So, it’s that time of year again. We can’t say alle… wait, you completed that word mentally? Sinner.
You must be asking yourself, since you’re reading my blog, what did Jim give up for lent? You probably didn’t think that, but you are here and reading this, so let’s go down this road a bit, shall we?
I have given up purchasing things online. Naturally, because I am a political person, I have built in a few caveats.
I cannot buy things online.
Woot.com and its affiliate sites are exempted.
Webdesign related purchases are exempted.
Golf club purchases are prohibited.
I am Catholic, thus the reason for this post, but I do not abide by the “do not eat meat on Fridays” custom.
Just like a good government, religions should not pick winners and losers. Seriously, why fish? (I don’t ask this question because I absolutely hate seafood and have for nearly all of my life.) Fish frys are a great event for a parish and all, especially if they have mozzarella sticks and hush puppies, which the crew of the St. Dominic Parish fish fry would let me oversee as a child, but in this day and age, can’t you pick a different sacrifice that doesn’t involve wasting food? Why my parish let a 10 year old near a deep fryer is a different matter. I just don’t like that the church is picking the fish industry over the meat industry. I don’t have this gripe because the Swifts are a meat family — they’re related, but I am not descended from them. I get it that “Jesus was a fisher of men” but there are a bunch of shepherd references in the Bible. Let’s play fair, guys.
I think the church should come up with a new tradition. In addition to giving something up for lent, you should come up with your own personal sacrifice for Fridays. It could range from economic decisions made by individual actors, like “no liquor Fridays” to something of a more personal nature that doesn’t involve economics.
My batting average for church attendance hasn’t been stellar recently (let’s just say some NL pitchers hit better than my attendance record). I went on Sunday and for the Bishop’s lenten appeal, I didn’t have any cash, so I gave the only money I had. 5 Euros. Is that horrible or what?
If there’s one thing that can revitalize Cleveland, it’s some new, libertarian ideas. Cleveland, like many rust belt and New England cities, is dying because it’s a cesspool of bad ideas and corruption. I’d encourage you to watch thisseries as it comes out next month.
For every Republican in Shaker Heights, there are probably at least 23 Democrats. When people leave Shaker, odds are, they bring their horrible liberal ideas with them. I have great friends who are Democrats from Shaker. Most of them have left because they’re reasonable and have gone on to do better things. I’ll disagree with them on most issues, but I acknowledge if they ran Shaker and Cleveland, it would be a better place. Then again, maybe that’s the whole thing, smart people see the problems and leave, moving on to greener pastures. Former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell alluded to that in a speech to my high school at St. Ignatius. Not that she exactly practices what she preaches, because she and I currently work in the same place, but I think her point is right. Which is why I’d like to return to Cleveland some day and make a difference and see the Browns win a Superbowl (not that it will probably happen.)
The only reason Shaker survives is because it’s a safehaven for wealthy people. If you told somebody in Shaker they had to live 5 miles away but not in Shaker, Beachwood, Cleveland Heights, or University Heights, or leave Ohio entirely, I doubt 1/10 of them would stay. No way they’d live in Euclid, East Cleveland, North Randall, Warrensville or Cleveland itself. Shaker has high taxes, spends a boatload on education with decent, but not great, results, and has a police force second-to-none, so that everyone feels safe in the utopia of a community named for a practically dead religion that made nice furniture and didn’t believe in sex.
I came to be the way I am because I left Shaker, and saw that it is an exception. This city hates capitalism so much we don’t even have a McDonald’s. I learned to embrace capitalism in St. Louis, which has its faults too. By no means do I hate Shaker. I have amazingly great friends from there, and loved growing up there, but if that’s all you know, you don’t know much about the real world. Again, Shaker is the exception, because it’s a city of relative wealth fending itself from the problems of surrounding cities, built on the same shitty ideas.
In 1978 it became the first U.S. city to default on its debts since the Great Depression. (Dennis Kucinich was mayor at the time, yet, people have been routinely sending that space cadet to the U.S. House of Representatives ever since — you’d think people would realize a mayor who bankrupted the city would help lead the way in bankrupting the country. But no, Clevelanders haven’t.)
Cleveland secured the position thanks to its high unemployment, high taxes, lousy weather, corruption by public officials and crummy sports teams (Cavaliers of the NBA excepted). (Why do you think that many sunbelt cities thrive even though we’re in a prolonged recession? Low taxes and less regulation. Cleveland — Shaker especially — has horribly high taxes, and a bunch of corrupt Democratic politicians to boot.)
On the housing front Cleveland is dealing with thousands of abandoned homes. The city contributed to its foreclosure problem by providing down payments to many people that could not afford homes through the federally funded Afford-A-Home program. Cleveland led by Mayor Frank Jackson sued 21 large investment banks in 2008 who he felt were complicit in the subprime and foreclosure crisis that hit Cleveland hard. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year, but the city is appealing the ruling. (That’s right, the government is more to blame for housing woes than lenders. Even worse is our incompetent mayor. First the city puts people in homes they can’t afford, paying their down payments with local and federal tax dollars, and then sues when they get foreclosed on? Newsflash: People who can’t afford 3-5% of a mortgage down payment will have an extremely hard time staying current on a mortgage. Way to go Cleveland, but you’re not alone there. It’s almost as if Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were in charge of housing…… Oh wait.)
The list goes on. Cleveland has had two Republican mayors since World War Two. Ralph Perk and George Voinovich, a retiring U.S. Senator. Drew Carey, if you bring The Price is Right back to Cleveland, I’ll move back there within one year and help you bring this city back to greatness. Heck, I’ll probably move back there someday anyway.
TEEING OFF: U.S. Army First Lt. Sean Snook teed off during a moment of free time at a base in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Friday. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)
I braved the Blizzard to take some pics for the FamousDC.com snow picture contest. My neighborhood isn’t famous like Georgetown or DuPont Circle, but I got some good ones. Click the pic below to see my 4 favorites and be sure to watch the Slideshow!
As the snowpocalypse rears closer to the D.C. metro region, everyone is panicking. Rightly so. In Cleveland, this wouldn’t be a huge deal, but here, people are going absolutely nuts. Anyways, given the problems with shovel access last time both in stores and with our condo association, I tried unsuccessfully last night to get a shovel. That effort failed.
So, tonight after work, I walked straight to my car determined to find a shovel. I left realizing my prospects were slim, but I went along anyway. I drove south on Route 1 from 495, where I live.
I stopped at Target, Lowe’s, Giant, Rite Aid, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, (repeat a few) and finally Big Lots ….. nearly past Woodbridge. After a 20 mile trip, no such luck. So, I did what any reasonable individual did, I bought the biggest Jim Beam they sell (with a $7 mail in rebate!).
Good luck to those not too familiar with snow. Don’t forget to check out the original snowpocalypse site. I’ll update with pictures here and on twitter.
