The SoapBoxers

We’ve all seen it. And if you haven’t seen it, you’ve at least heard of it. Rick Perry released a new ad titled “Strong”. If you haven’t seen it, you can view it here.

The ad was posted a week ago. Why is that important? It already has over 600,000 dislikes. That makes it the most hated video on youtube….even more than Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. If you haven’t heard that song and you don’t enjoy good music, feel free to view it here.

And I knew it wouldn’t be long before “Bad Lip Reading” jumped on it. And they did.

So why is everyone so upset about Rick Perry’s ad? Well, I get his point. I understand what he’s saying. I do think it is wrong that our kids can’t say “Merry Christmas”…but I tell them to. We celebrate Christmas in our home and we say “Merry Christmas”. 

I need to address the “gays serving openly in the military” line. I think I come from a unique background. While my husband was serving in Iraq, I moved in with my sister-in-laws…who are now legally married. I asked my husband his feelings on gays in the military and he said it didn’t bother him “as long as they don’t make an issue out of it.” That’s the key. And that’s what makes me mad about this whole gay/straight issue.

I don’t walk up to people and say, “Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m straight,” because who I sleep with doesn’t define me. And honestly, it shouldn’t define anyone else either. Gay, Straight, whatever.  Those who choose to allow it to define them need to re-evaluate their life. WHY would you make your choice in a life partner the focus of your life?  It shouldn’t be.

My dad taught me I have to know who I am before I can share myself with anyone else. That’s one reason why I didn’t get married right out of high school (or even college). Because I was still learning who I was as a person. I don’t need someone to complete me. I can share myself with someone but I am complete in myself.

Who I chose to spend my life with does not define me. Don’t make it an issue and it won’t be an issue. If you love your Country enough to serve and possibly lay down your life for your Country, you should be defined as a solider, not as a gay soldier. Because who you choose to share your life with should have nothing to do with your ability to fire an M-16. And my husband agrees. And he’s been there.

Do I understand what Rick Perry is trying to say? Yes. Do I think he needs a new writer? Yes. Because I think his point could have been made in a totally different way. Maybe he was trying to snag the Christian voters with this move. But I think he alienated a lot more than he gained.

This ad was not “Strong” by any means.

Each year when the weather turns bad in the Midwest, and the theme of holiday parties are in the air, we seem to hear more about accidents and fatalities involving drunk drivers.

Cameron Freeman was just 21 years old last fall. The date was November 23rd to be exact.

He was in a car with three other friends, who were hit by a person driving while intoxicated, and in a stolen pick-up truck.

Three of the friends were injured. Cameron was not so lucky.

Cameron was born on December 7th, 1989. For the historical buffs like me, that is a pretty important day in the annals of the history of our country. It also coincidentally is the day I lost my mother in law to cancer some years ago.

Most parents would be full of rage and hate. I myself have thought about I would have acted in this moment of crisis. I can tell you from some of my own personal experiences in life that you really do not know for sure how you react to extreme adversity until you are square in the middle of the situation and facing it. When adversity strikes with full force, you react based on your morals, beliefs, upbringing and values. In my opinion in these moments you don’t choose how to act or react, things you have done your entire life, the things you believe and who you really are has already chosen your reaction for you.

So instead of being full of hate, anger and resentment, Paul and Shelly Freeman, the parents of Cameron, responded this way….

An excerpt from the Lincoln Journal Star from November 30th of 2010 –

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if we used the number 7,” said Shelley. “Instead replace that anger with seven acts of compassion.”

And that’s how Shelley would like her son to be remembered.

“That could be Cameron legacy, I would love for that to be Cameron’s legacy,” said Shelley. “With fondness it would be nice if we could call that the Cameron effect.”

So, the Freemans forged full ahead and with the help of some friends started the Cameron Effect.

Many businesses in the Lincoln area have jumped on board. Union Bank has distributed money via some of their employees. These individuals go around town and hand out envelopes of money in the form of $100 bills to complete strangers.

Here at our workplace, the unit of people I work with is doing something similar this year. A pool of money was put together and then was a few of us will take the divided up funds and use that to make a difference to someone else. Our only charge is to report back to the members of our team with what you did, and why you chose the person or people that you chose to give your gift to during this holiday season.

The media locally tends to give this plenty of coverage and for good reason. It is nice to reflect on something good happening in the world instead of always reading about bad economy, unemployment, politics, the latest crimes, and all of the other bad things that fill our newspapers and evening newscasts.

So in this holiday season, be thankful for what you have and if possible, pass along the Cameron Effect to someone where you live. Tell your co-workers about it. Pay it forward.

Once again, Tim Tebow saved the day, rallying the Broncos to an overtime win against the Chicago Bears. Tebow is now 7-1 as a starter, and the Broncos have won six straight and find themselves atop the AFC West.

So, while Tebow is building a reputation as a winner, he’s also criticized for his lackluster numbers. He’s completing less than 50% of his passes (48.5), and averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt. Tebow has only topped the 50% rate in three games. However, those three games are the last three, suggesting that he may be improving. He’s only topped 200 yards in two games – but those are the last two games.

The Broncos cut ties with Kyle Orton earlier this year, meaning that the 2011 Broncos are Tebow’s team. However, it remains to be see whether he is the long term answer at quarterback, or whether the Broncos will go after a quarterback in the draft.

What’s my opinion? I think that Tim Tebow is, at best, the second coming. The second coming of Kordell Stewart, that is.

Heisman Trophy

Robert Griffin III of Baylor won the Heisman Trophy.  I was happy to see RG3 grab the award.  Not only does he have the physical tools to succeed, but he’s also a smart guy – he has already earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and is working toward a Masters in Communication.  Some teams is going to get a great person – and great player – in the draft.

The Heisman also bring welcome publicity to a Baylor program that was downtrodden in recent years.  Baylor won 4 games in November 2011.  In the prior 15 years, they had won 4 November games, total (an average of about 0.25 wins per year).

Ryan Braun

Reigning National League MVP Ryan Braun made the news by reportedly testing positive for synthetic testosterone.  Although this is bad news for Braun and the Brewers, I think this is good news for baseball.  In the past, the players who tested positive were either players nobody like much (Palmeiro and Manny) or guys nobody had ever heard of.  Braun is a rising superstar just coming into his prime.  A positive test result from such a player indicates that MLB’s testing is on the level, and that there are no sacred cows being protected.

BCS

I’m not a fan of the BCS matchup between LSU and Alabama.  If Alabama wins a squeaker on a neutral field, how does this become more important than LSU’s win at Alabama?  I wonder how big of a win Alabama would need to push ahead of LSU with the computers.

I hate seeing rematches in bowl games.  Alabama had their chance at LSU, and LSU proved that they were better.  Step aside and let the next team have their chance.

NBA

I haven’t followed the NBA much since Magic Johnson retired (and even less since Alonzo Mourning retired).  I must be really out of touch if Marc Gausol is worth $58  million over 4 years.  I don’t mind seeing superstars get paid, but I don’t think MG’s in that class.  I think one of the reasons the NBA is in financial trouble is because they pay role players and minor stars absurd amounts of money – not necessarily that the actual superstars are overpaid.

It is the time of the year for office parties. Whether celebrating a religious holiday or just the culmination of another year of work, the cold weather and the shorter days, this is the time when most offices have parties. Most of the groups I have worked with set up some kind of order for the food, some people bring appetizers, other vegetable dishes, others sides and some deserts. For some reason, almost every group I have been associated with has cornered the managers to provide any meat to be served or at least the main dishes. This year, no limitations have been put on me, so I will double down on what I bring.

As many of you know, I really enjoy making and eating cookies. This holiday season just gives me license to indulge. I have a set of favorites that I bake. Last year I provided my favorite dozen recipes as a free down load. This year I have added two recipes; Date-Nut Pinwheels (a favorite of my Father in Law) and traditional chocolate chip cookies. Here is a downloadable pamphlet of the 2011 updated version of Martin’s cookies. (attach here). I will be making way too many cookies for my office party. Some of the extras will go to the factory area of the company I work for. The rest will be for me and my family.

Just to have some appearance of a healthy attitude, I will also provide a side of pasta salad. When I make pasta salad, the pasta is sort of an after thought. I put in lots of vegetables including; corn, peas, green beans, lima beans, broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, and black olives. All of this with the pasta (tri-color fun shapes), and diced cheese tossed with standard Italian dressing. Easy to make and filling. Now I am hungry. I guess the message today is, if you are not writing, start cooking!

Editor’s note: Today’s story is a rerun. This story originally ran on May 21, 2010.

Father Joseph Dugan finally gave in to frustration and set the church’s financial statements off to the side. The once thriving parish was shrinking each year, as the young people went off to college and followed job opportunities out of state. For the last five years, donations had not kept pace with expenses. The parish was having to dip into savings. The account that was intended for capital improvements was quickly being drained.

Father Dugan had more pressing issues to tend to this evening. Agnes Sherrill was being buried in the morning. Agnes had been a parishioner for her entire life – ninety three years. Tonight’s wake had been very small affair. Agnes and her late husband had no children, and Agnes had simply outlived her relatives. There were a handful of friends, as well as people from the parish who turned out to show their appreciation for Agnes’ devotion to the church.

Dugan was always saddened by these types of funerals. It seemed that there had been an awful lot of them lately. Maybe the rotten winter weather was just putting the priest in a pessimistic mood. He shook off the feeling and set his mind to composing a fitting eulogy for such a fine human being.

The next day, as he walked back to the church after the funeral, Father Dugan cheered himself up by thinking of Agnes being with the Lord in heaven. This put him in a better mood, although he knew that Wednesday nights wouldn’t be the same without her boisterous shouts of “Bingo!”.

To Dugan’s great surprise, the mail held good news for the parish. It contained two checks from the estates of deceased parishioners. The money definitely came at an opportune time. The parish would be able to rebuild their capital improvement fund. Perhaps the ancient furnace could finally be replaced, allowing the temperature inside the church to rise back above sixty degrees.

As Dugan thought about the two women who had been so generous, he realized that they had also been honored with very small funerals. Like Agnes Sherrill, they had left behind no living relatives. Once again, Dugan had the distinct feeling that there had been a lot of these types of funerals lately. He decided to prove to himself that he was wrong. He grabbed his calendar and began to leaf through it.

Dugan soon realized that his gut feeling was correct. There had already been six such deaths this year in which the parishioner left behind no living relatives – and it was only March. Most of the previous years had only seen five or six such deaths. Dugan was puzzled. Why was there such a spike this year?

Dugan had no time to ponder such mysteries, and soon put it behind him and immersed himself in church business again.

Father was distributing communion during mass the next Sunday when he noticed that the deacon next to him push aside a couple of hosts, seemingly looking for a specific wafer among the identical hosts. When Dugan saw Deacon Taylor pick up a host whose color was a different shade than the others, the pieces all clicked. Dugan pretended to lose his balance and stumbled into the deacon. Deacon Taylor lost his balance, and dozens of hosts fell to the ground. Dugan handed a host to Mary Davis as Taylor picked up the hosts from the carpet.

After mass, Dugan noticed that the discolored host was no longer present. Dugan was certain that he had seen it, and had a good idea why Taylor had taken it.

Two hours later, Dugan was struggling with a difficult decision when the phone rang. It was a detective from the police department, informing him that Deacon Taylor had walked into the precinct and confessed to poisoning several members of the parish so that the church would inherit money from the estates.

Note: In the wake of Albert Pujols opting to leave the Cardinals and sign with the Angels, I asked a friend of mine who is a die-hard Cardinals fan to write about his reaction.

Like Stan and Kyle from South Park I’ve learned a lot this year. Politically this is arguably the most partisan and divided the US has ever been, and ultimately that’s not good for anyone … except maybe the 24 hour news organizations.

• In January Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary stepped down. I actually liked Dana Perino more, simply because she could go more than 4 words without uttering “ummmm … ” followed by a long pause. It boggles the mind that a smart dude like Obama could pick a guy who has a problem speaking in public as his main public speaker.
• In January Gabrielle Giffords was shot by a mentally ill gunman. Rather than ponder where we went wrong in not only allowing the ill shooter to get a gun but slip through the cracks, treatment-wise, we immediately sought to assign blame. Mental health parity is still an unsung issue in this country, but I guess we’d rather spend billions on erection drugs rather than help the millions who are clinically depressed.
• In March Japan was struck by an earthquake and the ensuing tsunami. In what might still turn out to be the world’s worst nuclear disaster, a nuclear power plant suffered at least a partial meltdown. It’s amusing that the people most for nuclear power (Republicans) are also the people who claim that government is mistake-prone and inefficient. Because nothing spells “safe” like mistake-prone and nuclear power.
• At some point in the first half of 2011 at least a few Republicans argue about the Bush Tax cuts, saying they should be kept because “tax cuts pay for themselves.” They need to clarify this statement because apparently tax cuts pay for themselves only if they’re not presented by a Democratic president and only if they’re not mainly for the middle class.
• In June yet another politician ignores the rule that if you’re caught with your hand in the cookie jar, admit it up front and things won’t be as bad. Who doesn’t still giggle that a politician named Wiener had to resign for showing his wiener. The really amusing part to me is all the outrage over his online exhibitionism. It’s horrible for a guy to show his privates yet a guy who divorced his wife because she had cancer and he wanted to upgrade is the leading Republican presidential candidate right now. I don’t get it.
• In yet another curious bit of hypocrisy the Republicans show it’s ok to vote for a debt ceiling increase unless it’s a president you really don’t like. Yes, the debt is a problem, but we spent a month and 1/2 arguing over something that’s been done dozens of times before with hardly an eyelash batted while the unemployment rate continued to be unacceptably high. I know now why congress has to take so many recesses – they must strain their arms patting themselves on the back for doing mundane things.
• In another interesting bit of hypocrisy, I learned that if a right-wing movement against government (the Tea Party) protests it’s considered patriotic, but if a left-wing movement against government (Occupy movement) protests they’re considered lazy and rabble-rousing.
• Finally I learned that Republicans really are conflicted over who they want to run for president. The guy that makes most sense to the general public (Jon Huntsman) is polling at around 1% and isn’t even invited to some debates. The guy that most people think has the best chance to defeat President Obama (Mitt Romney) is apparently horribly distasteful to Republicans. Is it the Mormon thing? Is it the flip-flopper from Massachusetts thing? The guy that has the most effed-up financial plan that would actually raise taxes on the middle class and lower them drastically on the rich was only brought down because he apparently wants to get in the pants of every woman out there. After that little revelation hs 9-9-9 plan might as well have been “nein, nein, nein!”

This holiday season I’m praying for something new. I’m going to pray that we somehow learn to overcome the widening divide in our country. I still firmly believe that most political problems could be solved by getting money out of politics. Pouring money into the political process benefits only the richest of the rich, and America was not created to benefit .09% of the country while the other 99.9% struggle on with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Happy holidays, everyone.
 

Sources around baseball believe that Albert Pujols will be making a decision about his future in the next few days – perhaps even today. One of the leading contenders for Pujols are the Miami (formerly Florida) Marlins. throwing $200 million at a player is a foreign concept to the Marlins, historically a very cheap organization.

Why do the Marlins want Pujols?
Obviously, Pujols is a great player.  But he’s also a Hispanic player, and 70% of Miami residents are hispanic.  Adding Pujols to current Marlin Hanley Ramirez and recently signed Jose Reyes would give the Marlins a trio of hispanic superstars.  In fact, all three are natives of the Dominican Republic.

The Marlins have been infamous for large expanses of empty orange seats.  Even with a new name, logo, stadium, and hispanic superstars, will the Marlins draw fans?  That’s the $200 million question at the moment.

Does the deal make sense for the Marlins?

Only if they are committed to building a winner around Pujols.  If they are forced to trade Pujols in mid-contract, they could be forced to pay a portion of the remaining contract in order to move him.  Big contracts are hard to move, even for great players.  Tom Hicks learned this the hard way when the Ranger unloaded Alex Rodriguez in mid-contract.  The Rangers were forced to subsidize the cost of A-Rod to the Yankees.

Then there’s the issue of money – likely to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $225 – $235 million over ten years.  That’s a ton of money, but the larger concerns is the length of the deal.  Pujols will officially be 32 when the season begins, although there has been speculation that he is older.  Even if he’s just 32, this means he’d be 41 in the last year of the deal.  There are a lot of great players who were washed up long before age 41.

Pujols is also rumored to be demanding a no trade clause.  He might accept a limited no-trade clause, but will likely want other concessions (or more money) to accept this.

Does the deal make sense for Pujols?

No.

Pujols has his hand in a lot of things in the St. Louis are.  He makes a lot more money than his baseball income.  He’s a revered figure, and companies line up to have Pujols endorse them.

Would Pujols also have a lot of endorsement opportunities in Miami?  Definitely.  However, as part of the trio, he might be splitting opportunities with Reyes and Ramirez.  In St. Louis, he’s clearly the main man, even in the presence of players such as Holliday, Carpenter, and Wainwright.  While the fact that he’s hispanic will play well in the hispanic community, it’s really never been an obstacle to marketing opportunities in St. Louis.

More importantly, the Cardinals are a franchise that has consistently shown a commitment to winning.  The Marlins, on the other hand, have often gone into slash-and-burn mode and cut loose high-priced players.  As a result, the Cardinals have a large and devoted fan base, while the Marlins do not.

Even if the money is a bit less, I think the experience will be better in St. Louis.

The Bowl Lineups are all set. This year we have 35 glorious bowl games until we then have to wait around for the NFL playoffs. Once the NFL gets out of the way, it is a whole bunch of dead air space until we hit the time known as March Madness (sorry Hockey fans, I am just not buying the NHL)

As always ESPN tries to make mountains out of molehills and stir up the pot before the over hyped BCS Selection Show, that was on Sunday evening. Did anyone really thing that Oklahoma State was going to leapfrog Alabama and take on Louisiana State in the BCS Title Game? Yawner here for me, I am not sure I would watch this game other than it is the only game on that night. To me, bowl game rematches are about as exciting as pulling staples out of large stacks of paper.

Large paper stacks make me think of one of my favorite sponsorships for the Bowl season this year. It has got to be the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl. I mean when I think of Football, I think of an accounting service with a supercharged name like TaxSlayer.

A general rule of thumb is that if someone has to do an internet search to see what the heck the sponsorship is, you need to be spending your money somewhere first other than on a Bowl Sponsorship. For those who are wondering, The Belk Bowl between Louisville and North Carolina State is some sort of retailer down south apparently. A northerner like me has never heard of this company. I guess that is why they are pitting two “southern” schools against one another – further optimizing their revenues.

Apparently, Meineke has downsized as now instead of being called the Meineke Car Care Bowl, as in the past – it is now the Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl. This just furthers my conspiracy theories that the Republic will continue to seek to leave the union and become independent once again. First the Longhorn Network, then the hanging on by the skin of your teeth to keep the Big XII together, and now this. What do all of the other Meineke outlets think about this. It is OUTRAGE I tell you!

Another one I had to look up on line was the BBVA Compass Bowl, which matches up SMU and Pittsburgh. I learned that BBVA is in fact not really the name. It is the accepted “trade name” of BBVA Compass Bancshares INC. I think for truth in advertising, the bowl should therefore be renamed the BBVA COMPASS BANCHARES INC dba BBVA Compass Bank Bowl. Does the NCAA have no input on truth in advertising? Do you think ESPN wants this potential mess of false advertising on their network? At the very least this would give this bowl a runaway lead for the longest bowl name by far which would be way more exciting than this game is going to be for anyone to watch outside of Mustang or Panther fans.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Not because of the name, but because of the situation involving the bowl game. Illinois Coach Ron Zook is fired. On the other side UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel is fired, and better yet, the Bruins are technically not bowl eligible (as they have a sub .500 record) as they are currently 6-7 on the year. If they lose this game, which I think they will, they will end the year at 6-8. EEEEEESSSSHHHHHH! The NCCA gave them an exemption to go to a bowl game with this record as they were forced to play in the first Pac 12 title game match-up – because the USC Trojans are on probation and not eligible to play this year. A true genius move by the NCCA.

Good luck in all of your office pools. Stay tuned next week for the Johnny G Bowl Prediction Show.

Until next time – Stay Classy Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday; have you participated to the fullest?  We have been told to spend, and from the news reports we have.  The reports have not directly stated that the season is looking good for retailers, but since there are no stories on the collapse of the American economy, then by deduction, things are good.  Now if the Europeans would just start spending like Americans, the world economy will recover.  That was sarcasm for readers who missed it.

The news has been concentrating on the apparent melt down of the European economy that was “saved” by the United States Federal Reserve making it easier for European banks to convert U.S. Dollars and borrow more money.  I guess I need to go back to college to understand how borrowing more money will get people out of debt.  It has never worked for me, but then I am just a fool who tries to live within the salary I am earning.

I have heard several reports on various media claiming that the states that have implemented spending cuts over the last two years are either recovering dramatically from the economic slow down or collapsing even faster.  Since none of these reports include any source data, it is difficult to sort through the political posturing to figure out what is actually happening.  I am waiting form NPR or Front Line to put out a comprehensive report.  Those outlets usually include detailed references, but you have to wait until the noise has died down before they can complete the task.

I have always suggested living within your means, both at a personal level and through our representative governments.  I do hope that each of you did participate in the holiday push for retail sales, if you could afford it that is.  Spending, actually exchanging money for goods and services is how the economies of the world work and will recover.  We can each do our parts as long as we act responsibly.  This is true every day of the year, not just at Christmas, this is just when it is advertised most.

There is a second part to the holiday season, not just Christmas, but all of the major religious events of this season, and that is charity.  Charity is giving to the needy out of your perceived duty based on your code of morals, most often instilled through your family and church.  Charity, but definition, cannot come from government where the money is taken from citizens and then redistributed.  That is aid and is also necessary.  Charity is individual, both for the giver and the receiver.  Give what you can, support your favorite charities, but please, in the spirit of the season, do not tell people what the “have” to do.