September 11th

Image via WikipediaI was not sure whether or not I was going to post anything today in commemoration of the horrific events that took place 10 years ago today in New York, Pennsylvania, and just down the road at the Pentagon.  There will be so many others that will post regarding what happened that day.  I did not know what more that I could add.

Ten years ago, I was sitting in my office working on some reports when my wife called to tell me that an airplane had crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.  Shortly thereafter, a second plane crashed into the other tower.  A third plane crashed into the Pentagon.  A fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA thanks to passengers storming the cockpit and overcoming the hijackers.

I remember sitting in my office stunned.  I had a boombox in my office that I used to listen to CDs, but on this day, I turned on the radio to try to follow the events of the day.  I was really in a state of shock, and unable to concentrate enough to do any work.  My son and nephew were both attending a school in Baltimore a couple blocks from Baltimore's World Trade Center building.  Concerned that another attack could occur there, my brother in law went to pick up both boys from school 

One of the public affairs managers came down to see if we had enough water in the warehouse to provide a truckload of water for those rescuers and workers at the Pentagon crash site.  That was the good of my company.  Most of our upper management was in California for a meeting.  Later in the day, one of our VPs sent a voice mail encouraging us to capitalize on the event by making sure we had enough of emergency items like bottle water in the stores because there might be a run on those things.  I thought it a rather callous and inhumane thing to do.

A lot of things have changed in the 10 years since the attacks.  I remember being able to have my wife and son sit with me at the gate while waiting for my flight to take off, or being able to greet me at the gate when I returned.  Now, you can't get through without a ticket.  Security is such that we have to take off shoes, belts, and coats to get through.  We are subjected to pat downs usually reserved for criminals and we are subjected to various scanner devices.

After the events, the country stood resolute and united in wanting to track down those responsible for the attacks.  There was near unanimous support from both sides of the political spectrum for the war that would soon follow.  Ten years later, we still have our military forces in the Middle East fighting the war on terror.  Our political leaders are severely divided on nearly every issue that comes before them. 

It saddens me that as a country we can now stand so bitterly divided when a relatively short time ago, we stood united and strong.  Now, both sides are looking for every political advantage that they can garner to maintain and achieve more power.  It is no longer about what is best for the country.  I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln, who quoted Jesus, when he said "a house divided against itself can not stand." 

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Good News on Taxes

Image via WikipediaPresident Obama announced tonight that an agreement has been reached on extending the Bush era tax cuts.  At least for the next two years, there will be no tax increase for anybody.   In addition, certain tax credits like the Child Tax Credit will also stay in place.  One aspect of the compromise deal that I particularly like is a 2% tax cut on the payroll tax for next year.

This is particularly good news for me, and the timing is most fortunate.  As I have mentioned here before, my share of my health insurance is slated to go up 23% in 2011.  If the tax cuts are extended, as it looks like they will, then it would have been difficult to absorb the increased health insurance rates.  If the tax rates had of expired, it would have been impossible to absorb it.  With the additional news of the 2% payroll tax rate, it almost becomes a wash for me.

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Decision Points

Cover of Decision Points Former President George W. Bush has been making the interview circuit hawking his new memoir "Decision Points."  According to Amazon.com, Bush takes an honest look at his flaws, mistakes, and accomplishments in the book.  He also shares the details behind how he reached various decisions during his presidency.

Of late, I have not been a big fan of Matt Lauer, however, I watched with great interest Lauer's interview with the former president broadcast on NBC last night. I actually enjoyed the interview and thought Lauer did a fair interview.  Tonight, I expect to watch Sean Hannity's interview on the Fox News Channel during the Hannity show.  I even saw a promo that Bush would be appearing on the Oprah show. 

There is a lot to be critical of Bush's presidency, but I think he was a decent man who did what he thought was right and needed to protect the country.  Take the Iraq war for example.  When the administration was considering the invasion of Iraq, I was against it, primarily because we did not have wide support.  Once the decision was made, however, I felt like we should do all we could to win that war.

I have not decided yet if I will read the book or not, but am leaning towards it.  One thing for sure, I will be avoiding a lot of the left wing blogs because no matter what the man does, it will never be acceptable.  The one thing that I find impressive about Bush is his refusal to criticize his successor, even when given the opportunity by Lauer and Hannity.  This in spite of the fact that the current resident of the White House and his sycophants have been constantly blaming him for everything that happens.  How many of us would be able to hold our tongues in that situation?  If nothing else, you have to admire the man's integrity.   

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Another Reason Hoyer Must Go

It never ceases to amaze me how full of shit politicians are, especially my Congressman Steny Hoyer.  Hoyer actually had the nerve to call the expiration of the Bush tax cuts a "Republican" tax increase, and he says it with a straight face.  Hoyer seems to have a really bad case of selective retention going on.  The only reason that the tax cuts have an expiration date is because his party refused to allow the cuts to be passed as a permanent tax cut.

I have become more impressed with Charles Lollar the more I hear from him.  My guess is that he has a pretty good opportunity to beat Collins Bailey in the primary.  Here is hoping that Lollar gets the GOP nod and has the juice to send Hoyer out to pasture.  It way past time for that to happen.

Obama's Nobel Prize

Image by Bearman2007 via Flickr

Friday's are a very busy day for me because I work my full time job and then deliver pizza right after. Consequently, I usually don't get to post anything unless I write it the night before and schedule a post.

Yesterday morning, while dressing for work I heard the news that President Barack Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  My initial reaction to the news was, "WTF??  What in hell has he done in less than a year to earn a Nobel Prize?"  I have had a full day to absorb the news, and not much has change in my reaction.

Obviously, it is quite an honor to have a sitting president win the Nobel Peace Prize.  The only two previous sitting presidents to win the award were Teddy Roosevelt, who helped brokered a peace agreement between Russia and Japan and Woodrow Wilson for his work on the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I and the formation of the League of Nations.  Obama has done nothing near as noteworthy as that.  Plus both Wilson and Roosevelt were well into second terms when nominated as opposed to Obama being in a mere two weeks.

Here are a couple of quotes from a few presidential historians and political scientists from the article "Obama's Nobel Is Premature, Historians and Political Scientists Say."


Fred Greenstein of Princeton University, "The jury is still out as to what his presidency is going to add up to. It's more of an embarrassment to the Nobel process."

Allan Lichtman of American University, "They're not comparable. Roosevelt and Wilson were six or seven years into two-term presidencies, and Obama has not completed a single year of his presidency, so it makes very little sense."

Stephen Wayne of Georgetown University, "It does seem to me, at this point, that's its premature. When I first saw it, I thought it was a joke. Obama may have been the first to get it for his rhetoric and his orientation. What had he done by February? He had been the first African-American elected president and provided sawing rhetoric. In one sense, Obama has always been more popular in Europe than in the United States. That popularity is based in part on the contrast he provides to former President George W. Bush, who was not popular in Europe. I am very favorable toward President Obama, but this prize is a surprise to me."

Ah, that's the ticket, he won the award because he isn't George W. Bush.  He won because he supports all the things that Bush didn't.  He supports the UN, which is a decidedly anti-American organization.  Bush didn't.  He supports cap and trade programs that will hurt the economy to thwart so called climate change, Bush didn't.  Even former Nobel winner Lech Walesa questioned the timing so early in his presidency, "So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is only beginning to act."

As I said, it is quite an honor for this country to have a sitting president awarded the prize.  So for that, we congratulate the president.  Maybe one day he will be worthy of having received it. 

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Barack Obama's First Pitch

I missed the opening ceremonies of the All-Star game last night so I did not get to see Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch live. So this morning, I was making my hour long drive into work listening to talk radio. They spent a little bit of time criticizing his throw, saying that "He threw like a girl." I was fully expecting to totally trash him tonight. It was not as bad as I thought it would be.

First, I have to give him credit for wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes to a baseball game. The White Sox jacket is also a nice touch. It always bugs me a little bit when people overdress for the occasion. After all, it is just a ball game, not a state dinner. Second, there seemed to be a smattering of boos in the crowd. As much as I disagree with Obama and despise the direction he is taking this country, I still believe you should respect the office. I hated it when people booed George W. and feel in that situation it is better to do nothing than to boo.

So back to the actual pitch. It was not as bad as I thought it would be after listening to the radio. It wasn't the worst pitch I had ever seen. I once saw NASCAR driver Kurt Busch throw one and it was far worse than Obama's. However, Barack can't hold a candle to his predecessor's first pitch.


But neither one of them can compare to this.

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