There's more than one level of government

Saw the following comment on Facebook yesterday. It was from a friend of a friend.

Okay, President OBama was here in Scranton.. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Let's see... What did that visit do for me??? Nothing.. Let's see, my county taxes are still going to go up, my City taxes are still going to go up, my salary/wages will remain right around the same, my utility bills are all going up, I still have friends and family who are unemployed and struggling.... Well, is his visit historical??? YES! Is his visit going to impact me or the people I love in any way, shape or form? NO!! So, do I care? NO!! I'd rather meet Robert DeNiro. :)))..

Another case of ignorance. In what world the President of the United States of America deal with municipal or county issues such as taxes or even at all? City taxes? I'm sure the president is going to work his way across every city in America helping plan for city and county taxes. As far as her salary remaining the same... of course it is. The president cycling through town isn't going to bring wages up or hand out promotions. Did you do anything to get promoted? Did you perform better, learn more, work harder, gain any additional capabilities or otherwise earn more money? Utility bills are going up because there's a nationwide, nay a worldwide, energy crisis as we use more and more without making more resources and, subsequently deplete the source of all of this. Supply and demand.

Friends and family are struggling and unemployed? Isn't this something that he's tried to address? I don't like the guy, we all know this, but I can't believe that you think after one visit to a town, he's going to fix it all, and you condemn him for not making sweeping changes to your sleepy little Pennsylvania town. And by making this ignorant comment you are certainly not making it better. His visit COULD impact your town, but it's not going to all by itself. Should you care? Yes. He's the most important man in the world, by virtue of his title.

Sitting around posting on Facebook about all the reasons why it was worthless and how you don't care will breed nothing but more negativity and ignorance. This is the shit I've been talking about with everyone lately.

Scrutinize yourselves

I just read that Herman Cain may be dropping out of the presidential race. Apparently, there has been another round of allegations of sexual misconduct. I don't know what the deal is. Frankly, I've paid very little attention to the candidates this time around. I know I'm very political but I don't see politics in politicians anymore. I see commercials, money and smear campaigns. I don't know what they stand for, and neither to do you. They stand for what you want them to until they get elected. They're all crooked.

Anyway, Herman Cain has been accused of harassing women over and over, to varying degrees. I have a huge problem with that and hate the fact that he may be dropping out of the race over it. I'm not particularly a Cain supporter. I support everyone's right to see their dream and run for office if they damn well choose. I don't support money hungry assholes trying to snake a free lunch out of the guy. Maybe he's the best guy for the job. Maybe he's decent. Maybe he's just enough to be a good competitor. I haven't a clue.

What I do know is that all of the women that claim he harassed them in one form or another, all claim it happened years and years ago. Where were you then? Why didn't you say anything when it happened? Does the phrase "speak now or forever hold your peace" mean anything to you? Some women say, "we were afraid then." So now that the guy is nearly a household name campaigning for the presidency and on the verge of having tons of power, you're no longer afraid compared to when he was a relative nobody?

And how many does this latest one make anyway? 4? 5? More? Are you telling me that he went around harassing a handfull of women (pun intended) and nobody found out, not even once? They didn't come out with it and he didn't slip up and get caught all on his own. And then he just stopped because, as far as I know, nobody has come out and said anything about any recent events.

So you knew Herman Cain a while back. So maybe he made a pass at you. Maybe he asked you up to his apartment after a drink. Maybe he did something that you once didn't like but it didn't mean all that much to you. But now he's running for the Republican ticket to try to become the President of the United States of America and you bottom feeding, sons of bitches need to drag him down. You need to get your 15 minutes of fame (by looking like an asshole), grab a few bucks of hush money, and ruin his career. He beat you to the punch, quit possibly. Before you got the chance to destroy him, he's all but totally decided to drop his bid anyway.

And what if these harassment and adultery charges are true but he can fix the country? What is more important? We have ridiculously high unemployment rates, no money, a rising deficit, war, and a million other problems and you give a shit if he grabbed the ass of a woman that's not his wife. Is the honest, faithful candidate (if that exists) going to be able to fix our issues? I'm not saying that Cain can. I haven't a clue. But who are YOU to decide he can't? And if you think he can't - vote against him. Don't tear down his character.

The bottom line is that I think you are all full of shit. I think you are bottom feeding, money grubbing, coattail riding, filthy, moral-less, assholes that just want your slice of the pie the easy way. I know nothing about the guy, but I think he's innocent. There's no way so many women were harassed and NOBODY said a word, he NEVER got himself caught and this went on for years. I don't buy it.

Quit casting stones and try casting a vote.

Too big to ignore

With so much changing in my near and midrange future, I can't help but think about events in the country and world over the past few years, especially the fall of 2008. It is particularly troubling for someone preparing to restart life geographically and professionally. As a business owner, it is that much worse. The economic events were so vast and deep that I am continually amazed that nobody saw it coming.

When we look at what actually took place, it is all so simple. Everything we did was predicated on the fact that the price of houses would never go down, yet we did everything in our power to drive them down, even if not purposely. Saturation of areas with houses and constant buying and selling invoked the law of diminishing return and an inflation at a rate that no balloon could possibly withstand without popping.

I speak often of intentionality and while it may not have been in the plan for bankers to disrupt and freeze credit, they plan of making more and more money alarmingly fast had so much collateral damage that there was no way it could have been prevented - once the ball got rolling anyway. There was so much greed and grandeur on Wall Street that even capitalists with deeply rooted beliefs, such as myself, cannot begin to imagine the soulless actions that went on. People can say that the homeowners should have known better than to buy a house they couldn't afford and definitely should have known better than to leverage that dollar and tack on a boat and a college tuition. One dollar cannot go three ways and still be worth a dollar each time. Yet, when the average Joe is handed the American dream by a professional, it is likely that "Joe" will put heartfelt trust in the answer and go with it.

The reason these Americans lost their homes, really is their own faults and it's not because they believed the banks. It's deeper than that. It's the lack of information I speak about so often. To this day, I can name, probably on one hand, but definitely no more than both, the amount of people that can explain how the greed that led to bundled mortgage backed securities, insuring the sold off slices and moving the risk of their books as well as the arrogance of AIG nearly sent us into the depression of the 1930s at an unfathomable speed (obviously generalized and truncated for this post).

What may be even more upsetting is how many people not only do not know what happened, but are grossly unaware of how close we all came to it. If I told the population at large that we were 5 days away from having no economy left, what would they say? Would they know that was the case or even believe me? Would they understand the concept of a credit freeze so sweeping that trucks stopped moving, shelves stopped getting stocked, things and money literally disappeared. A post-apocalyptic country would have emerged. January 2009 would have marked the beginning of a decades-long recession.

It's not that hard of a concept. The Street has been running on emotion and not on numbers for as long as I can remember and probably longer than that. No bank in the world can honor its debts if all creditors made a run on it. It's all based on trust and banks trust in each other. The absorption in our own personal worlds creates our own success bubble where we mostly don't think about all the moving parts involved. But all these moving parts have a profound impact on our own personal success bubbles. Our knowledge is limited to the news ticker on the bottom of the news channel that we see as we fill our coffee mugs and begin our transient day.

Our lack of information enabled all of this. I'm not exonerating the guilty parties, but it's hard for people to be guilty of immoral practices without people who conduct business with them. It's not entirely dissimilar to Nigerian scam artists "just trying to get your help moving money." They are wrong for doing it, but if you don't see yourself getting fleeced then you have enabled them to a large extent and should not have handed over money to a total stranger. How did you not see that coming?

So thanks to the greed of the bankers and the ignorance of the average American, my future success is potentially muted. I'll overcome the obstacles, whatever the cost. The point is, that I shouldn't have to. So America... read a fucking newspaper, balance a checkbook and pay attention to the world around you once in a while.

Automatically cut his salary

So President Obama says he will do nothing to stop these automatic budget cuts. I'm no stranger to the need to save money in my personal life and I can't begin to truly fathom what it would take to get the United States out of this mess. Frankly, I'm not interested in what or who caused it anymore. It's here. Plain and simple.

Because Congress is incapable of doing anything right at this point, they failed to come to a solution to out deficit issues. Automatic budget cuts will go into place. Things are going to get slashed across the board, but the thing about automatic is that the actions are not weighed and considered. It's automagic. This is not a time to make brash moves. Let's consider, for once, the consequences of our actions.

To that end (and I'm admittedly biased about this), the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta made a statement. He said, "If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will tear a seam in the nation's defense." To that a scorned President replied, much like a kid denied a lollipop, that he would veto any measure taken to circumvent the automatic cuts. This will, in effect, create "a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned," to use more of Panetta's words.

As someone who has spent time in a variety of military locations both domestically and overseas, I can tell you that we need the money. There is never enough. Our national security deserves the best at all times. I've seen soldiers without enough body armor before convoys. I've seen training suffer. I've seen students piling up crammed into small rooms because we cannot pay people. There is a bubble developing in the training pipeline that will create a force lopsided in terms of rank and hierarchy which will persist for many years to come.

All of that aside, how can anyone not see the importance of money spent on national defense. Should all the "We will never forget" bumper stickers be replaced with "September what?" Have we forgotten that the horrific 9/11 attacks were the second try by these pieces of shit on THAT location. Does February 26, 1993 ring a bell for anyone? A truck bomb in the underground parking lot of the North Tower of the World Trade Center went off, but the building stood. The destruction was minimal so they came back for more. Do you think they're done?

Do you think that the beefs with North Korea, Iran, Syria, Egypt will subside and there will peace and happiness in the world? If you buy that, I have a bridge you can buy. This was supposed to be posted a few days ago, but I got sidetracked and lost my train of thought. There is a good by-product of that though. Between the start of it and now was Black Friday. The heaviest day for consumerism and shopping. Some of the videos and news associated are the exact reasons the rest of the world hates us. Materialistic, shallow needs for possessions is not something that is agreeable to our enemies. The point is that without protection, we are going to have a major problem.

Our military is the greatest in the world. It has created and protected us for over 200 years. It also has helped out the rest of the world in times of need. We cannot cripple it with budget cuts. Find other ways to save money. Congressional salaries for starters. How about the presidential salary? What the hell does he have to pay for anyway? The man has no expenses.

All I know is that automatic budget cuts that erode the foundation of protection this country has relied on for so many years is disgusting and needs to be completely rethought.

Spreading joy via the evil corporations

It's Thanksgiving night and I certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I have an amazing family and wonderful friends. I have a good job. I have been very blessed in many ways. I understand that many are less fortunate than I am. I also would love to help every person who has had bad luck befall them. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to do that. I heard something tonight that infuriates me more than anything else. Actually, it's two things.

First of all, Facebook is full of people complaining about the Black Friday hours. I have worked from 4:30am until midnight in a retail location. It's long. It's hard. I get that. But to bitch and moan and have arguments amongst friends about who has it worse, is so ridiculous. You know who has it worse? The people who can't get a job. The people who can't pay the rent and keep the lights on. You don't like retail? Get a learned trade. Get an education. Get some motivation and drive and learn to monetize your passion. Find a way to change your circumstances. OR OR OR OR... be the 1 in almost 10 who don't have a job. It's Thanksgiving. Be thankful that you have a job... and get your ass to work.

Here's the other thing. Apparently, people are outside stores picketing. It's a new sub-movement called "Occupy Black Friday." Their stupid ass signs say things like, "Stop supporting corporations, distribute your money among the poor." First of all, there are people, like those above, that have to work ridiculously long hours and it does suck. Those that are grateful for the opportunity, deserve the money they make. You don't deserve it for being outside with a fucking sign. Grow up and get a job. Apparently, there are people working that don't care to and maybe you can trade positions with them. Anyway, you clearly missed the point. People spend money, which stimulates the economy. It creates commerce and then the corporations make more money and make more products and the cycle goes around and around. I guess that's what pisses you off, but you missed a very key component to all of it. You see the whole thing as just a corporation, but let me ask you something - who do you think works in the corporations? Is it all fat cat rich people? Maybe there are the laborers who create the products in factories, drive the products to stores, stock them on shelves and ring them up. Maybe the people buying them are just poor people scraping to get by themselves and are pinching pennies to get gifts for their families.

Maybe, even if you had a legitimate cause, you're not going to be heard at Christmastime. It's not the time to pitch your silliness. It's Thanksgiving and people are doing Christmas shopping. People are joyful and buying presents to spread the joy. Stop pissing on everyone's parade and bringing your stupid fucking raincloud to a happy time. Get a job, buy something, spread some joy and stimulate the economy.

Partisanship and employment

I'm tired of ranting and raving about Occupy Wall Street from a pure belief standpoint. I have mine, they have theirs and they will never see that mine are right. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but if I didn't believe mine were right, they wouldn't really be beliefs in the first place, would they? So I stand by my beliefs. We'll even call them convictions. I'm not wishy washy. However, being staunch is not enough to sell others on my position. So let's look at it in better, more factual detail, shall we?

Disclaimer: Nothing I say here speaks for the entire group. I also don't feel I'm making blanket statements. This is generalized simply to be able to keep it a reasonable length and I can't speak for individuals.

In looking at the overarching theme of how they feel (the protestors). They feel the rich get richer and the upper 1% has too much. They feel they are entitled to more opportunities. They want caps on the high and low end of the pay scale to minimize inequalities. Suffice it to say, none of them are extremely wealthy and self made millionaires. Many do not have jobs or, at a minimum, not full time, structured/rigid jobs. The principles of who they are and who they are fighting paint a clear distinction about partisanship. Would you say that these folks are closer to right wing, conservative, capitalist, big business loving, Republicans? Or do they fit the left wing, share for the common goal and greater good, everyone deserves a chance, help our fellow man, liberal, Democrats? I think we can all agree that they are, by and large, the latter.

Since we are speaking in large, generic polarized categories, let's continue that trend. Conservative Republicans will often gravitate toward more pragmatic degrees (B.S., M.S.) vs the loony lefty liberals who are generally more artsy (Bachelor of Arts) and lean toward careers that allow free expression. This is where this whole thing is leading to. Careers, success, and employment. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce has compiled data to see the employment rate by major. Keep in mind that across the board, the unemployment rate (as of October 2011) was 4.4 for people with a college degree (inclusive to all levels of degree - Baccalaureate, Masters, Doctoral). Here is the list of the top 10 most employed major from least unemployed down:

1. Actuarial Science - 0 percent
2. Astonomy and Astrophysics - 0 percent
3. Educational Administration and Supervision - 0 percent
4. Geological and Geophysical Engineering - 0 percent
5. Pharmacology - 0 percent
6. School Student Counseling - 0 percent
7. Agricultural Economics - 1.3 percent
8. Medical Technologies Technicians - 1.4 percent
9. Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology - 1.6 percent
10. Environmental Engineering, Nursing, and Nuclear Industrial Radiology and Biological Technologies - 2.2 percent

There are the top 10 most employed majors. The least employed of that list is half of the percentage of college grads unemployed overall. 9 of those 10 are very specifically scientific, measurable, fact based majors. No expression. No art. They are jobs that require people to show up at a certain time, meet measureable standards and performance benchmarks. Not dissimilar from the structured, numerical world of banking and finance. The only one that stands out among the rest is School Student Counseling; however, I would be willing to bet that the 0 percent belongs to those who have gone past a 4-year degree. More education ups the chances of continued employment, of course.

The Center also has found that all these scientific degrees will earn significantly more money. One such example is that a petroleum engineer major will make three times as much, over a lifetime, than that of a psychology major. The psychologist/counselor has less risk, which means they will make less money but a higher guarantee of it - once employed. Still a 0 percent unemployment rate for 5 scientific degrees sounds like a worthwhile effort.

At the end of the day, all of this data leads to one meaning - inferred or stated. Scientific, numerical, data based, technology, banking or similar career paths will always provide a greater chance of professional and financial success. Even for those who have chosen to skip the degree process and choose to work from the ground floor in these industries, it is a better bet than being on the other side. This is not my personal partisanship. I'm not going to strap a dead panda to the front of a Lincoln Navigator and run over every liberal artist I can find. I'm taking a stance based on real data from Georgetown (not a fly-by-night organization).

So OWSers, you want change. Here's a suggestion, make it happen. The choice is yours. The programs are available. The information is publicized. Want the money? Make, don't take, the money. Once you have it, use it for good not evil like you believe everyone in lower Manhattan is doing.

OWS demands and commentary

Here is what the OWS movement has decided they want. This is not an official list. This is built from items submitted by members of the movement so far. I've provided commentary on each. Enjoy the show.

- Repeal the Taft-Hartley Act. Unionize ALL workers immediately.
Not all workers WANT to be unionized. Forcing a union on people is the same as banning unions for the people that it makes sense for.

-Raise the minimum wage immediately to $18/hr. Create a maximum wage of $90/hr to eliminate inequality.
And who is paying for this. Is the profit margin at Office Depot high enough to pay the 16 year old stocking printer ink $18 per hour? Or will Office Depot have to double the price to account for that. It's already cheaper to buy a printer than to refill the ink in some cases. That's just one example. What about people that respond to "CLEANUP IN AISLE 6" when some numbnuts kid knocks pickles off the shelf? $18/hour to push a mop. Makes perfect sense to me.

-Institute a 6 hour workday, and 6 weeks of paid vacation.
$18 an hour to NOT work for 6 weeks? Employers have no discretion anymore? I'm not sure I even understand the purpose of this one. They want opportunity but don't want to work for it? "We want jobs, but we don't want taxing hours. Let's make it easy." It's not supposed to be easy... it's WORK!

- Institute a moratorium on all foreclosures and layoffs immediately.
So if people can't pay their mortgages, they should do what? Just keep the house? For free? No layoffs? How is a business going to buy products to sell if they're paying all of their employees and bills and having a hard time selling what they already have in inventory?

-Repeal racist and xenophobic English-only laws.
In Italy, they speak Italian. In Germany, they speak German. The language of this country is English. I'm well aware it is not declared as an official language, but let's face facts, it damn well should be. Or pick a new language. Make it Spanish for all I care. I'll learn it if that's the way it goes. Making a standard makes it easier to communicate. It goes on in the tech world constantly. We institute a standard do everyone can interact and communicate.

- Open the borders to all immigrants, legal or illegal. Offer immediate, unconditional amnesty, to all undocumented residents of the US.
The borders are open. People can come in, just like my family did. Sign a paper, become a citizen. Have some allegiance. Nothing wrong with that. Amnesty for illegal residents makes NO damn sense. If they are illegal, then they've broken a law. I want to drive a car with no license. I'll be an illegal driver. Give me amnesty. You can't do shit to me. At that rate, let's just dump laws altogether if there's no accountability for them.

- Create a single-payer, universal health care system.
It would be awesome to have 20%+ sales tax to cover that cost. I mean I totally want to pay $7 for a half gallon of milk so someone who doesn't work, feeds off the system and has no moral compass can stay healthy. This it takes a village to insure a lazy sack of shit doesn't work with me. I work. I'm compensated. You work. You're compensated. No such thing as a free lunch or free healthcare.

- Pass stricter campaign finance reform laws. Ban all private donations. All campaigns will receive equal funding, provided by the taxpayers.
So if I make a ton of money and become Oprah rich and truly firmly believe in a candidate, I can't support him/her?

- Institute a negative income tax, and tax the very rich at rates up to 90%.
To become the super rich, you have to be educated and a hard worker. Bottom line, the lazy ones that work 15 hours per week or can't spell the word spell, don't make millions. So those that learn a business, get educated, put in 80 hours per week and rise to become the cream of the crop should be taxed 90 cents on the dollar. At that rate, they won't be the super rich and end up in the negative income tax bracket. Additionally, negative income tax? So these people should work at low paying jobs at less hours a week and be rewarded for their efforts? Produce and contribute and be rewarded.

- Pass far stricter environmental protection and animal rights laws.
I won't even argue this one. I agree with the concept and the demand is very vague, so we will see how it plays out.

- Allow workers to elect their supervisors.
This may reduce the number of Peter Principle-esque bosses out there and that's not the worst thing in the world, however, this is a stupid solution overall. You already have that right. Are you a slave? No. Don't like your boss? Quit. Start a company. Be your own boss? Don't know how? Should have gotten educated. Can't afford it? Grants, loans, scholarships. You can get SOME FORM OF EDUCATION, you ignorant asshole.

- Lower the retirement age to 55. Increase Social Security benefits.
Oxymoron. Social Security is hemorrhaging money as it is. People are living longer. Starting them earlier with more money is impossible. That's like opening the drain, lowering the faucet and expecting the sink to fill.

- Create a 5% annual wealth tax for the very rich.
Define very rich and tell me where the money will be appropriated to and we'll see.

- Ban the private ownership of land.
Dumbest combination of words in the English language. I refuse to dignify this with a response.

- Make homeschooling illegal. Religious fanatics use it to feed their children propaganda.
I actually support it 10000% but for different reasons. School teaches more than books. It teaches social maturity, interaction, how to learn, how to teach, how to be a person in a multi-cultural society. I do not support homeschooling. I know more than one person homeschooled so I don't judge them, but in concept, I'm not a supporter.

- Reduce the age of majority to 16.
There are 18 year olds joining the military now that I wouldn't trust with a sling shot let alone a gun. You want to lower the bar? If a student can't pass a test, the fail. We don't write a test they can pass. Rebuilding the system doesn't work. Lowering the bar doesn't work.

- Abolish the death penalty and life in prison. We call for the immediate release of all death row inmates from death row and transferred to regular prisons.
Because people that are on death row are just misunderstood? Some people are bad eggs. Not everyone is capable of being rehabilitated. Abolish the death penalty? Maybe. Life in prison? Better not do it, some people don't belong in society; they are just dangerous.

- Release all political prisoners immediately.
Purpose?

- Immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Do me a favor and pull the emergency brake in the car while going 90 mph down the highway. Let me know if you have a smooth exit from the vehicle.

- Abolish the debt limit.
Germany and Austria are establishing debt limits because they see how that'll save them and you want to get rid of ours? Let's just keep piling up the debt. Let's never make good on what we owe. Forget reconciling and being positive. Borrow, borrow, borrow. Until we are borrowing on (and losing) YOUR money. Then you'll be PISSED!

- Ban private gun ownership.
Constitutionally protected right. Part of the values this country was founded on. This is not a change to a rule. This is an effort to turn this country into a different country. If you hate this country so much, there's a much easier solution - MOVE THE FUCK SOMEWHERE ELSE.

- Strengthen the separation of church and state.
Fair enough. My religion is not your religion, but my state is your state. Nothing against Jewish people, but I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God. I don't feel that a Menorah should be on top of a public building either. However, putting a cross on the side of the road where a Christian person died in an accident is not the state on a crusade for Christianity (pun intended). It's commemorating the life of a Christian that has died and the state is not involved. Free exercise of religion, brother. You should be looking at traffic and not the trees anyway. Mind your business sound familiar?

- Immediate debt forgiveness for all.
While I would personally love this because nobody WANTS to owe anything, it goes back to personal accountability. You spent it, you pay it. That's a choice. You didn't NEED the TV, you chose to buy it. I have absolutely ZERO DOLLARS in necessary debt. Whatever I owe comes from choices.

-End the 'War on Drugs'.
So now the super rich are paying for degenerates to have better, legal drugs. They are unhealthy. They are destructive. If you want to smoke crack in your apartment and fry your brain all day, I'm all for it. That's less of you wackos to make lists like that. However, when the drug addiction becomes greater and money gets slimmer, you have to venture outside to get your fix. Too often, a step in that process requires the violent acquisition of that money. Now your problem becomes someone else's problem. Cannot work.

I know I wanted a list. I wanted to see their goals. Now I'm sorry I did. Actually, scratch that. This list is amazing. It is SO farfetched that I cannot imagine anyone taking it seriously.

Ideas for additional items:
- Make the moon be ACTUALLY made out of cheese.
- Cats should have opposable thumbs.
- Polar bears should come in more colors.
- Bring back the Delorean car (with or without a Flux Capacitor, your choice).

We can ask for any ridiculous thing at this point. Thank you OWS for writing your list from so far out in left field that you are now a joke.

The new generation of choice

Pepsi said it was the choice of a new generation. That's my generation. Personally, I chose Coke, but that's neither nere nor there. They were right about one thing. It was a new generation and choice was a key word there. We have been given more choices than any other generation - in all areas of life, including the choice to take no responsibility, have no accountability, shift the onus or pass the buck. Maybe I was just lucky in how I was raised, but I don't do that. Not to day I've never done that, but when I did I was young. I didn't know better. I was an adolescent. If you want to compare my mistakes as a teenager to those of adults, go for it, but it doesn't help your case.

Maybe it is not  ALL our fault. We are, after all, products of the Baby Boomer generation. They had more to give and subsequently we got spoiled in a way no generation prior to us ever had. But surely, we can't place all the blame above us. I had too much. I won't lie. I was spoiled at every turn. When I was younger I took that for granted and didn't appreciate it, but how many 14 year olds do? The sense of entitlement plaguing my generation is what gives the rest of them this "right," in their own minds to deserve everything, sometimes without working for it or putting anything in.

I saw a sign held up by someone that spoke of the debt generation. He was $80,000 in debt and said now he'll never be able to pay it off. He chose to take that money. It didn't arrive in his bank account unexpectedly. This is not the first five minutes of the movie "Eagle Eye." I don't know his choice of major for school or if he even finished his degree, but if it's in something that ends in B.A. the chances are that he will have a harder time paying that off. It's not that I have no respect for the arts, but it's fact that unless you catch a big break, they are generally (overall, averaged) not as lucrative.

You know what is? Being a doctor. These are the people that don't have choices in their tough times ahead. One of my best friends is just about tying up his 16 year process of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He's not wiping snotty noses. He builds and fixes bones. He is fortunate in that he's a huge nerd and has had scholarships for most of his time spend in academia so his loans are minuscule compared to some others. Regardless, he should have been living high on the hog within a couple of years and taking his best friend on vacation, right? Instead, let's take a magic carpet ride through the mentalities and choices that leave him worried about finances with a wife and child - as an ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON.

The liberal, commie, pinko, hippies want everyone to feel better and be ok. Everyone deserves a fair shot and equal treatment (wrong. Jim busted his ass for 16 years to have more. Not everyone is equal). So we give away healthcare to people that are breaking the law by sneaking in - that costs money. The cost is going up to doctors, more and more people don't have the money to pay it, they lean on insurance companies who can't keep up. They are paying less to doctors and the docs have to eat the rest. Of course, the hospital wants their cut. The average Joe gets all he or she needs, the insurance company gets to pay less since they have no damn premiums coming in with everyone shaking them down for free healthcare and the highly trained, brilliant, educated doctor is left holding Herman. Let's not even talk about the price of malpractice insurance that doctors have to carry because people sue every time they see the doctor for a cold and sneeze once afterwards (must be the doctors fault for not curing them, SUE SUE SUE).

You chose to get that degree in philosophy. You chose to go for psychology which can make tons of money, but stop after a Bachelors degree. The Ph.D. at the end of the name of every psychologist means you need to stay in school to make money on it. You chose a career path with no ROI. You spent and overspent by going to a school you couldn't afford. Why should the government pay your way out of your debt? If you commit a crime, should the community do your time?

Let's also keep in mind that functioning, productive members of society take drug tests to get and keep a job. Welfare recipients don't have to. I have held a security clearance for almost a decade and have never been in a lick of trouble, yet I have to prove myself several times a year to the government that has approved and vetted me in every other way. These people can show up, grab a check for doing absolutely nothing and have no accountability for their actions in between.

I support small businesses. I'm going to make one. We will sell candles that smell like dog shit. When it doesn't do well, I want the general public to rally around me and pay my debts, even though everyone told me it was a disgusting idea and would never work. Fair?

I want to take a job that doesn't pay as much as bankers, complain how much the bankers are making, threaten to block them so they can't get to work, shit in a privately owned park, create the need for extra police, strike their vehicle and complain when I get my ass beat, file for an injunction when the city has me removed from someone else's private property and at no point try to find a solution. At a minimum, were they ever going to outline their requests and fight appropriately or just run around and bitch. Did anyone have a clear plan or organization?

I made bad choices and got thrown out of college. I went to community college and worked my way back up to NYU. I had a great job that I lost. Whose fault? My fault. The economy was bad, but not EVERYONE got fired. I could have done something better to ensure I held my spot. I went from the New York Stock Exchange and New York University to Best Buy and Berkeley College (the little shitty one in Paterson, NJ). But I didn't stop. I took my lumps and moved on. Now I'm in the United States Air Force. I made a choice to get shelter, income, benefits, education and training. Never asked to have it handed to me.

There may not be any honor in flipping burgers, but there's honor in working for yourself if that's what it takes. Make a choice to be a better person. Make a choice to change your world and enlarge your territory. Make a choice to be an active participant in taking the blame as well as the credit when the pendulum of life swings either way.

At the end of the day, your life is your own. Take control of it and make it what you want. Take the credit when it goes well. Take the blame when you fuck up. It is what it is. Nobody else will be there to fix it for you. People will show up every day to help fix it WITH you, but it's your life and ultimately you are responsible. Hate that the bankers make that money. Feel it should be distributed differently? Become one and affect change from the inside. Or just give your millions away. Don't be mad at them. They recognized a piece of the system that would reward them handsomely for their efforts. They're shady and slimy, but that's the business and they're using it to their advantage. Kudos to them for recognizing the opportunity. They're not the ones shitting in the park with no place else to go, no job that'll have them.

Questions to the OWSers:
- When you put Zucotti Park on your resume who will hire you? The big businesses you fought against or the small business you negatively affected by your presence?
- If a small business hires you, will you take the job or do you deserve more than the man/woman with their life savings invested and more sweat equity in it than there are turds in Zucotti Park?
- If a big business hires you, will you take the job because you need the money and risk being a hypocrite or will you stand your ground and be broke, making another choice but blaming the system?
- Will you reprimand your Oakland counterparts for making weapons and helping ruin your "peaceful" demonstration?

Pepsi or Coke - working or broke. The choices are yours and yours alone. Make them, stand by them and work with them to achieve your goals. The world is NOT your oyster boys and girls. It doesn't spit pearls at you. You must make it happen. I wish you luck. I want everyone to be successful. I'd help you all if I could, but first... you must help yourselves.

We all have to grow up someday

On the heels of last night's blog, I got to thinking a little more about the protestors and then I spoke to my buddy about it this morning. What I didn't know was a story about a Boston restauranteur who was doing very well so he opened a restaurant in Manhattan. Unfortunately, it's only a couple of blocks from Zucotti Park. The "civil" protestors that have been living in tents have not installed indoor plumbing. So they've been shitting in the park. That's pleasant, right? That means that lots of local businesses have been suffering. This restaurant owner has lost so much traffic that he had to lay people off.

I'm not talking about the big businesses. These are small business owners, not titans of industry. These are the people the protestors claim to represent - the American working man not getting his share. Meanwhile, they are on the way to putting some of these folks out of business. That seems counter productive.

Speaking of counter... let's look at the counterculture of the 60's. Timothy Leary and his "turn on, tune in, drop out" mantra had everyone questioning authority and doing their own thing. People bucked the system and roamed around a la Jack Kerouac. They took drugs, hitchhiked and lived off of whatever they could get their hands on. They added nothing to the system, BUT... they expected nothing in return either. That's the difference. And look at those people and who they became. They are the bankers of today. My father hung out on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Then he grew up and worked on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway.

I just started a small business that markets primarily, for now, to small businesses. And they are doing well and we are on our way to do well. There's room for the average working man to make his way and do well. It just takes work. Something this spoiled generation isn't prepared to do. It's because we spoil our kids constantly. We give them ribbons and medals for losing and we don't keep score. If you never had your heartbroken you won't appreciate love. If you've never been broke, you can't be thankful for success. The balance between good and bad is important. It helps us appreciate.

I'm sorry you're in debt with school loans. I respect higher education, but it was your choice. My father went to school at night for 6 years while married. You took a $100,000 loan to do it in 4 years? Your choice. Going to a top notch school that you couldn't afford - your choice. Choosing to take loans instead of grants - partially your choice (not everyone gets approved for all grants).

And at what point did you think a philosophy degree was a good idea? Being a philosopher has never paid the bills. So what do you do with a degree like that? You teach a bunch of folks the the theory. Then they teach people. And so it goes. Like a giant liberal arts multi-level marketing pyramid. I'm calling it "Amway for hippies." it might actually be worse than that. It's all built on perceived value rather than real, usable skills. It's like a Ponzi scheme for empty headed liberals who can't find work and protest those who can.

No free lunches. Profound thought doesn't keep the lights on. Quit shitting in the park, get a job ans distribute your own wealth. Until you contribute to what comes in, you can't decide what goes out and where. You are all the equivalent of a spoiled, petulant child mixed with an entitled soon-to-be ex-wife. You don't get half my shit and whining makes it more likely you'll catch a smack than anything.

GET. A. JOB.

Fate or chance?

There was a time when I got sucked into all the new-agey crap about The Secret and the universe giving me whatever the hell I wanted just because I willed it to happen. I clung to the idea that everything that showed up in my life wasn't a coincidence, but rather some immeasurable attraction based on nonexistent radio waves coming out of my brain. I guess I was in a place where I didn't know how to achieve the things I wanted so I convinced myself that I could use some kind of universal magnetism to bring them to me. That's almost like subscribing to some mystical Laissez-faire attitude that physics and hard work don't apply to my world because the universe provides. It really all sounds kinda desperate. Looking back at The Secret I feel as if I was in the outer space version of Occupy Wall Street - Occupy the Universe.

Now I'm in a place where I bust my ass to get the things I want. I work hard at my job, I'm starting my company, my money is in order and none of it has to do with the universe. It's all about reaping the benefits of my hard work. If I don't pitch clients, I can't sign clients. If I don't deliver, they will take their business elsewhere. If I don't show up to work and do what's expected of me, I won't get to keep my job then I can't pay my bills and I'll have no electricity. There are direct, measurable cause and effect actions out there. This is why I hate the OWS movement. Consider all the money the bankers make and will continue to make because they are at work doing what they do all day every day. Consider the occupiers on the street. Collectively, how many hours have been spent? Multiple that by a decent wage and imagine how much money they could have made. Have you heard that the corporate greed mongers are looking out of their windows betting on who gets arrested next? Say what you will about the cops and their behavior, but the truth of the matter is that those who are at work on Wall Street aren't getting arrested. They are too busy earning money. The OWS nutjobs are spending taxpayers money with the increase police presence.

The interesting thing is that none of that is why I'm writing this. It is all just support for the real story. I realized today that I hate OWS just a little less. They want everyone to share success and as socialist as that sounds, I have shared a success from their efforts. See... it started a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine posted some nonsense defending these lunatics on Facebook. Naturally, I couldn't resist responding to him. We got into a friendly debate. Out of nowhere a friend of his chimed in with the exact same position I have. Seeing the amazing logic of this person, I had to take a closer look. Imagine my surprise when I saw that this person of sound mind was also a Jets fan. Now I know there's a good head on those shoulders. What's more is that this person happens to be the kind of beautiful that stops you in your tracks when you see her. Wait a minute. Is this really a knockout, conservative, Jets fan? Sure is. What do I do? Reference her taste in football teams in a seemingly innocuous flirt that actually got her attention.

The next day, I have a Facebook friend request from the Jets fan beauty. I fire off an email to say hi and break the ice. The subsequent chain of events has both of us still a little dizzy and surprised. It starts on Facebook with messages. Then it goes to text messages. Then we're talking on the phone. Next thing I know, we are in, nearly, constant contact. There is something real brewing here. And you know what? I'm not complaining one bit. I think it's awesome and so does she. We laugh at the same stuff; we're annoyed by the same stuff. We want the same stuff. We formed an instant connection. The future is long and uncertain. Nobody can say they KNOW what will happen, but... we can feel and sense what we think will happen. I'll let it unfurl and not say anything, but it's all good stuff for sure.

So what has that got to do with The Secret? Despite my feeling that I can't will anything to happen and I can't attract it into my life I sometimes wonder if Linda (Yes her name is Linda. Yes I know. Please don't say it) coming into my life was not coincidence. I wonder if something somewhere helped arrange it. It just seems too strong of a coincidence and too random and we have too much in common for it to be happenstance. I don't really believe in fate, but some things are inexplicable and bigger than a random crossing. I'll never know what made 2 people so alike (and subsequently so happy to be around each other) end up meeting in the most random of ways. It'll always be a mystery. Here's the thing. I don't care WHY. The ends justify the means. How it happened is not nearly as important as the fact that it actually happened. We will see where this adventure takes us, but I'm a betting man and I bet it'll be somewhere great.

Ellen Degeneres pissed me off

I had HBO on and an Ellen Degeneres stand up special came on. She led with a statement that it was hard for her to want to do a stand up special and it is emotional because of the tough journey since she made the decision to come out. Quite frankly, I had long since forgotten she is gay. I don't care that she's gay, just as I wouldn't care if she was straight. If she, and others like her, feel like they are under a microscope for being gay, QUIT BRINGING IT UP.

If I was a stand-up comedian or in the spotlight for any reason and opened with a statement that I'm straight, nobody would care. OK, people haven't always felt that way about homosexuals. And when it was particularly bad, homosexuals would stay closeted. As time marches on, less and less people care about the sexual orientation of others. I'm not gay. I don't want to be gay. I don't want to be hit on by someone who is gay because that's not my way. However I don't give a shit if you're heterosexual, homosexual, transsexual, asexual, pansexual or any other kind of sexual is out there.

All people (of different gender, race, creed, sexual orientation, national origin etc) want is to be accepted. They just wan to be exist. Bottom line is that not EVERYONE is going to accept you for you so stop highlighting the issue that separates you. In some cases, you're creating one. In some cases, you're actually alerting people to what makes you different and drawing the line in the sand yourself. Everyone knew about Ellen Degeneres. You came out. Congratulations. It was hard and a big deal... THEN. Now it's over.

When she said it, my first thought was, here we go. You're unfunny in the first place so you're going to win people over with this shit. Nobody cares. Then it got worse. She actually opened with that statement and then said this, "I knew that some people would want me to talk about it, some people would maybe not want me to talk about it and I went back and forth trying to decide - should I talk about it, should I not talk about it - and ultimately I decided - no, I don't want to talk about it." WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU JUST DID?

So now the entire audience is reminded and proud of you for coming out again. Those that agree are just smitted by your resolve to stay in show business. Those that disagree aren't offended enough because you played to them by saying you're not going to talk about it because some may not want you to.

You're a woman who likes women. Who cares? It's not like you're the first. You're certainly not the last. Just be yourself. If you're a comic, be funny. Don't draw sympathy. It's pretty pathetic. If you're not a comedian, still... just be you. The world doesn't need to know your business.

She said one more line before I bailed out. "It's been talked about enough." Apparently not because you keep bringing it up. And then I turned it off. She's not particularly funny in the first place and the "hey world look at me because I'm gay and came out." routine is an extreme turn off. Whatever your orientation is, it's YOURS. Leave us alone. I'm for gay rights, but gay pride is getting a little obnoxious now. If I held a straight parade I'd get crucified. But that's a topic for another day.

Asshole%

Occupy Wall Street just pisses me off further and further every day. These people are pissed off at everyone with more money than them. Judging by the fact that they spend all day in the streets protesting, I'd say it's a safe bet that everyone will have more money than them in no time. In any event, they've taken their cause from one epicenter of money to another. The east coast based Occupy Wall Street has a left coast contingent called Occupy Hollywood. Let's bitch at all the actors that have too much money.

They are now calling celebrities the Asshole% for all the money they have. Guess what OWS/OH!! America is the cause of their money. We fund it. We buy tickets to movies and concerts. We watch the news and spew it all over social networking sites. We love a good scandal. We gobble up every possible way to scrutinize these individuals and fault them for what they have we gave them.

A blog called "But you're like really pretty" has gained attention in the past for its satire aimed at celebrities. It is a webcomic, published every Wednesday, that makes fun of every Hollywood scandal we can't seem to stop talking about. These comics have become the hood ornament for Occupy Hollywood and it has decided to weigh in on the topic.

Some of the actors/actresses it has addressed are:

• Justin Bieber - "I'm 17 and worth 85,000,000. I am the asshole%. #occupyhollywood."
• I find no talent in Justin Bieber. I've heard very little of his stuff, but what I have heard sounds to heavily processed that they can do that to anyone's voice to make it better. I was also singing about heartbreak at 14 so he's basically an asshole, HOWEVER, $85M worth of fans dig him. His money didn't fall from the sky.
• Andersen Cooper - "Gay teenagers are being bullied everyday. Some are committing suicide. But I won't come out publicly. I am the asshole%. #occupyhollywood."
• He's a news reporter that may or may not be gay. He's not obligated to come out publicly. Will it help young gay people? Maybe, but I can't see how. Does he feel he'd be hurting his life if he did? It seems so. I guess the point is that you think he's an asshole for doing what's best for himself first. We have to take care of ourselves. Kinda of like all the "occupiers" out there trying to get their piece of the pie.
• Beyonce - "I'm pregnant with my first child. I am building the baby a 2,200 square ft nursery. I am the asshole%. #occupyhollywood."
• You wouldn't do that if you could? Have you hard Beyonce sing or seen her dance? You want a piece of what she's got. Do what she does. Oh wait, you can't? Then you don't deserve it. It might be over the top - 2,200 sq ft is a house in itself - but she earned the right.
• Lady Gaga - "I'm wearing meat on my head right now. I made $100,000,000 this year. I am the asshole%. #occupyhollywood."
• What you may not know is that is Gaga started off normal with a little bit of a weird streak. Her first agent, based in Parsippany, NJ told her to play up the weird. She was initially resistant. He insisted the public would love it, she turned up the volume and people are waiting for her next stunt constantly. Whether it's a meat suit, a bubble dress, or her coming out of an egg, everyone wants to see what she'll pull next. And none of this behavior was her idea. It was the fact that everyone knows crazy Americans want it.

And my favorite...

• Snooki - "I blackout every Thursday night on national television and make millions. SHOTS. SHOTS. SHOTS. I am the asshole%. #occupyhollywood."
• I hate Snookie, the show, her castmates and everything about it. I think it's disgusting. I think it portrays my home in a bad light that is not indicative of the entire state - yet people from around the country don't know that, so Jersey Shore become the their only frame of reference. The cast is not even from New Jersey, to make it even less realistic. They do all the things they should be embarrassed about and get paid for all of it. It is disgusting behavior and I refuse to watch it. I won't support it. I rarely talk about it publicly. In the days of social networking and social media, I try not to use those words in a way that can be searched or indexed by marketers. Snooki is the asshole%, but we put her there so other than opinions, we can't try to stop it. Boycott is all you can do.

The whole point is that we create these by our attention, money, public admission of likes/dislikes, etc. Why didn't they make shows like this in the 1950's? Because it was inappropriate and nobody would go, they studio would shut down after going broke. Actors wouldn't get hired if they acted this way. People wouldn't spend the amount of money.

WE MADE IT ALL OK!! WE did. Not the actors. Not the studio. US. Don't like it? Fix it. Lobby for family values. Gather people to boycott the movies until Hollywood can't afford to pay people these sums of money anymore. Affect change. Don't picket and complain how stars spend the money we gave them. It's like buying me a painting for my birthday and complaining where I hang it in my house. It makes no sense.

Occupy a job position

This Occupy Wall Street thing is getting out of hand. I'm not even sure what they stand for anymore. Is there an actual cause at this pont or are they just angry at everyone with disposable income over just about anything? They want the rich to pay more taxes, they're screaming down with corporate America, they're shitting on flags, one tackled a cop. I don't know what the hell is going on with these dopes.

Let's talk about taxes first. Just to be sure I'm not speaking on emotion, I did some research and math. What I have is cold, hard facts. Up through 2000, the wealthy paid 39.6% in taxes. Consider that. That's about 40 cents of every dollar made going to the government. In 2002 it dropped to 38.6%. However on the low end a new tax bracket was created. Where it was previously 15%, it was now 10%. Keep in mind that the highest bracket starts at $379,150 and doesn't stop. So $379k/year is considered the same level of wealth as $2 million or $50 million. Occupy Wall Street feels the rich aren't paying their share. They are paying a higher percentage of a higher number.

Now let's run the numbers. Round numbers like $100 being the high side and $25 being the low. The high pays that 40% and the low pays that 10%. 40% of $100 is $40. 10% of $25 is $2.50. So the rich guy is paying $40 in taxes and the not so rich guy pays $2.50. Who isn't doing their part? Now let's use some real numbers from the bracket structure. $379,150 and we'll take the 35% that it dropped to in 2003. That is a whopping $132,702.50. That's what that person pays in TAXES. Imagine that. They pay in taxes what many people make in a year. That is a shitload of money. $8500 is the high side of the low bracket at 10%. That's $850 paid. Now you tell me which person is going to help improve roads or buy books for schools. Honestly, how can you say that the rich aren't paying enough? What do you want? Half? More?

The other thing people have been saying is down with corporate America. They've been doing it from their iPhones and other smartphones. Some have been camping in Eddie Bauer tents and taking pictures with Canon cameras. All of these people are complaining about the greed of corporate America while using products and services from all the companies they claim to hate. In some case they were complaining specifically about a company while use its products. How does that make ANY sense at all?

One guy actually dropped his pants and shit on an American flag in the middle of the street. That's disgusting, it's unsanitary, it's disrespectful and disgraceful, it's nonsensical, and it should be treasonous. Ok the last one is just an opinion. But tell me how in the hell that was going to help his cause? And the people that are there saw that as a good idea. They are standing around in the picture laughing. If you hate America and all of its systems so badly, just leave. Canada gives away healthcare and charges tons of taxes. Does your shit make the rich pay more taxes?

One of these non-violent tackled a cop on Saturday. Granted, the've mostly been peaceful and this situation in particular is 100% unique, but do you know WHY? It happened. The protestors were about to get arrested en masse so he tackled a cop. Why were they about to get arrested? They weren't complying with an eviction request. Before you blame the government, consider the source of the eviction request. It was the owner of Zucotti Park. It's PRIVATE PROPERTY. As a result, the NYPD (who were heroes of the world for so many years) started to corral the protestors when some of them began pushing against the police officer's scooters. In what world is it smart to get physical with a cop? The whole thing escalate and, naturally, the Internet is saying the cops were brutal. Honestly, the whole thing was over the top on both sides. Keep in mind it started because protestors were evicted from private property, didn't want to go and shoved cops.

All of these individual situations aside, what the fuck is wrong with these people? This is not how you affect change? Do you think those that make all the money on Wall Street were handed those jobs? C'mon now. All the time you spend on the streets, you could have been working and adding to society. Try getting an education. Try showing some work ethic. Be functioning members of society. You may think you're making a difference, you're just making fools of yourselves.

I'm just glad I don't work down there anymore. I couldn't handle watching this shit on a daily basis.

The decision has been made and that's it

The 1 thing I simply cannot stand about the military is the inability of people to accept your decisions regarding the military and the need to project their own values and ideas. Some people do 1 enlistment. Some people stick around for a while and leave to find happiness elsewhere. Some stay 20 years and some even 30. To each their own.

Don't tell me about the pension. 50% of my pay at 20 years will be about $24k/year BEFORE taxes. I can make up DOUBLE that money (on top of my pay) starting in a couple of years. To make my current base bay and my retirement pension I need a whopping $60k/year. That's my military base pay and 50% of what my base pay at 20 years (all averaged, estimated and rounded, of course). Add in the fact that my retirement pay would kick in 12 years from now. My civilian pay would kick in 2 years from now. That $24k over 10 years is a quarter-million dollars ahead than just starting at retirement. And none of that accounts for making a raise in the interim or actually starting above $60k in the first place. It's not fiscally responsible to stay in the Air Force, for me - as if money was the only reason.

You may want to travel the world and move from place to place. I do not. I've lived in 2 house my entire life. I like being still and settled. I love being close to my family and friends. I love my city and the general area. I love the type of work. I'm left a little disenchanted after 8 years in the Air Force over certain things (none of which I'll divulge for 2 reasons. 1) My personal feelings and experiences are my own and 2) It's not my place to paint the Air Force negatively to outsiders).

I've spoken about this before. Increasingly, as the days grow shorter and my separation grows nearer, people get preachy. They get on their soapbox and try to recruit me. Some people know my situation intimately and others don't. I'm equally annoyed. If you know me through and through, then you know what makes me, me. You know why I'm doing what I'm doing. You know my priorities. Respect them and leave me the hell alone about staying in. You want to stay in? Go for it. It's YOUR life. Mine is MINE. If you're in the group that knows me well, then you're a friend and why would a friend want to keep me here if it's not the right long term move for me. Selfish much?

If you're in the other group that doesn't know me well, then you are in NO place whatsoever to wax intellectual about what my future should entail, plain and simple. You cannot make an informed decision without the details, most of which you don't have and most of which you will not get. You simply are not capable of selling me on anything from where you stand.

This goes on constantly. It happened at my last base before I reenlisted (of which I had no intention of doing). I ended up doing it because my situation changed. My relationship status, economic status, educational status all changed nearly at once. However, I'm single, the economy is better, I started my own company and my degree will be done this time around.

I will have done 10 years in service when I leave. Less than 1% of people ever put the uniform on for a day. I took from this country as a young man doing well. Then I spent 10 years giving back. I did my part. I did it well. I did it with pride. It's simply time to move on. It's also time for EVERYONE to understand, accept and respect that. If you convert oxygen to carbon dioxide trying to re-recruit me, you'll be doing wasting time and, chances are, I'll react poorly. I'm done listening, justifying and selling YOU on MY plans.

I'm ready for some football

I'm actually ready to hear Hank Williams, Jr. ask me if I'm ready for some football. He was conspicuously missing though, wasn't he? Want to know why? Because he made an analogy that was taken out of context and now he's been pulled from Monday Night Football. Here's what happened. He was interviewed on Fox and Friends recently where they asked him about his political views. If you know anything about Hank Williams, Jr other than his music (which I don't really know), it should be that he is strong in his views and speaks his mind freely. That being said, he was taken out of context.

They asked him who his favorite GOP candidate is and he said nobody. He then referenced a golf game between Boehner and Obama and said that was the tipping point for him. They, naturally, asked him why. He said that would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. At that point, it all broke down and nobody paid attention to what he said after. They were all convinced he just compared Obama to Hitler. Gretchen who is hotter than she is smart even verbalized that.

As far as I know, Obama has not committed genocide which makes him very different from Hitler. He hasn't tried to enforce those crazy socialist views through force or violence. Also makes him different from Hitler. No sane person would be able to make it stick that they are alike, but Fox and Friends think that's what he meant. Let's keep in mind that it was Fox that interviewed Williams. Not like he barged into the studio.

He also said, "it's like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." Notice he didn't say "Hitler playing golf with Boehner." He didn't make a direct comparison. He goes on to talk about the polarization of the parties and how we are at the most polarized point in our history. Can you imagine Hitler hanging out drinking a tasty german Hefeweizen and clinking with Netanyahu's Manischewitz? No way! Why? Aside from the obvious time period differences, there's the fact that they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Polarized, if you will.

That's what he meant. He didn't mean that Obama was Hitler. He meant that two dudes who will be opponents and at the furthest ends of the spectrum have no business being social. If you like Boehner (or even Obama for that matter), then you probably don't want to see either one of them slide away from what makes them, them.

ESPN said, "While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Did anyone think he worked for ESPN? Would this hurt ESPN's brand? This was really not necessary. That open is iconic and has gone hand in hand with MNF for over 20 years. The guy makes one comment that has been taken out of context and now that's all over. So reactionary and stupid, but that's what I've come to expect from 90% of people.

Big and easy... to dislike

I've been living in southern Mississippi for two years now and I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been in New Orleans. People down here rave about it. I have friends that go from Biloxi all the time. Some from Florida. It's an aggregation point for people all looking for... something. I will admit that structurally and architecturally the city is absolutely gorgeous. I love the old European ornate facades on the building and all the wrought iron work throughout. Walking around during the day to take pictures, for example, it's a nice place, but as far as I'm concerned, that's as far as it goes.

Other than that, I don't understand what's to love about it. The people there are awful. For starters they are rude to out of towners, which is amazing for a town that thrives on tourism. The shop owners are ok, but the people on the street are just generally bastards. They go where they want to go and if you're there - too bad. That's the reputation that New Yorkers have because we move fast. We will swerve around you, not bowl you over.

Speaking of the world bowl... that's how the city is shaped, AND it's below sea level, AND the Gulf of Mexico is on one side AND Lake Ponchartrain is on the other. Fill a sink with water and submerge a bowl and see what happens. I'll wait. Back? So that was Hurricane Katrina. When you did it, were you surprised at what happened? They were. I understand that Katrina was the worst hurricane we've ever seen but that bitch COVERED the Gulf of Mexico. People were told to bug out while they had a change. They didn't and then they complained. Are you kidding me?

I'm not sure I would have known the difference before or after Katrina came through. If you've ever been on Bourbon Street after dark it's a disaster anyway. It is covered in shit (literal horse shit) and smells like urine. You'll more than likely step in vomit if you go down a smaller side street. Drunk people clutter the streets to the point you can't move. You wear things you don't particularly care about in case they get ruined. And then there's the nudity. Believe me, I love a topless lady as much as the next guy, but drunk, sloppy yanking your shirt off for plastic beads while being groped or licked by strangers (as is a common scene there) is just pure filth.

The language is the other thing that bugs me. It's a combination of southern and French, infused with just a bit of uneducated and it's called Cajun. Cultural pride is awesome. Believe me, I love my ethnicity and heritage and the culture and traditions that come with it. I have an Italian flag tattooed on my forearm. But culture cannot trump the ability to interact with the public at large. Your language and speech patterns may be part of your culture but you thrive on tourism so be able to speak to tourists and have them understand your words.

While we're on the topic of language, let's talk about your football team. For starters, the Saints are not the best team ever. They were the worst team ever (all 43 years of their existence) that had A good year. So, back to language and football. "Who Dat?" is not awesome. You wanna know who dat is? Dat is the guy that sound like he can't pass 2nd grade English. Dat is the guy that I wouldn't hire to sweep the floors. After they won the super bowl, "Who Dat?" became "Two Dat!" which obviously didn't go very far. It just sounds uneducated and ignorant.

Every place on Earth has its share of people who act that way. The difference is that New Orleans (pronounced, and sometimes spelled, as Nawlins by the locals) is PROUD of it. They are resistant to bettering themselves and appearing more productive. I have no love for that city and don't understand those that do. I'm not faulting or condemning. I just don't get it. I've asked bunches of that frequent the city, "Why is it cool?" and they say a) because it's awesome (not an explanation), b) because there's no place like it (there's no place like prison and that's a good thing. Still doesn't tell me why New Orleans is cool), c) they talk about the nightlife (which you can get anywhere and you said there's n place like it). I have not yet gotten one person to really explain the infatuation. Cuisine would be a partially acceptable answer. The French inspired, Cajun cuisine is fairly unique, but nobody has ever claimed it in conversation with me.

I guess living here on the Gulf Coast I hear about New Orleans constantly. I Get told I should go more often. People get irritated with me when I say "I'm not interested" and I get responses like, "What's wrong with you? It's awesome. You need to go." If you know me then you know that forcefulness gets you nowhere with me. I do not NEED to go. There's nothing wrong with me. I have an opinion and it differs from yours. Move along.

Save critical comments. It's a personal feeling. I don't like the place. I stated why. If you like it, go there and hang out. I've been. I've checked it out. My decision has been made on first hand information, not blind hate for something I've never seen. It is what it is.

I am a doctor

Or at least I'll claim to be 6 months after I separate from the Air Force. Either I'll get the job as a doctor or get rich when a hospital tells me I'm not qualified. That is, if President Oblahblah passes this jobs bill soon. See, there's a clause that said businesses have to hire people who have been unemployed for a long time. If they don't, the candidate can sue them. So far there are no parameters about this. So I plan to be the chief of surgery for a large hospital with tons of money or I'll sue.

There is a $4,000 tax credit for hiring the unemployed and penalties for discriminating against them. Six months seems to be the magic number. Here is what will happen. People newly unemployed will get no jobs. People unemployed longer than six months will get no jobs. People unemployed right around 4-6 months will get tons of jobs.

Here's the rub. The penalties are for interviewing and not hiring the long term unemployed because it is considered discrimination. So, don't interview them. I realize I'm jeopardizing my career in medicine by letting this out, but the whole thing is just so silly. If they are never interviewed then they can't be hired yet the company is out of the woods on a discrimination suit.

However, if you're unemployed for just about 5 months I can interview you and ensure you start work just after the 6 month mark. I still get the tax credit. It's perfectly legal. Honestly, who starts the next day? You haven't been out of work for a year so your skill set is still sharp. You're not newly unemployed and screwing me out of my 4 grand either. Plus I get Barry O's seal of approval for putting people back to work under his program.

If you're newly unemployed I get no cash so you're out of luck. I'm sure as hell not getting sued over this shit other. So stay out of work for about 5 months and you're golden. Every company will realize this almost immediately. The ones that don't have earned the lawsuit. Remember the term "a fool and his money are soon parted?"

Score another one for socialist, help the world views backfiring nearly immediately.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I guess you can ask now

As almost everyone who pays attention to the world around them knows, "Don't ask, don't tell" has come to an end. It is now ok for homosexuals to serve openly in the military. The confusion is that people believed that they couldn't serve previously. Untrue. They could. Just not admittedly. So to be gay in the military meant to be celibate. Here's the downer for folks in the military that are gay. Even though they can be open and in a relationship and live their lives as they see fit, they still can't get married. The defense of marriage act specifies that marriage is between opposite genders and that the states can't force other states to recognize same-sex marriage and the federal government can't recognize it as well. So steps have been taken but it's clearly not done. I think it's progressive, it was a matter of time, and it's just evolution away from ignorance.

I do have an issue with the execution of a couple of things however. Let's look at the bathroom situation. Currently, men and women are kept separate to avoid unprofessional situations. Now, I love women. I also love my paycheck. I also love not being in trouble. So, in field conditions if I had to be in the shower with a woman, I may sneak a peek, but I'm going to remain professional. They still won't put men and women in the shower together because of the potential for a problem. Some people may not be professional and cross the line. I'm also not attracted to EVERY woman out there, but women as a whole interest me, so that association is right out.

Gay men and straight men will have to share showers. Doesn't this put us in the same category as straight men and women? I know that not every gay man is interested in every straight man. Maybe no gay man is interested in me, but the potential is there just like me with a woman, right? Odds are that sooner or later a person in the shower (or bunk) with a member of the sex they are attracted to will see something specifically that interests them. That's uncomfortable. You wanna look, then look. I don't spook easily. But I've known of enough calls to the SARC (Sexual Response Assault Coordinator) over hetero situations gone awry, that I take issue with tempting fate.

I get it, gay men and women have always been in the military. Nothing is new there. However, they were all closeted during "Don't ask, don't tell" to avoid a break in their service as a whole. This has given a much needed freedom, but the military has not taken the time to mitigate the risks. Think about a gay man and a straight woman in a shower - very little opportunity to inappropriate conduct there.

The other issue I have is on the part of the homosexual military community. This ban has been lifted for a mere 13 hours. A Navy male couple has a marriage ceremony scheduled for today. Announcements have been made to co-workers. Videos posted of military members coming out to their parents on the phone - recorded as it happened.

I don't tell the world - "I LOVE WOMEN!!!" Why? Because it's the most common way and it's assumed. No, because it's none of anyone's fucking business who I prefer to see naked. It is what it is. It's my life. Gay people have been saying for so long that it's their personal choice to love who they love and it's not the business of anyone to interfere. Well then, don't announce it and invite trouble into your lives. It's like celebrities who put themselves in the limelight withe life they choose and get mad the paparazzi and scrutiny. You've been granted your wish. You can be openly gay. Now stop drawing attention to yourselves.

Also, keep in mind that for the ENTIRE HISTORY of the military, this has not been allowed. A few months ago the law was passed and we all had our training. Now a few months later it's ok. This is a huge culture shift. This is something that changes the dynamic across the entire military. And it's not a regular job. It's a lifestyle. We not only work together, but we live together, travel together, fight together and, at ties, die together. You want it go smooth? Help people with the transition by using some discretion and not making a big deal about it. I know it's a relief and you want to celebrate, but wouldn't you prefer acceptance and long term happiness? Should people be more accepting? Not important. What is important is what people ARE. They are young, for the most part. The average new entrant to the military is 18 years old. Not exactly fully mature or worldly. Many military members are also from conservative, small towns in middle America, not the liberal, accepting, melting pots of the big cities. You may be the first gay person they've met. Have you readily accepting EVERY new thing you've ever been faced with?

In the end, it'll work itself out and will become a way of life. However, it will be a hard enough road in the meantime without the wanton disregard for people's need to figure it out that will be disruptive to the mission and the lives of people in the military. It takes time. You got what you needed, now give those around you the opportunity to evolve with it.

10 years later, I'm changed

Right now, my parents and my brother are on their way to downtown Manhattan to hear the rest of the names read at Ground Zero. They go for the second half because it is in that half that they hear the name Thomas Sabella. He was my uncle; my mother's brother. To hear all the names is an emotional undertaking too great. I know; just watching it on TV year after year wreaks great havoc on my ability to persist and function for the day.

People all over are weeping today, more than any other day, being the anniversary. It's in our faces, no matter how we try to avoid it. I'm far away. I'm serving in the active duty Air Force, due not in small part to what happened that day.

Lives have been and continue to be disrupted over an act of hate. So much death and destruction.

All for what? Because some radical sons of bitches just can't handle the way we do business here in the United States of America. I get that we've been doing it our way for 200 years and you've been doing it your way for 2,000 years. So fucking what? It's none of your damn business. Not to mention the fact that your radical asses are misreading your holy book in the first place. So what do you do? Come at us like cowards. Don't fight a war. Don't stand up and address it to the world. You sneak in and create this horrific event. Try it again. I fucking dare you. Man the fuck up and come down here because I swear that with every ounce of energy, resolve, anger, hurt, and strength that I possess I will squeeze every ounce of life out of any terrorist that dares step foot back in this country that I love and serve. Stand in front of me and tell me you celebrate 9/11/01, agree with what happened, or show allegiance to the radical extremist and believe in Jihad; then see what the fuck happens next. I'll show you Jihad and happily send you on your way.

Any you know what else? I, never in my life, felt I could take another human life for ANY reason. That has all changed. You and your actions have changed me, and not for the better so add that to the pile of reasons I hate you. You've turned me into someone capable of hate and able to feel like I could take life.

So after all that you did, you failed. We are not destroyed or demoralized. We've only gotten closer as a country and now we're on the hunt for you. You fucked up. We will find and exterminate every last one of you and remain the United States of America. It was all for naught, that you did.

Any terrorist scumbag up to my challenge? Feel free to stop by!

10 is just a number like 9

With the impending 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, everyone (specifically the media) is in a frenzy about it. It seems to be a bigger deal than any of the years prior and I'm not sure that I understand why. It's just a number. Why is 10 more important than 9 or 8 or 3, for examples. Every year is hard for many people. You would think that with each year it gets easier and less important. By the way, by less important I don't mean to diminish anything associated with that date. You know that I, of all people, do not water down the meaning. I just mean more tolerable. Less intrusive on life. So why, when the 10 hits, do we amp it all up again?

Is it because we use a base 10 numbering system and we are conditioned to think in units of 10? Is it the same reason why our birthdays are a bigger deal when we hit 10, 20, 30, 40, etc? Those are even sillier because people say you're starting a new decade. Meanwhile, you don't start it until after your birthday passes. Your birthday is completion of a decade, not the start of another. I suppose the entire event is not past or future as much as it is just transitional commencement.

But as for 9/11, I fear it's almost becoming celebratory in some ways. Yay! We made it 10 years. We don't act and live it every day like we used to. We have gone back to our day to day lives. We cut people off again. We tell people to go fuck themselves. We took down the flags from our cars. We are angry, entitled Americans over and over. The "never forget" bumper stickers are so faded that we've even forgotten what they once said.

So why 10? It's just another year that I won't sleep well for the next two weeks. Tears are shed in the most impromptu of situations and often at inappropriate times and circumstances. I've been doing this every year since 2001. Frankly, I can't handle all the hoopla. Each year I try to minimize the impact to my life and, subsequently, the collateral damage that are the people around me who endure me around now.

Then it all picks up steam because an arbitrary number we focus on for no real reason has arrived. Not helpful. You want to affect change? Live your life like a hero who sacrificed life for strangers and do it every day. Don't do a dog and pony show because it's 10 years and turn my shit upside down.