Debate-Able

Last night's debate got me fired up. It got me more fired up than normal and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because O'Bama didn't actually answer ANY questions. Maybe it's because McCain was focusing so hard on moving his body to look animated and personable that he couldn't get words out smoothly. Maybe it's because I'm at the point (again) where I just want the election to be over because I'm sick of hearing ignorant people comment on the candidates.
At 33 (almost - might as well be), I am bummed that I am already so cynical. It bothers me that stupid people are allowed to vote and procreate. I wouldn't want it any other way, really. But it still bothers me. There are a couple stances in politics that I just cannot understand how a smart person can take. (I avoid the word "educated" because I know too many people who've been given degrees that aren't smart. I also know many smart people without anything more than a H.S. degree)  I think this may be what really gets me going. So, I'll address them (duh!):

1. Taxing "rich" a higher % than "non-rich"
How can this make sense? I make more, I pay more in taxes relatively. O.K., I still don't buy that one completely, but I can live with it. But if my household makes more than 250,000 (I wish) why should I have to give more pennies on my dollar than you? This doesn't work even if you do agree that I should pay a higher %. Because if I pay more taxes, I spend and save less (both very essential to the economy). If corporations pay more taxes (Corporations are made up of human beings by the way. This seems to be very conveniently forgotten.), they have to find a way to pay those extra dollars. Do you think they are going to pay with their profits? Really? No way!!! They will pay those extra taxes by doing two things: 1. Increasing prices (you and I take that hit) 2. Lowering wages / laying off workers (you and I take that hit too).
After making this point, the typical democrat response is (I swear they are given response flow charts like a telemarketer because they all respond the same way on things. My favorite is when you just completely have them on something and they say "Hmm, I'll have to check the facts on that"), "Well then, how is the government going to pay for everything?" This is where I start my belief that the person cannot be smart. The gov't is going to pay for "everything" because they must become responsible spenders (which I am not claiming Bush has been) and get rid of a ton of crap that makes up "everything". Does this mean some people may not be able to buy houses... YES!!! If you really want to buy a house, get a job that pays more!! If you can't... read a book or something and then apply again. We are in this credit crisis because Dem's wanted their voters, who they make their living off of (underachievers), to be able to get home loans. So, how can they do that? Sub-prime, no-documentation loans!! What a joke!!
Taxing the rich more and making it easy for lower income earners to buy houses and other luxury items gives no financial incentive to move up and out of a low income situation. That's doing the poor a dis-service. How about this: Tax the poor more and the rich less!! Holy crap, that would make me want to earn more. If I knew that earning 10,000 a year more meant I got to keep an extra 1,000 a year?
2. Pro-Choice
This means you think it should not be illegal for an expecting mother (and a medical staff) to murder their unborn child. I honestly just got sick to my stomach typing the last half of that sentence. It's murder.
The typical "pro-choice" response, "Do you understand what kind of burden that would put on society?" Yes, life if full of burdens. We deal with them as best as we can and I was taught that it's not to be done by murdering the person who's creating the burden. But, if you must, how about this: Let's at least give the kid a chance. Maybe until he or she is about 10 or so. If it seems like they really are going to end up being a burden on society, then whack 'em.  (stomach just got sick again typing that because it's just as ridiculous as abortion).
3. Peace Hippies
I can understand people being against certain wars and reasons behind why we entered into them. However, the people with the bumper stickers that say "War doesn't solve anything"... stupid. It sure does!! Solved the problem of Sadam Husein running his country like a madman. Solved Hitler's rule.  I'm not sure (at least I'd like to believe this) anyone is "pro-war". People who claim to be "anti-war" seem to think that if you are not against a certain war, then you are a cruel gladiator. I'm not "pro-killing animals", but I like to eat meat because it's delicious. So...

Well, that's it for now. Those are the big three for me in terms of not understanding how you can have a different viewpoint and still be smart. Oh, wait, and people who hate Wal-Mart because of their business practices. If you hate Wal-Mart because it's dirty, I'm not with you but I understand. This actually reminds me of a quote my buddy (republican) Chris said to another buddy (democrat) of ours while he was going off about how much he hated Wal-Mart. Chris interrupted him and simply said, "Pete, why do you hate saving money?" EXACTLY!?!?!?

Un-Retire Part II

After a month of happenings since I wrote my last blog expressing my original thoughts / gut feeling on this whole Favre situation I will respond... to myself. Republican Teacher, you (I) are right on!! Your innitial feelings were flawless and your ability to read a situation and gauge peoples' character (or lack there of, Ted) is spot on!!
I am writing this after hearing the news that the Packers (who I will seriously have to re-evaluate as my favorite team after all of this) have offered Favre $20 Million to retire. Holy Crap!! There is so much wrong with this.
1. Ted "The Terrorist" Thompson (because he's holding Favre hostage in this whole thing where all Brett wants to do is play football) is the worst listener (this includes ALL students I've EVER come in contact with) on the earth. Ted, seriously, you don't know by now that it's not about money for Brett? He's taken pay cuts to help with the salary cap and offered to take a big one in order to get Randy Moss on the team. You IDIOT!! Seriously, I cannot pound on these keys hard enough to express right now how much I cannot believe someone as STUPID as you is allowed to run a pro sports team.
2. That's just dumb.
3. You are re-creating a bad 80's movie where the rich dad tries to pay the "not good enough" boy to stop dating his daughter. That's so lame. Ted, were you bullied in high school? Is this your chance to finally have more control over someone "cool" and you are trying to stick it to him by sitting behind your big, rich desk with your arms folded saying "no"? That doesn't make you any less of a loser!!
4. That's just dumb.
5. Ted, if you can't pay him off with $20 mil, what's your next move? You gonna have Rocco come in with a baseball bat and "take care of him"?
Ted, it's lucky for you that you cannot be traded. Although, you can be released and free to go to another team (sounds good), or paid $20 mil to retire (that's fine too). Regardless, will you please leave Green Bay? Please? You have tainted this whole situation. YOU have created this!! Not Brett, not the press, not the bullies from high school who made you feel sad. Get out, Ted!! Get out now, please!?!?

Un-Retire!?!?!?

Favre wants to play again! I have mixed feelings on this one. Let me start by saying that I LOVE Brett Favre!! I am a Packer fan, my dad has season tickets and is from Green Bay. Favre is amazing, and a great quarterback too.
He wants to come back now and play... that's annoying. I haven't liked it the past several years, how he's wained all off season and I don't like this move right now. I have no idea what it's like to give up being a professional athlete and will never claim to. I'm sure it's incredibly tough, especially when you are amazing at it (forget about the money piece, I know that's weird to hear from me). But, the indecision has driven me crazy and this last "Michael Jordan" like move is the icing on the cake of the career decision delimma Brett has forced us to stand by and watch. Bad move here Brett, you're really annoying... but I still LOVE you!! (Ha! That's actually what my wife says to me several times a week)
Now having said that Brett is annoying, Ted Thompson... you are an idiot!! I've already said how I feel about Brett's move and that's over. Ted, your job is to put the Packers in the best situation to win. Brett vs. this new kid, hmmmm??? Seriously, Ted? You're dodging this decision because it's that tough? Because you're "on vacation"? I'm a teacher and I'm currently on a 2.5 month vacation, but I'll tell ya what... if my school called me with a great opportunity today, I'd call them back. There are two quarterbacks in the NFL that are easily pegged as currently better than Favre and that's Manning (not the adopted one in NY) and Brady. So, Ted, you are gonna put the third best current quarterback (and top 10 of all time) on hold so you can have another Mai-Thai? You're an idiot!!
To summarize:
1. Favre is not doing this the right way, he screwed up here, he wants to come back and it's annoying, but great.
2. a. So he's not doing it the best way. Call him back NOW, Ted. Welcome him back and THANK him for changing his mind. Greet him at Austin Straubel Airport with a sixer of High Life, a fishing pole, and a cup of worms!!
b. If you don't do this, you're an idiot!!

Ohh Bama

I'll make this one quick!! I'm so sick of hearing about O'Bama's pastor. I'm not even a big O'Bama fan, but seriously leave him alone about this brow beating, brimstone and fire throwing, sometimes "white man" hating preacher.
Two points on this:
1. At least he HAS religion in his life. So many politicians are afraid to go there because it could cause a problem in their campaign (hmmm, maybe they're smarter than I gave them credit for). Religion is so complicated, so many rules, so many choices, so much (fill in the blank). Picking a religion and then a church within that religion is NOT an easy thing to do. I compare it to choosing my friends. So many humans out there to pick from, so little time (like I'm so desirable that anyone will say yes if I so choose). You find a set that you can trust, lean on, care about, tell things and know they still won't hate you. Are there things they do and say that you disagree with? Yes!!!!! So what, the good WAY outweigh the bad and you live with the bad, usually in a rolling your eyes kinda way.
2. If we stayed away from everyone that said or did something that could "look bad" or even be bad, we'd all live in our own little world of solitary confinement. I look up to my dad like crazy, but he says some crap I can't even believe he's o.k. with. I guess when you hit 65 you can say whatever you want... man I can't wait 'till I'm 65. But really, I teach at a public school. Does that mean I'm lazy, complacent, unionized, leaning on tenure and ruining our youth? Don't answer that, please.
Anyways, leave the guy alone. He goes to church, has his kids baptized, and his pastor is crazy. Welcome to being religious!!

Holy Hillary

O.K., so there are plenty of things this could be about, right? However, this one hits close to home (no pun intended, you'll see why). So, Hillary has proposed to resolve the mortgage crisis by bailing out homeowners who cannot afford their mortgage payments. In her plan, there are two things that really don't make sense to me. 1. She attacks mortgage lenders for being unfair and wants to hold THEM accountable. 2. She wants to use government money (aka - mine and yours) to make payments for people who are unable to. These are both taken from her website that outlines her plan: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=2730
Let me first explain "me" before I address each of these. From February - September of '07 my wife and I (along with our BRAND newborn son) made double mortgage payments. We built a house, thought we could sell ours before the new one was done and we were wrong. You know what we did about it? We did what we were supposed to do, sacrificed a lot of things, and made two payments until our house finally sold!! What the hell? If I'd have know that Shrillary (because it makes me shrill everytime I think of her running our country) was gonna swoop in and "take care of it for me" I would have gotten cable in our new house, bought cool toys for our first child, continued to enjoy Dunkin' Donuts coffee a few mornings a week, and taken my wife out to dinner every once in a while. I didn't because I was taught to take responsibility for my actions. We CHOSE to committ to owning a house while already owning another one!!!
Crazy Point #1: Shrillary's website says that one of her main points is to, "Crack Down on Unscrupulous Brokers." It's the mortgage lenders' fault? THEY need to be held accountable? Last time I checked, mortgage lenders do not hold people down and force them to get loans. When they say "approved", it means they are willing to take the risk of lending you money. THEY are taking a RISK. When you default, THEY lose too. Just because we are approved for credit doesn't mean we can afford it. Do people really NOT know this? Does Shrillary not know this? I promise you I teach my students this and will do the same with my son (I will actually also be taking taxes out of his allowance, but that may be another blog). My car can go 110 MPH, but that doesn't mean I can handle driving it that fast. When someone dies in a high speed accident, do we blame Ford? When someone has a heart-attack from eating too much McDonald's do we blame... wait, holy crap, what is this country coming to??
Crazy Point #2: First of all, it truely doesn't matter whose money is used (in my eyes). It just makes me madder that it's actually mine (and yours, I care about you too). Shrillary's website says, "Hillary will establish a $1 billion fund to support state programs that help at-risk borrowers avoid foreclosure." So, what you're sayin' is that if I would not have been financially responsible enough to make all my payments (for both houses) in full and on time, I could have gotten my neighbors to pool their money together and cover me? You're tellin' me I didn't have to miss the season finale of The Office last season because my rabbit ear antennas had aweful reception that night and I could have just gotten cable as soon as I moved in even though I couldn't afford it? Crap!! Now you tell me.
I just don't get this. But it has taught me one thing. I'm gonna go buy some houses, have some of you make a few payments for me, then sell it when the market picks up for a gain. Who wants to join me?

Vegas Has it Right

Las Vegas has one goal and that is to take as much of our money as possible, right? Yes! And, they are damn good at it, right? Yes! If they weren't, they would not be adding another 40,000 hotel rooms to the damn city. Good for them, that's awesome that they can accomplish their goals like that EVERY DAY!! So, why do I care? Well, I was just there for a few days for a convention. At the same time, the national rodeo championships were in town. Cowboys and cowgirls (man, cowgirls are hot) were all over the place.
However, non-cowboys and girls were all over the place too. AARP members were all over the place, people from my conference were all over the place, old school gamblers were all over the place (especially at the Sahara).
So, why does Vegas have it right? Because they play the odds, duh!! Everywhere you went, cowboys and girls were being catered to. I'm not a cowboy, although at times I wish I were. The craps dealers at the Hilton wearing tight Wranglers and plaid shirts were not for me. The country music being piped into the bathroom at the Sahara was not for me. The coupons I was handed inside of the sports book at the Hilton for rodeo wagers were not for me. Yet, Vegas got it right and always does.
Life is a game of odds, which I've always known, growing up a baseball player and coach. Odds are your friend if you pay attention to them and your enemy if you don't. So, as I sat in the Sahara crapper listening to the country music I thought to myself "I've never heard country played in this casino before" and then it clicked. Even the odds of the subtleties are important to Vegas.
They've got it down pat. But what's amazing is that nobody gives them crap for it. I didn't care that country music, tight wranglers, and rodeo coupons were being imposed upon me. I don't live "cowboy" (although I do enjoy country music) but since I was there, I was being stereotyped as one who does. It's called marketing and marketing (good marketing, at least) is stereotyping the hell out of situations. That's how you get the most bang for your buck.
So, why is it then, that we have to have "holiday" trees and not Christmas trees? Why is it that I'm getting Christmas cards from my friends who I know are Christian that don't say the word "Christmas" on it ANYWHERE? I celebrate Christmas and if you do too, then why aren't you saying "Merry Christmas?" I have Jewish students and they celebrate Hanukkah. When they wish me a "Happy Hanukkah" I appreciate it. It doesn't offend me, it's nice of them to try, they were wrong but they tried.
This carries over into playing the odds in life even when it's not around "The Holidays". If I'm in my car at a stop light in a sketchy area of town and I realize my door is not locked... I'm gonna lock it!! If I've got a player rounding third and the ball is in the left fielder's hand who I know doesn't have a great arm... I'm sending him. If my son asks me why I didn't give the homeless person "any change for some food"... I'm telling him because he'll probably spend it on booze or crack and not food. Will I be right every time? No. Will I be right most of the time? Yes. And as long as Vegas is right most of the time, they get to stay "Vegas"!!!

Thank You Britney

I never thought I'd ever thank BritneySpears. I'm still amazed I'm actually putting it in writing. I was with my family deer hunting this past weekend and we got to talking (about everything) like we do every year. We talked about everything from the Packers, about 5 different times per hour, to blogging.

Anyways, in the midst of all of this, the conversation came to men v. women, the differences, the similarities, the caring each does for each other, etc... We began talking about why "mom" seems to be the default on custody in divorce situations. We discussed why it might be that, in order for a dad to get custody of the child(ren), mom pretty much needs to concede or light up a joint in court.

I don't think anyone will argue the generalization that mom tends to be more caring and nurturing. Yes, the baby also physically spent nine more months with mom than with anyone else, ever. Yes, mom went through pains I could never understand, but pretended to while it was happening because I didn't want to get caught looking at the TV. However, why does it take so much to prove a situation does NOT follow the normal assumptions?

This is NOT Las Vegas, unless you are in Las Vegas in which case you may want to move out for the court procedings. This is also NOT an advertising firm using actuary to work the numbers to their benefit. This is a child (or more) and how they will grow up. Dad is capable of caring, providing and raising successful kids just as well as mom. It may be done differently, but different is not bad. It's just different, at least that's what my kindergarten teacher used to always say to me... hmmm!!

So anyways, I say "Thank You, Britney!!" You have brought "Father's Rights" to a new level that I'm not sure any father could have. You and your fantastic "motherly instincts" have helped the movement for single dad's across the country. As you are going out without your underwear on tonight, more and more dads are able to change their kids' underwear before they put them to bed. Every time you pass out drunk, you allow more dads to pass out from exaustion at the end of a long day of taking care of their children.

Kevin, don't screw this up!!