Hold me closer...

While waiting in a hospital waiting room on Friday night, a kid, not respecting the gravity of being in a hospital, began acting up. Finally, after watching him carry on for about thirty minutes, I decided with actions come consequences. This consequence comes in the form of a video I made with my Blackberry. Enjoy!

-J

Good Old Fashioned Rant

Before you read this in the interest of full disclosure, I am an employee of the United States Government. I can't figure out how to change the time it says I posted a blog entry, but it is currently 9:40 PM central time. I am writing this on my home computer on my own time.

This week President Obama announced to trim the defecit, he planned to freeze the salaries of all employees within the civil service (antiquated term). Below you will find some informational sources:
White House press release
WSJ article
Washington Post Article

The plan is expected to save $28 billion over the next five years. That is a near unfathomable amount of money for anyone other than an economist or billionaire. That is what the President is relying on. Yeah $28 billion sounds like a lot of money. It is. $5.4 billion, the approximate average yearly savings, is also a huge amount of money. But the problem is the budget deficit this year alone was $1.3 trillion. Because math makes my head hurt lets just do some estimates and say the pay freeze will save $30 billion over the next five years. That means that the entire savings is only 2% of the yearly deficit. The $5.4 billion per year is only .4% of the FY2010 deficit (these numbers come from the Congressional Budget Office). But every little bit helps right?

According to Federaljobs.net, the US Government is the nation's largest employer employing approximately 2% of the working men and women in the United States. Let's not forget, these employees are the ones that you file income taxes with, you get social security from, protect our borders, treat our veterans, and perform many other tasks we take for granted. So to save .4% the plan is to essentially cut the salaries of a full 2% of the workforce? What a great idea! Also, if you think that person at the IRS or the Social Security office was a pain to deal with before, how do you think they will act when they know they will not be getting a cost of living adjustment? That is likely what this will affect, by the way. If the President really wanted to minimize the punishment of Federal Employees and save some money, he would have done this for the last two years when inflation was stagnent. In that case the COLA really was just a raise. But it is meant to keep salaries consistent in the face of inflation. With inflation creeping back into the economy, not having the COLA would make the effective salary of each employee lower.

Of course the first sentence of the White House press release blames the past administration for the deficit. There is no question the Bush government could have been more fiscally conservative, but does the President not remember the ARRA or the health bill that nobody wanted and less people read? I guess those didn't add any spending. I know what they did add- extended benefits for people who are unemployed. Intelligent people may disagree over whether this provision was proper. However, everyone should be outraged by the message sent. Unemployed people should be given benefits but let's cut raises for Federal WORKERS. Now, the President did note the first salaries he froze were for Senior White House staff. Logically, this would have been an irrelevant publicity stunt. If it was one of the first things he did, that would mean his senior staff had just started their jobs. So, why would they get raises? You don't hire someone and immediately give them a raise.

So, that brings me to the actual point of this blog entry. I think the President needs to be rewarded (see you thought this was meant negatively! shame!). He already won the Nobel Peace Prize so, his next awards would have to be of equal or higher esteem. First, because the President managed to get the ARRA and Obamacare passed with apparently spending no money, I think he should be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (its a shame he missed it this ear). Now, by freezing the salaries of his senior staff, he really jumped on a grenade for all of us. Also, let's not forget, as Commander-in-Chief, he is technically in the military. Therefore, I propose he give himself the Medal of Honor. Who's with me!?!

-J

Who doesn't love company?

I am sure it would be easy to find an answer to the above question. But I know for sure who does love company- Misery. Yes, less than one week after I make fun of the Cowboys, my Redskins get absolutely embarrassed by the much hated Eagles. I hope Dan Snyder picked up the phone today and called Sammy Baugh, Art Monk, Darrell Green, Joe Theismann, Riggo, Doug Williams, and Russ Grimm to apologize because what happened this week was an insult to everyone who has ever worn the uniform and every fan. It's not just that the Eagles gutter-stomped the Skins, it's McNabb. Why would Philly trade their franchise QB to the Redskins? Did the Cowboys try to trade Miles Austin to the Giants? Have the Giants tried to trade Brandon Jacobs to the Eagles? No. Why because they still are of some use. Jacobs has fallen far out of favor, but he is still worth too much to trade in the Division. So the Skins screwed up by trading for him. Then they give him a 4 year $78M deal on Monday. That night he comes out and plays just like someone that you would be willing to trade in the division. He threw the ball too high which is the worst place to put it. If it goes too low, I don't think the grass is gonna run the interception back for six. I want to give Shannahan a shot. But I think he needs to fire his son as well as Haslett. The Redskins are an absolute failure and an embarrassment. I don't think we can expect any better as long as Snyder owns the team. I (unfortunately) still can hope. Luckily the Cowboys are pretty embarrassing as well (although they even looked better last week).

-J

Broke Back Dome

As anyone who knows me very well at all has probably suspected, I am reveling in the unraveling going on in the "Big D." Like those two famous cowboys that found love in one another (actually, I think they were goatboys not cowboys), Jerry Jones has created a story nobody in Texas wants to watch. Frankly, I can't quit it. The most recent wrinkle is that Jerry Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips. I hadn't thought about it, but someone mentioned the interesting statistic on the radio that Jerry Jones has fired every coach the Cowboys had ever had. The only disappointment in this whole thing is that Wade got fired. Nothing pleased me more to see the Cowboys act woefully inadequately on the field to have the camera cut to Wade with that "Aww shucks" or that "Where am I?" look on his face.


Speaking of Wade... has anyone ever seen him and Bob's Big Boy in the same place at the same time?

I think I have made my point.

The best part about this whole thing is that the Cowboys began the season talking about how they were gonna be the first team to play the Superbowl at home in Jerry World. The way it looks now, the only Cowboy employees that will be working the Superbowl will be janitorial staff. The NFL always puts their best officials out for the Superbowl. With all of the crap the Cowboys have been putting on the field this season those janitors will have had enough practice to be an all-star crew by then as well. If only this same type of thing could happen to the Giants as well. Unfortunately there is another team ripe for this type of fall with a demagogue owner. Sadly, that owner is Daniel Snyder. To be fair, at least Jerry has won some Superbowls, while the Daniel Snyder Redskins have been the model of consistent mediocrity. At least we can bask in the current work of art that is Broke Back Dome.

-J

Nick Bell

About a month ago, I did not know who Nick Bell was. I am not one of those people with encyclopedic knowledge of lineups. Today, I find myself profoundly affected by the short life of this young man.

Of course the way I got to know Nick Bell's name was because of his surgery at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. Brain tumor removed. I was concerned then. The thought that skin cancer could become a brain tumor sounded bad. The surgery was initially a success. Then very suddenly, over the last three days, Nick's condition deteriorated, and he died this afternoon.


After Nick's initial surgery his doctors came out and said that they were hopeful that one day Nick could again play football. I was very excited to hear this news. Nick had taken over a starting role on the defensive line as a sophomore. Nick coming back to football would be great for MSU. I wouldn't hold it against any fan for thinking that way. In any other case, that may have been how I would have felt. But that is not why I was excited. In this instance, even though I had never met the kid, I was excited because he was going to have a second chance to fulfill what was surely his dream - to play football. The reason its exciting to think of a sophomore good enough to start on an SEC defensive line for the fans, is because it shows talent. From the prospective of the player chasing his dream, this is exciting because it shows him he has the potential to actually make his own dreams come true. So, in that sense, I was genuinely excited he may be able to resume his football career so that he could have another chance to accomplish his goals.


This was buoyed by seeing Nick on the side line during the UAB game. Nick stood on the sidelines talking to his teammates and rooting them on. He had on his jersey with a camouflage cap and pants. He looked every bit the physical specimen you would expect an SEC defensive end to be. The model of health there in good spirits. MSU won the game. The cowbells rang with impermissible abandon. It was all of the pageantry and fuss of homecoming. In short, knowing that was the last game Nick could spend with his teammates, and us, it was perfect.


That was 10 days ago.


Yesterday afternoon when the news came out that Nick had taken a turn for the worse and the team was going to go to Birmingham to see him, I hoped for the best, but figured the worst. Skin cancer is generally on the skin, not the brain. For it to have gotten there, it was likely other places. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Now he is gone, and I never got to meet him, but have been greatly affected by his passing.


First of all, the second chance he got that was then taken away from him. Nick from all accounts I have heard was a hard worker who did not get into trouble and had a team first, not me first, attitude. But his second chance was stripped from him. It made me immediately think of Chris Rainey. Chris Rainey threatened to kill his girlfriend and was suspended from the team at Florida. He has now been welcomed back to the team. Jeremiah Massoli got kicked off the team at Oregon for breaking a number of laws, now he is spending his final year of eligibility intended to be Ole Miss's savior this year. To be fair, it also made me think of Anthony Dixon who got hopped up on Andre and drove around in a parking lot right before his senior year. All those guys got second chances. But not Nick.


The song Mad World as performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol has been playing in my head. It kinda fits my mood today.


Mississippi State students got together at 7:36 tonight to celebrate Nick. Seven wins for number 36. In true MSU form, they rang their cowbells for him. His family at Mississippi State will not know the heartache of his football family. He had been with them for three years (he was a redshirt sophomore). Intense heat in camp and intense games on Saturdays no doubt contribute to an intense bond. But even more than that, Nick's mother, Linda Bell, has lost her light. So far down the list am I yet so intense my reflection, I cannot fathom what is going through her mind right now. I hope, at this point, she is just numb.

When you lead the life I have led you get the full range of perspectives. When you are a kid you see these men playing on Saturdays. They look like giants (some of them still do) and are awe inspiring. You get to high school college age, and you see them as peers more or less. Generally, you know somebody that is playing football for your high school or college. Then you get older, approaching the middle section of your life and they change again. Now they are definitely kids. They are kids that are full of talent and promise. They can still be heroes but we now live more vicariously through their actions.

Nick Bell was a kid with promise to me. He never got to fulfill that promise. He was taken so young and so quickly. Ten days ago though, he stood on that sideline with his teammates. He heard the crowd cheering his team on. He was not playing but he was part of the team. For that period he got again to taste a sliver of his dream. And I was part of helping him do that. I will be forever thankful to Nick to have been given that opportunity.

-J

Crimes against humanity

By definition it's something so heinous, just doing it constitutes a crime against not only the direct victim, but also against humanity as a whole. In a way, it is worse than war crimes because at least war crimes denotes belligerent nations are involved. War crimes would be torturing POWs or firebombing a village. Crimes against humanity would be the way Nazis treated the Jews or 9/11. Crimes against humanity are generally recognized by most people as evil. Generally, I do not think the United States engages in such. Do we torture terrorists? Likely, even if we don't, we are at least complicit in letting our allies do it. Do we attack from afar with soul-less killing drones? Yep. But until this story, I did not think the United States should be prosecuted for these type tactics. I still do not think we should for the drones or for torturing terrorists. However, I believe if anyone is still around that was responsible for infecting Guatemalans with syphilis, I think they should go on trial for crimes against humanity. I find this story to be absolutely disturbing. I cannot believe our government did it. Even though it seems as if authorities in central America were ok with it, if not participatory, this should not go unpunished.

-J

Only in England

Anyone who has read through the genesis of this blog knows that it started out to record our time in England. Truthfully, it seems like those days were only a dream. I loved the time we spent there. In many ways their culture is just like ours. After all our nation was founded based on the promise of the Magna Carta recognizing that governmental legitimacy does not come from the top down but rises up from the people. And, they have buffalo wings! But some things are still very different. Take this story from the BBC.

The guy dies because drank a pint of vodka in four seconds and the coroner rules his cause of death is misadventure! When I think of misadventure the image that pops into my mind is actually English. It's of the Pythons in the Holy Grail prancing about the country side dressed as knights with men banging coconuts together. It's not a human being dying in a puddle of his own regurgitated blood after consuming too much alcohol in too short a time.

It kinda reminds me of a news story we heard one weekend while we were there (we only had TV when we were in hotels visiting other towns). Guns are basically outlawed over there so criminals have to be more industrious. A serial car jacker was operating on the motorways (our equivalent of interstates) using a large piece of lumber to threaten people to leave their cars. In the US, especially in the south, that would never have worked. He would have been shot long before he got away with a car.

So close yet so far away.

-J

I'm still here

I don't really have much to say, but I thought it was about time for another entry so enjoy some random thoughts.

The older I get, the more I have come to appreciate Supertramp and Steely Dan. It's Raining Again has become one of my favorite songs. I also downloaded a Robert Johnson Album off of itunes. It is easy to write him off as an early influence and not really listen to his music, but he was amazing. If he sold his soul to the devil to make that music, I still think he came out ahead.

Fall is probably my favorite time of the year. How do we know when its fall? The leaves change? No. The weather gets cooler? Have you been outside? Football season starts? No, but you are getting warmer. The answer is: Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. Generally, I try to go to CUPS or Seattle Drip to support my local coffe house. But, I wait every year for fall to roll around so I can get this seasonal treat. It's like a McRib for people that can read, it only comes once in a while so enjoy it while you can. I have already had one. Just as good as I remember. It goes well with changing leaves, cool weather, and football.

Recently it has been announced that Anna Nicole Smith took about 1,500 pills per month. I know that is a lot but why? Not why did she take the pills, but why does anyone care? It would be one thing if it were a cautionary tale. If Lindsay Lohan would pay attention to the story of Robert Downey, Jr. maybe she will become a star again. But how could Anna Nicole's story apply to anyone. Will there ever be another white trash bleach blonde idiot that becomes famous for being in Playboy and looking (kinda) like Marylin Monroe who models Guess jeans, marries a hundred year old oil tycoon, has a baby with somebody (jury is still out on the dad) and overdoses? It's hard to figure on that repeating itself. So like a post I wrote a couple of years ago about Princess Diana, we should just leave Anna Nicole alone.

Thats all I've got.

-J

Mosque and State

There has been some recent news (actually for a while now) regarding the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. A very vocal group of people think the President should step in and do something to stop it. He has said he will not do so. In this case, I think he is right... for all the wrong reasons.

Don't get me wrong, the reasons he has espoused are correct. He first said it was New York's decision. This is true. Zoning is and always has been, with some exception, the right of a state passed down to municipalities. Of course, the other problem with the President intervening in this type of matter is that it would be a clear violation of the separation of church and state.

The problem is the President is only using the states' rights and church and state issue when it pleases him. To be fair, both parties do this fairly consistently. That is one of my biggest problems with both political parties. But did Obama care about states' rights when he forced a healthcare plan down our throats? Did he care about the separation of church and state when he had a Ramadan feast? No. He is duplicitous.

Should the people that bought the property be allowed to build whatever they want there? As long as it is not a violation the answer is clearly yes. New York has already approved the plan. After all, isn't what makes our country great that we allow people to worship as they please, where they please?

-J

In-flight magazine cover stories?

In the last two days there have been two pretty big news stories regarding airplanes. I will discuss them in reverse order.



Last night a small private airplane crashed into a mountain killing 5 of the 9 people on board including Sen. Ted Stevens. One of the four who survived was ex-NASA head Sean O'Keefe. Apparently, small plane crashes are not uncommon in Alaska as many areas are inaccessible by road and the weather is often bad. I guess the frequency with which bush pilots are used should not surprise me as I enjoyed Northern Exposure. Senator Stevens's first wife died in a similar manner. He of course, was disgraced and lost his seat after having been found guilty in a corruption trial (the verdict was later thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct). But, for many years he was one of the most respected men in his state and in the US as a whole.



The second of the two, which came first chronologically, was a male Jet Blue flight attendant. He did basically what many of us would like to do at some points in our lives... he gave his job a giant FU. After a passenger hit him in the head with his bag and refused to sit down, the flight attendant went on the plane's PA and dog cussed the guy. When the plane landed he grabbed two beers, pulled the emergency door, and slid down the slide. He has been arrested but has also become a hero of sorts. However, I hardly think what he did was worth celebrating. He flipped out because a passenger was rude to him? Give me a break! What if everyone who had had a rude flight attendant flipped out on the flight attendant? There would be anarchy. Get a life bro. Also, who knows how his antics affected the ability of some of the passengers to make their next flight? Hero? Hardly. Try short sighted and immature.



-J

Back Home

I was in the Washington, D.C. area for a couple of weeks for work related training. I had a pretty good time while I was up there. It was probably hotter and more humid than it was here in Mississippi for the time I was up there. I also lived through my second earthquake (the first was in San Francisco when I was a kid) so that was something interesting. What was the most interesting thing I saw? That would have to be a guy covering his chocolate muffin with ketchup and then licking off the ketchup while he was eating the muffin. YUM!

I went to the National Archives and, as usual, was dismayed by my fellow Americans. There was basically no line to see the Magna Carta at the Archives. I thought, wow this is great, I can just walk up to the Magna Carta and look at it as long as I want. The problem came a couple of days later when I was at the Pentagon City shopping mall. I needed to buy a pair of boxer shorts. So to figure out the best place to do so, I went to look at the mall directory. There was a line at least five people deep. Yep.

-J

Rosebud

It is a pretty famous twist ending, so I do not think I will spoil anything for anyone by giving away the ending of Citizen Kane but the story is basically about the rise and fall and rise and fall of a man who has had the whole world as his playground and led a full life. The story is related as he is on his death bed and the word he mutters is Rosebud. At the end, the viewer sees that Rosebud is the name of the simple winter sled he had as a child. He had the entire world but in the end, the most happy he had ever been was as a child with Rosebud.

Enter LeBron James. Likeable guy, early twenties, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He was drafted straight out of High School to the Cleveland Cavilers, basically his hometown team. Now he is an unrestricted free agent and has his sights set on places that can pay him tons of money and give him a chance to compete for a championship, something he has never won. LeBron has strung out the process of this decision for some time now and has decided to announce on ESPN Thursday night. It seems strange for LeBron to make a move that reeks so much of a highly exaggerated self worth. When I heard he was making his announcement in that way I immediately thought, what nerve he has to think I even care. But now, after thinking about it, he never signed with a school to play in the NCAA. Yes, he was hyped while he was a child. Yes, he is the much celebrated first overall pick and nicknamed "King James." But he never sat at that table, covered by the national, or even local, news and put on the hat of the team he had chosen. He never had a signing day. And so, even though it seems a little over the top, maybe LeBron is looking for Rosebud.

-J

Trees, Staring, and Inconsistent Glitter Faces

Yes, to tell everyone else what you Twitards know from the title of this post, Nicole and I went to see Twilight Eclipse tonight. My review- if you like the first ones you will like this one. If you found the first ones boring you will find this one boring. Its pretty much the exact same thing as the last movie except... um... uhh... oh yeah! There is a girl wolf. There are some super sweet action poses that Nicole would think were stupid if they were in Hot Rod, but since they are not they are totally rad (even though they were intended to be cheesy in Hot Rod whereas in Twilight they are totally serious). I am always happy to see Bryce Dallas Howard in stuff (in the series's Bewitched moment).

I do not get the appeal, and I do not think I ever will. It is what it is. Girls/women and Ben seem to love it (the same can be said for Bradley Cooper, although that I can see). Most men seem to be perplexed by its appeal. I give up and take my medicine every few months.

-J

web-land quiz time!

So, I went from not having a single post in nearly two years to now having a post three days in a row. It appears I have had some things on my mind. Will I continue to update this often? I do not know, maybe. I do know I have some ideas for the rest of the week. But now, for the moment you have all been waiting for: a new web-land quiz!

Here are four recent United States Supreme Court nominees:

Two are Democrats and two are Republicans. Can you guess who without knowing anything about their platforms or beliefs? The answer is below....

ANSWER:

The two on the left were nominated by Barak Obama, a Democrat. The two on the right were nominated by George W. Bush, a Republican. Do you want to know an easy way to tell? That's right Democratic nominees are always fugly (if you don't know what this means ask someone under 35). Thanks for playing.

-J

To boldy go?

Pugsley (our dog) has had to be dipped every other week for the last two months to take care of demodectic mange. So, today was one of those days. When I went to the vet's office to pick him up I saw something rather peculiar in the parking lot. It was the USS HAISE, otherwise known as the Jackson (metro?) chapter of the Star Trek fan club. See it for youself above. Here is their website. As you can see they are quite dedicated. To be honest, on the photo gallery, I have really no idea what is going on in some of those pictures. I do think it is pretty funny that they had a Halloween party where they dressed up as they generally seem to be dressed up most other days as well. Also, whoever dressed up as the Alien needs some kind of award. I also am very amused at the trip they took to Sonny's BBQ. It has a certain fish out of water appeal. It seems like they do quite a bit of philanthropy in the area and that is to be commended. And hey, if they enjoy it, more power to them. Who are we to judge? Still, it made for an interesting trip to the vet.

Needless to say, the pet picked up at the vet's office was a cat.

-J

Around Another Bend...

I am sure with my long absence from blogging I have alienated my only two or three readers yet, I feel like it is time for me to get back into this again. Even if it's not being read, I at least get some egomanicial pleasure out of seeing my thoughts floating through cyberspace. I have found myself saying more and more often lately, I would write a blog entry about this or that. Those thoughts (that word looks strange typed) now have a home again. Incidentally, I didn't really have anything on my mind to write about tonight. So, I will leave it at that.

-J