IS OBAMA NOW RUNNING THE NFL?

We all know that president Obama and his democrat friends are for wealth redistribution, but until yesterday I didn’t know that they had taken over the National Football League (NFL).  The league yesterday issued a statement saying that the Cowboys were being assessed ten million against the salary cap while the Redskins would be assessed Thirty-Six million for violating some unwritten rule against paying players too much money in 2010 which was supposed to be a uncapped year.  Two other teams were also hit with minor (about 1.5 million) in fines for the same violation.  While fans of the other 28 teams might view this as justice, Redskins and Cowboys fans now have something in common in that we see it as Wealth Redistribution.  That’s right; it’s redistribution of wealth in its ugliest form.

The Cowboys and Redskins are the NFL’s two most valuable franchises, and their owners have bucked the system over the years to find ways of find ways to pay their players more than anyone else.  Now it seems that the other owners have decided that it’s not fair to have the rich teams be able to afford the best players.  Jerry Jones spent a billion dollars to build the new Cowboy’s stadium, and trust me, having seen it, it was worth every penny; and despite whatever faults one can find with Dan Schneider, the one that can’t be said about him is that he hasn’t spent like a mad man to try and make his team better.  These two owners (of the two premiere teams in the NFL) have done more in the last 10 years to make the league great than the rest of the owners combined, now find themselves the victims of the kind of jealousy that is running amuck in our country. 

Just to make sure I’ve got this right, we now have rules in our country that say that if I can afford a BMW, Mercedes or Cadillac, and my neighbor drives a Hyundai or Yugo, I should drive one of those as well?  I think not; I earned my BMW and dammit I’m going to drive it.  Truth be told, if my neighbor is walking I don’t really care, but  Of course if he needs a ride, I’ll give him a ride, but I’m not giving up my Beamer for him.  If your coworker can only afford to live in apartment, does that now mean that you should sell your nice single family home in the burbs so that your coworker doesn’t feel bad?    

I’m sure that you get the idea by now but just in case let me spell it out.  I like many people who are a little better off than most feel for people who are not and thus I give lots to my church and to charity, but it is neither, fair or reasonable that you should take what I’ve worked hard for and give it to someone else.  I’m not saying that poor people don’t work hard, but I am saying that I’m not responsible for their lot in life!  If you want more out of life, educate yourself and do what most wealthy people do, work harder, give up the luxuries early in life so that you can have more later in life.  Learn to save and invest and believe in Life Long Learning.

The Obama administration’s theory of Tax the Rich makes no more sense than the NFL’s punishment of the Cowboys and Redskins. 

No matter how you slice it, you can’t make life equal by punishing those who work hard, study hard and do better in life or sports!

I’M JUST SAYIN

AMERICA’S PERMENANT CRIMINAL UNDERCLASS

When I was growing up, we were taught that sometimes decent people make mistakes and commit crimes.  We were also taught that if you make that mistake, or commit a crime that once you paid your debt to society, all was forgiven and you could once again be considered a good citizen.  I remember the days when criminals went to jail and came out in a few years with a GED and if they were there long enough possibly even a college degree.  I’m not really sure how long ago the things that I was taught and observed changed, but they definitely have and we need to to ask ourselves is our society better off today than we were all those years ago?  Our justice system has been converted from a place to rehabilitate criminals to a for profit institution in which there is no incentive to rehabilitate those caught up in the system. 

In my view, we put people in jail and make every effort to ensure that they come out worse off than the day they went in, their only education opportunity these days is in how to come out a better criminal.  In most cases their right to vote is revoked, ensuring that they have no chance of participating in our democracy, yet they have paid their debt.  After we make sure that these folks can’t vote, we have to make sure they continue to commit crimes, so that we continue to feed our for profit justice system by asking if they’ve ever committed a crime on every job application.  If a person has been convicted of a crime they have virtually no chance of finding a decent job once released; so what do they do? They return to a life of crime and continue to feed the monster that is our for profit justice system.

Please understand that I am not now, nor have I ever been soft on crime.  I just think that if we continue to create this permanent criminal underclass, our country will continue to become less and less safe.  While some don’t worry because they see this underclass as mostly minorities of various races, nothing could be further from the truth.  Today the underclass comes in all races, sexes, shapes, and sizes and they are getting younger and younger by the day.  How many times have you watched the news and seen a criminal who looks like he or she should be at a pajama party or ice cream social rather than taking a gun to school or shooting a classmate or perhaps even committing a robbery of some sort? 

For those who think I’ve lost my mind, consider the following; it cost us over 30K per year to keep someone in prison, while the average cost to educate someone is around 9K, so even in the short term, it’s less costly to educate someone than it is to keep them locked up.  There are people that deserve to be locked up and never let out, but more than half of the people labeled felons in our country are low level drug dealers and petty thieves who’ve committed what are widely considered non- violent crimes by law enforcement.

 Given the cost, it makes no sense to continue to punish people like this once they’ve served their time and repaid their debt to society.

I’M JUST SAYIN

PAIN AT PEBBLE BEACH

On Sunday afternoon I was watching a golf tournament when a good old fashion Butt Kicking broke out.  Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were paired in the next to final group at the Pebble Beach Pro AM and I was determined not to miss what I thought would be two great rounds of golf.  It happens that I did get to see at least one exceptional round from Phil who clearly was charged and ready to roll when he stepped onto the first tee.  Tiger was another story altogether as he proceeded to shoot a 3 over par 75 and was even beat by his amateur partner in the Pro AM Tony (I can’t win a playoff game) Romo. 

This round of golf was a classic example of how easy or tough golf can be on a given day.  Phil made it look easy as he not only came from six shots back to win, but in the process, he walked the dog on Woods and the rest of the field.  I’ve always enjoyed watching Phil play, mostly because his mind seems to work more like an amateur than a professional when it comes to going for shots that seem impossible.  The truth is that in all the years I’ve seen Phil play, Sunday may have been the best I’ve ever seen him play, and when he decided to go with 4 Iron on the 18^th tee, I found myself thinking wow he’s going to play smart.  There was no question watching him play that Phil was better prepared mentally and had the confidence needed to not only beat Tiger Woods, but the rest of the field as well.

Tiger was completely over matched on Sunday afternoon, and it was clear by the end of the day that his mental state seems to be very fragile.  Golf is a game that no matter how physically talented you are, if you lose your mental edge your game will suffer.   When he lost to Robert Rock in Dubai it didn’t seem to be that big a deal, but watching his melt down on Sunday seems to be a clear indication that while the physical part of his game may be solid, his mental state is lacking.  Tiger seems to now lack the mental toughness that made him one of the best golfers ever to play the game.   I remember the days when it seemed like he couldn’t miss a putt inside 8 or 10 feet, yet on Sunday he putted like a robot whose program was malfunctioning.  To see anyone stab at and miss two footers over and over again is painful enough, but when it’s a guy with 14 major championships, it’s even more painful.  I think that even those who don’t like Tiger couldn’t help but feel bad for him on Sunday.

The talking heads continue to say that golf needs Tiger and while I don’t disagree with that thinking; one has to wonder how long the casual fan will continue tuning in if Tiger melts down a few more times?  So for the good of the game, here’s hoping that Tiger get’s his mojo back and that the next time he and Phil tee it up on a Sunday we’ll see two great rounds of golf!

I’m Just Sayin

WE'RE ALL MIXED UP

Has anyone noticed that both as individuals and as a government, we can’t seem to get out of debt?  Well if you agree with that, perhaps I can help us all figure out why.  You see, we’ve got saving and investment all wrong and quite frankly we have it completely backward.  Don’t believe me, consider the following.

Yesterday I took my granddaughter to purchase a winter coat and as we were checking out, this very nice young lady offered me a credit card saying that if I took it that we would save an additional 30%.  When I explained that I didn’t want the card, she continued to ring up the coat, and as she handed me the receipt she politely said thank you sir, your coat was $83.45 and you saved $91.00 today by shopping at Kohl’s.  As we were leaving the store, my granddaughter said wow papa, you saved almost a hundred dollars, to which I replied “honey when you spend money, no matter what they say, you didn’t save”.  I remember several years ago a couple of friends  went shopping on a Saturday morning and when they returned shopping bags in hand, I asked  them, “exactly how much did you guys spend”; to which one of them replied I spent $800.00, but I saved $500.00 because it was all on sale.  Now I don’t know about you, but to my way of thinking if you spend $800 to save $500 that’s not saving.  Hopefully if you use this logic, you’re purchasing things that you need and not just your wants, but either way, you’re not saving!

Our government is no better!  Has anyone besides me noticed that when the government talks about saving money, they really mean that if they had planned a spending increase of 3% and they reduce that percentage to 2%, they say their saving us money.  Now once again, I don’t know about you but a saving would actually be spending less, not spending more and passing off a slight reduction in the increase as a savings.  If you have folks who don’t know a true savings from a reduction in spending, is there any wonder that our budget never gets close to balanced? 

For years I’ve heard people say that their home is their largest asset.  Now let me see if I’ve got this straight, I own a house that let’s say I agree to purchase for $500,000.  I put down $100,000 and the bank agrees to lend me the remaining $400,000 if I agree to pay them 5% interest for the next 30 years.   If I stay in the house for 30 years, I’ll pay the bank $772,920 which comes to almost double what I borrowed 30 years earlier.   Some asset!  If mobsters were charging that kind of interest they would be convicted of racketeering and put in jail for 30 years.  Now I’m not saying that a bank lending money to people who want to buy homes is a bad thing, I’m simply saying that people need to see their homes for what they are, and that’s a Liability, not an asset!  Unless we can figure out how to get income from our homes, we need to stop calling them investments!

I’m Just Sayin

A MESSAGE TO RICK SANTORUM & NEWT GINGRICH

There are two things that I can’t stand in a politician.  Number one is a Panderer and the other is a Panderer who uses race baiting in an effort to get votes, and this week we saw both in the persons of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.  For years I and those like me have made excuses for what at best passes for insensitive and at worse are out right racist comments by both Republicans and those on the quote “Christian Right”.  Well this week, I finally had enough and decided that those folks need to be called out for exactly what they are.  Now I know that some of you won’t agree with me, and that’s ok, however please don’t email me, or leave postings trying to defend what these two idiots said, or make excuses for what you think they meant, because we all know what they meant, and there is no excuse or explanation for it. 

First there’s Mr. Santorum who said at a campaign event:

 “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money.”

Then there’s good ole Newt who said:

Gingrich told a town hall meeting at a senior center in Plymouth, N.H., that if the NAACP invites him to its annual convention this year, he'd go there and talk about "why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps."

Well gentlemen (and I use that term very loosely), In Iowa and New Hampshire where the populations are 95% white, and most have probably never had a meaningful conversation with a black person, they may believe your idiotic statements and take them as fact;  but the truth is (and both of you know this) that there are 10 times as many White Americans collecting welfare, foods and other public assistance as there are Blacks.  Your implication that black people don’t pay taxes, are all on some sort of public assistance and don’t want to work is a blatant attempt on your part to appeal to the “Ignorant White Vote”.  You both seem to think that by implying that because the face of the current president is black that somehow other black people are benefiting could not be further from the truth.  Obama is so busy pandering himself, that he doesn’t have time for ordinary black folks.

There is no question that there are far more poor whites than blacks in both Pennsylvania and Georgia receiving public assistance, and you know that, but for years both Republicans, Democrats and the News Media have painted the face of the poor black.  You’ve done this despite the fact that in places like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Texas, Kentucky and a whole host of other states there are twice as many poor whites as there are in any inner city in America!  Fact is that we all know that black people don’t have the market cornered when it comes to generations of families receiving welfare and other government benefits, but when politicians are looking for votes; the face of those receiving benefits is always painted black!   Why not take cameras into the hills of West Virginia, Kentucky, or Pennsylvania and put the faces of those poor whites who have been on welfare for generations on the 6:00 news?  No, we can’t do that, because making scape goats out of blacks is much more appealing to those ignorant of the actual facts.

I have to say that Newt is right about demanding paychecks rather than being satisfied with food stamps, but that’s true for every American who doesn’t have a job, who is willing to work, but can’t find it.  Newt was the Speaker of the House when NAFTA was passed, so perhaps part of his platform should be to cancel NAFTA and bring some of those jobs back to America, rather than continuing to give tax breaks to companies who export American jobs to other countries. 

Finally, a couple of messages to Rick Santorum, I agree that I don’t want to give my money away either.  I didn’t want to give a loan to Bank of America, CITI bank, Goldman Sach’s or any of the other big banks who were bailed out.  I don’t want to pay more so that Exxon, Chevron and the other oil companies can continue to get tax breaks at my expense either, but I don’t hear you talking about cutting those folks off.  Maybe that’s because the fat cats make campaign donations and have the resources to fight back when you attack them, and poor blacks don’t!  By the way, what kind of Christian would vote for a Racist homophobe?  That’s right, I called Mr. Santorum what he is, and I make no apology for doing so, he has a long history of making both racist and homophobic remarks, and it’s time that someone called him on it.  Those of you who really know me, know that I do not take the "R" word lightly, but the comments of these two idiots have been eating at me for almost a week now, and I couldn't let it pass without comment.

I’M JUST SAYIN!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

As we enter 2012, I hope that everyone will take the time to realize how fortunate we all are to live in such a great country.   Almost every day in 2011, the news was about how bad things are in America, and nearly every person that I came into contact with seemed to have a complaint about how bad the economy is doing.  The problem with all of this is that none of these people were unemployed, living in a box on a street corner, or in need of food assistance; nope from where I sit, they are all doing pretty well in life.  In fact most have excellent jobs, making considerably more than the national average, yet they had complaints.

America is now and has been the greatest country on the planet for two hundred years.  People still come here from all over the world to live in peace and enjoy the kind of freedom that only a handful of countries on the globe can offer.  Our standard of living is still the highest in the world, and no matter how much we borrow from China, they are still a hundred years from having our standard of living.  It’s true that we have many people in our country who are poor and disenfranchised, but if you’re going to be poor or disenfranchised, what better place to improve your lot in life.  You see, contrary to popular belief, in America, people can still start with nothing and end up with every advantage that America has to offer.   If you don’t believe this is true just ask someone who has had the good fortune to move here from another country.  I have no doubt that we all know someone who has moved here from Asia, Africa, Europe or some Latin American country who came here with nothing, but now owns his/her own business, has a home and is thriving.  These people came because they believed in the promise of the American Dream and believing is a huge part of every successful persons receipt for success.

2012 will be for all of us what we make it!  My plan is to make 2012 the best year of my life, to enjoy all that life has to offer and I sincerely hope that you’ll join me.   

HAVE A SAFE, PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY, & JOY FILLED 2012

NEW RULES

New Rule – It’s Christmas, the time of year that Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ it is not the Holidays!  The Holidays are: Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, New Years Day and so on.  If you choose not to celebrate Christmas, that’s fine with me, but when greeting me, please refrain from saying happy holidays, it’s Christmas and the proper greeting is Merry Christmas!  Can anyone tell me what a Holiday Tree looks like? You can’t because there’s no such thing as a Holiday Tree, and if you believe there is, you probably believe in Santa Clause and the Loch Ness monster as well. 

New Rule – No more saying that the Denver Broncos have a winning record since Tim Tebow has been starting because he has a direct line to God; trust me while God may very well be a football fan, I’m sure he’s not rigging the games to help Tebow win.  It’s admirable that Mr. Tebow doesn’t hide his faith, and I have no doubt that faith has helped him believe that he can win at crucial times but, has everyone forgotten  that Tebow was an all American QB at Florida, he won the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship?  He also threw 93 touchdown passes in 4 years while at Florida, so it’s probably not a fluke or divine intervention that he’s a winner.   

New Rule – If you’re a person who hangs out in the Bad Boys room after golf on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday and find yourself still there after 2 or 3 hours with a person whose initials are CR, MC, MG, SD, GD, TN, JF, SP, BG, DM, LH, GD or MS, you’ve had enough to drink and must get up and go home immediately.  All of these people like alcohol way too much, and clearly so do you, and if you refuse to follow this advice, you could end up in one of the following situations:

·         You will need a ride home and possibly have to crawl up your driveway when you get there.

·         You r wife may have to wake you up from a drunken stupor, and yes you’re on the kitchen floor.

·         You may wake up in your car at midnight still sitting in the parking lot.

·         Your mind doesn’t work right for the next 2 or 3 days.

New Rule – No more political arguments about who’s better between the Democrats and Republicans!  Both parties are a bunch of Butt Holes who have no regard for the people who supposedly voted them into office.  The Democrats are only interested in keeping poor people poor and at each other’s throats so that they can continue to distribute nickels and dimes to the poor while lining their own pockets with millions.  The Republicans primary interest is in protecting the deep pockets on Wall Street and the fat cat bankers who they bailed out at the expense of the rest of the public.  No, I say a pox on both their houses.   

New Rule – People using cell phones without a hands free device and cause an accident should be treated the same as the person who points a loaded gun into a crowd and pulls the trigger.  A 4000 pound car is not the place to have an argument, love affair, talk to your momma, papa, boss, baby sitter or anyone else.  If you don’t care about your life, please have enough courtesy to care about mine and the rest of the people on the highway with you.  Anyone proven to be on the phone in an accident where someone is killed or seriously injured should be tried for depraved indifference and sentenced to the maximum jail term permitted by law.

Tune in next week for the week in review blog, and don’t forget to put your email address on the web page so that you get automatic updates when new post are made. 

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