The "Occupy" protests have been largely misguided efforts directed at bankers and private corporations. But who is actually robbing the taxpayer? Sure, there are some cases of actual fraud...but what about the legal shenanigans involving politicians and union leaders? One Chicago union boss is triple dipping into three pension funds to the tune of $450,000 a year. This article asks a very good question -- how would you like to buy into an annuity with a 25% return on investment? Too bad, "you" can't. Because you weren't a Chicago Streets and Sanitation worker for only a single day -- you can't qualify for a special pension of $158,000. Now Chicago might be famous for gangsters and corrupt politics, but the city is not alone. The city of Boston has a problem where it has to fight in court against a legal obligation to pay pension benefits to a man convicted of corruption for taking bribes for helping a company win state contracts. Not to be outdone, the entire state of California is drowning in pension liabilities for public sector workers. Maybe "we the people" need to occupy state legislatures and positions in the federal government (instead of public parks in futile protests) in order to eliminate this grotesque public-sector corruption and greed. … [Read more...]
Is it only me?
The Food Network is advertising a new season of the show Iron Chef that features a "sudden death cook-off." What does that mean -- will the featured dish be pufferfish? … [Read more...]
Guilt trip
Recently I returned to Atlanta to visit my wife. I felt like dirt the entire drive home. I've been in Savannah, helping my mother (in her late 70s) care for my 99-year-old grandmother. Grandmother has had a wonderful life, but now struggles to adapt to home hospice care. After she fell and broke her hip about two years ago, grandmother suffered a stroke. She almost recovered completely, but dementia robbed her of the remaining quality in her life. Conversations with her remind me of the movie Memento. But she does enjoy her Klondike ice cream bar at lunch every day. Grandmother must use a walker or wheelchair to get around, else she risks falling. If she breaks her hip or leg again, it will permanently incapacitate her. Almost certainly she would be confined to bed for her few remaining mortal days. She fell again last Saturday night and cracked her head on the hard ceramic tile of her bathroom. I've mounted safety handrails around most of the bathroom, but she still managed to slip and fall anyway, almost blocking the door so we couldn't get inside to help. Fortunately, she broke no bones nor suffered a concussion. The wonderful people from Hospice Savannah came and checked on her condition that same night. We decided against taking her to the emergency room to confirm there was no concussion. Because of her dementia, grandmother has become restless. She struggles to stay in bed but still manages to sleep most of the day. It's virtually impossible to monitor her whereabouts 24/7, even with two people doing their best to keep an … [Read more...]
Mark Richt’s landmark win
I believe it's about time to give University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt a long term extension. He celebrated his 100th victory as Bulldog coach after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville -- this following a 6-7 season last year, after which some fair-weather fans grumbled he could no longer coach the team up to win the big game. The 2011 season opening loss was so disheartening I was tempted to jump on the "dump Richt" bandwagon. The team looked listless and outclassed by Boise State. Which turns out to be a pretty damn good team. But after all, isn't college football all about "what have you done for me lately?" Though the Dawgs also lost the following week against South Carolina, they looked much more competitive. Arguably, they should have won the game. Too many mistakes by young players, turnovers, and the evil genius of Steve Spurrier led to our downfall. Those mistakes now appear to have been corrected (three interceptions against Mississippi State not counting because we won the game). Those two losses were followed with four consecutive "must" wins, the most recent being our domination of Tennessee in dreaded (and deafening) Neyland stadium. Therefore, by my logic athletic director Greg McGarity should offer coach Richt a long term extension, during the bye week before the Florida game. Coach Richt (and defense coordinator Todd Grantham) deserve a renewed long term commitment from the university after all he's done for the school. Plus, it might even help with recruiting! After all, every 17 and 18 year … [Read more...]
Occupation protests versus the TEA party
Mainstream television media paints an interesting picture of the "protestors" staging rallies all around the country -- from Wall Street to Washington DC, and now Atlanta... However, the "unsanitized view" of the Atlanta protestors is much more disturbing. What's up with this echo chanting of the masses, an inculcation of group think? While I respect John Lewis for his participation in the Civil Rights movement, I'm not the biggest fan of his work as a Congressman from Georgia. Nonetheless, I'm shocked that a crowd of his admirers and supporters would refuse to let him speak at their protest. It seems that he wasn't on their agenda. Seriously -- these people had an agenda? As we learned from "Occupy DC", the protestors involved are basically clueless. Their only common goal seems to be the transformation of America into a Communist society by targeting the only real source of wealth generation, the private sector. It's rather telling that one man standing next to Lewis at the occupation in Atlanta wore a t-shirt proudly declaring himself a "union thug". These misguided angry people bemoan the salaries of "corporate fat cats" but ignore the real cause of economic turmoil in America -- entitlement programs, bloated government salaries and excessive government pensions. You only have to read the Sunday paper in Savannah to learn the local school superintendent's annual salary paid from taxpayer coffers is $192,147 and "numerous administrative positions make over $100,000 a year." (Savannah Morning News 10/9/11 pg 14A, letter to editor … [Read more...]
