The United States of America that we know, love, and in which we grew up was gone forever; we’re now beginning the journey to take back our country.
Several months ago, I was watching as the American people let their thoughts be known regarding healthcare reform, a major project for the current president. Healthcare reform, while popular shortly after the current president took office, has seen its popularity decline as the American people learned more and more about what was being put in the legislation.
Despite its obvious unpopularity with the American people, our country’s leaders did everything they possibly could to ram healthcare reform down our throats, including the implementation of the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase.
In addition to healthcare reform, the House had passed the Cap & Trade act, severely limiting carbon emissions, in the name of “saving the plant” from global warming. As some point I listened to a speech that the current president was delivering where he indicated that we could no longer set our thermostats where we wanted to set them and therefore be comfortable in our own homes. Instead, we would have to make sacrifices for the greater good. He also told us that we would not be able to drive the large, comfortable vehicles that we once did; nor would we be able to drive those cool little sports cars that we enjoy so much. Instead, we would be driving hybrids, electric cars, and other fuel-efficient vehicles that not only are uncomfortable, but also lack the power that many of us have enjoyed in our motor vehicles. The current president further assured us that the government would be taking more of our hard-earned dollars to pay for things like cap and trade, and healthcare reform. Speaking of healthcare, we would be giving up our good healthcare plans that we have worked so hard to provide for ourselves and our families; trading these plans in for some third rate government sponsored programs. This would mean additional physical suffering and perhaps premature death as a result of not being able to get treatment in a timely manner. Again, this is a sacrifice the American people should be willing to make in order to provide healthcare for those that are uninsured. In other words, the current president was advocating that we would all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. WHOA! This is communism, isn’t it? “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Well, maybe that goes a bit too far, but what the current president is advocating certainly reeks of European socialism.
It amazed me how our country’s leaders, particularly Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, have persisted in cramming their unpopular socialist agendas down our throats. But you know, we’re still a republic and still able to vote these folks out of office. That’s true; but will we be able to un-do all of the damage they did while in office? The answer is probably not. Once we socialize healthcare and implement the Cap and Trade policies, reversal will be next to impossible. As a result, it appeared to me that the democrats were going to ride roughshod over the will of the American people in order to implement their agendas.
Not much to look forward to, is there? Sitting in your home either sweating or shivering. Maybe you’re sick and can’t get an appointment with a doctor for six weeks. A thick juicy steak with a bottle of good red wine sounds good. However, you don’t have the extra funds for such things because your taxes are so high. Forget a trip to the beach. What used to be a half-day drive now takes much longer because your hybrid can only go up to 45mph. You couldn’t afford the gas anyway, even though the hybrid doesn’t use much. Besides, driving is not fun anymore.
Well, when Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was running for president, the other Massachusetts senator, Edward Kennedy, was concerned that should Kerry win, Republican Governor Mitt Romney could appoint a republican senator to take Kerry’s place. So, old Ted got the ball rolling that resulted in Massachusetts passing legislation preventing a governor from making such appointments. Instead, a special election would be held to elect a replacement. As we all know, Senator Kennedy became gravely ill and passed away just months ago. Before his death, the senator suggested that the rules be changed again so that the current Massachusetts governor, a democrat, could be allowed to appoint his replacement. Even the democrats, who loathe the American people and think we’re too stupid to get out of the rain, knew that this wouldn’t fly. They would just have to live with the current laws. Besides, this is Massachusetts, “ain’t no republican gonna get elected”.
Excuse me! What did you say about Massachusetts electing a republican? Enter Senator Scott Brown and not a minute too soon. While republicans are still in the minority, the super majority the democrats hold in the Senate is gone. With Senator Brown, the democrats don’t have the votes to stop a filibuster. Cap and Trade is now dead in the water. With a little luck, healthcare reform will be joining it. Now the republicans should be able to stop any and all noxious pieces of legislature that our country’s leaders are trying to cram down our throats.
Of course, I have to comment on the irony of it all. Ted Kennedy spent a major portion of his political career advocating healthcare reform and passed away before he could cast a vote. With the senator’s memory, the democrats were set to elect a democrat to fill the seat vacated by the late Senator Kennedy. The new senator would ultimately cast a vote to pass Ted’s dream of healthcare reform.
But wait, republican Scott Brown was elected by the people of Massachusetts to fill the senate seat that was left vacant when Senator Kennedy died. The new senator from Massachusetts has indicated that he will vote against the current healthcare proposals. Also, he will give the republicans the one vote they need to kill healthcare reform and any other proposed legislation by filibuster in the Senate.
Again the only thing that republicans can do in tandem is filibuster a bill to death in the Senate. They are still a minority party. Will they be able to take over the House and Senate with the November 2010 elections? We’ll have to wait and see. Never-the-less, the power is now there to stop anything this country’s leaders, including the current president, may try to force on us in their quest to restructure this country in the image of a European socialist nation.
I recently made a comment on Facebook that you reap what you sow. Because he was scared that the republican governor of Massachusetts would have a chance to appoint someone to fill a possibly vacated senate seat, he took steps to change the Massachusetts laws so that a special election would be required to fill a vacated senate seat as opposed to the governor appointing someone. Had old Ted not done this, the current Massachusetts governor, who is a democrat, would have had the responsibility of making an appointment to fill the open seat created by his death. The appointment would surely have been a democrat and Ted’s dream of healthcare reform would have been realized. That didn’t happen, though. Ted’s actions led to a special election in Massachusetts where Republican Scott Brown was elected. Senator Brown has the power to stop the proposed current healthcare legislation that was old Ted’s dream. How ironic.
When you resort to trickery and chicanery, making deals in smoky back rooms, doing things that are generally dishonest and designed to get you what you want in the short run without taking into consideration the long term effects, it usually comes back to haunt. Thank God in this instance it did.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
AND ALABAMA’S NUMBER ONE
The nerves have all calmed down, but I suspect some heads may be throbbing. There is a nation of college football fans celebrating and another nation of college football fans shaking their heads and saying, “what if”. Was the BCS Championship game for the 2009 college football season a game in which two best college football teams in the nation battled it out to see who reins supreme until mid-summer when the pre-season rankings come out? I would say yes. There’s no doubt in my mind that the University of Alabama and the University of Texas were the two best teams in college football in 2009. Did these two teams play to the best of their abilities, running on all cylinders, battling it out to the last minutes of the game, to determine who takes home the crystal football? Uh, No! Alabama was flirting with disaster. That fake punt was very un-Saban like. No one has mentioned this yet, but it could have been worse. If the Texas player that intercepted P.J.’s pass had let it fall to the ground, Texas would have started much closer to our end zone and pay dirt. Instead, Texas got the ball a bit up field, our defense held, forcing them to kick a field goal. Then we failed to cover a kickoff. Now how bone-headed is that? The fact that we escaped this series of events only yielding six points, though, has to tell you about the heart and intensity of the Bama players. Was the stamina of Gilbert, the second string quarterback for Texas, amazing as he improved during the game and brought his team to within a field goal of being able to tie the game and sent it to overtime? You have to say yes. I could go into the details of the game, but you have access to those details.
Would this have been a different game had Colt McCoy not been injured? Oh, definitely. Would Texas have won if Colt had not gone down? We don’t know, and we’ll never know. I refuse to get into a “you know what-ting” contest with anyone who may throw out that Alabama would not have won if Colt McCoy had played. This game sure wasn’t Alabama’s best of the season, and it wasn’t Texas’ either. But the winner of this game is the national champion and that’s that.
As some of you know, the Bama Nation’s world was rocked in the early 2000s when the news of the possible payment by boosters in the Memphis area to high school coaches in order for them to steer highly touted players to Alabama. The details of which could fill a book. The sanctions that were handed down to Alabama by the NCAA were brutal, resulting in a major loss of scholarships and a ban on post-season play for two seasons. As one can imagine, this made the recruiting of top quality players difficult, if not downright impossible. In addition, the sanctions were given as the reason that Head Coach Dennis Franchione bolted for Texas A&M. The coach hired to replace Franchione, Mike Price, had some serious character flaws to surface shortly after coming to the Capstone. When the UA Board of Trustees voted to let Mike Price go, May 2003, we were left without a head coach, with “slim pickins”. In Mike Shula, Alabama hired an unproven head coach, with everyone hoping that his “good genes” would allow him to grow into the job. Well, Shula never grew into the job and was let go after the Auburn game in 2006. In his farewell speech, Shula indicated that he left the program in better shape than it was when he got there. I’m not so sure about that.
Alabama took a pretty big PR hit for the firing of Shula after his fourth year. In his third year, he had a successful season, taking the tide to a major bowl and a top ten finish. The after a mediocre fourth year, we fired him. Furthermore, the fact that he was Don Shula’s son didn’t help our image either. After firing Shula, everyone said to us, “Alabama will never be able to hire a decent coach. No one in their right mind would want to coach at Alabama.” When the news that we might be talking to Nick Saban broke, everyone started laughing. “There’s no way that Nick Saban is going to come to Alabama.”
With regard to the Memphis area recruiting incidents, there is speculation that there may have been collusion between the NCAA, the University of Tennessee, and the Southeastern Conference to set Alabama up. There was also speculation that then Tennessee Head Coach Phil Fulmer would report indiscretions by Alabama to the NCAA in exchange for the NCAA turning its back to the activities by the Tennessee Athletic Department. In other words, there were folks out there that wanted Alabama taken down, one way or the other. I wonder what those folks are thinking today.
Alabama football has been on top or near the top for most of its existence. But there have been some times when it was bloodied and near death, the most recent being from about 2003 to 2007. Last night when the players and coaches were passing around and kissing the crystal football, I couldn’t help but think about the difficult times that we’ve been through and the players who stayed with Alabama when they could have transferred somewhere else. These players did not get to play for championships and received little or no accolades. I’m thinking about Shaud Williams, the little guy with the big heart. I’m thinking about Wesley Britt, the guy with big everything. I’m thinking about all of the players on the teams in the early to mid-2000s. I’m thinking about Dennis Franchione. He asked those players to “hold the rope” then bolted to Texas A&M, only to be fired. As skuzzy as Franchione’s actions were, he did influence players to remain at Alabama during the hard times and therefore provide the foundation for what is today.
Alabama has played and won fourteen games; that, in and of itself is a magnificent feat. Then on top of that, one of our players, Mark Ingram, was awarded the Heisman Trophy. Alabama was to play the University of Texas for the national championship, a team that it has never beaten in about eight tries. Very few times in college football history has the team with a Heisman Trophy winner also been number one. Many times that Heisman Trophy winner has not played well it his bowl game whether it be for the national championship or not. Well, Alabama won its twelve regular season games, won its conference championship game, had a Heisman Trophy winner, and won the BCS Championship game against the University of Texas.
Once again, Alabama is number one.
Would this have been a different game had Colt McCoy not been injured? Oh, definitely. Would Texas have won if Colt had not gone down? We don’t know, and we’ll never know. I refuse to get into a “you know what-ting” contest with anyone who may throw out that Alabama would not have won if Colt McCoy had played. This game sure wasn’t Alabama’s best of the season, and it wasn’t Texas’ either. But the winner of this game is the national champion and that’s that.
As some of you know, the Bama Nation’s world was rocked in the early 2000s when the news of the possible payment by boosters in the Memphis area to high school coaches in order for them to steer highly touted players to Alabama. The details of which could fill a book. The sanctions that were handed down to Alabama by the NCAA were brutal, resulting in a major loss of scholarships and a ban on post-season play for two seasons. As one can imagine, this made the recruiting of top quality players difficult, if not downright impossible. In addition, the sanctions were given as the reason that Head Coach Dennis Franchione bolted for Texas A&M. The coach hired to replace Franchione, Mike Price, had some serious character flaws to surface shortly after coming to the Capstone. When the UA Board of Trustees voted to let Mike Price go, May 2003, we were left without a head coach, with “slim pickins”. In Mike Shula, Alabama hired an unproven head coach, with everyone hoping that his “good genes” would allow him to grow into the job. Well, Shula never grew into the job and was let go after the Auburn game in 2006. In his farewell speech, Shula indicated that he left the program in better shape than it was when he got there. I’m not so sure about that.
Alabama took a pretty big PR hit for the firing of Shula after his fourth year. In his third year, he had a successful season, taking the tide to a major bowl and a top ten finish. The after a mediocre fourth year, we fired him. Furthermore, the fact that he was Don Shula’s son didn’t help our image either. After firing Shula, everyone said to us, “Alabama will never be able to hire a decent coach. No one in their right mind would want to coach at Alabama.” When the news that we might be talking to Nick Saban broke, everyone started laughing. “There’s no way that Nick Saban is going to come to Alabama.”
With regard to the Memphis area recruiting incidents, there is speculation that there may have been collusion between the NCAA, the University of Tennessee, and the Southeastern Conference to set Alabama up. There was also speculation that then Tennessee Head Coach Phil Fulmer would report indiscretions by Alabama to the NCAA in exchange for the NCAA turning its back to the activities by the Tennessee Athletic Department. In other words, there were folks out there that wanted Alabama taken down, one way or the other. I wonder what those folks are thinking today.
Alabama football has been on top or near the top for most of its existence. But there have been some times when it was bloodied and near death, the most recent being from about 2003 to 2007. Last night when the players and coaches were passing around and kissing the crystal football, I couldn’t help but think about the difficult times that we’ve been through and the players who stayed with Alabama when they could have transferred somewhere else. These players did not get to play for championships and received little or no accolades. I’m thinking about Shaud Williams, the little guy with the big heart. I’m thinking about Wesley Britt, the guy with big everything. I’m thinking about all of the players on the teams in the early to mid-2000s. I’m thinking about Dennis Franchione. He asked those players to “hold the rope” then bolted to Texas A&M, only to be fired. As skuzzy as Franchione’s actions were, he did influence players to remain at Alabama during the hard times and therefore provide the foundation for what is today.
Alabama has played and won fourteen games; that, in and of itself is a magnificent feat. Then on top of that, one of our players, Mark Ingram, was awarded the Heisman Trophy. Alabama was to play the University of Texas for the national championship, a team that it has never beaten in about eight tries. Very few times in college football history has the team with a Heisman Trophy winner also been number one. Many times that Heisman Trophy winner has not played well it his bowl game whether it be for the national championship or not. Well, Alabama won its twelve regular season games, won its conference championship game, had a Heisman Trophy winner, and won the BCS Championship game against the University of Texas.
Once again, Alabama is number one.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
ON PLAYING FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
For those of you not familiar with Alabama culture, college football is huge in this state. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide is one of this nation’s elite football programs, if not the most elite. There’s another school called Auburn that a lot of people in the state also support. While Auburn has had its “flash in the pan” moments, it doesn’t hold a candle to the accomplishments of the University of Alabama. I’ll definitely catch some grief for my last sentence.
Alabama is currently ranked number one in the national and is playing the University of Texas for the national championship on January 7, 2010 in Pasadena, California. The last time that Alabama was national champions was for the 1992 season. I was an adult and remember it well. That was seventeen years ago and that seventeen-year gap is the longest gap since the 1960s that Alabama has gone without a national championship. As you can imagine, we’re mighty hungry.
This past decade has not been a good one for Alabama. In the early part of the decade, Alabama was slapped with probation and sanctions that would have killed your average football program. Did we do what was alleged? The details could fill a novel and I won’t go into it here.
Never the less, we hired as head coach in 2007, Nick Saban, arguably the best coach in the nation. Three seasons later, we captured the SEC Championship and are playing for the national championship. The sanctions that went along with the probation pretty much left us bloodied and dying on the side of the road. But we didn’t die; instead we arose, much to the chagrin of the Auburns and Tennessees of the world.
In addition to being unbeaten in regular season play, playing in and winning the SEC Championship game, and going to the BCS Championship game, one of our players was awarded the Heisman Trophy, an honor awarded to the best college football player in the nation. The player, of course, was running back Mark Ingram. This is the first time a player from the University of Alabama has ever been awarded the Heisman trophy and I do have to admit that I’ve never been much of a “Heisman Trophy” person. At the University of Alabama, teamwork is stressed and there are virtually no prima donnas. But I have to admit that I couldn’t be prouder of Mark Ingram. He’s a wonderful young man. In fact, it’s not so much that Alabama has a Heisman, I’m just so proud of Mark Ingram.
I grew up rooting for the University of Alabama, attended the University of Alabama, and am currently a season ticket holder. It’s a part of who I am. As big a fan as I am, I’m not one to brag or talk “smack” before a game. I’m well aware that anything can happen. Some of us remember the U.S. Hockey team against the Soviet Union in 1980. After winning a big game, I’m pretty much quiet and don’t strut around. What’s the point, we’re Alabama, we’re supposed to win. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy winning and celebrate with my Alabama friends. However, I don’t tend to rub it in to fans of the other team, except when provoked. Besides, saying nothing gets their goat even worse.
On Christmas Eve this year, I had ordered a pizza from a local Italian restaurant to take home and eat for dinner. When I went to pick up the pizza, who should be in there, but a group of folks that belong to one of the clubs that I also belong to. Among the group were some Aubs, a Florida fan, a Texas fan, a plain ole Alabama hater, and maybe a couple of Bama fans that “hang” with that group. One of the folks said something to me and I kind of nonchalantly waved at the group. While I was paying for my pizza, one of the Auburn fans, who is a nice guy, walked up to me and wished me a Merry Christmas and asked if I was going to Pasadena. Other than that guy, no one really spoke to me. I started to do the “gator chomp” for the Florida fan since he was so nasty to me when Florida beat Alabama in 2006, but I didn’t. I think the little nonchalant wave said it all.
Back to the national championship, I don’t think I could be more nervous. Now that most of the bowl games are over, it’s being talked about a lot. While I’ve been here many times before, there is something special about this time around. After the probation earlier in the decade, many thought that Alabama would never rise to prominence again. The aubs thought that they would dominate us for years to come and so did Tennessee. Well, it didn’t happen. Alabama has risen to prominence in the last three years and will now be playing for the national championship. If we win it, it will be the most satisfying one in my life to date. If we don’t, then there’s next year and the next.
Am I going to make a prediction on this blog? No. I just want to let everyone who reads this know how important Alabama football is to me and to so many others as well. We’ve been on top and descended to the bottom, then rose back to the top. I dare say that very few college football programs could have gone through what Alabama has gone through and rise to the top again. I don’t know what my life would have been like if it wasn’t for Alabama football. No matter what happens on January 7, 2010, we’re Alabama and the rest is the rest.
ROLLTIDE! ROLLTIDE!
Alabama is currently ranked number one in the national and is playing the University of Texas for the national championship on January 7, 2010 in Pasadena, California. The last time that Alabama was national champions was for the 1992 season. I was an adult and remember it well. That was seventeen years ago and that seventeen-year gap is the longest gap since the 1960s that Alabama has gone without a national championship. As you can imagine, we’re mighty hungry.
This past decade has not been a good one for Alabama. In the early part of the decade, Alabama was slapped with probation and sanctions that would have killed your average football program. Did we do what was alleged? The details could fill a novel and I won’t go into it here.
Never the less, we hired as head coach in 2007, Nick Saban, arguably the best coach in the nation. Three seasons later, we captured the SEC Championship and are playing for the national championship. The sanctions that went along with the probation pretty much left us bloodied and dying on the side of the road. But we didn’t die; instead we arose, much to the chagrin of the Auburns and Tennessees of the world.
In addition to being unbeaten in regular season play, playing in and winning the SEC Championship game, and going to the BCS Championship game, one of our players was awarded the Heisman Trophy, an honor awarded to the best college football player in the nation. The player, of course, was running back Mark Ingram. This is the first time a player from the University of Alabama has ever been awarded the Heisman trophy and I do have to admit that I’ve never been much of a “Heisman Trophy” person. At the University of Alabama, teamwork is stressed and there are virtually no prima donnas. But I have to admit that I couldn’t be prouder of Mark Ingram. He’s a wonderful young man. In fact, it’s not so much that Alabama has a Heisman, I’m just so proud of Mark Ingram.
I grew up rooting for the University of Alabama, attended the University of Alabama, and am currently a season ticket holder. It’s a part of who I am. As big a fan as I am, I’m not one to brag or talk “smack” before a game. I’m well aware that anything can happen. Some of us remember the U.S. Hockey team against the Soviet Union in 1980. After winning a big game, I’m pretty much quiet and don’t strut around. What’s the point, we’re Alabama, we’re supposed to win. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy winning and celebrate with my Alabama friends. However, I don’t tend to rub it in to fans of the other team, except when provoked. Besides, saying nothing gets their goat even worse.
On Christmas Eve this year, I had ordered a pizza from a local Italian restaurant to take home and eat for dinner. When I went to pick up the pizza, who should be in there, but a group of folks that belong to one of the clubs that I also belong to. Among the group were some Aubs, a Florida fan, a Texas fan, a plain ole Alabama hater, and maybe a couple of Bama fans that “hang” with that group. One of the folks said something to me and I kind of nonchalantly waved at the group. While I was paying for my pizza, one of the Auburn fans, who is a nice guy, walked up to me and wished me a Merry Christmas and asked if I was going to Pasadena. Other than that guy, no one really spoke to me. I started to do the “gator chomp” for the Florida fan since he was so nasty to me when Florida beat Alabama in 2006, but I didn’t. I think the little nonchalant wave said it all.
Back to the national championship, I don’t think I could be more nervous. Now that most of the bowl games are over, it’s being talked about a lot. While I’ve been here many times before, there is something special about this time around. After the probation earlier in the decade, many thought that Alabama would never rise to prominence again. The aubs thought that they would dominate us for years to come and so did Tennessee. Well, it didn’t happen. Alabama has risen to prominence in the last three years and will now be playing for the national championship. If we win it, it will be the most satisfying one in my life to date. If we don’t, then there’s next year and the next.
Am I going to make a prediction on this blog? No. I just want to let everyone who reads this know how important Alabama football is to me and to so many others as well. We’ve been on top and descended to the bottom, then rose back to the top. I dare say that very few college football programs could have gone through what Alabama has gone through and rise to the top again. I don’t know what my life would have been like if it wasn’t for Alabama football. No matter what happens on January 7, 2010, we’re Alabama and the rest is the rest.
ROLLTIDE! ROLLTIDE!
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