Well I have read most of the Redskin articles agreeing with our recent moves,but I have yet to see someone truly give Bruce Allen the credit he deserves. Starting with trading the Redskins two biggest headaches, that were rumored to be gone all offseason, I find it truly amazing he was able to get 3 potential draft picks for McNabb and Haynesworth. After watching the Vinny debacle for the last 6+ years, where time after time the Redskins got fleeced in trades, this is a welcome change.
Honestly I would have been happy with that, considering we had 12 draft picks, and by all accounts graded out pretty well. But not Bruce Allen, no sir, instead we re-signed Santana on the first day possible, and upgraded the DL at a reasonable price. Did he stop there? Of course not. Somehow, in the midst of signing those players and the trades, he managed to get ALL 12 draft picks signed before the week was even over.
So as he keeps wheeling and dealing, and before we actually know what is going to happen with these moves, let me just say Thank you Bruce Allen for finally bringing some common sense to the Redskins front office. For too long most of us fans weren't even sure what that meant anymore, but now that I can see it, I remember what it looks like. I just hope it translates into wins, and our fans will be willing to be patient enough for it to play out.
It seems so easy to just blame the other side in the debt negotiations, the republicans want to blame the President, the democrats want to blame President Bush, but isn't it everyone's fault? When the country has a $14 trillion dollar deficit, isn't it everyone's fault? I could start by blaming myself, for blindly voting without really knowing who I was voting for. I've been legally able to vote for 12 years now, and only until the online poker shutdown, did I actually start paying attention. So with my one vote, and lack of paying attention, I can blame myself.
Now that I have taken some blame for my own lack of attentiveness, let me direct some more blame. I would also blame everyone who has ever held public office in DC. You don't rack up a $14 trillion dollar deficit without both sides being at fault, it's just not possible. So as this debate continues, I would really love to hear someone from DC actually take the blame themselves for being part of the problem and not the solution. Because with this new debt "deal"(if you want to call it that), it is not a solution, but instead kicking the can down the road again. So $17 trillion and counting DC, when is someone actually going to step and SOLVE the problem. If not, when can I get my credit card with no limit, that would solve plenty of my own problems.
Legalize online poker. The end. Nothing can fix our national debt problem overnight, but the prohibition of online poker isn't helping either. The actual numbers are huge, $30 billion dollars were gambled last year, 2.5 million players alone just in the US. The biggest website and the only one I will support, Poker Stars, had $1.4 billion in total revenue last year, with over $500 million in reported profits. The total gaming revenue for Las Vegas' 23 strip casinos was $4.68 billion, with the average casino earning just $203 million. The average casino total revenue was $526 million, and that's including food, beverage, and rooms.
Clearly online poker is more lucrative than the best casinos Las Vegas has to offer, and common sense would tell me it's only been targeted because someone wasn't getting their "fair share". I would like to have hope, because of the bill Rep Joe Barton has proposed to legalize online poker, but there has been a bill proposed every year since 2007. As far as I can tell, no bill has actually hit the floor for a vote. Even so, the bill the Rep Barton is proposing falls far short of actually legalizing online poker. Sometimes, something is better than nothing, but I don't think this is one of those times. As I understand it, the bill states only American players would be allowed to play against other American players. Also any state would be able to opt out, so likely not all 50 states would even be involved. Anyone who has spent more than 10 hours playing online poker, would know some of the worst players come from overseas, more specifically Russia(and drunken Aussies).
So as Congress argues over the debt limit and banning light bulbs, here's one bill they should just pass through without thinking twice, better known as the Nancy Pelosi process.
An easily overlooked story in the middle of national debt talks, and two lockouts in professional sports, is that the incandescent light bulb is going to be banned starting in 2012. While it is easy to throw Energy Secretary Steven Chu under the bus for his comments, this proposal actually got started under President Bush's watch.
Steven Chu: “We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money”
Maybe Mr. Chu I like wasting my own money, although my real problem with this, is the government telling me what I can and can't do. As an online poker player who had to deal with black Friday, I know how inconvenient it is to have the government involved in your home life. It's easy to think, who cares its just a light bulb, but I think this opens the door for other things to be banned. Where would it stop, too much cell phone use can lead to cancer, should the government ban those? What about sun bathing, too much of that could lead to skin cancer. The really sad part is incandescent light bulb can't lead to cancer, but compact fluorescent light bulbs(CFL's... not typing that again) have mercury in them. It may be a small amount of mercury, but any mercury is extremely dangerous and poisonous. So if you break one of these light bulbs, please call poison control right away, or Steven Chu.
It shouldn't be up the government to tell us what to do in our everyday life, good choices and bad choices are a fact of life. The more we let them restrict, the more they will continue to do it.
This is not another Casey Anthony blog, but knowing that she likely had something to do with her own child's death, and is only going to spend 3 years in jail, will make you sick when I tell you about these other offenses. The first is an 18 year old, Tyell Morton, who brought a blow up doll(not a bomb, just inflatable) to his school, on the last day of his senior year as a prank. Now he is facing felony charges and a possible 8 years in prison, on charges of disorderly conduct(a misdemeanor) and the felony charge of institutional criminal mischief. The prosecutor claims he won't be seeking a prison sentence, but stands by the charges. I fail to see, how not seeking a prison sentence, and still giving Tyell a felony for a harmless prank is the "right thing" to do. It should be up the school to discipline him, such as not letting him walk for graduation, but possible jail time and having to explain to every employer for the rest of your life why you got a felony for a blow up doll is beyond my understanding.(Here's his facebook page, like it, and his own webpage)
The second case, while not involving a felony charge is equally as disturbing. Ikenna Njoku, received a rebate check from the IRS, for being a first time home buyer. But because he had overdrawn his account, instead of directly depositing the check, chase paid off the fees and sent him another check. So when he finally received the check, he took it back to chase, keep in mind the check was written by chase, and because they didn't believe him he got arrested for forgery, a felony. So they threw him in jail on Thursday, then on Friday, chase realized they had screwed up, and left a message, yes a voice mail on the county police line, and therefore he had to spend the rest of the weekend in jail. So in all he spent 5 days in jail, but here's the kicker, because of it, he lost his job, and had his car towed to the impound lot. When he couldn't pay the fee to get the car released, his car was AUCTIONED off. This happened in June of 2010, and just YESTERDAY, a year later, Chase decided to apologize. Here's the statement from chase:
"This is a very unfortunate and unusual situation," wrote Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot of Chase Public Relations. "We apologize to Mr. Njoku and deeply regret what happened to him. We are working quickly to understand all the details so we can reach a fair resolution."
Really? After a year, that's the best you can do Chase? Pathetic and inexcusable.
So while Casey Anthony walks free next week, it's these other stories that make me wonder, why can't they get the same media attention she got. Is it because of race? Or is our MSM just that sad, they would rather get their kicks making someone famous who deserves nothing of the sort. Here's a song from a friend who agrees.
