Things I think about while wondering why people have no sense of space out in public anymore...Denver is not a huge city, by any stretch, but any time I'm at the bank or grocery store you can be damn sure that someone behind me is well closer than within an arms reach. I want to ask some of these people if we're dating.
As always, these are my thoughts on certain subjects-you don't have to agree, but you don't have to beat me up if you disagree, either.
The NBA Lockout
Here's to the players holding strong. If anyone tells you its a 50/50 split that the league and its owners are offering, check the not-so-fine print. Owners want that split after they break even. Not sure what that math is, but it for damn sure isn't a 50/50 split. Added bonus to the lockout? We all get to watch more college hoops and the NHL. If the NBA and the people involved are honestly selfish and greedy enough to think that we the people won't find something else to do, then they are still thinking CDs are the greatest form of music. Everybody has a website nowadays , folks, nothing new under the sun.
To the NBA Union attorney who uttered the quote, "Instead of treating the players like partners, they're treating them like plantation workers." Just shut up. Pack up your belongings and go, your services are no longer needed here. Yup, plantation workers made millions. The comment is so ignorant that I can honestly say I'm happy David Stern slapped him down. There is no place for Al Sharpton-like rhetoric. This is a negotiation between those that are prepared (owners) and those who discuss things on a personal level (players). I would like to see the players prevail, but they are ill-prepared. Statements like the one above do a disservice to the memory of slavery and in no way help the current situation. Screaming 'Racist' when their is no racism just dulls it down.
Penn State
Things I think about while watching Joe Paterno's son Jay well up at the end of that loss to Nebraska-I welled up, too. I'll get to why in a minute. Here are some links and some thoughts;
My first thought was that it was ridiculous to even think about firing a man that has spent such a long time building up not only a program but a university that no one would know about if it weren't for him. Joe Paterno cared, but not enough for some people about this subject. He was wrong. He admitted it will haunt him. And I believe him. Disclaimer-I like the old guy. He hasn't changed. He's 84 years old, still wears white socks with black shoes, his glasses are thicker but same style it looks like, pants are a little short. I'd kill for his head of hair, wouldn't you? Like I said, I like the old guy. How Penn State University handled this whole situation from the jump is wrong. I hate the question of 'why didn't he go to the cops?', as if it falls on him. He didn't witness the incident. He only heard about it. What about the coach that did witness it? Why is he still on the payroll at Penn State? Why was he not at the game vs Nebraska Saturday (and the answer is because of threats on his life-fine, I get it, but you didn't see even one cop around JoePa's house yesterday on camera, at least)? Why was Paterno, after some 50 or 60 years of service to that university, fired by a courier and then a phone call? Why is the president of the university allowed to resign as opposed to getting fired? That's the one that really pisses me off. Fired to me means no bennies, no severance, no good byes, no nothing. Resigning means there was some form of dignity to that process. Why should the university president get off like he knew nothing.
Penn State fucked this up from the get-go when they first found out about it over a decade ago. The perpetrator of these disgusting acts, Jerry Sandusky, should be publicly lynched. That I read reports that he's distraught over how Paterno was fired for his actions sickens me. Sandusky should be publicly castrated with a pair of hedge clippers. Yeah, I said it.
I'm tired of stories about child abuse. Especially children being sexually abused. It's disgusting, heinous, immoral and flat out wrong. If I could be a superhero, that would be the thing I would try to stop and avenge. These sick perverts need to be wiped off the map. Period, end of discussion.
Back to PSU and their handling of it, especially this week. Before Paterno was fired, Jason Whitlock points out that Penn State had no problem keeping this under wraps until after he got win number 409. I originally thought that Penn State firing JoePa was stupid, and I still do, because of the way it was done. I also don't look at it as just Paterno. There is a chain of command that seriously did some wrong things. Swept under the rug? Probably yes. Shouldn't they all be fired, including the holier than thou board of trustees? Sorry, I realize that I have way more questions than answers. If I have all these questions, shouldn't someone involved with the school spoken up and asked these questions?
The skeeviest of rumors-I'm addressing it right now. There is a rumor out there that Sandusky, thru the charity Second Mile, may have 'pimped' some of these young boys out to rich donors. If that is the case, then I want names. All of them. I want every donor to Penn State football or Second Mile investigated for the last 30 years. Beyond appalling. There is no punishment that could fit the crime, the victims won't ever be made whole again. I understand the outrage that people have. I do. I don't want to dismiss the victims in this, because it's already happening. They are on the backburner of this story, and it's not right. A lawyer of some of the victims even states that Penn State screwed up royally by firing Paterno. My last 2 thoughts on this whole sordid travesty are this-1)Deadspin.com does a great job of reporting on this, and a timeline, including grand jury testimony. 2) Matt Millen. A horrible GM, we can all agree to that, right? A Penn State Linebacker. Known Jerry Sandusky since 1976 (I'm guessing probably met him less than a year after I was born). Click this link, watch the video. Mock him all you want. I'm going to throw something by you that probably no one else has thought. While Millen is part of the PSU family, and loves JoePa, Millen is a fiery guy. I think it's kind of a prerequisite to play MLB in the NFL. Do you think it's possible that once Millen found out about this stuff he went thru the following: "This is crazy. Wait, he did what? Where? To little boys? No way. I've known the guy for 35 years, this can't be possible. Holy Shit. This man has been in my house. Around my kids. What about...my kids? Did this sick fuck touch my kids?"
And that, boys and girls, is how we all should think. I realize that there are things my friends don't know about me and I don't know about them, but if I ever found out one of my friends for the last 20-25 years did anything like this, I'd be disgusted with myself. My skin would want to crawl off my body and leave. And then? I'd want some answers, but I'd probably want some justice of the fist first. That's wrong, and I know it. But as I've told my friends, anyone lays a finger on any of their kids, they'll have me right by their side. I'm so disgusted that people like this even exist.
Now, I have another question-why is JoePa so wrong for not doing enough but we celebrate a child molester like Michael Jackson? Think about it.
Oh, the Liberal Media, your balls are showing
(the statement above is a reference to Ace Ventura:When Nature Calls)
This might not be damning evidence, but damn! They sure do know how to sway a debate, now don't they?
Remember when the news decided to attack Republicans when the mere thought of the 'nuclear option' was mentioned? Harry Reid does it and it barely registers. Gee, I wonder why...
For my next trick..... blackface! (Warning-I'm about to get real salty in the language dept)
Herman Cain, you're my new favorite person. I don't care about politics, I will in a minute, but right about now, I have a bit of a man-crush, for the following reasons:
You're blacker than Barack (please oh please oh please let Obama tell us Cain is 'too black' to be President-I won't ask for another gift for like 20 years, I promise, Santa!!)
You've run multiple businesses, successfully
Never been a part of affirmative action
You've stood up, for something, and haven't wavered
You've called out the Occupy folks
You have dealt with real racism, in the south, and rose above
You have a radical tax plan that doesn't just say, 'tax those people over there' and play off of wealth-envy
You called out your own race and told them to get off the plantation (see kids, that is where you use that word. Not about money, but about state of mind). Bill Cosby did it and was filleted.
Now for the salty language dept-what the media attempted to do the last 2 weeks is pathetic. Trying to state Herman Cain is a walking sexual harassment case is hilarious. First, because the first 4 women that the press said they had never showed. Second and most importantly-it sure as hell didn't matter when Bill Clinton was raping women all around Arkansas (yeah, I'm going there) or giving an intern a pearl necklace in the Oral, I mean Oval, Office. While he was married. So if you're one of those folks who thinks Herman Cain and his alleged sexual misconduct would be bad for the office of President, I have but two names for you; Bill Clinton, John Edwards. Wait, make it three-Jesse Jackson.
So the question needs to be asked-is Herman Cain not nearly enough of a house-nigger for some of you white folk? Or you, the media? Are you looking for a man with no sense of humor, who kicks and screams until he bullies his idea into your living room, like Obama? Does he not race bait enough for the Sharpton's, Jackson's and Farrakhan's of the world? Is it too bad that he pretty much looked at those wanting a handout without doing any work and told them, 'tough'?
I want to know. I want to know for so many reasons-and in my own way, one of the biggest reasons is to shove white guilt down the throats of those who were so happy we have a black president (we have a half-black president you buffoons. His Mother is white, and he was raised by white people, get over it. You want the race debate-there it is. You can't be happy he was raised in a loving home, oh no, but he's just black now-how convenient you forget to mention his Mom. If this were ESPN the Magazine and Obama's Mom was black, it would be at the forefront of the story. Fuck you and your uppity bullshit). Another? Hypocrisy. I remember everyone calling Bill Clinton the first black president. Seems kinda bigoted and racist now, dontcha think?
Herman, I love you just because you make people squirm and make some folks look in the mirror. Ah, the mirror, the great equalizer. If a man can't look at himself in that, he ain't much of a man (and by man, I mean person. You people and your spirit-killing political correctness, you'll never be happy)
Occupy This
Maybe the initial Occupy Wall Street crowd had a reason. The people invading the cause now? I'm not buying it. They just came to fuck shit up. Throwing human shit at a cop is not a 'damn the man' move. It's disgusting.
The idea that the government should fix any issue with regards to almost anything, let alone the economy, is terrifying. These folks screwed up running a whorehouse. What have they run that hasn't been involved in deficit-spending and tax raising? G'head, I'll wait.
More importantly, why would anyone think this administration has any of the answers? They clearly don't. Their ideas regarding numbers and statistics are not even done in crayon, more like an Etch-a-Sketch. Bad news for some folks out there, I have an accounting degree from one of the top schools in the country when it comes to business, I can make numbers dance all over a spreadsheet if I needed to. I admit there are some issues with capitalism, but find me a better system than the government taking my money and giving it to someone who doesn't try. Or makes bad decisions. I'm sorry if people grew up without that knowledge, of right and wrong, or that decisions have consequences-but I'm not paying for them. I would rather help them, train them, teach them than just hand them money.
Who wouldn't be for a piss test for unemployment? I was out of work for 18 months. No one would hire me. Not Walmart, not Target, not a grocery store, not McDonald's. None of them. I was over-qualified (gee, ya think?). Not a retail store. Not a call center (too professional). Yet there I was, every week, making dozens of phone calls and applying for a multitude of jobs. Did I scream at the system and tell the government to force some company to hire me? No, I walked into my county unemployment office dressed to impress and was consistently floored by those around me smelling of stale cigarettes and cheap booze. Unshowered, unshaved, unkept. And those folks? A lot of them expecting someone to hand them a job. You want fair, dear Occupiers? Make smarter choices. I'll be involved with helping the helpless, but fuck the clueless. You don't get to not do something until you're 28. Quit telling me you are damaged and have issues. We all are and we all do. Life sucks sometimes, wear a helmet, a cup and a chest protector. They'll soften the blow. You fucking wimps make me mad for my friends that have real issues and want answers and try to contribute to society. My old roommate has a real health issue, but she tries-and succeeds quite a bit. What do these people at the Occupy protests do?
Sidenote-it's honestly one of the biggest reasons I did not sign up for the 2nd round of comedy writing. Listening to the instructor and 2 of my fellow classmates say they wanted to see what was up because it was all Bush and Reagan's fault (really? Reagan hasn't been in office since January of 1988....really?) and this is 'stronger and more put together than the Tea Party', I knew I was in the wrong room. I don't like the blame game. And I'll prove it in my next segment.
Back to the Occupiers, I'm not sorry-I'm glad that I read that some of the small businesses around Zuccotti Park in NYC are going to protest the protesters tomorrow. Since one of the small cafes had to lay off 20% of his staff, I want someone to tell me that they didn't mean for it to happen, but oh well. Oh well? You just cost people their living. How does that solve your problem? Oh, and this is what Occupy Denver looks like....but they'll be cleaned out soon enough, at least that's the rumor.
Owning It
On my job hunt front, I have but 2 stories. One, I had an interview this past Wednesday that I thought went really well. 90 minutes of chatting and the last 15 of it were spent talking about Syracuse basketball (you bet your ass I was thinking this is a lock). The hiring manager told me to give him a call on Friday afternoon. I left a vm, haven't heard back. If you don't think I'm racking my brain, you don't know me at all.
Two, I had a recruiter stalk me. Stalk might not be strong enough of a word. I was called last Monday afternoon by a recruiter who found me on a job search website. I won't give the name out because this is the first recruiter I've dealt with regarding my resume on that site, and if they are all even remotely similar I am going to delete my resume and ask the sitemaster to go back in all history logs and delete any mention of my profile. Said recruiter passed along a light job description to me and wanted my resume. I was not able to get to it until after work. I know, I know, Google Docs. Or some other cloud file holding option. First it was an email reply that they could represent me for the role. Sure. Then an email for 2 references. Sure. Then a follow up call on the emails. And a call about the references when I couldn't get them to this place in a fast enough time. Finally I get home, fire off the resume and the references. Then, the 5th phone call. Since I recognized the number, I answered the phone the only way I knew how, "Are we dating?" Seriously, 5 phone calls and 3 emails, in a day? I've been in relationships that didn't have that much communication (wait....that should probably be something I remember for the next one whenever it comes). Then on Tuesday I got another call, from the recruiting executive-not a good time. I was in the middle of a VP-level escalation and this knucklehead told me I needed to completely redo my resume. Not a good move. Not after I told them it wasn't a good time to talk. That's just poor form. I let them have it. And here's where I own things. They wanted me to change my resume because it has gaps in it. No shit. Of course it has gaps in it. I've been out of work for 2 large chunks of time since 2007. Not by choice, I assure you. Did they want me to admit that maybe my choices weren't the smartest? Fine, mission accomplished. Otherwise, if I wasn't their candidate, I can live, I have a job (ah, kinda refreshing to state that).
No, John Lackey does not get a mulligan. Not for being a douchebag to his teammates. Not for sucking the life out of a locker room.
Tiger Woods' former caddy is not a racist. Can we get a moratorium on that word? Or people screaming that word if they don't like what someone says? Please? It was stupid, yes, but racist? No. Emphatically, no.
Interesting take on the career of Eddie Murphy.
Lastly, been a rough week for me. I admit it. Looked at the calendar on Monday night and realized it's been 3 years since my Superman has passed. He was my mentor, my sounding board....my asshole. Miss ya, Pops.
And while I am saddened by the loss of Andy Rooney, Joe Frazier and Bil Keane, I am most saddened by the loss of Heavy D. You made the jams! And you'll be missed.
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Now playing: Heavy D and The Boyz - We Got Our Own Thang
via FoxyTunes
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