Thoughts on the Summit and Things We Didn't Get to

Good Morning!
Hope you all had a good Thursday. I woke up this morning and had to actually ask Sally if it was Friday. I'm sure she really likes answering questions at three in the morning...I'm thinking I might want to get a second source if I'm asking someone who's half asleep.
Half is all she got last night too. Will was up for about three hours SCREAMING last night. Sally joked that they're like little cars. The one year warranty just ran out. Brooke reminded me of something our friend Mara told her when Evan was going through rough patches. She said it usually happens just before they're ready to go through the next big developmental stage. I told Sally that after he particularly hard night and her response was, "...so they're getting ready to go to college?"

To the News:
Summit Thoughts
I can't believe the way this summit is being played in the newspapers this morning. I watched probably four of the six hours of talking. In the papers the sentiment is that Republicans are not willing to work with Democrats and that they don't care about people who don't have insurance. I did not get that impression. Here are some thoughts.
-Opening remarks: I thought the President did a good job framing the issues, acknowledging the other side of the argument and allowing Republicans to have their say. I thought he sounded like he was listening.
-I thought Lamar Alexander's opening statement was pretty clear. Mr President we agree there's a problem but we want this broken up into smaller pieces so there's less room to hide sweetheart deals and government overreach.
-My only thought when the Democratic leadership talked was, how did the democratic caucus elect these people? They were not impressive.
-Why isn't Stenny Hoyer the Speaker of the House? He impressed me. So did Republican Paul Ryan. He's someone I'd like to hear more about/from.
-A pattern seemed to form: Republicans were laying out arguments for their point of view...agree or disagree with the point of view, they were laying it out in a logical form. Democrats talked a lot about "personal stories". While those do give this debate a human face that shouldn't be forgotten, this exercise wasn't debating the NEED for healthcare reform. Everyone bent over backwards to agree we need some sort of reform. This was about finding a way to pass the things Republicans and Democrats agree on. That's not about people...it's about process.
-If I were being cynical I would say I got the sense that Republican leaders don't really want to pass anything, even though they agree there's a problem. They need this issue for Mid-term elections. They want to paint Dems as big government socialists who are going to steal your right to think for yourself.
-The bowing and scraping that members of congress do to appease everyone's ego is a waste of time. The President gets up there and says right off the bat, this can't be about making stump speeches. Republicans and Democrats proceeded to use the time to do just that. I want to thank the chairman of this, or thank you for your leadership on that. Whatever. Get to the point.
-I wanted this to work. I wanted to hear people say...we can actually do some of the things that will lower costs and cut waste. My impression is that some of the people who were there really want to see some change...some people would like to protect their political lives more than that really want to help the lives of the American people.
What did you think?

Things we didn't get to
-Did you know the guy who told a radar operator to ignore warnings about Japanese planes flying toward Pearl Harbor was from Iowa? Kermit Tyler was a native of Oelwein.

It was a few minutes after 7 o’clock in the morning, Dec. 7, 1941.
Lt. Kermit Tyler, an Army fighter pilot, was manning the aircraft tracking
center at Fort Shafter in Hawaii, near the vast Pearl Harbor naval base, when he
received a phone call from a nearby radar station. Two Army privates watching
the screen reported picking up a large group of approaching planes.
It was
only Lieutenant Tyler’s second day at the tracking center; he had no
understanding of radar, had been given no specific orders on what he was
supposed to do and was accompanied by a lone Army private serving as a telephone
operator. A group of servicemen assigned to plot the locations of unidentified
planes had finished their night’s work and gone back to their barracks.
Lieutenant Tyler would recall how a friend once told him that a Honolulu
radio station normally off the air at night would be broadcasting around the
clock if American bombers were flying in from the mainland, enabling them to
beam in on the signal. He had heard music on his car radio when he drove to his
post hours earlier from his beach house on Oahu’s north shore. And he was aware
that B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were scheduled to arrive that day.
“I knew
the equipment was pretty new,” Mr. Tyler said of the radar scope in an interview
with The San Diego Union-Tribune long afterward. “In fact, the guy who was on
the scope, who first detected the planes, it was the first time he’d ever sat at
the scope. So I figured they were pretty green and had not had any opportunity
to view a flight of B-17s coming in. Common sense said, Well, these are the
B-17s. So I told them, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ ”

He died yesterday. No one can know if his actions could have or would have stopped Pearl Harbor and the circumstances of the story really lead me to believe if he had sounded the warning...someone up the chain of command would have stopped any kind of general alert.
I thought it was interesting.

Hope you had a good day.
PWD

Summit, Text Me, and Man Who Catch Fly with Chopsticks

Good Morning!

So every time there's a fly loose in our house, I'm reminded of that line in Karate Kid...Man who catch fly with chopstick can do anything...

So what do you think it means for me that a fly actually just fell off the wall and died right in front of me this morning? No joke, I spotted the thing just above the bathroom mirror and I saw it just fall off the wall and die. Maybe it's the record cold?

Summit

So the President is inviting Republicans to the Blair House for a Healthcare summit. I, for one, will be geeked out watching Cspan. I love this kind of stuff. I would like to know if the President is actually going to call Republican's bluff. If he adds in some of the proposals they want, will they compromise? I think they'll come up with an excuse to stall or refuse. If he actually does it, I think it could help The President to offer up significant malpractice reform.

Text Me

Just don't do it while you're driving. The Iowa House and Senate have now passe versions of a texting ban while driving. Cool story from E Klinge about technological advances coming out on phones so you don't have to use your hands to get a text message while driving.

Jeriann and God

So someone on the south side of Des Moines has a high opinion 0f our morning meteorologist. This picture came in to Jeriann's email this morning. Now that's a funny sign! The most impressive part is that they spelled her name right!

Swimming

Survived another swim class last night and we did a lot better in the locker room. There was one awkward moment though.

It's never easy seeing people out of context...it's even harder when you see someone out of context in the shower.

I was rinsing off JT after class, trying to wash the chlorine off and in walks a guy we use as a source a lot.

What do you say when you meet up with someone you know...but don't know THAT well...in a shower?

What do they say to you when they meet the TV guy holding a baby in the shower? AWKWARD!

Hope everyone has a good day.

PWD

Nuttin Honey

That's about what I've got this morning.
It's been a challenging few days around our house. Sally came down with a BAD cold and the boys vaccinations didn't go quite as well as they have in the past. JT and Will are both not feeling well...or at least they weren't last night.
So I'm headed back to the house to try to help out. There's nothing worse than having a cold and trying to take care of two screaming kids. She needs to be in bed so I'm going to try to give some relief between shows.
Just wanted to say a quick Thank you for the kiddie meal suggestions. They all help a great deal!


Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Hotseat, Snowblower Etiquette, and Food for Thought

Good Morning!
Spent the afternoon in the Dr's office yesterday for the boys one year appointment. They're growing and developing just as they should.


Hotseat
Toyota Executives are going to have to answer questions from Congress today about who knew what when. Isn't that what Congress ALWAYS wants to know in these hearings? Anyway, it appears from internal documents released to the public, that Toyota knew it had a problem, tried it's best to take the cheapest way out, and people may have been hurt as a result. That would be sad. I hope this doesn't end up being a case of "How much is Enough?" Toyota has been a leader in the auto industry for my entire life. They've been making a lot of money. But when that profit becomes more important that the quality of your product....you've lost your way.

Robocalls
I'm interested to know who's behind the robocalls claiming race is behind the move to ban texting and driving. Race? The question I started asking is...who stands to lose the most if the bill passes?

Snowblower Etiquette
No snow today but I found this article in the Chicago Tribune and thought it was interesting. I find myself running the snowblower al the way down through he next door neighbor's property line. Our neighbor lives alone and it out there shoveling the snow by herself. It takes me an extra thirty seconds to make the walk up and back on her sidewalk with the snowblower...it's just a nice thing to do.
I don't do it thinking I deserve some sort of a reward or even a thank you. We have a lot of Dog walkers in our neighborhood and I know they appreciate a clear walk. The interesting question this article brings up is how much is enough when you snowblow someone else's walkway?

Food for Thought
So we are transitioning the boys into "real food" we've gone through the 1's the 2's and the 3's in the baby food and it's time to get them eating what we eat. So who's got some good suggestions for starters? We've done bananas, oranges, some pumpkin bread, we even tried some mini raviolis (not a lt of success there). What else? Are there things you parents cooked that we could give the boys too? ways to cook stuff like a chicken breast to make sure they can chew and swallow easily? We're looking for some variety. Any suggestions will be helpful!

Have a good one
PWD

Jobs and Meds, U-S-A, and Testing the Water

Good Morning!

Hope you had a good weekend.

To the news!

Jobs and Meds

Congress takes up talk of Healthcare reform and Job creation this week. We'll see how it goes. it appears The President is trying to call (what some Democrats see as)Republican's bluff. He's inviting leadership from both parties to the White House to talk about how to get a Healthcare reform package passed. I wonder why this didn't happen months ago. I think the public is ready to hear the best ideas of both sides and I'm not sure anyone really thinks the system we have now is sustainable. But as we've said here in the past, there are a lot of people who feel like significant medical malpractice reform has got to be a part of any Healthcare bill for it to make sense.

Jobs is the other big subject. There is a movement in Congress to extend Unemployment benefits again. More than a million people would lose benefits is they don't extend past the 28th of Feb.

U-S-A

Who watched that hockey game last night? What a game! I had a feeling the US was going to give the Canadians a run for their money last night. They've looked pretty good so far in the games I've watched. Speaking of watching the game, it was on MSNBC, which I couldn't believe! Then I read this article on Yahoo sports.

It makes sense. Women rule the advertising world and a variety of sports including Ice Dancing would be much more appealing to many viewers. Also it makes the good point that you want an uninterrupted Hockey coverage. As the article says, can you imagine breaking away from Hockey in the second period for an update on bobsledding? It wouldn't work.

I just wish I had MSNBC in HD. Am I being shorted on the number of HD channels I get? Should I have MSNBC in HD if I have the basic HD package from Mediacom? It would seem like I should but I'm not sure.

Testing the water

Along with a visit from Grandma Liz and Aunti Katie this weekend we had our first swim class for the boys. We are normally a Circus getting around when we go out. Trying to get the boys into the pool, out of the pool, dried off, getting us dried off and dressed requires a plan and some patience. It worked and we did it.

Like all things we try the first time...we'll get better at it. The highlight of the experience was that the boys seemed to like the water! Here are a couple pics from the weekend Birthday party and our first venture into the pool.

In Other News

-One of Michigan's baseball teams put up an online poll to decide it's newest menu item for this season. Look at these choices! Makes the fair look like a healthy living convention.

-The kid who played Richard Stabone ("Boner") on the TV Show Growing pains is missing. No joke, he's really missing.

-Had dinner Friday night at Mi Mexico in Clive. Great dinner, good service and really reasonable. I'm glad to see a restaurant survive in that location for more than six months.

Hope you all had a good weekend

PWD

Tiger Talks Fair Share and a Weekend of Celebration

Right to the News this morning.
Brooke and I had a bit of a debate this morning about Tiger Woods statement. I don't think either of us are wrong but I think this is worth talking about on the blog this morning.

Tiger
Tiger Woods announced he was going to be making a statement. He set the time, He is allowing one camera and a group of invited journalists. The rest of the wolf pack will be in a holding room to "cover" the event.
Here's my take:
That's not news. That's Tiger dictating the terms, conditions and content of the story. We aren't supposed to let that happen. We're supposed to "act independently".
If Tiger wants to release a statement he has the right to do it. He can fax it off to anyone he wants. If he wants to do an interview and set the terms, each news outlet has the right to say yes or no.
I feel like the decision to carry this one live is based more on the fact that "everyone else is doing it", and less on the actual "news" generated by this story.
Is this newsworthy...sure, 15 seconds on Nightly news should do it. "Tiger Woods released a prepared statement...again".
For people who are on the edge of their seat waiting to hear what Tiger is going to say?...Nothing we haven't heard before...nothing we're going to be able to challenge or verify...that's my bet.

Ok... I understand what Pat is saying. But, I do think as a news organization... we can't simply ignore one of the biggest events of the day. The news conference is schedule for 10 our time and that happens during the Today Show. Last time I checked, this is a news program. So, if we don't air the event, our viewers will go somewhere else to find out. It is a big story. Whether or not it should be a story is another argument in and of itself. But we know a majority of our viewers are interested in hearing what Tiger has to say. I know Pat will be among those watching! Agree to disagree on this one, Pat.

"Fair"
Someone explain to me how the Union representing State workers is giving non-union workers five million dollars a year in services. Here's how one Union Rep put it the other night during the debate:

”Would you expect to get car insurance without sending in a premium check or
send your kids to college without paying tuition or go to the country club or
golf course without paying a green fee? Then why would you
expect union representation in matters of collective bargaining, arbitration and
grievances without people paying their fair share?”

The only problem? The analogy doesn't fit. It's more like asking one of your passengers to pay your car insurance, asking your neighbor to pay for your kids college tuition, and asking a guest at the country club to pay your membership.

And maybe the most direct an indisputable point...None of these workers is asking to be represented by the Union. They are actively choosing not to be in the Union.



Weekend of Celebration
I'm off to start the weekend of celebrating the birthday boys. Thanks to all of you who sent well wishes.

Happy Birthday Boys

Good Morning!

It's one of the times I don't have a lot of words to express what I am thinking/feeling. Today marks my boys first birthday. How we got so lucky? I'm not sure. The year has been full of lessons for Sally and I as a couple, for the two of us as parents, and for me personally. Like any good relationship I feel like I'm getting closer with JT and Will every day. I'm looking forward to year two with all of it's potential challenges and discoveries.

Happy Birthday boys!

To the News

Becker

Hearing the troubles Mark Becker had before he shot Coach Ed Thomas made me wonder why Becker's family didn't have him committed earlier. The next thought that popped into my mind was how hard they may have been...not emotionally, but logistically. It's not always as simple as it seems sitting here, months after a tragic outcome.

Out of Touch

So the Union Rep for Des Moines public School AFSCME workers told us,

"...because most people out there have a misconception that our insurance is
free, but it really isn't. We don't pay for it, but that's something we've
negotiated for years as part of our wage increase."

SO they DON'T pay for it. That's the bottom line.

I've written here before...There are a lot of people...the majority really who aren't getting any wage increase and who's insurance costs are going through the roof. I don't think it's too much to ask teachers to pay an extra 20 bucks per paycheck to take care of their family's health insurance. In light of the fact that this might save some teachers/custodian/bus driver jobs...what choice is there? The District isn't holding out for a better deal here...they don't have any money...and they can't get any more.

Even if you found millions in savings through eliminating some administrators and made every system as efficient as possible, even if they found the 33 million they needed to balance the budget, the Union's request for a three percent increase and no cost increase for insurance looks greedy and out of touch with what people are facing in this economy.

I'll say again, Unions should follow the lead of State workers who sacrificed pay increases to save fellow members jobs. I will be much more likely to argue for a pay increase for these folks when the state finds itself with more money.

Olympics

So was Lidsey Vonn overstating her injury or is she an athlete that plays through the pain to an exceptional level? The question is being widely debated on sports talk radio...what do you think

Facebook

The average person spends an average seven hours a month on facebook. I am pushing that average up.

Tiger

I agree with a wise PR mind here in Des Moines... Tiger Woods and his PR machine learned NOTHING over the last few months. He's going to have to make a pretty compelling argument for his continued silence as he comes back to competitive play.

Looks like my Missouri Tigers sealed up an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament last night with a win against Texas. Still have to get past Iowa State at the end of the season. Why is ISU almost ALWAYS last on Missouri's schedule...football and basketball?

Have a good day, I'm going to give my boys a birthday hug!

PWD

Fire, Wrestling, and Recall

Good morning!
A quick hitter today. I may have to go to the doctor with one of the boys today so I'll be brief.

Fire
We debated whether we should go out to a fire in Elkhart today. We heard the call about 4am but didn't know if it was going to be bad. When we heard about all the extra equipment we ended up sending Megan but there's really no "right answer to our debate. Our resources are limited in the early morning hours so any decision we make to send Megan somewhere means we lose the ability to have her talk about another topic...in this morning's case...State Wrestling. The fire ended up being big but thankfully no one was hurt.

Schools and Math
We did the math wrong...in part because we didn't have the right numbers to start with.
Des Moines schools made the decision last night to extend the school day to make up for it's six snow days this year. The district will still have to tack on 2 days to the school calender to make up all the time. So we went to the district website and added two days to the calender that's online. Only problem is, the district had already added the six snow days to the calender. They hadn't changed it to reflect the new decision. So anyway the actual date they get out is now June 9-10, not 17-18. At least that's how I read it with the additional explanation.

Wrestling
I admit, being an Iowa transplant I still don't get wrestling. I've been to the tournament and it is exciting...that's for sure. If you've never seen it, you should get down to Wells Fargo arena this week. The exciting part of this week is that it signals the start of the State Tournament run for High School Sports in Iowa. By the time they're all done, there's a decent chance we will have some warmer weather.

Becker
I am having a hard time deciding how I feel about this one. Listening tot he tape of accused murderer Mark Becker I think any reasonable person would at least consider the idea that he was experiencing some form of mental illness. At the same time I feel like Becker shot Coach Thomas in Cold blood. I am not comfortable with sending him to treatment for mental illness and saying he's not fully responsible for his actions. As I say, I'm having a hard time.

Stimulus
Happy Anniversary...Now give us more money

Olympics
I don't care what you say...curling is compelling TV.

Have a good day
PWD

Taxes, Jumping Ship and A Break

Good Morning,



Taxes

So Iowans feel like an extra penny per dollar sales tax isn't a big deal. I can see why some people feel like it's not that big of a deal if it helps the government out of a jam. Shouldn't we wait until they squeeze all of the savings they can out of state Government? We're going to save tens of millions of dollars in this Government reorganization. Why didn't Democrats do this before? If everyone agrees this year that this is such a good idea...where were all these stewards of our taxes last year or the year before? If cutting these commissions and making one central purchasing system is such a good idea, why didn't they do it last year? or the year before?



Jumping Ship

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh says he hates Washington D.C. He says it's too partisan and that you can't get anything done. Well I'm glad someone in Washington noticed.

The questions is, what is Bayh doing? There's at least one article I read saying he's running for President in 2014 already. This way he gets away from Washington, gets to be a guy who gets things done in the private sector...then he comes back to "serve". There are more than a few Dems who feel like he threw the party under the bus with his announcement. I say who cares? When are these guys going to get it? On both sides of the aisle, there are people who are actually convinced the kind of partisanship we've seen poison the debate in Washington is what people want to hear. They've been hanging around too many party meetings and not enough PTA meetings.



A Break
sometimes it's enough just to have something to look forward to. Sally and I are going to get a weekend away here in a couple weeks. Thank goodness for Airline miles or we'd never be able to do it. I've also got a trip to Vegas planned soon. Thank goodness I have THE BEST WIFE EVER! I definitely owe her one after that!

I hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Approval, Olympics and Possum

Good Morning. I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was made better by the fact that I get a bit of a short Monday. Thanks to the Olympic Games, there is No noon newscast. I will be taking the day to finish my taxes. What a break!
To the news
Approval
The Governor's approval rating tanked and I can't imagine anyone, including the Gov is shocked. The Governor released a statement saying he isn't paying attention to the polls. That might be the most disingenuous statement to ever come out of any politicians office. If politicians didn't pay attention to polls...thousands of pollsters would go out of business. The questions is, does the Governor have time to build momentum and win a general election? Or are his polling numbers so low that his own party will mount a challenge against him in a primary?

Olympics
I was one of the millions of people watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. I found myself thinking...yeah, this is very...Canadian...Very welcoming, not overly showy or precise...but neighborly and fun.
-Bob Costas continues to be the smartest man in Broadcasting.
-Matt Lauer was a great compliment...
-I thought NBC news used the video of the uger who died too many times in it's story Friday night. Show it once. It was horrible enough to watch. You knew that man was dead as soon as your brain caught up with what happened.
-I love the Olympics because I love to watch the top athletes in their respective sports. I also love the Olympics because I love to watch the guys who come in last place, but are putting their heart and soul into their effort. The Olympics provide us with a reminder that there can be honor and inspiration in finishing last.
-JT loves the Olympics. I'm not sure what's going through his little brain, but we sat he and his brother in front of the TV after the ate last night. We had the Olympics on, and he was wide eyes and so excited. I shot a little video, maybe I'll post it later.

Possum
We had diner with friends over the weekend and laughed so hard at least half of the group was crying. The laughs came mostly courtesy of our friends Jeff Melinda, John and Holly. They are neighbors and apparently have had something of a possum problem of late. The issue came to a head when Jeff and Melinda's Possum decided to take up residence in Holly and John's garage. Since Melinda had been asking Jeff to get rid of the possum by calling animal control...she thought it only fair that he shoo the giant rat out of Holly and John's garage.
Long story short, Jeff was eventually successful in trapping the giant rodent. Here's a picture of his kids with the animal they named...sweetheart.

John got the honor of releasing the beast back into the wild. They told the story of the capture and release of the animal so well...I don't have time to recount the entire thing here...but I think it went something like this:


We also found this gem while online:

Hope you have a good day
PWD

Olympics, Valentines and Skin Check

Good Morning,
Well, the weekend is finally here.

We've had some work done to our house this week. This weekend will be an opportunity to get things back in order. Trying to work home improvements around two toddlers is a challenge at best.
I don't know if it was paint fumes or dust or what, but last night, for some reason, the smoke detector in the boys room malfunctioned about a minute and a half after we put them down to sleep. You work for like a half hour on making things calm around them so they can wind down and fall asleep...then the fire alarm goes off. I still don't know what the problem was, but Will stood straight up in his crib, looked at us as we came in the room to figure out if our house was burning down...and then rolled back over and went right to sleep when he figured out we weren't staying to play. That kid was tired!
To the News:

Olympics
The big one today is opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. We will be watching at our house? Fish sticks and Fanfare...that's the theme of our Friday night. Anyone else going to watch? I liked China's Opening Ceremony so much...this will be hard for Canada to top. I will say this, Bob Costas does as good a job as anyone of making me care about the entertainment portion of the night. The man does his homework and might be one of the smartest people on the planet. It makes for a great show every Olympics on NBC.

If you didn't catch Emily Carlson's story about Karlos Kirby you should really look it up on our video player. Karlos is Iowa's only Winter Olympian but this year he's probably not going to see opening ceremonies. Emily explains why. Karlos is a neighbor and a great guy. One of the best interviews you'll ever do as a journalist. We wish him the best and will keep his family in our thoughts over the next year.

Valentine's

Jeriann was talking about her conversation with her husband about Valentine's day. She says she told Rob not to get anything. I think she means it, but So much of what I'm reading around Valentine's Day says women don't really mean that when they say it. So what is a guy supposed to do? I say get flowers the week before Valentines and the week after. Get her flowers or a card once a month. Do something for your significant other all the time and then when this Hallmark Holiday comes around it's not such a focus. I find a simple note left on the kitchen counter before I leave for work is as special as a tub full of bath salts and lotions or a teddy bear with a big heart. Which do you think would mean more?


Skin Check

Speaking of Valentine's Day, The skin Cancer Foundation wants you to check your partner for any moles or marks on your body that may have grown. Look, I am all for awareness of skin cancer. It's the right idea and I'm all for an up-close look at my wife Valentine's Day weekend...but moles aren't going to be what I'm looking for. We can do that some other time.
Hope you all have a good weekend!

PWD

Budget Battle Charlie Wilson and Hoops

Good Morning
Got a good night sleep last night for the first time in a long time. Two problems of late...a good book and two kids that don't want to sleep through the night all of the sudden. That changed last night. I still have to book, but I put it down a little earlier and the kiddos decided to let Sally and I sleep. Thanks boys.

Budget Battle
The Republican Auditor of the State of Iowa did his annual news conference talking about how the Governor's budget doesn't add up. In response the governor's office put out a statement saying...it took him too long to figure that out. Really, they didn't say Dave Vaught's math was wrong. They didn't say he was mistaken. they said...what took you so long? The Governor continues to say his budget will balance.
Now anyone who's ever done a budget knows you can make the numbers say anything you want, but this will either add up or it won't. Vaught's charge that the Governor is spending more than legally allowed may trigger the Attorney General's office to look into the claim. If the budget indeed doesn't add up, it's back to the drawing board for Governor Culver.
By the way, is the Governor going to work the phrase, "Hard working Iowa Families" into every interview? "we're going to continue to fight for hard working Iowa families". Well I guess that leaves me off of the Governor's list...I don't work all that hard.

Olympics
I've heard from a a lot of people that they're not particularly fired up about this Winter Olympic Games. I've heard it before. That usually means we'll see some amazing story and the buzz about the games can build. It's the Olympic Games where the buzz is so big beforehand that usually disappoint.

Charlie Wilson
Anyone who saw the Tom, Hanks movie or read the best selling book knows Charlie Wilson as the guy who helped kick the Soviets out of Afghanistan. He died this week in Texas. For a guy who was known as a womanizing boozer in Congress, he also did some amazing things with his life. See, you don't have to be perfect. You don't have to agree with the way this guy lived his life to agree that in the big picture he accomplished a lot of good. I wonder where else we could take that lesson to heart?

Hoops
The Dix household went one and one last night. Missouri beat Iowa state in Columbia, Iowa beat Northwestern in Iowa City. Great win Hawkeyes! Northwestern looked like it might make it's first NCAA Tournament earlier this season. The Hawkeyes dashed the Wildcats hopes of an at-large bid. Payback for ruining a perfect football season.

Hope you all have a good day
PWD

It's Cold (Again) and Super Bowl Stats

Good morning. Pat is off to an appointment so I am starting the blog today. As I sit here at my desk, I have my coat on and scarf around my neck because I can't seem to warm up. Yes, it's cold out. But I think the real reason I cannot thaw has to do with my morning routine more than the temperatures outside. Most morning I do something that I know I shouldn't do when the temperatures are below freezing: I go to work with wet hair! I know... I know. It's so stupid. And I can imagine my grandmother rolling over in her grave by my behavior. But I do it for two important reasons. First, it gives my hair extra body when I let it naturally dry a little. And, it allows me to sleep an extra 5 minutes when I can blow it dry at work instead of home. Anyway, I may have to set the alarm a few minutes early and blow dry my hair tomorrow or I could end up with a killer cold.

A couple of the stories that got us talking today...

Super Bowl Ratings
The final episode of MASH is no longer the highest rated show in television history. According to Neilsen, about one hundred six million people watched the big game Sunday night. Pat said he was surprised by this, but when you think about the all of the enthusiasm for New Orleans, it really isn't much of a suprise. I think people were rooting for the Saints as a way to support the rebirth of New Orleans. Unfortunately, I didn't think the commercials lived up to years past. They just weren't that funny. The next must-see event on my list is the Academy Awards. Just a month away!

Back to Cash
We ran a story this morning about people using cash and debit cards instead of credit cards. According to Equifax, credit card use fell 20 percent last year compared to 2008. And credit card applications went down almost 50 percent in that same time period. I can't tell you how many stories I have heard about people deciding to use cash instead of plastic. In fact, this weekend at party I heard someone sharing how they stick to their grocery budget. Instead of paying with their debit card, they take out 500 dollars a month and whatever is left at the end of the month, they put in a jar and use it at the end of the year for vacation. She said it really forces you to stretch every penny and think twice about buying something you don't really need. And, it sort of becomes a game to see how much you can save each month. I like this idea and I have to admit, I am the worst when it comes to grocery store shopping. Every time I run to the store to get one ingredient or just a gallon of milk, I end up with a handful of other things that I probably don't need. Like ice cream.

Lots of Energy
This past weekend Eric and I took Evan to an Energy Game. I've never been and I have to admit I was a little reluctant. It's not that I didn't want to go to the game. I just wasn't sure Evan would sit that long. In fact, I was convinced we would have to leave at half time because he would be fidgeting in my lap and trying to run all over the place. To my surprise and Eric's, he LOVED it. In fact, we went early to watch the Ames/Sioux City North High School game and he had a ball! (No pun intended) The game was so much more than basketball and it kept his attention the entire time. Between the mascot, cheerleaders, music and entertainment, he couldn't get enough of it. In fact, I wish we had tried a game earlier in the year. I loved the whole experience, too. I definitely recommend it if you haven't tried it yet. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive entertainment. You can get tickets for ten bucks. And by the way, it was exciting watching Harrison Barnes play. When he's one of the best players in the NBA in a few years, it will be fun to say, "I saw him play before he was famous."

Have a great day everyone! Stay warm.

Snow, Super Ads and Statehouse

Good Morning!
We sat around all day Sunday watching the snow fall and thinking it was going to add up to something. It didn't. I'm not complaining. I have friends in Washington D-C who are wondering when the lights and heat are coming back on. I can's imagine how helpless they must feel. The worst part about is that Washington D-C is expecting another five inches of snow from this storm we're dealing with today.
Speaking of...
Snow
We're expecting a steady snow for about the next day and a half. We'll follow that up with some wind that will produce near white-out conditions in places. I feel terrible. My Father-in-law came into town to see the boys this weekend and needs to get back on the road to Illinois this morning. He's got a good car and will take his time, but I wouldn't want to be out on I-80 unless I had to be.
Statehouse

An Iowa Lawmaker explained his proposal by saying he didn't mean to hurt anyone...
He says the reason he wanted to take protections away from Gay Lesbian and Transgender students was that it was one of the ways the "Iowa we all used to know and love" is slipping away.
So just to make sure I have this straight...no pun intended; we want to make it easier for a kid...no matter who he or she is...to get picked on and bullied at school so you can forward your political agenda? I have trouble giving the green light for kids to beat up another kid for any reason...I don't care if you believe it or not. They're kids.
Seems like a great set of values from the party that claims it wants to foster respect and pillars of character in the community. What would it say to kids if we repealed this part of the anti-bullying law? It would give tacit approval of adults to pick on, ostracize and alienate a small number of students.
Character...apparently doesn't count for anything. If it did, the people who run that program would denounce the idea. Every child should have a chance to go to school without fear of intimidation or physical violence.

Beer and Bones

Good news for you beer drinkers. Hops apparently have a high concentration of a nutrient that strengthens your bones. I'm not sure this means you should replace your AE milk with MGD, but it's at least an excuse to crack open a cold one at the end of a tough week.
Super Bowl Ads
I admit, I'm one of the people who really likes to watch the ads for the Superbowl. I agree with Adwatch from USA Today, the Snickers ad with Betty White and Abe Vegoda was one of the best. My favorite was the Casual Friday gone to far ad from Career Builder.



Brooke liked the Energy Police Ad.



Jeriann said she liked the Dodge Charger ad. Man's Last Stand.

I actually laughed out loud at some of the locally produced commercials. I don't think they were supposed to be funny though.

Overall the game beat out the commercials in my opinion. That's the way it's supposed to be.

Last but not least, Sally's Dad Rick was in town to see the boys this weekend and we had a great time. He helped us with our first excursion to a Mall play area. We had to go to Valley West to return some things anyway and decided to let the boys out to play. I will be amazed if they don't both end up with a cold. There's just no way to keep their hands off the germy play things. Oh well, they'll build up a good immune system. They seemed to like being able to crawl all over the place and I was really impressed with how careful the other kids were around our little ones.

We went back home and while Sally got dinner ready, Rick and I wrangled the boys in their playroom. I thought it was funny...JT wouldn't leave Rick's beer alone! I took a camera out to get a picture of it...and Will jumped in front of the camera. Yep...they're my kids.

Have a great day!

PWD

Right to Work, It's in the Genes, and Chief

Good Morning.

I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend. I am. I knew I was ready for the weekend when we were opening the show and the first script of the morning said it was Friday NOVEMBER 5th. Time to go home and get some sleep.

In the news:

Right to Work
It's almost hard to believe Labor interests in this state have brought up this issue again. This will be the third session in a row Labor leaders have tried to make sure Unions either get more money from Iowa workers or get more Union members.
Unions are great. I wholeheartedly agree with the premise of having a Union, and I think oftentimes Unions protect hard working people who choose to join them. I also think you shouldn't have to join if you don't want to or don't believe the collective bargaining is beneficial to you.
Under the bills floating around the statehouse, unions argue state workers should have to pay some sort of fee for the benefits they receive as a result of the Union's collective bargaining. Under this same logic, one of my colleagues could argue that I should pay their agent a fee for helping me get a higher salary or more vacation. The idea is that if that person's agent bargained for more, it benefits me in the long run because it pushes up pay and sustains or expands benefits.
I don't believe I should have to pay for someone else's choices. I also shouldn't benefit but that's not the way the marketplace works.
Workers in the state of Iowa should be able to join a Union by choice. If fewer people choose to join the Union...maybe the marketplace is telling us something? Maybe workplace culture and compensation have evolved. There will always be an industry that needs the help of collective bargaining but until a groundswell of workers choose it, the workforce shouldn't have to labor under collective bargaining.

It's in the Genes
I guess there's new research to suggest the benefits of exercise are predetermined.
The study says it's about your lung capacity. SO maybe that's why five days at the gym this week haven't done a lot for me. The real reason I'm going is that I have a physical next week and wanted to put one last push in before I go see the Doc. It's like flossing furiously the night before your six month check-up at the dentist.

Chief
Sally's Dad will be on his way to Des Moines tomorrow morning. He hasn't seen the boys since Christmas and it will be interesting to see his perspective on the developmental changes the boys have undergone since the holidays. It's like someone turns on a switch. One day they don't get it...they can't stand or won't pull themselves up on a table...the next, it seems like that's all they want to do. We're looking forward to having him here.

-Just as an aside, I'm in the middle of two good books. I've already talked about One Minute to Midnight here a few days ago. For those of you who don't know it's a really detailed account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The other book showed up in my mailbox at work. It's called Between a Church and Hard Place. the book is about a Dad who finds himself faced with questions about faith from his young children. He grew up in a home without a specific religious belief but comes form a family with a rich religious tradition. So he takes up the task of looking closely at faith, his own beliefs and how to pass along his values to his kids. It's interesting. I'll report back when I'm done.

Have a good day.
PWD

Happy Hump Day

Good morning everyone. I'm taking on the blog today and hoping you will stick around to read it. Well, I am happy to say I am not as hungry this week as I was last week. Maybe this has to do with the fact that there has been less temptation here in the newsroom. We haven't had any apple pies or cookies just sitting around and so I have had to eat my regular breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. Although today I am craving something I had over the weekend. I know this sounds weird, but you can actually buy coconut M & M's. I found them at Dahl's and they are awesome. But then, I love all things coconut. I have noticed some other really odd M & M flavors at the gas station. One of them was Strawberry and Peanut Butter. I guess it was supposed to taste like a PBJ Sandwich. Didn't really care for that one. I also LOVE the dark chocolate variety. And those are healthy, right? :) Ok... now I am getting hungry again. Go figure.

Early Retirement Bill
So... today we had a lot of legislative stories in our newscast. One of them was the bill passed by the house last night that would allow state workers to retire early and get health benefits for 5 years and one thousand dollars for every year you worked for the state. It's supposed to help downsize the workforce. Every lawmaker voted for it except Christopher Rants. He says it doesn't make sense for the state to pay workers a huge lump of money when some of them were going to retire anyway. I guess I understand his point. But the other side makes sense, too. How are you going to entice people to retire early unless you give them a reason. And a lot workers don't retire because they don't want to pay for or can't afford health care.


Workout
Did you see Megan Reuther at Farrell's Gym today? She's profiling some of the workouts in the metro. I know this place is probably already pretty familiar to most of us who live in the Des Moines area, but it was interesting to see what the workout really looked like. It uses a lot of resistance bands which I used to think must be easier than weights. Boy was I wrong. They are harder. The Farrell's workout is intense and Jeriann says it is killer. But I guess that's how it works, huh?

I'm off to get my drivers license renewed and run some errands. Have a great day!

Good Morning...

First and foremost, Happy Birthday to Jeriann's son Luke! I can't believe it's been a year. I'm going to keep saying that a lot over the next two weeks. JR said they had a great party with family over the weekend. It included cake, as you can see. He looks like he had fun, and it also looks like Mom and Dad have done a great job with their first little one over the last year.

To the News!

Finding Efficiency

The State Senate worked to trim $118 million from the state budget by reorganizing state government. Great...I say why not? Especially since the Democrats called these unnecessary boards commissions and spending. One question, If it was unnecessary why wasn't it cut last year or the year before? I'm no budget wizard but wouldn't that have helped a little?

Obama Budget

The President is proposing some tax cuts for businesses to encourage hiring and investment. I think some of what he's proposing will be universally accepted as a good idea. One thing, Government doesn't create jobs. Businesses create jobs. That's something to keep in mind when you get to the next step of the budget plans.

The Obama Administration is proposing a tax increase on households earning more than $250,000. For most of us this sounds like a King's ransom, but remember this: If you are making that kind of money and own your own business; you are going to be the one who has to take the financial risk of expanding your business. That means if things go south, you are also the one left holding the bag.

That said? The President's point during the State of the Union was, We just can't afford tax breaks for wealthy people anymore. I think this is one of those honest political debates. You can come at it from either direction and you aren't wrong. There will be negative consequences for someone.

Don't Ask

The Obama Administration is considering doing away with a policy set up under the Clinton Administration called don't ask don't tell.

It essentially allows homosexual men and women serve in the military if they didn't "come out". There's a great episode of The West Wing that talks about this issue.

FITZWALLACE
[to Tate and Thompson] We’re discussing gays
in the military, huh?

MAJOR THOMPSON
Yes sir.

FITZWALLACE
What do
you think?

No response.

FITZWALLACE
I said what do you
think?

MAJOR THOMPSON
Sir, we’re here to help the White House form a
possible-

FITZWALLACE
I know. I’m asking you what you think.

MAJOR TATE
Sir, we’re not prejudiced toward homosexuals.

FITZWALLACE
You just don’t want to see them serving in the Armed
Forces?

MAJOR TATE
No sir, I don’t.

FITZWALLACE
‘Cause
they oppose a threat to unit discipline and cohesion.

MAJOR TATE
Yes
sir.

FITZWALLACE
That’s what I think too. I also think the military
wasn’t designed to be an instrument
of social change.

MAJOR TATE
Yes sir.

FITZWALLACE
The problem with that is that what they
were saying to me 50 years ago. Blacks shouldn’t
serve with Whites. It would
disrupt the unit. You know what? It did disrupt the unit.
The unit got over
it. The unit changed. I’m an admiral in the U.S. Navy and chairman
of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff...Beat that with a stick.

Casey Blake

Along with the dream of playing in the major Leagues, I imagine Casey Blake had it somewhere in his mind that he might use that success to give back to his hometown one day. He did yesterday to the tune of a million bucks. To me that's being more than a Major Leaguer or an All-Star. That's being a pro.

Groundhog Day

Six more weeks of winter. Who would have guessed?

Academy Awards

Well I can actually say I've heard of some of the movies and actors nominated. The Best actor Category is some nice company to keep...especially for that guy from Hurt Locker.

I hope you all have a great day.

I also hope the past two days don't stop people from commenting or even criticizing me. I certainly will try to explain any misunderstanding or expand on a point that wasn't clear...but you are welcome to disagree. Our reader Trish has made up her mind about me...and she has every right to her opinion. That's what this is supposed to be about.

As always feel free to comment, disagree or add your won thoughts to the conversation.

PWD

Recall Fix, Weekend Win and Racist?

Good Morning.
I'll start this morning by answering the comment left Friday.
For those of you who missed it, The blogger called me a racist.

Wow, kind of a cheap shot on Oprah there Pat. Would it have been better if
she said she hated Iowa?It's funny but the biggest Oprah bashers seem to be the
same ones that bash Obama - white Republicans. Sound like anyone you know? But I
guess it's easy to bash a show that's not on your channel. Haven't seen much
Leno bashing? But then again he's probably a white Republican also.

Just so I'm clear...because I criticized an observation Oprah's magazine made...I

• Hate the President,
• Am a Republican
• and therefore, I am racist?

Thank goodness we cleared that up. I'm glad someone is stopping me from jumping to conclusions about people I don't know.
Sarcasm aside, I think many of you got my point and may even agree with it.
Oprah's magazine put Iowa on a list of things getting better. It's not on a list of great things you've never tried that you should. It's not on a list of things you might not know about....we needed to get better.
Does anyone else feel like it's a backhanded compliment? Does anyone else feel like the writers at "O" are amazed we have indoor plumbing here in the Hawkeye state?

I'm just a transplant...and I've only lived here eleven years, but I think there are a lot of other things I would put ahead of same sex marriage, an online survey and Iowa football; that make this state great...even preferable to other states and places around the country.

None of that has anything to do with race or politics.
As for my actual opinion of Oprah? I think she's a brilliant woman. I think she's a world class interviewer... She is also a world class philanthropist.
Those things do not make her right about everything, and my comments don't make me a racist.
By the way. I think Jay's funny but haven't watched late night TV for about eleven years now.

To the actual News:
Recall
Toyota announced a fix you it's accelerator problems today. Did you think the North American President of the company did a good job on the Today Show? Was the explanation enough for you? Has the company moved fast enough? I'm interested to hear what Toyota owners say. This is a company that has produced one of the best, most reliable vehicles in the industry for years. This is a huge problem for sure, but should it erase years of quality products? I'm asking.

Haiti
I hope the group of Americans that tried to smuggle 33 kids out of Haiti was trying to do the right thing. I hope they had good intentions. There are reports they were going to charge the adoptive families $10,000. If that's true...I hope they land in a Haitian jail. If one fo these kids lost their entire family and has a chance at a better life with a family who will love them, I'm all for it. If someone tries to exploit these children? I can't write what I really think of that.

Dad stuff
Jeriann came in with great pictures of Luke this morning. He turns one this week. Can you believe it? He DESTROYED his birthday cake and it looked like he had a lot of fun doing it. Not sure yet what we're going to do for the boys but I hope we have as happy a memory as Jeriann and Rob did.
In our house the big headline was that JT started to clap. Not such a big headline, but if I'm going to catch some of these firsts... I need to work on the Dad skills.
Sally was sitting with the boys after their nap Sunday and both of them started to giggle for no particular reason. I just stood there soaking it up, but made no move for the video camera. Like ten minutes later I finally went to go get it...the boys were still yucking it up...I turned the camera on...AND FORGOT TO HIT RECORD!!!!! I'm an idiot. Thank God they didn't take their first steps. Note to TV News Guy: The Red button is the one that actually starts the Flip camera recording!

Weekend Win
A big thank you to the Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge in Des Moines. They hosted a Hold Em Poker Tournament this weekend and I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of really nice people and even got down into the money! It was appropriate that I went out in 13th place. A thank you to my wife is in order as well. She let me out of the house from about 10 in the morning to 6 at night.

One more thing...I've been watching my friends on Facebook put up their doppelganger photos this last week and I have to say...some of them are right on (Tom Cruise and Steve Templeton) but some of them...I just don't see it. So I went to the site that claims it can match your photo up with a famous face. I won't say who it picked out for me because it was sooooooo wrong. Anyway, before you post that picture of someone who is supposed to look like you...don't you look in the mirror?

Hope you had a good weekend.
PWD