That’s right, I’m not calling it Football Mania, I’m calling it Football Madness. I’m amazed at how many sport pundits figure life revolves around football. I actually heard one announcer recently say, quite emphatically, everyone will be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. Everyone in the nation will be watching the game!

Give me a break. First off, ratings always show more people watch the halftime show and skip the game. Secondly, as for me and my house, we won’t be watching the game.

There’s more to life than football…

The 50th running of the Daytona 500 is just 17 days away!

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

The Simpsons are in their 19th season on TV. Now I must admit I pretty much avoided the show for the first 18 seasons. I just couldn’t get into watching a show about a dysfunctional dad picking on his brat son. How in the world was this going to be a good influence on what’s really going on in families. Especially when many families are dysfunctional.

But, that all changed this summer when I watched The Simpsons Movie. I must admit I went in with low expectations. After all, it’s The Simpson’s and I just didn’t think I would enjoy close to two hours of poor behavior depicted on the big screen. However, I was wrong. The movie ended up with some great messages about family and really shows Homer and Bart discovering a somewhat better relationship as father and son. Okay, so the way they discovered the better relationship is not the best, but it is humor and satire. At least the writers of The Simpsons are pointing out the importance of a good father/son relationship.

After my summer experience with The Simpsons I’ve started watching the Sunday night show too. I’m always amazed at how relevant, and amazinging topical, the show is. A few weeks ago the show addressed the whole craziness of the primary election mania. Then last night they addressed global warming! In a very funny opening to the show Homer, Marge and the kids are all trying to stay warm inside their house. Apparently Homer decided to not pay the gas bill or get the furnace fixed. Marge scolds him for not taking care of the heat situation and Homer exclaims — “I thought global warming would take care of it! Al Gore can’t get anything right!”

I have to admit, I about fell off my chair laughing over that one. Here we have the writers of a half hour cartoon sitcom addressing the made up terror tactics of a man who wants everyone to believe he invited the internet! Global warming - give me a break. When I was a kid in school we were told we were facing something called global cooling and by this time we were supposed to be covered by ice bergs.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Whoever came up with this idea needs to be fired from whatever position they may hold in the school district.

CNN is reporting that a Georgia School District is testing a pilot program to get kids to study. No, it’s not the reward of a good education which of course empowers one to move forward in life. No, it’s not exemption from having to write exams if you have good grades. It’s not even recognition from peers, teachers, and school administration for making good grades. Some brilliant administrator has decided to try out a pilot program that pays students $8 dollars an hour to study!

But wait, there’s more!

Not only will students get paid to study, they will also receive bonuses for good grades!

Give me a break! Paying kids MORE than minimum wage to study! Whatever happened to making learning exciting, and also encouraging kids that a good education will further you in this world. This is nothing more than a bribe and whoever came up with the idea should find themselves on the unemployment line, quickly.

Hey, here’s an idea. How about taking all that money the Georgia School District has set aside to pay these kids to study and set up a scholarship program for students who earn good grades. At least that way a handful of students might be able to afford a continuing education program. Paying students to study is nothing more than a quick fix thrown at students in an effort of fixing what’s a broken educational system.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

I love it when the spin-doctors get a hold of political information and then do a fancy two-step backward dance trying to make things look different than they really are. Yesterday a story came out about New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer’s budget he’s getting ready to present later today. The numbers yesterday said he was cutting $350 million dollars in state aid to schools in this year’s budget. As part of his election platform he promised extra dollars for schools so they could better themselves. Of course the story from yesterday caused a shockwave across many school districts. What does losing $350 million dollars in the overall budget do at a local level? A very real question.

Later in the day, the spin-doctors got a hold of the story and started doing some back tracking to make it sound not quite as bad. Now the spin says the original projected number for school aid in the budget was $1.25 billion dollars. But now, a report out of Albany, New York says that schools will share approximately $900 million dollars more than last year.

It’s all spin folks. Governor Eliot Spitzer made a promise, now he’s going back on his word. But then again, that shouldn’t surprise too many people. It seems the Governor is becoming a master at going back on his word, or at least putting a different spin on things so it doesn’t look as bad as it is. I have a feeling he loves the word truthiness which means a shading of the truth. Not really true, not really false. However you say it, the bottom line is this. Govenor Spitzer has been running around the state freely telling everyone he’s going to give them a bunch of money for various projects. He has to find the money from somewhere, so why not rob the educational process for children.

Governor Spitzer says the decrease in funding to schools is due to current economic strains that are facing not only New York, but the rest of the country as well. If that’s the case, and if the Governor truly believes that, then he should start thinking twice before tossing millions of dollars around for senseless projects to cities with no sense of accountability.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Let me see if I have this straight.

Politicians and of course the ACLU love to scream “separation of church and state” when it serves their purpose of things like banning prayer from schools, taking the Ten Commandments out of buildings and telling cities they can’t have anything remotely looking like a religious symbol on their letterhead. But, when it serves the purpose of the politician, suddenly no one says a word. If the politician is looking to garner votes and get ahead in a political campaign, it’s fine to mix faith/church with the state.

First off, I need to stress here that the whole idea of separation of church and state is a myth. The phrase does not appear in the Constitution. If anything, those who’ve forced us to take prayer out of school and all the other things mentioned above, are stomping all over the expressed constitutional right of freedom of speech.

Now after saying that, let me move on with what I see as a huge conflict of words vs action here.

A couple weeks ago former Governor Mike Huckabee, who happens to be a Baptist preacher too, appeared in a pulpit one Sunday morning preaching. While the incident kind of flew under the radar, some people did pick up on this. A few Republicans and other conservatives did pick up on the fact that in the past Republicans have screamed foul when Democrats show up in churches and pulpits during an election year. But, for the most part, the incident didn’t draw a lot of attention.

The Democrats were on the move yesterday in celebration of Martin Luther King Junior day. The most obvious was Senator OBama who showed up on the platform of the famed Ebenezer church in Atlanta. In pretty much every news story, it was pointed out that the church is endorsing the Senator in his run for office.

What a minute, what’s up with that!?

James Dobson, the founder and chairman of Focus on the Family faces criticism every time he talks about a political candidate. He was even threatened at one point with loss of charitable status for Focus on the Family for what appeared to be an endorsement of a Republican candidate. As a result, everytime Dobson talks about politics now he’s very careful to NOT use the word endorsement.

What’s the difference here? As the old saying goes - What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Why is it no one is screaming foul now? What makes the appearance of political candidates in various pulpits around the nation any different from the actions of James Dobson or others who’ve been threatened with loss of charitable status for similar actions?

In my opinion, an observant political activist, who might also be involved in trying to put the myth of separation of church and state to rest once and for all, could use some of the recent actions by political leaders to get prayer back into schools.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

From the “ugh” department comes the following story…Cloned Beef Anyone?

Yes, you read that right. The FDA recently ruled that food from certain cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food. This of course now opens the door for using the controversial technology in the food supply. The cloning industry expects it will be the offspring of cloned animals, not the costly clones themselves. Just what kind of cloned food can we expect in the food supply? Meat and milk. Industry experts say it could take four or five years before consumers are able to buy products derived from cloned animals.

I don’t know about you, but that really turns my stomach. I can’t imagine eating cloned beef or drinking cloned milk. This sounds like something right out of a really bad sci-fi flick. Why in the world do we need cloned animals in the food chain? Are we running out of cows? Ick!

Of course this also opens the door for the cloning world to maybe set up an The Island. If you’re not familiar with that movie now might be a good time to check it out. With the cloning craze it’s a now not-so-fetched-flick about people making clones of themselves so if they happen to get sick, the clones can be harvested for body parts to make the original donor healthy again.

Cloned beef? Cloned milk? Cloned cabbage? Cloned people.

As I said earlier, the whole thought of this turns my stomach.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Britney Spears is at it again. But, I have an idea, let’s just start ignoring her.

The stunts of Britney Spears are not only getting predictable, but they’re also getting boring. Does she have issues? Yes. Does she need help? Yes. However, the bottom line is this, she’s nothing more than a spoiled rotten rock star looking for attention. It’s an attention grabbing spirit that needs to be ignored. She’s been offered help, but she keeps ignoring it. She loves the fact that she keeps grabbing news headlines and she loves the fact that she’s getting all kinds of attention from people saying they want to help her. When people come out of the woodwork to try to help her, she just wants more attention, because that’s what it’s all about.

Her latest stunt took place at an upscale clothing store in Sherman Oaks, California. Apparently Britney entered a dressing room with some dresses and then reemerged a short time later, naked. When a store employee tried to cover her up, Britney spat out a bunch of curse words and told her to “Stay away from me!” She then went back into the dressing room, and after 45 minutes, walked out of the store.

Personally, I’m tired of all the “poor Britney” stories. She’s a train wreck who finally lost her kids because she’s unfit to be a mother. She’s screaming for attention, and getting it. But, it’s time to simply ignore her.

Do I feel sorry for her? Yes. But, people change when they want to change. People will finally accept help, when they realize they’ve melted down and need to make changes in their life or they will be consumed by their life. As for Britney, she’s getting lots of help from lots of people. But, what those who are helping her don’t understand is that they’re actually being used by Britney. She obviously does not want to act on the help that’s been offered her. So maybe we simply need to ignore her and she’ll go away.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It appears as though New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer is still trying to buy favor among the voters. Since he first took office a year ago, the new Democratic Governor likes to throw money around in hopes of having people like him. He needs to do something, polls show he’s at an all time low as far as Governor’s go and he could be the lowest rated Governor in New York State history. Republican State Senator Jim Alesi says there’s a “poisonous atmosphere” in Albany and it all revolves around the fact that the Governor is at great odds with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. As a result of the “poisonous atmosphere,” Senator Alesi points out that progress in the New York State capital has stalled.

Now, in his latest effort to garner votes and favor, Governor Spitzer announced last week in his State of the State address that he’s going to spend 1.5 billion dollars in the creation of an infrastructure and economic development plan to enhance economic growth and opportunity across the state. On the surface, this all sounds great. Just like it sounded great when Governor Spitzer arrived in Rochester, New York and announced the State was kicking in millions of dollars to help move a major company into the downtown area. Of course the move also means the tearing down of the Midtown Plaza. But, there are a couple major catches to the proposal. First off, the City of Rochester doesn’t even own the building. So, why would any politician think it’s a good idea to throw money at something that isn’t even owned by the city? Secondly, the Governor once again has no idea of where the millions of state dollars he’s promised to throw at the city will come from.

Now, making matters even worse, in his latest 1.5 billion dollar proposal for growth in New York State, Governor Spitzer readily admits he has no idea where the money will come from. But, he basically says, have no fear. The funding for the program will come into place. All it will take is — quote — “creative use of existing and new resources.”

What!? “Creative use of resources.” That sounds like a code word for creative financing on behalf of the government. Which usually means, they will soon be dipping into the pockets of the taxpayers once again.

New Yorkers, hold onto your pocket book! It may not hit now, but at this rate with all the money Governor Spitzer likes to toss around, it will catch up with us sooner or later.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Another Republican debate was held in Myrtle Beach Thursday night. A quick sound bite from the debate has four of the six candidates dropping the name Ronald Reagan like it was going out of style. What’s up with that? Why is it everyone thinks the only way to win the Republican nomination is to be some kind of a Ronald Reagan look-a-like? This is simply not the case. I believe the Ronald Reagan Bandwagon is nothing more than a conservative talk show hosts agenda of wanting to harken back to the good old days.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for former President Ronald Reagan. He was an incredible man, and an amazing politician and a President who commanded respect, and believed in the very foundations this country was built on. However, to ask the question What would Reagan do is silly. What would Reagan do if he lived today? He probably wouldn’t really know what to do. After all, we are living in a totally different time and era than what the former President lived in. President Reagan didn’t live through a terrorist attack in New York City. President Reagan didn’t live in a time when there was so much political division that no one knows what manners are anymore.

In short, we don’t need a President Reagan. We need a President who’s a leader, with character, integrity and strong moral beliefs built upon the foundation of the founding fathers. We need a President whom others will respect, and we need a President who will tell others in politics to grow up and get along. It’s not about party lines, it’s about establishing the fabric of a nation on a belief system of character, integrity and the moral beliefs our founding fathers had.

For me, I’m tired of all this Reagan-esk talk. Let’s just get a politician who knows how to talk straight about issues facing the nation with integrity, character and morals.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It was only a matter of time before Senator Hillary Clinton found some way to pull on the heart-strings of voters. She tried it during the earlier debates when she whimpered — “They’re picking on me because I’m a girl!” It didn’t work though. Many people saw right through the tactic and pretty much told her to grow up. If she wants to run for President, she needs to be ready for tough talk.

She lost the caucus in Iowa, much to her surprise and the suprise of others. After all, we’re talking about the big Clinton Political Machine here. Most think that machine is unstoppable. Apparently there was some kind of a bump along the way as she came in second in Iowa. So, it was then onto New Hampshire for the primary election.

What to do, what to do, what to do?

Last night after winning the primary, Senator Clinton told a crowd of her followers in New Hampshire that she’s “found her voice.” Umm, yeah. That was a staged quivering voice with eyes full of tears saying she has, sniff, sniff, “so much to give.”

It was just a matter of time before she started crying, which would in turn make people feel sorry for her and then vote for her. But I ask you this, do we really want a President who will cry while meeting with foreign leaders when the going gets tough? For example, picture this scenario;

(Sniff, sniff) “Please Mr. Bin Laden, don’t blow up the White House. You have no idea how hard I’ve worked to get here and I just had all the carpets cleaned.” (Sniff, sniff) “Please don’t be mean to me. I’m really a nice person if you’ll just sit down and have some tea with me.”

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus