Auburn / Alabama and Thanksgiving

There have been fist fights, there have been divorces, and last year there were even two murders. Yes, it’s true; check it all out if you wish. My God, what could Steve be talking about this time you may ask yourself? Auburn/Alabama, Iron Bowl, Grid Iron Guts, a football game.

That’s just it too; it really is just a game. Those of you that know me know I am an Auburn fan through and through. I know people who root for Alabama in the same way. I have sat back and watched both sides and both schools have their fanatics, their over the top people, their rude people, their classy people. At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, it’s still just a game. A game of heart though, a game that has had its high points, and its low points. A game that happens once a year and a game that will live in infamy.

The game will go on, just like life will. Each team will win and lose many more times in the decades and centuries to come. Bragging rights will be lost and gained, and young adults will be shaped into grown men. There will be people call in sick to work Monday, and many Mondays after this. Families will be split, friends will cease to exist, and as you can see from last year people may even die. The game will go on though, long after even all of that.

Enjoy the game, I will. Enjoy your family and friends as they come to watch it with you. Enjoy the tailgating food, fun and camaraderie. At the end of the day even though this is a life changing game, remember it is just that, a game played between two of the greatest schools in the greatest conference in college history.

Public Humiliation of a Wetumpka Seven Year Old

Something happened on November 3rd involving our son Ryan. I have to leave some specifics out right now as the organization involved is still working through their process for correcting the issue. Also we have no problem with the Organization, its offerings to the public or the way in which they have handled this so far. Our issue is with the person in charge of the after school program and the choice of discipline used.

The Set Up – there was a game being played and in the process the entire group was sat down for the bad actions of only a few. During this time Ryan was bullied to interrupt the adult that was admonishing the group, to ask if they could go back to playing. Now we as parents don’t condone his actions even though it was peer pressure, he indeed should be corrected because he should not interrupt. These two and Ryan were not involved as the original problem and did not understand this group punishment tactic and quite frankly I think it’s a poor management tool as well. (Keep in mind that this is not the only bullying incident that has happened there in the last year, there are numerous accounts).

The Result – Because Ryan gave in to peer pressure and the other two were the instigators, the adult decided they would all be suspended for two days, for being disrespectful. Even after admitting that Ryan was pressured into this, the adult still punished him. Now just a few weeks ago another child had been suspended for two days for choking two children almost to unconsciousness. So by punishing these actions to the same level, the director of the after school program just equalized being mouthy, speaking out of turn, or disrespectful to the same level as trying to physically inflict pain. Just as a foot note, Ryan was asked what disrespectful means by me and based on his answer I assure you that he did not understand their word for punishing him. Better explaining to him his actions might have solved the problem.

The Punishment – Because we were out of town, the Director of the after school program determined that it would be unfair for Ryan to be suspended for the two days. So instead of calling us to discuss it, and here comes the meat of this, Ryan was forced to sit in the foyer of the building and wear a sign that said “I am mean to other children” and “I do not listen to any adult at the (omitted)”. He was placed in the main thoroughfare for all of the many people parading in and out to see him. This was to be for a time period totaling 5+ hours over two days. Needless to say someone came through that had huge issues with this discipline and made a call to the main office, the next day the sign was gone however the 3 hour time out continued.

My punishment opinions for adults notwithstanding, this type of public ridicule, humiliation, hazing, degrading, demeaning or defaming punishment should never be used on an adolescent for any reason. Since returning to town and finding out all of this, we have expressed our great distain and disappointment to the organization and the CEO and COO of the parent organization. As of penning this column today, the program director has been suspended pending a further investigation and we are waiting for the due diligence to run its course. What we still have not gotten is an apology from the director or the organization. They have committed to keeping us informed through the process.

Well, that’s great, and I certainly appreciate their intent to keep us up to date. In the meantime Ryan is horrified to go back to the facility for multiple reasons including the fact that try as you might, there will be animosity now between all of the adults involved with this. In the meantime the thought that there is a person in charge of children that will publically degrade and mentally abuse them is unfathomable to us. This person should immediately lose their employment with the organization. Having them stand outside of the building on her last day wearing a sign that says “I torment children in public by making them wear signs, and now I have been fired” may be a nice touch. Practice what you preach.

This organization has spent 166 years lifting up youth and building character. However there is no room for this kind of higher than thou behavior from adults in an organization that prides itself on bettering the mind, spirit and body. Anyone that would engage in this type of humiliation of a child and justify it in their own mind dare not call themselves an educator or mentor.

That’s where we stand, what say you?

House Burns as Firefighters Watch, Moral Obligations?

On September 29th the South Fulton Fire Department received a call for help and responded, only to sit and watch a house burn to the ground. This has sparked a debate both legally and morally based. Legally, they were completely within their rights to show up and watch, merely protecting the adjoining properties from exposure to the fire. There is a law in that county that if you wish to use the services of the City fire department, then you must pay the annual fee to them. I also understand that the fee is a pay as you go policy because equipment and supplies must be in place prior to you needing assistance that stuff isn’t free, and someone has to build those coffers up ahead of time in order to make those purchases.

Morally, the Mayor, the Fire Chief, and the Firefighters are wrong, plain and simple they shouldn’t have responded at all if they had no intention of helping. As a firefighter for 23 years myself, I could not fathom showing up to a house in our community in a time of need and just stand there. To me firefighters everywhere have a duty to help in times of need. I feel that what these guys did and the decision that they arrived at was wrong, deplorable, and unforgivable. Put the fire out, save the property, and bill them for every cent of what was spent even taking court action if warranted. But to arrive and just stand there watching? Really?

How does Elmore County work? Let me assure you, not like that. You each pay $50 per household and $100 per business tacked on to your property tax. You have paid a fee on your property tax since the 90’s. This was not designed to ensure that someone arrives in your time of need, it was designed to give those departments that will be showing up a little extra help with training, cost of equipment and such. None of it is ever to be used as payroll and in fact most of your local firefighters are not paid a dime. When you dial 911, help will be on the way and no one is going to ask you to pay anything. It’s because we care about helping others, not dollars and cents.

There were some ways in which the Tennessee situation could have been handled differently. Those will always be up for debate. However I can assure you that myself and other firefighters I have spoken to about how it was handled all feel that this was a major FAIL!! Firefighters all of the country risk their lives everyday running into situations that others are running away from. They are known for being the guys and gals you can count on in your time of need. In my humble opinion that view has now been tarnished for all of us. Municipalities or individual departments should not be allowed to conduct what amounts to nothing more than extortion., yet they should have a way of recouping cost if that’s how the community wishes for it to be. Put the fires out, argue about $75 later.

I havent pondered in a while, so I did today.

I haven’t pondered in a while and I wanted to make sure that I did so before the Government decides to tax me for it. Speaking of which, please don’t send any money because if I make money at this then I will have to also get a business license. I can’t afford that.

Here's a ponder that affects us all. This last Wednesday Joe Biden was all over the news explaining to us that our economy was growing and our people are getting back to work and our country is producing and that the "Summer of Recovery" is hugely successful. Now by this afternoon you will hear about how our economy has stalled, there are nearly 500,000 new jobless claims this week, and that the GDP is falling. So on Wednesday Joe Biden was on TV telling us that everything was great and rosy, and now here on Friday we find out it's not. No big surprise for me. However it did bring a smile to my face not because people are in trouble and our economy is in the tank but because I was reminded of someone just like this, "Baghdad Bob". For those of you that don't remember Baghdad Bob he was the Iraq Information Minister during the Gulf War. No matter how bad things were this clown was on TV telling the world that everything was just fine, as the American Tanks were rolling through the streets of Baghdad behind him in the background.

I find it odd how all the news coming from the White House sharply contrasts with the actual numbers on the economy and jobless rates. Yet it's almost like Captain Hope and Change and Joyful Joe don't really get it. Just like with the rest of this administrations reign, this week has been one big fairy tale for them. I don't understand where this administration and past administrations pride is placed. Generally speaking when Im in charge of something I surround myself with smart people, without regard to race, creed, color, or political affiliation. I want whatever I'm working on to explode with excellence and could care less how I got there is always the end product is great. I think there are smart people that could make decisions for this country that call themselves Democrats or Republicans, those are the types of people that someone sitting in the chair of the Presidency should surround themselves with. There's no doubt in my mind that Captain Hope and Change and Joyful Joe want to be highly successful, however the policies and ideas they keep coming up with and putting their stamp of approval on are driving this Country in the dumper.

Barack Obama has surrounded himself with people that he felt are the smart ones. However when the results of your work are not with the majority of the people, then it may be time to pull out a different playbook. The United States of America is certainly the largest community he has ever tried to organize, and it is becoming an utter failure. Yet he stands there at the helm of the ship ignoring the cries for help as it is going down, while he concentrates on trying to figure out how to blame the iceberg being there on someone else.

When Barack Obama entered the race for the Presidency he knew what the job description was and he knew that he would have to deal with policies, procedures and issues from not only the previous administration but from past administrations going back a long way. The very minute he was sworn in these policies procedures and issues became his to deal with. Just as whoever follows him will have to inherit and deal with problems. Now as the country enters a sink or swim time, many in Washington seem to be surprised. They are surprised that all the stimulus money is not driving the economy in a better direction. The reason is simple, the current administration has scared everyone to the point of uncertainty and they are hanging on to their money. Why should they spend more when they are facing the possibility of higher taxes?

It is certainly time for a change because all hope is almost lost. My hope is that this administration will wake up and smell the coffee, read the writing on the wall or whatever other analogies to use. Many in Washington are beginning to wring their hands and prepare to bury their heads in the sand in hopes that something will turn around soon. Others are doing so hoping that their constituents forget that they have done a bad job as mid-term elections are unfolding. Which brings me to the real meat of this ponder, could it hurt to have a complete turn over? Maybe it really is time that Mr. Smith goes to Washington. New faces, new ideas, new eyes looking at old problems may very well be what this country needs to jolt the life back into it. It got its start 234 years ago, could 2010 be the next starting point? Speaking for myself, I sure want change now more than ever.

Oil Release Is Bad, But There Are Some Good Things Too

Let me tell you what I saw and heard on the Gulf Coast this week. I spent a week down in the New Orleans area, made a few stops along the way as well. I talked to other Environmental folks like myself, and some unlike myself. I spoke with fishermen, and just plain people. We ate at the local owned restaurants and talked to those people as well. I was surprised at what I heard there, versus what I am seeing here.

Before I go any further, I am not taking up for BP. If in the end it is proven that something they or someone else did caused or lead to this disaster in the Gulf, then those people need to have their butt nailed to the wall, and nailed hard. However, there are a lot of things going on down there that you have no idea about. Things that had I not heard and seen for myself, I wouldn’t know about today either. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, MSNBC, CNN – no one is telling of the things I saw. They are busy haggling about who did what, whose fault it is, Govt this and Govt that.

BP has set up claims centers all across the Gulf Coast, even the areas that have yet to see the oil. You can go to any of these centers to make a claim. Now you have to be able to substantiate your claim, meaning you better have the paperwork to back up the fact that you want $100,000 from BP for last month’s losses. That’s right, a month at a time. In addition to that, they will give you a portion up front, right then until they can verify the rest by doing an accounting of your paperwork. The point here is that they are putting money in people’s hands quickly, and working out the details of the rest later once it’s verified. At the same time, they are making sure that the people who truly have a loss get that compensation. So you do have to do a little more than just say “Hey, I lost $10,000 last month and you owe me”. You do have to prove it.

Every morning on one of the largest Talk Radio stations, BP is there for two hours taking calls and talked to people about how to make claims, what they can claim, where to go, when to go and so on. If someone calls in and has had trouble, they go to work on not only fixing that problem, but then also making sure that there are mechanisms in place to make sure that others do not experience what that person did.

BP is hiring fishermen, their boats and their crews as fast as they can, and training them. This fleet you will hear about in the coming days/weeks as the locals that are getting involved to help in the clean up. Each one that we had the chance to talk to will be making slightly more than they would if fishing. In most cases they are out of the fishing business because of closed waters. However, and this is a down side, in some cases people are leaving fishing to do this work.

Restaurants are open for business, seafood is available, and yes there are even Oysters available. Although, I stayed clear of the little slimy piles of goo myself, but the group with me had their fair share for sure. Now in a few months, the locals are going to go nuts down there because the ‘local’ Oysters are going to run out. There are Oysters in other parts of the world, there are even shrimp in other parts of the world, but the locals are big on their stuff, and it’s their stuff that they are accustomed to eating. Not the Blue Point Oysters. For now though, there are waiting lines everywhere to get in to eat and the prices are not skyrocketing.

Most importantly, you don’t hear about the three Environmental Professors that were in the area making the circuit talking on TV and radio about the spill. One was from LSU, one from Texas, and one from the east coast so two of these guys know oil for sure. I learned something from them and that is how resilient Mother Nature is. Even as bad as this is, they all agreed on one thing – it’s not going to take decades to recover from this. Years, yes, decades no. However they all stressed that all efforts at this time should be on two things, stopping the leak and capturing oil. Not holding hearings on who is at fault and not arguing about what regulations should be in play.

After All I heard and saw down there I came to a few conclusions. Is this release of oil bad? Absolutely and it’s the worst in the history of the world. Can it be fixed? Sure, but it will take time. Are people being affected? No doubt, but at the same time that the world is dealing with the largest release of oil, BP is now dealing with the largest coordination of payouts as well. We live in an instant world and a world where we say “How dare they mess up what we have”? No one got upset about the second largest of oil released, even though it did make it to our shores, because it was in some other Country, not our problem. (No, it wasn’t the Valdez)

We see the pictures, we hear the news, we may even know people affected and we get all of this at a moment’s noticed. What is not being seen are the people being taken care of financially, the locals saying “I don’t want a handout, I want to work for my money even if it means trolling for oil”, or the lines to get in the business’ in the area to spend money with them. Americans are tough, times are even tougher, but I bet we come out on top. There will be lots of sad stories, but you must know that at the same time, there are currently and will be to come, happy ones as well. When it’s all said and done, let’s get the people responsible for this and hold them accountable, for now, let’s do something to help.

The County is on the ball!!!

Just as promised, the County is out there making temporary repairs to the mud slide in our neighborhood. That’s a good thing!! Let’s hope that soon they have a plan to end the problem under the roadway for good. Ultimately, that is what is needed.

I fully understand that things take time, and in this case they didnt want to move too fast not knowing all of the details. At the same time though, with the rain today and more rain expected on Friday, there just wasnt time to develop a long term plan. They are currently stacking cages with rocks in them to slow the speed of the run off. That should help and buy some time.

Rain Rain Go Away....The Edwards Cant Take Another Day

Come and listen to my story about a man named Gary, his hill started caving and it was gettin kind of scary, then one day it started getting hotter, but up through the ground came a bubblin water – H2O that is, wet stuff…………

Ok, I know it sounds like I am poking fun at my friend and neighbor, but trust me when I say that I am not. Gary and Tracy Edwards live in our neighborhood (Jasmine Hill Estates) and recently their property had undergone a phenomenon that no one could have seen. One night as every slept peacefully and soundly, the hill beside their house turned loose. It was true to life mudslide that was moving right towards their house. Only, it wasn’t something that was just running wild. It moved ever so slowly, creeping towards the house breaking the driveway along the way. The sad part is that this quite possibly could have been stopped before it ever happened. Before I go on though, let me give the disclaimer that I am not an engineer, but living in the hills of Wetumpka or even Tennessee, you do have to educate yourself about water and its movements. In MOST cases, it’s not hard to learn that you must give water a place to go.

Rewind to about two years prior to this hillside giving up and caving in. There was a problem with the roadway directly across from this hill and where it started moving. The roadway was sinking and water was bubbling up and seeping from cracks in and around the sinking spot. There was some work done where they dug down, compacted some stuff, filled it in and patched the road. Done? I think not.

A few months later, the water showed up again seeping out from the edges of the patch. In addition the road has continued to sink ever since as water began to migrate towards the hillside. It’s my theory (or self educated guess) that this is due to two reasons. One, the water was diverted in that direction by the roadwork. (I will say though that it was certainly not intentional). The second factor to all of this as I see is that the roadway and hill have reached critical mass in terms of how much water they can hold. Take a dry sponge, lay it in the sink. Slowly pour water over it and you will see that it will absorb a lot. However, at some point it will begin to seep. Amazingly, just like this hillside has done.

I’m concerned for the safety of my family and just as importantly the safety of Gary’s family as well as all of the families that live here in regards to that roadway being compromised. As the Assistant Fire Chief of Wetumpka, we have a responsibility to provide a service to the people that live here. Should this road give way to the pressures of the water stored in it, providing fire protection will become an impossible task. Yet when we met with all of those concerned last week, we were told that the road would not be affected because it still had 10-12 feet of hillside. Well, that was a week ago, and now the cave in has moved to within inches of the road instead of yards. The rain keeps coming, it keeps finding its way under the road and into the hillside, and dirt keeps being removed as it moves along. Oh, and as I understand it, there is more rain on the way for Tuesday.

NOW is the time for the County Commissioner, the County Engineer, the County Lawyer, and the County Road Crews to move on this. The road is/will be affected more and real soon. The argument in the beginning is that this problem didn’t start on the right-of-way and I beg to differ because I think it started under the road two years ago. I’m certain the County is trying to stay away from pointing out that this may have started on their side because they don’t want to spend the money to fix the Edwards property. What happed was the problem showed itself off the right-of-way, yet started someplace else. All of that can be argued later; in the meantime the hill needs to be shored up NOW before the safety of lives and property are put into peril. Is the County working on the problem? Sure, but it’s not enough. They are in a race with Mother Nature, and they are still in the starting gates. There are a lot of temporary ideas that can be done starting tomorrow. It’s time that this issue become as important to the Commission as it has to us.

Ok, now you’re treading on me!

There I was at home and my wife walks in and hands me a piece of school work that the 6 year old brought home. A coloring job, such as it was, of President Obama. It was such a nice coloring……………..wait, who?! Really?

Yes, really. Well, that didn’t sit well with me at all. His teacher, the Administration and more will be hearing from me today on this. Until then, read on.

Obviously the class is studying the Office of the President, and I applaud that. There have been many people hold that prestigious office and have had to deal with hours upon hours of making decisions to make this a better Country. As you have most likely figured out at this point, President Obama does not enter my mind as part of that list with such an infancy of a term thus far. However, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and of course Ronald Reagan all come to mind as people who did something during their tenure to shape and mold this country in positive or productive ways. Or they faced great adversity in their administration that led to pushing their term to the forefront.

Obama, not so much and to me shouldn’t have been included with Washington and Lincoln in their course study. In fact, at this point given the list of accomplishments, other than mentioning that Obama is the current President is about as far as I would go in the long list of accomplishments that the others have.

True enough, they did talk about Washington and Lincoln. But that’s it; it was a discussion, with 6 year olds. No picture, no coloring, no placing their image in front of them. I have a big problem with the constant desire to keep this President in front of everyone’s eyes, more so the young and impressionable ones. Before someone cries foul, I don’t think other Presidents, past or future, should be constantly shoved down our throats either until the true measure of their accomplishments have been realized and there is something there to study and learn about. I’m that there are past Presidents that many of us would agree either had a blasé term or had no adversity really worth mentioning. This President, and the next, could very well fit that same bill.

To top it off, as I sat there staring at the page, I looked at the little stuff at the bottom. The freaking picture was drawn by and printed at a company in CANADA! The teacher/school didn’t even pick a drawing that was done in the USA! What kind of crap is that?

To My Sons Teacher – Yes please do teach him about the Office of the President. Also feel free to pour forth information on those Presidents who actually had tenures long enough to either make a difference or totally screw things up. (I’m an equal opportunity kind of guy). However, please refrain from showcasing the current President, of one year, who has yet to accomplish anything nearly has great as 50% of the past Presidents. One last thing, can you work a little harder to find some material made in the USA, by US Citizens, using US manufacturing equipment to teach my child in his USA school? Thanks.

A Simple Look at Health Care

I think a lot of people are over thinking this whole Health Care Reform thing. First of all, what they are proposing doesn’t ‘reform’ health care; it’s more like Washington telling us that we will have it. Let’s think about the whole health care debacle.

First let’s look at these 3o million people without health care. I feel that they can all be lumped into three groups of people. Group 1 – “I don’t want health care, because I want to save that money and use it on something else”. Group 2 – “I can’t afford health care, because of one or more various reasons that I have caused such as mismanagement of my money or low income”. Group 3 – “I use to have health care, but I lost my job and the COBRA is too high to carry over”.

Solutions – Group 1, great, glad you’re making it, just make sure you are not on other government programs as well. Have a great life; enjoy your ‘stuff’. You appear to be producers and keep up the good work. However, when you arrive at the ER, understand that you are obligated to pay that bill.

Group 3 – Well, here is an area that the Government can really be of use. Let’s get the economy back up and running. Stop taxing “big business” thinking that you are punishing them for being big business and not sharing. When you tax big business, THAT is what they share by increasing the price of what we all pay for. There is not a business on the face of the Earth that absorbs the cost of taxes out of the goodness of their heart. They all pass it on. Lowering these taxes and other cost of doing business would get this Group 3 back to work. In the meantime Group 3, you will have to tighten your belt. It may be time to look at reducing your cost profile until something comes through for you. Good luck, we are all pulling for you.

Group 2 – this is the complicated group. It’s made up of a vast array of people. You have the elderly, who really do need our help and we should give it to them. You also have low income people who are happy with making just enough to get by (not including health care cost) and do not strive to do any better for themselves. These people are moochers and live partially or totally off the system. They need to get off their duff and make a better life for themselves. This group also contains the people who are in this country illegally. They don’t have insurance partly because they don’t want to be on the radar; however they want to get the best care on the face of the Earth. They just don’t want to pay for it. Instead they would rather choose to send their money back to their home country where it is worth a ton to their family. Piss off! You’re a moocher too and should go home. Yes, they do jobs that others might not. But our economy shouldn’t be in the position that we rely so heavily on this demographic. This group also contains the homeless, who may have moved here from Group 3 at some point. Tragic, and should be dealt with. However I have met a lot of homeless people who are perfectly happy standing on the corner with their cardboard signs begging for money to buy their alcohol and drugs and maybe a meal. By the way, eat lunch in one of these areas one day in your vehicle and watch them. When there is no traffic around to beg from, they take out their cell phones and talk on them. Real classy these types are. You’re a moocher too in the whole sense of the word; get a job with the Group 3 people.

All of this drain on the system, people not paying for services received at a Doctor or hospital is what has lead to the high cost, that is now being passed on to us and making our health care system look like it’s out of control. However, it’s no different than those taxes I was talking about. Why should a free market system be expected to absorb the cost of the loafers in this world and not pass them on to us, the producers of this world? They shouldn’t, and if you were in business you wouldn’t absorb it either.

The Obama/Democrat plan is going to do more of the same that we already have. Provide care for people that have abilities, yet make a conscious decision to not provide for themselves. For all other cases, those like the elderly, we should look out for them.

PS – I am sure that this will not be a popular post with me liberal friends since they are so willing to give away everyones money. So for you I ask this, are you ready to show me just how much extra you kicked in on your taxes last year, or the last 5 years, to pay for the discouraged and downtrodden? Until then, don’t complain.