Groping with security questions...

Just in time for the Thanksgiving travel season, state-sponsored sexual assault!  Welcome to America!   Now drop your drawers!

I am not a "frequent flyer" by any stretch.   My idea of fun is not being herded like a lamb to the slaughter, through a myriad of checkpoints, with the ultimate goal being to step into a pressurized metal tube hurtling through the air at several-hundred miles per hour.   Let's put it this way---airport bars show a measurable profit on the few occasions I take to the air.

I haven't had to deal much with the TSA.   I've flown twice since 9/11.   Both times the only items I took on board were a paperback book with crossword and sudoku puzzles.   I figured the less I carried, the less suspicious I would be.   I was wrong.

I guess it was the beard that prompted the vigilant TSA agents to have me remove my shoes, empty my pockets, and submit to a visual scan of my Mr. Olympia-eqsue body before being awarded the honor of boarding a clausterphobe's nightmare.

Look, I understand the concept of airport security and why its so important.  It's an unfortunate sign of the times.   My main concern is that this is the latest instance where Americans have had to ask, "how much do we put up with and still consider ourselves a free people?"   It seems we're asking that question far too much these days.

Here's the little secret that no one in the TSA will admit.   The next major terrorist attack will almost certainly NOT be via air travel.   The success of the 9-11 attacks were almost entirely dependent upon the cooperation from the passengers.   I'm sure many of them were thinking, "Great---I'm going to be late for that sales presentation in San Francisco."  Flight 93 demonstrated what will happen on ANY flight when passengers know there's a threat of terrorism.

Since that fateful day, a would-be shoe bomber and underwear-bomber have been subdued by civilians.  But the classic overcorrection, as the government assures us they're doing SOMETHING to fight terrorism, is asinine.   Don't even get me started on the profiling.   Until we determine that terrorists are using elderly Asian females to carry out bombings, elderly Asian females should not be profiled for extra "lovin'" by TSA agents.  Young Muslim males should be.   

I think it's also a prudent use of our limited resources.  If that makes me xenophobic, so be it.  as long as you don't ask me to fly. 

Fast Food Follies

I don't know why these are the type stories that piss me off the most.   Certainly in the great scheme of things, the Government takeover of Health Care, overseas military activity and International Trade Policy are much greater issues.    But I find that these "social milemarker" type stories are the ones I worry about the most.

The short version is this:  An effort to force fast-food restaurants to make the meals they market to children healthier passed a San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee yesterday. The ordinance would require that, in order to be sold with toys or other items targeted at youth, meals such as the McDonald's Happy Meal include fruits or vegetables and not have excessive calories, sodium, fat and sugar.

Even in liberal looneyland, there's some trepidation.   San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is concerned about "dictating how a private restaurant wants to market its food."  No shit!

Do I even have to go into the whole "Camel's nose under the tent" allegory?   While it may be laudable that these leaders are so very concerned about children's health, is there any logical way to argue that this will have a positive impact on children's health?    And even if there is, is it worth the cost of establishing the precedent allowing the government these types of powers.

I'm sure some will point to the Government's regulation of tobacco and alcohol advertising that allegedly targets minors.   Guess what, Jethro?   Those are products that are ILLEGAL for children.   For now, at least, Happy Meals are perfectly legal for our little snowflakes.

Ain't it great to have such a caring, benevolent government to do our thinking for us? Pretty soon, we won't have to worry about mundane things like choosing our Health Care provider, where we eat, what we do.

Thanks, Big Brother! Can't wait to be a Ward of The State!!!

Six months into socialized medicine...

The Obama administration this week is trumpeting the six-month mark of their foray into taking over nearly 20-percent of the Gross National Product.  

The anger I felt in March after the passage of the Health Care Reform Act has subsided a bit.   I now look on it with the inevitability usually reserved for ninth-inning collapses by the Tigers' bullpen, head-scratching losses for the Hokies, and Charlie and Hannah doing something that requires a painful loss of my time, money, and/or energy.

Still, it's worth noting which Health Care provisions are kicking in right now and what they represent for small businesses---not to mention the very idea of a free market economy.

As of today, it is now illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions.    Sounds great, right?   How DARE those companies deny coverage to little children with brain tumors!!!     Other provisions prevent lifetime caps on coverage, and allow slackers to sponge off of Mom and Dad's insurance until they are 26 years old!

There's a reason insurance companies have operated the way they have in the past.   They lose boatloads of money if they run things like the government is mandating.  If you're confused, google "ECON 101."

The insurance companies will, of course, abide by the law.   They'll open up coverage to untold numbers of minors with all kinds of ailments.   They'll let deadbeat 20-somethings leech off their parents a little longer.  They'll also lose lots of money.   Since the insurance companies are not in the non-profit sector, they will be forced to find a way to make up for this staggering loss.   Any guesses as to how they'll do that?

What will follow will make the premium increases we've seen the past couple of years look like chump change.   Health insurance costs will skyrocket.   What happens then?   Big-government advocates will demagogue the insurance companies, calling them "greedy, evil," etc. etc.    They'll then demand single-payer Health Care, which is Barack Obama's wet dream.

I'm not an ogre.   I have no desire to see five-year olds with heart conditions denied medical coverage.   But I also don't want an estimated 200,000,000 Americans being forced to submit to The State's whims about their basic health care.

And again, this underscores the liberal notion that all power derives from the government, then flows down to us.   Silly me.   I was taught that it was the other way around.

Purple Rain

I could feel it in my bones early on---and it was more than just the steady rain and wind pelting Lane Stadium Saturday afternoon.   

Virginia Tech's Hokies were struggling.   Five days after a heartbreaking loss on national television that dashed any hopes of bringing that coveted crystal football to Blacksburg, Beamer's boys tried to right themselves against an in-state 1-AA opponent with nothing to lose.

I felt the same thing in my bones on a sunny October day in 1998.   Tech's name was being bandied about as possible MNC fodder when they welcomed a woeful Temple team to town.   The Owls were playing with a freshman QB who had never started a game; going up against a defense that featured beasts like Corey Moore and John Engleberger.

Tech opened moving the ball well, but falling short on a few critical drives.   They still managed to build a 17-0 second-quarter lead against a team that was not their peer.   Then, the football Gods intervened.   Temple turned a short pass into a 70-plus touchdown late in the second to give them momentum at the break.   In the second half, Tech was stuck in neutral as Temple methodically cut into the lead, and took it midway through the fourth.   A last-ditch drive by the Hokies fell short, and they lost to a team that was a 38-point underdog.

The similarities on Saturday were eerie.   Tech came up short on a couple of long drives and struggled to a 13-0 lead.   Then, disaster hit.   JMU took a flare pass that should have resulted in a five-yard loss; took advantage of sloppy Tech tackling, and ran it in from 77 yards for a score.   Tech opened the second half with a long drive that resulted in only a field goal.   Then the defense gave way.   JMU's option befuddled Tech's young but vaunted defense.   The Dukes took a 21-16 lead, then forced a late Tech turnover to seal the deal.

It shouldn't have happened, but it did.   I saw it.   There's no denying it.

So what next?  Wholesale changes?   Not likely in mid-season.   Perhaps this will result in a little less pre-season braggadocio from the coaching staff---more realistic expectations from fans---maybe even a re-evaluation of who were are as a football team.

I can accept a hard-earned loss.   I can NOT accept a team that consistently performs well under its ability.  Congrats to the Dukes, who proved that mistake-free football can take you far.   For my Hokies, your high-school "Rivals" rankings mean exactly jack-shit now.  Play hard!

Some random thoughts for a rainy Monday...

***Labor Unions and the NAACP are, to quote from the movie Patton, "magnificent anachronisms." There was a time when each was necessary. Now, after having largely accomplished most of their core goals, their existence is solely center on self-preservation---the overwhelming need to remain relevant.

***The History Channel's "America: The Story of Us" is a feast for the eyes! It's historical accuracy is questionable and it takes broad liberties; but it sure is fun to watch!

***The number of new green jobs created in the last 15 months is only half of one percent of the eight million jobs lost since the beginning of the Great Recession.

***Did you know that the F.C.C. has a Chief Diversity Officer? That should send a chill down your spine.

***I don't give a rat's ass where LeBron James plays hoops next year.

***Riddle me this---aren't the provisions in the new Arizona anti-immigration law basically the same as are already part of the federal code? If current federal law hasn't already foster the "Nazi-ish" regime that opponents fear; how would it materialize under a state law?

***Remember folks, no problem that the federal government undertakes to tackle can ever be recognized as solved, because to do so would mean the dissolution of an agency. And if the federal program creates new problems, well, those are then excuses for new agencies.

All juiced up.

In an announcement right up there with "Man Walks on Moon" in terms of shock-value, Mark McGwire yesterday told us what we already knew.  He used steroids, human growth hormones, equine supplements (!) and God-knows-what else during the last ten years of his major league career.   Mister Magoo squinting at McGwire's 1987 rookie card and his 2002 Topps offering could have told you something was up.

Let me by the first to say that I had a hell of a time watching McGwire and Sammy Sosa smash dingers in 1998.  As a hopeless baseball geek, it was hard not to get excited about history being made right before my very eyes.   Add to the fact that McGwire and Sosa seemed like genuinely nice people who were having fun playing a little boy's game, and it was impossible for me not to get sucked in.

Each paid the proper homage to Roger Maris, his family, and his legacy.   They smiled at each other and at fans.  In short, they did all the right things.  But as we know today, they did them in the wrong way.

By the letter of the baseball law, I know that the substances taken by McGwire were not explicitly banned by Major League Baseball.   Neither does MLB ban rape, murder, jaywalking, or mail fraud.   Let's put it this way---if you have to go behind closed doors to do something, it's probably something you shouldn't be doing.  And you most certainly can't feign ignorance once the shit hits the fan.

This is also proving to be a lesson in contrition.  McGwire will likely be (for the most part) forgiven by the public.  He still won't get into the Hall of Fame, but his name will not be mud for the rest of his life.    Also included in the group of Forgiven are A-Rod, Andy Pettite, and Jason Giambi.  What do they have in common?  They 'fessed up!  They offered a mea culpa!

What do Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Manny Ramirez have in common?  They still act as though we're rock-stupid.  Therefore, they remain persona non grata in MLB circles.   Plus, they're all pricks---so there!!