2011 Personal Year-in-Review

This is a recap of personal events that took place in my life this year, in addition to the ones listed in the previous blogs regarding my first two weeks of vacation and my return to school.

My 10^th anniversary of working at Acme took place on June 12.  I received a service pin shortly afterwards.  Many changes were taking place, including an expanded cake center and floral department.  A mass hiring took place during the spring and summer, with some more people hired in the fall.  Seeing all the kids come in is an interesting experience.  They probably all wonder how I ever made it there 10 years.   I try to give them the advice of a more experienced person. 

I made a ton of new friends, my two best being Max Hennis and Megan Kozak.  I would say Max has a similar personality to mine.  We’re both laid back most of the time, but when we don’t like something, we get fired up and tell it like it is, although he swears more than I do.  His parents remind me of mine and we both think that Matt D is a pretty cool dude.  Megan is about the nicest person you’ll ever meet.  You couldn’t pay her to say something bad about someone and seems to be constantly happy.  We hired a few older people too and they are good to talk to as well.  Some good people left too, like Teresa, Jen, and Chris.  Teresa had a baby girl, Jen married former co-worker Kyle, and Chris left for college.

Matt, Max, Justin (girlfriend Megan), Todd, Dayne, and a few others started meeting out at Griffith’s Pool this summer.  We had a blast out there and I want to keep it going a few more summers. I went to Max’s graduation party and was glad to be there for that special moment in his life.  We played a fun game of corn hole too.  Megan, Yuki, and I got together once for a movie, but Yuki’s leaving for school, so Megan and I will have to find a new movie buddy or two.

A few good people I knew died this year.  In March, our neighbor, Mrs. Kaludy, passed away at age 83.  Soon afterwards her husband moved to a retirement center.  They were good neighbors and I miss seeing them when I go outside, even though they only lived there four years.  In November, Grandpa Muffet’s first cousin, Juanita Thomas, passed away at age 81 after a few months of illness.  I knew her well from St. Andrew’s and she was a nice lady to talk to and was good to our family.  Stephanie’s (BHS friend) dad also died this year and while I didn’t know him, I felt bad for her since her family’s had some bad luck the last few years.

Father Tarsis retired from St. Andrew’s at year’s end.  A lunch was held to honor him and his wife on Dec. 11, followed by the annual Christmas party at his home on Dec. 18 (I got to catch up with old friend Paul C. while I was there).  His last service was Christmas weekend.  I’ll miss seeing Father Tarsis at church, but I plan to remain friends with him as long as we’re both alive.  Scott and I continued to usher once a month.  We almost always meet for lunch after church, either at Thano’s, Green Diamond, or with his parents at Taco Bell.

I try to get to Barberton football and boys basketball games when my work and school schedule allow.  I usually sit with family friend Jim, but I got to catch up with old friends BJ, Sean, and Josh at the Greynolds Holiday Classic on Dec. 30.  I hadn’t seen BJ and Sean in several years, but Josh and I get together on occasion at Magics sporting events and attended a U Akron basketball game at the JAR in February.

I want to give a shout out to some people who graduated, married, and had children this year.  Cousin Jamie graduated from Norton High School and Megan (BHS friend) got her master’s from UA.  They both had graduation parties the same day and they were both fun.  I got to catch up with people at both.  Liz (BHS friend) got married and while we haven’t seen each other in ages, I try to keep up with her blogs.  Cousins Rachel and Ron had a baby, Parker, in September.  A few hours later, our longtime friends Beth and Tony had a baby, Drew.  It was too ironic!  A few others who had babies were BHS friend Brett and his wife Susan (daughter Emma), Cousin Stacy and Matt (daughter Julia), and Cousin Lisa (daughter Caysen).  I’ve seen one of the four babies so far.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season went on as usual, spending Thanksgiving at Grandma Maybin and Susie’s house (Uncle Tom’s mom and sister) and Christmas at Aunt Kathy’s house.  We also got together a few others times, including Labor Day weekend, when we celebrated Grandma Maybin’s 90^th birthday at Green Diamond, and Cousin Ellie’s 1^st birthday at Aunt Kathy’s house.

2011 Current Events Year-in-Review

January

Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers win the BCS National Championship over Oregon.

A mass shooting takes place at a political rally in Arizona for US Congresswoman, Gabrielle Gifford.  She survived the shooting after a long fight, but six other victims died.

February

After starting the postseason as the 6^th seed in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV, 26-21, over the Pittsburgh Steelers.  QB Aaron Rodgers won the Super Bowl MVP.  I celebrated by purchasing a Super Bowl championship t-shirt and a Rodgers jersey.

March

The NFL lockout began.

A massive tsumani hits Japan, killing thousands and setting of a nuclear reactor.

Kelley Williams-Bolar is convicted of illegally enrolling her children in the Copley-Fairlawn School while living in Akron.  The case attracts national attention about school funding inequalities.  Bolar’s conviction is later converted to a misdemeanor by Ohio Governor John Kasich.

April

In an ugly NCAA Basketball championship game, UConn defeats Butler.  I participated in my first Bob Phelps tournament pool at Acme 14, where I had a mediocre finish.

May

US troops in Afghanistan capture and kill 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden after nearly a 10 year search.  In the weeks following, President Barack Obama announced that all troops will be pulled out of Iraq by the end of the year.  It was a good year for US foreign policy as three dictators fell from power, upon the deaths of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and North Korea’s Kim Jung Il, in addition to the resignation of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel is forced to resign after lying about his knowledge regarding five football players receiving free tattoos.  Assistant Luke Fickell served as interim head coach for 2011.

The Cleveland Cavaliers strike it lucky on NBA Draft Lottery night, landing the 1^st and 4^th overall picks in June’s NBA Draft.  Duke G Kyrie Erving was drafted 1^st overall (a pick obtained from the L.A. Clippers).

Dan Wheldon won his second Indy 500, but sadly he would be killed in an accident during the last race of the season at Las Vegas in October.

June

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is charged with indecent behavior after sending photos of his privates to women that followed him on Twitter.

The Dallas Mavericks win their 1^st NBA championship over the Miami Heat.  It was exciting to see future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki win the NBA Finals MVP, with Miami’s big three, LeBron, DWade, and Bosh finishing the season with disappointment.

July

The NBA lockout began at the beginning of the month.  The NFL lockout ended at the end of the month, with only the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame game being canceled.

The NFL announces a few changes for the 2011 season that created a lot of controversy.  First, kickoffs will be moved five yard to create more touchbacks and replay reviews will now take place on all scoring plays.  The NCAA topped the controversy by implementing a rule that revokes TDs from any player who receives an excessive celebration penalty.

In a controversial verdict, Casey Anthony is acquitted of all felony charges in her murder trial, regarding the death of her three year old daughter Caylee in 2008.  Later in the year, Amanda Knox, who served a four year prison sentence in Italy for murder, had her conviction overturned based on the lack of DNA evidence.

September

In the primary election, Barberton incumbant mayor, Bob Genet, is defeated by councilman challenger Bill Judge, Jr.  

Emotional ceremonies were held to honor the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.  Many interesting documentaries aired on TV in the days leading up to the anniversary.  NFL teams also honored the victims as their season kicked-off that day.

Two new sitcoms on ABC captured my interest this fall, Last Man Standing and Suburgatory.

October

The 2011 Major League Baseball season had one of its most exciting finishes in history.  The Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, who both had large leads in their respective wild card races, both collapsed.  This allowed for the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals to enter the postseason in thrilling games on the final day of the regular season.  Three weeks later, after being one strike away from losing the World Series in both the 9^th and 10^th innings, the St. Louis Cardinals come back to win Game 6.  They go on to win Game 7 to win the World Series championship.

After 20 years of performing Are You Ready for Some Football? prior to Monday Night Football Telecast, Hank Williams Jr. and ESPN severed ties due to controversial comments that Williams made using a Hitler reference on the news show, FOX and Friends.

November

Ohio Issue 2 failed, which would have restricted collective bargaining rights for public employees.  State Senate Bill 5 was passed in March and outrage led to a petition being filed to have the issue recalled, with myself being one of the signers.  The defeat of Issue 2 was a major roadblock to the agenda of Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Sex scandals hit two major NCAA programs, Penn State football and Syracuse basketball.  Jerry Sandusky and Bernie Fine, both assistant coaches, were accused of molesting several young boys.  Sandusky, Fine, and legendary Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno all lost their jobs.  Sandusky’s trial is set to start early in 2012, but Fine got off the hook due to the expiration of the statue of limitations.

Tony Stewart wins five of the last 10 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series to overtake Carl Edwards for the 2011 title.  The two racers finished on top in the final race of the season at Miami Homestead, making this season’s finish one of the greatest ever.  More than anything, most fans were thrilled to see Jimmie Johnson’s run of five straight championships come to and end.

Urban Meyer is introduced as the next head football coach at Ohio State.

December

The NBA lockout ended, with a 66 game season starting on Christmas Day.  The MLB quietly agreed to a labor agreement a few weeks later.

The NCAA announced that Ohio State football will suffer sanctions during the 2012 season, including scholarship reduction and a bowl ban.

The past two Super Bowl MVPs, Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, both have record breaking seasons in a battle for 2011 NFL MVP, with 2010 NFL MVP, New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, following right behind.

After becoming the Denver Broncos starting QB, Tim Tebow won seven straight games, including several comeback and attracting national attention.

As a part of ESPN’s Films 30 for 30 documentaries, two very good ones were Catching Hell about Steve Bartman and the 2003 Chicago Cubs and The Marinovich Project one about former USC star QB Todd Marinovich.

Memories of 9/11/01

I was a junior at BHS during the 2001-02 school year. I went to school that Tuesday morning and headed to my first class, Geography with Mr. Walker in room A107 in BHS. It was about 9:00 that Mr. Walker received an e-mail from P.E. teacher Mr. Banfield who told him that two planes had hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Mr. Walker turned on the TV and as I went to my second block class, Psychology with Mr. Niskanen. Since Mr. Walker and Mr. Niskanen were both Social Studies teachers it led to a major class discussion. I went to Algebra 2 with Mr. Muffley third block which included lunch in the middle. When I went to lunch, there was a big line of parents who were overreacting waiting to sign their children out of school. BJ and I made some comment about it because our moms always worried about us and they weren’t there to get us.  We knew that the targets were federal buildings, not some high school in Barberton of all places. We had our regular lesson and then watched the TV while doing homework. Mr. Fahey’s Computer 1 class was fourth block and he had us look up stuff about the attacks on the internet.  I found a “10 Most Wanted” poster on the FBI website for Usama bin Laden (as it was originally spelled), whom I never heard off prior to that day.  I read some biographical info about him and his background.

Mom picked me up from school that day since I had yet to get my license. When I got home, I remember Dad was there for some reason. Grandma Muffet had been in the hospital for the last eight days after having a major stroke; at that point we didn’t know how bad it was going to be. The next day, lessons were back to normal at BHS, but the thought of the day remained in our minds ever since.  Soon after security went up everywhere and the BHS Senior Trip to Disney World was relocated to Kings Island. Great-Aunt Mary was in her last semester of serving on the Barberton School Board and I remember she called and when I answered we were talking about 9/11. She said how putting students in an airplane at that time was just too risky.

Kenny Roda, who hosted the afternoon drive sports talk radio show on 850AM Cleveland (he currently co-host the Afternoon Drive with Michael Reghi), decided to start playing different versions of the national anthem at the end of his show.  I can remember every September 11 since then and all the ceremonial activities that occur. It is a day in infamy that we will never forget.  On the one year anniversary, BHS had a ceremony in which the fire captain and police chief attended, along with a presentation by principal Mr. Gaskill and student leaders Rachel Gore, Stephanie Jerin, Lauren Ondecker, and Lynsey Ondecker.

Labor Day Weekend 2001

Labor Day Weekend 2001

On Saturday morning, September 1, I left with my parents and Grandma Muffet to Grandma's hometown, Louisville, KY.  We arrived there later in the day and went to the motel.  We met Mom's cousin Ricky there, who had his mother (Grandma's sister) Liz in the car.  We went to Big Boy's, where we met the rest of the family.  Aunt Liz's daughter Donna, her husband Chuck, son David and Rick's wife Marilyn were all there.  Rick's son Brian, a student at the University of Louisville worked there part time.  After eating dinner, we went to Donna's house and spent some time there.  She showed us around her house.  After that we went to Rick's house and he showed us his sports room.  He was a huge Yankees and Kentucky b-ball fan. 

We went back to the hotel and the next morning we left to go to the Louisville Sluggers Museum with Rick and Brian.  After that we went back to Big Boy's, so Grandma and Aunt Liz could say bye to each other before leaving for Barberton.  We figured that this would be the last time they saw each other since Aunt Liz was beginning to get Alzheimer's and obviously the distance.  We went back to Ohio and stopped at Wendy's to buy Grandma her beloved salad.  When we pulled in the driveway at the house, Grandma didn't get out of the backseat of our newly purchased '98 Lumina (which we still have).  She was still talking, so we figured we figured she was fine and called the paramedic to carry her in the house, which seemed ok to them as well.  After not getting up all night, we called them again in the morning.  She went to Barberton Hospital where we learned she had a stroke.  

Aunt Kathy, Krissy, Nikki, Mom, and I went to the hospital and stayed there a while when we learned that the stroke left Grandma in a coma.  We were not sure if she was going to make it.  Grandma Maybin and Susie (Uncle Tom’s mom and sister) came to the hospital later.  Grandma Maybin was a retired nurse and knew things were bleak when she first saw Grandma Muffet.  Susie invited Krissy, Nikki, and I to lunch at Wendy’s, where we could relax.  They asked me about my new job at Acme, whose parking lot was next to the Wendy’s  Krissy had to go back to Cincinnati the next day for her new job at Proctor and Gamble.  She was scheduled to go on a business trip to Kansas City the morning of Sept. 11.

She began to improve the next several weeks and hoped that she would make a full recovery.  That never happened and she became worst in May 2004.  Grandma Lillian Muffet died on August 2, 2004 at the age of 79.  Great-Aunt Elizabeth Logsdon died at age 91 in December 2007.

Long Road Back to School

After completing student teaching graduating from the University of Akron in December 2008 with a degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from the College of Education, I decided that teaching was not for me.  My second career choice was journalism, so I decided that I should pursue this instead.  I briefly thought about being a paralegal as well, but thought that being a journalist would be more fun.  I took four news journalism courses at the UA, so I put my resume in with several local newspapers.  The Portage Lakes Suburbanite, which mostly employees free lance writers (who write articles on the side of their main job) hired me in February.  I continued to work at Acme, but I wanted to get an additional job so I could save some money for college, instead of having to take out a $20,000 loan. 

A friend of mine from Barberton High School attended the Ohio Center for Broadcasting (OCB) and landed himself a job as a producer for a morning radio show.  I thought this 38 week, hands-on program would be good for me, so I visited their school in Independence (Cuyahoga County) for a tour.  Back to the job search.  I looked at ads in the newspaper and saw a listing for the US Census Bureau in June 2009.  I contacted them and in the fall, I took an exam to be a enumerator.  I was hired by the Census Bureau in April 2010 and worked for them for six weeks.  It was a good job, as the weather was good for walking door to door and it paid $13.25 an hour, nearly $4 more an hour than I make at Acme.  However, once that job was over in June, I realized that working two jobs was difficult when it came to both jobs wanting me to work the same hours.  It was too late to apply for financial ad for the 2010-11 school year, so I figured I would wait until next year.

In February, I filled out my financial ad forms online and submitted them upon the completion of my tax forms in March.  In early April, I called the OCB and was told I could only receive $9,000 of $15,000 needed for my student loan because I already had a degree and it wasn't a state school.  I decided at this point to apply to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent St.  It is one of three nationally accredited school for journalism in Ohio, along with Bowling Green and Ohio U.  I was admitted a few weeks later and made an appointment to see an advisor in May.  The advisor told me I had two options, either obtain a second bachelor's degree or a master's degree.  I decided it would be better to get a master's degree, but it required passing the GRE (Graduate Review Exam).  I bought a book and studied, but it proved to be very difficult, so I decided in July to pursue the bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism.  I have experience already in the newspaper business, so I would now like to puruse broadcasting for TV and radio.  After signing up for courses and updating financial ad forms, I am now ready to go back to school. 

I will be taking two classes to ease myself back into the academic world.  I haven't taken an classes in 3.5 years since I started my student teaching in early 2008.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I will take Intro to Mass Communcation and Argumentative Prose Writing for six credit hours.  I will work at Acme about 30 hours a week and may add a third class to my semester's schedule next year.  After completing an internship, I plan to graduate in 2014.

Week of Paid Vacation: July 24 to 30

My second of three weeks of paid vacation from Acme this year was the week of July 24 to 30.  This is a summary of how my week went.

On Sunday, Scott and I went to Malabar Farm near Mansfield, OH in Richland County.  We took a tour of Louis Bromfield's (Pulitzer Prize winner) home and farm.  Bromfield was an earlier promoter of preserving the environment before it took on greater attention in the 1970s.  On Monday, I took care of some financial aid information with Kent St. so I could sign up for fall classes (a blog about that will come later) was a slow day.  On Tuesday, Adam and I went to Charger Lanes for bowling and I did some touch up painting in my upstairs room.  On Wednesday, Scott and I went to the Summit County Fair, and I later went on a tour of the Hower House near the UA.  On Thursday, Mom and I spent some time together.  On Friday, Scott and I went to the Western Reserve Historical Society.  There were three parts to this facility, the Crawford Car Museum, the history museum (featuring an Abraham Lincoln and Civil War exhibit), and research library.  On Saturday, Dad and I went to Marion to visit the family.  Most of the family had lunch at Bob Evans and went to Cousin Ginny's (Dad's 1st cousin, daughter of Grandma Webster's sister, Great-Aunt Ruby) house to look at old photos and discuss geneology with Aunt Theresa and Great-Aunt Helen.  Ginny gave me several interesting papers and when I got home, I used them to update my information.

Big Changes in TV

If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of familar faces on TV this year that won't be back for another year in 2011-12.

Oprah Winfrey's last show aired today after a 25 year run.  Since I can remember, her showed aired weekdays at 4pm on the Cleveland ABC affliate, WEWS.  Her replacement is undecided, but now that he has her OWN (pardon the pun) network, she can give all kinds of people new shows (her best friend Gayle King has a new show). 

One rumor replacement for Oprah is Katie Couric, who just stepped down as the CBS Evening News anchor.  Her replacement will be Scott Pelley.  It's uncertain whether Couric plans to stay employed by CBS.  Couric's previous job was at host of NBC's Today Show.  Upon leaving her job there, she was replaced by Merideth Vierra, who previously was the monitor on ABC's The View.  Vierra announced that she was stepping down as the Today Show's co-host, due to her husband's poor health.  He has suffered from mulitple sceloris for several years and was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer, so she needs to spend more time at home.  She'll still be working for NBC, probably on a show like Dateline that would only require her being on air one day a week.

Two of TV's oldest personalities (excluding those on CBS's 60 Minutes) have either retired or announced their retirement.  Larry King (77 years old) retired in December after 25 years on the air hosting CNN's Larry King Live.  British journalist and commenator Piers Morgan now has a show, Piers Morgan Tonight, airing in King's old time slot.  Regis Philbin (almost 80 years old), co-host of Regis and Kelly Live, announced his retirement, effective in November.  Regis has been on air more than any TV personality in history.  Martin Short is among the favorites to replace him.  Last, but not least (actually he is least when it comes to sanity) is right-wing shock jock Glenn Beck, who will be leaving his talk show on FOX News.  Unfortunately, he will still host a radio show, so he won't be going away.  At least we don't have to look at him anymore.

Week of Paid Vacation, May 15 to 21

June 12 marks my 10th anniversary since I started working at Acme, which means I get three weeks of paid vacation this year.  I scheduled my three weeks for May 15-21, July 11-17, and Nov. 28-Dec. 4.  This will be a review of my first week, from May 15-21, which consisted of several one day trips.

On Sunday, Scott and I greeted for the 10AM Sunday service at St. Andrew's.  Following the service, we went home and changed out of out suits into our casual clothes before heading on our first road trip of the week.  We drove out to Mansfield to see the old State Reformatory where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  We stopped for lunch along the way at the Lodi Station Outlets Food Court.  We arrived in Mansfield just in time for the first tour at 1:30.  The Mansfield Reformatory operated from 1896-1990 before being closed due to its horrible condition.  Thousands of inmates sued on the basis that the building violated their 8th amendment rights, regarding cruel and ususual punishment.  One could easily see where they had a case.  Despite the rude crowd (people were more interested in talking and taking pictures than listening to the tour guide), it was a good tour.  I don't think I need to go back for the haunted house they host their since it was creepy enough during daylight hours.

On Monday, I went to Kent St. and Scott showed me around the campus.  Scott is currently attending school their while working for residential services and I'm going to start taking classes there for Fall 2011 semester.  Scott showed me where the shootings took place at in 1970, in which Mom was on campus when it all went down.  On Tuesday, Scott and I went to Presque Isle in Erie, PA and played the slot machines.  We made penny and nickle bets and I bet about $35, $20 of the casinos and $15 of my own.  We stopped for lunch at Golden Corral along the way. 

On Wednesday, I visited Cuyahoga Falls High School and Schnee Learning Center where I completed my student teaching in 2008.  On Thursday, I hung out w/ Mom while she did some arrands, plus I picked up some groceries at Acme 6 in Norton.  On Friday, Scott and I had lunch at IHOP before heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.  It was the first time I was there in almost 15 years.  I bought a couple of neat book while I was there.  The one bad thing about Friday during my vacation week is that I have to go to Acme to check my work schedule for next week.

On Saturday, I went to Cincinnati w/ Mom and Dad for Cousin Kate's 3rd birthday party.  Dad drove my 2007 Chevy Impala since Mom is trying to conserve miles on her 1998 Lumina, which she won't be driving much longer.  We stopped for lunch at the Jeffersonville Prime Outlets Food Court along the way.  When I got to Cousin Krissy and Brett's house, we talked for a while, had supper, and Kate opened her gifts.  Her birthday will be on May 25.  Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom, Krissy, Brett, Cousin Ellie, and Brett's family (parents and brother) were all there.  Grandma Maybin and Susie visited, but they left before we arrived.

Changes the NCAA Should Consider

The recent stories regarding Ohio St. head football coach Jim Tressel and the five players suspended for accepting tattoes in exchange for memorabila, in addition to the Cam Newton allegations at Auburn raises the bigger question, what can be done to eliminate problems like these while making life easier for college athletes.

A few things that need to be looked at:

1. Some believe that the NCAA should pay its athletes cash since they don't have income since they don't have time to work.  This is a bad idea, the NCAA should not pay its athletes cash.  Scholarship athletes already get their college tuition for free, which pays for their courses, books, and room and board (housing and food).  These are all the basic essentials they need.  Athletes who are not on scholarship should be given compensation by way of credit on their student cards (Akron athletes could be give money on their Zip card).  This way the money has to be spent on campus, which means the money will stay at the university.  Most importantly, athletes can't use the money for moral questionable transactions, such as alcohol and strippers.  Also, non-power conference (BCS) schools would be required to raise tuition for their general student population to pay for athlete salaries, given that they don't generate massive revenue from their athletic programs.

2. Athletes should be allowed to profit from endorsements, provided that they are not paid until college graduation.  The reasons listed above explains why athletes don't need the money while in college, however if your likeness is used in a video game, you deserve to be compensated at some point.

3. Athletes should not be allowed to take money from boosters or agents.  Boosters open up the doors for athletes to be involved in gambling and point shaving (fixing games).  Agents are only good for negogiating contracts with professional teams and therefore serve no purpose to college athletes.

4. If an athlete wants to sell their memorabila, they should be permitted.  It's their property and they should have the right to do with it as they please.  However, I do think its a stupid thing for them to do and the Ohio St. players will regret it later, especially those who don't go on to have NFL success.

PSA: Difference in Liberalism and Socialism

Since the election of Barack Obama, it’s becoming more and more obvious that a lot of people out there don’t get the difference in liberalism and socialism, so I thought I would clear a few things up.  The US is considered a “mixed economy” which is based on capitalism with some socialist principals (Medicare, Social Security, public schools, road infrastructure, and emergency services).

1. First of all, liberals believe in the concept of same opportunity and different results.  Socialists believe in the concept of same opportunity and same results.  Conservatives generally support a free for all and if you can’t take care of yourself, too bad even if you are a hard working person.

2. Wages: Liberals believe that a person should be allowed to earn as much money as they want.  They just believe that the very wealthy should have to pay a higher percentage of taxes to help those who are struggling, in addition to necessary services like infrastructure.  There’s always motivation to continue to want to make more wages.  Socialists believe that all people should have the same income, which eliminates motivation and innovation.  Keep in mind that there are MANY tax breaks available to businesses, which means that Donald Trump won’t be as heavily taxed per dollar made as Tiger Woods or Tom Cruise.  Athletes and entertainers can afford heavier taxes since they don’t have a business and employers to invest in.  Hugh Heffner can get a tax break for taking his playmates out to dinner (since they are meeting on “business”) and I know of a business that recently got a tax break for expanding its facilities, which led to an increase in employees.  The current economic crisis was mostly due to greed that Republican policies permitted, along with the sub-prime housing disaster (the later being initiated by Democrats).

3. Occupation: Liberals believe you should choose your own career and socialist don’t.

4. Housing: Liberals believe you should be allowed to live anywhere as long as you can afford it and socialist tell you where to live.

5. Transportation: Liberals believe you should be allowed to buy a car instantly and as long as you can afford it and socialists want everyone to drive the same car that requires you to wait years on a list to get.

6. Religion: Most liberals are Christian and socialists are atheist.  It doesn’t make a difference to me what you’re religion is, but obviously there’s a difference.

7. Education: Liberals believe that you should be allowed to choose between a public or alternative education.  Socialists require public education.

8. Motherhood: Liberals believe that women should be allowed to stay home with their children if they want.  Socialists pressure women to gets jobs because it’s their duty in supporting the greater nation.

9. Ownership: Liberals believe in private ownership that requires moderate regulation.  Socialists don’t believe in any private ownership and no one can work for anyone except the government.  If you baby-sit or mown someone’s grass and they want to compensate you, they can feed you or give you a cheap gift.

10. Welfare State: Liberals believe that welfare assistance should be available for the poorest members of the population.  Socialists support a complete welfare state.  Bloggers who claim that the US is becoming a “welfare state” are totally off the mark.  In 2009, Forbes 500 listed 413 billionaires in the US w/ a total net worth of $1.3 trillion.   This hardly sounds like a welfare state.

11. Health care: With the passing of health care reform, most Americans will still receive their insurance through private companies.  Socialist countries require their citizens to get insurance throught the government.

12. Incentive: Liberals always have an incentive to make more money (whether they take advantage is another thing).  If you want to see great American rages to riches success stories, look at Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, or the people that are featured on "How Did You Get So Rich?," hosted by Joan Rivers on TV Land every Wed. during the summer at 10pm.

There are a few instances of socialism that do exist in the US that are worth mentioning and are downright disturbing.

1. When patients are omitted to a nursing home, they are required to liquidate all but $1500 in assets, regardless of income and savings.  Regardless of who you are, you get stripped to nothing.  People should be charged on a progressive scale, just like our tax system is.  This way people who owned more assets will still pay more, but they will also be left with more to pass on to their children.  The only way to get out of this is if the home and its assets are placed in the name of a caregiver at least 3 years prior to admittance in the nursing home.

2. Youth sports programs that don’t keep score.  If you don’t keep score, how are you going to know how well or poorly you’re doing?  It eliminates incentive and motivation to improve if the score doesn’t matter.

Hopefully, that all makes sense J