking (although some day even you will see some humor in it) realization, that during the getaway you forgot to take your kid with you.

Said kid is now in care of the authorities and you are certain to be caught and potentially give up your parenting rights.  Which, if you think of the first five steps you took, is probably the greatest favor you could do for your offspring.

That’s it.  Simple.

(Source for the original story came from Mike & Mike this morning on ESPN Sports Talk Radio – so blame them if not completely accurate.  The list on the other hand, is all me…)

Taking Multi-Tasking To A Crazy New Level!

Quick note from work yesterday.  Went into the men’s room to take a leak (as we all do from time to time – damn you, caffeine!) and what do I see?

It’s a co-worker of mine standing at a urinal peeing while simultaneously brushing his teeth. 

I’ve written several times before about the crazy things co-workers do in the company bathroom, but this one takes the cake.

First off, congratulations to him for being able to pull it off.  Brushing your teeth while urinating is not easy to do.  So I’ve heard…

But, more importantly, why would you even try?  I wouldn’t attempt that trick at home let alone at work.

There’s just something about standing up and peeing and taking care of oral hygiene at the same time that don’t mix.

But, maybe that’s me…

And it only leads me to wonder what he multi-tasks with while doing number two.

Private Jets Be Damned! What’s A Lousy 25 Billion Anyway!?

Every morning when I wake up it seems that I’m greeted by the news of some other financial or quasi-financial company being bailed out by the federal government.  One morning it’s billions to AIG.  The next it’s billions to Citibank.  And then it’s AIG’s turn again. 

And when I say the federal government is bailing out the AIGs of the world, I really mean the US taxpayer.  Tons of our hard earned dollars are going to rescue corporations that failed due to lack of attention from our federal government coupled with the unchecked greed and incompetence of the upper management at these firms.

Like many of you, the whole thing sickens me.  I can’t escape the nagging feeling that history will report that a lot of the bailout money was misspent.  However, I can’t escape this other feeling that we’ve got to do something.  Like it or not, the failure of some of these huge financial firms would be devastating to the economy (as far as I can tell having never taken an economics or business course – not that those seemed to have helped AIG’s or Citi’s management too much).

What I can’t fathom is why Congress can’t get behind bailing out Detroit.  It was fantastic to make them sweat, but now that that goal is accomplished it’s time to give them what they want.

I totally get that the bailout of Citi and AIG helps not only their fat cat executives but also helps the economy in general.  In part by helping to ensure that the assistants and other non-fat cat types keep their jobs at AIG and Citi.

And really that’s my concern with Detroit.  I could care less about their bumbling executives.  But, how can we let autoworkers go under in this economy?  And what about all the businesses both large and small that depend on the US auto industry?  How can we risk turning all those people out in the streets now?

Sure, some say that foreign manufacturers would put some those people to work if the Big Three went under, but how long will that take?  Do we have that kind of time?

One common concern about all these bailouts is that no help seems to be coming to the common working person.  The government seems to only be in the business of saving big business from itself.

The Detroit rescue feels different to me.  At least a little.  This one seems closer to actually helping Main Street more than Wall Street.

That would be a welcome relief.

I’m Not A Stay At Home Dad, But This Would Be My Anthem If I Was!

PS – That’s Robert Downey Jr. playing the baby.  Talk about versatile!

Corporate America Says “Only Suckers Like You Pay Taxes!”

Do you like paying taxes?  Didn’t think so.  Me either.  Most Americans don’t.

Turns out corporate America doesn’t like paying taxes either.  Shocker, right?  Only, it’s figured out really effective ways to get out of paying them.  The U.S. Government Accountability Office (or GAO to me and you) is set to release a study that proves that when it comes to taxes that individuals like us who actually pay them are suckers. 

We pay while corporations largely don’t.

Here’s links to two articles on the study’s findings:

http://www.wnbc.com/money/17165868/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=nationalnews

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002937306&parm1=3&cpage=1

If you’re too lazy to read them, here’s the big news… Between 1998 and 2005 about two thirds (66% if you round down) of American corporations paid NO income tax.  Also, foreign companies operating in the US paid even less frequently.

I can hear the doubters out there…  If companies have no profit than they could of course owe zero on income tax.  We have one of the highest tax rates in the world on corporations.   All true.

But come on! In the name of common sense…. If the survey is even half right than a full one third of US companies pay zero income tax.  Zero!  Maybe we do have a high corporate tax rate and maybe we could cut it to a lower rate.  But, it also seems like we have extremely lax enforcement when it comes to getting companies to pay their fair share.

How about this proposal?  Let’s lower the corporate tax rate when they actually start paying it.

And please, the next time you hear someone complaining about someone scamming a social program,  remember this article.  Corruption is rampant on both ends of the income divide.  Only guess where there’s more money to steal and less chance of getting caught?

Sayonara, suckers!

It would be funny if it weren’t true…

Bruce Springsteen Wants You To Get Your Lazy A## Back To Work!

Here’s a great parody of a Springsteen video.  Although, my bet is that the real Boss isn’t so pleased… Especially with the lyrics.

I hope the Boss forgives me for having a few laughs.  After all, me and Bruce both agree it’s not so much American workers that are the problem but the influence of corporate giants and weak willed politicians. Sorry didn’t mean to get so preachy and bring the party down!

PS – In case you’re wondering, here’s a link to the guy who plays Springsteen in this clip.

http://www.funnyordie.com/pete_hulne

I Don’t Love Sports That Much!

I love sports.  Basketball, football, baseball, hockey, you name it.  If it’s a true sport (and in my opinion that doesn’t include golf, NASCAR or the WNBA), than I’ve got big opinions about it.  I love to watch sports.  I love to talk sports.  And as must be obvious from this blog, I love to write about sports.

I love the history of sports. I love the pointless and (happily) endless arguments about who was better than who and why or why not. Sports has added so much to my life.  I enjoyed playing them so much in my younger years and have always and continue to enjoy watching them.  Frankly, my brain is probably way too filled up with sports trivia.

I’m married to a wonderful woman who likes sports.  While I never want to force them to do things they have no interest in, I hope to share my love of sports with my kids.  I believe that either by following sports or playing them, that sports will add to the quality of my children’s lives.  I believe sports (on a good day) teaches great lessons.

So, all that said, I found out over the weekend what the line is for me.

This is a true story.  There I am driving around town running errands listening to what?  Sports talk radio.  A caller calls in to complain about the price the New York Jets are charging for “private seat licenses”.

For those of you that don’t know, the Jets and Giants will soon be moving into a new stadium.  Both teams have decided to charge all current season ticket holders a “private seat license” fee.  Basically, it’s blackmail.  If you want to keep your seat in the new stadium, then you must cough up a one time fee for the privilege.  In other words, in the Jets’ fan’s case, it’s not enough that he’s been a loyal season ticket holder for years and has had to endure years of bad football and no championship since 1969, now he’s going to have to write the Jets a check for just the right to hold onto his seat.

It’s a really sucky move by both franchises, but that’s not the point.

The point is that the caller in question went on to say that now that he’s heard the Jets might acquire Brett Favre, he’s going to pay the “private seat license”.  After all, he doesn’t want to miss out on the Favre months.  Ok, still not that amazing right?  I mean why blog about this?

Here’s the amazing part.  This caller said that in order to pay the Jets’ seat fee he was going to dip into his 401K.  And there was my line.

I love sports.  But, not that much.

My parents always taught me that if you want to go out, then you should be prepared to pay for your fun times whether it’s the movies, a restaurant or a vacation.  Fun costs money and so does running with the big boys.  They also taught me that sometimes you’ve got to stay home, especially when you can’t afford the price of your fun.  You stay home when you can’t afford to run with the big boys.

Now, I know we Americans love our debt.  But, I can’t believe someone would chose to dip into their 401K to pay for Jets’ season tickets.  Talk about bad priorities.

Call me crazy or not sports crazy enough, but why not just watch the Jets on TV and have a nice retirement?

I guess the caller preferred the prospect of working on the fry line at McDonald’s at the age of 80 while muttering to himself about how the Jets coulda won it all if only Favre hadn’t thrown that last second interception in the divisional playoffs…

Whatever.  Hopefully while he’s doing that, I’ll be warm and snug at my fully paid off home talking with my wife about the times we saw the Giants win the Super Bowl at home on our TV.