Businesses are not the only ones that are selfish

Why do leftists always come across as selfish to me? Could it be because they are? The latest battle with the unions in Wisconsin is a classic example.

The state is deeply in debt, not to mention the country as a whole. Everyone who has an ounce of common sense knows we can't continue to spend the way we have. Somehow, someway, something has to give, and in the case of Wisconsin I would say everyone has to give to a certain degree.

Enter the unions. I will admit they have given a few concessions. Yet these concessions are short term and don't deal with the long term problem which is the unions stranglehold on the state's pursestrings. If the people of Wisconsin want to truly make lasting changes that will get them permanently on the road to recovery and a budget that is in check, the union is going to need to give up some of its power to negotiate contracts so the state can keep it in check. Otherwise, the state will be in the same position 5 years from now.

The protesting union members say they are abandoning their classrooms and protesting "for the children" but it seems that unless they are willing to give up the power that got the state into this mess in the first place, they are just blowing smoke.

In the early part of the 20th century, the unions were much needed. I don't know anyone that denies that. The power was in the hands of the businesses, and they were abusing that power. Now it seems the tides have turned and the unions seem to have gotten too much power, and now it is bankrupting state governments left and right. Just as we tweaked the direction of power against businesses back in the last century by giving more power to unions, it is now time to turn that power back into the hands of the people of the state of Wisconsin so they can rein in the abuse of power the unions have wrought over their state government.

If union members want to see more jobs available in their respective fields, the best thing they can do is allow the state to do its job in adjusting the budget to practical levels and give its people a chance at recovery.

Are You Still Here?

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. I've been out of the blogging business for a while and decided I need to spruce up my writing skills for future projects, including possibly a book.

I'm sure those that have perused this site in the past are long gone, so I will have to build up my readership from scratch, but frankly I'm in it for the practice, so the audience is gravy. I appreciate any comments, and certainly would like a big readership, but right now I will be happy to get my thoughts out on paper. I'll think about who actually reads my rantings at a later time.

I have to say that even writing this little bit is a joy. It just gets my creative juices flowing, and allows me to have an outlet on a myriad of subjects, which I have total freedom to pursue.

So here I am again world! Hold onto your seats because I can guarantee this will not be a boring ride!

It's the Commercials, stupid!

Do all these people at Superbowl parties really come to see the game? Of course not! Don't you know that the best commercials of the year are on 1 day of the year, Superbowl Sunday. I could say that I'm excited about the game, but I would be lying. I used to get mildy excited when I was younger, but it has always been more of a social event than anything else for me. Forget the game! Let me know when the commericals are on. Need I remind you that it was on Superbowl Sunday when Apple initially showed the commerical introducing the Macintosh to the world? Need I say that beer companies have huge sales directly before and after Superbowl Sunday because of the commercials they put on in between plays? Need I mention "waaaaatsuuuuuup?"

I think it is clear how much of a social event the Superbowl has become, and how much more it is than simply a game. The reason it gets as many people to watch is at least as much from the hoopla surrounding the game as the game itself. I know quite a few people who have confided in me how much more they want to watch the commercials than they do the actual game.

And so I say as I go to the party at my friend's house: "Forget the game! Let me know when the commercials are on!"

A New Experiment

Michael Medved has been one of my favorite radio talk show hosts since I started listening to him 5-6 years ago. The Dennis Prager/Michael Medved dynamic duo have been mainstays in my daily regimen for quite a while. So I thought I would do a fun experiment. I'm going to do a running recap of one hour of his show ferreting out all the juicy tidbits. Now I'm doing this in real time, so it might be a little rough, but that is part of the magic of it. Writing on the fly! We'll see how it turns out. Feedback is encouraged.

The economy is doing terrific.

Things are looking bright because of Bush's economic leadership.

Bush went on the Wall Street floor to talk about the economic advances in his presidency.

Newt will not be a true presidential candidate because he won't decide until September, too late.

Newt commented about John Edwards building the largest house in South Carolina.

He talked about Two Americas based on values and ideas. Which one does John Edwards belong to?

He is estimated at a worth of $12-69 million. He is a part of the legal/industrial complex.

Someone who is a trial lawyer do not help anyone but themselves and a few choice select people who get decisions in their favor.

There have been a huge number of jobs that have been created since Bush became president.

He has increased the typical income in America by $2500 since his presidency began. That is not chicken feed.

Edwards didn't allow photographers to come in to take pictures of his house, but helicopters have done it anyway. Where are the enviornmentalists?

Biden made a stupid, insulting comment about Obama. He has apologized, but it was definitely patronizing. A Republican would have been raked over the coals for comments like Biden's.

A black caller talks about how racist this society is and how "4 out of 5" blacks have been arrested at gunpoint for something. He believes Hussain was innocent and should not have been hanged. Our emphesis in spending is in the wrong place. Michael responds we spend 10 time more on AIDS in Africa as we do on building prisons.

Another caller says wages have gone down since the 60's. Michael responds that is nonsense considering provision for health care by companies. 70% of Americans have their health care taken care of by their company.

The stock market is up 111 points now. We are doing much better than our counterparts in Europe. Income is up $2500 a month. If you put $400 a month of that in the bank, you'd be able to retire a millionaire.

We are increasing Pell Grants. We send too many to college who shouldn't be there. We are spending $13.6 billion just on Pell Grants as a country. Way too much.

Another caller asks if he were a recent college grad, where would he go to in Detroit? There is a new computer company that is booming in Detroit. Boeing is doing really well. Microsoft is doing really well.

Opportunity is out there if you want it.

A caller debates that the deficit is going up. It is actually going down. Including the war.

Well, there it is. Maybe not the most organized, but it was fun to try it. Who knows. I might just do it again sometime and then I'll be even better at it.

I Heard It Through The Grapevine!

Through some unnamed sources of which I cannot reveal, it has been reported that Walden Media who made Narnia such a success have decided to make Screwtape Letters into a feature length film as well. This is certainly an unusual choice for a movie adaptation, but considering how well they translated The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe onto celluloid, I think they might have a shot at it.

Lewis was always a smart and creative writer, and Screwtape was not exception. He chose to juxtapose himself into the mind of a demon and show how successful that demon might be to use certain tactics with humans to get them to sin and lose their battle with the flesh. Certainly a worthy theme for a book considering how little we think of Satan and his tactics. But I'm still concerned if they will be able to make an adaptation that will work well on film, much less be entertaining. I would hate to see them completely mess it up or misconstrue some of Lewis' points.

Oh well. There is no point in debating it now. When I actually see the film, then I'll have a better idea if they have acheived something worthwhile. The mere fact that they are setting out to do it is a promising sign, especially considering what they could choose to make instead. Rocky Horror Picture Show II? I don't think so.

The Riftwar Saga

I have read Raymond Feist for quite a while. I have always been amazed at his creative plots. Magician: Apprentice was his first book as a professional, and plotwise it lives up to its reputation, which is substantial. However, the more I think about it, the more I have a problem with his prose.

I'm sure he must think long and hard about his plots, and this is no exception. The idea of a rift between two worlds with one being an entire society bent on the destruction of the other is pure genius. And since the story is not finished, maybe I should withhold judgement. In fact, I might eat my words. However, because I know his writing as well as I do from other books, I must say that the actual telling of the story is kind of dull. It simply doesn't get me excited about finishing the story. I will, simply because I have heard so much about the ending, but I have a feeling that even finished the story is going to disappoint.

Certainly, this is more a matter of personal taste. I see Feist as someone who is a great writer, just not as much my cup of tea. Others may go completely bonkers with his storytelling craft. I am just not one of them.

I definitely accept him as one of the early masters of epic fantasy which include Brooks, Donaldson, McCaffrey and Kurtz, especially since he has been writing them since the early 80's. I just will not gravitate towards his writing style.

Give me Brooks, Goodkind and Kurtz any day over Feist. Now those are some wonderful writers.

The New Warmakers

You knew they would be there. The Hollywood left felt it was important to grace the DC war protest with their presence to annoint it as an official engagement. They also knew that there would be better news coverage for it if they were there. And that the NY Times would say there were 400,000 there instead of 50,000 to 100,000.

No doubt, 50,000 is a fair sized protest. But they are promoting an agenda of immediate pull out without any thought to the consequences. Will it save more US lives? Probably. But it will also cost a tremendous amount more Iraqi lives, in addition to giving Iran more oil and telling the world that the US will not follow through with what it says it will do. Seems to me immediate withdrawal will kill more people than it will save.

Once again, this is typical looney left behavior. "I don't care how many lives it costs, I want peace right now." What a childish idea. And how short sighted. Regardless of your position on whether we should have gone in in the first place. We are dealing in the here and now. Now that we are in, are we going to do the same thing we did in Vietnam by pulling out suddenly and starting a million man blood bath? Is that what the left means by peace?

I'm sick and tired of people who give no thought to the consequences of their actions. There is no peaceful solution to the situation we are in, so deal with it. We will get out as soon as the job is done. Not before. If we do not, it will mean a whole bunch more deaths than it will save.

Peace at any cost? Not in the real world, Jane. And Susan. And Tim. And Sean. And Maxine. And Jesse.

Liberals Don't Debate

There is a major gulf between left and right in this country, and it isn't just about policy, but about the way we debate. First off, by definition this is a generalization, so don't think I am saying all liberals are one way and all conservatives are another. But in general, conservatives tend to want to debate ideas, and liberals tend to want to call conservatives names. There are a litany of names that liberals keep ready at hand to stifle debate, not encourage it. These are not simply names that demean, but call into question the other person's character.

The typical names that a liberal might use are terms such as racist, homophobe, sexist and bigoted. Now think about these terms for a second. When I call someone a racist, am I simply trying to demean them or say they are evil because they hate blacks? Seems to me it is more than a negative description, it is a word used to end debate by calling a conservative an evil person. Liberals don't want to deal with having to actually argue their points, they want to shut off dialogue by saying "you're not worth debating because you're a scumbag." The worst part about it is that they almost do it without knowing what they are doing.

I am perfectly happy to debate a liberal any day of the weak. But it seems we need to stick to arguments and not call someone's character into question every time they happen to disagree. We would have much more of an exchange of ideas if this were true. Someone who uses these terms on a regular basis doesn't have the best arguments which is why they resort to these types of tactics.

I will fight this with everything I've got. Either give me an argument or get out of the way so I can debate people who actually have some.

Rosie and Donald: A Match Made in Heaven

There is nothing I can think of that I actually agree with Rosie O'Donnell about. She and I are on different planes of existence, and that's not because we're different sexes.

But even I can see from a cursory glance that this feud she is having with Donald Trump is getting to be juvenile. Both of them are to blame. But I have to say, Rosie started the entire mess making fun of Donald Trump and his willingness to give Ms. USA a second chance after she screwed up.

I don't defend either of them. It seems they are both having a sandbox fight on national TV. Of course the question at hand is why? But Rosie seems to consistently need to stick her foot in places where maybe she should show a little tact. She has obviously made a tremendous amount of enemies acting as if she is the queen bee and everyone needs to do things her way. I might actually think she were funny if she didn't constantly make fun of those that don't do it her way all the time.

I hope this current feud dissipates very quickly, cause I'm already sick of it. Both of you, grow up!