Shame on Congress!

The recent passing of the Energy Bill has made the priorities of our Congress quite clear to me. Over 4400 items added for individual projects spending over $16 Billion dollars in taxpayer money. What do they care? It's not their money, it's ours. And to add insult to injury there is NOTHING in the bill to help alleviate the current prices of gas we are paying now. Fuel is taxed by both the state and federal governments. For every dollar spent on gas, 31 cents is tax. Imagine if the government decided to help struggling families by saying they would reduce the amount of taxes charged on gasoline. That would have been something tangible. It may have not been a long term solution but it could have helped. Not too mention that the less money flowing into D.C. means more controlled spending (at least I would hope). Also not in the bill is anything to make sure we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I believe the raising the minimum MPG for vehicles would be a good start. I wrote in an earlier blog my thoughts on foreign oil and with the price of oil at $65.00 a barrel it is even more poignant. our energy policies are so inefficient it's laughable. If congress really made the effort to streamline our energy needs we could reduce the cost of gas, increase our efficiency in our vehicles, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve our air quality by reducing emissions all by making some common sense adjustments. It seems that congress no longer listens to common sense, they listen to money and that is trouble for all of us.
If there was a way to give the President a "Line item Veto" it may be worth it. Or at the very least create an overseer committee that are not politicians but rather economists and accountants to filter through the garbage added. Better yet, take the GDP of each state, put aside a set amount of funds out of a bill to be divided up according to each states population and GDP and then make that the amount each Congressman is limited to sending back home to use how ever they deem necessary. This would create 2 things, an equal share of funds per state according to each states need and fiscal responsibility by the legislators of that state to spend the funds on real projects. For example, if a state like Arizona is getting 100 million, I bet the citizens would make sure it was used to pay for highway infrastructure, education, tax relief, or some other improvement for the citizens instead of a bridge that is not needed or a warehouse to be renovated, or even highway beautification projects. Make those who want to spend the funds accountable because lets facce it, Congress is not accountable to anyone, and that can be dangerous.
All I can say is shame on Congress and shame on President Bush for not vetoing this pork laden, inefficient, embarrassing piece of legislation. The energy bill should be named "Congresses personal spending account bill".

And that's what I think about that!

Bye bye Wright

The Wright Amendment. A rule imposed by 1 man at the behest of 3 of his major contributors to restrict flights from Dallas Love Field to anywhere outside of Texas and the 4 states directly surrounding Texas and later amended to include Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas. An anti-competitive law that stifles affordable air travel from Dallas and protects the 800 pound gorilla, DFW. It's time for the rule to go. Proponents of the law say it's needed to ensure that DFW maintains it's role as the main airport in the region. They say it was an agreement between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth when DFW was being built and it should be maintained. They say it's a law and shouldn't be changed. Here's what I say. Laws are made. Laws are un-made. Things change and laws become obsolete. This is one of those laws. DFW is the main airport operating over 1000 flights a day all across the nation. Dallas Love is only allowed to have up to 250 flights and will never grow to the point of challenging DFW. It's like restricting a Mom and Pop store because it could hurt the Wal-Mart 2 blocks away. Let's really call this law what is was, a favor. A favor by the then Speaker of the House Jim Wright to the 3 major airlines in Dallas who were po'd that Southwest won in every court case and were to be allowed to operate from Love Field instead of being forced to fly from DFW. In other words, the law was on Southwests' side. Southwest won in court and the only way to get even was to call in a favor from a politician. This restriction is outdated and needs to be repealed. The law is a holdback to the times when airlines were regulated by the government. When de-regulation was passed for the airline industry, Love Field was forgotten and left in that year.
Perhaps back when DFW was a fledgling airport and growing it needed some type of stimulus or protection, not anymore. It's the 3rd largest airport in the country and no longer should be afforded this benefit. Face it, if it can't survive without the protection of this law, maybe they need to look at making some changes? It's the 800 lb gorilla that was raised in a cage and is now afraid to go back to the wild and compete with the rest of the animals.
Competition is good for the consumer and even business. As with many laws made decades or centuries ago this one has become obsolete and it's time we got rid of it. If we can't change laws or adjust our rules to accommodate changing times we may as well get used to living in a world that never evolves.

Let the Hockey Season Begin

Whoo hoo! Hockey is back in town. I'm watching with interest all the changes teams are making. Of course I'm most interested in my team, the Red Wings, but there have been some acquisitions that have just floored me. Chicago got Khabibulin. That was a major accomplishment. I was hoping my guys would get him but to be real it would have taken almost a miracle for that to happen. I also just read Pronger is going from St. Louis to Edmonton. That was a surprise. Pronger still has a lot of good hockey left in him. It seems all the teams are going for 1-4 major players and then going conservative in the hopes of getting a break later on. Oct 5th is the starting date and I am looking forward to it! The schedule also is keeping the teams closer to home and having them play their regional opponent's more. They say it'll help make more exciting rivalries but I think people would rather see the teams match up against a broader spectrum throughout the year. It gives you a better feel for how things will shake out in the race for the playoffs. We'll see how it goes. Just from looking at the trades I really don't see any team that is positioned much better than any other so far. Everyone got a few elite players and no one team seemed to have faired better than any other. The only real stand out is Chicago. They made moves that have increased their potential tenfold. I guess the only way they had to go was up anyway so maybe it's not such a surprise.
We'll, I'm looking forward to seeing the season start. I'm getting my jersey out.
Game on!

Being a Daddy

As I tuck in my little boy and we say his bedtime prayers he looks up at me as asks for me to lay down with him. He's at that age where his imagination is running rampant and having Daddy there helps calm his anxiety. I think of all the things I need to do before bedtime but all I say in answering him is, "of course I will". You see, I realized early on that I never want to be able to say I wish I would have done this or that or taken the time to do something with my little boy or baby girl. I know I'll still think of them in that way even when they are older. I don't want to ever regret not taking the time to be there when they need me to make the scary things go away, or catch them when they're bouncing too close to the edge of the bed, or being pushed around by an older kid. You see, that's my real job. It 24/7 and pays better than anything else I've had.
The adoration, friendship, playfulness and Love I receive from them make all the backaches from pony rides and bounce on daddy games worth it! It's the most rewarding, caring, wondrous, and heartbreaking job a person could have and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I get heartbroken everytime I think of them getting older and more independent and eventually creating their own life, a life with me on the sidelines. At the same time it's that responsibility to raise them so they may grow independent that is the cornerstone of raising children. What an oxymoron! It's like winning the lottery as long as you give it away, but we do get to watch them grow and become older, bigger, smarter, and hopefully a person that is better than we are. That is one of the rewards for doing a good job at being a Daddy. To hear your child say they want to be just like you is the best compliment in the world. Hearing about how much fun they had going out running errands or helping you complete a project is the affirmation that stays in your memory. To have you little boy come up to you and say, "Daddy, will you play trains with me?" is a feeling of pride that your son thinks you are cool to play trains with. Well, it's time for me to look in on him. It's just another thing in a long list of things I don't ever want to miss out on. It also give me an appreciation of what my parents went through (and still do) and go through every time our visit has ended and we have to return to our own home 5 states away.

Eminent Domain

Ok, I just had to say my opinion on the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding Eminent Domain. I think it was wrong. The ruling allows a city to acquire an area of land owned privately by homeowners and sell it to a corporation to build a hotel and convention center. It is a declining area and the property values may be on the fall but does that give the city the right to claim someone's privately owned land?
According to the Supreme Court it does. I could understand if it were for a governmentally owned and needed community project but to turn around and sell it to a corporation for constructing a hotel and convention center is just wrong. They have to pay the homeowners "just compensation" but just how much is your home worth? If it were one of the Justices homes, I wonder if the ruling would have been the same. Land and Home ownership is one of the most basic rights under the Constitution and should be protected. I find it hard to believe that the city and homeowners couldn't come up with a better solution to making a deal work. Basically it means that after time passes, no ones homes are safe from being claimed by the government. During a press conference the city openly stated that they needed money from the tax revenues this project will bring. I say let the homeowners share in those revenues then. Also, how did the city get so far in the hole that it needs to confiscate peoples homes? Perhaps the city council should have offered up their houses to be torn down and the land sold to a corporation? I sure hope the "just compensation" includes a prime price for the people who's lives they've just sold.

Children in Congress

It's seems we have elected children into Congress. Each side claiming the other have made statements that are "inappropriate" and demanding apologies. It all escalated with Sen. Trent Lott at a birthday party. Now it's escalated to just about every week someone saying something and the opposite side taking offense. Taken out of context almost anything can be made into an inflammatory remark. The United States has become a country who's politicians are hyper-sensitive to any remarks that may be construed as unpatriotic, anti-military, pro-Bush, anti-Bush, liberal, conservative, racist, anti-speech, pro-taxes, anti-government, yo mama said, etc etc. So where did the first amendment go? If we don't like what our Congressmen and Congresswomen say we vote them out of office. It seems though that the Democrats and Republicans are in a war of their own and the ammo is verbal. Each side trying to catch the other making a statement that they can use to extort an apology. It reminds me of small children calling each other names and then crying to Mommy saying he called me this or she called me that. Get over it! Grow up! Get to work! You would think they have better ways to spend their time than to be holding press conferences and making press releases to try and force the other side to capitulate and apologize.
It's making me think maybe we need a large change in DC. Start with the party leaders and move on down until you find someone who has the integrity to recognize that there are important issues to be tackled. Of course this is politics, and that means it'll probably get worse. If these children had a job like the rest of us they would have been fired a long time ago. What other job can you, in a years time, create distrust between departments, take trips that are ethically questionable, hinder progress on projects without contributing a solution, divert funds to your own department while the company is in the red, complain incessantly about what others say, and then claim every small project completion as your own victory? I know I certainly don't feel like they represent me anymore. Nor do I think they care. Do you?

My Boss Flying

Sometimes in my position we are called by various people higher up on the corporate ladder to check anything from how many people are booked on a flight to if a flight is on time. My Boss recently traveled out of town for Mothers day and needed such information for his return. Here's the conversation after I answered the call. By the way, my Boss isn't exactly comfortable flying.

Me: Hey, what going on?

Boss: Not much, just trying to get home today. How's it look on the flights around noon?

Me: Let me check. All 3 flights from 11:30am thru 2:40pm are pretty well open.

Boss: It was raining here a few minutes ago. How's the weather and are the flights on time?

Me: We're taking a few short delays but mostly on time. There's a cell of thunderstorms west of you heading north by north east but should slide to the north of you.
However, there are more building to the south that may impact where you're at.

Boss: We're going to have to fly through some storms eh?

Me: Well they could head out west and go around the storms but it looks like most flights are just going over them.

Boss: I guess I can expect a pretty bumpy ride eh?

Me: Well, let me just ask you this, "are you right with God?"

Sometimes my sense of humor can have a dark side..