Random thoughts on what’s happening in the news today…

- Obamacare is stalled, and that’s a good thing.  I’m not saying the current system is good or great, but there are so many things that can be done to rein in costs without dropping a trillion dollar program on our backs after the 2012 election is over.  Jen and I were discussing some thoughts and things like straightforward & standardized pricing schedules for procedures, plus an overhaul on malpractice insurance would do more to lower costs than any government program would.  Besides, rushing a package through in an effort to avoid dissent & discussion is a terrible idea and runs counter to all of Messiah’s pledge of openness in action.  If the package being proposed is a good one (which it’s not and The People are starting to say so) it will survive the August recess.  The worry that it won’t is a telltale sign of how bad the proposal has become.

- But all is good anyway…the Beer Summit was a civil affair good for a photo op and not much else.  We’re spending a lot of time discussing the Gates/Crowley affair and what it will do for race relations between police and minorities.  To be honest, though, I don’t think this particular case tells us a darn thing about profiling & bias in this country.  A sizable share of profiling cases play out in a far less civilized manner than the Gates/Crowley case.  Rarely are the two parties a highly decorated professor at a prestigious university and a highly decorated police sergeant who runs the anti-profiling class at the police academy, not to mention the relatively sane discussion over what was going on and the lack of physicality.   If I were an activist, I’d worry less about these two guys and far more about the stops everyday between mundane officers and shady suspects.  This is the level where profiling, bias, obstruction, and violence occurs, and it happens far too often and needs to be addressed by a supposed “enlightened society” in the 21st century.

- I don’t know how anyone can keep supporting Hugo Chavez and his iron grip on Venezuela.  He has stolen land and businesses from his own people and the foreign investors  who build the businesses that contribute to the Venezuelan economy.  He’s basically running all the media outlets, and now his Attorney General advocates a restriction of free expression from any voice with a dissenting viewpoint.  There’s not much further down he can go to dehumanize his subjects completely.

- One of the original bastions of the mid 90’s Internet growth officially gave up the will to live when Yahoo, a search company long in free fall with an identity crisis, sold out to Microsoft and Bing to power its search.  The company that gave us the original Web search and free e-mail has had no idea what kind of company it wanted to be for many years now, and giving up its founding funtction is the final nail in the coffin.

- The “Cash for Clunkers” program the Feds rushed through to get older, gas-guzzling vehicles (like my Rodeo) off the roads is the rare program that apparently does what it is supposed to do.  It does what it is supposed to do so well, in fact, that reports are now surfacing that the $1 billion budget was seriously underestimated.  Oops.  It shows that economy-jolting ideas don’t need to go through all kinds of strange alphabet agencies in order to prime the engine.  Putting cash in the hands of people buying & selling goods generates the desired activity much faster, and even though it’s a danger for inflation I’m sure we’d rather be fighting to control it instead of trying to get the economy off life support.

- I liked Sarah Palin when she was announced as the veep candidate and felt she didn’t get a fair shake in the press, but these days I have no idea what she is doing short of political self-destruction.  If she wants to be president then abandoning the top executive job in her state doesn’t strike me as a sound philosophy.  She also can’t keep blowing off all these political gathering & stump speech opportunities like she’s been doing the first half of this year.  She’s just another fallen shingle off of the Republican roof that is caving in of late.  2012 may wind up being the equivalent of Obama playing a 1-AA football team, and unlike Michigan he should wind up kicking ass.

I wrote a couple years ago about our old Isuzu Rodeo and how much I enjoyed driving her, no matter how bad of shape she was getting in.  As the years went on we actively put her on the selling block, after we inherited my recently deceased grandmother’s Corolla.  After all, there were more vehicles in the driveway than licensed drivers who owned the driveway.  Also, given the current economy, fuel prices, and overload of “green” images we figured to keep the Toyota for around-the-town driving.

A funny thing happened on the way to Craigslist, though.  It turns out that twelve year old SUVs with more than 120,000 miles are not hot sellers, no matter how low the price.  It also turns out that once people accept that an eight year old Toyota can only have 20,000 miles, it becomes a hot seller.  Within a day we sold it as we wanted to, which made our vacation much more comfortable.  Jen claims I subconsciously sabotaged the sale of the truck because I didn’t want to part with it, but in the end it was merely market forces.

It also meant that my old Rodeo got a god fixing up.  New brakes, fresh oil, new windshield, new battery, etc. goes nicely with a new registration & inspection sticker, so now the old gal is back on the road.  I for one am quite happy.  Yeah, she squeaks, creaks, and drinks gas by comparison, but we need a good 4×4 for winter around here.  (One of Garrett’s birthday parties made that plainly obvious.)  I know how she’ll respond to just about any driving condition imaginable, and the kids love riding in the backseat with the soft shocks.

There are also a lot of memories tied up in there.  Amongst a lot of other things, the Rodeo was the vehicle we took Garrett back home in for his first Christmas.  It helped move our friends several times and ourselves twice.  It took our dogs everywhere in the back end.  It was the vehicle we purchased by horse-swaggering a new dealership to take our crappy Neon.  It carried my old employee teammates to lunch in one vehicle more than once, and it was involved in several hairy mishaps at Lowes Motor Speedway with my father in law.

I’m sure my wife will read this and roll her eyes, but that’s OK.  We all have bonds with inanimate objects that’s more than just ownership.  Like I said a couple years ago, for many guys a car is more than a transportation method from Point A to Point B.  It becomes an extension of the driver.

And now I have my partner back.

It’s interesting that given all the flap over the “racial profiling” case pitting Henry Gates vs. the Cambridge Police Department, the talk-it-over session being hosted by the White House is being considered a “settle it over a beer” discussion.  Not that I see anything wrong with that, but it seems like an odd description for an event that is supposed to be about so much soul seeking.

Anyway, the Boston Globe is all over the meeting, going so far as to note each participants favorite beer.  James Crowley is a Blue Moon guy, that nasty orange-tinged beer that I find revolting.  Obama’s brew of choice is not given, but Gates is listed as having a preference for Red Stripe.  While I think that Crowley is right and Gates is wrong regarding the episode, Gates truly has the better taste in beer.

Not that anyone noticed, but the Haven went under radio silence for the week while we packed up the family (more akin to mobilizing an army) and went to the most unlikely place any West Virginia family could go….Myrtle Beach.  It was a joint effort between our house and that of my parents.  From Saturday morning to Friday night we were out and about the upper Southeast with two young kids.  They had a great vacation.  Now we need one.

The boys went boat riding for the first time on Lake Norman.  I’ve been on that lake since I was Garrett’s age and have watched it grow supersize through the years.  I’ve always hated pontoon boats like I do minivans, but I have to admit they’re nice on choppy water.

It was also the first time in Garrett’s conscious memory for seeing the city he was born in.  We drove past our old house, and if the owner would happen to see this by mistake I hope they second guess how they fucked up our old home.  Who the hell paints red brick?  Who the hell paints red brick with some creamish looking paint?

I don’t care what new roads, expressways, etc. get built…the route to Myrtle from Charlotte will always be Monroe-Pageland-Darlington-Marion to me.  I do admit that the Conway bypass is nice for reaching destinations in north Myrtle and North Myrtle.

Ripley’s Aquarium and their shark tube has to top the list of must-see attractions.  Alligator Adventure is an underdog in the category.  700+ gators of all shapes and sizes cover the lagoon, and the hourly feeds feature some of the biggest gators I’ve ever seen.

A simple rule-of-thumb for dining on the Grand Strand: if the parking lot is empty the place isn’t worth shit.

The kids are now ocean lovers and water park lovers.  Garrett prefers to walk the lazy river instead of riding it, but he’ll learn in time.

I don’t care who, what, or how it’s justified, but the downtown cruising area is not the same without the Pavilion.  Never will be.  Rest in peace, history.

Now for some much needed shuteye….

Good – the mojo of yesterday.  Our past several weeks have been challenging (to be understated), and having so many pieces fall into place correctly yesterday was a huge help.

Gone – the car.  Vehicle #3 of a two driver house had to go, and even though it’s the better mileage vehicle of the two the Corolla lost out to the Rodeo.  Compacts sell faster than SUVs and for a higher price.  We don’t drive as much as the typical family, so mileage is not as big an issue.  Plus, when it snows the Corolla and Odyssey drive like crap.

Amazing – Garrett’s testing performance yesterday.  On the second of (hopefully) four tests he nailed everything he needed to with good form, focus, and detail.  The one time I don’t bring a camera to testing is when he kicks ass.  Go figure.

Selling – the baby stuff.  Since there won’t be three kids in this house and a little extra vacation spending money is nice, we’re burning up Craigslist selling stuff.  Successfully, too.

Replaced – the old flat screen with a new.  The 37″ was not powering up, and a little research indicates Magnavox power capacitors can crap out a year or two into their lives.  Fixing the problem can be inexpensive, IF it’s soldering on new capacitors.  So we replaced it with a Vizio (triple the TV for half the original price) and so far the switch is good.  Very good.

Ironic – our favorite Mexican restaurant here opened a second shop closer to us, and they’ve been painting murals on the walls since opening.  Cartoon shows aren’t allowed to show old Bugs Bunny clips because of the “offensive” characters both obvious and subtle.  So while we cannot see old Speedy Gonzales cartoons on TV anymore our restaurant painters of Mexican heritage added a large framed image of Speedy to their walls.

Fun – Garrett’s reaction steel drum camp.  Morgantown Theater have six week long sessions on performance, and he’s having a blast learning to play the pans.  Magic and stage weapons are upcoming.

Chatty – Ethan is coming out of his shell big time.  Like so many other children and dogs, once they start speaking they can’t be re-plugged.  We still have our days dealing with his issues, but they seem to be farther and farther apart.

Ongoing – how I hope a pleasant day will continue.