It Makes No Sense

As I write this, the unemployment rate in the country is hovering close to 10%. I could go look up the exact number, but it's about 10%, and that's good enough for this blog. During the Bush years, when everything was horrible according to the media, unemployment dropped to less than 5%, which is considered full employment. What did George W. Bush, who's not very smart, according to the media, do nearly right away? He lowered taxes. One could make a compelling argument that the Bush tax cuts were at least partly responsible for the economic recovery following 9/11.

Now we have a really smart President, at least according to the media, in Barack Obama. What does this super smart awesome guy plan to do in the midst of 10% unemployment? He plans to raise taxes in 2011. That's right, he's going to let at least some of the Bush tax cuts expire for the higher income brackets. Now before you lecture me on civics, I know that the Congress passes legislation so Congress could extend the tax cuts and is choosing not to so far. However, with no pressure from El Presidente, Congress has chosen not to act. Presidential pressure goes far...after all that's why it's called Obama-care, even though Congress technically passed the legislation.

In addition to letting the Bush tax cuts expire, all of us who get company paid health care will begin to face a tax on our health benefits in 2011, as part of the Obama-care package of joy. That's another new tax...which we should be happy about according to our really great President.

I admit, I'm no economist, but I can think a problem through. We have 10% unemployment, and we still have a sluggish economy. Next year, the government is going to start taking a bigger piece of everyone's income (or at least those that actually pay taxes). So, they will start taking a bigger cut of 53% of the country's income (thank you liberal policies). These people will be forced to spend less because they will have less. That means that businesses will have to make cuts to survive, which will probably lead to higher unemployment as businesses lay off people to survive the lean times. Since less people will be working and businesses will be making less money, that means the government could actually take in less tax income, even with the higher tax rates.

You know, I think the media might be exaggerating how smart our President is. It seems to me that his economic policies are designed to actually make the economy worse. I would bet we could see 12-15% unemployment and the dreaded "double-dip" recession if these policies are allowed to go on unchecked. Maybe our current President should check his ideology at the door and take a lesson from his predecessor. You don't raise taxes in lean economic times, you lower them to get the economy going again. But then again, I've never done any community organizing, so what do I know?

TV Series Review: The IT Crowd, Season 1

"The IT Crowd" is an Emmy award winning British comedy series that follows the hi jinks of the IT staff at a company in London. The IT workers are Moss (Richard Ayoade) and Roy (Chris O'Dowd), and they are managed by Jen (Katherine Parkinson).

Season 1 of this series introduces us to Moss, Roy and Jen, along with several others in the office. Jen gets a job managing the IT department with a crafty resume and the usage of multiple IT buzzwords. However, she really has no clue about computers and the guys quickly figure that out. But, they reach an agreement and manage to work together. Though not much work gets done over the 6 episodes of season 1.

"The IT Crowd" seems to be very random. Each episode can pretty much stand on its own, though there are occasional references to previous episodes. Moss is my favorite character in the series, though I also really like Denholm, who is the CEO and appears in about half the episodes. Overall, this is a 4 star series. It's some pretty unique British humor and that makes it good, not great, but good.

Not Very Kingly of Him

I bet you think this is going to be an Obama post based on that title. Well, you'd be wrong...this is a post on Lebron James (a.k.a King James). I would have posted sooner but I've been at Cub Scout camp with my oldest son. For the non-sports fans out there, Lebron James was a basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers until last Thursday when he announced he was leaving Cleveland as a free agent to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. Lebron has won the last 2 league MVP (most valuable player) awards.

From a basketball standpoint this makes sense. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are possibly the 2 best players in basketball, though Kobe Bryant fans would argue with that. Chris Bosh is in the next tier of great players in the NBA. With the 3 of them together, they should be formidable and should win many championships. Dwayne Wade already has 1 title, in 2006 when he pretty much carried the Miami Heat to a title. Lebron James got close in Cleveland, but never closed the door. Chris Bosh has been stuck in Toronto and hasn't come close at all.

So, from a basketball standpoint, I understand Lebron's decision. He wants to win titles and he's going to be playing with a proven winner. I even understand it from a personal standpoint. Miami is a better market than Cleveland, and frankly the taxes are better in Florida.

However, we have to consider that Lebron James was raised in Akron, Ohio and, up until last Thursday, he was a hero in Cleveland and really all of Ohio. They had a 10 story mural of him in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland is a sports town that is starved for something good to happen, and Lebron James was going to bring that to them. In short, he was very important to Cleveland and all of Ohio.

Considering all of that, I have serious problems with the way King James went about making this move. He agreed to do a 1 hour show on ESPN during which he announced his decision. He didn't let the management in Cleveland know what his decision would be, so they had to watch the show and find out. And when he finally did make his announcement, he told a national audience that he was going to Miami...basically sticking it to Cleveland on national TV. Clevelanders were devastated, and the Cavaliers are left with a bunch of below average NBA talent. Pretty classless in my opinion.

Lebron James may win multiple titles in Miami, in fact he should win multiple titles in Miami. But, he lost a chance to be a role model in a city for years to come, and he lost millions of fans that he may never get back. I hope it's worth it to him.

Robin Hood = Tea Party?

I've been watching the BBC series "Robin Hood" on Netflix instant viewing. Maybe I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but my take away as a kid from all the different "Robin Hood" movies and stories was that Robin was robbing from the rich and giving it to the poor. Politically, I've heard more than 1 liberal democrat state that Robin Hood is a democrat. Over the last couple of days of watching this series and thinking back, I've come to realize that characterization is not true at all.

Who does Robin Hood steal from? He steals from the Sheriff of Nottingham and the many lords and other nobles of the land and gives the money and food he takes to the peasants. That's where democrats stop me and say "see, he's stealing from the rich...you mean, cold hearted conservative!" But, think for a moment. In that time, who was the government? You got it...the sheriff, the lords and the nobles. So, Robin was really rebelling against an oppressive, tax hungry government that cared very little for it's people and was more concerned about it's own power.

This brings me to today, where I would argue the Tea Party and it's members are playing the role of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. The Tea Party is standing up against the bloated government in Washington D.C., and letting them know that the size and scope of government needs to be reigned in. It's telling our representatives that we pay enough in taxes! The Tea Party is telling Washington to do what is allowed by the Constitution, and otherwise, leave us alone and let us live in freedom!

I for one support the Tea Party movement. I've never been to an event, but I think they have a good message. And, contrary to what the media and the liberals would have you believe, the Tea Party goers aren't raving lunatics bent on the destruction of our country. They are simply men and women who are concerned that Washington has forgotten what this country is all about and they are using the only means they can to get Washington to stand up and take notice. Although the method is different than the story book hero, the Tea Party goers really are modern day Robin Hoods.

TV Series Review: Castle, Season 1

I loved season 1 of "Castle." I think I am pretty much predisposed to like anything Nathan Fillion does after "Firefly" and "Serenity", so this statement should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Castle" pairs mystery writer, Richard Castle (played by Nathan Fillion) with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (played by Stana Katic). Castle is one of the most popular mystery writers in the world, and he has recently killed off his recurring character. After a string of deaths that appear to be re-enactments of the murders in Castle's books, Castle is called in to consult on the case with the NYPD. In Detective Beckett, Castle finds the muse for his next set of books. So he pulls a few strings with his influential friends to land a semi-permanent gig consulting with Detective Beckett. The rest of the season flows out from there.

I loved this series because I really liked the characters. The mystery almost becomes secondary to the interaction between the characters. Richard Castle is the perfect character for Nathan Fillion. Witty, somewhat arrogant, but underneath the immature facade is a caring person who really wants to do the right thing. Detective Beckett is played very well by Stana Katic. Beckett sort of brings a calm to the show that includes some other off the wall characters. A couple of nice additions to the series are Susan Sullivan, who plays Castle's mother, and Molly Quinn who plays Castle's 15 year old daughter, who happens to be more grown up than her father in most instances.

If you are a Nathan Fillion fan, I think you'll find that you like this series. Both my wife and I think this is a 5 star series. Also, consider that season 1 is not a huge commitment, at only 10 episodes. Give it a shot if you are a Netflix subscriber or just like to buy random TV series at Barnes and Noble.

Book Review: "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Book #4"

I'm not going to use the official title of Book #4 in this series because the title sort of creeps me out. You can see the title on the picture posted with this blog.

Actually, this book sorta creeped me out. Well, that's not the right word. This is going to be a 6 book series and book #4 was sort of a let down. Nothing really happened in this book. I was hoping for fireworks and excitement, and I really got a bunch of nothing.

I'll finish the series as the books come out, but I'm not as excited as I once was.

Movie Review: How To Train Your Dragon

There's just something about the love between a boy and his dragon. I bet you never expected to read that sentence. My oldest son and I went to see "How To Train Your Dragon" yesterday afternoon because it was about 200 degrees here, so outside activities were right out! We saw it at the cheap theater, so we both got popcorn and drinks and still made it out for under $20...gotta love the cheap theater.

"How To Train You Dragon" is the story of the Viking Boy Hiccup. He is a bit of a dreamer, and generally ends up causing trouble wherever he goes. His village is frequently attacked by dragons, and young Hiccup really wants to kill a dragon and win his father's approval. When he fells the most feared of all dragons, he finds that he can't kill it. Hiccup ends up befriending the dragon and learns that maybe his village has been wrong about dragons all along.

I loved this movie. I would rate it 4.5 stars, easily. I found the story surprisingly heartwarming, which is rare for a Dreamworks animated flick...usually they just go for laughs. Don't get me wrong, there were laughs, but the story tugs at the heart strings. I didn't recognize many of the vocal talents, though if you listen hard enough you'll hear Gerard Butler and Jonah Hill. All the vocal talent did a good job. I wish I could have seen this in 3d, but the cheap theater only has 2d...I think it would be very cool in 3d, and Nuke agrees.

Just a random aside. Ever notice how many movies have subplots about son's seeking their father's approval? Maybe fatherly approval is important to kids, especially boys? I'm not saying Hollywood has it all figured out, but they wouldn't keep making these movies if there wasn't something to that. That's really a subject for a more well thought out post, but it just popped in my head, so I wrote it.

Anyway, you should see "How To Train Your Dragon." It's really good and really fun.