Economy is bad....GREAT news for Springsteen!

Country is in the toilet, double digit unemployment, corporate greed, unrest...it all sounds like perfect ingredients for the next Bruce Springsteen CD. Sure enough we will soon be hearing the raspy-voiced, guitar driven rock of Bruce Springsteen's on his recently released "Wrecking Ball" CD spewing vengence on the wealthy while we plunk down money to buy it making him wealthy....another Springsteen success!

I am often amused/angered at American artists who play us play for fools, trash our country at will, trash our way of life, and make money off of it. I love how the late Michael Jackson grabbed his crotch, did pelvic thrusts and sang about how "Bad" he is to sell records, then easily turned around with his "Heal the World" song about his love of peace and saving children. Rihanna who went through a violent relationship with Chris Brown, going on Oprah to say how she is against violence, then singing, "boy can you get it up, IS you big enough...give to me baby like a boom, boom, boom" in her "Rude Boy" Lyrics(that's her grammer not mine). Oh by the way, she is now singing WITH Chris Brown...for profit of course. Sean Penn trashing the US and hanging out with Hugo Chavez, doing idiotic things and we still line up for his movies. Remember the Dixie Chicks?

What a wonderful country we live in! We have the freedom to do apparently anything we want. Do you think we are taking this a little too far? Is Rome beginning to fall again? I agree with vibrant honest debate on all issues. I most certainly do not agree with any idiotic artists views making profit about how they pretend to care....perhaps a boycott on them is in order! I'm sure Springsteen won't mind if I illegally download his CD for free because he doesn't want to be a greedy corporate type trying to make profit at our expense ...right?

America Manhood..Pull Up Your Pants!

I learned today it is definitely hard to be "gangsta" while trying to avoid getting hit by a car.

I had to chuckle at the effort it took for some young gentlemen to get across a busy intersection while keeping their sideways hats on with one hand and their "gangsta" droopy drawers up with the other. Their vigorous waddle across the road would make any duck envious. I just shook my head and thought "kids". They survived to the other side and as they were adjusting pants, hats and catching their breath, I noticed they were not kids. At some point you would think they would want to grow up.

You would think that too, wouldn't you?

I get the feeling today more and more men want to stay boys, whereas in the past boys could not wait to become men. Some say the feminist movement beginning in the 60's immasculated the man....perhaps. Other say the lack of fathers in todays society...maybe. Could it be TV endlessly portraying the man as a stumbling, bumbling idiot? I don't know. I think it really has to do with all of these issues and others I am sure.

Passage from a boy to a man is really vague in this society. When is the time manhood happens? Some say after puberty. Some say after your first sexual encounter or having your first child. Perhaps when you graduate high school or college. Other says when you get your first job or maybe your first car.

Other societies have passage into manhood. They set aside a definite time and place for their young boys to become men. You probably have seen on television African tribes taking their older boys out to battle an animal or wrestle each other. Sometimes in involves a religious ceremony where the elders in the community come together to pronounce manhood among the boys. It can involve competition of some sort, killing a lion, or perhaps becoming circumsized (ouch!).

Even our past generations it seems did not have quite the problem as we see it today. There used to be a definite distinction between being a boy and being a man. You could see it in behavior...taking responsibility for ones actions. You could see it in dress...how many old baseball films have you seen where every man in the park is wearing a suite, tie and fedora hat? TV shows from that bygone era depicted men as smart, strong and head of the household. Today they are usually the comic sidekick to the mother or the kids.

I believe there needs to be a fundamental shift if we are going to get our "manhood" back. I believe it has a lot to do with basic Christian values. I believe that is the best place to start. The roll of the father has been so diminished in society and today there are so many fatherless children with no one to look up too. I think it is up to every individual as to how to raise their kids. I think America needs to "grow up" a bit and teach taking responsibility for itself. Boys need to know the value of their role as well as the importance of it. Hopefully then we would not have half of our population having to support the other half. If nothing else hopefully we will learn to pull our pants up while running across a busy intersection.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We're all alright!

Why do all of these corporate executives get a bonus while the rest of us struggle? Why does President Obama go on all these elaborate vacations on MY taxpaying dime? This country is being run by corporations and we have NO say in it! The government is bankrupting all of us! The Tea Party activists and Occupy Wherever movements are run by crazy people! I'm worried, you are worried, we all are worried!

I beg to disagree....

In today's world of non-stop news, channels, internet sites, blogs (as this is), etc..you can find a conspiracy theory to just about anything. Depending on what your view is...somewhere there is a article or a story to back up your opinion as well as a host of other opinions refuting it. I have both conservative and liberal friends on my facebook page posting articles and web sites proving their points about how the other side is dooming the country. While I very much enjoy reading these posts...sometimes agreeing...sometimes disagreeing.... I think it is important to put everything in perspective. I don't think President Obama thinks all corporations are inherently evil, just as much as the Republican leadership doesn't think that everyone on welfare is just a lazy person who doesn't want to work.

Part of our existence is the ability to be responsible for oneself. Most of us are taught responsibility as we grow up. At first we are dependant upon our parents and as the years go by, we learn to take more and more responsibility. The goal is to eventually become self sufficient for ourselves. It is the same in the animal world...eventually the young are kicked out of the nest, litter, or den, etc. and fend for themselves in the world.

While I believe some of the problems we face are very real...we can overcome. Do we even remember the crisis issues last year at this time? The key is to take responsibility for yourself. Don't blame others for your shortcomings. Seek good council of course (I would recommend including God in that council) but do not rely on others. If it means downsizing...downsize. If it means spending less...spend less. Help the less fortunate whenever you can.

To quote a friend of mine..."Chins up Americans! Dream. Create. Innovate. Move. Talk. Learn. Act. Initiate. Sing. Dance. Vote ...and most of all ...LOVE! Walk forward ...We're all alright!" HAPPY 2012 !!

Christmas (or Holiday) Mis-Fit

Growing up in the early 70's some of my greatest childhood holiday memories were watching all those holiday specials. Rudolph's nose glowing, Chris Kringle battling the Bergermeister Meister berger, Scrooge, and in my family...the Birth of Jesus made the season magical. I now have two boys ages 8 (almost 9 as he will tell you) and 13. Wanting them to feel the spirit of the Christmas season as well, I sat us all down to watch some of ABC "Family's" 25 days of Christmas (oops "Holiday")specials.

It was Sunday and we turned on ABC's "Family" channel to find some great holiday programming. There were no "nose glowing" specials or specials with any Winter Worlocks, so we decided to watch one of the pretty predicatable holiday specials. The show was a simple story for the holidays I assumed. A broken family and or relationship being resolved in the end by "Holiday Magic". It starred a young lady who used to be "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and the latin guy from "Saved by the Bell". Pretty innocent program I thought...I mean it's on ABC "Family"....right?

It became pretty clear that this was not going to be an innocent "family" special (at least in my eyes). The story had a lot of not so innocent moments that in my view were totally uncalled for. It became quite clear with all the sexual undertones, this was not like the old time Christmas specials. Scenes depicting shirtless men with breathless women swooning, adult converations about "extra virgin" olive oil, and old women not receiving enough "satisfaction" sort of drowned out the holiday message. The questions I received from my boys were a little hard to answer.

I understand that this is 2011 and not the 1950's. I know the argument that if you don't like what is playing on TV change it. Things are apparently a little more open now than back then. I realize there is a channel on TV for EVERYTHING. I don't know what kind of "family" ABC's "Family" channel is targeting...but NOT my family. Why should I have to screen everything now that is aired BEFORE 9pm and exactly how do you do it? Is there anyone else that feels the way I do about this? Don't bill yourself as a "family" show and then have all this sexual content.

Perhaps I am feeling my 47 years of age and becoming my parents.....or maybe I now am living the "misfit" life good old Rudolph, Hermie the elf, and Yukon Cournelius felt.

A "Bush"elfull of Kudos to the former President

In the aftermath of the taking out of Osama Bin Ladin, I would like to give a "thank you" to the often maligned former President George W. Bush. I believe policies during his presidency and a better spirit of cooperation between the intellegence departments including the Homeland Security Office deserve much of the credit for recent events. Make no mistake I applaud current President Obama for his couragious decesion to take Bin Ladin out, but I feel Bush put in place the structure.

I was recently riled when listening to Liberal (or "progressive"..excuse me) talk show host Alan Combs tell his guest (a former Bush official) that Bush's contributions were insignificant while the all of a sudden a "strong" President Obama was able to take Bin Laden out. The conversation then swung to the state of the economy. In nearly the same breath Combs said the problems began in the Bush administration (probably worth a seperate blog) and that Obama was showing ecomonic gains. I was pleased the Bush official said it was on the backs of our children though. (another blog) The hypocracy is great here. Blame Bush for everything that is wrong and credit Obama for everything that is right even when it isn't justified.

I recently found out that President Bush declined an invitation to be at a ceremony at Ground Zero from President Obama. I appreciated Obama for doing that, but I respect Bush even more for respectully declining so as not to interfere with Obama's moment. It is refreshing to see in today's world there are still former President's who act graciously. We have too many former Presidents who cannot stay out of the limelight when many times they should (Clinton, Carter).

I may not be in the majority here...but thank you President Bush...for what you have done for this country.

Showing or Telling...what's worse?

A few days ago, Osama Bin Ladin was killed at his compound in Pakistan. It was an historic event in history. For those who had loved ones killed when the World Trade Center came down in New York, justice was served. For many around the world, relief that a terrorist regimes' leader was gone. These events alone are well worth a blog posting, but I would like to focus on the media coverage of it.

In today's world of non-stop coverage, the focus now has shifted to whether or not the White House will release photos of the killing. CNN's non stop talking heads seem to go on and on with endless guests dissecting, detailing, describing and disseminating all the possibilities on whether or not the release of the photo's will ignite another terrorist attack. As of this writing, they have not released the photos. The news is pounding us with how awful these pictures apparently are ....I don't know what is worse.. seeing the pictures or hearing about them over and over at nausium.

I personally could care less about the photo's. Kudos to President Obama for making the decision to remain vigilant and taking out the leader of the terrorist regime. Let's focus on that instead of fear of another attack.

Uggg! Is THIS what we are becoming?

While shopping on Mass Ave in downtown Indy recently with my very fashionable neice, she showed me some Ugg brand boots. The boots are nice with a very comfortable lining. She smiled as she said she would love to have a pair but the price of the boots took the smile away fast.

Now being knowledgable about such things, I noticed these boots on the feet of two young girls at the checkout line of Walmart while I was purchasing items for work. They both appeared very fashionable as they had the boots, very nice jackets, scarves, and jewelry. These two girls who were probably in their early 20's were in a deep conversation with each other as they were placing their items on the checkout conveyer belt. It looked as if they were buying for a party as they had two carts full of groceries. Most of the items were party foods (or "junk" foods as is the common expression). The check out clerk was working hard as the items overflowed the conveyer belt. Instead of assisting, the two young ladies were now very busy texting on their phones and continuing their conversation. A little annoyed, the clerk had to announce the total a couple times before the young girls noticed she was done. After taking the time to finish her text, one of the girls dug through her leather purse and found her Hoosier Credit Card (the "food stamp" card). These are the cards they now use to help those who are needy have a convenient and rather private way of paying for their items. The clerk announced she was $15 short so her friend finished her text and then produced her Hoosier Credit Card. They finished their checkout, continued their conversation as they walked toward the exit. I just had a couple things so I was done quickly and I walked toward the same exit. I couldn't help but notice those two pair of Ugg boots as they young ladies got into their Cadillac Escalade that was parked in the handicapped spot. They were contining their conversation as the young lady driving took down the apparent "embarrassing" handicap sign from their rear-view mirror. The girls didn't appear to be handicapped at all. They started their SUV and you could hear the heavy bass blasting from the apparent over-sized speakers. I trudged through the snow to the back of the parking lot where my car was.

Contrast this scenario with the the next stop I had. I had to go to a Big Lots for some items again for work. With the Walmart experience still in mind, I notice the elderly lady in front of me puchasing can foods. She was in a coat that looked rather old and torn. She walked very gingerly as she slowly put her items in front of the clerk. She was immediately ready for checkout and she placed her bank debit card for the clerk to swipe. She purchased her items and left (on foot) across the parking lot.

There is something wrong about these two scenarios. I do not know any of the people in these two circumstances personally...only what I observed. On the surface it appears we need to really re-evaluate how we evaluate government need. When we give food stamps to people in Ugg boots and driving Escalades something is wrong. The new America is apparently a"Get What You Can Get" society. I am missing something here? If you don't know how to "work the system" you are out of luck! UGGGG!