"Incumbentstan"

Great story about how our elected officials are out of touch. Read it. I say VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS AND START OVER. Here is the link:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn28.html

New Inquirer Owner Should Shake Things Up

I hope the new owners of the Philadelphia newspapers shake things up and can a bunch (Will Bunch for instance) of its far-left liberal writers. They have a chance to re-make the paper into a real voice of the people and not just a standard, typical MSM liberal rag. Don't get me wrong the Inquirer is very good in a lotta ways but its political and news slant is way too far up the butt of the democratic party groupthink.

Think about this- neither of these two large dailies has ever had a nationally known and recognized non-sports columnist. That is a disgrace for paper its size. AND that sorry track record proves the paper does not encourage original thinking nor out of the box opinion writing in its stars. They simply write the liberal and doctrinaire company line. I say let the fun begin and start shaking up all the Philly and Pennsylvania sacred cows.

Am I Too Critical

Lately, I have taken notice of more and more mispronunciations of words and names by news broadcasters. Two examples:

Fox News' Trace Gallagher (I think is his name)....... he said the "da noob" river. Yes that is how he pronounced the famous and very well-known Danube River.

Philly's local CBS station's Sunday evening news anchor (cute new chick with 3 names) reports on a shooting in the Kensington section of Philly on "Two Lip" street. Ahem, I think that's tulip street you know like the famous flowers from Denmark.And this is more information that you need but those tulips also served as one of the world's first great economic lessons on the affects of commodity prices due to changing supply and demand.

So, it's not me, right?

No Sacred Cows

The bids are in for the Philly Inquirer and the Daily News. I don't care who wins though I noticed one lib group is in the running (Yucaipa Group, an investment company that is budy buddy with Bill Clinton) and one local republican Brian Tierney.

I simply hope whoever takes over adopts a mindset that there are no sacred cows. The MSM takes a "hands off" approach to MANY local and state guvmint DRONES and MOST OF THE area power-brokers. It generally favors liberal/ democratic positions. In fact, the Inquirer was way behind in recognizing the egregious nature of the state legislature's pay-raise grab (the Inquirer thought initially the pay raise was warranted for all their hard word).

Well, in Tuesday's primary, the voters ousted 17 of 61 incumbents (who had primary opponents). THAT MEANS ALMOST 1 out of 3 lost their job! That's humongous; only two lost in the last election cycle.

I believe incumbents for state office are in trouble including Fat Eddie Rendell, the Dem govenor who signed the pay raise legislation which was subsequently repealed due to citizen/ blogosphere outcry (which also caught the Inquirer flatfooted).

And lastly, good riddance to the far-left Daily News which will almost certainly go out of business even though it has always had an exceptional sports page.

My Annual Advice to the New College Graduates

Note- this is a re-print of a letter I sent two years ago to three relatives who just happened to be graduatiing from college.

Advice to the New Graduates

Dear Michele, Christine & Gabe:

Before I wrote this, I looked in a dictionary for the definition of the word “commencement”. The dictionary states commencement refers to “the act or process of bringing or being brought into existence; inauguration, inception, incipience, initiation, leadoff, birth, dawn, genesis, start”.Therefore, commencement suggests your lives are just beginning (and that is true in some respects).

And by calling graduation ceremonies a “commencement”, our institutions of higher learning have sorta decreed you can’t really take that first step until they have conferred a degree on you. That’s somewhat presumptuous but I guess by promoting the necessity and value of a degree, the schools can make a buck too. And there is no law against that.

Essentially, I wish you two things: interesting people and interesting places. By that, I hope you find, see and keep both of those close to you for all your years. If you do that, you will lead rich, rewarding and fulfilling lives.

And try very hard to understand the primary goal in life is to get very old. I know you won’t agree with that statement right now but believe me you will one day. Put more simply, it is exhilarating to be both available and sufficiently lucid to give the eulogy at a friend’s funeral.

I know it is hard to resist the urge to follow the crowd. But do try to be your own person- so don’t routinely and rigidly adopt all of the latest fads and trends. Find music, books and other hobbies you enjoy and make time for them.

Endeavor to be a leader to others. Christine, you are a born leader. And there is much evidence you were born with the ringleader gene. That’s the mischievous cousin of the leader gene. And that is a good thing- you love life and you show it.

Each of you should try to stand up for what you believe is right even:

• · When your opinion is unpopular·
• When it’s not the easiest path to take and·
• When you have not been right about anything in a very long time (cause the law of averages says everyone is right sooner or later).

You will be a part of many groups and organizations in the next 60-70 years. Don’t just go along for the ride. Give your best effort. Develop a reputation as an impact player. You can do that by making a strong personal impression and offering your support to the group’s goals (i.e unforgettable PARTAYS, improve annual sales, beat the Villa Gorillas every other year).

Never stop learning and never stop asking questions (there are almost no dumb questions).

Set out to identify mentors and role models from whom you can learn valuable life and career lessons. A good mentor will be happy to freely give you career and life advice for years to come.

Strive to be a role model yourself. Be generous to others with your time and knowledge. No one can leave much of true value in this world except those gifts you plant in the hearts and minds of those you leave behind.

Be open-minded and learn to think for yourself. Don’t be afraid to question the prevailing wisdom or latest news story. For example, a national news program recently ran a story that “the exercise done on Infomercials accounted for more than 50% of the total exercise done in America”. That “news” story first originated as a spoof in a satirical magazine. The news network picked it up as “real news”. I cringed and laughed when I heard it and wondered if any of you (had you worked on that program) would have thought to question the ridiculous premise. I believe each of you would have (Especially Gabe since he reads the magazine though until now he probably thought its “news” stories were legit).

Take very good care of yourself both physically and mentally. There is a time to party and a time to “not party”. Try to learn the difference way before you turn forty (so you can still run for President).You only get one chance in this world and life is much better when you are fit and ready to take advantage of all it offers.

Make strenuous exercise a regular part of your routine and add a large helping of mental exercise and challenges to keep the mind in top shape. If you smoke, quit.

With regards to your career, as you know there is a secret to success. Unfortunately, it is a secret so I can’t share it with you. So, you will have to settle for my own priceless advice:

• NO MARKETABLE SKILL= ZERO JOB OPPORTUNITIES= NO MONEY
• MARKETABLE SKILL = JOB OPPORTUNITIES= PAYCHECK= REGULAR PARTAY
• LOTTA MARKETABLE SKILLS= MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES= MORE MONEY= REALLY BIG PARTAY

So what does that mean. Pick some skills. Regularly polish, hone and improve those skills with practice and repetition. Enhance your skills with regular study and learning and MAYBE you will always have a job and make money.

Ideally you will choose skills (as I said that are marketable) in jobs and professions where:

• You enjoy the work (i.e. barfly, world philosopher, expert recounter of Seinfeld episodes, social director for former dorm mates).
• It is in demand by employers and customers and
• You are good at it and like it.
• It would be great if you could find a career that has all three of the above criteria but you will survive and likely thrive even if you choose skills that only have two of the above criteria.

And remember, there are no guarantees in life and life can be unfair. That’s just the way it is. Bitching about bad breaks won’t help. It will just make you very unpleasant to be around.

Be confident in your abilities and self-worth. Be persistent in pursuing what you want.

Michele- with your focus and drive you could achieve anything you set your sights on. So set your sights high! Gabe, you could do anything. You just have to convince yourself you CAN do anything instead of finding reasons for why you can’t do something.

Remember you are most fortunate to have been born in this country. Though not without its faults, it is the greatest country on Earth. Always honor and respect the elderly though I know it is especially hard when they don’t wear their hearing aids.

Always value and cherish your family even when they ask a bazillion questions about your latest escapade.Remember where you came from, respect traditions, and perhaps start your own traditions.

Stay informed about current events - it makes you a more interesting person and give you a big edge on your peers.

Be faithful to your core values and beliefs, your religion, your lover and one day your spouse.

You will make mistakes. Most mistakes are minor and can be fixed. However, try to avoid the really big mistakes (i.e always wear your seat belt). Observe other people and try to learn (and maybe get a good laugh) from their big mistakes.

But you also have to take risks in life. Without risk, there is little reward. Just do your homework before you take those risks.

Set priorities and establish goals and objectives- it makes life a bit more interesting to look back and see how you did. And try to recognize the difference between what is important and what is not.You each have what it takes to be very happy and very successful. Keep that in mind and let the fun begin. Just know I’ll be watching you. Love and all the best to each of you,U.T.

It's Not Nice To Call Someone That- Even On the Internet

Did you seen the internet catfight yesterday brewing on the Huffington Post where one manly liberal is calling out a Republican pundit and talking head and actually threatened to beat him up? Here is the link if you'd like to read it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/michael-smerconish-is-a-p_b_20843.html

That story made me come up with my own list of who I thought was a Wuss and who I figured was not a Wuss.
And BTW, I placed both the threatening lib and his Republican target in the Wuss category. Also the bloviating lib attended Penn which has absolutely no record of even one tough guy among its thousands of alumni (OK maybe one and that would be Football Hall of Famer Concrete Charlie Bednarik who went to Penn about 50 years ago).

WHO IS A WUSS :
…..Cenk Uygur & Michael Smerconish (the squabbling talking heads with odd names), Will Bunch, Chris Matthews, John Podesta, Bill Clinton, Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann, Billmon, Bill Lockhorn, Chris Satullo, Dick Polman and David Gregory.

WHO ISN’T A WUSS:
……………..Aaron Rowand, Allen Iverson, Camille Paglia, George Bush, John Street, Bill O’Reilley, Stephen Colbert, Steve Mackell, Rasheed & Ben Wallace, Laura Ingraham and Tom Ferrick.

NY Times Correction

Saw this on Powerline......the NY Times had to correct a story about a soldier killed in Iraq. The original story reported the soldier recieved the "Purple Star" Medal. Doesn't everyone except the NYT know it is called a Purple Heart. It's an unbelievable mistake. Below is the actual correction from the NY Times...

"An article and a picture caption yesterday about the funeral of Sgt. Jose Gomez of Queens, who was killed on April 20 in Iraq, referred incorrectly to the Army representative who comforted his mother. She was a sergeant first class — an enlisted woman, not an officer. The article also misstated the name of a service medal that a general presented to Sergeant Gomez's mother. It is a Purple Heart, not a Purple Star. In some copies, a picture of the coffin being carried out of a funeral home carried an erroneous credit. The photographer was Ozier Muhammad of The New York Times." (Go to Article)

Graduation Advice

I enjoy reading commecncement addresses to see if they contain any true nuggets of truth and wisdom. Below is a tongue-in-cheek column by Tom Ferrick, the Inquirer's best metro columnist. I recommend you read it for some laughs. Below is the link.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/14540670.htm

Newspaper Circulation - The Most Liberal Papers Dropped The Most

I saw this on Drudge. Many of what I call the most liberal papers seem to be losing readers the fastest....The SF Chronicle lost almost 16% in six months. Can that be accurate? The Philly Inquirer lost 5% and the Atlanta Journal Constitution lost more than 6%.

I read the Inquirer and in many ways it is very good and other ways it is pathetic. It sucks up to so many Dems (Fat Eddie Rendell especially) and most of its opinion writers (columns) are bigtime libs..Dick Polman, Trudy Rubin, Chris Satullo (editor and wheeny lib), etc.

Here is the link to the story. http://www.drudgereport.com/flash.htm

What A Great Country

What a great country this is. My evidence is the huge number of illegal imigrants who played hookey from work to voice their desire to stay in America. The pols have to figure out what is right..I believe some sort of delayed amnesty BUT we need to simultanously stop the border bleeding by erecting a secure wall down Mexico way.

I was wondering too what my ancestors would have done to protest back in 1900 or so. I suspect if it involved a day off from work, they would have chosen to go to a bar and play darts, gamble, fight and just generally carouse in a drunken stupor. Sure sounds like more fun than marching peacefully down a crowded street.