"close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

It was so close. It was right in front of us -- and by "us", I mean all die-hard AND bandwagon Carolina Panther fans. We were 15 minutes away from home field advantage throughout the NFL playoffs. The spotlight would be on the Queen City. The announcers of the game had suddenly changed their pro-Giant bias to the other team, and even waxed eloquently on the current owner of the team (a former NFL star who is currently awaiting a heart donor for transplant). Charlotte was feeling special -- imagine the spotlight! the glamour! the stars that would be coming to us! Sure, in terms of the game, the formerly no-name cast of players and coaches would receive more national exposure. Even better is that the networks would have had to acknowledge us and pile on heaps of praise for all the world to see. The latter is what I was focusing in on as the clock wound down. Players can play anywhere -- unlike baseball or hockey, the playing fields in the NFL, like the NBA, are absolute and never change due to venue or arena, so there's no excuse other than fan support for home field advantage. What really matters is the map of where the road travels. And we were almost in complete control of it. I don't blame the loss too much on the miss from the usually reliable kicker -- the distance on the kick was good, but the wind pushed it out at the last 10 yards. Should the kicker has adjusted the angle for better percentage? Perhaps -- after all, he is a highly paid professional, and this is his only job requirement, so I'm sure he's being skewered right now on various sports talk shows, especially in Panther Nation. Then again, the coaches knew what elements they were fighting against, so they could have played it better in moving the ball closer to the goal line instead of taking the safe way out. But that is so typical of this coaching staff: they live (and die) on erring on the side of caution. In the end, the defense did not hold and the game was lost in overtime. Even worse than the loss was the fact that the Giants covered the betting line, so all the Vinnies in Brooklyn and Mad Dogs and Czabans in sports media could remove their thumb from their mouth and loudly proclaim (in their best Dice Clay voice): "fuggetaboutit -- I knew it all along -- right here! Oh!"...and the beat goes on.

Where you goin' with that UB-40 in your hand?

Something is not quite right here. I constantly hear that's there's a LOT of people out of work these days. More than usual. Much more than expected. And worse yet, there's more to follow in the coming months. Most companies that are planning massive layoffs are only waiting until after the holidays so as to not appear like Scrooge, but you know they would prefer to do it now and close their books on this year asap. Tonight on CNBC they were talking about a guy in California that is at the point of losing his house to foreclosure, and it's mostly due to him losing his job earlier this year. He also owns three rentals, and all three tenants have lost their jobs, too, so he's getting no relief. He's appealed to his state and local government for assistance, and what do they do? They establish a public hearing to listen to his story and the plight of other similar Sad Sacks. Needless to say, the poor guy is not expecting much to come out of it for another 8-10 months, and he's at a loss as to what's he's supposed to do while they talk amongst themselves.
You may be aware that California is not exactly raking in the revenues right now; the Governator is appealing to anyone that will listen that the state is in need of some type of bailout funds. Of course, this went over well with other states in similar straits, so they quickly chimed in with their hat in hand, too.
What concerns me is that we seem to be heading into the Perfect Storm: A very high debt service, thanks to allocated bailout funds, but less-than average revenue sources due to unexpected high unemployment. And the POTUS-e is concerned that the Fed has played all remaining trump cards prior to his coming into office, which doesn't help him with his plans to resurrect the economy, thus firmly establishing his legacy as the Savior of the Country. Are you saying that the 'publicans are purposely not going out of their way to help Obama get a running start to cure the nation's ills? What a surprise. But hey, that's the way the game is played. The Clintonites did the same if not worse to the incoming Bush administration, and so on down the line. I'd suggest to Obama that he not get so hot under the collar about the current administration's agenda for the next 30 days, and instead focus on how to fix or mend it all on January 21st.
I predict that this holiday season will see a surprise surge in spending, but it could be due to people thinking they need to go out with a bang. Then again, I see many people every day in my job that have great credit, great equity established in their homes, and great income, so I'd say that most Americans are getting it right. The challenge will be to not allow the tail to wag the dog, i.e. not let the 4% or 5% "less-than" perfect Americans sway the rest of the nation into a deeper recession. There are many ways to reduce the unemployment numbers, but it takes courage to implement them. Who's going to blink first?

What comes around, goes around

By now, most of you have heard of the scandal in Illinois regarding the arrest of the Governor on graft charges. This is the type of story that reaffirms my belief in karma (or a facsimile thereof), in that the party of the recent national elections is now the recipient of the taint that they were so quick to throw to the losing party just two months earlier. The President-Elect (should he be referred to as POTUS-e? TPE? That last one sounds too much like a popular reference to bathroom tissue, we can't have that. But I digress...) is involved because this is his home state, and the scandal involves the Governor's legislative responsibility to designate a successor to the POTUS-e's Senate seat. Governor Blagojevich ("Blago") has been caught on voice recordings with many direct statements about how he (was) planning to sell the seat to the highest bidder, which is clearly against the law. The fact that he comes off as arrogant and aloof doesn't help. But equal to all of this is that Blago is a Democrat that is tied to the POTUS-e, and suddenly the POTUS-e's image is not so golden. Immediate reaction from the media is shock and awe -- Blago wasted no opportunity to voice his opinions, and most of them were caustic -- and it's been interesting to watch the Matthews and Olbermanns and Maddows of the world bob and weave while trying to get a grip on it all. "Surely this cannot be happening to our guy? He's not like one of them! This is so...so...(gasp) Republican!" Ah, that's the beauty of it. You see, kids, there's scum on both sides of the aisle. And yes, there's good people on both sides, too, but let this be a lesson to those who were so myopic that they failed to acknowledge this until now. Nobody's perfect -- we learned that long ago, first during the Kennedy election, and soon after with Watergate. Hey, it goes farther than that: Lincoln appointed his campaign manager to the Supreme Court (so there was a Harriet Myers before Harriet Myers). American politics in general, and POTUS history in particular, is littered with this type of thing. What makes it all worthwhile is to see the squirming of the mainstream media and devoted followers who never saw this coming and never expected their guys/gals to fall prey to this corruption. It just shows to go ya: it can happen to anyone.

First

Welcome to the First Day of the Last Month of the Year. There's plenty to reflect on -- and regret about -- as the month moves forward. There will be plenty of "Best of" lists, plenty of "the year in pictures/video/audio/Hollywood/politics/TV/etc.", and plenty of good tidings and cheer (a/k/a work parties). There will be moments of rememberance, and enthusiasm for resolutions. There will be opportunities to Pay It Forward, and there will be calls for charitable giving. There will be happy family gatherings, and a chance to make amends. There will be shameless self-promotion, and (seemingly) endless ad pitches for diamonds, toys, last-minute ideas, and must-see holiday programs. It's as if the whole nation is ready to take a slow break from reality and recharge for the New Year. Just remember: Actions speak louder than Words. Are you ready?