US Catholic Bishops Misuse Religious Freedom Argument

Today across the United States Catholic priests are reading letters from their bishops urging the faithful to take action  against the January 20th ruling by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the department under the leadership of Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, herself a Catholic. The ruling will require "virtually all employers, including Catholic hospitals and educational institutions, to provide health insurance that includes surgical sterilization and prescriptive contraceptives without charging the employees a co-pay or deductible." (Toledo Blade,1/29/2012).

Listening to the bishops and their spokesmen, one would think the HHS ruling was an attack on religious freedom and an attempt to influence the church and its members. It is neither. The Vatican and its bishops can continue believing that "the pill," vasectomies, tubal ligations, and condoms are immoral, and they can continue to preach this belief which more than 90% of US Catholics  and many priests do not share. All the HHS ruling requires is that all employees be provided access to reproductive health care opportunities. The individual employee, Catholic or non-Catholic, based on his/her own conscience can decide to use or not use medical contraceptives, have a vasectomy or a tubal ligation. The  Church can continue to foster its belief, but it is up to the individual employee to make his/her own health care decisions. The Church should not be "the decider" of its employees' health care decisions.

Sister Christine Schenk of Cleveland, a Sister of St. Joseph, said,  "I have a real, serious trouble with the church leaders who make decisions without any immediate experience of the consequences of the decisions that they are now making that will be impacted on every Catholic employee and every non-Catholic employee at every Catholic Institution." (TB,1/29/12)

Let's face it; the Catholic Bishops in this country, after the tragedy of clerical pedophilia and the Vatican's questionable financial deals, have adopted a bunker mentality. Everywhere they see enemies who are out to get them, and they are going to hunker down and fight back. Although the issue of contraception is for the most part a non-issue, they are going to scream as vociferously as possible that their religious freedom is under attack. That's not the issue; the issue is their power and control.

The bishops want Catholic institutions to be exempt from providing the same comprehensive health care as other employers. How many exemptions in the name of religious freedom are we going to tolerate?  If a religion is opposed to circumcision, should that religion be able exclude circumcision from their employees' health care policy? If an employer, because of religious belief, is opposed to the use of surgery, should he be  permitted to exclude surgery from his employees' insurance policy?

UT law professor emeritus, Howard Friedman, raised another issue that could result from the slippery slide of exemptions. He asked, "What about the religions that believe in faith healing? Are you going to make them pay for health care?" (TB,1/29/12)

The bottom line, I think, is that the Church should stick to theology and scripture and not be in the business of  denying  employees' access to birth control pills. Really, the whole discussion appears quite silly. I guess that is why the bishops are trying to make it a religious freedom issue -- that carries more gravitas than arguing about paying for condoms and birth control pills.

Unfortunately, the Catholic Church is often a victim of its own history. We all remember the mental gymnastics involved when the Church had to confront the science of  Galileo and Copernicus, the evolutionary discoveries of Charles Darwin, and the conflicts between science and the Bible. The Church, perhaps because of its long history, becomes attached to long-held teachings and then wraps the veil of dogma around them. Such has been the case with St. Thomas Aquinas' mental construct of a  "natural law." Outside of a few monks in a few far-flung monasteries, does anyone accept "natural law" as a reality? However, since for all of these years the Church has pinned its objection to contraception on Thomas' "natural law" theory, they cannot bring themselves to admit they may have been wrong. And now the U.S. Catholic Bishops are trying to make contraception an issue of religious freedom--perhaps, like astute politicians, trying to change the topic from contraception itself.

Hopefully the mission of the Catholic Church in the United States is about more important issues than Latinizing  liturgical language and arguments about paying for condoms and birth control pills. One has to wonder what the Man from Nazareth would have thought about all of this.

P.S. The Obama administration based its ruling on the advice of the Institute of Medicine,  an independent group of doctors and researchers. The Institute provided a list of preventative services that women needed to stay healthy. Some of the data used by the Institute can be found in the NYT, page A3, 1/30/2012. The Obama administration is to be congratulated for standing up to the pressure of Roman Catholic bishops and social conservatives and choosing to support women's  access to reproductive health care.

What the Roberts' Supreme Court Has Wrought

This graph reveals how the Republicans are going to behave in the 2012 presidential campaign. Tons of unaccounted-for money on attack ads. A good deal for national and local television! Probably not the democracy our Founding Fathers envisioned.

Who is Newton Leroy McPherson Gingrich?

After publishing a blog, "Who is Willard Mitt Romney?", an email wondered why I was picking on Willard and giving Newton a free ride. Well, first of all, I do not call it "picking on, " I call it examining and questioning. Secondly, since Newton has so much baggage, I thought it unseemly to pile on. After all Newt does have thin skin and might start crying -- the Republican thing to do this year.


To tell the truth, after his campaign staff quit on him when he took his family on a Greek cruise, I thought his chances of being nominated were about the same as Sarah Palin's chance of being named President of Princeton University. But, then in December, Newt, The Arrogant,  informed Jake Tapper of ABC News, "I'm going to be the nominee."  Thereafter, strange as it may seem,  he kicked Romney's ass in South Carolina, and now we have to pay him some attention.


What about that name thing? He and Mitt both seem to be unhappy with the names their parents bestowed upon them. I presume Newt was named after Sir Issaac Newton, but I have always wondered why he would choose to be called Newt rather than use his second name as does Romney. Most of us know newts as amphibian salamanders, parts of which were ingredients in the witches' brew in Shakespeare's Macbeth. ("eye of newt and toe of frog.") Choosing to identify oneself with a salamander seems a little strange to me, but, at least, a newt is not exactly a reptile.


But I digress; here are some bits of information about Newton Leroy Gingrich:


1. Newton Leroy McPherson was born in 1943 in Harrisburg, PA, and his parents divorced shortly thereafter. Newt claims he was not responsible for that divorce, and I am willing to take him at his word on that.


2. Newton Leroy soon ended up with his mother and a step father in Georgia where he learned that black American children should be working as janitors instead of the adults who need those jobs.


3. In 1974 his campaign staff observed a sexual indiscretion or two (Mojo,12/5/2011), but not to worry, the New Newt is contrite and regrets his past sins.


4. In the 90's Newt and other congressmen  fashioned the Republican "Contract With America," but some Americans had the temerity to question Newt's commitment to contracts.


5. During the Clinton administration, Speaker Gingrich orchestrated a government shutdown because he was upset at being asked to sit at the back of Air Force One on the flight back from Yitzak Rabin's funeral.


6. According to his aides he presented his first wife with divorce papers in the hospital while she was recovering from cancer surgery.


7. But, on the other hand, Newt did not ask his first wife for an "open marriage" as he did his second wife , Marrianne.


8. Then, at the epitome of his hypocrisy, he was calling for the impeachment of President Clinton while he was carrying on an affair with a congressional aide, Callista, who eventually became his third wife.


9. In 1997 The House of Representatives penalized Newton Leroy with a $ 300,000 fine for ethics violations and Mr. Gingrich resigned in disgrace.


10. Just as in the case of Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich's flip-flops on major issues are numerous, but they both ask us to disregard their position changes resulting from their personal evolution -- sorry, they are not permitted to use that word. The truth of the matter is that Karl Rove has poisoned the Republican well, and now,  as a result, every politician seeking the Republican nomination has to kiss the asses of the ultra-conservative oligarchs, the Koch Brothers and their minions.


11. Newt's hubris or arrogance is legendary. Even the conservative columnist George Will spoke of Newt's "vanity and rapacity' as characterizing that which makes Washington, "repulsive."


12. However, Newt has balls. He would have us think of him as a Washington "outsider." He has been paid (I refuse to use the word "earned") millions of dollars for lobbying on behalf of Freddie Mac, although he never registered as a lobbyist. He maintains he was not a lobbyist, but a consultant and adviser. Considering Freddie Mac's role in the housing debacle, remind me not to hire Newt as a consultant or an adviser.


13.Now that we can view his tax returns for 2010, we learn that Newt and Callista donated. 2.65 of their income to charity -- an amount which according to the IRS is below the average donation level of taxpayers in their income level. Mitt Romney, after he was embarrassed into releasing his last tax return, donated more than 15%.  A large portion of the Gingrich's donations were to the Catholic Basilica in Washington; most of the Romney's donations went to the Mormon Church. Final tally: Mormons, 15: Catholics, 2.6.


14. Contrary to Republican custom (cf. Nixon, Reagan,  etc. etc.), Newt does not dye his gray hair.


15. At one point Newton Leroy considered himself a Teddy Roosevelt Republican; now he is claiming to be a Ronald Reagan Republican. I guess it is hard to be against President Obama if you are a Teddy Roosevelt Republican..


16. Newt was an ardent admirer of Richard Nixon who advised him to be "entertaining and controversial." He took that advice to heart.


17. Just like Nixon's Vice-president, Spiro Agnew was fond of doing, Newt attacks the "elite media." Spiro, by the way, was forced to resign in 1973 because he was charged with accepting bribes of more than $100,000.


18. If elected, Newt's tax plan which calls for a flat 15% tax rate would give the Gingrichs a $540,000 tax break (calculated on his last revealed tax returns). It's good to be the king, oops, I meant, president!


19. According to Forbes (by no means a part of the "liberal press"), the Gingrichs dodged "tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payroll taxes" by classifying most of Newt's income from his two companies as profits and dividends, thus avoiding the payroll tax -- an IRS no-no!

20. What happened to the pledge Newt made in Iowa? You know, the one,  the pledge to run a positive campaign, devoid of negative attacks? I guess that wasn't much fun.


21 . Unlike Mitt Romney, Newt does not have money tucked away in the Cayman Islands or Swiss Banks, and he has fired his tax accountant  for not thinking of that.


And that's just part of the story of Newton Leroy McPherson Gingrich.  Surprisingly, much like his mentor, Richard Nixon, he seems to be rising from the ashes and is making a serious run at the Republican nomination for President of the United states .


Former president, Dwight Eisenhower,  must be asking God to erase "Republican" from his resume.

Who is Willard Mitt Romney?

Many who have followed the career of George Romney's son have to ask: Who is  Willard Mitt Romney? or, Will the true Mr. Romney step forward? Since it would require a book to enumerate his many publicized flip-flops, here are some things you may know or not know -- or  not want to know:


1. His father, George, was born in Mexico, but Mitt doesn't want Mexicans to come to the U.S.
2. Mitt didn't serve in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War because he was living in a chateau in France serving as a Mormon missionary. Apparently he speaks excellent French although he considers France one of those terrible socialist countries.
3. He has stashed millions of dollars in the Cayman Islands -- not to avoid taxes, but because of its tropical scenery, so says his staff.
4. He is a Mormon bishop. If elected it would be the first time we had a bishop as president. I guess that works; an Imam is in charge of Iran.
5. He reminds us that he has been "unemployed" since 2007, or before. For most of us, "unemployed" means we don't have a job, we're spending our savings to survive, and we are in danger of losing our homes. For Mitt it means campaigning for president since money is no object.
6 .Mitt thinks "corporations are people" and makes fun of those who disagree. But on the other hand, corporations are not people when it comes to legal responsibility.


7. Willard maintained a Swiss bank account until it was decided that it looks suspicious for candidates for the U.S. Presidency to have accounts in banks famous for their secrecy. (This came to light after the initial posting)
8. Apparently Bishop Romney is a gambler. He offered Rick Perry a $10 K bet over a detail no one cares about. For him that is chump change, but for a mother raising a family $10K would buy many gallons of milk and pounds of groceries.
9.  Although "unemployed," candidate Romney refuses to release his past tax returns. Without clarifying he suggests he pays about 15% (we have to take the bishop's word for it). If so, he pays a smaller rate than a soldier serving in Afghanistan or or a family with a $60K income. By way of a footnote, the tax return would reveal whether he is tithing, as do other Mormons. (Since this was first published, Romney felt compelled to release last year's tax return. He paid at  a 13.9% tax and contributed significantly to the Mormon Church.)
10. Because he told us, we know that Mr.Romney "likes to fire" people. Most of us who have to fire someone do so with reluctance and regret. Not so for Mitt; he says he enjoys it.
11. Although "unemployed," Romney tells us he earned $374,327 in speaking fees -- an amount he dismisses as practically nothing. A struggling family could purchase a damn nice home with that kind of money.




12. Have you ever wondered why Mr. Romney does not use his first name, Willard? Or why he doesn't go by "Will" instead of "Mitt"?  Granted "Mitt" has that preppy undertone whereas "Will"  has a Midwestern normalcy about it.
13. He insists he is not, as has been charged, a "corporate vulture" even though he and his Bain Capital pals made fortunes by buying companies, laying off workers, closing plants, and then selling them for a large profit.
14. He maintains that he can't do anything about his Super Pacs who are running false and negative ads against his opponents. Why not disavow and oppose these ads? Seems simple enough.
15. Mitt does not cry in public. Can he be a true Republican? Obviously no one can do it as well as John Boehner, but still, it's a Republican thing to do. Albeit, John, Newt, Rick and others are crying about their own personal problems, not for those killed in combat or dying due to lack of health care.
16. He loves the "free enterprise" and thinks he and his wealthy friends should be praised for "taking risks," although economists point out that the wealthier one is, the less risk he is taking.




17. Then there is Mitt's health care problem. Either he doesn't know that congress has  passed the Affordable Health Care Act or he can't remember its name. He and his lobbyists refer to it as Obamacare. On the other hand he doesn't refer to the similar health care legislation he sponsored in Massachusetts as Romneycare -- in fact, he doesn't refer to it at all.  President Obama is proud of his plan, although it was not everything he wanted. Romney on the other hand is running away from his plan.
18. Like George W. Bush before him, Mitt does not have a foreign policy,or he has failed to tell us what it might be. If it's like his domestic policy, it is quite simple: "I'm opposed to everything President Obama has done."  Of course, he will have a difficult time bringing Osama bin Laden back to life.
19. Mitt likes to transport his dog in a kennel on top of his car. For Fido's sake I hope he doesn't do it in the middle of a Massachusetts winter or a Salt Lake summer.
20. When he left office, Willy Mitt and his staff erased all computer records of Romney's tenure as Governor of Massachusetts. What was he hiding? And perhaps he has forgotten that he was an employee of the people and as his boss, the people of Massachusetts,  have the right to look over his shoulder when he is doing his job.


And that is small glimpse of the GOP presidential front runner, Willard Mitt Romney. The frightening thing is that he is the front runner because he is the best the GOP has, at least now that Huntsman has dropped out.

Donna Leon's Venetian Mysteries

Although I am always telling friends about Donna Leon's detective/mystery series, I have failed to recommend her work in this blog. Today is the day I am  rectifying that omission..

Those of you who appreciate a good detective story must give her Guido Brunetti series a try. And those of you who have been to Venice or would like to go there must allow Donna Leon to lead you through this mysterious city on the water. She will take you down the Grand Canal and under the Rialto Bridge, into the elegant Venetian apartments and the slaughter house in Maestre, San Marco and neighborhood campos.


Venice with all its contrasts is the backdrop for Comissari Brunetti's investigations. A police detective in his forties,  Guido, lives in Venice with his professor wife, Paola, and their two entertaining children. Guido brings the reader along as he gathers information, and follows clues that either elucidate or confuse. And, just as in true police work, even after Guido has solved the case, the villain may not be brought to complete justice.

As British steeple-chase horse barns are an integral part of the Dick Francis'  detective novels, Venice is plays a key role in Donna Leon's stories. She is a clever observer who shows us both the beautiful and the tawdry, the scent of roses and garbage, the nobility and the sleaze. If you have had the good fortune to have spent time in Venice, you will recognize it; if you have not, you will want to put it on your bucket list.

I have just finished reading Dressed for Death (1994) and  have read six or more of the Guido Brunetti series. Unlike some others I have read, this series is consistently entertaining.

I understand that German television has produced a series based on Guido Brunetti, but I have not had an opportunity to see it.

Curmudgeons' Breakfast:Solving World Problems

My friend, Buck, met me for our weekly breakfast at the Hills Hash House this morning with what appeared to be a little extra spring in his step. Since he had been down about everything last week, I was hoping today would be a bit more positive.

Our regular waitress, Sara, was working today and wearing one of Buck's favorite skirts. Actually any skirt she wears is one of his favorites,  especially if it is short. While I ordered my usual: grits, two sausage patties, and two eggs over easy, Erica convinced Buck to go for the HHH special, the famous "All American," which among other things consisted of a three-egg omelet covered with a generous layer of sausage and gravy, potato cubes, various green vegetable type things, and smothered with an abundant supply of melted cheese, a bowl of fruit, and toast or muffins.

Since my conversational topics of last week, football and politics, seemed to add to Buck's foul mood, I waited  for him to begin the conversation. After observing how well Erica was looking today, he asked, "Did you watch the so-called National Championship game Monday?" I had not. "Well you're not the only one who missed it. The NCAA has screwed up the bowl season so bad, no one even cares by the time they get around to the final game. How many  uninteresting bowl games do we need? In the old days, New Year's Day football was an entertaining  day for us couch potatoes. And best of all, that was the end of college football season. But no, these greedy geniuses at the NCAA think they have a better idea.." At this point, Sara brought Buck's "All American." It was so large she had to serve it before she could bring mine.

When we both felt a need to take a break from stuffing ourselves, Buck asked, "Well you surely read about  the New Hampshire primary results?"
       "Sure did. President Obama won again."
       "You know, sometimes you're a real ass."
       "I'm flattered you noticed."
       "Why do I even bother trying to have a conversation with you. I'm talking about the Republicans. Can you believe Mitt Romney? He has been campaigning in New Hampshire since 2007 and he can't get 40% of the Republican vote and then he wants us to believe it was a big victory!
        "Sorry Buck, I don't give a damn. I'm not ruining my breakfast by talking about a six white millionaires whose egos are so big they keep tripping on them."

Actually, I was about finished with my breakfast, but he still had a mound of food on his plate. After a short period of silence, Buck began, "You're right. You and I could solve this country's problems. These politicians don't get it."
       "Speak for your self. I don't have any solutions. For example how would you solve the Social Security problem?"
       He jumped all over that. "What Social Security problem? There wouldn't be a problem if politicians had not raided the trust fund to pay for other things. At one time they talked of a 'locked box,' but then they continued to steal from the box. And...even though they raided it, everyone agrees that if we took the cap off of social security fees, the problem would be solved. And tell me, why is there a cap?  Why shouldn't a millionaire pay more into the Social Security Trust fund than a mother or father struggling to raise their families on 55 thousand dollars a year? No reason. Take off the cap and so-called problem is solved."
      "Makes sense to me," I agreed, " but how would you solve the federal deficit problem?"
      "Come on, give me a hard one. Everyone knows the answer to that one. First, you remove the Bush tax cuts for those who make over $300 thousand, and then you stop paying agricultural and energy subsidies. Wola! Problem solved. By the way, did you ever wonder why they call it "subsidies" when we give billions to the non-working super rich , but they call it "welfare" when we give it to the working poor?"
      "Good question," I answered.
      "Okay, give me your next problem."
      " No, No Buck. You solved enough of our problems for one morning. But how are you going to finish off all that food on your plate?"
     "If you stopped giving me all these problems to solve, I would have been finished by now."

So much for avoiding football and politics, but I must admit I'm thinking Buck's solutions make more sense than I'm hearing from the politicians And please notice I didn't take a picture of Buck's breakfast this week.....my phone camera doesn't have enough capacity to do it justice.

Tax Evasion Threatens Our National Security

Tax Evasion is Cheating and a Crime!

According to the IRS, in 2006 (the most recent year studied) individuals and businesses underpaid their taxes by $450 billion. Whether the tax evader is a huge multi-national corporation, an individual billionaire like Leona Helmsley, or you and I, tax evasion is a crime which weakens our country.


In that year, US corporations, small businesses, and individuals failed to pay 17% of the tax owed and that amounted to 2.7 trillion dollars.


After enforcement efforts and IRS audits, the nonpayments shrank to 14%  - leaving the final amount at $385 billion.


$385 billion is significantly more than $248 billion budget deficit for that year. If American corporations, businesses, and. citizens had paid the taxes they owed, our government would have had a surplus in 2006.


More disconcerting is the fact that these statistics were similar to those of 2001, the last prior year the IRS had examined tax crime.


The sad fact is that if we Americans had  paid the federal taxes we owe in exchange for the  benefit of being citizens, our country would have had a surplus in 2006 rather than a $248 billion deficit!


We can all improvise reasons for not paying the taxes we owe, but the bottom line is we are trying to get a free ride. We we enjoy the benefits of being a citizen, but we do not want to pay the cost of those benefits.


It's time we Americans "man up" and pay what we owe..If terrorists stole $285 billion from the United States, we would want to lock them up in Guantanamo indefinitely; perhaps it's time we hold our corporations, businesses, and individuals accountable for tax crimes.


Greed being a a basic inclination, most of us would like to avoid paying our taxes, but we continue to pay because we realize that the benefits of our citizenship need to be financed. Unfortunately, greed appears to influence many of our fellow citizens who choose to break the law.


No matter how these cheating corporations, businesses, and individuals rationalize their cheating, they are stealing from the rest of us and threatening the welfare of our country.


(IRS statistics as reported in The Toledo Blade, 1/7/2012)

Week 1 of 2012: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As week one of 2012 draws to a close, have you noticed there is good news? Unfortunately, it is accompanied by the bad news and the ugly news.


The Good News:


1. Almost one year after being shot in the head at a Tuscon shopping center, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is recovering nicely.
2. President Obama has appointed Richard Cordray  head of the new consumer watchdog agency.
3. Sales of American made autos was up across the board: GM - 13%, Ford - 9%, Chrysler - 26%, Jeep - 44%. These are the companies Mitt Romney wanted to close their doors.
4. Scientists think they have discovered the cause of the honey-bee die-offs. Perhaps, now they can prevent it from happening.
5. Manufacturing has become "a bright spot" of the US economy. (NYT)
6. John McCain reminds us that the Edwards' Supreme Court decision, "Citizens United," is "one of the worst decisions in history."
7. Payroll companies have reported "strong growth in private sector jobs." (NYT)
8. Neither Sarah Palin nor Herman Cain managed to get their pictures on the front page.
9. Although he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) at age 21, British scientist, Stephen Hawking, will celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday at Cambridge University.


The Bad News:


1. Gasoline prices soar based solely on Iran's rhetoric about closing the Strait of Hormuz. 
2. Ohio Governor John Kasich and his appointees cause a delay in opening the Toledo and Cleveland Casinos, putting those jobs on hold.
3. The Euro continues to decline, threatening European and US economic stability.
4. Willard Mitt Romney doesn't want the American taxpayers to know how much wealth he has or what taxes, if any, he pays.
5. President Obama did not raise the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour as he promised in 2008.
6. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts does not want "The Code of Conduct For United States Judges" to apply to himself and the other Supreme Court Justices. Apparently he, Justice Thomas, and Justice Scalia do not want to be bound by an ethics code that would prevent them from attending conservative fundraisers.
7.The United States offers it citizens less chances for upward economic mobility than Canada or Western Europe.
8. One Utah policeman was killed and four seriously wounded by gunmen with AK 47s. The Policemen had handguns. Thank you National Rifle Association for  arguing that citizens need AK 47s. Do citizens need SAM missiles, too? 
9. New research claims that driving with a heavy cold can affect one's ability to drive to the same extent as downing four double whiskies, and causes thousands of accidents a year. (UKPA)
10. On New Year's Eve President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law, thus allowing the government to arrest and detain American citizens indefinitely without counsel or recourse to the courts.


The Ugly News: 


1. The Washington Redskin "Dream Team" and Rex Ryan's New York Jets.
2. The Illinois Catholics bishops closed Catholic Charities rather than allow gay parents to adopt unwanted children. 
3. Since 2007 an unemployed  biilionaire has been campaigning full time for a federal job and free federal health care. Sorry Mitt, that's not what the Founding Fathers had in mind for our democracy.
4. Rick Santorum, a US Senator who lost his seat in 2008, has become a multi-millionaire in two years time by cashing in on his so-called access to power. Again Rick, that's not what the Founding Fathers had in mind for our democracy.
5. The NCAA Bowl Mess:  The NCAA has  managed to reduce the bowl games to a "Ho-Hum, Who Cares?  Less-Than-Prime-Time" reality TV show.
6. On Wednesday GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul said that a former draft dodger like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has no business sending kids to war.
7.Karl Rove's Crossroad GPS and the US Chamber of Commerce have already spent over two million dollars in TV ads attacking Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. The ads have been called "mostly false" by Politifact, a non-partisan fact-check group.
8.Hot new fashion trends in 2012 are tie-dye shirts and very large shoulder pads. (Newsweek)
9. A very nasty Iowa Republican Caucus: all of that undisclosed money to influence just 5.4 % of Iowa's Republican voters! But on the other hand, there is something appealing about seven suits fighting dirty in a hog trough.

Football, Politics, and Hash Browns

Buck's Hash Browns

My friend, Buck, met me for breakfast today at The Hills Hash House. I say "friend" because what else do you call a guy you hang out with once a week? The fact is we are not at all similar. While I am a Democrat, Buck calls himself a Republican.--closer to Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower than any current Republican standard-bearer. Given that difference, one would think politics would be a verboten topic of conversation. Not so. We relish political trash talk. Buck is a Michigan Wolverine and Detroit Lion football fan while I have spent a lifetime following the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns. Needless to say, we waste hours talking about football as if we actually knew something about it; so we are not much different from the talking heads on ESPN.

Since Michigan won a close game over Virginia Tech last night, I expected Buck to be in a great mood this morning. Not so much so. "Sure they won the game on points but they got their butts kicked. Denard Robinson and the offense never showed up. I hope this is not what we have to look forward to next season.."
         " Well, a win is a win," I offered, "and Brady Hoke has a chance to win coach of the year or some other award."
        " And that's another thing. I hope Brady hasn't  used up all of his magical pixie dust on last night's game. Ever since he stepped into the Big House, everything has gone his way. And then after  the miraculous win over Notre Dame, we knew the fates were on our side. I'm hoping we won't need the same miraculous pixie dust next season."

        Since the Wolverine victory was not helping Buck digest his hash browns, I though he would be eager to discuss the results of the Iowa Republican caucuses. Again, his response was not what I expected. "How are any of these clowns going to beat Obama? They spend months running around the country holding debates in which they all end up looking like fools. I couldn't decide whether the debates more resembled "The Gong Show," or "Send In The Clowns." Then they all descend upon Iowa, spend all that money and generate a piss poor turnout and a virtual tie. The winner gets only 25% of the vote! So 3 out of 4 Iowa Republicans want some one than Romney; or 3 out of 4 want some one other than Santorum. And then we learn that only 5.4% of the Iowa voters participated. Not looking like a first step to taking back the White House, if you know what I mean."
         "At least Romney looks like a front runner going into New Hampshire," I suggest.
         "Ha, New Hampshire. Another little bitty state that doesn't come close to reflecting the rest of the country. Does anybody care who those farmers choose? The few delegates Romney picks up in Iowa and New Hampshire mean very little."
         "So," I asked, "you think Obama will win a second term?"
         "Hell no! We just haven't found the right guy yet, but he's out there somewhere."
         "Or gal?"
         "Doubt that."

Next week, I think I will steer the conversation away from football and politics - they're not good for Buck's digestion.

Just For The Record

I found this chart in a MoveOn.org posting.

NFL Gets It Wrong Again

Replay that! PLEASE!

In the last game of the regular season with important playoff consequences, the Detroit Lions scored a touchdown which a referee ruled incomplete. Although the television replay demonstrated that without a doubt it was a legitimate touchdown, the Lions had to settle for a field goal. The Lions were deprived of four points, and the Green Bay Packers went on to win the game by FOUR points.

In the arcane world of NFL rules, the call on the field could not be automatically reviewed because it was called incomplete; if however, the referee had ruled that it was a completed pass and a touchdown, the call would have been reviewed automatically. A coach's challenge was not an option since the Lions had no remaining challenges. Thus, contrary to visual proof of a touchdown, the Lions have to settle for a field goal, and the Packers go on to win by the four points that were disallowed. 


This situation is bad on so many levels. First of all, the field judge, Greg Gautreauz, should have made the correct call. Secondly, instead of calling it incomplete, he should have ruled it a touchdown, a call that could have been reviewed. Thirdly, the NFL rule should require automatic review of plays in the end zone as does the NCAA.


By the way, one cannot blame coach Jim Schwartz for having used both of his challenges. He used them on important calls, one of which overturned the call on the field.


Since the technology exists to get it right, why does the NFL continue to come up with these inexplicable rules ? The NFL needs to learn a basic lesson: simplify and you will get it right. Automatically review every potential scoring play.