Have we really come this far?

It's a good thing the smart people all get jobs with the government.

Otherwise, how would we all still be alive?

It seems that if we didn't have the government to tell us what we can and can't do, and what is and isn't safe, we would be doomed to do something destined to kill us.

This latest example comes to us from the UK, but it is only a matter of time before a municipality in the States (Or in the colonies as they say in the UK).

It seems that the government there isn't convinced that the people who run children's paddling (wadding) pools are smart enough to run their own businesses.

A new regulation requires all pools 18 inches deep be patrolled by trained life guards. Traditionally, the staff is trained in life saving skills, but aren't licensed lifeguards. Those who don't meet the requirement, face the risk of being shut down.

I guess that they should be glad that this new regulation exists.

Sure, it's going to raise operating costs, since licensed lifeguards would need to be paid more than regular staff who merely has life saving training.

But look at it from another perspective.. since it is going to lower the risk of someone actually drowning in the glorified puddles. It prevents a potential wrongful death suit. I'm not sure if the Britts are as litigious as we are, but I imagine it's close.

Before you say “that will never happen here”, remember, our leaders think that we aren't smart enough to decide whether or not its safe to talk on the phone when we drive, or that we need to be protected from those evil restaurateurs who serve that poison 'trans-fat', or that it is wrong to sell wine gift bags at liquor stores, or that a bar or restaurant owner cannot allow patrons to use a legal product in their establishment.

Whatever happened to personal accountability? They are legislating social Darwinism out of society. It used to be that stupid people did stupid things, and didn't last long enough to reproduce. But I guess it comes down to the fact that politicians need stupid people to keep them in office.

What's next? What personal liberty is on death row? Talk radio seems to be on life support, thanks to the impending rebirth of the 'Fairness Doctrine'.

It's that time of year again.

If it's New Years Day, then it can mean just one thing.. We are smack dab in the middle of college football bowl season. At least the ones that matter.

Let's face it, if you play in a bowl game before Christmas, it is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Remember when going to a bowl meant you had a good season? Well, that's not the case any more. Not in the days of the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the Insight.com Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and the Eaglebank Bowl. Don't get me wrong.. I have nothing against a corporate sponsor for the bowls, (I'm looking for sponsors for my charity golf tournament), but when they don't even bother to name the bowls anymore, that's a sure sign that there are too many of them. They even had to go to Canada to find a site to play.

And getting back to the whole idea of earning a spot in a bowl being a sign of a good season, when you have teams like Notre Dame, who needed a win over Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to finish above .500, it raises the question, what's the difference between the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and Corn Flakes? Give up? Corn Flakes belong in a bowl! Let's be serious, winning 1/2 of your games is no accomplishment, and is not deserving of a reward, (unless you are the San Diego Chargers, and win the pathetic AFC West with a stellar 8-8 record).

Let's do some math. There are 119 teams in the NCAA D-I Bowl Subdivision. There are 34 Bowl games being contested in association with the 2008 season.

Assuming there are 2 teams in each bowl, (follow me here..) that means that 68 teams are playing in a bowl game this year. 68 is just under 60% of 119.

That means that 6 of 10 college football teams are ending their season at a bowl game. If more people do something than don't, it makes it less unique. If 6 of your 10 cars on the street was a Bentley, all of the sudden, a Bentley is just another car.

If the NFL decided its champion like the NCAA does, than last year's Superbowl would have been the Patriots against the Cowboys, and the Giants would have had to settle with the equivalent of the Cotton Bowl.

This is probably the only time I am going to say this, but Obama is right. There needs to be a play-off system for college football. D-I football is the only college sport that doesn't have an NCAA sanctioned national champion. In fact, the bowl games aren't even NCAA events.

People who work for colleges are supposed to be smart people.. That's why they work at colleges, right? (the old 'those who can, do, those who can't, teach' adage, can't be true, can it?) Let's let them get together and hash something out.

I guess it's just more fair if everyone wins. We wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of the team that lost half of their games, would we?


Oh yea, Happy New Year!

The latest sign of the Apocalypse

Just when you thought you'd heard it all, a government official goes and does something that makes you just shake your head and wonder..

Dateline Spokane Valley, WA. The Pacific Northwest community has gotten record snow fall this year, and the municipal snow removal crews are having difficulty keeping up with the shear mass of snow.

They are initially focusing on the main thoroughfares and highways. That's all well and good, but people don't live on the main thoroughfares and highways, they live in residential areas.

That's where Troy Garcia comes into play. Troy is a real American. He saw a problem, and a way to fix it. That is until the government stepped in to put a stop to anything that doesn't cost tax dollars, or employ minorities.

You see, Tony saw his 4 wheeler that happened to be fitted with a plow and set to work plowing his driveway, his neighbors' driveways and the streets that had yet to be plowed by the city.

One neighbor, who happens to be a county roads supervisor (how much do you want to bet that he is union?) called the police.

Garcia was cited for several 'crimes' for disorderly conduct.

What happens if one of there was a fire and the FD couldn't get there in time because the streets weren't plowed? What about an elderly resident who may not have been able to get out to go to the pharmacy? The list of 'what ifs' limitless.

We can't allow this sort of anarchy! We can't be left to our own devices, that's what the government is for! Everyone's favorite words to hear "We're from the government, and we're here to help".

Maybe we are further down the road to complete socialism than I had feared. It has spread out of the Peoples Republic of New York and the Peoples Republic of California.

It's that time of year again.

If it's New Years Day, then it can mean just one thing.. We are smack dab in the middle of college football bowl season. At least the ones that matter.

Let's face it; if you play in a bowl game before Christmas, it is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Remember when going to a bowl meant you had a good season? Well, that's not the case any more. Not in the days of the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the Insight.com Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and the Eaglebank Bowl. Don't get me wrong.. I have nothing against a corporate sponsor for the bowls, (I'm looking for sponsors for my charity golf tournament), but when they don't even bother to name the bowls anymore, that's a sure sign that there are too many of them. They even had to go to Canada to find a site to play.

And getting back to the whole idea of earning a spot in a bowl being a sign of a good season, when you have teams like Notre Dame, who needed a win over Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to finish above .500, it raises the question, what's the difference between the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and Corn Flakes? Give up? Corn Flakes belong in a bowl! Let's be serious, winning 1/2 of your games is no accomplishment, and is not deserving of a reward, (unless you are the San Diego Chargers, and win the pathetic AFC West with a stellar 8-8 record).

Let's do some math. There are 119 teams in the NCAA D-I Bowl Subdivision. There are 34 Bowl games being contested in association with the 2008 season.

Assuming there are 2 teams in each bowl, (stay with me..) that means that 68 teams are playing in a bowl game this year. For those of you bad at math, 68 is just under 60% of 119.

That means that 6 of 10 college football teams are ending their season at a bowl game. If more people do something than don't, it makes it less unique. If 6 of 10 cars on the street was a Bentley, all of the sudden, a Bentley is just another car.

If the NFL decided its champion like the NCAA does, than last year's Superbowl would have been the Patriots against the Cowboys, and the Giants would have had to settle with the equivalent of the Cotton Bowl.

This is probably the only time I am going to say this, but Obama is right. There needs to be a play-off system for college football. D-I football is the only college sport that doesn't have an NCAA sanctioned national champion. In fact, the bowl games aren't even NCAA events.

People who work for colleges are supposed to be smart people.. That's why they work at colleges, right? (the old 'those who can, do, those who can't, teach' adage, can't be true, can it?) Let's let them get together and hash something out.

I guess it's just more fair if everyone wins. We wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of the team that lost half of their games, would we?


Oh yea, Happy New Year!

Good Riddance!

We all have things that we are glad to see gone. Some things we hold on to that we need to let go.

Some of the things that one person will hold on to, another says good riddance.

Recently, a group in New York City organized 'Good Riddance Day'. Organizers encouraged people to bring things to put into a giant shredder and say 'good riddance' to. One woman brought a printed email from her ex-boyfriend breaking up with her. Others brought things representing stocks, or papers that read 'cancer'. A creative Yankee fan brought a Boston Red Sox poster (despite the fact that the Rays won the division, the Sox were the wild card winners this year). Top prize went to a man who brought a sock to represent all the widowed socks that lost their mates in the wash.

A clever idea.

What sorts of things are you saying good riddance to? What is easy to dismiss? What are we holding on to, that we really should let go?

Where does it stop?

We've all heard the phrase 'slippery slope'. Basically, it means that once we get started down a path, it gets harder to change course.

It started with the Thruway. We were told that the tolls would only be there long enough to pay off the cost of building the expressway. Then, the toll road will be solely funded by the tolls collected. Now, despite toll hikes, it draws operating funds from the state budget.

The next brilliant move by the the smart people in Albany are proposing an 'obesity tax'. This proposed tax would be a 15% tax on non-diet sodas. 'Big Nutra Sweet' got it's way. They are taxing sugar sodas. It is proposed under the guise that sugar is bad for us. This is the same group that told us that saccharin is bad for us.. and then changed their mind.

What happened to letting people make their own decisions and live with the consequences of said decisions? You know the way that they do it in a free country like the United States? Not the way that the government knows whats best, the way that it is in the Peoples Republic of New York.

OK, now that they have opened the door for regular soda to be taxed, what's next? Tax Honey Nut Cheerios, but not regular Cheerios? Frosted Flakes, but not Corn Flakes? This doesn't take into account that when most people pour sugar on Cheerios and Corn Flakes before they pour the milk. What about taxing whole milk, but skim gets a pass..

My brother made this analogy when it comes to the state budget deficit. "It's like there is a big hole in the ground, and instead of filling the hole, they dig out around it, so we are all on the same level as the bottom of the hole." It is what the Democrats' plan usually involves. Let's not bring up the bottom, let's lower the top. That isn't the way to make a society successful.


** Editors note **

The proposed tax is 18% not 15% as noted.

Does it really work?

Remember a couple of years ago, in a move for solidarity, Hispanic community leaders called for a call in day. They asked for all Latinos, regardless of legal status or citizenship to call in from work on the same day.

The goal was to show how many Latinos there are, and how big of an impact they have on the economy.

The place that I was working at the time (a call center) employed a large group of people from Puerto Rico, Mexico and other Latin countries. As best as I could tell, they all disregarded the irresponsible call to skip work. Many of them were in a Spanish language queue, and primarily spoke with other Latinos. They took calls from upset callers because they went to work on the 'Lets not go to work today' day.

Well, it seems that today is another sort of "We'll show them how many of us there are" days. Today is 'Call in Gay' day. It seems that the leaders of Gay and lesbian community have called for a form of protest.

What do they expect will come of such an action (or inaction)? I think that it will cause more damage than good to their cause. There are far fewer gays than they would like us to think there are. According to a report, between 4 and 5% of Americans admit to being gay. In another report, the number is 1.3%.

Even if everyone who chooses that lifestyle called into work today, how many people would be missing from the workforce today? 5 out of 100? Is that going to cause a wave? Sure, in some cases it may cause an inconvenience to employers and customers, but in most places, it would be less than a ripple. Although, I imagine it would be tough to get your hair styled in San Francisco today.

I don't think that it will cause any broad changes in public perception, but I think the more likely change in attitude will be that there are less of them than the noise they make, and that less accommodations will be made for them. Even in California, when it was put to a public vote, more than 52% of voters supported the proposition to formally define marriage as a union of a man and a women. This is the 2nd time that it was put to a public vote in California, with the same end result.

How far is too far?

I know that a lot of people around the world and in the US are excited with the prospect of a black president.

There are baby Barack Obamas all over country and in Kenya.

But a news story that I came across today is going too far, at least this soon.

It seems that a county in Alabama has already declared the second Monday in November to be "The Barack Obama Day".

Perry County Al is this county. In the article that I read (it was an AP story that can be read here), it says the majority of the 12,000 county residents are black, but it doesn't say how big of a majority it is.

On this day, all county offices would be closed, and the employees would get the day off with pay.

Time will tell the impact that he will have on this country. There are those who say he is going to be remembered as one of the greatest president in the history of this nation. Honestly, I have no idea what they are basing it on, since he has no real experience beyond the 6 months he spent in the Senate before he started his campaign. I hope that he does a better job than what I think he will. My prediction is that he will be less remembered as the next George Washington and more as the next Jimmy Carter. As a matter of hope, just remember, it took a Carter to bring us a Regan.

But none of us can predict the future, he may end up being one of the best presidents this country has seen, but let's give him a chance to prove it before we coronate him. It took over 100 years for George Washington to be honored in such a way.

My Peru Trip

I know it's satire, but it hits pretty close to the mark..

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

The law needs to change.

The law I am speaking about is 'insider trading'.

This week, it came out that the SEC has filed a civil suit against Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban for allegedly using inside information to sell stock that prevented a $750,000+ loss.

What was he supposed to do? Just sit on it and take the hit? I thought that was what capitalism was all about.. using what you know to make decisions to generate revenue. 

Now.. I'm no stock market genius.. but it seems to me that it would have been pretty irresponsible of him to not make a move to head off a loss of more than 3/4 of a million dollars. I understand to someone worth over 10 figures, you can probably find $750,000 between the cushions of his couch.. but that isn't the point.

Presumably, someone who is in a position to lose that much money has employees. What would have happened if he had not made the sale, and he did in fact lose the money, how many people would have lost their job?

I am not a fan of Martha Stewart, but the same thing happened to her, and she went to jail for it. Ironically, if she had not made that transaction, and just sat on the stock, she would have made more money in the long run.. but that's a story for a different time.

We are one of the only industrialized nation that has such restrictions on trading. With such restrictions in place, the stock market is little different from sports gambling.

Sometimes, they are just right.

While I was waiting for a flight at JFK, I picked up a copy of Newsday, a newspaper from NYC.

In it, there was an article about a talk given by former Democrat Presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis at Hofstra University. It can be read here.

In it, he calls for an overhaul of the election and primary process.

I have to agree. I think that the process used to select the nominee is flawed. Why is it, that when we vote for the office, we all vote on the same day, but when we vote for the person that we will vote for, the process is spread over several months?

Doesn't it make more sense that we all vote on the same day? Shouldn't the primary be all on the same day as well?

By spreading it out as long as the current process does, causes some states to not be able to vote for candidates. I was not able to vote for the candidate I would have liked to, because he didn't do well in states that held their primary before the People's Republic of NY held theirs, and the candidate had already dropped out of the race.

Dukakis suggests a consolidation of the process to 6 regional votes. The votes would be held 2 per month in February, March and April. He suggested that the votes would rotate each presidential election cycle. The article didn't go into more details than this, so I'm not sure of the finer details.

As far as the regular election process, I think that it might be time to consider an update to the Electoral College process. I know that the Founding Fathers put in the Electoral College for a reason, that the people then weren't as educated on the candidates as the delegates are, and that they would not be able to make accurate decisions. This may not be far off from the process today, but the reason for the lack of education is different now, than back then. Technology is a key in this. People can be educated, many choose not to.

We need not completely abandon the Electoral College, but I think it should evolve. As it stands now, each state gets as many electoral votes as members of federal representatives (2 Senators and as many Congress as the population calls for), so each state gets at least 3 votes. Every vote a state gets, goes to the party of the majority of the voters.

Here is my suggestion: break down the delegate votes should be divided by Congressional District rather than states. If a Congressional District votes different than the entire state, the votes of that district don't really count. Especially if there are districts that have much larger populations. For example, in NY, in a state of around 20 million population (enough to earn 31 electoral college votes), nearly 1/2 (around 8.2 million) of the population live in New York City. If you count the population center, the number goes up. The NYC market is nearly 19 million by itself (if you count those living in NY, NJ and PA), and over 12.3 million in just the state of New York. More than half of the population of the state is in one market. Nearly 2/3rds (18 of 29) of Congressional districts are 'Downstate'.

Instead of it being an 'all or nothing' process for the electoral college votes, how about giving each congressional district 1 vote, and let the remaining 2 votes for each state, go to the states overall winner.

This way would give us a more representative view of the views of population of the Country.

This is one of around 700 pictures I have taken on my trip to Peru. When I am back in the States, I´ll upload more. They will probably be at shutterfly.com, I´ll post a link here when they are up.

Well, I'm off..

I'm just finishing up packing for my trip to Peru. I'll be leaving for the airport in about an hour. I will have limited to no access to email or the internet while I am gone.

I will be taking tons of pictures, and will post a link to an online gallery when I return.

It will be interesting to see the election coverage (if any) in another country. (I've already mailed my absentee ballot)

Where do you draw the line?

The line I'm referring to is the line between news and advertising.

I understand that it's the responsibility of the news media to report on important events, but where do you draw the line between broadcasting news, and free advertisement?

I'm specifically referring to a paid advertisement that will be on national television tonight. I won't go into more detail, because I'm not in the business of giving free plugs to people who I disagree with.

It's been all over the news all day that there will be this paid infomercial on TV tonight, less than 1 week from election day.

There was even an article on ESPN.com last week about it, since it would be preempting the World Series (assuming a game 6 would be needed, or in case weather permitting, they finish the last 3 innings of game 5). The article talked about how Major League Baseball agreed to postpone the first pitch to accommodate the advertisement. They also said they would be willing to do the same thing, should John McCain decide to do the same thing.

I think that every time a news room reports on this show, they should bill the Obama campaign for ad time. It's not their responsibility to drive viewers, it is the Obama campaigns job to let people to know about it.. and radio commercials aren't free.

Early voting?

Despite what you have heard, Election Day is not 4 November, 2008.

In fact, Election Day is not a day at all. In at least 34 states, Election Day stretches for as much as 2 weeks.

Why is that? How is it fair?

I think that everyone voting in the same race should have the same procedure. If a village or city wants to have a local election period run for more than a day, then they have that right, but in a Federal election, where the entire country will be voting, the election should be the same for each registered voter.

That means the same day, the same schedule (adjusted for time zones), and the same voting format.

In 2000, if the entire country used the voting machines that are used in NY, there would have been no confusion about 'dimpled' or 'hanging' chads in Florida or in any of the other venues that used punch cards for voting.

As archaic as these machines are, they are reliable, and the results are not subject to interpretation.

Getting back to early voting..

I understand that there are circumstances that prevent someone from voting on the appointed day; I myself, will be out of the country on Election Day. There are contingencies made for such situations. It's called absentee balloting. In Monroe County, NY, it requires an application to be sent to the county board of elections in sufficient time. The ballot is mailed to the voter.

Having face to face open poles for as many as 2 weeks opens the way for untold voter fraud.

The more we stray from the foundation that the Founding Fathers laid out for us, the farther we slide towards socialism, and it is a slippery slope.

Happy Halloween!

Article II, Sec i

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

This is taken from the United States Constitution. It is the requirements established by our Founding Fathers for anyone aspiring to the role of President of the United States.

Recently, there has been a movement on the Internet trying to establish that one of the candidates meets only 2 of the 3 requirements.

One such website is http://www.obamacrimes.com/. Philip J. Berg esq, a lawyer (a Democrat) from Pennsylvania has brought a lawsuit against the Obama campaign to force him to disclose documents to verify his eligibility, especially verification of the location of his birth. A video was produced of him (the lawyer) explaining his action, which can be seen here, as well as several other Youtube videos.

Those of you who know me, know that there is nothing that can be said that would convince me to vote for Obama, but it has nothing to do with this alleged disqualification.

There are many reasons to vote against this Socialist. A long shot that he may not be a 'Natural born citizen' shouldn't be one of them.

Things may have been done in the name of The DNC that could be considered as less than ethical, but do you think that they would risk something as potentially devastating as this? In the information age where no secret is safe, how do you think they planned on keeping this quite?

The only logical explanation, is that it is a baseless claim.

Help me understand...

Why do we care what the rest of the world thinks about us?

Why are we so willing to abandon the morals and principles that this country was established with, just to be accepted by a bunch of 3rd world countries?

Remember back to when we were kids.. what did your mom tell you about the other kids? Don't give into peer pressure, just to be liked. Everyone has heard the "if all your friends were jumping off a bridge" line.

If they don't like you for who you are, than they aren't worth having as friends.

It was sage advice on the playground, it is sage advice for international policy.

That's not to say we should go around bullying others, but we need to hold fast to our heritage, our principles, the things that made this country the greatest nation in the world.

Some would say I'm being imperialistic by saying that, but let's look at the facts. How many other nations have as big of an illegal immigration problem as the United States?

How many other countries donate even a fraction of a percent of the humanitarian aid as the United States?

The world is familiar with the term "American Dream", but when's the last time someone mentioned the 'Russian Dream' or even the 'British Dream'?

It's time to stop kowtowing to the poles in Europe and the rest of the world, and let us pick our own leadership. Why would someone in a foreign nation favor one candidate over another? It's because they are thinking in their own best interest, not in the best interest of those of the nation electing him.

We need to remember why we fought the Revolutionary War over 200 years ago.

Here's a newsflash..

Attention Barack Obama, Eric Massa, Rick Dollinger and countless other Democrat candidates for various offices across the nation..

George W. Bush is not running for office in November.

You'd never know it by watching campaign commercials though.

I'm not here to tell these socialists how to run their campaign, but here's some free advice, you don't win by running against something, you win by running for something.

Didn't you learn that from Al Gore and John Kerry?

Maybe it's just me, but you aren't going to get my vote simply by telling me what the other guys said. That doesn't prove that you are better qualified for the position. Just because the other guy isn't right for the job, doesn't mean that you are.

Tell me why you are the better choice, not why the other guy is not the right choice.

Rochester, We're close to cool things!

If you are in the Rochester, NY area, you may have heard a series of ads that are designed to show that Rochester is a pretty cool place to live.

I heard one in particular the other day that piqued my interest. In a nutshell, a guy on a plane is trying to convince the guy next to him that Rochester isn't such a bad place to live.

Before I go any further, let me say, Rochester isn't such a bad place to live. Are there shortcomings? sure, you'd be hard pressed to find a city that didn't have shortcomings. The key is to find a place whose shortcomings are outweighed by the positives.

Any way.. back to the ad..

The guy lists 6 things that are cool about living in Rochester. The problem is, only one of the 6 things is in Rochester (Strong Museum, I'm assuming he is referring to the Strong Museum of Play). Another one could be considered the 'Rochester area' (Letchworth Park). The others are more than an hour away (Riche Stadium, The Carrier Dome, both 75 minutes, Toronto is a 3 hr drive, and NY is an hour flight).

Nothing against the other venues, but if you are trying to say what's good about Rochester, how about keeping it to Rochester, or at least Monroe County. If you want to stretch it, include the 6 county 'Rochester Area'.

Things like:
- Charlotte (walk the pier, ride the carousel, have a picnic, etc...)
- A burger at Bill Grays or Tom Whals
- Catch a game from one of the teams that have one a championship in the last couple of years (Knighthawks, Rattlers, Razorsharks, Raiders)? Granted, only 2 of the leagues are at the top of that sport, but a championship is a championship
- Walk a canal trail in any number of communities along the Canal
- In the winter, go ice skating at Manhattan Square Park
- Catch a play in one of several venues (and I'm not talking about Renaissance square..)
- Hungry? Pretty much any type of food can be found nearby
- Golf at one of the countless golf courses, including world class Oak Hill

And the list goes on.

Do you have anything that you like to do in the Rochester Area? What do you do when friends and family come in from out of town?

What's the Statute of Limitations on a Business Decision?

How long does a company have to be held responsible for associations?

It happens all of the time. A company makes an unpopular decision in the name of business. Someone gets bent out of shape over it, and calls for boycotts and protests.

Often, it is relatively insignificant, and blows over quickly. Many times, those who are offended have little to no impact on the bottom line for the company, so nothing really changes, except for a few chose to shop elsewhere. Which is our rights as consumers in a capitalist economy.

But every now and then, a decision is made that has lasting repercussions.

Recently, one such instance came to light. Allianz, a German-based insurance company that opperates globally, was bidding for the naming rights for the new football stadium being built in the Meadowlands, NJ. This stadium will be the new home for the NY Football Giants, and the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets starting in 2010. This deal was to be worth an estimated $30b annually.

The problem lies in Allianz's history. It seems that their client list included several Nazis as well as concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Reports also indicate that they refused to pay claims to Jewish customers.

The decision was made to end the negotiations when the company's history was made public by the New York Times, out of fear of offending the many Jews and Holocaust survivors in the NYC market.

I am in no way endorsing the practice of withholding claim payment based on anything other than legitimate business reasons, but when is enough enough?

Decisions made 50+ years ago don't necessarily reflect the company today. It's unlikely that there are many, if any, employees still employed by Allianz when the Auschwitz account was written.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, people need to be a little less easily offended, especially when no offense is intended.

It's like Deja Vu all over again.

It seems to be in the news every couple of weeks. A laptop turns up missing. The missing laptop just happens to contain personal information.

It happened again this week at the NTID, a branch of RIT. The laptop in question contained information from 12,700 people who have applied to enroll at NTID since 1968. (If you think you may be affected, you can call the hotline that was set up, 866-624-8330.)

I don't run a college, and wouldn't know the first way to start doing it, but how relevant is student information from 40 years ago? Why is this information on a laptop?

For that matter, why is any of this information on a laptop? It seems that it is taking a risk.

I understand that they need to be able to be mobile, but with the technology that exists today, it seems like an unnecessary gamble.

Here's an idea, keep all of the personal information on central servers back at the office, and connect via a secure connection if you need to be off-site to conduct business.

Here's another example of technology advancing faster than the law. When a laptop with personal information is stolen, it should be 2 crimes, one for the person that stole it, and one for the one person who was responsible for it when it went missing. Maybe then, organizations who are stewards of our personal information would take their charge more seriously, and take the appropriate steps to protect it.

Don't you Just Love the Smell of Hypocracy in the Morning?

Do you remember when the Crown Prince Barack was asked questions about his wife, (who was out campaigning for him) he said "Lay off my wife".

On the other hand, the story broke this weekend that Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of the GOP VP candidate is 5 months pregnant.

Not only that, but there are several reports that the infant in the arms of the candidate is not in fact hers, but her daughters'.

Oh yea, remember back in the early 90's when there was another teenaged daughter being taken for a ride on the campaign with her parents? Anytime someone said anything off about her, they were lambasted for it? I guess that's another of the double-standards that the 'progressives' expect us to live by.

To his credit, His Highness was quoted as saying:

"Let me be as clear as possible, I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as
a vice president."

Let's see if his minions will listen to him.

On the other hand, this is also the guy that said if his daughters got pregnant, he doesn't want them "punished with a baby".

Are you Ready for DTV?

In another example of the government knowing better than we do, if you use an antenna to watch TV, you won't be able to watch TV after 17 February 2009. (Even sooner, if you live in Wilmington, NC. That is the test market, and will go strictly digital in September this year.)

The FCC has mandated that on that date, all full power over the air TV broadcasts be exclusively broadcast in digital format.

It seems that the government has mandated that everyone abandon the analog frequencies and equipment.

Now, in their bottomless well of compassion, the government has graciously arranged for each household to receive as many as 2 coupons to offset the cost of a set-top digital converter box. Each coupon is valued at $40. Converter boxes cost around $50 or more, so we are still going to have to pay for them.

If you subscribe to cable or a satellite service, you won't be effected by this change. These types of services are already digital.

There have been several commercials on TV lately advising the public of the change. They tell people to go to www.dtv2009.com or www.dtv.com for more information and to get the vouchers.

They have been doing a good job of educating the TV watching public that the change is coming, but not such a good job of saying why the change is being required. There may be a perfectly logical reason that this is being implemented, but I really don't know what it is.

Now, don't get me wrong.. Digital is a better technology than analog.. whether it is TV, cell phones or whatever.. but let's be honest. It should be a decision made by the consumer market. If the networks want to go all digital, than they can. The industry will make the transition, just like we did from VHS to DVD, and from clunky analog cell phones to the sleek ones we now use.

I just think that the government should stay out of our living rooms.

It's Down to 2..

Or is it?

Barak Obama has announced that he has claimed enough delegates and super delegates (do they come with their own theme music and side kicks?) to secure the nomination of the Democrat party (not the Democratic party, that doesn't exist.. it's a process, not a party).

But it seems that her highness isn't ready to pack it in just yet.

Is she angeling for the VP? What about a Cabinet post, or even a spot on the Supreme Court?

It seems that she would be more benefited by being a part of the Obama administration, but will he, or, more importantly, the country suffer?

I think that if offered, she would take the understudy role on the Blue Ticket, but I don't think that he would be wise to keep her around.

On the other side of the aisle, the John McCain is starting the process of picking the other half of his ticket. I would like to see him pick Fred Thompson, or Mitt Romey. (I would have voted for Thompson in the primary if he was still running when NY voted. Instead, I voted for Romney.)

What are your thoughts? Who should be the VP nominations?

Do You Remember when New York was one of the United States?

I don't think that I do.

I seem remember being taught in US History and in the various government classes I've taken that when the US Constitution was written, that there were 3 distinct branches of the government. They set it up that way so one branch wouldn't get too powerful. It was set up as a 'checks and balances' system.

These 3 branches were given specific responsibilities. The legislature makes the laws, the executive enforces the laws and the judicial makes sure the laws are fair.

Here in NY, the lines between the branches have blurred beyond recognition. The judicial branch seems to think that they can make the laws.

Specifically I'm referring to the recent ruling that NY must recognize gay marriages entered into in other jurisdictions that allow them to be performed (i.e. Canada, MA or CA).

According to NYS law, such marriages are not legal to be performed, so why is it that something that is illegal to do in NY, would be approved of if it was done in another place, then transplanted here?

It would be like saying it is illegal to produce heroin in NY, but if it is legal to produce it somewhere else, you can bring it to NY to use it.

I think that the simplest way for the government to take care of the gay marriage thing is to have the government not recognize any marriage.

Think about it.. marriage was originally a religious institution. It was made a government institution by societies where the Church was the State.

Is Instant Replay the Answer?

Human error has been a part of sports since the beginning. In this age of technology, several sports leagues have embraced the advances and used them in an attempt to improve the game.

The NFL was one of the first to do so, the NBA and NHL have followed suit. Instant replay even has a place in Tennis.

The big hold out is MLB.

The main argument against it is the same thing that comes up any time a change to the game is suggested.. in a word, Tradition.

Other arguments include slowing an already slow game, the delay would be a detriment to the pitcher (potentially injury causing) and more.

In a recent game between the NY Mets and the NY Yankees in Yankee Stadium, Carlos Delgado was robbed of a 3 run homerun when the homeplate umpire overruled a call from the 3rd base umpire. He, upon seeing the replay after the game, admitted that he made the wrong call. Now, this didn't make a difference in the game (the Mets won 11-2), but it isn't the first time that a call has been missed.

Here's what I propose.. Only use it when it will decide whether a run will score (i.e. fair or foul for homeruns or close calls at the plate).

Don't use it to challenge the strike zone, don't use it to see if a player beat a throw at first, don't use it to see if a fielder caught the ball or not. These are part of the game, and often have little to no bearing on the outcome of a game.

Also, there should be a time limit to the time taken to review a play. A few minutes should be all that is requisite to decide. If not, the original call stands. Only the managers and the umpire crew chief can call for a review, and each manager can only call for 2 per game.

Should there be a penalty if the call is not overturned? Perhaps, but it's not like you can take away a time-out like in the NFL. Taking away an out is a bit harsh.

I think that there is a way to make instant replay work. It can be done without being a drag on the game.

Who is Right?

It happens every election season.

Candidates pandering for votes throw out empty promises in an attempt to show that they are the better choice than the other guy.

In the face of ever elevating prices, 2 of the 3 candidates for have suggested rolling back the Federal gas tax for the summer. One says that it is short sighted.. that it will leave the coffers to empty. Another says that we can make up for it by taxing the record profits from the oil companies.

If you ask me, that is the short sighted idea. Let's call a spade a spade. Corporations don't pay taxes.

Oh sure, they make payments to the government, but where do you think the money comes from? They look at taxes as operating expenses. These operating expenses are passed on to the cost to the consumers.

Here's an idea, waive the Federal gas tax and make up for lost revenue by not burning tax dollars with that misguided idea that corn ethanol will save the world. That will solve 2 problems with one solution..

Don't get me wrong, I am all for renewable energy sources, as long as they are commercially viable. If corn ethanol was going to work, someone would have figured out a way to make it without taking tax dollars to develop it.

14-6 is better than 18-1!

Go Blue!

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Distraction-gate

Why is it that anytime there is a controversy for anything, it is tagged with the suffix -gate? I know where it comes from, but I think it has been way over used.. We've had 'Whitewater-gate'.. Monica-gate.. and now Spy-gate.. (and the first one wants to be president..)

My thoughts about spy gate is it has been blown way out of proportion. For those who aren't aware, (where have you been?) the New England Patriots have been accused of video taping the NY Jets on the sidelines to try to steal the signals. (Which, by the way, happened at the Jet's stadium, on their sideline.. so how much blame do you place on them?)

Stealing signs have been a part of sports since the beginning of time, but the NFL has rules against electronic capture of such signals. Baseball players do it all the time, and it's not uncommon for a manager to change the signs during the game.

The thing that concerns me is that the US Senate is getting involved. Why is it that Arlen Spector (R-PA) is getting involved? Does the Chair of the Judiciary Comittee have nothing better do do than to utilize tax dollars to investigate the NFL? Does the Senate have nothing better do to than this?

The League investigated the allegations, meted out their sentence. That should be the end of it. There is no reason that it should go as far as it has. It's time to let sleeping dogs lie (I'm not talking to Mike Vick).

Oh yea, Go Giants! :)

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Let's look at it for What it is..

For those who still think that universal health care is the way to go, here are a couple of ways to put in perspective.

I'm not going to go into how it is failing in other countries that have it, because most Americans don't care what happens elsewhere.

Look at it this way. When was the last time you went to the DMV? Do you remember waiting in line for an extended length of time for a simple transaction? How difficult was it to do something a bit more complicated? Have you ever filled out the wrong form? or the right form, wrong?

Why would anyone think that government run health care is going to be any different than government run auto licensing agencies?

You are taken to the ER after a car accident, or a heart attack, or whatever, and the nurse says 'Take a number' (unless of course you are an illegal alien, then you get right to the front of the line).

And do you want to see how well the government runs health systems? I have 2 words for you: Walter Reed. Do we all remember how well that worked? The patients there are American Heroes. If that's how the government will take care of their own possessions (remember, they consider soldiers property of the government), how well do you think schlub citizens like you and I will be cared for?

I have only heard one argument that was even slightly logical in favor of universal health care. It wasn't enough for me to turn, but it is worth bringing up. A teacher I had at college brought it up.

The argument goes as so: As the world evolves into more of a global economy, companies who operate in countries that have universal health care (i.e. Japan) have an inherent advantage over companies that operate in countries that don't (i.e. US). For example, Toyota employees in Japan have health care coverage paid for by Japanese tax payers, not by their employer. As such, Toyota does not have the expense of paying health care premiums for employees, and can invest the capital in other areas of the business (i.e. R&D). GM on the other hand, spends more annually on health care for it's employees and retirees than it does for steel, will not be able to compete in the long run with Toyota. This is not a completely apples to apples comparison, because Toyota doesn't have to deal with the UWA, but that's a completely different conversation that I am not going to get into here. Those who know me, know where I stand on unions and what they are doing to our economy.

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Is it Big Brother?

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article that is very 1984ish.

It talks about AT&T and alleged plans they have to monitor and sensor the internet traffic that travels over their networks. According to the article, the network giant is planning on blocking material that is potentially copyrighted and other violations of intellectual property laws.

At first thought, one might think this is a violation of the 1st amendment, but I would have to disagree. The 1st Amendment protects us from government censorship. It isn't designed for a private entity (i.e. AT&T) to monitor and regulate what happens on its privately owned assets (i.e. their network). It would be the same as a mall regulating the objectionable activities in its halls.

I'm not sure where I come out on this. Should they be allowed to do so? The capitalist in me says yes, the concerned citizen in my says no.

I understand that Federal law protects network owners from liability in patent infringement cases. But lets be serious.. in today's increasingly litigious society, it makes sense to take as many safeguards as possible to protect yourself. Especially when it costs so much to defend yourself in a lawsuit, even one that has little to no merit.

It brings me back to 'If you aren't doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about'. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it's true.

You can read the posting here.

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Happy 2008!

Another year is gone, and a new one is upon us. I wanted to take a few moments to look back at a year gone, and forward to the next.

What were some of the big news stories that happened this year? A few things stick out..

• Barry Bonds at the pinnacle of the steroid era of baseball
• The diaper wearing astronaut
• The fires of So-Cal
• The assassination of Bhutto
• The K-Fed and Britney saga
• 16-0 (and almost 0-16)
• The writers strike
  

Whatever you will remember '07 for, whatever you are looking forward to in '08, it is what you make of it.

Here's to a great '08!

Leave comments with what you think is the biggest story of 07 and predictions for 08.

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Merry Christmas

I wanted to take this chance to wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas Season. A friend of mine sent me this, it is a Christmas Medley that is done quite well.

Enjoy, and thanx for reading! :)

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Is it really necessary?

In these days of not trusting the police, TASER has introduced a TASER cam. They have upgraded a model of their hand-held non-lethal immobilizer. The X26 model is able to be fitted with a video camera that can capture as much as an hour and a half of video with sound.

I saw a report on the news about this new feature, and a debate on the concept.

What does this mean for law enforcement? Well, if it is anything like the dash cams in patrol cars, it doesn't bode well. Remember when they started to go into cars? They were supposed to be to verify police officers actions. Instead what what they have done is bread police misconduct complaints.

The problem I have with all of the complaints about it is, the TASER was designed to be a non-lethal way for law enforcement to subdue potentially violent assailants before they become violent. To prove the safety and efficacy of their devices, many employees and all of senior management have taken shots (including several by CEO Rick Smith) from the TASERs they produce.

Why is it that someone is threatening civilians or law enforcement officials, they can only act when it seems it is too late? Isn't that what the TASER was supposed to be? A non-permanent way to save innocent lives? Now, like in so many cases in today's legal system, the criminals have more rights than the victims. And no, a bank robber who got TASERed is not the victim.

My piece of advice, if a cop is telling you to do something, 'do it'. If you don't, the officer's choice is the .40 cal or the TASER. Which would you prefer?

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In the news...

There have been a couple of big stories in the news this past week, the CIA interrogation tapes being destroyed and the Mitchell report.

The first story, the NY Times reported that 2 tapes featuring several hours of interrogation of two high ranking Al Qaeda lieutenants that allegedly featured severe tactics including waterboarding.

Regardless on your thoughts on torture, this story only serves one purpose. First of all, these tapes were destroyed 2 years ago. This is just another chance for those who hate America to attack the current administration.

I'm not one to give the CIA carte blanche when it comes to questioning detainees. If we pull out all the stops, we are no better than the heathens that they are protecting us from, but they should be given some latitude to do their job. Remember, these are the guys who aren't afraid to die. otherwise, they are not going to be willing to pilot a plane into a building, or put on a dynamite vest on and walk into a crowded market. Don't these guys get a free pass to heaven when they die for Allah? One of these guys gave up information that saved countless American lives after less than 35 seconds.

The CIA claims the reason for the tapes being destroyed is that the agents doing the interrogating can be identified. My reaction to that is if you don't want the agents to be identifiable on your interrogation tapes, don't make the tapes.

To those who say the CIA should be able to keep the tapes secure, keep in mind that the CIA isn't the only intelligence agency that is tasked with using covert means to secure information. And if the NY Times can break the story that the tapes were destroyed, imagine what a trained field agent can do if they wanted to.

==========================

The other story that is dominating the news is that of the Mitchell Report. It's the 400+ page report authored by former Maine Senator George Mitchell at the request of commissioner Bud Selig. In the report, more than 80 current and former Major League Baseball players are named in connection with steroid or human growth hormone (HGH). Some of the names are surprising (Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens) others are not (Barry Bonds). The report names players from all 30 teams, but it is curious that 25% of the list authored by a member of the Red Sox board of directors is made up of current and former Yankees.

This report was nearly 2 years in the making. It was met with a myriad of reactions. Will it make a difference? That is to be seen. Do the fans really care? As a whole, not really. Individually, perhaps.. Will it effect entrance into the Hall of Fame? I think it may. I don't see it keeping anyone out of the Hall, but it may delay their entrance. Someone like Bonds who was well on his way to be a near unanimous first ballot inductee will likely not be voted in for a year or two.

The question that keeps getting asked is: what should the League do with the players? First off, many of those on the list are no longer players, so there isn't anything that MLB can do. For those who are still active, the recommendation from Mitchell is to do nothing to them. I have to say I agree. Too much of the information is circumstantial, and there is the whole spectrum of involvement. Some were offered HGH and declined (David Justice, in an interview on ESPN Radio with Colin Cowherd on Friday) others had a more in depth involvement. Keep in mind, steroids and HGH were not against the rules of baseball until just recently.

When you start talking about wiping records, you have to consider all of the implications. If you take away Barry Bond's home runs, do you take away wins from the Giants? What about the runs scored by the players already on base when he hit it? The pitchers' ERA? All of the sudden it isn't such an easy solution.

The bigger implication in the report is the hundreds of thousands of non-professional athletes, many high school and college athletes who are on the juice. That is the problem that really needs to get addressed. That is the real problem here.

** My disclaimer.. this is the second time I wrote this today, right before I published it, my web browser crashed, and I lost it, so I had to start it over..

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It's not easy being green.

It's that time of year again. Time to pick how you want to be billed for your energy, and who will bill you for it.

This is thanks to the genius of Charles Schumer. You see, we aren't smart enough to take care of ourselves, so it's a good thing that we have such a smart, benevolent senator like Schumer.

He came up with this brilliant idea of de-regulating the power industry of NY. This allows for a bunch of other companies to start billing us for power that is still provided by RG&E, along lines that are owned and maintained by RG&E, so it only makes sense that another company can come in and do a better job of billing than the company whose infrastructure is being used, and whose product is being used.

The thing that throws me off is the company that is offering green energy. It costs more, but you can get that warm feeling when you turn on your furnace to get warm. How is it that a company that doesn't produce the power control where the power comes from? And how do they keep the coal and nuclear power from those customers who worship the gods of global warming? What's even better, they have different levels of green plans. That way, you can choose how much you love the planet.

Don't get me wrong.. I am not advocating for waste, I just want to save money.

And it seems that you cannot ever win with Al Gore's disciples. (see my column from back in August of my thoughts about wind farms).

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Who let the dogs out?

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced for his part in a dog fighting ring this morning. As you may already know, a house owned by the former Atlanta Falcon was used for an underground dog fighting ring.

When it came to light, the new gestapo of the NFL, commissioner Roger Godell issued an indefinite suspension. As the investigation developed, several of the people involved in the ring, took plea deals. Vick and his attorneys decided that the best thing to do is to plead out himself. The sentencing came down today, 23 months.

The questions that this raises is was that fair? Speculation was that it would have been closer to 12-18 months, but the statute allowed for as much as 5 years.

Will we see him back in the NFL? Well, if he serves his full sentence, he will be in jail until midway through the 2009 season (October 2009). He then will have to serve whatever sentence the League sees fit to impose. So it is likely that he won't be eligible to play until at least the 2010 season. At that point, he will be 29, and out of the league for 3 years. Sure, he will have the opportunity to stay physically fit while in prison, but that isn't NFL game condition.

Reaction to the sentence was varied. Many were satisfied that he got a stiffer sentence than expected, while others played the 'he was a victim' card and got a stiffer penalty than someone who fit a different demographic would get.

Bottom line, I feel the sentence was fair. He got hit in the pocket book much harder than the jail time. He lost millions in endorsements that will likely never come back even if he does make it back to the league. Do I think he will be back in the league? Probably. If the QB shortage is anything like it is now, someone will give him a shot. I think that he will have paid his debt to society by then. After all, this is the land of second (and third and fourth) chances.

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Here they come again! Our heroes!

The federal government must think we can't survive without them. I guess we have given them plenty of reasons to think that, but it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The more someone (or someones) come to the rescue, the more they become dependent on the help.

The latest example of the white knight that is the Federal government is the announcement that they are going to freeze the adjustable rates on all of those mortgages. Sounds like a good thing, but here is what is being missed.. If borrowers can't afford the rates where they are frozen (which by the way is among the lowest on record), how are they going to be able to afford the payments in 5 years, when the rates thaw?

I understand that one of the key indicators of the health of the economy is housing sales, but isn't this just another form of welfare?

If there hadn't been the pressure to relax the standards for loans, there wouldn't be the need to bail out those who didn't plan ahead enough to get a loan they would be able to afford.

I'll be the first to tell you that I am no Warren Buffet, but I was smart enough to not get a loan for the max I was approved for, and I got a fixed rate. The only time my payment will change is when my taxes go up to help pay for everyone else that needs the government to bail them out.

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Why does it matter?

I'm about to talk about the two things you aren't supposed to talk about.. and I'm going to do it in the same column.. Religion and politics.

I don't understand the hypocrisy of it. One candidate is automatically disqualified because of where he spends his Sunday mornings.

It doesn't matter that the church in question teaches fiscal responsibility and personal accountability.

A church that developed a welfare program that fosters self improvement, a program that is designed to ween people off it. This program doesn't breed generations of dependents.

On the other hand, if a person pays homage to the same deity as those guys who flew planes into the Twin Towers, that is off limits.

I guess what it comes down to, does it really matter what church a person belongs to? Politically speaking? I don't think so.

One last question to consider.. Why is religion such a big deal for a former governor from the land of the Kennedys, but no one cares or even knows that a senator from the Silver State goes to the same church??

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It must be fair..

I mean, it has to be.. people much smarter than me came up with it, and ESPN talking heads keep drilling it..

I'm talking about the rules that say a NFL franchise has to interview minority coaching candidates before they fill a vacancy. Now they are trying to force the rule into the college ranks.

Is it fair that of the 119 Division I-A football programs in the country, only a small handful is a minority. I think the number is less than 1 in 10 programs.

This comes up every year when the coaching carousel starts spinning.. It becomes big news when black assistants remain assistants.

Is the 'good old boys' club as strong as they would have us believe? Should organizations be forced to parade token candidates to comply with the rules? The theory is that it gets the name out there.. but If I am a hiring manager and I pass on a candidate, what does it say about the candidate? Are you more or less likely to hire someone who I passed on?

Do we have a ways to go? Yes. Is mandating affirmative action the right thing to do? I don't think so.

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Heroes Season Finale

It's been a while since I added something new here.. so I figured it was time I put something up, I'll start with my take on last night's season finale of what is quite possibly the best TV series ever, Heroes.

I know, it wasn't officially the season finale... but if they don't settle the petty dispute between the producers and writers, it is unlikely the show will return before next fall. More on the strike in a bit..

A few weeks ago, I ran across a podcast and website dedicated to the show that is very well done. It has a very active forum. It can be found at http://www.thetenthwonder.com/ if you are a fan of the show, it is worth checking out.

Let me start out with saying if you haven't already watched the episode, there are spoilers here.. you have been warned... :)

The obvious first question is who shot Nathan and is he really dead? I think that we have seen the last of Nathan Petrelli, but Adrian Pasdar may reprise his role in a flashback sequence in future episodes. As far as his killer goes.. I would bet that it is Noah. After re-watching the episode, and pausing it as the lone person walks away from the commotion, it really looks like that person is wearing horn-rimed glasses (or as he is known in the forums as HRG)

My take on what Hiro did to Adam/Kensei is this.. I know that he (Hiro) felt that he needed to do something to put an end to what Adam/Kensei was up to, but if he is supposed to be the good guy, is trapping him in a coffin underground (was it LT Sulu's coffin?) the way to go? It seems that it is more of a cruel thing to do than to just cut his head off. Someone in the forums suggested that the super hearing that Sylar picked up last season from the mechanic will help him to locate him and dig him up.. interesting theory, but I'm not sure how much stock I put into it. I believe David Anders is done (except for possible flashback sequences).

Is there any significance to the other visible objects in the vault? From what I saw, there was a dagger, a brain, 3 cards (3 queens), a pyramid, a gold key, and a few other things. Honestly, I think that most of these objects have little to no plot value. People may be just looking for something to speculate on.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this series or episode? Predictions for volume 3? Drop me a line!

Now, getting to the strike. More often than not, a strike is the most selfish thing a worker can do (conversely, a lockout is the most selfish thing an employer can do). I understand that getting about $0.04 per DVD is not much, but the strike is hurting more than just the producers and actors. Most of them can afford to take a couple of weeks off.

What about all the rest of the staff? The cameramen, the grips, the set builders and countless more.. most of them are working stiffs.. they aren't making ton of money for the work they do, especially in comparison to the others..

And what about those who are indirectly related to the productions? People like drivers and caterers.. When the person that put their life savings into opening a catering business goes under because their biggest client is a TV studio, what happens?

And what about the advertisers? They put up good money to advertise in primetime shows that have been forced into re-runs? Do they get a refund or discount?

But what do I know?

I just hope this strike doesn't effect the upcoming season of Lost.

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Do we remember 9/11 for the right reasons?

This may seem like this is a day late, but this isn't your typical 9/11 column. It's more of a reaction of the reaction.

Yesterday, I saw a video clip online that was a montage of pictures, videos, and news clips from 6 years ago. It was quite well done. There were several pages of comments about it. Most of them were from the vein of 'I was getting ready for work' or 'my brother was there' or 'the firemen were so brave'. Very heart felt. Many were poignant.

And then there was the other end of spectrum.

There were several from the whack jobs on the other end of the spectrum. There were countless comments from people who ended the post with "I HATE BUSH" or "BUSH LIED" and the like.

These are the types of people that are bad for America. Oh, they think they are being good Americans, and that they are what America needs.

I wasn't around for Pearl Harbor or the Lusitania, but after these events, did we criticize the government for planning the events? Did you ever hear about people who claimed that we bombed the USS Arizona?

I'm not saying that the government is always blameless, but attacking its own citizens? That's what Sadam did, not Bush. There is no credible evidence that the towers came down due to anything other than those planes. They were not imploded by pre-planted explosives. It's amazing how hot a 757 full of fuel will burn. It is hot enough to compromise the integrity of structural steel.

We were right to act out with emotion. We just reacted with the wrong emotion. We shouldn't be acting with sorrow, it should be anger. Not with vengeance, but with a purpose.

We need to take stock in what we lost 6 years ago. What we have given away since. Are we honoring those who gave their lives in the towers?

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What will it take to sink this ship?

Just when you thought we had heard the last about the fast ferry, it is back in the news. It seems that a law suit has been filed against the city. The suit alleges that the city had no authority to purchase the failed venture.

Now, I completely agree that it was about the dumbest thing for the city of Rochester to do, but will a law suit fix it? It will just end up costing the city more money.

First, the city will have to spend money to defend itself.

Second.. if they lose, what happens? Will they have to buy the boat back from Germany to let it get repoed by the myriad of creditors?

We should just let it go. Cut our loses, and move on to the next waste of tax dollars.. Renaissance Square.


Just remember, when the Renaissance Square project fails, we can't sell it to the Germans.

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Milestone weekend

It finally happened. The other untouchable record was touched. It used to be said that no one would get 61 homeruns in one year, then two players did it in the same year, and it has been broken since..

Now Bonds has tied Hammerin' Hank, and will likely be the career HR king within a week. Whether or not you believe he took steroids, it is still an accomplishment. You still have to make contact with a projectile coming at you at upwards of 100 mph from less than 60 feet away. A projectile that isn't coming straight, it is moving left to right, right to left, up to down..

Other milestones reached this weekend include Alex Rodriguez becoming the youngest to get to 500 career homeruns. Will we be doing this career HR chace in 5 years? Who knows.

Those of you who know me, know how much I dislike the Yankees, but I do have a respect for A-Rod. I think it's funny how fickle Yankees fans are. Wasn't it just a few months ago that they were begging Cashman to dump him? Now, he is their savior.

Lastly, a milestone that is unlikely to be duplicated ever again, Tom Glavine recorded career win number 300. In todays era of the middle and long reliever, it is unlikely that anyone will sniff that number again. The next closest is Randy Johnson, who is one strong healthy season from hitting it. Unfortunately for him, he is about to go under the knife for another back surgery.

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What should Stern do?

That is easier asked than answered.

I am referring to what the NBA should do about former referee Tim Donaghy. He was recently flipped by the Feds as part of an organized crime gambling bust.

It turns out that Donaghy was helping to fix games to meet or beat the point spread.

All over the sports web sites, the poles are which is a bigger black eye on the sport, Bonds and his steroids, Vick and his dog fighting, or Donaghy and his fixed games. As bad as the first two options are, there is no comparison.

Bonds may be well on his way to cheating his way to the most hallowed record in sports, and dog fighting is unspeakable at best, but a dirty ref is goes a lot further. It strikes to the core of the integrity of the game.

It goes beyond what Pete Rose did. When Pete bet on the Reds as a manager, he was betting that his team would win. When a referee bets on a game, or effects a game in another way, it goes so much deeper. It directly effected the outcome of games.

When games are decided by other than players and coaches, so much more is affected. How often does one game change who makes the play-offs or seeding in the play-offs? How many player contracts were affected? How many coaches have been fired because they didn't win enough games?

There is no way of knowing how deep the wounds may go.

What is commissioner to do? Like I said earlier, there is no easy answer.

Can the league survive it? I'm sure it will.

Will the league lose fans? I'm sure it will.

Sports fans will always come back.

Should the league have the right to audit the finances for its officials? I think it isn't too much to ask. They don't have to be made public, just made available to league brass.

Now, this isn't going to be a fool proof system, people will always find ways to hide their ill-gotten gains. I think it may be a good start.

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Full of Hot Air?

I wish they will just make up their mind.

I'm referring to the people who insist on finding alternative fuel sources. It seems that they don't always think things through.

If, like the High Priest of Global Warming Al Gore insists, we have a limited amount of fossil fuels, and a growing thirst for it, we need to find a new way to quench that thirst.

I read a letter to the editor in today's paper that caught my eye. It was attacking the investors interested in putting up windmills. Particularly the ones planned for Wayne County, NY.

It seems that the biggest complaint about them is that they are eye sores.

I am not sure that I buy off on that. I rather like the look of those giant majestic propellers on the sky line. I remember driving over the Altamont Pass, where I-580 passes through the Diablo Range in California, home to over 4000 wind turbines. It is truly a site to behold.

Here is where the hypocrisy comes into play. If there is a way to generate the electricity to run our electric cars, (so we can get away from that evil brew of hydrocarbons we are currently hooked on..) wouldn't it make sense to do it? I mean, where do we currently get our electricity from? Coal fired and nuclear power plants, and dams. The trifecta of evil earth haters.

Shouldn't we want to make that sacrifice? Isn't that what we are supposed to be willing to do? Give something up so we don't feel so guilty about our lifestyles? Isn't that the tithing that we pay to be members of the Church of Inconvenient Truth? Shouldn't we be willing to endure the eye sores so we can avoid drilling in Alaska, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico? And don't forget all the oil that we import from other countries.

I'm no scientist or engineer, but it seems that we have several viable alternative energy sources, but the tree huggers that force us to seek out such sources shoot us down before we can implement any of them (after all, isn't it better to shoot an oil worker than a spotted owl?).

By the way, what type of fertilizer do you use on a wind farm?

Why do we hate cops?

It seems that in this day and age, there is a growing disdain for our law enforcement officers, whether on the local level, or national.

Recently, there were 2 separate chases involving criminals and local police departments that ended in the death of one of the alleged criminals fleeing the authorities.

The first occurred on 15 May, 2007. Pam Chatman (a woman with 30+ aliases and a rap sheet "literately 20 feet long") was fleeing the police after shoplifting from the Grease Towne Mall, the other happened more recently. A passenger in the fleeing car was killed at the end of the pursuit. In the car, the Police found unregistered, loaded weapons and drugs.

On the national level, boarder guards are not being able to do their job. When they are threatened by drug smugglers and coyotes, and return fire, they are put in jail.

Why is it that when someone is arrested, we blame the cops? Why is it that when the person fleeing the police gets hurt in a chase, we immediately look to see if the cops were at fault? What ever happened to 'you do the crime, you do the time?'

Granted, there are some bad cops out there, but they are by far the exception, rather than the rule.

I don't really have an answer to this, I just thought I would throw this out and see what you had to say about it...

I can't belive I'm saying this...

Al Sharpton was right.

Yes, you read that right. I am actually agreeing with the Reverend.

When Hotel heiress, Paris Hilton was reassigned to house arrest to serve out the rest of her already shortened sentence, it stank of favoritism.

The fact that less than a day later, she is back in jail shows that perhaps the LA justice system might not be as messed up as initially thought.

Does a person's race or economic status play a part in the treatment they receive from law enforcement? Perhaps. Does it happen as often or as blatantly as the good reverend would have us think? I don't think so.

Playing the race card when race isn't the factor only hurts the real victims of racial bigotry. In fact, in todays society, it seems that we bend over backwards to avoid any hint that race might be a factor. Without getting into detail, I have seen it happen.

In the Paris Hilton situation, I think the message is that if you are famous, you are above the law. The list of celebrities who have gotten favorable treatment includes people from several different races, not just Caucasians.

So much for Justice's blind fold, I think it might be slipping.

He should be in jail.

And now he's talking of suing the government for putting him in quarantine.

I'm talking about the lawyer that flew to Italy and back after being diagnosed with a rare form of TB.

Ok, so maybe he wasn't aware of his condition before his flight to Italy, but reports indicate that he was advised not to fly home on a commercial flight, and the fact that he changed his flight to Montreal and drove across the boarder seems to indicate that he knew he would be flagged at the airports.

Who knows how many he could have infected. He put countless people in danger. Now, I am by no means an expert on infectious diseases (like his father-in-law), but it seems that a trans-Atlantic flight would expose him to a myriad of people, both directly and indirectly.

He acted with reckless abandon (can you tell I watch Law and Order?).

One good thing has come from this, it exposed a weakness in the boarder crossing that can be addressed and corrected.

Isn't it just the case...

OK, so now if you don't come to the defense of a complete whack-job, you are a coward? Even if that fat cow is a complete 180 from where you stand on a subject..

I just want to make sure I know all the rules.

In case you missed it, (and unless you are living in a cave, you probably didn't) that annoying waste of space Rosie O'Donught used her soap box to once again prove her ignorance to the world on her show.

A few weeks ago, she compared the US Troops to terrorists. Surprise, people didn't like that insinuation, and she got a reaction.

When co-host Elisibeth Hasselbeck didn't come running to her defense, Rosie called her a coward.

So, the lesson of the day is: If a co-worker who could eat you says something stupid, something that you don't agree with, and when people get mad, if you don't kiss her fat backside, you are the coward.

You see, Rosie is smarter than all of us, and if she says it, it must be right. (like when she said that George W. planted bombs in the World Trade Center #7, the evil conservatives must have done it. Since I'm not as smart as she is, I wondered why if we bombed ourselves, why we couldn't sneak WMD into the Iraqi desert.. but like I said, I'm not that smart.)

I'll step down from my soap box now.

Season Finales

This week, two of the best shows on TV had their season finales, 'Lost' and 'Heroes'. I wanted to give my takes on both.

I'll start with the older of the two shows, 'Lost'. I will include spoilers, so if you haven't seen it yet, and plan to, be warned.

This years season was kind of a weird one. It featured a long hiatus 6 episodes into the season.

I wasn't sure how I liked the emphasis on 'the others' in season 3, but the last couple of weeks made it worth it. There was some interesting developments of Ben, Juliette and 'The Others' in general. Having said that, I thought the episode that they spent developing Nikki and Paulo (Expose, s03e14) was misplaced. They spent too much of the episode developing characters that were minor at best before this episode, only to kill them off at the end. I didn't remember them at all, but after discussing the episode with friends, I vaguely remember them (or at least her) from the past.

Overall, I felt that the 2-hour grand finale raised more questions than it answered. I like the way that the 'flashback' was actually foreshadowing. But the beard doesn't work on Jack.

Questions like:

--Whose funeral did no one go to? (Ben? Locke? Sawyer?)
--Who is at home wondering where she might be when she is meeting Jack at the airport? (Ben? Sawyer? Kate and Jack's kid?)
--Was Naomi really the problem that Ben said that she was?
--Did Desmond make it out of the 'Looking glass Station'?
--What was the work that Walt said Locke has to do? (and where have he and Michael been?

Also, some questionable plot turns, like why does Charlie close the door of the station from the inside instead of the outside?

I know that a lot of people got turned off by the season. From the huge gap in the middle of the season to the (at times) drawn out plot lines. I felt that I had enough invested in the first 2+ seasons to at least stick out the end of this season. Now that it's over, I will be looking forward to the 4th season this fall.

++ Heroes ++

When this show first started, I wasn't sure if I would like it. Enough people told me it was good, so I gave it a shot, and after an episode or two, I got hooked.

I wasn't keen on having to read all the subtitles when Hiro and Ando (and Lt. Sulu as well) when they were talking to each other in Japanese, but I get it.

I liked how they dragged out how long it took to figure out if Claire's dad was a good guy or not.

After 22 excellent episodes, I have to say that I was disappointed in the finale. I felt it was rather anti-climactic.

The final show-down with Sylar was a let down.

My prediction for next season is that Micah and Molly will be a big part of next season. They left a huge opening for it when they were waiting for the elevator.

Have we seen the last of the Petrelli brothers? What is their mother's power? Will DL come through from the bullet? Is Niki or Jessica going to dominate? Is one of them done? Are we going to find out that Suresh has an ability (it is in his blood, his sister had the same power as Molly)? What happened with the Haitian? What is going to come of Hiro in feudal Japan?

Both shows have potential to have strong seasons next year.

What are your predictions for next year? What about reactions to my thoughts/questions?

Baseball needs to re-think its scheduling practice

I meant to write this a while back but I didn't want to over shadow the events that lead to my last two posts.

Now that the baseball season (both Major and Minor leagues) are starting earlier and earlier, they need to rethink the idea of having cities in the northeast host games in the early season.

Those of us who live in the northeast (I'm in Rochester, NY) know that weather is, at best, unpredictable.

It doesn't seem to be as much of a problem for the majors, since they have larger travel budgets and multiple trips to each city (except for the inter-league games, which don't occur in early April).

Why is it that the southern and western teams consistently travel to the colder climbs to open the season. Who was the brainiac who sent the L.A. Angels of Anaheim to open the season in Cleveland, OH? With several feet of snow on the field, the games were moved to Milwaukee, WI, into their domed stadium. (did anyone else notice that the games were moved to the home stadium of the team owned by the sister of the commissioner?)

Now I understand that the southern teams don't want to lose home game dates in the summer when more people are likely to attend, as opposed to the days that schools are still in session.

What becomes unfair, is now that the Rochester Red Wings of the International League (an AAA League) will lose 3 home games this year because of bad weather. Since the teams involved, aren't scheduled to make another trip to the Flower City, the games will be made up when the Red Wings travel south later this summer.

To make matters worse, in the make-up games, the Wings won't even get the benefit of last ups in these games.

Now is the time to make the change. If the season isn't going to start later in the year, than have the first 2 weeks take place in southern and western cities, or cities that have domed stadiums. Would you rather sit at the stands of a game in August in South Carolina, or in Rochester?

Or, here's a novel idea.. how about going back to playing more double-headers? That would allow the season to start later, but not shorten the number of games (which might not be a bad idea either..).

Play ball!

More gun laws are not the answer

Given the recent events in Blacksburg, VA this week, one might be quick to say that we need more laws to control the possession and use of firearms in this country.

Without turning this into a 2nd Amendment discussion, I would have to whole-heartedly disagree.

Anyone who says otherwise either hasn't thought it through, is just plain ignorant.

First of all, do you think that Cho Seung-Hui was concerned with the law when he gunned down 30+ people on campus Monday?

Would another law have prevented the tragedy? In a word, 'No'.

Sure, it may have slowed him down, but as hell-bent on destruction as he was, he would have found a way to secure weapons to fulfill his manifesto.

If the gun dealer had not legally sold him guns, he could have gone to many urban street corners to pick up a Saturday night special, or he could have gone into a garden center, and picked up a bag of ammonium nitrate and a Ryder truck like Timothy McVeigh did 12 years ago today.

Despite your stand on the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, the more restrictions the government places on it's law-abiding citizens, the less protected the citizens become.

One thing that I don't hear being mentioned is the comparison to the shooting in Trolley Square in Salt Lake City two months ago. No one has stopped to say how much worse that tragedy could or would have been, had Kenneth Hammond (an off duty police officer) not been there with his legally registered hand gun, how many more innocent lives would have Sulejman Talovic taken if he wasn't stopped by a citizen with a gun?

Let's apply that hypothetical to the Va. Tech. scenario. If one of the students in the engineering building (or in the dorm for that matter) had been allowed to carry a gun, how many of those 30 people killed would still be alive? Given this, one could hypothesize that gun laws exaggerated the casualties.

In full disclosure, I am a member of the NRA, and a gun owner.

As always, I welcome, and invite your thoughts and comments.

Imus got a raw deal

Don't get me wrong.. he is an idiot for what he said on the air, but was it grounds for the wrath of Sharpton?

Was anyone really surprised that he was capable of saying something so stupid on the air? He's been saying stupid, ignorant, controversial things on the air for nearly 40 years now. He invented the profession of shock-jock. Was he over the top this time? Perhaps.

Here's a novel idea, if you don't like what someone says on the radio or TV, change the channel. Let's all be serious... it's 2007, we have more choices for media than ever before. How many people actually heard what Imus said live? He's not even on the air in my market, and if he was, I wouldn't be a listener (well, I guess he was on MSNBC, but I'm not one of the 4 people that watch that network).

It is one of the biggest double standard in today's society. And before you play the oppressed slave card, lets really take a look at it. First of all, who do you think sold the slaves to the slave traders? That's right, other black Africans. And if they hadn't, how likely is it that Al Sharpton would even be in this country? He is a descendant of slaves (ironically, descended from a slave owned by the ancestors of former Senator Thurman). If slavery hadn't happened, would he be here to cry out against the devastation caused by some idiot on the radio? If I were one of the players, I don't know who I would be more upset at. No, I do know. Imus is some ignorant radio shock jock, Sharpton is arrogant enough to think that I need his protection. He thinks that the players aren't tough enough to let it go.

Why is it that Kramer gets lambasted for his moronic tirade, Imus gets fired for saying less, yet Chris Rock and Richard Pryor's routines are full of 'cracker' references and N-bombs, and audiences are in hysterics.

And have you heard the lyrics for Snoop Dogg, or Jay-Z, or countless other rap/hip hop artist. How many times do they talk down to black women, and all they get is the 'parental warning' label on the CD and sell countless albums.

The scariest part about this whole thing is that I agree with that fat slob on The View, if they can take down an icon like Imus, who is next? Rush? Beck? Savage? Hannity?

Another racially motivated story in the news that seemed to disappear recently. Those 3 lacrosse players that raped the stripper last year (oh yea, that's right, they didn't). The story that forced the pre-season number one ranked college lacrosse team to sit out the season. The story that got the coach fired, the story that blacklisted those 3 boys. Oh yea, the story that will likely get the Durham County DA disbarred for trying to grab headlines and kowtowing to Jackson and Sharpton about the 3 evil, privileged, white boys that were less than civil to the black stripper, who couldn't keep her story straight.

Bottom line, we have taken this whole politically correct thing way to far. We all need to take a step back. We need to be more sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of other. Thumper's mother had it right when she said "if you can't say something nice, don't say nuttin' at all."

But we also need to be less sensitive and not be so quick to take offense to the things that others say, you know the whole sticks and stones thing.

Let the flame war begin.