A Liberated Mind

Maybe you didn’t know this, but when any new music comes out in the form of an album, it usually comes out on a Tuesday.  I say that not because I am any sort of musician – and no, being a fairly decent bass clarinet player in the high school band doesn’t count – but because I am finally back on the blog. 

And thus it begins on a Tuesday - just like it does with new music.

It has been since the middle of December since I have been on here, and yeah, that is entirely too much time to not communicate with the six or seven people who consistently read my thoughts.  This will change starting today – Tuesday – and God willing, continue to you word by word, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph for the foreseeable future.

So what happened?  Where the heck did I go?  Well, as I look back to the fall when I was blogging all of the time, I realize now it was easy because I was so focused on the election and the political climate surrounding it.  It was also football season, and using Fridays as a time to get away from politics to discuss the upcoming OU game was an easy thing to do as well.  All in all, it was pretty easy to blog.

But what of the present?  President Obama has been in office for almost six months, our economy has worsened beyond anyone’s expectations, and we live in an even more fractured country than before the election.  The media has sold itself for a cheap thrill to the new administration, folks who never have are protesting across the country, and silently and slowly a way of life is eroding away.

Bleak, I know.  

To be honest and frank, I am pretty sure I have avoided this blog for the last 7 months or so because there hasn’t been any motivation for me.  Understand that I loathe the thought of being white noise in the midst of lots of other white noise.

And yes, I have probably become indifferent and slightly apathetic to it all.  And wow, am I now the existentialist I have always fought against?

Though I am not sure about my absent motivations, I am quite sure of the answers to these questions: Why today?  Why wait until now to jump back onto this ship?  Why go away for 7 months and lose your readership just to come back and write in the same climate you have purposely avoided?

The answer is simple: because I have to.

The thing is I am naturally a person who cannot hold their thoughts to 140 characters.  I talk out my frustrations, joys, and everything in between in a way that can best be described in the cliche of a “conscience stream of thought”. 

Basically, it is not that I don’t have anything to say, it is just that it takes me longer to get there than others.  Plus, for the most part, I don’t know what I am going to say until I, well, say it.  Much of the time it is impossible for me to plan out what is going to come out of this mouth of mine.

This is sometimes good, and yes, it is sometimes bad.

But at some point, it all has to come out.  Somewhere and somehow.  And oh yeah, I have this blog for it to come out on.  Nice.

Don’t get me wrong – I have tried tweeting, attempted to make my Facebook status poetic and mysterious, and even gone back a bit to my personal writing. 

Still, I feel like I need to come back here.

All that being said, for the next week or so I am going to try and get on here only once a day to talk about what is happening in my world.  Not THE world because there are so many people talking about that.  But rather what I am thinking about, listening to, and getting worked up about.  Then as time goes on, I will try to get on here multiple times during the day depending on my time and further motivation.

Just as before I will try and keep the tone down the middle the best I can, but I cannot promise anything.  I simply want to start writing again for those who want to hear my thoughts.  Whether it be for an audience of 10,000 or just me, that is enough.

All I know is that it is time to come back and talk again.  It feels good to be here, and I hope you will come back to listen.

S

Faithful Readers,

Thank you for your patience over the last week as I have been extremely busy with work and have failed to post any new entries over the past 7 days…I hope this short series on Effective Government will make up for my lack of communication and the fact that I cannot tell you anything about the covert op in Libya I have been on for the past few days…

That being said, recently I got to spend some time with a local restaurateur who has a great story about the role city planning commissions and city councils play in business development and the power they wield over local business owners…And though this situation happened about a year ago, it is still a great example of a local government seemingly overstepping its bounds and not reining itself in to limit its authority…

The story goes like this: As an Italian transplant from New York, Danny Falcone came to Oklahoma 15 years ago and a few short years later followed his dream of opening his first New York style pizza restaurant in north Oklahoma City…

In the years following the success of his initial restaurant, Mr. Falcone has expanded into the Bricktown area and Midwest City without incident and to much new business…Each of his restaurants are very successful and all look alike with awnings around the buildings that borrow their colors from the Italian flag – an obvious reference to his proud heritage… 

And then there is restaurant Mr. Falcone runs in Edmond - a wealthy suburb just north of Oklahoma City…

The long of the short of it is that according to city of Edmond’s website (starting on page 8) in his original plans for his Edmond restaurant, Mr. Falcone had originally wanted to use burgundy awnings around his business but later changed his mind and instead wanted to go with the awnings that used the Italian flag colors much like his other establishments did…

However, in order to change the awnings, he had to go in front of the Edmond Planning Commission (which, again, according to the city of Edmond’s website is a five member board that is appointed by the mayor and the city council) to get their approval…

That is where Mr. Falcone ran into trouble…

In opposition to this request, “Attorney Lydia Lee with the Edmond Neighborhood Association spoke in opposition to this request indicating that the shopping center had been designed as a group of buildings with the Edmond Depot. They had placed sculptures around the landscaping and water features in the project and that the addition of the canopy would significantly change the architectural character previously approved. The burgundy metal canopy that was approved for the building to house multiple tenants and approval of the proposed change will allow others in this building to change, which will completely affect the architectural character and setting of this area.”

Um, what?

The crux of the argument against the Italian-flag inspired awning is that it would change the architectural character of the building because of the use of multiple colors…And keep in mind, this is nothing more than a strip mall…A nice strip mall, but a strip mall nonetheless…

Subsequently, Mr. Falcone argued that “the canopy represented the Italian flag and his cultural heritage and was being designed to comply with Edmond’s requirements. He indicated it was critical to have the canopy for the investment he was making and the commercial branding associated with the Falcone’s restaurant.”

So what happens?  Well, it seems that only three of the five members of the Edmond Planning Commission were present, and his request for a change in awning was denied by a vote of 2-1…

Now you might be thinking, “Okay, Seth, what’s the big deal?  He wanted to change the awning, he put in the request, he argued his side, and he lost…What is your point?”

The point is that while it is quite understandable for cities to have their own requirements for buildings and general uniformity of architecture, it is a whole other deal when you as a municipal body begin dictating how a businessman runs his business even though he has done everything in his power to follow the rules that municipality had laid forth….

If you read the entire section of the minutes from this meeting, you will see that Mr. Falcone has literally gone to every length (including renting the empty space next to his restaurant) in order to follow the city code and ordinances laid out…

Yet that is still not enough for this board and for the leader of the Edmond Neighborhood Association who seemed more worried about the building than the businessman who was making his livelihood in that building…It is just colors on an awning, folks!

But the story doesn’t end there…

According to Mr. Falcone, he then had the opportunity to appeal to the Edmond City Council (which he says he did though no record can be found online), and his appeal was again denied…

So what would have changed in this situation if the planning commission employed 3 folks on there who believed in a limited role of government in municipalities? 

No one can know for sure, but it could be that because having a limited government means having less government involvement in community issues such as business development, then Mr. Falcone would have been able to put his new awning up, he would have spread the word about how gracious and helpful the city planning commission was, and he could have been worried about more important things – namely further expansion of his restaruant business…

Instead he had to appeal the request denial, figure out how to show of the colors of the Italian flag, and do his best to comply even more to the city planning commission’s ruling against him…

And in conclusion, it frankly a shame to me that Mr. Falcone was not helped by the city planning commission in Edmond, but rather his business was harmed by them…That is very discouraging indeed…

It just shows you how a more limited local government could have been a help to him rather than a hindrance… 

S

When I get to work everyday, the first thing I usually do when I start opening up internet windows is look at the news headlines of several different websites: Drudge, a couple of local newspapers, and Yahoo are just a few examples…

Well, I open up Yahoo this morning, and to my surprise, this story was tapped as the lead: Obama’s Smoking Issue…

Now normally I am not one to look at a story and just realize right then and there that I have found the topic I want to throw out there for my faithful readers…Nope, that is not how it generally works…

Usually I ponder several incredibly philosophical and moral issues from several different angles for a long period of time and then use my staggeringly brilliant mind to figure out which of these topics would be the most intellectually stimulating and fitting for the current circumstances for which we find ourselves…

Um, what the heck did I just write?!?!  Yeah, that’s how I choose my topics to write about…Promise…

No, normally I am rack my worn out and beat down brain for a couple of hours just to come up with something that people will not just look at and shake their heads about because of its stupidity…Thankfully to this point people have been merciful enough to not ask me to stop writing this crap altogether…Thus I keep churning it out everyday…

But when I read the article about Obama’s smoking habit and the “pressure to set an example by giving up his reported two-decade-old habit” he’s under, it made me pause for a second to ponder this so-called issue…

First, like most folks I know, I abhor smoking…Seriously, it is disgusting, dangerous, and altogether pretty nasty…It is a habit that takes hold and never lets go without some serious freaking will power…Basically, it is very not good for your health and the health of those around you…

So, yeah, I get that…

But secondly, since when are our presidents supposed to be our examples?  Especially on an issue like smoking that could be contrived as somewhat of a moral issue just as much as it is a health issue?

I mean, was Bill Clinton an example to me as a husband?  Was W an example to me as a fiscally responsible guy?  Seriously, he consistently out kicked his coverages when it came to spending, and if I did that with my family, I wouldn’t have a house or a marriage anymore…

But more than just them, is any politician an example for me in any aspect of my life?  Seriously?

Not so much…

Because if I think about for about 5 seconds, I can come up with about 2,975 occupations were I would look to for examples of how I should live my life and how I should make my choices before thinking about freaking politicians…If I am completely honest about it, smoking is simply not going to be something I do or don’t do because of his or any other poltician’s example…Period…

And thirdly, doesn’t he have the right to smoke if he wants to? 

Because in my mind, if you want to smoke, do it, man…Smoke like a freaking chimney for all I care…It is not illegal, you have the freedom to make your own decisions regarding your health, and you are the President of the United States for Pete’s sake…

But, Seth, what about all those millions of kids and college students and voters who almost worship Obama?  He should quit because of them… 

Well, again, he is just a man and he is as imperfect as the rest of us…We all have bad habits, and we all pretty much suck in some sort of way…If people think Obama’s smoking is his only issue and thus his example to us all has lost a bit of its luster, then those folks probably need to reevaluate what kind of pedestal they are sticking the man on…

The fact is that we all have issues and problems and hurts and bad habits, and he is no different…Obama should not even enter the picture regarding whether or not someone smokes…

Basically it comes down to this for me:  Would I want my wife or child to smoke?  Or even my co-workers and friends?  Well, no…No freaking way in fact…

But that still does not mean they don’t have the right or freedom to if they want, correct?

And yeah, if they did, would I use every bit of my humor, my love for them, my honesty with them, and the depth of my relationship with them to try and get them to stop?  Absolutely…

But if Obama quit smoking, would I then tell them to stop because Obama did?  No chance…

Truth be told, I would rather Obama did not smoke (just like I would wish that for any smoker), but it doesn’t change the way I feel about him one way or another…

It may be a slight concern of mine that he does smoke, but more than that, Iran with a nuke is a much bigger issue for me at this point rather than if he needs to calm his nerves with a cancer stick every couple of minutes…

Because at the end of the day, he’s just a man, folks…He’s just an imperfect man with at least one very bad habit…And frankly, it’s good to know that he and I are alike in the fact that neither one of us are perfect, and though they are not the same, that we each have a bad habit we need to work to overcome…

S

It is Friday, and before I get to an OU prediction for the Big 12 Championship, I need to get some questions off my mind…

I don’t necessarily have the answers to these questions, but that is okay – questions don’t always need answers…

Unless you want to provide them in the comment section below…(hint, hint)…

The first question is something that is really bugging me lately: 

What’s the deal with people lining up in the cold at 4:30 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to buy stuff they really don’t need to survive and can’t really afford the other 364 days of of the year?

And how did this whole “Black Friday” thing start anyway?  Maybe somebody could give me a history lesson…

Lastly on this topic, how many folks have to literally get injured or killed before stores take a look at this policy and figure out it is not a good deal?  5? 10? 25?  How many?

Moving on (sort of), and I am being serious here, is it possible in this country to discuss the true meaning of Christmas and not offend someone?

Thus, I am all about not having a state-run church, but to what length do we go to in that separation?

And why I am being so freaking deep today?

How about this one then: Is there ever an appropriate time for a man to wear a tank top?  Ever?

Have you ever watched a college or pro basketball game from a court-side seat?  If not, like Ferris said, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

Is there anything funnier than watching a two year old try to say “Christmas Tree”?  Not for my money…

And who’s with me is saying that we should figure out some way to do “spring and summer decorations” for our homes?  After all, we already have fall and Christmas decorations, right?  

Speaking of fall, how exactly does wind ”cut right through you”?

And why does this only seem to happen when it is cold?

Moving on to pop culture, what is the best 80’s movie that is still watchable (read: not too cheesy) to watch right now?  Well, the whole “not too cheesy part” cuts out like 95% of the movies made in the 80’s so you have your work cut out for you on that question…

Sorry if I am clueless, but who are Heidi and Spencer?

How massively shocked were my wife and I that Barbara Walters picked Barack Obama as the most fascinating person of the year?  Seriously?  Who saw that one coming?

Can anybody name the 5 Grammy nominations for album of the year that were just announced earlier this week without internet cheating it?  Okay, can anybody name just one of them?

Why does Mariah Carey still have a career?  Really?

And on the random front, soda, pop, or Coke?  If you understand the question, you will probably have an answer…

If cell phones cause cancer, what does it mean for me if I carry around two of them and an iPod all day?  Uh oh…

And lastly, and most importantly, Michael Phelps was named Sportsman of the Year this week by Sports Illustrated, and sort of reliving all of those Olympic moments made me wonder if anybody else was constantly uncomfortable with how low that dude wore his pants while he was swimming? 

Seriously, anybody else freaked out about that like I was?

Weekends are good, enjoy yours…

S

You ask anyone where they were when they first heard about the events in New York City on September 11th, 2001, and my bet is that every single person you ask can tell you details about that day without even thinking about it…

Me?  I was driving to my new job at a church in Altus, OK, and was listening to the Morning Animals on the radio…The Morning Animals are the guys on the morning show of the 24 hours sports network in Oklahoma City, and they were coming in bright and clear that morning when one of them passed along that the news was showing coverage of a fire in the World Trade Center in NYC…

They didn’t know much more than that, and I didn’t think too much of it until I got to my office and started checking out the news on the internet…Unfortunately, though, our office did not have any way to pick up a single TV station, and thus I was in the dark until I went home for lunch…

By then we knew what had gone on…

The point is, I remember that day well, and I will never forget where I was and what I was doing no matter how many years pass…

But what about when the transit system was attacked in London or when there were attacks on the trains in Madrid?  Where were you when you found out about those?  Where was I for that matter?

I personally have no idea…

And sure, those terrorist attacks were in countries a lot of us have never been to and the victims were people that probably none of us even knew, but still…

It makes me question if we are still in danger in America seven plus years after 9/11, or are we simply in a perpetual cycle of denial since no attacks have occured in the United States in those seven plus years?

Let’s look around for a second at our world to find out just how dangerous it is…

Well first off, here in the U.S. our main concern is with the economy and rightly so…National security was talked about very little in the recent presidential race because as we speak lots of people are losing lots of money in the stock market, businesses are closing and people are losing jobs, and Washington is spending money faster on bailouts than they can print it…

So yeah, that is our main concern even with what was going on in NYC over the Thanksgiving holiday…

Okay, but what about in India?  Well, there they are on the brink of war with Pakistan due to the recent suicide missions by terrorists in Mumbai…

And off the coast of Africa, pirates are firing on U.S. cruise ships…This after they have hijacked numerous ships and tankers in the last few weeks with seemingly no one to stop them…

And Russian ships are going through naval exercises with Venezuela’s (hence Hugo Chavez’s) navy – which is a big deal whether we know it or not…In fact, we should be very concerned with this alliance, and I am quite sure in some nondescript office building in metroplitan Washington D.C. a group of analysts are studying this for the CIA…

But what about the housewife in Lincoln, Nebraska, who has just gotten home from picking up the kids from school?  Do you even think she cares?

The point is the world is not a very safe place right now, and I wonder if we are even aware of it…

Adding to the lack of attention being paid to internatinal affairs, we are also in the midst of an administration change in Washington…Out with the guy who has kept us safe since 9/11 (though heaven forbid anyone gives him any credit for that) and in with a guy whose Attorney General pick keeps changing his mind about Guantanomo Bay and its role in the fight against global terrorism…

And I understand that President-Elect Obama’s team wants to get out of Iraq within 16 months and refocus on Afghanistan, but at what cost? 

We simply do not know…

What we should know, and what we must realize, is that there is a dangerous world out there that could creep its way back onto our shores at a moment’s notice…We must not forget the lessons we learned from 9/11 and we must pay attention to what can be learned by what is happening in other parts of the world…

It would be an absolute travesty to ever deny that those same things could ever happen again here in the United States…

S

Your turkey has finally been eaten up, the relatives have all travelled back home, the Christmas decorations are either on display or the plans have been made for you to get them out of the attic (and really, do you need to be reminded again to get them down?), and you are back at work!  Yes! 

And really, don’t you love the first day back after an extended holiday weekend?

So if you will allow me, let me take stock of my weekend, and then we will move on to bigger and better things…

Thursday – drove to Sayre, OK, to have Thanksgiving with my side of the family…

Now if you know your Oklahoma geography (and really, who doesn’t?), you know that Sayre is about as far west on Interstate 40 as you can get in Oklahoma without getting into the panhandle of Texas…Basically, it is a looooong way out there…

Anyway, our two year old did well on the 2+ hour trip out there, we had a terrific and fun time with the family, and I didn’t eat too much that I felt sick afterwards…All in all a great Thanksgivng…

Friday – My wife and her parents took our daughter shopping all day, and I got some stuff done around the house…Pretty simple day…And thanks for letting us off work, Ned…

Saturday – Tried watching a few of the football games in preparation for the OU game on Saturday night and just couldn’t get into them…

Bedlam finally came on, though, and had about 6 heart attacks as the second half unfolded…Big win for the Sooners, though…And thanks for putting Mack Brown on the telecast, ESPN…That was awesome…Yep, loved it…Which leads me to…

Sunday - Channeling my inner “The Story of Us”, the highlight of Sunday was watching the BCS ratings with my wife and child (I know, I lead such an exciting life) and seeing the Sooners jumping the hated horns and thus earning a spot in the Big 12 title game…

But the lowlight was watching all the ESPN shows last night that did nothing but trash my beloved Sooners because of this very thing…

(And here is a quick anecdote – the guy hosting the college football show last night on ESPN actually asked one of the other ESPN commentators this question “What does this situation teach the Texas players about the fairness of the world?”  Seriously?  You asked that question?  What!?!?  I’ll tell you what it says to them – it says you should have beaten Texas Tech and not given up a last second touchdown!)…

But as I wrote elsewhere, come on, national media, just keep telling us all how unfair it is that OU jumped over Texas in the BCS standings, and keep drilling home the point that OU doesn’t deserve a shot at the Big 12 title because Texas beat them head to head…And then magically forget that Tech beat Texas head to head and that we beat Tech by 44…Oh, and then we went on the road and beat the #12 ranked team by 20 (who Texas only beat at home by 4) and that we laid 60 on yet another team…Keep talking, guys, keep talking…

The thing is, historically Stoops has done well when he can convince his boys that they are being disrespected and they should play with a chip on their shoulders because of it…

Now all he has to do is show them all the stuff that everybody on ESPN said about them last night and that chip could be huge come Saturday night…

Anyway, because I know that there are a few people out there who could care less, I will finish by saying to look for a prediction on Friday for one of the bigger games of the Stoops era…

Moving on with non-sports related stuff, here is what I figure will be on tap this week at ”A Liberated Mind”:

I do want to tackle some of the political stuff going on right now – this would include looking at Barack’s cabinet selections and how wildly different and fresh and new they are…It is almost as if he is simply re-picking every one of Clinton’s aides and appointees…Seriously, that is almost too much change to Washington for one guy to handle…

And I do want to comment at some point on what is happening with the US Senate in the light of the Coleman victory in Minnesota (Yes?  No?  Maybe so?), the Chambliss knock down drag out runoff in Georgia, and Liebermann’s wildcard status…And yeah, I kind of dig that guy even though he has been in there for way too long…

Oh, and I would like to talk a little bit about the economy now that we have come through Black Friday and we are at Red Monday…Red?  Maybe pink?  How about gray?  Although it is pretty sunny here today so how about Yellow Monday?  I am at work, though…Let’s try Blue Monday? 

Okay, I am done…

And speaking of Black Friday, I have never partaken in the whole “go somewhere at 4:00 a.m. just to stand outside in the cold until they open the doors at 5:00 a.m. just to rush in and hope you don’t get trampled to death in order to get a off brand flat panel TV for $299″ deal, and after last week’s multiple incidents, I don’t know that I ever will…I’m just saying… 

I would also like to discuss what the recent terrorism attacks in India mean to our security here, and how we should react to that tragic news…I am not saying we will react the way we should, but we do have some definite choices to make now as a country…

And here is a good idea on the terrorism front – why don’t you go ahead and shut Gitmo down, Barack…Then bring those 250 or so guys here, let them get nice and comfy in our prison system, help them all you can to recruit angry and embittered convicts serving alongside of them, and then watch how that original 250 or so grows to thousands…Wow, great plan…

Anyway, I hope your week has started off well, and that you stay tuned for what we have in store this week…It will hopefully be worth your time…

But I am definitely not making any promises…

S

A few questions: 

Have you ever wanted to protest some issue or circumstance due to the fact you were so angry that you would take to the streets with signs and banners?

Seriously, have you ever just gotten so mad and fed up and frustrated that you couldn’t help but gather a group of people together, look for a march, and do your part to make sure a collective voice was heard?

Have you ever been physically involved in a protest?  If so, was it a protest for something or against something?

Let me be honest: I have never been involved in a protest and frankly, I have never even had the desire to…Nope, never…Never even thought about it for that matter…Not one time in my life have I ever been fired up enough to brave police barricades and nature’s elements to peaceably gather as is my constitutional right – regardless of if I were for something or against something…

Why not?  Well, simply put, I am not a protester…I am not one to rock the boat in this fashion and manner…I don’t like crowds, I don’t like standing in one place for too long, and I don’t like the thought of being completely grouped in with others regarding my stance on a specific issue being protested…

I am very individualistic in this way…I love being as independent as I am, and I am not sure if I would ever want to jeopardize that by surrounding myself with people who could be a bit more, umm, extreme in their thoughts and beliefs…

And not to paint with too broad of a brush, but I think a lot folks who consider themselves conservative or liberty-minded sort of think in the same sort of way as I do…

Because if you think about it, how often do you see media coverage of lefty protesters versus protesters with at least a right leaning perspective? 

Sure you can chalk some of that up to media bias, but it is also true that folks on the left seemingly protest more than folks on the right…For example:

Who protested the Iraq War?  The left (though there were more than a few “Support our Troops” rallies)…

Who protested against President Bush even though folks on the right didn’t always agree with him?  The left…

Who protests against the treatment of animals, the chopping down of trees, and for the saving of whales?  Yep, the left…

And who protests against major companies and industries when the workers are not being treated fairly or they are doing too well (ahem, oil companies)?  Again, it is the left…

But what about the right?  When we protest against something, generally what is that something?  I asked my wife this question last night, and the first thing she said was abortion…And I would agree with this…This is by far the biggest issue those on the right (socially anyway) would rise up against…

For example, folks on the right (again, mainly social conservatives) oftentimes in the past (and perhaps they still do) would line the streets with signs to protest against abortion or even gather at abortion clinics in small numbers to do their part in this fight…But if you think about it, this may not be as common anymore…

However, let me say this about the right before I move on: 

We would tend to perhaps protest more for what we believe in rather than what we believe against…This would be things like educational choices, family values, and as was stated before, supporting the troops…There are many of these kinds of gathering year after year in Washington and other larger metropolitan cities in certain parts of the country…More often than not, though, we just don’t hear about them…

And not to get off subject, but if you protest for something, is that even really protesting at all?  I don’t know if I have ever seen a sit-in devoted to strengthening the family…

Anyway, surely there is another reason those in the conservative movement don’t protest as much, right?  Is it a lack of complete unity?  Is it a lack of leadership?  Is it simply not having enough people who have bought into a certain issue to do any good – at least in the minds of those who could potentially protest?

All that being said, as I sat and thought about this topic I wondered most of all about what would drive me to the streets – what issue or circumstance would it take to channel my inner hippie and get out on the pavement to the point of being threathened by the police ala the 1968 Democratic Convention Protest in Chicago?  

I have a couple of issues, but I would like to ask you, faithful readers, to answer the question, too…And If enough people answer, I will share with you the issue that would fire me up, but I want to know your “protestable issues” first…

Or is it that there has not been anything as of late to protest for or against?  Maybe that is the case…

Regardless, I would appreciate your thoughts, and perhaps we can all gather somewhere down the line to protest an issue someone shares with the group…

That might be kind of fun…And I might even come…Crazy, huh?

S

Imagine this: What would the United State Senate look like in 2008 if Congress passed a second constitutional amendment at the same time they passed what would become the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1947?

Yeah, not only two terms max for the President, but two terms of six years apiece for the Senate, too…

Crazy to think about, isn’t it?

Let’s look at the 100 guys and girls in the Senate and see how different the make up of the Senate would be if there were term limits for them (and we will go in alphabetical order by state)…

So are the senators from your state in or out?

Alabama: Richard Shelby - First Elected 1986 – He’s out…Jeff Sessions – First Elected 1996 – He would be out after this term…

Alaska: Ted Stevens - First Elected 1968 – He’s out anyway…Lisa Murtkowski - First Elected 2002 – She’s in…

Arizona: John McCain – First Elected 1986 – He’s out…Jon Kyl – First Elected 1994 – He’s out…

Arkansas: Blanche Lincoln – First Elected 1998 – He’s in…Mark Pryor – First Elected 2002 – He’s in…

California: Dianne Feinstein – First Elected in 1992 (in a special election) – She’s out…Barbara Boxer – First Elected in 1992 – She’s out…

Colorado: Wayne Allard – First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…Ken Salazar - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

Connecticut: Chris Dodd - First Elected in 1980 – He’s way out…Joe Lieberman – First Elected in 1988 – He’s out…

Delaware: Joe Biden - First Elected in 1972 – He’s way out but is out anyway…Sigh…Tom Carper - First Elected in 2000 – He’s in…

Florida: Bill Nelson - First Elected in 2000 – He’s in…Mel Martinez - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…Good job, Florida…

Georgia: Saxby Chambliss - First Elected in 2002 – He’s in (though that is still up in the air)…Johnny Isakson - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

Hawaii: Daniel Inouye - First Elected in 1962 – Yeah, he’s way out…Daniel Akaka – First Elected in 1990 – He’s out…

Idaho: Larry Craig – First Elected in 1990 – He’s out anyway…Mike Crapo - First Elected in 1998 – He’s in…

Illinois: Dick Durbin - First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…Barack Obama - First Elected 2004 – He would be in, but yeah…

Indiana: Dick Lugar - First Elected in 1976 – Yeah, he’s way out…Evan Bayh - First Elected in 1998 – He’s in…

Iowa: Chuck Grassley - First Elected in 1980 – He’s out…Tom Harkin - First Elected in 1984 – He’s out…

Kansas: Sam Brownback - First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…Pat Roberts - First Elected in 1996 (in a special election) – He would be out after this term…

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell - First Elected in 1984 – He’s out…Jim Bunning - First Elected in 1998 – He’s in…

Louisiana: Mary Landrieu - First Elected in 1996 – She would be out after this term…David Vitter - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

Maine: Olympia Snow – First Elected in 1994 – She’s out…Susan Collins - First Elected in 1996 – She would be out after this term…

Maryland: Barbara Mikulski - First Elected in 1986 – She’s out…Ben Cardin - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Massachusetts: Ted Kennedy - First Elected in 1962 (What!?!?) – Um, yeah, he’s out…John Kerry - First Elected in 1984 – He’s out…

Michigan: Carl Levin - First Elected in 1978 – He’s out…Debbie Stabenow - First Elected in 2000 – She’s in…

Minnesota: Norm Coleman - First Elected in 2002 – He’s in, but may not be much longer…Amy Klobacher - First Elected in 2006 – She’s in…

Mississippi: Thad Cochran - First Elected in 1978 – He’s out…Roger Wicker – First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Missouri: Kit Bond - First Elected in 1986 – She’s out…Claire McCaskill -First Elected in 2006 – She’s in…

Montana: Max Baucus - First Elected in 1978 – He’s out…Jon Tester – First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Nebraska: Chuck Hagel - First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…Ben Nelson - First Elected in 2000 – He’s in…

Nevada: Harry Reid - First Elected in 1986 – He’s out…John Ensign – First Elected in 2000 – He’s in…

New Hampshire: Judd Gregg - First Elected in 1992 – He’s out…John Sununu – First Elected in 2002 – He would be in, but he got beat this past election so he’s out anyway…

New Jersey: Frank Lautenberg - First Elected in 2002 – He’s in…Bob Menendez - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

New Mexico: Pete Domenici - First Elected in 1972 – He would be out, but chose not to seek re-election this term anyway…And I have never heard of him…Hmm…Jeff Bingaman - First Elected in 1982 – He’s out…

New York: Chuck Schumer – First Elected in 1998 – He’s in…Hillary Clinton - First Elected in 2000 – She’s in, but out if she accepts the Secretary of State post…

North Carolina: Elizabeth Dole – First Elected in 2002 – She would be in, but she got beat this past election…Richard Burr - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

North Dakota: Kent Conrad - First Elected in 1986 – He’s out…Byron Dorgan- First Elected in 1992 – He’s out, but I have never even heard of him…Hmm…

Ohio: George Voinovich - First Elected in 1998 – He’s in…Sherrod Brown - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Ah yes, Oklahoma: Jim Inhofe - First Elected in 1994 – He’s out…Tom Coburn - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…Thank goodness…

Oregon: Ron Wyden - First Elected in 1996 (in a special election) – He’s out…Gordon Smith - First Elected in 1996 – He’s out…

Pennsylvania: Arlen Specter – First Elected in 1980 – He’s out…Bob Casey, Jr. – First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Rhode Island: Jack Reed - First Elected in 1996 – He’s out…Sheldon Whitehouse - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

South Carolina: Lindsey Graham - First Elected in 2002 – He’s in…Jim DeMint - First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

South Dakota: Tim Johnson – First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…John Thune – First Elected in 2004 – He’s in…

Tennessee: Lamar Alexander - First Elected in 2002 – He’s in…Bob Corker - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Texas: Kay Bailey Hutchinson - First Elected in 1992 – She’s out…John Cornyn – First Elected in 2002 – He’s in…

Utah: Orrin Hatch – First Elected in 1976 – He’s out…Robert Bennett – First Elected in 1992 – He’s out…

Vermont: Patrick Leahy – First Elected in 1974 – He’s out…Bernie Sanders – First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Virginia: John Warner – First Elected n 1978 – He’s out…Jim Webb - First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

Washington: Patty Murray - Who?  First Elected in 1992 – She’s out…Maria Cantwell - How come I have never heard of either of these women? First Elected in 2000 – She’s in…

West Virginia: Robert Byrd - Um, First Elected in 1958! – Yeah, in this deal, he was out in 1970…Jay Rockefeller – First Elected in 1984 – He’s out…

Wisconsin: Herb Kohl – First Elected in 1988 – He’s out…Russ Feingold – First Elected in 1992 – He’s out…

Wyoming: Mike Enzi – First Elected in 1996 – He would be out after this term…John Barrasso – First Elected in 2006 – He’s in…

So let’s tally it up…

The number of those would be out after this most recent election if there were 12 Year Term Limits for the United States Senate: 55…

Number of those would still be in if there were term limits: 45…

Over half of the United States Senate would be gone if there were term limits on these guys…Holy smokes…

But do those numbers tell the whole story?

For instance, take a look at how many have been senators have been in since or before 1988 (when I was 10)…Just look at some of these dates:

Richard Shelby since 1986…Ted Stevens since 1968…John McCain since 1986…Chris Dodd since 1980…Joe Lieberman since 1988…Joe Biden since 1972…Daniel Inouye since 1962…Dick Lugar since 1976…Chuck Grassley since 1980…Tom Harkin since 1984…Mitch McConnell since 1984…Barbara Mikulski since 1986…Ted Kennedy since 1962 – Again, WHAT!?!?  John Kerry since 1984…Carl Levin since 1978…Thad Cochran since 1978…Kit Bond since 1986…Max Baucus since 1978…Harry Reid since 1986…Pete Domenici since 1972…Jeff Bingaman since 1982…Kent Conrad since 1986…Arlen Specter since 1980…Orrin Hatch since 1976…Patrick Leahy since 1974…John Warner since 1978…Robert Byrd SINCE 1958!!!  Jay Rockefeller since 1984…Herb Kohl since 1988…

What this means is that 29 out of 100 United States Senators (29%) have been in Washington for 20 years or longer…21 our of 100 have been in since at least 1984…1984!  You remember that year, right?  I remember that was the year we got cable TV for the first time at my house and around that time “Thriller” came out…No way!  Thriller?!?!

How can this happen?

And this is not a Republican or Democrat problem and it is not a geographical problem or a socioeconomic problem…But it is a leadership and common sense problem…

See, I just look at what is happening right now in our government and have to laugh because I wonder how much these guys and girls really care about us…I wonder to what lengths they would go to keep their seats and why no one can seem to unseat them…And we wonder why they are called career politicians?

It kind of scares me to think these folks have been governing this long and then we have the messes we have with the economy, the ever-growing government, and the looming threats both overseas and within our own borders…

It just kind of bothers me that 29% of the people who were governing us when I was just a 3^rd grader – who might I add cared about nothing more than finding a curb to jump my bike on - are still in control in Washington…Seriously…

So what do we do?  Well, I doubt the United States Senate will ever consider putting forth a consitutional amendment to the people of this country that would limit their own power to 12 years…But, that doesn’t mean that regular folks can’t hold these guys and girls accountable and vote them out of office next time they come up for reelection…

And yeah, that is an uphill battle, but we have to at least give it a go…And alas, it will take some time, but still…

All I know is that we need a change in Washington, and I don’t just mean for president…

S

I have a lot of thoughts about what is happening in the world right now, but I figure the best way to wrestle with them is to ask you, faithful reader, to make this new media tool known as a blog a true two-way street…

Thus, I have some questions about pop culture, politics, sports, and even food to ponder and a big old box below this post for your answers…Enjoy…

Seeing that it’s Monday, I have to start out with this question: Will those kids ever freaking find out how you met their mother, Bob Saget?  Seriously, just tell them already…

And what will happen to Monday Night Football’s theme music when Hank Williams, Jr, finally joins his legendary father in the Grand Old Opry in the sky?

Speaking of which, why is it that the country crowd has a monopoly on the introductions to primetime football telecasts?  (And if you didn’t know, Faith Hill opens up NBC’s Sunday Football Night in America…)

Does it give anybody else the willies to talk to political grassroots activists who believe in the black helicopters?

And why do a lot of these people insist on showing up at American Majority events and then talk to me as if I care about who the next president of Belgium is and how he wants a one-world government?

Because here is the question I want to ask them: Would I rather protest the UN’s involvement in doing away with the United State’s embargo against Cuba in the middle of freaking November or hang out with my daughter while she says, “Ready…Stet…Gooooo” and then runs down the long hallway at our house as if she has nothing at all to worry about except if Da-Da is going to give her a big hug when she runs into his arms?

Which brings me to this question: Is it bad that I work in politics and have absolutely no desire at all to get involved in politics when it is not work related?

On to pop culture, anybody seen “Tropic Thunder”?  Is it actually as funny as it looks in the trailer?

And what about “Pineapple Express”?  That movie funny?

More to the point, does anybody else think that the trailer for “Pineapple Express” that used M.I.A.’s ”Paper Planes” was the best trailer ever?  I freaking do…

If not that trailer, then which one is the best ever?

Anybody remember “Popular” by Nada Surf, circa 1995ish?  Well anybody heard their new stuff?  You should take a listen (especially ”See these Bones”)…

And who here is like me and excited about Conan eventually taking over for Jay?

Do you think these two men look alike?           

Turning to more political stuff, is anyone else offended that President-Elect Obama brought back his presidential seal and then had the government set up a website called change.gov? 

And did they just magically create the “Office of the President-Elect”?  I have never heard of this until now…

Thus who else thinks Howard Kurtz is going to be blasted by someone somewhere in the mainstream media for this editorial?  And who can believe the garbage the MSM is doing as outlined in the story?

And even though I got that last story from there, why am I not as enthralled to look at Drudge throughout the day now as I was before the election?  Same goes with Newsbusters…

By the way, who here knows the name of their city council people?

And because I can’t think of a single effective transitional way to do this, I am just going to ask this question to my Chicago readers: How is it that people talk all the time about Chicago Machine Style Politics as if it is a really bad thing and yet the city is still run by Chicago Machine Style Politics?

Moving on to sports, who else missed the weekly OU Football score prediction on Friday because of the team’s bye week?  Okay, then…I guess I am the only one…

And who gets to go to the OU/Texas Tech game on Saturday night that will be on national television?  I do for one…Anybody else?

In regards to the NFL, how the crap are the Tennessee Titans 10-0?  This should not be happening…

And do you think I would have this attitude if I had any of the Titans on my fantasy football team?  Um, yeah, probably would think that actually considering wins and losses of teams do not play into fantasy football scoring…

And does the NHL still exist?

Does OKC have an NBA team now?  Cause I swear they look like a bad college team…

In reference to the blog you are now reading, why is it that my most popular post on “A Liberated Mind” is the one I where I laid out my “Top 10 Blog Ideas I am Fleshing Out Right Now” and yet I only covered maybe two of those topics?

What happened to “Wednesday’s Music Nobody’s Ever Heard of”?  Ah, look for a new band on Wednesday to find out…

And how about all those local stories you said you would write about?  Yeah…About that…

How much do I have to pay someone to be “Blogivist of the Month” now that I have an avatar?  Cause, really, I am willing to go up to like $100 because then if I win and get $200, then I have made $100, and that isn’t too bad for doing this crap…

Why am I so addicted to Facebook?  I mean, seriously, why?

Lastly, what is it about supreme pizza that is so good?  Seriously, have you ever thought about this?  Because on their own, the ingredients are not very good…Green peppers?  No thanks…Mushrooms?  Um, fungus…Sausage and pepperoni?  Okay, those are good on their own…Olives?  Not a big fan…Onions?  No way am I eating those by themselves…

Yet you put it all together, and for my dollar, you can’t beat it…

And wow, was that not the most random question possible to end this blog post?

S

So my job for American Majority (website) is pretty simple: identify, recruit, and train conservative folks to run for public office such as school board, city council, county commissioner, and even on up to the state legislature…Frankly, it is a pretty cool gig, and I am thoroughly enjoying every aspect of it…

Anyway, for the last several months I have been identifying and inviting people from across the state to come to one of our two candidate training seminars coming up this weekend to learn about running efficient and quality campaigns…I have spoken to activists, businesspeople, politicians, and potential candidates all with the hope that they would come to our event and take what they learn with them and become unbeatable in their respective races…

Well, tomorrow in Tulsa and Saturday in Oklahoma City are the culmination of the first part of that plan – the events…As stressful as they have been to put together, it is also very exciting to see so many folks ready to make a difference within their community for conservative values such as limited government, free market ideas, and liberty-minded/personal freedom type issues…

Our hope is that this spring we can have some school boards and city councils that focus their efforts on trimming their budgets, lowering the tax burden on families in the community, and looking for ways to make their cities and school districts run more efficiently…

It is a big goal, but I think we can do it…If nothing else, we are sure going to try…

And I think this is a worthwhile cause because lots of folks see the amount of money the federal government is spending on bailouts and pork projects and they see how much their states spend on black holes like education and bureaucracy, and to put it bluntly, they are fed up with it…

But the crazy thing is, this sort of thing happens at the local level, too…It may just be that no one knows about it…And that is a scary thing to think about…

So I ask people, “Why not take a good look at your school board or city council to see where effective and conservative change needs to happen and do something about it?  Heck, running for one of these offices is not that expensive and not that scary”…

This is what I want to try to convince people to do…

And yeah, running for public office is not for everybody…But there are enough fed up people out there with good ideas and fresh ways to look at things that could make a difference within their communities…They just need to be taught how to get started in it…

Thus it is my job to find them and then help them in very cool ways so they can change the cities and towns in which they live…And in my book, that is a pretty cool thing…And I am more than happy to do it…

S