Election Buzz

Hey all. Last night I was sitting in a hospital waiting room with some relatives and the conversation turned to politics, Bush, etc. It occurred to me that somehow the primaries went by and I haven’t weighed in on the ballot proposals yet. Some people have asked me about what I thought in relations to my perspective in the biz (especially props 2 & 5) , so thought I would get on it.

Summary Judgment:

If you don’t read the explanation on all five, I basically am urging voters to VOTE NO on all of them. If anything do it for the simple fact that if our legislators were doing their jobs, poorly written legislation like these proposals would not be forced on the ballots. None of them should be in our constitution.

Prop 1: Money held in conservation and recreation funds can only be used for their intended purposes.

From the nonpartisan Citizen’s Research Council : (http://www.crcmich.org/) this is the first thing that bugged me: "This proposal would extend the length of the Michigan Constitution by 1,834 words, a full 6 percent." There has also been no incidence of law makers diverting these funds from their intended purposes. In essence this is a non issue.

VOTE NO

Prop 2: Ban affirmative action.

Perhaps the most confusing argument of the five, this proposal has divided the state. One of my friends said the other day that Michigan is not ready to go “color blind”. This is California businessman Ward Connerly’s sponsored proposal. Ten years ago California adopted this measure and since has seen a drop in minority enrollment in colleges by more than 60%. I think this was an unintended consequence, but even so, before we can say “yes” can you honestly step back and say that we don’t have disparity between race and sex in Michigan. The supporters of this proposal either believe racism does not exist, or that if it does we should not address it. This effort simply turns a blind eye to discrimination.

VOTE NO

Prop 3: Let’s Kill Doves.

This does not belong in the constitution. What did our representative do this last term? Come on! Interesting note of history though, Granholm was against killing doves when she came in to office and now she supports this one.

VOTE NO

Prop 4: Eminent Domain: power of the government to seize your property.

While the limits by which they do this are needed, proposal four is so poorly written these limits would never work as intended. There is no definition given for “fair market value” for the land so expect plenty of litigation to iron this one out. There is also debate that this has been more about defining the difference between favored businesses and public assets….lots of grey area, VOTE NO

Prop 5: Mandatory School Funding Levels.

Besides the fact that the state can’t realistically fund this, the proposal limits the governor and legislature to set and fund state priorities. Earmarking money is not going to work with out a system of accountability. For a proposal on education to make the ballot I would hope it at a minimum benefits the kids…it doesn’t, just the unions. It does nothing for the problems that exist in the education system that I see on a daily basis. Below is quote from an article that came across my desk last December when debate started going on this. You might find it interesting.

“According to a recent study prepared by Anderson Economic Group, the amount of funding available for K-12 public schools in Michigan has grown rapidly since the passage of Proposal A in 1994. Between 1994 and 2004, operating revenue increased by 71 percent, price inflation grew about 21 percent, and enrollment in Michigan schools increased by roughly 4 percent. (Most schools have received per-pupil operating revenue increases double or triple the rate of inflation.) During this same time period, property tax debt for capital expenditures grew even more rapidly – an astounding 217 percent. Despite all these increases in funding for public schools, the K-12 education establishment is demanding that more money be fed into a system with no link to providing higher levels of academic achievement.” –Jim Barret, Michigan Education Report

VOTE NO

Be Stong, Aaron!

http://www.aaronsadventure.com/

The will of God will never take you, Where the grace of God cannot keep you.

Seuss Like?

"I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation," the president told reporters in the Rose Garden. "But I'm the decider and decide what's best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."

Headlines...no seriously

Anyone read the news today? I can't help but share a few items that made me wonder, you gotta be kidding me! I put in my own headlines but feel free to follow the link if you think it's news worthy enough to read.

1) If I stay there will be trouble, If I leave it will be double. So ya gotta let me know,,,, ...great song but this is refering to a report that came out from Congress today regarding Representative Foley's email scandal. Time to clean house! Hastert joins Boehner and Reyolds on the up next to resign list. I would like them all to leave office....yesterday.

2) Shanna is my hero! ....I quote: "Hilton says Moakler walked up to her, “used the most vile of language” and then punched her in her jaw." Need I say more? Okay I will. Shanna punched Paris Hilton in the face!!! It may not be earth shattering news but that celebutant had it coming.

3) The State News Hires Idiots....A sports editor from the State News attempted to write a satirical opinion piece about the Michigan Governor's Debate from the other night and he fails to be either funny or smart. I watched the debate and here is why this guy come accross as an idiot:

"they spent five minutes debating whether or not Granholm visited someone I've never heard of while she was in Japan. So far, on a scale of zero to relevant, this is a minus 12."

Right, so that someone he is refering to is the CEO OF HONDA that she DID visit and it was KIND OF RELEVANT to the auto industry which is in Michigan.

My first clue at this guy's ineptness should have been that he was a sports editor and second, his favorite author is Mitch Albom. Nothing against sports, but journalism 101, write what you know. Until Granholms decides to play tennis, shut up. Furthermore, I have nothing against Mitch Albom but I do have everything against picking an obvious best selling author as your hero. Be a little more daring buddy...please tell me this op. ed. wasn't an attempt at that.

4) No Love in the Auto World...GM is playing hard to get with it's latest caller, Nissan-Renault. A couple months ago Ford was all about GM and then it was over. GM is a tease. If Ford and Nissan were smart they would align and make some money. Nobody likes a tease, espcially automakers.

Alright, that's enough of my reactionary news sputter. I'll catch ya all later.

Water Cooler Conspiracy

I am convinced that in a very suttle, passive aggressive way, my officemates are trying to get me to gain weight. Goodbye raw foods hello homemade. I just went to get a glass of water and the enablers are hanging out over there talking about the Survivor episode from last night and eating a fresh pan of brownies. Yesterday, they had a box of chocolates. Two days before that, one of them came into the office after lunch with a steaming tray of cookies, fresh out of the oven. These people are killing me. Every time I go over there they immediately are like "oh you got to try this" or "she made these special".

It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine complains that she is craving sugar all the time because they keep having birthday parties at the office. You have to have that obligatory piece of cake to be nice cause if you don't then you leave everyone with the impression that you don't like them. Dilema!!

So for my force feeding, sweet tooth co-workers here is my plan of attack. Think I am going to have to go with diabetes. Yeah, I'm fit as a fiddle and don't have diabetes, but what they don't know, will make them back off. If anything maybe they will start bringing me orange juice and I can convienently have some sweets when my "sugar is low" if I ever need to break my diet for a bit.

Dance Dance Dance

I remember the first time I saw "Singing in the Rain". I was about five or six, but remarkably that movie has always been in the top five for me. I always wanted to be Debbie Reynolds trying to keep up with the likes of Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor during "Good Mornin" and who hasn't ever thought splashing through rain puddles like Gene Kelly's "Singing in the Rain" dance. Anyway to go with my latest kick on doing extremely random things (I know most people in my life are going to find amusing) I signed up for tap dancing lessons. I am warming up my jazz hands. Here I come and I'm bringin' it!

Misadventures on the River Wild

Hey party people. I am sorry I didn’t get these up sooner but the photo lab had trouble developing my extremely old disposable camera which was water damaged. They are not the best quality so I had to steal some.

My team of ace oarsmen and adventurers did awesome. We had lots of fun and there were even discussion of all of chucking it all and opening our own canoe shack/think tank. Before we hang a shingle though we'll get to this. Most of the pictures are in between the monster rapids and fallen trees since having a paddle in hand is a little more effective than a camera, but here’s what we did get.

I know the current didn't look very fast but these two right here were arguably the best team. We totally dominanted with our versatility trading off the steering and playing chicken with the trees...and guess who was chicken? That's right, the trees.

Next we mixed it up (ya know, keep the muscles guessing) with a little volleyball action....and there was when I was serving!

And Guessing!

And Guessing!

Man Down! It wouldn't be a good trip without a nasty injury I guess. This time it wasn't me!

I can't put it any other way than Great Lakes, Great Times, people!

Time For Another Adventure

I'm taking off for the wilds of northern Michigan as soon as I finish this entry! Plan on spending the day in a canoe tomorrow with my posse close at hand. We will brave the currents and steer through what ever clever obstacle Old Man River has to dish out... (downed trees, rapids, bears, other adventure seekers like myself?)

Needless to say it is going to be an awesome time. I've assembled an ace team, some of whom are coming clear from Idaho, and we have synchronized our sun dials and plan meeting up bright and early in the morning. One draw back to being in the great outdoors is that there won't be a Starbucks nearby but will settle for the sludge at the local greesy spoon in order to hit the river with enthusiasm. I'll take some pictures and hopefully get them up Monday. Hopefully the picture on the left won't happen, but what is it they say? if it doesn't kill you, it probably should have.

Hitting Lake Michigan after that because we need more of a challenge. Rip tides are fearce this time of year...seriously. Look it up. Hope to make it back injury free, but if it is a good trip, my track record has shown a definite correllation! Ah well! It will be worth it! Take care all!

See you down the trail!

I'm outta here!

Wide World of Velcro

On behalf of kindergarteners everywhere…Thank you George de Mestral

On this day in 1955, Swiss inventor George de Mestral received the U.S. patent for Velcro. Upon his return from a walk in the early 1940s, de Mestral noticed that cockleburs were stuck to his pants and his dog’s coat. The curious inventor examined the burrs under a microscope to discover their construction; when he noticed the hook shaped prongs, he was inspired to invent a new fastening device. One side had soft loops, just like the fabric of his pants, and the other side was a pattern of stiff hooks, similar to those that de Mestral had observed under his microscope. The resulting product was Velcro, from the French words “velour” and “crochet.”

A Day That Defines Us

This is a difficult day for many Americans. It is hard to not re-experience some of the emotions that we felt while watching the events unfold five years ago. If you need help just turn on Fox News or CNN and you can literally relive it today. I find it a little disheartening since it seems our country has many more enemies now but perhaps the general public is just more awake to what is going on in the world. In any case, one phrase has stuck with me in the time since September 11, 2001:

"Our Hearts Are Broken, But Our Spirit Is Not"

Below is an excerp of a personal email I’ve hung on to over the years. I’m not sure if the writer thought about the lasting impact it has had on me but he is wiser than he knows. I think it is worth sharing with you guys.

The events of the past week and our individual and collective reaction may shape your futures in disproportionate ways. Unfortunately, emergencies, wars, civil unrest and fallout from outrageous acts are defining our existence now as much as considered thought and planning. While people are fond of referring to catch lines like “necessity of being the mother of invention”, such notions miss the importance of maintaining the peaceful, nurturing environment that actually spawns the opportunity unique to our society that, like good health, goes largely unappreciated until it is gone or threatened.

In the scheme of things, the murderous acts of last week are reminders of our flaws and a wake up call to decent human values that atrophy without extreme external influences. There are microcosms of distressing events that I see almost daily in my practice. All too often people shrink and react in a disappointing manner even by their own standards. This is not a time for reaction; rather it is a time for reflection and careful direction of the abundant wisdom and resources that are ours. I hope you all will use your good common sense and intelligence to keep a balanced and critical perspective about the big question of what is now to be done. I’m concerned about the flag waving, vengeful attitude that is popular politically, but more in vogue than ingrained. It comes without deep resolve this is required to carry out the underlying message – eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. One writer recently noted the end game there is to be blind and toothless. If we take the time necessary to envision and understand clearly we will ultimately benefit and enjoy our souls and our sustaining freedoms. Further sacrifice by loss of life is not the answer and it is as easy to see as looking at the losses in New York.

Keep your minds and hearts pure and intact – the world is too often impressed with zealots who would dictate our existence and shape us in their mold in order to achieve acceptance. The threat of such influence is constant and the only practical cure is in our deep and resilient resolve to stay the course or reaffirm why we are bothering with life and living and dying to begin with.

I hope this note has been as cathartic and confusing for you as me. Stay focused on the issues because the clouds are likely to be heavy for a while. Foggy, but slowly clearing later in the decade. I wish I could make it easier for you all, but old men have such foolish ideas that really make things more difficult. The trick is to survive the bumps and develop your own fortitude and character so the bumps are easier because of who you really are and not what I wish.

Tribute

To my brother-in-law and his unit which was deployed to Balad today:

God Speed

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

Deep Thought

Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?

-Anonymous

Union City: the intersection of nowhere that is somewhere apparently.

Yesterday I had business with the school down in Union City.

Don’t know where that is? Well the 2,000 people that live there like to keep it that way. The instructions to get down to this southern Michigan town which rests just north of Coldwater included such lines as “a stones throw past Harry’s barn” and “turn at the field of cows”. Everyone is related and no one is a stranger and the actual strangers are pretty much run out of town.

I made it out alive but I have a feeling this is the kind of place that would be featured in a spooky Hawthorne or Poe novel. This is a place which on the surface looks like an inconsequential small town with nothing remarkable going on but behind the cute cafe on the corner and the friendly smile of the old store keeper who smokes his pipe on the back stoop, there is this dark secret that rears its head every now and then….maybe I have too active of an imagination. If you had been there you’d see what I mean though.

I thought about this the whole way back to civilization and forgot about it until this morning when I found out the dark secret of this small intersection of a town. While our secretary was pulling information on the largest tax payers she found out that there is a nudist colony (the largest in the Mid-West) right outside of town. Ah ha!

Appartitions: Explanation Please

This is from the article on MSN about how they can see the Virgin Mary in this "melt off" from a candy machine. A few years ago people also saw the Virgin Mary in a grill cheese sandwhich, which ended up being auctioned off on E-Bay. (Nothing like profitting from a religious phenomenon.) Now I'm not saying that this isn't her or it is her. That is for your own personal insight.

I'm just wondering, it seems like she would have a bigger budget. Alls I'm saying.

Its an "Emer'gen-C"

Has anyone ever heard of this so called cure for the common cold or flu. Today I had the pleasure. I am heading out of town tonight for a long weekend surviving the wilds of northern Michigan and woke up this morning with a head cold!!! Anyway, a co-worker swears by this stuff called “Emer’gen-C” so I decided at lunch to get some and see if it will kill whatever I got.

“Emer’gen-C” is a fizzy drink mix that boasts about being “an incredible energy booster”. Topping the supplement fact list is 1,000mg of Vitamin C and about every other vitamin or mineral I have ever heard of…yeah they don’t mess around. I mixed my first drink at 1pm and drank it down. My cold/sore throat symptoms have now subsided a little and now I feel, for lack of a better term, kind of high. The rush of nutrients literally shocks your system. It’s 3pm now and I just got over the rapid heart palpitations and nausea and my hands quit shaking, so I can now type. Next I think I may do yoga to find some equilibrium…I ran into my desk three times already!

While dealing with the crazy side effects I was at a firm wide meeting that involved about fifty people. Ever try explaining to your boss that you have the shakes because of a natural dietary supplement? Yeah, didn’t go over well. He shook his head and walked away. Perhaps I can coast through the rest of my afternoon though without interruptions.

Not sure if I am going to try another treatment. I imagine this stuff could get addictive if I’m not careful! I’m compare it to Jolt or Red Bull or that is contains natural supplements instead of pure caffeine.

Just breathe……

What Mel Said and What Mel Did...

I just read on MSN that Patrick Swayze is the latest celebrity to jump on the “Save Mel Gibson” band wagon. The public is getting off track when it comes to this guy. There are two issues at hand. First one is that the Mel broke the law. The second is that Mel said some loaded Anti-Semitic phrases while in custody. Now the press is having a field day and the issues are getting blurred.

I have a theory that it is actually people in Mel’s camp that are playing this up. Why? Because, they want people to be thinking about Mel. Any press is good press in Mel’s case since he has been pretty low profile since the “Passion of the Christ” came out. Next we will hear that newly Jewish-educated Mel is going to do a film about the Holocaust. The other reason Mel’s people are firing all engines on this “Save Mel” crusade is to drum up local sympathy from the community and possibly sway public opinion to give him a slap on the wrist instead of some deserved real punishment. I know people who have driven drunk and every time I hear them tell a story of how they once drove drunk …I think of the people in the other cars on the road that would have to reap the repercussions of that irresponsibility. What about causing injuries or deaths? Note to stupid, what the heck is cool about getting loaded and doing something totally reckless and then think that other people will find that "so awesome"?

Right now Mel faces six months in jail if convicted. Please California, convict him. Yeah, put him in rehab, but just because he’s a celebrity doesn’t mean community service is going to be enough. For all those who say, “He’s been through so much. Having to face this angered community is punishment enough.” Hell no. Why are we coddling him? If he was Joe Shmo we wouldn't have thought twice about what kind of punishment to give him. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten he said some pretty messed up things. Leave it to the Jewish community to decide what he should do to be pardoned for that. (Though we do enjoy your opinions Mr. Swayze, we get the impression you are riding coat tails on this one.)

The last issue: are we responsible for what we say when we are drunk? Yes. Our friends never let us forget the stupid things we do. In Mel’s case, the right to judge him belongs to the people he offended. This is true in less serious cases as well, here are a few examples from my life.

My friend Sam once slurred over a bucket-o-beer at Crunchy’s, “man, I wish I was a woman. They have it made.” That is why he is still taunted to this day as 'sex change-Sam'. My friend Jane would still be staring at a map trying to prove that the Netherlands are not real and National Geographic has a typo because they are part of the Peter-Pan story. (Never-Never Land) My friend Jessie would be the lead singer to a hair metal cover band that tours in the area because I remember screaming that she sounded just like the singer when a mike was thrown in her face at Rick’s and she began singing “Talk Dirty To Me” for the whole bar. For the record though she did rock it!

So is Mel subject to the same standard as my friends? Is he Anti-Semitic? Is what he said a bigger deal than what he did? As the rest of us, he should be accountable for what he says and does at all times. Now let get on with it!

Rent-A-Husband

On the morning commute I came accross a truck in the next lane with "Rent a Husband" detailed on the sides. The company specializes in maintenance and home repair, and what a great name. I think this is genious. You can have a guy come in and fix everything and then leave. You don't have to relinquish the remote control, you don't have to deal with his mother calling every thirty minutes, you don't have to feed him, you don't have to ask him to fix that something a hundred times, he doesn't leave his tools or dirty clothes all over.....they should call this business "An Ideal Husband"! I'm serious.

Read This!

I emailed some of you guys this article earlier, but thought I would post it as well in case I missed anyone. Click on the title to go to the link. It is really well written and offers some perspective on what is going on with the war of terrorism.

Jennings is a Jerk

Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings decided to be controversial (well, controversial as a programer in Utah can get on his blog!) this week by ripping on Alex Trebek and Jeopardy. Why bite the hand that fed him $2.5 million in winnings last year? Kenny where is the love? Perhaps he's pissed they won't let him back on the show, but even so Trebek is an instituation! Mocking him is not cool....the guy who runs "Wheel of Fortune" I can understand.

A Chilling Thought

With escalation going on between Israel and Lebanon lately, I have been hearing many broadcasters hearlding this as our "World War Three". Perhaps they like the dramatics of the sounds of this, though it is difficult to determine the ripple effects from the boiling pot that is the Middle East right now. So as we watch Ms. Rice waltz around trying to forgo any more conflict, thought I'd do some research.

What is a "World War"? Thanks to the folks at Wikipedia here is a definition. A world war decribes a military conflict affecting majority of the world's major nations unually spanning multiple continents and are very bloody and destructive.

Fast Facts:

World War One/World War Two
Affected States 36/62
Deaths 10M/55M
Injured 20M/35M
Conscripts (i.e. drafted) 70M/110M
Battlefield Area 4 km2/22 km2

Also found a quote that is relevant:

"I know not with what weapns World War Three will be fought, but World War Four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein