MAYBE!.

Just finished reading another good blog by my friend Harry -  http://harry2335.blogspot.com.

We're close in age - appear to have similar thoughts regarding life experiences - parental teachings - ethical and moral behavior - while admitting to one and all - that we're struggling with what's going on in this great country of ours.

Remember the joke about the patient who complained to his doctor about severe headaches resulting from hitting his head on the wall? The doctor's thoughtful prescription was "stop hitting your head".

Perhaps that's advice I need to follow if I wish to continue to write a blog which is often drawn from current events in this country; like what many of us witnessed on CNN last night.

So, should I stop writing a blog?

My concern is what happens if I - and many others - follow the unsought advice of people who advise us to simply turn off the TV when what is being broadcast we so often find offensive?

Of course, that means I'd have missed all those informative political ads paid for by PAC's who were financed primarily by big money - and whose right to do so were promulgated via Supreme Court decisions made by folks who were political appointees.

I'd also fail to experience the pleasure of being blitzed by attorney ads ad nauseum from folks who seem to be intent on convincing me they're running a Non-Profit who's only goal is to serve us as a Good Samaritan.
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Aha, got your attention, right?

Regardless as to whether you'd agree with that last paragraph - please tell me via email - or even a note tied to a rock and pitched through my closed kitchen
window - that you are  beginning to see the problem?

As previously inferred, this is a country so great that people are dying to get into it. Many of them have seen and lived with worse conditions than most of us.

The shame is too often the reaction to their plight is that those of us who got here legally - (like being birthed in Pittsburgh to documented parents)  act too often like a child fixated on grabbing their toy away from another child, despite the fact they have no interest nor intention of playing with it.

Unfortunately, this is particularly descriptive of those among us who when confronted with any interruption to their comfort levels via reports of political and financial corruption, employ a defense mechanism sounding vaquely familiar to that of a popular insurance company ad: "Well everybody knew that!"

Suggesting to others that the mere act of ''Recogniton" of a problem can be equated to that of arriving at a "Solution" to that same problem totally misses the point. Maybe you had to live through WW II to understand how devastating it can be to do nothing. 

Perhaps, that's why my friend Harry and I  - keep writing these blogs.

You'll have to ask him.

As for me, if I really had ALL the answers I'd take all those big sacks of money at my disposal and hire somebody else to write these !@#$%^ blogs.

Maybe!

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Enough about the Steelers already! It's time for a PSA.

It was clear to me, after reading a recent "State By State" page in the first section of the USA Today, some of our States are in  serious trouble.

Don't get me wrong. They appear to communicate frequently with each other, politically; but perhaps need to read more.

My conclusion is based on two things: the recent mid-term election results and the USA Today column above.

On the first front: apparently, with the possible exception of Pennsylvania ( a true anomaly), most state election voters have not met a Republican Gubernatorial candidate they don't like.

But, if  Jefferson and Madison's goal to promote and improve states' rights is to succeed, some of these current State guys and gals are obviously going to need my help.

Take this item I recently observed in the "States By States" column:

TENNESSEE: A Middle Tennessee State University professor is driving from Key West to Seattle in a vehicle fueled by waste chicken fat and waste vegetable oil from school dining facilities. Researcher Cliff Rickett (not to be confused with "Cliffy" from "Cheers") began his journey this past Thursday.

Well, time is a-wasting! You see, in that same section of the paper was an interesting item about the plight of the State of Alabama.
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ALABAMA: The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University (if not destroyed after their football teams recent loss) will begin catching and tagging black bears at Little River Canyon National Reserve and outfitting them with GPS collars which cost the state $2,500 each, for a study of the bears, their population viability and their movements.

I immediately sent off a tweet  to the Alabama officials advising them it may not be too late to reroute Sir Ricketts and his innovative alternative fueled vehicle (AFV) straight into the Canyon from I-95 in order to greatly reduce their black bear "round-up" expenses.

Let's face it! What self-respecting black bear can resist that Circe like allure of waste chicken fat and vegetable oil?

Always there for Public Service duties - particularly if the Steelers get a wake up call before engaging the 2 and 7 Tennessee Titans NFL team next Monday.

WHY BEAT A DEAD HORSE?

Yesterday's blog regarding the Steelers and their LACK of coaching was written before I had a chance to read in the Post-Gazette just how bad the game actually was.

The fact that two of the Steelers four losses in 2014 were against NFL teams who are 2 and 16 this year was sort of glossed over by the Pittsburgh sports media.

Perhaps that was because it's not totally unexpected. Since 2012 the Tomlin coached Steelers have lost seven games to teams that were nine and thirty-six.

This makes it even more intriguing to me that "Tomlin & Associates" dumped their offensive coordinator Bruce Ariens a couple of years ago. Ariens and QB Ben Roethlisberger were extremely tight.

For those of you who follow NFL football, you're probably aware that Ariens is now the head coach of Arizona , a team that leads the league's two divisions with an 8 and 1 record.

Hey, I'm not saying ANYTHING - other than: (1) I thought it was a coaches job is to get his team prepared for EVERY game and, (2) Apparently, the Pittsburgh sports media - for the most part - are acceptive of Tomlin's lousy performance in games they clearly should have won over the last three years.

One dissenting voice appears to be sports writer Ed Bouchette whose  column expressing mild outrage can be found at ebouchette@post-gazette.com

So, while it's inappropriate to "beat a dead horse"  by criticizing a coach who apparently is sacrosanct in Pittsburgh - we're not exactly beating a "dead' horse.

Apparently, Tomlin still has a lot of life left in him.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

I finished the last blog by addressing Steeler coach Mike Tomlin's warning that his team was - in essence - not ready for their game today against a Jets team that had to date won 1 out of 9 football games.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear I really do understand the "On Any Given Sunday" mandate that tells us any team can win regardless of the opponents strength or how truly inadequate they are.

In most cases, it is the conclusion of so-called "sports experts" that an unexpected loss like the one teh Steelers suffered today boils down to the fact the weaker team APPARENTLY wanted the win more than the other team.

That scenario is true prior to the first snap or the other teams first score. After that  - it's "catch-up" time at which point the predicted to be superior team compound their poor preparation and rotten overconfident mental attitude by panicking and losing the concentration that locked up their prior victories.

Yes, there are several other variants that come into play for the team with the far better record.

They may have incurred serious injuries during the game to one or more of their play makers  -  the noise of the desperate home team's fans was so loud that their quarterback, runners, and receivers were not on the same wave length - maybe even the possibility the other team played over their head in order to save the job of their beloved and usually folksy coach.

I'll rule out the last one. Seeing as how the Jet's coach Rex Reid had not been fired prior to either this game - or possibly even this season - I was convinced   retaining his job was pretty much a "lock" .

Regardless of  totally illogical decisions like bringing in his starting QB at the end of a totally meaningless exhibition game; one in which he sustained a serious injury - he's still around and the team as well as the fans defends him.

Yet, it became clear to most clear thinking folk the only reasonable explanation for "Rexie's" longevity as coach of the Jets was that he had to have in his possession some really bizarre and risque cellphone photos of either the GM or the owners he had taken during a team Christmas party (or two) - that clearly got out of control.

I won't go into the absurdity of the Steelers performance here as the papers can and will do a much  better job of enumerating the fumbles, missed chipshot FG atttempt- and previous unheard of interceptions thrown by their future HOF - QB. Maybe it was just poor karma.

The bottom line is the Steelers were simply:"Not Good Enough"

Now back to my closing comment in the last blog:

Based on the Steelers history of losing to teams clearly inferior to their own personnel (See Steelers/Buccaneers scoreboard) plus Tomlin's pre-game assessment,  and unlike todays Pittsburgh team - I was not caught unprepared.

For the first time this year when it became clear the Steelers were not going to be making an appearance today on the Sullivan's 56 inch Sony - neither my wife nor I ran out frantically seeking a bar that had the Dish.

Now if a guy like me - with admittedly questionable knowledge of the intricacies of the game - was so suspicious of the eventual outcome that he passed on the game, should any of us  really be surprised that the Steeler players obviously made the same decision?

And yet, the bottom line is still - "Who's responsibility was it to make sure that the Steelers were prepared - and won a very- very- very winnable game?".

That answer clearly qualifies as  "Not Good Enough" too.

NOBODY ASKED ME - BUT

I truly believe in the importance of voting and did so again recently.

My vote went to the Independent candidate who received 4% of the vote- versus the 5% needed to suggest our Florida two-party system is inadequate.

If the two nominees for Governor were the best choices our two leading political parties could come up with - am I wrong in concluding that neither party really gives a damn about what's best for the Florida voters?

Who vetted these two guys? Bernie Madoff?
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The media  - particularly USA Today - continue to dwell on the alleged political incorrectness of The Washington Redskins in refusing to change it's name.

Recently, columnist Nancy Armour reminded us that the issue is still a high priority "sports" issue because:

      The number of the people still SUPPORTING the name Redskins
      is shrinking from a "1992" polled 89%  to 71%  in September,
      2014 - a decrease of 18% over a 22 year period - in which I'm
      sure nothing else of particular interest or change took place.

      Armour failed to breakdown how many of the allegedly 3500
      "protestors" at Washington's last game were actually Native
      Americans  - and how many were there for the sole purpose
      of scalping tickets for the game.  (OOPS!)
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In the last couple of years, the board of the Augusta Golf Club - site of the annual Masters tournament - in a concession to the "pressure of the press" added females to their previously all male membership list.

With the 2015 Masters coming up in a few months ,can we now fully expect a media push demanding that, out of fairness -  the number of female members should more closely reflect the state of Georgia's male-female populace breakdown?

And, if so, should we be surprised - that their next demand will be for one of those female members - former Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice - to be  appointed to the board of  the club?

One assumes that would be as opposed to her being relegated to playing piano during the Sunday Brunch.
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported early in the week that Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin is concerned about a possible letdown by his team when they go on the road to play the "one win - eight loss ''Jets", this Sunday - following winning their last three games in spectacular fashion.

Tomlin apparently fears an "intensity" breakdown similar to that which occurred when the Steelers caved in to the notoriously dangerous Tampa Bay Buccaneers one week after a brilliant team victory.

Is there anybody out there old enough to remember when making sure that doesn't happen - used to be the responsibility of the Coach?

Pehaps the reason for him voicing his concern so early is that, in the event of another spectacular "El-Foldo" by his team- and he is asked to explain  by the post game sports reporters - his prepared reply would logically be : "Hey, I warned you guys this might happen!"
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OK, I'm done!

Never should have quit smoking.