Beyond My Comprehension

I heard on the radio news that a far left political group called The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is going to be running an ad in Iowa, attacking President Obama as weak on taxes because he may compromise on repealing the Bush tax rates for all Americans, including "wealthy" American families making over $250,000 a year. Yes, I called them tax rates...they've been in effect long enough that they are now the tax rates, and not maintaining these rates is a tax increase. Just owning the argument...that's all.

As an interesting side note, the Pelosi followers in the House of Representatives passed a bill extending the Bush tax rates for the middle class, but implementing hikes back to the confiscatory Clinton era levels for single people making more than $200,000 and married couples making $250,000. House Republicans have already said that this bill has no chance of passing the Senate, so it's a purely politically ideological move by the people who were soundly defeated in the elections 1 month ago.

Anyway, back to my point. I can't understand the motivation of people who are so bent on taking other people's money that they would invest their own money to run ads that advocate the taking of other people's money. To me, that's what this ad by The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is doing. It's dividing America along economic lines and demanding that certain people pay more! Why would anyone ever think this is right or good?

I have theories. One theory is that these people simply hate people who have been successful because they believe they must have cheated their way to it. Another is that these lefties think that the job of the Government is to somehow force fairness in economics. Still another theory is that they feel that they are owed something by the government and to get what they are owed somebody has to pay the price. These are all my theories, but frankly I can't understand how anybody could possibly think this way.

Personally, I believe people are entitled to do with their money what they please. I think that some level of taxation is necessary, but I believe our government is bloated and spends too much, so I would never advocate tax increases until the government stops spending. I believe in helping my fellow man, but I believe in doing it on my terms, not on terms set by people in Washington. And, I believe hard work that leads to success should be rewarded, not despised.

The truth is, most of the people who we are talking about increasing taxes on, worked hard to get where they are. They are good at what they do because they take pride in their work and this has driven them to do better than others. They should not be punished or made the villain in this story. They should be held up as examples of what all Americans can be with just a little hard work and a lot of perseverance.

That's what I think anyway...maybe I need to run an ad.

"Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious...and don't call me Shirley." - Dr. Rumack, "Airplane"

If you are my age, or around my age, or older, or a fan of really good movies, then you know that quote. You know it's from the classic spoof film "Airplane", and you know it was uttered by one of the greatest comedic actors of our generation, Leslie Nielsen. Leslie Nielsen died yesterday at the age of 84. For many, Nielsen will be remembered as Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad in the "Naked Gun" movies, or as Dr. Rumack in "Airplane". What many don't know is he started his career as a leading man in many more serious roles. If you read his bio on IMDB, you'll see that the man literally had a part in making well over 100 movies and TV shows.

"It's true what they say: Cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside." - Lt. Frank Drebin, "Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad"

In his later years, following the "Naked Gun" movies, Nielsen made several more spoof films. While I never enjoyed them as much as I did "Airplane" and "Naked Gun", Leslie Nielsen was always great, even in lesser roles. Today this world is a much more serious place with the passing of Leslie Nielsen. Fortunately, his deadpan humor will live on forever in the movies he made and the fans he picked up along the way.

"I just want to tell you both good luck, we're all counting on you." - Dr. Rumack, "Airplane" and President Harris, "Scary Movie 3"

November Golf

I just played 9 holes of golf. It's November 28th, making this the latest I've ever gotten to play since moving to Iowa. Who says there's no upside to Global Warming?

Frowning Frosty!

I'm just in a random mood today, and apparently semi-sappy based on the content of this blog. Last Friday, my wife and kids met me for lunch. We met at Wendy's because the kids like that, and it's one of the few fast food places that my wife and I can both eat. We can't eat McDonald's and Burger King like we used to.

Anyway, we were having a good old time. Both of my boys got Frosties with their meals. On the french fry containers, and on the drink cups, it said "It's impossible to frown while eating a frosty." So, I issued the challenge to my kids to try to frown while eating their frosties.

What followed was shear hilariousness as they would attempt to frown, laugh at each other, and then try again. After about 5 minutes, my older son, David, managed to sustain a frown while eating his frosty. At that, Nicholas decided he had to go tell the manager about their false advertising. Fortunately, Wendy's was really busy, so he didn't get to talk to the manager, and was actually really good about just letting it go.

That's a great memory, and I'll keep it with me for a long time. I'm really glad I decided to go to lunch with my family...something I rarely do during the work week, because I'm always "too busy." I guess the lesson for me here is to try my best to never be too busy for family time...I might miss something good along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

In a conversation I had with Nuke earlier this week, I learned that Thanksgiving, and generally this whole week is his favorite of the year. I too enjoy this week, and especially today.

We started our Thanksgiving Day by going to Mass. We like to do this...after all, it's God that we have to thank for our blessings, so going to Mass seems very appropriate on Thanksgiving. During the Homily, our Priest mentioned that one of the things he is thankful for is his struggles. That's something I've struggled with all day (no pun intended). It's easy to be thankful for the our abundance, but for the things in life we struggle with? Not so much. I think that's something I'm going to have to work on going forward. I don't really have any profound thoughts on this topic, I was just struck by the idea.

The rest of our day was a quiet one. It was just the 4 of us this year, so we didn't go the turkey route. Instead, I made a chicken, that was excellent. You can find the recipe that I followed at allrecipes.com. I did deviate a little...I mixed the herbs with the lemon and olive oil and applied it all at once, rather than doing as the recipe suggested and rubbing with the herbs first then the olive oil/lemon juice drizzle. I then stuffed the cavity with half a lemon and 4 cloves of garlic. The chicken turned out moist and delicious. We will make this again.

We had mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potato casserole and buns with our chicken, and finished with pumpkin pie for dessert. It was an excellent meal and a really nice day.

Yes, I have many things to be thankful for this year...maybe even the things I struggle with. Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends who take the time to read my blog.

The Songs We Fill Our Heads With

It's almost 10 pm. I have to be at church at 6:30 am to play piano at the 7, 9 and 11 am masses, and I'm blogging for the 2nd time tonight. Why am I doing this? Well, because I have a thought stuck in my head...brought up by a friend at prayer group 2 Fridays ago. Why is it that most of the songs that we listened to, and loved, when were kids have a really screwed up message, if you really listen to the lyrics? What did we fill our heads with as kids?

Today I listen to mostly Christian music or talk radio (sports or conservative). My kids listen almost solely to Christian radio, and I'm thankful for that.

One song in particular has had me vexed (yes, I said vexed) for the past couple of days. When I was in high school, I loved the Crash Test Dummies. One song in particular that I enjoyed was "God Shuffled His Feet". You can listen to the song and watch the video at this YouTube link. I can take 2 possible meanings from this song:

1) Earthly concerns are silly and God, as portrayed in this video, is trying to demonstrate this, by not answering the questions that the people ask, and instead telling them a parable that, sadly, they don't understand. For example, they ask questions like "If you're eye, got poked out in this life, will it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?" God responds by shuffling his feet, glancing around and then telling a parable about a boy with blue hair. If I run with this interpretation of the song, God is saying, things of this earth are not important in heaven, so don't be concerned with earthly things.

2) This option is more cynical. One could take from this song that God is some distant being that is just messing with us, like we're here for his entertainment. Given the video, that is likely what the songwriter or video producer wanted me to take away as the meaning.

Where I get really off is the Crash Test Dummies have another song called, "How Does a Duck Know", and in this song, they seem to marvel at the fact that "everything seems planned out, everything seems so nicely planned out." Someone had to do the planning. When I was a kid, I assumed these guys were men of faith because of these 2 songs. I might be wrong with this assumption, but I think I can still choose number 1 as my takeaway. I was talking with Nuke about this on Friday, and he pointed me to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Test everything. Hold on to the good."

So, I'm going to choose to take option 1 as the meaning I get from this song that I loved so much as a kid. Even if the Crash Test Dummies meant option 2, I believe that I can choose to take the good message from it and throw away the rest. I'm also going to stick to my Christian music going forward...at least I'm pretty sure I know what message it is trying to convey.

Have We Gone Too Far?

All week long I've been hearing about the enhanced passenger screening techniques that are now being employed at airports. In about 70 airports there are full body scanners that produce a nearly naked image of the person being scanned. The TSA is also employing full body pat downs more frequently. We are being told, from the President on down, that these enhanced screening measures are necessary to keep airline passengers safe, and these methods are the only means effective against preventing another Christmas Day Bomber.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I know I don't want to undergo a body scan or receive a pat down. But I also want air travel to be safe. What I'm struggling with is how much of our lifestyle do we let the terrorists affect? They have definitely made air travel less convenient, and some people are skipping it completely. So from that standpoint, the terrorists have won a small victory, and with each additional security measure that inconveniences Americans, the victory gets a little bigger.

What I really think we need is common sense here. This is going to be controversial, but I really believe TSA agents should be allowed to profile. It's not the 80 year old grandmothers we need to worry about. We handcuff our security agents with our current policies. I realize this is wholly unfair to entire groups of people, and I feel bad about that, but a reasonable person should understand.

I'm really on the fence on this one. I think we have gone too far in some areas, while I believe we haven't gone far enough in others. I guess for now, I'm going drive my car whenever I can. It's gotten to the point with me that air travel is not nearly convenient enough to put up with the hassle. Whenever I can, I prefer to drive, simply because I have control over when I leave and when I get where I want to be. I will still fly for business when I need to, and suck it up as I go through the enhanced security screenings. That seems to be the reality of where we are in 2010.