New York State of Mind

If you want to know what is wrong with this nation, look at New York. It's bad enough their state dragged us through Weiner Gate by electing a tool to congress. Voters in Anthony Weiner's district continued supporting his remaining their representative despite his texting photos of his wiener. He did not have the decency to listen to party members who told him to resign. No, he waits until his wife returned home so he could have a face to face with her. Why he did not text her for and answer is beyond me.

Next, state representatives had no trouble giving their okay to a request made by one of the members of the Flying Wallenda Family when he asked their permission for a tight rope stunt across the top of Niagara Falls. I can only assume they felt such a stunt would be a tourist boon for their economy and with any luck, the tight roping Wallenda might fall to his death allowing the state to cash in on DVD sales of the event. Ever notice how these stunts are a good idea when times are tough but when states are swimming in money they turn them down?

However, somewhere between Weiner Gate and Wallenda Falls, the state of New York managed to drag out making a decision on legalizing gay marriages. It's not like New York was the first state to have to deal with this issue. It's been around now for the last ten years and any elected state official is asked their position on it so it's not like it's a complicated matter. You either support gay marriage or you don't. It's that easy.

Still, New York found a way to take two weeks to decide the matter while demonstrators gathered, television networks converged, and news papers wrote front line stories. The real issue should not have been gay marriage but rather how it could take "leaders" so long to decide the matter. Instead, they took five minutes to grant a stunt request they think will make the state easy money while dragging their feet to decide on an issue where they already have clearly stated opinions.

Unfortunately, New York is no different than any other state in our union. The simple and clear end up being complicated by elected officials who only think in terms of money and their own re-election rather than what is in the best interest of the electorate. It's a wonder our government gets anything done.

NICK CHARLES: Lessons For Us All

Nick Charles, the original and long time sports announcer at CNN, finally lost his battle to bladder cancer. Nick, along with his broadcasting partner, Fred Hickman, were the faces of CNN sports for two decades. How popular were they? Well, they consistently beat whoever ESPN threw in front of the camera with their nightly highlights.

Nick Charles was also was designated as one of the most handsome men in America but will be forever remembered as one of the nicest people whoever graced this planet. He held a special affinity for boxers and was a good friend to Mike Tyson from the early days of Iron Mike's career and remained so right up to the very end.

However, you need not be a fan of sports to appreciate Nick Charles. All you need to do is view Dr. Sanjay Gupta's CNN special on Nick's battle with cancer, "No Regrets, Lessons From The Fight," to know Nick Charles was a special human being. Instead of despairing his death sentence, Nick embraces the challenges, fears, and uncertainty in a way that makes the viewer realize how much all of us have to be thankful for, no matter what is thrown at us. To know you will be leaving behind your wife and five year old daughter is enough to make anyone angry, bitter, and question their maker. Instead, Nick teaches us all how to be thankful for all we have.

At one point, he says, "I wake up every day expecting to have a good day. It may sound trite, Sanjay, but life as you get older is about 20 percent of what happens to you and about 80 percent how you react to it." Nick Charles reacted to life in a way that few of us do even when we have our health.

He goes on to say, "People won't remember who you are or what you said. It's really about are you going to be remembered as a good person. That's victory to me. That's success."

If more of us, myself included, could embrace life as Nick Charles did, this world would be so much better off. Thank you Nick Charles for the life you lived and most of all for the lessons you left all of us.

Thoughts That Wake Me Up At Night

1. What is the greater national concern, the fact we expect six year old children to be able to write cohesive paragraphs or that a third of them are all ready over weight and headed toward diabetes?





2. Why do leaders who grew up enjoying three months summer vacations want to increase the length of the school year?





3. Is the war on drugs still being fought?





4. If performance enhancing drugs for adult athletes is wrong, why is it okay to prescribe drugs that boost academic performance for our children?





5. A fast food diet will make you run slower and for shorter duration but a slow food diet will help you run faster and for a longer duration. Why the hurry to eat?





6. When auto manufacturers produce a mistake, they order a recall. When doctors make a mistake, we sue. Why?





7. Golf and life are both far more enjoyable when you do not keep score.





8. I wonder how my boss would react if I danced around and thumped my chest after completing an ordinary task like a football player does after catching a pass or making a tackle?





9. There are not very many jobs out there that pay you a guaranteed wage of more than one million dollars a year while allowing you to grab your crotch, chew tobacco, and spit sun flower seeds all over your work space while rewarding you for being successful only one-third of the time. No wonder baseball is our national pastime.





10. Cats are only good if they eliminate a gopher problem.





11. Have you noticed it is easier to get a traffic ticket when the economy is not doing well and the price for those tickets cost more than when the economy is thriving?





12. During difficult economic times, cities lay off cops and crime increases. I am sure this is just a coincidence.





13. Why are people who are in charge of public money more wasteful with it than they are with their own money?





14. How come the cost for health insurance and college tuition increases at a time when personal income drops off but they continue to rise when the economy turns around?





15. Why do we have drugs for people who are bipolar but not for people who are bisexual?

120 Days Served

In February, a middle school girl was held down by a group of classmates in a city park and raped multiple times in Banning, California. It was the type of crime that drew multiple front page stories and over the ensuing months we have had a chance to see our judicial process play out.

For three of the rapists, each thirteen years old, it served to initiate them into the reality that our justice system hands out nothing more than slaps on the wrist for horrific crimes. The courts have decided the three are free to return to their parents or a group home after just 120 days of timed served in juvenile hall.

It appears we have lowered our standards of expected behavior so much that now thirteen year old boys may gang rape a young girl and be free to live their lives after just two months. Sure, they are on parole which means nothing when you realize how over loaded parole officers are with cases to follow. Meanwhile, these rapists are free to return to their normal lives, participate in school activities, and maybe, although highly unlikely, even rehabilitate themselves while their victim is left with a lifetime of emotional and physical scars to overcome.

On top of this, each of these monsters will be afforded their right to privacy given that they are minors. Teachers, classmates, and parents of classmates will not be allowed to know what these sick deviates have done because it might interfere with their right to live a normal life. It does not dawn on the courts that normal thirteen year old boys do not go around gang raping classmates. A normal thirteen year old knows the difference between right an wrong. They know what lines can never be crossed and never think to approach those lines.

Our courts, in their wisdom, have decided to release these predators while crossing their fingers they do not go on to lives of violent criminal activity that result in additional innocent lives being destroyed. What they fail to admit is any thirteen year old who participates in a gang rape is not worthy of living, let alone being allowed a normal life. They do not deserve to move forward in life and enjoy all our society has to offer while their victim is left to live with nightmares, depression, and a feeling of why hasn't the system stood up for her. These thirteen year old rapists have already proven beyond any doubt they do not respect or value human life. Why should they be spared theirs?

Perhaps these three were wired wrong at birth or were raised in a horrible environment. That is no excuse. Maybe if these young rapists were tossed in a cell with criminals twice their age, they might begin to realize the severity of their acts. Then again, why not just expand the use of the death penalty and show everyone we will not tolerate or support the lives of people who have no appreciation for it.

When our society allows citizens of any age to destroy the life of another person in the manner these teenage mutant predators have done, we all become guilty of raping that young girl. 120 days served; what a joke.

Debates Don't Tell Us Anything

I caught the recent Republican presidential debate on CNN the other night and came to the conclusion they serve no real purpose. Seven republican hopefuls stood in front of the cameras for two hours and told us nothing new, gave us nothing controversial, and said nothing worth pondering. It is not because they are republicans. I am certain if there was a republican in the White House, the democrats would have put on the same show.

The problem with these debates is they provide viewers with little new and only serve as an opportunity to give a national stump speech. Candidates rarely answered the questions they were asked. Instead, they rehashed those positions they want to get across to voters.

Instead of debates, why not just give them free television time to make a monthly fifteen minute speech on a specific topic? One month, candidates might be asked to speak about the economy, another education and so on. Let candidates get the information out to whoever is interested and be done with it. This allows all candidates the chance to go before potential voters without having to raise boat loads of money. Those that still want to raise cash and hit the campaign trail can do so but it will allow money to be less of a player in our election process.

Televised speeches can also be linked to instant national survey questions providing us with immediate feedback on what we thought of the speeches. Since the people who will watch these televised events are the ones most likely to vote in elections, it provides an accurate take on how Americans feel about each candidate.

To still rely on the same system of televised debates to elect candidates who do not stray from already known positions is like still relying on foreign oil to fuel our energy needs. Neither one is doing us any good so perhaps it is time to shake things up a bit.

Palin: Another Nixon

So what's the big deal? Sarah Palin made a historical mistake when she claimed Paul Revere's ride was as much to warn the British soldiers as it was the colonists. She is not the first politician to get her historical facts wrong and certainly will not be the last. Still, I find this to be terribly unsettling.

Again, I have no problem with her error. We all make mistakes like this from time to time. However, the real problem is she feels she has to go to such great lengths to prove her statement was actually right when in fact it is not. I find such behavior troubling from someone who many hope will some day become the most powerful person in the world.

Her behavior reminds me of Richard Nixon who could not admit to his role in the break in of the democratic headquarters that became know as Watergate. An early admission of his wrong doing would have played out much better for him and the country. Instead, Nixon made matters worse with the cover up that led to his eventual resignation from office. Richard Nixon, as brilliant of a man as he was, was brought down by his own insecurities and nothing else.

Sarah Palin is no different. She fails to see how admitting to a simple error makes her seem more human in the eyes of voters. She could have taken a non event and made it go away for good. Instead, she makes matters worse by trying to prove herself right, as if she knows more than the rest of us.

Jerry Ford, when he was not tripping over his feet was hitting spectators in the head with errant golf shots. Jimmy Carter ran so hard in a 10K that he overheated and had to be pulled out by secret service agents. And George H.W. Bush once threw up on the Prime Minister of Japan. Each of these events made these leaders seem more human. Of course, each also went on to lose re-election which may be why Palin is working so hard to prove she is right about Paul Revere.

When a person goes to so much trouble to prove they are right on a matter as minor as the ride of Paul Revere, how far will that person go to hide their more serious mistakes? Sarah Palin needs to quit trying to prove to us she is something none of us are - perfect - before she becomes another Richard Nixon.