SPECIAL EDITION: BUSH PRESS CONFERENCE REACTION

I did watch the majority of Bush's conference...must say, quite the timing he has.

In only his 4th prime-time address, he set out to solidify and identify his positions on Social Security, the budget and energy needs, among other things. Here are some interesting things I took away from it:

On Social Security: So hard to tell what's true and what's not, especially from the "doom and gloom" year . It won't be "bankrupt", but will actually pay out 72% of what it currently does. (see my first blog post for my short version stance on S.S.) Private funds aren't the answer...I sure wouldn't want my retirement relying on the stock market, or letting anyone in Washington decide where my investment would go. Yes, there is a problem. I have a solution that might ruffle a few feathers:

RAISE THE AMOUNT PEOPLE ARE GIVING TO IT!!!

Much like everyone is so shocked that the country is trillions in debt (and can't figure out that the extra 1-2K in their tax returns weren't a gift) because the primary funding for our government (taxes) were cut, there's been no mention of raising what people put into it (read: political suicide). I'd be perfectly willing to give an additional 40 dollars a month if it guaranteed I would be getting 100% of my Social Security benefit.

In any case, tonight didn't help his cause, and both sides are afraid of making a blunder of an issue that would cause their respective party to go into a 20 year tailspin at the polls.

Now, onto the foreshadowed budget.

Look, it's simple math really...

Cutting taxes+less revenue+higher expenditures=deficit

What, like the new nickel and gold coin are going to pay for Iraq and Afghanistan?LOL Bush gained in the short term (as did our pocketbooks) with the tax changes, but our children will bear the brunt of higher taxes and deficits down the road.

Until the War on Terror stops (if it ever will), our budget will be in the red, no doubt.

Finally, and the part I found the most hilarious:

Bush talking about an Energy bill is about as funny as saying Michael Jackson is a fit father. HILARIOUS! Republicans and Democrats have Big Oil in their back pocket, and it'll be a cold day you-kn0w-where before anything major happens on this front.

200 years from now, we better have a real Starship Enterprise, or it'll be Schwinn bikes all around and wars fought with sticks and stones...LOL

Well, gotta go watch Stephanie bite the dust on Survivor:Palau. Thank you Mr. President for ending your speech so I can watch!ROFL

Good night now!

Delay and Snow in Colorado!

Ok...this blogger is going to ratchet down a bit after his long-winded initial post. As one comment put it: "Don't blow your load". Amen!

What is with our parties these days? After all, they are almost mirror images of each other (except the Democrats are less patient....they want their changes NOW...LOL). We'll never see an independant president because we have been lead to believe those are "wasted votes". A nice, clever wand the Republicans and Democrats weave in order to keep their power, money and status intact. That brings me to Tom Delay.

Seems to me taking a trip on a lobbyist's dime is like sucking up to your significant other when you want something and offering a ton in return (for example, as a husband, you want to go on your golfing outing. So you bring roses home and hope it sways the court of wifey's opinion.LOL)

When are these guys going to learn you cannot take advantage of the public's trust? Only when we, as voters, EDUCATE ourselves on who we are voting for. I bet you ask 10 people to name their states' governor and they couldn't tell you (let alone their LOCAL representatives in their states Senate/House).

Until We The People learn from our sorry ways, we have no room to whine about how our politicians run the country.

Now...onto the sports portion of this blog..:)

Snow in Colorado. Fine in December...not so good for baseball. At least that gives the pitching staff a rest from watching their deliveries end up in the stands faster than Michael Jackson's legal bills piling up.*G*

The Pirates *GASP!* have won two out of three games 2-0. AMAZING! It helped their cause that Houston had a rough series prior...but the Bucs needed a break. I guess my prediction that they wouldn't we 3 games in a row all season is all shot now.

And now my Heisman Trophy rant: This award is about as meaningful as the "best sound effect in a non-200 millon dollar motion picture award". How does someone almost win 2 and not even get drafted? (in a related story, 2 QB's with criminal pasts did, the 3rd string at USC who threw a TOTAL of 30 collegate passes did, and Maurice "liar liar pants on fire" Clarett did in the THIRD round.

Once you see Suzuki sponsoring something like that, it should tell you something.:)

Well, that's today's rant. Finally....

I wish to bring you to a website which I enjoy daily, and provides me with a good working knowledge for my blog. His name is Howard Kurtz at www.washingtonpost.com. It's called "Media Notes", and he's a great insperation to me as I am learning to be a blogger. His column comes highly recommended.

Take care and have a great Thursday!

My first blog entry!

For those of you visting my blog for the first time, thank you! I hope this will be a good experience for you and you may even learn something too...:)

As background, I am in the US military, but the views here are strictly my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the branch of the armed forces I am in (this is commonly known as the "disclaimer" statement..:)

I've served for almost 10 years now, and of course, I am committed to my commander and chief, and his direction (or his subordinates) for the military. However, I do want to dispel one myth right now: We are NOT rich!LOL For those who think our health care is one of a kind, I've got news: DoD is looking to eliminate base hospitals (ref: Current News Early Bird Article, week of 25-29 April 2005). This would not only cause a huge inconvenience to military families, but also the booming number of military retirees, all fighting for the same service. It is amazing how hard it is to get a routine appointment, let alone to see a specialist.

I will admit, however, I do have a uncommon heart condition for someone my age (I'm 28), and the military has provided all my care and medicine for free. If I was in a poor income category, with the Medicaid program in most states being cut or eliminated all together, I would be in serious trouble. I'm not shocked at all by politicians who ignore a problem until it becomes totally beneficial for them and/or their party to step in and do something to garner them votes/money. What ever happened to the days of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson, when it was about the country?

I'll sum up my Social Security take in one sentence:

If you are relying on that for your retirement, you are a fool and need to start saving NOW.

More politics tomorrow, now on to my random sports rumblings...

The Top Story: Isn't Baseball commish Bud Selig sipping on too much of the Kool Aid? He comes out to say that MLB's steriod policy "is a success in only the first few months of the baseball season.

His catches? A major leaguer with the 3rd worst all-time HR/AB ratio (you expect pitchers of course, but an outfielder??), and 2 minor leaguers who had no chance to make the majors anyway.

Bring me Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, or another big name player, and then start talking about your program being a success. I didn't hear him saying anything during the 1998-99 season when McGuire and Sosa hit over 130 home runs between them and raised baseball from the dead. Or when Barry Bonds hit 73 and then said that the "clear" stuff he put on his arms was "flaxseed oil".

That's like saying that you drank beer when you had a bottle of Jack Daniels.

And since this is my first blog, I should state I am a huge Pittsburgh sports fans (Pirates, Steelers and that other team...did they play hockey or something?)

Needless to say, if the Pirates were all I had, I would have been in the AF mental health ward.LOL I swear, if not for the Atlanta Hawks and Arizona Cardinals, the Pirates would be the worst run professional franchise PERIOD. This is a franchise that tried to keep their fans from bringing bottled water AFTER they lost 100 games in the first year of PNC Park. And for you non-Pirate (or baseball fans) here are some other noteable items the Pirates are known for:

1. Randall Simon and "sausagegate"...since he couldn't hit a curve ball he hit something that you would grill up at a barbecue. Needless to say, that was the end of his brief stint with the Pirates (never mind he was overweight and couldn't play the position...

2. Barry Bonds (PRE-steroids) unable to throw out the slowest man in the Major Leagues, Sid Bream, to prevent the Braves from advancing to the World Series. (for those who defend Bonds, hold up a pic of him in 1992 and 2003 and you tell me...

3. Signing Raul Mondesi, who then proceeded to "quit" and take the 1M the Pirates gave him along too.

4. "Operation Shutdown" Derek Bell, Pat Meares and giving Jason Kendall over 50 Mil. No, the Pirates don't have a farm system, if you were wondering.

Well, that's it for today's blog. More sports and politics tomorrow!

J.C.300