Am I sounding like a conspiracy theorist?

Did anybody think that perhaps President Obama made those comments about the People’s Republic of Cambridge police force from some run-in he had with them back when he was at Harvard Law?

Something good from the All-Star game…

I’m not going to go off on MLB for starting events at a time that I can barely keep my eyes open on the East Coast.  Or the over-produced national anthem that takes sixteen minutes to belt out (shut up and sing the damn song).  Or that the only reason the game “counts” is because of World Series home-field advantage for the winner.  (It’s nothing more than a ploy to get people to watch, nothing more.)

But hat’s off to President Obama, wearing his White Sox jacket to throw out the first pitch.  Not some non-descript All-Star Game jacket, not a Cardinals jacket, but his hometown White Sox.  In a celebration of the best players in the sport, and with each and every team being represented in the game, there’s no reason for him NOT to.  And no, I don’t think he would have done it any differently if the game were at Minneapolis, or if he were a Cubs fan, I’m sure he would have worn a Cubs jacket in St. Louis. 

That’s a page out of my book.  I always wore my Yankee cap in Fenway, even if the Yanks weren’t playing.  You show your loyalty, but you don’t be an asshole about it.

Some things I guess I’ll never understand…

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the economy is in the shitter right now.  So unlike the previous administration, President Obama actually wants to take action.  But with things going to hell in a hand basket so quickly, there’s been a pressing need to get something passed sooner rather than later.  When your kitchen is on fire, the firemen pull up and use a large hose to get the job done ASAP before the whole house burns down.  You deal with the water damage in your other rooms later.  I can deal with that.

But what I disagree with is somebody having the balls to tack on an earmark onto any of the recovery/funding bills.  The whole practice is reprehensible, since everybody knew President Obama was not going to pick that battle at this time. It’s like firemen take their axes to all the walls in the bedrooms “just to make sure the fire didn’t spread”.  It’s completely irresponsible. 

I understand that you need to prop up the banking and insurance industry or the whole thing implodes, but for a fraction of the coin that’s being thrown around, they can’t prop up the auto industry?  Now I know that there’s a cascading effect that it’s not just the manufacturers, but their suppliers, too, and it affects millions of people.  And in the current economy, we really don’t need more people out on the street, losing jobs, losing their homes.  I get it.  However, the pensions and health care benefit obligations really are the anchor around the industry’s neck.

But I still have a gripe with the Big Three.  They have NOT been responsive to the market.  Can they build a truck?  Absolutely…they’re among the best in the world.  But they still haven’t figured out how to build a small or medium sized car.  And time and time again, they still fall short compared to what the Japanese manufacturers are cranking out.  So the question is do you bother to bail out the auto manufacturers or let them die?  Somebody else will fill the demand left in the marketplace.  There’s plenty of other auto manufacturers in the world, many of whom already have a manufacturing presence in this country.  Chapter 11 isn’t the end of the world, and it may just be the slap in the face they need to wake up and smell the coffee.  There really needs to be a shift in the way they do business.  And remember that we bailed out the airlines in 2002, the legacy carriers went through the bankruptcy process, and they’re still in business today.  

For all the people that say the auto industry is too critical to fail in this country, I have one question for you: how, as a country, have we managed to survive without the Pennsylvania Railroad???

Who is this guy? And why does he think he can be President?

I used to think that if W can be elected, then any schlub could actually make Leader of the Free World.  However, since Obama was elected, I realize I don’t hold a torch to him.  He went to Harvard.  So did I.  But he went to the University, where I went to the Tower Records and Out of Town News in Harvard Square…I don’t think they come out to be the same thing.  But Obama has great ideas, and so do I.  So I figure I have a good decade or so to polish and prep.

While it seems like the President takes a beating every day in the news, it can seem like a thankless job.  But the perks, including a salary much higher than what I’m making now, are great.  Private plane, house staff, and if Obama doesn’t rip it out, your own bowling alley!  So could you say I’m pursuing this for the money?  Well, it’s not bad work if you can get it.

My goal here is not necessarily to plot out policy and election strategy, but to throw out ideas, give alternate views to things going on.  No heavy lifting here.  And more often than not, try to get away from politics, as we need to take a step back, and have a laugh from time to time.  As always, take everything with a grain of salt, as there’s at least three sides to every story.

Oh, and me?  I grew up on Long Island.  I went to school in Boston, where I ran for Hall Council President (where I stole the name of this blog), winning the second time around.  Upon graduation, I’ve been up and down the east coast, finally settling down in the great state of Delaware.  I’m a die-hard Yankee fan, and a huge baseball fan in general, having been to over 20 MLB stadiums so far.