Happy New Year

I took the above picture a few years back when I was at the Rose Parade in Pasadena. This year my family and I will again be enjoying the parade in what I hope will be sunny and dry Southern California. My sincere best wishes to you and yours as we celebrate the coming of 2011!

Games People Play

For as long as I can remember, I've been a gamer. And not the type most people think when they hear that from someone from Las Vegas. I don't play the slots, the poker machines, roulette, or anything else likely to take away a large chunk of my money. I am not a Mortal Combat player and I've never been in a Halo Tournament. I will admit to a love for some of the original NES and Sega games, but that is about as electronic as I get. For me when I say I am a gamer, think cards and board games. Classic or new. Doesn't matter, I just like the experience of sitting around a table with friends and having some fun. So here's my list of what I am playing this week. Pandemic - My son got this game from his girlfriend and it is completely different from anything I have ever played. Because you work together to beat the game. My wife says that I am already addicted, and she may be right. So here's the scoop. Working as a team, you strive to stop deadly outbreaks of diseases before they overwhelm the planet. I've never played a game with people where at the end of the game, no one is pissed off because their friend beat them. If you are the type that gets frustrated because someone always has to win, and you tire of the constant competitiveness in games, Pandemic is for you. Contrario. - This is a great word game for kids and adults that causes you to really twist the way you think about words, phrases, and sayings. It goes quick, needs little or no space, and you can take it to your neighborhood coffee bar pretty easily. All in all, a great game. Quiddler and Five Crowns - Quiddler is card game where you make words. Five Crowns is similar, but you make combinations of runs and groups of numbers and suits. Think Rummy with a twist. Here is what I like about both of these games. They are easy to learn, the games go quick, and they allow for plenty of conversation around the table as you play, perfect for date nights and playing in a group. All of these games can be played with two people, something not always possible with the new generation of games out there. Each of the links above will take you to a site called Board Game Geek, which I guess I am. You'll find lots of info on all sorts of games and some great prices in the event you find yourself longing for a little quiet entertainment with family and friends sometime soon.

Let's Move, Sarah Palin, Hypocrisy and Pass the Dessert

Yet Another Update... As more and more people hear about Ms Palin's snarky attempt to slam First Lady Obama over her efforts to get Americans to think and do something about childhood obesity, we add another voice to the mix. Today the Wall Street Journal, no friend of liberals, came out in an editorial supporting Ms. Obama in this ongoing saga. The Journal admonished the former Alaska Governor not with empty criticism, but with her own words from a 2009 State of the State Address. Sarah Palin, when she was in government said the same thing that Ms. Obama, a private citizen, has been saying for months, that "we can save a lot of [health care] money and a lot of grief by making smarter choices, ending destructive habits and beginning healthy habits in eating and exercise." As each day goes by, it becomes increasingly clear that even if First Lady Michelle Obama was to 100% agree with Sarah Palin on an issue, which in this instance is true, Ms. Palin would disagree. Makes you wonder why, doesn't it? Any thoughts? Here's the link... Update... I recently came across this quote that obesity is... "a national health crisis . . . [that] is driving up healthcare costs and crippling the fabric of our communities." Based on the hysteria that has followed First Lady Michelle Obama from people like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck as she has tried to encourage Americans to exercise, eat better, and lose weight, you might assume this quote had come from the health care loving I'm gonna take away your dessert socialist commie Democrats. You might assume that. And you would be wrong. The above quote came from Steven K. Galson, the last Surgeon General of the administration of Presdent George W. Bush, who considered American obesity a health care epidemic. It seems Michelle Obama sees our obsession with obesity and unhealthy foods just like the Bush Administration did, and yet neither of these charlatans, Beck or Palin found time to be critical of that Administration. Blatant hypocrisy... Here's the link. *************************************************** Enough already! Or as we say in Spanish, Ya basta! I am generally a middle of the road guy when it comes to politics. Sometimes I lean a little right, and sometimes I lean a little left. But something I saw today just got my goat. It seems Sarah Palin, of whom admittedly I am not a fan, once again took a shot at First Lady Michelle Obama. Her criticism was not about any policy issue mind you, she was being critical of Ms. Obama because she has had the audacity to suggest that perhaps, maybe, quizas, we might want to consider cutting back on the amount of sugar we allow our kids to eat and get our them exercising. As study after study continue to show, America has a problem with obesity, and for a lot of people that problem begins in the younger years. Ms. Palin apparently, does not think that encouraging the youth and families of America is something First Lady Obama should be doing. For her, this is a parental rights issue. Parents, in Palin's view, know best, and need no advice, or encouragement from someone like the First Lady. And so, she has been unsparing in her snarky ridicule of a program with a single goal of raising healthier children. Ms. Palin, I have a few questions for you about this. 1. Is anything Michelle Obama has suggested in her Let's Move campaign a bad thing? 2. Were you as critical towards First Lady Laura Bush for suggesting that kids read more? 3. How about First Lady Barbara Bush, was it wrong for her to promote literacy when George the Elder was President? Now I know that Sarah Palin is not coming to my blog anytime soon. I also know that she would have no problem with either of the causes the Bushes supported, even though, using her logic, a parent has a God given right to educate, or not educate his or her children as they see fit. That leads me to believe that the only reason for opposing First Lady Obama's program to encourage healthy eating and exercising habits in children is nothing more than blatant hypocrisy and partisanship. Something we see way too much of from our elected and public leaders.

Penguins Targeted As Next Source Of Cheap Labor

Cute little things aren't they? Who doesn't like penguins? But the worlds penguin population is in mortal danger and it isn't from global warming. While many people argue about the validity of climate change, penguins are concerned with something more daunting than the melting of their homeland... Capitalism! Let me explain. We have been watching a steady march towards a capitalistic world since the mid 19th century. One of the things that makes capitalism tick is a cheap work force. Europe and the United States sorta got the ball rolling using slave labor, the ultimate in cheap labor. But then Lincoln freed the slaves and the corporate types had to look elsewhere. Enter our friends south of the border. People who would do an honest days work for an honest hours pay up here in the good old US of A. But then the unions entered the picture and demanded that people actually get paid a living wage in exchange for working every day. To combat this we had this idea that if we located our factories down there, we could make even more money. Soon factories all over Latin America were roaring to life making goods for our consumer driven society paying their workers as little as $2.00 a day. But that was not a low enough wage to ensure the big profits that we needed in our 401K's and stock portfolios so the Wal-Marts of the world went looking elsewhere. Besides, after a while those workers demanded to see their wages go up, sometimes to as much as $10.00 a day. So we turned our eyes upon that vast untapped employee resource, China. It was perfect. Far enough away and mostly closed to the press and those pesky human rights people that wages looked to remain low for years to come. The perfect capitalistic marriage, insatiable desire on the part of the west and unlimited low wage resources in the east. But wait, China is changing the equation. They are investing heavily in Africa. Is this because they have figured out that eventually their own lowly workers, like those here and in Latin America, will soon see that the promise of an honest days work for and honest hours pay won't work there either? Could it be that China has looked at the world and surmised that the only workers left to be exploited live on the African continent? I mean even a few bucks a day is great when you have nothing. Perhaps soon, instead of everything here in the US saying "Made in China" it will say "Made in Nigeria, Ghana, Burundi," or some other country over there. All this has got me to thinking. There's only one continent left where capitalism can look to for cheap labor. Antarctica. So you penguins better start organizing now, because we'll be coming for you soon. Nothing comes between a good capitalist and cheap labor.

A Few Questions About Immigration

As our congress debates over whether to approve the DREAM Act, or vote it down, I've decided to pose a few questions, let folks respond, and see where it heads. Without further fanfare, here we go. 1. If it can be shown that US policies and practices have had a negative impact on the economy and employment picture of another country, do we have a responsibility to help mitigate that impact? 2. If someone is willing to study hard, get a degree and/or serve our country in the military, is this the type of person we would want as a US citizen? 3. Should the US have set standard rules for obtaining a VISA that are transparent and objective that applicants from other countries can understand and work towards? 4. Can anyone give me a rational explanation as to why a person can come here illegally from Cuba and receive legal status, but someone coming illegally from any other country, communist or not, is subject to deportation? And finally, number 5. If everyone who arrived here illegally looked like Salma Hayek, who recently admitted she was once an illegal alien, would we really be so concerned about this?

A Little Sports Potpourri

1. I miss Dandy Don. Early Monday Night Football announcer Don Meredith passed away yesterday. For all you folks who like watching football, I am not sure I can explain the importance of Don Meredith and his two buddies, Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford to the sport. They came along when football was just another game, along side basketball, and right after the baseball season. But Monday Night Football changed that. It was an event. It was appointment viewing, either at home or in a bar. Monday Night Football made the NFL and sports television what it is today. If you go to sports bars to watch games these days, thank Don, and Howard, and Frank. Rest in peace Don Meredith... and say hello to Howard. 2. Auburn vs. Oregon in the BCS Championship. I admit, I am conflicted about this. I grew up rooting for the Pacific 8/10 and have been a fan all of my life. But my son went to Auburn and I have come to love that school. I have many friends who have attended Oregon, and a nephew who is also an Auburn grad, so picking a winner is going to be tough. But here is where I am. I am taking Auburn in a lower scoring game than most people think. I think Auburn coach Gene Chizik is a better defensive coach than Oregon coach Chip Kelly, and defense wins championships. Sorry Gordon. 3. Adrian Gonzalez signs with the Red Sox. With apologies to my blogging friend Shaw over at Progressive Eruptions, this is another nail in the baseball coffin. Following a trend that started when Curt Flood challenged the reserve clause of baseball, Gonzalez is the latest star to leave the team that gave him his start for more money. Is it any wonder kids have no allegiance to a specific team. Except for a few rare exceptions, gone are the days when players were identified primarily with one team. Think Mays and the Giants, Ripkin and the Orioles, Koufax and the Dodgers, and now Jeter and the Yankees. While good for the Red Sox, this was bad for baseball. 4. With apologies to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady is the man in the NFL. A winner and champion to me is someone who can elevate those around him to another level. Think Magic Johnson here. He came to a team that had all the parts and made them champions. If you take Tom Brady off the Patriots, they are not the same team. They'd still be good, but not the dynasty they are on the verge of becoming. If this team wins the AFC and the Super Bowl this year, Brady just might replace Joe Montana in the eyes of many as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. 5. A judge has ruled in favor of Jamie McCourt in the Dodger Divorce Duel. This potentially means that to settle their divorce, the McCourt family will have to sell the Dodgers. I could only hope that maybe Magic Johnson might be interested. We could do a lot worse.

The War on Extremism

A friend of mine shared this with me today. It is written by one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller. Sadly, he is not related. I am just posting a snippet for you here. Follow the link, read the entire article, and let me know what you think. A few nights ago, twelve friends and I attended the lighting of the Portland Christmas tree in Pioneer Square. My friends had all flown in for Thanksgiving, and we decided to join ten-thousand others who walked from all over downtown for the event. What we didn’t know is the spot where we squeezed into the crowd was 25 feet from a van filled with what a young man believed were six, fifty-gallon barrels of explosive material. As you know, the FBI had staged a sting, and as the young man made a call on his cell phone from the train station across town that would detonate the bomb, we were singing Christmas carols well within the blast zone. We didn’t hear about the threat until the following morning, and didn’t even know how close we were to the bomb until I saw a picture in the paper, taken only a few steps from the corner of Pioneer Square where we had been standing. read more...