The Meaning Behind It

People try to measure their words carefully especially in diplomacy and negotiations. It is important to convey the right meaning. But there are times that we do not think about the acronyms that names create.

I was reminded of that this morning when I reading Sherman's Lagoon cartoon strip.

Hawthorne the hermit crab was trying to impress some angelfish that he was really a good guy. He decided (in his scheming way) to setup a "charity" named Helping All Things Everywhere. Fillmore the sea turtle pointed out the Hawthorne that the acronym spelled HATE.

I have seen other real life examples like this. Several years ago at the company I work at, a VP in technology was promoting a new custom application. After I saw the presentation, I pointed out that the acronym of his proposed application was PMS! Fortunately he decided to change the name (and the project was approved).

I heard about another company that was looking to get rid of unused equipment (and get them off their books). They setup a group named the "Fixed Asset Retirement Team". How would you like to be an employee assigned to work on "FART"!

In the Seattle area, the decided to name a trolley the the South Lake Union Trolley. That's right, SLUT! I bet those government officials were embarrassed when they realized what they did!

Hugo Chavez, our favorite South American leader (hardly) calls his intelligence agency the Directorate of Military Intelligence. The Spanish acronym for it is "DIM". I wonder how intelligent they really are...

With the bank bailout, I wonder if Former Treasury Secretary Paulson really thought about the bank bailout name - TARP. Years from now we might look at it as a cover-up for the bad policy decisions made by the government (i.e. ending Glass-Steagall, lowering loan qualification requirements at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

All of this of this points to the importance of thinking about what you are saying and naming things. We can probably never prevent people from making up names from real things (i.e. Navy - Never Again Volunteer Yourself) but we definitely need to think about the meanings. This is probably why marketing guys argue that they are worth their fees...

Take Your Medicine Taxpayers

We the taxpayer need to question what is going on in Washington. We are being told that we need to take the stimulus package for our own good.

President Obama said that "If we agree on 90% of the stuff and we're spending all our time on television arguing about 1, 2, 3% of the spending in this thing, and somehow it's being characterized in broad brush as wasteful spending, that starts sounding more like politics."

Mr. President, we do have a right to question the bill that Congress voted on without fully reading it. The simple math is that 10% of the stimulus package is $78 billion. I think that is material and taxpayers should be able to question it. This is larger than Florida's state budget for 2009.

It is our right to question what Washington is doing. Otherwise it is taxation without representation. (Ironic that liberals cried for this when they were not in control but now they do not want to allow it.)

Washington is also putting together a 10 year budget ("spending") plan. They are already concerned that "their plan" may not work. As a result, we will be stuck with these bloated programs for decades and will be paying more in taxes to get out of this mess.

Note: The stock markets showed what they thought of the plans. They quickly reversed course from modest gains to being sharply lower to reach 11 year lows.

I never intended my blog to be so political from a national perspective but this is what we are facing today. We need to write our congressmen and senators and tell them what we think our how the government is spending (wasting) our tax dollars. They work for us, we do not work for them.

The Changing Lexicon of Liberals

Liberals continue to change the lexicon of politics and society. They are attempting to force their views and attempt to change the mind set of society. However this is a dangerous path because it is grossly misleading. Here are some examples that I see today:

Acceptance replaces Tolerance - The left is now demanding that we accept all fringe groups that are out there almost regardless of what they might believe or stand for. This is far different from tolerance where you recognize another group but still have the right to disagree. For example, Jews are now asked to accept Islam despite radical fringes that seek to destroy Israel.
Politician replaces Statesman - In the past, elected officials at the national level were referred to as Statesmen. Men of honor who would do what is best for the country. They have been replaced by Politicians who look out for their own interests to often. On top of that, politics has become a career whereas in the past public office was a service where someone gave up part of the career for the good of the people.
Entitlements replace Charity - We continue to see the shift from churches and social organizations (a.k.a. Red Cross) providing help to those in need towards government sponsored programs. This shift started during the Great Depression and has continued to be pushed by liberals. President Obama has left the faith based initiatives of President Bush in place for now but this needs to be watched.
Tax Breaks replaces Entitlements - The current tax code adjustments are now giving tax refunds to people who do not pay taxes. This is anything but a tax break. It is simply government welfare disguised as a tax code change.
Rights and Privileges are interchangeable - These terms have been swapped around as deemed necessary by liberals. Welfare has become a right despite no constitutional basis. Whereas items such as free speech are being infringed upon and described as privileges.
Mistake replaces Felony - We have seen several cabinet appointees admit that they failed to pay their income taxes in the past. This includes Treasury Secretary Geithner. He should have known that he was liable for U.S. income taxes when he worked overseas. I guess he did not use Turbo Tax...
Fear replaces Hope - During the election, we continued to hear a message of hope. There were good things in store for America. Now the message has to turned to fear as the economy continues to struggle. We are asked to do whatever the administration asks to avoid further damage to our nation.

There are several others that I could have put in this list.

Listen carefully to the language that comes out of our elected officials. We need to hold them accountable for what they say and do. Regardless of their political affiliation be watchful of what they say and suggest.

Is Conservatism Really A Genetic Defect?

"The reason a person is a conservative republican is because something is wrong with them. Again, that’s science – that’s neuroscience. You cannot be well adjusted, open-minded, pluralistic, enlightened and be a republican. It’s counter-intuitive. And they revel in their anti-intellectualism. They revel in their cruelty.

I don’t know if you heard me talking to Jenny a while ago, but I was saying that first you have to be an asshole and then comes the conservatism. You gotta be a dick to cleave onto their ideology."

Janeane Garofalo's view of conservatives

So according to Garofalo, conservative values are either a medical problem or plan ignorance.

Interesting idea, but where did she get her advanced degree in medicine or psychology?

Personally, I take offense to her crazy ideas. I do not think it is a genetic problem as she points out. I have a graduate degree (with honors) from a top 50 university. I also was not molded into my conservative values by my parents. (They were middle of the road when I was growing up.)

I become a conservative on my own choosing. I have compared different political ideologies and decided that conservatism is the best approach.

If I apply her logic, I guess most of the founding fathers of our nation were also defective in their thinking too. I guess I suffer from the same disorder as people like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and Madison.

This is how liberals view those of differing opinions. The opposition has something wrong with them and they should not be allowed to exist. Their push for reviving the Fairness Doctrine is proof that they think people are dumb.

Personally, I think celebrities like Garofalo need to think before they speak. I am not going to stoop to her levels and start the name calling or make degrading statements. She has a right to her own opinion. But if the general public read this they would be disenfranchised with her.

However, I am sure that I will not watch any of her movies, television shows, or stand-up comedy act. I am probably not smart of enough to comprehend her act anyways...

Miami Heat Improve Their Lineup

The Miami Heat made a big trade yesterday to bolster their lineup for the playoff stretch. Essentially they traded Shawn Marion for Jermaine O'Neal.

O'Neal is a 6'11" center / power forward who can play in the low block or face the basket. He has been a proven scorer, rebounder, and defender. His weakness has been his health (specifically his knees) and being able to stay in the lineup.

I like Marion's game but his offensive skills were not a good fit in Miami. He needs to be in an up-tempo offense where he can get the ball in space and in transition. His defense and rebounding really helped the Heat to have a good first half of the season. Plus he was playing a similar role as Beasley plays.

This trade may not be a repeat of the last O'Neal trade (remember Shaq) to bring a championship to Miami, but it does help the team in many ways:

• Low Post Scoring - Haslem is a great role player, but he is not the low post scoring option needed to run an effective half court offensive. O'Neal can play with his back to the basket and be a threat that other teams must respect. The Heat need this in the playoffs. O'Neal has proven to be a legitimate scorer through his career, but he will not be asked to carry the offense in Miami.
• Beasley can move into the starting lineup - He is better fit in the offense than Marion and can provide that secondary scoring threat behind Wade. This will allow him more opportunities to show why he was the second overall pick in the draft.
• Salary Cap Space in 2010 - O'Neal's contract expires after the 09-10 season and the Heat could have over $30M in cap space available. This will be important in re-signing Wade and possibly attracting one of the potential big name free agents that could be available.
• More Big Men off of the Bench - Magloire, Blount, and Anthony will now be coming off the bench to provide defense and rebounding. It also means that the Heat has 20 fouls to give against all-star caliber centers like Dwight Howard.

Overall, I really like the trade for the Heat. I am glad they did not trade for Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix. That would have cost them Marion, Beasley and something else. This should allow the Heat to grab the #4 seed and to be a threat deep into the playoffs.

Can We Have A Kosher Government?

My friends know that I really like BBQ pork. I have my own smoker and think that I make the best BBQ in town. I like trying pork BBQ at different restaurants.

However, I do not like to see pork in politics. I want a kosher government that is free of pork.

Washington is voting on the largest spending program in history. The House has passed it and the Senate will vote on it over the weekend. And we are being told that it is needed and important. We are also told that if we do not support this things could get even worse.

However, this package has a lot of "extras" (a.k.a. pork) that are questionable on whether they will really stimulate the economy.

Some of the pork in the stimulus package including the following items:

• $100 million for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program
• $200 million to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program
• $300 million for "Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs"
• $900 million for the IRS for the "Limitation on Administrative Expenses"
• $1 million for the Railroad Retirement Board for administrative costs
• $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Act
• $50 million for Health and Human Services to carry out injury prevention programs
• $1.1 billion for studies on the effectiveness of different medical treatments
• $200 million to upgrade labs and facilities for the Department of Agriculture "to improve workplace safety and mission-area efficiencies"
• $10 million for urban canal inspection
• $16 billion to pay for student financial aid
• $1 billion to pay for the U.S. Census
• $600 million to pay for a fuel-efficient federal auto fleet
• $650 million for the Digital Converter Box Program to help the constantly delayed transition from analog television
• $485 million to the Forest Service for "hazardous fuels reduction and hazard mitigation activities in areas at high risk of catastrophic wildfire"
• Up to $1 billion for "summer activities" for youths as old as 24-- $40 million for the occupational research agenda
• $3 billion for the Centers for Disease Control wellness programs and vaccinations
• $410 million for Indian health facilities
• $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstrations
• $2 billion for neighborhood stablization funds to be distributed through Acorn and other liberal organizations.

Some of these thing might be needed and important, but they should be in their own bills and not part of the stimulus package. The bill is 1075 pages in length. Who knows what else is in there. I doubt anyone in Congress really knows what is there.

The bottom line is that the government we elected has let us down. They instead are taking advantage of us to spend our tax dollars as they fit. We are seeing an expansion of government and a large increase in our national debt. Something that will straddle generations to come with debt. Our children and grandchildren will be paying taxes to cover this.

Now I agree that something needs to be done. We need to do something to stem the credit crunch that handcuffs businesses, provide tax breaks to individuals to increase dispoable income, and provide better transparency on financial instruments. These are things that will help everyone.

We do not need the hands-off approach of Hoover or the big government of Roosevelt. We need limited interaction that will make a difference to stimulate the economy. Instead, it looks more like the big government solutions of Roosevelt.

The "porkonomics" needs to end. We were promised something better with the new administration but instead it is more of the same of tax and spend Keynesian politics. The political paybacks need to end.

We need better from our government. We need to send a message to Washington in the mid-term elections that this is not what we wanted.

No More Hangers

I made a new resolution last year - I am not going to buy anymore clothes hangers.

It might sound strange initially, but the reality is that I have a closet full clothes. Yet I continue to receive new clothes as gifts or occasionally buy them.

The truth is I have more dress shirts and bike jerseys than I really need. Now I am not a fashion king but I do want to look nice.

So I decided that I will not buy anymore hangers. Instead, if I get a new piece of clothing I need to retire something. And that does not mean throwing things away. Instead I give the descent items that could still be worn to the Salvation Army or other charitable groups.

When my church was collecting dress clothes for a homeless shelter for people with job interviews, I gave away some shirts and a suit that no longer fit me.

I have been blessed many ways. So I found another way to share some of my excess to those who have needs.

Not Always Social...

Some days I am just not very social.

Yesterday was one of those days. I have been fighting off a sinus cold and dealing with eye infection (which a friend said I should blame myself since I didn't change out my contacts frequently enough). As a result, I was tired and not feeling a hundred percent.

So after a couple cups of coffee I headed out to run some errands and do some shopping. I went to Publix (where shopping is a pleasure) to buy some groceries. The cashier was overly friendly and asked me 20 questions from how I liked some of the items to what I was going to fix with them.

I proceeded to minimally answer her questions with one syllable answers. I just was not in the mood for conversation. I just wanted to get me groceries and go. Is that so wrong?

Family and friends who have known me for years know that when I am tired (or pre-coffee in the morning) I am not very talkative. My parents know not to ask me any hard questions until my 2nd cup of coffee.

I know that I should be courteous (and not a grouch) but some days it is hard. I need to show Christian love and kindness to others around me when I am out. On days I can't be that way maybe I should just stay home.

Depression Era Values

On Monday the Sun Sentinel carried a national wire article titled "Depression generation's lessons have value today". It is relevant topic with the economic troubles but I was surprised that they put out the ideas as being new things.

If my grandparents read the article they would laugh. They lived through the great depression and still remind me how fortunate they were to have food to eat.

The six lessons in article are things that I was taught growing up by my parents and grandparents. They are timeless and should be taught to youngsters today. Unfortunately we see too many examples of people not living by these examples and getting into financial trouble.

The principles are:

• Frugality - Live within in your means and do no spend money on things you do not need.
• Recycle - The original green concept of re-using discarded items. My father still watches for old bed frames (at the dismay of my mother) to use the steel for welding projects.
• Help - Giving to others in need. When God has blessed you share it others around you who need help.
• Work Hard - Earn your pay on the job. If you want more, work harder. When I was in high school, my parents did not just give me whatever I asked for. When I wanted a car, I had to work for it. Today people have a since of entitlement that they have a right to a car, television, cell phone, and the list goes on.
• Shun Debt - This comes back to frugality and living in your means. Do not spend money you do not have. A mortgage for home is okay but you should be afford to afford the mortgage payments. (What ever happened to the rule of thumb that no more than 40% of your income can go to debt payments, insurance, and property taxes?)
• Save - Put away a portion of what you earn. You will need money for a rainy day (a.k.a. the day your car breaks down) and retirement. (Are you really relying on social security?)

If more people lived by these principles the U.S. would be better off. We instead seek after instant gratification and pleasure which Proverbs describes as the path to destruction. Why are those principles so hard?

Fort Lauderdale Elections

Elections are coming up for the City of Fort Lauderdale. If you are like me, you are tied of the flyers on your door and commercials on cable for for the candidates.

Elections for the city are odd. They are held off-cycle after the national election. This creates less voting interest and lower turn-out. Just as bad is the fact that it costs tax payers extra money. (Will any of the candidates support moving them to November? That would be one of my campaign promises if I ever ran.)

Second odd thing is that they are non-partisan. In the city I lived in before, mayor candidates declared their party. Here they are allowed mask their true political beliefs to a certain extent.

The Sun Sentinel voiced their opinion this morning on the candidates. They supported two incumbents for city commission and two with developer ties. For mayor they supported a candidate who has been in state politics for a long time.

Here are my thoughts:

• Mayor - It is a toss up for me between Rossi and Seiler. Both have sound ideas but neither really excite me. I also do not know where they stand on some issues. Most of the candidates talk about being fiscal conservatives but who really knows. The issue of free passes for developers is one of things that concerns me. Seiler had to move into Fort Lauderdale (from Wilton Manors) to be eligible to run. Rossi's primary campaigning method seems to be bus benches for his law firm. The third leading candidate is a former military officer who did not state that he was retired in campaign literature (which is supposed to do).

• Commission District 4 - Romney Rogers - He is probably the most like my personal views and does not appear to be connected with developers. One opponent sent a flyer stating he would encourage the right kind of development yet a meet the candidate party was co-sponsored by one of the "McMansion" builders in Rio Vista. The third candidate sent a flyer stating that he was capping his personal funding of his campaign at $10K for a $4K position - that does not add up. What is his motivation? It is probably not in our best interest.

It is important to get out and exercise our right to vote. In these tough times we need good representatives to help manage the government through these tough times.

Super Bowl XLIII Prediction

Tonight is the single most watched sports event - the Super Bowl!

I will be at a party tonight enjoying the game and the fun associated with it. Most of probably do not care about either team unless you were originally from those cities. Some will probably care about the local guys from high schools and colleges in FL.

So how do I see the game turning out?

Pittsburgh comes in with the tougher and in some ways more talented team on paper. The have a hard hitting defense that can stop most teams. Their linebackers really make the defense because they can rush the quarterback, stand up to the run, or play in space.

QB Ben Roethlisberger is a good leading their offense but he has not been special in the playoffs. He will not win a lot of games with his arm but he can cost them game with interceptions. The Pittsburgh running game is the power run behind a big offensive line.

Arizona is led by QB Kurt Warner and the dynamic duo at WR of Larry Fitzgerald (who is one of my favorite fantasy players) and Anquin Boldin. Edgerrin James has looked revitalized in the playoffs after a lackluster season.

Most people cannot name two starters on the Arizona defense. They have their own hard hitters in the secondary led by Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle. The secondary is also good at picking off opponents passes. If the front seven can slow the run and force Pittsburgh to throw, the secondary might come up with a big play or two.

So can Arizona win the game? Yes they can. They are on a roll in the playoffs beating Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Carolina.

The key is spreading out the Pittsburgh defense. This is what Indianapolis has done to beat Pittsburgh in recent. If Arizona watches those game films, uses that offensive philosophy, and keeps Warner's jersey clean, they can beat Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh offense is not designed to score a lot of points.

My prediction: Arizona 31 Pittsburgh 20

What do you think?