O' the day - 9.26.07

Not one but two sports stories on NPR this morning (I think that's a first) -- of course, Frank Deford had a story because it's Wednesday, but the latest YouTube hit had a mention as well. This was, of course, Gundy's rant on the criticism of his quarterback by a local columnist, which opened the larger issue of whether young players should be subject to the same kind of hard scrutiny as professional athletes. As a mom, since I have sons who are getting at the college age rather quickly, I have to agree with Gundy -- these are kids who are going to school as a primary goal and playing sports on the side (yes, I do realize many of them aren't so interested solely in the education). Do they deserve being called out individually for mistakes and botched plays? Or should we treat them as another columnist suggested -- call it a stupid play, not a stupid player?

O' the day - 9.25.07

The latest iteration of holding a company hostage is taking place even as I write -- UAW vs. GM. This frustrates me to no end -- this is an area with a depressed economy, but the union feels a strike that will leave thousands with no income for an untold period of time is a great idea? The factory workers are generally those who need the income the most -- blue-collar workers who are hit hard by the near-recession currently in progress -- but the union feels taking income away from these people is the way to achieve their goals. I'd like to see a comparison on income lost vs. the benefits a strike actually produces (and not to the union leaders, but to the strikers) -- somehow I don't know that the workers are coming out on the better end of this deal.

O' the day - 9.18.07

Well, as a former loan officer, you knew I had to weigh in on the sub-prime loan situation currently overtaking the nation. With experience making and dealing with those with this type of loan, I've seen firsthand just how thoroughly an unscrupulous mortgage broker can screw with a person's life. I've also seen plenty of those who don't care to know anything about what they're signing; they just want a house. The old adage "if you can afford to pay rent, you can afford a mortgage payment" may be true, but it ignores the fact that simply being able to make a monthly payment is not by any means all that being a homeowner entails -- and isn't all a homeowner puts out monetarily each month. Somehow things like maintenance and new appliances and roofs get lost in the shuffle, and thus we have families who can scrape together a mortgage amount but can't pay for upkeep on their houses, bringing down the property value for the neighborhood. And mortgage brokers are not entirely to blame -- I don't absolve them for their part of the whole mess, but the buyer who is ignorant and apathetic has to take a large portion of responsibility as well. There is no reason, with the wealth of information available in layman's terms today, that the new buyer can't find out the answers to anything and everything on the mortgage application; however, this would force the prospective homeowner to do a little work and take responsibility for his own actions -- something that is sadly lacking in all parts of today's society.

O' the day - 9.11.07

On a day that has come to be the JFK of my generation, I'm not sure that a drawn-out remembrance is called for. Maybe it's the fact that I want to be remembered for living, not dying, but I don't want to "celebrate" the anniversary of a death -- let me think of the good that person meant to me throughout the year, not the day they died. I don't begrudge others (much) for their difference in thought; I only know that I will watch very little news today, as I already know the topic of every story.

O' the day - 9.10.07

On the eve of the sixth anniversary (is "anniversary" really the correct term to use? It seems to connote a celebration, rather than an awful remembrance) of 9/11, all news on the radio is negative and downward-looking. Is the world really that bad, that nothing good can be found? Surely one positive note can be found somewhere, to uplift and reassure us all that there still exist reasons to keep going. If only for one day, I'd love to see bad news banished; for one day we would only hear news stories of those uplifting and positive and cheerful happenings around us, and could be given just one chance to celebrate life.

O' the day - 9.5.07

Tongue-in-cheek or not, it was nice to hear a piece earlier today about a small town in Mississippi who is deeply, truly patriotic; they've lost four young men in the Iraq war in the last few years, but they are staunchly standing by their American pride and love of country. The story ended with a running tally of lives lost thus far, of course; the main point to the story was likely to have been how stupid these people were for standing up for needlessly losing our soldiers. However, what came out of the interviews was a loyalty to and joy for our freedom in the U.S.; it could not be muted by the reporter's bias. What a breath of clean, untainted air, to hear about responsibility being taken gladly and freely, with no political strings attached.

O' the day - 9.4.07

(After a long junket north, I'm back!)

Heard a piece this morning about a bit of history I'm sure I studied at one point but had since forgotten -- the story was about a new book on the Marshall Plan and the role it played in American/European politics at the time it was implemented. It was really pretty amazing, given the current state of dislike for all things American, that less than 60 years ago, the U.S. was seen as a hero, dropping off food and supplies and freely giving $13 billion in rebuilding funds. Somehow when Europe was on the losing end they didn't seem to mind American help, and even welcomed the money to restore their former lives. Fast forward 50+ years, though, and the U.S. aiding another country is seen as an intrusion into that country's sovereignty; we should stay at home and not stray abroad into other's business. Funny how perspective changes everything, no?