I consider myself a Moderate Republican - a rare animal in these turbulent times and I have voted for Democrat candidates in the past at all levels of government. That being said - as bad as the GOP has gotten - I cannot and will not cross over to the Democrat party for two reasons - starting with Part One - a consistent anti-business stance on the part of political leaders at the local and state levels.
When it comes to business especially the Amazons, Boeings, and Walmarts of the world they absolutely should pay their fair share of taxes. Moreover, political leaders absolutely should not break out the titanium knee pads when corporations come a calling looking for sweetheart deals on tax breaks.
That being said people shouldn't break out their shocked faces when businesses like say Amazon react poorly when legislation comes down the pike aimed squarely at them such as the Amazon/Head Tax being forwarded by the Seattle City Council. The purpose behind the tax is a noble one - combating the exploding homelessness crisis in Seattle. However (comma) but, a tax of this nature is as regressive as it gets as it is literally a tax on jobs. Could Amazon, Starbucks and any of the other 500+ companies afford it - sure they could, but that's not the effing point. The point is for profit businesses exist to (wait for it) MAKE A PROFIT not to be a city/county/state's personal piggy bank for whatever initiative/project/gaping hole in the budget that comes up. Part of making a profit is keeping costs down. Thus if a company has a choice between incurring ex- amount of costs in one locale versus a lower price tag elsewhere and still be able to get the job done, it doesn't take an MBA to figure out which road they will go down. And make no mistake its not just this tax Amazon and other big boy/girls are fighting - its the next one(s). Because they can see the writing on the wall - if we give an inch on this they will take 10 miles next time around.
One more thing regarding the battle between Amazon and the Seattle City Council that has been touched on but will be very much a thing if Amazon carries through its threat to halt all expansion within Seattle city limits. We have heard what the construction unions have had to say, but we haven't heard too much about the plethora of small businesses whose existence is very much in peril if Amazon either doesn't build that new skyscraper downtown or occupy the other one in Rainer. It's the cafes and coffee shops located within a few blocks of either site; its the janitorial, security, and maintenance companies who would be vying for contracts; and the plethora of office/tech support gigs big corporations sub-contract out. You know those entry/mid-level jobs everyone keeps talking about. In short if Amazon goes - everything they bring to the table goes away too. Good luck getting someone else to come replace them.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
How did we get here
When I went to school all those years ago we had fire drills because everyone had to know what to do in case of a fire. Now school children today must endure active shooter drills.
When I went to school the worst that could happen was getting beat up in the school yard. Now our children can be shot dead in the hallway by someone who doesn't even know them.
When I went to school Trapper Keepers were the in thing. Now you can buy your child a backpack that includes a ballistic blanket.
When I went to school, our security staff were armed with the power of their position and strength of personality and nothing more. Now many of our schools have armed police officers on premises.
How does a 19 year old get a hold of an semi-automatic, assault rifle and enough ammunition to start a firefight with a SWAT team.
Why would a young man think killing at least 17 of his fellow classmates, an acceptable expression of his rage and angst.
And how did we get to place where in country that is supposed to be the leader of the Western world where death by gun violence is now becoming a leading cause of death of our youth.
I have always been a proponent of gun rights, but something has to give. Whatever we are doing right now isn't working for anybody. Especially for our children.
Sunday, February 4, 2018
What exactly do you expect the President to do
First and foremost I am NOT in any way, shape or form this administration's biggest fan. I feel there are many things on numerous fronts that at the very least have not been handled well and several that have been completely miscarried. That being said I completely agree with the course the President taken with North Korea.
We will set aside the fact the Korean War essentially "ended" with an armistice versus an actual peace treaty. Heck we at least got that in Vietnam. Or the fact there have been numerous acts of outright aggression taken by the Peoples Republic of North Korea including the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel. The fact is the North Korean regime is hell bent on acquiring the ballistic nuclear weapon capability with the ultimate goal of being able to strike ANY target they choose.
Let's try sanctions you say? You mean the ones we have inflicted since the 90s across six administrations and three Presidents - 2 Democrat and 1 Republican. First it was don't let them develop weapons grade nuclear material. Okay - don't develop a weapon capable of being affixed to a missile. Okay - don't let them to develop a ballistic missile capable of hitting anything we care about it - like Japan, Guam, or Honolulu.. Remember that ballistic missile alert in Hawaii a few weeks ago...
The fact is the regime in North Korea does not give two shakes what the world thinks. They want to force their way into the "Nuclear Club" and the world be damned. To often we have trotted out "redlines" that have breached and our response is "draw another one". If we are truly dedicated to the goal of stopping Korea from acquiring true nuclear capability then at some point you have to say STOP IT or ELSE and really mean it.
We will set aside the fact the Korean War essentially "ended" with an armistice versus an actual peace treaty. Heck we at least got that in Vietnam. Or the fact there have been numerous acts of outright aggression taken by the Peoples Republic of North Korea including the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel. The fact is the North Korean regime is hell bent on acquiring the ballistic nuclear weapon capability with the ultimate goal of being able to strike ANY target they choose.
Let's try sanctions you say? You mean the ones we have inflicted since the 90s across six administrations and three Presidents - 2 Democrat and 1 Republican. First it was don't let them develop weapons grade nuclear material. Okay - don't develop a weapon capable of being affixed to a missile. Okay - don't let them to develop a ballistic missile capable of hitting anything we care about it - like Japan, Guam, or Honolulu.. Remember that ballistic missile alert in Hawaii a few weeks ago...
The fact is the regime in North Korea does not give two shakes what the world thinks. They want to force their way into the "Nuclear Club" and the world be damned. To often we have trotted out "redlines" that have breached and our response is "draw another one". If we are truly dedicated to the goal of stopping Korea from acquiring true nuclear capability then at some point you have to say STOP IT or ELSE and really mean it.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Finally got it RIGHT
You know it took me a while but I figured out what truly bothered me about the Return of the Jedi. It wasn't JUST the Ewoks who some how managed to overpower literally the BEST troops the Empire could put in the field with stone weapons, logs, and rocks. Nope - it was how the rebel fleet survived by not being completely and utterly obliterated by the fleet of Star Destroyers.
Seriously - there were like what a dozen or more clustered around Executor. The second they turned away from the Death Star - the rebels should have flown into a wall of Turbo-laser fire that would have turned their cruisers into molten slag. Instead we saw exactly ONE scene of ship to ship combat. The fan film Tie Fighter did an excellent job of demonstrating what this confrontation should have looked like.
And I like to think the powers that be at Lucas Films started thinking about this too because you see it in the last two films - Rogue One and The Last Jedi (as well the animated series Rebels) - what happens when Rebel/Resistance Cruisers clash against massed fire from Imperial capital ships. It's not pretty - like the German Kriegsmarine Destroyer Flotilla getting caught by the British Navy in the Fjords of Norway in 1940 not pretty. Small ships vs. big ships at close range rarely end well for the little guy.
Seriously - there were like what a dozen or more clustered around Executor. The second they turned away from the Death Star - the rebels should have flown into a wall of Turbo-laser fire that would have turned their cruisers into molten slag. Instead we saw exactly ONE scene of ship to ship combat. The fan film Tie Fighter did an excellent job of demonstrating what this confrontation should have looked like.
And I like to think the powers that be at Lucas Films started thinking about this too because you see it in the last two films - Rogue One and The Last Jedi (as well the animated series Rebels) - what happens when Rebel/Resistance Cruisers clash against massed fire from Imperial capital ships. It's not pretty - like the German Kriegsmarine Destroyer Flotilla getting caught by the British Navy in the Fjords of Norway in 1940 not pretty. Small ships vs. big ships at close range rarely end well for the little guy.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
QB Churn in 2018
So the off-season has started for 30 out of the 32 teams in the NFL and searching across the league landscape - at least one team per division either has a deficit at QB or needs to make a big decision on the one(s) they have
NFC West -
Arizona Cardinals - with Carson Palmer hanging it up, the Red Birds are suddenly in need of a competent QB (Sit DOWN Blaine). They just missed out on Mahone last year so I expect them to be aggressive in the draft - even if they land a veteran in free agency.
NFC East -
Washington Redskins - another off-season and another - will they sign Kirk to a long term deal or won't they. With the franchise tag for QBs pegged around $34m this year - I am betting the skins will be looking for a QB outside their roster for the first time in 6 years.
New York Giants - Eli Manning has had a Hall of Fame career but he is also entering his 14th season and its starting to show. With the number two overall pick - its a good bet the Giants will be drafting Eli's successor this April.
NFC South -
New Orleans - Yes Drew Brees is a free agent, and no is not going anywhere - not with the potential of $18M in dead money dragging their cap down while keep up in the hyper competitive NFC South. That being said - look for them to also be aggressive in the draft for Bree's successor.
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings - None of the three QBs from last season' roster - Keenum, Bradford, and Bridgewater are currently under contract for 2018. All three have proven to be at least serviceable starters, but none of them at this point can be considered elite.
Keenum is the scrappy over-achiever who had the hot hand that helped propel the Vikings to the number two seed in the NFC East. However, his short-comings were on display when the Eagles started laying the wood on the Vikings and Keenum did not have the arm to complete when the points piled up.
Bradford has the pedigree being a former number one overall pick and has the best arm out of the three. He has also had three injury shortened season - including this one courtesy of back to back ACL tears.
Bridgewater - the fact this kid can even walk without a cane, much less step on to the gridiron in uniform is amazing stuff. That being said - Bridgewater was a bit of an enigma before his knee unraveled on the practice field. Now you have injury risk on top of it.
Best guess - and it is a guess at this point is Keenum is the guy for at least one more season and they try to keep Bridgewater around on a back-up contract.
AFC West -
Denver Broncos - To borrow a phrase from John Madden - "If you say you have two QBs, you don't have any". That sums up the Broncos QB situation to a tee. At a number 5 slot and what appears to be on paper so far a talented QB class - I expect Elway to pull the plug on the Pax Lynch experiment and draft a QB in round one.
Kansas City Chiefs - Alex Smith will not be a Chief this season. With Mahone in the wings and Smith on the last year of his contract - the Chiefs will make a move and deal him to a QB hungry team that is too far down the draft order to have a shot at Rosen, Allen, or Donaldson without having to give up the farm.
AFC East -
Buffalo Bills - There is no love for Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo. I expect the Bills to be active in the veteran QB market depending upon who is available.
New York Jets - When Josh McKnown is your best hope under center, that is the epitome of not a good, very bad, QB situation. The Jets played surprisingly well in spite of having Bryce Petty under center for much of the season - well enough to miss out on three best prospects as they could all be gone by the time the Jets pick at number 6.
Dolphins - I have to put the Dolphins in here because Tannehill is coming off an ACL injury. The silver lining is it happened in pre-season. That being said if his knee still isn't right, the Fins may have to be looking for another stand-in not named Cutler at the start of the year.
AFC South -
Jacksonville Jaguars - Blake Bortles had the game of his life against the Patriots and came within half a quarter of beating Brady in his own house. All that aside he is still the mother-loving oh-my-god-he-threw-ANOTHER-pick Bortles Jag fans have known and loathed. It was year FOUR and the former number three overall pick is STILL making first year QB mistakes. This is another team that will be players in the veteran QB market. At very least someone will be brought in to compete with Blake in 18.
AFC North
Cleveland Browns - when haven't the Browns had a QB problem. Now they have the number one overall pick so ANY of the QBs in this class is their for the taking. Do they give up on Kizer who at times has shown potential or do turn the page and tab Allen, Rosen, or Donaldson to be the next face of the franchise. Here's a hint - after missing out on the likes of Wentz and Watson in back to back seasons - they won't blink this time.
Cincinnati Bengals - Andy Dalton is a decent QB. However (comma) but, that's ALL he is at this point in his career. Heck they even call it the "Dalton line" to divide the good from the not so good QBs. At 12 the Bengals are too far down to hope one of the top QBs tumbles down the board. However, a guy like Mayfield might make sense here.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Big Ben has said he wants to play "Three more seasons." His body might be saying something else later this season - especially if they lose Bell in free agency. Thus, I would be very surprised if the Steelers waited until the 6th round this draft to tab a signal caller.
NFC West -
Arizona Cardinals - with Carson Palmer hanging it up, the Red Birds are suddenly in need of a competent QB (Sit DOWN Blaine). They just missed out on Mahone last year so I expect them to be aggressive in the draft - even if they land a veteran in free agency.
NFC East -
Washington Redskins - another off-season and another - will they sign Kirk to a long term deal or won't they. With the franchise tag for QBs pegged around $34m this year - I am betting the skins will be looking for a QB outside their roster for the first time in 6 years.
New York Giants - Eli Manning has had a Hall of Fame career but he is also entering his 14th season and its starting to show. With the number two overall pick - its a good bet the Giants will be drafting Eli's successor this April.
NFC South -
New Orleans - Yes Drew Brees is a free agent, and no is not going anywhere - not with the potential of $18M in dead money dragging their cap down while keep up in the hyper competitive NFC South. That being said - look for them to also be aggressive in the draft for Bree's successor.
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings - None of the three QBs from last season' roster - Keenum, Bradford, and Bridgewater are currently under contract for 2018. All three have proven to be at least serviceable starters, but none of them at this point can be considered elite.
Keenum is the scrappy over-achiever who had the hot hand that helped propel the Vikings to the number two seed in the NFC East. However, his short-comings were on display when the Eagles started laying the wood on the Vikings and Keenum did not have the arm to complete when the points piled up.
Bradford has the pedigree being a former number one overall pick and has the best arm out of the three. He has also had three injury shortened season - including this one courtesy of back to back ACL tears.
Bridgewater - the fact this kid can even walk without a cane, much less step on to the gridiron in uniform is amazing stuff. That being said - Bridgewater was a bit of an enigma before his knee unraveled on the practice field. Now you have injury risk on top of it.
Best guess - and it is a guess at this point is Keenum is the guy for at least one more season and they try to keep Bridgewater around on a back-up contract.
AFC West -
Denver Broncos - To borrow a phrase from John Madden - "If you say you have two QBs, you don't have any". That sums up the Broncos QB situation to a tee. At a number 5 slot and what appears to be on paper so far a talented QB class - I expect Elway to pull the plug on the Pax Lynch experiment and draft a QB in round one.
Kansas City Chiefs - Alex Smith will not be a Chief this season. With Mahone in the wings and Smith on the last year of his contract - the Chiefs will make a move and deal him to a QB hungry team that is too far down the draft order to have a shot at Rosen, Allen, or Donaldson without having to give up the farm.
AFC East -
Buffalo Bills - There is no love for Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo. I expect the Bills to be active in the veteran QB market depending upon who is available.
New York Jets - When Josh McKnown is your best hope under center, that is the epitome of not a good, very bad, QB situation. The Jets played surprisingly well in spite of having Bryce Petty under center for much of the season - well enough to miss out on three best prospects as they could all be gone by the time the Jets pick at number 6.
Dolphins - I have to put the Dolphins in here because Tannehill is coming off an ACL injury. The silver lining is it happened in pre-season. That being said if his knee still isn't right, the Fins may have to be looking for another stand-in not named Cutler at the start of the year.
AFC South -
Jacksonville Jaguars - Blake Bortles had the game of his life against the Patriots and came within half a quarter of beating Brady in his own house. All that aside he is still the mother-loving oh-my-god-he-threw-ANOTHER-pick Bortles Jag fans have known and loathed. It was year FOUR and the former number three overall pick is STILL making first year QB mistakes. This is another team that will be players in the veteran QB market. At very least someone will be brought in to compete with Blake in 18.
AFC North
Cleveland Browns - when haven't the Browns had a QB problem. Now they have the number one overall pick so ANY of the QBs in this class is their for the taking. Do they give up on Kizer who at times has shown potential or do turn the page and tab Allen, Rosen, or Donaldson to be the next face of the franchise. Here's a hint - after missing out on the likes of Wentz and Watson in back to back seasons - they won't blink this time.
Cincinnati Bengals - Andy Dalton is a decent QB. However (comma) but, that's ALL he is at this point in his career. Heck they even call it the "Dalton line" to divide the good from the not so good QBs. At 12 the Bengals are too far down to hope one of the top QBs tumbles down the board. However, a guy like Mayfield might make sense here.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Big Ben has said he wants to play "Three more seasons." His body might be saying something else later this season - especially if they lose Bell in free agency. Thus, I would be very surprised if the Steelers waited until the 6th round this draft to tab a signal caller.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
The Great Divide
So if people are wondering what the Civilian - Military divide looks like - I give the last two government shutdowns as exhibits 1a (instigated by Tea Party wing of GOP) and 1b (Democrats hell bent on resolving DACA). Note BOTH of these occurred while are nation is actively engaged in military operations (i.e. in a STATE OF WAR). In other words if this drags out into February - military members standing the watch, on patrol, and doing the king's business as the saying in goes - including in active war zones MAY NOT GET :PAID ON 15 FEB. Yes folks BOTH of are principal political parties have engaged in brinkmanship that jeopardizes the compensation for members separated from the their loved ones for months at a time who are at risk at getting shot, blown up, maimed, and/or killed on pretty much a daily basis while they are "in country".
And I am going add public service in general to this debate because there is a whole lot of folks doing the king's business in the executive branch who are impacted by this. Hey Marshal Bob - I know your pay is in limbo but we still have to go chase down fugitives - you know the ones who are incredibly dangerous and ALWAYS armed and probably would rather die in a hail of gunfire rather than go back to jail. Hey Border Patrol agent - Jane - I know your rent is probably going to be late because well we don't know when you guys will get paid - but we still need you to keep watch on our borders for illegals, smugglers, drug runners - at night when back-up could be miles away. Plus all those services that we take for granted - until you know they aren't there. Not mention these folks have families to feed and bills to pay too. And yes even they almost certainly will get paid eventually is this really how we want our public servants treated?
If not its time for the "base" of these parties to tell their Representatives in Washington THIS is not acceptable. If we can't do that as a nation than please stop telling military members/veterans - "Thank you for our service" - because you obviously don't mean it.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Back at it
Well as you can see from the dates of my last past its been a while since I have been here. One of my resolutions for 2018 is to write more so without further adieu here we go.
It's championship weekend and once again the Patriots are at the top of the card for the AFC. I am not a fan the Pats in any shape or form; however, I have to admire their record of sustained success which in the salary cap era is no small accomplishment. In my semi-humble opinion its been the Patriots and everyone else since the 2001 season comes down to three things:
1. Bill Belichick - What can we say - seven trips to Super Bowl and five rings since 2001. Nobody has been better matching his system with the players he has on hand. Situational football is words he lives by and his teams are ALWAYS focused on what is in front of them (did you hear that Mike Tomlin)
2. Tom Brady - If he isn't the Greatest of All Time, I am not sure who is. Seriously right now there is exactly ONE other player on the offense that could be considered elite and they can still drop 35+ points on somebody.
3. AFC East - Sorry Pats fans but if the Pats had to face down the Legion of Doom in their heyday twice season or have to figure out how they are going to beat Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau every year, we might have a different story. Instead they face:
The Bills - who finally made back to the post season
The Dolphins - masters of the one step forward, one step back rebuild plan
The Jets - who have been a hot mess since the last time they made the play-offs in 2010.
And oh yeah, out of the three teams only ONE of them can say with any level certainty who will be under center next season. So barring something catastrophic - expect the Pats to be coasting for another AFC East title in 18.
Maybe the Jaguars can flip the script one more time like they did against the Steelers. But its likely Fournette is going to be running into a 8+ man box which means it will be up to Bortles to make it happen.
It's championship weekend and once again the Patriots are at the top of the card for the AFC. I am not a fan the Pats in any shape or form; however, I have to admire their record of sustained success which in the salary cap era is no small accomplishment. In my semi-humble opinion its been the Patriots and everyone else since the 2001 season comes down to three things:
1. Bill Belichick - What can we say - seven trips to Super Bowl and five rings since 2001. Nobody has been better matching his system with the players he has on hand. Situational football is words he lives by and his teams are ALWAYS focused on what is in front of them (did you hear that Mike Tomlin)
2. Tom Brady - If he isn't the Greatest of All Time, I am not sure who is. Seriously right now there is exactly ONE other player on the offense that could be considered elite and they can still drop 35+ points on somebody.
3. AFC East - Sorry Pats fans but if the Pats had to face down the Legion of Doom in their heyday twice season or have to figure out how they are going to beat Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau every year, we might have a different story. Instead they face:
The Bills - who finally made back to the post season
The Dolphins - masters of the one step forward, one step back rebuild plan
The Jets - who have been a hot mess since the last time they made the play-offs in 2010.
And oh yeah, out of the three teams only ONE of them can say with any level certainty who will be under center next season. So barring something catastrophic - expect the Pats to be coasting for another AFC East title in 18.
Maybe the Jaguars can flip the script one more time like they did against the Steelers. But its likely Fournette is going to be running into a 8+ man box which means it will be up to Bortles to make it happen.
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