Talk Radio

I got into my truck this morning, and hit one of the buttons on the AM radio. Immediately some radio personality started complaining. Honestly, I can’t remember what he was complaining about. I think it was about how stupid some government official was or something like that. I can’t remember, because all this guy does is complain. Always. Nonstop.

Periodically, I start pushing the buttons on the AM radio, going from one talk show to another. And I find that they’re all the same. They complain. They tell us all how bad the government is. They tell us all that if so and so is elected, America as we know it will end. They tell us that people in the other political party aren't just of another opinion, aren't just wrong; no those other people are evil. And they’re trying to destroy America, and take away all your freedoms… or something like that.

And obviously, they aren't nice about it. Actually, they're always nasty. And sarcastic. And arrogant. But of course they all claim to be Christians. Or at least imply it. Yet none of their behavior seems remotely like anything Jesus would have done.

Honestly, I never make it past about 5 minutes. I never know whether to laugh or cry, because they’re so unbelievable. But no matter how many times their predictions don’t come to pass, they keep spouting new ones. And for some reason, people keep listening. And believing.

I had a friend one time who was sent packing by his girlfriend. His response was to listen to the same sad break-up song over and over and over… I’m not really sure why he wanted to make himself miserable, yet he did. And some people remind me of this guy. They LIKE to listen to these radio stations. They LIKE to think America is coming to an end. They LIKE to think the people in government are morons. (Who by the way are trying to destroy America. For their own personal gain, or something.) They LIKE to feel miserable.

My drive to work is only about 6 minutes, but if I listened to this guy for just that 6 minutes, I’d arrive there pissed off before the day even started. Why would I want to do that?

I know one guy who I really think is in a severe depression. He mopes around all day, worrying about how America is being destroyed, how everything that’s good and pure is gone, and worried that if we don’t act RIGHT NOW, all is lost. And honestly, a lot of his friends have kinda distanced themselves from him. He’s a real downer to be around. And of course, he listens to talk radio all day long. As much as he can. Go figure.

Of course, truth is not required on these shows. Their goal really is just to get people all pissed off. Because they know that the more pissed off they are, the more likely they'll come back for more, to reinforce their anger. It makes great ratings that way. They apparently don’t care that they really are hurting a lot of people, by making them miserable. Or hurting the country, by dividing us more than ever before. Of course, it’s a free country. I don’t think we should ban talk radio. But I just wonder how those radio guys sleep at night. Knowing the damage they do.

So go ahead, listen to them all you want. Then wonder why you have such a negative outlook on anything that has to do with the government. Or honestly, on just about anything at all.

Oh yeah, it’s because America as we know it is over. Or something.

The LED Bulb

The other day, I went into Home Depot. I was looking at LED bulbs. I’m kinda intrigued by them, honestly. They last about 40 times as long as a regular light bulb, and take about one eighth as much energy. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, they normally cost between $20 and $40 dollars.

So when I saw a “40 Watt equivalent” LED bulb for $9.97, I was intrigued. I thought I’d buy it, and I knew exactly where I was going to put it. I was going to put it in the lamp in my office. I’d finally get to see what one of these LED lights was like.

So I bought it and took it home. The next day, I took it out of the packaging, and went to screw it into the lamp. As I reached in the lamp to take out the old bulb, I was surprised that it wasn’t very hot. That is, until I actually got the bulb out and looked at it. Because there, staring me right in the face, was a bulb identical to the one I had just bought!

Which means, sometime in the last few months, I was at Home Depot. And I went through the exact same thought processes as I did the other day. And have absolutely no recollection of it. This is definitely NOT something that would have happened to me ten years ago.

There’s a reason why this blog is called GrayShift. Unfortunately.

My Last Political Blog (Thankfully!)

The election year is almost over, and every single one of us is certainly happy for that. Personally, I’m looking forward to writing a few meaningless blogs about trivial things that nobody cares about, like normal. (as opposed to writing political things that nobody cares about!) But in the spirit of the season, I just have to write one more. I was going to be done, but I just can’t let it go. But I promise it’s the last one. At least I think it is!

It’s that damn auto industry ad that Romney put up. Really, I could have been done with political discussion, but then that ad popped up. I understand that every campaign takes liberties, and stretches truth. But Mitt Romney has taken this to a whole new level. In a year when so many of Romney’s ads, as well as his statements, have been misleading at best, this recent ad about the auto industry tops them all.

There is so much untrue, it’s difficult to know where to start.

First of all “He is supported by the Detroit News.” The Detroit News does support Romney for president. But they support him “Despite his wrong-headedness on the auto bailout.” In fact what they said was: “We have said in past editorials that while Romney rightly advocated for structured bankruptcies in his infamous "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" New York Times op-ed, he was wrong in suggesting the automakers could have found operating capital in the private markets. In that article, Romney suggested government-backed loans to keep the companies afloat post bankruptcy. But what GM and Chrysler needed were bridge loans to get them through the process, and the private credit markets were unwilling to provide them.”

Then “Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy.” Yes, that’s true, but again misleading. That bankruptcy included a restructuring, and all but the most ardent conservatives admit that this act saved those two companies. It’s especially disgusting because Romney himself advocated bankruptcy for those companies. Again, that’s not exactly what the ad says.

Next: “Obama sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China.” But Chrysler execs say that claim is misleading at best: “Let’s set the record straight: Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China,” Ranieri said. “It’s simply reviewing the opportunities to return Jeep output to China, for the world’s largest auto market. U.S. Jeep assembly lines will continue to stay in operation.”

But even after Chrysler set the record straight, Romney doubled down and not only continued the ads, but added GM in there as well. “We've clearly entered some parallel universe during these last few days,” GM spokesman Greg Martin told the Detroit Free Press. “No amount of campaign politics at its cynical worst will diminish our record of creating jobs in the U.S. and repatriating profits back to this country.”

But Romney keeps repeating these charges, even when he knows they are not true. And please don’t say the executives are  just shills for Obama. Not too many Fortune 500 top executives would consider themselves democrats, so that just makes no sense.

Say all you want about Obama. You can think he’s wrong on many things. You don’t have to like him, his style, or his plans. But you simply will not find the distortion of facts from him that Romney has done. And this is just one issue. I could give you a list a mile long.

Is this the kind of man you want leading this country? Really? Don’t count me in on that one.

Fair and Balanced

We all "know" that the media is incredibly liberal, biasing everything toward the democrats. How do we know that? That’s a good question. Because the people who tell me that, also admit they rarely have anything to do with the “mainstream media” except of course Fox News. Because Fox is “Fair and Balanced.” And how do we know that? Because they say they are, apparently.

In all seriousness, many people are sure the mainstream media is liberal, because they hear it all the time. Rush says it, Sean says it, the republicans all say it. Sarah even calls them the “lamestream” media. So therefore it must be true.

Well, let’s try something different. Let’s try a little unscientific discovery. And while it’s unscientific, it’s still more discovery than most news fans get.

So what I have below are links to three different news websites: NBC, NPR, and Fox. They are from two different days, October 5, and October 12. So go ahead and click on them. And make your own call. 

The conclusion is pretty obvious. Now I didn't cherry pick these particular dates, I just used two random dates. But if you don’t like these results, then do what I do: When I open my browser, I have an igoogle page set up. And on that page, I have headlines and links to all three of these news sites, as well as a few others. And every day I compare these sites. So go ahead and do that. And see what you think.

Fox Oct. 5     NBC Oct. 5      NPR Oct. 5     Fox Oct. 12     NBC Oct. 12     NPR Oct. 12

And whether you’re right or left, I would think we could all agree that a news site should be neither. At least that would make sense to me.

Still No Facts

Tonight I watched the presidential debate, and I'll admit I was very frustrated. Honestly, it made me sick. I watched a man who absolutely refuses to give any details about his ideas, criticizing a man whose ideas are out there for all to see.

Romney’s plan really is very simple. He blames everything on the president. But when asked how he’s going to make things better, he gives no facts, no details. He says he’s going to lower taxes on everyone, and make up for the lost revenue by getting rid of loopholes. But which loopholes? He’s had over a year of campaigning and he still hasn't told us. And be honest, do you really believe he’ll find enough loopholes to make up for a 20% across the board tax cut? Really? No thinking person can honestly believe that.

OK, if you’re a Romney supporter, you’re going to say that lowering taxes will stimulate the economy, and the extra revenue will more than make up for the lost taxes. Again, really? Every republican president since Reagan has said he’s going to lower taxes and decrease the deficit. Yet every single one has increased the deficit. I know my republican friends don’t want to believe that, but really, just google it. It’s not too hard to find. (If you’re lazy, try here, here, here, here, and here.) Even the most right-leaning sources are still damning.

In fact, the only president in the last 50 years to actually balance the budget was Clinton. And he did it by raising taxes. And by the way, the economy during his term is the best we’ve seen in a long time.

Add to that the fact that sitting here, a few hours later, reading online that most fact check organizations sided in a huge way with Obama on most things in the debate, I know that some people, even those who pride themselves on being thinking people, just won’t care. They'll blame it all on the so-called liberal press. Republicans will believe Romney because they want to. It doesn't matter that his facts don’t add up.

So go ahead and vote for Romney. At least then we’ll find out what he really plans on doing.

Because he sure isn't telling us now.

Neil Armstrong

OK, it’s been more than a week now since Neil Armstrong passed away. I’ve been thinking about this, wondering if there was any reason to write anything about it. After all, it’s not like there haven’t been a million pages written about him. Yet, here I am.

I remember watching the landing on that July night in 1969. And if you're old enough, you do too. We all watched it. We all were enthralled. And we were all so amazingly proud. Really, we would have never believed that we could actually put a man on the moon. Yet there we were.

But for many years, I wondered what the fuss was over him. After all, couldn’t any of the astronauts have done what he did? Didn’t he just happen to be in the right place at the right time?

In a word, no.

You see, Armstrong was in the second class of astronauts, chosen a few years after the original Mercury astronauts. And he was a different breed. He was a self-proclaimed engineer geek from the very beginning. Of course he was fearless, as all the astronauts were. But he was more than that. He was the quiet guy who knew how to do the proofs in high school math. He was the one student who could answer all the “why” questions in science. And he was the type of man who could calculate odds in his head when faced with an emergency. He didn’t just react, he thought through it all, analyzing all the choices, then picking the right one. And by all accounts, he did it better than anyone.

So when the lunar module was descending to the moon’s surface, it turns out they had overshot their landing site. And Armstrong realized that. Aldrin didn’t. The guys at mission control didn’t. But he did. As he was looking for a safe site to land, the communication officer at mission control was counting down the seconds till they ran out of fuel. When he got to zero, the lunar module would have to abort, even if it was 10 feet from the lunar surface. If not, they could land, but would not have enough fuel to get off the surface.

So what did Armstrong do? He hit the throttle. Hard. Like nobody had ever seen, in any simulation. Moving forward as fast as the spacecraft could go, burning up precious fuel, all the time listening to that countdown. Nobody knew what he was doing, or why. Yet, without hesitation, without consultation, and without panic, he maneuvered the lunar module forward to a safe landing, with almost no time remaining. Could other astronauts have done that? Maybe. We’ll never know. But what we do know is that, when it came to crunch time in the biggest flight in the history of aviation, with literally all the world watching, Neil Armstrong got it done.

Good-bye Neil. The world will miss you.

Good bye, Sally

I read yesterday of the death of Sally Ride. With the news being full of the Penn State scandal and the Colorado shootings, her death didn't make huge headlines, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t have bothered her too much.

In case you don’t remember, Sally Ride was America’s first female astronaut. She flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. I remember thinking “what took them so long?” I understood the all-boys club of Mercury and Gemini, and I can even forgive them for Apollo. Remember, this was the time when boys played sports, and girls were cheerleaders. So in that world, pilots were men, and not women. And these space programs required pilots.

But by the time the Space Shuttle first flew in 1981, women’s roles had changed. While there were no female military pilots at that time, the shuttle was staffed with all kinds of people, not just pilots. Scientists and engineers were on board these as well. And women had shown that they too, could be scientists and engineers.

So it may have taken a while, but finally in 1983, Sally Ride actually became that first American woman in space. Never mind that the Russians had put a woman in space a full twenty years earlier, we finally got around to it. And while I’m not claiming to have extensively followed her career, she always seemed to handle herself with class and grace. Which is why she probably wouldn’t mind about the lack of huge headlines.

And then of course, there was this item in her obituary: “In addition to Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, Sally is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister,…” Yes, her partner. As in life partner. And she didn’t tell the world until she had died. She actually had never hidden her sexual orientation; she just hadn’t made a big deal about it by going public. All her friends and associates knew, but it was just another part of her. She was intelligent, had dark curly hair, and was gay.

While I’m sure some will criticize her for this, I would think even the most homophobic person would have to give some grudging respect to the way she lived out her life. She was what she was, and while many probably wished she had come out and made it a cause, she lived a public life as privately as she could.

But now Sally Ride, at the age of 62, has passed, succumbed to pancreatic cancer. You can think what you want, or course. But I will remember her not only as an astronaut, but also as a role model, and an inspiration.

If upon my own death, I am viewed as such, then I guess I really didn’t do too bad.

America As We Know It: Is It Over?

Well, that’s what they keep telling me. After the Supreme Court approved the Affordable Health Care Act. You see, politicians are experts at the “Here’s what’s going to happen” scenario. They use this tactic all the time. They come up with worst case scenarios, and say that they’re going to take place. Inevitably, that never happens. But it doesn’t matter, because by then they’ve moved onto another “It’s going to happen” scenario, and most people have forgotten the old one. Just a few examples…

1)  If we approve the auto bailout, we’ll have the government in charge of the car companies. Nancy Pelosi will be running GM, telling us exactly what kind of car we should have. Really, they all said it. All the politicians, radio hosts, everyone. Of course this didn’t happen. Instead, the car companies survived, are selling lots of cars, and have actually increased their hiring. Pretty much a best case, or at least a “pretty-good case” scenario.

2)  If Obama is elected, he’s coming for your guns. Right after the 2008 election, it was almost impossible to buy ammunition, due to the hoarding. Because Obama was going to take it all. Well, that never happened. So now they’re saying he’s waiting till his second term. Of course that’s not going to happen. Even if he wanted to, he’d never have the votes for it. But the NRA keeps saying this, and people keep believing it.

3)  If Obama is elected, he’s going to take your savings. Really. I know of one couple who actually cashed in their 401(k) when Obama was elected. Yes, they took a significant penalty on that. But they were so convinced he was somehow going to take their own money. Of course that didn’t happen. You would think they would be mad at the people who led them to believe that. Of course, they’re still mad at Obama.

4)  If Obamacare is passed, it will be the end of America as we know it. Really, I've heard that more than once in the last week. Back in October of 2010, one prominent senator said that “In the next year or so” we will have to dramatically cut the military because we can’t pay for it. Well, the next “year or so” has come and gone, and we still have a military. 

5)  Obamacare will ruin the doctor patient relationship. This one can’t be true, because that relationship is already ruined. Anyone who thinks doctors make the decisions has not spent any time arguing with the insurance company. A doctor may request a procedure, but the insurance company rep on the phone is the one who decides whether it will be covered or not. And they will also tell you which doctor you can or can’t see. So this one just doesn’t make any sense. 

6)  If we don’t drill drill drill, gas prices will soon be over $5 a gallon. Somehow nobody is talking about that right now. But just for the record, it didn’t happen. Yeah, I know. “But it’s going to!!!! “

You know, I have no problem with mistaken predictions. If a weatherman predicts rain based on his data, and the storm misses us, that’s a mistake. But if he says there’s going to be a tornado just to scare people, that’s completely different. 

So forget the “what’s going to happen.” Really. Because those are almost never right. Maybe they’re lying, maybe they’re just wrong. Either way, people saying these things do not deserve your trust.

You'll Miss These Times

I was cleaning the playhouse the other day. I mean I really cleaned it. I took everything out if it except the TV and stand, and vacuumed, mopped, and washed everything. While doing so, I came across two things that took me back. The first was this tape, as in a VCR tape. It is a Power Rangers tape, and it took me back to when my daughter Sara was much younger than now. She watched the Power Rangers all the time, and apparently they were pretty cool.

The other thing I found, as I was sweeping out the cushions in the couch, was this little slip of paper. Emma and the neighbor boy Christopher, or Toph, always seemed to be thinking up some kind of club, restaurant, or some other money making or just plain fun scheme. Back in the day.

Those two things took me back, way back. And it brought to mind an experience I had once when they were really little. I was at Kroger’s buying groceries, and I had both kids with me. I’m guessing they were probably about 1 and 4. It was one of those trips that make you want to consume mass quantities of any alcoholic beverage you can find! All you parents know exactly what I’m talking about. We were going through the checkout, and they were arguing, crying, screaming... put whatever loud verb you want in there, you get the picture. Just as their noise was about to really put me into some kind of fit, an older woman came up to me, and gently tapped me on the arm. And quietly and sweetly, she said to me “Enjoy these times young man, you’re going to miss them.”

OK, well that did NOT make things any better. Yeah right, I’m going to miss this time? I just wanted to get out of there, strap them in their car seats, drive home real fast and throw them both into bed and hope they would take long naps. And consume mass quantities of beer. Enjoy these times? Really?

But you know, even as she was saying it, although I couldn’t feel what she was saying, I somehow knew intellectually that she was right. That yes, I would miss those times. In some strange way that only a parent can understand.

So now as I approach my kids 21^st and 24^th birthdays, I am incredibly proud of the beautiful, intelligent, and caring young women they’ve grown up to be. And while I’m not crazy about them being so far from home, I understand that that is part of living and growing up. And I would never want to go back to that time more than 20 years ago.

Yet, somehow the woman was right. I do miss those times. Those times when Sara would say “watch me Dad” and do a cartwheel for the 100^th time in a row, looking exactly like every other one. Or when Emma would be crying uncontrollably over some perceived tragedy, but the offer of ice cream could fix it all! Yeah, I miss those times.

You know, I have no idea who that woman was, but I’m pretty sure that “older” woman was younger then than I am now. And now I know, and feel, exactly what she meant.

Yeah, I miss those times. And all you parents understand.

You're wrong. Of course.

It must really be difficult to be in politics. You always have to spin everything just the right way. Because in all situations, you and your party must be right. And your opponent and his party must be wrong. Every time. No exceptions. Never is it OK to acknowledge any form of success by the “other party” even if it is obvious. I don’t know if it’s always been this way, but that’s how it is now. And it puts people in very difficult situations.

The situation I’m referring to currently is that of the republican governors. They are in a very precarious position. Remember that most elections, and state elections in particular, are about the economy. So with the economy as it is, what are these republican governors to do?

Since they are republicans, it is required that they repeat the message of how badly President Obama has bungled the economy. Since it is not permissible to ever acknowledge any kind of success by the other party, the message has to be that the economy is in huge trouble and cannot possibly improve significantly under this democratic leadership.

But on the other hand, they are facing elections in their own states in the fall. While they may not be up for reelection themselves, their state legislators are. So therefore, they have to show how their own state economy is improving, or even thriving. So you have guys like Florida governor Rick Scott pointing to “encouraging indicators that Florida’s economy is steadily moving in the right direction.” Or Virginia governor Bob McDonnell saying “With unemployment at over a 3-year low, agricultural exports at a record high, and thousands of Virginians working again…”

So, which is it? Is the economy getting better, or not? Maybe it’s only getting better in republican states! Maybe that will work. Unfortunately though, it won’t. Because more than half the states have republican governors. So if that were true, then of course our national economy would be improving. And we can’t have that!

So if I’m a republican governor, I have the following choice:
a) Proclaim how good our economy is to help my own state legislators, or
b) Proclaim how bad our economy is, to make sure Obama and the dems get kicked out of Washington.

Of course, they could always just tell the truth.

Truth? What am I saying? Truth? In politics? Yeah, right.

Of Screwdrivers and Batteries

Yes, screwdrivers and batteries. What do they have in common? What could this possibly be about? Well, very little, actually. Except that I have an amazing streak going in both of those categories. Sadly...

As you probably know, there are two main varieties of screwdrivers. OK, there’s a lot more if you count hex, torx, and weird things like that, which really should never have been invented anyway. But the two real ones, that real people use, are flat, with a slot in the head of the screw, and Phillips, which has a cross on the screw.

OK, now that your tool lesson is over, why am I writing this? Because every time I reach for a screwdriver, I always get the one I DON’T want. And I don’t mean sometimes, or usually. No, I mean every time. At least every time for the last 3 years. Really. It’s like 312 wrong choices in a row or something like that. What’s more, if I reach in a drawer for a Phillips, not only do I grab a flat, but there’s a pretty good chance that EVERY screwdriver in the drawer is flat. Really. I’m not making this stuff up. OK, maybe it’s not 312 in a row; and maybe it’s not 3 years. Those might be slight exaggerations. But it's still a whole lot in a row.

Batteries? Yeah, you know where this is going. In our house, we have a drawer with nothing but batteries. The other day I needed a AA. Here’s an inventory of the battery drawer:

• 6 - “D” cells. You know, the big ones that go in flashlights.
• 20 - “C” cells. Of course, I don’t know of any use for “C” cells. Maybe that’s why I have so many left.
• 51 - “AAA” batteries. No, I have no idea why I have 51 of them.
• 4 – 9 volt. Which I actually feel bad for, because they don’t even get a letter, like C, or D.
• 1 - CR 2032. About the size of a nickel that must have been for a watch or something once.
• 4 random batteries that are even smaller, that fit I-have-no-idea-what.
• 1 lithium-ion battery for a camera that I don’t even own any more
• ZERO “AA” batteries.

 Really.  Zero. None. Zip. Not one!

But do you think that’s unusual? No way. At school, I also have a battery drawer, and the other day I needed a 9V battery. So what do you think I had? Well, I’ll spare you all the gory details, but I’m sure you've guessed by now that I had exactly ZERO 9 volt batteries.

I sometimes feel incredibly cursed. (And I’m not even going to start in about drive-throughs.)

I will admit though, the word "cursed" is just a tad strong. After all, I'm really only talking about screwdrivers. And batteries.

I guess I can't really complain too much. Except that I just did!

Go to the Moon, revisited

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

We all heard those words. We knew what it meant. As Neil Armstrong took that historic step down onto the lunar surface, we all knew this was the opening of a whole new era in exploration. It felt, to many of us, that this was Christopher Columbus all over again. Man had made another step into an unknown world, and we knew this was going to be the start of a new round of exploration and discovery. After the heady excitement of Apollo 11, we watched one moon landing after another. At least ten were planned, with more on the drawing board. But it was not to be. Not even close.

The 60’s were over, and with it apparently, so was our idealism. The Viet Nam war was ending, badly. Watergate was in full swing. Americans weren’t feeling very good about themselves. And I think we just gave up. After five moon landings, we canceled the rest. We had beaten the Soviets, and I guess that was all that mattered. Exploration? A waste of time. Science? A waste of money. 

Maybe we ran out of money. Or maybe we just decided to spend our tax dollars more wisely. I suppose you could look at it that way. And of course, that’s how most people did. But maybe we just lost our drive. Our focus went from outward, reaching beyond where man has ever gone and what he has ever done, to inward, just trying to maintain what we were. And that never works.

I understand fiscal responsibility. I understand spending money on pressing problems. But we were at one time the leaders in space exploration. We were the country that could put a man on the moon. We felt we could do anything. Now, we have virtually no manned space program. We have no means to put a human in orbit. When we need to put someone on the space station, we have to hitch a ride with the Russians. Just one more area where Americans have fallen behind. 

I suppose I’m a dreamer. Or even foolish. We have more urgent problems right here on our own planet, I guess. But we’re always going to have problems. We will always be able to find things that seem more important than exploration.

But it will happen. Eventually. If Queen Isabella had told Columbus that no, she would rather spend her money on something else, the Americas still would have been discovered. It was inevitable; it just would have taken more time. And so it is with space exploration. Even now there are private companies that have taken on the role of attempting to put us back into orbit. And that would be a start. But even that only gets us to where we were fifty years ago. Yet the real exploration will happen eventually. But probably not in my lifetime. 

For those of you who are old enough, think of how you felt when we were all huddling around our TV’s watching that first lunar landing. Think of how proud you were of not just Americans, but all mankind in general. And now think of how you feel when you watch the constant bickering in America now. In government, in business, in just about all areas of our lives. All of us trying to get ahead, somehow.

And I ask you, which is a better feeling?

Go to the Moon

Every year in physics, I spend about six weeks teaching about manned spaceflight. No, it’s not really physics, but I found that most kids don’t know anything about it. They think John Glenn went to the moon (no he didn’t) and they have never heard of Gus Grissom (no, he’s not on CSI.)

Today as I was getting ready, I happened to click on the video of Kennedy’s speech, where he says: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long range exploration of space, and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

Wow. What a chance he took. He had only been in office for a few months. And nobody had any idea how we were actually going to accomplish this goal. They were all just guessing. But he put it out there anyway. Why? Because this country was starting to feel secondary to the Soviets, and he knew this country needed to rally, to have a goal, to be united in purpose. And rally we did. The rest, of course, is history.

But what I find interesting about this is that he didn’t hide the fact that this was going to be very very expensive. He came right out and said it. Yet, the country and the congress rallied around this president, and we did it.

Now move yourself into the future about 50 years. And now this goes from interesting to sad. Very sad. Because there is no way this could happen in 2012. Not a chance. Because no matter what the president proposes, instantly the “other side” is out, explaining to all who will listen that this won’t work, that it is wasteful, that it will bankrupt our country. And they would somehow, without saying it, imply that it’s just part of his plan to be dictator, impose his government on every aspect of your life, and it probably somehow is related to socialism or Sharia Law.

Why do they say this? Because they don’t want the president to “win.” Really. How else can you explain that no matter what side the President takes on any issue, John Boehner is on the other. Every single time. It’s all about who looks good, who wins, and who takes the next election. It has very little to do with what is good for the country.

Don’t believe me? Then ask yourself this. As good economic news starts to trickle in, how many Republicans have praised it? Maybe I’ve missed it, but I haven’t’ heard one. If they want what’s best for this country, of course they’d be pleased. But instead, they say how “No, it’s not really good news” or “Yeah but your numbers are not accurate because…” or “Yeah, but I heard an economist say…” or “It’s just the left wing media making it up.”

Of course, you can argue that we never should have gone to the moon. And of course, you’d be wrong. Looking back on it, the government could have just pissed away the 20 billion dollars, but instead they invested it in something which gave us pride.

Oh, and besides pride? It gave employment to multitudes of people, it spurred scientific achievement and advancement, and it gave a whole generation of young Americans a reason to excel. All with budget deficits. Yet somehow we survived.

You know, this isn’t a football game. It’s not about who wins. It’s about what’s best for the country. And it’s fine to disagree with the president on many things. I know I do. But to disagree on everything, to try to stop every advancement, and to deny the good things that do happen? Personally I just find it sad, very sad.

The democrats weren't this pathetic when Bush was in office. Again, if you don’t believe me, just start counting filibusters and you’ll know what I mean. But some day there will be a Republican in the White House. Will the Democrats be just as bad? I have no idea. But somehow, I’m not optimistic. Because I don’t believe this attitude is a problem with Republicans, I think it’s a problem with Washington.

And that’s why I’m sad.

I Guess I'll Watch the Super Bowl.

Disclaimer: there is really nothing of value in this blog post. (Yeah, I know, so what's new?) So if you want to waste three minutes (or so) of your life reading it, that's up to you. But don't say I didn't warn you. (now, back to the regularly scheduled blog...)

I guess I'll watch the Super Bowl. But I really have no idea why. Don’t get me wrong, I love football, especially NFL. And if this were just a regular playoff game, I’d be a lot more interested. But it’s the Super Bowl. I’m supposed to be excited. After all, half the free world (or something like that) will be watching. But I think I’d rather grade my physics tests instead. (I’ve been sitting on them for almost a week. I should really get going.)

First of all, I don’t really care who wins. Yes it would be great if the Patriots lost. Of course I hate the Patriots. Every real American hates the Patriots, just like they hate the Yankees. Oh, and yeah, the Lakers as well. Hockey? Real Americans don’t hate any particular hockey team. They just hate hockey in general. OK, maybe not “hate.” “Ignore” is probably a better word.

But still, I’m supposed to want to watch it. Really. The game is everywhere. On the TV, newspapers, radio, and the net, that’s all anyone talks about. And again, I’m not sure why. Honestly, it’s not that big a deal.  We play this game every year. Not like the Olympics or World Cup, which are every four years. No, every year, each team has a 1 in 32 chance of winning. (OK, maybe not the Browns…)

And really, as much as I hate Tom Brady (Yes, every real American hates Tom Brady) it doesn’t really affect me if they win. (OK, maybe I will smile a little as I see pics of Perfect Tom whining on the sideline.) I also have to admit I love watching replays of David Tyree catching that pass, then Buress getting the touchdown, then the Patriots inept to come back in the last 35 seconds. Hmm… maybe I’ll watch it just in case.  

But of course, I have to watch it. Because if I don’t, when I get to work the next day, I’ll be left out of all the talk. No, not about the game. Nobody ever really talks about the game after it’s over. They’re sick of hearing about it nonstop for two weeks. But the commercials, yes that’s another story. I mean, what if I had never seen the “Hey Mean Joe, do you want my Coke?” ad?  Or the “Macintosh against Big Brother” ad of 1984. (I wonder if Steve ever caught the irony of that ad before he passed on) Or the Clydesdales? How would my life have any meaning if I don’t see the ads? (yes, sarcasm intended)

Everyone gets in the act. Everyone. Just recently, the Super Bowl was even a topic of discussion on a popular adultery website. (Yes, they really have those, and no, I’ve never gone to one.) According to a sports talk radio guy, the site asked a poll question of the married women visiting the site: “Which Super Bowl quarterback would you rather “know”? Eli beat Tom 56/44. (And no, nobody knows why.)

You know, I kinda wonder, how many people really tune in for the football? And how many watch because of the commercials? Or how many watch because, like me, they feel like they’re supposed to. Not sure what the percentages are of those.

Honestly, I see that I have no right to complain. Because by writing that everyone is making a big deal of it, I guess I'm doing the same thing. I mean, really, I have a blog post on the Super Bowl? (Really?) Apparently, I've succumbed to the sirens as well. 

So I guess I’ll watch. At least I get Michaels and Collinsworth, and not Joe Buck (Yes, every real American hates Joe Buck too.) I can always grade my tests between commercials I suppose.

(And maybe when it’s over I can quit writing in parentheses.)

(One can only hope.)

(Remember, I warned you!)

How much? Really?

I read recently where Prince Fielder just got a new team, and a new contract. For those unfamiliar with baseball, Prince is a ball player, and a pretty good one. He hits lots of home runs. The Tigers were excited to get him, and rewarded him with a nine-year contract. Worth $214 million. That’s $2.4 million per year. Which comes out to $65,000 per day, if we pay him for all 366 days in 2012. Or $147,000 per game (if he plays each one) or about $37,000 for each trip to the plate. I'm not sure if that includes health insurance.

I’d like to say I’m shocked, but of course I’m not. Baron Davis, a point guard, was recently cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers. They still owe him two years of his contract and $30 million . But because he was cut he won’t get all that money. No, the Cavs will only have to pay him $28 million over the next two years. Even though he won’t be playing. But don't feel too bad for him. The Knicks just signed him for $2.5 million for this year. Even though he'll be out for the next 8-10 weeks because of a back injury. He should be ready a few weeks before the playoffs. If they make it. Oh, and he still gets the $28 million. In case you were concerned.

Then of course, I was listening to a sports talk station the other day, when I heard the guy talking about the “mid-level players” in the NBA, the ones who don’t get all the headlines, the ones who only make $7 – 10 million dollars a year. I really felt sorry for those guys, only making $7 million a year. And yes, sorry for the sarcasm.

A brand new pastor, right out of seminary, recently found a call. His total package, including pension, housing allowance, car allowance, and health care was almost $60,000, and he would be working about 50 hours a week, with one day off (unless they schedule a meeting, or someone is sick...). They accepted him and issued that call, but there were a number of people in the congregation who questioned why they should have to pay him so much.

A first year teacher at a nearby school system makes about $28,000. And she’s heard more than one complaint about “paying these teachers so much money, when they only work 9 months a year.” Prince Fielder will work 9 months as well, assuming they make it to the World Series. He gets more in one at-bat than the teacher gets for the entire year. 

OK, I know it’s not the same. The teacher gets paid out of our taxes, and the athletes get paid from ticket sales, TV rights, … Still, it kinda makes me wonder.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like capitalism. For the most part. I like the idea of supply and demand, and I don’t fault Prince for getting everything he can. And I don’t fault the Tigers for paying out the nose. (Did I mention that when they’re on the road, he gets his own private suite?) It’s their money, they can do what they want with it.

But still, I have to wonder what the world would be like if we actually paid people based on what they’re worth, in other words, based on how much help they give other people, or society as a whole. Pay them on how much a “difference” they make in this world.

I’m not sure what that pay scale would look like, but it wouldn’t look anything like what we have now. If you ask me, it would go more like this.

1) The highest paid people would be pastors. Think about it. No matter how much anyone does for you on this earth, a pastor’s job is to help you in lots of ways, one of which is to help you have the faith that can make for a good eternity BEYOND this earth. Nothing is more important than that.

2) Next highest paid on the list are first grade teachers. Look, I teach chemistry and physics. If I’m horrible and my students don’t learn it, they’ll miss some things in life, but they’ll get by just fine. But if a kid doesn’t learn to read, then he’s in huge trouble. So yeah, first grade teachers come next.

3) After that, I’m not sure. Maybe soldiers, or policemen, or firefighters. Possibly doctors and nurses. I’m not really sure.

4) A million other jobs would come next.

5) At the bottom would probably be professional athletes. Really, it may be fun to watch LeBron do a power slam, but it doesn’t really affect my life. And if it really does affect your life, then honestly I wonder a little bit about you.

No, it would never work. Which is really too bad. But the saddest part about all of this, is that after reading the first paragraph above, almost none of us, including me, were shocked or surprised.

And that’s the worst part.

This is the Place!

So, today winter finally came. Oh I know, it’s officially been winter for about three weeks. But for those of us in NW Ohio, it’s kinda felt like we were magically moved to North Carolina or something. Days in the 50’s have not been uncommon, while temperatures in the teens have been scarce, if they’ve come at all. It’s been perfect winter running weather, if only I had the energy to really get out there and put some miles in. Call it global warming, call it luck of the draw, call it whatever you want, it hasn’t been normal.

Until today. Today was the day that ice covered my driveway. Today was the day my cat sat at the closed door and cried, then howled in horror at the open door (repeated many times!)  Today was the day when I actually put a vest on over my sweatshirt. And today was finally the day I was so grateful that I had the car starter installed in my truck last December.

But also, today was the day when I wondered, as I do at least once each year, what in the world are we doing living in this climate anyway. No, really. I honestly can’t figure it out. Yes, I know we have houses, and central heat, and heaters in our cars, and lots of warm clothes. And yes, we get by. But what about years and years and years ago, when people first settled in this area?

Now, no matter whether you believe human life began as evolved ape-creatures in Africa, as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, or as spores dropped from alien spacecraft, no matter what, it didn’t start in weather like this. No, Africa never had this climate, and I don’t remember snow being mentioned in Genesis (although I suppose maybe I just missed it), and well, I just figure the aliens would have chosen a better seeding ground than here. No matter what you think about the beginning of human life, it most certainly have started somewhere just a tad more balmy than here.

Which (finally) gets to my point. What are we doing here? No, really. Imagine you’re a human life form many many years ago. Living as nice a life as you can muster many miles south of here. I suppose I can see how maybe you’d get the urge to wander, to migrate, to move elsewhere. Maybe you were searching for better food, or finding a new place to plant something. Or just getting away from an annoying neighbor. Yes, I can see why you’d want to move.

But to here? Really? Does this make any sense? If you’re  that warm-weather prehistoric man, living the good life in southern California (or its prehistoric equivalent) as you wandered north, and the weather got cold, why in the world would you have stayed? OK, maybe you took the road trip in the summer. But you know, prehistorics didn’t really have fast transportation. It would have taken you many months to get anywhere. So it would have been winter before you got too far. Why didn’t you just turn around and go back home? Seriously. It would have made a whole lot more sense than killing a bear, skinning it, letting it dry out, and somehow making a coat out of its fur. Don’t you agree? Somehow, I just can’t imagine some human many years ago wandering up to this part of the world, arriving here on a day like today, and saying “Yep, this is the place for me. All I have to do is kill a bunch of animals for clothing, spend a month or two fashioning a shelter of some kind, break through some ice to get some water, wait a few months till I see anything green again, and invent something called fire and I’ll be fine and dandy. Hey Marge, let’s call this home!”

Honestly, every winter, there is one day. And this year it was today. As I was walking into work, wind blowing in my face, snow flying, and my cheeks so cold they hurt, that I wonder. Really? Really? We humans settled here?

What were we thinking?