Political Points

Allow me to make a few bullet points about current issues.

Why does it matter?
Hillary Clinton said during a recent congressional hearing "Four people are dead... What does it matter [who did it and why]?  We need to figure out what happened to keep it from happening again."

She answered her own question.  She took some unfair flack from the "What does it matter?" comment.  In context, it wasn't as bad as some tried to make it seem.  She wasn't saying that the four dead didn't matter, only that the false information linking it to a youtube video didn't matter.  The fact that they refused requests to provide more security didn't matter.  The fact that there was a CIA report and a separate military report saying that they were ordered to stand down didn't matter.

That said, she did answer her own question.  Why those things matter is because if it could have been stopped but wasn't because it was politically inconvenient matters.  The fact that it was deemed too dangerous to send in the FBI to investigate while the New York Times walked through the facility matters.  If there was neglegence on behalf of whoever and it lead to four dead it is the same as pulling the trigger.  It is murder.  And even ignoring that, you can't fix a problem you don't know about.  So covering up the problem doesn't help.

Debate?
President Obama said recently that we could have a reasonable debate if people would stop disagreeing with him.  I hate to tell you, but a debate it where people present two opposing viewpoints and defend them to each other.  In other words, you can't have a debate without people arguing with you! 

Higher taxes do not mean higher revenue.
Seems simple, right.  Raise the tax rate and you raise more money.  Fair share, and all that.  California has the highest rate of personal income and corporate taxes.  To alieve their financial problem, they're raising taxes again.  This means more revenue right?  Wrong.  Higher taxes means more people are moving their businesses to where taxes are less.  In Texas, more people paying in means much more revenue than higher taxes would bring.  It's exponential growth.  It's even simple multiplication.  Go back to high school and do some math.

Semi-automatics aren't what you think.
There is a push to ban semi-automatics.  This is because people don't know what they are.  Semi-automatic means that if you pull the trigger once, it sends one bullet (as opposed to revolvers, where you have to click the hammer back before you pull the trigger).  People are confusing semi-automatic with sub-machine gun.  A sub-machine gun is where you hold the trigger and it empties the clip.

Assault weapons aren't what you think.
Assault weapons aren't sub-machine guns.  The fact is, assault weapons don't include automatic weapons.  They include specialty weapons.  For example, a sub-machine gun is legal, but a sub-machine gun with a scope isn't.  A shotgun is legal, but a shotgun with a pistol grip isn't.  This is the same thing as the illegality of switch-blade knives.  Switch-blades aren't more dangerous than any other knife.  They aren't easier to conceal.  They just look scary.  So assault weapons are scary looking guns.

Assault weapons bans don't stop Newtown. 
No assault weapons were used at Sandyhook.  The guy used two pistols.  The proposed weapons ban doesn't stop that massacre.

The reason for the Second Amendment.
For right or wrong, whether you agree or not, our founding fathers put in the second amendment to defend the rest.  Freedom and security are opposites.  The point of the Bill or Rights, and that one in particular, is that government can easily take away the rights of the people.  Guns allow the people to defend themselves.  This is exactly what the Arab Spring was about.  People were throwing rocks while being shot at.  Dictators, whether solo or parlamentary, can easily arrise.  The founding fathers didn't want that, so they guarenteed us the right to defend ourselves from all threats, whether personal (like a break in) or national (like a rogue government or invading enemy).

Weapons bans don't work.
I know.  You've already got your mind made up about this one, but hear me out.  One of the fathers of the Sandyhook victims put it well today.  He said that by doing what he did, the madman was already breaking the law.  Adding a new law for them to break doesn't matter nearly as much as enforcement of current laws. 

By the way, I can't believe I have to explain this but I do.  The City of Chicago, the President's home base, has the strictest gun laws.  They also have the highest gun crime.  And their violent gun crime went up 18% last year, the only major city in the US to see an increase.  And Mayor Immanuel needs to butt out.  As soon as the massacre happened, he came out and said he was against putting armed police officers in each school.  In the mean time, he sends his kids to a private school with armed guards.  If he believed what he was selling, he'd send his kids to public school with yours.  He should smell what he's shovelling and leave the rest of us alone.  Because basically what he's saying is that he doesn't care about protecting your kids, because you are poor.

Unbiased media

The big three news organizations, NBC, ABC, and CBS, always claim to be unbiased.  And people believe them, right?

Their lack of partisanship was on display this week.  Did you see Al Roker from NBC go fanboy on the President and Vice President during the parade?  He never did that with Bush.  And to think, he is criticized for being not liberal enough by a guy on the same network, Matt Lauer. 

But that's not the real story.  CBS's political director, John Dickerson, wrote an article saying that Obama should "destroy" the Republican party.  "Go for the throat."  "Declare war."  He also wrote "This approach is not a path of gentle engagement."

Yesterday there was yet another shooting.  Is the idea of killing another party the best language to use?  I hate to say it as this is way overused, but this is similar language that was used in Germany in the 1930s and 40s.  This type of language led to "The Night of Broken Glass" on November 9th, 1938. 

I recently heard someone say that when a conservative disagrees with someone, they believe that person to be wrong.  When a leftist disagrees with someone, they believe that person to be evil.  And in case you're wondering where the Nazi's stood, Nazi is an abreviation for the "Nationalist Socialist Party."  That's right, Hitler was a socialist dictator. 

This media is not just biased, but actually encouraging violence in a culture that has far too much already.  I guess a failed bombing attack by OWS protestors and their general rape and rioting behavior was not enough violence.  I guess an attempted shooting at a pro-life organization isn't enough.  I guess neither was Sandy Hook, or yesterday's shooting near Houston.  You need more.

You know what Dickerson?  The next act of violence may be an activist bombing Chic-fil-A or a pro-life group or a coal mine or GOP headquarters.  If so, I hope you're proud of yourself and the inflamatory rhetoric you use.  Because the next one is on you.  So go ahead.  Keep your bias.  But tone down the talk before someone takes your words too literally.

NFL 12 Championship week

Niners-Falcons.  I didn't really care about who won this game, I just wanted a good game.  Boy was I ever not disappointed.  Hotlanta started out on fire, but San Fran started Frank Gore going to settle things down.  At first, the Niners had a hard time because of crowd noise and got several "Delay of Game" penalties, but still, once they got the running game going the settled down the Falcons and their raucous fans, they really made a game of it.  It was a blast to watch.  The pressure did seem to get to Matt Ryan a little bit, which you could see through the interception and moreover, the fumbled snap.  But after that he settled down and went back to work.

That said, the end of the game was not so great.  On that 4th and 4 at the end, whoever that Niners defender was, draped himself all over that receiver like a cheap suit.  I was watching with several other people who also did not care about the outcome of the game, but we all agreed that it should have been pass interference.  Both teams really fought hard and both deserved the win, but I hated to see Atlanta robbed like that, especially with the possibility being of the end of Gonzalez legendary career.


But let's face it.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you want to know about the other game.

Ravens-Pats.  Let's get it out of the way.  Tom Brady is a chump.  This game illustrated it.  At the end of the first half, Brady ran and slid.  Now if a QB gives himself up like that, you are not allowed to touch them.  That said a Ravens' player had too much momentum to stop, so as is customary, he was going to jump OVER Brady to avoid touching him.  Brady raised his foot up and cleated the guy.  Now as someone who played soccer, I can tell you that in soccer, this is dirty.  In football, this is unacceptable.  Brady intended to injured the player and should get fined for it.  Harbaugh went half nuts screaming at a ref for not calling anything on it.  The ref finally walked to were Harbaugh couldn't get to him anymore.  It was a dirty play by a dirty player on a team that has been caught cheating before.  I believe in sportsmanship, but it is aparent that Brady doesn't.  This is just another illustration as to why I can't stand The Chump.

That said, this year, even though The Chump still gets all the press, the Pats had a great defense.  They had probably the best defense that I can remember from a Patriots team.  But for some reason, they declined throughout the season.  Maybe they got sick of not getting any of the credit.  I don't know.  What I do know is that they did little to stop a Raven's team which seems to get better each week.  The Raven's defense, they did their thing.

I would love to see Ray Lewis go out with a Super Bowl ring.  The Ravens have been improving throughout the playoff run.  San Fran has also been making a statement through their wins.  I think this is going to be a good game.

NFL 12 Divisional week

Ravens-Broncos. Holy Cow this was a good game. I mean a “I can’t look away” good game. It had 5 ties and 6 quarters. I wish both of these teams could be back in the AFC Championship this week. That said I do have a few observations about this game.


1) Yeah, he’s still Peyton Manning.
2) The refs were too one-sided for my taste. There were many times where calls weren’t made that should have been that hurt Denver, and times where calls were made that shouldn’t have been that helped Baltimore. The Broncos shouldn’t have had to play the Ravens and the refs. The Ravens were good enough without the help.
3) The Ravens had their way down the right side, and beat Champ Bailey all day.
4) Raheem Moore let his team down. He was the safety that was supposed to be over the top, but cut inside, not only blowing his coverage, but also stopping the corner from covering inside. He allowed the final Ravens TD, and thereby the win. I feel bad for the guy, because he’ll have to live with that till next season.
5) Yeah, I was rooting for Manning (and Jacob Tamme and Brandon Stokely) because even if they’re playing for the wrong pony, I still love these former Colts. But I’m also glad for Jim Caldwell, former Colts Head Coach and current Ravens play caller.
6) To me, the most disappointing thing about this outcome is that I think the Broncos stood a better chance of beating Tom “the chump” Brady and the Pansies. The last thing I want is them to be in another Super Bowl.

Niners-Packers. Just another great game. This was fun to watch (until I went to bed). Again, I’m sad that the Packers lost, mostly for Jeff Saturday. This was a shoot out, and again both of these teams deserve to go to the championship.

Falcons-Seahawks. Sad to say I turned this game off when it was 20-0. I thought that was it. While Seattle secretly won all season, they secretly came back. However, it was not enough to overcome Hotlanta, which looked as good as they ever did this season.

Pats-Texans. Poop. This game went just how I thought it would, but I’d still like to see the NE loose. Why? Because Tom Brady is a chump.

Made with Real Girl Scouts

Yes ladies and gentlemen it's that time again, when little girls are supposed to bug you about buying their sugary goodness. I'm not opposed to this. I did many a door-to-door fundraiser myself.

But now it's different. When fundraising season comes around, whatever it is, I will buy from the first kid that asks me. Only now, I don't get asked by the kids at church. No. I get event requests from their mothers on facebook.

I'm sorry, but I'm not doing this. If the kid wants me to buy, they need to ask me. This sales tactic is seen everyday. My spam folder is full of e-mails trying to get me to buy viagra and porn. I'm not buying those and I'm not buying your stinking cookies from facebook.

Consider this a growth opportunity. If you want something, do the work (there's a novel concept). Consider this a chance to make people skills. Whatever. But go sell your own darn cookies.

The Hobbit

So, from time to time, I try to write movie reviews of what I watch (which is not much these days).  I went to see the Hobbit.

It is good.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I've seen the LOTR movies and loved them.  I also have read the Hobbit, twice.  There is so much in there, that just the Hobbit is going to have as many movies as the LOTR.  This movie centers around Bilbo, Frodo's uncle and finder of the One Ring.  This movie includes the finding of the ring, first meeting Gandalf and the Elves.  It also includes the history of the Dwarves. 

The battles are epic.  The characters are deep.  The movie is fun.  Highly recommended to all.

2013 finances

So I've been in the job where I'm at for just a few months shy of five years.  It that time, my paycheck has gone up by one forth.  Here's the thing though.  In that time, gas prices have doubled.  Groceries have doubled.  Meals out more than doubled.  Health care may double this year alone.

Now, because of my job I have to eat out.  A lot.  And my work doesn't reimburse these.  I have to at the beginning of each year designate part of my paycheck toward meals, and that amount gets withheld for expenses.  In other words, it's like I don't get paid that amount, but can use it to pay for those meals.  They are completely tax defered.

That said, if you look at my income and subtract this expense, each year I in effect make less money. 

During the debates, President Obama said that inflation was a sign of a strong economy.  Then our economy is awesome, because it is getting harder and harder for middle class Americans to pay our bills.  Inflation may not effect wealthy politicians, but it's driving the middle class into the poor house.

So let me say this to all politicians.  Stop spending us into the poor house.  As our debt climbs, the dollar devalues, and it becomes harder for people to cover their bills.  So both parties, stop screwing around with our lives and cut the crap from the budget.  We can't afford your "help" anymore.  I hope you vote not to raise the debt cieling, because all that does is dig a deeper hole.  You should work on solutions instead.

Ok, rant over, for now.

NFL 12 Wild Card week

I was nervous about this game going in. The Ravens were getting back Ed Reed (one of the scariest guys in the NFL) and Ray Lewis (the heart and soul of the Ravens). Ray Lewis announced his retirement at the end of this season. That gave the Ravens an emotional edge that has been what gave the Colts and edge all season. This was only compounded when Bruce Arians, who served as Head Coach in Chuck’s absence, Offensive Coordinator, and Play-Caller, went to the hospital instead of the game. There went our strategy.


The Ravens and Colts both started with some strong drives, both resulting in losing fumbles. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed both made their presences felt quickly. It’s a tribute that this was the longest the Colts were held without a score this season. Finally, the two teams exchanged field goals, then the Ravens closed out the first half with a touchdown, the Colts with a Field Goal.

The second half was a lot of TDs traded for FG attempts. The huge offense of the Ravens wore down the Colts D. The Colts offense just couldn’t find the end zone all day. The Ravens kept tipping the ball and almost picking it off, and finally Luck’s luck ran out, but to his credit, he saved the touchdown by running down the DB.

As I’ve said, the Colts’ offensive line really wasn’t very good, as Luck was shaking hits all day long, and Reggie Wayne was the only reliable receiver. I hope in the draft we work on building Luck and offensive line he can count on for running and pass protection. Then, let’s get Reggie some help out there.

I also have to acknowledge the Ravens fans. Their noise gave us huge problem. Beyond that, I’m glad Ray Lewis gave the home crowd one last win. When things were decided and they began chanting “We want Ray,” if even got me choked up. I wish we could have given players like Manning, Saturday, and even going back to Bob Sanders to send them out like that.

Rest of the League:
Texans-Bengals. Houston managed to get hungry again. J.J. Watt was dominant and the Texans D looked like it did early in this season. The Bengals looked like they might put up a fight with that INT return early, but they didn’t do much after that.

Packers-Vikings. This wasn’t a game. It was a beating. The only shame was that was a sad way for AP to end a great season.

Seahawks-Redskins. That’s a shame. I wish RG III could have finished his last game healthy. Poor kid probably feels like he let his team down. But, he and Luck have been right there together all season, so I guess it makes since that they get kicked out at the same time.

NFL 12 week 17 synopsis

This was one of the most exciting week 17s I can remember. Being a Colts fan, I’ve seen a lot of seasons going 10-0, 12-0, 14-0, (0-12 thanks to Curtis Painter). I’ve seen a lot of games with pulled starters. I’ve seen a lot of games in week 17 that did not matter.


Some might say that the Colts had nothing to play for. They would be wrong. They had a lot to play for. They were playing for Chuck. They were playing for pride (Houston has never won in Indy, even when it was one of their two wins). And they were playing for momentum.

Momentum matters in the NFL. That’s why one big play can swing an entire game, allowing for the comebacks that make football so much fun. It also matters in seasons. Don’t believe me?

Ask the Giants, who, with nothing to gain, took it to New England, giving them momentum which they carried through the playoffs to ruin Tom “the Chump” Brady’s perfect season in the Super Bowl.

Or ask Houston. I said early in this season that Houston was unbeatable if they stayed hungry. They sat in first place for so long, they stopped being hungry. Then they lost momentum. Then they lost games. This week, they lost their first round bye.

The Colts came out emotional. Chuck was back on the sideline. That same emotion that boosted them to an amazing comeback against the Packers helped them topple the best team in their division. They had a drive that Greg Gumble summed up well: “nearly perfect.” They kept it up throughout the game for the win.

Is that momentum enough to help them beat the Ravens who will have a returning Ray Lewis and Ed Reed? Only a week will tell.

Rest of the league:
Bears-Lions. Lions end the season as they played the season, barely losing another game.

Steelers-Browns. Browns may have lost, but the fact that the Steelers are out of the playoffs is like a win to them.

Giants-Eagles. Man the Eagles suck. And where were these Giants all season? I still bELIeve in Eli.

Bills-Jets. Coach Ryan, please release Tebow so he can go to a team like Miami and we can get some Tebow Time.

Broncos-Chiefs. Yeah, just in case you were wondering, he’s STILL Peyton Manning. Congrats on first place.

Patriots-Dolphins. Yeah, just in case you were wondering, Tom Brady is STILL a chump.

Vikings-Packers. I’ve always thought AP was overrated. Not this day. He showed how he’s carried the Vikings all season, but was nine yards short of the record. That’s simply incredible.

Redskins-Cowboys. What a way to finish RGIII’s epic year.