Tiger's Woes Are His, Not Ours

We as a nation, at least based on the press attention surrounding Tiger Woods, appear to enjoy watching the rich and famous fall from grace. The married father of two appears to have had an affair with two women (a third one identified in the press denies such a relationship), and was beaten about his ears by his wife, Elin, with a golf club.

Tiger has admitted his "transgressions" and is seeking atonement for his "personal sins." But apparently that is not enough for the press. They want him to hang his personal dirty laundry out on the line in explicit detail. They want to ask him and his family embarrassing questions in front of TV cameras. They want TV footage for their evening news programs because they think the public loves to see the rich and famous fall, and fall hard.

But the bottom line is that it is none of our business. Tiger Woods and his family have always cherished their privacy. Their 155 foot yacht is named "Privacy." On the other hand, when it comes to golf, Tiger is more than willing to share with the public and the press, but he has always insisted on his family's privacy. He has never been like other celebrities or politicians who are eager to parade their families and their private lives onto the big stage. When he is on the big stage in golf tournaments, he belongs to us, but only as a golfer. If he screws up his private life, that is of his own making, and not any of our business.

Although the temptation is to "set the record straight," I hope Tiger and his family resist that temptation and continue to protect their privacy.

Cheney: Still in Denial

Have you noticed that Dick Cheney can't bring himself to use the phrase, "President Obama"? In fact, his usual reference, as in his most recent tirade, is to "that guy." Apparently, he still has not come to terms with the resounding results of the 2008 election.

Is this a new Low for Democracy?

Saturday, November 21, 2009, every Republican in the U.S. Senate voted against allowing a discussion of Health Care Reform on the floor of the U.S. Senate!

Almost everyone, by any accounting system, agrees that the U. S. health care system is a disaster, but every Republican senator voted against discussing the problem.

But, of course, they personally have the "Cadillac" of health care insurance--a government sponsored program--the kind of program they do not want the rest of us to access.

Kindle vs. "Real" Books

According to some, the arrival of the Kindle and e-books is going to be the end of civilization as we know it.

Please! Give us a break. I am sure that something similar was said about the Gutenberg's printing press. But, somehow we the world survived that evil technology. Then we were warned that radio would be the end of newspapers, and people would no longer go to concerts, purchase records, or attend sporting events. And then, horror of horrors, television came along and tolled the death-knoll for radio, live theater, and the cinema--all of which have since flourished, possibly because of TV.

And now, the Kindle is going to be the death of "real" books. The printing industry will be destroyed, libraries around the country will become mausoleums, librarians will be flipping burgers, and book stores will disappear except for one which will be moved to Greenfield Village next to the blacksmith's shop.

In fact, I suspect e-books and traditional paper-and-ink books will co-exist quite nicely. There is a place for both. Whereas the computer/internet made printed encyclopedias obsolete, the e-book is not going to replace paper-and-ink book anymore than radio replaced live concerts. There will always be readers who want the experience of sitting on the beach, turning pages, although, at other times, perhaps on an airplane, they will choose the convenience of a best-seller downloaded to their Kindle.

And then of course, there are children's books. It is difficult to foresee that either a parent or child would choose to read these books with their various sizes, engaging illustrations, and creative print on a Kindle.

Since the advent of the computer/internet more people than ever before are reading and writing. Let's not presume that an alternative method of reading is the end of paper-and-ink books.

US Catholic Bishops' Power Grab

According to Associate Press and Georgetown University paper, Vox Populi, the U.S. Conference of Bishops has formed a task force to examine what actions they could take to increase their oversight of Catholic colleges and universities.

Cardinal Francis George (Chicago) said the task force is researching what church law says about the bishops authority over schools.

It seems to me our bishops would be much better off serving the pastoral needs of their dioceses, taking steps to eliminate their pedophilic priests, and making an efforts to keep the Catholics we have, than trying to govern U.S. Catholic colleges and universities.

Our Catholic colleges and universities are doing just fine, thank you; they do not need power-hungry bishops snooping around their campuses.

Who Will Replace Charlie Weis at ND?

After the loss to UConn, there is no question that Notre Dame must remove Charlie Weis. Charlie's career record is 35-26, a .573 winning percentage. That's worse than the.583 percentage of the previous ND coaches, Ty Willingham and Bob Davie.

And this time, Notre Dame has to get it right. They need to find another Lou Holtz--somewhere. Perhaps in Cincinnati. Brian Kelly has worked wonders with Central Michigan and the Cincy Bearcats. Of course, he can't even think about ND until the bowl games are completed. Some are suggesting Bob Stoops. Perhaps. Other suggest Urban Meyer. Not likely, since ND "low-balled" him last time around. Stanford's coach, Jim Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback, is considered by many to be the "hottest" coach around; but of course, he says he is staying where he is--how many times have you heard that line?

Since other schools like nearby Northwestern are out there beating the bushes, presumably ND realizes Charlie's ship has sailed and is already searching for a new captain.

As in Soccer, So in Life

Wednesday (11/18/09) evening France defeated Ireland in extra time in the World Cup qualification playoff series. France's Thierry Henry deflected the ball to William Gallas who scored. The only problem was that the whole world saw that Henry clearly brought down the ball with his hand inside the penalty area. The other problem was the official did not see the infraction and allowed the goal, sending Ireland home for another four years and France on to World Cup competition.

Most agree that Ireland outplayed France for much of the second leg; nevertheless, just as in 2006, they will fail to qualify. Although, after the game Henry admitted that he used his hand, it's up to the official to make the call.

Ireland filed an appeal, and many thought the match should be replayed, but the Federation ruled that the result was final. A similar situation occurred in the 1986 World Cup. Diego Maradona scored the "infamous Hand of God" goal which gave Argentina a victory over England. Just as in other sports, the officials are an integral part of the game as are their mistakes.

It's much like life itself; mistakes are made, but we do not get to go back and have a "replay".

On the other hand, technology in the form of video replay would have rectified this mistake. Perhaps, in the future, soccer should make use of technology in order to assist officials who are not able to make the correct call.

More Welfare for Corporate Executives

For years, Corporate America underfunded employee pension plans, and eventually we, the government, i.e. taxpayers, were forced to take over the shorted funds.

But now we learn that, in the years prior to government takeover, these corporations cut benefits for retirees by as much as two-thirds while their executives got salary increases, retention bonuses, and other pay in the many millions of dollars. "One airline company missed $979 million in required pension contributions while its top three executives took $55 million in compensation, and another paid four executives $120.4 million amid two bankruptcies." (GAO Report in Bloomberg News Service)

"It is fundamentally wrong that executives were able to line their pockets with millions of dollars from bonuses, stock options, and free joyrides on corporate jets while watching their workers' retirement security slip into peril," Rep.George Miller ( D, Calif.) observed.

Once again, Coporate America was screwing U.S. employees by imperiling their retirement while at the same time paying millions of dollars in bonuses to executives who were not doing their jobs. Sounds like welfare for the rich.

US Chamber of Commerce Opposes Rape Victims

You probably heard this story four or five years ago, and presumed that justice had been done. Unfortunately, justice is still being denied.

Jamie Leigh Jones, in 2005, was employed by a private contractor in Iraq when she was gang-raped by her fellow employees. Since the rape took place in Iraq, she could not file U.S. criminal charges and she cannot file a lawsuit in the U.S. because of fine print in her contract.

Fortunately, the injustice of this situation is being addressed by Congress, but now the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting it. The Chamber has gone so far as to say that it would set "a dangerous precedent" to allow rape victims into court.

Is it any wonder that responsible companies like Proctor and Gamble are withdrawing their membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?

Drug Lobby Manipulates Congressional Puppets

I guess it is no surprise to learn that lobbyists are paying congressmen not only what to think, but also telling them what to say.

Consider the following example:

"“One of the reasons I have long supported the U.S. biotechnology industry is that it is a homegrown success story that has been an engine of job creation in this country.” This written statement by Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina on the health care bill was identical to one by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and used language suggested by lobbyists." (NYT, 11/14/09)

The NYT goes onto say : "Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points — 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists."

We knew the the drug industry was throwing tons of money at these congressmen, but we did not suspect that they were allowing the lobbyists to tell them what to say, word-for word. Is this what our democracy has come to? A bunch of puppets being manipulated by big business puppeteers. Why am I thinking--Miss Piggy?