The Hurt Locker (2008)

This movie has been out for a long time now (a really long time when you consider when it was made) and hauled in a bunch of awards yet I just saw it.  Why?  Don’t know, sat there with some other Blu-rays from Netflix for a while.  Rather than write an entire treatise I will do a micro-review, a quick snapshot of what I liked and didn’t like.

Liked

• Fantastic cinematography: Really wish the Academy voters would have rewarded some great old school cinematography over the 3D gimmickry.
• Great core characters: The three core characters of the film are well fleshed out, they are what drives the film.  Wow, a film with characters, how un-Hollywood!
• Kathryn Bigelow: Best Director was well deserved, I was floored.  I thought this was hype (i.e. how could the director of Point Break get best director?) but it surely was not.  Excellent work.
• Core theme:  The core theme about combat and what it does to soldiers was, I think, well done.  In that regard this film is probably one of the best films about war ever made.  I don’t like all of how it got there (see below) but it was well done.
• Jeremy Renner: Absolutely fantastic job.  He had his John Wayne game face but could flip it around and show the vulnerability (i.e. Beckham parts and shower scene).  It’s too bad he ran into someone who was owed an Oscar.

Disliked

• Complete fancy: This film is a joke when it comes to representing the job of an EOD.  They don’t act like this, if they do they are dead EODs.
• Unit of supermen: Hey let’s make ourselves snipers and we won’t call for any support we’ll just hang out here with these mercs all day!  Let’s split up in a hostile area at night!  Let’s never use a radio or call for support!  It helps isolate the core characters but there is no doubt this film fails miserably when it comes to realism.
• Military stereotypes: We have another “all officers are idiots” film.  I love David Morse, he’s one of my favorite actors but to see him do this cheesy stereotypical good ole boy full bird colonel imitation was terrible and pointless.  Depicting our troops acting this way I think bordered on disrespectful and stretched artistic license.  Then we have the lieutenant colonel psychologist which was equally nauseating (like the team would just leave him to hang out in the street).
• US stereotypes: Just what we needed, another movie portraying Americans as a bunch of “yee ha let’s go kill ‘em all” types.

I’ve never had such a film that struck me with this kind of mixed verdict.  I am going Machiavelli on this one in that I like the point the film made and I liked this as a film so overall I score it as a great film.  However, I certainly didn’t like how it got there.  It leaves me asking the question if Bigelow could have gotten to that message without taking the shortcuts or not?  Did she have to create these utterly unrealistic situations to isolate the core characters?  I’ve come to the conclusion that, to an extent, she did.

There’s a great risk you take when you make a war film about a war that is still going on.  Many will demand accuracy and this film was very inaccurate in a lot of areas.  Also, as I said, it bordered on being disrespectful and cartoonish with how it portrayed its characters.  Do I think there are some characters like this in the military?  Probably, but not many and not the ones we should be focused on.  At the same time I loved one of those characters even though he was completely unrealistic.

So there you have it, if you are looking for an accurate war movie, this is not your film.  However, if you are looking for a great movie about war, that sums up The Hurt Locker I believe.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

If you are looking for a faithful remake of the great Ray Harryhausen cult classic keep on looking, because this isn’t it.  No, this Titans is a stripped down (although there we more stripping in the original) no nonsense action flick and that’s pretty much it. The screenwriters on this film got way overpaid because there is very little dialogue in this film at all other than to fill in and drive Perseus and his band of gods haters on to the next part of their task.

The beginning starts out true to the original, Perseus and his mother are cast off in a coffin by his father Acrisius (who later comes back as Callibos is a bizarre time saving twist), you don’t know why at the time but they just are.  The coffin is pulled from the water by, to my shock, Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father) making his appearance as the first character you will have no clue what his name is (there will be many more).  You will only know him as Perseus’ dad and, amazingly, we all have British accents in Ancient Greece.  The first departure of the film takes place as Perseus’ mom dies (didn’t happen that way in myth or the original) and Pete and his family raise Perseus until, you know, he gets that higher calling.

From there on the stories really have little in common other than the general framework — the gods are pissed and they’re going to let the kracken out to go aggro on Argos (Joppa in the original) unless someone does something about it.  They get the magnificent Polly Walker (Rome and now Caprica) and they kill her after about three lines.  Perseus leaves with his band of droogs after a little encouragement from another demi-god named Io (hey, we know someone else’s name and it’s a hot Bond girl, Gemma Arterton). Perseus is out to avenge his human father, no saving the damsel this time, he doesn’t have a thing for Andromeda like Harry Hamlin did.

Then non-stop action takes place as they quickly dispatch one trial after the next and whittle the band of droogs down.  You learn none of their names really even though they are about the only human element to the film.  I’m completely serious you only hear their names a couple times and usually when they’re dying, “Eusebios!” Perseus utters as the stone head crumbles to the floor and you say to yourself “oh wow, that was that dude’s name.”

All in all a few things save this film from being completely mindless.  Mads Mikkelsen, the Dane better known for previously playing Le Chiffre in the last two Bond films is great as the captain of the guard who heads up the droogs who head out with Perseus (he also gives Perseus a 2 minute sword lesson and immediately after Perseus nearly kills him, being a demi-god rules). I wouldn’t be surprised if he had the most lines in the film, he’s earnest and personable and quickly allows you to build some admiration for him with very little dialogue. His partner in crime, who I’ll be darned if you ever hear that character’s name in the film is played by Liam Cunningham, he gets all the jokes as a character called Solon apparently. The play between Mikkelsen and Cunningham is great and really livens things up and hits you on a human level.  Aside from that you’ll find yourself grasping at a lot of names — those two funny dudes who come along (we don’t know who they are or where they came from but, by all means, come along with us and survive even), another sort of weird creature made out of scorpion hides and blue fire and one hot yet deadly looking Medusa and you have this film summed up.

Sure, there’s Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades but there’s little for them to do except play it easy as two brothers in need of a serious intervention and some time to hug it out but that’s about it. Sam Worthington is buff and does a bit of fighting, he’s the reluctant hero we really don’t get invested in at all. You think he doesn’t care about anything until he starts to put the moves on Io on what turns into Charon’s fantasy pleasure death cruise ship of the River Styx apparently!  Oh sure, the moment gets broken up but the gratuitous romance was thrown in. A completely forgettable performance from Worthington as far as I’m concerned.

The effects are pretty dang good, the girls are gorgeous and it moves along quickly and before you know it it’s over.  If this film were a magazine it would be Maxim, what can I say. There is a nice tip of the hat to Harryhausen with Bobo the owl but he only makes a cameo. We also have two interesting “oh that’s where they are now” moments with Alexandar Siddig of Deep Space Nine fame as Hermes and Jane March (The Lover and Color of Night) as Hestia where she not only manages to not have sex with anybody, she keeps her clothes on as well! Well done, Jane!

Overall a relaxing piece of afternoon fun, I’d catch it at the matinée showing, definitely not worth paying full price for or just catch it on video. I wasn’t expecting a faithful remake, I was expecting it to stand on its own and it really doesn’t do that. But for the fame of the original I don’t see the appeal. Percy Jackson & the Olympians had a far better plot, action that was at least as good and actual characters. Your two coins for the boatman are far better spent there.

Education Change You Can Believe In From Obama, Duncan

I’m floored. I can’t believe this education proposal has come out of this administration. I had figured the President was in the back pocket of the NEA and AFT given the tremendous sums they gave to his election but he proved me wrong today. In this case I have no problem being proven wrong — bravo President Obama and bravo Secretary Arne Duncan.

Now this is just a proposal at this point so while I am giddy as all get-out about it I’m still not holding my breath. He can champion this all he would like but he still has to turn to Congress to get this done. I’m hopeful there is support in Congress for this and I’m hopeful Republicans are leading the charge because this is a transformation of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NLCB) and takes important steps to fix what is wrong with it while still insisting on accountability.

First we need to talk about what is broken with NCLB and that is ever increasing standards that can’t possibly be met. Standardized tests are based on percentiles so if you require schools to place within a certain percentile you are creating a glass ceiling — there will be a point where you can’t improve and if everyone improves someone still has to be at the bottom. This is the fundamental flaw of NCLB — it punishes districts even if they are making improvements.

While the administration has put out what it is calling a “blueprint” and not legislation, and I’ve been unable to find any outline yet what Duncan and Obama are saying is highly encouraging. According to the USA Today:

1. Raise the current standards by 2014.
2. Scrap the 2014 reading and math requirements and replace them with “college readiness” requirements by 2020.
3. Use subjects other than reading and math in their ratings.
4. “Value-added” indicators for teachers and schools.
5. Use indicators other than just test scores in assessing teachers.

These are all great changes to NCLB. The only one I am leery of the teachers unions getting their hands on is the subjective assessments. They could twist this into a means of keeping teachers who are not up to par by subjective means. That needs to be discouraged. The rest of these are great improvements on NCLB that open up the restrictions and bring reality to eduction — it’s not all reading and math.

What they added next though was the real kicker. For schools that are struggling, down in the bottom 5% they would have to take one of the following actions in order to maintain federal funding:

1. Shut the school down.
2. Bring in an outside company to manage the school as a charter school.
3. Fire the entire staff and rehire no more than 50% of them.
4. Fire the principal and bring in a new one with a transformation plan.

Wow. That’s about all I can say about that, wow. This is absolutely, without a doubt, EXACTLY what is needed to put teeth in NCLB. Right now a struggling school will only get worse; most of the parents will have nowhere else to go, that school will lose federal funds and with less funding it will only get worse. That’s broken. This puts the teeth in NCLB and frees school districts to make the kind of changes they would need to transform a failing school.

You can guarantee the teachers unions will be fighting these provisions tooth and nail in Congress. ”Let me be clear” here for a moment if I can steal one of the President’s lines, I have a message for teachers. I have nothing against the rank and file teacher doing everything he or she can to educate our kids. It’s a tough and often thankless job. You get to deal with a slew of parents who just don’t care. However, there’s no legislation on the planet that is going to make them care. This is all that can be done.

The prescription from NCLB right now just gets in the way of a teacher being able to be a teacher. A slew of requirements are put on them, the district office is in their classroom, creating some new set of guidelines for them to follow or the like. Teachers aren’t allowed to innovate and educate. You need to tell your leadership right now that the President’s plan will let you innovate and educate again and stand on your own.

Your leadership is about to barrage you with a mountain of scare tactics and try to get you behind opposition to this plan. You need to stand up to your leadership and tell them no. Have you seen the headlines over the past few weeks? In Illinois we have a complete disaster on our hands and districts are cutting staff left and right. This is what your leadership has gotten you with their hold on power and their refusal to innovate. Many a good teacher is being fired so many a bad teacher that’s been doing it forever can keep his or her job. That’s not right and you need to stand up for it as not right.

I’m sure you can easily count the bad teachers in your building right now. The ones who don’t care, the ones who “phone it in”, the ones you are constantly covering for. Admit it, you know they are there. Are you prepared to lose your job for them? That’s what your leadership will be asking you to do. Under this proposal YOU will be responsible for YOUR own results. If you are doing all that you can it will be seen and measured and you won’t be held responsible for your failing peers. This plan is a plan for good teachers and good teachers should stand up to their national leaders and get behind it.

I’m hopeful this plan can be put into place and it stays as it is outlined. You can rest assured I will be watching it as it comes out, but this is a great start and the first reason for hope and change I’ve seen out of President Obama.  Well done.

Red-Light Solutions

Senator Dany Duffy’s bill to put an end to red-light cameras has hit a snag — Illinois legislator’s not ready to do an outright ban on them as reported recently in the Daily Herald. It’s disappointing there’s not enough support for a total ban but I don’t think that should discourage opponents of the cameras or Senator Duffy. It’s clear some compromise legislation is needed. Hopefully that legislation would effectively curtail their current use and abuse — milking taxpayer dollars via unwitting municipalities.

I believe a compromise could be reached that would sound their death knell. It starts with making it much more difficult for them to be approved and thus less enticing to the companies that are selling them. The first solution would require a referendum in order for the municipality to deploy them. If they are that concerned about the public safety, let the public decide if they should be used. I think you would quickly find out who is truly in it for public safety and who is turning to fines to replenish depleted municipal coffers.

If there’s not enough support in Springfield for that, and that would be unfortunate, there are still requirements that could be put in place to deter their abuse:

Aside from the requirements needed to install them their use also needs to be addressed:

Finally, provisions on cameras already in place need to be addressed. While they couldn’t follow all of this process they could follow part of it.

You need to make a difference and speak your mind on this. Don’t just email your legislator or senator, call him or her. Send the message to Springfield that something needs to be done about the abuse of these cameras and they should support Senator Duffy’s effort to do so.

My School Board Resignation

One of my favorite movies ever is “For Love of the Game” starring Kevin Costner as an aging pitcher with the Detroit Tigers who is having the best day and the worst day of his life. So as not to bore you with an entire synopsis of the film and where I’m going with this Costner’s character Billy Chapel starts his day with a knock on his hotel door from the owner. The club has been sold, they don’t want Chapel any more and they want to get rid of him. The owner, played brilliantly as always by the superb Brian Cox, offers some words of advice:

You’re like the old boys, they were golden. They had that special pride. When they were done, they were done, no one had to show them the door.

I may not be “golden” but no one has to show me the door either.  So today I filed my resignation at the district office and said that I was done.

This film speaks to me on many levels at this time in my life. After Chapel gets those words of advice his on-and-off-again girlfriend tells him she’s going to London. He has to pitch so he heads to the stadium, arm full of pain from throwing for nineteen years and he reflects on his life throughout the game. Sometimes in life you get so focused on something that you never picture your life without it.  It becomes a hunger that needs to be fed.  Everything you do you feed to it.  You shut people out, you refuse to let others in and you skip out on obligations because you have the hunger that needs to be fed. I have done the same thing with my school board work and just like Chapel I have worn myself down body and mind serving it. I can’t even remember the times my son has been turned away by me and he says “you’re always working or going to a meeting dad.” The first twenty or so times it hurts, when you get up to where I’m at now it weighs on you greatly.

Despite the sacrifices you make to the hunger you certainly have times you look back upon fondly. You remember some of the achievements you were a part of and I have certainly had my share. Going back to 2001 our district was in utter and complete chaos, the state had come in, it was about to take full control and I had six people who didn’t care too much for the fact that the good people of Round Lake elected me to serve with them and they let me know about it.

Even in my more recent stint I came to a board that had appointed me as its 3rd appointed member in a year. The board had virtually no say in how the district was run, it couldn’t even set the agenda for its meetings. When I would ask why we couldn’t do anything I was told “because of the SFA, they won’t let us.” I made it my mission to change that and since I’ve been president the board has run the district and the board has set the agenda. That was because of the efforts of many good people but I’d like to think I had a hand in that. We built what is essentially a beautiful new school that the district could be proud of and I am certainly proud of from my early days on the board of constantly questioning, “what are we going to do about Magee?” I leave her in good hands.

I remember my first graduation as President of the board and I probably went a bit overboard in my speech to the graduates about what going to RLHS meant. I took a lot of criticism from some people over my remarks despite reviewing them with the principal, Dr. Jeff Brierton (also fondly missed) before I made them. It was worth the shots I took later though when a staff member came to me afterwards telling me how much it meant to her.  I’d do it again.

Also during the film Chapel reflects on his former teammates, some with him still and some not. I have reflected on mine as well. I don’t want to get in trouble and leave someone out but I need to recognize some special people I have served with in the district. Walter Korpan retired a couple of years ago having straightened out the financial mess and I have written previously of my love and admiration for Walter.

Jerri Ryan has served ably for well over a decade now and has steered the district on a path to harmonious relations with the union when they were anything but when she arrived. I particularly remember when Jerri made her transition from in-house counsel to her current position and the tears that were cried over the mere changing of a title.  That’s one of those fights I was glad to have won albeit it only partially. I’m fond of the Reagan desk proverb of “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” While others at various times have taken the credit for our improved labor relations Jerri never did though it was sorely deserved.  I will miss my times playing attorney with her.

Heather Bennett has been secretary to the CEO for several years now through the different CEOs and she has been a bastion of consistency and organization in the district office. A fellow graduate of Round Lake she works tirelessly for the CEO, the board and the district. I will miss her great smile and an attitude that never was down. Your words meant a lot to me today Heather, thank you.

I’ll miss Kim Kearby pacing around at the back of a room be it a board room or the RLHS library when we’re taking up a contentious matter. Those times have waned in recent years and I think Kim, who I can’t ever stop reminding people was my tee ball coach, has had less reasons to pace in front of the board.  I’m disappointed I won’t be there to present you with your retirement award Kim, I had an iPod with “Kiss Him Goodbye” all ready to go for the occasion!

Most of all I will certainly miss someone who I certainly consider my friend now and that is Dr. Ben Martindale. Ben came and started working for us despite not even being done with his previous job yet. He and I went over our relationship and how we would work together to achieve the goal I so desperately wanted to achieve. I made some mistakes along the way and he would be there to either nudge me or bark at me if the moment required it. We both share a fondness for the more, shall we say “creative” words of the English language that he has a jar in tribute to on his desk.  We also share many common loves be it sports, the Indy 500 or kids with special needs. I’ve never met a more tireless and passionate servant for children and I don’t think I ever will. Knowing you I know what you must be thinking about all this and I can assure you, it’s the players that play the game, not the coach. I will never forget you and what you have taught this student, my friend.

So I’m sorry to say that this old arm doesn’t have a perfect game with me but I feel like I’ve already made my mark. The picture for this article is one of those proud moments I had. In September 2008 we were visited by 90-year-old Frank Dvorscak who was on the board that would become our board and built RLHS. He was a delightful gentlemen and when he came up to accept our recognition award he whispered “you run a good meeting” and that meant all the world to me. I glanced over at my place at the table where a gavel that had been my father’s rested and thought he might be proud.

In the picture we look pretty funny because I think neither of us wanted to stop chatting for photos. When we were done he went down to the plaque in the old original hallway that bears his name on it. His family sent me a photo with him holding the award I had given him standing with the plaque. That’s legacy stuff and something he was obviously proud of, I hope that will be me some day.

At the end of the film, before he goes to throw the last inning, Chapel writes on a baseball and has it run up to the owner.  As Chapel goes to take the mound one final time the owner looks down at the ball and it says “Tell them I’m through, for love of the game.” It’s the final words of love from someone who doesn’t want to give up what he has built a significant part of his life around. But he realizes he can no longer serve his love the way he should and moves on to other things.

I’m through, for love of the kids.

Guy’s Tips For Driving In Snow

I’ve been a “road warrior” for 13 years now (shudder!) so I guess I am what you would call a professional driver. I’ve driven in all seasons and environments from our nasty Chicago winters to truly nasty Southwestern Michigan winters. I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of people have no clue what they’re doing when they’re driving in snow. Having never been in an accident or required the use of a tow truck to be removed from a ditch I thought I would offer these helpful tips.

Legal notice: these are my helpful hints, I’m not responsible for how you use them. If you lose control and wreck your car or otherwise it’s not my fault, it’s yours.  Viewer discretion is advised.

Tires, Tires and Tires

There’s just no substitute for a decent set of tires for driving in the winter. In my job inspecting cars in the field I’ve found the first place most people pay little or no attention to on their vehicle is tires. I see all different brands, worn out, cupped, dry rotted, under inflated, never rotated, never balanced, the list goes on and on.

If you want to put money well spent into your car, spend it on your tires. Tires give you traction, tires keep you on the road and tires keep you in control. No other component on a car affects these areas as much as tires. So stop cheaping out on them!

If you have a sporty car with hard low-profile (i.e. skinny on the side) tires you should really invest in a set of winter rims and tires. Tire Rack offers great deals on these packages and it’s simplicity in itself. The snow comes, you swap over to the snow rims and tires.  When the snow is gone you put your stock rims and tires back on. You get great winter traction, you save your cool alloy wheels from harsh winter conditions and everyone is happy.

Maybe you don’t have that kind of cash to spend and you want a year-round solution. Then you need to look for a set of truly all-season tires. I can’t recommend Nokian tires enough, their latest tire being the WRG2. I put a set of these on my 2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS which had some performance tires that were horrid in the snow and the difference is astounding. The price isn’t bad either but more than you’re used to spending if you’ve consistently cheaped out on tires. There’s other brands out there with some great all season tires but I have put the Nokians on three different cars and never regretted it.

Once you have that nice set of tires keep them up to pressure, get them rotated at least every 10,000 miles and get an alignment done if you are noticing any pulls or shimmies when you drive.

Power Is Your Friend, Your Brakes Are Not

So now you have a great set of tires on your car, awesome! Now learn how to use them. The number one mistake I see when people are driving in snow, above all others, is being on the brake all the time. When you are breaking you have reduced traction since your tires are going against the grain to try to slow you down. This is a bad situation and why most people go into slides and rear-end people or lose control and go off the road.

However, when you are applying power to your drive wheels your tires are working for you and not against you. You are taking control of the traction and keeping your car pointed in the right direction and reducing the chances of hydroplaning. I know this sounds the opposite of what may make sense to you but the next time you’re driving in snow try following these simple power turn rules:

• Rely on laying off the gas as opposed to hitting your brakes to slow your car down, this means you have to start slowing down earlier.
• When making a turn reduce your speed before going into the turn, not during the turn.
• Brake lightly before going into the turn, not during the turn.
• Apply power during the turn to pull your car through the snow and slush, you will have far better control.

If you stick to these guidelines you will find yourself much more confident taking turns in the snow, just don’t get carried away!

4×4 Is Not Invincible

Have you ever noticed during a bad snowstorm the vast majority of the vehicles off the road and in a ditch are sport utilities? “How can that be?” you may ask. The reason is simple, while four-wheel drive (4×4 or 4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD) gives you better traction it doesn’t help you stop any better!

Most 4×4 owners get a false sense of security from it and think that it will take care of them. They accelerate faster, take more risks and end up going much too fast for the conditions.  To add insult to injury most 4×4s and AWD vehicles are bigger and heavier which means it takes a lot more room to stop them. On top of that they have a higher center of gravity which means when they start to go into a slide they are more difficult to control. Add all these things up and you have a formula for disaster and the reason why so many SUVs in the ditch.

Finally, most 4×4 drivers were never taught how to use their toy the right way, so I will tell you:

• Learn if your car is a 4×4 (will have selectable mode) or is AWD.  There’s a difference.
• If you have an AWD stick with the rules I gave you above. Only the most advanced AWD vehicles (Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru WRX, Acura RDX, Audis with Quattro, to name a few) have AWD systems that are as capable as true 4WD.  Most AWD systems, especially on mini-vans and compact SUVs, are glorified front-wheel drive with some power to the rear when needed.
• If you have good clean pavement leave it in 2WD and save on gas.  Only put it in 4WD when you really need it.
• Reduce speed going into curves and turns and apply power going through them to take full advantage of 4WD and your increased traction.
• If you start to slide turn into the direction of the slide and apply power to regain traction. Don’t brake, and don’t steer away from the slide.
• 4WD requires more power from the motor to run so when you let off the gas it will usually slow you down faster than in a regular car.
• You’re probably bigger and heavier and require more room to stop and slow down — slow down earlier and start to brake well behind the person in front of you.
• When most people lose control it’s because they lost the rear end. Put some tube sand or bags of kitty litter (also helpful for putting in the snow if you do get stuck) in your trunk, cargo area, or pickup bed to give you some additional weight on your rear wheels so they can provide you power.

Lights On For Safety

Fortunately there are a lot of cars with daytime running lights now so this applies less. But remember, in Illinois we have a law that if your wipers are on, your lights are to be on — follow it! It’s not so you can see, it’s so you can be seen. I don’t know how many times I’ve been out in a bad snow storm or in fog and some gibroni doesn’t have his lights on and can’t be seen.

Also, if you have a European car, for pete sake don’t put your rear fog lights on unless there is really fog!!  Rear fog lights are common on European cars and your fog lights will usually have two settings, the first one puts your front fog lights on and the second puts your rear fog light(s) on. You can always see these cars as they have one or two really bright taillights and look like they’re breaking but it’s actually a rear fog light. Read your owner’s manual and figure out how your Euro toy works for pete sake! I’ve been blinded for miles by these types in perfectly clear weather and it is truly annoying. Don’t do it!

There you go, the Guy Certified tips for driving in the winter. Be safe out there!

Guy’s Republican Primary Endorsements

You might not care what I think but hey, you’re reading my blog aren’t you?  Here are my endorsements in the Republican Primary tomorrow.

US Senate: John Arrington

Forget this nonsense about only Kirk can win, John Arrington is the real deal.  Mark Kirk has let us down as Republicans, he quite simply doesn’t support what the party should stand for.  The most glaring example was voting for the ridiculous Cap & Trade Bill.  Under no circumstances should such behavior be rewarded!   Enough about Kirk though — John Arrington is a Harvard graduate, former alderman and public servant.  He has strong conviction to his ideals and if you haven’t seen him speak you can see him now:

Governor: Adam Andrzejewski

There’s a lot not to like in this contest and one candidate rises to the top and that is Adam Andrzejewski (And-G-F-Ski).  Virtually every other candidate for the Republicans has some baggage he’s carrying with him, I won’t go into it all.  Adam is a self-made man, speaks from the heart and holds to the ideals of liberty.  Everyone he is running against can’t hold a candle to his qualifications.

Lieutenant Governor: Jason Plummer

Another great candidate with the ideals of liberty and who comes from the private sector.  Jason has sworn off drawing salary should he be elected Lieutenant Governor.  How’s THAT for putting your money where your mouth is?  Jason wants to transform this useless office into one that will cut through the Springfield red tape as an advocate for liberty.

Comptroller: Jim Dodge

As much as I admire much about Judy Baar Topinka the last thing we need is someone who has spent most of their life down there.  Jim Dodge has a solid background in holding local public office and is a great choice for Comptroller.

Illinois 8th Congressional District Representative: Maria Rodriguez

If there’s anyone who can beat Melissa Bean it’s Maria Rodriguez.  With solid credentials in local government Maria is another candidate on my liberty parade — committed to limited government and free markets.  She’s a fantastic candidate and our best chance yet of having a candidate who represents our ideals and won’t go lock step with a party line that doesn’t hold them.  I strongly endorse Maria Rodriguez for the 8th District.

Voices In My Head

I wrote this a few months ago but my life changed 10 years ago today.  By the date it was yesterday but in my head it’s always Labor Day 1999, the day my father died.  I didn’t post it to my blog so I thought I would do it now and remember what was lost ten Labor Days ago.

There are times when I wonder how my life would be different now if my father were still here. On September 6, 1999, my life changed forever because that was the day that God called my hero, my father, home.

When I get selfish I get angry at God for what he took from me that day because I wasn’t through learning what I needed to learn from him. My father, without a solitary doubt, was the most selfless person I have ever known. He was a man that this world does not see much of any more — someone who will give all of himself and expect nothing in return. A co-worker who would chew your butt and then go about helping you do whatever it was you were screwing up. A community servant who spent countless hours doing public works with the Grayslake Jaycess (and having a lot of fun too). A brother who would forgive again and again. A son who would only wish for his own father’s happiness despite how painful the choices he made might have been to him. A husband who loved his wife with all of his being through all the good times and the tough ones. And a father who would walk through the fires of hell for his children and would let loose that hell on any person who would seek to do us harm.

I’m not half the man my father was. I’m a selfish bastard that doesn’t deserve to bear part of his name compared to him. I was a lousy husband, I can be a half-ass father, an ungrateful son and a distant brother. I have few people who I would call close friends because I don’t let them in. I don’t let anyone near me. What my father could do with a smile and a joke I can only pretend to do.

So there are times when I have conversations with my father in my head. Most of the time he’s trying to straighten me out as I’m sure he would if he were still here. Where are these voices coming from? Are they of my design, something that I do totally on my own? Are they recessed programming of my father in my brain, my sub-conscious acting out as what my father was? Or is it his spirit come to visit me in times when I need it, when I feel an absolute and total failure and unable to go any further? I don’t know what they are but I hope they are him.

Life is a series of choices we make every day and for whatever reason as of late I seem compelled to make the quick and easy ones. My father never made the quick and easy choices. Despite being a superb mechanic he always drove the worst car. My father was driving a car with more then 200,000 miles on it and it sang like a top because that’s what he could do with an engine. When he wasn’t satisfied with what he could do with a wrench or the powerful hands that would pound my shoulder when he got home he would do any number of other things.

He spent years in the Jaycees giving of himself and proving to be a very capable leader. He took to the stage always happy to take on any role on the stage or behind it, whatever it did to put on a great show my father was there to do. He was a lousy golfer known to break clubs during trying times but would laugh it all off with a beer when he was through. I suppose that was key to who my father was — he was a man who saw himself as fallible and would then go about making sure that didn’t happen very often.

So perhaps it is a time of choosing for me, time for me to decide that I would do as he did and let go of what pains me and do more to embrace life. I think that anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the same person I was before September 6, 1999. Maybe it’s time to change that as I’m sure he would be the first one to let me know his displeasure with me carrying on about it.

Reconciliation is an interesting word and it’s used in many different contexts but there’s a stronger word than that though, and that word is reckoning.  I think I have been too hot in the pursuit of reckoning and exacting of the punishment that reckoning brings upon myself.  It’s a part of who I am or probably more of what I have become.  Expecting perfection of one’s self you are always certain to fall short.   I think there’s a selfishness and greed in me though that never accepts things as good enough – those I don’t completely let slide that is.

No, reconcile is a much better word and much better place to be. Reconciliation is about accepting the way things have gone and realizing there is no way to change them, only to move forward. It involves the release of pain, the burdens we choose to carry around with us like boulders that we want others to see.

I think those voices are the voices of reconciliation in my head, encouraging me to let go and move forward realizing that tomorrow is another day, another opportunity to further reconcile with myself. Because, after all, I have far more issues with me than anyone else does — it’s time to put down the shovel and climb out of the hole.  It’s time to fill it in and recognize that’s where the hole was but it’s filled now and while I might remember the hole I can still walk across it, jump up and down on it, plant whatever I wish to on it — I can move past it.

I can if I start by putting down the shovel.  Thanks Dad, I love you

Why Mary Jo Kopechne Matters

It’s been forty years since Mary Jo Kopechne died and despite the fact it was before my birth I knew who she was before today. However, many people have no clue who she was, such is the fate of a person’s life and legacy when bulldozed by American royalty, Kennedy style.

There’s little doubt for anyone familiar with my writing that the late Senator Edward Kennedy and I had little in common politically. Aside for an issue here or there his positions have been the polar opposite of mine. That’s not why I’m writing here today although I’m sure many will say it is. While the eulogies and the tributes continue to flow for him I can’t sit back and watch it happen without my say, and that’s what blogs are all about.

This isn’t a political issue for me it’s a moral issue and it’s about getting away with murder. I don’t subscribe to the theories that the end of Mary Jo’s life came deliberately at the hands of Edward Kennedy. We will never know because Kennedy made sure we would never know. However, there is no doubt in my mind the man was not fit to hold public office after what happened in July of 1969. When Richard Nixon resigned the presidency it was for covering up a burglary; Kennedy covered up the loss of a promising young woman’s life.  Why he was re-elected to office again and again over the next forty years is almost more troubling than Kennedy’s actions then.

So while those who wish to lionize him will go on about all the great accomplishments he made, the way he wanted to embrace people and raise them up, he did so by holding one down. At the critical moment not only did he turn away, he looked for ways out of it. Even his own friends present tried to talk him out of the cover story he was concocting about Mary Jo driving. Worst of all, the diver who recovered Mary Jo’s body told People Magazine in 1989 that she didn’t drown, she spent the last two hours of her life slowly running out of air that was trapped in the car.  During those two hours Kennedy passed up a home within 100 yards of the crash site with people home and a telephone.  He went back to get his friends to start figuring a way out of the mess including blaming it on her.  He concocted a story about Mary Jo wanting to go back to the hotel and Kennedy offered to drive her despite the fact she didn’t tell any of her friends and left her purse and hotel key behind.

“The Lion of the Senate” as he was somehow dubbed resembled the one in The Wizard of Oz in July 1969 as he was far more concerned with saving his own posterior than Mary Jo breathing her last breaths. Even worse, even after these terrifying events he got up the next morning calm and casual striking up conversations with those in the hotel lobby.  Mary Jo’s body laid submerged aside the Dike Bridge that went to nowhere but a beach.

Even after finally showing up at the police station to own up to being involved (the police already knew that having run the plates on the car) he artfully dodged any serious prosecution as only a United States Senator can.  You or I would have have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  The fullest extent for Kennedy who was driving on a suspended license, left the scene of the accident and did nothing to aid Mary Jo was a suspended sentence.  Despite a judge’s clear findings of a cover-up at a coroner’s inquest the distrct attorney never prosecuted the case.

So, I’m sorry if I am out of line for speaking ill of the dead, I think I’m only following Kennedy’s example and I apologize.  We all make our mistakes in life, to err is human.  To walk away and let someone die? Little could be more inhuman.

Amidst all the talk of the grand and noble things Kennedy said and did there should be some thought put to just how genuine those things were.  Because when faced with the terrible wrong he had done Kennedy greeted his moment of truth by walking away.  Some say it cost him the presidency, it cost Mary Jo her life.

An Open Letter To AT&T

Dear AT&T:

To fill you in on where I’m coming from regarding the iPhone 3G S upgrade that you state I have to wait until December 12th to get without paying in full for the phone:

I’m a purchaser of the original iPhone, I didn’t wait in line the first day but I got it the first weekend it was available. I ditched my previous carrier of several years that I was perfectly happy with to get your service as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone. I paid $200 to cancel that contract on top of the $500 I paid for the phone (unsubsidized).

Happy with your wireless service and seeing your new uVerse service available in my area I switched from Comcast to AT&T for my internet, television and phone. My wireless bill is combined with that bill.

I was in line the first day the iPhone 3G came out. That phone was subsidized but I had to extend my contract which I happily did as I was pleased with your service.

I have been pleased with my service aside from a couple of dead spots (all carriers have their dead spots) and have been an evangelist for AT&T and its wireless and uVerse services as providing me good service and value.

Because of me, and people like me, who are using the iPhone and extolling its virtues to others (I know of several people I convinced to get one) you’re able to sell more contracts to go along with all those phones. Market data clearly indicates AT&T has reaped great windfalls from the iPhone having sold over one million of them on the first weekend of the iPhone 3G release alone.

How do you reward me for being an early adopter of your service, paying good money for your services and advocating it to others? You tell me I have to pay $600 for the new iPhone unless I want to wait until December 12.

I don’t expect you to fully subsidize my next iPhone but you could at least come up with a nominal charge to keep me satisfied with your service.

I hear you’re in negotiations with Apple regarding your exclusivity agreement for the iPhone. I wonder how many of us you will be keeping having stuck it to us on the iPhone 3G S if say, Verizon is added as a carrier for the iPhone. I also wonder how long it will take me to call Comcast and get them to cut me a good deal to switch from uVerse.

You alone can answer that question.

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