AMERICAN HEROS: DIMINISHING RETURNS

This weekend marks the first attempt by mankind at “Supersonic Freefall” as extreme sports adventurer Felix Baumgartner rose over 23 miles above the Earth in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon, and jumped.  He passed speeds of 650 miles an hour in near free fall, although at this time we have yet to confirm if he actually broke the sound barrier. The event was funded by Red Bull, and will be used in company marketing for years to come.

Many different factors could have derailed the jump. Any contact made with the capsule during exit, for instance, could have torn Baumgartner’s spacesuit, leading to depressurization, and exposing the adventurer to temperatures in excess of minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to cause bubbling in the blood, a likely fatal condition. Let’s be honest, Felix jumping out of a balloon at a height nearly three times that of the average cruising commercial jet airliner is nothing short of a spectacular accomplishment.

In the weeks leading up to the jump, Baumgartner was already being hailed as a Hero.  The jump was set to coincide with the 65^th Anniversary of U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager successful attempt to fly faster than the speed of sound.  Chuck Yeager is a true American Hero. Felix Baumgartner? Not so much…

I grow tired of this need to sensationalize Heroism. True heroes don't seek the spotlight as Baumgartner did this weekend (at his insistence, more than 30 camera angles were broadcast to the world under a 20 second delayed live broadcast) and they certainly don't accomplish their acts of heroism at the behest of corporate sponsors looking to churn a buck. While I don't diminish the feat undertaken by Red Bull and “Fearless Felix” Baumgartner to do something never done before, it still doesn't qualify him as a hero.

In fact, we water down that word so often that is has nearly lost its meaning. 

Kobe Bryant, Hero.
Lance Armstrong, Hero.
Aaron Rodgers, Hero.
Lady Gaga, Hero.
That kid on YouTube crying out “Leave Britney [Spears] alone”, Hero.

Pardon me while I vomit in my mouth a little.

“Come on Neal! Why does this bother you so much? Let them have a moment in the sun…” By all means, have your moment, but to label anyone of any note as a hero is to diminish what the word really means to those that have earned it.

In a world dominated by participation medals, where everyone wins First Place just for showing up; a world where we don’t have Winners and Losers anymore because someone may get their feelings hurt,  the word “Hero” is our last bastion of actual accomplishment,  and not just any accomplishment, but one of great courage.

"A hero to me is somebody who puts themselves last, who puts everything on the line for other people," actress Lucy Liu tells CNN.  Does jumping out a perfectly good balloon qualify? Not even close.

UPDATE: It's been confirmed that Felix did indeed break the Speed of Sound in freefall today.

Why does the GOP want me to hate them?

Like most Red Blooded American Men I love me some "bloodsport". Some enjoy boxing, others love the UFC. Me? I prefer American Politics. Why watch the rest when you can watch the best? After all, no matter how many times Anderson Silva beats the holy hell out of someone, it doesn't really affect me personally. Sure, I cheer, and sometimes throw things at the TV, but after its over, I go back to my life, no harm, no foul. Watching American Politics excites me because there is actually something risked, and something gained.  

15 years in Broadcast Media, and I have developed a rather eclectic group of friends, some of whom I enjoy engaging with about Politics. One of the more prolific of these friends is a man named Keith "Boondock" Brooks. What amuses me the most about my interactions with Boondock are how often we actually agree, versus how often he accuses me of being a "Liberal". 

It used to bother me... I don't like being hung with "labels"...I suppose that's part of why I am an "Independent", I can make up my own mind on a case by case basis. And do you know what I have noticed? The Democrats are guilty of a ton of policy mistakes. They use policy to payback political allies, and more importantly, they use MY money to do it. I work my butt off for every dollar I make. It may be true that "good things come to those who wait"...but while you're waiting, I'm going to go get mine. For someone like me, spending the money I contribute to society in the form of tax dollars irresponsibly is a certain political death. But the Dem's, for all their faults, never make me HATE them the way the GOP does. 

For example, Erik Cantor, House Majority Leader, just announced that after next week, the House will not be returning to session until after the November elections. How does that make you feel? The economy is still sputtering and your elected leaders, led by the GOP, have given themselves a two-month vacation. 

I am not a rich man. I am not the 1 Percent. I vote for GOP leaders and policies not because I like their overwhelming desire to "legislate morality" but because I want an adult in the room who understands the value of money, and DOESN'T want to spend all of mine. But when the GOP does something as ridiculous as going on a two-month vacation before an election, it begs the question: does the GOP really expect anyone OTHER than the Uber Rich to vote for them? 

The GOP, widely known as the "Party of No", certainly isn't acting as if they want my vote. I am too busy this year working, trying to not just survive but to advance, while being bombarded by stories of the GOP blocking any kind of progress in order to screw President Obama out of any chance at reelection. Do I WANT to believe this hype? No. But, don't spit in my face by walking away from the responsibilities we elected you to handle, and then expect me to vote for you. Simply put, if I can't take a vacation from my responsibilities  then they shouldn't either. 

So you see? I'm not a Liberal. The GOP just gives me more to criticize... GO BACK TO WORK ASSHOLES! . 

Obama: Money for Dead Ambassadors

One can have an entire debate about whether or not American Imperialism actually works. In the business world, its called ROI (Return on Investment), and it's a tangible measurement of input versus output gain. In fact, you could say this very debate rages on across the political spectrum as you read my words. How much money do we spend on helping others, and what do we get in return?

Your tax dollars are spent on foreign aid in both Libya and Egypt, and now a U.S. Ambassador and others have all been brutalized and murdered by the very people we thought we were helping. What good did our money do? As one of the more contentious Presidential Elections in modern history nears, this debate rises again to the forefront of American political discussion, as countries around the Arab Crescent begin to riot and revolt (again).

I wholeheartedly dismiss the idea that a terrible movie made by someone in Los Angeles about Mohammed, (a movie that Koran burning Florida pastor Terry Jones says "reveals in a satirical fashion the life of Muhammad") and then dubbed to Arabic and uploaded to YouTube, is the cause of these events in Egypt, Libya, and the Sudan. First, the "movie" was uploaded in July, and the violence didn't begin until September 12th.

Second, it wasn't until a Egyptian TV program showed clips of the film less than a week ago, crediting Pastor Jones (turns out he was only airing the trailer of the movie) that the flame was struck, and the fuse was lit. If you add to that we now have intelligence services from around the world, including in Libya, stating the protests and attacks on U.S. personnel and property are simply pre-planned events set to coincide with the 11th anniversary of 9/11, the whole idea of some movie as the cause of this round of Middle East turmoil is pretty much shot to hell.

It is difficult for most American's to understand, and even harder for them to accept, but this is a violent area of the planet. In order to stem the tide of chaos, rule by brutality is a necessity. That the Muammar el-Qaddafi's and Bashar al-Assad's rule with an iron fist and perpetrate violence and death in order to maintain control is true, but how else would you do it? This sort of "nuclear deterrent" works. Is it preferable? No. But we need to deal in reality.

Yet the Obama Administration candidly refuses to do so. They helped the popular uprising remove Muammar el-Qaddafi, and now Egypt is in flames. If it weren't for the Russian's, this Administration would have doubled down on that mistake and removed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well, destabilizing the region even further. President Obama may not know if Egypt is an ally or an enemy today, but he should have known Qaddafi certainly was.

Despite rising tensions, our embassy's were poorly defended, and our "friends" told the rebels where to find the Ambassador, so they could murder, and then desecrate his body. Sensitive documents stored at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi have disappeared. And so what has been this President's response to the crisis? To give Egypt more money. To give Libya more money.

Between 1948 and 2011, the United States has given Egypt over $70 Billion Dollars in foreign aid. And following the attack on our Ambassador, The President proposes to give Egypt ANOTHER $1.5 Billion in Aid, beginning October 1st. Yet another failure. Senator Rand Paul took to the Senate Floor to suggest a course of action that I happen to agree with: put tighter aid restrictions on Egypt, Libya, as well as Pakistan and Yemen. “The American people are tired of this,” Paul said. “Our Treasury is bare. There is a multitude of reasons why we should not continue to send good money after bad.”

I suppose the Obama Administration should be thankful for the bait and switch tactics underscoring these events. As long as some stupid parody film of Mohammed is being touted as the cause of this round of unrest, maybe nobody will stop to question their policies in the Middle East, which thus far have included destroying our allies, removing our friends, and asking you and I to continue to foot the bill. My advice? Don't poke the bear. 

Why the Obama Citizenship thing matters again...

So we all remember the "birther" conspiracy yes? That is, President Obama was born in Kenya, (or in some versions Indonesia), ultimately refuted (if you believe the hype) by release of Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate.

But there has been a new twist, and it's gaining steam. If you look at Obama's long form birth certificate as released by the White House, his father's birth country is listed as Kenya.

A lawsuit filed in Atlanta Georgia aims to keep President Obama's name off of the Georgia ballot. This particular case is seeking to define the phrase "natural born citizen" to mean a person with both parents born in the United States.

If this definition is ultimately upheld by the Court, Obama is not qualified to run in Georgia, and his name will be kept of the Georgia ballot. A decision in this case has long reaching implications for the President. A hearing is set for next week, and a Judge has quashed a request to keep the President out of the courtroom...