Begin the Gloating

And now a haiku:

The Mueller Report
Not the desired outcome
Begin the gloating

Diluting the Field

I am getting a bit nervous about the number of Democratic candidates throwing their hat into the ring for president in 2020. I personally feel like Trump only won the nomination because there were way too many Republican candidates running in 2016. I think if there were 5 strong candidates instead of 15 marginal Republican candidates, then Trump probably would not be president. I just want to end up with the best candidate to take on Trump and I think that the more there are, the less likely that is to happen.

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And now a haiku:

Too many declared
Lots of devils to choose from
Diluting the field

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

And now a haiku:

The boy who cried wolf
To make us pay for the wall
Screams “Emergency”

State of the Union

And now a haiku:

State of the Union
Definitely did not watch
Stand Sit Lies Stand Sit

Stories Have Two Sides

And now a haiku:

The smug kid explained
His version of the events
Stories have two sides

My Big 3 Issues

I do not usually write about politics. I generally try to steer clear of anything that can cause negative feelings on this blog. I am feeling a bit lost this morning after the election and I feel like I need to put my thoughts into words so they stop swimming in my head. Please forgive my rambling in advance.

The most important factors for me in this election were the following:

1. Future of the Supreme Court
2. Climate Change
3. Gun control

Future of the Supreme Court

I am not going to hide my liberal views. Even with a conservative leaning Supreme Court, this country has made great strides with respect to civil rights, with the legalization of gay marriage being the most recent.

My fear of a Trump presidency is that he will probably have the opportunity to appoint 2 – 3 judges completely tilting the balance of the court. I am especially fearful of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Let me be clear about this. I am pro-choice, but I am not pro-abortion. There is a HUGE distinction between the two that oftentimes gets lost when the subject is discussed. I would be surprised if there is anyone out there that actually favors abortions. I am against having the government legislate whether a woman can have an abortion or not. That is up to the woman…not the government.

The prevailing argument I hear from the pro-life camp seems to stem from religious beliefs. Correct me if I am wrong, but this country was founded on the basis of religious freedom. There is supposed to be a separation between church and state. It seems like those with strong (I will refrain from using the word extremist) religious views, like Ted Cruz, are trying to inject religion into government. This scares me because it seems like a vocal group of people with strong religious beliefs are trying to make this country a “Christian” country rather than a country for all.

Just now, I am reading comments of friends-of-friends on Facebook that literally say the following:

• We need to unite & bring God Back into this country …
• Amen to letting us unite and put God in charge!!

God is not supposed to have anything to do with the US government at any level. God should not be in charge. I will even go one step further and say that the Pledge of Allegiance should not mention God (like the original version intended) and that our currency should not say “In God We Trust”. It is fine to ask God to bless the United States of America, but that should be the limit to God’s involvement in government.

A liberal-leaning Supreme Court is paramount to protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans of any ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender orientation, etc. I do not feel like a conservative-dominant Supreme Court is as capable of doing that.

I am extremely angered by the fact that Obama’s Supreme Court nominee was not even considered. That decision by the Senate seems extremely underhanded and I wish that Obama and Clinton did a better job of highlighting the Senate’s lack of action. Maybe that would have impacted some of yesterday’s crucial Senate races. The Senate did not do their job. By the way, I’m not a hypocrite. I would feel just as angry if the President was Republican and the Senate was Democrat controlled.

Climate Change

Climate change is happening. It is real. It may already be too late to stop the devastating impact that is predicted. Those who deny it are delusional. There is too much science to ignore. The xkcd comic has a great illustration of the impact of the earth’s temperature over time. It is amazing how much of a difference a couple of degrees makes!

I have learned in this election cycle that people will ignore and dismiss facts if their belief of the opposite view is strong enough. If you want to believe that climate change is not caused by man, feel free. But, please recognize that climate change is happening. No matter the cause, I think we, as a planet, are smart enough to figure out a way to slow it down and, hopefully, reverse the trend before it is too late. A future president who tweets that climate change is a hoax created by China is scary and irresponsible. Does Donald Trump care about this planet?

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012

Gun Control

Guns scare me. The 2nd amendment also scares me because I believe it is misunderstood and misinterpreted. Before I continue, there are two things you should know:

1. I am NOT a gun owner
2. I am NOT against guns

I do not want the government to take everyone’s guns away because that is just unrealistic. Anybody that says that is what Obama and Clinton want to do is grossly misinformed.

To me, there are only three valid reasons for a civilian to own a gun:

1. Self defense
2. Hunting
3. Sport (skeet shooting, target shooting, etc.)

Guns that were not specifically designed to satisfy one of the reasons above have no business being available to civilians. For instance, I do not think that assault rifles were designed for any of those three reasons. Assault rifles were designed to be used by the military in combat. They are offensive weapons. Their primary purpose is to kill people…a lot at a time, as efficiently as possible. They should be restricted to military use only. There are ways to add restrictions to gun and gun ownership laws without impinging on the right of Americans to own guns. As long as you can own a gun that allows you do the 3 things I stated above, there should not be any griping by any 2nd amendment supporters.

I actually wrote a blog entry about gun control a while back. I think I still agree with everything I wrote back then. I would also add that I think gun owners should be required to carry some kind of insurance much like a car owner has to have car insurance. I do not think that gun manufacturers should be held liable for gun owners’ actions, unless the gun has mechanical problem that caused harm. Again…similar to how car manufacturers are responsible for faulty cars, but not faulty drivers.

Other observations

I really do not know what a Trump presidency will mean for the economy. I do not believe cutting taxes for the wealthy is the way to go. Trump’s argument is that if the wealthy did not have to pay more taxes, they would have more money to spend on the economy, which would eventually benefit the poor through the creation of jobs, etc. – the very definition of trickle-down economics. I read an article in the Washington Post that looked at the impact of an increased tax had on the wealthy’s spending habits. Guess what? It did not make a difference — their rate of spending stayed the same. Now if you studied the impact of raising taxes on the middle and lower classes, I think you would have a much different story.

When Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal originally became public, I had an immediate feeling of dread. I thought that no matter how this plays out, her e-mails would cost her the election. At that point, I was thinking about the primary and not the general election, but I think that is what ultimately did her in. Although I did not expect the FBI to screw her over. I seriously believe Comey violated the Hatch Act and should be prosecuted. I voted for Clinton because of my “big 3” issues, but I cannot say that I really like her. While I do believe she has the best of intentions when it comes to improving America, I think there is something about her that comes off as aloof, out of touch, and superior. No matter how hard she tried to combat that perception, it just would not go away. However, I am still shocked that people would pick someone like Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. I guess she really wore out her welcome. What other politician has spent so much time at the forefront of the national political scene? Since the early 90s, she went from First Lady to Senator to Presidential candidate to Secretary of State back to Presidential candidate. I guess people just grew tired of her. Although, she did win the popular vote…just saying. The fact that she won the popular vote is being downplayed for some reason.

For all of those people that voted for Trump, I would love to hear from them a year from now to see if they regretted their decision. My personal feeling is that Trump will not enjoy being president. I would not be surprised if he chose not to run for a second term in 2020. He probably looked in the mirror this morning and said, “What the hell did I just get myself into?”

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And now a haiku:

God, over nation
You are not here to lead us
Only to bless us

And now another haiku:

You won, Donald Trump
Will you rise to the challenge?
Lead us with honor?

Zero Steps Logged

And now a haiku:

Long walk, no Fitbit
Left behind, zero steps logged
Did my walk happen?

Woodpeckers and Freezing Rain

Nature has not been kind to me. I realize that I am only one of millions that was impacted by the winter storm that ravaged the East coast last weekend. However, I did not move 300 miles south to North Carolina to be impacted by winter weather.

In the 3+ years that I have moved, it seems that whenever I travel to Maryland for work during the months of December to March, a winter storm follows. My co-workers joke about it. My family jokes about it. For all intents and purposes, I am a winter weather magnet.

My January trip was approaching and all the news was talking about was this year’s storm of the century. I was scheduled to fly in on Tuesday, Jan. 19th and fly out 5pm on Friday, Jan. 22nd. The snow was predicted to start falling on Friday evening.

Almost as soon as I landed, I looked to see if I could come home on Thursday evening. My plan was not original…all Thursday evening flights were booked. Fortunately, I found a flight for Friday morning. I could get the hell out of Dodge well ahead of the blizzard.

On Wednesday night, I had a meeting in Gaithersburg very close to my sister’s house. I invited myself over for dinner and had a wonderful visit with my sister, her husband, and my incredibly adorable niece.

What I did not know is that while we were enjoying a fun evening, ominous white, fluffy snow was falling from the sky. I did not have any idea that this snow was coming and it did not seem that anyone else did either.

As soon as I noticed it was snowing, I decided to head back to my parents’ house in Crofton (or Hotel Sutton, as I like to call it). The drive should normally take an hour. I figured, with the snow, that it would take longer, but little did I know…

I started out at 8:15pm. It was immediately obvious that it was going to take awhile, but I figured as soon as I got on I-270 that things would pick up. The secondary roads were a mess and it was a crawl to get on I-270. The roads were covered with snow and I could not see the lane lines. I took it nice and slow and, thankfully, so did everyone else on the road.

Unfortunately, I-270 was even worse. I kind of lost track of time, but I think it took me over an hour to get from I-270 to the Capital Beltway. From there all bets were off. At that point, Google Maps seemed to think it would take about 2.5 hours to get to Crofton. However, my arrival time kept getting later and later because I was not moving.

I spoke to my wife who was also trying to use Google Maps to help me find another route. I spoke to my dad who was also trying to help find another route. I spoke to a good friend who kept my spirits up for about an hour. Towards the end of our phone call he asked me how far I had gone since we started talking. I guessed about 100 feet. At this point, it was midnight and I had been on the road for nearly 4 hours.

Because Verizon cannot do voice and data at the same time, when I hung up, Google Maps announced a new route for me that would get me to Crofton in an hour — take Connecticut Ave through DC to Route 50. While that seems like a good idea, I am in the far left lane, no cars are moving, and I am about 30 feet or so from passing the exit ramp.

The good news is that traffic is at a standstill, so I still have a chance to somehow maneuver my way to the exit. The bad news is that traffic is at a standstill, so I have no chance to somehow maneuver my way to the exit. I sat there for about another hour and the weirdest thing happened. No cars were moving forward, but the right lanes were starting to thin out. I think people had given up and pulled off to the shoulder and/or taken the Connecticut Ave exit.

Now, at 1am, I suddenly had my opening and basically crossed the Beltway perpendicularly to take the Connecticut Ave exit and I was on my way. I would like to thank the makers of GPS and Google Maps because without my Nexus 6P, there is absolutely no way I would have been able to make it back to Crofton. I have a habit of getting lost in DC and I cannot even tell you how I crossed through the city, but I was able to make it to Route 50. I also need to commend the District of Columbia. The roads in the city were in excellent condition: not snow covered; wet, but not icy. I do not know if that was a function of the weather or the DC government. In either case, I was very appreciative.

Once I got on 50 and out of the city, the roads were very bad again, but by this point, I think most people were home and there were not too many cars left. I did have to go around a pick-up truck that had spun out in the right lane.

As soon as I pulled in the driveway, my phone rang. My dad wanted to know if I was making progress. I was thrilled to tell him that I made it and I am right outside. I walked into the house and both my parents were waiting for me in the kitchen. I felt bad that they waited up for me. Ironically, my parents never waited up for me when I actually lived at home.

So, at 2am, I climb into bed unable to fall asleep. I watch Netflix on my iPad and finally get to sleep around 3am. I had a meeting the next day at 9am. Before I got into bed, I e-mailed to say I may not be in on time. I was not planning to wake up on purpose.

I was sleeping very well when I hear a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Pause. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Over and over again. I opened my eyes, look at the clock: 7am. The source of the noise: a distant relative of Woody Woodpecker. I could not believe it. Woken by woodpecker. There was absolutely no way I was going back to bed, so I easily got to work in time for my 9am meeting.

Do you think this is the end of my story? I am afraid not.

I somehow made it through the day on Thursday, although, many times during the day I found myself staring at my laptop trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing. Exhaustion was setting in.

Around 5pm, I was getting ready to leave for the day, looking forward to boarding my flight home the next morning. Suddenly, I see an alert for an e-mail pop up from Southwest declaring that my flight had been cancelled. I was dumbfounded. The blizzard was not supposed to hit until the evening. It turns out that Raleigh was expecting freezing rain Friday morning.

I am operating on four hours of sleep after an exhausting, stressful night with the prospect of driving 5 hours home to beat the weather in Raleigh. First, I had to drive to my parents to pack up. I ate dinner and contemplated my next move. My wife was adamant that I not drive home because she was afraid I was too tired. We reached a compromise: I would drive part way, stay in a hotel for a few hours, and then drive the rest of the way before the freezing rain hit.

I really did not want to stop (partially) overnight. I know myself and I probably would not be able to get any sleep at all. I would just be stressed out and more tired.

I left my parents house with my rental car at 7pm. I stopped around 8:15pm to fill up on gas and buy candy and soda to keep me awake. The candy and soda worked. I arrived home at midnight and climbed into bed.

I was sleeping very well when I hear a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat (no pauses this time). Over and over again. I opened my eyes, look at the clock: 6:30am. The source of the noise: freezing rain. Just my luck.

To top it all off, my winter adventures coupled with lack of sleep must have weakened my immune system. I have been fighting a bad cold since last Saturday. I’m still pretty congested, but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was thinking about skipping my February trip to Maryland, but I think I will play it by ear and drive up instead of dealing with airlines and rental cars. It will be easier to control my destiny.

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And now a haiku:

Naughty, by nature
Woodpeckers and freezing rain
Assaulting my sleep

And now another haiku:

Winter weather sucks
Moved to NC to avoid
There is no escape

And now another haiku:

Thank you, Google Maps
You are sent from the heavens
Guiding my journeys

And now another haiku:

Where is John Candy?
Planes, trains, and automobiles
Thankfully, no trains

No-mageddon

Today, there is much snow falling from Maryland to Maine. I am currently sitting in my home office in Wake Forest, NC, some 275 miles south of Laurel, Maryland where my employer is located. A co-worker asked me the following question yesterday:

snowmegadon missing you… don’t you feel lucky?

It did not take me long to formulate a reply:

not lucky…forward thinking.  snow was one of the reasons i wanted to move in the first place. 🙂

Luckily, I have a blog to prove my foresight. Back in June 2012, I laid out the criteria for finding a new place to live. To save you the effort of reading through that post, here is what I said about weather requirements:

Warmer winters. After the back-to-back blizzards of 2011, I decided I’d had enough snow to last a lifetime.

I happily traded Snowmageddon for No-mageddon. We do get snow from time to time, but no where near the accumulation. I hope I am not jinxing myself.

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And now a haiku:

Snow, blizzard, shovels
All signs of Snowmageddon
Eradicated

If I were Dan Snyder…

The controversy involving the Washington Redskins name has really been picking up steam the last few months. I have listened to both sides of the argument and agree with aspects of both sides. I was starting to fall in the ‘change the name’ camp and got to the point where I actually felt uncomfortable wearing my Redskins gear…until I read Rick Reilly’s article on the subject, which brought me back to reality.

Reilly’s article mentions a few high schools with predominantly Native American populations using the Redskins nickname (one even longer than the NFL team) and gives a compelling argument for not making an issue out of the name. After I read the article, I no longer have a problem wearing my Redskins gear. However, I still sympathize with people who oppose the name and think about the controversy whenever I don my Redskins hat.

As a lifelong Redskins fan, I am not one of those people who would be upset by a name change. I would be ok one way or the other (as long as the new name is cool and unique) and the team would still be ‘my’ team. What I am not ok with is the stance that Dan Snyder, the owner of the team, is taking. Earlier this year, he said,

“We’ll never change the name,” Snyder told USA Today. “It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”

That is a quote from a very stubborn, cold hearted man. Recently, he issued a letter to fans to try to soften his position on the issue. Basically, he used poll results and other facts to defend the team name. I just read it as a nicer way for him to say “NEVER”.

He would be forced to change the name, if:

1. The other NFL owners force him to change it
2. The Redskins trademark is revoked.

What would I do if I were Dan Snyder?

If I were Dan Snyder, my goal would be to keep the name. That much is obvious. However, besides the name being an issue, the people that oppose the name also object to the use of Native American symbolism. I would try to meet my critics halfway.

In my opinion, a redesign of the team’s uniforms and helmets is long overdue. Remove that dude’s head and the feathers from the helmet and replace it with a cool looking ‘R’. Remove all Native American symbolism from the franchise. The fight song, which has a Native American vibe because of the drum beat, should stay, but maybe rewrite the lyrics to remove the phrase “Braves on the warpath”. (Maybe “Men on the gridiron”. No, that’s just awful.)

Lastly, the struggles of today’s Native American population is well documented. As Dan Snyder, I would set up a charitable foundation to aid this country’s Native Americans using a fair portion of the Redskins revenue as well as taking donations from fans during games. Lastly, I would set up some kind of exhibit at FedEx Field honoring Native Americans.

To summarize:

• Keep the name
• Remove all Native American symbolism from the franchise (uniform, facilities, web site, etc.)
• Fix the fight song
• Establish a charitable foundation to aid Native Americans
• Create an exhibit at FedEx Field honoring Native Americans

It may not make everyone happy, but compromises never do. If you can somehow divorce the team name from its Native American roots, then I think the critics will not have nearly as much to complain about.

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And now a haiku:

‘Redskins’ should not hurt
The people that you honor
Time for compromise