Sonny's Cloudy Thinking

Today and tomorrow we have no school in Jawja. (Actually, some kids are learning as much these two days as they would on any normal school day - zero). Two days off to save gas? Yeah, on buses maybe. But do we really think that all those kids with cars are going to stay home and not drive? And if we make up these September snow days will gas be cheaper or more plentiful? I like this guvna, but this is an idea created by an ill-informed political hack hoping to make the guvna look decisive. Instead, the operative made the guvna look panicked.

Meanwhile down at the capitol. . .
Some angry moms staged a "teach-in" to protest the guvna's decision. Now these moms have never protested the deplorable condition of education in this state. Never protested bad SAT scores, pitiful graduation rates, run down over crowded school buildings, rotten discipline in the schools, or drugs and violence etc. But make them spend two extra days with their kids . . .

How bad can their kids be that even their mothers don't want to spend time with them?

So the State of Jawja continues onward and, um . . . er. . . sideways. Maybe.

Marching 110 Rides High

The Ohio University Marching 110 is a big hit where ever they perform. This group is a shining example of what may be achieved when a group of individuals are willing to simply work harder than anyone else. This is a band that understands that a large part of having fun is simply being good. While other university bands are content with slopping around the field and playing music that entertains only their over rated tastes, the Marching 110 proudly aims to entertain as many as possible at a level of accomplishment that other groups are simply too lazy to attempt.

There is also a life lesson here. What happens when a group, or individual, decides to put aside immediate pleasure and chooses instead to take the extra time to sweat out the details? A similar answer can be found to the question, "Why are some people more successful than others?" Work ethic, true work ethic, is rare these days. People who consistently underachieve are quick to blame anything other than their own innate apathy. Apathy creates sloth. Drive around. Take a look. Where you see piles of trash, apathy is not too far away.

The students in the Marching 110 understand first hand what it is like to work and excel. They know that both terms are inextricably linked. A good life awaits those who are willing to earn it. And the members of the Marching 110 should all have great lives ahead. Anyway, I sure wish that for them.

Go 110! HIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Virginia Tech Hokie Search

The wife and I will be traveling to Blacksburg Va. this week - to the land of the neutered turkey. The occasion is the pounding of a poor left wing university in Ohio by the aforementioned angry birds. The University of Ohio was built in the southeastern corner of the state, in a town called Athens, so as to taunt the educational system of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Not that there is that much to taunt, but the state of Ohio thought that the state of Kentucky had had enough. Besides they had to put something in that part of Ohio, why not a university? By the way, the closest city to Athens, Ohio is Parkersburg. A big night out in Athens is a trip to Parkersburg.

The big claim to fame for The Ohio University is the riots caused by bars closing early to accomodate daylight savings time. Apparently there is a large portion of the student body there that does not grasp the concept of DST. And with their close proximity to Parkersburg, these kids need all the alcohol they can get.

Anyway, we know the marching band director at The University of Ohio and he is a liar. He calls the marching band there the "Marching 110." Bull. There must be at least 726 kids in the band and I know that they have no less than eleventy seven trombones. But he is our friend and even though he needs help with either character issues or math, we will support him just the same.

Oh yeah, I can only find one picture of a Hokie. Neutering turkeys is just mean, man.
See ya in Blacksburg!

GO 110!! HIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who To Listen To And Who To Ignore

Listen to the thirty percent in the middle. The one third on the right and the one third on the left will never alter their views. It has and, always will be, the swing voter that will run the country. Sometimes power shifts right or leftward, but only with the swing voters' permission does it sway at all.

The disaster in New Orleans can be filtered through typical commentary. Liberals, who espouse the need for greater centralization of government think that the Feds should have done more. Conservatives, who believe in greater local control and responsibility think that it was up to New Orleans to be better prepared for disaster. But, lo and behold, the guys in the middle got it right. Independents in a recent national poll (you know, one of those WashingtonPostUSATodayNewsWeek etc. polls) stated that they essentially blame everybody up to and including the local civilians who failed to clear out!

But this will not stop partisan hackery. Remember we have midterms in 2006 and those contests have already begun. And, in an election cycle, whatever is current becomes political. Whatever is popular will be "what I will do" and whatever is unpopular will be "what I never would have done." If politicians want to do the right thing they'll listen to the middle on this one. But I think they won't do that - so let the lying begin!

Good luck to us all.

The Mayor of New Orleans Ain't No Rudy

Like most people I watched the news as the hurricane approached New Orleans. Each time the mayor of that city appeared on TV, I was struck by one stark perception - this guy ain't no Rudy. That is probably not very fair. But, still again, his lack of Rudyness is showing.

I understand his frustration with a lack of federal response. I am frustrated too. But I do not see leadership from this man. He is dependent (and this I believe was his plan) on everyone else to get New Orleans out of this mess. There are things that New Orleans could have done in advance to minimize the problems with Command and Control. Predetermined command points in case of flooding, redundant radio or satellite communication systems, evacuation plans for those in the citizenry who have no transportation, evacuation plans for hospitals and the infirmed would all be the responsibility of the Mayor's office. But this mayor failed to prepare his city for a disaster that we have been warned about for years. In other words, the mayor of New Orleans failed to provide an infrastructure or plan to which federal agencies could be attached.

Granted doing these things might cost money that could be spent on hodge - podge projects to buy votes. But now what? Blame the federal government for not knowing where to find the helpless in New Orleans? Blame the federal government for not being able to communicate with police and fire personnel on the ground?

Rudy's city was not very well prepared for 9-11. But Rudy knew how to lead. And he led his people out of disaster. He put out a face and voice that was confident and reassuring. Yesterday the New Orleans mayor had a fit on the radio. It appears that he was upset, and again rightly so, about the slow response to the crisis. But again, what did his administration do to help contain the problem in advance? Nothing much is my guess. If FEMA shows up and says, "Where do you need the most help?" And the collective response is a panicked, "Everywhere!" Well, that's just not good information. I imagine that if it were not so impolitic, that federal government officials would have plenty to say about the lack of planning and organization on the city administrative level. I imagine that they would say that they had to go in and start completely over and do planning that, for other cities, would be considered pre-planning.

When the feds showed up to help Rudy's city he knew exactly what needed to be done. He knew where to place personnel. He knew how to get his people to react to and with the feds. He had good people in place who also had good people in place. When asked important questions Rudy had good informed answers. His city allowed the feds to work from the inside out. Because he was able to provide direction his city's torment was lessened. That, after all, was his job.

Yes, the feds were slow in New Orleans. But I don't think their speed was due to a lack of desire. But, instead, due to a lack of information that should have been available from the get-go. Because of a lack of organization on the ground the feds in New Orleans have to approach the problem from the outside in. And that always takes more time. Instead of knowing where to go first, the feds had to figure it out. And that always takes more time.

The Mayor of New Orleans can complain all he wants, but at some point he will have to answer questions about what he did to prepare his city for a disaster that everyone knew was looming.

Georgia Gas Crisis

Today an internets rumor got started that Georgia was going to run out of gas. So naturally, since everything that appears on the internets is true, people panicked and started buying gas like crazy.

Then the news reported the hoax, the Guvna went on TV and stated that there isn't a gas shortage and that while we do get some gas from a pipleline in New Orleans and that pipeline is not functioning because of the hurricane - - most of our gas is brought to our state in trucks and tankers. So don't panic.

Of course given a choice between believing on one hand the Guvna and the local news and, on the other hand, the internets - people in Georgia naturally chose the rumors on the internets. Then gas prices began to soar. Apparently, gas station owners saw the opportunity to cash in on the mass hysteria.

Then the Guvana declared a State of Emergency to freeze gas prices. By this time some stations were charging up to $6.00 per gallon. What gets me is not that some one would charge $6.00 per gallon, but that some one would be dumb enough to pay that much. While I personally think that all price gougers should be summarily executed, I also think that anyone stupid enough to pay $6.00 for a gallon of gas deserves to be separated from their money. After all, someone that bad with money is going to waste it somewhere. Why not on gas?

This all reveals a rather nasty side of humanity. In New Orleans people are looting like crazy. I say let them loot, then let them drown.

Save the ones who want out. Leave the rest to whatever fate occurs. Then parachute the price gougers of Georgia into the middle of the mess in New Orleans. Let's use this opportunity to drown the looters and price gougers like that rats that they are.

Somehow, I feel better now.

NEW TAX LOOPHOLE!!!

I don't want to pay taxes either!

That's right! If you are mad at George W. Bush you don't have to pay taxes.

This is great. Finally, a true blue liberal who is against paying taxes when the payer is unhappy with the federal government!