Policy or Politics? A Note to President Obama.

A Note to President Obama!

Why is this Economic Stimulus package THE biggest defining moment of Your Administration? I have some questions as a citizen who wants you to succeed.

Is your vision of wanting solutions for this country more important than politics? It doesn't seem to be represented well in this economic stimulus package that deals less withn stimulus, and more with future programs that could be better dealt with separately rather than at this desperate moment when an immediate infusion is needed.

Can you pull in the reins on the Pelosi-Reid Alliance? Do you realize that they want the president under their thumbs, and Congress to have the power? You are in a battle with them and if you lose, you become a lackey to them. You must define who is setting the agenda now!

You should not be interested in giving Republicans what they want, but rather the American people what is best. If that happens to include some Republican ideas, you ought not fear it. If you do otherwise in terms of paying back those who put you in power with earmarks and pork in this drastic moment for our country, then you have failed to recognize that what you are really doing is politics over good policy.

Many in America have thrown in their lot on a general vision of hope and change with you Mr. President. There is unprecedented hope in a time of unprecedented distrust and disgust with our government. Your words have carried you to this point with no actions to back them up. Your words can uplift, but they can't provide the programs Americans need in a very drastic moment. Your job is to consistently match your words with the actions you demand. Your expectations are higher than any recent president coming in, and if you prove to be just another golden-throated political hack, it could be the finishing off of any trust the American people have in their political institutions. On the other hand, you could start us in a new positive direction toward the kind of new policy you talk about compared to the same old politics we have come to detest.

Respectfully,
Gary Sutton--Just a Citizen.

The Wrong Coach Got Fired!

That's right! You heard me.

By now, I'm sure you've all heard of the great tragedy in Dallas, Texas where the coach was fired for allowing his team to win over another school 100-0. In addition to firing the coach, Micah Grimes, the administration of Covenant School , a private Christian school called the January 13th win over Dallas Academy, "shameful and an embarrassment that this happened. This clearly does not reflect a Christlike and honorable approach to competition."

In response, the Coach, who was asked to apologize, posted a statement on the Covenant website that said that he did not agree with the school, nor did he feel embarrassed or ashamed. His quote of significance said, "my values and my beliefs would not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with integrity and honor."

What about Dallas Academy? they have 8 girls on their varsity team and 20 girls in their high school. It is winless over the past 4 years. The academy is known for its small class sizes, and specializes in teaching students who struggle with "learning problems."

So, now that we have as much of this story as we know or probably need to, let's make some observations.
1. This coach is probably a jerk for pressing and shooting three-pointers when his team already had lead at halftime 59-0. However, have we thought about the other girls who played for the winning team? Are they supposed to just come in and know not to use their skills they have apparently learned a heck of a lot better than the other team? My answer is, No!

2. What the Hell is Dallas Academy doing playing basketball if they can't even compete? That's unfair and uninteresting for teams that are trying to compete fairly. Their losing forces a team to quit playing the game honestly, and do other things that may hurt them when they have to play against a team that can compete.

3. The Coach is apparently teaching his kids to play basketball very well. He was hired, I assume to teach, and at least in this case, basketball. One could argue whether he has great compassion, or whether or not he's too aggressive in winning, but no one can argue the fact that he's either a great teacher, recruiter, or both. Yet, he gets fired for doing his job, as I'm sure he was not hired with the hope that he would beat Dallas' Academy's losing streak by losing as much as possible.

4. What is the purpose of the game when you play it? You want to score and you want the other team not to score. Guess what, mission accomplished! The ultimate in this case is a shutout. So Covenant Academy is so ashamed, that they forfeit the game, which now becomes a 2-0 win for Dallas Academy. What? We give 2 more points credit to an unprepared team than they could score themselves, we bail out a coach who is doing a lousy job teaching, and we in a very politically correct manufacture a gray area that says that it's not about winning and losing, but strictly how you do it. Talk about sending a mixed bag of messages to kids, what are they learning here?

5. Our country thrives on competition, and yes, we want to win with class, but winning and losing in our society is part of who we are. For every winner, there is a loser. If you don't have a chance to compete, should you step into that situation until you have at least some of the fundamental tools. I won't be able to compete against a great golfer until I have practiced and honed the skills to step onto that stage. The coach is classless, but should never have been fired. Admonished, yes; not fired. The people that should be fired are the two administrations of these two schools who taught all the wrong lessons to the students involved.

One group learned that winning is wrong, and the other learned that someone will bail you out even if you lose. They were also taught that basketball in this case was made too important instead of worrying about more life and death issues that deserve far greater attention.

No, I say fire the two administrations, and depending on the situation, the OTHER COACH who has done a terrible job. If I walked into a classroom to teach students and consistently over 4 years had such bad lessons that it was the equivalent of a losing streak every day, I would expect to be fired, and any administrator worth his salt would do it. In this case, the only one with any salt were the kids that competed.

Taxation to Shape Behavior.

Two things have been swirling around in my head this week, and this morning the two of them connected.

First of all, was the idea of “Spread the wealth, “ you know that phrase that then Senator Obama uttered to “joe the Plumber” in Ohio. It was the idea that the wealthy need to be taxed to share with those who are poor or not as wealthy.

The second was the idea of sin taxes and government tax rebates. This is taxing or providing rebates for the purpose of shaping behavior. For example we tax cigarettes to make it more unattractive to smoke, or we offer a rebate to those who buy a greener car, while letting the SUV owner fend for himself.

So last night, I’m re-visiting a story about the state of New York getting ready to impose a new tax on every can of soda so that people will have to pay more to get fat on sugared drinks. Then it hit me! Bam! If the government is going to be in the business of shaping behavior with taxes and rebates, and spread the wealth since they obviously think that is the way to go, why not use the same concept , but in an additional way.

May I propose the “Spread the Responsibility” Concept. This is the idea that we really use taxing and rebates to spread the responsibility in this country. It could spur people to change their situations and behavior.

For example, we tax the poor more, because then they will want to change their situation and get a better job.

We tax the unemployed and homeless, so they will want to acquire a home and job.

We tax those with guns at an exhorbitant rate so they will put their guns away, and not buy them.

We tax rappers with swear words in songs so they will insert more responsible language.

We tax members of Congress when they don’t have budgets done on time.

We tax illegal immigrants more so they will leave or want to become legal.

We tax illegal employers who employ those illegal immigrants .

We tax those who don’t graduate at a higher rate.

We tax gangs.

We tax single family homes, so we’ll have two parents staying.

We tax those in jail, work release programs, and juvenile detention centers at a higher rate.

We tax parents higher who allow their kids on the street after 8:00 pm.

We tax drug dealers to make them stop dealing and selling drugs.

We tax people who have too many kids who can’t afford them.

We tax people who are on welfare too long.

We tax loiterers.

We tax porn at a higher rate so kids and adults won’t get addicted to it.

We tax members of Congress for staying longer than 2 terms.

Conversely, we’ll provide tax breaks for graduating, staying out of jail, getting a good job above $40,000, supporting their families, and a host of other things I haven’t thought about yet.

Since it looks like taxes and shaping behavior are the only two things most of our representatives want to do, let’s use the money to help all of us. Right now, the responsible reap nothing from the sin taxes and behavior-shaping, so let’s get something back for the money government wants to take from us and help people make the choices most of us have already made.

Hey, if you can beat, join and revise!

Boy George say "Yes we can!"

I was looking through websites, and came across this tribute to Barack Obama from Boy George (there's a name from the past) called Yes We Can.

So I'm getting ready to listen to this song and grab the wretch bucket. Instead, I found myself humming it after walking out of the room. Check it out:



Boy George would seem to be a strange vehicle for the song, but, hey, c'est la vie.

Shoprite: The store that does it all

In an effort to expand their product offerings to the public a New Jersey Shoprite added kiddie care police. Yep, beans on Aisle 2, rice in Aisle 5 and child welfare investigations in Aisle 10.

So when the parents of Adolf Hitler Campbell asked for a birthday cake from Shoprite they got a polite "You're tacky and we're calling the cops" (link to ABC News story).

As if Adolf Hitler issn't a strange enough name for a youngster, little Adolf's siblings are Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell. Clearly mommy and daddy have issues but here's the kicker -- the State of New Jersey took custody of these kids.

Now these little darlings are between 3 years old and 8 months. Presumably, their names are on the Certificates of Live and Supreme Birth. Also presumably, the family has filed their taxes in the last three years listing all the names of their little Aryan household.

All of the above is assumption, but what is not asusmption is that the crack team at Shoprite broke the case to Garden State Central which prompted the removal of these kids from their goosestepping home. Imagine, the crew at the bakery picked up the trouble on the Polish border (as it were) well ahead of the Child Welfare folks Garden State central command. If these guys had been in Miami perhaps Janet Reno could have scooped up Elian Gonzalez at the candy aisle instead of having to kick in the door.

Superficially this looks to be about the names. The news stories I have heard have reported it that way. Now before anyone gets bent out of shape, the exact reasons for removing the kids is as yet undisclosed but it seems as though the kids’ names had something to do with it perhaps as a symptom and not as a cause. But we don't know yet.

I understand that mommy and daddy are a bit whacked, but what is the threshold for taking kids away? Something here does not pass the smell test besides the eau d’landfill of the Jersey turnpike.

What I truly hope is that there is much more to this that we don’t know yet. The agency also states that they cannot disclose the reasons for the snatch and grab because it violates privacy laws. Apparently taking kids out of the house does not violate privacy laws.

From right off of the NJ Dept of Child Welfare site comes these two definitions:

Abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional harm or risk of harm to a child under the age of 18 caused by a parent or other person who acts a caregiver for the child. Neglect occurs when a parent or caregiver fails to provide proper supervision for a child or adequate food, clothing, shelter, education or medical care although financially able or assisted to do so.

It does not state on the site what degree of any of the above constitutes grounds for removal from a home, but further research on some family law sites shows that New Jersey has a mandatory "rat out your neighbors" law over kids’ safety.

But the Dept of Body Snatchers needs to say something. When kids get grabbed by order of the same folks who can’t balance a budget every parent gets geeked and rightfully so. It looks bad no matter what the reasons are for removing children. Not sure what necessary looks like but apparently Joisey has that answer.

Oh and if any of you think HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADOLF HITLER CAMPBELL is a bad idea for a birthday cake then check out the blog Cakewrecks where you'll see more horrible cakes.

Link to Cakewrecks.

Tech tip: Upgrade your memory

Wah, my computer is slow! This could be from a couple problems (in order of likelihood): 1) You've loaded up your computer with garbage and malware, 2) You don't have enough RAM, or 3) Your computer is an ancient piece of garbage.

If you've been keeping up with our tech tips and practicing safe computing, Number 1 shouldn't be a problem. That leaves skimpy RAM or an aged computer as your problem. We're going to deal with RAM today.

Step 1. Figure out how much RAM you have. I suggest 2 GB of RAM for a Windows machine. That's fine for everyday computing. You can get away with less, but RAM is pretty cheap these days. You can find out how much RAM you have by clicking on your Start menu and going to Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools and clicking on "System Information." Need some RAM? Go to the next step.

Step 2. Go to Crucial.com. See the Crucial Memory Advisor tool? Plug in your computer's manufacturer, product line and model number. When you click on the "FIND IT" button the tool will give you options. I've found it easiest to ignore what's in your computer and just buy a kit of 2 sticks of RAM. It shouldn't cost you more than about $20 to $50. A 2 GB kit for my Thinkpad costs a paltry $26.

Step 3. Get your computer's owner's manual. If you threw it out, go to your manufacturer's web site and download a copy. Somewhere in there will be instructions specific to your computer for upgrading its RAM.

Step 4. Upgrade your RAM per the instructions. Trust me, it's a relatively simple procedure.

Step 5. Throw your old RAM in your junk drawer and enjoy computing with fewer slow downs.

If you're afraid of your computer you can always pay someone to upgrade it for you, but keep in mind that you won't get away with a measly $25 expense.

The Voting Ostrich: Stuff you don't want to know about

Remember way back when when I posted the Stuff you don't need to know about tech tip? Well, it occurs to me that there's an even greater category, stuff you don't want to know about.

What don't you want to know about? Oh, all kinds of stuff.

Shot like a dog. Remember Mayor Calvo? Local SWAT decided that he had some pot. Yeah, the mayor. They got a no-knock warrant, raided his house and shot both of his black labs.

"The cops then handcuffed Calvo and his mother-in-law and interrogated them for hours, while the dogs’ bodies laid in pools of blood nearby," writes Thomas Firey.

No arrests were made. Oh, and it turns out that the police did not have a no-knock warrant. Oops.

I listened incredulously to local opinion about the botched raid. Everyone thought it was a horrible thing, but thank God it was a one time thing that happened somewhere else! I asked Gary if he knew whether shooting dogs is a fairly standard procedure or not. A call to our local police and DA's offices might shed some light on this.

As soon as I said that, I told him not to bother. A week from now, I promised, no one will care. And you know what? I was right. You really don't want to know about this. It might cause you to ask questions about how we enforce our laws. Worse, it might highlight a tension between our civil liberties and the War on Drugs. Much better to not know.

Asleep at the wheel and the evils of the free market. We all now know that our economic woes are the result of regulators being asleep at the wheel and a free market run amok. Case closed! We just need to get rid of the Bush Administration and regulate more.

Naturally, reality is more complex -- and troubling. But you don't want to know about it. If you did, you might start asking questions.

Like why does Robert Rubin (former Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration) get a free pass for his involvement in the financial collapse? After all, as Timothy Noah writes in a Slate article "as a consequence of Rubin's obstruction and inaction, the market for one particular derivative—credit-default swaps—grew like a noxious weed." Noah goes on to detail other contributions Rubin made to our current crisis in that article.

Don't worry yourself -- I know why Rubin gets a free pass. He worked for the Clinton Administration. We already figured out that it's easier to blame all our woes on Republicans. Ergo, we've addressed the problem by getting rid of the Republicans.

It's easier to say we just need more regulation and less Republicans. Mission accomplished! See? Much better not to know.

Security theater. Enjoying the show? For some reason, our government decided to invest money and effort into convincing idiots that the government is on top of things. Security expert Bruce Schneier coined the term "security theater" to describe this nonsense.

Some people -- Schneier included -- have pointed out that there are times when security theater can have benefits. But let's look at some of the harmless BS we've accomplished with security theater:

* James Robinson is a retired brigadier general and a commercial pilot. The TSA -- the TSA! -- certified him to carry a weapon into the cockpit. But, for some reason, he's on the terrorist watch list. He must go through a special screening before boarding the plane that he will pilot while armed.

* Security subjected an 86-year old man, to all kinds of searches and questioning because of a threatening-looking item he was carrying. What was this old man, a former Governor of South Dakota carrying? The Medal of Honor he earned in WWII. He also had a nail file and a drilled out dummy bullet, so you know, he was asking for it.

* The TSA took a five-year old boy into custody because he shared a name with someone on the no-fly list. Funny stuff, eh? Here's the report.

Why do I say this is harmless? Because it is, sorta. Sure, it's embarrassing and shameful, but at least no one's life was endangered in the above examples.

But when the TSA isn't busy yoinking feeding tubes and interrogating five-year olds, they do some pretty hard-core security stuff behind the scenes, right? Right. Like losing an unknown number of TSA uniforms and security passes. I bet no bad guy wants those!

But listen, you don't want to know about this stuff. It's upsetting. I recommend getting all worked up about this for five minutes and then forgetting about it. It's better not to know.

Minnesota Land of 1000 votes

I used to follow the politics of the day with great regularity. Being informed was an obsession of mine for years. In the last few years though I confess I don’t like having my blood pressure raised to the extent necessary to keep following. I do try to stay informed though by listening to WSBA in the morning between 6am and 9am and then I have the rest of the day to try to calm down. Having said that, I could not help but pay attention to the disputed election in Minnesota.

Al Franken will probably win but let’s face it...that was a foregone conclusion. It seems elections run that way now. Without throwing the conspiracy theories around I had some thoughts about it. Now I spent many years of my youth in Philadelphia. My dad was a cop in that city during the race riots of the late 60’s and early 70’s. He and a guy named Rizzo did not get along. Pop thought Hizonor was crooked. I only give that background info to suggest that I am not naïve about election rigging. Voting early and often is what happens.

So why then is the Minnesota election so interesting? Have rural states elections been pristine for so long? Probably not. The degree of larceny has generally been relatively low if only because of the smaller populations. But since 2000 we see an increase in the importance of heretofore unimportant states. Karl Rove and company worked this like a symphony conductor in 2004. Now of course the former ‘silent majority’ conservatives have adopted part of the other team’s playbook where you die for every inch of ground. Formerly unimportant states are now... important. It seems to me that the election shenanigans of the big cities like Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago, etc are moving to the burbs just like the rest of the country.

However larceny on this scale and in plain view of everyone is what we need to be vigilant against. We used to have the illusion that the Midwest, Bible Belt, and other areas, had relatively honest elections that would generally offset those practices in urban America. But it seems that perception and veneer is officially over. In Minnesota someone accurately foresaw Franken losing if they adopted the Georgia plan and had a run off hence the court route. I think courts will be more and more involved in elections and that is a bad thing. Let’s face it if the election process is no longer sacrosanct (even if that is only a perception and not reality) can our system continue to work? How can the folks have faith in their “elected officials” and system of government if we can’t have faith in the process that puts them there?

Welcome Joe DeCree

Please welcome Joe DeCree as a new blog poster to this site. Joe is a gifted writer and thinker with a vast experience in the military, and business. He will be posting along with myself, and Jay. Stay tuned!

Article on Press Bailout I was referring to in my "Hibernation Post."

Please check on this article on possible newspaper bailout in Bristol, CT . I referenced it in my "Hibernation Post":

Government aid could save U.S. newspapers, spark debate (Reuters)

More Random Thoughts!

I promised some random thoughts, interesting or not, so here are a few more observations:

We didn't sell out on my old show when we went 6-9. It was economics. The radio industry sucks right now, but unlike so many others, the bailout money doesn't seem to be coming to help us. We have to cut back, take losses, streamline, do with less, and generally re-invent some things. In my case, that means adapting to a new time and expanding what the original show was by becoming more concise with valuable information, and more variety. Two of my colleagues lost their jobs because of this effort while I kept mine, so I take this morning drive opportunity seriously knowing that in my business, any day could be my last. For those of you who actually listen, WSBA has allowed me to have a free reign in that process. Anyway, I am rather enjoying trying to provide a different kind of vehicle for news and views.

Should Maybe Senator Roland Burris of Illinois be allowed to be seated in the Senate this week? If you go by the law, the answer is , Yes. If you use perception, the feedback is a resounding NO for Governor Blagoyavich's choice. Frankly, isn't this just Illinois-type politics with just a little bit more gall and brashness than usual?

State Senator Bobby Rush, an black man from Illinois, indicated last week that Barack Obama's former senate seat needs to be filled by a Black man. In this time of post-racial America, isn't that a bit of hippocracy at least, and at most racism. Wow, whatever happened to "a person shoulod be judged by content of character; not color of skin"? Mr. Rush went on to note that there would be a senate without any black members if the replacement for Obama, Mr. Burris, is not sent to D.C. What a problem? Can you imagine if we were to have a vacancy here in PA, and Governor Rendell was compelled to choose a white man because a white man had occupied that seat. Anyone say "racism?" Oh, I forgot, racism ony runs one way, though. All else is just getting even, right?

Other thoughts:

Is failing still ok in this country?

Maybe the government should have bailed out the "Big Four" in Detroit. That's GM, Ford, Chrysler, and the Detroit Lions (0-16 in the NFL; I knew they could do it.) in case you are wondering.

Does anyone know what the "G" commercial on tv with Muhammad Ali, Derek Jeter, and the mimes is all about? I haven't gotten it yet.

I saw the "Almost" commercial with the lonely elderly lady sitting by herself, and the voice in the background telling us that "someone almost brought her food; almost visited; almost took her to the doctor, and so on." It occurred to me that most people are very charitable and help others on their own. Do we really need the Ad-Council laying the daily guilt trip on us? Knock it off!

Lest you think I am cold-hearted, I really enjoyed driving kettle workers out and back to their sites during the holiday season. (One of the reasons I was remiss in my blogging responsibilities. I'm sure there is a commercial out there showing a blogger waiting in a rocking chair with a pc in front of him , and a voice somberly intoning, "Today, he almost received a blog from Sutton....") Anyway, I met so many joyful people who in many cases didn't have much in tangible wealth, but were incredibly rich in happiness. The stories we shared, and friendships we built were ones I will continue to try and cultivate, learny by, and remember.

Meeting the Glen Rock Carolers on their 161st Anniversary at sunrise Christmas morning is one of the simplest, most awesome Christmases my wife and I have ever had. The silence and beauty of meeting with others around a tree at 6 in the morning is an experience each of you should try some Christmas.

Burl Ives singing anything about Christmas still sucks.

My New Year's Eve present is news that I have bone on bone in my right knee, and torn cartilage as well. I've got to get a knee replacement, because my quality of life since the auto accident in April has disintegrated gradually. I'm losing weight, so I can get the replacement, and feel better in late January or early February. Happy New Year, huh? Anyone ever have one of those things? I guess I'm about to find out.

My wife and I broke down and got a 32" Flat Screen tv and a Wii. Picture looks better and Wii is addictive.

Jay's salads (I said I'm losing weight.) over at Jay's WOW Cafe and Wingery are the best around, especially with grilled chicken.

Emceeing the opening night of Christmas Magic at Rocky Ridge Park this year was one of the neatest things I've ever had the chance to do. Asking 250 little children and adults to countdown and help perform magic by pointing at trees, then seeing 400,000 lights come on in six different locations was cool.

I wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope to be more than just "an almost blogger."

Back from hibernation--Reflections on the holiday--Random thoughts!

Sorry I have been in hibernation, but I just needed to spend time with my wife, check out some medical things and enjoy the holidays. The following is simply a set of random ramblings with no particular ending, and a built-in invitation to respond or not.

First of all, I am still planning on blogging, though admittedly I am not very good at it. I know I lack the wit and insight of many of you, but I will make an effort to comment on the passing parade and ultimate circus.

On the "bailout mentality" now being debated in the country, I wonder what it does in continuing the idea that individual independence, free enterprise, and capitalism lie somewhere at the core of our country's success. What entities and institutions in our country are so important and intertwined with our system that they should be bailed out by we the taxpayers, and our irresponsible and generally dishonest representatives called the Congress, and government in general.

Let's see, so far we have bailed out financial institutions, now part of the car industry, and what next? Who else is so important they cannot fail? Retailers are starting to make some noise, but I was more intrigued by one of the great ironies I read the other day that I would share with you here.

Seems there is a problem with newspapers in this country; they're losing a ton of money, and they owe great debts. Bristol , Connecticut , incidentally the home of ESPN, is one of those cities trying to keep two newspapers going. It also seems Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper as his duty. But others think he and his colleagues are setting a worrisome precedent for government involvement in the U.S. press.

Nicastro represents Connecticut's 79th assembly district, which includes Bristol, a city of about 61,000 people outside Hartford, the state capital. Its paper, The Bristol Press, may fold within days, along with The Herald in nearby New Britain.

That is because publisher Journal Register, in danger of being crushed under hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, says it cannot afford to keep them open anymore. Can the New York Times and The Chicago Tribune be far behind?

Nicastro and fellow legislators want the papers to survive, and petitioned the state government to do something about it. "The media is a vitally important part of America," he said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations.

Here's the rub; freedom and the press to be separate from government and to be the watchdog on the government for the people. The ultimate irony, huh? The very group that needs to be vigilant in searching for truth on our behalf now needs money from the very group they oversee to keep doing their job. So how vigilant will they remain, and how investigative will they be in their reporting when it turns out to be the literary equivalent of biting the hand that feeds it? It is an amazing irony to me, and I am sure to many.

I guess the scariest part, if it would happen is that again it takes from the individual and bestows yet more power on a group of representatives who confiscate the individuals money to do it. Who wants to get off that merry-go-round first?

So, maybe sometime soon, we'll have the American version of Pravda, or maybe we will let failing businesses fail, and use good old American ingenuity to find a way to re-invent the newspaper industry.

Seems there is a

Source: Robert MacMillan, "Tax breaks (not bailouts) for newspapers"

Link to his blog at Reuters.