The Other Side of the Table

I've had a thought several times, but for some reason or another I just haven't put it out there yet, but basically it goes like this:

There are a lot of seriously unqualified people out there affecting people's lives.

Exhibit A: I was recently at the University of Illinois doing first-round interviews of students for our recruiting process.

Read into that what you will. The point is, I'm looking across the table at these kids, and I'm thinking, "I'm just a kid. What am I doing?" And I'm betting they're thinking, "Seriously? This guy's just a kid." I don't know. Maybe I don't look like a kid anymore, but although I'm almost out of my upper middle twenties, I don't know that I'll ever see my self as a real adult.

It was weird being on the other side of the table for a change. And you know what was the worst? I was nervous. Not as nervous as when I interviewed for jobs, but I still had a few butterflies in the basket, yet I was supposed to be "in charge." Why was I nervous to grill some kids on why they should come work for us? Who knows...?

Exhibit B: Congress.

Take a little trip through the bios of our Senators and Representatives if you've got time. Most of them have zero experience in the real world outside of politics. Sure they were smart enough to get into a great school, get a law degree or whatever, but why does that coupled with getting elected a few times all of the sudden give you the necessary experience to make decisions that affect the entire country and parts of the world? Seriously, just begin to peruse the bios of the people running this country and think about whether you'd hire these folks to manage a car wash for you, let alone decide how to confiscate and then spend billions upon billions of dollars.

Exhibit C: High School Coaches

I made several decisions and formulated several thoughts and ideas in high school based on information gathered from my high school coaches. Now, I'm not lumping every coach into this category. I know a lot of good ones who may even wind up being great ones. Coaches that I would have no problem teaching my future-as-of-yet-non-existent children things. Take my friend Zach for example. Great guy, I'm sure a great coach and one who really imparts valuable things to kids.

But many of my coaches didn't even want to be coaches. As I look back with "more grown-up" eyes. I can see that their intersection with my life was just a pit stop on the way to figuring out who they were. But there they were, teaching me how to block and tackle and hit like they were experts. There they were, giving advice on life and lessons on how to live as a young man as though they had perfected it. There they were, putting me and many others I'm sure in the wrong position because that was easier than taking the time to figure out where a young kid might be most successful down the road.

All of these examples, me included, are instances where one person or a group of people make important decisions and perform important tasks that affect other people's lives. I just don't believe people take that responsibility seriously enough. And I certainly don't believe that just because a person is in a position of authority that means they are qualified for said position of authority.

Growing up is weird. It changes my perspective. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

The Cardinals, and Other Near Misses

I was so close to picking the Cardinals to go to the Super Bowl this year...I mean, they were pretty much third on my list of four possible teams that could be in the big game. It really came down to me just not being certain if their improved defense would carry them past the NFC Championship Game.

Man, I wish I could have that one back.

Ok, so, if you believe what I just wrote you obviously did not read my annual entry of prognostication on how the NFL season will play out. I can't believe you missed it; it was riveting. Highly entertaining.

However, for what it brought to the table in entertainment value, it may have lacked just as much in accuracy. But unlike other "experts" who throw around opinions and never take responsibility for them, I feel the need to step up, face the music and be held accountable for my awful predictions.

So, I present the Annual Come and Blog It Prognostication on How the NFL Season Will Play Out Music Facing Entry!

Disclaimer 1: this entry contains sports related material. I promise to do my best to make such material entertaining for all, but if "sports really aren't you're thing" you should probably check out an archived post for fun today.

Let's start with my Divisional Predictions:

AFC NORTH

Prediction Actual

1.Pittsburgh 1.Pittsburgh
2. Cleveland 2.Baltimore
3. Cincinnati 3.Cincinnati
4. Baltimore 4.Cleveland

Now, you'll notice here that I was 2 for 4. Not too shabby. I was surprisingly accurate in some of my comments as well. For instance:

"...the Steelers are having some offensive line issues, the Ravens are having major QB issues, the Bengals have defense and offensive sync issues and the Browns have defensive back and 'was last year for real' issues."

Joe Flacco ruined my Ravens comment, but other than that, I'd say the rest of those comments were very accurate this year. The Bengals defense did start to find some identity towards the end of the season.

My best prediction from this division came with these words however:

"...I see the Steelers having the most success because Ben Rothlisberger is a QB that is capable of making the line look good with some mobility and the fact that he is 8'10" and refuses to fall down when someone hits him."

How true was that this season? I must have watched 'Berger take about 90 hits and not go to the ground, and that was just in the playoffs.

Now I have to put this video here to wash the stains of Steeler praise off of my blog:



NFC NORTH

Prediction Actual

1. Green Bay 1.Minnesota
2. Minnesota 2.Chicago
3. Chicago 3.Green Bay
4. Detroit 4.Detroit

Wow, I missed on everything here. Here's my quote of significance from the prediction post:

"...I think the Packers have this thing. They return a pretty solid defense from last year and if Rodgers can just drive the bus through the parking lot that is the NFC North without crashing it into a light pole the Pack should win the division title."

Turns out, Rodgers did a helluva job. But that defense that I deemed "solid" turned out to be the bad drivers on this team.

And I thought the Lions would be bad, but 0-16? That takes skill.

AFC SOUTH

Prediction Actual

1. Indianapolis 1.Tennessee
2. Houston 2.Indianapolis
3. Jacksonville 3.Houston
4. Tennessee 4.Jacksonville

Indianapolis did a good job of letting everybody else get a bit of lead before Peyton did his thing and propelled the Colts to the 2 spot. This Titans team really caught me off guard as you'll notice from this quote:

"...The rest of the team around VY is a bit average."

See, what I meant to say was they should bench VY because he is making this team a bit average. I don't know how that wound up on my screen, but it was obviously not what I intended. I am an expert.

NFC SOUTH

Prediction Actual

1. New Orleans 1.Carolina
2. Tampa Bay 2.Atlanta
3. Atlanta 3.Tampa Bay
4. Carolina 4.New Orleans

What!? Oh I can't believe this happened! This one somehow inverted itself in my prediction post. I am calling blogger and registering a complaint right now. To think they can make me, an expert, look like such a fool and that I'll just sit here and take it! They messed with the wrong expert.

In my defense I did say:

"...But seriously, the division makes me feel like Kramer trying to fill in for Movie Phone.

'Why Don't You Just Tell Me What Order You're Going to Finish In!?'"

So once again:




AFC WEST

Prediction Actual

1. San Diego 1.San Diego
2. Denver 2.Denver
3. Oakland 3.Oakland
4. Kansas City 4.Kansas City

"...This should be a pretty straightforward division as well."

I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I did say that. It was so straightforward that the Chargers had to win their last 4 while the Broncos lost their last 3 to win the division.

You don't think Come and Blog It had anything to do with that, do you? You do? Well, of course I did! Here's how it went down. I called up Norv Turner and told him to get his boys in gear or I'd use the power of the blogosphere to make sure that he never worked in the NFL again. Ever. Then I called up Mike Shanahan and told him that I was cashing in the favor he owed me (I let him have the title of Ultimate Leader for his bio a few years back; he'd been begging me to let him use it for years, and finally I relented. But I said, "You owe me man!") So, I had Mike lose the last three games of the year, so that I'd pick one division correctly. I assured him that I would use the power of the blogosphere to make sure he did not get fired. I kinda forgot to do that...I got a little busy with work. And the playoffs were just so dang good...oops. Sorry, Mike. Call me.

NFC WEST

Prediction Actual

1. Seattle 1.Arizona
2. St. Louis 2.San Francisco
3. Arizona 3.Seattle
4. San Francisco 4.St. Louis

I was this close on the Cardinals. I mean it. Check out what I said:

"...The Cardinals and 49ers are not good football teams right now. Maybe they'll prove me wrong soon..."

See that. Maybe they (meaning the Cardinals) will prove me wrong (meaning go to the Super Bowl) soon (meaning this year). Now read it again:

"...The Cardinals and 49ers are not good football teams right now. Maybe the Cardinals will go to the Super Bowl this year..."

That's the kind of expert analysis you can take to the bank. And year in and year out I even do the dirty work for you by putting it in those tiny little analysis rollers for you so the bank doesn't yell at you when you strut in with the good stuff.


AFC EAST

Prediction Actual

1. New England 1.Miami
2. Buffalo 2.New England
3. New York 3.New York
4. Miami 4. Buffalo

I decided after 2006 to never vote against the Patriots as long as Tom Brady was playing for them. I voted for the Patriots this year before I knew Tom Brady would exit the season with an ACL tear. Had I known that, I probably would have picked them third and still would've been wrong.

Buffalo really let me down this year. Much to the chagrin of my friend Meg (a Buffalo native, honorary Texan and die hard Bills fan) I said this about the Bills:

"...They're not exactly at four-time Super Bowl loser potential, but maybe one-time playoff game loser potential."

Granted, this was a bit of a backhanded compliment to the team's rising potential, but given the performance of this team, I now deem the comment justified. In fact, my praise of Lee Evans prior to the season is even that much more embarrassing after what he did to my fantasy football team.

You know what? The Bills are going on notice, Colbert style. Now that makes The Bills and Winter who are on my list. They'd better get cozy because I don't see either one coming off that list any time soon.

NFC EAST

Prediction Actual

1. Dallas 1.New York
2. Philadelphia 2.Philadelphia
3. New York 3.Dallas
4. Washington 4.Washington

The Cowboys blew this one. Granted, Romo getting hurt for 4 games didn't help their cause, but the Cowboys only played up to their potential in 3 or 4 games this year. Maybe their potential is overrated. Then, they get beat 44-6 by the Eagles with the playoffs on the line.

Embarrassing.

Of course, I said this about the Giants:

"...And now that the Giants have lost some of their D-linemen to injury and retirement can they repeat the success of last season?"

I think that was a fair question. And they had a nice season. They just ran into a hot Philly team in the playoffs. But I look for the Giants to perform even better next year now that I saw this bit of journalism:



PLAYOFFS

Not a lot to discuss here folks. I correctly picked only 5 of the 12 playoff teams. Shameful.

And my two Super Bowl contestants didn't even make the playoffs (though at 11-5, it's a bit of a shame, or justice, that the Pats didn't merit an invitation.)

But that's why I, like so many of you, love the NFL. You just never know what might happen. Now I go into sports hibernation until Opening Day, with a brief glimpse at March Madness.

But in the not-so-distant future I will once again put virtual pen to virtual paper and tell you exactly what will happen in the upcoming NFL season. And you can bank on my picks. Because I'm an expert.

It's Important to Build Rapport With Your Audience

I decided about 5 minutes ago that I was done working for the day. I had a whole list of tasks to get done that I started at 8AM. I have accomplished all that I can for the day; I'm tired, so I decided to do the only thing that made sense to me.

Stop working and go play The Legend of Zelda on my Wii.

Oh, that's right...old school Nintendo on my shiny new toy. Stacie and I played Zelda last night until 11.30. Any of your wives play Nintendo with y'all until 11.30 at night? Didn't think so. I win.

Last night I mentioned that we needed to find Link's boomerang to which Stacie responded, "Who's Link?" Well, it turns out she's not alone in her lack of knowledge. A quick search of the world wide web will inform you that most people think the character you use in The Legend of Zelda is, in fact, Zelda. But Zelda is the princess you are trying to save from the Evil Gannon. I'm pretty sure you don't see her at all in the entire game, so it can be understandable why one might think Link is actually Zelda.

I wrote that last paragraph in order to prove to you the vastness of the knowledge bouncing around in my brain. You see, if I convince you that I am knowledgeable in completely useless things, hopefully you will count me as knowledgeable in very useful things. It's called building rapport with the audience. Each time I build rapport with you in this post, I will note it with an * so that you can pause and really appreciate the moment.

Obviously, I am not saving Princess Zelda right now. Zelda has been in need of saving since July of 1987* so I figure she can wait a few more minutes. A lot has happened over the past few days (such as the PlayStation cell phone being put on hold due to less than desirable technical quality*) and I feel like I should comment.

First, we inaugurated America's first not-completely-white President*. Yes that's a rapport building asterisk there because I'm pretty sure everyone thinks he is black. He is. But he is equally white. Truly a president for all!! Except the Hispanics...and Native Americans...and Asians. Did I pull everyone into my very inclusive circle there. Well, if your ethnicity was not listed this is for you "...and Other/Choose Not to Answer." Actually...that's what President Obama would have to check!

If I missed anybody, I'm pretty sure Joseph Lowery, who helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955*, covered them.

Someday, as a white, I hope to do what is right. Amen.

In related current events, President Bush must have felt lighter than air (to find the weight of air: m/V = p / RT = 101325 N/m2 * 1 m3 / (287 J/kg-K * 273.15 K) = 1.2925 kg/m3)* when he woke up Wednesday morning. The weight of the world ( 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms, though technically that is the mass of the earth because we get weight from the earth's gravity which obviously doesn't pull on itself)* was literally off of his shoulders. In the now 7.5 years following 9/11 he has done what he promised to do and ensured no terrorist attack took place on American soil under his watch. Everything else is debatable, but that one point is not. And for that and for his service I say thank you. I had the chance to meet and interact with President Bush once when he was the Governor of the Great State*. He's a good man. Much like I'm sure President Obama is a good man. To disagree with his policies and decisions is one thing, but to treat the man like a dog's turd is a whole other story. I trust that he did what he thought was right and what he thought was best for the country. I trust that Obama will do what he believes is right and best for the country. I'll probably disagree with him a lot, but I will never come close to showing him the disrespect President Bush was showered with daily and hopefully no one else will either. I wonder what a Bush presidency would've looked like if 9/11 never happened...

The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl. I did not see that coming. The Cardinals last home playoff game was in 1947 in CHICAGO! And now they've won two home games and a road game and are on their way to Tampa. (Notice I did not put an asterisk next to that Cardinals tidbit because of the overkill that is Super Bowl hype I'm pretty sure most of you already knew that. But for those of you that didn't, add it to that big ol' stack of rapport I've got goin' on.)

I for one hope the Cardinals win. Not because I hate the Steelers with all the burning hotness of 10,000 suns (and I'm talking about the very hot center of the sun which reaches about 27,000,000 degrees F not the chilly 10,000 degree F surface of the sun.)* Okay that is part of the reason. I mean can you blame me. This happened:



But as a fan of a team that loses a lot (roughly a .348 winning percentage since 1991)* I feel like if the Cardinals can get it together, anything is possible. And Kurt Warner is a Renaissance man.

Let's see...PETA decided to rebrand fish as SeaKittens....hahahahahahaha...they hope this gets people to see fish as cute and cuddly not as food...hahahahahahahah....that might be the funniest thing ever. I mean, first they probably should've done SeaPuppies because I'm pretty sure the people that are getting up at 3AM, getting in their truck, going to the lake, boating to their favorite fishing hole and pulling out SeaKittens probably are dog people. Just a guess. They'd probably be okay with a few less cats...that's good stuff. Secondly, you can't just change a name. Shakespeare said it first, a rose by any other name*...

Well, kids, I've gotta jet. I'm taking my wife to see a play tonight. It's got Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice in it. If you don't watch Burn Notice, you should. It's kind of like MacGyver, but cooler and newer. New season starts tonight on USA.

I feel like I've built up some great rapport with you here today. We hit on some personal stuff, civil rights, math and science, video game history, and even literature. I'm a wealth of knowledge. Trust me.

The Most Ridiculous Post Ever

I've got to be honest with you. I mean, if I'm not honest here, then what's the point of putting virtual pen to virtual paper for the world to read. Ok. Maybe 0.00000021% of the world to read. (That would be 15 of the roughly 6,700,000,000 who currently reside on our planet for those who need to know how I got there.)

I don't feel much like writing at this moment. So, why am I writing, you might ask? I can't really blame you for asking such intelligent questions. I've always told everyone that I have the smartest readership of all the "________ and Blog It" titled blogs. There's the readers of Go and Blog It. They're morons. Stay and Blog It's readership: Imbeciles. Leave and Blog It may have the dumbest readers of them all, though, but I think we all know why that is...and because of that author we also know that grain augers, fireworks and an old taxi cab are not toys. Right kids?

But somehow I've gotten off topic. Why write when I feel so unlike writing?

Well, I've had several moments over the past couple of weeks where I've really wanted to write. Something would hit me, and at that moment I would really want to grab my keyboard and pound it like I'm kneading a big ball of dough. A ball of dough that will rise on my computer screen, and once I hit publish, will then bake into a delicious loaf of awesomeness that we'll all slice and butter and devour as if we were aliens from the planet NoDough who've never experienced the sensation of warm bread and melted butter igniting our purple taste buds on our green alien tongues causing us to exclaim, "Scnlets chpaqy!"

Sadly, though, I've been bogged down in the marshy goo of work. I've felt like Bart, the railroad worker turned Sheriff in Blazing Saddles, when he was sinking in the quicksand on the push car. And his boss comes by and throws a rope, but sadly only to salvage the push car, leaving Bart to search for the sunken rails of the train track and inch his way to the solid earth of safety once more. I have yet to find my sunken rails in the mire of work, however. But when I get out I'm definitely gonna (SPOILER ALERT) hit my boss over the head with a shovel, get arrested and scheduled to be hung and then get miraculously freed to become the Sheriff of Rock Ridge.

So, why now? Why this post? Let's start with the second question first. I have several starts to posts that I found interesting at some point, but they weren't inspiring me quite enough especially with inadequate time to address them. And I feel that may be the case because I've been gone for a bit and feel like we need to catch up. So, I thought it best that we reacquaint ourselves with one another before I get into some post full of deep thoughts and challenging rhetoric. Mixed with tear-inducing hilarity, of course.

So, hello, my name is Ty. I like road trips, Robert Earl, reading, reveling, rafting, roller coasters, Ricky Ricardo, Rounders and alliteration.

There. I feel much better. Now, perhaps I will be able to post something with substance.

And as to the second question, which, of course, is actually the first question now moved to the second position: I just had to. I needed a break from working. I had to take my eyes off of the computer screen, close them and just type away. Like this: "i canoot bleieve I'm typing with my eyes closed. this is Awesome@". Actually that wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

I wanted to post. I tried to post. I couldn't post. And then, I said, "No way man! You are posting. Whether you like it or not."

So, I decided to post the most ridiculous things that came to my brain. And I don't know your thoughts, but I'd say, "Goal Achieved." I would say "Mission Accomplished" but that's kind of lost it's meaning unless one is parachuting down to an air craft carrier with a banner behind them that reads "Mission Accomplished" you know? I went to Kinko's but they were all out of banners, so let's just go with "Goal Achieved."

We Didn't Know What to Think of Him...

Until He Sang "Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad."

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Currently, I am two states closer to Texas, hanging out in Tulsa, Oklahoma with all of my side of the family. Well, most of it anyway. And thus far it has been fantastically entertaining. Families can be that way when they all get together.

My brother had knee-surgery on Monday morning. We got here on Monday evening. So half the time has been spent getting his knee in and out of the rehab machine and helping him out with various necessities. Plus we've got him all hopped up on pain pills. No one minds, but we would obviously all rather he be up and running around with all of us. Poor guy has been down and out for the family craziness.

To top it off, Sara, Trait's wife, came down with strep throat just before his surgery. Sara bounced back with a vengeance Tuesday evening, though, which was great since Donald (my step-dad) had promised to take her and Stacie on a shopping spree for their Christmas present. However that left my mom and I as the only two able bodied people there to cook dinner, care for Cale (my one year old nephew) and care for Trait. We got 'er done, though.

And the girls had a great time on their shopping spree. Two days before Christmas, these two ladies went with Donald to the mall and about three hours later returned with the kind of spoils that would take me 2 weeks of shopping to acquire. Nice work, ladies!

Our two dogs are here, too, and at first were quarantined to the backyard. But if you've ever met Reese and Bradie, you know that they don't like to not be around people, and they are very persistent. So after much back door scratching, we've finally quarantined them to the kitchen, where their main jobs are to not get hair on the carpet in the other rooms and to be vacuum cleaners for the kitchen floor.

There is so much food here, that I can't fathom how we could possibly eat it all. Dessert, enchiladas, casseroles, nachos, Little Debbie snacks, fruit, more dessert, chips, steaks, potatoes, turkey, more dessert...if we can all fit through the door to head out it will be a miracle. All the moms (Angie, my mom, and Sara's mom Kelli) have been cooking up a storm. It is a very delicious Christmas.

I've gotten in one game of Scrabble with my mom so far. It was a barn burner, too. We were tied 250-250 with only about 1/4 of the game to go. I ended up winning but only because I was able to land the word "entertain" on a triple word score. We've also played one game of Cranium with the fam, but we have yet to settle that beautiful Island of Catan. Maybe later.

But the funniest part so far is how often we've had to run back and forth to the store. It's just like the Robert Earl Keen song "Merry Christmas from the Family." The first one was a run for ice. I said to Trait, "Hey man, should I get an extension cord, too." He got the joke. If you know the song, you get it, too. Now we've made four or five subsequent trips to the "Kwik Pak Store" to get "some ice and an extension cord."

But we have yet to make Bloody Mary's "because we all want one." We still have one morning left...

It's great to get to be with my whole family on Christmas. I hope you are enjoying your families this Christmas season as well. And we'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas from the Family!

Who Doesn't Love Recess?

Apparently everybody in America.

America declared recess yesterday. And apparently we've been at recess since December of 2007!

But everyone is all like, "Oh no. We're in a recess." and "If we're not in a recess, we're not far from it." and "This recess is really going to hurt my business."

Remember when everyone wanted recess? I mean, in 7th grade once (when recess is supposed to start being a bad thing) we crawled out of the windows to go play Wall Ball and military style basketball when recess was finally offered.

Remember jungle gyms and swing sets and see-saws and football games and freeze tag? Recess is awesome. Why would America not want...hold on a sec.

What's that...? Recess-shun.

Recess-shun?

Same thing right?

No....

Hmmm.....oh....well that kind of changes this post a little.


So, apparently recess and recession are not the same thing. In fact, they are kind of the opposite. Recession is probably more similar with detention. Nobody wants it (except when Zack Morris kept trying to get it because Kelly Kapowski was going to be there.) It's not fun. And you just have to wait it out for 30 minutes to an hour. If this recession is longer than an hour I'm gonna be really pissed. I'm supposed to meet some friends after it to get a coke at Sonic and do the drag.

So, now that we've found ourselves in this detention hall called Recession, what should we do while we're here? Some people have decided to spend the whole hour scheming about how to get out sooner. They're offering bribes of about $750 billion to various school bullies in here with us thinking they can sneak everyone out.

But all that's done is gotten all the bullies in detention riled up and wanting in on the sneak out job. Plus they have to borrow that money from other people not in detention...it's a mess.

Personally, I say we just do our time. Let the clock tick and let's get out of here. But I get the feeling no one else in Recession hall agrees. It seems like everyone wants to find the easy way out. But the bottom line is we're in detention for a reason. Let's do the time and think about what we did wrong and promise never to do it again.

Oh, I forgot, that's called taking responsibility for our actions. People don't do that anymore.

Wait a minute. Two kids in here just agreed with me. One kid named Texas and one kid named South Carolina. Weird parents, I guess. Here's what they had to say:


"Governors Against State Bailouts
Hard to believe, but not everyone in politics wants a free lunch.
By RICK PERRY and MARK SANFORD posted in the Wall Street Journal

As governors and citizens, we've grown increasingly concerned over the past weeks as Washington has thrown bailout after bailout at the national economy with little to show for it.
In the process, the federal government is not only burying future generations under mountains of debt. It is also taking our country in a very dangerous direction -- toward a "bailout mentality" where we look to government rather than ourselves for solutions. We're asking other governors from both sides of the political aisle to join with us in opposing further federal bailout intervention for three reasons.

First, we're crossing the Rubicon with regard to debt.

One fact that's been continually glossed over in the bailout debate is that Washington doesn't have money in hand for any of these proposals. Every penny would be borrowed. Estimates for what the government is willing to spend on bailouts and stimulus efforts for this year reach as much as $7.7 trillion according to Bloomberg.com -- a full half of the United States' yearly economic output.

With all the zeroes in the numbers, it's no wonder Washington politicians have lost track.

That trillion-dollar figure is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to checks written by the federal government that it can't cash. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker puts our nation's total debt and unpaid promises, like Social Security, at roughly $52 trillion -- an invisible mortgage of $450,000 on every American household. Borrowing money to "solve" a problem created by too much debt seems odd. And as fiscally conservative Republicans, we take no pleasure in pointing out that many in our own party have been just as complicit in running up the tab as those on the political left.

Second, the bailout mentality threatens Americans' sense of personal responsibility.

In a free-market system, competition and one's own personal stake motivate people to do their best. In this process, the winners create wealth, jobs and new investment, while others go back to the drawing board better prepared to try again.

To an unprecedented degree, government is currently picking winners and losers in the private marketplace, and throwing good money after bad. A prudent investor takes money from low-yield investments and puts them in those that yield better returns. Recent government intervention is doing the opposite -- taking capital generated from productive activities and throwing it at enterprises that in many cases need to reorganize their business model.

Take for example the proposed Big Three auto-maker bailout. We think it's very telling that each of the three CEO's flew on their own private jets to Washington to ask for a taxpayer handout. No amount of taxpayer largess could fix a business culture so fundamentally flawed.

Third, we'd ask the federal government to stop believing it has all the answers.

Our Founding Fathers were clear and deliberate in setting up a system whereby the federal government would only step in for that which states cannot do themselves. An expansionist federal government of the last century has moved us light-years away from that model, but it doesn't mean that Congress can't learn from states that are coming up with solutions that work.

In Texas and South Carolina, we've focused on improving "soil conditions" for businesses by cutting taxes, reforming our legal system and our workers' compensation system. We'd humbly suggest that Congress take a page from those playbooks by focusing on targeted tax relief paid for by cutting spending, not by borrowing.

In the rush to do "something" to help, federal leaders would be wise to take a line from the Hippocratic Oath, and pledge to do no (more) harm to our country's finances. We can weather this storm if we commit to fiscal prudence and hold true to the values of individual freedom and responsibility that made our nation great.

Mr. Perry, a Republican, is the governor of Texas. Mr. Sanford, a Republican, is the governor of South Carolina."


I kinda like these kids, Texas and South Carolina. Maybe we'll finally start to wait this little setback out after all. And while we're in here maybe we can catch up on some schoolwork and learn how to not get sent here again.

But until then, I'm gonna go see if I can find Kelly. I heard she got framed so she'd have to serve detention with us and she's rockin' some awesome early '9os flowery pants...yowza.

Fightin' Texas Aggie Repost

So, it's Thanksgiving Day and Stacie and I are serving dinner to some friends of ours that are stranded here in Chi-town with us over the holiday. I wanted to post something for those of you who may be bored at your parents' house and are checking every site that you know to pass the time. But since we are cleaning and cooking, the best I can do is revisit a post of Thanksgiving past. 2006 to be precise. Oh and as for the title, when you do something over and you went to Texas A&M, it should be called a "Fightin' Texas Aggie Re-fill in the blank." Rebag if you're going back to bed. Retake if you dropped a course. Rebeer if you need another beer. Re-anything really.

So for your reading pleasure a Fightin' Texas Aggie Repost:

WHO GIVES YOU THE BIRD ON THANKSGIVING?

And I'm not talking about your grandma serving you some delicious turkey either.

I'm talking about driving down the road on Thanks-freaking-giving Day and getting the bird from two dudes in a pickup. Not kids either. One was no less than 45. The other, no less than 60.

Let me take you back there with me. (Do that Wayne's World thing with your hands and make that "doo-dee-doo, doo-dee doo" noise now, please.)

So, I'm driving to my Aunt Nedra's to see my dad's side of the family for Thanksgiving. We got up early that morning, took the dogs to Carrollton and now it's about 8:30 AM, and we are cruising.

The next thing you know there is a cop on the side of the road with someone pulled over. (Now keep in mind...I am not speeding. Been busted for that twice this year already, so I posess extra motivation to drive the speed limit.)

So, what do people do when they see a cop? They all slow way down and get in the lane opposite where he has someone pulled over. So far so good. We all move to the left lane. Then, when you pass by the cop you resume your normal speed.

Here's where our story takes a foul turn. Pun intended.

Everyone but a truck two spots ahead of me speeds up. I can see this guy is on his phone. No big deal if you don't want to speed up, but pull to the right if you're going to go 57 in a 70. He never moves, so the car in front of me begins to pass him on the right.

I think to myself, "Okay...I'll do that, too."

The only problem is that when this guy realizes he's only going 57 and he's being passed on the right he decides to speed up. At this point I am ahead of him, but not so far ahead as to make the safest move into his lane. I see I am coming very quickly upon the truck ahead of me. What to do?

No way am I not getting in here. This dudes just being a jerk now that he knows he's getting passed. So I mash it and slide in between him and the truck, with plenty of room to spare, but I'm sure Mr. Indecisive had to put the brakes on.

Well, now Mr. Indecisive is very decisive. He decides to ride my tail as close as he can. His truck is slightly larger than mine, but I'm not intimidated. I do however decide that if he wants to speed, I'll let him by.

So I get around the semi beside me and pull to the right. He begins to pass me, but instead of passing on by, slows to my speed so we are even and issues his unseasonal gesture. Along with his old man in the seat next to him.

I'm pretty shocked, but pretend not to see it. Don't want to give them any pleasure, you know?

The car behind us saw it, though. And then they speed up to us and in an effort to make sure we see it, proceed to return the same gesture to the men in the pickup as they pass them...on the right.

We soon enter a construction zone so I have to follow behind these guys for miles. 68S-MJ2. 68S-MJ2.

When we leave the construction zone, these men have forgotten, once again, the speed limit, but they are at least on the right side of the road. As I speed up to 70 again, I slide by them and never glance their way. Like I never even noticed their unseemly act.

On Thanksgiving Day.