A Nation Divided

Top picture: St. Louis, Missouri, citizens honoring the returning Iraq War veterans.

Bottom picture: Not Damascus but Oakland, California, "occupiers" desecrating the American flag on the steps of City Hall.

Same day. Yesterday. Same Country. Americans all. But two different Americas.

Take a good look at our America today in the pictures above. Patriotic. Angry. Law-abiding. Criminal. Positive. Negative. Appreciative. Disgraceful. Broken.

Is this the embodiment of President Obama's blueprint for "hope and change" in the USA we voted in three plus years ago?

In Charles Dickens timeless classic, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, Dickens' words are now fittingly apropos to America today:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, the the superlative degree of comparison only."

To the citizens of Oakland, WAKE UP AND RISE UP from your fear and your passivity and take back your once glorious city from these revolutionaries. How long has it been, 3-4 months of violent unrest in your city? Oakland riots look more like live feeds from Egypt than California. The rest of the country is looking upon you incredulously. If the local, state and federal authorities can't restore order and safety, then, you as taxpaying citizens should do it before it is too late or abdicate leadership to the insurrectionists.

St. Louis, you remain a beacon to what the "shining city on the hill" metaphor still represents. Sure you have serious problems but decency, rule of law and appreciation for those who serve us all still abide amidst the modern day struggles.

Is this the new divided America Obama wants? Class warfare. If so, then bring it on! Fasten your chin straps. This will be a helluva fight to November to either validate his policies with four more years or repudiate his presidency with one term.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Beauty and the Beast

Sports fans listen up. Whether you are or are not a tennis fan, you must see the recently concluded semi-final match between #2 Rafa Nadal v #3 Roger Federer in the Australian Open from Melbourne, Australia. I won't spoil the show for you if you haven't heard or seen the results.

Understandably, it's a bit of struggle to catch the action from "down under" with the 18 hour plus time difference and all but it's worth your effort and your time. Find it on replay on ESPN, online, but find it. This is some of the best sports drama on planet earth when these two meet anywhere in the world much less a Major.

Federer and Nadal. Beauty and the Beast tennis style. Federer winner of 16 Major Championships, arguably the greatest tennis player ever. His game is graceful, beautiful and cerebral. Nadal winner of 10 Major Championships, arguably, although younger than Roger, may become the greatest tennis player ever. Rafa's game is power, speed and possesses an indomitable will to win. But how can both be the greatest? I don't know but they're damn close in my estimation of tennis greatness of all time. And it's happening now. How lucky we are to witness such excellence!

Watching these two incredible athletes play against one another makes tennis relevant. The shots. The power. The speed. The court coverage. The respect they have for one another. The history of their matches. Everything about their games is so compelling, inspiring and breathlessly exciting, I can hardly contain myself. Sorry.

Bravo to both and thanks for your athletic brilliance and astonishing performances.

Where's my Pancho Gonzales wooden racket? Has it been that long? I feel like banging some fuzzy yellow balls again after watching this epic.

Thanks Roger and Rafa. I can't wait to see you at the French.

But before that happens, Novak awaits.

Presidential Platitudes for 2012, redux

President Obama delivered his third annual State of the Union (SOU) address this evening in front of a curious and weary national audience. Based on his past grandiose speeches laden with platitudes, fictional facts, and empty tiresome promises of change and hope, was anybody listening? Truly after three desultory years, does any rational taxpaying citizen of this country believe in this man's hollow-throaty-hand waving claptrap anymore? Surely, the 20 million long-suffering unemployed don't buy what he espouses.

After the speech, my questions were answered rather cleverly by comments made by the junior Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rubio said after watching the SOU address, "it's like watching a great locker room speech from a head coach (trying to exhort his players to victory) before the game but then you have to go out and perform and play the game on the field. After 3 years and you're 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, after three losing seasons, people and the players start tuning you out no matter how great the locker room speech was." To carry the metaphor a bit farther, in football, as head coach, if you lose year after year, you finally get fired.

Sure there are many who think Obama has succeeded. They desperately point to ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, Bin Laden's death, the end of the Iraq war, low interest rates, TARP and the Federal Recovery Act for dubious victories of sorts. I say...Scoreboard.

Scoreboard reads. America's exceptionalism has been downgraded. An emboldened China. Unemployment still high. Debt soared $5TRILLION in three years. Public trust in government is broken. Country sadly divided. Corporations hoarding investment cash...waiting. Small businesses barely making it. Future business health care costs unknown. Stagnant wages. Stock market spooked. Medicare and Social Security running out of funds, quickly. Fannie and Freddie still operating and losing millions per month. Housing and construction still in tatters. Fuel prices escalating. Banks reluctant to lend. Borrowers unfit to qualify for a loan. 401ks haven't recovered. Pensions ravaged. Retirements postponed. Borders still porous. Public education a disgrace. Abortions continue unabated. Churches under seige from the government. Iran continually threaten Israel and rest of the civilized world. Gitmo still open for business. No entitlement reform. Green energy failures (Solyndra). Environmental blockages (Keystone pipeline). 12 million more families on food stamps. Defense cutbacks. Whew...all that aside and more, I ask you, are we better off now than we were three plus years ago?

Returning to President Obama's SOU past addresses, they are an interesting study in his relentless re-election campaign management manifesto. Year one, 2010, was his vapid acceptance speech. Year two, 2011, was a puzzlingly childlike speech about a Sputnick moment, solar shingles and 1 million new jobs made even though the unemployment rate was over 9%. Year three, this year 2012, was his very transparent re-election stump speech of 'I'm coming to get you 1%ers'. Is that it? Going after millionaires. But, Mr. President, the country is still struggling, what do we do in the meantime? Wait until November to re-elect you for four more years based on THAT performance? Four more years of this. To quote John McEnroe, "you can't be serious?"

In terms of the serious problems of reducing unemployment, helping the middle class and "leveling the playing field for all", Obama's main strategy in turning our country around is: raising federal income taxes on all income including capital gains (now at 15%) to 30% on millionaires without deductions. Besides destroying stock investment by millionaires in the very companies who hire middle class folks, what's this feeble liberal idea going to contribute to the Fed's coffers, maybe $100Billion yearly? $100Billion is what is paid by the USA to the Chinese monthly to carry our debt. We need a bigger plan and better execution than taxing the rich to get out of this canyon of debt. We are $15TRILLION in the hole, don't you get THAT?

Meanwhile back in the chamber...listening like enraptured first graders to their teacher, Obama's lieutenants obediently sat in the front row...smirking, particularly, the Jimmy Durante-like "long nez" Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. And is it me or did VP Joe Biden hire Pelosi's skin stretcher and botox expert over the holidays? His face looked a bit more taut than usual. Alarmingly, the only Cabinet Member not present for the SOU was "Big Sis" Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, #18 in the succession line. Allegedly, she was stationed in the Situation Room if anything tragic happened that night in the House chamber. Double gulp!!

As if Obama's hubris is not enough to inflame his detractors, the tin-eared one boldly insulted all of us non-believers and skeptics with a low blow, "If you don't think America is back, then, you don't know what you're talking about." Certainly, not a presidential Reaganesque moment in the history of SOU addresses.

Hopefully, I have seen the last of President Obama SOU addresses. However, there is no guarantee that the other side will provide a candidate that is intellectually nimble and capably cunning enough to defeat the Obama-Chicago machine in the fall. Yet, Obama is on the ropes because of his anti-capitalist policies. If the Republican nominee fails to capitalize on Obama's inept presidency and lose in November, he and the Republican Party will deserve my scorn.

November 6, 2012 represents a generational opportunity for the Republicans. Don't blow it!!!

oh brother...

A Grim Anniversary

Today signals the 39th grim anniversary of legalized abortion in the United States of America, known as the historically malevolent 1973 Supreme Court Decision, Roe v. Wade.

Justice Harry Blackmun authored the law under the leadership of Chief Justice Warren Burger. The court's decision invalidated a Texas state statute that regarded abortion a felony and made abortion legal. Their winning argument was based on the right of privacy for the mother prevailing against the right of life for the baby. In my view, this morally-flawed court decision 39 years ago was when America lost its moral compass. The degradation of life and family versus the individual pursuit of private pleasure continues unabated from sea to shining sea.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta stated in 1994 at a Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC hosted by both houses of the U.S. Congress, "Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion." Those present said, "you could have heard a pin drop in that room."

Since 1973, it has been estimated that over 50,000,000, that's 50 MILLION, babies were legally aborted in this country. Across the world, the aborted babies are in the hundreds of millions. For some prespective, in World War II, over 50,000,000 troops and civilians died. The war dead like the aborted babies had little to say about who lives and who dies.

The gnawing shame of abortion has many fathers and mothers: the US Supreme Court in 1973; immoral doctors who perform abortions whose duty is to preserve life per the Hippocratic oath "I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy"; those with child who elect to abort for private inconvenient reasons; administrations who support abortion of all types particularly the heinous illegal practice of partial-birth abortions; and, the mainstream media that marginalizes, manipulates and conceals the sordid truths of abortion and its horrific impact on mothers, fathers, families and society.

Speaking of administrations, President Obama stated last year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, "Abortion helps ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms and the same oppportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams." What about the beating heart of a baby in the mother's womb, what about his or her right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? For me, I'll leave it up to God as to who lives and who dies not President Obama and our misguided Supreme Court.

As Bishop James Conley from Denver wrote recently about the Obama comments, "What a tragically confused perspective. In order to protect the rights of our sons and daughters, President Obama and many others, believe that we must deny the most fundamental, inalienable and God-given right - the right to life. This relativisim has tried to convince us that abortion is a fundamental right, and that life itself is not."

So, as we move forward towards the 40th year of legalized abortion in our country, let us as Christians offer forgiveness and compassion to those terribly scarred-mothers who aborted their babies. For as Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

LSU Lays the Biggest Egg of All Time

Pathetic. Dreadful. Terrible. Pitiful. Ugly. Boring. Maddening. Embarassing. And downright BAD!

Those are just a few of the words describing LSU fans emotions on their team's total ineptitude against Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game last night.

I picked LSU to win for all the obvious reasons as mentioned before in previous blogs. I was wrong again. If I were a betting man, I'd be homeless. My picks on anything lately seems to be the kiss of death for the team I'm supporting.

Bama kicked their bayou asses up and down that field in the Dome. Suprisingly, LSU never responded to the relentless Tide lickin'. They quit. What the hell happened on that field? LSU took an ass kicking that will haunt them for years.

Nick Saban also kicked ass. He kicked Les Miles backside back to his Ohio roots. With two weeks to prepare, Saban showed he is a bonafide genius in football with lots of grit and grind. In those same two weeks, Miles showed he is a bonafide lunkhead who was exposed under the glare of the tv lens. Unprepared. Entitled. Out-played hundredfold by his rival Saban and the Tide. Miles may not recover from this for some time.

LSU suffers a shut-out at home...92 yards total offense...five first downs...only once over the 50 yard line...in front of a national audience... in primetime... as the #1 undefeated team in the country. Good luck Les trying to explain this colossal failure to your supporters. Numbers never lie. Just brutal.

LSU's QB Jordan Jefferson looked like a high schooler against that defense. The over-hyped Tyrann "Honey Bear" Mathieu, LSU defensive back, looked equally over-matched and dimunitive against the hefty and quicker Bama opposition. Morris Clayborne, future NFL first rounder, was invisible. Superior teams do that to star players on inferior teams...makes them go away and hide. Bama shut them down totally.

Bama dominated from the opening to the closing whistles. Inexplicably, LSU laid down early. So did the LSU fans. Many left at halftime...they smelled a rout. What a putrid way to end a magical season that turned suddenly into a disaster! LSU's loss will cast a long shadow for a long time on their program and head coach, Les Miles.

Geaux Tigers no more. Sorry. I'm not falling for the Baton Rouge hype anymore. And hype it was.

mea culpa

mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault.

After bashing Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos and giving them little or no chance to defeat the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild card game, they proved me wrong once again. They won. I'm stunned but happy for the little davids against the bad ass steely Goliaths.

So to all of you who abundantly piled on me after my latest blog of "Project TT and the Broncos", I was wrong about the Broncos chances against the Steelers but not totally. Give me some air to breathe. Geez. It's just a blog!

I did blog the following about what has to happen before the game for Tim Tebow and the Broncos to win: "you are visited and empowered by angel Gabriel in the dark of night and with a new found ability of throwing a football with a spiral...quickly and accurately." And that is exactly what happened against Pittsburgh...the spiral part. 10 of 21 for 316 yards , 2 TDs passing and 1 TD rushing. Total personal yards for the game were 366 yards, a short par four, nonetheless. The week before against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tebow amassed a total of 60 yards. Today's 316 yards is a 500% improvement in one week. Incredible against the #1 defense in pro football. Go figure.

Humbly, I take no personal credit in implying that my blog had anything to do with the angel paying TT a dream visit allegedly and then TT's sudden stunning ability to throw the perfect pass at the perfect time. For that took divine intervention. And divine I am not! I te-bow to Gabriel on that ONE.

The country will be buzzing about this game for the week...or until the next miracle in Foxboro on Saturday against the New England Patriots. Can it happen again? Yes. Will it happen? I'm not going there.

The Crystal Football

Who will elevate the BCS trophy "the crystal football" this coming Monday night in the Superdome in New Orleans?

My wild-haired guess is the guy in the top picture above, affable and quirky Coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers. That's he hoisting the crystal in 2007 as his Tigers defeated THE Ohio State University Buckeyes in the Superdome for the national college football championship. But don't discount the guy in the bottom picture, his opponent for the evening, the "reddest ass" in college football Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide. That's he hoisting the same trophy two years later in the Rose Bowl after his Tide defeated the Texas Longhorns in 2009.

LSU undefeated #1 in the country, defeated #2 Alabama earlier in the season in a 9-6 overtime defensive battle and playing with a home field advantage in the Louisiana Superdome are just a few of the reasons why they will prevail in this game. On top of those advantages, LSU has more talent on the sidelines than most college teams have in their starting lineups. Simply, LSU is stacked, ornery, nasty and hungry for another championship crystal ball to rest in Baton Rouge. So, can the Tide and Saban spoil their coronation as one of the best teams ever? You bet. That's the beauty of sports. Winning is never certain. "That's why they play the game." Heroes are made in games like these. While sweat, blood then tears will be shed.

So, pull up a comfy chair with your favorite crystal-loaded beverage and snack on Monday evening and watch this historic epic battle of arguably the two best teams ever to play for the national championship. Experts predict every down battles between two great offenses, defenses, special teams and coaching from both sides.
The difference between these two evenly-matched exceptional teams is minuscule. Winning and losing this game will come down to one play...one mistake...a moment. I can't wait.

One thing is for certain, whomever wins this game glorifies the sustaining power and the prowess of the Southeastern Conference, the SEC, the best conference in college football. The SEC's football annual exceptionalism poses an almost unfair comparison or model for the other wannabe-great conferences in college football. Here's proof of the SEC dominance in this game: in the last ten national championships, a SEC team has won seven of them including this Monday night.

For us rabid college football fans is there anything better than Bama v LSU championship game in 2012 from the rowdy Dome in New Orleans? I think not!

Enjoy the game.

Geaux Tigers!

Tebow Hangover

Dear Tim Tebow,

I am a big fan of yours for now. But I'm teetering.

Frankly, I believed in your magical skills that turned ugly into beautiful...certain losses into incredible last quarter wins. I thought you were the second coming of John Elway in Denver, albeit, a different model. Oh, how those improbable wins seem so far away now...only three weeks ago.

This past Sunday, I just witnessed the worst game by a NFL quarterback in the history of the National Football League. And that quarterback was YOU. What happened? Que paso, amigo?

Besides the Denver Broncos loathsomely losing 7-3 to the pathetic Kansas City Chiefs at Mile High, your performance was equally pathetic. Watching you play quarterback in this game was about as thrilling as watching Rosie O'Donnell do a striptease while bending the pole. No sizzle cleavage, lots of fat blubber, dripping slobber and an empty wallet to boot.

Your appalling stats for the day were: 6 completions out of 22 attempts for 60 yards, 16 yards rushing, interception, fumble and several painful, for you, sacks. Your offensive yards from scrimmage total for the day were 76 yards. Most NFL quarterbacks have that in the first 10 minutes of the game. 76 Yards. That's my sand iron yardage from a good lie.

Well that's the bad news. You stunk. Now the good news. A team other than the Broncos stunk worse than you, the hapless self-immolating Oakland Raiders. They also lost. Had they won, they would be playoff-bound. However, they lost and the Broncos won the division by photo finish. Now more bad news. The Broncos and you get to face the league leading defense in the the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Troy Polamalu. James Harrison. Ike Taylor. Oh my...gulp!

For you to win and the Broncos to succeed this coming Sunday, one of two things has to happen: the entire Steeler defense has to come down with a very serious case of "the rocky runs"; or, you are visited and empowered by angel Gabriel in the dark of night and with a new found ability of throwing a football with a spiral...quickly and accurately.

If neither of those things happen, thanks for the memories. It's been a helluva ride.

By the way, I can't bear to watch what happens on Sunday. To spare more self-inflicted dyspepsia, I booked a tee time at 1:30PM on Sunday.

Good luck. God bless. And run for your life.

Hanging on by my fair weather fingertips in Denver,

5280 High Dan