I have been asleep at the wheel and completely missed my states attempt at the destruction of the electoral college. Taking a look at http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/states.php?s=MD, I see that my state was the first to sign in to law that we have given away our electoral votes to whatever the rest of the country decides, based on popular vote in, in all presidential elections. There seems to be a good bit of support, by the un-informed, for this approach that the popular vote should trump electoral vote.
As Mark Levin articulated, this one man: one vote mentality is easy to sell but is completely misleading in its implementation. Because the populace does not understand the electoral college it is easy to disparage it. To understand why it is so critical requires the individual to actually do some research which is something that many seem either unwilling or incapable of doing. As Mark stated on his show on July 27, 2010, doing away with the Electoral college can only really be done with a constitutional amendment, but that is apparently too hard. However, states are permitted to give away their rights at any time.
If 'one man: one vote' is indeed the sole purpose for the support of this approach, then other changes should also be 'in the public interest'. To start, as Mark illustrated, we should abolish the United States Senate. After all, why should each state have the same number of representatives to a governing body if the states are of different sizes?
Perhaps we should really take the individual right and responsibility a number of steps further and consider all 310 million citizens as individual tax payers. With a $3.8 trillion budget, each citizen should be responsible for their 'fair share' of the budget. So, my family of 5 should be expected to pay $61,290. While I don't have the money at the moment - this will definitely cause me to become more active in the legislation that my government decides to pass. Is this practical - absolutely not. Am I honestly encouraging this - NO! However, it does put things in perspective .... doesn't it.
So, my apologies to my fellow Marylanders for not watching more closely. For the more populated states and regions around this once great country - PLEASE GET IT RIGHT. We need the popular vote more than ever to actually elect the right candidate and then my state will offer its votes when everything is said and done. Of course, I wouldn't put it past them to make changes to the law to match their political desires.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Boys of Summer
Apparently, I forgot to actually post the below entry.
I was fortunate to spend this past week with some of my favorite people - My bride and our three children. We were joined part way through the week by my parents - something that just seemed to make the magical week that much more special.
My youngest son joined a new baseball team this past year and had a relatively good season. Yes, he improved. Yes, the competition was another notch up. And most important - he enjoyed the team, the coaches and himself. The team finished the season in a truly remarkable fashion.
The coaches met with the parents, pre-season, to talk about the plans for the season. Most of the time was spent talking about expectations of the players and families. The kicker on the budget side of the discussion was the planned trip to Myrtle Beach for an end-of year tournament. That tournament is the real subject of this post.
I will not bore you with all the other family details but did want to share the magic 'the Boys of Summer' provided to close out the week. The baseline for the tournament is that each team would play 5 games to 'seed' the championship and consolation rounds for the end of the week. The Cardinals started strong winning their first two games. Then, they hit the buzz-saw and dropped 3 in a row - and a couple were really tough to swallow.
The competition at the Ripken tournament was impressive. Teams from around the country and a few of them were very disciplined, talented and a joy to watch. There is a difference in play when you realize that the team in the other dugout has not only played together for a few years, but that they play year round. It shows!
The finals started on Thursday and were set up as a single elimination tournament. The Cardinals found themselves the #6 seed in the 6 team Championship bracket. This meant they had to start by playing the #3 seed, a team that only had one loss and we had grown accustomed to hearing their name throughout the week with one outstanding game after the other. The boys from Eldersburg jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. On to the second round.
The second round found the young Cardinals up against the #2 seed, a team that had just beaten them a few days ago by .... several runs. The game was one of those games for the books. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead and were looking like they were well on their way to the Championship. However, in the 4th inning things started to change and the opposition battled back. Late in the game we surrendered the tying run and needed to hold them for a push to extra innings. The Gods of Baseball shined on our Cardinals that day and they did indeed hold for extra innings. In the top of the 7th, our boys put two on the board and shut them down 1-2-3! Cardinals win and we are headed to the finals.
A day later, the Cardinals took the field against the undefeated squad from Houston, Texas. The opposition had given up a total of 11 runs in the previous 7 games. This was going to be tough. The Cardinals started off strong, but were unable to capitalize on several different occasions when they had runners at the corners. The opposing coach was pacing and obviously getting a little nervous as his group had not seen anyone hold them this tight. In the fourth inning, the first run was scored but it wasn't for us. We managed to hold the game close but in the end - lost the final game. Hats off to all the teams, but this last group was something special.
I was/am very proud of our 11 year olds. The battled the best and held them in check. Thank you boys for bringing me back to my youth this season. Thank you coaches (Curt, Mike, Bob & Dave) for making this truly a Season to Remember.
Change: Not for everyone
Why do people and organizations move or change their affiliations from something they apparently believe in, only to join a new organization or location and work to change that org/location to match what they left?
There is a mindset that I continue to be confronted with that I just can't understand. Perhaps that is due to my nature of being logical and reasoned and I just can't comprehend this alternate view.
A few years ago, we met our new neighbors who moved 'to the country' from a much more populated area. They said they looked forward to the open fields, safe environment, lower property taxes, well-respected school system and 'easier way of life'. Shortly after they finished un-boxing their earthly possessions they began complaining about the lack of service. The young couple started complaining about trash service - you need to contract for your own service, that we needed sidewalks for strollers, that the police should routinely patrol the area. The neighborhood in question resides on an old horse farm with 20 MPH speed limits and 1-10 acre home sites and I can't remember any crime being committed since I moved in 11 years ago. This same couple were the first to contact the county and complain about the increase in their property assessment and demanded it be reduced as they did not wish to pay any more than what they were already paying. How exactly did they think the county would pay for the existing services - let alone the new ones they were asking for?
On a related note, I have been a part of youth sports in the area for several years. First, as a parent and coach and then on to the administrative side (league coordinator, coaches training, authoring policies ....). On two separate occasions, neighboring sports programs have had difficulty maintaining their programs and deferred families to our programs. As soon as we enrolled the new players and the seasons began to start - the former programs started making demands that 'our' program change to reflect the existing of 'their old' program. From 'adding a patch on the sleeve' to show the heritage from the older program to demanding that we change the guidelines for how teams are formed - WE NEEDED TO CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE their wants/needs.
A friend of the family moved to a very nice, convenient location in the area. The convenience of the area did have a price and that was it is difficult to get out of the neighborhood at certain times of the day due to the amount of traffic that passes the entry. I recently heard them complaining that a traffic light should be added to ease the flow in and out of the neighborhood.
My children attend private school. Specifically, they attend a Catholic school. We, as a family, made the decision to invest time and treasure to insure the best (in our eyes) for our children. Others have made that same decision and I applaud them for it. There are those (and I have heard them loud and clear) that are offended that their child must attend religion class ... IN A CATHOLIC SCHOOL. I respect that they are not of the catholic faith but they did elect to send their child to that very school.
Lastly, when we moved in to our home we sought out the opinions of our neighbors prior to any projects. There was no law that said we had to do so, and the county I live in is very much a proponent of property rights. We had never had a conflict with any of our ventures until very recently. I hand carried a letter to my neighbor (newly moved in to the area) explaining an upcoming project. I respectfully requested any feedback on our plans and that we would listen to any/all concerns or questions but that the project was on a short timetable due to demand in the market. After a week of no feedback, I contacted the contractor and proceeded to start. Immediately, I received the call requesting a work stoppage until they could verify concerns they had with the county office. We (my family) had been to the county 3 times on permits and restrictions to insure there were no legal issues with what we had planned. Other than informing us that she did not want us to execute the project - there were NO comments regarding what our plans were. Nope, it was 100% about stopping the project and no 'middle ground'. In the end, the county backed us up and said we still have some rights in this country and county.
So, what to do? Why is it that new organizations or people moving in to a functioning society/group/area are free to dictate that the existing functioning group must change to adapt to the new tenants? Why is it that it is wrong to request and/or expect others to conform to the area they are moving to?
There is a mindset that I continue to be confronted with that I just can't understand. Perhaps that is due to my nature of being logical and reasoned and I just can't comprehend this alternate view.
A few years ago, we met our new neighbors who moved 'to the country' from a much more populated area. They said they looked forward to the open fields, safe environment, lower property taxes, well-respected school system and 'easier way of life'. Shortly after they finished un-boxing their earthly possessions they began complaining about the lack of service. The young couple started complaining about trash service - you need to contract for your own service, that we needed sidewalks for strollers, that the police should routinely patrol the area. The neighborhood in question resides on an old horse farm with 20 MPH speed limits and 1-10 acre home sites and I can't remember any crime being committed since I moved in 11 years ago. This same couple were the first to contact the county and complain about the increase in their property assessment and demanded it be reduced as they did not wish to pay any more than what they were already paying. How exactly did they think the county would pay for the existing services - let alone the new ones they were asking for?
On a related note, I have been a part of youth sports in the area for several years. First, as a parent and coach and then on to the administrative side (league coordinator, coaches training, authoring policies ....). On two separate occasions, neighboring sports programs have had difficulty maintaining their programs and deferred families to our programs. As soon as we enrolled the new players and the seasons began to start - the former programs started making demands that 'our' program change to reflect the existing of 'their old' program. From 'adding a patch on the sleeve' to show the heritage from the older program to demanding that we change the guidelines for how teams are formed - WE NEEDED TO CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE their wants/needs.
A friend of the family moved to a very nice, convenient location in the area. The convenience of the area did have a price and that was it is difficult to get out of the neighborhood at certain times of the day due to the amount of traffic that passes the entry. I recently heard them complaining that a traffic light should be added to ease the flow in and out of the neighborhood.
My children attend private school. Specifically, they attend a Catholic school. We, as a family, made the decision to invest time and treasure to insure the best (in our eyes) for our children. Others have made that same decision and I applaud them for it. There are those (and I have heard them loud and clear) that are offended that their child must attend religion class ... IN A CATHOLIC SCHOOL. I respect that they are not of the catholic faith but they did elect to send their child to that very school.
Lastly, when we moved in to our home we sought out the opinions of our neighbors prior to any projects. There was no law that said we had to do so, and the county I live in is very much a proponent of property rights. We had never had a conflict with any of our ventures until very recently. I hand carried a letter to my neighbor (newly moved in to the area) explaining an upcoming project. I respectfully requested any feedback on our plans and that we would listen to any/all concerns or questions but that the project was on a short timetable due to demand in the market. After a week of no feedback, I contacted the contractor and proceeded to start. Immediately, I received the call requesting a work stoppage until they could verify concerns they had with the county office. We (my family) had been to the county 3 times on permits and restrictions to insure there were no legal issues with what we had planned. Other than informing us that she did not want us to execute the project - there were NO comments regarding what our plans were. Nope, it was 100% about stopping the project and no 'middle ground'. In the end, the county backed us up and said we still have some rights in this country and county.
So, what to do? Why is it that new organizations or people moving in to a functioning society/group/area are free to dictate that the existing functioning group must change to adapt to the new tenants? Why is it that it is wrong to request and/or expect others to conform to the area they are moving to?
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