We'll just say this is from the "What?!?" department

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/10/sen-craig-appeals-foot-tap-arrest/

Putting politics aside

One of the most frustrating things about politics is that people get so entrenched in their positions that they won't give an inch because they don't want to yield their agenda even though it is probably for the greater good.

Let's take a current issue - teenage pregnancy. As it is playing out in the news right now, I won't rehash the current news story. However, I think that Roland Martin of CNN hit the nail on the head. Check out his link here.

We need to reopen discussion in this country and actually debate issues and act in the common good, without focusing on imposing. As Matt would say, we need more proposers, and fewer imposers.

Check out the link and let me know your thoughts.

An interesting theory

For the second time in a couple of weeks, I’ve seen stories that have linked the war in Georgia (the country, not the state) with attempts to influence the outcome of the Presidential Election.

Now normally, I would not buy into something that Vladimir Putin is pushing. Clearly, he wants to control the news cycle and spin within his sphere of influence. Second, I would like to believe that the US public is smarter than that, too. However, there was an article in The Nation that really started me thinking. While I’m not sure the US Government orchestrated the conflict in Georgia, I do think that members of a US Presidential campaign are involved.

I’ll just take a quick moment to recap events. On August 8^th, the Georgian government tries to re-establish authority over South Ossetia using its military. This provided Russia with the excuse it needed to go in and re-establish primacy in South Ossetia. The Georgian Army was simply overmatched.

Why would the President of Georgia do this? The conflict over South Ossetia was hardly new. South Ossetia was an autonomous region of Georgia prior to independence. He had to know that the Russian military would respond, given they had troops in the region as “peacekeepers.” My guess is that President Saakashvili assumed that “the West” would step in and help or it would help change world conditions in such as way to help his cause down the road.

Here are some interesting facts. President Saakashvili is good friends with a guy by the name of Randy Scheunemann, who, until March served as a lobbyist for the Georgian Government for four years. When Scheunemann left the service of the Georgian Government, he went to work as the Sr. Foreign Policy Adviser to the Sen. John McCain campaign. He also served in a similar capacity on John McCain’s 2000 campaign. In 2005, Scheunemann and McCain worked together on legislation pushing for Georgia’s entry into NATO and in 2006, accompanied McCain on a trip to Georgia where McCain re-iterated his support for Georgia’s policies.

It would make sense that by trying to re-establish control in South Ossetia, the Georgian government is doing what it can to act in their longer term interests. Influence the outcome of the US Presidential Election by changing the focus from problems at home to issues of foreign policy. And in making Vladimir Putin the second coming of Josef Stalin, they are creating a new bogeyman which Americans should be afraid.

Here's to hoping that Americans can see past the charade and focus on issues of real importance.

How to fix education

As we get closer and closer to the general election, one of the “hot button issues” is sure to be education. All of the conversation is going to be how will fix education. Most Democrats will tell you that it is all about money. There isn’t enough money. Most Republicans will tell you that while money is important, there is a lot of waste and we need to find a way to incent good teachers.

Unfortunately, they are both avoiding the single largest determining factor in whether or not a child succeeds has little to do with per-pupil funding or there are 50 administrative positions for every teacher. It is parental involvement. The beauty is that parental involvement costs the taxpayers nothing. Zilch. Nada. All it takes in the time of the child’s parent. This is readily apparent in the Clark County School System. A good friend of ours teaches in a school where the parents are very involved. So many parents volunteered to help out in the classroom last year that she had to make a schedule so there weren’t too many in the classroom at once. On the other end of the spectrum, one of my neighbors works in the library at middle school that has, let’s just say, less parental involvement. The students are struggling. They work the system so as to keep progressing, but aren’t getting a solid education. That’s not to say the whole school is failing, but it is difficult to work in that environment.

While additional parental involvement may be of great assistance and is, well, cheap, it’s also something you can’t legislate. As an example, in Roland Martin’s commentary on CNN.com today, he talks about this very topic. In Chicago, the superintendent of schools was on his radio show. Parent after parent called in, livid that they did not find out until right before graduation that their child was not going to graduate. Turns out, progress reports that highlight this fact were made available to parents. They were sent reminders during every marking period that their child was at risk of not graduating – they just had to come into school and pick up the cards and warnings.

Is it any wonder that with parents abdicating their responsibilities that we are seeing issues in education?

Every four years

I love the Olympics. Something about them just reels me in each time. I was too young to remember the 1976 and 1980 Summer Games. But there is something about the pageantry of the Olympics that gets me every time.

But what gets me about the Olympics is that every time, we focus on sports that we normally don’t give a second look to in non-Olympic events. No, not the itty bitty sports like judo, badminton or rhythmic gymnastics. No, I am talking about the “marquis” events of gymnastics, swimming and diving in the summer and figure skating and ski events for the winter games.

I mean, how many times do you sit down and watch swimming on TV when it occurs during non-Olympic years? Or gymnastics? Or figure skating? You don’t.

Don’t get me wrong, there is something about seeing the world’s best on the most visible stage that makes these sports more entertaining. You throw in that they are competing for their country and for the glory of taking home a medal, and you have something special.

So, you can bet Keds and I will be watching the Olympics this year. Watching the video of the Men 400m relay was something quite special. Can’t wait to see more!

How did I manage to come out unscathed?

One of the consistent themes we are coming across as we religion shop is a dislike or distrust for organized religion. Keds often asks how come I don’t refer to myself as a “recovering Catholic” or seem to have any hang ups about my faith. I also am not pretentiously Catholic and walk around with Confession Schedules in my wallet.

You would think I would be scarred. The right pieces were in place. Crucifixes up around the house, an uncle who is a priest, and my Mom has two cousins that are Nuns. We went to church every weekend, and for a while it was at 8 a.m. on Sundays, in Buffalo, during the winter. The homilies each week became more and more about the evils of abortion. The final pieces of the puzzle – both my sister and I went to Catholic universities.

But a funny thing happened. Faith and religion both ended up being really important in both mine and my sister’s life. I think part of it is that we both went to Catholic universities – she to St. Bonaventure, me to Canisius. There were chapels on campus. Mass times were convenient to a college student’s life. And the Masses were meaningful. The homilies were directed at the issues that effect a college student’s life, and faith’s place within it. The priests were approachable. College is a time of personal growth, and both St. Bonaventure and Canisius encouraged my sister and me to do just that. We got to see Christianity and it’s worldview beyond the structure of Mass and you get to see the message of the Gospel.

My parents played a big part as well. Even though Dad isn’t Catholic, he still went to Mass with us every weekend. It was a part of who we are, an important part of life, but not forced on us – and both parents were supportive. My mother did not engage in the sort of religious blackmail that many of my friends note with their parents. In a way, we learned that faith is flexible and God is forgiving by the examples we received at home.

Two common complaints about organized religion that I just didn’t encounter was their desire for money and a falling out with a priest. I was never chastised or denied access to anything for donations being too small. Even if we had issues with a priest, there were enough churches around that you could just go to another. Heck, Denis told me he was uncomfortable with Uncle Mickey’s sermons because they were too political around the 2004 election. He just went to a different church.

So, that's why I think I'm not scarred or don't refer to myself as a "recovering Catholic." Between the role it was made in my life while growing up, the reinforcement I received at Canisius and the comfort it allows me now, I think I'm a better person for it./

A different kind of shopping

Now, I don't mind shopping. My wife will vouch for me here. However, last week Keds and I were doing a different sort of shopping. We were religion shopping!

As many of you know, Keds and I are getting ready to start our family and we are tackling the question of how are we going to introduce faith in our family. Since she is Jewish and I am Catholic, you can see the conflict.

Months ago, Uncle Mickey recommended that we shop around and find both Catholic and Jewish faith communities where we were both comfortable. It was a reasonable request. On the Jewish side, our choices are relatively limited - we would need to go Reformed and there are only two Reformed Congregations in town. On the Catholic side, there are a bunch of options, but the key is going to be distance, accent and approach. After all, as my uncle pointed out, there are far more areas of commonality between the two than areas of disagreement. It's just the one big area of disagreement.

So in typical Kraft Family Fashion, we decided now is the time and dove in head first. On Wednesday, we met with the former Rabbi of the Reformed Congregation in Summerlin. On Saturday we met with the Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Community in the southwest part of town. Both were extremely progressive and concurred with my uncle that we need to find faith communities where we are comfortable as a family. While they both clearly preferred that we stick with their respective faith traditions, they were also supportive if we chose the other.

So, after meeting with the men of the cloth, we decided it was time to check out houses of worship. The original plan was to check out Congregation Ner Tamid, the Reformed Congregation in Green Valley on Friday. However, the Rabbi was out of town and the Cantor would be leading services so we opted to pass. We are going this coming Friday, though. I'll let you know how that goes.

However, we did check out Christ the King's 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday. Aside from being late, it was a nice Mass. It was nice to be able to understand the priest, his homily was brief and to the point and it was relevant to our lives. In addition, it's not your typical Catholic Church. The congregation sits around the Altar and Pulpit in the round. There are no kneelers. We will definitely give a thorough try-out (4-6 Masses). I just wish it were closer, that's all.

So our quest continues. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Problem With Politics

With all due respect to my wife, the biggest problem with politics is not the amount of time I spend devoted to it. It is that when there are complex issues facing our great state and Republic, solutions cannot be reduced to a slogan. Unfortunately, slogans, gimmicks and sound bites are what sell well and can influence elections.

One example of this is the rising price of oil and the corresponding increase in gas prices. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. In a truly free market economy, prices are set by the forces of supply and demand. However, even with rising demand from emerging economies like China, India and Brazil, there is enough oil being produced to satisfy worldwide demand. I’m too young to remember the last major supply shortage, but last time I checked, there are not long lines to get gas (unless you go to Costco on a Saturday.)

So if global supply and demand is generally in balance, why is the price of oil so high? It has to be speculators. That’s got to be it. There is a little bit of truth to this – speculators have artificially inflated the price of oil by reacting to global events and looking ahead to the prospects of a more limited supply. Yes, there is the Enron Loophole that has allowed the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to go along, unregulated and unsupervised with no transparency since the early 1990s. While Congress is now closing the Enron Loophole, it will really only apply to domestic traders.

But what about all this talk about offshore drilling and using domestic reserves in Alaska and the Rockies? Wouldn’t this help reduce American demand while making us self-reliant on our own supply? There are a number of problems with this solution. First, what isn’t well known is that there are currently 90 million acres open to oil companies, of which only 20 is being actively drilled on. The oil companies do not want to invest the money to further drill and explore because they are hedging their bets. They don’t want to risk creating excess supply and setting their organizations to fail down the road. They are simply pursuing offshore leases and Alaska because it is popular, and cheaper. But again, who is to say they will actually invest in the necessary infrastructure. Also, you won’t see a drop of oil from any new exploration for seven to 10 years.

The national security piece (relying on our own reserves versus importing) is also problematic. Currently, the United States consumes 21 million barrels of oil PER DAY. Our current domestic production is about 5 million barrels per day. Even if Alaska and more coastal areas are opened up, it will only net an additional 8 million barrels per day. So, by my math, that leaves an additional 8 million barrels per day that we need to get from somewhere. Plus, why would an oil company take less money on domestic oil than what oil is trading for globally? OPEC and other oil-producing nations would most likely reduce production to account for the reduction in global demand.

The answer to rising gas prices is not a simple one. We need a multifaceted approach. How else are going to address this when you consumer 25% of the worlds oil, but can only possess 3% of the world’s oil reserves?

First, we need to kill all tax breaks for the integrated petroleum companies. Tax incentives should be reserved to help protect fledgling industries that are in our national interests. To this end, we need to provide additional tax incentives for renewal energy sources and engineering to reduce our need for fossil fuels. The oil companies can not be rewarded for not investing in their own businesses. Second, we need to encourage conservation and privately-driven alternative fuel development at home. See the example of T. Boone Pickens who announced today that he will build a wind farm in Texas. We need increased transparency and oversight at the CFTC. I mean really – why wasn’t the Enron loophole closed after the electricity crisis of the late 1990s?

Unfortunately, our country has developed based on the availability of cheap oil, and there is no easy solution in sight. Find me a politician that will come up with a sensible plan, and we can talk.

More Life Updates

Before going into some more heady issues later this week, I wanted to take a pause a give a quick life update.

The past week or so has been challenging, to say the least. With Thea passing away suddenly, Keds was simultaneously thrown into reliving her Mom’s passing nearly two years ago and trying to help her best friend through the grieving process. I was so proud of her. She held up well emotionally and was able to be there for her friend.

Remember that faux birthday party? Yeah, I fell for the gimmick and scheduled an appointment for us with the financial planner. My timing could not have been worse. The initial advice was stuff we already knew we had to do, it just really wasn’t the time to have the conversation. But sitting down with an impartial third party was extremely helpful and made us realize that we need to start moving on some stuff. That didn’t mean it was a comfortable experience, as Keds and I both felt like vomiting at a couple of points during the meeting. I’m still not sure if we are going to sign up with this guy, but if he leaves us in a better position financially without incurring more debt, it could be money well spent.

The holiday weekend was good, but busy. The best part was that we saw a TON of fireworks. On Thursday, we got a front-row view of the North Las Vegas fireworks at Seastrand Park from our friend Sarah’s house. Friday night, we went to a friend’s house in Centennial Hills and got to watch fireworks all across the valley. Keds was in heaven. Saturday was dinner at the Bowen’s, with a cookout at Teri’s on Sunday. We held true to our word and made it to the gym both Friday and Saturday.

We are having an issue with Mom. To make a long story short, Mom canceled on brunch plans for Sunday after being called into work. This was after Keds went out of her way (again) to add Mom to plans she made with friends because she figured she would enjoy it. Mom has not given us any indication that she is going to change her behavior, so we are going to have adjust ours. I’ll have a conversation with her this week. I’ll let you know how it goes.

This week is already shaping up to be fun. While it sucks that the heat is forcing me to move my lunch-time workouts until after work, I should be able to get home at a reasonable hour. We are having lunch with Mike and Kyria on Wednesday. I am so excited. Mike and I do not spend enough time together, and he’s going to be in town. They may be stopping by after dinner on Wednesday as well, which is exciting. I also heard a rumor that Vegas Princess and her husband Charming are coming over for dinner on Thursday, which is always fun.

Not sure what’s in store this weekend, but we are definitely going to allocate several hours each day to the pool!

Life Updates

Whew. It was nice to take a little bit of a breather on Sunday. It’s been a crazy little stretch for the Kraft clan, but we seem to be weathering it nicely.

After a quick trip to LA the previous weekend for Elizabeth’s wedding reception, we managed to spend Father’s Day with both of our Dad’s which was nice. Keds had a random illness pop up on Monday – including a 103 degree fever. That curtailed our activities through Thursday. Unfortunately, it also meant we needed to cancel dinner plans with our friends Vegas Princess and her husband Charming, her folks and my parents. We tried to make it up, but more on that later.

Thursday was a really tough day. It appears that my new company likes to have “cutting the fat” exercise about once a quarter to twice a year. It started with the VP who hired me getting let go first thing in the morning. Having just started, and losing my last job in a “financial restructuring,” I did get a little nervous. OK, I was a lot nervous; especially when two people that I worked closely with were let go. But in the end, it looks like there was a strategy to cuts and there will be some good things that come out of this. We seem to be banding together as a division and are focused on service our customers.

Friday was highlighted both with a night out at the 51s game and getting out of work early. We were all ordered to leave at 3:30 as our office was being sprayed for bugs. From there, Keds and swung by and grabbed Dad then picked Mom up from work before heading to Cashman. Our plan was to try and watch the game with Princess, Charming and their families, but we weren’t able to get tickets close to them. Plus, it was like 100 degrees in the shade and the 51s got their butts kicked.

Saturday was a little crazy. First, I went canvassing for Dina Titus and Andrew Martin as part of the coordinated campaign. I was paired with a relatively pessimistic retiree, and knocking on doors in 100 degree heat was not all that fun. But we were able to leave some literature and spoke to some people who had never heard of Andrew, which was pretty cool. The lunch afterwards was pleasant, but it was reinforced that I need to keep my mouth shut when I start listening to idiot conspiracy theorists. After babysitting my favorite toddlers for 30 minutes (OK, they were both napping), Keds and I got ready for a dinner party at our favorite loan officer’s house.

Mind you, prior to last week we hadn’t received the invitation, and if I had checked our mail it may have been in there, but we were both a little miffed when we realized the point of the evening was not exactly as advertised. It was billed as a birthday party for our friend’s boyfriend to be catered by a professional chef. Turns out, it was actually a financial planner’s marketing event. At first, I was really annoyed and felt like we had been duped (I’m sure Princess knows how this feels J), but it ended up being a nice evening. The Financial Planner actually didn’t even try and push his services on us. We happened to have a couple of questions, and he answered them. We may end up using him for somethings in an effort to diversify. Also, our current guy, while good, is in LA so any deposits need to be mailed to him. Plus, since he was Leni’s guy, my concern is that he is almost like an uncle, and not in the good way – especially with money. Plus, we made friends with the field manager and his girlfriend, and the financial planner’s wife is actually a Registered Dietician. So, it ended up being a productive evening.

Sunday was much more laid back. The lesson learned, though, was to keep an eye on the pool temperature. No matter what the temperature, 96 degrees is not refreshing. Mom made stew meat and gravy for dinner which was uber-yummy. But it ended up being a much-needed relaxing day. Plus, the A’s won, which made it even better!

So what’s new with you?

Nevada’s Budgetary Issues

So it’s official. The nation’s least-effective governor has finally called for a special session of the legislature to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis. On the front-end, I really do believe that the reason the Governor finally called for a special session was due to the Textgate Scandal and the fact that the RJ published a poll showing the Governor’s approval ratings in the sewer. He wants to change the story. However, given that our Governor has not done anything substantive and has literally danced while Rome (or Reno, I get the two confused) burn, a special session is necessary to create sound fiscal policy for the next fiscal year so that things aren’t any worse by the time the budget is ratified.

The agenda, as I understand it, is specifically to talk about suspending Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for the upcoming year. Also on the list is how to stabilize the budget for the next fiscal year. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. There may be legal ramifications to this, as contracts with the various labor unions may guarantee that the raises go through, forcing the money to come from somewhere else.

While suspending raises is not popular, I’d rather see raises suspended than see layoffs in vital services. Having worked in the private sector my entire career, suspending pay increases is not uncommon. When I worked at ClientLogic, annual increases for salaried employees were suspended or deferred for three years during financially lean years. In addition, they suspended matching funds for our 401(k). Sure, it is a demotivator, but at least you still had a job.

What I would like to see is some sound fiscal policy come out of this special sesson. I’m not holding my breath that it will, but I can still hope. These are tough times for Nevada. Real leadership is needed. I don’t care that it’s happening in the middle of a campaign or if the Governor is calling the session just to change the subject. My call to Speaker Buckley and Sen. Majority Leader Raggio is to do what is difficult and do what you were hired to do – legislate in the best interest of the State of Nevada.

Happy Birthday Tom!

In past years, today would have been an awesome day. Sure, we'd both have to work, but we both knew what was in store for us after work - drinks (Crown Royal for Newman, Beer or Jack Daniel's for me) and dinner either at Santora's or Nikki Lee's. After that, we'd most likely head to the nearest PT's for a few too many games of GoldenTee and some more drinks.

However, this is not past years. As many of you know, Tom passed away on September 16th. The picture above was the last time I saw him and the last time we spoke was via e-mail the following July. I regret that working together caused some friction between the two of us, especially once he went out on leave and the way he ended up leaving town left a little bitter taste with both Keds and I. That didn't change how I felt about him. It was more of an annoyance.

I find myself thinking about him more and more lately. Mostly because it's baseball season. Tom was an avid Braves fan. It would annoy him to no end that the Braves aren't on TBS that much anymore. After baseball came football, as we both were huge Bills fans. I occasionally feel guilty for not being a better friend, but the reality is that he pulled away as he got more sick and was in increasing amounts of pain. His communication was more erratic, I'm sure partially because of the amount of pain but also because of the way things were going with Slash for him.

Tom would have been 33 today. That is simply just far too young to die. I take some solace that he was in a lot of pain, having endured double hip replacement, a shoulder replacement and had some back problems along with the severe asthma that plagued him his whole life. He is in a better place now. I'll do a shot of Crown for you tonight...

Where's Ken?

I know. I know. It's been a while since I've posted a little comment out here. I've been a bit busy and nothing too exciting has happened. Work is phenomenal. I'm really digging this new job. The only issue I have is the commute. Going from no commute to a cross-town commute has been a little bit of an adjustment. Plus, there have been some adjustments at home. Going from being able to do my own thing, to leaving the house at 6 a.m. and not getting home until between 5 and 6 is an adjustment for Keds - and that's assuming I ONLY go to the gym after work. A meeting or an event or something really kills the rest of the evening.

Getting more and more involved in local politics. We hosted the local Assembly candidate for a Meet and Greet with the neighbors, which was a lot of fun. Right now it is all about organizing, most of the "get out the vote" efforts won't start until September or so.

I'm really focusing on staying focused with my nutrition and the like. It's hard when there are office birthdays, lunches and breakfasts going on, not to mention not really caring sometimes. But I'm confident I'll get it back together here soon.

I apologize for not being better about commenting on other people's blogs. It's amazing what happens when you don't have time to goof off at work...

Anyway, expect a more thoughtful and organized post later in the week.

A broken process

A couple of news items this morning caught my eye and my ire. The first was that three initiatives circulated by the Las Vegas Sands and owner Sheldon Adelson were submitted to the County Registrar of Voters for verification yesterday. The second was that the Teacher’s Union reached a deal with three gaming companies to keep another initiative off the ballot but place an advisory question regarding an increase in the gaming tax.

I am not going to discuss the merits of any of the initiatives. I haven’t read them in their entirety and I’m sure they will be challenged in court. I cannot find fault with people using the means currently in place to ensure their interests are protected. I am going to discuss the process.

The initiative process is the wrong place to determine public policy. This needs to be done in the legislative branch of government. As the bill works through the committee and sub-committee process, it is vetted for potential pratfalls and loopholes. Areas of contention are addressed prior to a bill becoming law. All of this is skipped in the initiative process.

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (I think that was the name) is a good example of why the process is flawed. Many states and counties had passed similar ordinances banning smoking in public indoor spaces. I would assume that similar attempts to pass one in Nevada were thwarted by the gaming lobby. So, in an effort to get something passed, the backers of the initiative specifically excluded the major casinos. Once passed, it was challenged and the criminal portion was thrown own, leaving the Health District to enforce the act – something they are not equipped to handle. So, the act is actually being interpreted differently in different parts of the state and you have these hokey efforts to meet the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Some restaurants closed their kitchens altogether others during off-peak hours. Some just flagrantly don’t enforce the act.

Many of these issues would have been avoided if we would have followed the “how a bill becomes a law” process we all learned in 5th grade. The language would have been crafted with court challenges in mind. The enforcement of the law would have been clear. And it would have been enforced consistently throughout the state. But the issue is that since the Legislative branch has done little, other than rubber stamp a budget, for the last 10 or so years it is no wonder that interested parties are reaching out to the initiative process.

The solution is to elect leaders who have the backbone to make tough decisions facing the state. Our elected officials need to act in our best interest, not those of the special interests. We, the citizens whom elect these individuals to serve us, need to keep an eye on our elected officials to make sure they are spending our tax dollars wisely and acting in our best interests.

Sunday Musings

A few musings this afternoon as I watch the A's lose, which makes me sad, and the Penguins rout the Flyers, which makes me mildly happy.

My sister called this morning to tell me that one of our childhood neighbors passed away this morning. Ron Crowley in many ways was like an uncle to us. The last time I saw him was three years ago before my folks moved, and he was doing well. However, years of smoking finally caught up to him. He had a portion of his lungs removed not that long ago, and recently they discovered a brain tumor. After sending him home from the hospital on Friday and brining in hospice, he passed away this morning. Mr. Crowley, you will be in our thoughts and prayers as will your wife and children Kevin and Eileen.

This makes me even more nervous for my Dad. My Dad has had a disgustingly gross cough for the last few years. His skinny as a rail, is a closet smoker and drinks probably a six pack of beer a day (at least.) What scares me the most is that he refuses to go to the doctor. My Mom, my sister, my uncle (his brother) and I have tried to get him to go the doctor. I even took him out two weeks ago to urge him to go to the doctor. My sister is pregnant with twins and Keds and I are getting ready to adopt. I used the "Beth and I want our kids to know their grandfather" line. I'm 98% certain it went in one ear and out the other. At this point, short of telling him we are going to Disneyland and taking him there under false pretenses, I don't think anything will get him there.

This was a nice, lazy weekend. We spent almost all day Saturday in the pool. Today, between the gym, church and another afternoon in the pool I think I'll be well-rested heading into the work week.

I opened up a new single-origin coffee this morning - Ethiopia Fancy. I blended it with my remaining New Guinea Highlands. It was an, um, interesting blend to say the least. I'll be interested to try it on its own tomorrow. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, so that adds a historic element to it as well. Another shipment is on it's way. In trying to find the perfect pound that Ked and I will both enjoy, I'm trying at least one new coffee everyone shipement in addition to the New Guinea and Major D that we already like. One thing I did learn is that Keds does not like the French Press (yes Matt, I wussed out and bought one). It does make a STRONG pot of coffee, but it was different and I enjoyed it.

This week is shaping up to be busy, with a lot of after-work activities. A meeting with Jewish Family Services on Monday, the Andrew Martin for Assembly Kickoff event on Thursday and Andrew on Tuesday will make for a busy week heading into Memorial Day weekend.

Anyway, I hope y'all had great weekends as well. I've got a couple of good posts planned for the week, so let's see how that shapes up.

Deplorable

I keep counting down the days until January 20, 2009. The lengths that our current President will go to in order to score political points will never cease to amaze me. I appreciate a good foreign policy discussion as much as anyone. But this President has no interest in having a discussion. Instead, he took an opportunity speaking in front of the Israeli Parliament to make a political swipe and inject himself into November’s election.

True peace in the Middle East is going to be difficult. To achieve peace and stability in Israel/Palestine and Iraq will require a lot of effort on all sides. It will mean direct engagement. Calling it Appeasement is a bit like referring to our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as a new Crusade.

Our President made an already difficult situation in the Middle East worse. What he proved today is that he just doesn’t care, and that he will do anything for political gain even as he rides off into the sunset…

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's a picture of me and my Mom. I just wanted to do a quick post wishing her and all the mother's out there in blog-land a very happy Mother's Day.

My Mom has always been there when I needed her. It's hard to believe that 19 years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was right after she had completed her bachelor's degree while working full-time and running a household of four. She may frustrate the living crap out of me sometimes, but I love her just the same. My life wouldn't be the same without her.

Mom, I love you. I hope you enjoyed your brunch and will continue to enjoy your Peet's Coffee (even if it is decaf!).

Friday Filibuster

Yes, please note the irony in the title. This post is going to be both politcal and more than just a quick read.

A small item made news here yesterday about a bill proposed by Congressman Dean Heller from Nevada’s First Congressional district. Don’t get me wrong, it will play well in his district that covers Reno, rural Nevada and a very small piece of Clark County. The bill is an amendment to the Voting Rights Act to remove the requirement that bilingual ballots be provided if 5 percent of the voting-age citizens are deemed limited in their English-speaking skills, as determined by the US Census.

I will admit that I have mixed feelings on this bill. To be able to vote, you need to be a US citizen. To be a US citizen, you need to pass a basic English proficiency exam. So why do we go through the taxpayer expense of printing dual-language ballots? How much English do you have to understand to read what office the candidate is running for and the candidates’ names? The complexity comes in when reading and understanding ballot initiatives. This are often very wordy and tough to follow, even for those with a firm grasp on English. It makes sense that they may need to be translated to be adequately understood.

The immigration debate in this country hasn’t changed in 200 years. It started with the first waves of non-WASP immigrants. First, it was the massive amounts of Irish immigration. The next waves were from Italy and other, poorer and mostly Roman Catholic areas of Southern Europe. Many people today don’t realize there was a serious effort to bar Catholics from both citizenship and the right to vote in the 19th century. During the California Gold Rush and construction of the transcontinental railroad, there were massive amounts of Chinese immigration. If you were to walk through the ethnic neighborhoods of any major city (New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the languages of the “old country” would have dominated. Children learned to speak English, and served as translators for their parents who had a limited grasp of the language.

The general debate hasn’t changed. The only wrinkle is that there are a substantial number of people entering the country outside of the established processes. We need to protect our borders. We need to maintain our national security.

However, the bill as proposed by Rep. Heller does nothing to secure our borders. It just makes it harder for those citizens that are still gaining confidence in English to understand ballot questions and fully participate in every voting-age citizen's civic duty – take an active interest in public affairs and vote.

We need to call this bill what it really is - an election year stunt to rekindle debate on a “wedge” issue without actually solving things. Chances are Rep. Heller was only asked to propose this bill because it will play well in Reno, Pahrump, Ely and the rest of rural Nevada.

This country has real problems that need to be solved. People are losing their homes. Our military is under-funded and stretched thin in two theaters, compromising their effectiveness. Our infrastructure is old and at greater risk of failing.

Introducing this bill is a bigger waste of taxpayer money than printing bilingual ballots. I only hope that Jill Derby can use this argument against Congressman Heller. It's obvious to me that he is not independent and simply a tool for Republican leadership.

Work Update

I'm sure several of you (need to be realistic here) are wondering how the new job is going. Generally speaking, it's going well. The worst part of it is commuting to and from work every day and getting up at 5 a.m. so I can be there by 7. Everyone is nice, and very supportive. They are making sure that I am set up for success, which is AWESOME. It's just that horrid part of a new job where you know you are competent, but aren't completely independent yet. However, I spoke to my boss yesterday and he's very pleased with my development. So things are going well. I should get my benefits packet in the next couple of days (YAY) so we can stop paying COBRA...

However, starting a new job has led to some other adjustments. I'm trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercising regimen. It's just easier said than done. The diet isn't too hard, it's just finding a way to make it into the gym as often. And when I get to the gym, I'm freakin' exhausted. My trainer even commented that I am gassing out a lot faster than I used to - the effort is still there, but energy is not.

I'm sure I'll adjust in due time. Until then, I just need to keep on truckin'...

Weekend Update

Before our trips to LA and Florida, Keds and I agreed that we were not going to make any plans for this past weekend. We were going to take the weekend to rest, recover and recuperate. Well, that got thrown out the window even before we left for LA.

Saturday morning was the Komen Race for the Cure. Since my Mom is a 19 year survivor and my company was sponsoring a team, we decided to do it. I registered us both for the 5K walk. While we are in better shape today, neither of us could see doing the run. However, about ¾ of a mile in, we were wondering why we didn’t sign up for the mile fun walk. Oh well, a nice 3.1 mile walk on Saturday morning never hurt anyone.

We did manage to keep some down time on Saturday afternoon. We decided it was time best spent in our 92 degree pool. Needless to say, it was more than pleasant. We both got a little sun and it provided some much-needed down time. After that, we headed over to a Meet and Greet with Tom Collins, our Clark County Commissioner. The candidate didn’t stick around very long, but we visited with some folks we know, Keds got to meet a bunch of the political types I’ve been talking to, and I think we made a new friend. Not too bad for a little bbq, I would say! Then it was off to Paymon’s for dinner, which is always yummy.

Sunday was a little more crazy. Keds and Mom went to Trader Joe’s and Costco. I met Dad out at his watering hole for a “father-son chat.” You see, Dad has this lovely rattling cough. He’s a not-so-closet smoker and refuses to go see the doctor. I get that when you are feeling ganged up on, you did your heels in and you may be just a little bit scared, but sticking your head in the sand won’t fix it. It could very easily be what kills him and ends up being a drag on Mom as well. I took a different tactic this time. Given that he will be a grandfather in the not-so-distant future, I used the imagery of his own Dad and wanted him to be around to know his grandkids. I got the impression I was talking to a brick wall, but we’ll see.

Sunday night was typical dinner with Mom and Dad. However I got the break out my new French Press. I didn’t use my favorite sort of coffee (code for ‘Not Peet’s’), but some decaf sitting around since Christmas. Adding insult to injury, I ground the beans a little too fine. Mom dug it, I enjoyed it but Dad left half his cup sitting there saying it was “chewy.” This from the man that still asks if it’s Brim…

Monday came way too fast. Getting up at 5 a.m. SUCKS, but I’m enjoying things and getting myself a routine set up.