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Incidents of televised high school sporting events have been on the rise over the last decade. I see this as a plus for Utah kids and communities in general. Now the Utah High School Activities Association has sold the rights to broadcast all post-season high school sporting events to KJZZ. In fact the deal was struck years ago but until now meant very little as games KJZZ didn’t cover were pretty much fair game to all other broadcasters big or small.
This year KJZZ has chosen to exercise its monopoly on high school football by forbidding any television broadcast of any post-season high school football game by any “subordinate” broadcaster. To be clear, they haven’t set a price for other broadcasters to meet. Rather, they’ve taken all possible permission off the table. According to their website, during the first two weeks of playoffs KJZZ intends to cover one game each week. During that period, The Valley Channel, Park City Television and Top of Utah Television (to name just a few broadcasters of high school sports) have historically covered at least one game each. By far, more game coverage is being prevented than is being presented.
In essence the government has granted monopoly power to one of many competitors in the field of high school sports broadcasting. I can understand the State selling rights of first refusal to broadcast entities like KJZZ, but to grant this monopoly to one member of a competitive market reigns beyond reason.
I wonder what the UHSAA intends to accomplish with this deal. What should be their role in governing rebroadcast of high school sports? Are they trying to prevent games from airing for some reason? Is their sole purpose to raise a maximum dollar figure? I think their role should involve delivering the greatest amount of satisfaction to the greatest number of schools and students. I wonder what satisfaction snubbed schools will enjoy this year.
My beef isn’t necessarily with KJZZ. It’s with the State being in the business of selling rights in the first place. It’s sort of like the State selling all building permits to one contracting corporation so said contractor can oversee who if any among its competitors will do business in the state. It’s like selling all alcohol licenses to one pub functionally granting them authority to dictate who if any among its competitors will be allowed to compete in the brew market.
Logan High School and Mountain Crest High School are only two of several schools that lost out this week. Local broadcasters had scheduled to cover each school’s first round home playoff games but were officially warned by KJZZ to “cease and desist”. The games were not broadcast. Logan High and Mountain Crest have no voice in the matter.
So if you expected to see your favorite high school post-season game aired this weekend and were snubbed, thank the UHSAA and KJZZ by phone, email or letter for choosing a few bucks and a brand-recognition campaign over widespread satisfaction for our public-school athletes and their fans.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Housing Crunch Explained From the Hip: Socialism Nothing New
It seems to me greed caused some bad decisions in the housing crunch. You can't blame either side of the political aisle if you ask me.
Easy-to-get high priced loans made otherwise poor people feel quite rich as they moved into homes way beyond their means.
That led to inflated valuation of homes because it was easier for EVERYONE to live beyond their means and pay MORE for houses. Every home in the neighborhood that was sold for more than it was worth caused the other homes in the neighborhood to appraise higher.
That led to people with good loans refinancing their homes at a higher value. They thought they struck it rich and didn’t necessarily hold on to their newly found fortune. Instead they consumed it. Now they are stuck with homes not worth the loans they have on them and many are simply headed for foreclosure meaning now the banks own these homes they paid way too much for...which I guess now means WE own these homes the banks paid way too much for.
Blame the appraisers and the lenders who worked quite closely together in this whole thing if only with the wink of an eye! You can’t tell me they were incapable of regulating themselves. You can’t tell me they haven’t seen this coming and haven’t been rat holing millions while they steered the market right into the ground. Their dynasties are built and we’re left holding the bag.
Credit credit credit. It's just a way for us to live beyond our means. Business owners don't even operate without it anymore. If you sell widgets, you don't buy widgets at wholesale then retail them anymore. Instead you borrow the widgets and demand cash from consumers who might borrow that to buy your widget. They pay the retailer's markup which now includes the cost of borrowing the widget which was probably built with borrowed goods in the first place. The consumer pays the cost of their own credit, the manufacturer’s credit and the retailer’s credit. It seems a lot of the risk of doing business has disappeared as has the risk of buying a home. Worst case you go bankrupt and some socialist package will emerge to bail you out.
No one should be under the illusion that socialism in our economy is somehow a new concept Obama wishes to introduce.
Easy-to-get high priced loans made otherwise poor people feel quite rich as they moved into homes way beyond their means.
That led to inflated valuation of homes because it was easier for EVERYONE to live beyond their means and pay MORE for houses. Every home in the neighborhood that was sold for more than it was worth caused the other homes in the neighborhood to appraise higher.
That led to people with good loans refinancing their homes at a higher value. They thought they struck it rich and didn’t necessarily hold on to their newly found fortune. Instead they consumed it. Now they are stuck with homes not worth the loans they have on them and many are simply headed for foreclosure meaning now the banks own these homes they paid way too much for...which I guess now means WE own these homes the banks paid way too much for.
Blame the appraisers and the lenders who worked quite closely together in this whole thing if only with the wink of an eye! You can’t tell me they were incapable of regulating themselves. You can’t tell me they haven’t seen this coming and haven’t been rat holing millions while they steered the market right into the ground. Their dynasties are built and we’re left holding the bag.
Credit credit credit. It's just a way for us to live beyond our means. Business owners don't even operate without it anymore. If you sell widgets, you don't buy widgets at wholesale then retail them anymore. Instead you borrow the widgets and demand cash from consumers who might borrow that to buy your widget. They pay the retailer's markup which now includes the cost of borrowing the widget which was probably built with borrowed goods in the first place. The consumer pays the cost of their own credit, the manufacturer’s credit and the retailer’s credit. It seems a lot of the risk of doing business has disappeared as has the risk of buying a home. Worst case you go bankrupt and some socialist package will emerge to bail you out.
No one should be under the illusion that socialism in our economy is somehow a new concept Obama wishes to introduce.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
One Nation Under God?
"This is indeed One Nation Under God."
Says WHO? Based on WHAT? Our nationwide total agreement on who or what God is? Give me a break on that one please!
It is a farce that "Under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance in the 50's. That phrase is one our Founding Fathers might have avoided. It's ironic that "Under God" separates the words "One Nation" and "Indivisible" in our pledge. There is probably NOTHING our nation is more divided on than "God".
It's funny. It's as if a certain general sect of Christians (not even all Christians but only certain generalities thereof) pay lip service to this very important concept of religious freedom that was so important to our roots but don't really believe it. Rather they pity those who believe otherwise. The Mormons pity the Catholics who pity the Jews who pity the Muslims who pity the Buddhists and they all pity the Atheists. Actually you can rearrange all the capitalized words in my last sentence save the first and the point still rings true even if you add about twenty more!
It's un-American to pay lip service to religious freedom, then to claim we are "One Nation Under God" or to be appalled at the notion of a Muslim, Mormon, Southern Baptist, Jew or Atheist taking office. You’d think by now it wouldn’t matter.
Says WHO? Based on WHAT? Our nationwide total agreement on who or what God is? Give me a break on that one please!
It is a farce that "Under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance in the 50's. That phrase is one our Founding Fathers might have avoided. It's ironic that "Under God" separates the words "One Nation" and "Indivisible" in our pledge. There is probably NOTHING our nation is more divided on than "God".
It's funny. It's as if a certain general sect of Christians (not even all Christians but only certain generalities thereof) pay lip service to this very important concept of religious freedom that was so important to our roots but don't really believe it. Rather they pity those who believe otherwise. The Mormons pity the Catholics who pity the Jews who pity the Muslims who pity the Buddhists and they all pity the Atheists. Actually you can rearrange all the capitalized words in my last sentence save the first and the point still rings true even if you add about twenty more!
It's un-American to pay lip service to religious freedom, then to claim we are "One Nation Under God" or to be appalled at the notion of a Muslim, Mormon, Southern Baptist, Jew or Atheist taking office. You’d think by now it wouldn’t matter.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Homosexual Programming Environmental Not Evolutionary
I wasn’t born to drink beer. In fact I couldn’t quite stand my first taste. But as I aged I grew to LOVE it especially with Hot Wings. I wasn’t born to enjoy smoked sausage either. But the older I got and the more I smoked the sausage, the more I grew to love it!
I wasn’t born sexual at all. In fact I didn’t have much of a clue about sexual attraction until I approached puberty. I was exposed to some playful heterosexual activities and found I quite enjoyed girls. I didn’t give homosexuality any thought while I was developing my first crushes on the cute girls in my 5th 6th and 7th grade classes. I was never exposed first hand to homosexual experiences so maybe that’s why I never chose that road but must admit that today I am simply repulsed by the idea of sex with a man though I love many of them.
If I had to have sex with a man to make a baby, I simply would have no children. I couldn’t do it. I wonder why many so-called born homosexuals are able to create babies by stifling a similar repulsion to the gender with which they do not sexually associate attraction. Could it be they were actually born heterosexuals acting on suppressed primal instinct?
Some people never experience beer so never grow to love it. Some even believe religiously that it would be down right wrong to consume such a thing contributing to their lack of exposure. However, some go against the wisdom of the “elders” and “sinfully” choose to tip one back anyway just to see what it’s like.
I’ll spare us all the gory details of the other side of this analogy and hope you get the idea.
I think it has more to do with environmental exposures during sensitive periods of human development prompting choice and less to do with born programming.
I wasn’t born sexual at all. In fact I didn’t have much of a clue about sexual attraction until I approached puberty. I was exposed to some playful heterosexual activities and found I quite enjoyed girls. I didn’t give homosexuality any thought while I was developing my first crushes on the cute girls in my 5th 6th and 7th grade classes. I was never exposed first hand to homosexual experiences so maybe that’s why I never chose that road but must admit that today I am simply repulsed by the idea of sex with a man though I love many of them.
If I had to have sex with a man to make a baby, I simply would have no children. I couldn’t do it. I wonder why many so-called born homosexuals are able to create babies by stifling a similar repulsion to the gender with which they do not sexually associate attraction. Could it be they were actually born heterosexuals acting on suppressed primal instinct?
Some people never experience beer so never grow to love it. Some even believe religiously that it would be down right wrong to consume such a thing contributing to their lack of exposure. However, some go against the wisdom of the “elders” and “sinfully” choose to tip one back anyway just to see what it’s like.
I’ll spare us all the gory details of the other side of this analogy and hope you get the idea.
I think it has more to do with environmental exposures during sensitive periods of human development prompting choice and less to do with born programming.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Newsflash: Joe No Plumber!
You know what else I'm tired of?
Joe the Plumber.
Joe the Plumber is not making $250k + annually as a plumber...trust me. He is Joe the Business Owner. Why do they insist on callling him Joe the Plumber as if he is representative of the class/income level of every construction worker in the USA?
I'm not trying to say Business Owners are bad or necessarily over paid, however, they do NOT represent the $20k to $50k earners on the jobsites I frequent. He is no longer first a plumber though I am quite certain he is proficient in the discipline. Call him what he is. He is MORE proficient and successful when it comes to running a business.
At $250k he affords a CPA to bring that Adjusted Gross Income to a more tollerable modicum when it comes to his tax burden. If he ends up with only $100k per year to spend, please, give me his problems! If he lives by my means he will still have plenty to invest, save or pay for those 4 vacations, cruises or scenic tours he gets every year.
If we are going to talk "Joe Six Pack, Joe Pipe Fitter, or Joe Clerk" let's do it directly without asking for those signing the pay checks to articulate what they think is best for the REAL Joe's. Let's ask the REAL Joes what THEY think without some guise of supposed wealth associated with common manual labor. If we are to talk to business owners small or otherwise, call them what they are! Joe the Plumber? I think not. He's Joe the Boss, Joe the Owner, Joe the Wealthy. Most plumbers I know will spend at least 5 years earning what this "Joe" will earn.
Joe the Plumber.
Joe the Plumber is not making $250k + annually as a plumber...trust me. He is Joe the Business Owner. Why do they insist on callling him Joe the Plumber as if he is representative of the class/income level of every construction worker in the USA?
I'm not trying to say Business Owners are bad or necessarily over paid, however, they do NOT represent the $20k to $50k earners on the jobsites I frequent. He is no longer first a plumber though I am quite certain he is proficient in the discipline. Call him what he is. He is MORE proficient and successful when it comes to running a business.
At $250k he affords a CPA to bring that Adjusted Gross Income to a more tollerable modicum when it comes to his tax burden. If he ends up with only $100k per year to spend, please, give me his problems! If he lives by my means he will still have plenty to invest, save or pay for those 4 vacations, cruises or scenic tours he gets every year.
If we are going to talk "Joe Six Pack, Joe Pipe Fitter, or Joe Clerk" let's do it directly without asking for those signing the pay checks to articulate what they think is best for the REAL Joe's. Let's ask the REAL Joes what THEY think without some guise of supposed wealth associated with common manual labor. If we are to talk to business owners small or otherwise, call them what they are! Joe the Plumber? I think not. He's Joe the Boss, Joe the Owner, Joe the Wealthy. Most plumbers I know will spend at least 5 years earning what this "Joe" will earn.
Obama No Anti-Christ
I am tired of the doomsday approach that says some single American has the ability to bring the whole world to a crumble.
Did the USA and its Founding Fathers not do what they could to prevent one single American from holding that sort of dominion over our nation let alone the world? WAKE UP ...you RELIGIOUS AMERICAN PARANOID DILLUSIONALS!
The ANTI CHRIST? Really? Don’t we hear that every 4 years? Is it because we Americans think we’re the NUMBER ONE SEED in the WORLD TOURNAMENT of DOMINATION? So maybe that’s where you’d expect to find such a Satanic figure? And of course if you are staunchly Conservative you are probably arrogant enough to believe that only a Liberal American could ever qualify for the job of Anti Christ. Boy that’s an inevitably divisive way to think isn’t it?
When did Liberal and Conservative become religions I wonder …. ? It seems to me, the wider the polling gap that shows the Republicans behind, the more adamant if not down right violent the accusations of Satanhood for the Democratic nominee become. Seems desperate and less than professional to me. In fact it’s EXACTLY the strategy I’d expect some ANTI-CHRIST to employ!
Did the USA and its Founding Fathers not do what they could to prevent one single American from holding that sort of dominion over our nation let alone the world? WAKE UP ...you RELIGIOUS AMERICAN PARANOID DILLUSIONALS!
The ANTI CHRIST? Really? Don’t we hear that every 4 years? Is it because we Americans think we’re the NUMBER ONE SEED in the WORLD TOURNAMENT of DOMINATION? So maybe that’s where you’d expect to find such a Satanic figure? And of course if you are staunchly Conservative you are probably arrogant enough to believe that only a Liberal American could ever qualify for the job of Anti Christ. Boy that’s an inevitably divisive way to think isn’t it?
When did Liberal and Conservative become religions I wonder …. ? It seems to me, the wider the polling gap that shows the Republicans behind, the more adamant if not down right violent the accusations of Satanhood for the Democratic nominee become. Seems desperate and less than professional to me. In fact it’s EXACTLY the strategy I’d expect some ANTI-CHRIST to employ!
Obama Neither Messiah nor Terrorist
Comments such as the following have become common place this election cycle:
"The thought that Barack Obama the "MESSIAH"(Words of Reverend Farrakhan) is on his way to being our next President should scare the hell out of every freedom loving American."
Why should I lend any credibility to the words of Farrakhan or any reverend for that matter? Freedom? The Patriot Act extended our freedom? Those F Heads at the NSA passing YOUR phone sex conversations from cubicle to cubicle while gleefully cackling are acting in the name of “FREEDOM”?
Why is the election of our President about religion at all? Like the woman who referred to Senator Obama as an “Arab”, is it about race, too? Why all this talk about Muslim? Are we beyond electing a Muslim? Jew? Mormon? Southern Baptist? Atheist? Scientist? Agnostic? Buddhist? … It goes on … Some melting pot separating Church from state we’ve turned out to be!
Tell me, which religion or lack there of is NOT off limits?
Like those who call for Obama’s head and insist he’s a terrorist or at least a sympathizer to the cause, do you really think he’s less American than you or me? Am I a terrorist for thinking a different approach is in order here? Thanks to Conservative talk radio, our populous is headed for division that leads to assassination. Thanks to McCain for recognizing this. Thanks to McCain for holding his head high while he takes a campaign fall for the right wing crowd who have used him and Palin to bridge the gap between today and 4 years from now while planting seeds they hope will grow into “I told you so’s” in 2012.
The Republican Party had no intention of putting Romney or another valid candidate at the helm of this disaster that is Bush and 6 years of Republican domination. They already want to blame 2 years of Democratic House dominance for the USA’s crumbling economy and reputation abroad.
The public, right or wrong, are willing to give Obama a go. Hate is rearing its ugly head as if Obama is some foreign extremely religious terrorist looking to bring us all down. They want to talk abortion, yet Bush had 8 years to make that difference. Did he? They want to talk economy, yet Bush had 8 years (6 of those with conservative backing in Congress) where are we?
Either the Presidency of the US has failed of late, or the Presidency doesn’t matter all that much until it comes to sending the military somewhere to kill or be killed. I think we’ve had a gut full of killing and being killed while still walking among the living remains the executive producer of 9/11 whose name ironically rhymes with Obama and who is an unusually tall terrorist with tons of dough as well as needs for dialysis. Hussein was easy to kill … how hard can it be to get Osama?
"The thought that Barack Obama the "MESSIAH"(Words of Reverend Farrakhan) is on his way to being our next President should scare the hell out of every freedom loving American."
Why should I lend any credibility to the words of Farrakhan or any reverend for that matter? Freedom? The Patriot Act extended our freedom? Those F Heads at the NSA passing YOUR phone sex conversations from cubicle to cubicle while gleefully cackling are acting in the name of “FREEDOM”?
Why is the election of our President about religion at all? Like the woman who referred to Senator Obama as an “Arab”, is it about race, too? Why all this talk about Muslim? Are we beyond electing a Muslim? Jew? Mormon? Southern Baptist? Atheist? Scientist? Agnostic? Buddhist? … It goes on … Some melting pot separating Church from state we’ve turned out to be!
Tell me, which religion or lack there of is NOT off limits?
Like those who call for Obama’s head and insist he’s a terrorist or at least a sympathizer to the cause, do you really think he’s less American than you or me? Am I a terrorist for thinking a different approach is in order here? Thanks to Conservative talk radio, our populous is headed for division that leads to assassination. Thanks to McCain for recognizing this. Thanks to McCain for holding his head high while he takes a campaign fall for the right wing crowd who have used him and Palin to bridge the gap between today and 4 years from now while planting seeds they hope will grow into “I told you so’s” in 2012.
The Republican Party had no intention of putting Romney or another valid candidate at the helm of this disaster that is Bush and 6 years of Republican domination. They already want to blame 2 years of Democratic House dominance for the USA’s crumbling economy and reputation abroad.
The public, right or wrong, are willing to give Obama a go. Hate is rearing its ugly head as if Obama is some foreign extremely religious terrorist looking to bring us all down. They want to talk abortion, yet Bush had 8 years to make that difference. Did he? They want to talk economy, yet Bush had 8 years (6 of those with conservative backing in Congress) where are we?
Either the Presidency of the US has failed of late, or the Presidency doesn’t matter all that much until it comes to sending the military somewhere to kill or be killed. I think we’ve had a gut full of killing and being killed while still walking among the living remains the executive producer of 9/11 whose name ironically rhymes with Obama and who is an unusually tall terrorist with tons of dough as well as needs for dialysis. Hussein was easy to kill … how hard can it be to get Osama?
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