Overnight, Mediacom/Fox Debate and From the Mail Bag

Good Morning!
Be careful out there this morning. it's only an inch of snow but that can still foul up your morning commute. The timing of this one is more important than the total accumulation.
I say this partly for your benefit and partly for the benefit of my parents who were nice enough to drive out to Iowa for a post Christmas visit. Lest you think they can't get enough of my children (they can't), they also have three other grandsons to visit here. Since my brother and his family didn't make the track to Chicago, they arrived Monday night. Not only did they schlep a lot of our Christmas gifts back from Chicago, they came over yesterday, helped with a little babysitting, helped take the Christmas tree down and made us dinner. Thanks Mom and Dad!

To the News
Overnight
Two stories got our attention overnight. It wasn't a huge chase but a guy took off on Police trying to stop him for drunk driving on the south side last night. When the police finally got him out of the car, the used pepper spray on him and some of it got sprayed at an officer. he had an allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital.
The second story was just kind of weird. It's not often you hear the fire department called to the train yards over on the east side. They got called out three times by our count overnight. it looks like a boxcar full of paper caught on fire and just kept flaring up. Firefighters think it could burn for days.

Mediacom/Fox
I won't go into the debate over who is right and who is after money here, but I found it interesting that the fight between Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcasting got national attention this morning. MSNBC declared the death of local broadcasting. Read all about it.

Cell Phone Ban
Anyone agree with Marshall County that there should be a cell phone ban while driving. No doubt it makes you more distracted as a driver, but I'm compelled to ask, What's next? my radio? talking?
It's a debate worth having but I think there may be some compromises to be found here. Maybe stronger penalties if police can prove you caused an accident while on a cell phone?

King Palin
Anyone agree with Steve King that Sarah Palin is the strongest Republican Candidate right now for the upcoming caucuses? She may find support among the most conservative Republicans but I think we have yet to meet the 2012 Republican nominee. A lot can happen in two years. Ask President Obama.

From the Mailbag
Our viewers are sharp...and sometimes sharp-tongued. Despite the fact that we deal entirely in the English language. What you hear on TV News, it's not always the most beautiful incarnation of the Queen's English.
One of our viewers pointed that out this morning when he got on Brad for dangling a preposition.
Here's the email:
Message: Did I just hear the traffic reporter, when referencing a commercial passenger bus running off the road, say "Let me show you where it's at"? I realize this is Iowa, where the English language is poorly-developed. That, however, does not excuse such misuse of our language on broadcast media.
Perhaps a bit of coaching/training for all on-camera "talent" would be in order?
I've also noticed one of your meteorologists has difficulty pronunciating her profession. The word is 6 syllables long, not 5.
Mangling the English language is typically a combination of inadequate preparation, failed oversight, and laziness. When broadcast media mangles the language, the viewing audience often believes it's proper "because it's on TV!"

Wow, I can't believe it...I mean, it would be like writing an email into a TV station about minor mistakes and then spelling the word pronouncing... pronunciating.
I can't imagine who would do something like that!

Kidding aside, the observation is, at least in part, correct. It's a common mistake among Iowans if you ask me.
My favorite online resource here is Grammar Girl. I actually listen to her Podcasts sometimes. I know...I'm a geek.
This exchange was actually started by an Iowan:

Hi Grammar girl, this is Brian and Alley from Iowa City, IA, and we were just wondering, in your last episode, you said, “That's where it's at.” Is that correct? We thought you couldn't end sentences with prepositions.

Grammar Girl: Ahem. That voice-mail message is at least four months old. I'm going to pretend I'm testifying before congress and say that I have no recollection of saying such a thing.
But if I did say, “That's where it's at.” I'm so sorry—the horror—because that is one of the instances where it's not OK to end a sentence with a preposition! I need to do some kind of grammar penance such as memorizing all the academic grammar words that start with i: imperative clause, indefinite article, idiot . . . .
The problem is that the sentence That's where it's at doesn't need the preposition. If you open the contraction “it-apostrophe-s” and say “That's where it is,” it means the same thing as That's where it’s at.
So the at is unnecessary.

The other thing that I believe is unnecessary here is the thick sarcasm and the disdain threaded through the email from our viewer.
Not everything we do is off of a script. In fact, neither the meteorologist on our show or the traffic guy EVER work off a script.
I would challenge almost anyone to get in front of a camera, try standing in front of that green screen and talking about ANYTHING for three minutes. Try it at home sometime. I bet you can't do it on the first try. I bet there's no way you can come up with a new way to say it on the fifteenth try. If our Me-tee-er-o-lo-gist doesn't always hit the pronunciation on the head, it may be a small mis-step on a long shift.
No excuses, but hardly a mangling of the English language.

What our on-air ad-libbers do is certainly not perfect, and we try to catch each other in our grammatical gaffs. We appreciate the note, but there's no need to call someone you've never met or worked with lazy. There's no need to belittle someone's work.
If you get that angry over grammar, maybe you can enroll in an anger management class right across from the English 101 we all need to sign up for.
(And no that's not a dangling preposition, it's an exception to the rule...I checked with Grammar Girl)
Everyone clear?
Have a good day.
PWD

A Little Christmas Catch-up

Good Morning.
I'll be as brief as I can be with all that's happened over the last week.
We had a really nice Holiday with Family in Chicago. It makes us miss our families but also reminds us that Des Moines is a lot less chaotic than Chicago is. More in a moment

News

Commute,
Icy roads this morning provided police with a lot of work. There were dozens of rollover accidents including some serious ones on the north side, west of the metro, in Altoona and in Story County.
Take it slow out there.

Altoona Fire
We'll find out more at Noon , but if you were on the road near eight you saw a big plume of smoke coming from Adventureland Drive. it was a BP station on fire. The actual building was on fire. Not good in the middle of a field of gas pumps.

Terror Threat
So this guy gets on a plane Christmas Eve with a bomb. I've been away from the news completely but here's my only observation. A motivated terrorist is going to find a way to get past security measures and nothing short of strip searching every passenger is going to be fail safe. Were there screw ups here? Maybe but I'm not going to blame the professionals until I hear a LOT more. The point is...don't grouse about having to stand in lines at Airports. These men and women are trying to protect you. If you don't feel they're the best of the best, then offer to pay more in taxes. A relatively new agency is doing it's best and it's a big world.

Weather
I was also glad to have missed the weather. Sounds like it wasn't great. Christmas services canceled? that must have been nasty. We had our share of snow in Illinois but it sounds like it
was worse here.

Healthcare
Wanted to pass along an op/ed from a friend from College. It appeared in this morning's St Louis Post Dispatch. Sean may be one of the most honest, smartest people I know. He's just a good man.
He points out one of the consequences of pushing a bill this size through so quickly. What do you think?

Other Random Thoughts
-Glad to see Bullet....errrr Buckshot got a home while I was away.
-Happy New Year to the Lady who cut in line in front of me at McDonald's in Williamsburg. She waited in line for about ten minutes with the rest of us...then she got up to the callbox, and got so frustrated with the wait that she LEFT without ordering! I don't want to judge someone I don't know but...what a toolbox!

Chilly Homecoming
So we arrived in Des Moines around 3:30 Sunday to find the temperature in our house was 35 degrees and a very cold cat. That's not a typo, it was 35.
The heater kicked off when the fan relay board burned up. I have no idea what that looks like but the Wycoff guy told me it usually looks like your house filling up with smoke. Thankfully the electrical system just kicked the breaker off and we lost heat. I also feel very fortunate we didn't crack a pipe. I don't think we did...though I'm watching.
Thanks to our friends the Flippins. They let Sally and the boys come over for a while, fed us all pizza for dinner and let our cat stay upstairs for a couple hours.
I waited with my coat on in the house. It's surreal when you can see your breath in your living room.
We got the heat working again but the fan ran all night which left me thinking I was going to wake up to a burned out fan motor. But at least we got heat back. It was 50 degrees by the time we went to bed. 71 by the time I woke up. I think we'll get it fixed by this afternoon but this is a pain in the rear I don't need coming off of a week of vacation.

I hope your holidays were full of fun. I'll be here all week while Brooke takes a much deserved rest. Jeriann is filling in nights. Can't wait to get the whole crew together again to compare Holiday stories.
Have a good week!
PWD

A Farewell Before Christmas

I begin my annual allotment of time off before Christmas today. I imagine it will be the last time we do this trip for a while. Christmas this year is going to mean sharing some of our traditions from Chicago with the kids and I'm excited to do it, even thought it won't mean anything to them.
Each Christmas Eve we go back to the church where many of my relatives have been married, baptized, had their first communion and eventually eulogized. It's a special place and each year we take time Christmas Eve to go to church between services. It's quiet, the church is decorated for Holiday services and it's exactly what you'd expect, peaceful, beautiful and a perfect place to reflect.
I try to think about the year past and the year to come. I distinctly remember two years ago Christmas Eve praying for the gift of a family for Sally and I. We'd tried for a while and it hadn't happened. By Christmas Eve last year I was thinking about my our new family on the way; what it would look like and how our lives would change. Again, I was asking for a little more guidance.

This year I'll sit with my boys in that Church and I won't have anything more to ask for. I hope I'll be thinking about what I can give back.

I've got a beautiful family and we'll figure out the future as it comes.
It is a Merry Christmas.
To the news:

Robbery
A second robbery overnight in as many days isn't unusual in Des Moines, but the fact that it was two men who may fit the same description is enough to get Police working on the possibility of a connection.

Four Day Work Week
The State is throwing around the idea of doing this to save money. It could be $2million a year. I would think there would be a lot of State Workers who would be for it. A three day weekend is a nice perk.


Twitter Hijacked
The Iranians have apparently taken over Twitter. To me this couldn't matter less. I know some people are going through tweet withdrawal right now but really. Use Facebook for 24 hours.


Ames High
This just in...Harrison Barnes is just that good. I actually played regularly (well OK I sat on the bench and watched my teammates play regularly) against Waukegan High School. Ames' out of state opponent last night was supposed to be one of the best in Illinois. Not to diminish the win, but Waukegan hasn't lived up to expectations this year. Undisciplined is the description I've read. Anyone go to the game?



Packing

I'll be spending the near future staging and packing for a trip to see relatives for Christmas. I'm reading a book about the lead up to D-Day in World War Two. I think I know how Eisenhower felt.

Seriously though the art of planning ahead is something that's always escaped me. people who know me tend to think I'm detail oriented. My wife is laughing right now. Sally is the logistics Chief in our house. I will follow instructions and add a supportive word where I can. Mostly it's up to me to pack the car. This annual jigsaw puzzle is always a challenge. Two High Chairs, Boppy pillows etc... etc... etc. It will all fit but it's going to take me finding my packing Zen.

Hope you can fit it all in at Christmas time. I'll be back blogging the week after Christmas.
PWD

Shooting, Climate Conference and Surviving the Holidays

Good Morning!
I say goodbye and Merry Christmas to Brooke today. She's got the day off tomorrow and I'll be taking some time next week to be with family for Christmas. Brooke will be with you the week of Christmas, I'll be here the week after. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

To the News:
Shooting
Seemed a theme this morning unfortunately. there was a robbery and shooting late last night at a convenience store on the east side of town, and a drive by shooting this morning at an apartment complex on the far southwest part of town.
The story all of us couldn't believe was the story of the god shot by his owner in the head. The do survived and looks no worse for the shooting. He's recovering at the Panora animal shelter and is up for adoption.

Climate Conference
Do we have professional protesters now? Again, just like the protests at the World Bank meetings or the G-8 conference; there are very young, very white, and my guess is, very privileged protesters who are working for what? To bring attention to climate change?
I checked this morning and according to my Google News search, there are more than seven thousand five hundred articles in the last 24 hours on the Climate change conference. You can't swing an endangered Polar Bear around your head without bumping into a headline about Climate change. If the Polar Ice caps melt we can soak up all the extra water with all of the paper used to print this tidal wave of News.
And don't tell me this is Civil Disobedience. It's an insult to Civil Rights and The Peace movement and just about every other movement to say that. All of the great movements in US history included committed people who ran for public office. They were passionate about the change they were looking for and went out to make sure it happened. There are a lot of passionate people making a difference every day in the area of Climate Change. I'm just not sure how easy it would be to find one in Copenhagen this week.
So what's the motivation? Attention maybe? It's easier to go yell at a building and try to provoke Police than it is to get elected to office in your own home country and actually send delegates to a Climate change conference that want to do something about it. I wonder if yesterday's protest would have turned into a Circus is the TV cameras weren't there?

Surviving the Holidays
We had Consumer expert Regina Lewis on this morning...and though we cut her off due to a technical SNAFU, we did get the information on surviving the Holidays.

• Regina talked about Shipping Monday...I guess this next Monday is going to be a big one. She says Walletpop.com is a helpful site if you are still looking to ship.
• If you're feeling a lack of holiday spirit, this site may help. It's called Niceone. It's got all kinds of heartwarming stories for those of you still suffering from a little bit of a cold heart.
• Are you wondering if you're going to be an annoying Holiday House guest? Holidash.com has some tips on making sure you get asked back.
• And as we wrap up the year what were the top searches of 2009? Here's the list.

We'll see you tomorrow morning!

PWD

Recall, Dreamliner and Lunchrooms

Good Morning!
I told Sally I don't have much to say this morning so I better get on it and get home for a little break. We both are feeling the time pressure that goers along with a trip home for the Holidays. This year in particular we'd like to be well prepared for whatever comes along as we cart the boys off to The Windy City. I'm sure we'll forget something but this is one of the areas I made the right choice for a wife. She excels where I historically fall short.
I would be the one on I-80 having one of those gut dropping moments where I want to beat myself upside the head because I forgot something like...shoes, or underwear, or the boys. Sally gets us started early and usually has exhausted every kind of list she can make by the time we get out of town. That also usually leads to us getting wherever we're going with all of the things we need. I usually still forget my toothbrush.

To the news:
Recall
So if you're a parent, are you confused about the recall of the H1N1 flu vaccine. I was when I first heard of it yesterday. I got the shot and booster for both my kids and bottom line from the docs is that they'll be fine. Sure, I guess, I hope so. What else are you supposed to say? I'm not going out and getting them another round of the shots, so I guess we'll just hope for the best. I can see a lot of people asking...if the vaccine is fine and our kids are protected with two shots...why the recall?

Sidewalks
The girls were giving me a well deserved hard time about my history with the public works department and snow removal. We did a story reminding people they can be fined if they don't clear their walk. That reminded Jeriann that I'd been fined in the past. I've written about it here before so I won't go into detail, but I did make the comment this morning : Talk to your neighbor before you go to the cops about their walk. Maybe they're having a bad week, maybe their leg is broken, maybe a relative is in the hospital. You don't know that the person is just being a snow clearing sloth.

NCAA x 2
We're getting the Track and Field Championships again in 2011 and 2012. It's a great "get" for Drake and for the City of Des Moines. They must have done something right the first time they hosted. Besides, who knows how to run a track meet better than Drake?

Dreamliner
Did you see the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner take off and land yesterday on its first test flight? It has to bee cool being behind the controls of an aircraft the first time it takes off. The wings on this thing are remarkable. The flex that they showed yesterday on landing makes me wonder what that thing is going to look like with 300 people aboard?

Lunchrooms
USA Today put a report out this morning revealing inspections for many of the nations school lunchrooms fall well short of standards. Here in Iowa about half of reporting lunchrooms showed fewer than the required amount of inspections. The USDA is supposed to require these inspections happen twice a year or they're supposed to kick the school out of the federal lunch program. The reality of this is that the lawmakers in Washington make this law so they can SAY they want school lunchrooms to be safe...then they don't so anything to FUND the inspections they just required. There aren't enough inspectors to do the job.
Personally I think this should be handled on the local level. That way the people who actually run the District are accountable. Makes you want to pack a lunch for the kids doesn't it?

Santa
Just a heads up. Greg Edwards dressed up as Santa for his weekly events segment and we brought all the kids in for a little fun yesterday. we taped the segment and it will air Christmas Eve. We took some pictures. Brooke is efforting the pics.

Have a good day!
PWD

Public Option, Re-gifting, and Things We Didn't Get To

Good Morning!

Anyone who caught the first hour of the show got some doozies. We were all a bit off again this morning. Some interesting conversations about family, friends, kids and Christmas off camera. Nothing I'd want to share here but it was one of those mornings where we had some fun.

To the News:

Public Option

This morning The President is going to talk with the Senate Leadership about the alternative to the public option proposed in the Senate's health Care bill. This isn't government run care, it's letting people into Medicare early. Joe Lieberman says he's going to block the bill if the provision stays.

The other clip we ran was from a Labor Leader here in Central Iowa who said that most people are very concerned about the amount of people who don't have health care, and that the people who oppose Health care reform simply don't understand.

I assure you that's not the way opponents would characterize it. I can't speak fro opponents of health care but I think they might says something like: Americans aren't walking around concerned about the number of people who don't have health care. They're concerned about the cost and access THEY have TO Health Care. They might continue that the cost of Health Care might go down if there weren't groups that paid next to nothing for care. They might say those costs are passed along to other consumers. They might says that it's not they other people just don't understand the Health Care debate, it's that they don't agree with Labor's stance on the issue. I can't speak for them that's just what I;m guessing they'd say.

Climate Change Poll
A new Poll shows 51 percent of Americans think we should sign a Treaty on Climate Change


Thompson Prison
In Illinois The Federal Government is going to buy the Thompson Prison. They're going to put some High security Federal Prisoners and some Guantanamo Detainees. Still not sure why this is a bad thing. Someone want to tell me when the last time was that someone broke out of a Super Max Federal Prison?


H1N1 vaccine
You can go get the shot...no restrictions no rules...just stop by. It's a good idea for those of us traveling for the holidays.


Big 10?11?12?
A report in the Chicago Tribune this morning says the Big 10 wants to add another team. They've got eleven now. So what would you call it? Still the Big 10? Missouri, Syracuse, Rutgers and Cincinnati are all contenders for recruitment.


Re-gifting

Megan did a story about re-gifting being a "green" gift idea this year. To me it's much more simple than that.

Closets of married couples everywhere are filled with chotskies like bath towels, soaps, candles, those little wine glass identifiers...whatever. It's like the island of Misfit Toys. If you can find a home for that gift....someone who will really love bamboo that channels perfume or a Santa Claus Wine cover, then give it away. If someone else will use it I'm all for it.
Just make sure the re-gift isn't given in the presence of the person who gave it in the fist place.

Happy giving

PWD

Icy Start, Icy Reception and Insanity

Good Morning.
Was anyone else out on Saturday Shopping? Overcrowded doesn't seem to capture the chaos at the stores. More on that in a minute...
First, the news:

Icy Start...
I knew it was going to be a problem when I almost ended up on my back in the driveway this morning. I stepped out of the garage to see if the drizzle was freezing on contact...sure enough it was at my house. The roads were better for me, but I think by the time this afternoon rolls around there will be some VERY slippery streets to deal with. If it were my choice, I'd take fifteen days like we had last Tuesday in place of just one freezing rain event. You never know where or when it's gong to get bad. At least I can be sure of the snow right in front of me.

Icy Reception
That's what I'd expect if I were a Banking executive at the White House this morning. The President is going to ask, rightfully so I think, where's the help? The government bailed out the financial sector, now where is the lending that was supposed to come to small business? I'll be interested at the answers.

Insanity
That's what Saturday felt like. I went to Costco and The Hy-Vee. Both felt a little crazy.
Here's my problem with the crowded store. Why are there so many people who seem to have no awareness of anyone around them? Costco doesn't help this by offering enough free food samples to feed a family of four for the day. The result is a crush of shopper, overwhelmed by their choices. Should I buy 32 lbs of dishwashing detergent?, Do I really need an industrial pressure washer?, Will that 1100 sq foot playhouse fit under the Christmas tree for my kids?
You can see the questions rolling around in thier head as thier eyes glaze over with the size and variety of shopping choices.
For someone who buys wine, baby wipes and formula (three items that couldn't be further apart in the store) getting around this crowd of gawkers is half the challenge.
I always try to use my High School Drivers Ed in these situations. If you're going to stop...don't do it in the middle of a lane. Pull over to the side of the road. Then you can have all the pigs in a blanket, pulled pork, hot chocolate and soup you want.

Have a good day...
PWD

CLean-up, Hanukka and A break

Good Morning...it is still morning right?
I would say all of us need a weekend break on Today in Iowa. It showed a bit this morning. Sorry. I can only speak for myself when I say it's been a long week. Between the weather and fighting a cold, I'm ready for a quiet weekend and that's what we've got planned. I was reminded this morning that it's only two weeks before Christmas. I've got to get rested and get well before we make the trip back top Chicago. I'm looking forward to that. Sally came up with a great plan for the week and I think we've worked out the logistics of naps and meals and trips around town. I think some people can look at it as an inconvenience, but I don't. It's just the reality of adding two more people to your plans. We're looking forward to sharing some Christmas tradition with our new family.

Quickly to the news cause I gotta go do the Nooner:

Clean-up
I think we had the wrong map on all morning when we talked about City of Des Moines streets. It showed the entire city still not done. When I went back to my desk I pulled up the same map and it showed all the arterial streets green (done). I'd agree with the map at my desk. We finally got a plow down our street late last night. I'm not complaining cause we're usually first on the list. It was just a little frustrating this time around with such a big snow. Brooke had glowing reviews for the City street crews and so did all of the people who talked to the Des Moines Register this morning. Bill Stowe and his crew do a great job. It's a big city and it's a big job. By the time they get done plowing this weekend, they'll deserve a break...until next time.

Hanukkah
So this morning we did a quick story about Hanukkah beginning tonight. This is the script our network folks gave us for the story:
MARKED BY THE WELL-KNOWN LIGHTING OF THE MENORAH, HANUKKAH COMMEMORATES THE RE-DEDICATION OF THE MACCAVEAN REVOLT OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
A CANDLE IS LIT EVERY NIGHT FOR EIGHT NIGHTS ON A TRADITIONAL CANDELABRA CALLED A MENORAH, ON THE FINAL NIGHT ALL EIGHT OF THE CANDLES ARE LIT.
Since almost none of that is true, we ad-libbed around it.
I don't mean to imply the folks we get help from at the network are dumb, I just don't like to be the only one who screws up like this.
For the record, it was the Maccabees (not the Maccavean...the B and V are close on the keyboard) that took back the Sacred Temple. They went to light the eternal flame of the temple and found they only had enough oil for one night. The oil burned for eight nights. The army recognized it as a miracle of God and that's why the celebrate what Adam Sandler calls Eight Crazy Nights.

Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Back to Normal, Big Break and Better drugs

Good Morning!

I'm still fighting off a cold...not really winning that fight but whatever. I went to the pharmacy and got a stronger form of decongestant. It really helped. The whole world seems like it's in slow motion when you can't breathe. It also seems everything takes a lot more effort. So yesterday was no fun but I think I'm staying a little bit farther ahead of it today.

Back to Normal
We're slowly seeing life return to normal this morning. There are a lot more people out on the roads and a lot of accidents as of the writing of this blog. 235 looks a little like a parking lot, probably because there's a lot of ice out on the roads. We talked to a State Trooper who said it gets worse as you get away from the city. Travel still wasn't advised on I-80 east of the metro. Slow is the word of the day. Just leave yourself some extra time and extra room. I'll be interested to see if my street is plowed.

Peace Prize
The President is on Oslo, Norway this morning to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. The President says there may be others more deserving of the prize. Here's the full story on MSNBC. Here's the full text of the President's speech. He doesn't shy away from the controversy surrounding the award of this prize.
Here's my question: Does anyone else think it's ironic that a President who just ordered a troop surge in Afghanistan is getting a prize honoring those who make peace in the world? As we've written here before, the Nobel Committee sometimes gives the award to someone they hope to nudge in the direction of peace. Still, this one is awkward.

Jobless Rates...
Because it took me so long to write this, some of the news of the day is also coming out. New Jobless claims jumped more than expected but continuing jobless claims are down. What does that mean? We'll try to find an answer for you on the Noon News.

Big Break
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jeriann and I had out big break on Nightly News last night. I didn't see it live but they post the video of the stories online. Here's the John Yang story that used a clip from our Noon news. As I said on Facebook, I always said I'd make Nightly news some day. Blink and you might miss it.


Hope you have a good day.
PWD

Snow...Snoooow...Snooooooow!

Good Morning...
If you don't have to go anywhere today, I'd advise you to stay home. It's pretty bad out there.
Megan Reuther showed us some downtown streets with the wind and snow blowing around...We talked to the Airport, State Patrol and DOT. Pretty much everyone echoed the sentiment.

That said, we all agree this is one of our favorite kids of days to work the morning news. There's a lot going on, the information is relevant and important to a lot of you, and we enjoy the fast pace at which the information comes in. That's where my wife usually looks at me and says something like, "you're a little twisted you know?". I do know, but someone's got to tell people to stay home.

So, enjoy your day at home. I'd be interested to hear what people are going to do. It's not like you can get out to the Mall. Three of the four closed. Post a comment and tell us how you're spending your day.

There are only two other things I think are important enough to post here.
We didn't talk about it but Democrats in the US Senate apparently struck a deal to drop the public option from health care reform . We'll see.

-Also Des Moines native and Biggest Loser cast-off Rebeca Meyers won the consolation prize on last night's finale. Rebeca lost 139 lbs and took home $100,000 for the work. Nice job. Can't wait to see if she comes home to Des Moines. We'd love to have her on the show if she's not too busy.

Time for my least favorite part of this morning. I'm going out to the car to see if I can shovel my way out of the parking lot so I can go home and shovel my driveway.
Booooooo!
PWD

Thursday

I hope you can tell by the title of this that nothing's really lighting a fire under me today.

Much of the News we have is a continuation of the stories making headlines all week.

Burglaries

How big is this group of kids the Police think is robbing homes on the South Side? 25 to 30 homes a week? If this merry band of thieves would put their teamwork to some productive use...they might actually be successful, and not in jail by the end of the month.

BTW the Register is reporting the home of the women who died at Gray's Lake got broken into this week AFTER she died. There's a very special, very hot place for the people who did that...and you know they did it after finding out she died.

Culver

The Gov is talking about the efficiencies he can find to save money in Government. 21 email systems? My question is this: If this is a good idea now, why wasn't this a good idea last year? If government can operate at a lower cost it should.

The Mail Bag

Someone emailed to say Jeriann should be drawn and quartered for having a little fun at Brad's expense this morning. It wasn't quite that bad and won't recount the entire email but this guy was MAD. He wanted Brad to get a lawyer.

I'm sure it can seem like we're a little snippy with each other sometimes when you hear what we say out of the context of the entire morning. Remember we're with each other for two hours and we spend the entire commercial breaks talking with each other and having a pretty good time.

I will also say Brad gives it as good as he gets. This is why you don't see me making poking fun a Jeriann anymore. I lose.

The bottom line is, no one's making fun of Brad and Jeriann is far from a mean person.

Christmas Tree Protection Program

JT found the Christmas tree last night. For the last few days the boys have been regarding the tree from afar...not really showing interest in actually going to the tree. JT made a run at it last night.

Of course, like a good Father I went for the camera instead of just pulling him away from the tree. If there was going to be a large scale tree felling in our living room, I wanted it on tape.

The good news is, it would take both boys to pull this sucker down so we can feel relatively secure about the boys not being trapped under Bruce the Spruce.

Hope you all have a good day.

PWD

Sorry Sorry...Here's the Blog

Better late than never right?

I had intended to write a blog yesterday but I got back to my desk to find an email from my sister. She emailed an open letter from Michael Moore to President Obama leading up to last night's speech. I'm not going to post my response to my sister, mostly because it's too long. I would love to hear what any of you have to say about it, and about The President's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.

To the news:

Run-off

Well the face of the Des Moines City Council just changed...a lot. It will be interesting to see how two people with no political experience effect the process. I say interesting because it seems easy from the outside. The council shouldn't do that. they shouldn't do this...If I were on the council...

Well it's a lot more complicated than that.

It's also important to remember that the city is actually run by a professional manager. He is hired and fired by the council, but he makes the decisions. The council is largely there to steer the policy and approve the professional management's recommendations. One thing is for sure, the people who ran, and the people who won should be commended for jumping into this complicated process. They deserve our respect, and the newcomers deserve a little time to understand the process.

Union Deal

Kudos to the Union members who voted for the changes to their contract. Thumbs down to the reaction of the Union leadership. Threatening not to talk to the State about next year's budget isn't going to bump up sympathy for state workers. No one thinks State workers are being picked on, except state workers. Ask your friends and neighbors. They're in the private sector and I bet they've had their vacation cut, their retirement contributions cut and maybe even had some unpaid days. We're all going through the same thing. Here's the difference. The Des Moines Register pointed out yesterday, state workers still pay little or nothing for their health benefits. The rest of us pay hundreds even thousands of dollars to make sure our family has health coverage. When we actually get sick...we pay thousands more. State employees benefits should be more in line with the rest of the workforce.

Christmas Music

What's your favorite? I told Brooke and Jeriann the The Muppet's Christmas album with John Denver is mine and they both looked at me like I had two heads? I have to say...I think they're the ones who are crazy. I mean come on, Rowlph the Dog singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas? That's good stuff. So...what's your favorite Christmas Album? Remember it's album not just song...we're evaluating the collection of songs. I'll expand the question. How about your favorite Christmas Movie? I have to go with White Christmas.

Discuss amongst yourselves....

-Also just to clear up the questions over the 12 days of Christmas. The most popular opinion is that The Five Gold Rings referred to in the song are apparently a reference to pheasant. Ring neck pheasant to be exact.

Have a great day.

PWD