Getting Yourself Out Of Focus

So...ever needed a kick in the pants?  Ever get to give it to yourself?  Musically this is one of those catchy tunes that just grabs me despite being a little heavy on the soda pop princess.

This week's song is about being the center of your own universe and the people who float around you letting you direct them and then...the real world sets in and you have to run home to momma.

Ain't it fun
Living in the real world
Ain't it good
Being all alone
Ain't it good to be on your own
Ain't it fun, you can't count on no one
Ain't it good to be on your own
Ain't it fun you can't count on no one
Ain't it fun
Living in the real world

Don't go crying to your mama
'Cause you're on you're own, in the real world
Don't go crying to your mama
'Cause you're on you're own, in the real world

I think we have all wandered into that territory at some point - thinking we have the answers and doing our thing only to find out we were mistaken.  Then the question is where is our rock?  Well for those of faith, it is easier to find, though if your faith is right, you probably did not wander too far away from the path anyway, but it is always nice to know how to get back home.  In any case, I hope you can enjoy a song for the evening and think about where your rock is so you don't find yourself the complete center of attention.

A League Of Their Own

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great." Tom Hanks (as Jimmy Dugan)

Girl's baseball.  Girl's baseball.  A girl's baseball movie.  Really?

Yes, really.

Other than the mostly historic portrayal of the All American Girl's Baseball League in this film, the important part of the movie is the reminder that baseball, like life, is not easy.

Baseball is exceptional for teaching lessons in overcoming adversity and perhaps as a firefighter/paramedic by education and profession I identify with the idea of being up against all odds.  The old line is true, great hitters fail sixty-five to seventy percent of the time and they are still applauded for their success the rest of the time.  As a paramedic I stopped counting a long time ago those victims who I knew had little chance because the stats were stacked against them.

Similarly, who said life was going to be easy.  You graduate high school, go to college, party it up, pay your dues and do your classes.  Now you have a piece of paper saying graduate.  Life still isn't easy.  Again, no one said life would be easy, but that is what gives it meaning and makes it rich...not the easy times, but the ones your remember overcoming.

When Did Murders Of Convenience Become Okay?

Thankfully, I live in a state where only two theaters were playing the propaganda film Obvious Child.  The film which is described as a romantic comedy tells the tale of a stand up comedienne who after a one night affair is pregnant.  The solution: abortion.

The director claims that this isn't a pro-abortion film, but while denying the obvious the screen play includes dialogue where our "heroine" is told to "kill it out there tonight" before a set at the local comedy club.  The "clever" retort is that she has an appointment to do that tomorrow.

I am blown away.

At what point did the pro-abortion lobby admit that killing the innocent child is what they do?  Second question, when did that become acceptable?  Third, what other murders of convenience are acceptable?

Those who clamor for the rights of women and the War on Women should look around.  It isn't conservatives and the pro-life movement that is engaging in war.  If you want to talk about the peace movement, come talk to those of us in the pro-life network.  If you want to talk about death and war, you should take the blinders off and start looking in the mirror because that is where the war is.

Desire Or Boredom?

Grrr....I hate catchy music that has less than catchy lyrics.  I guess I don't hate the lyrics that much because I am presenting Maroon 5 for their Friday Night Music debut with a song that is guilty: catch music, less than stellar lyrics.

I heard someone refer to this song as a neutered passiveness when it comes to love.  Well stated.

The argument goes every other song out there has a lyrics about "I want to love somebody, I want to dance the night away."  Still, where is the rest of it?

"If I fall for you, I'll never recover; If I fall for you, I'll never be the same."  Okay, I get the second, but the first?  Adam Levine has no songs about finding the next cheap love after this per son breaks his heart?  How does that happen?

Second, how is this love and not just lust.  He talks about expecting failure: "Love mt today, but leave me tomorrow..."  Where is the confidence.  I know I have been guilty of thinking that things wouldn't last and one thing leads to another, but why not think positive there Mr. Levine?  You might find yourself married.  Trust me, it could happen.

Audit Trail

Ever get audited by the Internal Revenue Service?  Pretty much on demand, you have to produce receipts, bills, bank statements, etc.

Meanwhile as the IRS scandal continues, it appears they are not usbject to their own rules.  The IRS has reported to Congress that they have lost the hard drives containing the emails between Lois Lerner and Democratic Members of Congress regarding who should and shouldn't receive tax exempt status.

Is that a joke?  In an investigation that has been ongoing for years, the IRS just now realizes it does not have the hard drives in question that can refute Republican assertions.  This is no longer about simply violating ethical standards, but is bordering on criminal obstruction.

The other thing it should be doing is forcing Republican hands.  At this point since the IRS does not want to play ball, you need to swallow your pride and your business tax breaks and respond just as forcefully as the Administration is.  Stop funding the IRS.

We talk all the time about reforming the tax code, but the answer is no longer to reform the tax code, but to end it.  Now is the time for a flat tax.  Yes, I am ready to give up my mortgage interest deduction.  Yes, I am willing to give up my deduction to charitable entities.  (Realize of course charitable entities are only charitable, if the IRS says they are, an issue at the crux of this situation.)  I will give up the deduction for being a parent.  What about the marriage tax...don't worry about it!  If you go to a flat tax and everyone is taxed at the same rate, it shouldn't matter if you are straight, gay, or somewhere in between when it comes to taxation issues.

The problem with the tax code is not only that it is too arcane for most people to understand, but it is all about picking favorites.  If you are married we will lower your taxes slightly - because we like married people.  If you invest in this industry or that one - we will lower you taxes because we want people to risk their money in areas they normally wouldn't.

Since the IRS can not find basic hard drives to tell us who did what, where, and when, close up shop.  I am tired of hearing excuses from these morons.  Let the bureaucrats and accountants and tax lawyers fund, ahem, honest work.  It is now time for the IRS to get audited.

A Gibraltar in cleats...

He was a symbol of indestructibility - a Gibraltar in cleats." -- columnist Jim Murray 

As an Orioles fan, it is always hard to like Yankees, but 2721 hits, 493 home runs, and a streak that would not be broken for generations until the next Iron Man overtook it, speaks for itself.

Today, Lou Gerhrig would be 111 and in remembering his birthday I think abut the quote from Jim Murray talking about the Iron Horse, and the irony, that he would then die from the particularly debilitating ALS.

ALS (Amyotropic Lateral Disease), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is an incurable neuromuscular disease known for the progressive muscle degeneration and weakness that occurs which ultimately causes paralysis.  The disease which attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

When my son spends quality time at the bookshelf at his school library, I am always happy when he wanders towards books on a guy like Gehrig who showed up and played hard everyday.  I know that when Dodge wears "K ALS" on his cleats like Curt Schilling did for so many years it is because he reveres a man who played the game right for so many years only to be destroyed by a horrible disease which eats away at the body at its own pace.

Somehow I suspect Lou Gehrig didn't have any issues being a role model for the boys of his generation that are like my son.  He fulfilled that second duty with the grace and honor he lived his life.  Godspeed Iron Horse.

The ALS Association is seeking cures for Lou Gehrig's Disease.  If you want to make a donation, you can do so on their website.  You can make a donation easily.  My son raised more than $150 himself setting up a fundraiser a few months ago.  Please step up and help us cure this disease.

Offensive

America is quickly losing its right to free speech.

A panel with the Patent and Trademark Office has ruled that the term Redskins does not deserve legal protection from those who might want to profit from the use of the name other than the NFL franchise.

Let me make sure this is clear to everyone.  Because the term is so disparaging and inappropriate, the US Patent Office has said now, everyone can profit from its use in selling knock off clothing and other items.

As importantly though, this is another example of the US government telling you what speech is and isn't allowed.  While I know Democrats in Congress were unhappy with the Supreme Court decision saying corporations could speak on issues as people, they continue to be striking at the very core of who can and can not say what.

It is embarrassing and for a party that used to protect speech, it is offensive.