another year…..

A while back, I saw “Another Year”, a beautifully written and acted movie about a group of friends and family as they move through the seasons of the year.

Well, this has been another year for me.  I’ve learned more about myself, experienced failure when I expected success, and found success when I never expected it.

My daughter called with the news she is getting married.  As a doting dad, I am very protective of Cortney.  But, as I’ve gotten to know her future husband, I couldn’t be more proud of both of them.  I will be glad to introduce Jimmy as my son-in-law.  And, Cortney never ceases to amaze me with her ability to find her way and make great choices.

Nick was able to stabilize himself on his job at the greenhouse.  I believe he’s found his “thing”, the thing that makes him get up and look forward to each day.  I’m proud of him for the struggles he’s made to become relevant, to reach the great potential he has.

And Alex.  I wish I had the answers for him.  He struggles daily with his demons.  There is progress, good progress, but I would like to see it come faster, and it’s clear the world doesn’t move on my timeline.  He’s now got a job that gets him up in the morning and keeps him going through the day.  But, it’s not his love.  I want him to find that, whatever it is.

As for me, I’m a work in progress.  Professionally, I feel very good about what I do and who I’ve become.  Personally, I think I still step in it from time to time.  I’m learning patience.  I’m learning process.  I guess, I’m just learning.

I’m trying to make my footprint smaller, live in a smaller space, consume less, reduce my wants, understand my needs.  That will be my charge in the coming year.  As the old Volkwagen ads used to say, “Think Small”.

Have a good year, everyone! 

here we go again…..

So, we’re here again.  The scabs from the bitter wounds of last winter have been re-opened.  

Opposition teams to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker are pounding the pavement to get the requisite 540,000 signatures for a recall election. 

Based on all of the shenanigans going on both sides of the aisle, I can see dirty tricks happening on all fronts.  It’s already started. 

Understanding that fund raising for a recall effort can only start when papers are filed, the Walker camp started a recall effort against its own candidate so they could start fund raising earlier and get the TV ads on earlier than their opposition.  Interesting tactics.

And, on field trips going to the Capitol, protesters have been engaging school children in their chants for “Scott must go!”, hardly the high ground we would hope for in our educators.

With an expected $100 million pouring into the state over the next few months, this could very easily be the most expensive political effort in Wisconsin history, and this is just for the opportunity to hold a new election. 

While I disagree with how Walker handled the labor issues with public employees, and no matter how badly he bungled it, there were plenty of co-conspirators.

I’m getting tired of this.  I’m tired of everyone being an activist.  I’m tired of reading points of view vilifying the other side.  I’m tired of the whiner-take-all approach to government. 

We have elections.  For governor, they happen every four years.  There are winners and there are losers.  And, there are consequences for both sides.

Government used to be about compromise, about reaching a consensus with neither side getting all of what they want.  Government used to be about leadership, about standing in front of the electorate and bringing the best solution. 

Today, it seems to be all about winning, with constituents watching on the sidelines as our elected gangs do battle to control the turf they so badly want. 

That we are in this process just one year after the last election bastardizes the process and the integrity of our government.   

That $100 million going to media outlets could just as easily go to wages, or poverty, or building a railroad.  But, no.  We are getting another election.  What a bargain for everyone involved. 

It’s just what we need, again. 

ignoring the protest…..

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward  Flynn, as reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, "We're not going to fulfill the martyrdom fantasies of people who insist on being arrested while they disrupt the lives of this neighborhood."

Asked about the economic issues in the protest, Flynn told reporters, "If they're angry about the economy, go to Wall Street. There's 35% unemployment in this neighborhood. Who are they disrupting?"

Referring to below-freezing evening temperatures, Flynn said, "They can sit and freeze their butts off, I don't care."

Flynn then pulled police officers from the site and ignored the protest.  

I think I like this guy.

huh?????

Standard and Poors, the credit reporting agency, “accidentally” downgraded France’s bond rating from AAA to AA.  They regret the error.

say it ain’t so, Joe….

Chicken Little was right.  The sky is falling. 

Amid the sex scandal surrounding the Penn State football program, and the apparent cover up by university officials, Joe Paterno finds himself in the middle of something that none of us could have imagined.

That one of his coaches, Jerry Sandusky,  was caught in the middle of a sex act with a young boy in the showers of the Penn State football complex, and the reporting of this act up the managerial ladder, including Paterno, exemplifies the hand washing of everyone involved.

Call the police?  That would be embarrassing.

The stench is palpable.  Much like the Catholic Church cover up, officials at Penn State are lawyering up.  They’re  circling the wagons.  They’re setting up protective layers to cocoon what was once a beacon of integrity.

Too bad the kids couldn’t lawyer up while they were being raped.  Too bad the kids couldn’t speak for fear of reprisals.  Too bad, these kids are scarred for life.

I’m not agruing that Paterno was personally involved, but that he turned his head, that he didn’t do enough, that he allowed this act to continue going forward without going to the authorities when it became apparent his superiors didn’t.

Paterno?  Really, Joe Paterno?  He’s the guy who stood for something, who meant what he said, a man you could trust.  He was different. 

Things seem to be upside down.  It’s as if Mount Rushmore turned out to be Hitler, bin Laden, Stalin, and Pol Pot.  What’s good is bad.   Up is down.  In is out.  Black is white. 

second fiddle….

Smokin’ Joe is dead.  A son of South Carolina, Joe Frazier made the bright lights and the big city in Philadelphia his home for the past four plus decades as a fighter and ex-fighter.

Frazier was a great fighter, feared by all.

Forever linked with Mohammed Ali, Frazier played the unwitting boob to Ali’s quick tongue and even quicker hands.  Ali mocked him, berated him, and humiliated him, and eventually, diminished him as a man. 

Frazier’s only sin was beating Ali in 1970 during Ali’s comeback.  The country was divided and Frazier represented the “dumb” establishment, while the cocky, ambitious Ali took up the case of the young, progressive part of society.

To be caught up in that mess was unfair to Frazier.  He was a decent man who was unprepared for what lay in front of him.  Eventually, Frazier found solace in the bottle, and eventually, liver cancer beat him.

Frazier never found the glory of Ali, never walked the steps of Atlanta to light the Olympic flame, never met with leaders of other countries.  And yet, he will always be measured against Ali. 

What a shame.

a time for leadership…..

Each time I listen to Bill Clinton speak, the more I believe we have amateurs running our country.  It feels like the kids from “Our Gang” took over and Spanky’s in charge.

I know Clinton’s been making a fortune making speeches and writing books.  I saw him speak earlier this year.  It was rambling, thoughtful, insightful, and above my head.  But, it was clear he thinks about everything.  His appetite for knowledge is insatiable. 

Change the Constitution and get this guy back in the driver’s seat.  We are a nation in crisis and we need the best.  Today, Clinton is the best.